Experts say these seemingly opposite trends are happening at the same time because of what humanity is doing to the planet.

“It does seem like a paradox because we’re talking increases in fires, yet the global numbers have been going down and down. But they’re both true,” said fire scientist Mike Flannigan of Thompson Rivers University in Canada.

Spain's wildfire is that country's largest on record at more than 193 square miles (500 square kilometers) while wildfires in Europe have burned just a bit under 2025's all-time high. In Canada and the United States this summer, land burned by wildfires is at least 25% higher than the 10-year average and more than double what it was decades ago, according to national wildfire centers. Entire chunks of the continent were choked by smoke, causing unhealthy air quality.

Fires are worsening in terms of size, intensity, speed and frequency, especially in the U.S., Canada and Europe, said University of Colorado fire scientist Jennifer Balch.

“Extreme wildfires are on the rise globally in different parts of the world. And that’s the piece that you know has us shaking in our boots,'' Balch said.

Fires decrease in Africa, Asia

And yet the world went into July this year with record low global emissions from burning fires, a key measure of their prevalence, the European climate center Copernicus reported. That is because fires in Africa and Asia are way down due to changing agricultural practices, fire management and where people are moving to, said Mark Parrington, a senior scientist at Copernicus. Copernicus calculated that this year's carbon emissions from burning are the lowest since satellites first measured nearly 25 years ago — about half what they were in the early 2000s.

“Africa dominates the global fire activity,” said UCLA water and fire scientist Park Williams. “So if there’s a trend in Africa, then that’s going to be the trend in the global fire activity. In sub-Saharan Africa, fire activity over the last 25 years has gone down pretty dramatically.”

On average, more than three-quarters of the global emissions from the burning of plant material comes from Africa and Asia, Copernicus statistics show. Less than one-eighth comes from North America and Europe.

Traditionally, huge grassland fires on the African savanna burned each year, compared to more intermittent forest fires in other regions, influencing worldwide fire totals, said John Abatzaglou, a fire scientist at the University of California Merced. But with more land being used for housing and farming, humans are limiting savanna fires, while also creating barriers to prevent fires from spreading, he said.

In Asia and the Amazon fires are often used to clear land for agriculture, experts said. So, Williams said, “it really is all driven by human demographic change.”

Human fingerprints on North American and European fire trends

In North America and Europe there are also “human fingerprints” on the more extreme fires dominating the news, but that is from climate change Abatzaglou said. Climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas is making it hotter and drier — ideal fire weather — five different experts told The Associated Press.

Hotter temperatures mean humans “have our foot on the gas pedal” for bigger fires, “but we also have lost the brakes on fire” because warmer and wetter nights don't give forests — or firefighters — time to recover during darkness like they used to, Balch said.

When it gets hotter, the atmosphere sucks more moisture out of the ground, making it drier and easier to burn, Flannigan said. Climate change also increases the length of the burning season across North America and especially in northern forests where there used to be only a few days when the weather was conducive to wildfires, but now there are a lot more, he said.

And when climate change makes fire more extreme in places with larger populations, it tends to have a greater impact by burning more valuable property, Flannigan said.

Abatzaglou said that North America has long done a good job of fire suppression. But with climate change making fires more intense and frequent, “we're losing our ability to do that,” he said.

El Nino will add to fires

Fire activity is likely to get worse in the coming months because of the developing super strong El Nino. The weather pattern usually triggers more dangerous fires in the tropics, less so in the United States because of more rain, experts said. South American governments are already getting prepared.

“The most predictable outcome of El Nino is going to be more tropical fire, specifically tropical forests,” Williams said.

Williams said El Nino could increase fires in the Amazon region, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific.

While El Nino means more rain and fewer forest fires in the U.S. West, it can also mean more grass growth in deserts that adds fuel for eventual grass fires, Abatzaglou said. Examples of devastating grass fires include Los Angeles in 2025 and Hawaii in 2023.

Regardless of El Nino, scientists said areas in North America and Europe will have to improve planning and adaptation for worsening wildfires, including prescribed burns to thin excess trees and grasses.

“It’s not a question of whether our landscapes are going to burn, it’s the question of when they’re going to burn,” Balch said.

___

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

In a letter to the agencies last month, Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) to take action to ensure that data centers lower residents’ energy bills when the facilities connect to the grid and require data centers to pay for the costs of their electric infrastructure.

The governor also directed the commission and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the state’s electricity grid, to review their authority and “identify actions that can be taken under those authorities to safeguard Texans, their property, and resources.”

PUCT Chairman Thomas Gleeson responded to the governor’s letter this month, outlining the steps the two agencies had already taken to prepare for an influx of data centers to the state. Most of the policies began before the governor’s directive and were undertaken in response to a state law passed in the 2025 legislative session.

Gleeson said the PUCT and ERCOT have adopted new requirements for data centers looking to join the grid. He said they’ve also taken steps to ensure existing power plants continue to provide energy to everyday Texans, even when those facilities will power a new data center.

According to Gleeson’s letter, the agencies have also assessed how transmission costs are distributed among consumers and improved their process for forecasting how much energy will be needed to power the grid.

The PUCT and ERCOT are taking steps to ensure that data centers and other large energy consumers pay for the cost of building the new infrastructure they need to connect to the grid. Gleeson said the agencies are also developing a new program that will encourage data centers to cut back on their energy consumption ahead of “an anticipated electric energy emergency.”

“Texas should welcome responsible economic development, but it must do so in a manner that prioritizes affordability, reliability, and the interests of the residents who depend on the grid,” Gleeson wrote in his letter to the governor.

Gleeson also outlined potential state legislation he said would help the two agencies to regulate data centers. In particular, he said state regulators should be able to communicate directly with data centers to ask them to cut back on energy usage in an emergency. Currently, ERCOT must communicate with the data center’s utility company instead.

Texas lawmakers should also require data centers and other large energy consumers to register with the state, Gleeson said. And he said data centers should be required to comply with an already existing law that “prohibits agreements that would give certain foreign-linked companies direct or remote access to, or control over, Texas critical infrastructure.” That law, known as the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act, only applies to power plants and transmission companies.

University of Texas energy researcher Joshua Rhodes said data centers are likely to be a central focus of the next legislative session.

“Data centers are not polling very favorably in public opinion,” he said. “And so it’ll be an indication that there will be some bills trying to inject some discipline into this market.”

Rhodes said there’s been a lot of discussion about how to prevent data centers from passing on the costs of new infrastructure to consumers, but state regulators are still fleshing out the specifics of concrete policies.

“Really, the thing that feels kind of new and feels like it’s not fully resolved yet is the concept of how these large consumers of electricity are going to pay for infrastructure that they need, such that it doesn’t fall on other folks,” he said.

These were not Syrian militants attempting to breach Israel's border, but religious Jews who had slipped into Syria and were on their way back.

The episode, first reported last week by Israel's public broadcaster and confirmed to The Associated Press by the Israeli military, has helped raise the profile of a fringe group of Israeli settlers that has staged numerous incursions into Syria, where they hope to establish Jewish settlements.

Israel's military has occupied the area in southern Syria for more than a year, but forays by civilian settler groups into the region have only recently became a regular occurrence.

The groups, with members numbering in the dozens, have attempted to cross from Israel to Syria every few days in recent weeks. The military is tasked with reining them in and, while most Israelis regard them as fringe, the wider settlement movement in Israel has strong backers in the country's far-right government.

The most prominent of the groups behind the incursions in Syria is known as “Pioneers of Bashan.”

Pioneers of Bashan are named after a biblical region

Formed early last year, the Pioneers of Bashan are a group of right-wing Israeli activists aiming to establish Jewish settlements inside Syria. They are named after the biblical region of Bashan, which includes part of modern-day Syria and neighboring Jordan.

They have their sights set on an area of southwestern Syria that includes the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa and Sweida.

Part of this area, including the summit of Mount Hermon, is a “buffer zone” Israel declared in December 2024, soon after the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in an insurgent offensive.

The region was known in Scripture for its fertile land and came to be associated with strength and divine providence. In the Bible, the Israelites under Moses conquered the Bashan from the mythical King Og and it was then handed to some of the Israelite tribes.

Members of the group claim a historical right to these lands and argue that their presence there will help Israel defend the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria during the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed — a move not recognized by most of the international community.

Some claim that Israeli settlement of the areas would protect members of the Druze religious minority after violence erupted last year between Druze groups and Sunni Bedouin tribes and Syrian government security forces. Hundreds of civilians — mostly Druze — were killed in sectarian revenge attacks.

Amos Azaria, a Pioneers of Bashan leader, said the group aims to establish a “humanitarian corridor” from Israel to the Druze enclave of Sweida by depopulating adjacent Sunni-majority areas.

“The entire Daraa district ... must be cleared of the enemies seeking our destruction and instead be filled with Jewish settlement,” said Azaria, a computer science professor at Ariel University in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Aim to establish a Jewish outpost inside Syria

The group seeks first to establish a Jewish outpost in southern Syria next to the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Outposts, which settlers often call “young settlements,” describe rustic footholds in territory they desire.

Settlers normally establish outposts in the hope that one day Israel's government will legalize them. That's how many Jewish settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank — which rights groups say are major drivers of settler violence and displacement of Palestinians — got their start.

So far their incursions into Syria have been brief. The military has removed the activists before they have been able to build anything.

Videos on the group's X account from July 5 show a group of religious teens seated on the ground with their arms linked together, as soldiers try to pry them apart.

A second video shows soldiers shoving several of the activists and zip tying their hands behind their backs.

A video posted by the group in April shows several dozen activists waving Israeli flags and chanting on the roof of a house said to be on the outskirts of the Syrian village of Hader, in Quneitra, as Israeli soldiers look on.

Israeli military says the group compromises its operations

Israel's military says it takes a firm hand with the border-crossers. It has repeatedly condemned the group for diverting troops' attention from military operations and compromising their security. It says it detains civilians caught crossing the border and hands them over to police, saying it “expects law enforcement authorities to bring those involved to justice.”

Israel’s Channel 12 reported last week that no indictments have been filed so far.

The border-crossers say they have cozy relationships with members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Several government ministers have expressed support for their cause, and the group’s social media platforms document meetings it has held with at least two cabinet ministers, Amihai Eliyahu and Shlomo Karhi.

“We have support from friends in the government and many members of the Knesset,” Azaria said.

Syria and Lebanon are more concerned about military occupation

Syrian officials have not commented publicly on the attempts by Israeli settler groups to enter Syria.

The Syrian government has condemned Israel’s occupation of southern Syria and frequently calls for Israeli forces to withdraw and for the international community to intervene. Israeli troops have carried out incursions and raids in areas of Syria outside the buffer zone, sometimes clashing with local residents, who have increasingly attempted to block roads to keep them out.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, a similar movement has stages occasional marches along the Gaza border calling to reestablish settlements in the Gaza Strip. Israel removed its 21 settlements as part of its 2005 withdrawal from Gaza.

The Lebanese government has also paid little attention to a fringe Israeli settler group — “Uri Tzafon,” or “Awaken, O North” — that has staged incursions into southern Lebanon. Like Syrian officials, the Lebanese government has focused on calling for withdrawal of the Israeli army from southern Lebanon.

Still, some have warned against entirely discounting the settler groups.

Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri wrote on X of the attempts by the Uri Tzafon group to enter the country, “It is true that they are a small and fringe group and they withdrew under orders from the Israeli army.”

But he pointed out that the movement to settle the West Bank began with an embattled band of right-wing religious activists, known as Gush Emunim, “which in its early days was a small group that faced some obstacles and difficulties.”

——

Sewell reported from Beirut. Frankel reported from Jerusalem. AP videojournalist Alon Bernstein contributed to this report from the Golan Heights.

The magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit a day earlier in the Kumamoto area on the southern main island of Kyushu also left at least 62 people injured, six of them seriously, the prefectural government said. The tally has been steadily growing, fanning fears it may continue to rise.

The sweltering weather heightened worries about the survivors as rescuers braved the heat. It remained unclear how many people might still be missing.

Some of the most serious damage was at the Aeon Mall shopping center in Kashima city, which was bustling with thousands of people when the quake happened. The company said some 3,000 customers were evacuated to a parking lot before a gas explosion happened in another part of the mall, where some people were still working.

The mall’s second floor collapsed, trapping people. Witnesses said the explosion shook the area as much as the quake.

Three people remained missing, while four deaths were confirmed at the mall site, according to Aeon President Akio Yoshida.

“We take it seriously that an explosion happened and precious lives were lost,” Yoshida told a news conference in Kumamoto, where he bowed deeply along with two other executives.

Japanese media footage of the mall showed that part of the ceiling had caved in, and metal pieces and other debris were scattered about as helmeted and masked rescue workers searched the area.

Kiyoshi Matsunaga, 74, who lives in the mall's neighborhood and was at a supermarket just a few blocks away, said he thought he was going to die.

He stopped in his tracks when the shaking began while he was pushing his cart toward a cash register. Things scattered from the shelves. He could not move, he recalled.

“I was frightened," he said.

In nearby Yatsushino, a chimney collapse at a Nippon Paper Industries factory killed five people while seven others were rescued from the debris, according to the Kumamoto prefectural government disaster team.

Four people were still believed to be trapped there, it said.

In the first reported death of a foreign national, a Vietnamese technical intern was killed after a crane fell on him at a factory where he worked, according to the Vietnamese government. He had arrived in Japan in January. Seven other Vietnamese technical interns at the factory evacuated safely

Separately, a Vietnamese woman married to one of the workers was injured when a wall collapsed and was being treated at a hospital.

Nearly 34,900 homes were still without electricity and some 15,000 homes without running water, Kumamoto officials said. More than 8,800 people left their homes to stay in over 400 shelters, where power sources were being added to provide air conditioning.

Aerial police footage showed some homes in residential areas were completely flattened, including a few that crumbled into a nearby river.

Japan's Self Defense Forces joined rescue workers in the search and rescue operations. Hundreds of professionals were helping with the effort, including firefighters from Taiwan.

“There are people who are still waiting to be rescued, and it’s a race against time,” Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said. “We will go all out to find and rescue as many people as we can.”

Takaichi said the federal government was preparing to deliver food and other necessities to hard-hit areas. She also offered her condolences to the victims and sympathy to their relatives, while urging those affected by the quake to take care of themselves under the hot weather.

Bullet train services remained suspended. Although operations at Aso Kumamoto Airport resumed Wednesday, some airlines canceled flights as a precautionary measure.

Kumamoto was hit with a deadly quake in 2016 that killed at least 50 people. Japan is one of the most quake-prone nations in the world.

___

Associated Press writers Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo and Aniruddha Ghosal in Hanoi, Vietnam contributed to this report.

“I’d consider us a Christian city inside a Christian county,” said Long, a member of the county’s development commission who lives near Granbury. “As Christians, do we think that trading 2,100 acres of natural beauty for godless technological complexes is moving us closer to the creation, or further away?”

“Do we think that entering into negotiations with Google, Meta and Amazon are closer to making a covenant with God, or making a deal with the devil?” he asked the council.

Christians, Long concluded to applause, must stand up to data centers.

Controversy surrounding data center construction has roiled Texas in recent months, fostering a bipartisan coalition of opposition, particularly among rural and suburban residents. With at least 248 planned data center projects and 335 in operation, Texas is poised to become a leader in data center development.

Opposition has also coalesced around religious appeals from a theologically diverse group of residents, leaders and politicians who see data center development as an affront to their most sacred values.

Much of the opposition focuses on environmental impact and the large amounts of water and power needed by massive facilities that operate AI applications.

Clayton Tucker, a Democrat running for Texas agriculture commissioner, is a leader in the anti-data center movement. A Catholic, he wonders if data centers are akin to the apple in the Garden of Eden.

“If we take a bite of that apple of knowledge, is that what’s going to kick us out of this blue marble of Eden … that we call Earth?” Tucker said.

Religion isn’t solely the domain of the opposition. Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian, a Republican, said he supports data center construction because “throughout history, Christians have embraced innovations that improve lives, from the printing press to modern medicine.”

“We should approach data centers the same way: embracing their benefits while ensuring they’re built responsibly,” Christian said in a statement.

For Long, biblical passages such as Daniel Chapter 2 and Revelation Chapter 13 reveal that there are spiritual implications to replacing God’s creation “with things created by man.”

The books of Daniel and Revelation, known as apocalyptic literature, have been interpreted in some theological circles as warnings about the misuse of technology — such as artificial intelligence — in ways that threaten God’s intended order and vastly increase the government’s ability to conduct surveillance.

“They’re going to be able to track where we go, they’re going to track our money. … You’re going to have to essentially stay in line socially,” said Long, who believes this generation will be judged by its response to data centers.

“I just don’t want to read that everybody complied, everybody gave in, everybody quit. I want to hear about this small contingent of people that stood on their principles, that saw it coming from a mile away, and said, ‘We’re not budging,’” he said.

Joseph Locke, a professor of Texas and American religious history at the University of North Texas, said he was not surprised that Texans were making religious arguments against data centers.

“Texans have often drawn on religion when they want to enact social or political change,” he said in a statement, adding that “the rhetoric of spiritual warfare is pretty common, especially among today’s Christian nationalists and their conservative allies.”

Long has hosted well-attended prayer meetings in his home and taken his fight online, where he is not alone. Religious arguments are a periodic feature of comments on several dozen Facebook groups dedicated to opposing data center development.

Last month, Clarendon resident Maria Miller asked members of the Texans United Against Data Centers Facebook group to pray against data centers.

Miller said she sees parallels between the rapid development of data centers and the story of the end times told in the Book of Revelation at the end of the New Testament. “It’s kind of a no-brainer,” she said in an interview.

“People of faith feel a moral duty”

Not all religiously grounded opposition sees data centers as apocalyptic or part of a larger cosmic battle between good and evil.

“People of faith feel a moral duty to make sure that people have the things they need to live lives of dignity and thriving, and so water and energy are really important for that,” said Rev. Dr. Becca Edwards of the interfaith policy advocacy group Texas Impact.

“We’re called to be stewards of creation, which means caring for the world as God does. And I think what we see in the creation story is that the world was created to be a place of fruitfulness and plenty,” Edwards said.

Locke said many Texans have drawn on their faith “to attack inequalities, provide for the needy and, yes, advocate for environmental protections.”

In addition, conservative Christians have been “generally supportive of Texas’ conservative economic and environmental policies,” Locke said.

“The oil industry, for instance, has long been wed to conservative Christianity,” he said. “Billy Graham was backed by Texas oilmen, and George W. Bush, who helped bring Texas’ religious politics to Washington, D.C., was rooted in the oil industry.”

Texas churches also spoke out against inequality during the Gilded Age — a late 19th-century period of rapid industrial growth that produced extreme wealth inequality, Locke said. Evangelical leaders “helped to organize the Populist revolt of the 1880s and 1890s” and others “urged Texans to see the sins of our economic system,” he said.

“Texas’ conservative Christian nationalism may win the most headlines, but Texas religion contains multitudes,” Locke said.

Tucker, the Democratic candidate for agriculture commissioner, is a fifth-generation Texan who ties his campaign to Texas’ populist movement and focuses on issues that receive the most petition signatures on his website.

A petition on data center development has been a top performer, and as long as it remains popular, “that’s gonna be our top issue,” Tucker said while driving between anti-data center meetings, many of them held in churches.

“Had you told me a year ago that running for agriculture commissioner, I’d be talking mostly about data centers, I would have looked at you funny,” he said, adding that the facilities’ high-volume water use caught his eye.

“If we run out of water, nothing else really matters,” he said.

Long, who identifies as a conservative-leaning libertarian, said Tucker, although a Democrat, is “the only politician that is saying anything negative about data centers.” Older Republicans, he added, “don’t understand, like, the good versus evil fight that I believe we’re in.”

Polls show in many cases opposition to data centers transcends political partisanship. According to a June poll by the Texas Politics Project, 71% of registered Texas Democrats and 44% of registered Texas Republicans oppose data centers, with only 14% of Republicans strongly in support. National polls indicate even greater bipartisan alignment: a May Gallup survey found that 63% of Republicans and 75% of Democrats oppose data centers.

Long said he’s also found himself in a surprising alliance over data centers with some “liberal white women.”

“After the meeting … we’re hugging, and we’re all on the same page, trying to fight this,” he said.

“Humanity over injury and profit”

Elizabeth Dempsey Beggs, a Democrat running for the U.S. House in Virginia, called opposition to data centers a “unifying factor” that crosses political lines. Virginia is home to the world’s largest data center market, with about 685 operating or planned, and Texas advocates have looked to the state as a cautionary tale.

“I guarantee you Jesus would be outside right now flipping tables,” Beggs said in a recent public testimony against data centers.

People “deserve a place that is safe to raise their children, and we know the harm that data centers are doing,” Beggs said in an interview. “That’s not something you can tolerate as a mother, as a citizen, and as a Christian.”

Long, who has nine children, said in testimony earlier this year that data centers create “a sacrificial zone” that negatively harms children. It is ironic, he said, that Hood County adopted a “sanctuary for the unborn” ordinance while not being a sanctuary for the born.

Some Jewish leaders have also based their opposition on religious grounds.

“At the core of most religious traditions is a recognition of the sanctity of life and humanity over injury and profit,” Rabbi Jennie Rosenn of the Jewish climate advocacy group Dayenu said in a statement.

Rosenn said data centers are an affront to Judaism’s most foundational teachings of “life, not death (bacharta bahayim), protect creation (shomrei adamah), pursue justice (tirdof tzedek), not waste (bal tashchit), protect the most vulnerable (shomer ger yatom v’almanah), and ensure that life can continue l’dor v’dor (from generation to generation).”

“If this sounds like Judaism’s greatest hits, it’s because it is,” Rosenn continued. “That is how fundamentally the explosive growth of data centers across our nation threatens the values we — and many other people of faith — hold most dear.”

Jane Bannor, treasurer of Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community, a progressive advocacy group, said Unitarian Universalists around the nation are calling for moratoriums on data center construction based on a “respect for the interdependent web of life of which we are all a part.”

“We want to see businesses benefit not just corporate shareholders, but also the surrounding population,” Bannor said.

Tucker hopes religious-based opposition can affect the data center debate in Texas.

Faith appeals carry extra weight, he said, “when you can kind of tie [data centers] to those stories that are foundational to Christianity, that are foundational to a lot of our worldviews.”

This story is published through a collaboration between The Texas Tribune and Religion News Service.

Disclosure: Amazon, Facebook, Google, Meta and University of North Texas 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.

As of Tuesday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency hadn’t approved federal aid for individuals or local governments — including Kerr County, which, according to the Kerrville Daily Times, was already facing a potential $8 million budget shortfall.

The state by Monday had received 1,501 damage survey submissions, including 47 destroyed structures and 310 that suffered major damage, according to Shorey Harmon, Kerr County’s new emergency management coordinator. In addition to the flood damage, the area expects to suffer economic losses as tourists cancel trips during the busy summer season.

“This is a new flood,” said Jeff Byard, chief program officer for the veteran-led Team Rubicon, which brought volunteers to muck out homes. “This isn’t last year’s flood. People need help, and organizations need the support of partners and individuals.”

County leaders and locals say the public response hasn’t come close to last year’s flood, which grabbed global media attention after 119 died in Kerr County, including 27 girls swept away by the Guadalupe River at Camp Mystic. Robert Earl Keen, Miranda Lambert and other stars hosted benefit concerts, and resources poured in.

This year, one person died in Kerr County in flooding that affected a much broader region. But the media attention and the fundraising so far hasn’t compared, even though business owners and families have faced buildings filled with mud and debris that needed to be mucked out quickly and rebuilt — in some cases for a second time.

“Where are all the volunteers this year, compared to last?” Kerr County Commissioner Jeff Holt asked as he reviewed post-flood issues at the county commissioners meeting Monday, held in a former municipal court building after the flood swamped the county courthouse basement.

The city of Kerrville estimated it sustained $30 million in infrastructure damage to its water treatment plant, sewage lift stations and roads and bridges, Mayor Joe Herring said. Meanwhile, the county saw roads and bridges damaged and had to relocate staff from the county courthouse, County Judge Rob Kelly said.

School sports teams, locals who suffered through last year’s floods and some volunteer organizations have been serving meals and cleaning out homes. But other philanthropic groups report that donors haven’t given as much as last year.

In 2025, Nathan Rich, a 24-year-old mechanic in Center Point, lived behind his light-duty diesel and vehicle repair business when the July 4 flood hit so quickly that he and his wife only had time to grab their shoes, go-bag and guns. They’d reopened the shop with help from volunteers who showed up the next day and were buying a new house when this year’s flood struck.

The flood ruined Rich’s power tools, office and other machinery again — plus the home appliances he said the Zac Brown Band purchased for them after last year’s flood. Customers’ vehicles were totaled. Mud filled the shop.

Rich and an employee started cleaning out metal drawers filled with hand tools. They felt beaten down, he said.

Then three volunteers arrived on Saturday to help, and their mood immediately lifted. They got enough done to reopen Monday.

“That made a huge difference,” Rich said. “ It’s not even necessarily about the money. It’s about just showing that there’s people that care.”

Some 250 small businesses asked for help within three days of the flood from LiftFund, which provided up to $10,000 in grants to help small businesses rebuild, including Rich’s, President and CEO Amy Hereford said. They had to close the applications because they had more than they could fund.

“They are hardworking, and they are humble human beings,” Hereford said. “And they are tired, exhausted.”

“They are helping each other — that’s always a given that we see over there,” she added. “They will go to the ends of the earth for each other, but they really need help right now.”

“We haven’t received any kind of help”

Liz Ayala, a 42-year-old clinical research coordinator in Austin, rushed to Monterey Street in Kerrville on July 16 to find a block of people who didn’t know what to do after their homes flooded. Intense, heavy rain hit near the city that morning and creeks draining into the Guadalupe River overflowed, including Town Creek, which pushed several feet of water into Ayala’s family home and forced her family to evacuate.

Ayala’s grandmother raised Ayala’s mom in the house, and still lived there when Ayala was growing up. Ayala would walk over as a girl, ring a metal bell to signal her arrival and eat her grandma’s famous tortillas with butter. After her grandma died two years ago, her parents and brother moved into the house, joining one of her aunts.

Her grandma was the kind of person who looked out for her community; she used to leave tacos for the mailman. Now Ayala found herself trying to support her neighbors, many of them seniors, by telling them which damage forms to complete online and sharing flyers about charity resources.

Meanwhile, she and her family bought tools and ripped out soggy sheetrock and flooring with the help of friends and relatives. With the house completely gutted, they looked for places to stay until it could be made livable again.

They hauled debris, paying for each load. Her mom developed a cough, likely from the moldy, rotten air around the house.

On July 22, Ayala addressed the Kerrville City Council, seeking help for her family and her neighborhood: “We haven’t received any kind of help, just us as neighbors just doing it ourselves and friends that have trucks or anything just coming to help us.”

The next day, a volunteer group from Samaritan’s Purse provided needed relief, finishing the gutting and cleaning and allowing the family to rest. Ayala said they’re still not sure if they’ll get any financial help to rebuild.

“I don’t know what comes next,” she said.

Mayor Herring visited Ayala’s family home, as she’d asked at the council meeting.

“There’s a lot more help needed, she’s right,” Herring said. “Where do they live while they’re waiting for their homes to be restored? What’s the next step?”

The only FEMA help so far was for emergency measures, which could include search and rescue and shelters. It’s unclear whether the agency will do more, and officials were encouraging residents to report their damage to the state to help build their case.

U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz of Texas wrote to President Donald Trump last week asking him to approve more support, saying the still-recovering communities carried “an extraordinary burden.”

Kerr County Commissioner Tom Jones quoted Psalms 34: “The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.’”

“That’s kind of where we’re at right now, right?,” Jones said. “We are kind of crushed in spirit, but this is the most resilient place I’ve ever been a part of.”

At Audio Video Solutions in Kerrville, Town Creek pushed through with such force that it lifted the building up — leaving a slanted flood line — and swamped a slew of other nearby businesses, including the iconic hardware store Gibson’s and a Mexican restaurant down the road.

Kevin Grona, the 57-year-old Audio Video Solutions owner, said he lost TVs, projectors and other equipment and expects he’s going to have to knock the whole building down — a significant financial hit. He saved what he could, like ceiling lights and the electrical panel.

Now he’s trying to run the business from home and sending shipments to someone else’s building.

“I can’t just stop,” Grona said. “So if I can go out and make some money every day, I’m going to try to make it.”

Stretched resources

In some ways, Kerr County was already ahead in its ability to respond to another flood. It already had a long-term group helping to think through how to help the community recover economically, ecologically and spiritually. Earlier this year, they opened a space in Kerrville to concentrate resources for people to get help after last year’s flood.

But they were still very much in the process of rebuilding from the 2025 flood when the 2026 flood hit, said Todd Bock, executive director of the Kerr Economic Development Corporation.

“What we have seen so far in preliminary data has given us enough concern to know that we don’t have enough resources where we are today,” Bock said.

The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country launched a relief fund the day of the flooding in Kerr County this year, like it did last year. It had distributed $82 million of the more than $150 million it raised after the 2025 flood, as of June.

The foundation hasn’t yet provided an update on its fundraising after this latest disaster or whether some of that funding can be repurposed, but said in a statement Monday that it expected to focus on providing emergency financial assistance for homes and small businesses and offer more information soon.

“This situation naturally increases anxiety, stress, and existential fear about what comes next, and that is a tough burden for anyone to carry,” CEO Austin Dickson said when this year’s flood hit Kerr County, drenching carpets in his own home. “On the other hand, we have been through this as a community before.”

When the storm hit, Mercy Chefs was getting ready to move out of a leased kitchen after providing hot meals there for a year — longer than is typical. But they extended their lease a bit and were back to providing emergency meals again.

“We will go into our cash reserves when we have to,” said CEO and Founder Gary LeBlanc. “Our support is based on the need in the community, not visibility or media coverage or donor support.”

Samaritan’s Purse and its volunteers had helped clean up homes, getting through 16 work orders in the Kerrville area as of Saturday with 161 requests to go; in at least one case they were helping someone they’d helped the year before.

Last year, Good360, which raises money and gives away donated products such as cleaning supplies, clothes and construction materials, gave $4.3 million worth of goods to the Hill Country from some 30 companies that included Mattress Firm, Ikea and JC Penney.

As of last week, Good360 had received no corporate support to respond to this round of Texas flooding, said Morgan Loomis, vice president of disaster response and recovery — which she attributed in part to donor fatigue and a lack of national media attention.

“Nobody’s really seeing the donations come in like they did previously, both in cash and in product,” Loomis said. “The resources are not coming in, but there is the level of expectation from the community based off of the support that was provided last time.”

In the unincorporated neighborhood of Bumble Bee Hills 46-year-old Justin Rumbo and his wife had rebuilt their home after the 2025 flood exactly as they wanted, with donated help. He even got to put a hot tub on the porch. This year, it flooded again with several feet of water.

His sister scrawled “HELP” on a damaged mattress in the front yard a day or two after the flood; his daughter started a GoFundMe.

Along with a friend and a few volunteers, Rumbo gutted the home for a second time. A few local sports teams stopped by to help move furniture and possessions out.

“They know that we can’t do it alone,” he said.

Authorities in the Gironde region said the blaze had not spread further during a calm night, but warned that forecast heat and winds could cause the flames to surge again.

At the command center in Lège, firefighters bent over maps spread across a car hood as commanders tracked three danger zones: northern Cap-Ferret, the wooded corridor around Marcheprime, Cestas and Saint-Jean-d’Illac, and a military site near Martignas, where a significant new outbreak required a major deployment.

More than 2,200 firefighters and over 20 aircraft remain mobilized, supported by crews from across France and European partners.

“We strike quickly and strike hard at any new smoke emissions,” Gironde fire commander Matthieu Jomain said.

The fire forced 220,000 people to flee at its peak. Tens of thousands have since been allowed home, but authorities warned that the danger had not yet passed.

The extreme heat strips moisture from vegetation and drives humidity down, turning grasses, brush and forest litter into faster-burning fuel. Winds can lift embers over firebreaks and ignite new fronts beyond the reach of crews.

Météo-France, the national meteorological service, said Wednesday would be the hottest and driest day of the week, with elevated wildfire danger across every region of the country.

Drought now covers mainland France and Corsica, with soils approaching the record dryness reached in August 2022, the agency said.

In other regions, firefighters have secured two major victories. In Landes and Var fires were fixed, meaning their advance had been halted. That left Gironde as France’s biggest remaining wildfire battle, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said.

Smoke from the Gironde and Landes fires also triggered an ongoing particulate-pollution episode in both departments, regional air-quality monitors said.

The Gironde authorities ordered 4,000 more people out of tourist sites along the Atlantic coast on Tuesday, widening what may be France’s largest peacetime evacuation.

“The situation remains complicated. That’s clear. We’re not out of the woods,” said Gironde prefect Sophie Brocas, who also authorized 60,000 evacuees to return to three Bordeaux suburbs untouched by fire.

The opposing movements — thousands ordered out of coastal resorts as others returned with mobile phones on and emergency bags packed — captured how precarious the fire’s hold remained.

At the height of the evacuations, roughly 330,000 people were driven from homes and vacation sites across France and Spain.

Spain is braced for its fourth heat wave of the summer, with several blazes still out of control, including the largest in its recorded history. Even so, Spanish authorities began lifting evacuation and stay-at-home orders for thousands of people after firefighters made progress.

At its height, the Gironde blaze created a black thundercloud, electrified and lit from within. It generated lightning, strong winds and new fires beyond the original front. The phenomenon, known as a pyrocumulonimbus, was the first recorded in France.

More than 1,160 square kilometers (448 square miles) have burned across France this year, according to the Interior Ministry.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, warming at more than twice the global average, according to the European Union’s Copernicus climate service. Western Europe recorded its hottest June on record, with extreme heat and widespread dryness contributing to the spread and intensification of fires in France and Spain, Copernicus said.

___

Adamson reported from Paris.

• CONTINUED HOT: Highs upper-90s, heat index near 105°
• A FRONT?!: Yes, but no cool down & only a small shot at rain
• NUECES UPDATE: Major flood stage for Three Rivers by Thursday

FORECAST

CONTINUED HOT

Climatologically speaking, we are moving into our hottest time of the year -- and it shows. Temperatures will ride around average, if not a degree or two above. A nice amount of humidity will keep heat index values above 103° for several hours each afternoon.

A FRONT THIS WEEKEND?!

Yes, but before you get too excited, know that this front will come limping in and WON’T cool us down. What it MAY do is be just enough to kick up a few showers & storms late Saturday evening. We may also see a few more storms during the day on Sunday.

NUECES UPDATE

Flood waters continue to slowly make their way down the Nueces toward Corpus Christi. Those in Live Oak County around Three Rivers can expect waters to rise today and stay at record flood stage into the weekend.

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In early European trading, Germany's DAX lost 0.4% to 25,357.69, while the CAC 40 in Paris skidded 0.8% to 8,395.21. Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.1% lower to 10,865.48.

The future for the S&P 500 gained 0.2% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed.

The latest rout in Seoul was led by a plunge in shares in chipmaker SK Hynix after its operating profit in the last quarter fell short of analysts’ forecasts even though it soared nearly sixfold.

The Kospi fell more than 8% earlier in the day, but closed 6% lower, at 5,663.24. The benchmark only recently had topped 9,000 before bouncing back down to its lowest level since early April.

SK Hynix sank 9.4% while shares in Samsung Electronics dropped 4.8%.

Markets have been stricken by spates of selling of AI-related stocks as investors react to various developments including progress in China toward cheaper, advanced AI models.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 1.5% to 61,434.19, giving up early gains. Shares in chipmaking equipment maker Tokyo Electron sank 10.6% and chip measuring and inspection systems maker Lasertec Corp. fell 8.3%.

Japanese stocks were mixed in their reaction to a major earthquake that rattled the southern Kyushu region a day earlier. A previous earthquake in the region caused severe damage and disruptions for automakers and other manufacturers.

Shares in Nippon Paper, owner of a mill in the disaster zone that was severely damaged by Tuesday’s quake, fell 2.1%.

Taiwan’s Taiex shed 3.8%.

The Shanghai Composite index reversed early losses to pick up 0.4%. It closed at 3,830.02.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 2% to 25,807.92.

In Australia the S&P/ASX 200 added 1% to 9,038.60 after the government reported that inflation has remained moderate, relieving pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates.

India's Sensex added 1.1%.

In other trading, oil prices that had eased from the two-month high that they hit last week rebounded as a brief pause in fighting in the Iran war was shattered. Jordan’s air defenses intercepted five missiles launched from Iran early Wednesday, the country’s military said, hours after the U.S. military said it had knocked down an Iranian missile barrage launched against American forces in the Middle East.

The calm persisted for about three days following weeks of escalation over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway and narrow chokepoint through which 20% of the world’s traded oil normally flows.

Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 3.3% to $84.77 a barrel.

Benchmark U.S. crude gained 3.4% to $81.93 a barrel.

On Tuesday, shares were mixed on Wall Street.

The S&P 500 added 0.2% and the Dow industrials jumped 1%. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2%.

The majority of U.S. stocks rose after more companies delivered stronger profits for the spring than analysts expected. Coca-Cola climbed 5% after its revenue rose 7%.

Expectations for stellar earnings reports are weighing particularly heavily on stocks of chipmakers and other companies that have been huge winners from the boom in artificial-intelligence technology.

Micron Technology’s stock came into the day having more than tripled for the year following gangbuster growth, but its shares sank 8.9%.

Other tech companies helping to keep the market in check were Advanced Micro Devices, down 8.1%, and Applied Materials, down 7.8%.

In currency trading early Wednesday, the U.S. dollar slipped to 163.54 Japanese yen from 163.81 yen. The euro cost $1.1395, up from $1.1391.

The Jordanian military said the missiles had been “intercepted and destroyed.” Iran's state-run IRNA news agency carried a statement from the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard saying the Guard’s Aerospace Force fired ballistic missiles at the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base and the headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command in Jordan.

The renewed hostilities sent oil prices spiking. Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 3.1% to $84.58 a barrel.

Hours earlier, the U.S. Central Command said its forces “remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness,” and that they had also worked with Saudi Arabia’s forces to strike sites in Iraq that Tehran-backed militias have used to launch attacks in recent days.

In announcing the strikes in Iraq, the U.S. warned that further attacks on American troops or Saudi Arabia ’s energy infrastructure risked additional action.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi called an emergency meeting of the country’s National Security Council Wednesday to discuss the strikes.

The United States and Iran had experienced a period of calm, during which neither announced attacks for about three days following weeks of escalation over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway and narrow chokepoint through which 20% of the world’s traded oil normally flows.

The fighting flared at the end of a month packed with multiple pressure points on U.S. President Donald Trump. In recent weeks, four U.S. troops died during the fighting, while the Pentagon asked an increasingly skeptical Congress for money to cover the conflict’s ballooning costs.

Iran rejects Oman proposal for managing Strait of Hormuz

The Strait of Hormuz has been a major flashpoint in the conflict. Iran's deputy foreign minister said his country rejected a proposal by Oman, which lies on the other side of the strait, for jointly managing ship traffic through the critical waterway.

In an interview with Iran’s state-run television that aired Tuesday night, Kazem Gharibabadi said the Omani proposal included dividing the strait into two routes, each allowing the transit of 50% of shipping passing through the waterway.

The proposal failed to address Tehran’s concerns and Iran offered a counterproposal with a temporary plan for transit of vessels through Iran’s territorial waters, he said, adding that Iran’s policy is for the strait “never to return to its prewar situation.” Before the conflict, ships transited freely through the waterway.

Saudi Arabia and US strike Iran-backed militias in Iraq

“U.S. and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq in a strong response to over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours,” U.S. Central Command said, using an acronym for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

It said the Revolutionary Guard “and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further U.S. military response.”

The Saudi Defense Ministry acknowledged the strikes in a post on social media, warning that “the Kingdom emphasizes that it does not seek escalation but will respond to any aggression it faces.”

The Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of primarily Shiite, Iran-backed armed groups that is officially under the command of the Iraqi military, said in a statement that at least 20 fighters were killed and 32 others wounded in the overnight strikes on its sites in several parts of Iraq.

The groups making up the PMF joined in the fight against the Islamic State group after it seized large sections of Iraq in 2014.

In 2016, the Iraqi government designated PMF as an “independent military formation” within the Iraqi armed forces, but in practice the member militias have continued to operate with significant autonomy. Some of them have launched attacks on U.S. facilities.

Saudi Arabia says it shot down drones

Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that it shot down drones fired by Iran-backed militias in Iraq for a second day, while Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed to have forced a Saudi oil tanker to turn around as part of their announced blockade of the kingdom.

Al-Zaidi, the Iraqi leader, ordered security agencies to investigate after the Saudis alleged a similar attack on Monday. The Iraqi military said the country is committed to “preventing Iraqi territory from being used as a route or launching point for any attack targeting brotherly or friendly countries.”

The Iraqi militias have denied any role in the drone attacks. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed groups, called the Saudi claims “fabrications” and implied that Monday’s attacks were carried out by the Houthis, who had themselves claimed to have attacked Saudi oil facilities.

Iranian state-run media says tankers hit in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported Wednesday that the Revolutionary Guard’s Navy claimed it had struck and stopped three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. It said the strikes came after the vessels allegedly ignored repeated warnings and continued sailing along what it described as an “unsafe and illegal route.” The report did not identify the tankers or the flags they were sailing under.

There was no immediate independent confirmation of any strikes on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Houthis claimed to have fired missiles at the Saudi oil tanker NCC Ghazal in the Red Sea, forcing it to turn back. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia on the claim. Last week, the Houthis announced a blockade of Saudi shipping, putting another key Middle Eastern waterway — through the Bab el-Mandeb strait leading to the Red Sea — at risk.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said late Tuesday that a tanker reported hearing explosions while traveling in the southern Red Sea the previous day. It did not name the tanker but said the crew and vessel were safe. It did not report strikes against tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday.

The rebels fired on at least one Saudi tanker in the Red Sea last week.

___

Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut and Konstantin Toropin in Washington contributed to this report.

The measures are likely to test relations with Beijing ahead of a planned U.S. visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in September. China dominates the global market for humanoid robots with an estimated market share of roughly 85%.

The FCC’s ban also includes new imports of quadruped robots – often referred to as four-legged robot dogs. The agency said imports of advanced robots pose cybersecurity and other national security risks. Offshore production of such equipment also leaves U.S. supply chains vulnerable to disruptions.

The ban on power inverters, which are used to convert direct current (DC) electricity into alternating current (AC) electricity and are used in renewable energy systems, data centers and household appliances, could have sweeping ramifications.

FCC chairperson Brendan Carr said Tuesday that the move was to “secure America’s critical supply chains.” He said the bans apply to “new versions” of such imports.

The FCC’s bans follow a slew of U.S. restrictions on imports of Chinese products, including drones, and on exports of U.S. advanced technology to China.

The U.S. is also weighing controls on use of Chinese open-source artificial intelligence models at a time when Chinese AI is rapidly gaining ground.

“It’s a steady drumbeat of potential flashpoints heading into (the) Trump-Xi summit planned for September,” said Samm Sacks, a senior fellow at the New America think tank focused on Chinese technology policies.

China has been rapidly expanding use of robots, with policies supporting its technology sector. Morgan Stanley analysts forecast its market for humanoids could reach $15 billion by 2030.

“Chinese manufacturers have been scaling production and reducing costs faster than most overseas competitors,” said analyst Kangyuxiao Li at Morningstar.

“Restricting their access to the U.S. removes an important future market and protects U.S. developers from potential price competition,” he said. “However, it will not materially slow China’s overall humanoid development, given the size of its domestic manufacturing base and opportunities in other export markets.”

Of the around 15,000 humanoid robots shipped globally in 2025, Unitree and AGIBOT, two of China’s largest advanced robotics companies, each shipped more than 5,000. Their U.S. counterparts, like Tesla and Figure AI, each shipped a few hundred or less, according to the technology research and advisory group Omdia.

China's Foreign Ministry hit back at the U.S. move, accusing Washington of overstretching the concept of national security to suppress Chinese companies.

China will take “all measures necessary” to defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese businesses, it said.

“Protectionism does not make the U.S. more competitive, and it will only hurt the interests of U.S. companies and consumers,” Mao Ning, a ministry spokesperson, told reporters at a regular press conference Wednesday in Beijing.

The new bans could also potentially interfere with collaborations between U.S. and Chinese technology companies, said Lian Jye Su, a chief analyst at Omdia.

Nvidia, for example, in June revealed a humanoid robot reference design which uses the humanoid chassis of China's Unitree.

The Pentagon recently included Unitree and several other major Chinese technology companies on its list of firms that it said have ties to or aid the Chinese military. Beijing has rejected that claim.

The charges against Durov, who was born and began his career in Russia but later moved abroad, came as the Russian authorities restrict Telegram, one of the most popular messaging apps in the country. It is part of a long-term effort to bring the internet under the Kremlin’s full control that has intensified since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Federal Security Service, also known as the FSB, accused Telegram’s administration in a statement of failing to remove “numerous channels, chats and bots” that are “actively used by Ukrainian intelligence agencies, terrorist, and extremist organizations to prepare and coordinate acts of sabotage and terrorism, mass murder, and cyberfraud" in Russia, which resulted in “numerous human casualties.”

The agency accused Ukrainian security services of using a popular dating chatbot on Telegram to lure and recruit Russians for “sabotage and terrorist activities,” and said 46 users of the chatbot, from 12 to 22 years old, have been detained across Russia since July 2025 for assaulting law enforcement officers, arson and other acts.

Durov earlier this year announced that the Russian authorities opened a criminal investigation against him and accused them of fabricating pretexts to restrict access to Telegram as part of an attempt to “suppress the right to privacy and free speech.”

If convicted, the entrepreneur could face up to life in prison in Russia.

Telegram did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Its official website says that the company is based in Dubai and that Durov, who holds dual citizenship of France and the United Arab Emirates, lives there, too.

Under President Vladimir Putin, Russian authorities have engaged in multipronged efforts to rein in the internet. They have adopted restrictive laws and banned websites and platforms that don’t comply and focused on improving technology to monitor and manipulate online traffic.

Multiple popular social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and X, have been banned in Russia; YouTube has been throttled; popular messaging apps, such as Signal and Viber, have been blocked, and the most popular ones — WhatsApp and Telegram — have been restricted.

Russia’s popular Facebook-like social media platform VK, founded by Durov long before he launched the Telegram messaging app, had come under the control of Kremlin-friendly companies. Russia tried to block Telegram between 2018-20 but failed.

While it’s still possible to circumvent some of the restrictions by using virtual private network services, many of them are routinely blocked, too.

At the same time, Russia actively promotes the “national” messaging app known as MAX, which critics say could be used for surveillance. The platform is touted by developers and officials as a one-stop shop for messaging, online government services, making payments and more. It openly declares it will share user data with authorities upon request, and experts also say it doesn’t use end-to-end encryption.

Durov has faced criminal investigations elsewhere. In 2024, he was arrested in Paris over allegations that his platform was being used for illicit activity, including drug trafficking and the distribution of child sexual abuse images. Durov said in March 2025 that he returned to Dubai after spending “several months” in France.

The Kremlin at the time criticized the French authorities for their move against Durov as “selective.”

“I know that many countries have raised concerns about the platform being used in certain ways by certain individuals and entities whose activities could harm the economy or security of certain countries. I think the Russian government might also have had some questions," Putin said in September 2024, after Durov's arrest.

“But all platforms of this kind are guilty of this. If this is what they’re doing to Durov, then others should probably be arrested,” the Russian leader said, adding that the French government's “actions are not entirely clear to me, as they are selective.”

___

This story has been corrected to show the potential penalty is life in prison, not 15 years.

The couple fled north shortly after the start of the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, in early March. Now, their home in Zawtar al-Gharbieh — one of three zones where Israel agreed to turn over control to the Lebanese army — is among homes so damaged that they're unlivable. But Faqih said they've vowed to stay, settling inside the large grocery shop that they own in the village as they wait to have their home demolished and rebuilt.

“Zawtar is our small homeland, and we are very happy,” Faqih, 58, said. “We will sleep here to tell the Israelis that we will stay in our land and will not leave it, no matter what happens.”

A week after the Lebanese army took control, only about 15 families have returned, according to Mayor Abed Ezzeldine, who says nearly half the village’s 500 homes have been destroyed and many others damaged.

Hezbollah is strongly opposed to the initial deal reached between Israel and Lebanon — which remain technically in a state of war since Israel’s establishment in 1948 — and to the direct talks between the nations, ongoing for nearly three months.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began March 2, when the Lebanese militant group fired rockets into Israel two days after Israel and the U.S. launched their war on Iran. Israel has since invaded Lebanon and occupied dozens of villages in the south along its border.

Under the deal, Israeli forces are supposed to withdraw from some occupied areas of southern Lebanon. But the location of the initial pilot zones generated some controversy in Lebanon. Israeli troops weren't present in most of the areas, raising questions about how a withdrawal could happen. In Zawtar al-Gharbieh, it's unclear whether troops were on the ground. But they were in adjacent areas, and the village was under heavy fire, preventing civilian residents and the Lebanese army from entering until last week.

The Israeli military has destroyed 24 centuries-old villages and 15,000 to 20,000 houses in Lebanon, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told a TV station Tuesday. He said Israeli troops control 700 square kilometers (270 square miles) of southern Lebanon and “are preventing raids on the communities.”

Residents return to damaged or destroyed homes in Zawtar al-Gharbieh

On Tuesday, as Faqih sifted through debris, she was able to recover only nine plates from the kitchen. That room and the main sitting room were knocked out, with the ceiling partially collapsed. On the home's other side, an Israeli strike left a hole in the main bedroom's ceiling.

“We are gathering what remains of what we have collected over 45 years,” Faqih said, noting that she'd already sold $20,000 in jewelry to repair the home from damage in the 2024 Israel-Hezbollah war — something she can no longer afford. She hopes the government will help them rebuild.

Mayor Ezzeldine said Zawtar al-Gharbieh is "disaster-stricken.”

“You can see some homes standing, but they are not suitable for living and cannot be renovated,” he said. The municipality is doing its best to bring water by tanker trucks to residents who return, he said, and he hopes about 100 families will be in the village by week's end.

Lebanese army bulldozers were clearing debris from the village's streets. In the main square, trucks with mounted machine guns were parked near a partially destroyed blue-domed mosque. About 100 meters (109 yards) away, an armored personnel carrier blocked a road leading to the adjacent village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, which is fully occupied by Israeli troops.

During The Associated Press team's visit Tuesday to Zawtar al-Gharbieh, three strong explosions occurred in occupied areas, and brown smoke billowed.

More Lebanon-Israel talks are scheduled next month

In his comments Tuesday to Channel 14, an ultranationalist station in Israel, Defense Minister Katz said that in the 24 villages destroyed in Lebanon, “there were Shiites who acted as enemies on behalf of Hezbollah and threatened our borders, our residents, and constantly carried out provocations.”

“Not house by house, not incrimination — all these villages, their destruction has been completed,” he said.

His comments and the return of some residents to the pilot zone come as technical teams from Lebanon and Israel are scheduled to hold another round of talks in Rome over three days starting Aug. 4.

In Beirut, a Lebanese foreign ministry official said the talks will focus on finding other pilot zones to be handed over by Israel's military to the Lebanese side. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

But in Zawtar al-Gharbieh, mayor Ezzeldine said he wouldn't call the pilot zone successful so far. Israeli troops are still stationed nearby, with drones continuously flying over the village, he said, adding that only the Lebanese army's presence is reassuring residents.

Faqih said that her family does not feel secure and that if Israel expands the pilot zones by a village every couple of months, it will take years “for it to withdraw and for the south to be liberated.”

“We don’t have safety, not even 1%,” she said. “I am not happy with the situation at all.”

______

Associated Press writer Natalie Melzer in Nahariya, Israel, contributed to this report.

While these floods have been devastating for many, we have seen improvements to San Antonio area lakes and reservoirs.

The improvements are substantial enough that you can see the lake level rises from satellites in space! Check it out:

CANYON LAKE

NOTE: This satellite data is from the European Union Satellite. The land is shown as red to distinguish it from the water.

Canyon Lake was at its recent lowest in May 2025, at only 45% full. Now, it is 100% full for the first time since September 2021.

MEDINA LAKE

Medina Reservoir was at a measly 2% full in May 2025, and now it sits at 29% full. That may not seem like much, but it’s up nearly 45 feet!

NUECES RIVER FLOODING

Similarly, you can see the Nueces River flooding in McMullen and Live Oak counties as the floodwaters gradually make their way to Lake Corpus Christi, which will eventually rise late next week.

LAKE LEVEL DETAILS

Here’s an up-to-date look at area lake and reservoir levels as of late July 2026.

• Read more from the meteorologists on the Whatever the Weather page
• Download KSAT’s weather app for customized, accurate forecasts in San Antonio, South Texas or wherever you are
• Find the latest forecasts, radar and alerts on the KSAT Weather Authority page

“Evacuate now,” it said.

Suddenly awake, Morgane Bonichot scrambled. She grabbed her 9-year-old daughter, their rabbit and their dog but didn't think to pack underwear.

The 40-year-old childcare worker found herself swept up in one of the biggest evacuations Europe has seen since World War II, forced with more than 220,000 other people to flee a monster wildfire in southwest France that has consumed an area four times the size of Paris and is defying a massive effort, involving a dozen countries, to bring it under control.

In hindsight, Bonichot thinks maybe she should have seen it coming.

Her daughter was in the blaze's epicenter when it ignited last week, staying with an uncle in the midst of the pine forests, scrub and farmland being consumed by an inferno so virulent that it has morphed at times into a self-feeding firestorm, spitting lightning bolts that have sparked yet more flames.

Among the fire's first evacuees, the daughter came home Friday. But with the flames spreading closer to her mother's house west of Bordeaux, the daughter began preparing to flee again.

“She packed a suitcase with a lot of things, telling me, 'Mum, you need to pack your suitcase because we’re going to have to be evacuated,'” Bonichot said.

Just hours later, at 2:47 a.m., she got the evacuation order for their town, Saint-Jean-d’Illac, on her phone.

“Forest fire underway,” it said.

All told, regional authorities have emptied two dozen towns and villages, some ravaged by fire. Others between the blaze and Bordeaux, including Saint-Jean-d’Illac, were evacuated as a precaution by government officials who say their priority is making sure that no lives are lost.

After a pause in evacuations Monday, when the fire's spread stopped, they resumed Tuesday as flames flared again. An additional 4,000 people were moved from camping sites and holiday homes on the blaze's northern edge, increasing the number of people forced to flee: more than 220,000 in the Gironde region alone. In Spain, historic wildfires have also forced tens of thousands of evacuations, bringing the number displaced in southwest Europe to roughly a third of a million.

“We left just like that,” Bonichot said. “My car had broken down, so neighbors had to drive me, along with my little girl and the animals. But one of the neighbors had a cat, and with the smell of the rabbit it became very complicated. So she had to drop me off.”

After a few days staying with Bonichot's mother, they moved again, this time to a huge exhibition center in Bordeaux that city authorities have converted into a temporary shelter. It has camp beds, food, medical and veterinary services, clothes and volunteers doing what they can to make people comfortable.

The rabbit stays in a cage between the mother and daughter’s beds and the dog curls up in a large bowl. After a couple of days in the makeshift conditions, “I’m starting to become really exhausted,” Bonichot said.

But she doesn't want to go home until she's sure they won't be evacuated again.

“I just can’t put my animals through another journey. The only trip they should have to make now is the one back home. Otherwise, for the rabbit, the stress could be fatal.”

“And my dog was dehydrated,” she said. “Here, there’s air conditioning and everything, so for the moment he’s doing a little better.”

Gironde authorities have said evacuees won’t be allowed back until the fire is contained, although on Tuesday they gave the go-ahead for returns to three suburbs of Bordeaux that haven’t had fires. It's unknown when others might be allowed home. Fire trucks are still racing from one flare-up to the next, as aircraft drop water and retardant. Smoke clouds could be seen from kilometers away Tuesday.

Even when this inferno is beaten, the next one may not be far behind. Successive heat waves this year have turned European forests tinder-dry. They have also served as sobering reminders that human-caused climate change makes such extreme events increasingly likely.

“What really drives me crazy is that it makes me very worried about the future, because year after year it’s getting worse,” Bonichot said.

“It’s going to be a catastrophe.”

___

Leicester reported from Paris.

"I couldn’t stand all the lies on the stations,″ she said, arguing that there wasn't enough attention being paid to Palestinian suffering. "I started going to Instagram to get my news.”

Berent is among many progressive-minded Americans who have sworn off legacy media institutions. They're turning to a widening mix of independent podcasts, social media accounts and digital news sites, part of an increasingly influential ecosystem that has boosted this year's wave of anti-establishment, left-leaning candidates who may not have gotten as much attention otherwise.

Liberals remain more likely than conservatives to trust mainstream outlets, but the splintering echoes how conservatives skeptical of their party created a collection of insurgent news sites years ago. The shift has elevated individual commentators with opinions on the news, some of whom have proven influential in driving people’s votes.

Ryan Grim, a co-founder of Drop Site News and a veteran of online political debates, said progressive politicians have sought out his platform to reach voters. In a change from previous election cycles, "they have ways to get covered even if the mainstream just basically ignores them,” he said.

One of those candidates is Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for U.S. Senate in Michigan and faces the more moderate U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in the Aug 4. primary.

“I think in a lot of ways, where traditional media has been gatekeepers, we’re watching that gatekeeping function fall away,” El-Sayed said.

Anti-establishment media has grown for years, but exploded lately

These changes have been on display this year in places like New York City, where a slate of progressive congressional candidates endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani defeated establishment-backed candidates.

Sara Hyler, a policy analyst in East Harlem, originally planned to support incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat in last month's Democratic primary. But then Hyler started learning about progressive outsider Darializa Avila Chevalier through YouTube videos and podcasts, including from the liberal media company MeidasTouch.

“My actual beliefs are to the left of Democrats. I don't want a moderate,” said Hyler, who ultimately voted for Avila Chevalier in hopes she could help nudge Congress toward progressive policies.

The rise of independent media has been part of a digital transformation that transcends politics, as chronically online Americans are turning toward news from social media and content creators. But it's not just the popularity of smartphones driving that change.

“There’s a complete lack of trust in any and all institutions now,” said Mike Nellis, a Democratic consultant who hosts a podcast, writes a Substack and posts political analysis on social media. “That has led people to turn to individuals, and so now you’re picking your flavor of person to listen to.”

Among conservatives, faith in mainstream media and in the more moderate wing of the Republican Party faltered years ago, with the rise of the Tea Party movement paving the way for an alternative right-wing media ecosystem, including sites like the Daily Caller, Breitbart and The Blaze. Trump also tapped into a loose constellation of podcasts, including "The Joe Rogan Experience," for his successful comeback campaign.

Reece Peck, a media culture professor at the College of Staten Island, said the left-wing version of that has happened slowly, beginning with the momentum of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ first presidential run in 2016. At the time, left-wing, anti-establishment YouTube accounts and podcasts like The Young Turks and Chapo Trap House were gaining attention but didn't reach the majority of Democratic voters.

Now Democrats have realized their faith in institutions didn't prevent Trump's return.

“The ground has been made fertile for an anti-establishment media politics, where it just wasn’t quite there with the voter base in those previous cycles,” Peck said. Even older, moderate liberals, he said, have started to ″throw their hands in the air and look for alternatives.”

YouTube accounts like ”Secular Talk" and “Breaking Points,” streamers like Hasan Piker and new digital journalism organizations like More Perfect Union and The Lever are among those that have seen their audiences multiply.

Grim said Drop Site has amassed 800,000 free and 60,000 paid subscribers since launching two years ago — more than he'd anticipated.

Saul Levin, a Michigan progressive organizer who recently started his own podcast about artificial intelligence data centers, said Trump’s attacks on the existing media landscape are part of the reason for that growth.

“The investigations and raids on numerous different journalists, the appointment of specifically aligned billionaires to lead various major news agencies, is very troubling,” he said. “Creators and new media outlets are stepping in and trying to fill gaps.”

Alternative media has played a role in a closely watched Michigan primary

The Michigan primary will be the latest test of the evolving media ecosystem, which El-Sayed, a longtime podcaster himself, has tried to harness. Various progressive outlets, creators and organizers have aggressively promoted his campaign.

El-Sayed said the rise of independent media has let voters compare news across different channels and notice biases, but he doesn't turn down opportunities on legacy media, either.

“I go on Fox News, I go on podcasts, I Twitch stream, we have a YouTube channel,” he said.

Stevens, who received endorsements from outgoing incumbent Sen. Gary Peters, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, has a more traditional approach. She's also backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and its affiliated groups, which have spent close to $30 million on the race.

Stevens' campaign declined to comment for this story.

Reporting from progressive outlets has influenced how the race has unfolded. For example, Stevens parted ways with a campaign consultant when Drop Site revealed that she had also worked for tech company Palantir, which is controversial in liberal circles because of its government contracts involving immigration enforcement.

Democratic officials said Trump's return to the White House has also revived interest in the party's official channels. The Democratic National Committee's relatively new digital media offering, a rapid-response clipping and messaging account with the handle @FactPostNews, has amassed more than 2 billion impressions on Threads, X, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky in 2026 alone.

“I remember thinking to myself, there’s a chance that this flops and doesn’t get any traction,” said DNC Deputy Chief Mobilization Officer Paulina Mangubat. “It's been really, really successful.”

At times, the mix of new voices on the left has erupted in public tensions.

Grim recently faced criticism for boosting failed Democratic candidate Graham Platner in Maine, and he was accused of trying to undermine the credibility of the sexual assault allegation that torpedoed Platner's campaign. Grim said while he recognized people were angry, his reporting on the allegation was meant to share additional context.

“If we’re going to litigate allegations in the court of public opinion, we can’t pick and choose what details we want to share with the public out of a fear of how they’ll be received,” he said.

More recently, when Drop Site interviewed progressive U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna of California, one of its journalists pressed Khanna on whether Hamas was justified to attack Israeli soldiers on Oct. 7, 2023. Khanna refused to agree.

But Grim said those are the kinds of tough questions independent media are there to ask — and that American voters increasingly want to see their representatives in Congress answer.

“People want to see you being accountable to questions, and if they don't agree with you, sometimes that's fine,” he said. “I think the smarter politicians are starting to recognize that.”

___

Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti in Grand Rapids, Michigan, contributed to this report.

Prosecutors say Lindsay Clancy strangled her children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months — on Jan. 24, 2023, after sending her then-husband, Patrick, out for some errands. She then used multiple methods to try to end her own life and was paralyzed from the waist down after jumping from the home’s second-story window.

Whether Clancy killed the children is not in dispute. But her attorney argues that she was driven by postpartum psychosis, a rare mental illness linked to the stress, sleep deprivation and hormonal changes that follow childbirth. Prosecutors contend that she acted intentionally and bears full responsibility for the deaths.

___

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.

___

Patrick Clancy has said in interviews that he forgives his ex-wife, whom he viewed as ill rather than evil.

He was the first witness to take the stand Monday, when he testified about his former wife's deteriorating mental health in the months before the killings, including describing intrusive thoughts of harming the children and of suicide. But he said she appeared to be doing better as recently as two weeks before the murders.

Patrick Clancy closed out that testimony by going through the day of the deaths, which he said started as one of her “best days.” Lindsay Clancy took Cora to a doctor’s appointment and then returned home to build a snowman with her children and work on art projects.

If convicted of murder, Lindsay Clancy faces life in prison without parole. If found not guilty due to a lack of criminal responsibility, she would be committed to a state mental health facility.

The trial took a break Tuesday before resuming Wednesday.

Meeting in Washington Tuesday and Wednesday, the Fed is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged. Members of the central bank’s rate-setting committee may not be so reluctant to act when they gather again next Sept. 15-16.

Inflation has been stuck above the Fed's 2% target for more than five years. New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh told Congress earlier this month that he had “no tolerance’’ for elevated inflation. Warsh is presiding over his second policy meeting this week.

Fed watchers Joseph Egelhof and Guneet Dhingra at BNP Paribas Securities say it’s possible Warsh’s central bank will “release the kraken’’ with a “shock rate hike’’ this week; more likely, they wrote in a commentary, policymakers will hold off, reluctant to risk disrupting financial markets that aren’t expecting a rate increase yet.

Policymakers may also want to see more economic data: On Thursday, the Commerce Department delivers the first look at April-June economic growth and issues the Fed’s preferred inflation measure – the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index – for June.

Overall, only 29% of Wall Street traders predict that the Fed will raise rates this week. But 76% foresee a rate hike in September. A month ago, only 59% of traders expected a September rate increase, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

“Policymakers’ patience with high and persistent inflation is broadly exhausted, meaning there is a significant risk’’ of a rate hike in September, Egelhof and Dhingra wrote.

Casting uncertainty over the Fed’s decision-making is the Iran war. The price of oil briefly blasted past $100 a barrel last week on intensifying fighting. It’s since settled down on hopes the United States and Iran can find some way to reduce tensions.

After the U.S. and Israel attacks on Feb. 28, Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz – through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas pass. That caused the greatest disruption in oil supplies in history and sent energy prices surging. They’ve since bobbed up and down depending on the ever-changing state of the conflict and negotiations to de-escalate it.

Now Iranian-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen are attacking shipping in the Red Sea, attempting to stop tankers carrying Saudi Arabian oil from passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The uncertainty puts the Fed’s inflation fighters in a bind.

“Sure, it is possible that the latest rise in prices is a transient blip that will reverse in a heartbeat. Then again, it seems equally that the war with Iran will get worse, that the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab will remain blockaded for months or longer, and that energy prices will continue to trend up,’’ Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a commentary.

“Should the (Fed) set monetary conditions on a hope that oil prices will reverse course and stay low ... or should a central bank eschew wishful thinking and do its job of minimizing the probabilities that inflation will exceed target?’’

Inflation has exceeded the Fed’s 2% target since early 2021 when the U.S. economy overheated as it roared back from COVID-19 lockdowns. Inflation peaked at just over 9% in mid-2022 and began to drop in the face of 11 rate hikes by the Fed in 2022 and 2023. But progress has more or less stalled.

Besides the Iran war, other factors adding to inflation pressure are President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign goods and a surge of investment in data centers to power artificial intelligence, which is driving up the cost of computer chips and equipment and electricity.

So-called core inflation – which excludes volatile food and energy prices – cooled in June, partly because apartment rents aren’t rising as fast as they had been. And a temporary drop in gasoline prices last month also helped contain overall inflation.

But several Fed policymakers have been arguing that the Fed will have to raise rates to return inflation to the 2% target.

“Sternly staring at inflation until it melts before our withering gaze is not an option,’’ Christopher Waller, an influential member of the Fed’s governing board, said in a speech this month.

Tropical Storm Fausto was expected to pass just north of the Hawaiian islands starting Tuesday night, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Fausto had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and was expected to weaken from tropical storm strength early Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Fausto was about 310 miles (500 kilometers) east-northeast of Honolulu and moving west-northwest near 12 mph (19 kph). Forecasters said strong currents from the tropical storm could create dangerous conditions on some Hawaii beaches.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Genevieve strengthened to a Category 4, the hurricane center said. Maximum sustained winds were 130 mph (215 kph) for the major hurricane, which was about 590 miles (950 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula.

Swells from Genevieve were reaching Baja California and coastal southwestern Mexico. Forecasters warned of life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.

On the forecast track, Genevieve was expected to fluctuate in intensity for about a day before consistently weakening.

The former Cy Young Award winner issued walks to six of the nine batters he faced — including three with the bases loaded — before departing after two-thirds of an inning Tuesday night in the Blue Jays' 8-6 loss. In his previous 149 pitching appearances, the 31-year-old right-hander's high for walks was five.

According to Stathead/Baseball Reference, Bieber is the 11th pitcher in major league history to walk at least six while recording two outs or less, and the first to do so since Florida’s Ryan Dempster on Oct. 5, 2001, at Atlanta.

Bieber said he had difficulty gripping the ball and struggled with his command as a result. Bieber didn't walk anyone in his previous start Thursday, when he allowed one run in seven innings against Tampa Bay.

“You have to find a way to get through it, right, and I wasn't able to do that tonight,” Bieber said. “Ultimately, I follow up what was maybe my best start as a Blue Jay with what was definitely my worst.”

Bieber is the first Cy Young winner to have such an outing, although Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Christy Mathewson did, too. Bieber won the AL Cy Young in 2020.

Bieber threw 42 pitches, with only 15 strikes. He is the second player this season to throw that many pitches with so few strikes. Kansas City’s Eric Cerantola threw 14 strikes in a 42-pitch relief outing against Tampa Bay on June 30.

“I have no excuses,” Bieber said. “I have to find a way to get out of that first inning. Dry my hands off and change shirts and eat up innings after that. That's what I was trying to do and unfortunately I wasn't able to. I don't think I've ever had anything like that happen.”

Washington’s James Wood led off the first with a walk, and Luis García Jr. followed with a grounder to second. Dylan Crews then earned a free pass, and CJ Abrams followed with a well-placed infield single.

The typically free-swinging Keibert Ruiz followed with a four-pitch walk that scored the first run, and Daylen Lile drew another walk that pushed in another run. Nasim Nuñez hit a sacrifice fly before Jorbit Vivas loaded the bases again with the inning's fifth walk, prompting a mound visit from Toronto pitching coach Pete Walker.

Jacob Young then took six pitches --- three balls and then two called strikes followed by a slider well outside the zone --- to force in a fourth run. That prompted manager John Schneider to head to the mound and end Bieber’s outing.

It was Bieber's seventh start of the season after missing almost three months with elbow inflammation. He was limited to a combined nine regular-season starts over the previous two seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April 2024.

“Kind of just the last thing we thought was going to happen with him right there,” Schneider said. “When you get up to that pitch count in the first, with him, with his history and everything, just didn't want to push it.”

Reliever Brendon Little got Wood to ground out to end the inning.

___

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

A coalition of local nonprofits held a press conference outside the Bexar County Courthouse calling for major changes at the Bexar County Adult Detention Center, saying the county’s handling of people in custody needs to change.

“You cannot get well in a cell,” Ananda Tomas, with ACT 4 SA, said.

Speakers said the issues range from access to medical and mental health care to detox protocols, accountability and transparency.

“Access to medical care is one of the few rights that incarcerated people have,” said Krish Kundu, co-founder of the Texas Jail Project.

Kundu said the group’s work has focused on deaths tied to pretrial detention.

“Pretrial detention has become a de facto death sentence for many Texans,” Kundu said. “Data that we got from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and the OAG as of yesterday: 78% of deaths in county jails (across Texas) this year were pretrial. That means people were legally innocent.”

Tomas said advocates want intake screenings to better identify urgent medical and mental health needs.

“Every person entering this jail should receive a proper assessment and evaluation for medical emergencies, for mental health crises, for alcohol and substance abuse,” Tomas said.

One speaker, Anthony, told reporters he has experienced withdrawal while in custody.

“Many times I’ve went in there through withdrawal and many times I see, I’ve seen it and experienced it myself,” Anthony said.

Kundu also highlighted the experience of families seeking answers after a death in custody.

“Here’s a mom, Lydia Leos, whose son died in the jail because of a complete failure of detox protocols more than four years ago,” Kundu said. “She has been fighting for transparency and accountability and something as simple as family notification.”

Kundu said data compiled by the Texas Jail Project over the last decade shows a higher number of suicides in Bexar County jail compared to other large Texas counties.

“Thirty-five community members committed suicide in the Bexar County jail compared to 13 in Harris County, seven in Dallas County, 10 in Tarrant, 14 in Travis County,” Kundu said.

Advocates said their goals include public-facing accountability measures and better continuity of care.

“Creating accountability that the public can see,” Tomas said.

Steve Huerta with All of Us or None said the coalition is asking for a public dashboard and improved mental health support.

“We’re asking simply that there’ll be a dashboard,” Huerta said. “We’re asking that the continuum of care for mental health be in place. We’re asking that we look at the preconditions of arrest to bring people into the system.”

KSAT reached out to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office for an interview with Sheriff Javier Salazar, but he was not available.

The sheriff’s office said it works to notify next of kin promptly, as that was one of the group’s high-priority goals with a public dashboard. However, BCSO said locating the right person can sometimes take time and research.

Read also:

• Charges dismissed against ex-BCSO deputy accused of allowing inmates into cells for assaults

• THIS WEEK: Upper 90s to near 100°
• WEEKEND: Spotty rain (30%), mainly in the Hill Country
• NUECES RIVER: Continues to flood in McMullen Co., will flood at major stage soon in Live Oak County

FORECAST

After a stretch of near average temperatures, we’ll add a few degrees to the afternoon highs in the days ahead with triple digits likely by Friday and especially the weekend in San Antonio.

RAIN CHANCES

The upper-level “heat high” will drift west by this weekend opening the door to upper energy and a weak frontal boundary, which could trigger a few showers and storms - particularly in the Hill Country. However, this is not a situation where flooding is a threat.

RIVER UPDATES

Even though the weather is calm, the Nueces River is still dealing with major flooding from the rain two weeks ago. Water levels are finally starting to drop near Cotulla, but the flood crest is still heading downstream. It’ll reach major flood stage near Three Rivers to George West from Thursday through at least the weekend.

If you’re in Three Rivers or George West, please stay alert and make sure to follow any instructions from local officials. This flood will be a couple of feet higher than the flood of 2013, cresting near 40 ft.

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.

Head coach Brian Schottenheimer, along with owner, President and General Manager Jerry Jones, and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Stephen Jones, addressed the media for approximately 41 minutes.

Last season, the Cowboys failed to make the postseason, in large part because of their defense. They were bad on all levels, so the Cowboys revamped that side of the ball, practically overhauling the defensive staff. They hired Christian Parker to serve as their new defensive coordinator.

Schottenheimer feels Parker is the right man to turn the defense around.

“Incredible communicator. I can’t say that enough,” Schottenheimer said. “The way, you know, he’s an elite coach, is when you walk by his office and players, I mean, multiple players are in there wanting to listen and talk to him about scheme and things like that.”

The Cowboys are certainly buying into Parker’s scheme, and the 34-year-old leads by example.

“The way he’s organized this camp on the defensive side of the ball, from the individual section to the tackling circuit drills to the ball disruption drills, to the install packages from first and second down fronts, pressures, coverages, things like that. He is a first-time coordinator that doesn’t act like a first-time coordinator,” Schottenheimer told the media.

Finishing 7-9-1 last season and missing the playoffs is unacceptable to Schottenheimer, and he’s looking to learn from last season to help the Cowboys play better this season.

“I mean, you learn things every day when you go through this process,” he said. “I think, you know, there’s countless lessons that you learn, from the way we grade film, the way we have a meeting, things like that.”

Coach is always upbeat, clapping on the field and trying to motivate his guys, and he never wants to become stale.

“I’m also real big on not rinsing and repeating,” he said. “What I mean by that is that I don’t like the first team meeting to feel like the same first team meeting. That was last year, right? I think players in this era tune you out.”

Schottenheimer will look to keep his guys tuned in Wednesday when they hit the field at 11:45 a.m. PT.

More Cowboys Camp coverage on KSAT:

• Dallas Cowboys 2026 training camp: Key storylines to watch in Oxnard

Fresh flames erupted later Tuesday near Grand Crohot, a popular Atlantic beach on the Lège-Cap-Ferret peninsula, local authorities said. A fleet of 23 planes and helicopters — up from 18 — dropped water and fire retardant as crews fought to keep the renewed flames from spreading.

“The situation remains complicated. That’s clear. We’re not out of the woods,” Gironde prefect Sophie Brocas said.

She said that about 60,000 residents who were evacuated as a precaution from Le Haillan and parts of Mérignac and Eysines outside Bordeaux’s ring road could return on Tuesday. No fires had broken out in the three areas, but residents were told to keep their mobile phones on and emergency bags packed.

The opposing movements — thousands ordered out of coastal resorts while those returning told to be on the alert — underscored how precarious the fire’s hold remained.

Across France and Spain, roughly 330,000 people have been driven from homes and vacation sites by huge wildfires. Spain braced for its fourth heat wave of the summer, with several blazes still burning out of control, including the largest in its recorded history.

Even so, Spanish authorities began lifting evacuation and stay-at-home orders for thousands of people after firefighters made progress overnight.

The Gironde fire has burned an area four times the size of Paris and forced 220,000 people to evacuate. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez has said it is “very likely” the largest civilian evacuation operation carried out in the country outside war.

Evacuations don't deter some vacationers

The precautionary evacuation order covered campsites, holiday villages, tourist residences and leisure parks around the resort of Lacanau, Gironde regional authorities said.

“We are at a point of fragility,” Eric Brocardi, spokesperson for France’s national firefighters federation, told the BFMTV broadcast network Tuesday. “We will continue attacking this fire despite the forecast rise in temperatures.”

Even as nearby homes burned and authorities urged tourists to stay away, one family told Le Parisien newspaper it had gone ahead with its trip rather than forfeit a 4,000-euro ($4,558) holiday, while another group debated abandoning a vacation that had cost 650 euros ($741) each.

A fire making its own weather

At its most violent, the Gironde blaze created a gargantuan black thundercloud, electrified and lit from within. It generated lightning, violent winds and new fires beyond the original front. The phenomenon, known as a pyrocumulonimbus cloud, was the first recorded in France.

France’s national weather service placed Gironde under a yellow heat warning beginning at midday Tuesday, forecasting inland temperatures of 33 to 35 C (91 to 95 F).

More than 1,160 square kilometers (448 square miles) have burned across France this year, according to the Interior Ministry.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, heating at more than twice the global average, according to the European Union’s Copernicus climate service. Western Europe recorded its hottest June on record, with extreme heat and widespread dryness contributing to the spread and intensification of fires in France and Spain, Copernicus said.

Crews defend homes and cut firebreaks

In Le Porge alone, west of Bordeaux, the municipal government said about 150 homes were destroyed.

Officials warned that smoldering vegetation, rising temperatures and falling humidity could produce fresh outbreaks along the fire's vast perimeter.

Military engineers and forest-fire prevention crews resumed cutting firebreaks early Tuesday. Authorities said crews had completed 103 kilometers (64 miles) of firebreaks.

At least 110 firefighters have been injured, the prefecture said.

Thousands return as second fire stops advancing

In Landes, about 15,000 evacuees — roughly half of those displaced here — were allowed home after a separate wildfire stopped advancing.

“The fire is fixed, which is good news in the Landes,” French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday evening. Regional authorities said that meant its advance had stopped and no new outbreaks had been reported.

Those allowed back included residents of Sanguinet, Parentis-en-Born, Biscarrosse’s aviation village and a large campground. Several other neighborhoods remained inaccessible.

Authorities warned that the Landes fire was not extinguished. Residual hot spots, wind and drought could cause flare-ups, and surveillance and damping-down operations were expected to continue for days or weeks.

Thousands begin returning in Spain

Spanish firefighters made progress Tuesday, and authorities began lifting evacuation orders for at least 20,000 of the 79,000 people forced to flee over the weekend.

Francisco Martín, the central government’s representative in the Madrid region, said orders would be lifted in 10 towns, allowing about 20,000 evacuees to return home and ending stay-at-home orders for another 14,000 people.

Residents of some villages in Ávila were also being allowed home, though authorities did not specify how many. Another 6,000 people could return after a smaller fire near Toledo was brought under control, while several thousand more went home in Castellón.

Hundreds of firefighters backed by military emergency brigades and water-dropping aircraft continued battling several major wildfires.

Smoke from the fires reached Madrid in recent days. Emergency services said residents in central and eastern districts could smell smoke and ash.

Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said Tuesday that nonstop work through the night left him “reasonably positive,” though officials warned that crews had only a brief window before extreme heat returned.

Spain’s national weather service said the country was bracing for its fourth heat wave of the summer, with temperatures expected to exceed 40 C (104 F) in some areas.

The government declared a national emergency over the fires.

At least 13 people have died in wildfires in Spain this year, making 2026 one of the country’s deadliest fire seasons in decades.

“I’ve been living in San Martín de Valdeiglesias for 20 years and I never thought I would see this,” said Estella Costales, an evacuated resident staying at a temporary shelter in Brunete, near Madrid. “It’s unfortunate, but I never thought I would see such destruction.”

Surroundings of Madrid remain at risk

The greatest concern was two large fires that had at times come close to merging into a single blaze in wooded hills about an hour’s drive west of Madrid.

A fire in hilly, rural terrain in Ávila, west of Madrid, has become Spain’s largest on record, scorching more than 500 square kilometers (193 square miles), the government said.

Local weather services in Ávila also shared images Tuesday of what they described as a pyrocumulonimbus cloud over the blaze. Spain has seen these fire-generated thunderstorms form at least twice during wildfires in recent years.

“Look at how the valley is burned. Look at the houses, the people,” said David Gonzalez, a 48-year-old gardener who used his van to deliver supplies to firefighters in Ávila.

“We are feeling a lot of anger and helplessness. It’s something inhuman,” he said.

Fires have burned 1,530 square kilometers (590 square miles) this year in Spain, Ecology Minister Sara Aagesen said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called for a national pact to fight wildfires, saying climate change is making them worse.

___

Adamson reported from Paris. Associated Press journalists Joseph Wilson in Barcelona, Spain, and Iain Sullivan in Brunete, Spain, also contributed to this report.

The sit-down in the Oval Office, which was closed to the media, followed a consequential meeting at the NATO summit earlier this month in Ankara, Turkey, where Trump announced that the U.S. will give Ukraine a license to make Patriot defense systems — a long-running request from Kyiv to counter Russian missile attacks.

Taken together, those meetings underscore how much the U.S. president, once a major skeptic of continued assistance to Kyiv, has warmed to Zelenskyy as Ukraine continues to withstand the Russian barrage more than four years after Moscow's invasion in 2022. The Ukrainian leader, whose relationship with Trump in his second term was marked by a raucous White House visit in which he was denigrated for being ungracious, has worked to court the Republican administration while relying on both likely and unlikely allies in Trump's orbit to exert their influence with the president.

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has consumed much of the Trump administration's focus this year, has also become gradually entwined with Ukraine, with Ukraine firing on at least one Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea over the weekend while Zelenskyy asserts that Russia has been offering satellite imagery of U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf to Iran.

In a post on social media after the meeting, Zelenskyy thanked Trump for the “good meeting” and the Republican administration's efforts to aid Kyiv in the long-running war. Officials also agreed that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's main envoys, would make a trip to Kyiv sometime in the future, according to a person familiar with the talks who was granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door meeting.

“The President and I discussed licenses for Patriot interceptor production and several other ideas that could help,” said Zelenskyy, who also noted that he offered condolences to Trump for the death of Graham, a close ally. “We also spoke about diplomacy — it’s important that the diplomatic process be reinvigorated.”

Trump on Tuesday night weighed in on his meeting with Zelenskyy, calling it a “Great Honor” to meet with him. “Many things were discussed. The meeting went very well!” he wrote on Truth Social.

Zelenskyy wants to bolster Ukraine's defense production

Later during his whirlwind, one-day visit to Washington, Zelenskyy posted that he met with officials from Lockheed Martin for further cooperation in both defense production and exchanging of technologies, saying, “Ukraine has a lot to share with those who help us protect lives.”

Later, in a meeting with senators at the Capitol, Zelensky again made his case for why Ukraine needs Patriot interceptors, as well as a sweeping sanctions bill to impact morale and increase pressure on Russia, according to two people with direct knowledge of the private discussion. They were granted anonymity to disclose details of a closed-door meeting.

While Ukraine remains grateful to Trump for agreeing to issue a license to manufacture the Patriots, Zelenskyy emphasized to senators that that is a longer-term solution. This year, Zelenskyy said, Ukraine will need the U.S. to provide missiles that Kyiv would pay for with European funds, said one of the people with knowledge of the meeting.

Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who like Zelenskyy was in Washington for Graham's funeral, also spoke to senators, saying Ukraine retains strong support from NATO and the European Union in terms of providing and paying for weaponry, as well as imposing sanctions on Russia.

Luke Coffey, a senior fellow at the conservative-leaning Hudson Institute, said expanding production capacity for Patriot interceptors is not only vital for Ukraine, but also for the U.S. and its Gulf allies, particularly as supply runs low during the war in Iran.

“Ukraine has shown that its defense industry is capable, innovative and creative,” Coffey said. “I have no doubt that when they’re granted the license, they will be able to produce these missiles which will hopefully mean there will be more available for the U.S.”

Trump welcomed Zelenskyy to the White House as the Ukrainian leader traveled to Washington to honor Graham, whose final act as a public official was visiting Kyiv and securing an agreement on a package of sanctions that seek to punish countries that purchase Russian oil, gas and other exports.

In a Fox News interview Tuesday, Trump recalled Graham's hawkishness and said the South Carolina senator's support for Ukraine never wavered. Trump said Graham had suggested it was time to make a deal with Iran but had no similar suggestion for the Russia-Ukraine war.

“Ukraine, he's very militant about,” Trump said on “Fox & Friends." "I mean, Lindsey liked war, to be honest with you."

The Trump administration's embrace of Zelenskyy also comes as Laura Loomer, a far-right activist with the U.S. president’s ear had a recent, widely publicized change of heart on Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Ukraine highlights ties between Iran and Russia

Ahead of the meeting, Zelenskyy also warned that Russia has been aiding Iran as the war persists by capturing satellite imagery of U.S. bases in the Gulf region that later appear in Iran. The Ukrainian president also asserted that there was a “clear correlation” between Russia’s images and subsequent Iranian strikes.

Iran is a key ally of Russia in its war against Ukraine and has helped Moscow build up its drone expertise.

But on Monday, Trump downplayed any impact of potential Russian assistance for Iran.

“I don’t think they’ve been doing it, certainly not at a high level,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he traveled to Michigan. “And if they have, it has been very un-impactful.”

On the Caspian Sea attack, the foreign ministers of Iran and Ukraine spoke about the matter, according to statements posted on social media Tuesday. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the conversation “frank” and said Ukraine’s focus is “solely at defending our country from Russian aggression" and not on targeting civilians.

Iran has said at least one sailor was killed in the attack. For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran is also not seeking escalation but “made clear any attack on our citizens or interests is unacceptable."

Pro-Ukraine backers pushing to advance sanctions bill

Zelenskyy had a busy itinerary during his latest visit to Washington. During his meeting at the Capitol, which was held just before a key vote on the Russia sanctions bill and after Graham's funeral, the Ukrainian leader argued that they have a window to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, according to one of the people with direct knowledge of the meeting.

In a bipartisan 86-12 vote, the Senate took the first steps toward passage of legislation to penalize countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas and other exports after more than a year of negotiations.

The bill has dozens of backers from both major political parties and is seen as the main policy tribute to Graham, who died unexpectedly this month from a tear in his aorta. It imposes tariffs on goods from the world’s top five purchasers of Russia oil or natural gas, including China and India.

The legislation also includes sanctions against Putin; senior Russian political and military leaders; and Russian financial institutions and energy projects.

With the ceremony, Fujimori, a four-time presidential candidate and leader of Peru's largest political party, takes office as the country's ninth president in a decade. The 51-year-old is hoping to stabilize Peru's turbulent politics, reduce crime and boost economic growth.

Over the past decade, only three of Peru’s presidents have been elected by popular vote. The rest have come into office after their predecessors resigned or were removed by congress amid protests or corruption scandals.

Fujimori’s Popular Force party and its main ally, Popular Renovation, will hold half the Senate seats once the new legislature is installed, making it harder for opposing legislators to attempt to remove her as president.

An incoming president with a political past and promises for the future

Fujimori centered her campaign around promises to improve security in a nation where extortion rackets have become a significant problem. She has also promised to develop infrastructure by making it easier for government agencies to form partnerships with private investors.

She is the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, who led the country in the 1990s and stabilized its economy while defeating terror groups, but was later imprisoned for human rights abuses committed under his rule by the Peruvian military as his government took an authoritarian turn. He was pardoned in December 2023 and died in September the following year.

During her campaign, Keiko Fujimori pledged to fight crime with an “iron fist,” implementing some policies adopted by Salvadorean President Nayib Bukele, and also build a megaprison modeled after the notorious Cecot penitentiary in El Salvador.

To guarantee judges their safety, she has said she will implement reforms to enable them to hide their identities as they oversee criminal trials.

She also said on Tuesday she would reorganize social services to fight malnutrition in rural communities and announced a 15% increase in the nation's minimum wage.

Fujimori said that the nation's military will “temporarily” lead security operations in crime afflicted areas. And she also said she will focus on preparing the South American nation for the latest onset of El Niño, a weather pattern that warms ocean temperatures and often leads to flooding along Peru's coast.

“My goal is not only to administer the state,” Fujimori said. “My main objective is to narrow the enormous social deficit that affects millions of Peruvians.”

Opposition leaders remember those killed in protests

Opposition leaders have asked Fujimori’s incoming government to reverse a series of laws approved by Peru’s last legislature, which critics say weaken efforts to fight organized crime.

The laws eliminate preventive arrests and stop prosecutors from processing political parties involved in corruption under the same statutes as criminal groups. The laws also make it harder for police to confiscate the goods of criminal groups.

Opposition leaders are also asking the incoming government to create a commission to investigate the deaths of 50 civilians during anti-government protests in late 2022 and early 2023 following the removal of former President Pedro Castillo.

During Fujimori’s swearing-in ceremony, some opposition lawmakers protested outside the parliament in Lima, Peru's capital, holding photos of people killed during the protests. Relatives of the dead have said they do not recognize Fujimori as president and that they are protesting her inauguration.

Fujimori will lead a deeply polarized country

Fujimori was widely backed by voters in Peru’s capital and along the Pacific coast, but voters in the highlands, where there is a larger Indigenous population, overwhelmingly supported left-wing candidate Roberto Sanchez, an ally of Castillo.

Sanchez challenged the election results, arguing there were irregularities in how votes were counted at Peruvian consulates abroad, but electoral authorities dismissed his complaints.

Despite the political friction, Peru continues to be one of the most stable economies in Latin America. Its central bank has long kept the benchmark interest rate below 5%, and the government is known for a conservative approach toward public spending.

But critics point out a growing gap in living standards between coastal areas and communities in the Andean highlands.

Fujimori's June election victory, along with those of Abelardo de la Espriella in Colombia and José Antonio Kast in Chile, underscored South America's shift toward the conservative wing, a stark contrast from the panorama of a few decades ago when left-wing leaders such as Hugo Chávez in Venezuela or the current Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva emerged.

Conservatives have won seven major presidential elections in Latin America in the past few years, most of them since the January 2025 inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, in a winning streak propelled by concerns over crime, immigration and slow economic growth.

India's capital city is in dire need of more charging facilities, EV drivers say, to implement an ambitious plan to phase out gas vehicles in one of the world’s most polluted cities.

“Charging facilities are not up to the mark yet,” said Shyam Singh, a marketing executive who owns a two-wheel electric scooter, adding that it is hard for long-distance drivers to switch to EVs because the current battery range is not enough.

Delhi uses a bold approach to mainstream EVs

Delhi adopted a new policy on July 1 that aims to make the vast majority of newly registered vehicles electric by 2027. While existing gas-powered vehicles won't be banned, their numbers are expected to dwindle in the coming years.

Energy experts say the plan is one of the country’s most ambitious electric-vehicle policies and a significant step toward improving the city's air quality and reducing pollution.

The policy provides EV buyers with subsidies and waivers on registration fees and some road taxes, incentives to scrap gas vehicles, and it offers plans to expand the charging infrastructure. It also targets two- and three-wheelers that make up nearly 70% of vehicles in the city: Starting in 2027, any newly registered three-wheeled vehicles and small trucks must be electric, with two-wheelers the following year.

Currently, only about 5% of the 8.7 million vehicles registered in Delhi are electric. But EV registrations have been increasing, with over 100,000 in the past year, most of them two- and three-wheelers. Registrations for new gas-powered cars and bigger trucks will still be allowed for the time being.

The plan, which is expected to cost the local government 150 billion rupees ($1.5 billion), will offer cash amounts of up to 50,000 rupees ($522) for residents who purchase EVs and up to 100,000 rupees ($1,044) for those who scrap their old gasoline-powered vehicles.

“Delhi’s EV policy is one of the most ambitious policies that I have seen in India,” said Jaideep Saraswat, who leads work on clean power and electric mobility at the Vasudha Foundation. The deadlines, he added, send a signal to automakers and consumers that change is “inevitable.”

While states including Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu have offered incentives for electric vehicle owners and manufacturers, cut taxes and pumped money into setting up charging stations, Delhi is the first to phase out gas-powered vehicles.

Going electric can reduce pollution

Severe air pollution in Delhi frequently forces school closures, construction bans and emergency public health measures, especially during the winter months. Vehicles cause about a quarter of air pollution in the National Capital Region surrounding Delhi, and two- and three-wheelers are responsible for nearly half of vehicular pollution in the city.

Ruchita Shah, an energy analyst for the global energy think tank Ember, said the city has long been a clean energy pioneer, including its earlier shift toward compressed natural gas vehicles to cut pollution. She said electric vehicles accounted for about 12.7% of Delhi’s new vehicle sales in the 2026 financial year, compared with 8.3% nationally.

The new policy’s most forward-looking feature, she said, is linking subsidies to tight deadlines after which some internal combustion engine vehicles can no longer be newly registered.

Sunil Dahiya, founder of environmental research organization Envirocatalyst, said cleaner vehicles could significantly reduce public exposure to roadside emissions. Still, he cautioned that the benefits will take time to fully materialize because existing gasoline, diesel, and CNG vehicles will continue to operate for years.

Charging infrastructure is a key hurdle

Some owners of gasoline-powered two-wheelers say this isn't the right time to go electric.

Siddhant Jha, a 22-year-old software engineer and northern Delhi resident, is worried about the longevity of EVs compared with his traditional two-wheeler, and the annual street flooding damaging a vehicle’s electrical components.

“I'd like to wait for a few years for better models and the 150,000 rupees ($1,566) I'll spend (on an EV) will make more sense then.”

Jha is also concerned about EV charging accessibility.

Shah, the energy analyst, said the policy’s success hinges on Delhi building sufficient charging infrastructure and sourcing more supplied power from renewable resources rather than fossil fuel plants. Most vehicle charging now happens at night, when solar power is unavailable, forcing the dependence on thermal power plants to meet demand.

Delhi must also upgrade its electricity grid — especially fast chargers needed by buses, cargo vehicles and cars — to meet the surge in demand and avoid grid failures, said Dahiya, the environmentalist.

Dahiya recommended installing battery storage at charging stations and adopting time-of-day pricing to incentivize charging when renewable power is more abundant.

Delhi's next challenges will be coordinating with surrounding states to decarbonize the electricity grid and public transport electrification, said Saraswat of the Vasudha Foundation.

“As a resident of Delhi, I’m sure each and every one will be extremely thrilled to have this policy. To see that winter where there is no smog, no pollution.”

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Arasu reported from Bengaluru, India, and can be followed on X at @sibi123. Reach him at sarasu@ap.org.

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

Water flowing down the Frio and Nueces rivers is replenishing Choke Canyon Reservoir and Lake Corpus Christi, prompting city officials to push the projected start of a Level 1 water emergency from September 2027 to September 2028.

“The rains have been beneficial to our reservoir levels, to our water supply, and it’s pushing off what we have talked about for well over a year, which is this Level 1 water emergency until September 2028,” Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni told KSAT.

He added that the city recognizes the devastating toll the flooding has taken on communities upstream.

“We have sympathy for those regions that were impacted by the floods,” Zanoni added. “We know that persons were in harm’s way, property was, whole communities were. We sympathize with that, and we’re thinking of those individuals in those communities.

Just weeks ago, city leaders warned that a Level 1 water emergency could begin as early as September 2027. Earlier forecasts this spring projected the emergency could arrive even sooner, in December 2025, before seasonal rainfall improved reservoir conditions.

A Level 1 water emergency is triggered when water supply projections show the city will have only about 180 days of water remaining to meet demand under Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) guidelines.

“Our City Council approved guidelines on how we would manage the Level 1 water emergency,” Zanoni said. “Essentially, that meant how do all of our customers cut back in water use? All of us are really ramping up to do a 25% reduction.”

The delay marks a significant shift after nearly a decade of persistent drought. Zanoni said the region endured a five-year drought that followed another prolonged dry period, leaving the city’s primary reservoirs unable to recover to normal levels.

“I don’t think we’re completely out of the drought because the reservoirs still are hovering in that 26% combined level,” he said. “That’s good, but it’s not 100% like we would like.”

Residents and businesses have already made significant sacrifices to conserve water. Since entering Stage 3 water restrictions nearly two years ago, the average household reduced monthly water use from about 6,000 gallons to roughly 4,500 gallons, Zanoni said. The city also limited irrigation, reduced operations at splash pads and encouraged conservation across municipal facilities.

Industrial users also prepared for possible mandatory reductions by investing in alternative water supplies, including groundwater wells and expanded water reuse systems.

As floodwaters continue moving downstream, Choke Canyon Reservoir has already risen about 13 feet. Officials expect Lake Corpus Christi to continue rising through next week as water from the Nueces River reaches the reservoir.

While the additional water provides temporary relief, Zanoni said the city will continue investing nearly $1 billion in projects designed to make Corpus Christi less dependent on rainfall.

“These new supply projects have helped, and they’re going to continue to help to diversify our water portfolio here in the Corpus Christi region,” he said. “We’re not letting up.”

The projects include new groundwater production in Nueces and San Patricio counties, expanded wastewater reuse and a proposed seawater desalination plant. Together, officials say the projects are expected to add about 76 million gallons of water per day to the regional supply.

“What this drought has taught us here most recently, because we’ve had them over the decades, is that we really need a more robust, diversified water supply system,” Zanoni said. “It’s been 30 years since the city bought any new water supply. That’s too long.”

Zanoni acknowledged the city was not adequately prepared for the prolonged drought because it relied almost entirely on surface water.

“When you don’t get rain and you’re in a gripping drought, there was no alternative source that we could just turn on to get water from,” he said. “That’s the system that we’re building today.”

Meanwhile, city and state emergency officials are monitoring river levels as floodwaters continue moving downstream. Communities along the Nueces River, including Three Rivers and other rural areas, could experience flooding in the coming days, and officials say they are preparing for possible water rescues and evacuations if necessary.

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Around 9 a.m., officers and city officials arrived at a home in the 700 block of South San Bernardo Avenue, near South General McMullen, to execute a Dangerous Assessment Response Team (DART) warrant.

In a statement, the Office of the City Attorney said the warrant stemmed from an “ongoing investigation into documented history of serious and significant code violations,” along with multiple reports of criminal activity at the property.

The statement says the DART team had met with the property owner about the conditions at the property.

“Despite those efforts, the violations were not adequately corrected,” the city attorney’s office said.

Police said during the warrant execution, 17 people were detained “for further investigative purposes.”

Two of the people detained were the property owner and her son, the city attorney’s office said. Authorities also found eight grams of narcotics believed to be heroin.

Five of the 17 people were arrested for outstanding warrants, police said, including:

• Family violence with prior conviction
• Possession of a controlled substance pg1 4g to 200g
• Theft enhancement
• Parole Violation – drug related
• Municipal court warrants

According to the city attorney’s office, the owner of the property said none of the people detained were tenants or had permission to be there. The department has not publicly identified those arrested.

The city’s Code Enforcement Division will refer the property to the Building Standards Board for review.

Additional information was not immediately available. The investigation is ongoing.

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All Iranian missiles launched against American forces in the Middle East were intercepted, U.S. Central Command said, adding that they “remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness.” In announcing the strikes in Iraq, the U.S. warned that further attacks on American troops or Saudi Arabia’s energy infrastructure risked additional action.

The United States and Iran had experienced a period of calm, during which neither announced attacks for days following weeks of escalation over the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf waterway and narrow chokepoint through which 20% of the world’s traded oil normally flows.

There was no immediate comment from Tehran on the U.S. military statement or the strikes.

The fighting flared at the end of a month packed with multiple pressure points on President Donald Trump. In recent weeks, four U.S. troops died during the fighting, while the Pentagon asked an increasingly skeptical Congress for money to cover the conflict’s ballooning costs.

High gasoline prices tied to the choked-off Strait of Hormuz are contributing to fears that Republicans are vulnerable in November’s midterm elections. The U.S. House narrowly passed a resolution to halt military action in Iran last week, sending another warning to Trump that reflects the war’s unpopularity with many Americans.

Trump has repeatedly retreated from threats to knock out bridges, power plants and other infrastructure but he told Fox News Channel earlier Tuesday that Iran knows he’ll “finish the job” if its leaders don’t make a deal to end the war.

Saudi Arabia and US strike Iran-backed militias in Iraq

Iran launched its ballistic missile attack before American and Saudi forces carried out strikes in Iraq, according to a U.S. official, who stressed that the two attacks were not connected. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to detail sensitive military operations.

“U.S. and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq in a strong response to over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours,” U.S. Central Command said, using an acronym for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

It said the Revolutionary Guard “and its terrorist proxies must cease these attacks to avoid further U.S. military response.”

The Saudi Defense Ministry acknowledged the strikes in a post on social media, warning that “the Kingdom emphasizes that it does not seek escalation but will respond to any aggression it faces.”

Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that it shot down drones fired by Iran-backed militias in Iraq for a second day, while Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen claimed to have forced a Saudi oil tanker to turn around as part of their self-styled blockade of the kingdom.

The kingdom's Defense Ministry said air defenses intercepted and destroyed several drones that had tried to target petroleum facilities in the nation's eastern region.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered security agencies to investigate after the Saudis alleged a similar attack on Monday. The Iraqi military said the country is committed to “preventing Iraqi territory from being used as a route or launching point for any attack targeting brotherly or friendly countries.”

The Iraqi militias have denied any role in the drone attacks. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed groups, called the Saudi claims “fabrications" and implied that Monday's attacks were carried out by the Houthis, who had themselves claimed to have attacked Saudi oil facilities.

A Saudi oil tanker is targeted

The Houthis claimed to have fired missiles at the Saudi oil tanker NCC Ghazal, forcing it to turn back. Last week, they announced a blockade of Saudi shipping, putting another key Middle Eastern waterway — through the Bab el-Mandeb strait leading to the Red Sea — at risk.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said a tanker reported hearing explosions while traveling in the southern Red Sea. It did not name the tanker but said the crew and vessel were safe.

The rebels fired on at least one Saudi tanker in the Red Sea last week.

Iran and the U.S. had paused their fighting over the weekend, though tensions remained high even as officials said mediators achieved progress in getting the two sides back to negotiations.

Iran said earlier Tuesday that U.S. strikes during an earlier period of escalation destroyed an airport and a marine control tower, and caused damage to 12 bridges and two tunnels, among other infrastructure.

Iran had effectively closed the strait when the war began by firing at freighters and tankers off its coast or threatening them. Following the signing of an interim ceasefire deal in June, a battle for control over the strait erupted.

Iran demanded that ships use a route near its coastline and said it can potentially charge fees. Ships were increasingly navigating a southern route along the coast of Oman under a U.S. overwatch operation when Iran attacked some vessels.

Trump sits down with Netanyahu in Washington

The new strikes came on the same day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Trump at the White House for the first time since the two launched the war against Iran on Feb. 28. Israel has been notably absent from the recent fighting with the Islamic Republic.

Netanyahu said it was an “excellent” meeting, and Trump called it “very good,” noting that “many important subjects were discussed.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. ability to intercept Iran’s incoming strikes has become an increasingly salient issue as lawmakers, members of the military and experts raise concerns over the nation’s diminishing stockpiles of missile interceptors.

Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, pushed back on those concerns, saying the military “has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the president’s choosing.”

___

Associated Press writers Darlene Superville in Washington and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Just before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, officers responded to the shooting in the 4600 block of East Southcross, near South WW White Road.

Upon arrival, police said officers learned the shooting spanned more than one location. SAPD did not reveal the second location.

A San Antonio Fire Department spokesperson told KSAT the man was in a vehicle and was reportedly shot multiple times. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said officers later identified a possible shooter and tracked him down.

The suspect, identified as a man, was later found, along with his vehicle, and “willingly gave up,” police said. The man was taken into custody without incident.

Police at the scene said officers are still searching for the weapon used in the shooting.

A woman may have been with the suspect, and SAPD said they believe she was involved at some point. It’s unclear if the woman was the one who called police.

A motive for the shooting remains unknown. The investigation is ongoing.

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First responders of the Crystal City Volunteer Fire Department were dispatched just before 10:30 p.m. in the 2100 block of FM 65 after a reported structure fire, the preliminary report said.

Details of the fire remain limited, but video taken by the volunteer fire department shows the walls of the Crystal Ballroom flat after a major fire.

The cause of the fire remains unknown.

The Texas State Fire Marshal’s Office is leading the investigation.

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Graham's flag-draped casket arrived for a tribute at the U.S. Capitol, where the Republican served for more than 30 years as an indefatigable dealmaker who talked and laughed and badgered his colleagues into action. Later, President Donald Trump joined foreign leaders for a funeral at Washington National Cathedral, a testament to Graham's stature on the global stage.

Trump called Graham “a giant of the United States Senate, a true American original who left us much too soon.”

In mostly prepared remarks, Trump described his onetime presidential rival turned ally as “the first person to make you laugh and one of the last people that you've really ever wanted to fight.”

Trump told the story of how he had publicly disclosed Graham's cellphone number on the campaign trail, reciting the number in the cathedral, but said the senator had the last laugh because "Lindsey did not stop calling me for the next 10 years.”

Among those gathered were Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy, leaders of two countries fighting separate wars, a nod to Graham's role as a foremost believer in the power of the U.S. and its military to intervene in the world's problems. Fox News' Sean Hannity said in his remarks that Graham would have been moved.

Trump Cabinet officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and current and former senators and lawmakers joined in the pews, as did Graham’s sister, now- Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed by the state’s governor to fill the remainder of her brother’s term.

It was the start of two days of services, with burial Wednesday in Graham's home state of South Carolina. Joint Base Charleston will be renamed in his honor, an Air Force official said. Graham died suddenly on July 11 of a likely aortic tear, according to preliminary findings. He had just returned from a whirlwind trip to a NATO summit in Turkey, where he celebrated his birthday, and a visit to Ukraine. He was 71.

Graham had spent his final days negotiating punishing Russia sanctions intended to help Ukraine, and senators worked quickly voting to advance the package late Tuesday evening, a final gesture for their colleague.

A place of honor for a ‘swashbuckling’ senator

During the morning service in the Capitol Rotunda, Vice President JD Vance described Graham as a “swashbuckling” man — "who swashbuckled into the Senate” with his suit jacket open — and was impossible not to like.

“Lindsey was a towering figure,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, choking back tears during his remarks.

First elected to Congress in the 1994 Republican revolt that swept the GOP to power, Graham was part of a new era of conservatives in the House — and among the first Republicans from his Southern state since Reconstruction.

He quickly rose to prominence as a manager in Democrat Bill Clinton's presidential impeachment, and he was elected to the Senate in 2002. There, he formed an alliance with Sen. John McCain, a Republican from Arizona, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut, in what would become the “three amigos,” globe-trotting the world focused on national security issues.

Vance recalled how he argued with Graham over the senator's staunch support for aid to Ukraine, but praised his legacy, saying Kavanaugh “would not be on the Supreme Court” were it not for Graham’s “fierce advocacy.”

For decades, Graham had been at the center of the action — a member of virtually every bipartisan gang in Congress — with a relentless ability to adapt to political realities, particularly when it came to Trump.

One by one, many of Graham’s colleagues said their goodbyes in the Rotunda. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala, placed both hands on his casket and then put her hand on her heart. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., saluted from her wheelchair. Former Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., bowed and delivered a brief kiss and Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., gave a fist bump.

The ‘Trump whisperer’ had one last mission: Russia sanctions

Perhaps nowhere was Graham's political dexterity on display more as when he navigated his on-again, off-again relationship with Trump.

Graham had denounced Trump as “unfit for office” during the 2016 presidential campaign, but over time he had become what colleagues called the “Trump whisperer,” someone even world leaders relied on to understand the president.

Days before his death, Graham had won Trump's support for the long-fought bipartisan proposal to impose sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, in what would be one of the strongest U.S. efforts to hamper Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ability to prolong the conflict.

Senators said they wanted to move on the sanctions package as a tribute to Graham. After the funeral Zelenskyy, who had met with Trump earlier at the White House, arrived at the Capitol to talk with lawmakers ahead of voting. He then watched the roll call from the visitors' gallery inside the Senate chamber.

Graham's champions and potential successors

At the Washington cathedral, a roster of socially conservative and anti-abortion leaders gave readings, including Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, Marjorie Jones Dannenfelser of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and the Reverend William Franklin Graham III.

When Hannity said how important Darline Graham and her family had been to the senator, she put her hand over her heart in response.

Lindsey Graham never married, but the Air Force veteran helped support his younger sister after both of his parents died while he was at college and then starting law school. He became the guardian for Darline, who was then 13.

Darline Graham is now running in a potentially crowded primary field for the fall election. The filing period for the special primary election closes Tuesday, with voting set for Aug. 11.

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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking, Collin Binkley and Michelle L. Price contributed to this story.

The bipartisan 86-12 procedural vote came hours after a funeral for Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the bill’s chief negotiator. Zelenskyy, who was in Washington to attend the service for Graham, met with senators beforehand and told them Ukraine is making gains in its war with Russia, but still needs more help from the U.S.

Zelenskyy then went to the Senate gallery to watch the vote, waving in support at the senators down below.

At the meeting, Zelenskyy told senators that the sanctions legislation "is important as a moral signal to a country that is weary and tired, though holding its own and then some against Russia," Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana said as he left the meeting.

In a post on X, Zelenskyy wrote, “We discussed many issues, first and foremost, anti-ballistic defense.”

“It was an honor to be present as the votes were counted," he said, adding, "This is the first step toward implementing Lindsey’s plans, and certainly a step toward peace.”

Graham and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., announced a deal with the White House on the sanctions legislation on July 10, a day before his sudden death, likely from an aortic tear. Graham had just returned from a trip to Ukraine, where he met with Zelenskyy.

Blumenthal said Graham told him that the deal they had struck was a “big effing deal” in the last conversation they had just before he died.

“It’s a significant part of his legacy,” Blumenthal said.

He said the bill has momentum partly because Ukraine is turning the tide in the war, because the bill was carefully negotiated and “there's feeling about Senator Graham.”

Zelenskyy's presence also helps, Blumenthal said, and “watching his face when he was in the gallery as we were voting was truly a moment of joy.”

Zelenskyy visits the Capitol

In Zelenskyy's latest visit to the Capitol, his message was “positive," Young said, and he talked about how the Ukrainians are making good progress against Russia in different areas of the war.

The bill is a “keystone in that overall effort” to handicap the Russian economy and drive Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, Young said.

Zelenskyy told them that “they are winning the war now," said Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va.

“In the first year it was survival. The next three years was getting your feet under you. But now they are winning,” Justice said.

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said Zelenskyy told the senators that “Putin would think a little bit more about trying to negotiate a settlement if the sanctions were in place and actually creating more irritation.”

The bill will “send Putin a bipartisan message in a language he understands,” said New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat. “This is our best opportunity to support Ukraine. We are defending not just their country but the rest of Europe from an increasingly aggressive Russia.”

Zelenskyy met with President Donald Trump earlier in the day, and the two discussed ways that the U.S. could help in its war with Russia.

A long-sought deal on Russian sanctions

Graham, Blumenthal and other supporters of Ukraine had been working for more than a year to negotiate legislation that would win approval from both the White House and a majority of senators.

The bill allows the president to impose tariffs on the world’s top five purchasers of Russia oil or natural gas — with China and India at the top of that list. It provides exceptions for countries that import less than 15% of their natural gas from Russia and are taking steps to reduce those imports.

The legislation also includes sanctions on Putin, senior Russian political and military leaders, Russian financial institutions and Russian energy projects. It would expand U.S. sanctions to target older, reflagged oil tankers that Russia uses to circumvent existing U.S. sanctions on Russian oil and energy revenues.

The negotiated bill also includes waiver authority for the president, allowing the White House to waive sanctions or restrictions if the president certifies to Congress that the waiver is in the national interest.

Negotiators also added an extension of certain sanctions on Iran after Trump asked the Senate to add Iran to the bill.

Some Democrats are skeptical about tariff authority

While the president's authority was narrowed in the final negotiations, the latest version still met with some skepticism from Democrats who did not want to give Trump additional powers to impose tariffs.

“It is extremely dangerous to give Trump massive new tariff powers, particularly after we’ve seen the disastrous impacts of his corrupt, chaotic, and inflationary tariff spree," said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., in a statement with Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass.

Wyden said he plans to offer an amendment to change some of the tariff provisions in the bill as the Senate debates the measure this week.

Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, said before the meeting he was still undecided on his final vote because of the tariff issue. He said he would listen to Zelenskyy's appeal and then make “a game-time decision.”

Hours earlier, the state executed a former police officer convicted of killing a young girl.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has made Florida's death chamber the nation’s busiest at the end of his final term, saying too many families have waited too long to see justice. The lethal injections several hours apart were the first nearly back-to-back executions since Arkansas put two men to death three hours apart in 2017.

DeSantis, who has the authority under Florida law to set execution dates, decided earlier this month to carry out both executions on the same day.

Nationwide, the use of the death penalty had been declining for two decades, but that number has ticked up behind the increased pace in Florida.

Man, 80, apologizes for killing his ex-girlfriend's parents

Dominick Anthony Occhicone, the octogenarian, was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke after a three-drug injection. His execution came nearly five hours after the former police officer, James Aren Duckett, 68, received a lethal dose in the same death chamber.

The chamber's curtain went up promptly at Occhicone's 6 p.m. scheduled execution hour. He lay strapped to a gurney with an IV in his arm, a spiritual adviser near his feet.

Asked if he had any final words, Occhicone said he thanked all of his Christian brothers for visiting him over the years. He also apologized to the family of the victims and to his own family for what he had put them through.

“Sorry for all the hurt I caused,” he said.

“I know it don’t mean much, but I’m sorry,” Occhicone added. “I never meant to do what I did."

The injection began at 6:02 p.m. followed by several minutes of deep breathing. When the breathing slowed, a warden shook him and yelled his name without response.

Occhicone, who was convicted of fatally shooting his ex-girlfriend’s parents in June 1986, is the oldest known prisoner executed in Florida since it began modern record-keeping a century ago.

Nationwide, an older inmate, 83-year-old Walter Moody Jr., received a lethal injection in Alabama in 2018 for a wave of mail bombs in 1989 that killed a federal judge and wounded a Black civil rights attorney.

Afterward, the children of victims Raymond and Martha Artzner released a statement saying their family had come to “the end of a long and painful journey.”

“The years since June 10, 1986, have been filled with sleepless nights, empty chairs at family gatherings, and those one-on-one conversations that were lost,” it read in part. “Today does not erase that pain and it does not undo the harm, but it does close a door and end a chapter in our lives that has just lingered on far too long.”

A former police officer was executed in the afternoon

Earlier Tuesday afternoon, Duckett became the 11th Florida inmate executed this year. He was convicted of raping and drowning 11-year-old Teresa McAbee while he was working as a police officer in central Florida in 1987.

Duckett declined to make a final statement and showed no response several minutes into the execution when the prison warden shook him and shouted his name. He was pronounced dead at 1:19 p.m.

Afterward, the girl's relatives spoke of decades of suffering.

“I waited nearly 40 years to have him dead,” Dorthy Tula, the victim's mother, said before breaking down.

“This man took advantage of his badge,” said Tracy Mcfall-Buskirk, the girl's cousin.

Record execution numbers for governor’s final two years

Nationwide, a total of 19 executions including Tuesday's have been carried out this year. Florida leads with 12 executions to date in 2026 — more than all other states combined.

DeSantis, who leaves office in January, oversaw a record 19 executions last year, more in a single year than any other Florida governor since the U.S. reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976.

Another execution in Florida is set for August.

Many on Florida's death row have been there decades

DeSantis hasn’t said why he scheduled two executions hours apart. And he's rarely commented on the pace of executions, previously noting some on death row had committed crimes as far back as the 1980s.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. I felt I owed it to them to make sure this ran very smoothly," the governor said last year.

Florida Department of Corrections records show multiple executions on a single day were more common in the past, the last being in 1964.

The U.S. Supreme Court denied last appeals from both men Tuesday.

All Florida executions are by injection of a sedative, a paralytic and a drug that stops the heart, according to the Department of Corrections.

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Associated Press reporter John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.

KSAT 12 is not naming the ex-boyfriend since the criminal charge against him was dismissed and there was no conviction.

Claudia Romero told KSAT she spent about a year documenting what she describes as a pattern of abuse while living with her then-boyfriend. She said she kept police reports, photographs and other records because she believed they would help build the criminal case against him.

“I just want justice,” Romero said. “For my case to be reevaluated. This is not fair.”

According to police dispatch records reviewed by KSAT, officers responded to the couple’s home about 40 times in 2025, including 15 calls classified as family disturbances.

Romero said she remained in the relationship because she was financially dependent on her boyfriend, who was also her employer.

Romero said the relationship came to a head on Nov. 11, 2025, when she returned to the home after being told to leave. She alleges her former boyfriend pinned her against a wall, kicked her and spit on her before she was able to get away.

She said she drove directly to a San Antonio police substation to report what had happened.

Romero said since then, she had been left homeless and injuries she sustained caused permanent physical and emotional damage.

Romero said she expected the case to proceed through the court system but instead experienced multiple court resets before learning from a prosecutor that the charge would be dismissed.

“She told me my protective order was granted for two years and that his criminal charges were going to be dropped,” Romero said. “I asked why. She didn’t have a reason why.”

Court records show the felony charge was dismissed on July 10. The dismissal order lists “insufficient evidence” as the reason for the dismissal.

KSAT asked the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office why the case was dismissed.

In a statement, the office said, “The case was dismissed following an agreement between the prosecution and the defense and a two-year protective order was sought to prioritize the safety and well-being of the victim. Beyond that information, we will not be providing any further comment or details.”

Romero said the explanation has left her with unanswered questions.

“They didn’t help me at all,” she said. “The DA failed me bad.”

The two-year protective order remains in place.

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

If it’s an emergency, text or call 911. For wrap-around services including the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter, call Family Violence Prevention Services at (210) 703-8810.

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

Read also:

• Man sentenced to 35 years in prison for fatal 2020 shooting on Northwest Side
• Man accused in connection with North Side murder takes plea deal, sentenced to 25 years in prison
• SAPD: Splashed water on vehicle sparks apparent road rage shooting with 2-year-old caught in middle

The mayor has been waiting at least seven months for the money, but she said it should’ve been resolved a long time ago.

Jones repeatedly called for the Spurs organization to make reimbursement payments owed under a 2015 deal meant to bring a MLS franchise to town.

San Antonio and Bexar County paid $9 million each to acquire Toyota Field, which it owns through a Public Facility Corporation and leases to San Antonio FC, a soccer club owned by SS&E which plays in the lower-tier USL Championship.

Under the lease, SAFC agreed to pay up to $5 million over several years if it wasn’t awarded an MLS franchise, which local officials hoped would happen during a league expansion.

But after Austin secured an MLS team instead of San Antonio, Bexar County officials acted in December 2022 to give the Spurs a pass on the reimbursement payments.

On Thursday, the Public Facility Corporation is expected to vote on the settlement. Jones noted the total owed was $5 million, an even split between the city and county, but the county chose to forgo its $2.5 million share.

Although SS&E are paying back the city, most of funds are projected to go towards renovating SAFC’s Toyota Field, according to the mayor. She disagrees with that decision.

“I’ve always wanted the money to come back into the general fund,” Jones said. “Then we determine... how best to spend that money in light of the $158 million budget gap.”

Jones said she was the only person who wanted the $2.5 million to come back into the general fund. However, she said she’s glad citizens of San Antonio got back the money they were owed.

Addressing the $158M budget gap

Discussing the $158 million budget gap, Jones said she sent open letters to major San Antonio business and philanthropic leaders — including the CEOs of H-E-B, Whataburger, USAA and Valero, to ask for help fundraising for nonprofits and community programs currently supported by city taxpayers.

Jones also talked about redirecting roughly $100 million in remaining Ready to Work funds toward programs currently drawing from the general fund. With voter approval, she said could free up money for core services without raising property taxes.

“We’re talking about raising property taxes for the first time in 30 years,” Jones said. “We really have to go through the intellectual exercise and understand where there’s some resources and a higher return on investment for the people’s money.”

*Watch the full interview in the video player above.*

Read also:

• As Spurs chase a ring, San Antonio mayor chases cash from Spurs
• ‘The DA failed me’: Bexar County woman questions dismissal of felony domestic violence case against ex-boyfriend

A video, which claims to show a fielder clicking his fingers to imitate the sound of a bat connecting with the ball before a player is called out, has been viewed millions of times on X.

The person who posted the video described it as “about the worst case of cheating I’ve ever seen in cricket.”

The video of a match involving North Yorkshire and South Durham Cricket League team Saltburn, has been greeted with outrage online and generated headlines around the world.

TV presenter Piers Morgan weighed in, describing the player involved as the “biggest cheat in cricket history” and wondered how many batsmen’s days “has he ruined?”

Cricket has had its share of scandals, ranging from the so-called “Sandpapergate” ball-tampering episode in 2018 that led to suspensions for three Australian international players, to spot fixing scandals that have led to lengthy bans.

But at the amateur levels of the game, such as this so-called village cricket competition in England, umpires have no access to video replays to make decisions and there's a level of trust required from players when claiming catches.

A cricket umpire could be fooled into calling a player out if they believed they heard the sound of the ball clipping the edge of a bat before being caught.

The league said in a statement on X that it had received a formal complaint regarding a game on Saturday, but did not reveal which teams were involved.

“A full investigation has been initiated and until such time as the formal processes are complete no further comment will be made,” it said.

There was no immediate response when The Associated Press contacted the league and Saltburn for comment.

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

The closed-door meeting lasted nearly an hour and a half and was “positive and productive," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Trump, in a social media posting several hours after the talks, called it a “very good meeting” where “many important subjects were discussed” but offered no further details.

The face-to-face talks come as both leaders face growing pressures at home. Netanyahu is up for reelection and is embattled in part because of his deteriorating relationship with Trump. Trump is under pressure to end an unpopular war that has wreaked economic havoc and driven prices higher ahead of midterm elections this November.

Later on Tuesday, Iran shattered a brief period of calm in the war by launching multiple ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in the Middle East, the U.S. military said, adding that all of the Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted.

An Israeli official briefed on the White House meeting said Netanyahu made it clear to Trump and his Cabinet that if Iran were to attack Israel, they would respond, but that beyond that, they would trust the judgment of the president regarding next steps. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details of a private meeting.

Despite signs of tension between the two before the meeting, Netanyahu was effusive afterward in a post on Instagram, noting that the meeting included Trump's “entire senior team.”

Vice President JD Vance, who has had critical words for Israel and in June warned Israeli officials that Trump was their only friend among world leaders, was among those in the meeting.

“When I say excellent, I don’t mean it in a superficial way,” Netanyahu said in Hebrew. “A conversation with full partnership, with mutual support, with an understanding of the common goal of ensuring that Iran does not have nuclear weapons, and other goals as well.”

Netanyahu later joined Vance and Trump at a funeral for Sen. Lindsey Graham, where the Israeli leader was seen speaking to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who met with Trump earlier in the day.

Trump expresses some frustration with Netanyahu before sitdown

Trump revealed some tension with Netanyahu ahead of their meeting, complaining about reports that the Israeli leader planned to discuss intelligence on Iranian activities at Pickaxe Mountain, a potential nuclear site that the U.S. president has threatened repeatedly to bomb.

“I know exactly what’s going on at Pickaxe,” Trump told “Fox & Friends.” He insisted that whatever Iran is doing is “not a big problem” and that “Bibi’s telling me that because he wants me to stay involved.”

“Why do you have to announce to the world?” Trump added, flashing his frustrations with his ally.

The Israeli official said that Netanyahu reiterated to Trump during the meeting that Israel will always share its intelligence with the U.S. but that it also understands that Washington has its own timeline and considerations to factor in, including other allied countries in the region that would be affected if Washington were to escalate militarily.

Trump has had a hot-and-cold history with Netanyahu over the years, but upon his return to the White House last year, their alliance seemed stronger than ever. When they started the war together in February, it was with a united front, touting their respective militaries as acting in lockstep to take out Iran’s leadership and pave the way for a government more friendly to the West.

But as Iran fought back — sending drones and missiles slamming into U.S. bases and high-rises in cities in the Gulf, and choking off the Strait of Hormuz — Trump came under immense pressure both at home and by allies in the region to end the conflict.

Netanyahu has been deferential to Trump on next steps with Iran

Since then, Netanyahu, who wanted to continue the fighting in Iran and against its ally, Hezbollah, in Lebanon, has been sidelined as Trump sought a deal with Tehran. Disagreements with Trump and Vance have burst into the open over the war in Iran and more.

“The Americans are making it clear to the Israelis they are the ones who are running the war,” Israeli journalist and political analyst Amit Segal wrote Monday in the daily newspaper Israel Hayom. “It is clear to everyone that Israel has been put in the back seat.”

Of Trump, Netanyahu said Sunday that “many ways, it’s his decision” on how to move forward. “If he can do so without returning to intense military fighting, that’s fine. Why not?”

“But one way or the other, they have to end their nuclear program,” Netanyahu told Maria Bartiromo on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” about Iran.

The Israeli official said the two leaders also discussed the framework agreement that the U.S. and Israel signed with Lebanon over the Israel-Hezbollah war and the expansion of the Abraham Accords, which have Arab and Muslim-majority nations normalize ties with Israel.

Steps to allow other forces in Gaza and in Lebanon

Netanyahu also needed to persuade Trump that he won’t play spoiler to U.S. diplomatic and reconstruction efforts in Gaza and Lebanon, where the president has previously complained that “too many people are being killed” by Israeli strikes.

In Lebanon, where the Israeli military occupies much of the south, Israel agreed to allow the Lebanese army to deploy to some villages as part of a “pilot program” testing its ability to secure areas where Hezbollah once operated. The U.S. State Department says the next round of talks between Israel and Lebanon will take place next week in Rome with a focus on expanding the program.

On Gaza, Israel’s security cabinet green-lit on Sunday a measure that would, in theory, grant entry to the first members of an international stabilization force outlined last year in a U.S.-backed ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Few countries have pledged troops, however, and Israel would approve their entry into Gaza on a case-by-case basis. The troops — including from Morocco and Uganda — would only be allowed to operate in a small, desolate area in Rafah in the south, where the plan is to vet and house some displaced Palestinians.

The Israeli military continues to carry out strikes it says target militants but that have also killed civilians.

Israel has lost a significant amount of bipartisan support in the United States, particularly over Gaza. An AP-NORC poll published this month found a dramatic erosion of support among American adults for Israel.

Near the White House, a small group of protesters chanted, “Netanyahu, you’re a tyrant” and “Bibi, you’re not welcome here,” referencing the prime minister’s nickname.

___

Cunningham reported from Jerusalem and Amiri reported from New York. Associated Press writers Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, Darlene Superville and Seung Min Kim in Washington, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report. Cunningham reported from Jerusalem.

Judge Carli Kierny found that the interview is admissible in Duane “Keffe D” Davis' trial, which is scheduled to start Aug. 10.

Davis, 63, is charged with murder in Shakur's 1996 killing and faces life in prison without parole if convicted. Prosecutors allege Davis orchestrated the killing.

Shakur’s death is considered one of the most notorious unsolved murders in the United States. The case went cold until Davis began making public statements about it, including in a book he co-wrote in which he said he was in the Cadillac and provided the weapon used to shoot Shakur.

Defense attorney Michael Sanft argued that a 2008 interview Davis gave law enforcement was supposed to be confidential, and that detectives explicitly told him the interview was not supposed to be used against him.

“I sang because they promised I would not be prosecuted,” Davis wrote in his book “Compton Street Legend.”

Prosecutors argued there was no basis to exclude the interview from the trial, which is expected to take about four weeks. They argued the interview was no longer inadmissible when Davis chose to write his book and speak publicly about what happened.

Davis’ attorney unsuccessfully tried to block the use of the book in the upcoming trial, arguing that it was fictionalized to make a profit and impossible to determine which parts, if any, he wrote. Kierny determined Davis adopted the book as his own, citing an interview in which he described the book as the “real truth.”

The 2008 interview was used in former Los Angeles Police Department Detective Greg Kading’s book “Murder Rap: The Untold Story of the Biggie Smalls & Tupac Shakur Murder Investigations.” Portions of the recording were also played in documentaries, including the recent documentary “Sean Combs: The Reckoning.”

Shakur was killed Sept. 7, 1996, in Las Vegas. He and Death Row Records founder Marion “Suge” Knight were sitting at a red light when a white Cadillac pulled up beside them near the Las Vegas Strip, and gunfire erupted. Shakur was shot multiple times and died six days later. Knight survived with minor injuries.

Three others were with Davis in the Cadillac, including his nephew, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, but Davis is the only person still alive. None of the others faced charges in Shakur's killing before they died.

In his memoir, Davis said he obtained a handgun from an associate and tossed it into the back seat of the Cadillac but did not say who fired the fatal shots.

In the 2008 interview, Davis described how he and his crew saw Shakur that night and pulled up beside them, and said that Anderson “popped them.” Anderson denied involvement in Shakur’s killing at the time. He died two years later in an unrelated gang shooting in Compton, California.

A witness testified to the grand jury that Anderson didn't have a “clear shot,” so Deandrae “Freaky” Smith took the gun and fired.

Davis wrote in his book that investigators were “clearly shocked and surprised” when he began answering questions about Tupac's death.

He also expressed regrets about talking to them.

“It kills me on the inside to know that I told them anything,” he wrote.

“She's exactly the burst of energy we need,” Anderson said after voting early in the liberal stronghold of Madison.

But 80 miles down the road in Milwaukee, Democratic voter Steve Wiesner said if Hong wins the Aug. 11 primary he will vote Republican for the first time in his life.

“I would never support her or any DSA candidate at this point,” Wiesner said, using the acronym for Democratic Socialists of America. He voted for longshot candidate Joel Brennan.

Their views demonstrate the dilemma for Democrats in Wisconsin as they hope to win the governor's race against a Republican endorsed by President Donald Trump in a year that should favor Democrats.

But a chaotic primary, and the rise of Hong, has amplified angst among voters and party insiders that Democrats may be squandering their chances to retain control of the governor’s office and flip both chambers of the Legislature to earn full control of Wisconsin state government for the first time since 2010.

Democratic socialist Hong divides early Wisconsin voters

The insurgent Hong has garnered strong support among the most liberal wing of the party. Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who narrowly lost a 2022 U.S. Senate race, is hoping that voters in his hometown of Milwaukee help him overcome Hong, whose base is in Madison. Those two cities hold the largest number of Democratic voters in Wisconsin.

Also in the race is Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who is running with the endorsement of Gov. Tony Evers. Crowley had dropped out of the race on July 8, but got back in on July 17, the day after Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez dropped out amid a campaign finance scandal.

Anderson, who was among voters who cast in-person early ballots on the first day Tuesday, said he was “very frustrated” by Evers' late endorsement in the race.

“It's the latest example of the Democratic Party meddling,” said Anderson, who works for the state Department of Natural Resources.

Nicole Santos, 45, said Hong was the only primary candidate with the “fortitude” to stand up to Trump.

“To get back on track we need to go a little further left,” she said.

Some Democratic voters make choice based on electability

Crowley voters on Tuesday said they backed him because they believed he had a better shot at beating Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in November. Tiffany, who is running with the backing of Trump in a state Trump won in 2016 and 2024, faces only nominal opposition in the primary.

It would be “tough” for Hong to beat Tiffany, said retired attorney John Hawley, 68, of Madison.

“I’d like to think I’m wrong, but north of Madison and Milwaukee I don’t think she’ll come across that well,” he said in reference to more rural parts of the state.

Erica and Mario Johnson, a married couple who are both Black and from Milwaukee, both voted for Crowley, because they see him as best positioned to beat Tiffany. Crowley and Barnes are each seeking to become the state’s first Black governor. Hong is seeking to become Wisconsin's first female governor and first Asian American governor.

Crowley has the “most executive experience,” said Mario Johnson, 63, who retired from a career in the federal government.

He worries that Hong won’t be able to defeat Tiffany, but if Hong wins the primary, “I’ll bite the bullet and vote for her.”

As of Tuesday, nearly 108,000 ballots had already been returned by mail ahead of the Aug. 11 election.

Democratic c

andidates play nice in only debate before election

The Democratic candidates tried to differentiate themselves Tuesday night in the only debate before the primary, but abstained from going after Hong, who has led in polls.

Hong, who has run as an insurgent candidate, tried to cast herself as the one who could bring together Republicans, Democrats, independents and democratic socialists.

“This is a movement moment,” Hong said.

Hong also tried to distance herself from the national democratic socialist movement. Hong said she did not support the entire national DSA platform and backed off her earlier support for defunding the police.

“The governor cannot defund police and I’m not here to govern by slogan," she said.

Crowley, who has the governor's endorsement, and Barnes, who served as Evers' lieutenant governor in his first term, also tried to portray themselves as outsiders.

“I’m not here to protect the establishment,” Crowley said.

And while Barnes said no other candidate had united Democrats like he did in his 2022 Senate race, “I have zero interest in being the establishment candidate.”

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Mayes-Osterman is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. She reported for this story from Milwaukee.

The probes will determine whether the Bethel School District, about an hour south of Seattle, and Denver Public Schools violated a federal law that gives parents the right to opt out of school evaluations on topics including sex behavior or attitudes, the department said.

“Parents must be the decision-makers in matters impacting the most intimate parts of their children’s lives,” Frank Miller, director of the Student Privacy Policy Office at the Education Department, said in a statement.

Denver schools spokesman Scott Pribble said in a statement the district put the teacher on administrative leave and completed an investigation after students raised concerns in March 2025. The statement did not specify what prompted students' concerns.

The Board of Education fired the teacher in May, he said.

“The safety, emotional well-being, and dignity of our students are the absolute highest priorities of DPS,” the statement said. “Our actions to date have been wholly consistent with those priorities.”

Bethel School District said in a statement that the vials in a display at Graham-Kapowsin High School in June were not authorized by school administrators and were immediately removed and turned over to the Pierce County Sheriff's Office. Some vials had a “small amount of unknown liquid,” the district said.

Testosterone is prescribed for gender-affirming care. The district added that it will cooperate fully with the Education Department's investigation.

The two districts are in states headed by Democrats. President Donald Trump is a Republican.

The Trump administration has opened dozens of investigations into schools that make accommodations for transgender and LGBTQ+ students, often taking aim at districts that allow students to use bathrooms or locker rooms that align with their gender identities. It accused Denver schools last year of violating Title IX protections against sex-based discrimination over such a bathroom policy.

Trump officials have also pushed against schools accused of keeping information about students’ gender identities confidential from their parents, which the department says is a violation of federal privacy laws.

The Education Department tied the new investigations to National Parents’ Day on Sunday. The agency said it will be announcing “significant actions” involving the enforcement of parental rights laws through the week.

Pierce County Sheriff's Deputy Carly Cappetto said Bethel school administrators identified the student who brought the vials to campus. No charges were filed, and the juvenile student was referred to a drug and alcohol diversion program, Adam Faber, a spokesman for the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, said in an email. He said the vials were not tested for testosterone, which is a controlled substance.

The district said in its statement it is reviewing its protocols for overseeing displays to “ensure all school materials strictly align with our educational standards and community expectations.”

“Our primary focus remains on maintaining a safe, respectful, and focused learning environment for all of our students,” it added.

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Associated Press writer Collin Binkley in Washington contributed to this report.

The Fox Cities region, which is home to more than 100,000 people in the cities of Appleton, Menasha and Neenah, was left in shambles by Monday's twister, with homes leveled, cars flipped, and power lines and trees toppled.

Despite widespread damage, the timing of the storm could be why there have been no reported deaths. The tornado arrived in the early afternoon, authorities noted, when most people were awake and after warnings had been issued.

“Everybody was at work. It was the middle of the day,” Menasha Police Chief Matt Albrecht said. “Most people were not at home and at their place of employment.”

Dozens of people were injured, and officers were still going door-to-door a day later in search of possible victims.

David Chew, 55, said a tree smashed through his roof in Menasha, and he still hadn't located an outdoor patio lounger swept away by the storm. But he's better off than a neighbor: A portion of her roof was ripped clean, with furniture and drywall “sucked out.”

“It was just a shocker,” said Chew, who had rushed to the basement with his wife and son.

The tornado touched down around 1 p.m. and remained on the ground for more than 20 minutes, cutting a roughly 12-mile (19.3-kilometer) path of destruction, the National Weather Service reported. The area is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee.

It was classified as an EF3 tornado — the strongest to strike Outagamie and Winnebago counties since an EF4 touched down in April 1984, the weather service said.

“The depth of the tornado and its impact is incredible, devastating. We’re really still at the assessment stage,” Winnebago County Executive Gordon Hintz said at a news conference Tuesday.

A relatively powerful twister

Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency for the affected areas. Shelters were opened for displaced residents.

As chain saws roared in the background, Appleton Mayor Jake Woodford said a number of neighborhoods were “truly devastated.” Like elsewhere in the region, electricity lines were tangled around broken trees, making power restoration a slow, risky process.

More than 10,000 customers in Winnebago and Outagamie counties were still without power, according to utilities that serve them. It could be several days before power is fully restored.

The twister was spun off by a large storm system that moved through the Great Lakes and was fueled by a buildup of heat and humidity, the weather service said.

“What we are seeing this summer is significant heat leading to significant severe weather,” said Chad Merrill, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather. “We had an EF3 tornado in Wisconsin. People need to take these warnings seriously. It can happen just about anywhere.”

Residents describe terrifying moments

ThedaCare Regional Medical Centers in Appleton and Neenah said it treated 40 people, mostly for minor storm-related injuries. Ascension St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton said it saw about 30 patients, all with minor injuries.

Rachel Bernhardt, 56, said she grabbed her dog and dashed to her basement in the village of Fox Crossing after she saw a steel swing spinning in the yard. When the storm passed, her second-floor bedroom was covered in glass and a tree branch was resting on her bed. The carpet was soaked.

“We can’t be in there anymore,” said Bernhardt, who is sleeping on the first floor and using a generator to keep the refrigerator going. “In fact, I’m going to caution-tape that off.”

At Manderfield’s Home Bakery, a decades-old landmark in Menasha, the brick frame around the door still stood, but not much more.

“This can be replaced,” owner Jerry Manderfield told WISN-TV. “We had people in the building that could possibly have died in there.”

Luigi’s Pizza in Menasha set up a food trailer to distribute hygiene packs and free slices after donors kicked in enough money to make at least 125 pizzas Tuesday.

“Sometimes a hot pizza, a taco, and a reminder that your community cares can mean more than words,” said Duncan’s Window & Door, which chipped in for 50 pizzas.

___

Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut, White reported from Detroit, and Turbay reported from Little Rock, Arkansas; Associated Press reporters Christopher Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin, contributed to this story.

Emergency officials are urging residents in communities, including Three Rivers and George West, to monitor conditions closely and be ready to move to higher ground as floodwaters continue moving downstream.

According to KSAT’s Weather Authority, the Nueces River near U.S. Highway 281, between Three Rivers and George West, is expected to reach major flood stage by Thursday morning. The river is forecasted to crest near 40 feet Friday evening.

The flooding is being fueled by runoff from recent storms that sent large volumes of water into the Frio and Nueces rivers. Choke Canyon Reservoir has already risen about 13 feet over the past several days — its highest level since March 2024. Additional water is expected to continue moving through Live Oak County before reaching Lake Corpus Christi next week.

To prepare for the flooding, emergency management officials have assembled a multiagency response before river levels reach their peak.

Mark Trevino with the San Antonio Fire Department was deployed to Live Oak County as part of the Alamo Area All Hazards Incident Management Team, which is helping coordinate emergency operations alongside local officials.

“This time we’re here early,” Trevino said. “We’re able to set up, get shelters spun up a little bit, get evacuation notices going out. We’re able to get ahead of the potential dangers of flooding coming up the banks.”

Trevino said arriving before floodwaters reach communities gives emergency crews time to position equipment, establish shelters and notify residents before conditions become dangerous.

“We actually have a real good shot because we’re here ahead of time,” he said. “A lot of times we’re more reactive to the emergency.”

Officials expect river levels to continue rising from Friday into next week, creating dangerous conditions for people living near the Nueces River.

“They’re saying up to 40 feet, but even if it’s up to 5 or 10 feet, that’s enough to sweep somebody away, overturn a car, flood something,” Trevino said.

Live Oak County has not issued mandatory evacuations, but officials are encouraging residents in flood-prone areas to prepare now and leave if conditions worsen.

“The leadership here isn’t saying, ‘You need to leave now,’” Trevino said. “They’re saying, ‘This is dangerous. Here’s what could happen. Please seek higher ground.’”

Emergency shelters are being prepared for residents who choose to leave their homes. Officials said shelters will accommodate families, people with special medical needs and pets, while buses will be available to help transport residents who cannot evacuate on their own.

The response includes emergency personnel and resources from multiple agencies, including Live Oak County Emergency Management, the Alamo Area All Hazards Incident Management Team, San Antonio Fire Department, STRAC, the Texas Department of Public Safety, Texas Parks and Wildlife and specialized rescue teams equipped with boats and helicopters.

“Whenever we have a response, it’s a collective approach,” Trevino said. “Live Oak County Emergency Management is the lead agency, and we’re here to support.”

“We have STRAC, we have San Antonio Fire, we have the All Hazards Incident Management Team, we have DPS, we have Parks and Wildlife, we have boats, we have helicopters,” he added.

Those resources are being strategically positioned in case swift-water rescues or other emergency operations become necessary over the coming days.

Trevino urged residents not to underestimate the dangers of rising water.

“If you’re on or near a river, don’t wait too long,” he said. “Seek higher ground, go to one of the shelters or go to a family member’s house for a day or two. Better to be safe than sorry.”

While the floodwaters are expected to replenish reservoirs farther downstream, emergency officials said their immediate focus remains protecting residents in Live Oak County as the river continues to rise.

“Our mission is to protect life,” Trevino said. “Everything else can be replaced.”

Read also:

• Ingram animal rescue and rehab rebuilds after floodwaters damage enclosures, wash away supplies

In May 2025, Jorge Alejandro Rocha, 31, resigned from the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office after he was arrested and accused of official oppression and interfering with public duties. The charges were considered Class A and Class B misdemeanors, respectively.

Both cases against Rocha were officially closed July 7, according to Bexar County court records.

When reached for comment Tuesday, a BCSO spokesperson deferred its response to the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office.

“Following a comprehensive review of the available evidence, prosecutors determined there was insufficient evidence to proceed, and the case was dismissed,” a Bexar County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson told KSAT. “We will not be providing any further comment on this matter.”

Rocha’s arrest

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar announced Rocha’s arrest during a May 16, 2025, news conference.

Salazar said information was developed around the time of the arrest of a different former BCSO deputy, Clemente Lopez, that Rocha “conducted similar activities” to Lopez.

Lopez, who was originally charged with murder in the death of inmate Francisco Bazan last year, is now facing one count of engaging in organized criminal activity and two aggravated assault charges. Lopez’s tentative trial date is set for Aug. 19, court records show.

Although Rocha is not believed to be involved in any homicides, Salazar said his activities at the jail were illegal and cannot be tolerated.

The Texas Department of Public Safety’s Texas Rangers division and BCSO’s Major Crimes Unit gathered some Bexar County jail inmates who made outcries of being assaulted, Salazar said.

The inmates shared with investigators that Rocha allowed inmates into jail cells for assaults or at least turned a “blind eye” when they were allegedly being assaulted, according to Salazar.

The inmates who were assaulted have since recovered from their injuries, Salazar said at the time.

Suspension, letters of reprimand

In addition to the assault allegations at the Bexar County jail, BCSO records show Rocha was suspended and issued multiple letters of reprimand in May 2023.

Rocha was suspended for “poor job performance” as well as “conduct or action that would seriously impair job effectiveness.”

BCSO records cited an incident in October 2023 when Rocha “failed to secure his office door” while undergoing observation checks. Rocha returned to his office and noticed that his rescue tool and case were missing.

After searching for his equipment with the assistance of jail staff, Rocha’s rescue tool was located approximately two hours later, hidden in the ceiling inside the jail, records show.

As a result of losing his equipment, Rocha received a five-day suspension, according to BCSO-issued documents.

The sheriff’s office reprimanded Rocha twice in May 2023 for “poor job performance” and “poor attendance” in violation of the department’s policies, records show.

BCSO records indicate that Rocha was 30 minutes late for his 30-minute observation check.

Over the course of three months, the sheriff’s office wrote that Rocha called in sick an excessive number of times.

Records also cited three instances when he failed to report to the Bexar County jail for work, resulting in undocumented or unauthorized absences.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• Records reveal former BCSO deputy’s pattern of misconduct at Bexar County jail before arrest
• Affidavits detail ex-BCSO deputy’s alleged role in enabling inmate assaults at Bexar County jail
• Former BCSO deputy arrested, accused of letting inmates into jail cells to assault other inmates, sheriff says

The violence erupted when armed, masked protesters at a sit-in opened fire on police and security personnel deployed to secure polling, the regional government and police said. There were unconfirmed reports that several protesters were killed or wounded, but officials did not immediately confirm any civilian casualties.

Voting in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, which is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed in its entirety by both countries, began Monday and is being held in phases through Aug. 10.

The now weeks-old protest encampment has overshadowed the election, with residents reporting low voter turnout in Monday’s first phase, when polling was held for several assembly seats in the city of Mirpur.

At a news conference in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, government spokesman Mohammad Rashid Hanif alleged that the outlawed Joint Awami Action Committee, or JAAC, sought to derail the elections. He said a “significant number” of Fitna al-Khawarij, the term Islamabad uses for members of the Pakistani Taliban, were also among the protesters.

Later on Tuesday at a news conference in Islamabad, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Deputy Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry said the ongoing sit-in was no longer a peaceful protest, alleging that armed militants had joined the demonstrators and posed a threat to public order. They said authorities would soon take action to restore order and ensure conditions for a free, fair and peaceful vote.

The ministers urged residents to stay away from the protest, alleging that some demonstrators were armed with sophisticated weapons and were using them against security forces. They said security forces were responding in self-defense while exercising maximum restraint.

The regional government banned the JAAC recently, citing concerns over public order and security, and arrested dozens of its followers. The group, formed in 2023, demands greater political rights for the people of Kashmir and the abolition of refugee seats in the assembly on the grounds that the refugees have disproportionate influence. It is notorious for violent protests. The dispute escalated in early June after the region’s Supreme Court ruled the refugee seats are constitutionally protected and cannot be abolished without a constitutional amendment.

Hanif, the government spokesman, urged residents to distance themselves from the protesters, alleging that armed militants had infiltrated the demonstrations and were using civilians as shields. He said authorities would continue operations to disperse the protest camps and restore law and order.

Hanif showed what he said was video footage of masked gunmen firing from the roof of a building.

Sitting alongside Hanif, regional deputy Police Chief Irfan Masood Kashfi said armed men involved in the unrest were carrying weapons including Kalashnikov assault rifles and that authorities had received intelligence that snipers were also being used. He said one paramilitary officer was killed and five other security personnel, including a police officer, were wounded. He said security forces exercised restraint and responded only in self-defense.

Kashfi also said authorities arrested an armed suspect in Rawalakot and seized what he described as an assault rifle, alleging the suspect had recently arrived from abroad and received sniper training.

Officials also played video recordings of two detained men who appeared to confess to taking part in the violence. One said he had been paid and instructed to attack troops and police, while the other claimed to belong to an armed faction linked to the JAAC and described firing on security forces with an M-16 rifle.

The group did not immediately respond to the latest allegations.

In an X post, American Airlines said a technology issue impacted connectivity for some of its systems and that a temporary ground stop was put in place while its teams worked to resolve the issue.

“Systems are coming back online now and flights are departing again,” the post said.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued an advisory about the ground stop, according to ABC News.

Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, was confirmed 51-47 along party lines. Republicans had initially hoped to confirm Clayton in June, but Trump delayed his hearing in order to allow his temporary pick for the job, Bill Pulte, to take over for several weeks after former director Tulsi Gabbard resigned.

Senators from both parties have expressed concerns about Pulte, a former housing regulator who had no intelligence experience. Pulte was in charge when Trump delivered a speech from the White House earlier this month doubling down on his false claims about the 2020 election, which he lost, and released classified documents that he said were relevant to his arguments.

Democrats have also expressed concerns about Clayton, who lost bipartisan support after a contentious hearing two weeks ago in which he repeatedly refused to say that former President Joe Biden won the 2020 election.

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said at the end of the hearing that he was “bitterly disappointed” in Clayton after initially praising his nomination.

Warner said he would oppose Clayton’s nomination but acknowledged that Democrats are “between a rock and a hard place” with Pulte in the job.

Trump praised Clayton after the vote, writing on social media: “Jay is outstanding in every way, and will do a spectacular job as Director!”

Trump revisits false claims about 2020 election

The Democratic pushback on Clayton comes as Trump has made revisiting 2020 a primary focus, repeatedly trying to cast doubt on that election and amplifying debunked theories about Biden’s win. Clayton said repeatedly at the hearing that the election was “certified” for Biden, declining to say outright that the Democrat won.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said he thought Clayton’s performance was “abysmal,” and that “makes it much less likely that he will get Democratic votes.”

Hours before the scheduled Senate vote on Clayton, Pulte released intelligence community documents from 2020 that described China’s capacity to interfere in the American political process as well as vulnerabilities in the election system.

The substance of the material was largely recycled and already known, but its disclosure is part of the broader Trump administration effort to raise concerns about the integrity of U.S. elections.

Clayton emphasized his experience

Pulte has also said he has presided over a downsizing of the national intelligence office, which functions as a coordinating hub for the U.S. government’s intelligence agencies. He boasted on social media that with the latest round of job cuts, the office is carrying out about a 30% staff reduction from weeks ago. He has not offered details about those cuts, making it hard to immediately corroborate the extent of any reductions.

Clayton did not mention Pulte in the confirmation hearing. But he emphasized his own government and national security experience, attempting to assuage senators in both parties.

“I saw firsthand how a strong national security apparatus depends on decisive judgment, discipline, integrity, and effective communication and cooperation across different branches of the government,” Clayton said. “If confirmed as Director of National Intelligence, I will commit to upholding these principles every day.”

Clayton also told senators that he had no involvement in Trump's speech about the 2020 election.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who expressed frustration last month when the hearing was delayed, said that Clayton has a reputation for operating with “morality, decency and integrity” in his previous positions.

“Jay Clayton is a highly qualified nominee with a deep experience combating a wide range of national security threats,” Cotton said.

For the first time in several summers, the Cowboys have no unresolved contracts. They also open training camp with full participation, and no players on the physically unable to perform or non-football injury/illness lists.

That stability comes after an active offseason focused on a soft rebuild of a defense that underperformed in 2025 and held back one of the NFL’s top offenses.

“I like the idea that the word is that we have had a quiet offseason relative to off the field, noise or chatter, whatever you want to call it,” Jones said with a smile. “That hasn’t been the case. We’ve had a lot going on, and we’ve had to really scramble a lot.”

“We’ve had a very active (offseason); we have made a lot of decisions, we have made a lot of difficult decisions in my mind,” Jones said.

The owner said the Cowboys conducted as many as 45 coaching interviews as they overhauled the defense on a larger scale than initially planned. First-time defensive coordinator Christian Parker now leads the unit.

Offensive expectations remain high.

Schottenheimer and quarterback Dak Prescott have been clear that the goal is a Super Bowl, and Jones is letting them lead with that tone and confidence rather than driving the narrative himself.

When asked directly, Jones said he expects significant improvement in 2026 as the offense builds on its strong 2025 season and the defense rebounds from a low point.

Jones added he remains open to acquiring a big-name defensive player, drawing from the Los Angeles Rams’ approach to building contenders.

“I’d give up future to add substantive to where we are today as to a player,” Jones said. “To give you an idea about what I invest, something substantive to get the right kind of deal to improve us opening day. I feel that good about this thing this year.”

The Cowboys will open up training camp with their first practice without pads on Wednesday. The KSAT 12 sports team is in Oxnard with live coverage on KSAT 12, KSAT Plus and KSAT.com.

Read also:

• Dallas Cowboys 2026 training camp: Key storylines to watch in Oxnard

The Defense Casualty Analysis System, or DCAS, has removed the four soldiers killed and dozens of troops wounded in the latest exchange of fire from its official Iran war tally and placed them in a new category called “Overseas Operations.”

The overall total of wounded from the conflict now stands at 642 troops, between the figures listed under Operation Epic Fury and those listed in the new category in the Pentagon’s online system.

A Pentagon official said Tuesday that because Operation Epic Fury has concluded, the military has decided to classify casualties tied to the latest strikes in the new category. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters, would not offer a date for the formal end of the operation.

That characterization raises questions about properly counting the impact to U.S. service members after the U.S. military carried out nearly two weeks of consecutive strikes against Iran in a bid to gain control of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded by striking neighboring countries in the Middle East that host U.S. forces.

After a few days of paused hostilities and efforts by mediators to get both sides back to negotiations, U.S. Central Command said Tuesday that it intercepted multiple ballistic missiles fired at American troops in the region. The U.S. and Iran had agreed to a tenuous ceasefire in April and signed an interim deal to end the war in mid-June before strikes began again this month when Iran attacked ships in the crucial shipping route.

After the four soldiers who were killed this month were removed from the Iran war death toll in the online system, Pentagon spokespeople said last week on social media that it was not an effort to hide the growing human cost of the conflict but rather the result of “anomalies” and “temporary data disruptions” that were being resolved “imminently.”

On Sunday, those troops appeared by name in the new “Overseas Operations” category. Three soldiers were killed after a base in Jordan was struck July 17 by Iranian ballistic missiles and drones, and one died in Iraq a day later during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters at a White House briefing in May that the operation had “concluded,” saying that “we achieved the objectives of that operation.”

When Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified before Congress last week, he didn’t argue that the Iran war had concluded and even offered lawmakers some cost estimates for the conflict that ran through Sept. 30.

Earlier in the day, President Donald Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — the first meeting since the two leaders launched a joint war against Iran and a chance for Netanyahu to smooth out strains in their relationship.

Trump also met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday ahead of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral, which was their second sit-down this month.

Later, Trump joined guests and foreign leaders at Washington National Cathedral to eulogize Sen. Lindsey Graham, who rose to become one of his generation’s more influential U.S. politicians at home and abroad.

Here's the latest:

Zelenskyy in Capitol for vote on Russian sanctions

The Ukrainian president is watching the Senate vote on Russian sanctions from the chamber’s gallery, waving at the voting senators from above.

Zelenskyy met with senators from both parties before the vote.

The bipartisan sanctions bill would penalize countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas and other exports after more than a year of negotiations.

Recent fighting with Iran further draws down key US air defense stockpiles, analysis says

Recent fighting with Iran used up more of the U.S. military’s already diminished stockpiles of advanced missile interceptors, potentially putting American troops at more risk if hostilities resume, a new analysis says.

Shrunken inventories of Patriot and THAAD interceptors may force the U.S. and its Middle East allies to take more risks to conserve those air defenses, according to the analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

For example American forces may launch fewer missiles against incoming Iranian drones and missiles, raising the chance of one getting through.

The nation’s advanced weapons stockpiles have become a flashpoint in the five-month-long conflict, along with the threat to the lives of American service members, heightened gasoline prices and increasing costs to taxpayers.

Senate confirms Jay Clayton as Trump’s national intelligence director

The vote Tuesday puts a permanent director in the job weeks after Trump sought to delay his nomination.

Clayton is the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former Securities and Exchange Commission chair.

Republicans had initially hoped to confirm Clayton in June, but Trump delayed his hearing in order to allow his temporary pick for the job, Bill Pulte, to take over for several weeks.

The last director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, resigned in May.

▶ Read more

Trump looks to drum up support for Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles in primary fight

Ogles, who is looking to win a third term, is facing a challenge in the 5th District’s Republican primary from Charlie Hatcher, a dairy farmer and former Tennessee commissioner of agriculture.

Trump sought to give Ogles a boost with a tele-rally, reminding Tennessee Republicans that he gave the incumbent an early endorsement. Tennessee’s primary is Aug. 6, and early voting is underway.

“He’s been a friend of mine. He’s been a terrific guy,” Trump said of Ogles.

US military thwarts an Iranian missile attack on troops

The U.S. military says Iran has launched multiple ballistic missiles at American forces in the Middle East, shattering a brief pause in fighting as mediators tried to get both sides back to negotiations.

All Iranian missiles were successfully intercepted on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Central Command on social media. It says U.S. forces “remain vigilant and at a high state of readiness.”

Pentagon ties new casualty category to end of ‘Operation Epic Fury’

The Pentagon says a new, separate category was created in its official casualty tally for those killed and wounded in the renewed U.S.-Iran fighting because “Operation Epic Fury” has ended.

That’s the military’s official name for combat operations in Iran. The Defense Casualty Analysis System has removed the four soldiers killed and dozens of troops wounded in the latest exchange of fire from its Iran war tally and placed them in a new category called “Overseas Operations.”

A Pentagon official said Tuesday that since Operation Epic Fury has concluded, the military has decided to classify casualties tied to the latest strikes in the new category.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters, wouldn’t offer a date for the formal end of the operation.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters at a White House briefing in May that the operation had “concluded,” saying that “we achieved the objectives of that operation.”

Trump teleprompter operator accused of using inside information for prediction market bets no longer in post

A White House teleprompter operator who was put on unpaid leave after new reports stated he had used inside knowledge to make bets about Trump’s speeches on the online prediction market Kalshi is no longer in his post, according to a White House official familiar with the matter.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly about the personnel matter and spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed on Tuesday that the teleprompter operator, Gabriel Perez, “no longer works in the federal government.” The official did say whether Perez had resigned or was fired.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed earlier this month that Perez had been placed on unpaid leave after ABC News reported the teleprompter operator had used his inside knowledge to win more than $100,000 betting on what the president would say in big speeches, including the State of the Union address earlier this year.

— Aamer Madhani

Air Force begins process to rename base after Sen. Lindsey Graham

The U.S. Air Force has begun taking steps to rename Joint Base Charleston in honor of the late South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, an Air Force official says.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal military matters, said Air Force Secretary Troy Meink signed a memo Monday to begin the process of renaming the base to Joint Base Lindsey Graham.

The official said there was no immediate timeline on how long the process would take to rename the base, which is adjacent to Charleston International Airport. The renaming was reported earlier by the Post and Courier.

Graham served in the Air Force, the Air Force Reserves and the Air National Guard for more than 30 years as a lawyer before retiring at the rank of colonel, according to his Senate website.

He was honored at a memorial service Tuesday after he died suddenly on July 11.

—- Konstantin Toropin

Trump reflects on Graham’s loss in rare display of emotion

Speaking at the lectern during his tribute to Graham, Trump paused to note the difficulty of the moment.

“I will say, this memorial service — it’s so hard to say: memorial service for Lindsey,” Trump said before continuing.

Toward the end of his roughly 12-minute tribute, Trump looked upward and suggested Graham was “watching us” now.

“Our nation needs more men and women like that great person sitting, laying — wherever he may be,” Trump said. “I think I know where he is, and I think he’s up there. I think he’s watching us. I’m pretty sure of it.”

Trump highlights defense of Kavanaugh as perhaps Graham’s ‘finest hour’

Trump recalled the passionate defense Graham issued during the confirmation hearing in 2018 for now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, during Trump's first term as president.

Christine Blasey Ford had come forward and accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a party when they were in high school, an allegation he denied.

Graham, who was a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee considering the nomination, passionately defended Kavanaugh, who later was confirmed to the high court.

“His impassioned defense of a wonderful person, a great gentleman, Justice Kavanaugh, ended a disgraceful attack on this very good man and gave us one of the greatest moments the Senate has ever seen,” Trump said. “It was a truly monumental moment in Senate history. I believe it was Lindsey’s perhaps finest hour.”

Kavanaugh was among the mourners at Washington National Cathedral.

Trump eulogizes Graham, says ‘he left us much too soon’

Trump remembered Graham as someone who became a “constant fixture of American politics at the highest level, and a force to be reckoned with all over the world.”

“For more than 30 years, nothing of consequence happened in this capital without Lindsey Graham knowing about it. Nothing of significance happened anywhere in the world without Lindsey Graham having a view on it,” Trump said. “And no bill became law in the most exceptional Republican human history without Lindsey Graham having a say in it.”

“He was a man who gave America the full measure of his good and mighty heart until that heart itself just gave out,” Trump said.

Trump said Graham “went out at the peak of his career and the top of his game.”

Netanyahu says his talk with Trump was ‘one of the best’

In a video posted on his Instagram account, Netanyahu described his meeting with Trump on Tuesday as “excellent.”

He added that it was “a conversation with full partnership, with mutual support, with an understanding of the common goal of ensuring that Iran does not have nuclear weapons, and other goals as well. One of the best conversations I’ve had with the President of the United States, our friend Donald Trump.”

The Israeli Prime Minister met with Trump in the White House for about 90 minutes of talks, in a meeting that was closed to press coverage. He said that Trump’s “entire senior team” was present at the meeting, as well as “our senior team,” and that it was “an opportunity to exchange ideas and to coordinate arrangements that are important for the security and future of the State of Israel.”

Netanyahu departs White House after meeting Trump

The Israeli prime minister departed after about 90 minutes of talks.

As he was leaving, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt released a statement on X noting that Trump had concluded his meetings with Netanyahu and Zelenskyy.

She said: “Both meetings were positive and productive!”

They were closed to press coverage.

Netanyahu attended a memorial dinner for Graham, calling him a ‘dear friend’

The event was held in Washington on Monday evening and was also attended by Graham’s sister and replacement in the Senate, Darlene Graham, as well as other relatives, friends of the late senator, “senior administration officials and members of Congress,” according to a statement by Netanyahu’s office.

Speaking at the event, the Israeli leader praised Graham as “deeply committed to the security of the United States, to the security of Israel, and to the ongoing fight against anti-Semitism,“ the statement said.

Netanyahu, who is meeting with Trump at the White House, is among several foreign leaders who are expected to attend Graham’s Washington funeral held later on Tuesday.

“America has lost a great patriot. Israel has lost one of its greatest friends and supporters. And I have lost a dear friend,” Netanyahu said at the memorial dinner.

Zelenskyy reports having a ‘good meeting’ with Trump

In a social media post afterward, the Ukrainian leader said his first act was to offer his condolences to Trump on the death of Graham, who was close to Trump and a strong supporter of Ukraine.

Zelenskyy says he and Trump discussed licenses for Ukraine to produce Patriot interceptors and “several other ideas that could help.” They also discussed diplomacy.

Zelenskyy said he expressed gratitude to the United States for “its firm support” and said their teams will arrange future communication.

The White House closed the meeting to independent journalists. Zelenskyy released photos showing him posing with Trump and that U.S. secretaries Rubio, Bessent and Hegseth attended the Oval Office meeting.

Iran’s government details damage from recent escalation

Iran says recent U.S. strikes destroyed an airport and a marine control tower, and caused damage to 12 bridges and two tunnels, among other infrastructure.

Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani provided the details Tuesday in an announcement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency.

The U.S. military said it struck numerous military targets this month in response to Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks on Arab countries hosting U.S. forces.

Both sides paused their attacks over the weekend, though tensions remain high.

Mohajerani said Bushehr International Airport, on the Persian Gulf, has been “rendered inoperable.” Both tunnels have been reopened and alternate routes have been established around the damaged bridges, she said.

She said other civilian infrastructure had also been destroyed, including a meteorological center and fishing boats. The U.S. says it targeted small boats used by Iranian forces to harass ships in the strait.

Former colleagues of Graham offer personal goodbyes as they walk up to his flag-draped casket

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., placed both hands on his casket and then placed her hand on her heart. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., saluted from her wheelchair. And Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., gave a fist bump.

Scores of former senators also traveled to the Capitol to pay their respects, including former Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., who bowed and then briefly kissed the casket.

Others stood briefly before his casket and offered a short prayer and a sign of the cross.

Netanyahu now at White House for Trump meeting

The black SUV carrying the Israeli prime minister arrived on West Executive Avenue minutes after Zelenskyy departed after his own meeting with Trump.

Israel’s UN envoy says `number one’ on Trump-Netanyahu agenda will be scaling down Iran war

Ambassador Danny Danon told U.N. reporters Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu definitely wants to hear from Trump what he wants to see in the coming days or weeks.

“I cannot tell you which direction it will go. There are different options,” he said. “We are prepared for all scenarios, and we will discuss it with the president.”

Danon was responding to a question on whether Israel expects the two leaders to talk about specifics of scaling down or ending the war in Iran.

“Well, I’m sure that will be number one on the agenda in the meeting today between the prime minister and the president,” he replied.

Amid somewhat strained U.S.-Israeli relations, Danon stressed, “We fought shoulder-to-shoulder against Iran, and we are prepared to continue supporting the U.S. in pursuing peace and stability in the region.” He added that Gaza will also be on the Trump-Netanyahu agenda.

Thune hails Graham as a towering figure in the Senate and the international stage

“I traveled with Lindsey all over the world as part of the congressional delegations and I saw firsthand just how much he was respected by our allies and just how well he was able to connect with foreign leaders around the world,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said.

Thune and others are honoring Graham at a tribute Tuesday in the Capitol Rotunda.

Thune and others also cited Graham’s sense of humor. He said that when lawmakers would gather for dinners in Washington, Graham was always the first call. He said no one was more capable of cracking up a room.

Choking up, he closed by telling Graham to “rest in peace my friend.”

“I look forward to the days when you make us all laugh again,” Thune said.

Americans’ confidence in US economy fell this month as Iran conflict sent gas prices back up

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 90.8 in July from 92.2 in June.

Consumers’ view of current business and labor market conditions fell by 3.6 points to 114.9, the third straight monthly decline.

Views about their near-term futures held steady from last month with a reading of 74.7.

Consumer attitudes had improved modestly in June as gas prices came down to around $3.70 a gallon from more than $4.50 a gallon in late April and early May. But as fighting in the Middle East escalated, the average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. started to rise again. On Tuesday it was $4.10, according to the auto club AAA.

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Trump and Zelenskyy are meeting

The White House says the meeting started at 9:47 a.m. It is “closed press,” meaning journalists at aren’t likely to see the leaders together in the Oval Office.

Graham’s casket arrives at the Capitol

The remains of the Republican senator have arrived at the U.S. Capitol, his flag-draped casket carried inside by an armed forces team, in recognition of his military service.

He’s being honored at a tribute in the Rotunda, the start of two days of services for the South Carolina senator.

Vice President JD Vance is expected to speak and several Cabinet officials, including former Sen. Markwayne Mullin, the Homeland Security secretary, were in attendance, as was acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who faces a rocky Senate confirmation for the job.

Iran says anyone tapping its frozen assets will be barred from the Strait of Hormuz

The threat came in response to Trump’s post on social media last week, in which he threatened to use Iranian assets frozen abroad to pay for damage to ships from Iranian attacks in the strait.

Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the spokesperson for Iran’s joint military command, said Tuesday that any countries or companies that join in Trump’s “unlawful action” will be barred from using the strait. The critical waterway carried a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas before the war. His video message was carried by Iranian state TV.

Trump had said damage to ships would be “paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls.” It was unclear what legal mechanisms Trump would use to seize and spend the funds.

Acting national intelligence chief announces more job cuts

Bill Pulte, the acting director of national intelligence, has sought to leave his mark during his interim status in the job.

With the Senate poised to confirm Jay Clayton for the role, Pulte released Tuesday on X a series of intelligence community documents from 2020 that described China’s capacity to interfere in the American political process as well as vulnerabilities in the election system.

The substance of the material was largely recycled and already known, but its disclosure is part of a broader Trump administration effort to raise concerns about the integrity of U.S. elections — most especially the 2020 presidential race he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Pulte has also presided over a downsizing of the national intelligence office, which functions as a coordinating hub for the U.S. government’s intelligence agencies.

He boasted on X that with a latest round of job cuts, the office is carrying out about a 30% staff reduction from weeks ago.

Trump urges Iran to make a deal so he won’t have to hurt the people

Trump has repeatedly retreated from threats to knock out bridges, power plants and other infrastructure but he told Fox News Channel in an interview that Iran knows he’ll “finish the job” if its leaders don’t make a deal to end the war.

He says millions of people would then struggle to get by.

Trump claimed he would need less than an hour to “take out” most of Iran’s bridges and said he could blow up their power plants “within one day” and then target desalinization plants.

“You know, if I can avoid doing that, I’d like to do that,” he said.

Trump says he doesn’t need Netanyahu’s advice on Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain

The president says he’s not worried about construction activities at Iran’s potential nuclear site at Pickaxe Mountain, a complex Trump has threatened to bomb.

And Trump criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for publicly expressing concerns about the site ahead of the two leaders’ meeting Tuesday at the White House.

“I know exactly what’s going on at Pickaxe,” Trump told “Fox & Friends,” adding that whatever Iran is doing is “not a big problem.”

On Netanyahu’s statements ahead of his visit to Washington, Trump said, “Why don’t you just tell it to me? Why do you have to announce to the world.”

The bilateral huddle, on the same day that both men are attending the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral, is the first since Netanyahu and Trump launched their war in Iran five months ago.

Trump remembers Sen. Lindsey Graham both for his kindness and his hawkishness

Speaking fondly about his friend and ally, Trump said he admired Graham as a nice person who was quick to call for military action.

“He was a guy that liked war,” Trump said Tuesday in a Fox News interview. “I jokingly say, and there’s nothing funny about it, but he’s never seen a war that he didn’t like.”

Trump added that Graham was “very much a hawk on Iran” but had also told Trump it was time to make a deal to end the war. That sentiment did not extend to the Russia-Ukraine war, Trump said.

“Ukraine he’s very militant about,” Trump said. “Lindsey liked war, to be honest with you.”

Senate expected to confirm Jay Clayton as next intelligence director on Tuesday

It will ensure that a permanent director is in place as the midterm elections approach.

Clayton is expected to be confirmed along party lines after a contentious hearing two weeks ago in which he repeatedly refused to say that former President Joe Biden won the 2020 election. Still, Democrats have said they have more confidence in Clayton than they do in Trump’s temporary pick for the job, Bill Pulte, who has no known intelligence experience and investigated the president’s perceived enemies in his previous post as a federal housing regulator.

Senators from both parties have expressed concerns about Pulte, who took over on an interim basis last month after Tulsi Gabbard resigned. Pulte was in charge when Trump delivered a speech from the White House earlier this month doubling down on his false claims about the 2020 election, which he lost, and released classified documents he said were relevant to his arguments.

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Security around the White House is tight due to Zelenskyy and Netanyahu visits

Only foot traffic is allowed on streets surrounding the complex. Vehicular traffic is blocked by city police cars and dump trucks at key intersections, like Pennsylvania Avenue and 17th St and near Lafayette Park.

Netanyahu is staying at Blair House, the U.S. government’s guest house across from the White House.

Zelenskyy has the first meeting with Trump, scheduled for 9:30 a.m., followed by Netanyahu at 11 a.m.

Zelenskyy will visit Trump at the White House before Sen. Graham’s funeral

Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet Tuesday ahead of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral, their second sit-down this month and after a far-right activist with the U.S. president’s ear had a widely publicized change of heart on Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Trump is set to welcome Zelenskyy to the White House as the Ukrainian leader travels to Washington to honor Graham, whose final act as a public official was visiting Kyiv and securing an agreement on a package of sanctions that seek to punish countries that purchase Russian oil, gas and other exports.

Zelenskyy posted on X early Tuesday that he had arrived in the U.S. and listed the goals for his visit.

“Our schedule includes meetings with President Trump, his team, and those who can support our defense,” the Ukrainian leader said. “Our number one priority is anti-ballistic defense and strategic cooperation with America. Peace needs to be brought closer.”

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Netanyahu’s first meeting with Trump since the Iran war began is a chance to smooth over strains

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump on Tuesday is the first since the two leaders launched a joint war against Iran and a chance for Netanyahu to smooth out strains in their relationship.

The meeting comes as both face growing pressures at home. Netanyahu is up for reelection and is embattled in part because of his deteriorating relationship with Trump. Trump is under pressure to end an unpopular war that has wreaked economic havoc and driven prices higher ahead of midterm elections this November.

The two leaders also plan to discuss the framework agreement the U.S. and Israel signed with Lebanon over the Israel-Hezbollah war and the expansion of the Abraham Accords, according to a White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the meeting.

“We have a little difference,” Trump said Monday when asked by reporters if he and the Israeli prime minister were on the same page with Iran. “But pretty close, yeah.”

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However, Animal Care Services said surrendering a pet is not a quick option because its kennels are over capacity and its surrender waitlist stretches for months.

ACS leaders describe the situation as a “perfect storm.”

“It’s summer. That’s typically our high season,” said Lisa Norwood, public relations manager for ACS. ”Plus we’ve had, unfortunately, a number of criminal cases that we’ve had to investigate and bring animals in from.”

Some animals in the shelter’s care were surrendered by their owners, Norwood said. In many cases, money is the reason.

“For some people, it’s the economy,” she said. “They just can’t afford to take care of their pet anymore.”

But pet owners cannot simply show up at ACS to surrender an animal. Norwood said the shelter currently has a months-long waitlist that extends through the end of the year.

“We can’t just take in a pet when we have 500+ in our kennels,” she said.

ACS also stressed that dumping or abandoning a pet is not an option.

“It’s not just a ‘not so nice’ thing to do,” Norwood said. “It’s also illegal.”

Instead, ACS is encouraging pet owners to ask for help before deciding to give up an animal.

“If you need help, just ask for it,” Norwood said. “You don’t have to figure it out on your own. You’re not alone.”

One option is the ACS pet pantry, which provides supplies to San Antonio pet owners who need support.

“Sometimes it’s just as simple as, ‘Hey, I need some dog food,’” Norwood said. “Here’s some dog food. This is going to keep you for a few weeks until you can get back on your feet. We also have cat food.”

The pantry also includes some specialty items, such as dental treats, which can help prevent more costly veterinary care.

ACS can also provide new collars, leashes, and harnesses.

There is also a large area in the main building at ACS for community donations, where people can drop off pet food, toys, shampoo, grooming items, and other pet care supplies.

People who want to help but do not have pet supplies can also donate items pet owners might need, including bleach, cleaning supplies, towels, sheets and newspaper.

The agency also offers services that can reduce the cost of pet ownership, including free vaccination clinics every weekend and free or low-cost spay and neuter services.

For residents outside San Antonio, ACS said it works with partner organizations across the region that may offer similar support.

Norwood also encouraged anyone considering adopting a pet to research the costs first.

“You’ve got to do your homework,” she said.

Experts estimate the average cost of caring for a dog is about $2,400 a year, or about $200 a month, depending on the dog’s size and needs. The average cost for a cat is about $1,200 a year, or about $100 a month.

ACS said using available resources can help lower those costs and keep more pets with the families who love them.

How to get help

Call ACS to ask for support at 210-207-4738. The agency offers help with vaccination and microchipping as well as spaying and neutering. Owners can also ask ACS for its resource list for sick pets.

As for help with food and pet items outside of ACS, the shelter offers pet owners the following list:

San Antonio shelters

• Animal Defense League: 11300 Nacogdoches Road, 210-655-1481
• San Antonio Humane Society: 484 Fredericksburg Road, 210-226-7461
• San Antonio Pets Alive!: 4710 TX Highway 151, 210-370-7612

Nearby city shelters

• Bexar County Animal Control: 5510 Duffek Drive, Kirby, Texas 78219, 210-214-6919
• Converse Animal Care Facility: 8755 FM 1516, Converse, Texas 78109, 210-658-5369
• Helotes Humane Society: 10675 Shaenfield Road, 210-422-6242
• Kirby Animal Shelter: 5503 Duffek Drive, Kirby, Texas 78219, 210-661-4063
• Live Oak Animal Shelter: 8001 Shin Oak Drive, Live Oak, Texas 78233, 210-653-9140
• Schertz Animal Shelter: 800 Community Circle Drive, Schertz, Texas 78154, 210-619-1550
• Universal City Animal Shelter: 134 Athenian, Universal City, TX 78148, 210-658-0700

Low-cost sterilization and vaccination clinics

• SNAP: 6758 Ingram Road, 210-673-7722
• SNIPSA: 4216 McCullough Ave, Olmos Park, Texas 78212, 210-237-9400

Cats

• Community Cat Program: 4710 TX Hwy 151, 210-207-6696, Email: Acsccp@sanantonio.gov
• San Antonio Feral Cat Coalition: P.O. Box 692308, San Antonio, Texas 78269, 210-877-9067

Wildlife

• Texas Parks & Wildlife San Antonio location: 2391 NE Loop 410, Suite 409, 210-348-7375
• Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation, Inc.: 1354 Basse Road, 830-336-2725

Other resources

• K9’s for Warriors: 4630 State Highway 151, 904-686-1956

Read also:

• Free and low-cost spay, neuter options available for San Antonio pet owners

TxDOT told KSAT that repairs are expected to be complete by the end of September.

Original (July 18, 2026): The Texas Department of Public Safety – South Texas Region captured the partial collapse of the FM 481 bridge above the Nueces River on Friday in Uvalde County.

In a Facebook post, DPS shared multiple images of the bridge collapse from its South Texas Region Aircraft Operations Division.

“Stay away from flooded areas, obey all road closures, and never drive around barricades,” the post said. “Your safety comes first.”

In the county, more than 10 inches of rain fell on Thursday on top of the showers of the last few days, according to the KSAT Weather Authority team.

A Uvalde Police Department spokesperson previously told KSAT that the city was practically “impassible” for drivers due to the floods.

Officials say at least one person died from flooding in the Uvalde area. Another person died in Kerr County, according to Gov. Greg Abbott.

Read also:

• 2 deaths confirmed as flooding hits South Texas; Rescues, evacuations continue

Castro and four other members of congress visited detainees to talk about the conditions inside the ICE facility. During the two hour visit Castro says he saw worsening health conditions from his previous visits.

U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley said 539 people are currently held in the facility. Castro said the last time he visited, there were less than 100 people there.

Among the current detainees, Pressley says there are 84 families and at least one is from San Antonio.

A 16-year-old girl spoke with Castro and stated she was detained on her way to a San Antonio church with a friend. She was taken to a local processing center and spent two days there.

Immigration authorities called her father to let her know she was detained, according to Castro.

“They told her dad they we’re going to send her out of state if he didn’t pick her up,” Castro said. “He could pick her up and take her home.”

When the father showed up, he was also detained, Castro said.

KSAT has reached out to Castro’s office for additional details regarding the detained family from San Antonio and will update once we receive more information.

Conditions at the facility

Tuesday marks Castro’s seventh visit to the ICE facility in Dilley. Throughout those visits, a common issue Castro expressed was concerns about worsening conditions inside the facility.

Members of congress who visited also invited Dr. Anita K. Patel, a pediatric critical care attending physician. She described her job as someone who recognizes threats to children’s health and treats children when they’re critically ill.

“The children detained are experiencing severe, predictable and lasting harm,” Patel said. She cited “inadequate bedding, inadequate food and inadequate water” as some of the issues she observed.

CoreCivic, a private company, partners with the federal government to provide ICE the detention facility where detainees are held as they go through their legal due process.

In a statement, the company said the facility is monitored closely by government partners to make sure they ensure full compliance with policies and procedures.

“We do provide a safe, humane and appropriate environment for the individuals in our care,” Ryan Gustin, spokesperson for CoreCivic, said in the statement.

Gustin said the facility provides “quality healthcare, educational programs, daily nutritious meals and access to legal services.”

Read also:

• Mariachi no longer in ICE custody after calls for his release, Rep. Castro says
• ICE extends no-bid contract for major detention center in Texas, rejecting calls for closure

The Salamanca City Central School District's board approved the nearly $60,000 purchase from Realbotix with visions that “Sally,” as the stationary robot with long dark hair has already been nicknamed, would enhance the education of high school students studying robotics and technology fields.

“Having a difficult time programming an Arduino board? Don’t even know what an Arduino board is? Ask Sally and she can explain it,” Superintendent Mark Beehler, said Tuesday. “The robot also provides opportunities for students to learn how the robot is maintained, how it is updated with new approved content, and how to troubleshoot issues.”

But as news spread in the small community located on the Seneca Nation of Indians reservation, parents and teachers worried about how students' personal information would be used. Unionized teachers took aim at Realbotix's sex doll sister company, even as district officials and the company itself stressed the two manufacturers operate independently.

“A robot built by a company associated with sex dolls has no business in our classrooms,” said Melinda Person, president of the labor union New York State United Teachers.

For now, the robot pilot remains on hold as the district works through “enhanced student data privacy agreements” with the state education officials and continues outreach to the community, according to a statement the district posted Friday on its Facebook page.

State officials and teacher voice concerns

State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa said she remained concerned about the robot’s role in the classroom even after her staff met with district officials.

“Although you confirmed that the robot would not have any role delivering classroom instruction, a recent presentation to the board characterized the robot as a ‘tutoring platform,' ” Rosa wrote in a letter to the district Friday.

She also echoed residents’ concerns about what data privacy and security protections would be in place.

Unionized teachers, meanwhile, suggested the effort was a first step toward replacing, flesh-and-bone educators. “Sally” will be able to move her arms and hands but have nonworking legs.

“Our students don’t need robots," Person said. "They need real relationships with caring adults.”

District officials defend robot purchase

Beehler stressed the pilot, which also includes rollout of a virtual, AI-powered teacher’s assistant and at-home tutoring program, is not about replacing staff.

“There is no possible way a robot can replace a human in a school,” he said Tuesday. “Even if it were possible, it would in no way be in the best interest of students. Teaching is a human-to-human process.”

Beehler, who was connected to Realbotix through a former colleague, said the Las Vegas-based company was a natural fit because its robots are already programmed with WozEd, a curriculum from Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak that the district uses.

Last year, a San Diego charter school rolled out two AI-powered robots purchased from Engineered Arts, a robotics company based in the United Kingdom, for $500,000.

Salamanca Schools, in social media posts, stressed that “Sally” won’t be collecting students’ personal information, recording audio or video of its interactions or sending data back to Realbotix.

The robot also has been programmed to steer clear of inappropriate topics such as sex, violence and gambling, and it won’t be able to search the public internet or draw answers from unvetted generative AI services.

Instead, all information on “Sally” will be stored locally, with the life-sized robot consuming roughly the same amount of energy as a laptop, according to the district.

Robot maker responds to criticism

Realbotix added Tuesday that student authentication would be handled through the district’s existing systems, and any student-linked information would remain encrypted and under the district’s control.

The company also pushed back at suggestions that “Sally” was simply a repurposed sex doll, saying it was a “newly manufactured, purpose-built educational unit” with no modified hardware.

The school’s robot comes from Realbotix LLC, which focuses on healthcare, education and other nonadult commercial applications. A sister company, Intima LLC, holds an ownership stake in RealDoll, a longtime maker of sex dolls, including a line of AI-powered models billed as the “world’s most advanced sex robot.”

“Realbotix LLC and Intima LLC have different product offerings with no crossover,” the company said in a statement last week. “The two subsidiaries maintain their own management, personnel, payroll, facilities, manufacturing operations, product development, and market strategies.”

Some residents remain wary

Beehler argued that it is crucial for isolated districts like Salamanca, which is located along the Allegheny River near the Pennsylvania state line, to find new ways to introduce cutting-edge products into classrooms.

“In most cases, our students need to travel 1-2 hours to have opportunities to see emergent technology,” he said Tuesday. “One of the intents of the robot is to help level the playing field and motivate students to continue studying robotics, AI, and STEAM related career pathways.”

Some Salamanca residents, though, remain unconvinced.

Joplin Ficek, who graduated from Salamanca High School in 2024 and now works at a daycare, said she doesn’t see any reason to have robots or AI take such a prominent role at her alma mater at all.

“They just need to hire more people who are willing to put in the effort for the children,” Ficek said. “They need more interaction with the children than having some robot raise our kids.”

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

Orosco was shot in an apartment complex off Loop 410 and Culebra Road, in the 1500 block of Northwest Crossroads, according to the San Antonio Police Department.

A black SUV pulled up as Orosco and another person were getting out of their car when someone shot twice, killing the 20-year-old. The shooting was caught on surveillance video.

“He deserves to be here right now,” Edwards said. “And if whoever knows something, if somebody knows what happened, if somebody was there, if somebody talked to somebody who knows something, for them to come forward. Because it’s been 10 years, and I want to have that peace for myself and my family as well.”

Edwards described her son as ambitious, with plans to join the Marines.

“It’s my love for my son,” she said. “I’ve never forgotten and I’m never going to forget about him. And I’m not going to forget that somebody’s out there that did this to my son, 10 years later. And that’s one thing I’m not going to drop.”

Edwards said she wasn’t pleased with previous detectives on her son’s case, but is hopeful now that there’s a new detective, and a new set of eyes searching for answers. Although she said there were two persons of interest, SAPD hasn’t made any arrests.

Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at 210-207-7635, referencing case SAPD16161616.

There is also a $5,000 reward from Crime Stoppers. Tips can be made by calling 210-224-STOP (210-224-7867).

Read also:

• Man accused in connection with North Side murder takes plea deal, sentenced to 25 years in prison
• SAPD: Splashed water on vehicle sparks apparent road rage shooting with 2-year-old caught in middle
• Neighbors nervous after 71-year-old killed in West Side hit-and-run crash

Shrunken inventories of Patriot and THAAD interceptors may force the U.S. and its Middle Eastern allies to take more risks to conserve those air defenses, according to the analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank. For example, it said, American forces may launch fewer missiles against incoming Iranian drones and missiles, raising the chance of one getting through.

“That percentage may not go up a lot, but it goes up a little,” said Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and now senior adviser at CSIS who co-authored Monday's report with research associate Chris H. Park.

The issue came into sharp relief when the U.S. military announced Tuesday that it had intercepted “multiple ballistic missiles from Iran in an attempted surprise attack on U.S. forces based in the Middle East."

The nation’s advanced weapons stockpiles have become a flashpoint in the five-month-long conflict, along with the threat to the lives of American service members, heightened gasoline prices and increasing costs to taxpayers. The war has been unpopular with many Americans and is posing political problems for President Donald Trump and Republicans ahead of November's midterm congressional elections.

Recent fighting adds to anxieties over weapons stockpiles

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has told Trump that the state of the country’s munitions stockpile could have an impact on military operations in Iran, a U.S. official said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive conversations, said the message was delivered as part of Caine’s regular duties of providing military advice and options to Trump.

The Pentagon, however, pushed back against concerns that its capabilities have diminished.

“America’s military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President’s choosing,” Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said in a statement Tuesday. “We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests.”

While renewed hostilities between the U.S. and Iran had been paused in recent days before Tuesday's attempted strikes, the Islamic Republic is capable of launching deadly attacks. It fired missiles and drones at a base in Jordan on July 17, killing three U.S. troops. Another American soldier was killed a day later in Iraq during a controlled detonation of an Iranian drone, bringing the war’s toll to 18 U.S. service members.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers last week that the war has cost an estimated $37.5 billion. The Pentagon is asking Congress for $67 billion to replenish the military in the wake of the war, which would include funding for more high-end munitions, such as Patriots and THAADs, or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptors.

Democrats in Congress often cite the use of such finite weapons as a damning metric against the war, which Trump launched without congressional approval alongside Israel on Feb. 28.

It also has raised concerns that the U.S. military would have diminished firepower in any potential future conflict with China. CSIS warned in May that it could take at least three years to replenish stockpiles of Patriots, THAADs and Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Saving missiles reduces chances of interception

The latest estimates from CSIS for Patriot and THAAD interceptors are based on budget documents and other publicly released information.

The number of Patriot interceptors fell from 2,330 before the war to 1,030 when the April ceasefire took effect, CSIS estimated. Following the recent fighting, the stockpile is now estimated to be between 759 and 827, a decrease of at least 65% since before the conflict began.

The number of THAAD interceptors fell from 452 before the war to between 232 and 262 at the start of the April ceasefire, CSIS said. The U.S. was able to replenish some of the inventory to between 234 and 278 interceptors. But the stockpile is still at least 38% smaller than it was before the conflict.

Cancian said the concern is that lower inventories could influence the U.S. military's doctrine for shooting down incoming drones and missiles. The specifics are typically classified. But as an example, Cancian said American forces could start firing off two interceptors instead of three.

“It reduces the chances of interception, but you save a missile," Cancian said.

Another possibility is that American forces hold off firing any interceptors if an Iranian missile is expected to miss its target and strike an area free of people and infrastructure.

“They may just let it go and accept the fact that there might be some small amount of damage,” Cancian said.

___

Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.

In a Facebook post, the sheriff’s office identified the suspects as Devion Sommers, 23; Nehemiah Pratt, 21; Clinton Dixon, 20 and Kentrell Guillory, 19.

According to BCSO, the four men face burglary habitation and engaging in organized criminal activity charges.

The alleged home invasion happened June 15 in the 7500 block of Glen Briar Drive, which is located near Gibbs Sprawl Road.

The homeowner, 40, was shot twice in his chest after the men forced entry into the residence, BCSO said. The homeowner was later taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Deputies were notified shortly after the incident that a second person with a gunshot wound, identified as Dixon, was receiving treatment at a separate hospital. The sheriff’s office said two of three males who arrived at the hospital with Dixon were detained.

Witnesses told deputies that three or four men forcibly pushed past a female resident who answered the front door. The men then entered the home, encountered the 40-year-old homeowner and “immediately” opened fire.

Deputies said the homeowner returned fire before the suspects fled in two vehicles.

Dixon was later identified as a suspect connected to the home invasion. However, BCSO said the homeowner declined to pursue charges. As a result, Dixon and two other males “who accompanied him” were released from custody.

BCSO said its investigators developed additional evidence that linked Dixon and others to the home invasion and the alleged planning surrounding the incident.

Warrants were later issued for burglary habitation and engaging in organized criminal activity for Dixon, Sommers, Pratt and Guillory, deputies said.

Arrests in Austin

According to a DPS news release, Texas Rangers arrested Dixon, Sommers, Pratt, Guillory and a fifth man on July 8 in Austin.

With the help of an automatic license plate reader on a vehicle linked to Rodney Robinson III, 20, Texas Rangers identified an apartment complex near RM 2222 and McNeil Drive, where Robinson “was likely located,” DPS said.

At approximately 12:45 p.m., the Texas Rangers and DPS special agents saw Robinson attempt to drive away from the apartment complex.

Troopers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the vehicle. However, DPS said Robinson refused to stop, which prompted a short pursuit.

After troopers performed a successful maneuver on the vehicle, footage shows Robinson attempted to flee on foot. Troopers later arrested Robinson after they used a Taser to stop him.

Robinson was taken into custody for evading arrest with a motor vehicle, along with active warrants for evading arrest with a vehicle, unlawful carrying of a weapon and marijuana possession, DPS said.

The passenger in the vehicle, identified as Sommers, was arrested for burglary of habitation and engaging in organized criminal activity, troopers said. He also has an active murder warrant in a separate case.

Robinson, however, was later released on bond, BCSO said.

The sheriff’s office later learned of Robinson’s alleged involvement in the June 15 robbery in San Antonio and is now searching for him.

Troopers said Robinson is 5 feet, 10 inches tall, has black hair and brown eyes.

Suspects attempt to climb down balcony

A few hours after Sommers and Robinson were taken into custody, DPS said Texas Rangers’ SWAT division executed a search warrant at the Austin-area apartment complex.

When the Texas Rangers executed the warrant, Pratt and Guillory attempted to flee by climbing down the apartment’s balcony before troopers later arrested them.

At the time of his arrest, DPS said that Guillory had an active murder warrant out of Louisiana.

Authorities said anyone with information on Robinson’s whereabouts is asked to call 911.

More recent crime coverage on KSAT:

• Off-duty Hays County deputy arrested on DWI charge, sheriff’s office says
• SAPD: Splashed water on vehicle sparks apparent road rage shooting with 2-year-old caught in middle

The service, known as X Money, is not a new bank. X Money is using technology and banking services provided by Cross River Bank, and branding that backbone as X Money. It is common for new financial companies to use a traditional bank's backbone to launch its services, as chartering a new bank is a timely and costly process.

Currently X Money is invite only, and users will receive a “X”-branded Visa debit card that is useable at any ATM. Users of X will be able to send money to other X users in real-time, the company said. Invitations are only available to X's paying members presently.

In order to attract customers, X Money is offering a 6% yield on deposits and 3% cashback on eligible purchases. In order to earn the 6% yield, a customer would need to deposit at least $1,000 into an account. Customers would also have to be signed up for X's premium services, which is at least $8 a month. It would require at least a deposit of $1,600 in order to cover X's premium services cost.

Musk has long talked about turning X into an “everything app” that would include financial services. Musk has his origins in financial services, creating one of the first online banks under the brand X.com. That company was later bought and merged into what is now known as PayPal.

It's still early for X Money, but the company is entering into a competitive market, dominated by PayPal's Venmo money transfer service and other peer-to-peer money transfer services like Zelle and Cash App.

Beshear made the demand in a letter after McConnell’s office said Monday that the 84-year-old senator had not yet been medically cleared to leave the rehabilitation facility where he has been undergoing physical therapy. The office said he would miss a major Kentucky political event and upcoming Senate votes. McConnell was hospitalized June 14 and disclosed weeks later that it was the result of a fall.

Beshear, who is widely viewed as a potential presidential candidate in 2028, first urged McConnell in early July to release more information about his condition after weeks of public silence. His letter Tuesday marked a significant escalation.

“I am calling on you to directly and verbally address the people of Kentucky and provide proof of your capacity to serve, or resign,” Beshear wrote to McConnell.

Beshear also sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, urging him to investigate McConnell’s condition if the senator does not demonstrate that he is capable of continuing to serve.

McConnell and Thune’s offices did not provide comment on the letter.

McConnell, who led Senate Republicans for nearly two decades, has long guarded his personal life. Since he was hospitalized last month, his office has issued major updates on July 12 and July 27, each accompanied by a single photograph.

But public scrutiny of aging elected officials has intensified after several recent health episodes and deaths in office, including the deaths of California Sen. Dianne Feinstein in 2023 and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham earlier this month, as well as President Joe Biden’s decision not to seek reelection after concerns about his age and health became a dominant political issue.

In the absence of regular public updates from McConnell himself, speculation about his condition has grown online.

“All of this speculation and even this letter could have been avoided with a minimal amount of transparency,” Beshear wrote to Thune.

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Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report from Washington.

Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said Tuesday at his conference's football media days that he was waiting to review the new language in the Protect College Sports Act, and the hope is that the new version of the bill “provides a lot more help than not.”

Among the key changes would be up to $25 million devoted to a “retention” pool that would allow schools to pay athletes already on their rosters to stay. That would be in addition to the $21.3 million schools are allowed to spend this season. Some $5 million of the new money would be devoted to women's sports.

“That’s all very specific language that has to work together with the (House) settlement, so we need to see the language on all of that,” Petitti said.

The House settlement, which dictates the terms of revenue sharing, calls for 22% of certain revenues to be shared with the athletes. The retention pool figures to drastically change that math. Also uncertain is how it would impact name, image and likeness compensation from third parties, which allows schools to blow past the cap and many agree is the reason costs of assembling football and basketball rosters are spiraling out of control.

Jeffrey Kessler, the plaintiffs' attorney in the House case, told The Associated Press: “I would have to see the specific provisions of the entire bill to evaluate any issues with the settlement.”

An outline of the changes made to the bill, a copy of which the AP obtained, also included changes the conferences sought over Olympic and women's sports; avoiding creation of so-called super leagues; language that would prohibit colleges from paying high schoolers until they enroll; and making sure conferences won't be required to participate in a media rights pooling arrangement the bill would allow.

Two other key points the conferences seek are refined language about limiting lawsuits over eligibility issues and preempting state statutes that guide NIL payments in favor of one uniform national law.

In speaking about the ramifications of the bill, Tennessee athletic director Danny White told AP this week that the best way to deal with the lawsuit issues is to let players collectively bargain.

“Even if they do act, there’s still a lot of issues that they won’t address and they probably can’t address legally,” White said.

There have been conflicting reports about how likely the bill is to reach the Senate floor, where it will need 60 votes to pass and move on to the House. Last week, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said it was unlikely the bill would reach a vote before the Senate's begins its recess Aug. 7.

The recent action might have changed the calendar.

“There’s a long list of areas where we’d like to see some improvements, but like the commissioner said, we also recognize that we’re not going to get everything that we’d like," said Josh Whitman, the athletic director at Illinois who was chair of the NCAA board of directors through June. "And so ultimately, we’d like to see something put together in a package where the benefits outweigh some of the potential negatives.”

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AP Sports Writers Steve Megargee in Chicago and Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tenn., contributed.

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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

Records show officer Arturo Trevino responded to a call of a drunk man on Culebra Road on December 20, 2025. Another officer caught the suspect, who tried to run away, before Trevino arrived.

Trevino helped search the suspect, who records show began using profanity and resisting the search.

Body-worn camera footage shows Trevino told the suspect to “shut the f--- up” twice, then pushed the suspect into the door of his patrol car.

According to the suspension records, the footage shows Trevino used “unnecessary physical violence” by throwing the handcuffed suspect onto the ground, punching him three times and slapping him.

Trevino began working for the San Antonio Police Department in July 2023, and the indefinite suspension was handed down in May 2026, city records show.

Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.

Colt Gray, 16, had pleaded guilty Friday to 55 counts, including murder, in the Sept. 4, 2024, shooting at the school about 45 miles (73 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta.

Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm handed down the sentence after hearing from family members of those killed and victims, as well as investigators, Gray’s grandmother and a forensic psychologist who had evaluated Gray.

Murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison in Georgia, so the only decision Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm had to make was whether Gray should ever be eligible for parole. He decided the teen should never be allowed out.

“You do not seem to be tormented by what you did. You seem to relish following in the footsteps of the murderers you idolize. You aren’t wracked with guilt. You’re proud of yourself," Primm said.

“We’ve seen no evidence he has any ability to develop a conscience or any ability ever to fully value human life,” District Attorney Brad Smith had said during his closing argument, insisting that Gray “cannot be in society.”

Defense attorney W. Charlton Allen told the judge his client was “not irretrievably broken.” Allowing him the possibility of parole would give him “an opportunity of hope," Allen said, adding that a lack of hope “takes away the ability for him to change.”

The victims got the sentence they asked for

“This is not a happy day. This is a relief day, I would say,” Smith told reporters after the sentencing, adding that he hoped his team had “done honor” to the victims and their loved ones.

Teachers Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, died in the shooting. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, seven of them hit by gunfire.

Victims of the shooting and family members of those killed conveyed their anger and grief to Primm on Friday, almost all of them asking him not to allow the possibility of parole.

Shayna Aspinwall, the wife of math teacher and football coach Richard Aspinwall, described “a life sentence of grief and trauma for those left behind.”

Investigators say Gray aspired to be a mass shooter

Investigators testified during the three-day sentencing hearing that Gray idolized mass shooters, talking about them online with other members of the “true crime community,” a group of young people online who are fascinated with such attacks. Gray had chatted online about gaining notoriety through a school shooting.

Prosecutors played recordings of phone conversations Gray had with his mother, Marcee Gray, from a youth detention center in the months after the shooting. During those calls, he directed his mother to look up what people were saying about him online. He was excited when she described “fan art” drawings depicting him or comments people made about him and the attention he was getting online.

Gray had the “mental wherewithal” to mimic details of other mass killings on the day of the shooting, Smith said. He placed those “Easter eggs,” anticipating that they would be mentioned in court one day and would perpetuate his fame, the prosecutor said.

“The shooting was not the culmination of the plan. The shooting was just one of the steps of the plan. The plan was ultimate and lifelong fame inside of the TCC,” Smith said, referencing the “true crime community.”

Gray's grandmother says he needed help

“Colt got less stability than he needed, which made him even more vulnerable,” Allen, the defense attorney, argued. He said his client got wrapped up in an online community where he found the acceptance he craved but wasn’t getting at home.

Gray’s maternal grandmother, Debbie Polhamus, testified that the teen had a troubled childhood and that his parents failed him. Her grandson had grown “highly agitated and aggressive” in the weeks before the shooting, she said, adding that she had urged his parents to get him some help but they didn’t follow through.

“I tried to help Colt because nobody else was helping him,” she said.

Polhamus said she visits her grandson once a week at a youth detention center and that he has improved enormously with treatment and medication. She said her grandson has been doing a lot of reading and wants to study to get a GED diploma.

“I’d like to see him have a chance at some point to prove himself,” Polhamus said.

Gray was put in foster care while in detention because his father was in prison and there were concerns about his mother's contact with him. Candice Broce, director of the state Division of Family & Children Services and commissioner of the Georgia Department of Human Services, managed his case.

Broce testified that Gray appeared to show improvement. After Marcee Gray was barred from speaking with her son by a July 2025 no-contact order and he started taking medication, staff at the youth detention center told Broce it “changed him essentially into a different child,” she said.

The judge acknowledged that Gray had been failed by his parents, his extended family and, to a certain extent, society.

“But that failure does not absolve you from who you chose to idolize, worship and become,” Primm told Gray.

The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly about the personnel matter and spoke on condition of anonymity, said on Tuesday that teleprompter operator, Gabriel Perez, “no longer works in the federal government." The official would not say whether he resigned or was fired.

The White House confirmed earlier this month that Perez had been placed on unpaid leave after ABC News reported he had used his inside knowledge to win more than $100,000 betting on what the president would say in big speeches, including the State of the Union address earlier this year.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had described the reports of the insider trading as “deeply unfortunate and, frankly, a disgrace.”

Robert Denault, Kalshi’s lawyer and head of enforcement, said on X following the ABC News report that the “Kalshi surveillance team promptly flagged, investigated and referred these trades” to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission that has regulatory authority over such matters.

His statement did not name Perez.

The ABC report described suspicious activity on Kalshi’s “Mentions” market, in which users can place bets on what phrases and specific words might be used in public speeches. Kalshi recently began requiring users to disclose their place of employment, and the platform’s policy prohibits betting based on information that users gain because of their job.

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Associated Press writer Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed to this report.

Shanahan crashed into a 21-year-old woman driving in the other direction in Palo Alto on July 14 and was left with a concussion, broken ribs, a broken nose and broken left hand and stitches for a large cut above his right eye. Shanahan was briefly hospitalized following the crash and hasn't been able to coach the team at the start of training camp. The other driver suffered minor injuries and did not need to be hospitalized.

Shanahan spoke to a small group of reporters on Tuesday for the first time since the crash to explain what happened from his vantage point and to make clear the crash was his fault.

“I was going 20 miles an hour,” Shanahan said. “I was not on my phone, but I dropped my phone, and it was stuck in my seats. It was on my lap, and it slid off, and I went down to look for it, and took my eyes off the road for two seconds, and as I was coming up, the air bags hit me in my face.”

Police filed no charges in the crash.

Palo Alto police Lt. Nicholas Martinez confirmed Shanahan's version of the crash was correct and that a mistake in a report transmitted to a state database incorrectly blamed the crash on the other driver.

“I can confirm that Kyle Shanahan’s statement that he provided is correct and that he was found at fault for the collision,” Martinez said in a statement Tuesday. “There was a clerical error in the preparation of the report that was transmitted to the state database. We are in the process of correcting that error. It is the officer’s discretion at the scene of the collision as to whether they issue a citation to either party. It is not uncommon for officers to elect to not issue a citation to either party involved in a collision. Neither party in this situation was provided preferential treatment."

Shanahan has been unable to run the team or practice since training camp started on Saturday with assistant Chris Foerster in charge with assistance from coordinators Raheem Morris, Klay Kubiak and Brant Boyer.

Shanahan has come out for portions of the first two practices to watch alongside general manager John Lynch. He said he is not bothered by the sunlight but loud noises like the music at practice are still an issue.

Shanahan said he has made considerable progress and expects to make a full recovery. The 49ers have said that Shanahan is going through a similar protocol to the one used for players after a concussion and will resume coaching when he is recovered.

Shanahan is entering his 10th season as 49ers coach and is one of the most highly regarded coaches in the game for his offensive acumen. San Francisco has made two trips to the Super Bowl under his watch following the 2019 and 2023 seasons and made two additional appearances in the NFC title game in the 2021 and ’22 seasons.

Shanahan has a 91-72 record in the regular season and playoffs for the 49ers, ranking third in franchise history in wins behind George Seifert (108) and Bill Walsh (102).

The team overcame significant injuries last season to finish 12-5 in the regular season and win a playoff game as Shanahan finished fifth in voting for the AP NFL Coach of the Year.

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

Some of the most recent posts were made Sunday in two different parts of town.

One person in a neighborhood on the Northeast Side, near King Arthur and Crusade streets, mentioned hearing loud noises.

Another in the same thread wondered if it was similar to artillery fire.

“I just heard, like, a boom. Just, like, boom! And that was it,” Juan Richard, who lives in the neighborhood, told KSAT 12 News Tuesday. “The first thing I did was get on Nextdoor.com just to see if anybody had posted a comment, to see what it was about.”

Richard said while the explosion did not rattle his windows, it did make him a bit nervous.

Across town on the Northwest Side, meanwhile, Xavier Guevara was recalling memories of his own experience.

He said he heard multiple loud booms in his neighborhood not far from Thomas Jefferson High School.

“The car alarms were going off down the street. But, yeah, you could feel them inside,” he said. “It caught me by surprise. Didn’t know exactly what it was at the time.”

A search of social media sites, including Nextdoor and Reddit, revealed similar stories from people all over the city.

KSAT 12 News emailed the San Antonio Police Department inquiring whether the agency had received any calls about the explosions.

An SAPD spokesperson said she checked the records and did not locate any records of calls in either of those areas.

Emails also sent to the three big military bases in town, JBSA-Randolph, JBSA-Ft. Sam Houston, and JBSA-Lackland, so far have gone unanswered.

However, Guevara has come up with one possible explanation on his own.

He believes an internet trend involving homemade fireworks may be to blame for the explosions he heard in his neighborhood.

“It was a big strobe rocket coming up,” he said, describing what he saw. “Recently (the trend has) caught a lot more attention, so I think a lot more people are buying the supplies to make them.”

As for Richard and residents in other areas, though, the attempt to find out more about the source of the booms right now is a bust.

Read also:

• Texas law shields San Antonio-area data center water usage from public records requests

According to the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office, Jesus Monsivais Jr. accepted a plea agreement in the murder case of Oscar Castillo Jr., 41.

On Dec. 29, 2020, Monsivais and several others were driving through a neighborhood slowly “with the intent of burglarizing vehicles,” the district attorney’s office said.

Castillo questioned the group about their intentions when Monsivais exited the vehicle and fatally shot Castillo in his front yard, according to the district attorney’s office.

Castillo was found lying at the end of the driveway at his home on Brentcove in the gated Finesilver Ranch subdivision, near Loop 1604 and Braun Road.

Monsivais was 18 years old when he was indicted by a Bexar County grand jury in March 2021.

Read also:

• Man accused in connection with North Side murder takes plea deal, sentenced to 25 years in prison
• SAPD: Splashed water on vehicle sparks apparent road rage shooting with 2-year-old caught in middle
• Former Hispanic chamber president avoids jail time, must pay 104-year-old mother restitution as part of plea deal

Police Chief Shon Barnes told a news conference that the weapon was a 9 mm gun from Polymer80 — a now-defunct company that was once a leading manufacturer of ghost gun parts.

Investigators also recovered two other weapons and 14 shell casings that had been fired by weapons of two different calibers, he said.

The festival shooting killed 3 people and injured 4, including a toddler

The shooting in the waning hours of the three-day Bite of Seattle festival left three people dead, including a 19-year-old gunman, and at least four people injured, including a toddler. Authorities say they believe the violence was gang-related, and they are reviewing any available surveillance video and interviewing victims and witnesses in an effort to identify others who may have been involved.

An eighth person with a possible gunshot wound checked themself into a Seattle hospital after the shooting, but checked out before investigators could conduct an interview, Barnes said. Legal obstacles have prevented detectives from obtaining the patient’s identity, he added. It's unclear if the injury was related to the festival shooting or whether the person might have been involved in it, but Barnes asked for the person to come forward and speak with investigators.

Ghost guns lack serial numbers law enforcement can use to trace them

Ghost guns are privately made — often homemade — firearms that lack serial numbers used to trace them. They have often been purchased without a background check. Law enforcement officials say ghost guns, including those made with 3D printers, have been used in violent crimes across the U.S.

Lawsuits and state-level bans eventually pushed Polymer80 out of business in 2024, and last year, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a rule adopted under former President Joe Biden requiring companies to treat gun kits like other firearms by adding serial numbers, running background checks, and verifying that buyers are 21 or older.

The weapon the 15-year-old had been shooting when he surrendered to police was equipped with an extended 33-round magazine, Barnes said. The magazine still had 19 rounds in it.

At the scene Sunday night, police also recovered a 9 mm handgun that they do not believe was used in the shooting.

And on Monday, as food vendors were allowed to return to the area to clean up and collect their equipment, a third weapon was discovered: a Glock 45 model 9 mm with a switch allowing it to fire fully automatically, Barnes said. Police believe that gun was fired during the shooting. It had an extended 40-round magazine, with 21 rounds remaining in it.

Police believe there were at least 3 shooters

In a document filed in juvenile court in Seattle on Monday, police said they believed there were at least three shooters: the 15-year-old, an acquaintance who died at the scene and “at least one other unknown suspect.” Authorities had earlier said they believed there were two.

A judge on Monday ordered the 15-year-old to be held in juvenile detention for investigation of assault and firearms charges pending further hearings. The King County prosecutor's office said it expected to receive the case from police on Wednesday for a charging decision. Hong Tran, a public defender assigned to the teen's case, declined to comment in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office on Monday identified the dead as Carlos Israel Sanchez Villalba, 44; Ashley Whitehead, 56; and Junior Cee Niko Semo, 19.

Victims remembered as kind, willing to help others and a ‘free spirit’

Villalba was a husband and father of three known for his kindness and willingness to help others, according to a GoFundMe campaign launched Monday to help his family with funeral expenses. He died from a gunshot wound to his torso, while Whitehead died from a gunshot to her pelvis and Semo died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Whitehead had just moved to Washington from Alabama a year ago and was enjoying the festival with one of her adult daughters when she was shot, her cousin Michelle Whitehead told The Associated Press. She was taken to the hospital and died in surgery, she said.

Ashley Whitehead adored her two adult daughters, and also loved nature and arts and crafts, her cousin said.

“I would consider her just a free spirit. She had the best sense of humor, the best gorgeous smile,” she said.

During a vigil Monday night at the center, Michelle Whitehead stood among dozens of others with a sign that said “Whitehead Strong” as the group held a moment of silence and raised up flashlights on their phones to honor those that had been killed. Candles and flowers were arranged around them.

The four wounded included a 2-year-old boy, two men, ages 23 and 27, and a woman, 39, all of whom were discharged, a hospital spokesperson said.

One of the victims was walking a bicycle when struck, the court document said. The toddler was with his mother.

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Rush reported from Portland, Oregon. Associated Press writer Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.

The S&P 500 added 0.2%, but the modest move masked big swings underneath the surface. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 537 points, or 1%, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2% after briefly dropping 9.3% below its record set last month.

The majority of the U.S. market rose after more companies delivered stronger profits for the spring than analysts expected. Coca-Cola climbed 5% after its revenue rose 7% despite what CEO Henrique Braun called “a dynamic consumer landscape.”

Sherwin-Williams rallied 8.3%, and Illinois Tool Works rose 3.6% after both likewise reported stronger earnings for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Stock prices generally follow the trend of corporate profits over the long term, and expectations are high for this most recent round of reports with the U.S. stock market still near its all-time high.

Such expectations are weighing particularly heavily on stocks of chipmakers and other companies that have been huge winners from the boom in artificial-intelligence technology.

Micron Technology’s stock came into the day having more than tripled for the year following gangbuster growth, for example. During the three months through May 28, its revenue more than quadrupled from a year earlier.

But worries are rising about whether such growth is sustainable. Big spenders on computer memory could pull back on investments if AI does not produce as much profit or productivity as promised. Lower-cost AI models from China could also mean less demand for memory and computing power than earlier expected.

Micron dropped 8.9% and was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500. Others also helping to keep the market in check were Advanced Micro Devices, down 8.1%, and Applied Materials, down 7.8%.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 15.60 points to 7,428.78. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 537.24 to 52,747.32, and the Nasdaq composite fell 55.17 to 24,876.91.

The losses for chip stocks were even worse earlier in the day in other markets worldwide.

Sharp drops for SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics dragged South Korea’s Kospi index down 10.8%. The market’s losses were so big that trading was temporarily halted at times in Seoul.

“We believe the market was likely spooked by the progress of China’s chipmaking equipment capabilities, and was worried that this progress would threaten the competitive position of global chipmaking and chip equipment leaders,” said equity analyst Jing Jie Yu of Morningstar.

“That said, we believe the sell-off today is largely a knee-jerk reaction and overdone,” he said. The dominant position of global chipmaking leaders is unlikely to be threatened meaningfully, he said.

Several huge spenders on AI chips and data centers are scheduled to report their latest quarterly results this week, which could offer updates on how much they’re planning to invest. Meta Platforms and Microsoft are reporting on Wednesday, while Amazon is due on Thursday.

Because AI superstar stocks have grown so big, their movements carry more weight on the S&P 500 and other indexes than many other companies. But the broad U.S. market could hold up despite their swings if other, less-loved areas are able to keep rising. It’s a rotation that some strategists have suggested could be healthy for the overall stock market.

In the oil market, the price for a barrel of Brent crude to be delivered in October fell 4.4% to settle at $82.08.

It’s been falling since late last week, when the price for a barrel to be delivered in September briefly shot as high as $102.

Pushing up on prices have been worries that worsening fighting in the Middle East could slow the global flow of oil. On the other side, though, are hopes that the United States and Iran could still negotiate something to allow oil tankers to use the Strait of Hormuz to move crude.

Lower oil prices helped to ease Treasury yields in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.60% from 4.65% late Monday.

A weaker-than-expected reading on confidence among U.S. consumers also weighed on yields. Fewer consumers are saying they feel good about current business conditions, according to the latest survey released by the Conference Board Tuesday.

The drop in oil prices helped push traders to trim their bets that the Federal Reserve could announce a hike to interest rates following its latest meeting on Wednesday. They’re forecasting a 31.5% probability, down from more than 36% a day before, according to data from CME Group.

Higher rates could keep a lid on inflation, but they would also slow the economy by making it more expensive for U.S. households and businesses to borrow. Long-term mortgage rates have already hit their highest level in nearly a year, chilling the housing industry.

___

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him, Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed.

The parties reported reaching a tentative settlement in February as the case was headed to trial, but they were unable to finalize it. David and Ina Steiner asked a federal judge in June to restore the case to the trial calendar and reached a new settlement this month.

The agreement with the Steiners, founders of EcommerceBytes, a newsletter covering the e-commerce industry, includes an additional $7 million in charitable donations, including to organizations supporting First Amendment rights. The settlement contains no confidentiality provision, allowing the Steiners to discuss the case publicly.

“David and I were on the same page that this settlement should and must be made public — as victims who want to prevent something like this from ever happening to anyone else, and as reporters who believe in transparency,” Ina Steiner said Tuesday in an email response to questions from The Associated Press. “We hope that this case will serve as a deterrent.”

The settlement resolves more than six years of criminal and civil proceedings stemming from the harassment campaign. In their 2021 lawsuit filed in Boston federal court, the Steiners said that the company engaged in a conspiracy to “intimidate, threaten to kill, torture, terrorize, stalk and silence them” in order to “stifle their reporting on eBay.” The Natick residents, who report on the e-commerce industry in their newsletter, said they were subjected to cyberstalking, death threats and in-person surveillance by former eBay workers.

Escalating pressure

Ina Steiner said the campaign began with threatening direct messages on social media before escalating into anonymous deliveries of live cockroaches and spiders, a funeral wreath, a bloody pig Halloween mask and a book about surviving the death of a spouse. The employees also sent pornographic magazines with David Steiner’s name to a neighbor’s home and planned to install a GPS device on the couple’s car.

She said she did not initially know who was behind it or why.

“I could not conceive that a company I had been covering for the past two decades had tried to terrorize us into stopping our reporting,” she said.

When the lawsuit was filed, the company said “the misconduct of these former employees was wrong,” and that it would “do what is fair and appropriate to try to address what the Steiners went through.”

eBay reiterated its apology Tuesday, saying, “What the Steiners were subjected to by former eBay employees in 2019 was wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened.” The company also acknowledged “the unprofessional tone in internal communications” by former CEO Devin Wenig, former Chief Communications Officer Steve Wymer and former Senior Vice President Wendy Jones.

The company said the conduct “is not representative of eBay’s culture” and said it has since changed leadership and strengthened its policies, procedures and ethics training.

In 2020, federal prosecutors charged seven former eBay employees, alleging they carried out a coordinated harassment campaign against the couple after becoming angered by coverage in the couple’s online newsletter. Most of the defendants pleaded guilty to charges including conspiracy and cyberstalking and were later sentenced to prison terms or home confinement.

In 2024, eBay Inc. agreed to pay a $3 million criminal penalty under a deferred prosecution agreement with federal authorities.

A ‘painful, life-changing experience’

Under the settlement, the Steiners will receive $48.7 million in compensation, including $46.15 million from eBay, $2 million from former CEO Wenig, $500,000 from former executive Jones and $50,000 from former executive Wymer.

The company will fund $6 million in charitable contributions to various nonprofit organizations, with Wenig contributing an additional $1 million to a charity dedicated to protecting First Amendment rights in Ina Steiner's name.

In a statement, Steiner attorney Christopher Murphy cited the recovery amount, personal payments by former executives, a commitment for $7 million to go to nonprofits and the absence of a confidentiality provision in a system where “wrongdoers too often hide their misdeeds by dangling compensation in front of those they victimized and trading that compensation for confidentiality or an NDA.”

Protecting journalists and publishers and deterring corporate misconduct were goals from the beginning, he said. “We believe this resolution sends a clear message that corporations and their executives cannot engage in this type of misconduct without facing significant consequences," said Murphy, of Massachusetts-based Scalli Murphy Law.

Ina Steiner said she and her husband hoped that “some good will come out of this painful, life-changing experience.”

The states — Tennessee, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Utah and Idaho — all have Republican governors who say they welcome the chance to help America reclaim its leadership in civilian nuclear energy.

If built, the storage sites would represent significant progress in a multi-decade effort to store more than 95,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste. Plans for a permanent underground storage facility at Nevada's Yucca Mountain have long been stalled because of staunch opposition from most residents and officials.

Spent fuel is currently stored at nuclear plants and former nuclear sites nationwide and is piling up. New storage sites would move the radioactive material away from population centers, fault lines and flood plains. Experts say the plan also should help officials gain consent from communities that will host the repositories.

Under the non-binding agreements, the states could host Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campuses that would include waste sites as well as uranium enrichment, spent-fuel reprocessing and fuel fabrication. The campuses may also host advanced reactor deployment, power generation and data centers, the Energy Department said.

Nuclear campuses could boost state economies

The campuses have the potential to attract up to $50 billion in private investment and generate as much as $10 billion in state and local tax revenues, the Energy Department said in a statement. Eligible projects could access federal loans worth billions of dollars, the department said.

“These campuses will be massive generators of economic growth ... and be crucial to unleashing America’s nuclear renaissance,'' Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. He called the proposed campuses an “innovative concept” that will "get America’s nuclear industry growing again.''

Tennessee is home to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which enriched uranium during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project, while Idaho hosts the Idaho National Laboratory, a key research site for nuclear energy and national security. Utah was a source of raw uranium for the Manhattan Project and a training site for crews that dropped atomic bombs on Japan in 1945.

“As the global epicenter of nuclear energy, Tennessee is honored to be selected as a potential host for a Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus,” said Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee. "As our state answered the call during the Manhattan Project and helped shape the course of history, Tennessee stands ready once again to advance the safe, reliable energy solutions our nation depends on.”

Solution for storing waste needed to expand nuclear power

The announcement comes as President Donald Trump attempts to quadruple domestic nuclear energy production because of surging electricity demand due to a data center and artificial intelligence boom. Trump also has moved to reshape the independent Nuclear Regulatory Commission to speed up nuclear reactor development. Under Trump’s direction, the commission has proposed eliminating a foundational safety principle that for 50 years minimized the radiation people in the United States are exposed to.

The NRC proposal would abandon a philosophy to keep radiation exposure “as low as reasonably achievable,” instead setting a separate standard on maximum radiation exposure that includes several actions facilities must take depending on the potential dose of radiation to workers.

California Rep. Mike Levin said the nuclear fuel announcement was a long time coming and required bipartisan collaboration to fix difficult nuclear waste challenges. Levin, a Democrat, has pushed to allocate funding to safely remove and dispose of spent nuclear fuel from decommissioned nuclear plants, including the closed San Onofre nuclear power plant in Southern California.

“Today’s selection of states is a monumental step in the right direction,” Levin said in a statement. “For the first time in decades, states are raising their hands” to accept nuclear waste.

Scott Roecker, a former official at the National Nuclear Security Administration who now advises the Nuclear Scaling Initiative, a pro-nuclear group, said the campuses are a good idea, though he cautions that spent nuclear fuel should not be reprocessed there to be recycled for new fuel because of the cost and security issues.

“Getting a community to accept a long-term repository for nuclear waste has been a big challenge in the United States politically. It’s been a hard pill to swallow for certain communities,” he said in a recent interview. “The fact that they’re talking about sort of the whole fuel cycle at these centers is a positive thing. Basically, you’re getting the consent of that community for that long-term repository.”

Congress now must work to authorize the campuses and establish clear oversight, Levin said.

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McDermott reported from Providence, R.I.

The lawsuit claims that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ordered an indefinite suspension of federal-sector class complaints pending before the agency's administrative judges, who handle discrimination complaints from federal workers in a process that is different than for private sector workers.

The two women, who are correctional officers at a Louisiana federal prison, have a pending certified class complaint against the Federal Bureau of Prisons, claiming that prison management failed to prevent and correct widespread sexual harassment by inmates against female workers, including rape threats, unwanted touching and nudity. The women, Deanna Chelette and Alexzandria Boyd, were joined in their lawsuit by the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest union representing federal workers.

It is not clear why the EEOC gave the suspension directive, which the agency had not publicly disclosed, or how many other cases are affected. The EEOC referred all questions to the Department of Justice, which declined to comment.

Under President Donald Trump, the EEOC has drastically overhauled its civil rights enforcement priorities, including prioritizing cases aimed at stamping out diversity and inclusion policies, dropping cases on behalf of transgender workers and abandoning longstanding tools for investigating systemic discrimination. The changes have prompted several lawsuits against EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas, who says she is pursuing an “even-handed” and “colorblind” vision of workplace civil rights.

But it's not apparent how the order to suspend federal-sector class claims fits into the EEOC's new priorities. In the court filing, attorneys for the plaintiffs said the EEOC had provided “no reasoned explanation for a blanket policy that halts an entire category of discrimination cases.” The lawsuit seeks to have the suspension directive vacated.

“Without an explanation, it's hard to infer what the EEOC’s intentions behind this were, but it’s hard to ignore that this is part of a broader campaign at the EEOC to undermine the ability of employees to protect rights that Congress has provided to them under the civil rights laws,” said Joseph Sellers, co-chair of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll’s civil rights and employment practice and one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs.

The pending class complaint claimed that management at Louisiana's Federal Correctional Complex at Pollock failed to stop inmates from subjecting female workers to sexual harassment. The complaint included declarations from eight other women who also described the harassment and management's response, and estimated that the class complaint would include least 182 women. The Federal Bureau of Prisons did not respond to requests for comment.

According the lawsuit against the EEOC, Administrative Judge Erania Ebron had certified the class in March 2025. But in December, Ebron issued a notice that case had been paused until further notice.

Attorneys in the case argued that the suspension violates the EEOC's own regulations governing complaints filed by federal workers requiring the agency to handle complaints promptly.

The lawsuit said that during the seven months the case has been halted, Chelette, Boyd and other women “have been subjected to, or are at risk of, ongoing and escalating sexual harassment that continues to go unremedied. They have no information about when, if ever, their case will continue.”

“Management is just sort of emboldened and taking even less corrective action, sending the message to the inmates that you can sexually harass and abuse these female staff and get away with it because we’re not going to do anything to do you,” said Heidi Burakiewicz, an attorney for the plaintiffs and founding partner at Burakiewicz & DePriest.

While it remains unclear how many cases the EEOC has paused, the attorneys who filed the lawsuit said they are representing federal workers in at least five other class complaints that are stalled, including cases against the FBI and the Department of Defense.

While the plaintiffs have the legal right to opt out of the EEOC process and bring their case to federal court, attorney said it would require them to essentially build their case anew, including securing class status from scratch in a process that could take years.

_______ The Associated Press’ women in the workforce coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. 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.

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AP Business Writer Claire Savage contributed to this story from Chicago.

Ill-timed injuries to Daniel Jones, Patrick Mahomes and Bo Nix left their teams in the lurch. Joe Burrow, Jayden Daniels and Lamar Jackson had trouble staying healthy. Others once targeted and trained as franchise players were either sidetracked or discarded, as J.J. McCarthy, Kyler Murray, Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa found themselves on insecure ground.

Training camps always present a fresh start. Jones, Mahomes and Nix have been cleared for full activity, stabilizing or energizing the huddle in Indianapolis, Kansas City and Denver. Cincinnati, Washington and Baltimore are plenty happy to turn anew to Burrow, Daniels and Jackson. Murray (Minnesota) and Tagovailoa (Atlanta) flew to new places for welcomed scenery changes.

After all 32 reset buttons have been pushed, though, a handful of teams have reported with varying levels of intrigue and scrutiny surrounding the most important position on the field. Here's a closer look at the camps where there's either a legitimate competition for the season-opening starter or a measure of uncertainty:

The Browns, naturally, are auditioning QBs once again

Since Cleveland got its NFL team back in 1999, the Browns have made the playoffs just three times — and won only one postseason game. There's no arguing the connection to the perpetually shuffling depth chart at quarterback, with 42 different starters over those first 27 years.

The latest was Shedeur Sanders, who fell to the Browns in the fifth round of the 2025 draft after they'd selected Dillon Gabriel in the third round. Sanders is now competing for the job with Deshaun Watson, the fallen star whose health problems and off-the-field trouble have limited him to just 19 games over the last five seasons. Watson last played on Oct. 20, 2024, before an Achilles tendon rupture and reinjury kept him sidelined in 2025. Rookie head coach Todd Monken had hoped to name a starter by the start of training camp, but the competition will last at least a few more weeks.

Falcons bring Tagovailoa into the fold with Penix recovering from knee surgery

Atlanta had a hot seat on the offseason quarterback carousel, cutting Kirk Cousins to clear salary cap space after two unfulfilling seasons and signing Tua Tagovailoa after Miami dumped him and ate a record $99 million in dead money against the cap. Cousins' status immediately got complicated when the Falcons drafted Penix eighth overall in 2024, and the situation grew murkier yet last year when Penix tore the ACL in his left knee.

Penix had not yet been cleared for full-team work when the Falcons were last on the field at minicamp, so health and experience make Tagovailoa the front-runner for the job, though new head coach Kevin Stefanski has publicly declared this an open competition.

Murray lands in a favorable spot with the Vikings after McCarthy's rocky debut

J.J. McCarthy struggled with consistency and injuries that further hindered his opportunities to learn and improve in his debut with the Vikings last season, so the club reopened the search this year and found Murray available for the veteran minimum salary.

The Vikings have not given up on McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft, and they'll split turns with the first team offense at least for the early stage of training camp. But if Murray is healthy, after spraining his foot last season and missing time between 2022-23 to recover from knee surgery, he's the clear favorite.

Willis gets big money from the Dolphins for his potential

The Dolphins didn't give $45 million guaranteed to Malik Willis for him to take turns. Their new leadership from Green Bay — general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and head coach Jeff Hafley — became enamored with the 27-year-old over his two seasons as backup for the Packers.

With only three starts over the last three years, plus three more as a rookie with Tennessee in 2022, however, Willis is unquestionably unproven. Quinn Ewers took over for a struggling Tagovailoa and made three starts late last season, and the 2025 seventh-round draft pick performed well during spring practice sessions to present a potential alternative should the Dolphins need to consider one.

Cardinals give Brissett a pay bump and a public backing for the job

After moving on from Murray, the Cardinals landed on this short list of quarterback uncertainty — until satisfying veteran front-runner Jacoby Brissett with a new contract and formalizing his place atop the depth chart on Sunday. Fellow journeyman Gardner Minshew and third-round draft pick Carson Beck are waiting behind him in case a significant injury or costly interceptions were to give new head coach Mike LaFleur pause at some point this season.

Brissett, who's in his 11th year in the NFL, started 12 games last season after Murray's injury. He passed for a career-high 3,366 yards, but Arizona finished 3-14. After switching teams five times in five years, Brissett has stayed put for the first time since a four-season stint with Indianapolis. He was the starter for the Colts in 2017 and 2019. Minshew, who's on his sixth team in eight years in the league, was the primary starter for the Colts in 2023 after replacing then-rookie Anthony Richardson.

Raiders soft launch the Mendoza era with the comfort of Cousins

The best long-term outlook of the group clearly belongs to Las Vegas after taking Heisman Trophy and national championship winner Fernando Mendoza with the first pick in the draft. The Raiders under new head coach Klint Kubiak also brought in a sturdy bridge to that bright future by signing Cousins to help ease the rookie in.

Cousins is on top of the depth chart to start camp and the favorite to lead the Las Vegas offense in the opener, which would stop a streak of six straight quarterbacks drafted No. 1 overall starting their season opener — following Cam Ward, Caleb Williams, Bryce Young, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow and Murray. Baker Mayfield in 2018 with the Browns was the last quarterback who didn’t start his first game as the first overall pick.

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

Lippman died at his home in Tucson on July 25, according to his brother, Glenn. He died from multiple system atrophy, a rare brain disease.

A gifted writer and editor, Lippman likely made his greatest contribution to journalism through the scores of young editors and reporters he recruited, mentored in his soft-spoken but enthusiastic manner and shepherded to accomplishments they would acknowledge later they hadn’t thought possible. He had the ability to become friends with practically everybody he met, including those he supervised.

He did so as chief of AP bureaus in Louisville, Indianapolis and Los Angeles.

During his time there, Lippman oversaw the so-called Trial of the Century, when football legend O.J. Simpson was charged with — and acquitted of — killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. He also supervised coverage of the 1994 Northridge earthquake that killed more than 70 people and caused $20 billion in damage. And in 1992, he led coverage of the deadly 1992 Los Angeles riots that destroyed a huge swath of the city after four white police officers were acquitted of charges in the videotaped beating of Black motorist Rodney King.

"If you were in a lab and charged with creating a model bureau chief, your model could well be Andy Lippman,” said retired AP President and CEO Louis D. Boccardi, who appointed Lippman to lead the Los Angeles bureau.

“He had it all," Boccardi said. "A sharp news sense, energy without limits, loyalty to, and appreciation for, his staff wherever we sent him, a passion to serve AP members that made the bond seem more like family than business, limitless enthusiasm, thoughtfulness in matters large and small. That was a hallmark of knowing Andy Lippman.”

Colleagues remembered him as a thoughtful boss

Particularly in Los Angeles, Lippman was remembered for his thoughtfulness. Even after his retirement he would surprise staffers stuck working on Thanksgiving by showing up with a full meal — turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, the works. And dessert.

“Andy was indeed like a brother to me, from the time we met in 1982 as fellow AP bureau chiefs in adjoining states — Andy in Louisville and I in Indianapolis,” said retired AP bureau chief and regional vice president Paul Stevens, who now edits AP’s Connecting newsletter for retired and former AP journalists.

“We became forever best friends," Stevens said. "One year, he invited our then-teenage daughters to join him as his guests for the Academy Awards program in Los Angeles. He came to family weddings. And we were there for each other in the tough times, including the deaths of our parents.”

Dozens of others shared similar sentiments in recent years at various gatherings, including AP’s annual dinner for retirees. At a recent farewell party in Los Angeles that Lippman was unable to attend because of illness, every one of the dozens of people in the room recorded video tributes.

He was a journalist since the early 1960s

Andy Lippman, born April 29, 1948, in Washington, D.C., to Miriam and Morton Lippman. He grew up in Bethesda, Maryland, and seemed destined to become a journalist. He worked for his middle school newspaper and was editor of Bethesda’s Walter Johnson High School newspaper, The Pitch, his senior year.

“Working on The Pitch really kept me focused, and particularly being an editor really gave me a sense of responsibility,” he told the newspaper in 2016.

Lippman started writing “for pay” at age 15 covering high school sports for the Washington Daily News on weekends. Later, when he arrived in Los Angeles in the late 1980s, he made sure every reporter or editor knew how to cover a sports event, just in case they got pressed into service during an emergency.

After graduating from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in 1970, Lippman landed a vacation relief job at the AP’s Phoenix bureau in 1971. A year later he became a permanent member of the Tucson, Arizona, staff before moving to AP’s sports desk in New York, then on to Cincinnati, where he was an AP correspondent. Then it was on to Louisville.

Sports-related coverage seemed to keep creeping back into his work life. In 1991, Lippman pressed his sports writers to confirm word, which they did, that Los Angeles Lakers superstar Magic Johnson was about to announce his retirement after contracting the AIDS virus. Lippman had reported on Johnson’s on-court rival and close friend Larry Bird during his time in Indianapolis.

He dealt with health issues but stayed in the game

In 2005, the AP honored him with the Oliver S. Gramling Spirit Award, given to staff members who display dedication, courage, and exceptional support for the news agency’s mission.

Plagued with various health issues in his later years, Lippman retired from the AP in 2009, but never lost touch with the company.

He continued to help others, teaching English to immigrants and helping about 75 holding Green Cards prepare for their tests to become U.S. citizens. In 2022, the Puente Learning Center in East Los Angeles named Lippman its Volunteer of the Year, an honor accompanied by a proclamation from the California Legislative Assembly.

Lippman never really quit journalism. For eight years, until last December, he wrote a weekly column for the South Pasadena Review, the local newspaper for the close-knit suburb just north of Los Angeles that in his final years Lippman had grown to love.

Lippman served in the U.S. Army Reserves for six years beginning in 1970. His family says he will be cremated and some of his ashes placed in Ravello, Italy; Colonial Williamsburg; Indiana; and South Pasadena, California. Survivors include his sister-in-law, Nancy Newberry, his brother Glenn and an extended family that, Glenn wrote, “was composed of his many friends, colleagues, students and community connections.” Lippman also is survived by his beloved rescue dog, Scout.

Franco Xavier Summers, 34, took a plea deal as his trial was set to begin inside Bexar County’s 226th Criminal District Court.

Prosecutors initially offered Summers the plea deal last week when Judge Benjamin Robertson, who typically presides over the court, rejected the agreement.

Visiting Judge Jefferson Moore, who presided over the 226th Court Tuesday, accepted the plea deal.

2024 shooting outside Taco Palenque

On Nov. 9, 2024, San Antonio police said Summers fatally shot Christopher Fuentes, 43, outside a Taco Palenque restaurant in the 18000 block of Blanco Road.

Fuentes, who was later identified by the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office, was shot multiple times. His death was ruled a homicide.

Fuentes was also identified as the father of Summers’ girlfriend, SAPD said.

Before the murder, investigators said Summers and Fuentes had argued over a bar tab.

The argument continued as the pair left the bar with Summers becoming “very irate” and telling Fuentes and his daughter that he “had a gun,” authorities said.

As Fuentes and his daughter walked away, Summers drove up next to them. Video footage obtained by investigators showed the encounter with Fuentes appearing to reach through the driver’s door window and grab Summers’ arm.

After a brief struggle, investigators said Fuentes was shot multiple times. Summers then drove away at a high rate of speed.

Criminal history

Summers was previously named in connection with a 2013 murder charge and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge that was dismissed, court records show.

At the time, Summers claimed the shooting, which killed 17-year-old Roger Rodriguez Jr., was done in self-defense. The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office dropped the case, citing a lack of sufficient evidence needed to prosecute a murder charge.

In 2019, according to SAPD, Summers threatened his family with a gun, which prompted an hourslong standoff at a North Side apartment complex.

Summers attempted to flee by jumping out of a window in the apartment, but he was later taken into custody by police.

More related coverage of this story on KSAT:

• Man arrested, accused of murder in connection with weekend shooting, affidavit says
• Suspect in weekend murder has long criminal history, including previous murder charge
• SAPD says woman’s boyfriend shoots, kills her father at North Side restaurant

The Kenya Wildlife Service said 10 of the pachyderms showed signs of partial paralysis before dying within two days, while the remaining five were found dead, with their carcasses partially consumed by scavengers.

Most of those affected were female elephants and their calves, with only one male among the dead. The deaths happened in the Kimana Sanctuary and Kuku Ranch areas surrounding the park, the authority said.

Kenya has previously recorded incidents of elephants being poisoned as a result of poaching and human-wildlife conflict.

Preliminary tests on samples collected from the elephants by a laboratory at the University of Nairobi detected a “potential toxic substance,” while separate analyses by the Government Chemist were negative for the toxins tested. The authority said further tests are underway.

“Environmental investigations are also being undertaken, including the analysis of water sources and other potential environmental contaminants within the affected areas, to establish whether the elephants were exposed to a common source,” the authority said in a statement.

The authorities sought to reassure the public, saying there was no evidence the condition could be transmitted to humans.

It's been a jumbled and frenetic period during what would have otherwise been Graham's expected glide path toward a fifth term. He won his June primary outright, and no Democrat has won a statewide-elected office in South Carolina for two decades.

Graham's sudden death earlier this month at age 71 has sparked a rushed and compressed process leading to a special primary election in just two weeks.

The close of a one-week filing period for the South Carolina contest was Tuesday, the same day as the first of two funerals across Washington and Graham’s home state. The rare open Senate seat has drawn some of the state's top Republicans, longshots, familiar faces — and Graham's sister. If no candidate receives a majority vote, a runoff election will be held Aug. 25.

Darline Graham, the interim appointee, is a political unknown

For years, Darline Graham had been her older brother's political confidant, appearing in his ads, by his side at rallies and an indelible part of his biography, from their shared roughshod beginnings to his adoption of her following their parents' deaths.

In the hours after her brother died, Darline Graham stepped into Lindsey Graham's shoes in the Senate as the appointee to fulfill the remaining months of his current term, selected by Republican Gov. Henry McMaster to serve until January. Now she's running for the nomination to replace him more permanently.

Darline Graham is a political unknown to the South Carolina voters who for decades returned her brother to Washington. Although she had been part of his campaigns, she's never been a political commodity in her own right, and there have been questions in South Carolina's GOP circles over whether goodwill toward her brother's memory is enough to send her to the Senate.

For now, Darline Graham is surrounded by her late brother's official and political staff. She had the support of President Donald Trump — to whom her brother was a top congressional ally — to seek the seat, as well as his endorsement before she had said publicly that she would do so.

McMaster made no reference to Darline Graham as a placeholder or symbolic appointment, although a person familiar with McMaster’s thinking but unauthorized to speak publicly said the governor, in selecting her, had never contemplated that she would run for the seat herself.

Two congressmen are vying for the nomination

Fresh off an unsuccessful primary run for governor, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman entered the Senate race and has snapped up endorsements from other House members, including Rep. Nancy Mace, as well as law enforcement officials across the state. One of the most conservative members in the House, Norman is well-known across South Carolina.

Before the emergence of Darline Graham — and their Oval Office meeting after she was sworn in — Trump had previously suggested he could back a potential candidacy from Rep. Russell Fry, who officially entered the special primary shortly after.

Fry, well-known in his strongly pro-Trump, Myrtle Beach-area district, is working to elevate his name ID across other parts of the state since getting into the race and is promoting himself as a stalwart backer of Trump's policies.

Mark Sanford returns for another campaign

The former South Carolina congressman and governor whose political ascendency was stalled by a 2009 affair is making yet another attempt to return to public office.

Sanford's Senate bid comes just three months after he shuttered a bid to retake his former U.S. House seat, saying then he was quitting the race to set up a nonprofit to address the national debt, his signature issue.

Sanford had entered that contest on the last day of filing, when the race already was full of other Republican candidates, many of whom had spent months laying the groundwork for their campaigns.

Other GOP hopefuls include a former Graham challenger

Mark Lynch, a Greenville businessman who tried to oust Graham in the regular Republican primary last month, swiftly relaunched his campaign following Graham's death. He's expected to put much of his own money into his Senate run.

Other candidates include:

— Duke Buckner, a Walterboro attorney who is a perennial candidate. He has challenged U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, South Carolina's lone congressional Democrat. Buckner also is a former public school English teacher.

— Danny Ford II, a farmer from the town of Central and son of former Clemson University football coach Danny Ford. He ran unsuccessfully earlier this year for the Republican nomination for South Carolina agriculture secretary, making it to the runoff before losing to the Trump-endorsed candidate.

— Mark McBride, the former mayor of Myrtle Beach. He unsuccessfully sought federal office before, including a 2004 Senate primary loss to former Republican Sen. Jim DeMint. McBride also lost to Fry in the 2022 GOP primary for the 7th Congressional District.

— Darius Mitchell, a resident of Columbia, who calls himself a “Hip Hop Republican.” In social media posts, he has voiced support for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

— Clark Neilson, a businessman in Charlotte, North Carolina, who has said he plans to build a home on land he owns in Charleston County. He said he's in the process of becoming a South Carolina resident.

— Glenda Gail Parker, retired Air Force officer who recently moved to Myrtle Beach. She calls herself a conservative independent who leans Republican. She supports high-speed rail and a strong military.

— Sam Shepherd, a biomedical engineer and entrepreneur. He lives in Lexington County and has said he is focusing his campaign on cutting taxes and federal spending.

Who is the Democratic nominee in the Senate race?

Dr. Annie Andrews, a Charleston physician, won her party’s primary in June. Having set up her entire campaign based around challenging Graham, Andrews will soon find out her new general election opponent.

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Associated Press writer Jeffrey Collins contributed to this report.

___

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

Franco Xavier Summers, 32, was booked into the Bexar County Jail on Sunday afternoon, online court records showed.

Summers is accused of shooting and killing Christopher Fuentes, 43, outside of a far North Side Taco Palenque restaurant in the 18000 block of Blanco Road.

Fuentes, identified by the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office, was shot multiple times. His death was ruled a homicide.

Fuentes was also identified as the father of Summers’ girlfriend, San Antonio police said.

The affidavit describes an interview with the daughter and provides a more detailed explanation of the events.

Fuentes, who had been recently released from prison, was living with his daughter and Summers in an apartment on the North Side.

The daughter told investigators that the trio was drinking at the apartment but decided to go to a bar. Summers drove to the bar but got into an argument with Fuentes after the former did not want to pay the cover charge to enter the bar, the affidavit said.

The argument continued as the pair left the bar, with Summers becoming “very irate” and telling Fuentes and his daughter that he “had a gun,” the affidavit read.

The daughter told investigators she was aware Summers had a gun “for the past year,” according to the affidavit.

After the exchange, the daughter and Fuentes got out of Summers’ vehicle in the parking lot of the restaurant.

As the pair were walking away, Summers drove up next to them. Video footage obtained by investigators showed the encounter, with Fuentes appearing to reach through the driver’s door window and grab Summers’ arm.

After a brief struggle, Fuentes was shot multiple times and Summers drove away at a high rate of speed, the affidavit said.

The daughter later identified Summers as the suspect after speaking with investigators, according to the affidavit.

On Sunday afternoon, SAPD responded to an apartment complex in the 18200 block of Blanco Road for reports of a family disturbance call, according to a Monday update preliminary report.

Officers later determined that Summers was inside one of the units, and a perimeter was set up. After a while, Summers exited and was taken into custody without incident, the report said.

Summers was booked for the active murder warrant and several other unrelated charges, according to police.

Summers is named in connection with a 2013 murder charge and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge that was dismissed, court records show.

At the time, Summers claimed the shooting, which killed 17-year-old Roger Rodriguez Jr., was in self-defense. The Bexar County District Attorney dropped the case, citing a lack of sufficient evidence needed to prosecute a murder charge.

In 2019, according to SAPD, Summers threatened his family with a gun, prompting an hours-long standoff at a North Side apartment complex.

Summers attempted to flee by jumping out of a window in the apartment, but he was taken into custody by police for an outstanding warrant.

Related coverage on KSAT:

• SAPD says woman’s boyfriend shoots, kills her father at North Side restaurant
• Medical Examiner’s Office identifies woman’s father who was shot, killed by her boyfriend
• Teen gunned down, Franco Xavier Summers, 21, arrested in fatal shooting in west San Antonio
• Family outraged after son’s killer released
• Police: Standoff in Stone Oak ends after man is caught trying to flee through apartment window

The Dallas-Fort Worth region is growing as fast as anywhere in the country. But the city of Dallas itself lost residents last year. The TribCast crew speaks with urban affairs reporter Joshua Fechter about the challenges and opportunities for the city.

Watch the video above or subscribe to the TribCast on iTunes, Spotify, or RSS. New episodes every Tuesday.

Tuesday, July 28

Multiple eastbound lanes on U.S. Highway 90 at Pioneer Estates are closed after an 18-wheeler “spilled materials” on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.

At this time, no injuries have been reported.

Drivers are encouraged to take an alternate route to reach their destinations.

For more information on traffic, you can click here to view our traffic page on KSAT.com. To view more on the current weather conditions, click here.

Click the links below for current road closures.

• San Antonio road closures
• Bexar County road closures
• TxDOT highway conditions

The race between Cognetti, the mayor of Scranton, and Bresnahan is considered one of the Democratic Party's best opportunities to pick up a seat in the November election in its bid to take control of the U.S. House and block President Donald Trump's agenda.

Cognetti is airing the ad in a district that's been buffeted by AI data center projects and as the opposition to data centers that has upended races for local offices across the country is spreading to top-of-the-ticket contests.

Speaking to the camera, Cognetti invokes the region's industrial heritage as a coal and shale gas powerhouse, saying, “Big companies have come before, taken what they wanted and left us with their mess to clean up. Now it’s data centers.”

She then criticizes the secrecy that developers often use to veil details of projects from the public, the tax breaks developers often get from states and the rising electric bills that have hit the mid-Atlantic region to satisfy the growing energy demand of data centers, which house rows of computers for storing, processing and transmitting data.

“Big Tech needs to pay their own way. Not hide behind NDAs. No tax breaks. Don’t raise our electric bills, don’t poison our water. And hire local, union labor," Cognetti says.

If not, “then get out,” she says. “This is our home. We are not for sale.”

Trump has made data centers a top priority to help the U.S. compete against China for AI superiority.

However, communities across the U.S. have fought many of the projects, including in northeastern Pennsylvania, where complexes of data centers and new high-voltage transmission lines are planned. Fights between communities and developers have landed in court.

The 30-second ad will run on broadcast TV channels, cable and digital platforms, Cognetti's campaign said. It is costing about $200,000 for the initial run of two weeks.

Bresnahan has introduced legislation called the Local Control Protection Act, which he says would put limits on a corporation's right to sue over local zoning decisions denying an application to build a data center.

“We should never let billion-dollar corporations supersede the voices of those who live in the community,” Bresnahan said in a statement accompanying the bill's introduction in June.

The bill has yet to move out of committee or gain a cosponsor.

Republicans have made protecting Bresnahan a high priority. Both Trump and Vice President JD Vance visited the district last year.

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This story has been corrected to show Cognetti said “we are,” not “we're.”

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Follow Marc Levy at http://twitter.com/timelywriter.

Uganda has maintained since the outset that its cases were linked to the larger outbreak in eastern Congo’s remote province of Ituri, which borders Uganda. The first cases in Uganda were Congolese who crossed the border to seek treatment for an unknown illness before it was known they had Ebola, health authorities have said.

After what health officials believe was weeks of transmission, Congo announced its outbreak on May 15, the same day that Uganda confirmed two Ebola cases — including a man who had already died.

While a total of 20 cases were reported in Uganda, health authorities say there is currently no indication of further spread within the country.

The last patient was released June 16, and Ugandan authorities have waited the World Health Organization-recommended 42 days – or two incubation cycles for Ebola – to declare the country free of the disease.

"Uganda’s 2026 Ebola outbreak arose from a fully documented importation event,” unlike previous outbreaks in the country, the Ugandan Health Ministry said in a statement Tuesday.

It was now possible to declare Uganda free of Ebola after “all identified contacts were institutionally quarantined and completed the mandatory 21-day follow-up without evidence of further transmission," the statement said. “Enhanced surveillance has detected no unexplained community transmission."

The Bundibugyo type of Ebola virus responsible for the outbreak has no approved vaccine or treatment. The region’s outbreak has been declared a global health emergency.

Ugandan health authorities have experience in acting quickly to address Ebola outbreaks. After the confirmation of Ebola cases in Uganda in May, the president urged Ugandans to “ stop shaking hands,” and ordered the postponement of an annual religious event that attracts thousands of pilgrims — from Congo and elsewhere — who converge around a Catholic shrine just outside the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in June.

Other measures included the suspension of all public transportation and flights between Uganda and Congo, where the outbreak remains worrisome.

Confirmed cases in Congo have reached 3,262, its Health Ministry said in an overnight update. Data by Congolese health authorities showed that 1,437 patients have died, in what officials have said is the fastest Ebola outbreak on record.

The Ebola case number in Congo is likely to top the previous highest toll in the country in the next few days. That outbreak lasted two years, while this one is only 10 weeks in.

Only the 2014-2016 outbreak in West Africa, considered the worst in history, has a higher toll, with 28,000 cases and more than 11,000 deaths.

The speed of transmission in the current outbreak comes amid concerns from residents that many communities in the affected provinces are either unreachable or have been abandoned by responders in recent days over safety concerns amid attacks from angry residents and rebels.

Tracing and isolating Ebola contacts is seen as key to stopping the spread of the disease, which usually manifests as hemorrhagic fever.

A family of fruit bats is believed to be the natural hosts of the viruses that cause Ebola, according to the World Health Organization. Ebola is spread by contact with the bodily fluids of

Saar's death was confirmed Monday by relatives. She would have turned 100 this week.

A central figure of the 1960s Black Art Movement, Saar pioneered assemblage boxes, or sculptures made of found objects, and reclaimed Jim Crow-era memorabilia as powerful totems of Black liberation.

“Her symbolically rich body of work has evolved over time to demonstrate the environmental, cultural, political, racial, technological, economic, and historical context in which it exists,” according to Roberts Projects, the Los Angeles gallery that represents her.

Saar began her career in design and shifted to art at age 35. She continued to make art into her 90s. She grew up in Pasadena and was part of a community of Black artists in nearby Altadena; she often cited Simon Rodia's Watts Towers as an early source of inspiration.

Saar’s practice incorporated painting, printmaking, sculpture and found objects including dolls, washboards and other antiques. Boats, clocks, cages and altars recur in her practice, as well as symbols of the occult and cosmology. She often referenced her astrological sign of Leo in the form of lions, punctuating many works.

“Her appropriation of Black collectibles, heirlooms, and utilitarian objects are transformed through subversion,” the gallery said. “Among the older generation of Black American artists, Saar is without reproach.”

Made in 1969, “Black Girl’s Window,” was groundbreaking. Still, it wasn't widely celebrated until decades later, and it was acquired by the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2019. “There weren’t that many galleries in Los Angeles at the time and there certainly weren’t any for Black artists,” she once said in an interview.

“The Liberation of Aunt Jemima,” created in 1972, is one of her most important works. It features memorabilia she collected that denigrated Black people, included a “mammy,” or 19th century minstrel character who smiled while serving white slave owners.

In Saar's hands though, the figure is reclaimed: She smiles, but holds a rifle and has a hand grenade.

It came in response to the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee. Saar said King's death “triggered a rage within me, and the mystic transformed into the warrior.”

“I had a lot of hesitation about using powerful, negative images such as these — thinking about how white people saw Black people, and how that influenced the ways in which Black people saw each other,” Saar said. “What saved it was that I made Aunt Jemima into a revolutionary figure.”

After more than 130 years, Quaker Oats announced it would retire its Aunt Jemima brand in 2020, acknowledging the logo and its origins were “based on a racial stereotype.”

Saar taught and mentored generations of Black artists, including painter Kerry James Marshall.

Though Saar’s work was exhibited in a 1975 solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art, in the decades that followed large institutions have exhibited her work only sporadically. In 2019 though, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and MoMA mounted concurrent solo shows.

In spring 2026, Saar was inducted to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

“She had boundless energy for making art. I think she had a lot to say and was tired of the art world being dominated by white males,” said Angela Robinson Witherspoon, who produced and directed a documentary in 2023 on Saar's life. “Betye Saar: Ready to Be A Warrior” features interviews with John Legend, Tina Knowles and other prominent voices.

“She was raising her three young daughters and she wanted to be part of the Civil Rights Movement,” Robinson Witherspoon said.

“Let’s Get It On: The Wearable Art of Betye Saar,” which focuses on costume design, is currently on view at Robert Projects in Los Angeles, and there are 26 of an eventual 100 dolls on view at the New-York Historical Society in Manhattan.

___

This story was first published on July 27, 2026. It was updated on July 28, 2026, to correct the name of a company. It’s Quaker Oats, not Quaker Oat. Also, there are 26 of an eventual 100 dolls on view at the New-York Historical in Manhattan, not more than 100.

___

Associated Press writer Anna Furman contributed reporting from Los Angeles.

Emergency management officials use those reports to gauge the extent of the damage, helping determine whether state or federal disaster assistance may be needed.

Based on those assessments, the governor can request that the president issue an emergency or major disaster declaration. If approved, the declaration can unlock federal disaster assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for affected communities and residents.

Following the July 2026 floods in the Hill Country and South Texas, 33 counties were designated for FEMA assistance:

• Atascosa County
• Bandera County
• Bexar County
• Blanco County
• Brewster County
• Comal County
• Crockett County
• Dimmit County
• Duval County
• Edwards County
• Frio County
• Gillespie County
• Jim Wells County
• Kendall County
• Kerr County
• Kimble County
• Kinney County
• La Salle County
• Live Oak County
• Mason County
• Maverick County
• Medina County
• Menard County
• Pecos County
• Real County
• Schleicher County
• Sutton County
• Terrell County
• Uvalde County
• Val Verde County
• Webb County
• Wilson County
• Zavala County

FEMA was authorized to provide emergency protective measures (Category B), limited to direct federal assistance, under the Public Assistance program at 75%.

It does not currently include Individual Assistance (IA), though additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state.

Before applying for FEMA assistance, Texans with insurance should first file a claim with their insurance provider. FEMA does not provide assistance for losses already covered by insurance, and people cannot receive both insurance payouts and FEMA aid for the same damage.

If your home or property was damaged, contact your insurance company as soon as possible to report the loss. Be prepared to explain what happened and the extent of the damage. Take photos and videos of the damage and keep copies for your records, as they may be needed when filing claims with your insurer or applying for FEMA assistance.

Read also:

• Kerrville extends disaster declaration after widespread flood damage

Water is used to cool and produce power used by data centers. Data centers could potentially account for 3% to 9% of Texas’ water use by 2040, according to a report from University of Texas at Austin researchers.

Data centers popping up across South Texas

A 39-acre plot of land in Cibolo is expected to become home to a new data center.

Legacy Investing plans to build a 243,000-square-foot facility on the property, according to the San Antonio Business Journal.

Nearby resident Davin Hicks started a petition to move the planned facility. He said many neighbors didn’t realize that the project was planned until recently.

“People are outraged because nobody knows and they just pop up,” Hicks said.

Cibolo council member Katie Cunningham said on Facebook that she did not know the data center had been approved until an article was published in early July.

KSAT Investigates emailed Cibolo City Manager Wayne Reed on July 28 to ask when the city approved the data center and how the city planned to address concerns from residents. Reed has not responded.

Cibolo’s city council is set to discuss possible regulations for data centers Tuesday night, according to the meeting agenda.

The debate over data centers has spread across Central and South Texas.

Last month, the San Marcos City Council voted to ban data centers while residents in Atascosa County have also voiced concerns about how the facilities could affect nearby neighborhoods, property values and the environment.

Hicks has similar concerns.

“The water consumption is ridiculous,” he said.

Hicks believes that residents should know how much water data centers consume.

“Transparency on water usage, on electrical usage, on even plans to build,” Hicks said. “There’s none of that.”

Why SAWS won’t release the records

To better understand how much water existing data centers are using, KSAT Investigates filed a public information request with the San Antonio Water System (SAWS) seeking water usage records for 36 data centers in Bexar County over the past three years.

SAWS said they could not release data from after the implementation of smart water meters, which would start around 2023, because of a provision in Texas law.

That provision is the result of a six-year-old law written by Texas State Representative Diego Bernal, D-San Antonio, which he said was meant to protect individuals and families’ water usage data from payday lenders — not corporations or companies.

“Data centers are doing tremendous damage to Texas, to our water supply, to air quality,” said Bernal. “We need to know as much as we possibly can.”

“Do you think SAWS is interpreting your bill the way you meant it?” asked KSAT’s Daniela Ibarra.

“Absolutely not,” replied Bernal. “At this point, especially because of your request, I think there’s fair warning that something has to be fixed. The bill and the pre-existing law give them the ability to fix it. This is not an unfixable problem.”

KSAT Investigates emailed SAWS for their response to Bernal’s comments. The utility’s spokesperson, Anne Hayden, provided the following statement:

“SAWS is correctly interpreting and applying the law. We operate our Open Records Requests with the goal of releasing as much information as state law allows and consistent with relevant interpretations by the Texas Attorney General’s Office and its protocols. Similarly in this situation, in February 2026 the Attorney General’s Office issued a ruling and interpretation of Section 552.1331 of the Texas Government Code regarding a request by the City of Corpus Christi. The AG issued a formal opinion that this provision is applicable to commercial accounts and commercial information gathered from AMI systems should be withheld from public disclosure. SAWS is therefore abiding by state law and the AG opinion that prohibits disclosure of this information in your request.”

Transparency concerns extend to the Capitol

The debate comes as lawmakers examine the growing demands that data centers place on Texas’ electric grid and water resources.

During a June legislative hearing, lawmakers learned that fewer than one-third of data center companies responded to a state survey asking them to voluntarily report their water use.

“The transparency of utilization of resources shouldn’t be optional,” State Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, said in the hearing.

Bernal said while utilities are withholding the information, data center companies themselves could choose to publicly disclose their water usage.

For Hicks, the lack of transparency is one more reason to oppose the proposed development in his hometown.

“I don’t want to have that title on Cibolo,” he said.

Have a story idea for Daniela? Email her at dibarra@ksat.com

Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.

Solly Fulp, ​Learfield’s head of NIL, doesn’t think the rapid surge is a coincidence.

“What we’re discovering with female student-athletes and their engagement with our brands is they’re excellent content creators and storytellers, they’re generally social media savvy and they have a genuine brand enthusiasm,” Fulp said.

Since the NCAA approved NIL compensation in July 2021, high revenue-generating sports like football and basketball have topped the list of earners. Five years later, women’s sports are beginning to close the gap, with women’s basketball ranking third in all sports and softball creeping into the top five behind baseball.

“It’s not just an emerging market now — it’s accelerating," Fulp said. “It's awesome for us to see when it comes to not just the focus being on football, men’s basketball and the revenue sports, but seeing the Olympic sports really step front and center.”

Female athlete engagement in NIL activities more than doubled in 2026, growing from 2,136 to 4,772.

Brands most frequently partnered with athletes through production shoots, social media content, ambassador programs, public appearances and autograph sessions. Restaurants led all sponsor categories, followed by financial services, health care and business and professional services.

Twenty-two national brands struck deals with college athletes over the fiscal year, including Geico, SeatGeek, State Farm, EA Sports, Uber, AT&T and Marriott. More than 260 athletes across 69 schools were featured in national campaigns.

Fulp said the return on investment is high for all parties when athletes pursue deals catered to their specific passions and interests.

“The authenticity is coming out in the content and storytelling that they provide in these campaigns ... it humanizes the partnership and provides that deeper connection," Fulp said. "The brands are definitely seeing the benefits with the engagement rates related to those campaigns.”

___

AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

Monday's decision is the latest setback for states trying to outlaw or regulate fast-growing prediction market platforms.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez in Minnesota found that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Kalshi and Polymarket were likely to succeed in their challenge to the law and that letting it take effect would cause “irreparable harm” to the operators.

The law was scheduled to take effect Saturday. It would have made it a crime to create or operate prediction markets or help administer nearly any activity connected to one. The law will remain blocked while the lawsuit proceeds.

Kalshi, Polymarket and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission want the law permanently blocked and argue that federal law gives the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction to regulate the type of "event-contract transactions" offered by Kalshi and Polymarket.

States argue that the vast majority of the business on prediction market platforms is sports betting, which they are empowered to regulate, and that is completely different from the commodities and futures contracts that the commission has historically regulated.

In a statement Tuesday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said prediction markets are “gambling, plain and simple.”

"And Minnesota has every right to keep predatory gambling out of our communities,” Ellison said.

Ellison said his office disagrees with the court’s decision that the “proper ‘status quo’ to maintain is one that allows predatory gambling apps to proliferate.” But Ellison said the legal issues are complex and that he planned to continue defending the state’s law.

Neal Kumar, Polymarket's chief legal officer, said in a statement that the decision makes clear that prediction markets on commission-registered exchanges “are governed by federal law, not a patchwork of state rules.”

A Kalshi spokesperson, Elisabeth Diana, said in a statement that “states cannot ban things that they don’t have jurisdiction over.”

Menendez's decision follows a declaration in February by Trump's appointee atop the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that the agency “will no longer sit idly by” while states aim to regulate or ban prediction markets and “undermine the agency’s exclusive jurisdiction.”

A tangle of lawsuits is growing, as states try to use their gambling laws to shut down Kalshi, Polymarket and other prediction market operators, declaring them to be unlicensed and illegal gambling operators.

In April alone, the federal government sued Connecticut, Arizona and Illinois, challenging their efforts to regulate prediction market operators, while New York sued Coinbase and Gemini, two of the newest players in the prediction market industry.

The American Gaming Association, which represents commercial casinos, estimates states have lost more than $1.2 billion in tax revenue from wagers since prediction markets began offering sports event contracts.

Native American tribal leaders and gambling regulators also contend that betting on things like sporting events, elections and other outcomes is unlawful gambling.

In the meantime, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has begun a rulemaking process to consider what sorts of event contracts it would consider to be “contrary to the public interest” and bar them from being listed through a prediction market that it regulates.

___

Follow Marc Levy at http://twitter.com/timelywriter.

The protests were some of the largest ever held against the Islamic Republic, which responded with a brutal crackdown in which thousands of people were killed and tens of thousands arrested. The protests had been largely stamped out when the United States and Israel went to war with Iran on Feb. 28.

Rights groups said the execution of Abdolfazl Sepahi Badjani and Amir Hossein Safari Hosseinabadi was carried out at dawn in Alikhani Square in the central city of Isfahan, the place where the police were killed.

They were among 14 people accused of killing the police, all of them sentenced to death. Two were executed earlier this month.

Public executions are not uncommon in Iran, and are often reserved for political prisoners. They are largely carried out by hanging in a public square, where cranes mounted on trucks serve as gallows.

A wave of executions since January

At least five protesters, including the two on Tuesday, have been hanged in public since March, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, HRANA, which monitors human rights in Iran. The group says it has documented 29 public executions in the past five years.

Amnesty International called Tuesday's executions “a further escalation in the authorities' use of the death penalty to crush dissent.” It said at least 60 others, including three arrested as children, remain at risk of execution.

“The Iranian authorities are unleashing a horrifying wave of executions and death sentences to punish and suppress dissent and project an image of strength and absolute control,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International's regional director. “The muted response from the international community emboldens the Iranian authorities to continue their deadly rampage.”

Amnesty said at least 26 people were arbitrarily executed after being convicted of offenses related to the January protests, following what it said were “torture-tainted, grossly unfair trials” by revolutionary courts. Another 26 people have been executed this year on politically motivated charges, including espionage and membership in opposition groups, it said.

The deadliest crackdown since 1979

The protests were triggered by Iran's deepening economic crisis and quickly escalated into calls for the overthrow of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was later killed in the opening U.S.-Israeli strikes.

The crackdown was the deadliest carried out by the Islamic Republic in its 47-year history.

HRANA, which relies on a network of contacts inside Iran, says more than 7,000 people were killed and that it is investigating thousands more cases. It said over 50,000 were arrested in just over six weeks. The government has acknowledged more than 3,000 people were killed.

At the height of the protests, Iranian authorities signaled that fast trials and executions lay ahead.

Families of prisoners express concern

HRANA said the bodies of the two men executed Tuesday have not yet been returned to their families. The families of others accused in the case have gathered outside a prison in Isfahan, expressing concern for their loved ones, HRANA said.

A website affiliated with Iran’s judiciary said the two men had also set a police station on fire and damaged public buildings.

Rights groups say political prisoners in Iran are tried in secretive courts without due process, with verdicts often based on forced confessions extracted through torture.

Today on Texas Eats NOW:

WILHELM & WERNER

240 S Seguin Ave, New Braunfels, TX 78130

Wilhelm & Werner is a Texas-style brasserie located inside the newly reimagined Faust Hotel in downtown New Braunfels — a landmark building that dates back nearly a century. Built just before the Great Depression, the hotel never had its full moment in the spotlight until the current renovation brought it back to life. The restaurant features both a dining room and a full bar, with outdoor seating and a live music program rounding out the experience.

The menu reflects the farm-to-table ethos of the Hill Country around it. Brunch standouts include a savory cornbread waffle that is deep-fried, finished with smoked paprika brown butter and pure maple syrup, then topped with buttermilk-dredged fried chicken. The house-made pappardelle pasta is part-cooked in water and finished in the pan with thyme-infused brown butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano to build a rich, starchy coating. The rabbit pie — one of the restaurant’s top sellers — braises local rabbit with aged sherry vinegar, bacon, pearl onions, and roasted peas, all under a game-fat crust. Rounding out the spread is Sunday’s Best, a rotating dessert of house-cultured buttermilk ice cream with burnt Texas honey caramel, pecan crumble, seven-day fermented local blackberries, and a brown butter cornbread crumble.

SOUTHERLEIGH

9800 Airport Blvd, San Antonio, TX 78216

Southerleigh is the new airport outpost of the Southerleigh restaurant group, co-founded by husband-and-wife team Jeff and Allison Balfour. Jeff Balfour, a Galveston native, built his culinary reputation in San Antonio on a modern take on Texas cross-cultural cuisine — rooted in the coastal classics of the Gulf Coast and layered with the comfort of Southern cooking. The new Terminal B location joins the Pearl and Hot South locations as part of the Southerleigh family, with the design team working to capture the spirit of both sister restaurants while creating a space that stands on its own within the airport environment.

The menu brings the flavors that made the brand a San Antonio staple directly to travelers. On offer are fried chicken, grilled shrimp with a buttery sauce, coleslaw, and fried pickles — approachable Southern plates that deliver on the quality the group is known for.

BAKERY LORRAINE

9800 Airport Blvd, San Antonio, TX 78216

Bakery Lorraine is a San Antonio-based artisanal bakery specializing in French pastries, macarons, viennoiseries, and breakfast items. The brand has been recognized as one of the best bakeries in Texas, and its new Terminal B airport location — led by co-founder Charlie Biedenharn and the broader Bakery Lorraine team — marks a major expansion, bringing the bakery’s handcrafted offerings to a wider audience of travelers passing through San Antonio.

The airport location carries the full lineup of Bakery Lorraine’s classic counter items, including croissants, pop pastries, and quinamons, as well as their signature French macarons available in three-pack, six-pack, and twelve-pack formats. The traditional French macaron remains Biedenharn’s personal go-to — a bite-sized representation of the precision and craft that has defined the brand since its founding.

CREDENCE

9757 Katy Fwy #170, Houston, TX 77024

Credence is a restaurant concept from Levi Goode, a fifth-generation Texan and two-time James Beard Award nominee. The Houston restaurant is built around an open fire kitchen, with the flame serving as the literal and culinary centerpiece of the dining room. The concept draws on South Texas ranch culture, campfire-style cooking traditions, and the finest regional ingredients. Adjacent to the main dining room is Sidebar, a reservation-only speakeasy and live music venue.

Chef de Cuisine Frank Hernandez leads the kitchen through a menu that showcases the range and precision of open fire techniques. The open fire branzino is prepped with extra virgin olive oil, a spice rub, and a signature butter — a garlic and parsley compound butter that has become one of the restaurant’s most recognized elements — before being grilled on a rack. Other standout dishes include the devil crab, hot fried quail, and a heritage half chicken served over cornbread gnocchi.

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

• Facebook: @TexasEatsTV
• Instagram: @texaseatstv
• TikTok: @ElderEats
• Twitter: @TexasEatsTV

“It is not FIFA’s to sell,” UEFA said in a statement. “None of us are the owners of football.”

Infantino's plans to form a commercial subsidiary, which would be called FIFA Forward Enterprise (FFE), running competitions like the World Cup and Club World Cup was first reported by The Times of London.

FIFA said in a statement FFE would raise up to $4.2 billion later this year to help fund development programs "based on an initial equity valuation of $20 billion by carefully selecting long-term investors who will purchase minority, non-controlling interests.”

FIFA is working with J.P. Morgan while intended investors include Thrive Eternal launched by Joshua Kushner, whose brother Jared Kushner is a son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The men’s World Cup that finished this month only deepened the political and personal ties between Trump and Infantino, and fueled concerns about those ties including from UEFA.

“The soul and governance of football are not assets to trade — especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially,” UEFA said Tuesday, responding to the reports of selling stakes in FIFA competitions.

FIFA is currently a Swiss-based not-for-profit association of its 211 national member federations worldwide.

Those members must approve any plan and would get the chance “to access up to $20 million in one-off capital,” FIFA said.

“This is about the democratization of football worldwide,” Infantino said in a FIFA statement, which added that “a consultation process has begun.”

UEFA, however, said it took reports of the project “extremely seriously. So should every national Football Association.”

“This crosses a line that football’s governing institutions should never cross,” said UEFA, which comprises 55 of the FIFA members.

FIFA's $20M offer to member federations

The outline of Tuesday’s surprise announcement was, FIFA said, detailed by Infantino to members who met in Manhattan on July 18 ahead of the World Cup final. There, Infantino promised to “unleash the commercial potential and opportunity that FIFA has.”

FIFA’s statement Tuesday about its proposed project led on how much money each of its 211 members could get through 2038 in the “FIFA Fast-Forward Program.”

Instead of the currently promised $8 million each in development funds through the 2027-30 World Cup commercial cycle, it would be $20 million, then $22 million and $24 million in the following cycles.

FIFA banked record World Cup income of about $12 billion from the 2026 tournament which had unprecedented high prices for tickets and hospitality across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. It already was unclear how that money could be matched from Spain, Portugal and Morocco co-hosting the 2030 men’s edition.

Member federations could choose if they wanted to take part in the new financial opportunities, FIFA said.

“FIFA would retain sole control of FFE and exclusive authority over football governance, competitions, match calendar, and all regulatory and sporting decisions,” the soccer body said.

FIFA’s integrity standards were called into question during the World Cup, including by team coaches, Norway's soccer federation and a top European public body, the Council of Europe.

FIFA's previous attempt to privatize assets

The project announced Tuesday is the second time in Infantino’s increasingly controversial 11-year presidency he has tried to push through a multi-billion dollar deal with private backers.

In 2018, Infantino proposed a secretive $25 billion offer over 12 years with SoftBank of Japan to create new global competitions, including an expanded men’s Club World Cup, seemingly backed by Saudi Arabian money.

That ultimately failed after meeting fierce resistance from UEFA, which saw threats to its prize assets: the Champions League and the European Championship.

Infantino still built closer ties to Saudi soccer and the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup and largely funded the revamped men’s Club World Cup hosted in the U.S. last year.

Infantino’s future?

The financial success of the just-ended World Cup has looked likely to ensure Infantino is re-elected next year unopposed for a fourth and final term in office through 2031.

At his re-election by acclaim in 2023 in Rwanda, Infantino suggested any CEO delivering similar financial results would be kept in the job forever.

Speculation has swirled for years Infantino might want a different global role in soccer beyond his FIFA presidency, which is due to end when he is 61.

The Times reported Tuesday that a CEO-like commissioner role of the new FFE operation could be created for Infantino.

“This has never been discussed,” FIFA said in a statement Tuesday. “However, the FIFA president and the FIFA administration will and must have leading roles in this entity — if approved.”

There was no timetable suggested Tuesday for debate and decisions by FIFA, its ruling Council chaired by Infantino, and the 211 members.

FIFA is scheduled to hold an online congress on Nov. 23 to confirm hosts of the Women's World Cup editions in 2031 and 2035.

___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and AP World Cup coverage

Port Aransas Police Chief James D. Stokes identified the child Tuesday to KSAT as Benny Arredondo.

A Jourdanton Independent School District spokesperson, who identified Arredondo as one of its kindergarten students in a Monday social media post, also confirmed to KSAT that the boy was the same child who drowned in Port Aransas.

“There are no words that can ease the pain of such a heartbreaking loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with Benny’s family, friends, classmates, teachers, and all who knew and loved him,” the district’s social media post said. “Please continue to keep Benny’s family in your thoughts and prayers as they navigate the days ahead.”

The school district is located approximately 40 miles south of San Antonio.

ORIGINAL STORY: A 5-year-old drowned at a Port Aransas beach on Wednesday, July 22, according to the city’s police department.

Port Aransas police responded around 5:35 p.m. to Beach Marker 46 after receiving reports that a child had been pulled from the water and was not breathing.

A Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game warden began CPR on the child before Port Aransas police arrived. The child was taken to the hospital, where they later died, the police department said.

Police said the child’s grandparents lost sight of the child while getting ready to leave the beach. The child was later found in the water.

“This tragedy serves as a heartbreaking reminder that young children can disappear from sight in only moments, and constant, uninterrupted supervision around the water is essential,” Chief James Stokes said.

The police department said the drowning remains under investigation in coordination with the Nueces County Medical Examiner.

The Port Aransas Police Department encourages all beach visitors to practice water safety by:

• Maintaining constant arm’s-length supervision of young children
• Ensuring children who cannot swim wear a properly fitted U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket whenever they are near or in the water
• Never relying solely on flotation devices as a substitute for adult supervision
• Designating a responsible adult to actively watch children whenever they are in or around the water

Read also:

• 5 released from hospital after head-on crash in north Bexar County, BCSO says
• State investigators uncover alleged fraud, mail theft ring at Northwest Side apartment

Hadi Matar's lawyer told the court that the 28-year-old — who already has been convicted of state-level attempted murder charges — wouldn't take the stand at his trial on charges that include engaging in an act of transnational terrorism.

“At this time, the defense rests,” attorney Nathaniel Barone said. Matar has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors also rested their case Tuesday, and closing arguments are expected Wednesday morning. Rushdie, the prize-winning author of novels including “Midnight’s Children” and the controversial “The Satanic Verses,” testified last week about the 2022 attack that nearly killed him and left him blind in one eye.

Rushdie was about to give a talk — about writers' safety, no less — when his attacker climbed on stage behind him and stabbed him 15 times in front of a stunned audience at the Chautauqua Institution, an arts and intellectual retreat.

Spectators and another speaker, Henry Reese, scrambled to aid Rushdie and restrain the assailant, who was arrested by law enforcement officers assigned to the event. He initially gave authorities a fake driver's license, but Matar soon disclosed his real name to a state trooper, according the trooper's testimony and body camera video.

Prosecutors contend that Matar was acting upon a former Iranian leader's 1989 call for Rushdie's death because of “The Satanic Verses,” which ignited protests across the Muslim world. Some believers considered it blasphemous because of a dream sequence featuring Islam's Prophet Muhammad.

Rushdie, who was born in India into a Muslim family and is now a U.S. citizen, went into hiding for years. He gradually emerged after Iran's government distanced itself in 1998 from the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini 's fatwa, or religious order, about the writer. Khomenei died in 1989.

Prosecutors say Matar, a U.S.-born American-Lebanese citizen, acted out of loyalty to Iran and to the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group. The late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in 2006 that if someone had carried out the fatwa, European newspapers wouldn't have dared publish a caricature of Muhammad that was causing an uproar in Muslim communities.

Iran’s government denied involvement in the 2022 stabbing, though its Foreign Ministry’s then-spokesperson suggested Rushdie courted trouble by insulting Islam. Nasrallah did not comment on the attack.

The U.S. government designates Hezbollah as a foreign terrorist organization. Matar, too, described the group in a 2016 paper as a terrorist organization, Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Lynch said Tuesday during legal arguments when jurors were out of the room.

Matar started researching Rushdie's whereabouts in 2020, eventually writing in private notes that “we need to kill him ASAP” and “become a warrior and just get it over with,” prosecutors have said.

Matar didn't testify at his 2025 state court trial, either. His lawyer has said federal prosecutors are making implications but don't have proof about the man’s intentions.

“There’s no facts. There’s no hard evidence,” Barone said in an interview outside the courthouse last week. “There could be a number of reasonable, plausible explanations as to what he was thinking.”

Barone unsuccessfully argued Tuesday that prosecutors hadn't presented enough evidence for the trial to continue. A judge declined Barone's request to dismiss the case.

Matar is currently serving a 25-year state prison sentence. If convicted in the federal case, he faces a potential life sentence.

___

Peltz reported from New York.

The drugmaker, which has been fighting talc-related lawsuits for more than a decade, said that the settlement is conditioned on at least 95% of remaining claimants participating.

A U.S. bankruptcy court judge denied a $9 billion settlement proposed by company subsidiary Red River Talc last year that would have been one of the biggest mass tort settlements in history.

Johnson & Johnson decided not to appeal that ruling and instead fight on in court.

A federal judge last week ordered plaintiffs in the case against Johnson & Johnson to show why the remaining pending talc claims should not be dismissed after their witnesses could not provide a direct link between the company's product and cancer.

“The Court’s order placed plaintiffs in an untenable position of having to present specific causation evidence to maintain their claims that does not exist," Erik Haas, worldwide vice president of litigation, Johnson & Johnson, said in a prepared statement Monday.

As part of the settlement proposed this week, Johnson & Johnson will make an initial payment of no more than $3 billion next year. It has no additional payments due until 2028.

“While we are confident the company would have ultimately prevailed with further litigation, as it has in the vast majority of cases tried to date, this resolution allows the company to put this matter behind it and remain focused on its mission to develop medicines and devices that save lives,” Haas said.

Johnson & Johnson said that it previously settled about 95% of filed lawsuits for mesothelioma, a cancer in the tissue surrounding organs like the lungs and heart, all state consumer protection claims, and all talc-supplier disputes.

Shares of the New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company rose more than 2% before the market open on Tuesday.

And quite frankly, he's not sure he ever will.

“Big losses in tough moments are things you never really get over because they stay with you for the rest of your career,” Freese told The Associated Press ahead of the Major League Soccer All-Star Game coming up Wednesday in Charlotte. “They continue to motivate you for the rest of your career."

Freese made a costly mistake in the loss when he rushed well out of his box to clear a long ball, then hesitated under pressure to kick it away.

Belgium quickly converted the miscue into a goal to take a 3-1 lead in the 57th minute, all but sealing the Americans' fate.

American soccer fans haven't let Freese forget about it.

In his first MLS match since the World Cup last week, the New York City FC goalkeeper was reportedly booed by fans every time he touched the ball during the game in Columbus, Ohio.

“It’s important to not let bad things define you, but I think it's also important not to let good things define you either,” Freese said. “It's important to be a consistent presence with consistent energy.”

Freese is one of four U.S. national team players selected to the MLS All-Star Game.

Another, veteran defender Tim Ream, openly acknowledges he doesn't have a secret formula for what it'll take for the Americans to one day reach the World Cup quarterfinals.

He can only point to the one thing he knows that lends itself to success: hard work.

“You put your head down and do as much as you possibly can," Ream said. "And, at some point you will break through that barrier. It just takes work, more work and more work. ... Before you know it, you're past that."

Ream said he believes better days are ahead despite the loss.

Wing-back Max Arfsten thinks the increased fan attention on the World Cup — with the majority of games played in the United States — will only serve to inspire more athletes in the country to take up the sport.

That, he said, is a good thing.

“The next step for us is to keep growing the sport,” Arfsten said. “The more people that are playing, the better players there will be. The more competitiveness, the more players playing in the top leagues in Europe is important as well. I feel like all of those combined is going to lead to success."

Ream added that when it comes to the World Cup, two things can be true: Players can be disappointed over the way they played and “crashed out” against Belgium, but also excited about what they accomplished in the earlier games.

“You can be proud of how much it galvanized the country, the people around it and the sport — and just how much fun it was,” Ream said.

Freese agrees.

“It’s important for us to be aware of the positive outcomes that happened in the tournament as well as use that to inspire new generations to continue to get better — to get past that round of 16, to get past the quarterfinals and make it to the semis and the finals,” Freese said.

Messi won't play in the All-Star Game

Charlotte is hosting the MLS All-Star Game for the first time at Charlotte FC owner Dave Tepper's Bank of America Stadium, but the league will again be without its biggest star for the showcase event.

Messi, who helped Argentina reach the finals of the World Cup before losing to Spain, is taking advantage of some allotted time off before returning to soccer and Inter Miami CF.

He has been replaced on the roster.

Messi has 12 goals and eight assists this season in MLS play.

Getting a boost from the World Cup

Several players, including Ream, said they have noticed a big boost in fan interest in MLS games and soccer in general since the World Cup.

“We could see it while we were playing in the World Cup, but now it's like I can't leave my house,” Ream said.

He's not complaining.

"Being able to inspire more people to play is obviously secondary to what our job is, which is compete and win games, but it's such a rewarding feeling knowing that so many more people are paying attention to our sport,” Ream said.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and AP World Cup coverage

About three hours of audio and 117 pages of transcripts — with many redactions — were released by the Oversight Project, an arm of the Heritage Foundation, after Biden lost a prolonged legal fight to keep his conversations with his memoir ghostwriter, Mark Lewis Zwonitzer, private.

“They didn't even know I had this,” Biden told Zwonitzer in October 2016, near the end of his second term as Barack Obama's vice president, as he talked about sensitive foreign policy matters handled by the administration.

In one 2017 session, after Biden had left the West Wing and before he'd launched his own presidential campaign, he appeared to admit retaining classified information from his time as vice president.

“I just found all the classified stuff downstairs,” Biden said. “I wrote the President a handwritten 40-page memorandum arguing against deploying additional troops to Iraq -- I mean, to Afghanistan on the grounds that it wouldn’t matter, that the day we left would be like the day before we arrived.”

The potentially classified information itself is redacted in both the audio and transcripts that the Oversight Project released.

The right-wing group first sued to obtain the tapes after Special Counsel Robert Hur decided in 2024 not to charge Biden for how he handled classified information. Biden cooperated with Hur’s inquiry and told the special prosecutor during his presidency that he did not intentionally mishandle any classified material.

Hur, who obtained the tapes as part of his inquiry, said in announcing his decision that he believed a jury would find Biden a sympathetic figure because of his age and what Hur described as a “poor memory” — a statement that became a flashpoint in public debate about Biden's age and fitness for the presidency.

Biden was 74 when the interviews began. He was 81 and seeking reelection when Hur released his report in early 2024, though Biden later ended his campaign for a second term after a halting debate performance against Republican Donald Trump.

The tapes contain instances of Biden being unable to recall some dates and details of topics he was discussing with Zwonitzer. Biden also showed a command of many details, recalling meetings and details of conversations referenced in the notes he shared.

At the Oversight Project, Vice President of Litigation Jeff Clark insisted the tapes prove Biden's decline.

“The tapes have always belonged to the American People, the Oversight Project just delivered them to their rightful owner,” Clark said in a statement. “The knowledge of his deterioration was well-established.”

A Biden spokesman blasted the release as politically motivated.

“President Biden’s conversations for a book a decade ago that discussed his late son are private, and were provided to the Department of Justice on the express condition they stay that way,” said TJ Ducklo. “Reversing course and making them public is just the latest example of this Administration weaponizing the DOJ for political retribution.”

Biden initially sued to stop the Department of Justice from releasing the material, claiming the conversations were private. But he dropped his suit after a divided panel of appeals court judges rejected his bid. Biden could have petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene or asked for a rehearing by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

In a 2-1 ruling, a three-judge panel from the circuit court found a “substantial” public interest in disclosing the material.

Since Paxton locked up the GOP nomination in late May, polling of the contest has found a neck-and-neck race with neither candidate able to break 50%. But TPOR’s poll found Talarico leading among voters who do not have a college degree — a group that has consistently favored Republicans in Texas and across the country — and dominating among independents, less than a quarter of whom said they planned to vote for Paxton. The attorney general also had weaker Republican support than in other recent surveys, with nearly one in five GOP voters saying they were undecided or would vote for Talarico.

TPOR labels itself as a nonpartisan public opinion research group. It is directed by Democratic strategist Luke Warford.

The group surveyed 1,048 likely voters between July 15 and July 17, and has a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percentage points. Of those poll respondents, 53% voted for Donald Trump and 42% voted for Kamala Harris in 2024, making the sample only slightly bluer than the 2024 electorate, which favored Trump by a 14-point margin in Texas. Trump carried Texas by 5.6 percentage points in 2020, two years after the last midterm held during his presidency.

TPOR’s previous poll, fielded just after the May 26 runoff in which Paxton defeated Sen. John Cornyn, found Talarico leading 47% to 44%.

Texas’ U.S. Senate race figures to be one of the most closely watched and expensive contests in the nation. Democrats have not won a statewide race in the Lone Star State in over 30 years, but they believe a combination of Trump’s lagging approval ratings, Paxton’s ethical baggage and Talarico’s fundraising and populist messaging could deliver the victory that has eluded them for decades.

Republicans are taking the threat of Talarico seriously but nevertheless believe that, as the bitter primary between Paxton and Cornyn fades from memory and they highlight Talarico’s progressive views on social issues, Republicans will coalesce behind the attorney general. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the race as “Lean Republican.”

Paxton’s 40% vote share is the lowest he has received in a public poll post-runoff. Other surveys have found Republicans were consolidating behind him. But the TPOR poll had Talarico winning 7% of self-described Republicans, and an additional 12% remained undecided. Meanwhile, only 1% of self-identified Democrats indicated they would vote for Paxton, and 6% were undecided.

For comparison, a New York Times/Siena poll of the Texas contest fielded in June, which found the overall result tied at 47%, found Talarico winning 5% of Republicans and only 4% unsure.

Perhaps the biggest outlier was Talarico’s lead among non-college-educated voters, who favored the Democrat by nine percentage points — 45% to 36%. He led by 1 percentage point among those with at least a bachelor’s degree.

In recent elections, education has been one of the most reliable predictors of how people vote, with a sharp partisan dividing line between those with and without degrees. Exit polling found that Republican Sen. Ted Cruz beat Democrat Colin Allred by 18 percentage points among non-college-educated Texans in 2024. Even in 2018, when Democrat Beto O’Rouke came within 3 percentage points of victory, Cruz still won that bloc by a 6-point margin, exit polls found.

In the New York Times/Siena poll, Paxton had an 8-point lead among voters without a degree, and in TPOR’s own poll in May, Paxton led by a whopping 21 points among that group.

Other results hewed closer to recent polling of the race. The TPOR poll found Talarico leading heavily among Black and Latino voters, while Paxton maintained a strong lead with white voters. Black voters broke 71% for Talarico and 8% for Paxton, while Latinos preferred Talarico by a 66% to 20% margin.

Paxton led among white voters, 53% to 33%.

Talarico’s polling lead owes to his strength with independents and non-college educated voters. The poll found Talarico garnering 43% of independents to Paxton’s 23%; 29% remain undecided. Among self-described moderates, Talarico’s lead is even more pronounced, with the Democrat ahead 54% to 20%.

The poll found that 14% of voters of all political stripes remain unsure about their pick. Among undecided voters, there is evidence Paxton has more room to grow: 19% of that bloc said they leaned toward the Republican, compared to 10% who leaned toward Talarico. Two-thirds reported being truly on the fence.

Some conservatives have cast doubt on the validity of TPOR’s polling given its Democratic ties. Warford is also a founding partner of Agave Democratic Infrastructure Fund, a political action committee dedicated to building Democratic campaign infrastructure in Texas. The fund’s largest donor, Simone Coxe, has also given $500,000 to a pro-Talarico super PAC this cycle.

Elsewhere on the ballot, the TPOR poll finds Republicans leading in the contests for governor and attorney general — though both are also close.

In the governor’s race, incumbent Republican Greg Abbott was leading Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa of Austin by a 3-point margin, 45% to 42%. And in the open race to succeed Paxton as attorney general, Republican state Sen. Mayes Middleton of Galveston was up 39% to 38% over Democratic state Sen. Nathan Johnson of Dallas, well within the margin of error.

Both of those spreads would represent Democrats’ best performances for those offices in decades. But the high level of undecided voters in all three contests — U.S. Senate, governor and attorney general — suggest lots of room for movement in the less than 12 weeks remaining until Oct. 19, when the polls will open for early voting.

Disclosure: Simone Otus Coxe and The New York Times 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.

Government funding body U.K. Research and Innovation announced Monday that it will no longer fund the Lovell telescope, whose 250-foot-wide (76-meter-wide) parabolic reflecting bowl is a local landmark. It’s part of a network of seven radio telescopes across the country known as e-Merlin connected to the Jodrell Bank astrophysics center south of Manchester.

UKRI said the telescope array will not receive public funding after March 2028, following “a rigorous prioritization process to focus investment on the areas that will deliver the greatest long-term scientific capability, impact and value for the U.K.”

University of Manchester particle physicist Brian Cox called the cuts “devastating and irreversible.”

Paul Howarth, president of the Institute of Physics, said recent cuts to physics funding, including at Jodrell Bank, were “a terrible blow to the scientific community,” and urged new Prime Minister Andy Burnham to reconsider.

“For the sake of U.K. physics and our national reputation as a place to do science, conduct research and innovate, we would urge the new government to review this ruinous set of decisions,” he said.

The University of Manchester, which runs e-Merlin, said it was seeking other sources of funds from business, government or charities.

“But, if we don’t find those alternative sources of funding, then there is a risk that as of the end of March 2028, the Lovell Telescope will not be an actively functioning scientific facility for radio astronomy,” said Sarah Sharples, the university’s dean of science and engineering.

Completed in 1957, the Lovell telescope has played a major role in the history of radio astronomy, which studies distant space objects through the radio waves they emit. It tracked the progress of Sputnik when the Soviet Union launched Earth’s first artificial satellite in 1957, received the first images from the moon’s surface in 1966 and has helped scientists discover distant galaxies and study black holes, quasars, pulsars and gravitational lenses.

It also served as an early-warning system for Soviet missiles during the Cold War.

Jodrell Bank’s engagement center, open to the public and visited by generations of British schoolchildren, is not affected by the cuts.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 90.8 in July from 92.2 in June. That's essentially the same tepid range its been in since the beginning of the year. In late 2024 and early 2025 the readings were well above 100.

Consumer attitudes had improved modestly in June as gas prices came down to around $3.70 a gallon from more than $4.50 a gallon in late April and early May. But as fighting in the Middle East escalated, the average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. started to rise again. On Tuesday it was $4.10, according to the auto club AAA.

After being attacked by the U.S. and Israel in late February, Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil travels, causing a spike in gas prices. That accelerated inflation, causing Americans’ inflation-adjusted incomes to decline.

Americans remain soured on the economy after five years of elevated inflation, potentially posing a risk to President Donald Trump and Republicans in the midterm elections, which are now less than 100 days away.

Trump continues to blame inflation on his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden. Yet inflation has risen since Trump’s inauguration last year, to 3.5% from 3% in January 2025. It jumped even further after the Iran war began Feb. 28, when it was just 2.4%.

Write-in responses to the survey, which were collected from July 1 to July 22, remained pessimistic. The Board said references to gas prices were down slightly but remained elevated. Respondents' mention of food and grocery prices increased.

Government data shows that buying food to bring home has gotten 33% more expensive since the beginning of 2019. To navigate those higher prices, Americans have turned to couponing, comparison shopping and cutting back on favorite foods as they absorb the biggest jump in grocery prices in a half-century.

Beef epitomizes out-of-control grocery prices for many Americans. The price of a pound of ground beef reached $6.82 in June — 79% more than at the beginning of 2019, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

References to jobs and unemployment picked up slightly this month and views of the current job market fell. Expectations of how the labor market will be six months going forward improved slightly, but remained in negative territory.

U.S. employers slowed hiring last month and added only 57,000 jobs, less than half the previous month’s total. The unemployment rate declined to a low 4.2% from 4.3% in May, though the drop mostly occurred because many people out of work gave up looking and were no longer counted as unemployed.

The number of consumers who mentioned war and geopolitics decreased this month, but the Board suspects that recent escalation in fighting between Iran and the U.S. could cause those mentions to rise in the next survey.

Italian soccer federation president Giovanni Malagò announced Mancini as the new Italy coach on Tuesday, adding that Claudio Ranieri will become the new technical director after Paolo Maldini stepped down the previous day — just 16 days after being appointed.

“Time was running out … I believed the person who should become the new coach of Italy is Roberto Mancini, for a whole list of reasons,” Malagò said. “There will be a press conference tomorrow with both Claudio Ranieri and Roberto Mancini.”

The 61-year-old Mancini led the Azzurri to the European Championship title in 2021 but shockingly resigned as Italy coach in August 2023, taking over Saudi Arabia’s national team two weeks later.

“It is clear that all the necessary assessments have been made,” Malagò said when asked about Mancini's sudden departure three years ago. “I certainly took it into consideration; I am aware of his recent apologies, and obviously, everyone has made the appropriate evaluations.”

The Italian national team is in crisis after failing for a third straight time to qualify for the World Cup, prompting the resignations of FIGC president Gabriele Gravina and coach Gennaro Gattuso in April, shortly after the playoff defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Mancini's first spell

Mancini’s first spell as Italy coach came immediately after the team missed out on the 2018 World Cup, having lost to Sweden in a qualifying playoff.

He revived the Azzurri by adding flair and youth to a team that won admirers all over the continent during the year-delayed Euro 2020 — beating England at Wembley Stadium in a penalty shootout for the trophy.

Between 2018 and 2021, Mancini coached Italy to a world-record 37-match unbeaten run.

However, a 1-0 semifinal playoff loss to 67th-ranked North Macedonia at home in 2022 meant that the Azzurri again missed out on the World Cup.

Mancini nevertheless kept his position before surprisingly quitting in August 2023. He left Saudi Arabia in 2024 and was most recently coach at Al-Sadd in Qatar, before departing last month.

Mancini also previously steered Inter Milan and Manchester City to league titles.

Ranieri turned the job down last year

Luciano Spalletti replaced Mancini in 2023 but was fired two years later after Italy lost its opening World Cup qualifier to Norway last year. Ranieri, who famously led unfancied Leicester City to the Premier League title in 2016, turned down an offer to take charge of the Azzurri and Gattuso was hired instead.

Ranieri’s last job was as special adviser at Roma, having moved into the role after coaching the capital team out of a crisis. The 74-year-old left in April after a falling out with coach Gian Piero Gasperini.

Pirlo, Guardiola and Ancelotti

The appointment comes the day after Andrea Pirlo was dropped as the leading candidate for the Italy job amid political concerns over a sponsorship deal with a Russian betting firm.

That led to the departures of Maldini and special adviser Leonardo by what Malagò stressed was “mutual consent.”

“Practically before we had even started, we were dealing with a unique situation,” Malagò added. “There was no conflict. With utmost respect, like in the best families, there was a calm discussion and a clear and serene consensus that it was best to go our separate ways.”

Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti had already turned down offers to coach the Azzurri. Former Italy coach Antonio Conte was also in contention.

Don't expect immediate miracles from Mancini

Italy next plays in September and October, when it will face Belgium, Turkey and France in the Nations League.

“The new coach will have two training sessions to prepare for the first game,” Malagò said. “And since the game against Bosnia, I don’t think we have given passports to Lamine Yamal, (Kylian) Mbappé and (Harry) Kane.

“Now we have to do the best with what we have, knowing that we are playing in a group with three teams that went to the World Cup, two of which finished in the last eight.”

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

The Iran war has reignited, pushing oil and gas prices higher — a trend that will worsen inflation in the coming months. Soaring investment in the artificial intelligence buildout is raising the cost of laptops, smart phones and electricity. And price hikes from tariffs could be in the pipeline after Trump imposed new duties on dozens of U.S. trading partners.

All those trends might lead to only temporary price increases, rather than a sustained burst of inflation similar to the spike in 2021-2022. Yet inflation, according to the Fed’s preferred measure, has topped its 2% target for more than five years, making it harder for the Fed to ignore price spikes, no matter how brief. Core inflation, which excludes the volatile energy and food categories, has risen since last December and has been stuck at around 3% or higher since 2023. Without noticeable progress soon, some Fed officials have said rate hikes will be needed.

“Unfortunately, inflation does not appear to be headed sustainably back all the way to 2%,” Lorie Logan, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, said recently. “Modestly higher interest rates would better balance the outlook.” Logan is a voting member of the Fed's rate-setting committee.

Warsh's tough talk

Warsh, since taking over as chair in May, has emphasized that the Fed will get inflation back to 2% without specifying how. In his first news conference as chair last month, he made clear he wouldn't provide the kind of signals about the Fed's next steps that his predecessors, particularly Jerome Powell, did.

But in congressional testimony earlier this month Warsh said the Fed has “no tolerance” for higher inflation. And in the first statement on rates issued under his watch, the central bank pledged that it “will deliver price stability.”

Such comments, along with the resumption of the Iran war and the renewed climb of oil and gas prices, have already lifted borrowing costs. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note — which strongly influences mortgage rates — briefly topped 4.7% last Thursday, the highest in about 18 months.

But Warsh's tough talk raises expectations that he will follow through with action, current and former Fed officials say.

James Bullard, a former president of the St. Louis Fed, said Warsh's rhetoric “has been very effective" in establishing Fed credibility, “but markets are going to ask, ‘Well, what have you done for me lately?’ And they're going to demand action."

At the same time, more Fed officials appear to be growing impatient with inflation's stubbornness.

“Sternly staring at inflation until it melts before our withering gaze is not an option," Christopher Waller, an influential member of the Fed’s governing board, said in a July 13 speech. If core inflation keeps climbing, the Fed's rate-setting committee “will need to consider” hiking rates “in the near term,” he said.

Beth Hammack, president of the Cleveland Fed, said in a post on LinkedIn earlier this month that for the first time she is hearing business leaders call for higher rates, which is unusual since they typically support cheaper borrowing. She is also hearing from consumers “who can’t make ends meet about a growing sense of despair,” Hammack wrote.

Signs of inflation potentially improving

There is still tremendous uncertainty about what the Fed should do in the coming months, economists said. The most recent inflation report showed that core inflation cooled noticeably in June, and headline inflation fell sharply as gas prices declined almost 10%, a sign of what could happen if the Iran conflict is permanently resolved.

The cost of apartment rents, which spiked in the pandemic, is growing much more slowly than a few years ago.

John Williams, president of the New York Fed and vice chair of the Fed's rate-setting committee, said this month that "there are encouraging reasons to expect that inflation has peaked and should edge down in the coming quarters.” He cited the decline in gas prices, before the Iran war restarted, and argued that the impact of tariffs on inflation has largely run its course. Even with new tariffs in place, they are likely to have the same limited effect of the ones they replaced.

Yet the resumption of fighting in the Middle East has pushed gas prices back above a nationwide average of $4 a gallon, from just below $3.80 around the July 4 holiday. The increase will likely push headline inflation higher, just before the Fed meets again in September. And adding to the Fed's challenge, higher interest rates can slow demand and bring down inflation, but they can't do much to restore oil and gas supplies disrupted by war.

“The Fed is looking at inflation well above goal, but mostly for reasons that it doesn’t have any influence on,” Vincent Reinhart, chief economist at Dreyfus-Mellon and a former top Fed economist, said.

Warsh says Fed to keep inflation from ‘broadening’

In congressional testimony this month, Warsh suggested the Fed's job is to prevent specific price increases for things like gas or computer gear from “broadening out” to other parts of the economy.

Traditionally, the Fed would do that by hiking rates if there were signs higher prices were spreading. But Warsh may hope that his tough talk, which has pushed up some borrowing costs, will suffice in the end.

“They are hoping and intending to talk the talk without having to walk the walk,” said Stephen Douglass, chief economist at NISA Investment Advisors and former analyst at the New York Fed. He doesn't expect the Fed will raise rates this year.

Other economists say inflation won't be defeated without action by the Fed.

“There has never been a time when inflation gradually moderated without impetus from the Fed,” Joseph Lavorgna, a former top economist at the Treasury Department and chief economist at SMBC Americas, said. “In other words, core inflation is not going to magically slow.”