Discussion

At 100 AM CDT (0600 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Bertha was located by Air Force reconnaissance aircraft near latitude 28.4 North, longitude 86.1 West. Bertha is moving toward the northwest near 2 mph (4 km/h). A slow northwestward to west-northwestward motion is expected today followed by a turn westward by the middle part of this week. On the forecast track, Bertha will move near or along the northern Gulf coast during the next several days.

Aircraft and satellite-wind data indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 50 mph (85 km/h) with higher gusts. Some additional intensification is possible over the next day or so.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles (110 km) from the center.

The minimum central pressure estimated from Air Force reserve reconnaissance aircraft observations is 998 mb (29.47 inches).

Watches and Warnings

CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:

None.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for, * Alabama/Florida border to the Jefferson/Plaquemines Parish border in Louisiana

A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for, * Alabama/Florida Border to the Mouth of the Mississippi River

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for, * Bay/Gulf County line in Florida westward to the Florida/Alabama border * West of the Jefferson/Plaquemines Parish border to Morgan City, Louisiana * Metropolitan New Orleans, Lake Pontchartrain, and Lake Maurepas

A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours.

A Storm Surge Watch means there is a possibility of life- threatening inundation, from rising water moving inland from the coastline, in the indicated locations during the next 48 hours. For a depiction of areas at risk, please see the National Weather Service Storm Surge Watch/Warning Graphic, available at hurricanes.gov.

A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, in this case in the next 24 to 48 hours.

Additional watches or warnings may be required later today.

For storm information specific to your area, including possible inland watches and warnings, please monitor products issued by your local National Weather Service forecast office.

Land Hazards

Key messages for Tropical Storm Bertha can be found in the Tropical Cyclone Discussion under AWIPS header MIATCDAT2 and WMO header WTNT42 KNHC.

WIND: Tropical storm conditions are expected within the warning area along the northern Gulf coast by late today into Wednesday. Tropical storm conditions are possible in the watch area in the Florida Panhandle later today. Tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area in Louisiana by late tonight into Wednesday.

STORM SURGE: The combination of storm surge and the tide will cause normally dry areas near the immediate coast to be flooded by rising waters moving inland from the shoreline. The water could reach the following heights above ground somewhere in the indicated areas if the peak surge occurs at the time of high tide,

Mouth of the Mississippi River, LA to AL/FL Border, 2-4 ft Indian Pass, FL to Chassahowitzka, FL, 1-3 ft Morgan City, LA to Mouth of the Mississippi River, LA, 1-3 ft Lake Pontchartrain, 1-3 ft

The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast. Surge-related flooding depends on the relative timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, and can vary greatly over short distances. For information specific to your area, please see products issued by your local National Weather Service forecast office.

For a complete depiction of areas at risk of storm surge inundation, please see the National Weather Service Peak Storm Surge Graphic, available at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?peakSurge.

RAINFALL: Bertha is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches with isolated higher totals around 8 inches through Thursday along the Gulf Coast and adjacent inland locations from western Florida into southern Louisiana, including southern portions of Alabama and Mississippi. This rainfall may produce areas of flash flooding, especially in urban areas.

For a complete depiction of forecast rainfall associated with Bertha, please see the National Weather Service Storm Total Rainfall Graphic available at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?rainqpf and the Flash Flood Risk graphic at hurricanes.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?ero.

SURF: Swells generated by Bertha are affecting portions of the Gulf coast of Florida and are likely to spread westward during the week. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Please consult products from your local weather office.

A depiction of rip current risk for the United States can be found at: hurricanes.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?ripCurrents

Joseph Aoun's landmark meeting with Trump comes as Lebanon and Israel continue to hold rare direct talks mediated by Washington. Lebanon hopes they will result in Israeli troops withdrawing from large swaths of southern Lebanon that they currently occupy, and for the Lebanese military to receive support to assert full control in areas where Hezbollah militants had held sway.

Lebanon and Israel announced a “framework agreement” on June 26, setting a plan for Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon as well as the disarmament of Hezbollah, which for decades had a strong presence in the area. It also lays out steps toward an eventual peace agreement between both countries, which have never held formal diplomatic ties and have been nominally in a state of war for nearly 80 years after Israel’s establishment.

The U.S. State Department announced Monday that operations in three villages deemed part of a “pilot zone” had begun, without giving details on what that entailed. The three villages, Froun, Srifa and Zawtar al-Gharbieh, are not under Israeli military control. Neither Lebanon's nor Israel’s militaries and political leadership immediately issued statements following the announcement.

Rubio says US will continue to support framework agreement

Aoun met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday, who said Washington will continue to endorse the Lebanese agreement and support the agreement's full implementation. Rubio described the meeting as “very positive” and warned that Lebanon will “never be fully at peace” as long as the Hezbollah issue is not resolved.

“How do you replace Hezbollah? You defeat and replace them with a government that is strong enough to be the sole force of arms in the country,” Rubio said after the meeting. Skeptics in Lebanon fear that a military confrontation with Hezbollah could lead to a civil war, as government officials have also urged for investment into the country's battered infrastructure to empower the weakened state, which Rubio echoed.

“This is not just about military stuff," he added. "This is about how can we attract more U.S. and international investment into Lebanon.”

The Lebanese military last week increased its presence in some of the areas expected to be included in the pilot zone, including the three villages, with troops patrolling and setting up checkpoints. Though recent talks in Rome have signaled that the agreement’s implementation will begin soon, Israeli troops have not withdrawn from the areas under control.

Israeli officials, meanwhile, have said they plan to keep forces long term in a “security zone” in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah has dismissed the direct talks brokered by the United States and instead backed Washington’s talks with their key ally and patron Iran to end their war, which also includes ending the war in Lebanon as a condition to bring back calm.

Lebanon’s government came to power on a reformist platform in early 2025, vowing to disarm all non-state groups including Hezbollah. It blames Hezbollah for dragging the country into another war with Israel in March when the militant group fired several rockets toward northern Israel after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran.

Beirut's leadership, however, has been critical of Israel’s subsequent ground invasion and massive aerial campaign in the country, which killed over 4,000 people and displaced 1.2 million others. While grappling with stark political opposition from Hezbollah and allies within the deeply divided country, Lebanon's leadership insists that Israeli withdrawal and international financial support for Lebanon’s cash-strapped army is crucial for a sustainable security solution.

More than 23 kilometers (14 miles) have been constructed in recent months, running through Palestinian communities demolished by the military. That is equivalent to more than half the length of the coastal strip, which is some 40 kilometers (25 miles) long and 11 kilometers (7 miles) wide, and home to over 2 million Palestinians.

When presented with the satellite images, Israel’s military confirmed to The Associated Press it has built a physical barrier in the area of the so-called yellow line, the boundary to which Israeli troops withdrew under the October ceasefire deal with Hamas. The line was envisioned in the U.S.-backed agreement as a temporary division of the territory pending a fuller Israeli withdrawal.

But as the truce stagnates, it appears Israel is digging in, heightening Palestinian fears that the line is morphing into a border. Neither U.S. Central Command, which is tasked with monitoring the ceasefire, nor the Board of Peace, the body led by U.S. President Donald Trump meant to eventually oversee Gaza, would comment on the barrier.

Along with the barrier, the military told AP it has developed a “security zone” around the line, equipped with intelligence and technological assets. It declined to give details on the route of the barrier when asked how far it would be extended. It said the barrier aimed to prevent infiltration and protect Israeli troops and Israeli communities near Gaza.

Construction of the barrier is proceeding rapidly

Since the ceasefire deal took hold, Palestinians in Gaza have feared Israel would not return the area of Gaza it controls. But few appear to be aware of the berms now being built around them — because of the danger of even approaching that area.

A portion of the berm network in southern Gaza was extended by more than 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) in two weeks this month, according to the satellite images provided by Planet Labs PBC.

The berm was about 500 meters (0.3 miles) long on July 1. By July 15, it was about 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles), splicing the Israel-controlled ruins of the city of Rafah from Muwasi, site of some of the largest Palestinian tent camps.

If construction continues in its current direction, it will join up with the longest stretch of the barrier, which runs nearly unbroken for around 17 kilometers (10 miles) from the southern city of Khan Younis to near Gaza City, in the north.

Construction began on that stretch in February, and it appears work to extend it further south is continuing, according to the satellite images. More than a kilometer (0.6 miles) was added between June 21 and July 7, running close to an Israeli military base built on the ruins of the town of Bani Suheila, near Khan Younis.

In the far north of Gaza, several unconnected stretches of berms run just outside the largely leveled town of Beit Lahia.

The height of the berms in each place remains unclear. In some places, the barriers appear to run outside the yellow line.

Israel has mostly destroyed and depopulated the half of Gaza it controls

Gaza’s population has been crowded into the coastal area west of the yellow line, most living in squalid tent camps and dependent on aid.

On the other side of the line, satellite imagery shows that Israeli forces have leveled the vast majority of buildings using bulldozers and explosives, virtually erasing several towns and Rafah, once home to more than a quarter million people.

They have carved new road networks and erected new bases on the ruins of Palestinian towns. Agricultural land has also been destroyed. The Israeli military says it is demolishing infrastructure used by Hamas.

The yellow line was never precisely defined, whether in the ceasefire deal or by Israeli or U.S. officials, and it has been inconsistently marked on the ground. The military told AP it is working to clearly mark the route of the yellow line to “reduce friction and prevent harm to uninvolved individuals.”

Israeli forces have killed Palestinians who came close to the line or crossed it. The Israeli military says it fires on those believed to be militants threatening its troops. But those killed have included children and other civilians seemingly unaware of the line. Some soldiers have said they don’t always know who they are firing on and have orders to kill anyone crossing the boundary.

Israeli strikes have killed hundreds of Palestinians since the ceasefire

Israeli forces have killed more than 1,100 Palestinians since the ceasefire began, most in airstrikes and drone strikes around Gaza. The Israeli military says it is targeting militants. Militant attacks have killed five Israeli soldiers in the same period.

Under the ceasefire deal, Israel is eventually supposed to withdraw its troops further to the very edges of Gaza, to be replaced by an international security force. But implementation of the deal has been stalled for months.

A former U.N. diplomat now in charge of coordinating the ceasefire has blamed Hamas’ failure to disarm. Sporadic talks to reach a formula for decommissioning its weapons appear to have made little progress, and Hamas accuses Israel in turn of violating the ceasefire.

The war began after Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 others hostage. Israel responded with a punishing military offensive that has killed more than 73,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The ministry, which was part of the recently dissolved Hamas-run government, maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and international organizations. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants but says women and children make up around half of all fatalities.

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Frankel reported from Jerusalem.

The first example of that came Monday night.

Misiorowski worked just four innings in an 8-3 victory over the New York Mets that marked his first appearance since pitching seven innings in a July 7 victory at St. Louis. The Brewers scratched Misiorowski from a scheduled July 12 start in Pittsburgh due to arm fatigue, and he didn’t pitch in the All-Star Game last week despite getting selected to the team for a second straight year.

“I think we take that as kind of a reset,” Murphy said before the game. “Now I think we have to build him back up and make sure that we are mindful of it.”

Misiorowski struck out six Monday while allowing one unearned run, four hits and a walk. Twenty-six of his 65 pitches went at least 100 mph, and he topped out at 104 mph on a first-inning fastball to Juan Soto. He reached 102 mph on 12 pitches, though all but one of them came in the first inning.

Murphy noted after the game that limiting Misiorowski to four innings wasn’t simply a matter of being careful with the flamethrowing right-hander. He said it was more a matter of “just being mindful of when a guy’s not right.”

“We would have probably let him go further if his delivery and his legs felt great,” Murphy said. “I think he was a little bit out of it. The long layoff kind of affected his delivery and everything else. I think it was important to notice that and get him out of there then. The velo dropped. He couldn’t find the rhythm on his heater and went to off-speed stuff.”

Misiorowski acknowledged that it felt a little more difficult than usual pitching Monday after such a long layoff.

“Of course,” Misiorowski said. “I felt like I wasn’t in my legs as well as I should have been, but I felt halfway decent. Good enough.”

The Brewers have reason to be careful with their star as he makes his way through his first full season in the big leagues.

Misiorowski already has pitched 115 innings this season. He worked 141 1/3 innings last year, including his regular-season totals in the majors and minors plus his 12 postseason innings during Milwaukee’s run to the NL Championship Series.

The Brewers (63-37) have the best record in the major leagues and lead the Chicago Cubs by seven games in the NL Central. Misiorowski has been baseball’s best pitcher, and the Brewers’ chances of making a deep postseason run likely depend on him staying healthy and effective.

Misiorowski hasn’t allowed an earned run in eight of his last 13 starts, and he owns a 9-2 record and 0.87 ERA during that stretch. He has a 1.57 ERA and 173 strikeouts this season to lead the majors in both categories.

The 24-year-old said after Monday’s game that he’s hopeful he can go longer in his next start and can ramp his way back up quickly after this recent time off. Misiorowski had spent the offseason preparing for the greater workload he expected to encounter this year.

“The offseason last year, we focused on legs and doing all that stuff to get myself ready for this track of the year,” Misiorowski said. “I feel good where I’m at. Ready to go.”

___

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

The 10 consecutive nights of U.S. airstrikes haven't compelled Tehran to loosen its grip on the strait, through which about a fifth of all crude oil and natural gas traded once passed in peacetime.

Even as the U.S. and Iran inch closer to all-out war again, Iran’s interior minister traveled to Pakistan, a key mediator in the conflict, for talks. However, it remains unclear just what new deal could be reached to end the fighting.

The interim deal signed last month that was meant to end the fighting has crumbled. Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has largely stalled. And as fighting intensifies, both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people.

“Iran and groups supportive of Iran may target other U.S. interests overseas or at locations associated with the United States and Americans throughout the world,” the U.S. State Department said in a new warning to Americans.

The escalation has pushed oil prices higher in recent weeks. Benchmark Brent crude traded Tuesday above $88 a barrel and regular gasoline in the U.S. climbed to an average of $4 a gallon, keeping pressure on Americans’ wallets ahead of midterm elections this fall.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military identified two soldiers who were killed in Jordan in attacks that left a third person missing. Separately, the military confirmed another death in Iraq on Saturday during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone. President Donald Trump took to social media on Monday to warn that “Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!"

Trump was planning to attend a ceremony on Tuesday evening at Dover Air Force Base, where at least one service member's remains were due to arrive.

US strikes come as ships attacked

The U.S. military’s Central Command said Tuesday it targeted “Iranian military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and air defense systems.” It released more footage of bombings that targeted sites in Iran.

“American forces remain postured and prepared to hold Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression toward civilian mariners seeking to freely and openly transit the strait," the command said.

However, traffic through the strait has slowed to crawl with the latest violence. The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said a tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel.

Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed the attack, as well as two other attacks on ships Monday in the waterway.

The route around Oman has been the one the U.S. military has encouraged ships to travel to avoid Iran’s control.

Tehran also hit U.S.-allied countries throughout the Middle East.

Kuwait said its air defenses fired at an incoming barrage, and Jordan’s armed forces said Monday evening they had shot down three Iranian missiles, adding that there had been no material damage or casualties. Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry condemned Iranian drone strikes targeting the country’s air traffic systems, saying they endanger travel for civilians.

Nearly 100 US injuries since early July

The Pentagon’s chief spokesman said nearly 100 U.S. service members have been injured since the U.S. restarted strikes on July 7, and 96% of them have returned to duty.

“The vast majority of injuries experienced were minor concussions,” Sean Parnell posted Monday on X in response to a New York Times report that the Pentagon has withheld information about troop injuries from Iranian strikes. He denied that the Pentagon was hiding data about injuries.

However, the Defense Casualty Analysis System, the military’s clearinghouse for reporting deaths and injuries in conflict, has not been updated as of Monday night with the latest attacks.

Yemen rebels threaten attacks on other Mideast waterway

Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on Monday. The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, said they would block shipping between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden by targeting the Bab el-Mandeb, a maritime chokepoint like the Strait of Hormuz, in response to an attack on Sanaa International Airport last week that they blamed on Saudi Arabia.

With the Strait of Hormuz blocked, Saudi Arabia has been relying on a pipeline to the Red Sea to get millions of barrels of oil out to market. The Houthis earlier demonstrated their ability to disrupt shipping there when they targeted ships for months over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, with over 100 vessels attacked.

Saudi Arabia's military said it would keep the waterway open.

“All Houthi threats against transiting vessels will be dealt with swiftly and firmly, as such threats are a blatant violation of international law and fall under acts of maritime piracy,” said Maj. Gen, Turki al-Malki, a Saudi military spokesman.

A glimmer of hope for diplomacy

Pakistan has intensified diplomatic efforts in recent days to resuscitate the interim deal.

Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni arrived in Islamabad on Monday for two days of talks with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and others.

On Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that the U.S. is still open to negotiating with Iran but that “it has to be real.”

“If the door opens to diplomacy — if the guys that want to do something productive for Iran win and take control of that system, or take control of the negotiations — that’ll be a very positive development,” Rubio said. “That’s not where we are tonight, unfortunately.”

Iranian authorities on Sunday said at least 50 people have been killed and 517 wounded in the latest rounds of U.S. strikes. Since the war began on Feb. 28, 17 U.S. service members have been killed.

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Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix, Christopher Weber in Los Angeles, and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.

ACS and the San Antonio Police Department received a report regarding a strong odor coming from a car in the 100 block of West Nueva Street.

Officers found evidence of “heavily decomposed animal remains” inside the vehicle, ACS said. It appeared to be up to three deceased dogs.

The agency said the number and identities of the animals, as well as their cause of death, will be confirmed following veterinary examination and a necropsy.

“Although preliminary evidence suggests the animals likely died from heat exposure, that determination has not yet been formally confirmed,” ACS said.

ACS and SAPD are reviewing other evidence found in the vehicle and are working jointly to identify the person or persons responsible, according to the agency.

ACS urges anyone who sees an animal confined in a vehicle that appears to be in danger to call 911 immediately.

Read also:

• 18 abandoned dogs seized from far SW Bexar County property once described as ‘puppy mill’

Meanwhile, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto formed far from Mexico's Baja California peninsula and posed no threat to land Monday night.

The center of Bertha was located about 140 miles (225 km) south of Panama City, Florida, in the northern Gulf. Maximum sustained winds were around 40 mph (65 kph) and some additional strengthening is expected as the storm approaches land, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.

The slow-moving storm drifted for hours on Monday, but is expected to stay near or along the northern Gulf Coast early this week, unleashing heavy rain on coastal areas of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana as it pushes west toward Texas.

Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical Storm Arthur last month brought heavy rainfall to the southeastern United States.

The storm was nearly stationary by Monday night, but it was expected to make a west-northwestward or westward turn toward the coast over the next few days, according to the hurricane center.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for a wide area from the Alabama-Florida border westward to southeastern Louisiana at the Jefferson and Plaquemines parish line. A storm surge watch also has been posted from the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Alabama-Florida border on the Gulf Coast.

Potentially life-threatening storm surges of up to four feet (1.2 meters) could occur in portions of the Louisiana, Alabama and Florida, the hurricane center said, warning Bertha could spin off an isolated tornado or two over the Florida Big Bend region in the week.

Areas of flash flooding will also be possible through Friday along the coast from western Florida to middle Texas, forecasters said. They added that rainfall could total 3 to 5 inches (7 to 12 centimeters) along the Louisiana coastline with higher amounts in some scattered areas.

Red flags were flying on the beach at Orange Beach, Alabama, cautioning swimmers about high surf and currents. In Escambia County, Florida, emergency officials offered sand for people living in flood-prone areas to use for sandbags.

Fausto gained hurricane status Monday night and was about 745 miles (1,200 km) southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, forecasters said.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Fausto had top sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph) and was moving to the west-northwest at 9 mph 15 (kph).

No coastal watches or warnings were in effect though ocean swells generated by the storm could pummel the Baja California coast and cause life-threatening surf and rip tide conditions, the center said.

Officials are now focusing their attention on the Nueces River, which Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd said reached approximately 9 feet Monday morning.

Kidd said he expected the river could rise an additional five feet.

Watch the full news conference below:

Over the next few days, officials’ top concerns are on areas including Cotulla, Tilden and Carrizo Springs. Abbott said evacuations in Uvalde are continuing, as well.

“Remember this: Just because the skies may be clear here right now doesn’t mean that the aggregation of water that’s flowing downstream has peaked,” Abbott said during a Monday news conference in Kerrville.

Damage figures in Comal, Kendall and Kerr counties

To date, Kerr County has taken the brunt of the rain and damage during this year’s flooding.

Abbott said approximately 490 single-family residences and 100 businesses sustained some level of damage in the flooding. One hundred thirty-five homes out of 490 took on major damage or were destroyed completely. Residents requested voluntary cleanup help at more than 200 homes (219) in the county.

In Kendall County, around 100 single-family homes have been damaged. Abbott warned that number will likely rise when damage in Boerne is fully assessed. Residents in 23 homes requested cleanup help.

According to the governor, at least two homes in Comal County suffered minor damage during the flooding.

Road updates

In total, 52 state-maintained roadways were impacted by floodwaters. As of Monday, that figure is down to nine.

All 13 state-maintained roadways in Kerr County affected by the flooding are now open to traffic, but Texas Department of Transportation officials said repairs are still needed in spots including State Highway 39 and State Highway 16 at the Sidney Baker Bridge.

Elsewhere, in Uvalde, FM 481 remains closed after a portion of the bridge collapsed late last week. TxDOT said it hopes to have a repair design ready by the end of this week.

Background

During a Friday news conference, Abbott issued a major disaster declaration for at least 28 counties after historic rainfall caused widespread flooding.

Bexar County was among the counties listed in the declaration.

First responders from state and local counties rescued more than 500 people last week during the floods. As of Monday, two people died as a result of the flooding last week.

The governor also said Monday that state first responders have rescued at least 530 people. Texas Game Warden officials said Saturday that they have conducted 153 rescues, 92 evacuations and five pet evacuations.

A 74-year-old man was found dead Thursday in Uvalde after floods swept away his vehicle, the city’s police department said in a news release.

The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed John Mark Steward also died in the floods. His body was recovered near Center Point after he was swept away approximately 20 miles while in an RV.

Kidd said residents can report damage to their homes or business here. For more information on statewide flood response help, click here.

Read also:

• Kerr County Courthouse closes for foreseeable future due to ‘severe flood damage’

During a Monday night news conference, La Salle County Judge Leodoro Martinez III said officials acted early and proactively to get ahead of the potential flooding.

Watch the full press conference below:

“We wanted to be proactive and get the community notified and start getting way ahead of the ball,” Martinez said. “You know, just don’t want to be the next victims, especially in our small hometown.”

La Salle County has a population of approximately 3,500 within city limits and about 7,500 throughout the county, including ranches along the Nueces River corridor, according to Martinez.

Martinez said agencies have been going door to door to notify residents, particularly in the Mustang Creek area, which officials have identified as the most flood-prone part of the county based on history.

“Anybody living in the Mustang Creek area will be the first ones notified,” Martinez said.

Officials have implemented a color-coded alert system. As of Monday night, the county moved to a yellow alert, urging residents to prepare an emergency bag and be ready to evacuate if needed.

The American Red Cross has set up a shelter for displaced residents. A separate pet shelter is available at the county fairgrounds, Martinez said.

Martinez said the last time the county experienced flooding of this magnitude was in 2013.

The flooding along the Nueces River is not being caused by local rainfall, according to Martinez, making it a challenge to communicate the urgency to residents who are not seeing rain in the area.

“It’s been dry, but the information we’re putting out — we’re constantly putting out information,” Martinez said. “These agencies are going door to door, notifying the people, especially in the areas that we know we’re going to have issues.”

Texas Task Force One is leading the response effort, with additional personnel from Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Texas Game Wardens, the Texas Department of Public Safety, constable’s offices and sheriff’s offices are also assisting, Martinez said.

Residents who need assistance during flooding are encouraged to call the county’s local emergency line or 911. Officials said they have a list of residents who may need help evacuating and will prioritize reaching them first.

Read also:

• Gov. Abbott: Nearly 500 homes sustain flood damage in Kerr County; Nueces River concerns continue

The Tates appeared in federal court Monday for the first time since their arrest on Saturday and are being held in federal detention. In the coming weeks, a U.S. district judge will consider whether they meet the conditions for extradition. U.S. Magistrate Lauren Louis set another hearing for July 27.

In court documents unsealed Monday, U.S. prosecutors described allegations from the United Kingdom against the brothers involving three victims. One woman accused Tristan Tate of rape and assault during a long-term relationship with him beginning in 2012, including when she was unconscious, reporting him to U.K. authorities multiple times. Two other women, one who met Andrew Tate through a webcam business and another through a dating app, also accused him of rape and assault in 2014 and 2015.

The brothers, through their social media empire promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny, are among the world’s most polarizing internet personalities.

Normally photographed in tailored suits and fitted shirts, they wore tan jail uniforms and handcuffs during Monday's brief hearing. Neither brother said a word.

Their attorney, Joseph McBride, insisted they should remain in the U.S.

“We are of course objecting to extradition because Andrew and Tristan are innocent," McBride said after the hearing. “They’ve never done nothing wrong. They shouldn’t be extradited for crimes they did not commit.”

The brothers were surprised when they were arrested, McBride said, adding that the attempt to have them extradited was politically motivated. “There’s no question about it,” he told reporters.

He suggested the Tates' case “had a lot to do with” former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's decision to step down, without providing any details, and said it was no coincidence that the brothers were arrested after meeting “friends in Washington, D.C.”

“We went to see our Congress people in D.C. and now we’re getting arrested. This feels political,” McBride said. He didn't specify who the pair met with or what was discussed.

On Sunday, McBride said he was confident the extradition request would be denied.

Prosecutors in Britain said the new charges relate to four new victims and were brought after authorities received evidence from Bedfordshire Police in southeastern England. The allegations, spanning 2010 to 2017, include rape, assault, trafficking and offenses relating to “indecent images of a child and extreme pornography.”

McBride said none of the latest accusers have been identified, adding “we'd like to know who’s accused Andrew and Tristan of what.”

The brothers are already charged with rape, bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain relating to three other alleged victims in the U.K. between 2012 and 2015.

Their lawyer said in a statement Saturday that he believed the arrests were “greenlighted by a low-level functionary” at the Justice Department without input from leadership. The Justice Department told The Associated Press that the arrests were approved by leadership of its Criminal Division.

The new allegations are the latest in a long-running international legal saga involving the Tates that has spanned the U.S., Britain and Romania. The brothers have repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

The dual U.S. and British citizens moved to Romania in 2016. They were arrested there in 2022, accused of participating in schemes to lure women for sexual exploitation. They denied those allegations and the Romanian case hasn't gone forward because of legal and procedural problems.

Last year, they were allowed to leave Romania and flew to Florida.

The former professional kickboxers have millions of followers on social media and are vocal supporters of President Donald Trump.

Andrew Tate, 39, first became known a decade ago when he was a contestant on the U.K. reality television show “Big Brother.” He was booted from the show when a video appeared to show him assaulting a woman.

He has amassed over 10 million followers on X but has been banned from other platforms for violating hate speech guidelines, including YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. He has made widely condemned comments, such as saying women who are sexually assaulted should bear some responsibility for the attacks and sharing graphic descriptions of how he might attack women.

The Tate brothers have consistently denied allegations of abuse and human trafficking, claiming their violent and misogynistic statements have been taken out of context or were intended as jokes.

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Associated Press reporters Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.

They finally got it Monday night.

The Guardians hit seven home runs in a 13-4 victory over Minnesota Twins, one short of the franchise record and matching the record for a home game.

It was an unlikely power surge for the Guardians, who came into the game tied with Tampa Bay for the third-fewest homers in the majors with 94.

“A really fun night,” Vogt said. “The coolest feeling in the world is hitting a home run in the big leagues. So to see our guys keep doing it, obviously we’re getting good pitches to hit and we’re not missing them. I think that’s more telling than anything.”

Five of the longballs were by players who came into the game batting under .200. Petey Halpin and Rhys Hoskins each went deep twice and Patrick Bailey's shot in the seventh made it the sixth game in the franchise’s 125 seasons with at least seven homers. Cleveland hit eight home runs at Milwaukee on April 25, 1997, and at Seattle on July 16, 2004.

“We’ve been talking a lot about how both good and bad things are so contagious in this game and we feed off that as a team,” said Hoskins, who came into the game batting .177.

It was the first time two Cleveland players homered at least twice in a game since José Ramírez and Carlos Santana did it in 2019 against the Yankees.

Brayan Rocchio and Travis Bazzana also went deep for Cleveland, which also homered seven times at home on April 30, 2013 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

It’s the fourth time this season a major league team has hit at least seven homers. The Chicago Cubs had eight in their 23-3 win over the San Diego Padres on July 1.

Twins starter Joe Ryan became the 11th starting pitcher in major league history to give up six homers in a game. It was also a franchise record for homers allowed. Ryan, who pitched in his second All-Star Game last week, left too many of his 78 pitches over the middle of the plate as the Guardians took advantage of an off night by the right-hander.

“It’s a tough one, right, because I’m the one that’s wearing it. It’s definitely all on me,” said Ryan, who allowed eight runs and a career-high 10 hits in four innings, raising his ERA from 2.85 to 3.38. “It’s definitely frustrating and not the way you want to start a series against this team. They beat me to the spot more times than I got them.”

Vogt was happiest for Halpin, who hit his first two major league homers with drives to right-center in the second and fourth innings.

“It feels incredible. I think that my role and what I try to do is get on base for the guys that do hit home runs. And today I was able to connect on a couple of them,” Halpin said.

Halpin's homer in the fourth extended Cleveland's lead to 8-2. According to Sportradar, it was the first time since 1974 — when innings data started to be tracked — that Cleveland had six homers in the first four innings. It had five on July 22, 1994, against the Chicago White Sox and on Aug. 15, 2019, at the New York Yankees.

It was the 24th time that has happened in the majors during that span. The last was by the New York Yankees on Aug. 27, 2025, against the Washington Nationals.

Rocchio hit a two-run homer to right in the first. Two pitches later, Hoskins followed with a drive down the line in left to make it 3-0. It was the second time this season that Rocchio and Hoskins have gone back to back. They also did it against the Twins on July 8.

Bailey led off the seventh with a solo shot to center off Woo-Suk Go. The Guardians also had three other balls that went off the wall for doubles.

“I think it was just a great commitment on our part to really not be sold out, but be really confident about what we’re trying to do with the fastball,” Hoskins said. “I also think it gives you some conviction on which ones are balls. And I think we just did a really good job of that today. Ready to hit on the ones that weren’t up. And I think a lot of those are the ones that we did damage on, those are the pitches that you can’t miss against a guy like that and we just didn’t do that tonight.”

___

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

SAPD responded to a reported shooting just before 7 p.m. in the 1500 block of Roosevelt Avenue, where officers pronounced one person in their 30s dead at the scene.

Additionally, SAPD said another person in their 60s was shot multiple times and were taken to a hospital.

Authorities said the alleged shooter is in his early 30s.

It’s unclear what led up to the shooting, SAPD said.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.

Read also:

• SAPD bodycam footage shows exchange of gunfire between officers, suspect on North Side

In a Monday afternoon update, the San Antonio Police Department identified the bicyclist as Andrew Davila Jr., 52.

The shooting happened just before 2:30 a.m. Thursday in the 800 block of Hammond Avenue, near South New Braunfels Avenue and Rigsby Avenue.

According to SAPD Acting Chief Jesse Salame, a probationary officer and a field training officer noticed a “suspicious” man, later identified as Davila, on a bicycle and attempted to stop him. However, Salame said Davila fled.

The officers chased Davila and notified additional officers in the area, who responded to assist with the investigation.

Davila was eventually found in front of a home on Hammond Avenue. As the officers “contacted” him, SAPD said Davila pulled out a handgun and pointed it in the direction of the officers.

Four of the five responding officers fired shots at Davila, Salame said. Despite officers’ attempts to save his life, Davila was pronounced dead at the scene.

The department identified the following four officers, who police said fired their weapons at Davila:

• Thomas Smith, 20 years of service
• Reed Butler, more than eight years of service
• Felix Rodriguez, two years of service
• Kenneth Hernandez, less than two years of service

All four officers have been placed on administrative duty until further notice, according to police.

SAPD said its shooting team and internal affairs unit will conduct separate investigations. Upon completion, the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office will review the findings of both reports.

Police said its investigation is ongoing.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• SAPD officers shoot, kill ‘suspicious’ armed man on East Side, police say

• HOT DAYS AHEAD: Triple digits possible by Wednesday
• NUECES & FRIO FLOODING: Cotulla and Tilden will experience major flooding soon
• TROPICAL STORM BERTHA: Some strengthening possible. Odds currently favor minimal/no impacts for Texas
• AQUIFER/LAKES STILL RISING: Aquifer tops 650′ for the first times since 2022

FORECAST

FIRST TRIPLE DIGITS OF THE YEAR FOR SA?

We’ve managed to avoid triple digits this year. This week, however, it may be hard to dodge a late-July heat wave. Temperatures will rise, with peak temperatures on Wednesday. As of now, we are forecasting 100° in San Antonio. Heat indices will reach the low-100s.

TROPICAL STORM BERTHA

A tropical system has formed in the Gulf. Some strengthening is expected today and it could receive a name: Bertha. While there is still some uncertainty with Bertha’s future, we are getting more clarity. TS Bertha likely affects the New Orleans area tomorrow into Wednesday. From there, it will encounter more wind shear, dry air, and possibly interact with land, which all should significantly weaken the system.

The leftovers then make a run at South Texas during the second half of the work week. That means impacts to San Antonio and surrounding areas would be minimal (if any). That said, as it is with tropical systems, much can change over the next 48 hours, so stay tuned for more updates.

COTULLA/TILDEN

While it has yet to flood along the Nueces and the Frio near Cotulla and Tilden, floodwaters will rise soon. These locations need to be on high alert through the weekend.

AQUIFER/LAKES STILL RISING!

While our bodies of water are starting to level out, we’re still noticing small rises in area lakes and the aquifer. Canyon Lake is now 99% full, while Medina has reached 27% capacity. The Edwards Aquifer at the J-17 well is now above 650′ for the first time in more than 4 years!

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• 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.

Bustillos was initially voted as a finalist for the role on June 24.

“We believe Adrian Bustillos is the leader for this moment,” Board President Alicia Sebastian said in the release.

Bustillos said he’s honored to join the SAISD community.

“From the moment I began learning about the students, families, staff and community partners who make this district so special, I was inspired by the shared commitment to student success,” Bustillos said in the release. “I look forward to listening, building relationships, and working alongside our dedicated educators and families to ensure every student has the opportunities, support, and encouragement they need to thrive.”

One SAISD board member was concerned about voting Bustillos as the lone superintendent finalist during a meeting on June 24.

“I have concerns,” Jacob Ramos said last month. “He was involved in a cheating scandal at El Paso ISD.”

Bustillos, a former assistant principal at El Paso Independent School District, was sanctioned and served a yearlong probated suspension in 2017, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Previously, Ramos pointed out that Bustillos was missing a required certificate needed to become a superintendent in Texas.

On Monday, July 20, the board discussed submitting a request to waive the certification for superintendent for Bustillos “as permitted by the Texas Education Code and The Texas Education Agency Rules,” according to the SAISD board meeting agenda.

Bustillos’ career in education spans 20 years, starting as a science teacher and progressing to leadership roles.

Since 2019, Bustillos has served as chief transformation officer for Aldine Independent School District, the release stated.

SAISD voted for Bustillos because of his “leadership, character, track record and ability to drive meaningful results,” the release said.

“My vision is to create a future where every student feels valued, challenged, and inspired, and where innovative learning opportunities, strong community partnerships, and a culture of belonging prepare all students for success in college, career, and life,” Bustillos said.

Bustillos is expected to start his new role as superintendent this upcoming school year in August.

Bustillos succeeds SAISD Superintendent Jaime Aquino, who announced in March he will retire from the district in January 2027.

Read also:

• SAISD deputy superintendent leaving district for position in Georgia

A Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said in a video statement that the maritime ban against Saudi Arabia will be effective immediately, describing it as an “equation of ‘an eye for an eye.’”

There were few details on how the embargo might work, but the deputy head of the Houthi media office, Nasruddin Amer, said on X that the Bab al-Mandeb strait will be closed to the Saudis in response to what he called the kingdom's "unjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 years.”

Bab el-Mandeb, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is the gateway to the Red Sea through which around 12% of the world's trade usually passes. A fourth of global container trade transits through the 32-kilometer (20-mile)-wide strait to and from the Suez Canal.

The Houthis earlier demonstrated their ability to disrupt shipping there when they targeted ships for months over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, with over 100 vessels attacked. It is unclear whether the Houthis will resume that level of attack against neighboring Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia’s military said it would keep the waterway open.

“All Houthi threats against transiting vessels will be dealt with swiftly and firmly, as such threats are a blatant violation of international law and fall under acts of maritime piracy,” said Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, a Saudi military spokesperson.

Iran war limits shipping routes

The kingdom already faced pressure as it uses its East-West Pipeline to the Red Sea as an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, which remains in the grip that Iran imposed shortly after the U.S. and Israel attacked it on Feb. 28.

The Saudis have been sending millions of barrels of crude oil a day through the pipeline. Now, about 2.5 million barrels of oil per day could be at risk, Texas-based Rystad Energy wrote Monday.

Saudi Arabia leads a coalition against the Houthis and imposed an air and sea blockade on Yemen in 2015. Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen and forced the government into exile. A truce was reached in 2022.

Exchange of fire escalates tensions

That truce has been threatened in recent days after the Houthis said the Saudis struck the Sanaa airport in an attempt to affect a flight carrying Houthi leaders back from Iran, where they attended the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The plane landed safely at another airport.

The Houthis then launched missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport in the most significant confrontation in years.

By allowing a direct international flight to land without the approval of the Saudi-led coalition, the Houthis sought to establish a new reality in which they could independently make decisions over Yemen’s airspace, experts told the AP.

“We affirm the right of our great people to respond to the blockade with a blockade,” Saree emphasized on Monday, adding that Houthis are prepared to confront “any foolish act committed by the reckless Saudi enemy ... with a comprehensive and decisive escalation."

Houthi-run Al Masirah TV broadcast footage of hundreds of supporters gathering in the city of Ibb, south of Sanaa, to back the embargo against Saudi Arabia. Similar rallies were held in the governorates of Saada, Marib, Hajjah and Taiz.

Iranian weapons supplies dwindle

The Houthis are a crucial part of Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance,” which also includes militant groups in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories.

The rebels have had a large stockpile of drones, but several Houthi members previously told the AP that the stockpile is running low after its attacks during the Israel-Hamas war. The Iran war has further impeded the flow of weapons, said the members, who at the time spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk to the media.

The U.S. and Israel responded to the Houthis' earlier attacks on shipping with a punishing air campaign across Houthi-held areas in Yemen until a deal that saw the rebels stop their assaults.

Disrupting transit through the Bab al-Mandeb forces shipping firms to route vessels around the Cape of Good Hope off South Africa, significantly increasing costs. The U.S. government in the past has said going around the cape would add about 2,700 miles (4,345 kilometers) to the journey from Saudi Arabia to the U.S.

___

Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed.

The Defense Department said in a statement that Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas, were killed in Jordan in Friday’s attacks.

Feehan, a first lieutenant, will be posthumously promoted to the rank of captain and awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Combat Action Badge. The Army did not provide details about his commendations. He was assigned out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command.

Feehan was just weeks away from getting a Master of Business Administration from Southern Utah University, according to the school. The university will award his degree posthumously.

“Our hearts are with his family, fellow service members, classmates, and all who knew and loved Tyler as we mourn this profound loss together,” Mindy Benson, the university's president, said in a statement.

Gonzales was a private with the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany. She graduated last year from Hebron High School in Carrollton, near Dallas, school officials said.

“She gave her life in that service, and our district is heartbroken by her loss,” the Lewisville Independent School District said in a statement. “Her decision to serve after graduation speaks volumes of her character.”

The military said Gonzales died on Friday and Feehan died the following day. It did not provide details.

A third service member was reported missing in the attacks that killed Feehan and Gonzales. U.S. Central Command said Sunday that “unidentified remains” have been found and were being examined.

The US military says 17 service members have been killed in the war with Iran

The deaths reflect the complicated reality that American soldiers don’t need to be on the ground in Iran for there to be lethal risks in a conflict that involves drones, missiles and airplanes. American forces are arrayed across the Middle East, making other nations targets of Iran and its allies as the fighting has escalated after a breakdown in peace talks.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said the war is necessary to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Trump, a Republican, now faces political pressure to bring the war to a close and avoid the kind of prolonged Middle East conflict he had campaigned against.

Drones and missiles are claiming lives on both sides

An American service member was also killed in northern Iraq on Saturday during a “controlled detonation” of unexploded ordnance from a downed Iranian drone, U.S. Central Command said Sunday. A second service member was wounded and was receiving medical treatment for a minor injury.

The military said it was withholding additional information until 24 hours after families had been notified.

Iranian authorities said U.S. strikes in just the past three weeks have killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 500 others, including eight killed in a strike on a bridge Friday.

Both sides have targeted civilian infrastructure relied on by millions of people. Workers on ships, as well as foreign workers and others in Gulf nations, Israel and Lebanon have also died in the conflict.

The first US military fatalities came soon after the war started

Shortly after the U.S. and Israel began the war on Feb. 28, an Iranian drone strike at a civilian port in Kuwait killed six American soldiers. The soldiers were part of a supply and logistics unit based in Iowa who were working at a shipping container-style building that had no defenses.

A seventh soldier died more than a week after being wounded during a March 1 attack by Iran on the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

Later in March, six service members were killed when a KC-135 refueling aircraft supporting U.S. military operations against Iran crashed in Iraq. The aircraft was in “friendly” airspace when an unspecified incident involving another aircraft took place, according to U.S. Central Command.

Last week, the U.S. military said a Navy pilot died in a helicopter crash in the Arabian Sea. The Navy initially described the July 1 crash as an emergency landing and said there was “no indication the emergency was caused by hostile action.” The remaining three sailors aboard the helicopter were rescued.

Brian Keeper, who volunteers with the church, said he lost his home last year in Hunt. He had to hide in his attic to avoid the rising floodwaters.

Keeper came back to volunteer Monday because he was inspired by those who previously helped him.

“I’ve been so inspired by the people who came to help me,” Keeper said. “I’m in a pretty good place now. My house isn’t whole yet, but this feels like healing to me.”

CrossBridge’s disaster relief group, Acts of Mercy, mobilized roughly 600 volunteers from more than two dozen churches and spent six months assisting flood survivors of the July 4 Floods, according to Julia Greif, who works for the church.

This year, the church helped Kerr County residents recover from recent flood damage by removing baseboards and offering spiritual support.

In a news conference, Gov. Greg Abbott said 490 homes in Kerr County were damaged. At least 135 of those were severely damaged or a total loss.

Volunteers in Ingram said a woman’s home was flooded with about 6 feet of water.

There is still much more work to be done, volunteers of the church said. People interested in helping flood victims can email Greif at julia@crossbridgecommunitychurch.com for additional information.

More July 2026 Flood coverage on KSAT:

• Gov. Abbott: Nearly 500 homes sustain flood damage in Kerr County; Nueces River concerns continue
• Crystal City mom recalls helicopter crew rescuing her family from floodwaters

FIBA confirmed this weekend that the star center has been named to his home country’s 15-man roster for the upcoming 2027 World Cup qualifying window in August, with games set against Slovenia and Sweden.

This will be Wembanyama’s first stint with the French national team since the 2024 Paris Olympics, where France was a late-game surge away from knocking off the U.S. for the gold medal. Wembanyama was the leading scorer in that game and averaged 15.8 points and 9.7 rebounds across the tournament. He was just 20 years old at the time, with only one year of NBA experience.

Much has changed for Wembanyama since, including a new five-year, $252 million max contract extension he signed with the Spurs on July 10 — on the heels of leading San Antonio to a surprise run to the NBA Finals.

Frederic Fauthoux will coach the French national team in the tournament, as he’s done since September 2024. He now gets to coach the nation’s best player for the first time.

“It’s extremely important for the future of the project we want to carry out,” Fauthoux said, via FIBA. “Victor is the undisputed leader of this generation. His presence needs to become a tangible presence to create automatic plays with the others, both on the court and in their lives outside of basketball. It’s as simple as that.”

Wembanyama missed the last opportunity to represent France on the world stage in the FIBA EuroBasket tournament in 2025 as he recovered from a blood clot in his right shoulder that ended his second season with the Spurs.

The reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, who stands 7 feet 4 inches tall, will again join forces with NBA veterans Rudy Gobert and Evan Fournier, also making their return to the French national team.

France sits atop Group L with a 5-1 record heading into the second round of World Cup qualifying. They look to be a strong contender for Qatar 2027.

Read also:

• San Antonio Spurs release 2026-27 preseason schedule
• Spurs sign Wembanyama to multi-year contract extension

Cameron Joseph Grady, 17, faces two counts of aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony, court records show.

According to the affidavit, Grady and a suspect known only as “Reuben” ripped chains from two victims’ neck during a June 28 party in the 2000 block of Creek Knoll. The alleged robbery happened 10 days after Grady committed to play football at UTSA.

First and foremost, I want to thank God, my family, coaches, and everyone who has supported me throughout this journey. After much thought and prayer, I am blessed and excited to announce my commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at UTSA.
Thank you to all the… pic.twitter.com/CooB1Z0zTF

— Cam (@CamGradyy) June 18, 2026

As Grady and “Reuben” left the party, the two victims followed them with the intent of recovering their chains, the affidavit states. “Reuben,” then pulled out a gun and pointed it at one of the victims. Police said Grady then punched the second victim in the face, leaving them with a black eye.

Both victims later identified Grady as one of the suspects and told investigators they recognized him from “playing high school football,” the affidavit stated. The victims identified Grady in a photo lineup.

The second victim also told investigators that they were “struck multiple times from behind” by several “unidentified males.”

Grady was booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on June 8 on a $100,000 bond. Jail records show he was released the following day.

KSAT reached out to UTSA for a comment.

“NCAA bylaws expressly prohibit universities from providing public comment on high school students, as the NCAA considers them a prospective student-athlete once they enter the ninth grade,” a UTSA spokesperson told KSAT.

Grady is entering his senior year at Sotomayor High School.

Read also:

• Jacob Tobey out as Spurs TV voice after cheating allegation becomes public

U.S. Housing Secretary Scott Turner said that nine years after the U.S. territory received $1.9 billion in disaster recovery funding, it has spent only $570 million, less than a third of the funds.

He noted that a HUD investigation found “widespread financial mismanagement, inadequate fraud controls, false certifications and improper payments.” The investigation is ongoing.

“This failure has, to date, deprived Virgin Islanders of roughly $1.3 billion worth of assistance that Congress intended them to have,” stated a July 20 letter that HUD sent to the head of the U.S. Virgin Island’s Housing Finance Authority.

The director for the U.S. territory’s housing authority and its spokesperson did not immediately return messages seeking comment. The authority has the right to appeal the suspension by requesting a hearing.

In a post on X, Turner accused officials with the U.S. Virgin Islands’ Housing Finance Authority of prioritizing “kickbacks over helping families recover from disasters.”

The U.S. Virgin Islands was struck by Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm, in September 2017. Roughly two weeks later, Hurricane Maria, also a Category 5 storm, struck St. Croix. The U.S. territory is still struggling to recover from the storms.

In a July 20 letter to the head of the U.S. Virgin Islands' housing authority, HUD said that its “record demonstrates that it is an abysmal steward of taxpayer funds.”

The investigation so far has found that the U.S. Virgin Islands’ housing authority has completed only two of 95 planned single-family rental rehabilitation projects and zero of 329 single and multifamily housing projects.

In addition, the authority had spent only 2% of its electrical grid recovery funding as of May, the investigation found.

Meanwhile, the Virgin Islands housing authority has spent more than half the grant funds slated for administrative costs, according to the letter.

The authority also is accused of seeking $6.2 million in disaster-related funds that the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency had already paid.

The U.S. government also noted that the authority’s former chief operating officer who oversaw disaster recovery programs is in federal prison after being convicted on charges including fraud and money laundering.

Turner wrote on X that the former chief operating officer inflated a lumber contract meant to rebuild hurricane-damaged homes from $3 million to $4.5 million and took a $107,000 kickback “and let the lumber rot in the sun, rendering it useless — a waste of taxpayer funds.”

In February, the executive director of the U.S. Virgin Islands’ housing authority resigned as local legislators questioned why some $4.2 million remained idle as a September deadline to use the funds looms.

At the time, Sen. Kurt Vialet accused the former director of “just sitting there with a smug look.”

“The Housing Finance Authority is not building. You can’t be upset at senators being frustrated,” Vialet was quoted as saying by the St. Thomas Source, a local news site.

___

This version has corrected that the U.S. government says the territory spent $570 million, not $570,000, of the disaster funding that was sent.

The move could unleash a new wave of economic chaos, with risks of higher inflation and further fraying of relations between two nations that had been closely woven together before Trump's return to the White House. The administration official previewing the action said that Canada was one of the only nations other than China that retaliated against Trump's previous tariffs and must be held accountable.

The official insisted on anonymity on a call with reporters to preview the president's actions and said that Trump signed three proclamations to launch the tariffs under Section 338 of the 1930 Trade Act. Several Democratic lawmakers last year proposed repealing the section because they said Trump could use it to destabilize the economy.

The new 50% tariffs would exclude energy products, potash, fish and critical minerals, but they would include goods that had previously been protected from import taxes by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. That 2020 trade pact was not renewed by the U.S., triggering a new set of negotiations that could run until 2036.

The White House said in a fact sheet that the tariffs would go into effect in 30 days, meaning there is time for negotiations as Trump has not always followed through on his announced tax hikes on imports.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement that his government believes in the “benefits of free and fair trade,” having signed “more than 20 new economic and security partnerships." He said Canada is prepared to negotiate with the Trump administration.

“This trade dispute has raised costs for families, particularly in the U.S.,” Carney said. “Canada stands ready to engage intensively to address outstanding issues with the U.S. to the mutual benefit of our citizens.”

Canada faces the risk of a broader trade war

Still, the tariffs could escalate into a wider trade war as Canada seeks to defend its economy. Ontario Premier Doug Ford saw a possible showdown ahead.

“If these tariffs proceed, Canada should respond tariff for tariff, dollar for dollar,” Ford posted on social media.

Candace Laing, CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said the Trump administration's moves were “regrettable” but the two countries need to use the 30-day window before the tariffs start "to make meaningful progress in advancing formal talks.”

Chris Swonger, CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, also called for a deal: "We encourage policymakers on both sides of the border to pursue a negotiated solution that restores market access for U.S. spirits and avoids further harm to the U.S. hospitality sector.”

But the use of a Great Depression-era law to impose the tariffs broadens some of the risks, as those tariffs could be applied to other U.S. trading partners, not just Canada, and inject “massive uncertainty” into the global economy, said Scott Lincicome, vice president of general economics at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.

“We crossed the Rubicon,” Lincicome said. “The invocation of 338 is the nuclear option for Trump tariffs.”

Tariffs are also a political challenge for Trump

The new tariffs carry serious political and economic risks for Trump ahead of the November midterm elections for control of Congress. His “Liberation Day” tariffs last year in April provoked a financial market meltdown over concerns about inflation and a recession, prompting him to walk back the rates for a period of negotiation.

The Supreme Court ruled this February that Trump had lacked the legal authority to impose the tariffs by declaring an economic emergency, causing the administration to find alternative ways to raise import taxes based on a series of legal authorities.

Tariffs are taxes on imports, which companies can then pass along to consumers in the form of higher prices. The president maintains that the costs created by tariffs will cause manufacturing to relocate to the U.S., though there is little evidence of that in the economic data.

“These new taxes will raise prices on American families and likely lead to retaliation against the very industries Trump purportedly wants to protect,” said Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., who is chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The latest import taxes could worsen Trump's weak ratings on the economy. He promised voters when running for the presidency that he would bring prices down, but the annual inflation rate has risen since he became president because the tariffs and the war in Iran are pushing up oil prices.

Trump has repeatedly targeted Canada on trade issues

The Trump administration official said the president had also requested that his aides look into additional tariffs on Canada because its wildfires hurt air quality in the U.S. He had publicly threatened to do so in social media posts.

At the World Cup final on Sunday, Trump watched the game with Carney. The Trump administration official said their time together at the game was not a working visit to discuss trade and tariffs.

Trump claims in the proclamations that Canada discriminates against American autos, alcohol and cheese relative to other nations, but his argument rests in large part on retaliatory actions taken by Canada after the U.S. president imposed tariffs on Canada under the pretext that it should do more to stop fentanyl smuggling.

Trump noted in his autos proclamation that Canada maintained, starting in April 2025, a 25% tariff on the imports of U.S. motor vehicles that did not qualify for preferential treatment under the USMCA.

The White House said that, regarding alcohol, all but two Canadian provinces and territories halted the purchase and retailing of American alcoholic beverages beginning last year, which was also a response to Trump's tariffs and taunts of making Canada the 51st state.

But Trump has long objected to Canada's treatment of U.S. cheese, saying in his proclamation that Canada discriminates against the U.S. compared to Europe on dairy products.

Trump and Carney have had a frosty relationship, with Carney, a former central banker, who pledged to go “elbows up” for Canada during his election campaign last year.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January, Carney called out Trump — without naming him — by saying that the “most powerful” countries are using the economy to coerce less powerful nations.

Trump responded at the time by saying: “Canada lives because of the United States."

___

Associated Press writer Jim Morris contributed from Vancouver, British Columbia.

After a decade of rescuing animals in San Antonio, Footbridge Foundation is helping answer the call for pets impacted by floods across the Texas Hill Country.

When floodwaters rushed through parts of Central and South Texas, many animals were forced into survival mode. Some were found stranded in rushing water or clinging to tree branches. Others were discovered days later wandering alone, covered in mud after being separated from their families.

One rescued animal, according to Footbridge Foundation, was brought in from Crystal City.

“That is really a life-threatening situation,” a rescue worker said. “If it were just a few more hours, they wouldn’t have made it.”

Since the flooding began, Footbridge Foundation has been traveling across South Texas to support communities hit hardest. The organization has provided transportation, emergency shelter, food and medical care for displaced animals.

Footbridge Foundation said it has taken in 62 additional animals connected to the flooding. The organization also worked with Austin Pets Alive!, Best Friends Animal Society and Wings of Rescue to help move animals out of overcrowded shelters and make room for pets displaced by floodwaters.

“We have taken in 62 additional animals with flooding,” a Footbridge Foundation representative said. “Then we were able to work with Best Friends, Wings of Rescue and Austin Pets Alive! to get a flight out last week, and there were almost 100 animals on that flight.”

Best Friends Animal Society said Austin Pets Alive!, Best Friends Animal Society, Footbridge Foundation and Wings of Rescue joined forces on an emergency rescue flight out of San Marcos to create space for pets affected by ongoing flooding in Central and South Texas.

While some animals are being transported to adoption partners, others are still waiting to be reunited with their families. Until then, volunteers are caring for them and working to keep pets safe as recovery continues.

With recovery efforts expected to continue for weeks, the need for food, medical supplies, foster homes and financial support continues to grow.

“What we’re looking for is pee pads. We use a ton of these, and they come and go very quickly,” a representative said. “Dog food, especially canned food, it comes in and goes to the foster homes immediately. Cat food, kitten food, litter.”

As shelters and rescue groups continue to deal with the aftermath of the floods, Footbridge Foundation said every donation helps provide care for animals still waiting for a safe place to go. Donations and additional information are available on the Footbridge Foundation website and Amazon wish list.

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Gang leaders in the troubled Caribbean country are prolific users of social media and have celebrated killings, issued threats and posted musings on various sites. Younger gang members also post music videos and wave cash they've earned in an effort to recruit children in the impoverished nation.

Mike Waltz, who recently visited Haiti, called the practice “incredibly disturbing” and warned the U.S. would “shut that down” in the near future. He didn’t provide further details while speaking at a U.N. Security Council meeting in New York.

He spoke as the U.S. prepares this week to strip the temporary protected status of some 350,000 Haitians who live in the United States, exposing them to deportation, a move largely criticized by lawyers and human rights experts.

Efforts to crack down on the gangs' use of social media are not new. In 2023, YouTube banned Johnson André, considered Haiti's most powerful gang leader and also known as Izo, following heavy criticism after he received an award for surpassing more than 100,000 subscribers.

The U.S. envoy also called on countries with aircraft capacity to help with the deployment of foreign troops joining the latest U.N.-backed mission in Haiti to fight gangs, including Sri Lanka and Ivory Coast. He said sea lifts take too long and that Haitians need help now.

Gang violence surges as Haitians in US brace for deportation

Gang violence has displaced a record almost 1.5 million people across Haiti, where more than half of the country's nearly 12 million inhabitants need humanitarian aid.

More than 2,300 people have been killed and more than 1,100 injured since January, according to the U.N. Earlier this year, clashes in the Cite Soleil slum in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, led to 542 killings and 355 injuries. In addition, at least 176 women and girls were raped, the U.N. found.

Waltz shared how gangs recently surrounded an armored vehicle that got stuck in a ditch and lit a fire underneath, forcing Haitian police officers to flee.

“They were flayed alive on the streets,” Waltz said, adding that their bodies were pinned to the side of the vehicle to send a message.

“I want everyone to understand the fight ahead,” he added.

Waltz noted that Haiti needs equipment including heavy bulldozers to clear streets and gang-controlled checkpoints, adding that armed men have taken over roads, ports, hospitals, prisons and other state infrastructure.

“Haiti’s just a few hundred miles from Florida,” he said. “In that regard, it’s a critical interest to the United States.”

Gangs control an estimated 70% of Port-au-Prince, and about half of gang members are children, according to the U.N. Poverty and hunger are deepening.

“The situation of children in Haiti is among the most alarming anywhere in the world,” said Vanessa Frazier, the U.N.’s special representative for children and armed conflict. “Children are being killed, maimed, abducted, recruited and used by armed gangs, displaced from their homes, denied access to education and deprived of basic protection and legal identity.”

Jack Christofides, special representative of the U.N.-backed gang suppression force operating in Haiti, said it has established its headquarters, deployed its first forward operating base and recently began cracking down on gang infrastructure.

“The political and humanitarian environment nevertheless remains extremely challenging,” he said. “Armed gangs are likely to adapt their tactics to stay in control.”

Haiti is under pressure to hold elections

The international community has been pressuring Haiti to hold general elections, which would be the first in more than a decade.

While the country is led by Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, who was appointed, it hasn’t had a president since President Jovenel Moïse was killed at his private residence in July 2021. Gang violence has surged since then.

Seven of Haiti’s 10 provinces are ready for electoral activities, while the gang suppression force is vital to restoring security in the remaining three, said Raina Forbin, Haiti’s foreign affairs minister.

The three provinces include Port-au-Prince, and overall they account for more than half of all voters, noted Carlos Ruiz Massieu, the U.N. secretary-general’s special representative for Haiti. He noted the displacement caused by gang violence and said the voter registration that began on Monday “will give us a new reality of where the voters are currently.”

Forbin said that by year’s end, an additional 4,000 officers are expected to join Haiti’s National Police, which remains understaffed and underfunded. Meanwhile, an additional 1,500 recruits are expected to join Haiti’s revived Armed Forces.

The group had gathered Sunday along the Scioto River in the Columbus suburb of Powell when one of them went into the river for a swim. “That’s when the tragedy started to occur,” Delaware County Sheriff Jeffrey Balzer said at a news conference. He said others who jumped in to help also began struggling.

A motorist called 911 after spotting a frightened child with the group who was running along a nearby road to seek help, Balzer said.

Rescue crews searching the water later Sunday found two women who were pronounced dead at a hospital, Balzer said. The bodies of three men were found in the river on Monday, said Tracy Whited, a spokesperson for the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities did not say exactly where the victims were found.

The river was running high and fast on Sunday, according to data from a U.S. Geological Survey water gauge at the nearby dam. The data shows the water was flowing at a rate of about 350 cubic feet (10 cubic meters) per second on Sunday — more than a fourfold increase over a three-day span, and more than double the average rate.

The tragedy occurred two days after five people were killed in southern Utah after a flash flood swept through scenic red rock canyons during a hiking excursion.

The Ohio sheriff said the child who ran for help, prompting the 911 call, has been placed in the care of family services along with another child under the age of 10. Authorities were working on notifying relatives of the victims, he said.

Balzer said people who gather near water must be aware of the conditions and take precautions.

“Know your skill level before you get in the water. Are you a confident swimmer?” Balzer said. “Make sure you have other people around in case something goes wrong to notify someone.”

___

This story has been updated to correct that it is the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, not the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department.

A coalition of property owners, community advocates and scientists recently came together to oppose a wastewater treatment plant permit renewal for Juniper Ranch, a subdivision under construction by Lennar Homes, located across the street from Mystic Shores.

The concerns mark the latest in a series of communities expressing concern about wastewater treatment plants that KSAT has been following.

However, the Juniper Ranch subdivision wants to send its treated wastewater, known as effluent, down a creek bed which residents said has been dry for decades.

Neighbors have already felt the impact of the development.

Two Mystic Shores property owners — Terry Shake and Steve Wright — said they already are seeing problems on their land, including drainage issues, stormwater pooling, foundation risks, and algae growth because of all the vegetation that was cut down to make way for the homes.

While properties in Mystic Shores are spread out on multi-acre lots, the new subdivision will have multiple homes per acre. The new homes will also not have to follow the same rules about wastewater.

Mystic Shores resident Frank Hutchins said homeowners are legally prohibited from spraying septic effluent onto a neighbor’s property, yet the developer’s plan would send treated effluent directly behind his home.

“While we are required to keep our effluent water on our property, why does TCEQ allow the developer to release their effluent onto other owners’ private property?” Hutchins said. “Does Texas property rights not apply to everyone?”

What’s at stake

Canyon Lake sits in the Edwards Aquifer Contributing Zone, directly above the Cow Creek formation in Devil’s Hollow. This hydrological system feeds more than 8,000 private groundwater wells in Comal County, according to advocates.

Four wastewater treatment plants are currently permitted to discharge treated effluent into that same interconnected system. Retired geophysical engineer Ron Harris said the risk is compounding.

“Canyon Lake has an extensive groundwater system that serves over 8,000 private wells,” Harris said. “As a geophysicist, I am concerned that the cumulative impact of these discharges poses a growing risk to both surface water quality and groundwater quality. I strongly recommend we change course now.”

The proposed discharge path through Devil’s Hollow also runs directly through a registered Texas archaeological site, according to retired petroleum engineer and archaeology volunteer Marty Rolleg.

“Pumping 300,000 gallons of treated effluent wastewater into the fragile environment of Devil’s Hollow Creek and across this registered archaeological site every day will utterly destroy an ancient record that has survived since the Middle Archaic Period 8,000 years ago,” Rolleg said. “Once it washed into Devil’s Hollow Creek, that history is gone forever.”

Proposed solutions

Mystic Shores neighbors are not calling for a halt to development in the area. Instead, residents argue the technology and policy precedent already exist to protect the watershed while allowing growth.

A no-discharge wastewater ban has been in place at the Highland Lakes near Austin for roughly 40 years. They said development has continued in the region because builders know there are alternatives.

Organizers proposed the following solutions:

• 100% water reuse: routing treated effluent to irrigate lawns, landscaping, or supply a future fire station
• Selling treated wastewater as a commercial resource to golf courses or industrial users

“Responsible planning to reuse millions of gallons of treated effluent would become millions of gallons of high-quality raw water conserved for the people,” organizer Denae N. Delaney said. “Later is too late.”

Read also:

• Canyon Lake Reservoir nears full capacity after dramatic water level increase

The Comal Independent School District is inviting job seekers to stop by its districtwide job fair Tuesday and “Experience the Ride.” It includes a chance for interested applicants to get behind the wheel of a bus in a controlled setting.

School districts across the San Antonio area are in a time crunch to fill positions before the new school year begins.

The Comal ISD job fair is aimed at hiring for a range of openings, including teachers, classroom assistants and other support roles. For bus driver candidates, the interview process is designed to be hands-on.

“Driving this thing is the easiest part of the job,” said Jerry Holt, a Comal ISD transportation safety and training supervisor.

Holt said applicants are first coached on basics such as seating position and steering wheel comfort before driving through a parking-lot course marked with cones.

Comal ISD is looking to hire nearly 20 bus drivers before classes begin on Aug. 25. Holt said the district has seen more young people applying than in years past.

As a recruiting tool, Holt said, allowing applicants to try driving helps ease concerns about handling a large vehicle. The approach has also produced results. About half of those who took a test drive last year were eventually hired, he said.

The district estimates that it takes about three weeks for an applicant to be ready to drive on the streets.

“Visit us and see what it’s like. It’s not hard,” Holt said.

The Comal ISD districtwide job fair will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21, at the district’s Support Services Building, located at 1404 IH 35 North, in New Braunfels.

Other districts are also hiring bus drivers. The San Antonio Independent School District has up to 15 bus driver positions to fill. They have a job fairs scheduled in the near future:

July 22, 10 a.m. to noon, Transportation Depot, 418 Roland Road, 78210

Aug 26, 10 a.m. to noon, Transportation Depot, 418 Roland Road, 78210

The Northside Independent School District has 41 bus driver vacancies and will hold a job fair from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursday, July 23, at the McClung Transportation Station, located at 14173 Old Farm to Market 471 W, San Antonio, TX 78254.

That process is underway, as the city is set to issue approximately $946 million in initial general airport revenue bonds (GARBs) in the coming days.

Officials expect to secure well over $2 billion through multiple GARB issuances and airport facility fees.

The centerpiece of that airport makeover is a new third terminal that will house up to 18 additional gates and cost roughly $1 billion dollars to construct.

Work on that portion of the project is underway and is expected to be completed by 2028.

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

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

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Oscar Alberto Ibana, 62, was arrested and charged with attempting to commit a kidnapping, court records show. The charge is considered a state jail felony.

According to a preliminary report, deputies responded to call for a fight around 10:30 a.m. Sunday in the 17100 block of Benton City Road.

The caller told the dispatcher that a man, later identified as Ibana, with a sword was fighting with a woman, a BCSO spokesperson said.

Ibana arrived at the woman’s home and started to bang on her door with the sword, deputies said.

BCSO said Ibana heard the sirens and attempted to flee to a location behind the property where he was later detained.

According to court records, Ibana was booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on a $4,000 bond.

More recent crime coverage on KSAT:

• SAPD bodycam footage shows exchange of gunfire between officers, suspect on North Side

The victims were a captain in the Provo, Utah, fire department, his wife and their sons, according to fire officials. A daughter who was not on the trip survived.

The family arrived Friday at Sunglow Campground in a scenic red rock canyon near Bicknell, Utah for their day excursion, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office said.

“It is believed the family fell victim to flooding caused by heavy rains,” the sheriff's office said in a news release.

Although the sheriff's office did not identify the victims, the Provo Fire Department confirmed in a social media post that a fire captain, Spencer Long, and his family members were killed.

“We are absolutely heartbroken by the death of Captain Spencer Long and his family. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and colleagues during this difficult time,” officials with the fire department wrote.

Later Friday night, deputies were called to the campground after the body of a young male was found in the flood wash. The bodies of the other family members were recovered late Friday and Saturday.

Meanwhile, tributes poured into the family.

Long, his wife Katrina and their sons Reid, Thayne and Gage died in the devastating floods, according to a GoFundMe site set up by a family friend to support the Longs' daughter as she navigates the loss of her family.

“Spencer and Katrina were loving, devoted parents whose greatest joy was their family. They touched the lives of so many with their kindness, generosity, and unwavering love,” Bree Nielson wrote on the page.

Katrina Long was the cofounder of a medical spa. "Our hearts are with all of their loved ones as we grieve the unimaginable loss of Katrina, her husband, and their three beautiful boys," Summit Medical Spa posted on Facebook.

Quinn Brown had been eyeing a massive bin of clothes at a Goodwill store outside Portland in January when he saw someone toss a Lakers jacket with Chamberlain's name on it back on the pile. Brown, who resells used clothes online, quickly grabbed it.

The jacket was auctioned by Sotheby’s, which had estimated its value between $150,000 and $250,000 before bidding closed Monday. It received a total of 48 bids, according to the auction house.

Described on Sotheby’s website as an “extraordinary piece of memorabilia," the short-sleeved yellow warmup jacket was worn by Chamberlain during the 1972 NBA finals, in which the Los Angeles Lakers beat the New York Knicks.

“I didn’t even think that finding something like this was possible,” Brown said. “I got very, very lucky.”

Chamberlain, an NBA Hall of Famer viewed as one of the all-time greats, played in the league from 1959 to 1973. He won two championship rings — one with the Philadelphia 76ers in 1967, and another with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972. He holds the record for most points scored by a player in a single game, netting 100 points in a 1962 match.

For the past three years, Brown has been reselling clothes online after finding them in thrift stores. The most expensive item he had sold previously was a T-shirt of Sub Pop Records, the indie label that signed Nirvana in 1989 and released the band’s first album. It went for $250.

After buying the Chamberlain jacket back in January, Brown searched online to see if it was worth something. He found a picture on Google of Chamberlain wearing such a jacket and compared it to the one he had.

In examining the Lakers patch on the front, he noticed certain small stitching details that matched the photo. He also looked up the measurements of a different jersey worn by Chamberlain, a towering figure at 7 feet, 1 inch (2.2 meters) tall, and discovered that they nearly aligned.

“I really just wanted to make sure, because it was so hard to believe at the time,” he said, adding that he had only ever read about such serendipitous thrift findings.

When he posted a photo of the jacket on social media, Sotheby’s contacted him about consigning the jacket to the auction house. Brown agreed, and an armored van came to pick it up.

Sotheby’s then did its own photo verification and determined that the jacket was worn by Chamberlain during the 1972 finals, in which he was named the finals MVP.

“Photomatching a piece of game-worn clothing to a specific Finals series, for a player of this era, is genuinely exceptional,” Sotheby’s website says. “As photomatched items worn by Chamberlain become exceedingly rare, this jacket is a piece of sports history.”

It is not the first Chamberlain item from the 1972 finals to fetch a hefty sum under the hammer: A game jersey he wore during the series sold for $4.9 million at Sotheby's in 2023, the fourth most expensive NBA jersey ever sold by the auction house.

As for his thrifted find, Brown said: “That was as good as it gets.”

Touch tank visitors can interact with marine invertebrates while learning about coral conservation and the threats facing reef systems at the Brewer Ocean Conservation Lab.

The touch tank is open from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Wednesdays through Mondays.

Inside, visitors can see animals such as cleaner shrimp, a chocolate chip sea star, a horseshoe crab and Halloween hermit crabs.

“There’s a stigma around a lot of these animals, that they don’t look like animals like we think of like dogs and cats, but they do still have really big personalities,” San Antonio Zoo senior aquarist Samantha Mehr said.

Through viewing windows, visitors can also look at the zoo’s coral conservation work.

“It’s simply to educate that there’s another part of the ocean that we desperately have to take care of,” Robert Brewer, a donor for the Brewer Ocean Conservation Lab, said.

One of the world’s healthiest coral reef systems, the Flower Garden Banks, calls the Texas coastline home.

Zoo officials warn it could decline rapidly over the next 20 years due to climate change. Their plan is to grow the coral for research to help it withstand warmer waters with the goal of one day restoring it back to the gulf.

“I think it’s important that people understand that, around the globe, coral reefs are so important for so many countries and so many people for living,” Brewer said. “For sustaining their lives.”

The coral exhibit is included with regular zoo admission.

SWAT officers responded at approximately 5 p.m. on June 16 to an apartment complex near the 12000 block of Jones Maltsberger Road, which is located near East Bitters Road.

According to an SAPD news release, the officers arrived in an unmarked patrol vehicle to execute an arrest warrant.

The officers pulled up in front of the suspect’s vehicle and noticed that he was armed with a gun, SAPD said.

Watch the bodycam footage below:

The suspect, identified as 35-year-old Roman Pena, began shooting in the direction of the officers.

Four San Antonio police officers started shooting at Pena. The footage showed one of the officers firing gunshots through the patrol vehicle’s windshield.

San Antonio police’s use of force policy states that officers should not use their firearms from their moving vehicle “except as the ultimate measure of self-defense or defense of another.”

Once the officer believed Pena was no longer a threat, he’s heard in the footage yelling out commands.

“Alright, we’re good, we’re good,” the officer said, in part, in the video. “Back up. We’re good. We’re good. Hold. Hold.”

Another officer, identified as Adel Mokrane, and Pena were shot during the exchange, police said. They were taken to a local hospital for treatment.

After the shooting, the bodycam video showed the officer who shot through the windshield attempting to treat Mokrane’s gunshot wound.

“I’m going to work on Mo (Mokrane). Hold still. You’re good, brother. We’re good. We’re OK,” the officer said, in part. “I didn’t see an exit (wound) yet.”

Pena was later arrested. On Monday, SAPD incorrectly said he was charged four count of aggravated assault against a peace officer. Records show Pena currently faces one count of aggravated assault against a peace officer, and SAPD told KSAT on Monday afternoon that more charges could be filed.

The officers involved in the incident have been with SAPD for between eight and nine years.

Below is a rundown of the officers who fired gunshots in the incident:

• Adel Mokrane, nine years of service
• Nathan Bundy, nine years of service
• Jose Sahagun, eight years of service
• Brandon Pratt, eight years of service

The department said its shooting team and internal affairs unit are investigating the shooting. The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office is also reviewing the shooting.

More recent coverage of this story on KSAT:

• Suspect accused of shooting SAPD officer while being served a warrant on North Side identified
• SAPD officer shot while serving warrant on North Side, police chief says

Similar to July 4, 2025, Kerrville and Kerr County were in the middle of last week’s severe weather. Officials said at least 20 to 24 inches of rain fell countywide, which caused severe flooding to areas including the county courthouse.

In a Sunday social media post, the jeweler said many of its “team members have been directly affected” by the floods.

“To help address needs in the affected areas, James Avery is donating $1 million to relief and recovery efforts, including food, shelter, mental health care and other critical resources,” the July 19 post read.

View this post on Instagram

The jeweler’s donation announcement is its latest to go toward flood recovery.

Following last year’s flooding, James Avery initially committed $1 million to the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country.

After its initial donation, the company donated $7 million more in proceeds made from its popular “Deep in the Heart of Texas” charm.

More recent July 2026 floods coverage on KSAT:

• Kerr County Courthouse closes for foreseeable future due to ‘severe flood damage’
• Crystal City mom recalls helicopter crew rescuing her family from floodwaters
• Batesville community rallies to help families recover after devastating floods

The Kerr County Relief Fund was established on the morning of July 4, 2025.

The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country is “dedicated to enhancing the quality of life across the Hill Country region by connecting charitable donors with community needs,” a news release said.

Founded in 1982, it is based in Kerrville and serves 10 counties.

Watch the full Friday morning press conference in the video player below.

During Friday’s press conference, Austin Dickson, the foundation’s CEO, said over 100,000 individual donors made gifts in a matter of days.

“We have heard from Kervillians, Texans, Americans and people all over the world say, ‘We are with you,’” Dickson said.

Some of those who donated to the fund include:

• H-E-B and James Avery, who donated $2 million and $1 million, respectively; both started their businesses in Kerrville.
• Frost Bank, through its charitable foundation, donated $500,000
• Toyota and Lexus dealers nationwide donated a combined $600,000

>> How H-E-B, USAA and other companies/sports teams are helping Texas Hill Country communities after devastating floods

Several area foundations, including San Antonio and Austin, offered pro bono staff support to assist the foundation with operational work going forward.

Where are some of the funds going?

Dickson outlined the foundation’s plans to disperse $5 million in initial grants across four areas of need to local organizations supporting recovery efforts.

• $1.25 million to direct support to individuals and families for cash and rent assistance and food costs
• $1.25 million to local businesses in no-interest loans and emergency cash grants
• $1.25 million to first responder agencies
• $1.25 million in crisis response

The foundation is giving Schreiner University in Kerrville a $450,000 grant to cover the university’s move to convert its entire campus into an emergency operations and dorm center for first responders, Dickson said.

“This is only the beginning,” Dickson said. “This community, this region and this state are not ready for the power of philanthropy that is coming to this town. We are going to do so much good.”

The grants are actively being distributed to vetted nonprofit partners serving communities affected by the Hill Country flooding.

As of Friday morning, in Kerr County alone, 96 people — 60 adults and 36 children — have died, and 161 more are missing.

The death toll across Texas has topped 100.

“The outpouring of love and support from all of the country, from particularly Texas, particularly here in Kerr County, has been extraordinary,” U.S. Rep. Chip Roy said before Friday’s news conference.

To see some of the grantees of the funding thus far, click here.

Dickson said another update on continued dispersal efforts would come later this month.

More related coverage on KSAT:

• How to help those affected by Texas Hill Country floods
• Where people affected by Kerr County floods can receive free meals, financial help and more
• How Kerr County residents, visitors can apply for federal assistance
• South Texas Blood & Tissue offers donor incentives to support Hill Country floods relief efforts

In late April, Jacob Barcena was suspended for rules violations covering conduct and behavior, intoxication and respect to supervisory officers.

Bexar County sheriff’s deputies called to Talley’s Pub just after midnight on Nov. 22 discovered an off-duty Barcena lying down and unresponsive in front of the establishment, which is located in the 12900 block of Potranco Road.

An employee of the restaurant told deputies he and an intoxicated Barcena had a physical altercation which resulted in Barcena being removed from the bar, according to records.

The employee told deputies Barcena had been armed with a handgun and that the weapon had been removed by staff who secured it inside the establishment.

Supervisors with the San Antonio Police Department’s Street Crimes Unit responded to the scene and noted that Barcena was intoxicated and not fit for duty, records show.

Multiple comments made by Barcena to an SAPD night-shift captain were recorded on a department body-worn camera and were later interpreted as being disrespectful, according to records.

Barcena was taken into custody on a charge of resisting arrest, but the criminal case was rejected by prosecutors hours later, a Bexar County jail official confirms.

Barcena, a nine-year veteran of SAPD, served the suspension between early June and early July, records show.

In January 2025, Barcena was one of seven SAPD officers shot in a standoff in the Stone Oak area.

Global rates of road injuries and deaths each fell more than 30% between 1990 and 2023, according to the study published in Lancet Public Health, which noted the progress varied from country to country.

Pedestrian and vehicle occupant deaths rose over that time in six countries — including the United States. However, more recent data shows road deaths fell in the U.S. in 2024 and 2025.

The World Health Organization put out its own numbers Monday, finding that road traffic deaths declined by 21% between 2011 and 2025. However, traffic crashes still claimed more than 1.1 million lives last year, and they remain the leading cause of death among children and youth aged 5 to 29 years, the WHO said.

Road deaths involve fatal injuries that happen to pedestrians, cyclists and people riding in cars, trucks and other vehicles. Complete data is lacking in some countries, so the researchers behind the new report made estimates based on what data is available.

The researchers, from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, found that road injury rates are higher in high-income countries, but 90% of road deaths occur in low-income countries.

In many low-income countries, safety measures have not kept up with rapid growth in cities and use of motorized vehicles. For example, seat belt mandates are more common in high-income countries, as are car safety features such as air bags.

“Road injury outcomes are shaped not only by crashes, but by the systems designed to prevent them and protect people when they occur,” said Liane Ong, the new paper's senior author, in a statement.

However, there have been conflicting trends in the U.S., including the proliferation of taller and larger passenger vehicles, the authors wrote. U.S. officials also have said thousands of deaths each year can be attributed to “distracted driving," including drivers looking at their phones.

In the U.S., motor vehicle traffic fatalities rose in the last decade and peaked at more than 43,000 in 2021 before beginning to decline, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency estimated the count fell to about 36,600 last year.

Meanwhile, the Governors Highway Safety Association recently reported that U.S. drivers hit and killed 7% fewer people walking on U.S. roads in 2025 compared with the year before. It was the largest annual reduction since pedestrian deaths began falling three years ago, but it was still higher than what the numbers were before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The WHO identified road safety as an international public health priority more than two decades ago. The Lancet report's release coincides with the start of a two-day United Nations high-level meeting on improving global road safety, being held in New York City.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Andrew Arrabaca, 43, went to the building known as 26 Federal Plaza “armed with bad intentions,” made “anti-government and anti-American statements” as he was being arrested, and told investigators he didn’t care if he killed people, said James Barnacle, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office.

“The building was attacked,” Barnacle said at a news conference on the street where the incident occurred. “Mr. Arrabaca was looking to injure people and harm people.”

Among the injured was a person who had an immigration court hearing at the building, which also houses offices for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the FBI and other federal agencies. The building has been a hub of protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

No charges had been announced against Arrabaca as of Monday evening. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force is investigating, though Barnacle declined to classify the attack as an act of terrorism. It was not immediately clear if Arrabaca had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

Arrabaca showed up outside 26 Federal Plaza around 8:30 a.m. wearing a military-style helmet and hauling a cart affixed with a sign that said “ICE Off Our Streets," New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. His last known address was in Harlem, Tisch said, though he has also lived in Poughkeepsie — about 69 miles (111 kilometers) north of the city.

According to Barnacle, Arrabaca poured gasoline on the ground outside an employee entrance and ignited it with a lighter and a large firework, which also caught fire. He then pulled out an airsoft rifle and fired five to seven pellets at the building before two Federal Protective Service officers and a security contractor ran up and took him into custody, Barnacle said.

Arrabaca, who repaired Patriot missile systems while in the Army from 2001 to 2005, “yelled derogatory terms” and “used bad words” about ICE as he was being arrested, Barnacle said.

“He is an anti-American, anti-government extremist,” Barnacle said. “We know that from what he said. We know that from what he said postarrest. And we know that from his actions that he tried to take today.”

Tisch, citing security video, offered a slightly different sequence of events. She said Arrabaca first lit a bundle of fireworks and then, as they began to smoke, pulled the pellet gun from his coat and fired at the building. Then, she said, he grabbed an orange bucket from his cart, dumped a flammable liquid near some bushes lining the building's perimeter and started a fire.

Videos and photos from the scene showed a fire on the sidewalk outside the building with a plume of smoke, as well as officers restraining a person and taking them away.

An initial 911 call reported an active shooter, Tisch said. Subsequent calls reported an explosion and a man setting off fireworks, she said. In addition to the pellet gun, Barnacle said, Arrabaca had two axes, three fixed-blade knives, a hammer and a machete.

Two government employees and a civilian, the person going to immigration court, were injured. The Department of Homeland Security, which runs the Federal Protective Service and ICE, said a bystander was grazed by the fireworks. A security officer who tackled Arrabaca sustained minor injuries, the agency said. The New York City Fire Department said one person was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life threatening.

“What occurred outside 26 Federal Plaza this morning was deeply disturbing,” New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on social media. “I’m relieved no one was seriously injured and that a suspect is in custody.”

The building, where agents have carried out chaotic and sometimes violent arrests in the hallway as migrants leave hearings, is in a cluster of government buildings and courthouses in Lower Manhattan, a few blocks from City Hall, NYPD headquarters and the Brooklyn Bridge.

Security at 26 Federal Plaza was increased dramatically in the 1990s after it was revealed that followers of Egyptian sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman had included the building in a list of five New York City landmarks that were targeted for bombings. A bulletproof security booth was installed and a street outside the building’s parking garage was closed to most vehicular traffic. ___

Stengle reported from Dallas. Associated Press reporters Eric Tucker in Washington and Larry Neumeister in New York contributed to this report.

The push by the Republican president's administration to compel the identity of sources in the form of additional subpoenas comes at a time when the executive branch's relationship with the press is increasingly contentious. The efforts, described in a letter-motion filed by the Times over the weekend, were more expansive than previously known, the newspaper noted, and also covered a time frame that exceeded the news articles in question.

“Two of the subpoenas seek records beginning on January 1, 2026, long before the events that are purportedly the basis for the Department’s investigation,” lawyers for the Times wrote in the letter. “That timeframe strongly suggests that the Department is using this investigation not to focus on any purported concerns arising from the July 8 and 9 articles, but instead to forage for information about the Journalists’ source relationships more broadly.”

Government has said reporters aren't the target

The phone records subpoenas are on top of grand jury subpoenas served July 10 on three journalists that sought to compel testimony from the reporters about the identify of their sources. The Times has separately challenged those grand jury subpoenas and U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian is scheduled to hear arguments Thursday. The judge has also frozen enforcement of the phone records subpoenas pending a ruling on the newspaper's motion to quash those.

Lawyers for the newspaper noted that some of the phone records subpoenas were issued on the same day as the grand jury ones, an additional one was issued the following day and another was issued on July 16 — after the Times had already moved to quash the grand jury subpoenas.

In arguing for the phone records subpoenas to be spiked, the Times said the government had acted in “bad faith” and had ignored its own protocols by not giving the journalists advance notice that records were being sought and by demanding the information “without first conducting any serious investigation.”

The newspaper’s lawyers said the additional subpoenas call “into question the accuracy” of testimony given last week by Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, where the grand jury subpoenas were issued. At his confirmation hearing to be the Trump administration's director of national intelligence, Clayton said that “we followed the protocols” and that the government had taken “the least intrusive possible” steps possible.

The Justice Department has justified the grand jury subpoenas by saying that “reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.” Asked about the phone records subpoenas, the department said Monday: "Any subpoena issued by the Department of Justice is done so in full compliance with federal law and internal Department policy.”

The additional subpoenas included a request for phone records of one reporter's mother and two of the journalists' spouses. The motion noted that the mother in question is a mental health professional with confidential client relationships and that one of the two spouses is the general counsel of a law firm.

"The disclosure of additional subpoenas for confidential newsgathering information of the Journalists is deeply concerning, revealing yet another instance of the alarming pattern of conduct detailed in the Motion to Quash,” the news organization’s lawyers wrote.

“These actions demonstrate abuse of the grand jury process, continued bad faith attacks on the Journalists, violations of the Department’s own internal regulations and disregard for the law in this Circuit intended to protect critical First Amendment interests," the motion stated.

It's part of an ongoing legal challenge

The grand jury subpoenas, delivered to reporters at their homes, marked a dramatic escalation of the Trump administration’s crackdown on media leaks that free press advocates swiftly condemned as a government effort to intimidate news organizations. It followed an FBI search earlier this year of a Washington Post reporter’s home and the seizure of her electronic devices.

The new jet in question, a present from Qatar that Trump’s administration spent $400 million to retrofit and upgrade, recently entered service. But Trump used an older model Air Force One jet to leave a NATO summit in Turkey earlier this month.

The Times, citing anonymous sources, reported that the switch had come at the urging of the Secret Service and that the newer plane lacked some of the advanced security features of the older Air Force One aircraft, including antimissile capabilities. On social media, Trump denied security concerns.

Trump's administration has clashed with the press, from newspapers to TV networks to the Voice of America, on multiple fronts since he returned to office last year. The methods include lawsuits, administrative actions and public threats.

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the press' ability to operate free of governmental restrictions.

According to motor club AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline is now just above the $4 mark. That's about 13 cents more expensive than it was a week ago, and far higher than where prices at the pump stood at this time last year, when American drivers could fill up for about $3.14 a gallon on average.

The U.S. and Israel's war with Iran plunged the world into a global energy crisis, notably as the cost of crude oil — the main ingredient in gasoline — soared due to supply chain and production disruptions across the Middle East.

Energy prices cooled last month when Washington and Tehran reached an interim agreement aimed at permanently ending their fighting and reviving traffic in the key Strait of Hormuz. But that peace deal has now crumbled — with the U.S. on Monday only intensifying airstrikes against Iran, which has responded by launching its own attacks on American allies in the region. And oil flows are largely stalling again.

Many eyes are on the White House. Before co-launching the war in late February, President Donald Trump once bragged about keeping gas prices low — and expressed frustration about them not falling as quickly as the cost of crude oil last month. If prices continue to rebound, expensive gas will likely be at the top of voters' minds during the midterm elections this November.

Here's what we know.

Where gas prices stand today

Again, U.S. gas prices are now back at the $4 mark. But that figure is a national average, meaning drivers in some states have been paying well over $4 a gallon for a while now, while others pay less.

California on Monday continued to see the most expensive gas, with an average of nearly $5.50 a gallon — followed by almost $5.42 in Hawaii and $5.01 in Washington state, per AAA. Meanwhile, states like Indiana and Mississippi have averages closer to $3.35 and $3.57, respectively. Prices vary between due to factors ranging from nearby supply to differing tax rates.

Crude oil is the main ingredient in gasoline, and its cost makes up the bulk of what consumers pay at the pump. There's a bit of a delay because refineries buy crude in advance, and deliveries of that oil take time. But the latest gas prices follow an uptick in oil costs seen over recent weeks. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, swung between roughly $86 to $91 a barrel Monday — compared to closer to $72 at the start of July.

Oil has been volatile throughout the course of the war, with prices soaring more rapidly in the conflict's early days. In March, Brent climbed as high as nearly $120 per barrel. Meanwhile, U.S. gas prices hit a four-year record of more than $4.50 a gallon in May.

The national average fell to as low as $3.79 a gallon earlier this month. And the latest turnaround is bringing whiplash to some drivers.

“I am down to the last drops of gas,” said Litza Mavrothalasitis, a Chicago resident, when filling her tank on Monday, adding that she was shocked to see how high it had gone up again. “It was just unbelievable. I thought we were finally settling down.”

Jacob Fisher, another Chicago resident who was buying gas on Monday, added that thinking about what's behind these higher fuel costs “makes me angry.”

“Senseless war in Iran, and our current administration is fueling a lot of this — and it’s terrible,” Fisher said. “It is not serving the American people. Nor does it serve anywhere in the entire world.”

White House's response and the road ahead

White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement Monday that “oil and gas prices will plummet back to pre-conflict levels” as the U.S. military degrades Iran’s ability to attack vessels and disrupt trade in the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly a fifth of the world's oil sailed through during peacetime.

“President Trump remains committed to unleashing American energy dominance, cutting costs, and putting more money back in the pockets of hardworking American families,” Rogers added.

Still, the escalation of attacks and confusion over future control of Hormuz has fueled uncertainty. All the while, traffic in the key waterway has stalled — with analysts from S&P Global Energy noting Monday that vessel crossings fell 50% last week compared to the week prior.

“The continued predominance of Iran-linked and sanctioned vessels suggests mainstream shipowners remain cautious about transiting the waterway,” the analysts added.

Even if fighting ends, experts have repeatedly warned it could take months, if not longer, for supply chains to return to prewar levels. Last month, S&P Global Energy said it did not expect Persian Gulf oil production to rebound fully until at least the first quarter of 2027.

Gas isn't the only necessity getting more expensive

Beyond gasoline, fuel like diesel — which powers many freight and long-haul trucks — is also back on the rise. On Monday, diesel averaged at nearly $5.11 a gallon in the U.S., per AAA, up from $4.88 just a week ago.

American households have already collectively paid nearly $71.1 billion in extra costs for gas and diesel alone since the war began, according to an online tracker from Brown University’s Watson School of International and Public Affairs.

Beyond pain at the pump, higher fuel prices raise transportation costs across businesses. And shortages of other core necessities — like fertilizer — have also worsened amid the war. Groceries, airline tickets and even goods like condoms and shoes have gotten more expensive in recent months.

Supply shocks have been even starker in places that rely more heavily on imports from the Middle East — notably countries across Asia and Africa.

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AP journalists Laura Bargfeld in Chicago and Matthew Daly in Washington contributed to this report.

The U.S. has agreed since 2020 to send more than 20 people wanted in the U.K. on various criminal charges, according to the U.K. Parliament. With possible appeals, the process could last a few years — if the accused wants to fight it.

“The government holds all the cards in an extradition proceeding because the rules of evidence allow the government to submit any evidence they wish,” said Jacques Semmelman, a New York-based lawyer and expert in the procedure.

“It is very hard for the defense to defeat an extradition,” he said.

Process starts with a treaty

The U.S. has a treaty that allows it to honor a U.K. extradition request if the alleged crimes would also be considered illegal in the U.S. The Tate brothers are accused of rape, assault, trafficking and other offenses in southeastern England, from 2010 to 2017.

“They’ve never done nothing wrong. They shouldn’t be extradited for crimes they did not commit,” defense attorney Joseph McBride said.

A federal judge will review arrest warrants, investigative documents and other information submitted by the U.S. government to show there was a “reasonable basis” to file charges against them in the U.K., according to the treaty.

The hearing would not be similar to a trial, said Semmelman of the Katten Muchin Rosenman law firm.

“A partial victory might mean a reduction in the charges to be extradited upon,” he said. “An across-the-board victory — no extradition — is very difficult to achieve.”

It's rare to reject extradition

If a judge finds that the U.K. government has met the threshold, and any appeals fail, the final decision to extradite would rest with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has wide discretion, or his successor.

“In most cases the secretary of state will sign the warrant of extradition,” Semmelman said.

Some extradition requests have failed in the U.S. In 2015, a judge said there was insufficient evidence to show that an art dealer knew that an 18th-century painting taken from a Polish museum by the Nazis during World War II was stolen property when he inherited it.

In 2020, during President Donald Trump's first administration, the government declined to turn over an American woman who fatally struck a young man while driving in eastern England. Anne Sacoolas, who was the wife of a U.S. intelligence officer, subsequently returned to the U.S. She later admitted responsibility in a U.K. court by video.

Colorful street art installed for the FIFA World Cup, which has injected good vibes and camaraderie into the sprawling 8.5 million-person region, adorned car-jammed streets. Employees holding coffee cups passed through the glass front doors of Whitacre Tower, long home to AT&T, like any other day.

But AT&T plans to leave downtown Dallas for a mega-campus in nearby Plano, one of many prominent setbacks the city faces. The Dallas Stars, the city’s National Hockey League franchise, will join them. Though the Dallas Mavericks plan to remain in city limits, the team is also leaving the city’s urban core, opting for a spot closer to the city’s northern, more suburban fringe.

Those departures from in and around downtown follow years of relative stagnation in Dallas. Last year, the city’s population fell for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic — it’s now at 1.3 million people after losing 1,800 residents — while the region and other large Texas cities boomed.

“We’re a bug floating in a sink of water, and for the first time, the water didn’t rise, the water went down a little bit,” Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said. “We need to deal with the fact that the sink has a leak.”

As big names depart for Dallas’ suburbs and its population stagnates, the city’s status as the region’s economic engine could be in serious jeopardy — and the suburbs once birthed by Dallas now hold the cards.

Dallas has long sustained an outflow of people to the surrounding suburbs, driven by perceptions of better schools, attainable housing, public safety and family friendliness. Officials and experts say that Dallas hasn’t built enough housing, which could stanch the bleed, and without efforts to seriously beef up the city’s population growth, observers warn that the city could wind up hollowed out.

“If you start having population decline, then you’re going to have empty housing,” said Lloyd Potter, the state demographer. “When you have empty housing, the property values start going down. If your tax base starts decreasing, you’re going to be hurting pretty bad especially with the kind of infrastructure demands that Dallas has.”

The string of recent losses has fueled an already impassioned debate over whether Dallas should demolish its iconic-but-divisive City Hall downtown in a moonshot bid to spur redevelopment — a bitter fight that has magnified the stresses of the city’s uncertain future as well as its potential reinvention.

Signs abound that Dallas could be on the verge of renewed growth, spurring some optimism amid the losses. The city’s burgeoning financial sector, dubbed “Y’all Street,” is on the rise. Pockets of vibrancy exist throughout the city in places like the Bishop Arts District and Lower Greenville. And the urban core is adding residents as developers transform long empty office towers into new residences.

“I don’t think we are going to become that city who bottoms out and has to declare bankruptcy and start over,” Council Member Paula Blackmon said. “Dallas is that can‑do city. We build stuff.”

Civic and business leaders argue the losses are potentially a blip on the way to greater growth. But they acknowledge the city could be more competitive with its neighbors to prevent a growing exodus.

“The city has reinvented itself a number of times over the decades,” said Brad Cheves, who heads the Dallas Regional Chamber. “I think we’re at one of those moments right now, and I think that’s thrilling. We should embrace it as opposed to being fearful of it.”

Flight to the suburbs

This year’s commercial purge started with AT&T, which in January announced it will relocate from downtown to a sprawling, 2.3-million-square-foot campus in suburban Plano — replete with a 280-foot tower resembling downtown Dallas’ distinctive Reunion Tower. Plano officials lured the company with a $20 million incentive package.

Months later, the Stars, the city’s National Hockey League franchise, said it too would move to Plano, setting up shop on the sprawling site of a flagging suburban mall, which the Stars plan to redevelop into a mixed-use development that includes an arena as well as apartments, shops and restaurants.

The move puts the Stars at the center of the region’s growth, Stars CEO Brad Alberts said in an interview. The team’s base of ticketholders is there, and with the growth of cities further north like Celina, Prosper and Anna, they only expect that ticket base to grow, Alberts said.

“Our fans live up this direction, and we’re betting that it’s only going to increase over time,” Alberts said.

While Dallas’ population grew by 2% from 2020 to 2025, the Dallas-Fort Worth region grew by a whopping 10%, driven largely by the suburban explosion, according to Census figures. Six cities in the region — Fort Worth, Celina, McKinney, Frisco, Denton and Princeton — added more residents than Dallas in that span. 

Companies “want a safe and secure environment, and they want to make sure that their employees are safe and secure,” said John Muns, mayor of Plano, about the suburban attraction. “They want good education for their employees’ children and they want a qualified workforce.”

And among the state’s five largest cities, Dallas has added the fewest residents since 2020.

Given the city’s growth woes, Dallas housing advocates want city officials to urgently pass a suite of potential reforms to make it easier for developers to build denser, more affordable kinds of housing including townhomes, duplexes and smaller apartment buildings. That would enable the city to absorb more of the region’s growth, advocates posit, while bringing down the city’s housing costs.

For the past five years, Collin, Tarrant and Denton counties have consistently seen more homes permitted per capita than Dallas County, according to a Texas Tribune analysis of Texas A&M University building permit data. Last year, jurisdictions in Dallas County permitted about 4.7 homes for every 1,000 residents. In Collin County, that figure was 14.7. The amount of undeveloped land on the urban fringe has enabled suburbs and exurbs to quickly put up tens of thousands of single-family homes, though the other counties also build more apartments per capita than Dallas County.

“As a city, if we value having our workforce actually live in our city, we need to make it as easy as possible to build good quality housing close to jobs, transit and schools,” said Dallas City Council Member Chad West.

Weak growth has already compounded Dallas’ budget problems, leaving the city with a potential $51 million hole in its upcoming budget. Without enabling more housing, local governments of all stripes will find themselves in an increasing financial bind, putting the rising cost of government services like public safety and infrastructure on a stagnant tax base. If that base doesn’t grow, homeowners and business owners may find themselves paying higher taxes to pay for crucial services.

“If we don’t see some growth, it’s a really bad deal for businesses and homeowners,” Jenkins said.

Downtown dreams

Some see growing downtown Dallas as the road to more robust growth for the city. It’s at the heart of the city and it’s easier to build housing there because residents are less likely to fight it as they might in parts of town dominated by single-family homes.

“If we attract young professionals and people as they move and relocate to North Texas, if we’re competitive as a place to live, we’ll put forth the best chance to retain a robust employment sector,” said Jennifer Scripps, president and CEO of Downtown Dallas Inc., a nonprofit that oversees the area.

Downtown has steadily added residents since 2010, and is now home to about 16,000 residents bolstered by conversions of empty office spaces to apartments, according to a presentation by Downtown Dallas Inc. Those conversions have produced more than 1,100 apartments since 2020, and another 1,975 are in the works, according to CBRE Group Inc., a commercial real estate services and investment firm.

Some think downtown Dallas needs a big jolt to sustain the progress, eying the iconic City Hall, designed by the legendary brutalist architect I.M. Pei, as a site that could potentially serve as a catalyst for new development — if it were razed.

The City Council voted in June to stop making repairs on the building and explore options to relocate, citing estimates that it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make various repairs to the current building as the city faces a budget crunch.

“We must fight for the city of tomorrow rather than worship decaying, outdated government buildings from bygone eras,” Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, who declined an interview through a spokesperson, said in June.

That opens up the opportunity to help bring life to a long-dormant section of downtown, proponents argue. The area around City Hall is pock-marked by half-empty parking lots and vacant land as well as some low-lying commercial buildings and warehouses.

“City Hall is iconic,” Cheves, the Dallas Regional Chamber head, said. “It’s not historic.”

Others aren’t convinced such a move is necessary, and that razing what they see as an architectural gem without a clear plan for what happens to the site after would pose a huge risk.

“It’s our seat of government,” Blackmon said. “You don’t dispose of your seat of government like it is a disposable building.” 

It’s possible to reinvigorate downtown Dallas without tearing down City Hall, said Zaida Basora, an architect and co-leader of the Save Dallas City Hall Coalition. A proposal put together by architectural students at the University of Texas at Arlington shows that new high-rises, hotels and arenas could theoretically fit into the section of downtown occupied by City Hall without demolishing the building.

“There’s room for everybody,” Basora said.

Dallas’ name still carries weight

The Dallas name still has power, business groups said. It’s what created the city’s burgeoning financial sector, luring the Texas Stock Exchange and a raft of the country’s biggest financial firms to the city including Goldman Sachs, whose home in Uptown Dallas will become the financial giant’s largest presence outside New York City. Morgan Stanley is weighing a $1.3 billion office tower that would bring 4,800 jobs to Dallas proper.

Boosters see areas where Dallas outshines the suburbs, including in its presence of the arts and neighborhood character that can’t be found in the suburbs.

“We have a diversity of communities and neighborhoods in Dallas that they don’t have in other communities,” said Linda McMahon, executive director of Dallas Economic Development Corporation.

There are also signs that the city’s population is ticking up this year. Population estimates from the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the agency in charge of transportation planning for the region, project the city’s population has surpassed 1.4 million as of Jan. 1.

Signs of vitality, too, abound. Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center is undergoing a $3.8 billion overhaul. A half mile away, the Dallas Farmers Market boasts more than 1,800 apartments and 200 townhomes as well as restaurants and shops.

The city’s newest deck park, the name for a greenspace built over a freeway, opened in May in southern Dallas over a portion of Interstate 35. Since then, the 2.8-acre Halperin Park has hosted a Fourth of July celebration along with musical performances and classes.

The park came about as a way to restitch a community divided when the highway was first constructed and bring renewed vibrancy to the community, said April Allen, who led the effort to build the park and now oversees it. The hope is that the park is also a proving ground for development in southern Dallas, which has long gone underdeveloped.

Allen said she’s bullish on Dallas.

“I don’t think the future of our city is going to be decided by whoever’s leaving,” Allen said. “It’s really going to be shaped by the people that are here, the places that we’re investing in, and the momentum that we’re creating.”

Officials and the city’s boosters admit that the city needs to be proactive to sustain the momentum Allen speaks of and to offset the big-name economic departures and population drop. Waiting-and-seeing is what can kill cities.

”We don’t want to wait 10 or 15 years to where we’re circling the drain to deal with it,” Jenkins said.

Disclosure: AT&T, Goldman Sachs, Linda McMahon and Texas A&M University 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.

Goal of the tournament

Sidny Lopes Cabral stunned defending champion Argentina with a tying goal in extra time of their round of 32 match at Miami Gardens, Florida, on July 3. The Blue Sharks, who entered the tournament ranked 67th, trailed 2-1 in the 103rd minute when Cabral settled a long pass from Yannick Semedo near the left flank with his left foot. The 23-year-old, who plays in Turkey for Trabzonspor, cut past Alexis Mac Allister while playing the ball onto his right foot and from just inside the penalty area curled a shot past goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez and into the upper corner at the far post for his fourth goal in 14 international appearances. Argentina went on to win on an own goal.

Upset of the tournament

Eliminated in consecutive group stages following its fourth World Cup title in 2014, Germany clinched its group title with wins over Curaçao and Ivory Coast before losing its first-round finale against Ecuador. Paraguay was in its first World Cup since 2010, began the tournament ranked 41st and advanced as a third-place team, opening with a 4-1 loss to the U.S., beating Turkey 1-0 and playing a 0-0 draw against Australia. Julio Enciso put Paraguay ahead in the 42nd minute of the round of 32 match at Foxborough, Massachusetts, on June 29 but Kai Havertz tied the score 12 minutes later. Germany, which began the World Cup ranked No. 10, appeared to go ahead on Jonathan Tah’s header of a corner kick in the 102nd minute but a video review concluded the goal should be disallowed because of a foul by Waldemar Anton on goalkeeper Orlando Gill. Germany won all four of its previous World Cup penalty kick shootouts, succeeding on 17 of 18 kicks — including 15 in a row. Havertz's attempt on the opening kick was saved by Gill, who also batted away Nick Woltemade's effort on Germany's fourth kick. Tah skied Germany's sixth kick over the crossbar, José Canale beat Manuel Neuer and Paraguay won the shootout 4-3 after the 1-1 draw only to lose 1-0 to France in the round of 16.

Breakout player

Pau Cubarsí, a 19-year-old Barcelona defender, played every minute of every match as Spain won its second title and first since 2010. He had 668 successful passes in 690 attempts, a 96.8% rate that was the second best in the tournament among players with 400 or more attempts, just behind Norway's Sander Berge at 96.9%. Cubarsí's total was second to teammate Rodri's 747. Cubarsí's 750 minutes tied teammate Marc Cucurella and Mac Allister for the tournament high among outfield players. At 19 years, 178 days he became the seventh youngest to win a World Cup, trailing Pelé (17-249), Ronaldo (17-298), Giuseppe Bergomi (18-174), teammate Lamine Yamal and Coutinho (both 19-6) and Marco Antonio (19-135).

Save of the tournament

Vozinha, Cape Verde's 40-year-old goalkeeper, leapt to his left to slap away Lionel Messi's quick free kick in the 73rd minute that was headed to the upper corner, keeping the score 1-1.

Blunder of the tournament

Matt Freese had a howler in the United States' 4-1 loss to Belgium in the round of 16 that will long be replayed among goalkeeper lowlights. Brandon Mechele played a long ball from deep in his own end and when Charles De Ketelaere burst past American defender Chris Richards, Freese came off his line and about 5 yards outside the penalty area chested the ball, which had taken two hops. The 27-year-old, who became the No. 1 U.S. goalkeeper last year, was about to clear the ball with his left foot, hesitated and tried to pass to his left only for the ball to deflect off a leg of De Ketelaere toward midfield. Hans Vanaken scored from about 30 yards as defender Tim Ream missed his attempt to block the ball.

Worst foul

Qatari midfielder Assim Madibo broke the left tibia and fibula of Canadian midfielder Ismaël Koné with a tackle from behind in the 51st minute of a June 18 group stage match at Vancouver, British Columbia. Madibo received a red card and a five-game suspension. Koné had surgery and Madibo visited Koné at the hospital.

Fan base of the tournament

Norway's fans charmed fellow spectators and television viewers when they performed the Viking Ro w, chanting “Ro!” while mimicking oarsmen in stadiums and even in the bleachers above the TKTS booth selling Broadway theater tickets in New York's Times Square. Martin Ødegaard and Erling Haaland led the row celebration on the field following wins. Scotland's Tartan Army also left indelible memories, depleting Boston's beer supply and taking an excursion to a baseball games at Fenway Park and in Miami.

Best photo

Raúl Jiménez scored Mexico's second goal in the tournament-opening 2-0 win over South Africa on June 11. An image from Associated Press photographer Natacha Pisarenko captured the joy of a player who scored on a header, six years after his career was endangered when he fractured his skull while playing for Wolverhampton in a clash of heads with Arsenal's David Luiz.

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

The 26 players and their coaching staff met with the country's royals, and then with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, after arriving in the Spanish capital a day after beating Argentina 1-0 in the final in New Jersey.

“Thank you to the coaches and players for the style of play, the effort and the victory,” Sánchez said. “We have truly enjoyed watching you play.”

The squad then boarded an open-top bus for a raucous parade through central Madrid. “Stars shine together” was written on the bus, which also carried photos of the footballers.

Players — carrying the World Cup trophy and wearing shirts with the words Somos Campeones (We Are Champions) — danced and interacted with the fans along the route.

“It's been an emotional and proud experience to represent a wonderful country with such passionate and devoted fans," Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said before the parade started. “We are filled with joy.”

The squad traveled down Madrid's historic avenues from near Moncloa Palace, the prime minister’s official residence, to Cibeles Square, where authorities told local media that some 120,000 people were on hand for a ceremony.

Players were introduced one by one before entering the stage set up at the square. Each picked the song to be played when they came in. Álex Baena, celebrating his 25th birthday, entered with the World Cup trophy.

Coach De la Fuente was thrusted into the air by his players after being introduced. The coach was among those who sang along to the song being played for them.

Striker Borja Iglesias featured as a D.J. at one point, with his teammates dancing on the stage.

Singers Aitana, Ana Mena and Lola Índigo were among those entertaining the crowd and the players.

The ceremony ended with the whole Spain squad lifting the trophy again, just like at the awards ceremony on Sunday, but now in front of the local crowd.

Groups of fans had begun securing their spots near Cibeles late Monday morning ahead of the team’s arrival, bringing umbrellas to protect against the sun and temperatures of up to 35 Celsius (95 Fahrenheit).

The square is where previous Spain teams and their supporters have typically gathered to celebrate. It's also the traditional celebration spot for Real Madrid when it wins titles.

Officials estimated a total of 1.8 million people welcomed the team in Madrid.

Spain walked off with the trophy Sunday after Ferran Torres scored the winner in extra time to secure its second World Cup title — and first since 2010 in South Africa.

The team was congratulated by the leaders of the three countries that co-hosted the tournament — U.S. President Donald Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

After the final whistle, Madrid erupted into celebrations, with thousands of supporters pouring into the streets from bars and restaurants, many draped in Spanish flags or wearing the team's colors.

Crowds packed the capital's Puerta de Sol and other major squares — singing, dancing and setting off flares while car horns blared.

Many celebrated Sunday’s victory long into the wee hours of Monday morning.

“I’m very happy. I’ve slept three or four hours, but for the team, I’ll do whatever it takes,” 19-year-old Victor Álvarez said.

The men's victory, combined with the Women’s World Cup won by Spain in 2023, makes the European nation the first to hold both titles simultaneously.

“Honestly, it was very exciting. We preferred not to go to any bar or anything, to experience it at home, focused and very happy, very joyful,” 59-year-old civil servant Gema Rodero said.

Celebrations were dampened, however, after local authorities reported that a 13-year-old in Salamanca, northwest of Madrid, had died after a fountain he had climbed onto with friends to mark the victory had collapsed.

For many young supporters, the triumph is their first time witnessing the men's team lift the trophy — and the national delirium that has followed.

Spain now is markedly different from 2010, when the Iberian nation was beset by a debt crisis, 20% unemployment and nationalist regions fighting to win more autonomy.

The economy is expanding, the unemployment rate has halved and the country is forecast to again be among the Eurozone’s fastest-growing major economies. Nationalist and separatist tensions have considerably cooled.

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Spain’s World Cup victory on Sunday added to the nation’s long list of recent triumphs across men’s, women’s and youth competitions, highlighting the dominance of a system that has stuck to a tactical identity and the development of collective talent.

The men’s team is also the current European champion, the Olympic gold medalist and has reached the Nations League final twice — winning it once. The women’s squad is the defending World Cup champion and a two-time Women's Nations League winner. It also made it to the final of the 2025 European Championship.

Spain is the first nation to hold both the men’s and women’s World Cup titles at the same time and is the only country with two men’s World Cup triumphs this century. The nation also has won several youth tournaments in recent years with both the men’s and women’s teams.

The men’s senior squad has been racking up titles since it was gradually revamped after the demise of a golden generation that won the nation’s first World Cup in 2010 with the likes of Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández, Sergio Ramos and Gerard Piqué.

Players such as Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí, Rodri and Ferran Torres — the goal scorer in the 1-0 win over Argentina in Sunday’s final — now are the ones representing a new generation that has taken La Roja back to the top.

“I’m very emotional looking back,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said. “We’ve talked about it with the players; we have won everything, it’s wonderful … It’s a generation of players that has been an example for Spanish sports, for young Spaniards, for Spain. Together we are stronger.”

Spain hadn’t gone past the last 16 of the men’s World Cup since winning the title in South Africa in 2010. It has been in contention in nearly every competition it has played since De la Fuente’s arrival in 2022 and it's 38-match unbeaten streak is the longest in men’s international soccer.

Collective talent

Despite a very talented group of players, it has been Spain's collective performance that has impressed the most and the team hasn't had to rely on star players. It also has been thriving defensively, with a solid backline and a relentless pursuit to regain possession.

“We played against the best national squads in the world, but we were the best team in the world,” De la Fuente said. “I’m very proud of this generation of players. They have grown with this idea, they’ve been loyal to this idea, they have given us an example of a group, of a team, of a family. I’m very proud of them. It’s been an honor.”

How can other teams possibly replicate the Spanish system?

“Go to work,” former France player Thierry Henry, a commentator for Fox Sports, said after the final. “Think about how you want to go about it at every level and play the same way. This is why they are dominating world football on every level, men and women, it doesn't really matter, they go about it the same way.”

Youth-system success

The recent wave of success can be tracked to the surprise hiring of De la Fuente to replace Luis Enrique following the team’s elimination against Morocco in the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. De la Fuente was relatively unknown at the time, but the Spanish soccer federation knew him well.

By hiring him, Spain was actually betting on its youth system as De la Fuente had been coaching Spain’s younger national teams for some time.

He was well versed in the soccer federation’s process of instilling a tactical identity at all levels, from the bottom up and across men's and women's squads, allowing players from youth teams to go through a seamless transition to the main squads.

It was the case for players such as Yamal, Cubarsí, Nico Williams, Pedri and Gavi, who are among the youngsters set to keep Spain's men's team thriving for some time.

“When you look at everything that we've gone through, you realize how this process was important,” De la Fuente said. “Certainly, we wouldn't have been able to do what we did today if we hadn't gone through this process with these players. And it's not something that happened during this World Cup, it has been happening for several years.”

Tactical identity

Spain’s “tiki-taka” style of valuing ball possession and focusing on quick passing, which led to the 2010 World Cup title and victories at Euro 2008 and Euro 2012, had come under attack after the national team began to struggle.

Some said the style lacked efficiency, and a few coaches made some changes to it over time. But Spain never fully abandoned the idea of controlling ball possession to dominate games.

Part of De la Fuente’s success stemmed from his ability to get his squad to successfully mix ball possession and efficiency. And it showed as Spain led this year’s World Cup in both passing and attempts on goal.

Coaching prowess

De la Fuente's recent success quickly put him in the group of Spanish coaches who have been leading national teams and helping clubs thrive across the globe.

Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique, Mikel Arteta, Unai Emery, Xabi Alonso and Roberto Martínez are among the successful coaches spreading Spanish tactics everywhere — another sign of the nation's prominence in global soccer.

“We are exactly where we want to be,” De la Fuente said. “We are privileged to represent a wonderful national team with exceptional players. But the real merit we have is to seek good travel companions, people with values and principles who make our lives easier and at the same time are very talented. We'll enjoy this now, because it’s historic, and then we will start thinking match by match again.”

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

U.S. Central Command said on social media that the strikes “are designed to further degrade Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.”

The strikes have escalated as the U.S. and Iran vie for control of the crucial energy shipping route, with Tehran retaliating by launching attacks on American allies Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain.

President Donald Trump earlier warned on social media that “Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!”

The U.S., early Monday, launched a ninth night of airstrikes on Iran after announcing the death of another American service member killed in Iraq during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone. The U.S. military also identified two soldiers who were killed in Jordan on Friday while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks. Seventeen U.S. troops have been killed since the start of the war.

The Latest:

Trump 50% tariff targets Canadian autos, alcohol and cheese

The president has imposed 50% tariffs on most Canadian goods, declaring that Canada has unfairly discriminated against American autos, alcohol and dairy products.

The move, announced Monday, could unleash a new wave of economic chaos, with risks of higher inflation and further fraying of relations between two nations that had been closely woven together before Trump’s return to the White House.

The administration official previewing the action said that Canada was one of the only nations other than China that retaliated against Trump’s previous tariffs and must be held accountable. The official insisted on anonymity on a call with reporters to preview the president’s actions.

More US strikes start up against Iran

The U.S. military says it’s carrying out its 10th consecutive night of strikes on Iran in a push to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. Central Command said on social media that the strikes “are designed to further degrade Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.”

The strikes have escalated as the U.S. and Iran vie for control of the crucial energy shipping route, with Tehran retaliating by launching attacks on American allies Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain.

Two soldiers were killed in Iranian attacks on a base in Jordan on Friday that left a third service member missing. Separately, another died in Iraq on Saturday during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone.

President Trump earlier warned on social media that “Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over!”

Trump signs executive order on supply chains for US military

Trump on Monday signed an executive order that would expand the Pentagon’s ability to track the raw materials and equipment used in software and gear — with the goal of strengthening domestic supply chains.

The order would require government contractors starting in 2027 to prove their need for waivers when domestic materials are not available, Peter Navarro, the president’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, said during a call with reporters.

The Defense Department would also require contractors to map their critical supply chains from raw materials to the products delivered to the military.

Jordan says Iran launched another missile attack

Jordan’s armed forces said Monday evening they had shot down three Iranian missiles, adding that there had been no material damage or casualties.

There was no immediate word from Iran.

Trump will visit Delaware to honor service members killed in Iran war

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will be at Dover Air Force Base on Tuesday evening for the dignified transfer of U.S. service members.

“The President and the entire White House are praying for their families,” Leavitt said on social media Monday.

Two service members were killed Friday in Jordan while defending against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks, the U.S. military said. A third service member was missing after the attack.

Another American service member was killed Saturday in northern Iraq in what was described as a controlled detonation of an Iranian ordnance.

Trump, in apparent pushback on Mamdani, says Netanyahu won’t be arrested in US

The president offered the assurance to Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told the New York Times that the Israeli prime minister “belongs in The Hague” and that he was in “active conversation” with the city’s legal department about potentially arresting him if he comes to New York City for the U.N. General Assembly in September.

“Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” Trump said in a social media post in which he made no direct mention of Mamdani.

During his mayoral campaign last year, Mamdani said he would order the city’s police to arrest Netanyahu under a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over Netanyahu’s role in the war in Gaza.

Trump threatens harsh response against Iran for targeting of US troops going forward

The president took to social media on Monday to warn that “every time Iran kills an American Soldier” going forward “they will pay for that killing many times over.”

Trump offered no further details but said his directive has been relayed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other U.S. military leaders.

Trump’s warning came after the U.S. earlier Monday launched its ninth night of airstrikes on Iran after announcing the death of a U.S. service member, killed in Iraq during the “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone. Seventeen American troops have been killed since the start of the war.

British military says a second ship was attacked off the coast of UAE

The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said Monday evening that a second ship had been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, this one off the coast of the United Arab Emirates

Earlier, a vessel caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after being hit by a projectile near the coastline of Oman. The crew abandoned the vessel, which was adrift and still ablaze hours later, the UKMTO said.

The route around Oman has been the one the U.S. military has encouraged ships to travel to avoid Iran’s control. The Guard later claimed it was targeting tankers in the strait.

Tehran also hit U.S.-allied countries throughout the Middle East. Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens Monday morning, while Kuwait said its air defenses were firing at an incoming Iranian barrage.

Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry condemned Iranian drone strikes targeting the country’s air traffic systems, saying they endanger travel for civilians.

Ontario’s premier says he’s frustrated with Trump’s wildfire comments

Ontario Premier Doug Ford told a news conference Monday he is frustrated with Trump’s threats to place tariffs on Canada over wildfire smoke.

Ford said Ontario has contributed to fighting fires in the U.S. and offered assistance when Georgia was struck with a hurricane in 2024.

“Rather than criticize and threaten Canada, your closest friend, maybe one day you’re going to need our help,” Ford said. “I get frustrated just listening (to) that bunch of rubbish.”

Ford noted one of the largest fires started in Minnesota.

“Maybe President Trump would offer his closest allies and friends some support rather than sit there and threaten tariffs.”

Nearly 200 wildfires are currently burning across Northern Ontario, with 57 out of control.

Trump talked about wildfires with Carney at World Cup

Trump said he told Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney he needs to do more to stop wildfires when they talked during Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final in New Jersey.

“I told them you got to stop these fires from coming in and poisoning our air. Our air has been poisoned,” Trump told reporters on Sunday when he returned from the game.

“If we can help them, we’ll help them. But maybe they should pay us some damages or something, or we should do some tariffs.”

Trump last week accused Canada of neglecting forest management. It is unclear under what authority Trump would rely on to impose new tariffs on Canada.

Sen. Jon Ossoff fuels reelection campaign by accusing Trump of corruption

The Democrat from Georgia is making full-throated broadsides against Trump as he runs for reelection, calling the president a “national disgrace” leading a “Mar-a-Lago mafia” and “the most corrupt administration of all time.”

The 39-year-old senator’s approach is being noticed across the Democratic spectrum, from activists hungry for the right message in the 2026 midterms to those pining for viable presidential candidates.

And now he has a 20-1 fundraising advantage against Rep. Mike Collins, who won a Republican primary runoff after Trump’s last-minute endorsement. Collins argues that Ossoff is “weak” and “woke,” just another “out-of-touch, far-left liberal.”

“The senator is definitely having a moment,” Democratic strategist Lis Smith said, adding that tying Trump’s personal financial gain to his performance on the economy is a strategy “more Democrats should adopt.”

Justice Department activates untested ‘alien terrorist’ deportation court

The Justice Department has filed a first-ever petition to a secretive and dormant court created 30 years ago to weigh government requests to deport so-called “alien terrorists” from the United States.

The Alien Terrorist Removal Court was established in 1996 but had never received a petition until the Justice Department filed an application last week seeking the removal of an individual whose name is withheld from the single-page document posted on the court’s website.

A written response from the chief judge of the five-member court — all appointed by Chief Justice John Roberts — indicates that a hearing was held and that the Justice Department was directed to provide more information on Wednesday.

The chief judge of wrote that “the Government could benefit from the opportunity for more thoughtful consideration.”

Trump urges review of climate change report used by judges

Trump complained that a report on climate change National Academy of Sciences included “discredited” information that created “huge losses” across the country. The report is used by the Federal Judicial Center as a resource to assist judges in considering scientific evidence.

Trump ordered “federal suspension and debarment officials” to review the research organization’s conduct, adding that taxpayers should not be funding ″climate fraud” and judges should not rely on the report.

It was not clear what officials Trump was referring to and what, exactly, he wants them to investigate.

Earlier this year, the judicial center withdrew a chapter on climate change from the newest reference manual on scientific evidence after Republican state attorneys general complained it was biased against fossil fuel companies.

The Vances are doing their part to reverse declining birth rates

Vice President JD Vance and his wife, second lady Usha Vance, are celebrating the birth of their fourth child.

Born Sunday, Alec Neel Vance joins older siblings Ewan, 9; Vivek, 6; and Mirabel, 4. The Vances said Usha and the baby are happy and healthy. They also thanked the doctors and staff at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the White House medical team.

The Republican vice president has passionately advocated for Americans to have more children. He repeatedly expressed alarm about declining birth rates as he launched his political career in 2021, and told the 2025 March for Life anti-abortion rally, “I want more babies in the United States of America.”

The story behind the Freedom Fuel Trump loves to promote

Trump and his White House have enthusiastically promoted the Freedom Fuel Network, a chain of star-spangled convenience stores selling gas at $3.47 per gallon to honor the 47th president.

Untangling exactly who is behind the Philadelphia-area venture has proven difficult. Records indicate the chain was launched last month by a collection of businessmen including an NFL kicking coach, a GOP fundraiser and a New Jersey entrepreneur who was ordered along with his brother to pay civil damages for unlawfully taking more than 200,000 gallons of fuel.

None of them want to talk about it. How the stations got Trump’s attention remains a mystery. Experts say they’re likely selling the gas for a loss.

What is clear: Trump has loved the idea of cheaper gas with average costs per gallon rising above $4 again as the war with Iran continues.

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Olympian accused of damaging Reflecting Pool gets a trial date

David Hearn, 67, has pleaded not guilty to deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool amid a troubled multimillion-dollar renovation project championed by Trump.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman set the date for Sept. 28 during a Monday hearing, Hearn’s second since a grand jury indicted him on a single felony count of property destruction.

Trump has claimed without providing evidence that damage to the pool’s lining was caused by vandals.

David Hearn, 67, a canoeist who competed in three Summer Olympics, told The Associated Press that he reached into the water to see what the peeling new coating felt like — “very rubbery” — and let go of it when a park worker told him to. At least three others have been charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of the paint.

Tate brothers to appear in Miami court. UK wants them extradited

Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate are scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate in Miami on Monday after they were arrested to face rape and sex trafficking charges in the United Kingdom.

Their attorney Joseph McBride said the charges are “filth and slander” and that he’s confident the extradition request would be denied.

He also said he believed the arrests were “greenlighted by a low-level functionary” at the Justice Department, without input from leadership. But the Justice Department told The Associated Press that the arrests were approved by leadership of its Criminal Division.

The Tates’ social media empire promoting wealth, male dominance and misogyny has made them among the world’s most polarizing internet personalities.

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Why Yemen seeks to close Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea access

There were few details, but the deputy head of the Houthi media office, Nasruddin Amer, said on X that the Bab al-Mandeb strait will be closed to Saudi vessels in response to what he called Saudi Arabia’s “unjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 years.”

The Houthis are key to Iran’s regional influence and they have a large stockpile of drones, but several Houthi members previously told the AP that the group’s weapons stockpile is running low after its attacks during the Israel-Hamas war. The Iran war has further impeded the flow of weapons, said the officials, who at the time spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk to the media.

Gulf nations warn of incoming Iranian fire

Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens Monday afternoon to warn of a possible Iranian fire, while Kuwait said its air defenses were responding to incoming Iranian missiles and drones. No damage was immediately reported in either country.

Senators want answers on ICE policies

Dozens of Democratic senators and Maine’s Independent Sen. Angus King want more details on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s vetting practices and vehicle pursuit policies following more deaths in ICE shootings.

In a letter spearheaded by King and sent to the Department of Homeland Security, the senators listed new measures to increase accountability at the agency tasked with carrying out immigration enforcement.

They said ICE should immediately start wearing uniforms or vests that clearly identify them as “ICE” instead of the more generic “POLICE” or “POLICE ICE.”

The senators also want to know whether ICE considers records of domestic violence or abuse when vetting new recruits. In Maine, the AP reported that the ICE officer who opened fire and killed a man from Colombia had a history of violent behavior detailed in family court records.

As student loan defaults surge, Trump is making borrowers pay more

Defaults are reaching record levels as borrowers struggle to pay.

The numbers have spiked since payments came due again following a lengthy pause intended to provide relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, around 9.5 million people — 1 in 5 federal student loan borrowers — are in default, meaning their wages or Social Security payments could be garnished. The Trump administration has held off on such involuntary collections for now.

And still another wave of defaults could be coming. The Trump administration eliminated the most generous income-driven repayment plan, Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, as part of its overhaul of the federal student loan system. Millions who had been enrolled in SAVE now must pay more each month.

▶ Read more

Yemen’s Houthis announce a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia

A Houthi military spokesperson described the embargo on Monday, effective immediately, as an “eye for an eye” response.

Attacks by the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen last week damaged Sanaa International Airport and Abha airport in Saudi Arabia, threatening a truce that began in 2022.

Imposing an embargo could put new pressure on Saudi Arabia, which is sending oil through pipes to the Red Sea as a way of avoiding the chokehold in the Strait of Hormuz.

Houthis attacked more than 100 ships over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. It’s unclear whether the Houthis will keep up that level of attack now against Saudi Arabia.

The S&P 500 dipped 0.2%, coming off its first losing week in the last three and just its third since the end of March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 307 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite was basically flat after slipping by less than 0.1%.

Nvidia added 0.2% and held firmer following its drop on Friday, when it was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500. Sandisk climbed 2.7% after tumbling 29% last week.

Advanced Micro Devices rose 1.6% after announcing an expanded partnership where Microsoft will use its products for AI, including its new Helios product starting in the second half of the year.

Such stocks have been under pressure for weeks on worries that their prices shot too high in the euphoria around AI. On one hand, companies are making billions of dollars in revenue as customers pour money into AI chips and data centers. But all that spending may fizzle out if AI doesn’t produce as much profit and productivity as promised.

Wall Street may get some hints on that soon as some of the biggest spenders on AI report their latest quarterly results. On Wednesday, Alphabet will tell investors how much it made during the spring and give updates on its AI efforts.

All kinds of companies are under pressure to report strong growth in profit for the spring. They will need to in order to justify the big moves their stock prices have made. Indexes are near their records, even with the recent shakiness for AI stocks.

AMC Entertainment jumped 26.8% after the movie-theater operator reported stronger revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also said some of its theaters in Los Angeles and other cities ran “The Odyssey” for more than 85 straight hours from Thursday through Sunday to meet demand.

Domino’s Pizza climbed 2.1% after delivering stronger revenue for the spring than expected. CEO Russell Weiner said the company saw growth in orders for both its carryout and delivery businesses, even with the broad industry continuing “to face pressure on consumer demand.”

Another restaurant chain, Jersey Mike’s, is beginning its roadshow to raise interest in its stock, which it’s planning to sell on the New York Stock Exchange for between $21 and $25 per share in an initial public offering.

It and other businesses are facing pressure in selling to U.S. households feeling crunched by still-high inflation, thanks in large part to high gasoline prices. The average cost for a gallon of gasoline in the United States has gotten back above $4 because of higher crude oil prices.

After dropping below $72 early this month, roughly back to where it was before the war with Iran began, the price for a barrel of Brent crude has been jumping recently as fighting continues in the Middle East.

On Monday, the price swung between roughly $86 and $91 before settling at $89.22, up 1.3%.

The war with Iran is keeping oil tankers from using the Strait of Hormuz to deliver crude from the Persian Gulf to customers, which pushes up oil’s price. S&P Global counted only 127 vessels crossing the strait during the week through Sunday, down nearly 50% from the week before.

Worries about expensive oil and high inflation have sent Treasury yields higher in the bond market, which threaten to slow the economy and undercut prices for stocks and other investments.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.59% from 4.55% late Friday and from just 3.97% before the war with Iran. Higher yields have already sent the average 30-year mortgage rate to its highest level in nearly a year.

The higher yields weighed on the broad U.S. stock market, and the majority of stocks fell on Wall Street.

A 3.8% drop for Warner Bros. Discovery also helped erase a gain for the S&P 500 early in the day. A federal judge ordered it and Paramount to halt their $81 billion merger for at least two weeks, allowing states that are challenging the deal more time to see their case through in court.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 14.41 points to 7,443.28. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 307.16 to 51,839.26, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 12.17 to 25,508.07.

In stock markets abroad, indexes ended mixed in Europe.

The moves were sharper in Asia, where South Korea’s Kospi fell 4.5%. It’s been at the center of the huge swings for AI stocks because it’s dominated by two tech companies, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

Stocks were stronger in China, where indexes rose 2.4% in Hong Kong and 0.9% in Shanghai.

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

Twelve states, led by California, sued to block Paramount’s pending buyout of Warner last week — alleging that such a combination would “extinguish competition” in Hollywood and lead to fewer choices for consumers, particularly moviegoers and cable customers across the U.S.

The states’ top prosecutors called on Warner and Paramount to not close the transaction until after a court had time to fully evaluate their claims. And when the companies refused, they filed for a temporary restraining order — which is what District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín granted on Monday. That opens the door to a potential preliminary injunction that the states are also seeking to effectively block the deal.

“This is a critical first win in our case to ensure this megamerger never sees the light of day,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement Monday. “History tells the tale of what happens when a few people have great power over markets that are central to Americans’ lives: fewer opportunities for more people, worse products and services for all people.”

A Warner-Paramount tie-up would bring together two of the five last legacy studios in Hollywood — as well as a host of TV networks, titles filling streaming libraries and news operations. Warner’s HBO Max, fan favorites like “Harry Potter” and even CNN would come under the same roof of Paramount-owned CBS, movies like “Top Gun” and the Paramount+ streaming service.

Paramount, which was bought out by Skydance just last year, has vowed to vigorously defend its acquisition — and touts regulatory greenlights the deal has received elsewhere, including from President Donald Trump's administration last month.

On Monday, Paramount said the states' antitrust arguments “are without merit” or “any basis in modern market realities" — and maintained that its merger with Warner will benefit consumers and workers alike. Timing for next steps also falls in line with the company's previous requests.

Deal is paused for at least two weeks

The temporary restraining order granted Monday halts the deal from progressing for at least 14 days, although the pause could be extended for up to 28 days. The court has set Aug. 3 as a date for a hearing on the states' preliminary injunction motion, but that schedule could also be pushed back.

The clock is ticking. Ahead of Monday’s decision, the companies proposed wrapping up a preliminary injunction hearing by the end of August, leaving time to make a possible appeal by Sept. 30 — a date on the top of Paramount’s mind because it’s pledged to pay shareholders added “ticking fee” compensation amounting to about $7 million per day if the deal isn’t closed by then.

But the states called such a timeline unprecedented and unfair. They maintain that payments Paramount might have to incur after Sept. 30 were the risk of a decision the company made on its own — and argued in a hearing held Friday that commencing a trial in April 2027 would allow enough time for discovery and presenting proper evidence.

Including billions of dollars in debt, Paramount’s proposed purchase of Warner is currently valued at nearly $111 billion based on outstanding shares.

What the states are challenging

Paramount has repeatedly pointed to tech and streaming companies’ growing reach across the entertainment industry — and argues that merging with Warner would particularly help it compete with bigger rivals like Netflix. Last week, it said the states’ challenge would help shield Netflix and others “who have harmed the market for theatrical exhibition” from meaningful competition.

The states’ case doesn’t focus on streaming. It alleges that a combined Paramount-Warner merger violates federal antitrust law because of what the companies’ combined reach would become across three markets: theatrical movie distribution, theater releases of bigger blockbusters and the licensing of basic cable channels.

Their complaint says a combined Paramount-Warner could control nearly a third of both the theatrical film distribution market as well as basic cable programming. The states argued this would create a “media behemoth" with enough power to both raise prices for consumers and threaten workers’ wages, while reducing production and quality of content.

In terms of movie theater releases, Paramount’s lawyers have pointed to a growing list of blockbuster hits from studios that are not in Hollywood’s “big five,” such as A24 and Amazon’s MGM. The states maintain the core legacy studios — which beyond Warner and Paramount include Disney, Universal and Sony — still make up the vast majority of the market.

Beyond California, states challenging the deal include Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington.

Other regulatory clearances

Outside of the U.S., Paramount has touted greenlights from regulators in countries like China, Canada and Australia. But regulatory reviews are also ongoing in the European Union and the U.K., which has separately suggested it may intervene.

Meanwhile, the Writers Guild of America has filed its own lawsuit seeking to block the merger. And Paramount faces additional legal fights, including from a shareholder accusing CEO David Ellison and his father Larry Ellison (who is putting up tens of billions of dollars to back the deal for his son’s company) of promising “illegal, private benefits” to Trump in order to get the merger through.

Paramount has repeatedly dismissed such accusations, and the U.S. Justice Department maintained its review was not political.

Still, politics have come into question throughout Paramount's quest for Warner. Beyond Trump’s relationship with the Ellison family, critics of the deal also stress what new ownership could mean for Warner assets like CNN — a network that has long attracted ire from the Republican president — particularly in light of editorial turmoil at Paramount-owned CBS since Skydance’s takeover.

The contrast between the 12 states’ complaint, brought forth by all Democratic attorneys general, and the federal government’s blessing only underlines all of that further.

“It’s a political merger. It’s the product of the president’s engagement in private business affairs,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a webinar about the states' case last week. She maintained the states had been successful in challenging the Trump administration before and "we're not finished yet.”

The trial of Lindsay Clancy, which could take several weeks, is expected to explore the complicated and rare phenomenon of postpartum psychosis, which afflicts a very small percentage of women who develop delusions and sometimes hallucinations after childbirth.

Five jurors were selected Monday. A total of 18 jurors, including six alternates, will be chosen for the trial.

Clancy's lawyers — and her husband — say she was not responsible for her actions. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington doesn’t dispute that she killed the children, but plans to raise an insanity defense.

“This whole case is an extreme tragedy,” he said.

Prosecutors say the killings were intentional and well planned, not the work of someone who had lost control.

Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, has pleaded not guilty to murder charges in the deaths of her children Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, when they were killed on Jan. 24, 2023.

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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.

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On the day of the killings, Clancy, now 36, asked her husband Patrick Clancy to leave their home to get takeout food and to pick up something at a pharmacy. She strangled the children with exercise bands, then used multiple methods to try to end her own life.

She was paralyzed after falling from the home’s second-story window, and is being held at a state hospital.

Clancy’s husband is on the list of witnesses for both the prosecution and the defense. He has said in interviews that he forgives his wife.

Eighteen jurors, including six alternates, are expected to be chosen over several days for the trial in Plymouth, which is near the family’s home in Duxbury, an upscale coastal suburb about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Boston.

Clancy and her husband filed lawsuits earlier this year accusing her medical providers of failing to properly diagnose, treat and monitor her for a “severe postpartum psychiatric condition.” She spent several days at a psychiatric hospital weeks before the killings.

Lindsay Clancy’s lawsuit detailed how she was depressed, had trouble sleeping and repeatedly heard voices urging her to harm her children and herself.

“Lindsay Clancy did everything a mother in her situation could do,” the lawsuit said. “She recognized something was wrong with her. She sought medical treatment. She went to emergency rooms. She called crisis hotlines. She admitted herself to hospitals. She took the medication prescribed to her. She communicated her worsening symptoms to her providers. She told them the medications were making her worse.”

The day of the killings, Clancy said she heard voices saying, “This is your last chance. Kill the children so you can kill yourself.” A voice told her “that her children would suffer if she was gone,” according to the lawsuit filed by Patrick Clancy, citing medical records.

In a post on GoFundMe several days after the killings, Patrick Clancy wrote that the “shock and pain is excruciating and relentless,” but he urged the public to see Lindsay Clancy as he did before the killings.

“The real Lindsay was generously loving and caring toward everyone — me, our kids, family, friends, and her patients. The very fibers of her soul are loving. All I wish for her now is that she can somehow find peace,” it said.

The autopsy performed on the dismembered body found in a Tesla in the Hollywood Hills had been sealed by a court order in the investigation that led to murder charges for singer D4vd. Dr. Odey Ukpo's comment with the report was his most pointed effort yet to emphasize his office’s independence from police and prosecutors, as well as his desire to make as much death information public as soon as possible.

D4vd, who has pleaded not guilty, this week faces a crucial preliminary hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence for a trial. Ukpo's agency, which determined Rivas Hernandez died from stab wounds, plays a major role, as it has in other prominent cases, including following the death of “Friends” star Matthew Perry and the killings of director Rob Reiner and his wife, photographer Michele Singer Reiner.

Ukpo, 46, sat for a recent interview with The Associated Press in the building where he performed autopsies for nearly a decade before getting the head role in 2023. He has always welcomed the celebrity cases that Los Angeles brings, saying the scrutiny they receive and the likelihood of misinformation spreading are strong incentives to do careful, irrefutable work. And they provide an opportunity to show what his office does and what kind of dangers the community may face.

“I should be able to anticipate the strongest arguments or the most interesting questions by the work that I’ve done,” he said. “If I haven’t, then something’s missing.”

“Life is complicated, but death is simple,” Ukpo said.

The medical examiner pushes back on police secrecy

Ukpo doesn't believe sealing autopsy reports helps police investigations, including in the killing of Celeste.

“That goes completely against our mission,” he said. “It’s so important for us to release the information that she did not die from something natural, she did not die from drugs, she was stabbed. And then we start to look back at what made her vulnerable to be in that situation.”

A court-ordered security hold still seals the Reiner autopsies. Authorities said immediately after their deaths that they had been stabbed by their son, who has pleaded not guilty, but little information has followed. Ukpo said he would discuss the findings — if he was allowed.

“The Reiners’ case is one that’s straightforward,” he said. “It’s unclear to me what sort of information we have that would ruin the case.”

Sometimes there is no good reason for secrecy, he said.

“People say: ‘Why would they get the information out there? Because then the case is just going to go awry.’ But awry? How? What information?” he said, adding: “The killer knows what they did.”

The LA County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement that security holds “are rarely requested and are carefully reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine whether temporarily withholding the autopsy report is necessary to preserve sensitive investigative information.” It said the reports can contain details “that only the person responsible would know,” meaning detectives can use that knowledge to assess the credibility of witness statements and uncover false confessions.

The Los Angeles Police Department, which handled the D4vd and Reiner cases, did not respond to a request for comment, and the district attorney's office declined comment.

A change to his title underscores Ukpo's independence

Ukpo was appointed chief medical examiner-coroner in 2023, becoming the agency's first Black leader since it was founded in 1850. His staff responds to more than 12,000 sudden, unexpected and premature deaths per year.

The “coroner” part of his title was dropped soon after his appointment and Ukpo supported that change, saying a coroner is usually an elected official — often also the county sheriff — but not a doctor.

“'Coroner' just kind of confused our purpose and suggested that we were within a law enforcement agency,” Ukpo said. “It’s so important to establish our independence.”

Andrew Bernstein, a longtime New York criminal defense attorney who is not involved in any of Ukpo’s cases, said “buddy-buddy” relationships can easily develop between medical examiners and law enforcement.

“They’re dealing with the cops all the time,” he said. “They’re using the same language.”

That relationship can hurt a prosecutor's case, he said, because “jurors pick up on that all the time” and may perceive a testifying medical examiner as biased.

But, Bernstein said, “you don’t want so much independence” that the medical examiner makes decisions regardless of the wants and needs of police and prosecutors.

“You don’t want a rock star chief medical examiner,” he said.

Dr. Michelle A. Jordan, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, told the AP in an email that the organization supports Ukpo’s “determination to maintain his office’s independence from law enforcement" and the authority of forensic pathologists to “provide transparent postmortem assessments and accurate death investigations” that are “free from undue influence.”

How he decided to make autopsies his life’s work

At age 6, Ukpo — who grew up in Anaheim not far from Disneyland — had wanted to be a homicide detective.

But when he met his family physician, he “thought it was really cool how he would work with his hands, do dirty work, work with blood” but “could be very professional in his office, in a suit, in a tie.”

“There you go, that’s the formula for a forensic pathologist,” he said.

Very few medical students want to make autopsies their life's work. He said with a laugh that declaring his intentions “made for interesting medical school interviews.”

His education included stints at Loyola University in Chicago, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and with the medical examiner in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Celebrity autopsies hold meaning beyond LA County

Ukpo performed autopsies on rapper Mac Miller, actor Tommy Lister Jr., and model and actor Kim Porter, the former longtime partner of Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Perry died within months of Ukpo getting the top job, and his office determined the primary cause of death was acute ketamine toxicity.

“Matthew Perry was really an important one to notify people that ketamine is not harmless,” he said.

He said this and all his work is driven by his desire to first and foremost serve the public.

“What I’m trying to shift during my leadership here is to try to focus on community first,” he said. “Death doesn’t just happen for the family, for the individual. When a death happens, it reverberates.”

Smart, 58, was a 22-year-old high school media coordinator when she began an affair with a 15-year-old boy who later fatally shot her husband, Gregory Smart, in Derry.

The shooter was freed in 2015 after serving a 25-year sentence. Though Smart denied knowledge of the plot, she was convicted of being an accomplice to first-degree murder and other crimes and was sentenced to life without parole after a trial that was one of the first in the nation to be broadcast live on television from start to finish.

Smart filed a petition for habeas corpus relief in January seeking to overturn her conviction over what her lawyers claim were several constitutional violations. The state responded with a motion to dismiss the petition, resulting in Monday's hearing, which Smart attended remotely from the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women in New York.

Merrimack County Superior Court Judge James Kennedy took the matter under advisement. He planned to rule in 30 to 60 days.

Smart's lawyers say transcripts of recordings during trial were inaccurate

Smart's lawyers argue that prosecutors misled the jury by providing them with inaccurate transcripts of surreptitiously recorded conversations of Smart that included words that were not audible on the recordings.

Among the words they claim weren’t audible but in the transcript were the word “killed” in the sentence “you had your husband killed,” the word “busted” in the sentence “I’m gonna be busted” and the word “murder” in the sentence “this would have been the perfect murder.”

“Modern science confirms what common sense has always told us: when people are handed a script, they inevitably hear the words they are shown,” Smart’s attorney, Matthew Zernhelt, said in a statement earlier this year. “Jurors were not evaluating the recordings independently — they were being directed toward a conclusion, and that direction decided the verdict.”

In court Monday, he described a forensic study that showed providing transcripts alongside muffled audio leads listeners to believe the written text even when inaccurate.

“Adding a transcript of language to the jurors changed their interpretation of what they believed they were hearing, how confident they were in what they believed they were hearing and how clear it was to them,” he said. “There's no absolute truth about what's on the tapes. Nothing decipherable is on the tapes. But when you tell someone what they're hearing, you set this expectation ... and they will hear it.”

Smart's lawyers also argued that the verdict was tainted by the media attention and due to faulty instructions to the jury. They argued jurors were told they must find that Smart acted with premeditation, and were not told they must consider only evidence presented at trial.

They also argued the trial court gave her a mandatory life sentence without parole for being an accomplice to first-degree murder, despite New Hampshire not mandating that sentence for the charge.

Lawyers for the state say Smart's petition should be dismissed

Lawyers for the state asked the judge to dismiss the petition, saying nearly all of the claims are barred because they already were raised on appeal and resolved by the New Hampshire Supreme Court, or could have been raised on appeal with the court but were not.

They noted that during Smart's trial, the defense only expressed concern that the recording transcripts allegedly failed to account for the “doubling” of voices when two people speak at once. The judge instructed jurors that if the tapes differed from what they were reading, they should use what they heard, instead. The state Supreme Court noted that Smart's lawyers did not make any “particularized showing of inaccuracies in the transcripts relative to the recordings or how she may have been prejudiced” by them.

Assistant Attorney General John Drennan said none of Smart's claims are supported by facts, and that she appears to be using the habeas corpus process as a substitute for an appeal. He likened the discrepancies with the transcripts to someone viewing text of a transcribed voicemail and then listening to the actual message.

“Maybe cognitive bias has set in, but it doesn't mean that I can't, when listening, say, ‘Hey, I’m not sure that's right,'” he said. “I know to review it. I know to be skeptical.”

Smart's team hasn't proven other claims, such as ineffective assistance of counsel and having the case argued in New York, rather than in New Hampshire, the lawyers for the state said.

Smart's legal options are limited. She has unsuccessfully sought a sentence reduction hearing several times with an elected state council in New Hampshire that approves contracts and appointees to the courts and state agencies. She appealed one rejection to the state Supreme Court, which dismissed her petition in 2023.

Her latest petition was filed after New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte rejected her request last year to put the matter before the council again. Ayotte said she reviewed the case and decided it was not deserving of a hearing.

Smart took full responsibility for husband's death in video

In 2024, Smart took full responsibility for her husband’s death. She said in a video she spent years deflecting blame “almost as if it was a coping mechanism.”

Smart’s trial was a media circus and one of America’s first high-profile cases about a sexual affair between a school employee and a student. The student, William Flynn, testified that Smart told him she needed her husband killed because she feared she would lose everything if they divorced and that she threatened to break up with him if he didn’t kill her husband. Flynn and three other teens cooperated with prosecutors and all have since been released.

Flynn and 17-year-old Patrick Randall entered the Smarts’ Derry condominium and forced Gregory Smart to his knees in the foyer. As Randall held a knife to the man’s throat, Flynn fired a hollow-point bullet into his head. Both pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and were sentenced to 28 years to life. They were granted parole in 2015. Two other teenagers served prison sentences and have been released.

The case inspired Joyce Maynard’s 1992 book “To Die For” and the 1995 film of the same name, starring Nicole Kidman and Joaquin Phoenix.

The funeral opened with tearful remarks from Wells’ parents, who described their son as a warm and gentle presence, a role model to his younger siblings and a gifted athlete with NFL ambitions.

“He had a way of making people feel seen, welcomed and valued,” said his mother, Christine Wonsley. “He could lift your confidence with just a few words and make you feel like you belong.”

In a fiery eulogy, Sharpton then promised a $100,000 reward for any new information about the circumstances around Wells’ death, which came following a boat trip with friends to Horn Island, off the Gulf Coast.

Half of the sum will be covered by the actor and producer Tyler Perry, who also paid for the funeral, Sharpton noted.

“Somebody knows something,” Sharpton continued, drawing applause from the crowd that included the director Spike Lee, former NFL player Terrell Owens and many prominent Black clergy.

“Let every stone be rolled back and every veil be torn asunder and let truth pop out of the ground like a flower," he continued.

Wells, who was Black, had traveled to Horn Island — a popular Fourth of July destination — with a group of friends from high school, all of whom are white. He did not return with them to the mainland that evening, officials said. His body was found two days later off the island’s coast.

Jackson County Sheriff John Ledbetter said initial interviews suggested Wells chose to stay on the island and that his friends believed he would get a ride with someone else. The friends were cooperating with investigators, according to the sheriff.

But the still-unknown circumstances leading to Wells’ disappearance have fueled rampant online speculation and galvanized leaders in the Black community, including some who have expressed skepticism about the independence and transparency of the investigation.

In his eulogy, Sharpton urged those following the case to withhold judgement until more information becomes available. But he also questioned why Wells' phone and keys were found with his friends, why they had not immediately called police after realizing he was missing and why local officials appeared so quick to dismiss the possibility of foul play.

Invoking the history of racist violence in Mississippi, including the lynching of Emmett Till and assassination of Medgar Evers, Sharpton continued, addressing the state's law enforcement authorities: "Before we can medicate and heal today, we’ve got to look at your history.”

The family’s attorney, Ben Crump, then led the crowd in a chant of “Nolan’s life mattered,” as Wells’ mother sobbed into the shoulder of her husband, Elmore Wonsley.

At a news conference following the funeral, Crump said they were still waiting on the results of an independent autopsy. The official autopsy has also not been released.

Crump had said he is working alongside the local prosecutor to inspect Wells' phone. The prosecutor has agreed to present the results of the investigation to a grand jury once it is completed, according to Crump.

“They went out on the boat, the boat came back, and Nolan washed up on the shore two days later dead,” he said at the funeral Monday. “Wouldn’t you want answers?”

Wells, who would have turned 19 next month, played wide receiver on the football team at Southwest Mississippi Community College in Summit, Mississippi, and had aspirations of playing at a high-level Division I program.

At the funeral, Wells' father, Elmore Wonsley, recalled the hours the two spent studying game tape and running drills on the beach.

“I nicknamed you Mr. Cool Hands because it seemed like you were catching a touchdown every game,” the father said through tears.

“Our son meant a lot to a of people,” he concluded. “Today shows us how much he meant to the community, the country and the world.”

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Associated Press video journalist Sophie Bates in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed to this report.

“I've made a decision," Darline Graham told Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity, according to a clip released of an interview set to air later Monday. “I'm in.”

The entrance of Darline Graham — sworn in last week to fulfill the remaining months of her late brother's term, which expires in January — into the Republican scramble to select a new Senate nominee further complicates an already rushed process following Lindsey Graham 's death earlier this month.

A weeklong filing period opens Tuesday for the special Republican primary, which will be Aug. 11. On Friday, President Donald Trump said that Darline Graham had his “Complete and Total Endorsement” to seek the nomination, adding, “RUN, DARLINE, RUN!”

Last week, Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham to serve the remainder of her brother’s term, which ends in January. In his announcement, 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 Darline Graham, had never contemplated that she would run for the seat herself.

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 said Monday he would officially enter the special primary.

Several other noteworthy politicians, including Rep. Ralph Norman, have already gotten in, and others like Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette have been eyeing a run. Rep. Nancy Mace announced Monday she would not enter the contest.

Darline Graham told Hannity said she had been “praying a lot” about how to navigate her new role.

“It is a tremendous amount of pressure," she said.

“I know I’m a hard worker. I learned that from Lindsey,” Darline Graham said. "I feel like I can do it. I feel an inner peace about it. Will it be difficult? Yes.”

Funeral services for Lindsey Graham are scheduled to be held next week in Washington and South Carolina. A preliminary report from the medical examiner said he suffered a tear in his aorta.

The millions in Lindsey Graham's campaign account aren’t funds that Darline Graham could directly access in a run of her own, according to Bradley A. Smith, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.

Under federal rules, Lindsey Graham’s campaign would be limited to transferring just $2,000 to a potential Darline Graham candidacy. However, Smith said there is no limit on how much it could transfer to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which could — thanks to a Supreme Court decision last month — “spend an unlimited amount in coordination with Darline’s campaign.”

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

A BCSO spokesperson told KSAT 12 News that a caller told the sheriff’s office about the situation Sunday. The caller said the animals’ owner had left Texas weeks ago, leaving the dogs to fend for themselves.

The spokesperson said someone living on the property had tried to feed the animals but was not able to continue doing so because of cost.

In all, BCSO said 18 dogs were seized. A deputy at the scene said some of the them appeared to be malnourished.

The dogs were also either kept in cages or kennels that were filled with feces or tied up.

Additionally, the sheriff’s office said all the dogs were covered in ticks and fleas.

Bexar County Animal Control took custody of the pets and will be evaluating and treating them, a BCSO deputy said.

Deputies said investigators are still trying to sort out exactly who was responsible for the dogs and what charges that person would face.

The property where they were found is the same site of a 2023 animal seizure conducted by BCSO.

At that time, deputies said they had seized 80 animals, including about 60 dogs, from the property which Sheriff Javier Salazar described as a “puppy mill.”

Salazar also told reporters back then that those animals were living in filthy conditions.

Although deputies found the then-79-year-old owner of the pets at the scene, he did not face any immediate charges.

Read also:

• SAPD bodycam footage shows exchange of gunfire between officers, suspect on North Side

Food and Drug Administration officials on Monday said a laboratory test incorrectly identified a positive result for cyclospora on a sample of lettuce from Taylor Farms. The FDA posted the finding to its website on Saturday but then said Sunday that the result had been a false positive.

Federal and state authorities have been investigating a rise in cases of the parasite, initially linking the outbreak in five states to lettuce served at Taco Bell locations. On Saturday, Taylor Farms announced it was recalling 25 shredded lettuce and salad mix products sold under eight different brand codes. The products are used by a number of U.S. food chains and suppliers.

“FDA’s traceback investigation and the outbreak data continue to converge on shredded iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms’ locations in central Mexico,” FDA's acting food chief, Donald Prater, told reporters on Monday.

In addition to tracing the supply chain of lettuce, FDA staff have begun testing samples of produce coming across the U.S. border.

FDA officials on Monday said the false positive result came from a rapid test used to screen for traces of cyclospora. The sample that initially appeared positive for the parasite came from Taylor Farms but was not part of the company's lettuce recall. FDA officials said they felt compelled to alert the public to the finding.

But a subsequent quality control check showed the positive finding was an error. FDA officials notified Taylor Farms of that on Sunday.

The company touted the updated test results on social media and claimed “FDA apologized to us.” Agency officials said there was no official apology.

Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that infects food that has come into contact with human feces, most commonly when produce is irrigated or washed with contaminated water. When ingested, the parasite causes intestinal illness marked by “frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the CDC.

In 2026, cyclospora has sickened at least 1,645 people in the U.S. and hospitalized 141, according to the FDA and CDC. The agencies are investigating five separate clusters of illnesses, including the one traced to Taylor Farms.

FDA's acting commissioner, Kyle Diamantas, said health officials have continued to see new cases associated with the latest outbreak, including some as recent as last week.

“Which means it’s imperative for us to take action to ensure that contaminated product is not making its way to the market,” Diamantas explained.

As of Friday, foot traffic was down at a number of dining chains compared with the day-of-the-week averages between Jan. 1 and July 6, according to Placer.ai, which tracks people’s movements based on cellphone usage.

Taco Bell suffered the biggest drop — an 18.9% decline — after federal health officials named the chain in its investigation of the cyclosporiasis outbreak. Foot traffic fell 14.3% at Chopt, Placer.ai said. Both Chipotle and Panera Bread had close to a 7% drop in traffic, while Cava’s drop was less — at 4.2% — according to the firm.

Food safety investigators often cannot draw a direct biological connection between recalled produce and outbreaks of foodborne illness. Some common tests used to check for food poisoning have not been geared to detect cyclospora. Technicians aren’t able to grow the parasite in labs, making it hard to draw evidence from contaminated produce.

Instead, investigators draw conclusions based on accounts of what people ate, the proximity and timing of cases and other patterns.

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AP Business Writer Anne D'Innocenzio contributed from New York.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

The race for Texas’s senate seat is shaping up to be one the most expensive competitions in the nation. Democratic nominee James Talarico is setting records, raising more at this stage of the race than any Texas general-election candidate in the past decade and posting the largest quarterly haul of any active Senate race.

GOP nominee Ken Paxton is lagging behind, having raised less than a quarter of what his rival has since the start of the race. Despite his fundraising disadvantage, Paxton benefits from new rules on how national party committees can spend in coordination with candidates and, like many cash-strapped Republicans, is leaning heavily on fundraising in coordination with other candidates and party groups.

Here’s what you need to know

• How much have the candidates raised?
• How do they compare to past cycles?
• What kind of donations are they getting?
• Where are the contributions coming from?
• What about ad buys and outside spending?

How much have the candidates raised?

The campaigns of Talarico and Ken Paxton reported raking in $31.6 million and $9.3 million, respectively, in their last quarterly filing with the Federal Election Commission. Since the beginning of 2025, Talarico’s campaign has lapped Paxton’s several times over, raising a cumulative $72.0 million compared to $16.8 million by Paxton’s. 

The Democratic Senate nominee ended June with $23.3 million on hand, more than triple his GOP rival. Despite Paxton’s weaker fundraising performance, his campaign may have less to worry about after the Supreme Court struck down federal limits on how much political parties could spend in coordination with their candidates. 

While the ruling lets both parties spend without limit, Republicans are expected to benefit more, due to their stronger large-donor support at the national level. National party committees can accept up to $44,300 per year from an individual donor, compared with just $3,500 per election for candidate committees.

Through his principal campaign committee, Paxton raised $9.2 million since the start of his campaign. Additionally, $7.5 million was raised through his joint fundraising committees, which allow candidates to raise money alongside other candidates or organizations and split the dollars according to a predetermined formula. Talarico’s joint fundraising committees raised about $6 million, only about 8% of his total haul compared to about 45% of Paxton’s.

The use of joint fundraising committees has grown in recent years. In 2024, an FEC deadlock meant the fundraising vehicles could be used for buying ads without allocating their costs to candidates, effectively allowing some candidates or organizations to subsidize the campaigns of others. Republican candidates, who are often more strapped for cash, have taken advantage of this loophole more frequently.

How do they compare to past cycles?

Note: Fundraising includes dollars reported by candidates’ principal fundraising committees. Dollars are adjusted for inflation and reflect the latest dates covered by committee filings.

Compared to the same point in past cycles, Talarico has raised more than any other general election nominee in the previous decade. On the other hand, Paxton is falling behind his Republican predecessors.

While Democratic candidates significantly outperformed their Republican counterparts in 2018 and 2024 as well, that has yet to translate into a win for the challengers. In 2024, Colin Allred ended his campaign having raised nearly $21 million more than Ted Cruz and lost by 8.5 percentage points. Beto O’Rourke raised nearly $45 million more than Cruz in 2018 but still lost by 2.6 percentage points.

What kind of donations are they getting?

The Senate candidates are running in one of the country’s most anticipated elections, driving large hauls from individual donors. Neither candidate has received strong support from PACs. Talarico and Paxton have received just about $359,000 and $241,000 from PACs, respectively. The Senate hopefuls have relied on contributions from individual donors to fuel their war chests. 

Talarico’s campaign has shown strong small-donor fundraising. Of his total fundraising, 51% came from individuals who have contributed less than $200 over the course of the campaign. In contrast, 88% of Paxton’s contributions came from larger donors.

Where are the contributions coming from?

Contributions to the candidates were concentrated near the state’s largest cities. Talarico received the most from Travis County, where donors who contributed over $200 sent a combined $2.6 million to his campaign as of March 31, 2026. Paxton’s largest pull came from Dallas County where he raised about $1 million as of May 6, 2026, though Talarico still managed to outraise him there too.

Of the itemized contributions that went to Talarico and Paxton, about 59% and 83% came from within Texas, respectively. Of their out-of-state contributions, Talarico saw the most come from California and New York while Paxton received the most from Florida and Utah.

What about ad buys and outside spending?

Since the GOP runoff election on May 26, pro-Paxton advertisers have been relatively quiet. Meanwhile, Talarico’s campaign launched its largest ad push so far in the general election: a $4.4 million ad buy, according to AdImpact. The 30-second ad features the Democrat speaking about affordability while leaving a Red & White food store.

So far, the bulk of independent expenditures have been spent opposing Paxton leading up to the primary and GOP runoff. The largest spender was a pro-Cornyn super PAC named Texans for a Conservative Majority, which spent about $25 million opposing Paxton. The group has close ties to Trump’s inner circle and has purchased some of the race’s most expensive ads to attack Paxton. 

The GOP candidate’s largest outside support came from Lone Star Liberty PAC, which spent about $770,000 supporting Paxton and $200,000 opposing Talarico. The second largest spender supporting Paxton was Fellowship PAC, a crypto super PAC which spent $500,000.

Talarico has only been the target of about $763,000 in opposition spending. Leading up to the primary, about $4.1 million was spent supporting his candidacy, nearly $4 million of which came from Lone Star Rising PAC. The super PAC is Talarico’s largest outside spender and is backed by several billionaire donors.

The WTA updated its women’s eligibility policy to include gender screening “based on biological sex” this week “to preserve the integrity of women’s professional tennis and maintain fair competition conditions for all players.”

The new policy takes the organization in line with the eligibility policy introduced by the International Olympic Committee in March to align with U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order on sports ahead of the 2028 Games.

The WTA is complying with what is effectively an order from the IOC that Olympic sports bodies are following, though it remained unclear how many, if any, transgender women are competing at Games level.

Players are to be tested for the SRY gene, a segment of DNA typically found on the Y chromosome that initiates male sex development in utero and indicates the presence of testes.

“In this policy, ‘biological male’ means an individual who, regardless of their legal sex or gender identity, has an SRY gene and therefore has or previously had testes or streak testes; and ‘biological female’ means an individual who, regardless of their legal sex or gender identity, has no SRY gene and therefore has or previously had ovaries or streak ovaries.”

The WTA said the policy distinguishes between biological sex and gender identity, and that there is “no intent to disrespect or question the gender identity or the dignity of any person.”

The mandatory gender screening — already conducted by the governing bodies of track and field, skiing and boxing — has been criticized by human rights experts and activist groups.

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

The pilot, Kenneth Jouppi, sued to block his plane's seizure after he was convicted of an alcohol-related misdemeanor charge. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in the state's favor that Jouppi's plane was subject to criminal forfeiture laws.

On Monday, however, the nation's highest court agreed to hear Jouppi's case. He argues that taking his 1969 Cessna would violate the Eighth Amendment's “Excessive Fines Clause." Arguments are expected in the fall.

“I’m in my 80s now, and I’ve been fighting this for over a decade because I see it as my duty to ensure that the Bill of Rights actually means something in protecting against government overreach,” Jouppi said in a statement released by his attorneys at the Institute for Justice.

In April 2012, Jouppi was preparing to fly a passenger from Fairbanks to a remote village, Beaver, where alcohol was banned. The passenger had packed beer with other groceries in her luggage. State Police troopers searched Jouppi's plane before it departed and spotted a six-pack of Budweiser in a shopping bag.

Jouppi, his company and the passenger were charged with a misdemeanor offense of knowingly transporting an alcoholic beverage into a dry community. The passenger pleaded guilty. A jury convicted Jouppi and the company after a trial. A judge sentenced him to three days in jail.

Jouppi's attorneys say Alaska's high court examined his conduct “purely in abstract terms” and didn't evaluate whether it was part of a broader pattern of criminal activity. And they say it wasn't.

“Few excessive fines cases will present the issue so sharply; a decision upholding the forfeiture of an airplane for a six-pack is a self-recommending candidate for review,” lawyers from the Institute for Justice wrote in their appeal.

In response, lawyers from the Alaska Attorney General's office argued that the state Supreme Court's “fact-bound decision” should be allowed to stand.

“Courts across the country apply a multi-factor test to determine whether a fine or forfeiture is grossly disproportional to the gravity of the offense,” they wrote. “Jouppi does not claim that the four-part standard applied by the Alaska Supreme Court is wrong, only that the court misapplied settled law by giving too much weight to some factors and not enough weight to others.”

Jouppi's attorneys argue that the ruling from the state's highest court conflicts with case law established in other courts, including U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

“The Excessive Fines Clause was built for cases like this,” they said.

Alaska's attorneys said Jouppi hasn't shown how punishing him with forfeiture of his plane is “grossly disproportional to the gravity of his offense.”

“Alcohol abuse is a serious problem in rural Alaska, and airplanes are sometimes the only realistic means to commit the crime of alcohol importation,” they wrote.

For over an hour Sunday, Democratic U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico stood on stage and fielded questions and, at times, frustration from Black Texans at a majority-Black town hall in Houston.

“I’m voting for James Talarico, and I hope you do, too — but I want y’all to come and have the conversation with him today,” U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee, D-Houston, said in introducing Talarico. “Express the things that you’re excited about, the things you’re concerned about, because I happen to be one of those people who believes that, for far too long, the Democratic Party has taken Black folks for granted, and it’s important to me that he understand the issues that are facing us today.”

The stop was meant specifically as a forum for Black voters to press the state lawmaker on their priorities and reflected a recent spate of outreach efforts Talarico has undertaken to engage Black Texans. After an acrimonious primary in which he defeated U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a prominent Black elected official, the Austin Democrat has for months faced accusations online and among some elected leaders that he hasn’t done enough to court Black voters, who overwhelmingly went for Crockett.

On Sunday, Talarico answered by giving the crowd a rundown of his efforts to engage with the Black community and announcing a number: a pledge to spend $25 million on Black voter outreach, which he said was the largest such investment in modern Texas history.

“I’m committing to you here that we will be putting resources where our mouth is, and we’re going to be reaching out to these voters across the state so that we can win this race in November,” Talarico said. “I don’t want any Texan to vote for me just because they don’t like Ken Paxton. I want people to be excited about what we’re trying to do in this movement.”

For much of the event, attendees asked Talarico about his policy positions on voting rights, Black rural farmers, immigration and the Trump administration’s attack on diversity, equity and inclusion. They asked him about the Black representation on his campaign staff and how he planned to support down-ballot Democrats, particularly Black candidates.

While some rallygoers, including a handful of content creators in the audience who have helped drive the conversation around Talarico’s Black outreach, expressed skepticism of his campaign, many others pressed him on how he would earn Black voters’ trust while noting they were personally supportive of him.

“I am a Crockett supporter, but you sold me,” Earnest Babalola Goodrich, a local precinct chair, told Talarico. “But how are you gonna earn the militant Black Democratic vote? … Uncle Earnie does support you, but I want to see more. I want you to earn that hard vote.”

In his opening remarks, Talarico acknowledged Menefee’s sentiment and the reality that, for a Democrat, “there is no way to win Texas without showing up for, investing in and listening to Black communities across this state.”

“The congressman spoke a hard truth that for too long, the Democratic Party has taken Black voters for granted, assumed that Black folks here in Texas and around the country are just going to show up and vote for any Democratic candidate, and we know that’s not true,” Talarico said.

But disappointment with his campaign burst into view toward the end of the town hall, when his staff noted they had time for one more question, roughly 45 minutes into the question and answer portion of his appearance. Talarico said he would stick around to chat with anyone who had outstanding questions through the end of the photo line, and took additional questions on stage for another 20 minutes.

Kandice Webber, 50, a Houston nurse and political content creator, interjected, shouting that she had driven 45 minutes to be at the town hall and demanding that Talarico answer any remaining questions.

“Black people don’t trust you for this reason,” Webber said to a mix of scattered applause and disapproving murmurs from the audience. “And you cannot win without us, so you stay here and you answer our questions — or you suffer the consequences.”

Talarico responded that he was “happy to engage.”

“This is what this conversation’s supposed to be about,” he said. “So, one, I want to thank you for your honesty and for being willing to speak your truth to me as a candidate and us as a campaign. I talked a little bit earlier about my desire to earn the trust of every Black Texan. This is not the end of a conversation. This is the beginning of a conversation.”

In an interview after the event, Webber accused Talarico of being a “Teach for America plant” who wanted to “privatize” public schools. She said she wanted to see him back a moratorium on charter schools across the country and to sit with everyday parents of children in public schools.

Talarico spent two years teaching middle school through Teach for America, a national education nonprofit that recruits and trains people who commit to teaching for at least two years in high-needs schools around the country. As a state lawmaker, he’s been a leading advocate for public education, pushing to increase public school funding and opposing Gov. Greg Abbott’s private school voucher program. He took heat during the Democratic primary for his prior campaign support from a group called Charter Schools Now PAC.

U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey of Fort Worth praised Talarico for taking questions at the town hall and emphasized that Webber’s pushback didn’t necessarily represent everyone’s views there.

“[Y]ou will never, nor should you ever, make everyone happy,” Veasey wrote on X. “And, you never know who the one person might have been.”

Webber later posted a video on social media in which she said “real Black folks” were going to sit the election out to teach “white moderates” a lesson about earning the support of Black voters. She said she would prefer Paxton, Talarico’s GOP opponent, winning the Senate seat over Talarico trying to “instill your great white hope in my motherfucking people and watch you let us down.” Paxton, she argued, would have less power “to terrorize and torture Black Texas voters and Texas children” as a senator than he does as attorney general.

“I’m not fixing to let your white moderates win,” Webber said. “Because in 2028, we need to elect a new motherfucking president. And if you white moderates and you lowly ass fucking candidates like James Talarico keep pulling your shit, we’re going to end up with another fucking Trump.”

At the town hall, Talarico highlighted his efforts to earn Black support, including recent interviews he’s done with Black media such as Houston’s 93.7 The Beat and UrbanView; stops he’s made at Black churches and historically Black universities; and endorsements he’s picked up from Crockett and groups like the Texas Organizing Project, which works to mobilize Black and Latino voters. He also noted his policy positions to address rising everyday costs, healthcare access, early childhood education, voting rights and maternal mortality, which disproportionately impacts Black women.

Several Black elected officials attended the town hall in support of Talarico, including Menefee, Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, Houston Mayor Pro Tem Martha Castex-Tatum and state Reps. Alma Allen, Christian Manuel, Ron Reynolds and Lauren Ashley Simmons.

“It’s time for us to unite behind a fighter — he’s a Bible thumper, but he knows how to do a little punching, too,” Simmons said on stage. “I supported my soror Congresswoman Crockett. But like I said, primaries are family fights. So we licked our wounds on Tuesday, and then Wednesday we woke up ready for war.”

Recent public polling found that 80% of likely Black voters planned to support Talarico over Paxton in November. At this point in their respective election cycles in 2018 and 2024, Democratic U.S. Senate nominees Beto O’Rourke and Colin Allred both polled below 50% among Black voters — and both ultimately won roughly 90% of the group. Still, Democrats are concerned less with the prospect of Black voters defecting to Paxton than with the risk of too many staying home or skipping the Senate race on their ballots.

Juli McShay, another Houston content creator, asked Talarico to “rebuke” online supporters whom she accused of harassing Crockett and other Black political influencers who were not yet fully in his camp, and she pressed him on what she described as a monthslong delay in outreach Talarico had committed to doing in Houston.

Talarico said his campaign was laying the groundwork to continue ramping up its activities in the coming months, and he asked McShay and others to continue holding him accountable. Then he repeated a defense of Crockett he has made several times throughout his campaign.

“Let me say this as clearly as I possibly can: If you claim to be my supporter, if you claim to be a part of this movement that we are building, please keep Congresswoman Crockett’s name out of your mouth,” Talarico said. “The congresswoman has been incredibly helpful. She’s done more than she needed to do, and so I am demanding that anyone who claims to be a supporter of mine anywhere treat the congresswoman with the respect that she has earned.”

State Rep. Jolanda Jones, who has criticized Talarico’s Black outreach and accused him of being “unwilling” to reach out to her directly and “have a substantive conversation” about earning support from Black Texans, said on X after the town hall that she invited Talarico to a “listening event” on Tuesday called “The Road to Blue Goes Through Black.”

In response to an audience question about whether he had returned Jones’ calls, Talarico said they had spoken over the phone, but he acknowledged that it was taking him too long to return messages from fellow elected officials.

“The amount of incoming has been a lot, and I am doing my best to make sure that I’m returning calls as fast as possible,” he said, adding that his campaign team had developed a system to track and return such calls. “There’s no way for any one candidate to truly represent the diversity of the state. You have to have a team and not just of staff … but also a team of local elected officials, community leaders, faith leaders — and we’re building out that extended team.”

Video replays showed several players involved in a scuffle, including Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes.

He appeared to shove Spain's Eric Garcia by the throat. When Spain substitute Gavi jumped in to intervene, Paredes pushed him to the ground.

Spain captain Rodri also seemed to be hit in the stomach by Argentina defender Nahuel Molina as he ran past to join teammates celebrating the title win.

Molina later crowded Rodri, who was the target of a verbal confrontation by his former Manchester City teammate Nicolas Otamendi.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni and other players rushed in to deescalate the situation.

FIFA said in a statement its “disciplinary committee has appointed a Disciplinary and Ethics Prosecutor to investigate potential breaches of the (FIFA disciplinary code) with regard to the post-match incidents.”

The brief statement gave no timetable for an investigation and did not name Paredes, who was not shown a red card after the game yet could face a suspension.

Spain needed extra time to win Sunday’s final 1-0 after Argentina was reduced to 10 men. Enzo Fernandez was sent off with a second yellow card in stoppage time at the end of 90 minutes.

The Argentina players stood facing their fans, with their backs to the podium, when Spain’s squad lifted the trophy. It was an unusual show of disrespect to the new champions, who had given their opponents a guard of honor to collect their medals.

___

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Speaking outside 10 Downing St. minutes after being formally appointed by King Charles III, Burnham pledged to ease the cost of living for ordinary people, decentralize political power, revitalize industry and end street sleeping by homeless people. He said he would deliver a “circuit breaker” for a system that has taken wrong turns since the 1980s, when public services and utilities were privatized and local government eroded.

“We will take power out of here and carry it into every postcode in the land so that they can do more and in doing more, build a new economy where we put life’s essentials back under stronger public control to make them affordable to you again,” he said.

Burnham said he was “acutely conscious” of the political revolving door he was walking through.

“This is a moment for reflection and new resolution,” he said. “It requires my generation of politicians to raise our game and rise to the new challenge. Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again, and that is our challenge to make politics work, to make it work better.”

One of Burnham's biggest tasks on his first day was to appoint a Cabinet. The key post of chancellor of the exchequer went to John Healey, the former defense secretary who quit the previous government a few weeks ago over funding plans for his department. His appointment as Treasury chief was a surprise.

Healey replaces Rachel Reeves, the architect of much of the economic agenda of Burnham’s predecessor, Keir Starmer, as well as some of the missteps that ate away at his support. Others leaving the Cabinet included David Lammy, who was deputy prime minister.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband was given the role of foreign secretary. He replaces Yvette Cooper, who was appointed health secretary, a demotion but a hugely important post for the Labour Party's reelection prospects. Shabana Mahmood remains as home secretary. The full Cabinet meets Tuesday.

Party changed leaders in midterm

Burnham became the seventh U.K. prime minister since 2016 in a now well-rehearsed handover after replacing Starmer as leader of the center-left governing Labour Party on Friday. Starmer announced last month that he would resign.

Starmer left office just two years after winning a landslide election victory, forced out by his own party after a series of missteps and U-turns.

Britain’s parliamentary democracy allows governing parties to change leaders, and thus prime ministers, without the need for a general election. The next national poll does not have to be held until 2029, though Burnham can call one sooner if he wants.

Burnham was the only candidate in a contest to become the party’s new leader, securing nominations from 379 of the 403 Labour lawmakers in the House of Commons.

He will confront many of the same struggles as his predecessor: a sluggish economy, a cost-of-living crisis, overstretched public services, concerns about migration and foreign affairs that include wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

He will also try to navigate relations with U.S. President Donald Trump, who first warmed to, then soured on, Starmer. Burnham's office said the prime minister spoke to Trump on Monday afternoon and “underlined his commitment to defense and security.”

The new leader pledges a new style of politics

The former mayor of Greater Manchester previously pledged to make politics “less toxic,” improve living standards across the country and “bring back the hope we have all been missing.”

Burnham said he will set out a 10-year plan for Britain later this year. Before that, he will lay out first steps “to give people some breathing space now, some help with the cost of living.”

“And I will set out some of those measures starting tomorrow, including how we pay for them,” he said.

After his speech, he told reporters that he has “always taken a very prudent approach” to the economy in previous jobs, and will not take any economic risks now.

Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, said Labour had backed Burnham “to inject a sense of positivity, of hope, of purpose, a sense of direction.”

Burnham says “he is going to mark a big break, not just with Keir Starmer, but also with what he regards as four decades of the country going in the wrong direction,” Bale said. “But quite what that means in terms of concrete policies, in terms how much he’s going to spend and on what, and how much is going to tax ... we’re not sure yet.”

Starmer exits early but says his job was done

In the rapid-fire world of British political transitions, Burnham entered Downing Street only minutes after Starmer left.

“I go with good grace. I go with a smile, and I go proud of everything that we have achieved,” Starmer said before heading to Buckingham Palace to offer his resignation to the king. It was an offer the king “was graciously pleased to accept,” the palace said in a statement.

Starmer became Labour leader in 2020 after one of the party's worst election defeats, and he led Labour to a landslide victory four years later. But he was soon defeated by the challenges of governing.

“It has been the privilege of my life to serve you and this great country as prime minister,” Starmer said before leaving Downing Street, hand-in-hand with his wife, Victoria. “I am confident that Britain is now stronger and fairer than it was two years ago.”

___

Associated Press journalists Sylvia Hui, Pan Pylas and Danica Kirka contributed.

TEXARKANA — On Wednesday, a conglomeration of local, state and federal leaders came together at the first State of Lithium Symposium for the region to examine the future of lithium mining in Texas.

The U.S. depends primarily on foreign nations, such as China and Chile, to supply its lithium, which is used in everything from electric vehicle batteries to smartphones. The Smackover Formation, a deep well of salty water stretching from Texas to Florida, has a large store of lithium that has been known about for decades. However, only recently has technology evolved to extract it safely.

The symposium sought to educate leaders on the economic opportunities of mining on U.S. soil, the extraction technology and the environmental impacts of mining for lithium.

The symposium marked a turning point in regional interest and provided important talking points before lithium mining could even begin, such as job creation, local infrastructure development and partnerships between the communities and corporations.

“Our mission is to be the leading connector, convener, and community leader in the region,” Texarkana Chamber CEO Robin Hickerson told the Texas Tribune in an interview. “We really did all three of those things yesterday. We allowed people to connect, we gave them a place to convene, and we led the region in a very important conversation.”

Experts believe the formation has the potential to thrust the U.S. into the international competition for lithium production — in which the country is far behind — if it can be developed and harnessed correctly. East Texans, too, see the benefits that could result from increased lithium production, but not without some skepticism, especially as it pertains to water usage.

“Arkansas is ready to be a leader not just in lithium extraction, but in upstream and midstream manufacturing as well,” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during her opening speech. “What makes me so excited about the lithium industry is that they are committed to empowering a generation of Arkansans who will work in this industry, thrive in this industry, and one day lead in this industry.”

Lithium production has been growing across Texas’ northeast counties over the last three years. Arkansas is seen as ahead because of its longstanding work in other types of mineral production. Companies, such as clean-tech company EnergyX, ExxonMobil and Chevron have begun to explore the deposits further south in Texas using technology they say has made the process cleaner and more efficient.

“Lithium has always been here, what’s new is the technology and being able to access it in an environmentally responsible way,” said Dana Poindexter, the southwest regional manager for Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

A large pump is drilled thousands of feet below Earth’s surface, brine is sucked up, the lithium extracted and then the brine is reinjected near where it was found. EnergyX told the Texas Tribune in a previous interview that the brine is above the earth’s surface for less than 24 hours before it is reinjected. It shouldn’t impact local water supply and it shouldn’t be any more intrusive than current oil drilling is.

There are expansive economic opportunities that come with the creation of lithium mining plants. Executives at the symposium said it will take thousands of construction workers to build the plants and thousands for drilling then, once fully operational, a mine could rely on 300 or so people.

First, companies are testing out the extraction technology by running test plants. The one operated by EnergyX will be staffed by roughly 40 employees and that’s all it should need as the company tests the availability of lithium and its technology over the next year.

Poindexter also cautioned against getting too excited over the idea of an economic boom. She recommended a slow approach to lithium, creating steady jobs and building economies that partner with lithium extraction, rather than rely solely on it.

Leaders of Exxon and Chevron said they were exploring what the lithium economy looks like in Texas and considering carefully their next moves.

“Exxon Mobile decided to enter the lithium business four years ago. We evaluated opportunities across the world, and one of the reasons that we honed in on the Smackover in Arkansas and East Texas, was that the resource — the lithium concentration and the rock quality were spectacular,” said Matthew McCowan, U.S. lithium manager at ExxonMobil.

There are still some gray areas that need to be addressed, Hickerson said. Landowners came with questions about mineral rights and royalties and how the new mineral industry could work in their favor. And in Texas, there hasn’t been as much work to identify those details, Hickerson said.

“Lithium producers seem to be very happy with the structures in place in Arkansas and would like to see more structure in the state of Texas,” Hickerson said. “I don’t think it’s a negative thing. I don’t want to come across like I’m saying anything about Texas that’s negative. I think it’s just something that hasn’t happened yet, but you know I have full faith that it will.”

“They’re real,” Greg Sankey said Monday of talks with school presidents involving the SEC separating itself from the rest of the NCAA. “They’ve opined about the frustrations that bring them to the point of saying we should look at something significantly different.”

Sankey's 45-minute meeting with reporters to kick off SEC football media days detailed the several issues that college sports is trying to find solutions for: Congressional legislation, litigation stemming from the new five-year eligibility rule, the future of the College Football Playoff and an overall lack of transparency regarding name, image and likeness payments to players.

Sankey acknowledged the conference's unhappiness with the handling of all those issues, but also touted the league's 13 national championships won last season across a variety of sports as a key reason it's in no rush to move away from the current framework.

“There is meaning and value and I do think a national expectation that we participate in a national organization,” he said. “But that national organization must function in a healthy manner; otherwise, that simmering will continue”.

The SEC and Big Ten produced a 10-point paper about changes they would like to see to the Protect College Sports Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation in the Senate. The SEC and Big Ten are negotiating with lawmakers over potential tweaks.

Tennessee chancellor Donde Plowman, the chair of the SEC presidents, released a statement saying conference leaders “have provided feedback from the perspective of university leaders who are trying to navigate the current state of college athletics.”

The SEC argues the bill does not go far enough in limiting the possibility of lawsuits against conferences and schools, and also needs better language to preempt state laws in favor of a national one regarding the tens of millions in NIL payments now so common at the top of college sports.

Sankey called the rollout of the recent NCAA rule that rewrote eligibility standards and has induced lawsuits — players mainly get five years to play five seasons — “magnifies frustration" among some in the SEC. Plowman said the SEC “applauded” how transfers and eligibility were addressed in the Senate bill.

“That means student-athletes would not be able to transfer every year, putting their educations and team dynamics at risk — or toggle back and forth between professional teams and university teams with no intention of getting a degree,” she said.

The SEC remains the Power Four's only holdout over expanding the 12-team playoff to 24. Sankey said more research is needed, especially regarding “media interest” — likely shorthand for media rights interest — in adding more games.

There is also the underlying issue of what an expanded playoff would do to conference title games. Symbolic of the wide range of opinions on that topic, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said in his own media session that he favored conference play-in games to determine CFP spots and he doesn't think title games should be put on the chopping block.

“Throwing those away so you can get a bad matchup between 24 and 18 doesn't make sense to me,” Drinkwitz said.

Sankey said he also wants more transparency about who pays players and for what. Among the SEC's proposed changes to the Senate bill would be clearer guidelines for paying players, including “NIL, pay-for-play (which is not allowed), revenue sharing and other forms of compensation.”

The commissioner conceded that the SEC is not bent on getting its way regarding every issue that college sports is trying to solve. But as one of the biggest, richest and most influential leagues in a quickly changing business, it does want to lead the way.

“I think we do a better job now than has ever been done in college athletics,” Sankey said. “But we haven't achieved that level of stability as we go through change that's needed at this point.”

___

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

In a Facebook post, SAPD announced the arrests of Ebony Morales and Mark Rosas.

According to Bexar County court records, Morales, 21, and Rosas, 39, each face the following charges:

• aggravated robbery (first-degree felony)
• robbery (second-degree felony)

Three other suspects, identified as Cassidy Carmargo Barrera, 21, Destiny Lezzet Converse, 28, and Maria Victoria Gomez, 46, were also arrested in connection with the assault, court documents show.

SAPD: The victims wore Knicks gear

San Antonio police officers responded to the assault on June 13, at the intersection of Navarro Street and East Houston Street, according to an affidavit.

Both victims were wearing New York Knicks gear when the suspects confronted them, the warrant states.

Several bystanders used their cellphones to record the altercation. Barrera was seen on video assaulting the victims and stealing a Knicks fan’s hat, which she waved in the air after the assault, court documents show.

Barrera allegedly punched both of the victims in the head multiple times, which caused injuries to them both, according to an affidavit.

Barrera was identified as a suspect “by a third party” who was at the scene of the assault, according to the warrant.

The video also shows Barrera and the other suspects punching both victims and kicking one of them in the head, documents indicate.

Both Knicks fans suffered injuries that required hospitalization, officers said. Medical records show that one of the victims suffered an acute displaced fracture of their right orbital bone.

The suspects allegedly stole both of the victims’ hats and clothes they purchased from the NBA Finals game. The stolen merchandise is worth approximately $600, according to documents.

Read also:

• Knicks fan says father was ‘lying in a pool of his own blood’ after assault outside River Walk hotel
• Dead animal found in grease spill at East side restaurant

Joshua Kerry was charged after more than a week in custody on suspicion of murder and acts of terror. Police are continuing to investigate his motive, including a potential political or terrorist connection, prosecutors said.

The death of Widdecombe, 78, a former member of Parliament, shocked the British political world, where Widdecombe was a prominent voice for decades. She was a blunt-speaking character known for socially conservative views opposing abortion and the expansion of LGBTQ+ rights.

Police said they believe Widdecombe was attacked July 8. She failed to appear that afternoon for a scheduled TV interview and was found dead the next day in her isolated rural home in a southwest England village.

Police did not disclose a cause of death, saying only that she had sustained “serious injuries” in what they called a targeted and brutal attack.

“I want to make it very clear that our investigation into this individual, determining his motivations and any wider activity he may have been involved in is continuing," said Laurence Taylor, head of counter-terrorism policing.

“Given Ann Widdecombe’s profile and the targeted nature of the attack, determining the motivation, including any possible political motivation, remains an active avenue of investigation for our detectives," he said.

Taylor added that the investigation is intensive and complex, and detectives were working through more than 800 lines of inquiry.

Kerry was arrested July 11 in South Yorkshire county in northern England, more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) from the village of Haytor on the edge of Dartmoor National Park, where Widdecombe was found dead Thursday.

Kerry remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in Westminster Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

He was originally arrested on suspicion of murder, but after finding new evidence while he was custody, he was rearrested on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.

Widdecombe was in the House of Commons from 1987 to 2010, serving in roles including prisons minister in Prime Minister John Major’s 1990s Conservative government.

She found fame after leaving Parliament as a contestant on the reality television shows “Strictly Come Dancing” and “Celebrity Big Brother.”

She later joined the Brexit Party, briefly serving as a member of the European Parliament before Britain left the European Union in 2020. Most recently, she joined the anti-immigration Reform UK party, often appearing in the media as a spokesperson.

The killing has renewed concerns for politicians about security, which was tightened in the past decade after the murders of two serving members of Parliament. Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed in 2016 by a far-right extremist, and Conservative David Amess was stabbed in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group.

The demands came in a letter spearheaded by Maine's Independent Sen. Angus King, signed by 38 Democratic senators and sent to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE. The demands follow two deadly shootings in which ICE officers shot and killed immigrants in Houston and Maine.

The Associated Press reported last week that the ICE officer in Maine who opened fire and killed a man from Colombia had a history of violent behavior toward family members that was detailed in family court records.

His first ex-wife, Ashley Brouillette, told AP he was physically violent with her, including once throwing boiling water at her while she was holding their child.

His second ex-wife, Lucinda Brouillette, sent a statement over the weekend alleging “a persistent pattern of abuse, intimidation, manipulation, fear, and control.”

“Throughout our marriage and in the years that followed, I have feared for a long time that his anger, aggression, and escalating behavior would eventually result in severe, life threatening violence, and I often believed I would be the one on the receiving end of it,” she wrote.

Hundreds of pages of family court documents describe their turbulent marriage, and the years after. Lucinda Brouillette told the court he had stalked and harassed her and physically and verbally abused his daughter, according to multiple requests for temporary protection orders. Brouillette tackled his teenage daughter and smashed spaghetti in her hair, and during another outburst, he dragged his daughter around the house as she cried, she said.

“Dave needs counseling or something for his PTSD & depression,” she wrote in an application for a temporary protective order on behalf of his teenage daughter which a judge granted in 2021.

In court filings, David Brouillette said that his second ex-wife had slandered him.

Multiple family members told the AP the government should have never given him a gun, badge and the authority to patrol city streets as the Trump administration ramps up its mass deportation agenda.

The senators' letter on Monday listed new measures to increase accountability at the agency, including transparency about whether ICE considers records from family court of domestic violence or abuse when vetting new recruits.

"We remain supportive of removing dangerous convicted criminals from our communities, but this goal can and must be achieved without endangering these very communities in the process. By no stretch could either of the victims in Texas and Maine be characterized as ‘the worst of the worst,’ making these tragic deaths even more egregious," the senators wrote. “The American people deserve clarity and accountability.”

They said ICE should immediately start wearing uniforms or vests that clearly identify them as “ICE” instead of the more generic “POLICE” or “POLICE ICE.” Civil rights groups and advocates have often criticized ICE for not wearing uniforms or clear identification on their ballistics vests identifying them as deportation officers.

Senators also demanded to know what changes were being made to how officers conduct traffic stops and vehicle pursuits.

The shootings in Maine and Houston both involved ICE officers shooting at people who were in vehicles at the time. In the wake of the Maine shooting, Homeland Security temporarily stopped officers from conducting vehicle stops except in specific situations. But just a day later, after fierce criticism from some MAGA supporters, President Donald Trump said on social media that traffic stops should continue.

Homeland Security said last week that it was adding new training in crowd-control measures, high-risk vehicle stops, live-fire exercises and medical training, in response to what they called coordinated attacks against their officers and ICE facilities.

According to court records, Roman Pena, 35, is charged with one count of aggravated assault of a public servant.

The shooting happened around 5 p.m. on June 16 at an apartment complex near the 12000 block of Jones Maltsberger Road.

Four SWAT officers attempted to arrest Pena for an active felony warrant, according to an SAPD preliminary report.

The warrant was for a prohibited weapons charge, which stemmed from an incident on June 15.

When officers approached Pena, SAPD said that he pulled out a gun.

A SWAT officer and Pena were both shot, police said. They were taken to a local hospital for further treatment, SAPD stated.

San Antonio Police Chief McManus previously said he doesn’t believe either suffered life-threatening injuries.

SAPD identified the SWAT officer who was shot as Adel Mokrane. Police said Mokrane has been with the department for nine years.

Three other officers, identified as Nathan Bundy, Jose Sahagun and Brandon Pratt also shot back at Pena, according to police.

The officer’s years of service with the San Antonio Police Department range from eight to nine years.

As of Wednesday morning, Pena remains behind bars. Both charges combined for a total bond of $325,000, jail records show.

Read also:

• SAPD officer shot while serving warrant on North Side, police chief says

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7807 W Loop 1604 N Ste 2102, San Antonio, TX 78254

Box St. All Day is a San Antonio all-day brunch concept serving scratch-made dishes, specialty coffee, craft cocktails, and mimosas in a lively, neighborhood-friendly setting. The newest of their three Alamo City locations, this outpost in the Portico at Shaenfield Ranch brings the full Box St. experience to the far west side, with a full bar and a menu that spans sweet morning plates, savory sandwiches, and Tex-Mex inspired breakfast dishes.

The kitchen leans heavily on house-made components, starting with their signature milk bread — a rich, moist loaf baked in-house that serves as the base for their Strawberry Cheesecake French Toast. Their signature pancakes come topped with a house-made blueberry whipped butter and blueberry compote that makes the dish unforgettable. For the savory angle, the Breakfast Sandwich features the same milk bread alongside American cheese, two hashbrowns, a rosette egg, and spicy mayo. Rounding out our highlighted menu is the Blackened Chicken Club, dressed with guac spread, jammy tomatoes, pickles, applewood bacon, and sourdough bread.

SOUTH BARBECUE

2100 N Main Ave, San Antonio, TX 78212

South Barbecue offers a modern take on South Texas barbecue under the direction of James Beard-nominated pitmaster Andrew Samia. Located near downtown San Antonio, the restaurant has earned a strong reputation for smoked meats, flavorful sides, and a welcoming neighborhood atmosphere. The renovated Monte Vista space features a polished yet relaxed design with green booths, a full bar, and a pet-friendly patio that gives guests a comfortable place to enjoy barbecue throughout the day and into the evening.

The menu highlights classic Texas barbecue staples like brisket, pork ribs, turkey breast, and jalapeño cheddar sausage, alongside standout sides including creamed elote, borracho beans, and mustard potato salad. Unlike many traditional barbecue spots, South Barbecue stays open until 10 p.m., making it a convenient option for lunch, dinner, or late-night cravings. With its balance of quality smoked meats and modern comfort food, South Barbecue continues to stand out in San Antonio’s competitive barbecue scene.

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The three-time season champion had won at least one race in each of his previous 14 seasons racing in the NASCAR Cup Series entering this past weekend, the longest such streak among active drivers and just five behind the late Kyle Busch's record of 19.

He desperately wanted it to continue.

But as the weeks passed and the races came and went, Logano and the Team Penske No. 22 Ford team found themselves in search of speed — and their first victory of the 2026 season.

Twenty races, no wins.

Logano said doubt was beginning to creep in, as he found himself outside the cutline in the Chase for the Championship. (Only 16 drivers qualify for the playoffs, and he was 17th.)

As for winning a race? Well ...

“You start to wonder, am I going to have a chance this year to capitalize and (win) one?” Logano said.

Logano unstoppable at NWS

It turns out all Logano needed to regain his swagger was a trip to what he calls his “best track.”

Logano dominated the field Sunday night to extend his streak to 15 straight seasons with a win at North Wilkesboro Speedway, where he destroyed the competition in the All-Star race two years ago.

It ended a brutal drought of 45 starts without a win.

He was so unstoppable at the 0.625-mile track that all second-place finisher Denny Hamlin could do following the race was dab up Logano and congratulate him for masterfully navigating his way through lapped traffic.

Logano led 323 of 450 laps.

“It’s wildly impressive what he did,” Hamlin said.

Logano won every restart and simply pulled away from the pack, sometimes leading by more than five seconds. Hamlin offered a challenge late in the race, but the Cup points leader could never run Logano down.

Logano: It's been a tough year

Logano acknowledged it's been a tough year.

“Any time you kind of lack in speed, you start to question a lot of things around you, what the process is, what we’re doing, (even) yourself," Logano said. "All those things come to mind on why there’s not speed.”

But he has been around the pits long enough to know that stock car racing has its ebbs and flows given the changes to the cars and to the rules. Sometimes it feels like you're in a rocket ship and can't lose; other times you're stuck in the mud and can't buy a checkered flag.

This year — and for that matter, most of last year — it felt more like quicksand.

But Logano said his team never panicked and focused on finding a solution to its speed problem.

The strategy at North Wilkesboro: Don’t screw up

Logano was thrilled when NASCAR announced last year that North Wilkesboro would be added as a points race for first time in 30 years.

And why not? Nobody runs better here than him.

His crew seems to have mastered how to the set up the car through plenty of testing at the track, making things easier for him as a driver.

“I mean, when you have a car that fast, you kind of just make sure you don’t screw it up, right?” Logano said. “Don’t do anything dumb on pit road. Restarts, a little more conservative.”

Where does Logano go from here?

Now safely inside the playoff cutline, Logano hopes Sunday's win will serve as a springboard with five races left before the playoffs.

“The job’s not done,” Logano said. “We still want to win the championship. We got some great tracks coming up ahead of us, so there’s definitely a lot of confidence in that. That’s definitely real, that we feel like we can capitalize on it. We capitalized on it today.”

Logano isn't one to spend much time looking in the rearview mirror, reflecting on the trophies he's won.

His focus is always on the next race.

“You just keep grinding. I can’t say I’ve ever felt like, because of the things I did in the past, it’s going to guarantee success in the future," Logano said. "I don’t think that’s the right way to look at it.”

Logano's crew chief: Goal is to improve on 1 1/2-mile ovals

Crew chief Paul Wolfe knows the team's strength is short-track racing, and that's where Logano currently feels most comfortable in the No. 22.

Two of the next five races are at short tracks, so that's a bonus.

But in order to compete for a fourth championship, Wolfe acknowledged, he needs to figure out how to pick up speed at the mile-and-a-half ovals.

“We still have a lot of work to do to get the other style racetracks where they need to be, the ones we’ve obviously struggled on this year,” Wolfe said. “I think the first thing we need to do is make sure we execute on these weekends here leading up to the end of the regular season and score those points to at least give ourselves a shot.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/apf-AutoRacing

According to the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office, the robbery happened on May 7 in the 23000 block of Canyon Golf Road.

The sheriff’s office said three suspects forced their way into the home through the garage, held one victim at gunpoint and struck another victim with a handgun.

The suspects allegedly stole rifles, gaming consoles, a thermal optic, footwear and one of the victim’s trucks, which was later found nearby.

Investigators were able to identify several suspects after they traced the stolen thermal optic to a pawn shop, the sheriff’s office said.

“Search warrants and resulting arrests uncovered additional criminal activity,” the sheriff’s office said, including drug possession, stolen weapons and vehicle theft equipment.

The sheriff’s office said investigators determined the suspects acted together to plan and carry out the robbery, while others pawned off the stolen items.

The following people were arrested:

• Jaemaurices Jordan Mayes — aggravated robbery, engaging in organized crime
• Michael Jarome Randolph Jr. — aggravated Robbery, engaging in organized crime
• Roberto Carlos Bernal — aggravated robbery, engaging in organized crime
• Marquell Jovon Clay — aggravated robbery, engaging in organized crime
• Daquarius Esean Crockett — theft of property ($750–$2,500)
• Steve Monroe Pickens Jr. — theft of property ($750–$2,500)

Read also:

• SAPD: Masked, armed suspects rob credit union on Northeast Side, flee with ‘large amount’ of cash

Police in Tredyffrin Township, Pennsylvania, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia, were called to the home early Saturday for a report of a burglary in progress. When they arrived, they said the suspects had fled. The home was occupied at the time and no one was hurt, police said.

“Mr. Barkley and his family were not harmed during this incident,” police said in a news release. They released a photo of a white SUV, saying it may be involved in the break-in.

Police said they did not receive any other reports about break-ins in the area. Police were investigating the possibility that Barkley’s home was targeted.

The Chester County District Attorney's office is assisting in the investigation.

“We are asking the public to help us identify those responsible by checking any home security cameras for suspicious activity in the area” from early Saturday, the office said in a statement.

Police and the district attorney's office did not immediately respond to email and phone messages seeking comment Monday.

Phone messages seeking comment also were left with representatives of the Eagles and Barkley.

In May, Argentine police arrested two Chilean citizens suspected of being part of a transnational gang that orchestrated burglaries at the homes of well-known athletes, including stars from the NBA and NFL.

According to local police, the two were part of a crime ring that targeted the homes of prominent athletes in the U.S. and Argentina, including NFL stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce and former tennis player Juan Martín del Potro.

Targets also included the homes of NBA players Luka Doncic and Mike Conley Jr.

In 2024, the NFL issued a security alert to teams and the players’ union following the burglaries involving the homes of Mahomes and Kelce.

Barkley took a step back from his record-setting 2024 season when his 2,504 yards rushing in the regular season and playoffs were the most ever, as Philadelphia’s offense was less potent last season. He still managed to rush for 1,140 yards and scored nine total touchdowns.

“No one wins in a war like this,” the 76-year-old Zambada said through a Spanish-language translator in Brooklyn federal court. He apologized “for the harm I caused and for the example I set.” He urged future generations to “choose a different path.”

“If there’s one thing I can say that has value today, it’s this: the violence must end,” the Sinaloa cartel co-founder said. “In Mexico and elsewhere affected by this type of crime, too many lives are lost, too many families are destroyed, and too many young people are trapped in a cycle that leads only to prison or death.”

Violence was Zambada’s “tool for more than three decades when it benefited him,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Amir said.

Zambada ordered torture and plotted murders — including his own nephew’s killing — as the cartel flooded the U.S. with tons of cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine and other drugs, Amir said.

More than a million Americans died of overdoses during Zambada’s reign — many from drugs flowing from Mexico or the Sinaloa cartel, the prosecutor added.

Zambada’s punishment was guaranteed by his guilty plea last year to drug trafficking charges that carry a mandatory life sentence. He also faces $15 billion in financial penalties related to proceeds from the cartel’s crimes, but prosecutors said they haven’t been able to identify or recover any assets.

“The sentence here is kind of anticlimactic because I have no discretion,” Judge Brian M. Cogan said. “He is going to spend the rest of his days in prison. He accepts that.”

His sentencing was the culmination of the U.S. government’s yearslong fight to bring the long-elusive drug lord to justice. He was arrested in 2024 after he said he was kidnapped in Mexico and flown to Texas.

Zambada “spent nearly four decades poisoning American communities to make billions of dollars in profit and ordering the murders of anyone who stood in his way,” Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said. “Today, that chapter closes for good.”

Judge says Zambada should go to a prison hospital

Cogan, acting on a defense request, said he will recommend that Zambada serve his sentence at a federal prison hospital where he can be treated for what his lawyer described as a “complex of age-related health issues.”

The judge ordered Zambada’s medical records sealed from public view but said he suffers from a number of “progressive illnesses” and that his mental state is “drifting toward cognitively impaired,” Cogan said.

Judges often make recommendations about where inmates should serve time, but it’s up to the federal Bureau of Prisons to decide.

Zambada’s lawyer, Frank Perez, stressed in court on Monday that he wasn’t cooperating with prosecutors. But, in arguing to have him sent to a prison hospital, Perez contrasted Zambada’s guilty plea and Guzmán’s decision to go to trial — an 11-week ordeal that involved closing down the Brooklyn Bridge to shuttle him to and from court and jail.

In pleading guilty, Cogan said, Zambada “has spared us all an exercise that we all know would’ve been very difficult.”

Zambada, wearing a tan jail suit over an orange T-shirt, walked gingerly as deputy federal marshals escorted him to and from the courtroom, which was packed with drug enforcement agents and prosecution staff. The top federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, Miami and western Texas watched from the gallery.

At first, he said he had trouble hearing and understanding the courtroom translator and, through the translator, asked Cogan to speak slower. After an adjustment to his earpiece, Zambada indicated that he was able to follow along.

He read his remarks in Spanish from a piece of paper, coughed several times during the hearing and stared across the room, looking toward reporters and sketch artists in the jury box. He appeared to show no emotion as Cogan confirmed his sentence.

Zambada was the Sinaloa cartel’s strategist and dealmaker

Zambada was seen as the Sinaloa cartel’s strategist and dealmaker and was more involved in its day-to-day operations than his co-founder Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who was convicted in 2019 and is serving a life sentence at the federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado.

Zambada was arrested in July 2024 after, according to Perez, he was beaten, tied up, abducted and driven to a private plane by one of Guzmán’s sons, Joaquín Guzmán López. Their arrests touched off deadly fighting in Sinaloa that pitted Zambada’s loyalists against backers of Guzmán’s sons, dubbed the Chapitos, or “little Chapos.”

Zambada pleaded guilty in August 2025 to charges of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise and racketeering conspiracy, acknowledging culpability for 85 underlying crimes, after prosecutors said they wouldn’t seek the death penalty.

In pleading guilty, Zambada said that from 1980 until last year, he and his cartel were responsible for transporting at least 1.5 million kilograms (3.3 million pounds) of cocaine, “most of which went to the United States.” Zambada, the father of 16 children ranging in age from 6 to 55, said he first got into the drug trade as a marijuana grower in 1969 after leaving school with a sixth-grade education.

He acknowledged the scope of the Sinaloa operation, including underlings who built relationships with Colombian cocaine producers, oversaw importing cocaine to Mexico by boat and plane and smuggling the drug across the U.S.-Mexico border. He said the cartel raked in hundreds of millions of dollars a year and admitted that people working for him paid hefty bribes to Mexican officials “so they could operate freely.”

Months before his arrest, prosecutors said, Zambada ordered the killing of his nephew Eliseo Imperial Castro, also known as “Cheyo Antrax,” after learning that Castro was claiming to be collecting debts for Zambada and pocketing the money without Zambada’s permission.

In 2023, at least three people were killed in retaliatory violence that Zambada directed after a large cache of fentanyl pills, methamphetamine and cocaine was stolen from the cartel, prosecutors said.

“I grew up in an environment where violence and crime seemed normal, but now I know that’s no excuse,” Zambada said in court on Monday. “There comes a time when every person must take responsibility for their decisions. I didn’t, and many people paid the price.”

KSAT found the data after San Antonio police said a distracted driver died on June 8 following a rear-end collision with an 18-wheeler that had stopped in traffic along that part of the highway.

Hundreds of viewers commented on KSAT’s social media following the crash coverage, with construction and speeding emerging as the top concerns.

One Instagram user described the construction zone as dangerous and said they avoid the area whenever possible.

A crash map shows 154 crashes were reported near O’Connor Road in 2025 — the highest concentration along the entire highway. I-35 near Judson Road follows closely, with 138 crashes reported in the same period.

When asked about safety concerns, TxDOT officials responded in part:

“Safety is TxDOT’s top priority, and we urge drivers to slow down and stay alert in construction zones. I-35 is one of the most traveled corridors in the state and currently includes active work zones that require motorists to pay close attention.”

Officials added that the project team routinely inspects the corridor for potential safety improvements. TxDOT also said the I-35 Northeast Expansion Program continues to progress, and the agency appreciates the public’s patience as work to improve safety and mobility moves forward.

The anticipated completion date for the Central project is late 2027. The South Phase 1 project completion date is targeted for late 2028, according to TxDOT. There are still three other phases of the project that are under design.

You can read more about the I-35 NEX Program online.

His death was announced Monday by former club Newcastle, where he had been both a player and coach. Keegan revealed last month that he had stage four cancer.

“One of the most iconic, influential and deeply loved figures in our club’s history,” Newcastle said.

For a time in the 1970s, Keegan transcended the English game with his celebrity status.

Keegan, one of just four Englishmen to win the Ballon d’Or, wasn’t just a brilliant soccer player who dovetailed nimbleness and an eye for goal with a relentless hunger and work rate stemming from his working-class upbringing in northern England.

He was also a trendsetter off the field, through his haircut — a perm, which other footballers across Europe started to copy — and his move into celebrity culture that saw him release a single, appear in an after-shave ad with heavyweight boxing great Henry Cooper, and go on TV shows.

Keegan was also something of a trailblazer in his sport as one of the first English players to move to a continental team when he left Liverpool, where he’d just won the European Cup, for German club Hamburger SV in 1977.

“For Hamburg fans he will remain above all a crowd favorite, an exceptional player, and one of the best footballers ever to wear the rhombus (crest) on his chest,” the Bundesliga club said.

It was in Hamburg where Keegan won the Ballon d’Or — then called the European Footballer of the Year award — in 1978 and 1979 and featured in another European Cup final, a 1980 loss to Nottingham Forest.

Keegan scored 21 times in 63 games for England and played at the 1982 World Cup, his only appearance on soccer’s biggest stage after the country failed to qualify in 1974 and 1978.

Coaching career

His 16-year coaching career from 1992-2008 was memorable for almost leading Newcastle, the team where he retired as a player, to the Premier League title in 1995-96, only for a late-season collapse which included Keegan’s unforgettable outburst of “I’d love it if we beat them, love it” in a nod toward Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United — the eventual champion.

He then showed more vulnerability in a 20-month spell in charge of England in 1999 and 2000, during which the team failed to get out of its group at the 2000 European Championship before Keegan resigned after the first game of World Cup qualifying — a 1-0 home loss to Germany in the last game at the old Wembley Stadium.

He announced his departure to Football Association officials in an emotional chat in a toilet cubicle.

Born in Doncaster on Feb. 14, 1951, Keegan first played for fourth-tier Scunthorpe in the English league before joining Liverpool in 1971 and, under iconic manager Bill Shankly, immediately forging a strong on-field relationship with John Toshack in a “big man, little man” strike partnership.

Keegan, 5-feet-8 (1.73 meters) and affectionately nicknamed “Mighty Mouse,” fed off the knockdowns and presence of the tall and slender Toshack.

That combination propelled the Reds to an English league-UEFA Cup double in 1973, and Keegan won two more league titles (1976 and 1977), an FA Cup (1974), another UEFA Cup (1976) when he scored in both legs of the final against Club Brugge, and the big one — the European Cup in 1977 — in a trophy-laden stint at Anfield.

“His legacy at Liverpool will be forever etched in history,” the club said. “He was regarded as a hero wherever he went.”

In that 1977 final, Keegan won the penalty — given after he was fouled by Berti Vogts — that was converted by Phil Neal to seal a 3-1 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Hamburg heights

It was widely reported that Keegan then became European soccer’s highest-paid footballer when he joined Hamburg, whose players were initially resentful of the Englishman arriving on big money. He won them round and captured his first Ballon d’Or in 1978 — despite Hamburg only finishing 10th in the German league in his first season — and then helped the club win the title in 1979, with a reward being another Ballon d’Or.

“Hamburger SV will always cherish the memory of its former championship-winning player and two-time Ballon d’Or winner," the German club said.

Off the field, Keegan’s status soared. That year, he released “Head Over Heels in Love,” which finished higher in the singles’ charts in Germany (No. 10) than in England (No. 31), and opened up his home for a behind-the-scenes documentary following his life.

In his third season at Hamburg, the team lost the European Cup final and the Bundesliga to Bayern Munich, and Keegan returned to England with Southampton. There he was the English league’s top scorer with 30 goals in the 1981-82 season — his second and last at the club before moving to Newcastle, his father’s favorite team.

With his work rate and personality, Keegan was adored at St. James’ Park — setting the seed for his later coaching roles there — until he retired in the summer of 1984, though he did put his boots back on in 1985 for a couple of guest appearances for Australian team Blacktown in the Sydney suburbs.

England star

Keegan was a star player for England from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s, an underwhelming period for the national team when it failed to reach back-to-back World Cups (1974 and 1978) and the 1976 European Championship.

He was the captain for Euro 1980 when England didn’t get out of its group. His sole World Cup appearance came in the 1982 tournament, when he had a back problem and only came on as a second-half substitute in what proved to be the team’s final game.

In a coaching career that began in 1992, Keegan was regarded as tactically limited but a good man-manager — nowhere more so than in his first job at Newcastle, which he led out of the second tier and then almost to the Premier League title in the 1995-96 season.

In February, Newcastle led the league by 12 points and had picked up the nickname of “The Entertainers” under Keegan, but it collapsed in the run-in and was reeled in by Ferguson’s Man United.

In a post-match interview in the final weeks of the season, an emotional Keegan became unhappy at some comments from Ferguson — a master of the so-called “mind games” — and unleashed a finger-pointing outburst that ended with the words: “You can tell him now, we’re still fighting for this title. And he’s got to go to Middlesbrough and get something. And I’ll tell you ... honestly ... I will love it if we beat them, love it.”

Newcastle didn’t, finishing four points behind United in second place.

Either side of the England job, Keegan coached Fulham (1997-99) and Manchester City (2001-05). He also had another brief spell in charge of Newcastle in 2008, resigning after nine months following a breakdown in his relationship with club owner Mike Ashley.

Keegan never coached again but kept in the public eye with TV commentary work.

In early 2026, his family said he had been diagnosed with cancer, and Keegan himself said on stage at a live event a few months later that it was discovered when he had a scan for an operation following his involvement in a car crash.

“They said we have a top doctor with this new way of fighting what you have got, which is stage four cancer,” Keegan said. “He was a Liverpool supporter so I went to meet him. I knew I wouldn’t be walking alone.”

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

Burnham replaced the unpopular Keir Starmer, who announced his resignation to end a tenure of just two years in office.

Speaking outside 10 Downing St. minutes after being formally appointed by King Charles III, Burnham, 56, pledged to ease the cost of living for ordinary people, decentralize political power, revitalize industry and end street sleeping by homeless people.

Here is the latest:

Burnham gets to work forming his government

Andy Burnham is digging into his overflowing in-tray on his first day as Britain’s prime minister.

In the coming hours he will appoint his new Cabinet, after sweeping away several senior figures from Keir Starmer’s administration, including Treasury chief Rachel Reeves and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy.

And he says that on Tuesday he will announce the first of his plans to help people with the cost of living.

Burnham says fixing the care system is a must

Burnham says he “would not want to leave office” without improving Britain’s patchy access to social care for those who need it because of age, illness or disability.

It’s a pressing issue in a country with an aging population, and one that has foxed previous Labour and Conservative governments.

Burnham, who has firsthand experience of the issue because his father has Alzheimer’s, says there needs to be a “conversation with the public” about how to pay for long-term care. At present many people must spend all their savings and sell their property to pay for care.

Burnham told reporters that the status who is “not defensible. How many people have lost their homes and their savings in that time? We need to face it and fix it.”

Treasury chief and deputy prime minister announce they are not in Burnham’s government

Some of the government’s top ministers have announced they will not be serving in Burnham’s Cabinet.

David Lammy, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister, said on X that he “would have been proud to continue serving in Cabinet, but a new Prime Minister is entitled to build his own team.”

Rachel Reeves said it was the “privilege of my life” to serve as Treasury chief, and wished her successor luck.

Burnham is expected to announce his new Cabinet in coming hours.

Burnham says he won’t take economic risks

Andy Burnham says his top priority is easing the cost of living for ordinary people, but he won’t take any risks with the economy.

Britain’s new prime minister told reporters in the garden of 10 Downing St. that he will take economic measures “that people will feel and feel quite quickly” in their pocketbooks. He said “it won’t take all of the pressure off but it just shows the direction of travel and that we’re serious about helping them out.”

Burnham has said he’ll give more details on Tuesday.

He said that he has “always taken a very prudent approach” to the economy in previous jobs, and that will continue now he is leader. He says funding plans “will be clearly set out in our budget.”

Trump and Burnham have spoken

President Donald Trump has spoken to Burnham, the White House said Monday, without providing details.

It was one of Burnham’s first phone calls since he entered No.10 Downing Street.

Burnham, who has little foreign policy experience, has said that Britain will remain a firm United States ally.

Relations with the U.S. could depend on how he interacts with a Trump, who initially gave Starmer glowing reviews only to sour on him for not supporting his war with Iran.

Zelenskyy will have phone call with Burnham later Monday

Congratulating Burnham, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X that he was “looking forward to our conversation later today,” adding that the “foundation of our bilateral relations is stronger than ever, and we will continue to make each other stronger.”

Burnham’s predecessor, Keir Starmer, who stood down earlier, was a high-profile supporter of Ukraine in its war with Russia. He said he had provided the country with “political, defense, and values-based support.”

Burnham, who has very little foreign policy experience, has said he will continue to provide Ukraine with the support it needs.

Burnham says his father doesn’t know he is prime minister because of Alzheimer’s

In an interview with The Times published Sunday, Burnham revealed that his father’s illness meant he was not aware his son is taking the nation’s top job.

“That’s a sadness because he would be (proud),” Burnham was quoted as saying. “It’s a family achievement … although he doesn’t know it, it still makes me feel that we’ve kind of done something together.”

He added that he recently visited his dad in his care home, alongside his two brothers and his mother. Burnham’s father Roy was a longtime Labour supporter and was a big influence in setting him on the path to politics, according to the article.

Markets unfazed by orderly change in British prime minister

Financial markets, however, will assess Andy Burnham’s actions over the coming weeks and months to see if there is a marked change in economic direction.

There is growing speculation that Burnham will appoint the current home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, rather than Energy Secretary Ed Miliband. Many in the markets appear to have been spooked by the prospect of Miliband at the Treasury.

Any unease would likely be felt in the bond markets, where investors are already charging the U.K. higher interest rates than its peers for borrowing purposes. The U.K.’s public finances remain fragile and there’s not much room for higher spending unless Burnham raises taxes. However, Labour was elected on a manifesto pledge that it would not raise the key revenue-raising taxes, such as income tax.

Cabinet choices to reveal much about Burnham government

With Burnham now installed as prime minister, attention turns to his choices for Cabinet, particularly the key post of Treasury chief.

The appointment will be pivotal because the head of the Treasury Department, formally known as chancellor of the exchequer, controls tax and spending decisions.

Burnham’s choice will give clues about his plans as he faces the immense task of kick-starting a sluggish economy so that growing companies and increased output boost government revenue without raising taxes.

The decision has been considered finely balanced between Ed Miliband, the outgoing energy secretary, and Shabana Mahmood, the current home secretary.

While Miliband comes from the party’s left wing, Mahmoud is seen as more conservative and has the advantage of being something of a blank slate in terms of economic positions, allowing Burnham to fully take the lead on the economy.

The other top jobs are defense secretary, foreign secretary and home secretary, who controls immigration and policing.

Burnham says UK support for Ukraine is solid

Burnham says his first calls to foreign leaders will be to U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy,

Burnham has spent a decade as mayor of Greater Manchester and has little experience of international affairs.

A big question is how he will get along with Trump, the unpredictable leader of the U.K.’s closest ally.

Burnham says he wants to reassure Ukraine that “I will be with him 100%” and “Britain’s support is steadfast, it is resolute.”

The prime minister faces facts

One of the most solemn moments of Burnham’s first day will be the realization that he has the power to launch Britain’s nuclear missiles.

That will become clear when the U.K.’s top civil servant asks him to write “last resort letters” to the captains of the country’s four nuclear-armed submarines telling them what to do if the civilian leadership is wiped out by a nuclear attack.

It is a duty unique to Britain, where there is no “nuclear football,” the briefcase containing targeting data and launch codes that accompanies U.S. presidents wherever they go.

The letters are placed on each submarine inside safes that are to be opened only if their captains are certain Britain’s civilian leaders are dead.

The letters are destroyed unread when a new prime minister takes office. But it is believed there are four options: retaliate, don’t retaliate, use your own judgment, or put your weapons under the command of the U.S. or Australia.

Burnham outlines his policy priorities

In his first speech as prime minister, Burnham sketched out some of his priorities, though he offered no details and said he would set out some of the measures on Tuesday.

Burnham said he would decentralize power and help make essentials affordable again under the cost of living squeeze.

Burnham said he would back British industry and “reindustrialize Britain.”

He pledged to bring the welfare bill down and build more social housing, as well as be more supportive of the underfunded education system.

He also vowed to “end rough sleeping in this country,” referring to homeless people sleeping in the open.

EU chief congratulates Burnham

European Council President Antonio Costa congratulated Burnham on his new job.

“In the last two years EU-UK relations gained a new, positive momentum. I look forward to continuing to further deepen our cooperation for the benefit of our citizens and businesses, he said in a message on X.

“The United Kingdom and the European Union are stronger together,” he added.

The U.K. left the European Union after a referendum a decade ago.

Clap for the leader

Prime Minister Andy Burnham entered Downing Street regaled by the applause traditional for a new leader.

The first time a prime minister walks through the uber-polished door of 10 Downing St., household staff and civil servants by custom line the entrance and clap for the new leader and his senior team.

It is Burnham’s introduction to the people he will live and work with, most of whom served his predecessor only a few hours earlier.

Burnham gives first speech as UK prime minister

Prime Minister Andy Burnham says politicians “need to be better” in his first speech as Britain’s leader.

He is promising to deliver a “circuit breaker” for a system he says has taken wrong turns since the 1980s.

Burnham spoke outside 10 Downing St. minutes after he was formally asked to form a government by King Charles III.

In a break with tradition, Burnham ditched using a lectern, speaking in front of two microphones outside the famous shiny black door of the prime minister’s residence.

Prime ministers typically speak from a lectern clad with the royal crest that features a lion and a unicorn, the national animals, respectively, of England and Scotland.

Burnham wasn't even in Parliament a month ago

In order to challenge Starmer for the Labour Party’s leadership position, Burnham had to take a big political gamble.

He first had to win a seat in Parliament and then amass the necessary support to launch a bid to topple Starmer.

As internal pressure mounted in May for Starmer to resign, Josh Simons, the Labour lawmaker for the seat of Makerfield near Manchester, stepped down, triggering a special election.

It was no shoe-in.

The anti-immigration Reform UK party had recently devastated Labour in local elections in the area, which had led to calls for Starmer’s resignation.

The bet paid off for Burnham, who is well-known and popular in the area, and he breezed to victory when the votes were tallied June 19.

Dozens of Labour lawmakers cheered as he was sworn in June 22.

Starmer ultimately stepped down and Burnham faced no opposition in running to become party leader.

Burnham, known as a casual dresser, opts for formal attire

Dark T-shirts and dark jeans are typically part of the work uniform for Burnham, who is seen as a more relaxed and natural communicator compared to the buttoned-up Starmer.

But he changed out of his usual casual wear on Monday, donning a dark suit, white dress shirt and blue tie as he met King Charles III at Buckingham Palace to get the formal go-ahead to become prime minister.

Andy Burnham is Britain’s new prime minister

Andy Burnham has formally accepted an invitation from King Charles III to form a government.

Buckingham Palace has released a photo of the two men shaking hands. The ceremony known as “kissing hands” marks the transfer of power from former leader Keir Starmer to Burnham.

Burnham replaced Starmer as leader of the center-left governing Labour Party last week.

Why there is a change of prime minister without a general election

Burnham was chosen as Labour Party leader by 379 fellow lawmakers after Starmer said he was resigning. Because Labour holds a majority in government, its leader also becomes the U.K. prime minister.

Under Britain’s parliamentary democracy system, governing parties can change leaders midterm, with the winner becoming prime minister without the need for a general election. Prime ministers can be replaced if one has resigned as leader of their party, or been forced out by a leadership challenge.

It’s not unusual for British prime ministers to come to power without a broad election. In fact, four of the six British prime ministers in the past decade took the top job by winning internal party leadership contests to replace their predecessors, not by public vote.

Andy Burnham arrives at Buckingham Palace

Andy Burnham has arrived at Buckingham Palace to be appointed Britain’s new prime minister.

Burnham is set to meet King Charles III, who will ask him to form a government.

It comes soon after Keir Starmer went to the palace and formally resigned.

The king’s role harkens back to a time when the monarch exercised supreme power and chose a prime minister to run the government.

Today, the king has no political power, but the monarch still officially offers the job to the leader of the party that can command a majority in the House of Commons.

Starmer leaves Buckingham Palace

Starmer and his family left the palace privately.

While he was seen arriving in a chauffeured black car, helicopter footage did not show Starmer leaving.

Changing of the guard outside and in

The change of British leadership happening inside Buckingham Palace coincided with the changing of the guard outside.

With King Charles III accepting Starmer’s resignation as prime minister in the Chinese drawing room, the guards who protect the palace were changing shift.

The heavily choreographed ceremony draws thousands of tourists several days a week.

A military band in scarlet tunics and bearskin hats marched from the palace to be replaced by a fresh detachment.

The economy is the first item on the agenda

One of the biggest challenges facing Britain’s new prime minister is finding a way to kickstart the U.K.’s sluggish economy so that growing companies and increased output boost government revenue without raising taxes.

It’s a problem that has bedeviled every prime minister since the financial crisis of 2008. And their failure to solve it is part of the reason that Burnham is the U.K.’s eighth prime minister in the past 16 years.

The British economy has grown an average of less than 1.5% annually since 2009, compared with an annual average of 3% in the 15 years before the financial crisis.

While devising his economic plan, Burnham will be constrained by promises to reduce government debt, which now equals more than 95% of gross domestic product, the highest since the early 1960s, while not raising taxes on working people.

King accepts Starmer’s resignation at palace

King Charles III has accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Buckingham Palace said.

Starmer was accompanied by his wife, Victoria.

The palace said the king “was graciously pleased to accept” Starmer’s resignation.

Andy Burnham will soon head to the palace to get the king’s assent to become the next prime minister.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman scheduled the Sept. 28 trial date for David Hearn during a hearing on Monday. It was Hearn's second court appearance since a grand jury indicted him on a felony count of property destruction.

Hearn, who pleaded not guilty to the charge on July 9, has asked the court to dismiss the case. In a court filing, his attorneys argued the government has failed to properly preserve important physical evidence from the Reflecting Pool.

At least three other people have been charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the Reflecting Pool. The felony charge against Hearn, which accuses him of causing at least $1,000 in damage to the pool, carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years upon conviction.

Trump ordered the pool's renovation work ahead of the country’s 250th independence celebrations, but the project has been plagued by problems. Trump initially suggested that pool renovations would cost $1.5 million, but the cost of the project has exceeded $16 million.

Trump, a Republican, has claimed that vandals have damaged the pool, but administration critics attribute the problems to shoddy repair work. Hearn and his supporters claim his prosecution is a politically motivated attempt by the Trump administration to deflect blame and scapegoat him and others for their own failures.

Workers recently drained the pool again, prompting Hearn's attorneys to argue that the government was destroying evidence of his innocence.

“The Constitution simply does not permit the government to charge a man with destroying an object, retain exclusive custody of that object, and then drain, disturb, and alter the object before the defense may examine it, despite a written demand for its preservation. And yet that is what has happened here,” they wrote in their dismissal request.

Hearn, 67, previously told The Associated Press that he was detained by National Guard troops and U.S. Park Police for five hours after stopping by the pool during a bike ride on June 19. He said that he reached in to examine the pool's newly peeled coating and briefly touched a chunk attached to the side of the pool but that he obeyed a park worker who told him to let go of it.

Hearn, who's from Bethesda, Maryland, competed in three Summer Olympics, earning his best finish, ninth, at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee says on its website.

This year, 66 men and 40 women attended the three-day competition in Hayward that ended Saturday. They represented 16 states and nine countries.

Competitors take their gear seriously with custom-built chain saws, carefully sharpened axes and single buck saws that can cost upward of $400 just to sharpen.

Karolina Urbanová from the Czech Republic set world records in two events. She earned first place in the Women's Underhand Chop, cutting through 11 inches (27.9 centimeters) of white pine in 21.28 seconds. She also came in first in the Women's Standing Chop, cutting through 9 inches (22.8 centimeters) of white pine in 19.38 seconds.

Meredith Ingbretson of Hayward set a world record in the Women's Boom Run, sprinting across the water and back over eight red cedar logs in 13.78 seconds.

While women have been competing since the inaugural competition in 1960, the events they participate in have expanded significantly, organizers said. They started just competing in logrolling, and now participate in more than 20 timber sports events.

“When I started chopping I was chopping with the men,” said Nancy Zalewski, a competitor for 27 years who has trained others, including fellow participant Kate Witkowski.

The tradition of competition among lumberjacks began in the 1890s, according to the organization. The competition is held in the Lumberjack Bowl on the shores of Lake Hayward. In the past, the area had been a holding pond for log drives down the Namekagon River.

The lumberjack theme is ever-present with children in lumberjack socks, flannels and suspenders, and brands handing out blow-up axes and toy chain saws. Outside the competition bowl, there are wood-carving demonstrations, logrolling practice for kids, live music, food trucks and axe-themed events.

“The culture of it I think is really wonderful,” Witkowski said. “I don’t know any other sports where the athletes support each other like we do here because it’s such a niche sport and because the gear is so hard to come by that we’re all just trying to get better.”

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Schmidt 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.

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Associated Press reporter Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this story.

Officers responded to the crash just before 5 p.m. near the intersection of Porter Street and South Palmetto Street.

According to an SAPD preliminary report, the teen was riding a dirt bike northbound on South Palmetto Street before the collision.

The boy disregarded a stop sign and crashed into the VIA bus, officers said. He was later taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries.

A VIA Metropolitan Transit spokesperson confirmed with KSAT that one of its buses was involved in the incident.

The spokesperson said the boy struck the side of the bus as it was traveling through the intersection.

SAPD said its investigation remains ongoing.

Read also:

• Tubers reported missing on Frio River found safe; Officials warn river still dangerous

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

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

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

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

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

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

What is New World Screwworm?

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

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

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

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

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

Read more about the screwworm here.

The announcement on Monday followed investigations into former football coach Sherrone Moore's relationship with his executive assistant and a probe into the athletic department.

“The broader culture review has identified serious concerns that require immediate action," interim school president Domenico Grasso said.

Michigan won this year's men's basketball title and the 2023 national championship in football under Manuel, but that wasn't enough for him to keep his job. Grasso said he asked Manuel to remain in his role through the end of the year.

“I am happy President Grasso asked me to stay on to work with him to implement the recommendations for continuous improvement,” Manuel said in a statement released by the athletic department. “I promise everyone I will have more to say about my decision at the appropriate time.”

The storied athletic department has been in turmoil for years, with scandal-tinged headlines jarringly alongside general excellence across most of the school's 27 teams in Division I and the Wolverines annually among the best in the powerhouse Big Ten. It got worse last December, when Manuel fired Moore following a law firm's investigation into a relationship he had with a subordinate.

The school later chose to widen the look into the department. A law firm was paid about $12 million to do the work and it interviewed nearly 300 people, including coaches, staff members, athletes and other stakeholders. The school said more than 90 people shared information via a hotline and 20,000-plus documents were reviewed during the investigations.

The athletic department review found problems with leadership accountability, organizational structure and a culture that didn't make employees and athletes feel comfortable raising concerns.

“The culture assessment is sobering,” Grasso said. “As a great university, we simply must do better.”

The school said the investigation did not find widespread misconduct. It also said the investigations did not identify any current employee with direct evidence of Moore's relationship with his executive assistant.

The 58-year-old Manuel, who played football for the Wolverines under the late Bo Schembechler and was on the track team, was hired to lead the department in 2016. He signed a contract extension at Michigan in 2024 that was set to run through June 2030, paying him a base salary of $1.9 million a year with opportunities to make more with bonuses and merit.

He led a department with an annual budget of about $250 million, 29 teams, 950-plus athletes and about 400 staff members.

The Wolverines won the national championship in football under former coach Jim Harbaugh, who later left to lead the Los Angeles Chargers, as a sign-stealing scandal loomed over the program and Moore's tenure.

The program is on NCAA probation and has seen many former staffers have run-ins with the law, including Matt Weiss, who is charged with hacking into the computer accounts of thousands of college athletes to find intimate images.

Michigan won it all in men's basketball earlier this year with coach Dusty May, who left to lead the NBA's Dallas Mavericks. Michigan also won men's and women's gymnastics national titles with Manuel as AD.

The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame gave Manuel the John L. Toner Award in 2024, honoring him for demonstrating superior administrative abilities and dedication to college athletics, especially football. He represented Michigan and the Big Ten as member of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee and was chair during the 2004 season when the 12-team playoff format kicked off.

Manuel, who is from New Orleans, previously served as athletic director at UConn and Buffalo after working in Michigan's athletic department in various roles from 1996 to 2005.

Grasso said the school will conduct a national search for a new athletic director.

Potential candidates include three former Michigan athletes: Iowa Deputy Athletic Director Joe Parker, Big Ten Deputy Commissioner Diane Dietz and Katie Fraumann, a senior vice president at DePaul. Parker and Fraumann previously worked for Michigan's athletic department.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

The deaths were recorded out of the 2,344 cases confirmed as of Saturday, the health ministry said.

The Ebola outbreak that was declared in eastern Congo on May 15 is the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record. The Bundibugyo virus responsible for the outbreak is less common than others that cause Ebola disease, and there is no approved vaccine or treatment.

Ebola is highly contagious and can be transmitted to people from wild animals. It spreads in the human population through contact with bodily fluids such as vomit, blood or semen, and with contaminated surfaces and materials such as bedding and clothing. The disease is rare but severe and often fatal.

The surge in deaths comes as safety fears have restricted the response in the worst-affected province of Ituri. A total of five provinces have been affected, all in the eastern region where rebel violence is rampant.

At least 12 attacks — mostly fueled by skepticism and rumors — have been recorded against health facilities and teams since the outbreak was declared in mid-May, authorities said Saturday. Many health workers meanwhile have walked off their jobs as they protest lack of payment.

At least 36 health workers infected with the virus have died.

The World Health Organization last week expressed concerns that 80% of new Ebola cases were emerging from unknown chains of transmission, a sign the outbreak is spreading faster than health officials can track despite an expanding response.

In the more than two months since the outbreak started, it recorded an average increase of about 272 cases and 111 deaths per week, according to data from Congo’s Health Ministry. The data also show that the weekly increases accelerated over time, particularly in July, when both reported cases and deaths rose more rapidly than in the earlier weeks.

The ministry's latest update said in its latest update that 724 patients are currently in isolation and in hospitals, and that it is intensifying response efforts in affected health zones.

“Patient care and support capacities are consolidating, with 22 new recoveries recorded in 24 hours,” the ministry said.

The blitz came hours after Russia bombarded Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with ballistic missiles in a relentless cycle of tit-for-tat strikes that make a settlement to end Moscow’s more than 4-year-old all-out invasion appear a distant possibility.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said he would hold “key talks” Monday as he tries to defuse a domestic political crisis, after last week’s government reshuffle exposed a deep split between the military’s old guard and young innovators over how to fight the war.

Zelenskyy needs to reassure Ukrainians that sacrificing 35-year-old Mykhailo Fedorov as defense minister and keeping faith with 60-year-old Soviet-trained Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi as armed forces chief won’t derail the fight against Russia.

Days of street protests in favor of Fedorov and against Syrskyi followed Zelenskyy's move.

Ukraine hits another Russian oil depot

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said over 400 Ukrainian drones were sent toward the Russian capital from late Sunday until early Monday, with most downed far from the city and 85 intercepted near it.

Moscow regional Gov. Andrei Vorobyov said 10 people were wounded by Ukrainian drones, while several residential buildings and civilian infrastructure facilities were damaged.

The attack started a fire at the Yuzhnye Vrata industrial park, about 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of Moscow, according to Yevgeniya Khrustaleva, the head of the Domodedovo area of the Moscow region.

The Astra news outlet reported the assault also caused a fire at an oil depot in Podolsk, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Moscow, but there was no official confirmation of the strike.

Ukrainian forces hit logistics facilities and an oil depot in the Moscow region, Zelenskyy said, adding that Kyiv's forces hit two vessels belonging to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet transporting sanctioned oil and four dry cargo ships in the Black Sea.

A drone struck a passenger bus in Shebekino in Russia’s Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, killing five people — four women and a boy — and injuring 23 others, according to acting Gov. Alexander Shuvayev.

It was not possible to independently verify either side's claims.

Ukraine’s long-range drone technology has evolved during the war, posing a problem for Russia, whose huge land mass is hard to protect fully. Kyiv’s forces have aimed especially at Russian oil facilities, causing fuel shortages and embarrassing Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In May, the Russian Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 1,054 Ukrainian drones in a 24-hour period.

Russia uses ballistic missiles more frequently

As Kyiv pleads with foreign partners to supply it with sophisticated interceptors that can counter Russian ballistic missiles, which are much harder to stop than drones or cruise missiles, Moscow’s forces have sought to take advantage of the weaknesses in Ukraine’s air defenses.

Ballistic missiles fly faster than the speed of sound and can reach Kyiv in minutes, giving air defenses little time to react and civilians to reach shelter.

Russia has stepped up its use of ballistic missiles recently. Ukrainian officials said Sunday that Moscow's bombardment killed at least six people and wounded dozens.

“Russian forces have launched more ballistic missiles against Ukraine thus far in July than Russia reportedly produces each month,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said late Sunday.

“Russia appears to be dipping into its stockpiles to continue increasing the number of ballistic missiles it launches against Ukraine, as these missiles have a higher success rate than drones and cruise missiles,” it noted.

Ukraine’s air force said Russia fired two missiles and 94 long-range drones at Ukraine overnight. It said air defenses jammed or intercepted 81 drones, while nine drones and a missile caused damage at nine locations.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Monday its forces struck fuel tanks in the southern Ukrainian port of Odesa overnight.

A Russian strike on Pavlohrad in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region injured 13 people, according to military administration head Oleksandr Hanzha. Eleven people were hospitalized, including a 13-year-old girl, he added.

A cargo ship attack killed 10 sailors off Odesa

Ukraine’s Sea Ports Authority said a cargo vessel under the flag of the West African country of Guinea Bissau was hit by Russian forces on Sunday shortly after it left the port of Odesa, killing 10 of its crew, including five sailors from Syria. Eight people were rescued from the ship, which was carrying Ukrainian corn, it added.

Syria’s General Authority for Borders and Customs said it “strongly condemns the repeated attacks targeting commercial vessels with Syrian sailors and crews aboard in Ukrainian ports and nearby maritime areas in the Black Sea, and the resulting deaths and injuries among Syrian sailors.”

The Syrian statement did not mention Russia. Moscow has built relations with the new Syrian government since former President Bashar Assad was ousted in December 2024 in a rebel offensive led by now-interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa.

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AP reporter Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed.

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

But just as they move in to capture them, one of the football-size birds, with bright-orange bills and long legs, scampers into a coastal salt pond. The other briefly takes to the air, sending the team running across the mile-and-a-half-long (2.4-kilometer-long) beach in pursuit.

“There is a problem. They can fly,” Alan Kneidel, a senior conservation biologist with the environmental group Manomet Conservation Sciences, said as he watched the team go after the chicks.

Eventually, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists tracked down both birds. They bundled them each into white pillow cases and gingerly carried them to a sand dune where body measurements were taken and bands clipped onto their long, peach-colored legs.

Birds starting to recover

The banding in the 787-acre (318-hectare) Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge is part of a nationwide effort to restore the oystercatcher's population along the coasts of the Americas. The birds were largely wiped out in New England by the turn of the 20th century due to hunting and egg collecting but their numbers are rising.

About $10 million was raised over a decade and 35 coastal organizations in 16 states joined in the effort. Much of the campaign focused on educating beachgoers about the presence of the quirky birds known for their piercing calls and habit of using their razor sharp bills to crack open oysters and mussels. Measures were also implemented to protect their ground nesting sites from predators and pets on beaches, sand dunes, salt marshes or tide wrack deposits.

From 2008 to 2023, oystercatcher numbers increased by 45% along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Their recovery is especially significant, given a 2023 study found that most shorebird populations in North America were declining.

“It's amazing and it's a great conservation success story,” said Maureen Durkin, a federal wildlife biologist who led the banding effort and works at the Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

“It does really demonstrate how much you can accomplish when there is a dedicated group of partners that can come together and identify the needs of the species and implement conservation actions,” she said, adding that it also showed conserving imperiled species “is not easy and takes a sustained and committed effort.”

Targeting threats

Kneidel said a critical part of the conservation plan was determining that “chick survival was the big thing driving the declines.” Then, individually-tailored plans were drawn up from organizations in the American Oystercatcher Working Group, which was led by Manomet's Shiloh Schulte, a conservation biologist and field scientist who died last year in a helicopter crash in Alaska while on a mission to protect shorebirds. His initial aerial survey showed their numbers had declined by double-digits.

“At one site, it might be recreational disturbance, at another site it might be predators, at another site it might be sea level rise or loss of dune structure that’s causing overwash events that are causing nest failure,” Kneidel said as he walked along the rocky Moonstone Beach, the sky filled with squeaking, least terns.

On Martha’s Vineyard, a low-lying fence with chicken wire is installed seasonally at the entrance of a key breeding site for oystercatchers and other seabirds and shorebirds, which has kept skunks and raccoons that eat their eggs off the beach. Colorful signs have also been installed educating the public about oystercatchers.

Focused attention on oystercatchers

The birds also benefit from federal protections given to piping plovers, a threatened shorebird that nests in some of the same areas. During the nesting season of piping plovers, vehicles and dogs are limited or banned near beach nesting sites.

“With a little bit of focused effort and attention on this really charismatic bird, you can teach the public how to share the shore,” said Luanne Johnson, a wildlife biologist who founded the nonprofit BiodiversityWorks, one of the groups working on the oystercatcher's recovery. The island was the first place to have nesting oystercatchers in Massachusetts when they began to recover and has seen the numbers of breeding pairs increase 77% since 2009.

In South Carolina, nearly 30 breeding sites are roped off to protect nesting habitat. Georgia and North Carolina also rope off breeding sites along with trapping and euthanizing predators like foxes, raccoons and coyotes during breeding season.

“If you focus conservation efforts on a species, especially before it becomes endangered to the point that you’re considering listing, you can actually sort of head off trouble at the pass,” said Lindsay Addison, a coastal biologist with Audubon North Carolina, adding the state's breeding pairs have increased nearly 20% to 403. Some birds, like Dark Green 06 and Yellow 25, were banded as far back as 2004 and have become minor celebrities.

Ted Simons, a retired emeritus professor at North Carolina State University who began studying the birds on North Carolina’s Outer Banks in 1995, said their recovery was a testament to the species' resilience. He noted American oystercatchers have been found nesting on rooftops in the United States and other oystercatcher species in Europe are nesting in pastures and eating worms. One pair, he recalled, was found nesting in a bus station pothole in Iceland.

“If these were really highly specialized birds that needed an exact prescription for survival, that would have been harder,” Simons said. “But what we found is that these birds are incredibly adaptive.”

Climate change, weakened protections pose dangers

Despite their strong recovery, threats remain.

Chief among the dangers is climate change that has led to rising seas and erosion washing out oystercatcher nests. That has prompted states such as Georgia to build elevated nesting platforms of oystershells for the birds and use dredged material from shipping channels to create and maintain nesting islands. Along the Cape Fear River in North Carolina, Audubon is replenishing shell rakes — beds of old oyster shells where the oystercatchers nest.

“ Climate change, sea level rise, it’s a big challenge not only for oystercatchers but for all kinds of interests on the coast,” Addison said. “There’s going to be loss of habitat due to sea level rise so we have to make sure that we do what we can to provide the habitat that we can so they can get through this next bottleneck.”

There are also concerns that changes this month to the Endangered Species Act could impact nesting sites, especially where state protections are weak. Environmental groups, which sued Tuesday to block the changes, fear breeding grounds could be disturbed by everything from vehicle traffic to unchecked development.

The changes would allow oil and gas drilling, mining, logging and other development on critical wildlife habitats so long as the animals themselves aren’t killed or injured. Environmentalists warned the move could cause some species to go extinct by opening the door to habitat destruction.

“It's a direct attack on the protections that have allowed many of these shorebird species to recover,” Kneidel said.

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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.

In a news release, Kerr County said that offices within the courthouse will be relocated to other county-owned facilities this week, with hopes of reopening on Wednesday.

Offices not located in the courthouse will open on Monday as usual.

“We understand that, over the coming weeks and months, this may be confusing or disorienting for some members of the public when they need to find a specific office that has been relocated. But this was the best possible plan we could develop to deal with these circumstances,” said Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly.

Offices on the courthouse’s first floor, which include the county clerk’s office, the commissioners’ court office, the tax office and others, are expected to be relocated for one to two weeks, the release said.

Since the courthouse elevator was damaged, offices on the building’s second floor will also be switching locations. Officials estimate that the elevator could be repaired within a minimum of two months.

Offices in the courthouse’s lower level will be relocated for the longest duration since there was more than 6 feet of water in the building.

“While the building has been deemed structurally sound, the entire interior of the basement level will need to be cleared, reconstructed and re-equipped before those departments may return,” county officials said.

According to the release, the process to repair the lower level could take up to one year.

Click here to see where the displaced courthouse departments will now be located.

Read also:

• Northside Independent School District names interim superintendent

The police action came after thousands of demonstrators tried to breach security barricades surrounding the protest site in central New Delhi, marking one of the most serious confrontations in the movement’s campaign against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. Despite the crackdown, many protesters continued marching toward Parliament in small groups.

Cockroach Janta Party spokesperson Saurav Das accused authorities of “brutally cracking down” on “peaceful protesters.” Delhi Police said the march had not been authorized and that restrictions were needed to maintain law and order around Parliament during the monsoon session, which began Monday.

The crowd at Jantar Mantar, a designated site for protests just a few kilometers (miles) from Parliament, included students, professionals and families with young children. As the day progressed, the gathering spilled beyond the protest site, with demonstrators filling surrounding streets and roads.

Many carried backpacks with water and food, expecting a long day. Others waved Indian flags as chants against the education minister and Modi rippled through the growing crowd.

A satirical movement grows into a youth-led campaign

The Cockroach Janta Party emerged in May, after the Supreme Court chief justice compared some unemployed young people to “cockroaches” during an unrelated hearing. Supporters embraced the remark, turning it into a satirical movement that has attracted millions of followers on social media.

The movement has gained momentum after repeated leaks of high-stakes entrance exams for medical colleges and government jobs sparked public anger. It drew wider attention after police forcibly moved hunger-striking activist Sonam Wangchuk to the hospital on Saturday.

Protesters calling themselves “cockroaches” have camped at Jantar Mantar for the past month, with members of several student groups joining Wangchuk’s hunger strike. Thousands of supporters have also turned out at universities and rallies in other cities. They are demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, reforms to the examination system and compensation for the families of students who died by suicide following paper leaks.

Government outreach emerges amid a tense standoff

Senior leaders in Modi’s government have taken a hard line against the movement. Pradhan has accused the protesters of acting against the nation, while other ministers have acknowledged students’ concerns but insisted there is no need for talks or negotiations with the movement.

Though that appeared to shift Monday, when representatives of the movement held talks with Health Minister J.P. Nadda. It was the first apparent sign of government outreach to protest leaders, who sought to bring their demands directly to lawmakers, prompting authorities to tighten security around the complex.

CJP spokesperson Das, who met Nadda, said he presented the protesters’ demands, including the immediate resignation or removal of the education minister.

Separately, activist Wangchuk appealed for permission to temporarily leave the hospital and join the march.

In a handwritten note, he also said he would end his nearly three-week hunger strike only if the government took responsibility for failures in the education system and exam paper leaks, or if protesters were allowed to reach Parliament and lawmakers pledged to raise the issues in both Houses.

Protests pose a challenge to Modi’s government

The protests have become a rare public challenge to Modi’s Hindu nationalist government in its third term, drawing support from opposition parties, rights activists and some Bollywood celebrities. Protesters say space for dissent has shrunk under Modi, whose government has been criticized for suppressing public protests by jailing activists and, in some cases, using forceful police crackdowns.

Jyoti Rajput, a yoga teacher, said she joined the protests because “this rotten system refuses to take action.”

“It cannot see the pain of students, and that’s why so many people have joined this movement,” she said.

For many others the campaign has expanded into a broader protest over government accountability. Some said they were driven by frustration with what they see as a lack of transparency and responsiveness from elected leaders.

Sneha Eppili, a 26-year-old protester, said she joined the demonstration because she believes the government has a responsibility to answer their questions.

“I voted for this government, so I think it’s accountable to answer our questions. That’s the basic human right that I deserve,” she said.

Iran and some of the world’s most intractable conflicts will be high in the agenda of the annual talks held by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and hosted by the Philippines, the 11-nation bloc’s current chair.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov are among the attendees. Ukraine’s top diplomat, Andrii Sybiha, has been invited to attend a Friday ceremony commemorating a 1976 nonaggression treaty of ASEAN, but will not be participating in the ASEAN meetings attended by Lavrov and Rubio.

Rubio and Lavrov have not announced any plans to meet each other or Sybiha while they are in Manila.

Iran war is among ASEAN's top concerns

Southeast Asia, a bustling region of more than 680 million people, relies heavily on Middle East oil and gas and was severely hit by the global supply and price shocks sparked by the Iran war. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a national energy emergency in March to ensure the availability of fuel, food and other basic goods and prevent hoarding and profiteering.

ASEAN foreign ministers will first meet among themselves on Tuesday to discuss the renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran and threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway where roughly 20% of global oil supplies transited before the war.

“We underscored the importance of maintaining regional peace, stability and prosperity, upholding international law … including the need for a complete and immediate cessation of hostilities across all fronts in the Middle East,” the ministers said in a draft statement of concern, which was seen by The Associated Press.

“We acknowledged the further implications of the continued tensions in the Middle East on regional trade, energy and food security, including energy markets and supply chains, agricultural production," said the statement, which will be made public after their meeting.

The ministers “called for the restoration of the safe, unimpeded and continuous transit passage of vessels and aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz.”

Rubio meeting with ASEAN and Quad envoys

Rubio’s attendance in the ASEAN meetings was apparently aimed at dispelling concerns that the war in the Middle East would deter the U.S. from focusing on the Indo-Pacific, especially China’s actions in the disputed South China Sea and its pressure on Taiwan.

“The secretary’s visit advances a clear U.S. priority: a free and open Indo-Pacific that delivers safety, security and prosperity for the region and for the American people,” State Department spokesperson Thomas Pigott said in Washington.

Rubio is also expected to meet member of the Quad, which consists of the U.S., India, Japan and Australia, and is seen as a major component of the American strategy to counter China. It has been repeatedly criticized by Beijing as a U.S. scheme to contain its growing influence.

Myanmar's civil war and the South China Sea are among regional disputes

The foreign ministers have been under growing pressure to do more to help resolve the conflicts in their own region, primarily the civil war in Myanmar and the disputes in the South China Sea.

Since Myanmar's army wrested power from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2021, more than 8,100 people have been killed and nearly 22,500 remained in detention, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights-monitoring group.

A five-point peace plan issued by ASEAN leaders in 2021 has failed to end the violence, mainly due to non-compliance by its military-backed government. The bloc has banned the country’s leaders and foreign minister from attending its top-level meetings, including this week’s meetings in Manila.

In a bid to break the impasse, the foreign ministers, led by the Philippine' Theresa Lazaro, met their Myanmar counterpart for the first time in five years this month in Bangkok, where they renewed calls for an end to the violence and renewed efforts to foster dialogue.

Rights groups criticized the meeting, saying it effectively abandoned the bloc’s ban on engaging the country’s senior officials and rewarded the generals without extracting any concession.

“It was not and should not be mischaracterized as an abandonment of the five-point consensus,” Lazaro said, referring to the peace plan. “The path to peace can only be obtained through resolute diplomacy with all parties to the conflict.”

The ministers will meet Wang Yi in Manila to discuss the status of negotiations between China and the regional bloc on a proposed pact called a “code of conduct,” which aims to prevent territorial disputes in the South China Sea from spiraling out of control.

The territorial standoffs involve China, Taiwan and ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, but confrontations in the disputed waters have particularly spiked between Chinese and Philippine coast guard and naval forces in recent years.

In the summer months, those twin imperatives can make parents anxious. How long should kids be out? How do I know they're OK? What should I avoid?

Human-caused climate change is making heat waves longer, stronger and more widespread. Much of the U.S. sweltered last week under a heat dome.

That shift makes questions about keeping babies safe more pressing, said Dr. Katherine Williamson, a pediatrician with Rady Children's Health in Orange, California.

“We talk about drowning and choking with toddlers, and now we’re starting to add in heat,” she said. “It’s become something that’s more commonplace as a potential injury.”

Here is why children are more vulnerable to heat-related illnesses, and some do's and don’ts to keep them safe:

Regulating body temperature is a challenge

Children sweat less than adults and have a higher metabolism that makes them hot faster. In extreme heat, their higher surface area-to-mass ratio increases heat absorption.

Kids also tend to spend more time outdoors.

On hot days, parents need to be vigilant about the signs of heat illness. A lack of tears or regular wet diapers could indicate your baby is dehydrated. Parents should feed infants in smaller quantities more frequently to make sure they are getting enough fluid.

Though not necessarily signs of illness, fatigue and flushed skin likely mean your child needs a break to cool off. Williamson said increased irritability could also indicate your child is too hot.

Tips for keeping them safe

Avoid going out during the hottest parts of the day, dress kids in loose, light-colored clothing, apply sunscreen and make sure they are getting enough fluids. Water-rich fruits such as watermelon and strawberries are great snacks in the heat.

“If you’re hot, your baby sure is going to be hot,” said Dr. Debra Langlois, a pediatrician at the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.

Langlois said parents and other caregivers should limit the amount of time infants and toddlers are outside in hot weather, but she doesn’t advise remaining strictly indoors at any point.

Don't put blankets or other covers on a stroller

That advice seems counterintuitive. After all, doesn't it make sense to shield children from the sun?

But blankets and other coverings, even thin ones, prevent air from circulating and trap heat that can raise the temperature in the stroller. Instead, use a canopy for shade.

Williamson also advises parents to check metal parts that can heat up and burn children.

Don't leave kids in the car

Even in the shade and with open windows, car temperatures can rise dramatically in a short amount of time. In 2025, 31 children died of heat stroke in vehicles, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The agency recommends caregivers leave a purse or other personal item in the back seat, write a note or place a stuffed animal on the passenger seat to ensure they don't forget a child inside.

If you return to a parked car with your baby on a hot day, ensure the metal parts of the car seat are also not too hot. For extra comfort, use a sun shade to keep the interior cooler and turn on the air conditioning in advance.

To cool a hot car, experts recommend opening the windows for 10 to 20 seconds while running the air conditioning.

In order to truly appreciate it, we wanted to learn how to make it. We try out the interactive pizza-making class at Fife & Farro, where guests learn to craft authentic wood-fired pizzas alongside the restaurant’s chef team.

Our friends at Mi Familia are also kicking off something special - it’s their Tequila Week. We find out how they’re celebrating & try some dishes that pair perfectly with tequila.

Have you been doing all the right things but the scale isn’t moving? The issue could be something called “metabolic friction.” We chat with a doctor from My Optimal body who specializes in breaking through this barrier & help you drop the pounds.

The development highlighted challenges faced by Chinese AI models in serving a growing user base at home and abroad at a time the U.S.-China tech race is heating up.

Chinese open-source, lower-cost advanced AI models, including DeepSeek’s latest V4, have been moving fast in gaining global attention. In early 2025, DeepSeek shook world markets and helped China to be recognized as a serious competitor to the U.S., where Chinese frontier AI models are largely open source, meaning they are made accessible for people to examine and build upon.

“Kimi K3 has received far more love than we expected,” Moonshot AI, which is Beijing-based, wrote in a X post late on Sunday. “Over the past 48 hours, demand has pushed close to the limits of our current capacity.”

Moonshot said that it’s prioritizing existing subscribers and would be temporarily pausing new ones. “We’re adding capacity as fast as we can and will reopen new subscription spots in batches," it added. The AI startup also posted a similar message on Chinese social media.

K3’s public rollout late last week, aiming at challenging more advanced AI models by Anthropic,OpenAI and others, has rattled U.S. rivals. At 2.8 trillion parameters, a measurement of an AI model’s capabilities, it's deemed as the world’s largest open-source AI model.

“New model releases generally trigger massive interest, which can strain existing compute infrastructure,” said Lian Jye Su, a chief analyst at the technology research and advisory group Omdia. “This does show Moonshot AI does not have sufficient compute chips to serve the current surge in demand.”

Su said that the key reason was more likely due to Moonshot not fully anticipating the surge in K3’s popularity. K3 is “very demanding” in terms of compute requirements, he said, making compute allocation challenging and expensive.

By measure of front-end coding capability, a metric for AI models’ performances, Kimi K3 topped the chart of the major advanced AI models in rankings on Arena — an AI model evaluation platform — after its public release.

K3’s release has also put pressure on stocks of American technology titans on worries that more affordable Chinese AI models may undercut the pricing power and demand at the U.S. AI companies, even as U.S.-led restrictions have already barred China from accessing some of the world’s advanced technologies, including the most cutting-edge chips.

K3 is one of the latest new Chinese AI models coming out that have drawn strong global reactions.

Over the weekend, China’s Alibaba also previewed its latest Qwen3.8 Max AI model, which the tech giant said had 2.4 trillion parameters as one of the world’s most powerful models and was second only to Anthropic’s Fable 5. Last month, Chinese startup Zhipu, or Z.ai, also rolled out its GLM-5.2 model, which saw rapid adoption across the world.

Now they'll take on another streaking AL East team as the race for postseason spots begins to simmer.

The Red Sox completed a sweep of division-leading Tampa Bay on Sunday, extending their run to 13 games without a loss. The franchise record is 15 straight wins in 1946. Boston will have a chance to break that this week against a Baltimore team that arrives at Fenway Park on a seven-game winning streak of its own.

With the Aug. 3 trade deadline drawing ever closer, teams on the bubble between buying and selling might make their decisions based on what happens over the next week or so. The Red Sox (50-48) have crept above .500 and now occupy the American League's third wild card. Cleveland, which holds the second wild card, is only a game ahead of Boston.

Seattle is a game behind the Red Sox, and then it's another game back to the Orioles, who took three in a row in Houston. That sweep knocked the Astros to 4 1/2 games behind a playoff spot.

The good news for Houston is that it has more than one path to the postseason. The Astros are actually closer (four games) to the lead in the AL West than they are to a wild card.

Detroit is in a similar spot, and plenty of teams around the league will be watching how the Tigers approach the deadline with star pitcher Tarik Skubal. Detroit is 4 1/2 games out of a wild card, but also just 6 1/2 behind the AL Central-leading White Sox.

Trivia time

The American League beat the National League 4-0 on Tuesday night, and Cody Bellinger became the fourth member of the New York Yankees to win All-Star MVP honors. Who were the other three? (Hint: The All-Star MVP debuted in 1962.)

Performance of the week

Hunter Goodman homered three times in Colorado's 9-6 loss to Cincinnati on Sunday. It was the second three-homer game for him in under a month. He also did it at Minnesota on June 27.

He's the first player in Rockies history — which includes plenty of homers — to hit three twice in the same season.

Comeback of the week

Arizona beat St. Louis 8-7 in 10 innings Sunday in a game the Diamondbacks trailed 7-0 in the sixth inning.

The Cardinals allowed two bases-loaded walks during Arizona's three-run sixth. Geraldo Perdomo hit a two-run inside-the-park home run an inning later. A two-run homer by Nolan Arenado tied it in the eighth.

Then St. Louis blundered its way to a scoreless top of the 10th. With men on first and third and nobody out, Jordan Walker hit a broken bat flare to Perdomo at shortstop, who charged the ball and caught it on the fly. Bryan Torres, apparently worried about the ball hitting the ground in front of Walker, was too far off first and got doubled off.

Max Kepler's hit in the bottom of the 10th won it. Arizona's win probability in the sixth was as low as 1.5% according to Baseball Savant. That makes the Diamondbacks' playoff chances — 27.4% according to FanGraphs — seem promising by comparison. Arizona is a half-game behind the Cardinals for the National League's final wild card.

Trivia answer

Giancarlo Stanton in 2022, Mariano Rivera in 2013 and Derek Jeter in 2000.

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

Texas leads the nation in exports of semiconductor chips, the small pieces that form the building blocks of all modern electronics, and the industry is currently experiencing a boom.

“It seems unprecedented relative to what I have seen since I got into the business in 1998,” said Steve Putna, director of Texas A&M’s Semiconductor Institute. “I think this ecosystem has been significantly replenished as a result of all the incentive funding we’ve seen.”

Federal investment and the flurry of data centers being built in Texas and across the country have expanded the industry even more.

In recent months, a series of new or expanded semiconductor fabrication plants, or “fabs,” have begun operating or been announced in the Lone Star State, including the launch of Texas Instruments’ $40 billion semiconductor facility in Sherman late last year, Nvidia and Winstrom Corporation’s plans for two facilities in north Fort Worth and Elon Musk’s massive “Terafab” semiconductor megafacility proposed in Grimes County.

There are currently a total of 57 individual semiconductor facilities in the state, representing more than 47,000 workers across semiconductor fabrication plants, materials manufacturing and research and development, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.

The semiconductor institute, which broke ground on a $226 million research and development facility in Bryan in April, is part of the state’s $1.5 billion Texas CHIPS Act, passed in 2023, to incentivize new semiconductor manufacturing in Texas as well as the research and workforce development that goes into it at the state’s universities. From the law, Texas A&M University received the funding for the center and the University of Texas at Austin received $440 million for its own research and development center.

State leaders used the rest — $698.3 million — to create the Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund, which provides grants to companies seeking to build new or expand semiconductor manufacturing and design projects in the state. That fund rose to nearly $950 million after the Legislature appropriated an additional $250 million last year.

Since its creation, the fund has paid out $512.3 million in grants to 29 separate projects, totaling $9.3 billion in capital investment in Texas, according to Gov. Greg Abbott’s office. Those projects will create 2,689 direct jobs, according to the Governor’s Office.

“Texas is where the integrated circuit was born and where the future is forged,” Abbott said in a statement earlier this month, after announcing a $33.6 million grant for Texas Instruments to expand their semiconductor wafer fab in Richardson. Abbott was referencing the invention of the integrated circuit, or the earliest version of the microchip, by Texas Instruments in 1958.

A further eight innovation fund grants have been announced since the start of April across the state. A majority of the TSIF grants have gone to companies planning to operate in Central Texas, according to the Governor’s Office.

The U.S. was once the world leader in semiconductor manufacturing, producing about 40% of the world’s supply, but that share of the market has dropped to about 10% after companies sought cheaper labor overseas, primarily in Taiwan and South Korea, for the most advanced microchips.

The rapid growth of the industry is considered essential for U.S. national security by state and federal officials concerned with the nation’s dependence on foreign semiconductor manufacturing for the chips that power everyday electronics like cell phones and washing machines all the way up to the latest weapons in use by the Pentagon, Putna said.

Amid the global computer chip shortage during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, President Joe Biden signed the federal CHIPS and Science Act three years ago, allocating $52 billion to spur semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. The law sought to encourage private investment by offering subsidies for companies that build new or expand manufacturing facilities, as well as investing in new research and development projects.

“That supply chain and the vulnerability of the Indo-Pacific to a potential military conflict and what impact that would have on our economy and national security is what got my got my attention,” said U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and one of the lead negotiators of the law in the Senate. “We’re just a good place to do business in Texas, and we make it easier, not harder. And I think that’s been another reason why we’ve been a leader in this industry.”

At the time the law was signed, Texas already had a robust ecosystem of chip manufacturing and research, and the Legislature sought to capitalize on that with the Texas CHIPS Act in 2023.

Cornyn credited the federal government’s investment and the additional money from state lawmakers for the recent wave of new semiconductor facility announcements in Texas.

While the federal law pumped billions of dollars of investment into the industry, workforce development and training was considered necessary to support that growth, Putna said, which led to the creation of the research facilities at Texas A&M and UT Austin.

The facilities at both universities do not aim to manufacture chips for commercialization; instead, they will focus on piloting new products that meet market standards and training the future technicians, engineers and leaders of the industry, Putna said. The universities work with semiconductor companies on what to teach students to prepare them for working in the business.

The growth is unlikely to stop any time soon. Recent announcements by Nvidia and LITREON are primarily driven by the growth of AI and demand for semiconductor chips to fuel that industry, Putna said.

Texas is on the front line of the data center buildout driving the need for semiconductor chips. The state currently has the second most data centers in the country and will soon be the top market for the centers. The servers stored inside a data center use microchips to power their operations.

“The demand curb is not abating,” Putna said. “That’s always a risk, that you overbuild and demand drops. Some of the (stock) prices of these companies just seem ridiculous, but the end demand is so strong you can actually justify it.”

Cornyn said he does not believe more federal subsidies are on the way any time soon, given the national debt, but the industry’s growth will continue, largely driven by AI and the federal government’s need for semiconductor chips built in the U.S.

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

The supersized tournament delivered thrilling action on the field, with upsets, dramatic comebacks, spectacular goals and standout performances by the biggest stars of the game.

It also generated controversy, from political tensions surrounding Iran’s participation to criticism against innovations such as hydration breaks, which were unpopular among many fans.

Here are some key takeaways from the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

More teams, more drama

A newly expanded 48-team format raised concerns about lopsided matches and a lack of jeopardy in the group stage.

Tell that to Cape Verde, Congo and even Curaçao, which all made history and won new fans.

Cape Verde held eventual champion Spain to a draw in its opening game, advanced to the round of 32 and gave Argentina a scare before losing 3-2 in extra time in a World Cup classic. Cape Verde's goalkeeper Vozinha became a breakout star at the age of 40, gaining millions of followers on social media.

Congo also advanced beyond the group stage and pushed England before eventually losing, while Curaçao was still in with a chance of making the knockouts going into its final group match.

FIFA opened its door to more teams and they proved they could compete on soccer's biggest stage. Nonetheless, it was top-ranked nations Argentina, Spain, France and England — all former champions — that made it to the final four.

The big stars delivered

The race for the golden boot became a who's who of the world's top players with Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham firing on all cylinders.

Mbappé led the way with 10 goals in the tournament and a record 22 career World Cup goals. Messi had eight at this World Cup and 21 in total.

Cristiano Ronaldo couldn't lead Portugal to success in what he said was his last World Cup, while Spain's teenage sensation Lamine Yamal — the star of the Euros two years ago — had to work his way into the tournament after overcoming injury.

Big tech, big complaints

Video reviews known as VAR were at the center of a number of contentious decisions, ruling out huge goals for Germany, Croatia and Egypt.

Egypt coach Hossam Hassan launched a furious tirade after Argentina staged a spectacular comeback from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in the round of 16.

“We have suffered injustice,” he said after Egypt had a goal overturned when the score was still 1-0.

Fitted with sensors, the high-tech ball in use at the tournament cost Croatia a dramatic late equalizer against Portugal in the round of 32 when it detected the slightest of touches from Igor Mantanovic and ruled Josko Gvardiol's goal offside.

“All these decisions take the joy out of football,” said Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić, who has since stepped down.

Exorbitant ticket prices, but fans still turned up

There were concerns going into the tournament that FIFA's introduction of dynamic pricing would make game tickets unaffordable for average fans. Some critics accused FIFA of a “monumental betrayal."

Official ticket prices on general sale ranged from $140 to $2,735 for group stage matches and up to $8,680 for the final, far beyond the prices at the previous World Cup in Qatar in 2022. After criticism FIFA said it would offer a selection of $60 tickets for every game to the 48 national federations participating.

FIFA's resale market place allowed sellers to list tickets for massively more than face value, including ones for the final for just under $2.3 million. FIFA didn't control resale pricing, but took a cut from sales.

For all the criticism, fans still turned up in big numbers, even for games that didn’t feature marquee teams or players.

After a shaky start when there were empty seats for the game between South Korea and the Czech Republic in Guadalajara, stadium after stadium reported full houses.

Many foreign visitors were impressed by the hospitality they experienced in the U.S.

Hydration breaks a turnoff

FIFA’s new hydration breaks midway through each half — a novelty for this World Cup — prompted loud jeers from fans inside the stadium, while former players were also critical.

"We’re in America, right? So, it’s like it is a timeout,” former Ireland international Roy Keane said on The Overlap podcast.

The breaks were introduced to help players deal with the summer heat, but FIFA stipulated they would occur regardless of the weather, venue or location.

Coaches used them like timeouts to pass on in-game tactical instructions. Broadcasters, meanwhile, used them as an opportunity to take commercial breaks.

It is unclear whether FIFA will implement hydration breaks at future World Cups, but the English Football Association said they were unlikely to be in place for the 2028 European Championship, co-hosted by England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Iran participated despite the war

It’s not unusual for politics and sport to intertwine at the World Cup. This time the biggest political tensions surrounded the national team of Iran.

The war in the Middle East raised doubts about whether the Iranian team would show up at all. It did, but only after moving its base camp from Arizona to Mexico.

Its participation was overshadowed by visa issues, with the U.S. refusing visas to several members of Iran's delegation. The Iranians also complained about travel restrictions, including having to leave the U.S. immediately after each match.

When Iran was eliminated at the group stage, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin made his feelings clear. “I’m just glad they’re done and they’re not coming back,” he said.

Trump's role in focus

While the Trump administration’s travel restrictions on a series of countries prevented some fans from traveling to the U.S., there were no reports of the aggressive immigration enforcement that some human rights groups had feared could take place around World Cup stadiums.

Besides the final, Trump didn't attend any World Cup games. However, his relationship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino came into sharp focus when U.S. striker Folarin Balogun's one game ban for a red card was suspended ahead of the team's round of 16 game against Belgium.

Trump said he had called Infantino to ask for the decision to be reviewed before FIFA made Balogun eligible to play. FIFA insisted its disciplinary bodies acted independently, but the incident raised question about political interference.

Ultimately, the decision didn't help the U.S. as it lost 4-1 to Belgium.

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

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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

The Popillia japonica, or Japanese beetle, is a familiar pest in the United States, where it arrived more than a century ago.

But it is a relative newcomer to the European continent, first detected near Milan’s Malpensa airport in 2014. In Italy, it has already swarmed through the northeastern regions of Lombardy, Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta, where it appeared last year in terraced vineyards above the town of Donnas.

“We’re seeing the popillia steadily advance from terrace to terrace across our historic vineyards," said Luciano Zoppo Ronzero, a winemaker who produces Nebbiolo from the terraced vines. “We’re now about the 10th terrace and can already see the popillia attacks. This means they’re consuming and gradually moving up the mountain.”

With no natural predators and an appetite covering over 300 plants and trees, the Japanese beetle has made the European Union's list of priority pests, meaning that efforts must be made to contain and eradicate outbreaks.

The beetle is already entrenched in Italy, Switzerland and Germany, where the focus is on managing and containing expansion, while the population levels in France and Spain still allow hopes of eradication, said Daniela Lupi, an entomologist at the University of Milan.

The Japanese beetle is voracious and travels en masse as it feeds. Adult beetles also hitch a ride on trains, cars and airplanes. After spending summer months feasting, the beetles mate and their larvae feed on grasses until reaching maturity, and launch the cycle anew.

The Coldiretti agricultural lobby says the pest poses a major threat to agriculture as it makes its way through the Po River Valley, Italy’s breadbasket. But damage so far has been hard to quantify because often the beetle’s pattern of eating away the pulp of leaves weakens the plant, lowering production, without necessarily killing healthy plants.

“In some areas, the beetle has destroyed the harvest,’’ said Lorenzo Bazzana, the head of economic affairs at Coldiretti. The larvae, known as grubs, also feed on grass roots, damaging lawns, golf courses and playing fields.

Zoppo Ronzero is concerned for both his historic terraced vineyards, carved into the mountainside and stabilized by centuries-old drystone walls, and for his production. By defoliating the vines, the beetles expose grape clusters to the sun while severely reducing the plants’ ability to photosynthesize.

“What scares me is the fact that in the end the grapes don’t ripen. If the grapes don’t ripen, it means we’re not bringing home a splendid harvest, as we had hoped, but something unusable,” Ronzero said.

The best hope for eradicating the pests is attacking the larvae, according to Bazzana. The beetles were recently detected near Verona’s Valerio Catullo airport, and experts are experimenting by introducing a microscopic parasite in the surrounding area to attack the grubs.

Pheromone traps are also widely used, while the wine producers in Donnas are relying on pesticide treatments, even though the effectiveness is short-lived and labor-intensive on the steep terrain.

“If we don’t counter it, the population will continue to rise and so there will be strong damage to the fruits plants, to the grasses, to the ornamental plants,” Lupi, the entomologist, said. “There are no problems for the human population, because they are not so dangerous, but the production is really, really lowered.”

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Associated Press writer Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report.

After starting out as a teacher, she went back to school — and took out more loans — in hopes of landing a higher-paying job in the chemical processing industry. It never materialized, and then came Hurricane Harvey, a job loss and a car breakdown. By 2022, she was so broke she filed for bankruptcy.

She found work at a Texas prison and was rebuilding her life, saving up for weight-loss surgery, when this spring she heard from a credit-monitoring service. The student loans she thought had been discharged in bankruptcy had ballooned to $94,298 with interest, and she had to start making payments. She was in default.

“I absolutely broke down,” said Dreahn, 40.

Across the country, the number of borrowers with defaulted student loans jumped by more than 4.2 million from April 2025 to March 2026, according to an Associated Press analysis. The surge includes many who went off track in 2024, when loan payments started coming due again after a pandemic-era freeze.

Hundreds of thousands more are months behind on payments, and another surge in defaults could be on the way. Millions of borrowers are facing higher monthly payments as the government dismantles its most affordable income-driven repayment option, the SAVE plan, one of several changes the Education Department says are intended to simplify a fragmented system.

Borrowers enter default after missing payments for nine months, and the consequences can upend lives. It hurts credit ratings and can lead to the debt being sent to collections.

“I am seeing despair and outrage and despondency and just a very wide mix of pretty extreme emotions, the likes of which I have not seen before,” said Alan Collinge, the founder of Student Loan Justice and the author of “The Student Loan Scam.”

The federal government can garnish wages and Social Security payments from borrowers in default, but the Trump administration in January walked back plans to begin collections on their loans. A Moody’s Analytics report this spring said garnishments are likely to begin within the next year, warning of “an additional headwind in an increasingly fragile economy.”

Taking out student loans was all too easy

Dreahn enrolled at Texas Woman’s University in 2004 as the first in her family to go to college. She cobbled together jobs, babysitting and working at a call center and an automotive shop. But she still needed to borrow heavily.

“There was one point where they were like, ‘If you don’t come up with the money, we’re dropping you from your classes,’” said Dreahn, who earned a degree in history with an emphasis on education and social studies. “And it was, ‘OK, what do I need to sign?’”

She said no one explained what taking out loans truly meant.

“You just kind of trust these advisers and trust these financial aid people that this is what you’re supposed to do,” Dreahn said.

While teaching, she took out more student loans to earn a pair of associate degrees from a public community college in Texas. She received a job offer at a chemical refinery, but it was rescinded because she was over the weight limit for the company’s safety equipment.

She filed for bankruptcy in 2022 in hopes that it would “erase everything.” She checked her online credit report afterward. For each student loan, the report read: “Nice! You’ve paid off 100% of this loan.” The message is sometimes shared with borrowers when student loans are consolidated or transferred to new companies — even when the person still owes money.

Student loans are rarely discharged in bankruptcy. Borrowers must prove the loans pose an “undue hardship.” The process is cumbersome, and few qualify, advocates say.

But Dreahn didn’t know any of that.

“I was so relieved, like, ‘OK, now I can start life over,’” she said. “'I can save some money.'”

She started working last year as a supervisor at a prison in Huntsville, about 70 miles (115 kilometers) north of Houston, and was living in an RV park to save money when she received the default notice.

“I just feel like, where is that light at the end of the tunnel now that I thought I had?” Dreahn said.

The wave of defaults started after the pandemic

As a pandemic relief measure, the federal government allowed borrowers to suspend student loan payments until 2023, and President Joe Biden's administration then provided a one-year grace period. That ended in fall 2024, allowing loans to enter into default after nine months of missed payments.

A surge in defaults followed, and today around 9.5 million borrowers — over 1 in 5 — are in default, including those whose loans were well past due before the pandemic, according to the AP analysis. The previous record for borrowers in default had been 8 million in December 2019.

There are also 870,000 borrowers with loans between 181 and 270 days late, on the edge of default, according to federal data.

Meanwhile, 33% of borrowers at for-profit schools nationally were at least 90 days late on payments, more than twice the rate of borrowers at public schools, additional federal data shows.

Most private colleges that offer traditional degrees are nonprofit. For-profit colleges generally offer career-focused degrees and credentials and often serve students of color. Career Education Colleges and Universities, an association of private trade schools, has created a task force to reach out to students about the importance of loan repayment, said Jason Altmire, the group's president and CEO.

“We take it seriously,” he said.

Borrowers struggle to make sense of changes

Some borrowers are so overwhelmed by their debt and changes to the federal student loan system that they’ve stopped paying.

Barbara Howaniec, a 63-year-old psychiatric nurse practitioner from Auburn, Maine, already has defaulted. She borrowed around $62,000 for her master’s degree from New York University, graduating in 2001. But after two decades of payments, she still owes around $67,000 with interest. She had put her loans in deferment for short stints while her children were young, unaware that interest would continue to accumulate.

Howaniec had hoped to have her loan forgiven after 25 years under an income-based repayment plan. But then came a letter saying the repayment schedule had changed and she owed 355 more payments. By the time she finished paying, she would be 91.

She made call after call, but she said the advice varied by whoever picked up the phone. Last year, as she paid for her own children’s college, she quit paying her own loans.

“I had already paid what I had borrowed. I’m like, no, I’m not going to pay anymore,” Howaniec said. As a self-employed person, she said she doesn’t have to worry about the government garnishing her wages.

Shannon Khan, a 46-year-old mental health worker from Webster, Texas, hasn’t paid her student loan for two months as she investigates her options.

She did not have to pay anything while enrolled in SAVE, but she was moved last fall to another income-driven repayment plan, with a required monthly payment of $847. She thought she was close to having her remaining balance forgiven, but she recently learned her payment will jump to $1,683 a month — an amount her loan servicer said she will need to pay for nearly a decade.

She has spent hours on the phone trying to get answers.

“It’s just a bunch of chaos and confusion,” Khan said.

Some hunt pathways out of default

Dreahn had never been entirely clear how much she was borrowing when she was a student. As an adult, the process remained opaque. She had multiple loans transferred to different loan servicers. And then her loans were deferred when she went back to school.

“It’s a huge, huge mess,” Dreahn said. “It’s almost like it just gets sold off and you’re just lost in the system somewhere until you figure out that, 'Oh, they want $700 this month. What?'”

Now in default, she hopes she might one day qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. It requires borrowers to make 10 years of payments while working at a nonprofit or for the government.

“I’m trying to figure out: One, how I’m going to make it work. And two, what do I give up?" Dreahn said. "How do I manage buying groceries as well as making sure the bills are covered and this payment never gets missed?”

Lately, she thinks back on the chemical processing plant job she almost got.

“That was a six-figure career that I lost due to my weight,” she said, her voice breaking. “The money that I’m trying to save now that was going to be for surgery is going to be paid to student loans instead.”

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Associated Press reporter Adriana Morga contributed to this report.

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

In most places, cash is king. But in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, having too much is gumming up the machinery of daily life. The Palestinian banking system has more Israeli shekels than it can manage. As a result, paper money has gotten harder for residents to spend and for businesses to put into their accounts.

The excess liquidity stems from a conflict between the Bank of Israel and the Palestinian Monetary Authority, which oversees Palestinian banks and financial institutions. Israel limits the amount of physical currency it takes back from the West Bank. Palestinian officials say the cap has not kept pace with growth and is one mechanism used to keep the territory in a state of economic crisis.

Unlike in Gaza, where years of an almost total blockade have caused cash shortages, banks in the West Bank are running out of vault space to store stacks of shekels. With Bank of Israel refusing to accept more notes and coins, commercial banks can’t convert the money into electronic balances to pay suppliers or process transfers on behalf of their customers.

“The banks have been shackled” in their ability to deal with the crisis, Mohammad Manasra, the deputy governor of the Palestinian Monetary Authority, said in an interview with The Associated Press. “What is being practiced in the West Bank is economic warfare.”

More cash enters the West Bank than Israel allows out

Central banks in most countries take back cash from commercial banks and credit them electronically so they can settle payments and meet customers’ needs. But in the occupied West Bank — where Palestinians have no say over monetary policies guiding the shekel — the economy runs differently.

The territory has relied predominantly on the Israeli shekel for decades and depends on Israel to facilitate trade, collect taxes and process payments for imported goods under agreements dating to the 1990s. A surfeit of cash accumulates because the Palestinian economy runs almost exclusively on physical currency, and more enters from Israel than can exit.

Why? Employers in Israel and its settlements pay Palestinian laborers in cash, and Palestinian citizens of Israel often purchase goods like cigarettes and fuel in the West Bank, bringing in even more shekels. As more cash flows in, the surplus trapped inside Palestinian banks grows, neither earning interest nor getting turned into loans, investments and bill payments.

Israel's cash transfer limit from the West Bank's banking system is 18 billion shekels ($5.9 billion) a year. Banks now accumulate an estimated 30 billion shekels a year, said Moayad Afaneh, an economist who has advised the Palestinian Authority.

In the past, Israeli officials expressed reluctance to accept more, citing concerns that returned money could be linked to laundering, tax evasion or terrorism.

Bank of Israel said in a statement that it follows the current government's policy on how many shekels to accept but that fewer Palestinians have worked in Israel since the war in Gaza started, thereby reducing the cash entering the West Bank.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich 's office did not respond to requests for comment but in September 2025 Smotrich threatened to “use all of the tools” at his disposal to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state, including “economic strangulation.”

Palestinians say Israel limits taking shekel as economic leverage

Israel has imposed a series of measures that have hobbled the West Bank’s economy since Hamas-led militants attacked in October 2023, starting the war in Gaza.

It revoked most work permits for Palestinians who used to work in Israel, cutting off a major source of income in the occupied territory. It has withheld tax and customs revenue collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, which in turn has been unable to fully pay public sector workers — including teachers and hospital staff — for more than a year.

With growing needs for vault space, banks are having to pay to store and insure cash they're unable to offload. They're accepting less from businesses and households, which in turn have to find alternative ways to store cash safely.

The excess shekel problem is “directly affecting the government’s ability and the private sector’s capacity to continue providing services to major industrial sectors and the Palestinian people,” Manasra said.

As an example, he noted most of the West Bank’s fuel and electricity is imported from Israel or purchased from Israeli utilities. When banks have too much of their assets tied up as physical cash, they don't have the funds when their clients — like the Palestinian Authority or West Bank cities — need to transfer payments to import fuel, water and electricity.

Fears of looting by Israeli soldiers conducting increasingly common home raids have made the problem worse, Afaneh, the economist, said. Palestinians are depositing more into banks because they fear soldiers will confiscate it, claiming suspiciously large sums could be used for illicit purposes or terrorism.

Having too much cash on hand also hurts the banks' bottom lines because they can't lend out money like most banks, which today do so electronically. A 2022 International Monetary Fund study estimated excess cash reduced Palestinian banks’ profits by about 20%, a figure Afaneh said is likely much higher today.

Cash-based businesses in the West Bank have money but can't pay suppliers

Inside the Ramallah headquarters of the Al-Huda Group, cigarette smoke and tea steam drift through an office where clerks feed banknotes into machines that spit out neat stacks of counted bills. The company operates filling stations, convenience, grocery and home improvement stores, car washes and other businesses that collect tens of millions of shekels each month.

Stockpiles of money that cash-based businesses can’t deposit because the banks are full has made routine operations and transactions more difficult and expensive, said Hussni Jaber, the executive manager of the Al-Huda Group.

To make electronic payments to Palestinian and foreign suppliers, for example, some businesses have resorted to taking out loans or buying other currencies while also paying more to keep their overabundance of cash on hand safely stored, Jaber said.

When they can't pay their suppliers, some gas stations have to stop filling their pumps. The Palestinian Authority in a statement pointed to the issue when gas stations temporarily closed on Saturday.

Last month, a number of gas station owners coordinated a 30-minute strike across the West Bank, including the 22 operated by Al-Huda, to draw attention to the cash crisis. It has done little to prompt a response.

With their earnings stuck outside the traditional banking system, business leaders fear the cash glut will eventually prevent West Bank companies from being able to import fuel, food and medical supplies from Israel or elsewhere abroad, Jaber said.

“All sectors will collapse if the cash problem is not resolved," he said.

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Imad Isseid contributed reporting from Ramallah, West Bank.

• HOT & DRY: Highs approaching 100° by late week.
• RIVER FLOODING: Persists along portions of the Nueces, Frio, San Antonio, and Rio Grande basins as floodwaters move downstream.

FORECAST

RIVERS & LAKES

Despite recent rain ending, rivers remain above flood stage. Downstream residents should monitor conditions and avoid flooded roads and crossings.

Following historic rainfall, the Edwards Aquifer continues to recharge as runoff flows into local watersheds, with Medina and Canyon Lake levels expected to rise before stabilizing.

THIS WEEK

High pressure will bring hot, dry summer weather this week. Expect sunshine and highs near 100° by late week, with heat index values in the low 100s.

WATCHING THE TROPICS

Models suggest Tropical Depression Two will remain a tropical storm, but weak steering currents make its path uncertain.

The Cone of Uncertainty released by the National Hurricane Center predicts the possible location of the center of a tropical system. Towards the end of the week, when the system moves towards Texas, the central location could lie anywhere between Dallas and Corpus Christi. As a result, impacts will depend on whether the system moves over water or over land. Gulf Coast residents should monitor the latest updates.

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.

Bruce Bell and Lariesa Hodges were at the marina on Canyon Lake just above Canyon Park and both said it has been a while since the lake has looked so picturesque.

Hodges described the lake being “dry as a bone” and wondered if it would ever look full again.

“I think we were about 20 feet low. Yeah, it was a lot of dry land,” Bell said. “It’s looking so much better today.”

According to Water Data for Texas, July 19th’s level reading for Canyon Lake shows the reservoir was at 98% capacity.

A week ago, the data product of the Texas Water Development Board, marked the lake at 60% full.

The lake dramatically rose following days-long rainfall last week that caused the Guadalupe River to flood in several areas, including in Kerrville.

The National Water Prediction Service said the Guadalupe River rose 16 feet on July 16th. That water headed south to New Braunfels, but Canyon Lake did what it was built to do — catch the excess water of the Guadalupe River when it floods.

“Thank God for Canyon Lake,” bell said. “It really provides a great buffer for the surrounding areas. (It) keeps us safe down in the New Braunfels. Thank God for the dam here.”

In Potter’s Creek Park, debris has entered the area and is settled along some sections of the shoreline.

For safety, some boat ramps and park access along the lake have been closed.

Nicole Hankey, who loves being on Canyon Lake whenever possible, said she okay with that.

“They’re quickly assessing the situation to make sure that all of the logs and anything that’s dangerous for a boat is taken care of so all of boaters are safe and I’m appreciative of that,” Hankey said.

While the water level at Canyon Lake is up she encourages water lovers to take advantage of it.

“It’s just fun, it’s adventure, it’s excitement,” Hankey said.

Read also:

• Canyon Lake Reservoir continues its history of protecting communities downstream of the Guadalupe River
• Northside Independent School District names interim superintendent

The two-way superstar received a lubricant injection just before the All-Star break last week and had been expected to pitch Wednesday in Philadelphia against the Phillies.

Ohtani, however, still didn’t feel 100% while playing catch this weekend, so he and the Dodgers decided not to even test the knee with a bullpen session.

The four-time MVP hasn't pitched since July 3, when he threw a season-high 110 pitches over six innings in a no-decision against San Diego. Now, it's unclear when he'll return to the mound.

“I would say that it’s going to be some time,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Sunday before his team split a day-night doubleheader with the New York Yankees. “It's not going to be a day-to-day thing.”

Roberts reiterated that Ohtani feels no knee pain when hitting. The slugger went 2 for 5 with two RBIs and a run during an 8-2 victory in the opener Sunday, and was back in the leadoff spot as the designated hitter for the nightcap.

“We just want to continue to give it the best chance to kind of get in a good spot,” Roberts said. “As he said, as we feel, it’s the pitching and the torque on landing on that leg. That kind of gets it upset. So I think that hitting doesn’t do that. So I think that for us, we’re trying to give it as much time as possible.”

Ohtani went 1 for 4 with an infield single in the nightcap and struck out with two runners aboard in the eighth inning of a 2-1 loss. He also threw in the outfield between games and ended a long day at Yankee Stadium feeling fine.

“Overall, I think a good day for Shohei,” Roberts said.

The two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers have the best record in the majors at 63-37 and an 11 1/2-game lead in the NL West. Roberts indicated that's playing into the team's approach with Ohtani, who skipped the All-Star Game last Tuesday in Philadelphia to treat and rest his balky knee.

The right-hander has been dealing with the ailment for more than a month. He had an outing cut short against Pittsburgh on June 11 because of inflammation in the knee.

“I think for us, it’s more like we’ve done many times over, erring on the side of caution,” Roberts explained. ”A lot of it is where we’re at and how we put ourselves in a good spot in the sense of, could he probably do it? Sure. But right now the benefits don’t seem to outweigh the cost of this time in the season. So I think that we still have plenty of time to kind of get him in a good spot.”

Roberts said he's sure Ohtani will return to the mound this year.

"If it’s two weeks or three weeks then that’s kind of why we’re trying to do this, so we don’t have to worry about it throughout the end of the season,” Roberts said.

Emmet Sheehan had been expected to start during the Yankees series, but his next outing was pushed back to Monday night in Philadelphia.

Los Angeles is off Thursday this week and Monday next week, providing some short-term flexibility in the rotation while left-hander Blake Snell works his way back from an injury.

Snell, sidelined since his season debut on May 9 because of loose bodies in his left elbow, made a rehab start Saturday for Triple-A Oklahoma City and threw 32 pitches in 1 1/3 innings. He’s expected to pitch again Friday and will need to get up to about five innings and 75 pitches in the minors before returning to the big league rotation, Roberts said.

“I think that once we moved Emmet, the rotation can keep going forward without Shohei for the time being. I can’t speak for how long that’s going to be,” Roberts said.

“He was on the schedule when we broke for the All-Star break and then it was more of the training staff talking to him about, `Hey, coming out of the break, how does Wednesday look? How do you feel? If you don’t feel 100%, we have the opportunity to kick the can,'" Roberts added. "I think it’s more driven by the organization saying, hey, if you’re not 100% right, we don’t have to do this.”

Ohtani is batting .290 with 22 homers, 60 RBIs and a .938 OPS. He is 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 85 2/3 innings over 14 starts on the mound and has won his past six decisions.

“When he does swing the bat, it’s the back knee versus the land knee where you’re kind of driving off of it to create torque when you pitch,” Roberts said. "And so there’s no feeling of any sensation or any reason why we feel he's got to stop hitting.”

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AP freelance writer Larry Fleisher contributed to this report.

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

Logano snapped a 45-race winless streak Sunday night with a dominant victory at North Wilkesboro Speedway in the first points race at the 0.625-mile track in 30 years.

After Logano wrapped up a lengthy on-track burnout, Denny Hamlin approached him and dabbed him up out of respect. Hamlin spent the second part of the race doing everything he could to catch Logano, but it proved fruitless.

The No. 22 Ford was too dominant. Logano led 323 of 450 laps.

“It’s wildly, wildly impressive what he did,” Hamlin said. “I thought it was a really impressive drive from him, how he maneuvered through (lapped) traffic and did everything we know Joey to do.”

It was Logano's 38th career Cup win, and his first since May 2025 at Texas.

The 36-year-old Logano also extended his streak of winning at least one race to 15 consecutive seasons, the longest among active drivers. The late Kyle Busch holds the record, winning in 19 straight seasons (2005-2023).

"A win anywhere at this point would have sounded great, but coming here and doing it at North Wilkesboro is awesome,” Logano said.

Hamlin finished second, followed by Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs and Shane Van Gisbergen.

It was a huge win for Logano, who entered the race outside of the top 16 in the Chase for the playoffs. He's now inside the cutline in 15th place.

“I feel like I know exactly what I need to go fast around this place,” said Logano, who won the 2024 All-Star race here in dominant fashion. “I knew coming this weekend that we’ve got to capitalize on the points.”

The track, built in 1947, sat mostly dormant for a quarter of a century following its last points race in on Sept. 29, 1996.

Speedway Motorsports undertook the monumental task of refurbishing it, including clearing the weeds and trees growing up through the middle of the racetrack. NWS hosted the All-Star race from 2023-25.

In-Season Challenge to be settled next week

Ryan Blaney and Todd Gilliland have reached the finals of the $1 million NASCAR In-Season Challenge. Blaney defeated Christopher Bell head-to-head in the semifinals on Sunday night, while Gilliland topped Chase Elliott.

The champion will be decided next Sunday in Indianapolis at the Brickyard 400 with the driver finishing higher in the race awarded the $1 million prize.

Bowman takes out Reddick while entering the pits

Tyler Reddick got caught up a wreck on lap 184 when Alex Bowman cut him off as he was attempting to go from the top row down into pit row, spinning out the No. 45.

Bowman told his crew chief, “I thought I had hole but maybe I didn’t.”

A tough night for pole-sitter Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney, who won last week at Atlanta, was set to start on the pole based on metrics after qualifying was rained out on Saturday. Instead, he was forced to start the race at the rear of the field after his No. 12 Ford Mustang had a power steering pump issue.

Things only got worst for the 2023 Cup Series champion after he received a speeding penalty on pit row on lap 365, dropping him out of the top five and costing him 15 positions.

Up next

The Cup Series heads to Indianapolis next week for the Brickyard 400. Bubba Wallace captured his first crown jewel event last year after Austin Cindric blew a tire.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/apf-AutoRacing

Palomares begins the new job leading NISD on Aug. 1, according to the news release.

The Holmes High School alumna has worked for the district for 30 years, according to the news release. Palomares has held her current role as the assistant superintendent for elementary administration since 2021.

Palomares previously was a special education teacher, behavior mastery teacher, vice principal, principal of multiple elementary schools, director and executive director of elementary administration.

Although NISD temporarily promoted Palomares, the district said it’s working to find a permanent replacement to succeed retiring superintendent John Craft, who is transitioning into a superintendent emeritus role.

Craft served as NISD superintendent for three years, but his time working in education spans 27 years.

Read also:

• Northside Independent School District superintendent to retire