Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, appeared in court for jury selection wearing a white shirt and blue tie, having pled not guilty to starting what became one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. Prosecutors say Rinderknecht started a fire on Jan. 1, 2025, and it burned undetected deep in root systems before flaring back up on Jan. 7.

The Palisades Fire ultimately killed 12 people and destroyed thousands of homes as it incinerated hillside neighborhoods in Pacific Palisades and the city of Malibu. Rinderknecht faces at least five years in prison if convicted of charges that also include malicious destruction by means of a fire.

Lead defense attorney Steve Haney has said Rinderknecht is being made as a scapegoat for the Los Angeles Fire Department’s failure to fully extinguish the Jan. 1 blaze. Jury selection is expected to last several days before opening statements begin midweek. The trial is likely to take about two weeks.

News of the trial drew mixed reactions from residents of the Pacific Palisades, who have spent the last year and a half tussling with insurance claims and red tape for building permits as they try to regain normalcy in their lives.

“It drums up all of the emotions over this past year and makes me think about all of the suffering and chaos of all of our neighbors and friends’ lives,” said Meghan Wald, whose home was among the few left standing in her block.

Palisades streets are now crowded with construction vehicles and workers, and charred trees have recovered their luscious green. But vacant lots abound, filled with weeds and wildflowers and the skeletal frames of homes. Of the more than 450 construction projects, only 17 homes have been certified for occupancy.

Wald and her family now live in nearby Brentwood, but she visits weekly to support the handful of businesses that have reopened, including her hair salon, her usual CVS pharmacy and the Palisades Garden Cafe, where her kids used to grab snacks after school.

“It’s great to see the shops that we know and love coming back,” Wald said. “It’s also hard to imagine what it’s going to be like. It will never be the same.”

The fire has been a central theme in incumbent Mayor Karen Bass 's reelection bid as she defends the city's recovery process. Bass was in Ghana as part of a presidential delegation when the flames ignited. One of her challengers, reality TV personality Spencer Pratt, lost his home in the blaze and has made what he calls municipal ineptitude a central campaign message. It's not yet clear if Pratt won enough votes in the primary to face Bass in November's runoff election.

Judge Anne Hwang has ruled that the defense can't introduce evidence or arguments about alleged negligence by the fire department, saying it was irrelevant and could confuse the jury.

Defense attorneys had planned to include testimony from a firefighter that the earlier fire was visibly smoldering when first responders left the scene. That was gathered as part of a lawsuit filed by fire victims against the city.

Haney said he also plans to argue that the government lacks solid evidence or witness testimony linking Rinderknecht to the first fire, and that first responders heard fireworks in the vicinity of where the blaze started.

Prosecutors say geolocation data from Rinderknecht's phone shows that he was in the area of the fire as it rapidly grew, and investigators later seized a Bic barbecue lighter from his car that he admitted to having with him on the trail. They will claim he was upset about a failed relationship as well as thwarted plans for New Year's Eve, and that he ranted to his Uber passengers that evening about being angry at the world, according to an April 29 pretrial memo filed by the U.S. attorney’s office.

Lena Loh, who opened a skin care clinic in the Palisades three months before the fire, said Rinderknecht’s prosecution gives her no sense of relief. She has been struggling to reopen and is looking to leave because she can't sustain the business financially anymore.

“I don’t necessarily think putting him on trial is gonna fix anything,” she said. “This is a city issue. The city needed to manage that small speck of fire better.”

The meeting, which followed in the tradition of popes meeting with abuse survivors during their foreign trips, lasted about an hour and took place at the Vatican embassy in Madrid, the Vatican said in a statement.

Spain’s Catholic hierarchy has only recently begun reckoning with its legacy of abuse and cover-up after long dismissing the severity of the scandal that came to light thanks to reporting by the newpaper El País.

In 2023, the Spanish government’s ombudsman delivered a damning 800-page report estimating there were hundreds of thousands of possible victims in Spain over decades — based on a survey of 8,000 people. The report also examined 487 known cases.

Spain’s bishops rejected the estimate, saying its own investigation had uncovered 728 sexual abusers within the church since 1945.

During Monday’s meeting, the survivors told the pope their stories and recommendations for how the church should better respond, the Vatican said. Victims in Spain and elsewhere have long complained that the church’s response to the scandal was often retraumatizing, with victims often accused of only seeking money or to harm the church.

“The pope listened with affection and attention, assured them of his closeness — and that of the entire church community — and pledged his commitment to ensuring that the suggestions received serve as a foundation for further efforts, so that the church may truly be a safe and spiritually healthy place where wounds find comfort and healing,” said a statement from Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni.

The encounter marked the first known time Leo had met with victims while on a foreign visit, but it by no means was his first time hearing first-hand from survivors.

As a bishop in Chiclayo, Peru, the former Robert Prevost was in charge of listening to victims as the point of reference for the Peruvian bishops conference. In that capacity, he became intimately aware of the abusive practices in the powerful Peruvian group, Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, which Pope Francis formally suppressed last year.

As pope, Leo has insisted on the need to listen to victims but he has also demanded that the rights of accused priests be upheld.

In his recent encyclical, he said the journey for justice for victims included “just reparation” and he included not only victims of sexual abuse but also spiritual, economic, institutional and power-based abuse, as well as abuses of conscience.

Ahead of the expected meeting with Leo, several groups representing survivors that were not included said they were left in the dark about the encounter, and held a small protest outside the Vatican’s embassy in Madrid.

“Our associations are pleased that a group of victims from the reparation plan can be heard by the pope, but they do not represent all the victims, and deep down they are being used by the church, by the bishops conference, to clean up the image of a Spanish church that has never been able to live up to its victims,” said Juan Cuatrecasas, a spokesperson for the Robbed Childhood association.

Leo addresses abuse to bishops and parliament

Before the meeting, Leo told Spanish bishops that they must offer reparations to survivors and that the entire church community should have an "ever more determined commitment to prevention and a culture of care.”

“Faced with this scourge, the ecclesial community is called to respond with listening, truth, justice, reparation," Leo said. “Every wounded person must be able to find sincere listening, welcome, protection and real paths to healing.”

Amid public outrage over the abuse crisis, Spain launched a reparations system earlier this year for clerical abuse cases too old to be prosecuted that requires the participation of the Catholic Church and the Spanish government.

Other countries and churches have set up reparations mechanisms to compensate survivors and provide therapy, but the Spanish one is unusual in that it gives the government a strong role in the process and the final say in payouts.

The system, which is not legally binding, has drawn praise and some skepticism from advocacy groups and survivors. It gives people a year to apply.

Leo reaffirms church’s right to confessional secrecy

Leo also reaffirmed the right of the Catholic Church to maintain secrecy involving the sacrament of confession, amid efforts in Europe and elsewhere to force Catholic priests to report abuse that they learn about during the one-to-one conversations.

Independent investigations into clergy abuse around the world have identified the seal of confession as a major impediment to exposing and preventing abuse, and called for it to be abolished. The investigations have documented how abusers used the confessional to solicit sex from minors and then relied on the seal of confession to keep it secret.

In his speech to the Spanish parliament Monday, Leo framed the right of the church to keep priest-penitent conversations confidential as a matter of freedom of religion.

“To protect it legally, as is done in a similar way in some professions, means preserving a sacred space of inner freedom, where the believer can open his or her soul to God without fear of external pressures,” he said.

Kepler can start a minor league assignment Wednesday, when the suspension is scheduled to have 15 days remaining. If no Arizona games are postponed, he would be eligible to play for the Diamondbacks on June 25 at St. Louis.

If Kepler returns to the major league roster on June 25, he would receive $396,257 in salary for the remainder of the season. He would earn a $100,000 bonus for 35 days on the active roster and $200,000 each for 55 and 75.

Kepler remains on the restricted list for the remainder of the suspension and will not occupy a spot on the 40-man roster during the ban.

He is ineligible to appear in the postseason this year.

Kepler was suspended in January for a positive test for Epitrenbolone, a metabolite of Trenbolone that's contained in some products used in body-building stores and has been used in products to promote cattle growth. Kepler was the first player suspended by MLB for the substance since public announcements of the penalty details began in 2005.

The 33-year-old hit .216 with 18 homers and 52 RBIs with Philadelphia last year after agreeing to a $10 million, one-year contract. He was slowed in 2024 by left patellar tendinitis and had core surgery after the season to repair a sports hernia.

Kepler grew up in Germany and signed with the Twins at age 16 in 2009. He has a .235 average with 179 homers and 560 RBIs during an 11-year big league career.

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This story has been corrected to show that Kepler is eligible to play on June 25, not report to the team then, and that he was suspended in January, not tested positive then.

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

The screwworm is actually a fly larva that eats living flesh instead of dead material. Females lay their eggs in open wounds of warm-blooded animals like cattle, but wildlife, pets and occasionally even humans can be infested. A government program to breed sterile male flies and drop swarms of them from planes to mate with wild females had kept screwworm contained at the southern end of Panama for decades.

So far, there are four confirmed cases in Texas. The USDA said the latest were a calf and a dog in La Salle and Andrews counties, respectively. The initial screwworm cases were discovered last week in two calves within a few miles of each other in south Texas.

Scientists expect a handful of new cases could pop up in the coming days and weeks, but it doesn't mean screwworm is spreading rapidly, said Edward Burgess, a University of Florida entomologist who studies the fly.

“When that first case is seen, everyone is being vigilant and their eyes are on it more intensely,” Burgess said. “And when you are looking for something, you are more likely to see it.”

An agriculture department statement on Monday said officials are sampling suspected cases and working to eradicate the pest entirely.

The USDA and the U.S. cattle industry have been racing to prevent an infestation since screwworm was detected in Mexico late in 2024. Screwworm was a yearly warm-weather scourge of cattle ranchers before being eliminated in the U.S. in the 1960s.

So far, its reappearance hasn’t greatly affected beef prices, which are already near record levels because there are fewer cows in the U.S. Although the parasite attacks live cattle, it does not infest meat or fruit. There are also now a dozen government-approved medications to treat livestock.

Canada temporarily stopped importing cattle, horses or other livestock from Texas on Friday. The parasites prefer humid areas where temperatures are at least 77 F (25 C), making them more of a summer problem up north.

Burgess said the long-term solution — breeding sterile male flies — is months away. Since wild female flies mate just once, if that encounter is with a sterile male, outbreaks can eventually be halted as the flies die out.

The USDA is working to both increase sterile fly production in plants outside the U.S. and build a massive fly factory in Texas.

However, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said the federal response will take too long and risks crippling the cattle industry.

Instead, he says a poison bait could eliminate the screwworm problem in a few months, even if it might affect other flies too.

“What the hell is a good fly?” Miller said in an interview Monday.

The USDA and other experts say the bait hasn't been proven to work and could poison other insects, animals and even humans.

Miller also criticized the USDA for not closing the U.S.-Mexico border to pets as well as livestock. Federal officials say the infected dog had recently been in Mexico.

“If the larvae fell out all along the ground where that dog went, it’s going to spread screwworm all over Andrews County,” Miller said.

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins will be briefed on the infestation Monday afternoon at the U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory in Kerrville, Texas.

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Kerrville.

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Associated Press writer Scott McFetridge in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.

Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union warned its members that these scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

“We’ve seen a surge in really the more sophisticated impersonation scams where our members are getting calls from what appears to be RBFCU based on the caller ID,” said Brian Munsterteiger, the credit union’s Senior Vice President of Central Operations.

Scammers can manipulate caller ID information to make it appear as though the call is coming from a legitimate phone number, even when it is not.

Victims are often told there is suspicious activity on their account or that their money is at risk, according to fraud experts.

Once trust is established, Munsterteiger said scammers attempt to create a sense of urgency.

“They’re typically validating some type of transaction, which is not a real transaction,” Munsterteiger said. “They’re gaining the member’s trust by, of course, making it seem like it’s coming from the RBFCU phone number and by saying they’re an RBFCU employee.”

In some cases, Musterteiger said victims are persuaded to provide usernames, passwords or one-time security passcodes. In other cases, scammers convince victims to transfer money or withdraw cash and hand it over to a courier under the guise of protecting their funds.

Fraud experts said artificial intelligence is making these scams even more convincing.

“The spoofing that they’re doing, the impersonation that they’re doing, they’re able to use real people’s voices,” Munsterteiger said. “It sounds real. I’ve heard some of these phone calls. They’re very good.”

The warning comes as voice-cloning scams continue to gain attention nationwide.

AI tools can now generate copies of a person’s voice using only a small amount of audio, making it easier for criminals to impersonate just about anyone.

Americans lost approximately $893 million to AI-related scams in 2025, according to the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Complaint Report.

The agency received more than 22,000 complaints involving artificial intelligence, including voice-cloning schemes, AI-generated phishing attacks and other frauds.

The FBI mentioned some of those scams involve “distress” calls, where criminals use voice-cloning technology to mimic a loved one in an emergency and request money immediately. Victims reported more than $5 million in losses from those scams in 2025.

Munsterteiger said that no one is immune to these scams.

“(A) misconception is this only happens to unintelligent people. That’s not true,” Munsterteiger said. “I know a lot of smart people that this has happened to.”

Warning signs of a phone impersonation scam

RBFCU and federal investigators recommend watching for several red flags:

• A caller claims your account has been compromised and demands immediate action
• You are asked to provide passwords, usernames, one-time passcodes or multifactor authentication codes
• A caller instructs you to transfer money, withdraw cash or move funds to a “safe” account
• The caller pressures you to act quickly without verifying the information
• The call appears to come from a trusted organization, but the caller asks for sensitive information

How to protect yourself

To protect yourself, RBFCU recommends members to:

• Stop, think and verify before responding to unexpected requests
• Never share passwords, security codes or one-time passcodes with anyone, including bank employees
• Do not trust caller ID alone. Hang up and call the institution back using a verified phone number
• Slow down and question urgent requests involving money or personal information

“If someone’s calling you and asking you for any kind of personal information, it’s almost 100% a scam,” Munsterteiger said. “Hang up and call whatever they’re posing to be and call the actual institution or the actual company.”

How to report a scam

If you receive a suspicious call, voicemail, text or email requesting money, account credentials or personal information, end the conversation and verify it independently. There are several ways to report a scam:

• Contact the financial institution directly. Use a phone number, website or email address you know is legitimate. If you’re unsure, check your statements or the back of your cards for contact information. Do not rely on caller ID or contact information in an unexpected call or message.
• Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov . This helps investigators track trends and warn the public.
• Report it to the FBI at IC3.gov if you shared information, sent money or believe you were targeted.

Read also:

• Bexar County warns of scammers posing as county officials who charge assistance program fees
• ‘I feel like I’m getting robbed’: SA family shocked by $22K A/C bill after years of payments

The S&P 500 rose 0.7%, coming off a drop of 2.6% from Friday that was its worst since October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 50 points, or 0.1%, as of 12:01 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.4% higher.

Some of the best performers were companies that sell computer chips, memory and other products fueling the AI boom. They had plunged Friday amid worries that their prices had shot too high due to AI euphoria. Such worries dragged South Korea’s Kospi index down 8.3% early Monday, pummeling tech stocks there like Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

But prices recovered as trading moved westward through Europe to New York. Micron Technology rose 11.1% after sliding 13.3% Friday for the largest loss in the S&P 500. That resumed a run where its stock has more than tripled so far in 2026.

Marvell Technology climbed 15.1% in its first trading after S&P Dow Jones Indices said the semiconductor company’s stock has grown enough to join its widely followed S&P 500 index. Marvell’s stock has also more than tripled so far this year, aided by a 32.5% surge in one day last week. That was its best day since it began trading in 2000, and it came after Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, suggested at a conference in Taiwan that Marvell could be “the next trillion-dollar company.”

That such a comment could add billions of dollars to a company's value in an instant suggests to critics that AI stocks are running too hot. Chip and memory companies are indeed reaping big growth in revenue and profit because of the AI boom, but their stock prices have been soaring at astounding speeds. A widely followed index of semiconductor stocks surged nearly 85% for the year so far through Thursday, for example.

Now, the question is whether Friday’s drop is the start of a downturn or just a pause that shakes out excessive optimism.

Michael Wilson, a strategist at Morgan Stanley, is relatively optimistic. “Markets rarely move in a straight line at the pace seen since the March lows,” he wrote in a report. “In our view, a correction was inevitable and ultimately healthy if this bull market is going to extend into year-end” and pull the S&P 500 to his baseline target of 8,000. That would be an 8.3% rise from Friday’s close.

Corning climbed 6.2% after Amazon announced a multibillion dollar deal where Corning will produce optical fiber, cable and other products for its data centers across the country.

That helped offset a 1.1% dip for Campbell's, which reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected but also a worse decline in revenue. The company's stock is also set to drop out of the S&P 500 index when Marvell Technology's stock joins it.

In the oil market, prices jumped after Israel and Iran launched strikes against each other, threatening to drag the region back into full-scale war. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, briefly topped $98 overnight.

But it later eased back after the Iranian military said that it was halting offensive operations. Brent's price was most recently at $94.60 per barrel, up 1.6% from Friday.

High oil prices caused by the war with Iran have already sent inflation higher, which increases not only bills for households but also yields in the bond market. High yields worldwide recently have threatened to slow economies and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments.

On Monday, Treasury yields held mostly steady following a jump on Friday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.56% from 4.55% late Friday.

In stock markets abroad, indexes edged lower Europe following sharp losses in Asia.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 3.8% after the Japanese government revised the country's annualized economic growth rate to 1.8% for the first quarter this year, down from an earlier estimate of 2.1%.

Stocks also fell 1.7% in Shanghai and 1.2% in Hong Kong.

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AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

The Knicks are two wins from their first championship since 1973 and it seems everyone in the city wants the chance to see it. Even President Donald Trump will be on hand Monday night at Madison Square Garden for Game 3, along with fans who will pay exorbitant prices and endure lengthy lines to get in.

It feels like more of a major event than any basketball game, and Victor Wembanyama was asked if the chaos could be a distraction for his San Antonio Spurs.

“Not really,” he said. “I think it could be, but isolating myself is something I’ve practiced over the years. I think I’m good at it. So it’s not a problem.”

The Spurs have a big enough problem with their 2-0 deficit.

No team has recovered to win the championship after losing the first two games of the NBA Finals at home, and no team in the 80-year history of the league has won any series after falling behind 3-0. So the Spurs need to win Monday.

They had good chances in both games at home. San Antonio led by 14 points midway through the third quarter of Game 1, then erased a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take the lead in the final minute of Game 2 before the Knicks rallied for a 105-104 victory.

That was New York's 13th consecutive victory, the second-longest winning streak in postseason history.

Back at home, even the Knicks don't know quite what to expect of the atmosphere for the first NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden since 1999. But they know what to expect from the Spurs.

“I mean, their best,” center Karl-Anthony Towns said. “Every single game you expect their best. That’s how you don’t get caught in a way lacking. You go out there and you expect their best, so you want to bring your best. This is the NBA Finals. There’s no time to take any game easy or to take any game lightly.”

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

It came hours before Israel and Iran traded fire in retaliatory strikes that threatened to drag the wider Middle East back into a full-scale regional war.

Also, Trump, a longtime New York Knicks fan, confirmed Friday that he would attend the first NBA Finals game in New York since 1999. As a result, the NYPD is warning fans that watch parties near Madison Square Garden are canceled and that anyone attending the game should plan to arrive at least two hours early as part of enhanced security measures.

Here's the latest:

US hits more than 100 Nicaraguan officials and family members with travel ban

The United States has placed travel bans on more than 100 Nicaraguan officials and their family members as part of a broader campaign to punish the current government for alleged human rights abuses.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Monday that the new sanctions were, in part, imposed because of the death of indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera and the policies of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his wife and co-president Rosario Murillo.

“The United States stands with the Nicaraguan people who, like Rivera, aspire to see a free Nicaragua,” he said.

The U.S. has now barred more than 2,350 Nicaraguan officials and family members from entering the United States. The identities of the most recent targets were not released.

US stocks claw back some of the ground they lost on Friday

Wall Street is recovering a bit from its beat-down from Friday, as stocks swept up in the artificial-intelligence boom bounce back.

Oil prices are higher following fighting between Israel and Iran, but they’ve come off their peaks from overnight.

The S&P 500 rose 0.9% early Monday following its 2.6% drop Friday, which was its worst since October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 215 points, and the Nasdaq composite added 1.5%.

Some of the best performers were companies that sell computer chips and other products fueling the AI boom. They had plunged Friday amid worries that their prices had shot too high.

▶ Read more

Donald Trump, Knicks fan, heads back to New York to root for his team

There was a time when Donald Trump was just another celebrity sitting courtside at New York Knicks games. He was famous, but not yet flanked by Secret Service agents or defined by the politics that have left him deeply unpopular in his hometown.

Now, more than a decade after attending his last Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, Trump is making a rare trip back to New York City as president to cheer for them in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. Invited by Knicks owner James Dolan, he’ll be the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game.

The Knicks are seeking their first championship since 1973, when Trump was 26 and a relative newcomer to the family real estate business that vaulted him to wealth and fame. Two years after that triumph, the team’s owners at the time hired him as a consultant as they looked to sell the arena.

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As America 250 approaches, fewer Americans see their country as exceptional, AP-NORC poll finds

As the U.S. prepares for an extravagant celebration of its founding principles, fewer Americans see their country as exceptional, a new poll finds.

The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research highlights many Americans’ feelings of unease over the future of its representative government — particularly among young people. It presents a jarring contrast as communities around the country commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Only about one-quarter of Americans say the U.S. stands above all other countries in the world, the new poll found, while 44% say it’s one of the greatest countries in the world, along with some others. About 3 in 10 say there are better countries than the U.S., an increase from 19% in an AP-NORC poll conducted in June 2016.

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Lawsuit seeks to stop the UFC fight on the White House South Lawn for Trump’s birthday

A federal lawsuit seeks to halt the upcoming UFC fight card on the White House South Lawn in a mixed martial arts show timed for President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday and part of the celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

The filing Saturday by the Public Integrity Project on behalf of two Virginia residents contends the Trump administration’s authorization of the June 14 event was unlawful. The lawsuit says such approval violated National Park Service regulations prohibiting sporting events on federal parklands, Congress did not consent to the towering arch overlooking the event space and no environmental review was conducted before the construction.

The White House said in a statement that the legal challenge was “an obstructionist, baseless, and dilatory” attempt to prevent Trump from hosting the fight and that the event was “no different than the various other White House-hosted events on the South Lawn and properly permitted events on the Ellipse and National Mall throughout the year.”

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Trump issues pardon to former Republican congressman convicted of insider trading

Trump has issued a pardon to Stephen Buyer, a former Republican congressman from Indiana who served nearly two years in prison for making illegal stock trades based on inside information after he left office.

Buyer was sentenced to 22 months in prison in 2023 for trades made while working as a consultant and lobbyist. He was ordered to forfeit more than $350,000, representing the amount of the illegal gains, and pay a $10,000 fine. He was released in 2025.

The Supreme Court in May rejected Buyer’s appeal without comment or noted dissent.

In granting “a full, complete, and unconditional pardon,” Trump cited Buyer’s career as a judge advocate general in the Army and in the House that was “distinguished and highly productive.” The pardon was dated Thursday and released by the White House late Friday.

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No watch party at Madison Square Garden with Trump attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals

Police scuttled an NBA Finals watch party near Madison Square Garden and the New York Knicks warned fans to get to Monday’s matchup at least two hours early as part of enhanced security measures with Trump attending the game.

Trump is a longtime Knicks fan who confirmed Friday that he would attend the first NBA Finals game in New York since 1999. He already has attended a number of major sporting events in his second term, including the 2025 Super Bowl, Daytona 500 and Ryder Cup.

Part of the fallout from Trump’s visit was the cancellation of a Game 3 watch party outside MSG. The New York Police Department said in a statement Sunday the decision was made in coordination with the Secret Service.

“There will be no watch parties outside of Madison Square Garden for Game 3 only,” the statement said. “This was done fully in coordination with the Secret Service because of the presidential visit. We expect watch parties at Madison Square Garden to resume for Game 4.”

Trump dismisses idea that Iran betrays his ‘no new wars’ campaign message

Trump is dismissing the idea that launching the war with Iran this year betrayed his refrain of “No new wars” that he made repeatedly as he campaigned again for the White House.

Trump, in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said he “didn’t guarantee” there would be no wars if he were back in office.

“First of all, I didn’t guarantee no war. Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?” Trump said.

It came just hours before Israel and Iran traded fire in retaliatory strikes that threatened to drag the wider Middle East back into a full-scale regional war. It was the first exchange of fire since an April 8 ceasefire was reached.

Trump also defended plans for a now-scrapped $1.8 billion fund that would have compensated allies of the Republican president and he repeated his baseless claims of mass fraud in California’s drawn-out vote count from Tuesday’s primary. He ended the interview abruptly when he became frustrated with pushback from NBC’s Kristen Welker.

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Join KSAT 12 Meteorologist Justin Horne on Monday, June 8th, for a fun, fast giveaway sponsored by Espinoza & Brock.

• 📍 Location: Espinoza & Brock, 10202 Heritage Blvd.
• 📅 Date: June 8
• ⏱️ Line starts: 8:00 a.m.
• 👕 T-shirt giveaway starts: 9:30 a.m.
• 🎟️ Cost: FREE to the first 100 people in line, ages 18+

Giveaway details (read this part!)

• First 100 KSAT viewers/Spurs fans in line get a shirt
• Limit one (1) T-shirt per person, while supplies last
• Recipients must be 18 years of age or older
• Sizes are subject to availability and not guaranteed; recipients will receive the size available at the time of distribution
• No exchanges

Bring your Spurs energy, be ready to “Honk the Horne,” and let’s show up strong for our silver and black as the playoffs continue.

GO SPURS GO — and don’t forget to watch Larry, Mary and Ashley for the latest in Spurs news!

You can read the Official Rules & Regulations here.

The New York Knicks announced that was the winning bid in an auction for two seats for Game 3 on Monday night, the first NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden since 1999.

The winning bid was split by the law firm Gibson Dunn and private equity firm Veritas Capital. The fundraiser benefited the Garden of Dreams Foundation, and the Knicks said it was the largest single donation in the history of the foundation, which works with MSG’s companies to assist children at need in the tristate area.

The seats are located in section VIP 10, row AA, seats 25 and 26, right off center court. It’s impossible to know what they would usually cost, because the team doesn’t sell them. Instead, they are given to the celebrity fans such as Tracy Morgan and Timothée Chalamet who are courtside fixtures.

Seats everywhere in the building are expensive. The cheapest upper-deck seats available Sunday night were going for more than $6,000 on secondary markets like StubHub, SeatGeek and VividSeats. The experience of being courtside went for more than $75,000.

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

The recently released report provides the first official accounting of the scale of the IRS-ICE information transfer and documents security concerns surrounding an arrangement that has been the subject of multiple lawsuits and significant controversy inside both agencies.

Also known as TIGTA, Treasury’s inspector general found that the controversial 2025 data-sharing agreement crafted between ICE and the Treasury, which allowed ICE to submit names and addresses of immigrants inside the U.S. illegally to the IRS for cross-verification against tax records, resulted in inconsistent formatting in ICE’s data and the IRS’ matching criteria which led to errors.

The deal led the then-acting commissioner of the IRS to resign.

The report states that after the agreement was signed, ICE requested address information on more than 1.2 million people, and the IRS ultimately provided last-known addresses for about 47,000 people.

TIGTA concluded that the IRS’s automated matching process was flawed. Inconsistent formatting in ICE’s data led to questionable matches, including in cases where incomplete or inaccurate addresses were labeled as valid, the report says.

Representatives from Treasury and the IRS did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

The plan to cross-verify tax and immigration data is part of President Donald Trump’s agenda to secure U.S. borders and his larger nationwide immigration crackdown, which has resulted in deportations, workplace raids and the use of an 18th century wartime law to deport Venezuelan migrants.

However, this is not the first time it's been revealed that tens of thousands of taxpayers' information was revealed to ICE.

In February, a federal judge said that the IRS broke the law by disclosing confidential taxpayer information to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, referring to the same 47,000 disclosures that TIGTA points out.

U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found that the IRS had erroneously shared the taxpayer information of thousands of people with the Department of Homeland Security as part of the agencies’ controversial agreement to share information on immigrants for the purpose of identifying and deporting people illegally in the U.S.

No recommendations were made in the new TIGTA report, according to a letter written by Nancy A. LaManna, deputy inspector general for inspections and evaluations.

“However, we plan to share some concerns we identified during our review with the DHS Office of Inspector General,” her letter states.

The ruling Monday by Judge Ken Curry immediately prevents the NCAA from being able to block Sorsby's eligibility for what will be his final college season.

Sorsby will still miss the first two games, which was a penalty that had been proposed by his attorneys.

Curry's ruling came a week after a two-hour hearing in the 99th District Court in Lubbock County, where Texas Tech is located.

The NCAA can appeal to a higher court in Texas, though there was no immediate word on if or when that would happen, or the possible timeline for a different ruling. Texas Tech is nearly three months from its season opener Sept. 5 at home against Abilene Christian.

In a statement, the NCAA said it strongly disagrees with the court's ruling and “is deeply concerned about the damaging, far-reaching and broadly destabilizing ramifications of this outcome — which undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports.”

A significant setback against the NCAA

NCAA attorney Taylor Askew had said during the hearing that allowing Sorsby to play another college season would provide “reputable harm” to the governing body.

"Saying the NCAA is now the first league in America that allows you, without punishment, to bet on its own contests, that’s a reputable harm to the NCAA,” Askew told the court. “This would be the first league in America that does that. ... We should not say for the first time serial gambling is OK.”

Court records show that Sorsby has acknowledged making thousands of impermissible bets totaling at least $90,000 during his time at Indiana, Cincinnati and Texas Tech. That included 40 bets on Indiana while a freshman in 2022, though none on any of the games he played in with the Hoosiers.

While some guidelines for penalties related to gambling have changed in recent years, NCAA rules still call for a permanent loss of eligibility for any player who wagered on his own team.

Sorsby spent two seasons at Indiana before the past two at Cincinnati.

The Texas native transferred in January to Texas Tech for a reported multimillion-dollar deal. The Red Raiders brought him in to be the starting quarterback when trying to defend their first Big 12 Conference title and make the College Football Playoff for the second year in a row.

What led to the NCAA investigation

Court filings revealed that on March 11 the NCAA received a tip about Sorsby’s gambling activity from an online gambling book, which had been informed by law enforcement. Texas Tech was notified April 14 that an investigation was underway by the NCAA.

Jeffrey Kessler, the attorney who negotiated the House settlement against the NCAA and now represents Sorsby, told the court that the 22-year-old quarterback has a diagnosed addiction and anxiety-driven compulsion.

Sorsby recently completed a monthlong stay in a residential treatment program in Arizona that he entered after the start of the NCAA’s investigation.

Kessler said, according to a clinician who treated Sorsby, that not allowing the quarterback to play would hurt his mental health and impede the progress of his recovery.

The NCAA in its statement Monday said it is "committed to supporting student-athlete mental health but must continue to aggressively defend against actions that defraud college athletics and threaten competitive integrity, such as betting on one’s own sport.”

The lawsuit and NCAA appeals

The injunction Monday came in Sorsby’s lawsuit filed May 18 against the NCAA seeking the restoration of his eligibility. That case was initially assigned to District Judge Phillip Hays, a Lubbock native and Texas Tech graduate who later recused himself. Curry is a retired judge from Tarrant County.

Since the filing of that lawsuit, the NCAA has twice denied Texas Tech’s petition to restore the quarterback’s eligibility.

When the school on May 26 revealed the first denial and its intent to appeal, university president Lawrence Schovanec wrote in a letter to the Texas Tech community that the school felt “the NCAA’s ruling should be reversed or modified.”

Texas Tech ruled Sorsby ineligible May 18, the same day he filed his lawsuit. Tech had to do that to be able to pursue a request for his reinstatement that it submitted to the NCAA the following day. That was first denied May 22, and the school's appeal was rejected last week.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Iran fired at Israel after warning against Israel's attacks in Lebanon, including strikes on Beirut on Sunday. Israel says it is targeting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group. Its Beirut strike defied Washington’s request days ago to stand down.

The Israeli strikes against Iran came after U.S. President Donald Trump told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he didn't think Israel needed to respond further.

Here's the Latest:

Netanyahu says Israel to strike ‘with force’ if Iran strikes again

The Israeli prime minister’s brief statement added that “right now, the fire has been halted.” It was his first public statement since Iran fired missiles at Israel late Sunday. They were intercepted.

Netanyahu asserted Israel’s right to self-defense, “and I say this with appreciation and respect in my good conversations with my friend President Trump.” He appears to have openly defied Trump with a strike in Beirut on Sunday and then retaliatory attacks against Iran.

Israeli defense minister warns against attacks on Israel’s northern settlements

Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday night that any attack on Israel’s northern settlements will immediately prompt an attack on Beirut’s Dahiyeh suburbs.

Katz warned Iran that any attempt to use Israel’s attacks against Hezbollah as an excuse to launch missiles against Israel would be “met with great force, as happened yesterday.”

Turkey will push for an end to the war in the Middle East

Turkey is pressing ahead with its contacts with both the United States and Iran to end the war while also consulting with countries in the region, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said.

“It is essential to leave behind this war that has brought our region and the world to the brink of disaster,” Fidan said during a news conference following meetings in Istanbul with his Azerbaijani and Georgian counterparts.

He added: “Turkey will continue to support diplomacy and dialogue during this critical period.”

Turkey, together with Egypt and other regional partners, is backing Pakistan’s initiative to mediate an end to the conflict.

Israeli strikes on Iran wound 15

Israeli strikes on Iran Monday wounded at least 15 people, the National Emergency Medical Organization said in a statement published by the Iranian official news agency.

No fatalities have been reported so far, the organization said. The statement did not specify whether the wounded were civilians or military personnel, noting that 14 of the injured were from Mahshahr in the province of Khuzestan, while one was from Tehran.

Pakistan’s prime minister calls for restraint

Shehbaz Sharif on Monday expressed concern over the recent surge in violence in the Middle East and urged all parties to “exercise restraint.”

In a post on X, Sharif said the latest escalation was “a stark reminder of the dangers associated with a tenuous ceasefire and the unbearable consequences it may lead to.”

Sharif also called for diplomacy over further escalation.

Israeli strikes on Gaza kill at least 5 people, including a child

Israeli strikes on Monday killed at least five people, including a child, across Gaza, according to hospital officials.

A strike killed two people in Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Monday morning, according to Nasser Hospital, while another left three people dead in Jabaliya in northern Gaza, including Jad Soleiman, an 8-year-old boy, according to Shifa Hospital. Several were also wounded.

Jad’s father, Yusuf, clutched his son’s backpack and kissed his face as the child’s body, wrapped in a white burial shroud, lay before him.

“He was coming home from school,” Soleiman said. “I ran to him and found him lying down with his bag still on. It’s covered in his blood. He was wounded and bleeding from the neck. He was taking his last breaths."

Gaza City and Deir al-Balah in central Gaza were also hit. Casualty figures were not immediately available.

The Israeli army said it struck some Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives, adding it would give further details later.

The attacks were the latest in a series of strikes that have hit homes and shelters across Gaza since October’s fragile ceasefire that sought to halt the more than two-year war.

US tells Iran no more Israeli attacks if Tehran halts strikes, official says

The U.S. told Iran there would be no more attacks by Israel if Tehran halted its missile strikes, and that Israel has agreed to halt attacks for now, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The White House and Netanyahu’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israeli army says 3 projectiles fired at Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon

The army said two projectiles were intercepted, while one landed near the soldiers, adding there were no injuries.

The launches triggered air raid sirens in northern Israel.

Schools across Israel will remain closed for a second day

Education Minister Yoav Kisch said in a post on X Monday afternoon that schools would not open on Tuesday.

On Sunday evening, Israel’s military updated its guidelines for civilians, limiting large gatherings and canceling school across the country for the first time since the earlier round of fighting with Iran in April.

Kisch said the Ministry of Education aims to reopen classrooms on Wednesday under guidelines that would ensure students have access to close shelter.

Iraq reopens its airspace

Iraq’s Civil Aviation Authority announced that the country’s airspace has reopened after earlier announcing a 72-hour closure in response to the renewed exchange of fire between Israel and Iran.

Syrian man finds a missile partially buried in his field

A missile lay partially buried in a field on the outskirts of the Syrian capital of Damascus on Monday, surrounded by scorched earth after overnight exchanges of fire between Israel and Iran sent projectiles across the region.

The missile’s impact left a blackened patch of ground where a fire broke out, according to the field’s owner, Mahmoud Ataya. He said residents heard a loud explosion during the night but did not immediately know what had happened. When they went to put out the fire, they found half of the missile protruding from the ground. No casualties were reported.

State media in Syria reported explosions in the skies over Damascus Sunday night, attributing them to Israeli air defenses intercepting missiles fired from Iran. Associated Press journalists in the Syrian capital also reported hearing loud explosions overnight

US ambassador to Lebanon says Washington does not want Israel-Hezbollah war to expand

Ambassador Michel Issa made his comments after meeting President Joseph Aoun Monday, a day after Israel struck a southern Beirut suburb.

Issa also hinted at disagreements between President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Lebanon.

He described the Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s suburb and Iran’s missile attack on Israel as a “political message,” adding that “we in the United States decided that the confrontation does not expand more.”

Issa later met Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and, after the meeting, told reporters Trump follows Lebanon’s news daily, adding in Arabic that Trump “almost got into a fight with Netanyahu over Lebanon.”

Iranian military’s joint command says it is halting its offensive operations

The Iranian military’s joint command said Monday it was halting its offensive operations after Israel and Iran exchanged fire in their first attacks since the U.S. struck a ceasefire with Tehran two months ago.

The joint command said that if Israel or its supporters carried out any further “aggression and hostile acts,” including in southern Lebanon, then “much more severe and crushing measures than before will follow.”

EU approves sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities

The European Union’s foreign policy chief said the 27-member bloc approved sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities involved in disrupting transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

Kaja Kallas said after a meeting with EU defense ministers on Monday that this is the first time the EU has applied a new freedom-of-navigation sanctions system “and where necessary will apply it again.”

“Ministers were clear today that Iran’s actions are unacceptable,” Kallas said.

Trump claims negotiations are ongoing

Trump later posted again to his Truth Social website, insisting that both Israel and Iran were “looking to do an immediate CEASEFIRE!”

He claimed negotiations were ongoing, “subject to ignorance or stupidity getting in its way.”

Israel says it targeted Iranian petrochemical facilities

The Israeli military said it targeted petrochemical facilities in Mahshahr to hit sites used to produce “unique materials that serve as critical components for the development of ballistic missiles.”

Trump says Israel and Iran must stop shooting

In his first comments since Iran and Israel traded fire, Trump wrote online: “Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting.’”

Iraq closes airspace for 72 hours

Iraq’s Civil Aviation Authority on Monday said the closure was a “precautionary measure” to preserve the safety and security of civil aviation.

It added that the decision will be subject to continuous review and reassessment and airlines and relevant sides will be notified of any new developments.

29 Lebanese army members have been killed in Israeli strikes since March

Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos released the toll Monday, two days after an Israeli airstrike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon killed three members of the Lebanese army, including a brigadier general and a captain.

Morcos said that since the Israel-Hezbollah war began on March 2, three police, one member of the General Security Directorate and 13 state security members have been killed in Israeli attacks. Also killed was a member of the parliament’s security.

A total of 3,613 people have been killed, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

The Israeli military has said it operates against Hezbollah and not against the Lebanese army.

▶ Read more

Syria temporary closes Damascus airport as Iran and Israel trade fire

Damascus International Airport will remain closed until 11 p.m. (2200 GMT) Monday.

Syria’s General Authority of Civil Aviation closed the country’s southern airspace, which includes Damascus. The measure is related to the latest exchange of fire between Iran and Israel, it said.

Air defenses in Tehran and other cities open fire

Just before noon, air defense systems around Tehran and multiple Iranian cities opened fire, with some claims of attacks ongoing.

Oil prices rise sharply

Oil prices surged as Israel launched airstrikes early Monday targeting central and western Iran in response to missile fire.

Brent crude, the international standard, jumped $4.40 to $97.49 a barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude surged $3.95 to $94.49 a barrel.

The latest spate of attacks was straining efforts to end the conflict as a tentative deal reached last week to extend a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has not yet been finalized.

▶ Read more

Israel says it targeted Iranian missile launchers

Israel’s military said it targeted truck-based surface-to-air missile launchers in its strikes Monday on Iran.

It said Iran had deployed the systems across the country in a bid to restore its capabilities that were degraded earlier in the war.

Iran says US responsible for any escalation caused by Israel

An Iranian official warned Monday that the United States is “responsible for the consequences of any escalation” in the Middle East caused by Israel.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei made the comment in a briefing with journalists on Monday in Tehran.

“No one believes that the Israeli regime would take any action without coordination with the United States,” Baghaei said. “The United States bears responsibility for the Israeli regime’s aggression, and it will also be responsible for the consequences of any escalation in tensions.”

Israeli rescue services say no injures so far from Iranian missile attack

Israel’s rescue services said there were not any known injuries from the latest round of missiles from Iran.

Rescue services are searching a number of sites for possible fragments from interceptions.

Iran launches third wave of missiles at Israel

The Israeli military urged people to take shelter. Similar alerts sounded in neighboring Jordan.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim missile attack on Israel

The Iran-backed rebels also said that Israel-affiliated vessels would again be a target in the Red Sea.

The statement from Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree was broadcast on the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel.

It’s another new escalation as the nominal ceasefire in the Iran war is being challenged by crossfire between Israel and Iran.

Iran claims attacks, says it targeted military bases

Iran claimed the attacks on Israel, saying their fire targeted two military bases in Israel.

The paramilitary Revolutionary Guard described the attack as being part of Operation Nasr, or “Victory.” The Guard said it launched the missile fire after Israel targeted radar sites in three areas of Iran, without elaborating.

The Israeli military says it hit petrochemical complex in Iran

Israel’s military says it him a petrochemical complex in southwestern Iran. It did not provide details.

The semiofficial Fars and Mehr news agencies said Israeli strikes hit a petrochemical factory in city of Mahshahr in Khuzestan province. It did not elaborate on the damage done.

Israel issues all clear after a second wave of Iranian missiles

Israel issued an all-clear after warning of a second wave of inbound missiles from Iran.

It was the second alert without any interceptions being heard in the country.

The Iranian fire comes after Israel launched strikes on Iran early Monday in the most-serious crossfire since an April 8 ceasefire was reached in the Iran war.

Sirens sound near Israel’s main nuclear research site

Israel said it detected a barrage of missiles from Iran toward central and southern Israel on Monday morning. Loud explosions were heard over central Israel, and missiles also targeted southern Israel, near the city of Dimona and Arad.

The remote desert city of Dimona houses Israel’s main nuclear research center, which opened in 1958. Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, though its leaders neither confirm nor deny this.

Iran targeted Dimona and Arad during the last round of conflict, injuring more than two dozen people.

No impact or casualties in Israel from Yemen missile launch

Israel’s rescue services said there were no reports of casualties or impacts from the launch from Yemen.

Israel cancels school nationwide as conflict escalates

Israel’s military updated its guidelines for civilians on Sunday evening, limiting large gatherings and canceling school across the country.

It is the first time school has been canceled across Israel since the earlier round of fighting with Iran in April, though schools in Israel’s northern border had been closed for much longer due to the threat of Hezbollah fire.

Israel says missile launched from Yemen

Israel said Monday that it detected a missile launched from Yemen targeting the country. Sirens sounded across Israel after the Yemen missile fire warning.

Yemen is home to the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The Houthis have fired missiles at Israel during the Israel-Hamas war and later, but haven’t been fully involved in the Iran war.

Saudi Arabia sounds missile alerts

Saudi Arabia sounded missile alert sirens Monday morning in an area home to an air base that hosts U.S. forces. Saudi state media reported the alert around its Al Kharj governorate, home to Prince Sultan Air Base.

It did not elaborate. The alert came after Israel launched strikes targeting Iran.

Trump had urged Israel not to respond

Speaking to The Financial Times, Trump before the Israeli strike on Iran insisted he dictated terms to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on how the war should be prosecuted.

“He won’t have any choice,” Trump told the newspaper in a telephone interview. “I call the shots. I call all the shots. He (Netanyahu) doesn’t call the shots.”

White House has no immediate comment

The White House did not respond to messages Sunday about the strikes and whether they were done in coordination with the U.S.

Iran closes airspace around its main airport following Israeli strikes

Iran closes airspace around Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport, country’s main airfield, after Israeli attack.

Israel strikes central and Western Iran

Israel says it strikes central and Western Iran after missile fire; Tehran says explosions heard in several cities

In a videotaped statement, Netanyahu implied that the current round of fighting was over. But he also warned that if Iran "makes the mistake and returns to attacking us, we will respond with force.”

The renewed hostilities between Israel and Iran raised concerns that the Middle East could be plunged back into a full-scale war.

Since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28, the war has shaken the global economy, driven energy prices up around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive. Officials have been unable to turn the April ceasefire into a deal to permanently end the conflict.

During the truce, Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz — a crucial passage for the world’s oil and natural gas whose closure was the primary reason global fuel prices skyrocketed. Israel has continued to strike Hezbollah, Iran’s ally in Lebanon, and pushed deeper into that country. And on Monday, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, another Iranian ally, fired at Israel and warned they would target Israel-affiliated ships in the Red Sea.

With little apparent progress in peace talks, Israel and Iran exchanging fire, and the Houthis joining the fight, the risk of the war fully erupting again appeared higher than at any point since the ceasefire.

In the wake of the new attacks, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote online: “Israel and Iran must immediately stop ‘shooting.’”

Shortly after, the Iranian military's joint command issued its statement. It said further “aggression and hostile acts” by Israel and its supporters, including in southern Lebanon, would be met with “much more severe and crushing measures than before.”

Netanyahu said Israel is continuing to operate in Lebanon against the militant group Hezbollah, Iran's ally, and that Israel “has full right to self-defense, and we will exercise it to the full extent necessary.”

Diplomats are racing to save the ceasefire

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed concern Monday over the surge in violence. In a post on X, Sharif urged all parties to “exercise restraint and give peace a little more chance.”

Two regional officials said diplomatic efforts were underway to salvage the ceasefire.

Officials from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Qatar urged the Trump administration to pressure Israel to halt strikes on Iran and Beirut. They also urged Iranian officials to stop attacks on Israel, the officials said. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

Trump said talks were ongoing for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, though he gave no details.

Israel and Iran traded strikes

Iran launched waves of attacks on Israel on Monday, and Israel launched strikes on central and western Iran. It was their first exchange of fire since the ceasefire.

Iranian state media reported at least 15 people were wounded after explosions sounded in Tehran and other cities. There were no immediate reports of fatalities.

The semiofficial Fars and Mehr news agencies said Israeli strikes hit a petrochemical factory in the city of Mahshahr. They did not elaborate on any damage. The Israeli military confirmed the strike on the plant, saying it targeted sites that produce materials for ballistic missiles. Israel said it also targeted truck-based missile launchers.

Israel said its strikes were in response to an Iranian missile attack. Tehran warned Sunday that it would retaliate after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning. When Israel struck back, Iran fired again.

Explosions could be heard in central Israel as air defenses sought to intercept incoming Iranian fire. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted two military bases in Israel.

Iran blamed the United States for the escalation.

“No one believes that the Israeli regime would take any action without coordination with the United States,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told journalists in Tehran.

The White House did not immediately respond to messages about Israel's strikes.

Tensions appear to be growing between Trump and Netanyahu

Trump and Netanyahu launched the war in a closely coordinated attack, with Israeli officials proudly boasting of unprecedented “shoulder to shoulder” cooperation.

The conflict reached 100 days on Monday, and the two leaders have moved in opposite directions, with tensions sometimes spilling out into the open.

Netanyahu appears to have openly defied Trump with the strike Sunday in Beirut and subsequent attacks in Iran. Trump has voiced his displeasure with Israel, including belittling Netanyahu by declaring to the Financial Times that “I call all the shots.”

Their differences appear to be rooted in each leader's domestic considerations. Netanyahu faces elections this fall and is under public pressure to strike back against ongoing Hezbollah attacks on northern Israel. He also is wary of appearing too subservient to Trump.

The U.S. president, meanwhile, also faces elections — for Congress in November — and is eager to end a war that has jolted the global economy and raised prices for consumers.

The Houthis claimed an attack on Israel

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed an attack on Israel on Monday and said Israel-affiliated vessels would again be a target in the Red Sea, putting the waterway in danger along with the Gulf of Aden and the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting them. The statement from Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree was broadcast on the Houthis’ al-Masirah satellite news channel.

The Houthis made a similar threat during the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and launched attacks that killed at least nine mariners and sank four ships. They often targeted vessels with tangential or no ties to Israel.

The assaults upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods passed each year before the war.

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This story has been updated to correct the day the Iran war started to Feb. 28.

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Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel; Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad; Matthew Lee in Washington; Michelle L. Price in Bridgewater, New Jersey; Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece; Samy Magdy in Cairo; and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Several mostly low-rise buildings collapsed or sustained heavy damages in the hard-hit city of General Santos. Tsunami damage was reported in at least one southern coastal village. Smaller waves were measured in Indonesia and Palau and as far away as southern Japan.

The quake also triggered a landslide in Glan, a municipality in the province of Sarangani, that killed 13 villagers, Rene Punzalan, a provincial disaster-mitigation official, told the DZBB radio network. Four other villagers died in Sarangani, he said.

The major earthquake was the strongest to hit the Philippines this year, Teresito Bacolcol, the director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said. He warned people to seek advice before returning to damaged buildings and houses, which could collapse due to aftershocks.

The United States, a treaty ally of the Philippines, said it was coordinating with Manila and was ready to support Philippine response efforts. France, Japan and New Zealand also expressed support.

“Our pickup truck suddenly jerked and I thought we had a flat tire,” Rod Sosmeña, a regional director of the Office of Civil Defense, told The Associated Press from General Santos, where he was traveling when the quake struck at 7:37 a.m.

“The shaking was very strong and people dashed out of houses into the streets,” Sosmeña said.

Epicenter in sea off Mindanao

More than 100 students in uniforms and a dozen teachers had gathered for a flag-raising ceremony in a coconut tree-ringed grade school compound in the rural town of Malita in Davao Occidental province when the ground shook, turning the first day of school after a two-month summer break into chaos.

“Their excitement on the first day of school turned to trauma,” school principal Rosavel Cachuela told the AP.

Some of the young students screamed in panic and wept but most remained seated and still, preventing any injuries, Cachuela said, adding that a motorcycle was damaged when a shed crumbled to the ground.

At least four people remained missing in General Santos, a port city of more than 700,000 people and a regional hub for the tuna export industry. Search and rescue teams worked to find people who may have been trapped in a supermarket, a warehouse, a grade school, and other small buildings that either collapsed or were severely damaged, officials said.

The international airport in General Santos was temporarily shut due to the earthquake and 17 domestic flights were canceled, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said.

The quake was centered at sea off Mindanao, the second most populous island in the Philippine archipelago. According to Bacolcol, the quake occurred at a depth of 33 kilometers (20 miles), about 32 kilometers (20 miles) southwest of Maasim town in Sarangani province.

Assessing damage and casualties

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the cancellation of classes and directed disaster-response agencies to immediately get to work in quake-hit provinces, saying “the national government is moving and we will not leave Mindanao behind.”

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the threat of a tsunami largely passed about five hours after the quake. Philippine officials also lifted a tsunami warning by mid-afternoon. Six shanties on stilts were damaged in a coastal village in Zamboanga del Sur province due to the quake and taller waves, officials said.

Aside from the landslide in Sarangani, most of the other deaths were caused by collapsing buildings and falling debris, including in a damaged mosque, in the southern provinces of South Cotabato and Davao Occidental, and on Balut Island, according to Sosmeña and another disaster-mitigation official, Ednar Dayanghirang.

The DZRH radio network in Manila reported that a four-story commercial building where its provincial station was located partly collapsed and staffers dashed to the ground floor without injuries.

Tsunami waves near 3 feet measured

Waves of 1 meter (3 feet) were monitored in the provinces of Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani. A 1.4-meter (4.6-foot) wave hit at one time in Kiamba town, Bacolcol said.

The quake was also felt in Malaysia’s Sabah state on Borneo island. Sabah is just a boat ride away from southern Philippines. An 83-centimeter (2.7-feet) tsunami was measured by a gauge off Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, and the PTWC said 30-centimeter (1-foot) waves were measured in Palau.

Waves up to 20 centimeters (7.8 inches) were detected on the remote Japanese island of Chichijima and the central Japanese town of Kushimoto, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The Philippines is often hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions due to its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of seismic faults around the ocean.

The archipelago is also battered by about 20 typhoons and tropical storms each year, making it one of the world's most disaster-prone countries.

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Gomez reported from Manila, Philippines. Associated Press writers Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and global executive producer Kiko Rosario in Bangkok contributed to this report.

Officers responded to the shooting just before 1:50 a.m. Monday in the 400 block of Old Highway 90, which is located near Southwest 34th Street.

The man was walking to a taco truck after leaving a nearby bar when a vehicle approached him, SAPD said.

A person exited the vehicle and started to argue with the man for unknown reasons, police said.

Police said the victim was then shot multiple times in the torso. The suspected shooter fled the scene in a truck.

Officers later found the truck on South San Augustine Avenue and surrounded a home to find out if the shooter was there, SAPD said.

Further information was not readily available. This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.

Read also:

• Several arrested after man shot at north Bexar County home, sheriff’s office says
• Thieves target A/C units and trailer at West Side church hours before Sunday service

FORECAST HIGHLIGHTS

• DOWNPOURS TODAY: Best odds (30% coverage) will be this morning through early afternoon
• HIGH PRESSURE: Takes over for rest of the week, quiet into weekend
• HEAT INDEX: Likely 95°+ during the afternoons

FORECAST

TODAY

There are a few streamer showers in the area, and they’ll be with us through the early afternoon hours. The odds of seeing rain in San Antonio sit at 30%. Should you see a downpour, expect brief, heavy rain. Hail and/or damaging wind is NOT possible.

Otherwise, it’ll be a partly cloudy, humid day. Temperatures will top out near 90°, while heat indices will reach the mid-90s.

SUMMER DOLDRUMS

It appears we are making our annual transition to a quieter, more summer-like pattern. A ridge of high pressure will build this week, keeping us rain-free and warm. The pattern of morning clouds and afternoon sun will be the norm.

HEAT INDEX

It’s no surprise that we’ll be dealing with heat and humidity in June. But, now is the time for our annual reminder regarding the heat index. While temperatures are not expected to get out of control, heat index values will consistently top 95° in the afternoons this week. Stay cool!

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In the first-ever papal address to Spanish lawmakers, the American pope said a “moral renewal” was necessary in legislatures and public life to ensure respect for the inherent dignity of all people, including migrants, the unborn and the most vulnerable.

“The moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to accompany, protect and love those lives that are most fragile,” Leo said.

Speeches by popes to foreign legislatures are rare, since they can imply recognition of a religious leader by lawmakers. Pope Francis addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress in 2015, and Pope Benedict XVI addressed his native German Bundestag in 2011.

That Leo was invited to speak to Las Cortes Generales showed a level of acceptance for the Catholic Church in a political setting that might have been unthinkable even a few years ago. The Catholic Church was a pillar of Gen. Francisco Franco’s dictatorship, enjoying broad control and influence over Spanish society, but that waned after democracy took root in the 1970s.

While many Spaniards still identify as Catholic, religious observance has dropped sharply amid secularizing trends seen in other once-staunchly Christian countries.

And yet lawmakers gave Leo a 7-minute standing ovation with chants of “Viva el Papa!” — “Long live the pope!”

Leo's weeklong visit to Spain — the first since Benedict visited in 2011 — has drawn large crowds, with an estimated 1.5 million people turning out for Mass on Sunday in a downtown plaza and 600,000 young people for a prayer vigil.

Pope calls for peace as Israel and Iran trade strikes

Leo's speech came Monday as Israel and Iran traded fire, threatening to drag the Middle East back into a full-scale regional war. The pope repeated his demand for dialogue, “diplomatic courage” and the "the obligation of states to resolve their disputes through the peaceful means offered by international law.”

He also lamented that European defense budgets were being built up as countries confront the threat posed by Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the Trump administration’s threats to reduce financial and military support for the continent.

“It is therefore a cause for concern that, in various parts of the world — and in Europe as well — rearmament is once again being presented as an almost inevitable response to the fragility of the international situation,” Leo said.

He repeated his demand for “rigorous ethical oversight” of automated weapons systems created by artificial intelligence “so that decisions regarding life and death are never left to automated systems nor removed from the moral responsibility of the human person.”

Pope urges dignity, acceptance and integration for migrants

Spain’s Socialist-led government has bucked a trend in Europe and the United States by defending immigration on economic and humanitarian grounds, launching a legalization push earlier this year for hundreds of thousands of immigrants without authorization. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has highlighted the benefits to the economy with an aging workforce and low birth rate.

Leo called for strengthened international efforts to prevent the smuggling of migrants and create conditions where they can choose to stay home.

For those who flee conflict, poverty and climate change, he called for welcome and integration. Pope Francis made the plight of refugees reaching Europe a hallmark of his papacy, and Leo has insisted especially on the dignity of migrants in his native United States amid the Trump administration’s crackdown.

“This gives rise to a twofold demand for social justice: to offer safe and legal pathways, a respectful welcome and real opportunities for integration; and, at the same time, to promote the right to remain in one’s own land, working to ensure that no one has to leave their home due to a lack of peace, security or decent living conditions, including economic inequalities and the effects of the climate crisis,” Leo said.

Leo references the Spanish conquest and the slave trade

Leo cited the 16th century Spanish intellectual tradition, known as the School of Salamanca, that gave rise to concepts of international law and inherent human rights after Spain’s colonial conquests of the Americas.

He praised the theologians involved in the movement who “understood that reason could not be invoked to legitimize whatever force or self-interest that seemed convenient” and that there were “moral limits of power.”

“It must be acknowledged that society and the church herself did not always live up to these insights found in their own Christian tradition,” Leo said.

It was a reference to the Catholic Church’s own role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade and colonial conquest, and recalled Leo’s recent apology for the role the Holy See played in legitimizing slavery.

Pope visits at a delicate political moment

Leo's visit comes at a delicate time for Sánchez.

Sánchez’s Socialist Party has been hammered by corruption scandals, though none have directly implicated him. Probes have touched some of Sánchez's closest confidants, as well as his wife and brother.

As they play out in the courts, Spain is increasingly frayed by political polarization. Sánchez's minority government has been unable to pass legislation, including a budget for the past three years.

Leo, in an apparent reference to polarization, warned that “political pluralism should not degenerate into the constant disparagement of one's adversary."

Spain's progressive leader, who is an atheist, and the pope have converged on major issues including opposing the war in Iran. Both have been outspoken critics of the Trump administration.

Last month, after visiting Leo in the Vatican, Sánchez called the pope's voice “a moral compass in the fight against injustice."

Traditionally, the Catholic Church in Spain has been closer to the conservative Popular Party than the Socialist Party, which championed social issues including same-sex marriage and abortion rights.

However, by placing issues of justice at the center of their public discourse, Pope Francis and now Leo have narrowed the gap between the Vatican and progressive governments, said Rafael Ruiz Andrés, a sociology professor at Complutense University of Madrid who specializes in religious dynamics.

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Officers responded to the crash around 2:35 p.m. on U.S. Highway 281 northbound near Evans Road.

According to an SAPD preliminary report, the driver of another vehicle merged into a lane and struck the motorcyclist.

The motorcyclist, identified as a 36-year-old man, suffered serious injuries. Officers said he was taken to a hospital for treatment.

The driver, a 50-year-old man, cooperated with SAPD’s investigation, police said.

SAPD said its investigation is ongoing. Further information was not readily available.

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Pashinyan was looking for a strong mandate for a new geopolitical course that includes distancing Armenia from Moscow and deepening cooperation with the West. “The European Union is our main partner in democratic reform implementation, and we will continue that path,” Pashinyan said as he cast his vote on Sunday.

Pashinyan's Civil Contract party came in first with 49.82% of the vote, according to the latest preliminary results on Monday.

His main opponent, Samvel Karapetyan, is a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia and is under house arrest, accused of advocating for the government’s overthrow. Karapetyan, whose Strong Armenia bloc was the runner-up with 23.28% of the vote, rejects that charge as politically motivated.

Armenian investigators said they also issued six arrest warrants for members of Strong Armenia the day before the election, accusing them of buying votes. The party seeks to develop close business ties with Moscow and has accused Pashinyan of attempting to start a war with the Kremlin.

While the Central Election Commission says it has counted ballots from all electoral precincts, full results are not expected until Sunday. This is to give parties time to lodge complaints about any perceived irregularities.

‘Referendum on the future of the country'

Richard Giragosian, who heads the Regional Studies Center think tank in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, said that despite concerns that Russia was trying to sway the election, the vote had been “genuinely free and fair” and “stands as a referendum on the future of the country.”

“Much of the Russian efforts at interference fell flat and were ineffective,” Giragosian told the AP on Monday.

Russia has warned Armenia it would suffer economic consequences if it continues moves toward the EU. Moscow controls a significant portion of Armenia’s energy and infrastructure, a point that has been driven home by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his meetings with Pashinyan.

Russia recently banned the import of a number of Armenian products, including, flowers, wine and fish. Moscow has cited violations of import rules, but the European Commission has called the measures “economic coercion.”

Putin and other Russian officials also have made thinly veiled threats comparing Armenia’s path to that already taken by Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia.

Pashinyan's party set to rule on its own

Armenia’s National Assembly must consist of at least 101 members elected for five-year terms. Parties must win at least 4% of the vote to enter, while blocs made up of three or more parties must hit 8%.

The Hayastan (Armenia) bloc led by former President Robert Kocharyan is also set to take seats, receiving 9.93% of the vote. The Prosperous or Blossoming Armenia party, led by pro-Russia businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, has hovered around the 4% threshold.

Turnout stood at 58.94%, according to the latest announcement by the election commission.

Preliminary results from the election commission suggested the governing party has won 61 seats in the National Assembly.

According to Giragosian, the analyst, this will allow Pashinyan's party to rule on its own and pass most laws independently, but not to secure constitutional amendments without a referendum.

PM vows to continue peace process with neighboring Azerbaijan

Opposition parties have strongly criticized the government for attempting to normalize relations with neighboring Azerbaijan. Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev initialed a document on moving toward a peace deal at the White House alongside U.S. President Donald Trump in August.

Armenia and Azerbaijan were locked in a decades-long conflict over Karabakh, a breakaway region that had been controlled for decades by ethnic Armenian forces backed by Yerevan. Azerbaijan took control of the entire Karabakh region during a rapid offensive in 2023.

Pashinyan announced on Monday that Armenia intends to move toward “institutionalizing” a peace deal, and ratifying an agreement with the White House that would create a major transit corridor through Armenian territory to be named after Trump.

“This is a truly transformative project, as Armenia is becoming a crossroads of the world,” Pashinyan said at a meeting of a parliamentary committee, referring to the country's position bridging Europe's hungry energy markets and Central Asia's gas fields.

Giragosian said a priority of the next government will be border demarcation with Azerbaijan, as well as cracking down on corruption.

“It's not going to be easy,” he said, adding that the government's re-election was, for many voters, because of a lack of any credible alternative, saying the opposition was “largely discredited and mistrusted."

Responses from Brussels and Moscow

Top officials of the EU, which is preparing an economic support package for Armenia, congratulated Pashinyan following the tightly contested race.

“We deeply value our partnership with a democratic Armenia that is drawing ever closer to Europe. Armenia can count on us," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on social media on Monday.

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said Armenians have withstood “heavy Russian pressure and economic coercion.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that same day that Armenia's elections were held “amid unprecedented pressure on the opposition and interference from the West, primarily the EU.”

The ministry's spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, did not give examples of such interference, but said “the elections clearly demonstrated that Armenian society is extremely polarized.” She added that Moscow's approach to future relations will “take into account actual steps taken by the Armenian leadership."

According to Giragosian, Russia “is not necessarily that surprised or that upset” at the result.

"It seems the lack of direct Russian support for the opposition reflects a Russian desire to continue working with the Pashinyan government but to increase pressure” on it, he said.

——

AP writers Sam McNeil in Brussels and Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus contributed.

——

An earlier version of this story wrongly stated that according to an earlier announcement by Armenia's election commission, turnout in the general election on Sunday stood at 97%. The correct figure at that time was 59.97%.

The relationship is so significant that health care providers now use a specific term to describe it: cardio-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome.

CKM syndrome describes the interconnected relationship between cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, diabetes, obesity and other metabolic disorders. When one condition develops or worsens, it can place added stress on the others, accelerating disease progression throughout the body.

How CKM syndrome affects the body

“Type 2 diabetes is extremely common in our community and affects more than blood glucose,” said Dr. Shweta Bansal, a nephrologist with University Health. “In one in three patients, diabetes damages kidneys, injuring the blood vessels that filter excess water and waste. Diabetes also significantly increases the risk of heart disease, and when all three conditions occur together, they’re not operating in isolation -- they make each other worse.”

A patient with diabetes may develop kidney disease, which can increase the risk of heart failure and other cardiovascular complications. Obesity and metabolic disorders can further accelerate the progression of both kidney and heart disease.

Because these conditions influence one another, treating a single diagnosis without considering the others does not fully address a patient’s overall health risks.

Why coordinated care matters

Despite how closely linked these conditions are, treatment has traditionally been divided among multiple specialists.

A patient might see a cardiologist for heart disease, a nephrologist for kidney disease and an endocrinologist for diabetes management. While each specialist plays an important role, coordinating medications, treatment plans and follow-up care across multiple providers can be challenging.

A team-based approach to treatment

“We call it cardio-kidney-metabolic syndrome,” Bansal said. “But very often, we treat these conditions separately, resulting in fragmented care and delayed treatment. That’s why we created the Cardio-Kidney-Metabolic Clinic, where specialists work together to treat patients as a whole.”

University Health’s recently established Cardio-Kidney-Metabolic Clinic combines expertise from cardiology, nephrology and endocrinology to develop integrated treatment plans. The multidisciplinary team also includes clinical pharmacists, dietitians, social workers and care coordinators who help address both medical and non-medical factors that can affect health outcomes.

For patients with complex chronic conditions, that collaboration can be especially important because treatments that benefit one system can negatively affect another.

Looking beyond the diagnosis

The clinic focuses on helping patients manage heart failure, coronary artery disease, chronic kidney disease, hypertension, obesity and diabetes while reducing the risk of complications, hospitalizations and disease progression.

In addition to medical treatment, the clinic addresses barriers that can make chronic disease management more difficult, including medication access, transportation, insurance and nutrition needs.

The approach reflects a broader shift in medicine toward treating CKM syndrome as a connected disease process rather than a collection of separate diagnoses.

When to talk to your doctor

For patients living with diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease or multiple related risk factors, experts say understanding those connections is an important first step.

“Talk to your primary care physician if you might have cardio-kidney-metabolic syndrome,” Bansal said.

Patients who need specialized care can work with the multidisciplinary team at University Health’s Cardio-Kidney-Metabolic Clinic to develop a coordinated treatment plan designed to support long-term heart, kidney and metabolic health.

The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research highlights many Americans' feeling of unease over the future of its representative government — particularly among young people. It presents a jarring contrast as communities around the country commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Only about one-quarter of Americans say the U.S. stands above all other countries in the world, the new poll found, while 44% say it’s one of the greatest countries in the world, along with some others. About 3 in 10 say there are better countries than the U.S., an increase from 19% in an AP-NORC poll conducted in June 2016.

Americans remain divided about whether diversity is an essential feature of the U.S.'s identity, and agreement about other aspects of the country's underlying character appears to be eroding, the survey found. Americans are less likely to see a democratically elected government as “extremely” or “very” important to the United States’ identity as a nation than they were just a few years ago. About two-thirds of U.S. adults now say a democratically elected government is highly important to the U.S.’s identity as a nation, down from 80% in 2021.

“It’s not that the democracy part is not working," said Derricka Wall, 24, of Chickasaw, Alabama. "It’s the people that are actually being put in office that is the problem.”

Wall believes politicians have damaged America’s governing system, which was designed to ensure representation and guard against government misuse.

America, she said, “is not what it used to be. I feel like our founding fathers would be kind of disappointed with how it is now.”

Rising belief that democracy is not essential to American identity

Young adults are much less likely than older Americans to believe the U.S. is special, compared with other nations, the poll found.

About 4 in 10, 44%, of U.S. adults under 30 say there are other countries better than the U.S., compared with 22% of U.S. adults ages 60 and older.

Fewer, too, see democracy as a key element of the U.S.’s identity. Only about half of Americans under 30 believe this, compared with 81% of those 60 and older.

Wall said the people who established the government with co-equal branches thought they were erecting safeguards to keep any one person or group from attaining too much power. But she believes they didn’t foresee how easily those guardrails would crumble if the people in the system stopped enforcing them.

“I feel like they would actually roll out of their graves," she said. "I feel they would be very disappointed in us.”

The belief that politics isn't working for everyday people extends beyond the youngest generations. Kent Stage, 62 and a retired senior enlisted man in the Army, is a registered Republican in Indiana. He does not think the current political system addresses the country's problems. He’d like to see term limits on politicians and more working-class people serving.

“I’ll trust the ambulance-chasing lawyer and a shady used car salesman before I trust the politician,” he said.

Stage, who is also a former Marine, believes public servants make self-serving choices for their families “while mine and yours still got to hit the old grindstone."

Many feel it's harder to get ahead in the US

The survey also finds widespread cynicism about America as the land of opportunity. About half of U.S. adults, 51%, say the American Dream — the idea that if you work hard, you’ll get ahead — once held true but does not anymore. About one-third say it “still holds true” while 15% say it never held true.

Jack Hermanson, a 27-year-old software developer in Denver, said his belief in the American Dream changed when he saw his engineer husband struggle to find a job. “That really shattered my impression that if you work hard, you get what you deserve,” Hermanson said.

Only 22% of Americans under 30 say the American Dream still holds true, compared with 46% of Americans ages 60 and older.

Angela Toombs, 31, works at a senior living facility in Atlanta where her clients talk about how easy it was to buy a house while working their first regular jobs in their 20s and are incredulous about the obstacles facing Toombs’ generation. Toombs recently gave up her own apartment to rent a room in order to save money.

Skepticism about the American Dream is more widespread among Democrats and independents, compared with Republicans. Most Republicans, 57%, say the American Dream still holds true, compared with about one-quarter of independents and 17% of Democrats.

Republicans are also much likelier than Democrats to see the U.S. as exceptional. About half of Republicans say the U.S. stands above all other countries in the world, compared with only 7% of Democrats.

Quintin Sharpe, 28, lives in a resort town on Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. A financial planner who is Republican, he said the American Dream remains accessible and he is proud of the country. “It's been a great experiment.”

"The opportunity is there for those who want to work for it,” he said. Sharpe believes the country is “a meritocracy, and the best ideas, the best work ethic, those with the best succeed regardless of race, skin color, any of those factors.”

He and his wife will celebrate the country's 250th anniversary watching the fireworks over the lake.

Divides on whether diversity is essential to US

Just over half of U.S. adults — 56% — say a shared American culture and set of values are “extremely” or “very” important to the country's identity, down from 65% in 2017. Younger Americans are less likely than older ones to say a singular set of values is important to U.S. identity.

But Americans remain sharply divided on the centrality of welcoming diverse perspectives: About half of adults, 51%, say the ability of people to come from other places in the world to escape violence or find economic opportunities is “extremely” or “very” important to American identity, while 55% say this about the mixing of cultures and values from around the world.

Only about 4 in 10 Republicans see the mixing of cultures and values from around the world as central to the country's identity, compared with 76% of Democrats.

Rose Nunez, 70, of San Antonio, was a small business owner but now is a caregiver for family members. Nunez, who tends to vote for Democrats, said there is an unease and tension that are just beneath the surface, especially focused on Hispanics. She said some people have started carrying their papers showing their immigration status in case they are challenged.

“It is hard to celebrate when the feelings towards immigrants and communities of color are so strong,” she said of the upcoming America 250 celebrations.

She said even citizens are questioned now. If it gets to a point where being naturalized is challenged, “guess what, my mom would be leaving. She’s been living in this country since she was maybe four years old. She’s 93.”

____

The AP-NORC poll of 2,596 adults was conducted April 16-20 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.

Staged at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater, the musical is in its third run on Broadway — and earned 11 Tony nominations, including for best revival. It's resonating the most with audiences this time, they said. “Three is the charm,” Ahrens said.

“When we originally did it on Broadway, which was 1998, I think a lot of people, if not most people, were thinking about this piece as a period piece,” Flaherty said. “I think now, people are responding to it as a contemporary story.”

Adapted from the 1975 novel by E.L. Doctorow, the show's book is by the late playwright Terrence McNally. It depicts a wide swath of the American experience in New York at the turn of the 20th century, from Black Americans in Harlem to Jewish immigrants on the Lower East Side to the white upper-class residents of the suburbs of Westchester County.

The story that unfolds is fiction, but features historical figures like activist Emma Goldman, educator and leader Booker T. Washington, banker J.P. Morgan, auto founder Henry Ford and illusionist Harry Houdini. The show's breadth — encompassing immense tragedy as well as great optimism — and the depth of the actors' performances has been bringing Broadway audiences to their feet, often mid-act.

It also has people returning. “They’re like, ‘I’m coming back with my parents,’ ‘I'm coming back with my grandchildren,’ ‘I’m coming back with my grandparents,’ and it’s not even like they have to see it. They want to experience it with them,” said Brandon Uranowitz, who had his own return to the show, decades after he acted as a child in the pre-Broadway production.

Now, he's nominated for best lead actor in a musical for playing the role of Tateh, a Jewish immigrant from Latvia. “I think it’s sort of speaking to this generational reckoning that we’re having with America and our national identity.”

‘Ragtime’ at the Tony Awards

The original production lost the best new musical Tony Award to “The Lion King,” but Ahrens and Flaherty took home the prize for best original score, McNally best book and William David Brohn best orchestrations in a competitive year. It also won Audra McDonald, the Tonys' most decorated performer, her third award. A 2009 revival received six nominations, but lost best revival to “La Cage aux Folles.”

This could be the year it finally wins a best show award: “Ragtime” is a front-runner for best musical revival, against strong competition from “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and “The Rocky Horror Show.” Among its other nods are nominations for all three leads, and for featured performers Nichelle Lewis and Ben Levi Ross.

Portraying a range of American experiences

Joshua Henry, nominated alongside his costar for best lead actor, plays Coalhouse Walker Jr., a celebrated Black pianist at the center of his community in Harlem. Caissie Levy, nominated for her role of Mother, is the matriarch of a wealthy white family in a suburb outside New York City.

A cast of supporting characters, and a large ensemble, flesh out the lead trio's lives, relationships and eventual connections: Lewis plays Sarah, Coalhouse’s beloved; Ross is Mother’s Younger Brother and Colin Donnell her husband, Father; Shaina Taub is Goldman, the real-life activist.

Emotions in the first act peak during “Wheels of a Dream,” Lewis' iconic duet with Henry, which draws standing ovations, mid-song, nearly every night.

“She is a person who represents women — especially women of color — who don’t have a voice, women of color who are fighting to have a voice, women of color who find strength in other ways because we weren’t allowed to have it,” Lewis said of Sarah. But above all, she said, the character represents the power of trust, love and hope as a buoying force.

That hope is also what propels Uranowitz's Tateh. “Despite everything he goes through, despite the rejection, despite the oppression, despite the othering, despite antisemitism,” it’s what persists.

In the song “Journey On,” his character arrives in New York with his young daughter just as Mother's husband, Father, leaves on an expedition to the North Pole.

“You depart on a ship from a country like this,” Tateh sings, watching Father leave. “Why on Earth would you want to be leaving?” The two men are perched on separate, moving staircases on a sparsely furnished stage, but sing from the same height, emphasizing the valley between their experiences.

Like many of the characters, Father and Tateh (also “father,” in Yiddish) are nameless. The intention, Uranowitz said, is for aspects of Tateh's journey — from immigrant artist to successful moviemaker — to reflect the experience of Jewish Americans, and to resonate with people from other backgrounds as well. “If you pan out, which ‘Ragtime’ does so beautifully, it also holds just a capital ‘I’ immigration experience. And I think that’s really important for people to see right now.”

Holding a mirror to the current moment

The musical feels so relevant to 2026 that audience members have asked director Lear deBessonet, also Tony-nominated, if the creative team rewrote the script for this production. Lyrics by Ahrens and dialogue by McNally about the discrimination and brutality that Black Americans and immigrants face can seem straight out of the current moment. There are also references to keeping the country “great,” and commentary on celebrity culture and the power of industry leaders.

But the text hasn't changed. “We, in the audience, are hearing it differently,” deBessonet said. “There’s something that actually, I think is very unifying about coming together with a community of our time to look at this other time, and to look at the promise and the wound of America right next to each other.”

A 2027 tour, with deBessonet and the Broadway run’s creative team at the helm, will bring the show to a wider audience around the country.

“It does not feel like we’re looking back. It feels like we're looking in a mirror at ourselves,” Flaherty said.

There is one small change, however. When “Wheels of a Dream” is reprised in the final number, the ensemble sings “Our son will ride on the wheels of a,” and then takes a long pause before a final, resonant, “dream.” The goal is not to prescribe a particular emotional response, but to allow viewers — and the actors themselves — space for their own interpretations.

“In that moment, every single actor, every artist on that stage is invited to fill that moment with whatever feels honest to them that night,” deBessonet said. “Sometimes you can really feel that there is exuberant hope in the air. And sometimes there is grief or rage or confusion,” she added.

Ahrens said it's been a “revelation” to see how audiences have responded to the production, before and after the 2024 presidential election — and throughout this Broadway run, which concludes on Aug. 2. “It's such a visceral thing,” she said. “I don't think we've ever experienced anything like it.”

___

This story was first published June 6. It was updated on June 8 to correct that “Ragtime” won Audra McDonald her third Tony, not her first.

Monday’s Game 3 tips off at 7:30 p.m. from Madison Square Garden, with the Knicks leading the series 2-0.

>> Where to watch the Spurs-Knicks Game 3 of the NBA Finals

Anchors Myra Arthur and Ernie Zuniga, and sports anchor Larry Ramirez, are in New York City providing the latest coverage on the Silver and Black, as well as the pandemonium and security measures outside “The World’s Most Famous Arena.”

Watch their report on security measures below:

KSAT 12 is the official broadcast home for all of the NBA Finals action. KSAT will host live pregame coverage with our Race For Seis special live at 6:30 p.m. Monday on KSAT 12 and KSAT Plus.

Another livestream previewing Game 3 will air at 7 p.m. exclusively on KSAT Plus.

If necessary, Games 5 and 7 would return to San Antonio, with Game 6 in New York.

Watch the rest of KSAT’s coverage ahead of Game 3 in the video players below:

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Above-average temperatures could be on the books this summer, according to forecasters, and a developing El Nino event could spell out warmer weather later in the year or next summer. Sizzling temperatures are more than an inconvenience: They can cause heat exhaustion and life-threatening heat stroke.

Travelers can take precautions to have fun with heat preparedness in mind.

“The same way that we prepare for more extreme travel in the cold, we should start to consider those tips to keep us safe in the summer months,” said Dr. Alexander Azan with NYU Langone Health, who co-directs the Project HEATWAVE initiative.

Check the forecast and survey your travel companions

Before taking off, check the air temperatures for both day and night as well as the heat index, which takes humidity into account, Azan said.

If temperatures look scorching, stay flexible. Relocate to cooler regions along the coast or at higher elevations. Plan more strenuous outdoor activities like hiking or long walks during early morning or late evening hours, outside of peak heat windows. A midday movie, museum visit or coffee shop break may be more suitable.

Check whether your lodging will have reliable conditioning and whether the region has had recent power blackouts or brownouts. You can also search for public facilities like cooling centers, and note key phone numbers to report medical emergencies.

In addition to what you're bringing, think about who you're bringing. People with certain medical conditions or medications may be more vulnerable to heat while traveling.

“A lot of the prescription drugs that we take for common conditions like high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, they actually interrupt our body’s ability to thermoregulate,” said Ashley Ward, director of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub at Duke University.

Older adults, those who may be pregnant, young children and infants are also especially susceptible — so adjust plans accordingly. Carrying a baby against your body can transfer additional heat, for example.

Pack a reusable water bottle and bring light-colored, breathable clothing that will keep you cool. Don’t forget sunscreen, sunglasses, a wide-brimmed hat and a cooling towel. A portable fan can be useful too, but avoid using it during particularly high temperatures since it’ll just blow hot air back at you.

Keep car safety in mind during road trips

If you're planning a road trip, get your vehicle inspected a few weeks before to make sure everything is in good condition, especially the engine cooling system and the car battery. If you'll be driving abroad, ask whether the rental car will have air conditioning.

Pack water and snacks to keep passengers and pets energized during the drive and take breaks to hydrate and stretch — but don't leave young children, pets or older adults alone in the car even for a few minutes.

Keep the car as cool as possible by parking in shaded areas and using a windshield protector. When entering a steamy car, turn on the air conditioning but turn off recirculation to keep stale air from cycling. Roll down the windows a bit, then close them and turn recirculation on once the car starts to chill.

To avoid getting stuck in the heat, don’t drive on less than a quarter tank of gas, said AAA senior automotive manager David Bennett. If you do get stuck and the engine is still running, you can cycle it on and off every few minutes so AC can still cool the car. Don't walk along the side of the road in searing temperatures to search for help: instead, stay in the car or nearby shade and put reflectors or cones in front of the vehicle. Bring an extra charger that plugs into the car so you can call for help if needed.

Stay flexible and recognize signs of heat illness

Travelers should be mindful of how their behavior changes on vacation. Spending long hours outdoors, participating in intense activities or consuming more alcohol than usual can increase heat-related risks.

People often get into trouble when they ignore both environmental conditions and the warning signals their bodies are giving them. “They think they can push through. That is a mistake,” Ward said.

During the day's exploring, employ the buddy system and look out for signs of heat illness like feeling dizzy, experiencing nausea or muscle cramps and sweating with cool and clammy skin. If you or a travel partner start to feel sick, get to a shaded area and take sips of water while loosening tight clothing.

If symptoms worsen to slurred speech, falling unconscious, extreme confusion or feeling hot to the touch, seek help immediately. That could indicate something more serious, like heat stroke.

If extreme heat makes a trip untenable, there are ways to recoup costs. Adding a cancel-for-any-reason benefit to your travel insurance can offer partial reimbursement if things get too hot. There are also services like Sensible Weather and WeatherPromise which reimburse travel and lodging costs for every day a trip is dashed by rain, heavy snowfall or high heat. Customers can add a weather guarantee to their cart at extra cost when booking with these organizations' registered travel and hotel partners.

As temperatures continue to climb, experts say the most important thing vacationers can do is listen to their bodies and remain flexible.

By staying aware, taking steps to cool down and adjusting plans where necessary, travelers can help ensure their trip remains both safe and enjoyable.

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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’s climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The 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.

It's Xi's first visit to North Korea in seven years. Earlier Monday, he was given a lavish welcome upon arrival at Pyongyang's international airport. He and his wife Peng Liyuan were greeted by Kim and his wife Ri Sol Ju, who broadly smiled and clapped.

Xi later arrived at Pyongyang’s main square, where a military honor guard and thousands of people, including children carrying balloons and hopping, staged a welcoming ceremony. Buildings surrounding the plaza were draped in the two countries’ flags, giant portraits of Kim and Xi and red-and-yellow banners welcoming the Chinese leader and celebrating the nations’ “friendship and unity.”

Xi and Kim express their hopes for greater ties

In a summit later Monday, Xi expressed China’s willingness to expand cooperation in a wide range of areas including trade, agriculture, construction and technology, China's state broadcaster CCTV said in an online report.

Xi said the two countries should strengthen strategic cooperation and firmly safeguard their respective sovereignty and security interests, according to the report.

Kim said Xi's visit “clearly demonstrates how unbreakable" the North Korean-China relationship is, CCTV said. It cited Kim as saying that consolidating a new era of friendship between the two countries is the “unchanging strategic choice” of North Korea.

Full details of the meeting weren't available. But foreign experts earlier predicted the meeting would have big ramifications on bilateral ties and beyond, as they both seek to fully restore their traditional alliance in the face of separate confrontations with the U.S.

Xi and Kim last met in Beijing in September, after viewing a military parade alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and other foreign leaders.

Sway over North Korea could help Xi's dealings with US

Xi’s trip comes after his back-to-back summits with U.S. President Donald Trump and Putin in Beijing last month. Xi is expected to meet Trump again on a planned U.S. visit in September.

Xi will try to demonstrate China’s “sway over the Korean Peninsula” and “a leadership role in entire Northeast Asia in the age of strategic competition with the U.S.,” said Kwak Gil Sup, the head of One Korea Center, a website specializing in North Korea affairs.

China has long been North Korea's economic lifeline and main diplomatic backer. Experts say China has avoided fully enforcing U.N. sanctions on North Korea and sent clandestine aid to help its impoverished neighbor stay afloat. This year marks 65 years since the two countries signed a mutual defense treaty.

But there have been questions about their ties in recent years, with North Korea prioritizing cooperation with Russia by supplying troops and weapons to support its war against Ukraine. In return, North Korea has received economic and military assistance from Russia.

Restoring an exclusive influence over North Korea would give Xi a leverage in dealings with Trump, who has repeatedly expressed his desire to restart diplomacy with Kim, experts say.

“Implementing U.N. Security Council resolutions and enforcing sanctions do not appear to be priorities for China," said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.

A two-way trade volume between China and North Korea last year recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Earlier this year, the countries also resumed direct flights and passenger trains, stalled since the pandemic. Xi said Monday that both nations should use the reopening of flight and train services as a chance to expand people-to-people exchanges.

Kim needs Xi's support for his push for nuclear state

Xi would likely offer Kim economic aid packages such as shipments of rice and fertilizers, a resumption of Chinese group tourism to North Korea. and joint economic projects, analysts said.

“North Korea can’t solely rely on Russia. It needs to align with China,” Kwak said.

Xi could also refrain from pressing Kim on the issue of denuclearization of North Korea, and vaguely speak about peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. That would be essential for Kim, who is desperate to win international recognition as a nuclear weapons state as a way to call for lifting of U.N. sanctions on North Korea.

“Chinese officials have taken the position of not speaking publicly about denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula while still maintaining it as a long-term goal. Kim appears to want Xi to accept North Korea as a nuclear neighbor,” Easley said.

After last month’s summit between Trump and Xi, the White House said the two leaders confirmed their shared goal to denuclearize North Korea. But China only said the leaders discussed the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. On Sunday, Kim’s sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, echoed her brother, dismissed as an “anachronistic dream” a U.S. push for the denuclearization of North Korea.

Last week, Kim unveiled a new plant to produce nuclear ingredients and vowed to bolster the country’s nuclear forces “at an exponential rate.” He also observed sea trials of a new naval destroyer and called for speeding up efforts to build a nuclear-armed navy.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung told reporters Monday that North Korea is producing enough nuclear ingredients annually for about 10-20 bombs and is close to perfecting intercontinental ballistic missile technology. Lee said the world must first focus on convincing North Korea to freeze its nuclear materials production and ICBM program as a short-term goal.

Kim Jong Un has focused on enlarging and modernizing his nuclear arsenal since his high-stakes diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019. The North Korean leader said in September that he still had "good personal memories” of Trump but urged the U.S. to withdraw its demand for North Korea to denuclearize as a precondition for resuming diplomacy.

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Moritsugu reported from Beijing. Associated Press writers Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul and E. Eduardo Castillo in Beijing contributed to this report.

“The first thing I walked into is (this), before I preach. I come and see the fence is missing,” Robles said.

And things got worse from there.

He said thieves broke into the church’s large trailer, which contained athletic equipment, and stole an air conditioning unit.

Recalling what he said he saw on surveillance camera video, Robles said burglars carried out an elaborate plan around 4:30 a.m. Sunday, primarily targeting the church’s brand-new air conditioning units.

He said the burglars arrived with a truck and tools to breach the eight-foot-tall iron fence that had been built around the new units, which were anchored to a concrete slab.

According to San Antonio police, at least four air conditioning units were stolen or damaged.

“They brought tools to unscrew the whole unit off. They grinded off the locks, and then they stole, one whole unit ... and they stripped all the inside of (another unit),” Robles said. “You can see all the copper. They knew what they were doing because they pinched it off.”

Robles went to say that with the fence on the ground, the suspect was able to drive the truck up on the sidewalk and park, then load up the five-ton A/C unit.

While focusing on securing the fence and the remaining air conditioning units, the pastor says he has not yet been able to check the trailer’s contents to determine what might be missing.

He says the units are worth $10,000 a piece, and they were just installed as the congregation prepares to open Kidz Connect, the new children’s church.

It was scheduled to open next month, but he said they are now trying to determine if that will still be possible.

On top of replacing the units, the electrical panel was also damaged. A rough initial estimate to fix everything is around $40,000.

And that does not include fixing the fence.

But he said he has faith.

“In the midst of all the stuff that took place, like David, I have to encourage myself,” Robles said. “God will provide, he always does, you know.”

Church members and friends are already doing what they can.

Robles is hoping anyone who knows anything will come forward to help find those responsible.

Read also:

• Impersonation scams on the rise: RBFCU warns of increased AI bank fraud
• Family remembers teen who died after falling from truck during Spurs celebration

Boris was located about 85 miles (135 kilometers) southeast of Acapulco and 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Punta Maldonado, according to the Miami-based weather center. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and was moving northeast at 2 mph (3 kph).

Boris was expected to turn to the north, bringing rainfall of 4 to 10 inches (10 to 25 centimeters) to coastal areas of the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca through Monday night. The storm was forecast to make landfall along the coast of Guerrero by Monday evening, the center said.

“This rainfall may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain,” the center said.

A tropical storm warning was in effect from Laguna de Chacahua in Oaxaca to Tecpan de Galeana in Guerrero, with tropical storm conditions expected in the area within 24 hours.

Boris was forecast to weaken once the center reaches the coast and dissipate inland by Tuesday. The storm isn’t expected to impact Mexico’s three World Cup host cities.

Boris is the second named storm of the Pacific hurricane season, which started May 15. Tropical Storm Amanda formed June 3 far out to sea, posing no threat to land.

The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1, but no cyclones have formed in that basin yet this year.

Separately, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed that Roman Abramovich acted as a go-between for messages between Kyiv and Moscow.

Zelenskyy told Sky News that the former owner of Premier League team Chelsea traveled to Kyiv with a message from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelenskyy said Abramovich brought the message that the Russians “want to understand what we are ready to do,” and had offered to take a reply to Putin.

Meanwhile, the European Union’s foreign policy chief said a new, proposed round of sanctions against Russia includes 80 listings targeting Russia’s “military industrial complex, human rights violators and propagandists.”

Kaja Kallas told a news conference after a meeting of EU defense Ministers Monday that Western sanctions have already cost Moscow an estimated $1.2-1.5 trillion.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces shot down 310 Ukrainian drones overnight into Monday, including over the Moscow region, western and southwestern Russia, Russian-occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov seas.

Russia targeted Ukraine with 155 drones, of which Ukrainian air defenses shot down or suppressed 124, according to its air force.

Ukraine strikes Russian energy sites

Ukraine’s General Staff said Ukrainian forces had struck Russia’s Krasnodar Krai region overnight, hitting the Grushovaya oil transshipment base near Novorossiysk. The complex is one of the largest transshipment hubs in southern Russia for oil and petroleum products.

Russian regional authorities confirmed a Ukrainian drone sparked a fire at the facility, adding that there were no casualties. While they did not comment on the extent of damage, they said 130 rescue workers were involved in putting out the blaze.

Asked whether the Kremlin is worried about the fuel crisis in Crimea, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Energy Ministry and other agencies are working on a set of measures to respond to the situation.

“There are indeed certain problems at the moment,” Peskov said. “Measures are being taken.”

The Krasny Yar “linear production and dispatching station” in the Volgograd region was also hit, the General Staff said. A fire broke out at the site, according to the statement. Russian Gov. Andrei Bocharov didn’t specify what the facility produces, but said there were no injuries.

Ukraine also carried out strikes overnight in the Semykolodezkaya oil base in the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula on Sunday night, sparking a fire at the facility. The base is used to store fuel reserves supplying the Russian military, according to the statement posted on Telegram.

Ukrainian forces also struck an oil depot near Feodosia in Crimea, the General Staff said.

Zelenskyy sent message to Putin

Zelenskyy said his message was that he would meet Putin “any time” in any location other than Russia or Belarus, and either bilaterally or with U.S. President Donald Trump and European leaders.

But he said Ukraine would not surrender the Donbas region, currently part-occupied by Russia.

“It was the key message. I said we will not leave and we will not go out from our territory,” Zelenskyy told Sky News.

Putin said last week that a Russian businessman, who he didn’t identify, traveled to Kyiv last month and met with Zelenskyy to hear his offer of a personal meeting. The Russian leader rejected the idea of a meeting, saying he saw no point in it.

Drone strikes civilians

Russian drone strikes overnight injured civilians and damaged buildings and businesses in the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa and Chernihiv regions, regional authorities said.

Ukraine’s Emergency Service reported that four people were injured in the Dnipropetrovsk region when strikes hit residential buildings. In Odesa, three people were wounded after a Russian drone struck a public transport stop.

Separately, a Ukrainian drone overnight struck a passenger train from Moscow to Simferopol in occupied Crimea, injuring the driver and killing the driver’s assistant, Kremlin-installed regional leader Sergei Aksyonov reported early Monday.

Akysyonov added that no passengers were hurt. But all passenger train traffic in Crimea was halted following the attack, with passengers evacuated and replacement buses provided, Russian operator Grand Service Express reported on Telegram that same morning.

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

It is the first time the finals have been held at Madison Square Garden since 1999, when the Spurs defeated the Knicks 78-77 on the road in Game 5 to bring the Larry O’Brien trophy back home to San Antonio.

Of course, the 2026 Spurs are entering a much different scenario.

In 1999, the Spurs traveled to New York with a 2-0 lead after winning the first two games of the series at the Alamodome. This time around, the Spurs lost both home games to open the NBA Finals.

Luckily, Victor Wembanyama said the pressure does not bother him, and he’s “built for” this kind of adversity.

KSAT 12 is the official broadcast home for all of the NBA Finals action.

Myra Arthur, Ernie Zuniga and Larry Ramirez will be live from New York City covering all the action during our Monday newscasts, leading up to the Race for Seis special at 6:30 p.m. on KSAT 12 and KSAT Plus.

Another livestream previewing Game 3 will air at 7 p.m. exclusively on KSAT Plus. ABC will carry exclusive live coverage of Game 3 at 7:30 p.m. live on KSAT 12.

More Race for Seis coverage:

• Spurs-themed market brings small businesses, community together on Northwest Side
• Spurs say they aren’t conceding after Knicks take 2-0 lead in NBA Finals

Frankie Castro has been cutting hair for more than six years at The Exclusive Way on the South Side. He recently began offering Spurs-themed haircut designs for $5 to $10 more than a standard cut.

Castro said his love for art has always driven his career path.

“I had grew up doing a lot of art as a kid, and my biggest thing was I wanted to find a job that allowed me to keep that freedom of being creative,” Castro said.

It was a client’s request that first sparked the idea for the Spurs designs.

“He was like, ‘Do you do designs by chance?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, what do you want?’ He was like, ‘Can you do a Spurs logo?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, sure. We’re going to do it today,” Castro said.

A full appointment — including a Spurs design — takes about 30 minutes. Castro said that a person’s hair type plays a role in how bold the finished design looks.

“Some people could come in with thinner hair and like a design won’t stick as much, but some people can come like real dark hair, and it’ll be real bold,” Castro said. “Doing big designs like this is fairly easy. It’s if you just take it line by line, shape by shape. It’s all the same thing.”

Client Makaveli Gutierrez said he has full confidence in Castro’s skills.

“I feel like I’ve had enough good cuts by Frankie that I honestly trust anything he’s going to do. I know it’s going to come out good,” Gutierrez said.

Boerne barber goes beyond the logo

Over in Boerne, RJ Martinez at Buena Gente Barbershop is also getting in on the Spurs spirit.

Martinez, who has been cutting hair for more than 25 years, is offering designs that go well beyond a simple team logo.

His designs include Hemisfair, the Alamo and even an alien to represent Spurs star Victor Wembanyama.

Pricing at Buena Gente Barbershop varies depending on the complexity of the design. A simple fade starts at a lower price point, while a full logo or custom design can run up to $80.

Both barbers can be found on Instagram at Frankie Castro and RJ Martinez. Clients are encouraged to bring a photo of the design they want and call ahead to schedule an appointment.

More Spurs coverage on KSAT:

• San Antonio Zoo surprises Spurs-loving Salesian Sisters with 200 tickets, new basketball hoop
• Myra, Ernie and Larry go to NYC: Watch KSAT’s coverage ahead of NBA Finals Game 3 between Spurs-Knicks
• Victor Wembanyama says he’s ‘built for’ the pressure of the NBA Finals with the Spurs down 2-0

Cakes by Felicia has been one of the few local businesses to have been part of the Spurs Culinary Residency Program. She were able to sell their treats at select Spurs games, now see what she’s created as the Spurs make an NBA Finals run.

Quick Quack Car Wash has opened their newest location here in town and that mean you can get a free car wash. We check out this brand new facility & find out how long you have to get your free wash.

The Texas YES Project is a nonprofit working to make sure children get the school supplies that they need. This summer they’re kicking off their Drive Away for Education raffle. There’s a bunch of prizes up for grabs including a brand new vehicle.

Do you think your teeth are too bad to fix? Stone Ridge Dental shows us how they can help anyone get the smile of their dreams.

The zoo recently surprised the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco with 200 admission tickets and a gift basket as a thank-you for the enthusiasm, hope and sense of community they have inspired throughout the Spurs’ postseason journey.

>> The superfans known as the ‘Spurs Nuns’ aiming to bring divine intervention to the NBA Finals

The Sisters gained national attention during the playoffs for their support of the Spurs. From attending games and praying over players to hosting watch parties at St. John Bosco, their devotion to the team has resonated with fans across San Antonio.

Zoo officials said they wanted to find a meaningful way to give back after seeing the joy the Sisters brought to the community.

“When we saw how much joy the Salesian Sisters were bringing to our community, we knew we wanted to do something special for them,” said Tim Morrow, President and CEO of San Antonio Zoo. “They’ve become a symbol of positivity during this incredible Spurs playoff run. We hope these tickets give them another opportunity to bless families throughout San Antonio and create meaningful experiences for the people they serve.”

Morrow said the 200 zoo tickets are intended to be shared with families served by the Sisters.

>> San Antonio’s Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco pray for Spurs’ playoff success

Morrow and his wife also decided to personally donate a brand-new basketball goal, but when zoo staff arrived to deliver it, they learned another donor had already stepped in and provided one.

Rather than let the donation go unused, the new hoop was given to students at St. John Bosco School across the street.

The South Texas Blood & Tissue Center is offering a limited-edition Spurs cap to donors who give blood at any San Antonio donor center on Spurs Finals game days. The promotion is available while supplies last.

To receive the cap, donors must use the promo code “FINALS” when scheduling an appointment.

Officials say the need for blood donations remains constant across the region, with every donation potentially helping two or more patients in need.

Appointments can be scheduled online through South Texas Blood & Tissue Center’s website or by calling 833-YOU-GIVE (833-968-4483).

Donors should bring a valid photo ID.

According to the South Texas Blood & Tissue Center, blood transfusions occur every two seconds in the United States.

The South Texas Blood & Tissue Center is placing special emphasis on donations from people with Type O blood, particularly O-positive, which is the most common blood type in South Texas.

About 40% of the population has O-positive blood, and roughly half of Hispanics share that blood type, making those donations especially important for meeting local hospital needs.

Type O blood is frequently used in emergency situations and remains one of the most requested blood types by hospitals.

Read also:

• Spurs gear gets you free food, deals at these San Antonio spots
• Myra, Ernie and Larry go to NYC: Watch KSAT’s coverage ahead of NBA Finals Game 3 between Spurs-Knicks

As Congo is battling an Ebola disease outbreak that has killed nearly 100 people out of the more than 500 confirmed cases, local authorities have raced to slow the disease with strict measures, including by limiting public gatherings and enforcing social distancing.

For Jean Claude Érable and his bride Solange Hahati, celebrating their wedding on Saturday in such conditions meant having some family members and friends absent on one of their happiest days.

“We had planned 300 guests (but) only 50 people were allowed to enter,” Hahati told The Associated Press. “It was really difficult because we wanted to celebrate with our friends.”

The latest Ebola disease outbreak, caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, is concentrated in Congo’s eastern province of Ituri. There are 515 confirmed infections, including 91 deaths, according to Congolese health authorities. The number of cases is believed to be higher because the outbreak was confirmed weeks late, and response has been challenging also because the virus has no approved vaccine or treatment.

To help slow the spread, local officials have urged people to limit physical contact, wash their hands regularly and report suspected cases quickly.

At the Catholic Church in Bunia, the capital of Ituri, where Érable and Hahati celebrated their love story, the Mass featured a number of couples who were present for their weddings.

The precautions, though not always adhered to, are reshaping social life in a country where weddings are typically vibrant, daylong celebrations bringing together hundreds of relatives, friends and well-wishers.

As the choir chorused and as brides in white gowns walked down the aisle, the handful of relatives and friends present inside the church maintained social distance, cheered and snapped photos. Outside, a crowd sang excitedly.

“We are adhering to the preventive measures and respecting social distancing,” said Érable, the groom. “I must say that there is no problem, no obstacle, because we are doing our best to respect all the measures dictated by the state.”

His bride smiled as he slipped a wedding ring onto her finger. Outside, after the wedding Mass, she gleefully displayed the ring as her husband walked her to the car.

The couple moved part of their reception outdoors, where guests could spread out more easily.

Church leaders say adapting has become essential.

Some families have already postponed their scheduled weddings in light of the new health measures, said the Rev. Aimé Lokanabego, the priest who officiated their wedding Mass.

The church is not holding other religious events that involve higher risks of exposure, such as baptism, he said.

“This is, in a way, how we are dealing with this Ebola epidemic at our level. The situation is critical,” said Lokanabego.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Monday. KSAT 12 is the official broadcast home for all of the NBA Finals action.

KSAT’s Myra Arthur, Ernie Zuniga and Larry Ramirez will be live from New York City, covering all the action during our Monday newscasts, leading up to the Race for Seis special at 6:30 p.m. on KSAT 12 and KSAT Plus.

>> Myra, Ernie and Larry go to NYC: Watch KSAT’s coverage ahead of NBA Finals Game 3 between Spurs-Knicks

Another livestream previewing Game 3 will air at 7 p.m. exclusively on KSAT Plus. ABC will carry Game 3 at 7:30 p.m. on KSAT 12.

If you’re trying to find the best spot to watch Game 3, here are some options:

Official watch parties

The Rock at La Cantera hosts official watch parties for every Finals game. Admission is free but limited, and fans are encouraged to RSVP at Spurs.com/Playoffs. Entry is first-come, first-served.

The Frost Bank Center also opens its doors for free watch parties during all away games. Tickets are required, though they do not guarantee entry.

As of Monday, June 8, the watch parties at the Frost Bank Center for Games 3 and 4 are sold out. Fans can join the Spurs Fan Club to receive alerts when tickets become available.

Restaurant watch parties and perks

Fans can also head to participating Pluckers Wing Bar locations in San Antonio and Austin to catch the action. Those wearing Spurs gear during Finals watch parties can receive five free wings with the purchase of an adult entrée, while supplies last.

River Walk viewing experience for Game 3

For a more unique setting, the Power of Preservation Foundation, GO RIO, and Mexico Ceaty will host a special River Walk watch party aboard a GO RIO barge.

It includes a large-screen broadcast of the game along with drinks and light bites from Mexico Ceaty, all on top of a barge.

Click here for more information.

Other places hosting watch parties

• Civic Park at Hemisfair
• Pearl
• • Pearl Park
  • Sternewirth
  • Otto’s Ice House
  • High Street Wine
  • Stable Hall
  • Mezcaleria + Karnes Patio at Pullman Market

If you have more restaurants, bars and venues hosting watch parties, add them in the comment section below.

Read also:

• Victor Wembanyama says he’s ‘built for’ the pressure of the NBA Finals with the Spurs down 2-0
• No watch party at Madison Square Garden with President Donald Trump attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals

With the Knicks in the finals for the first time since 1999 and leading the series 2-0, their first home game this round is a hot ticket. The get-in price exceeds the average cost of rent in the biggest U.S. city.

As of Sunday evening, the cheapest upper-deck seats available were going for over $6,000 on secondary markets like StubHub, SeatGeek and VividSeats. The experience of being courtside goes for more than $75,000.

“I don’t care who you are, that’s a lot of money for a ticket,” said guard Jose Alvarado, a New York native who was planning a viewing party in Brooklyn and pointed out his Queens high school also is hosting one. “People that could afford it, we’re grateful with them coming out, and it just shows you our team is really special and we’re doing something here that hasn’t been done in a long time.”

The Knicks are two victories away from their first championship since 1973, and the hoopla for Game 3 includes the anticipated appearances of President Donald Trump and Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Trump's presence canceled a planned watch party outside the arena, where fans have gathered throughout this run that has included a 13-game winning streak.

“Hope has been brought back to the city,” center Karl-Anthony Towns said. Teammate Josh Hart expects “it's going to be rocking” but lamented the high cost just to get into the Garden.

“I kind of wish the ticket prices weren’t as crazy as they are,” Hart said. “I feel like a lot of people who have been waiting for this moment for a very long time unfortunately aren’t able to get into the building.”

No NBA team has gone up 2-0 in the finals on the road and not won the series. The possibility of a sweep drove ticket prices up to over $10,000 apiece, and an if-necessary Game 6 is around the same cost.

Under 20,000 people will get the opportunity to attend each night. Alvarado knows far more will be watching on television all over.

“The people that can’t afford it, we improvise,” he said. "We’re New Yorkers. We’re going to find a way to watch a game, and that’s what we’re doing.”

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

ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas called it “an unprecedented change in the pace of growth.”

Developers and speculators had been buying up land across the state, looking to cash in on a chance to construct massive warehouses filled with computers to power artificial intelligence for companies such as Meta, Amazon and Google. Older, smaller data centers ran the Internet. Artificial intelligence and cloud computing demanded much more. 

The proposals kept coming. ERCOT in the last two years received 519 requests to connect large electricity users, compared to 24 such requests the year before that, according to its records as of May. The estimated electricity that large projects could need added up to a gobsmacking 438,595 megawatts — which would equal roughly a third of all the power generation in America. 

Ninety percent of that was for data centers, most of which aimed to start operating by 2030.

ERCOT maintains that not all of those projects will come to fruition. But no one knows the real number that will ultimately connect to the grid, or how much power they’ll need. ERCOT’s board last week voted to change its policies for how it will review data center requests, partly in an effort to get to a more realistic expectation of how many will be built. 

“The projections are insane,” said Dominic Boyer, a cultural anthropologist at Rice University who studies energy politics. “Not all of that will be built, but just even the fact that that much is being proposed sort of suggests that there is this absolute sea change happening in terms of electricity demand.”

The explosion in data center projects is tied to Texas becoming “one of the national leaders in digital infrastructure,” said Dan Diorio, vice president of state policy for the industry association, the Data Center Coalition. The state’s business-friendly regulatory environment and ability for companies to build needed energy infrastructure relatively easily attracted projects. So did its strong workforce and available land, water and fiber infrastructure, Diorio said. The Dallas-Fort Worth region in particular grew as a major market.

So many of these bigger, next generation data center projects are planned for Texas that the state could surpass Virginia for the title of the world’s largest data center market by 2030, according to a report by real estate and investment management firm JLL. Gov. Greg Abbott has touted Texas as “the epicenter of AI development” and some local officials have celebrated their arrival. 

“Our competitive advantage as a state is also the source of our biggest planning challenge,” said Matt Boms, executive director for the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, which advocates for clean energy policies and represents some technology companies. “So there’s a bit of a paradox there. But it’s a good problem to have. I think a lot of other states would kill to have that kind of problem.”

Not everyone agrees. Community advocates fighting to stop data centers fear the projects will spike Texans’ electric bills and make the grid less reliable. They envision a nightmare in which data centers suck up massive amounts of water, emit constant noise and spew pollution from on-site, gas-fueled power plants and backup generators. 

Industry leaders say data centers create jobs, especially during construction of the behemoth sites. The facilities, which by the state’s count will receive billions of dollars worth of tax breaks, still pay billions of dollars more in state and local taxes. 

There are at least 248 planned data centers coming to Texas, based on a review of facilities compiled by two companies that track the industry, along with Tribune research. ERCOT does not share detailed site information publicly, and the companies’ findings only found power use estimates for less than half of the projects.

Among the new projects, 86 are planned in North Texas, 56 in Central Texas and 45 in West Texas. The vast majority are planned in urban and suburban counties with more than 50,000 people. About half are aimed at unincorporated areas, which have limited means for regulating them compared to cities. 

Some massive projects are already under construction: A sprawling facility in Abilene plans to use grid power plus on-site gas power and batteries to get up to 1,200 megawatts of electricity — enough to power roughly a third of the households in the city of Houston, according to census data. 

Another huge campus outside Amarillo planned by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s company, Fermi America, could need up to 11,000 megawatts of power — enough to power 2.75 million homes, which is more than the number of households in Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio combined. A third project in oil-and-gas-dominated Pecos County could use more than 5,000 megawatts. 

All three will build at least some on-site, gas-fueled power plants, which emit carbon dioxide that contributes to climate change. Two of the project websites say they will cycle water through their systems. The project in Abilene said it will require 8 million gallons of city water to fill initially — which it said is the amount a large office uses in a year.

“Texas has been one of the best and easiest places to move those projects forward,” said Cully Cavness, co-founder of data center developer Crusoe, which is building the Abilene project, at a panel in March. “It’s never easy, but it is relatively smoother here than many other states.”

A potential strain on resources

The sudden propagation of data centers reaching every corner of the state threatens issues that matter to Texans. 

It raises triggering questions about the reliability of the grid, which failed during a 2021 winter storm when ERCOT cut power to millions in the freezing cold. It could transform quality of life, from suburban subdivisions to rural farms, where Texans want to protect their communities from construction traffic, noise pollution and industrial blight. And it renewed fears about water supply, as some parts of the state navigate an impending crisis. 

“A lot of the sentiment that I’m hearing from those that don’t want data centers… is like, ‘You’re telling me, you know, you want to build this big thing in my community that’s going to take all the energy and take the water to build the technology that’s going to take the jobs away from my kids?” said Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. “That’s what I’m hearing a lot of people are feeling, and some of that’s just because this technology is so new. We just don’t know what it’s going to do.”

Some experts warn data centers have the potential to help push the state’s fragile water supply to the brink — especially in Texas’ more arid regions. Population and economic growth are already driving more demand for water, and scientists have found climate change is intensifying droughts. 

Texas made its largest financial commitment to expanding water supply last year, dedicating up to $20 billion for water projects over the next two decades. But that amount falls short of the $174 billion needed over the next 50 years, according to a projection in the draft of the 2027 state water plan. 

Water experts say data centers will put more pressure on Texas’ water supply. One estimate shows data centers could account for between 3% and 9% of Texas’ total water use by 2040 — up from less than 1% today, according to a recent white paper from The University of Texas at Austin. By comparison, manufacturing accounts for about 7% of the state’s water use, according to the current state water plan. 

Data centers demand significant amounts of water to keep their systems cool, though the industry argues its technology is improving with time to require less water. Some are proposing to use closed loop systems — which draw a large amount of water at the start but reuse it over some period of years — but Texas does not require projects to use that technology. Others run instead on cheaper evaporative cooling systems that more consistently replenish their water supply.

How much water a project can use is governed locally by various entities such as utilities, special districts and river authorities.

“Data centers are among the most efficient water users,” Diorio said, citing research that he said found they use less water than semiconductor manufacturing, food and beverage production and annual municipal water system leaks. “Data centers will continue to deploy advanced cooling technologies that are water efficient and continue to invest in water sustainability practices.” 

Higher demand for electricity

The new data center projects are requesting considerably more power than those of yesteryear. 

A Tribune analysis found that of the planned and existing data centers that provided information about their power draw, the average facility will require five times more capacity than the average existing data center in Texas. 

Among the existing data centers in the analysis, the upper limit for power capacity is 1,200 megawatts. But among planned data centers coming online, the max is nine times that. 

Historically, developers went to regional utilities with their connection requests, and the utilities studied whether they had enough infrastructure to supply each project and communicated with ERCOT. But that process became untenable as requests piled up.

Pending approval from regulators, ERCOT now is proposing to study proposals itself in batches so it can better evaluate how much overall power demand they will represent. Vegas, the ERCOT CEO said Tuesday that projects seeking to draw about 100,000 megawatts of power would qualify to be in the first group to be reviewed by ERCOT by April. 

“It’s just this big tsunami wave (of projects) that is impending, and trying to crash down, and historically that was coming directly on the utility,” said Beth Garza, a senior fellow with the R Street Institute who also represents residential customers on an ERCOT committee. “Now with the implementation of the batch process, ERCOT is a little bit of that seawall in front of the utilities.”

Under the new rules, to be considered by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, developers would first have to pay ERCOT $50,000 per megawatt proposed and prove they have leased or purchased the land for their facilities. Vegas described the new process as a potential solution to a national problem of how to balance economic benefits with grid reliability.

“This is an issue that is affecting the whole globe and certainly the country,” Vegas said. “Everybody is trying to figure out how to do this in a reliable, stable way.”

In their review, ERCOT will figure out how many more power lines and related infrastructure need to be built to meet the additional demand. Some of that cost could be added on top of what researchers found are already rising electric bills for Texas power customers — residential consumers currently pay more of those costs than industrial ones. 

It’s not clear how much of the infrastructure bill data centers will pick up, and regulators are evaluating the issue. Some experts have advocated for more of it to fall on companies to ensure affordability and support a variety of additional, local solutions such as investment in energy efficiency so people use less electricity at home.

“We can solve it,” said Margo Weisz, executive director of the Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute, a nonprofit that works on making electricity more affordable. “Whether we will solve it is another question.”

Other data center projects could meanwhile sit apart from the grid entirely by building their own power generation, such as gas-fueled power plants. Some projects also plan to install back-up diesel generators in case of power outages. 

ERCOT won’t be assessing whether there’s enough electricity available to serve data centers’ needs. It’s operating on the assumption that the market will meet the demand: the opportunity to make money selling power to these new customers will incentivize other companies to build more power generation, whether it’s gas-fired power plants, solar and wind farms or battery facilities. 

Legislators also passed a provision last year allowing ERCOT to direct large data centers that have backup power to cut back their grid use during emergencies.

Andrew Mahaleris, spokesperson for Abbott, said in a statement that protecting water and power needed by Texans will take priority over attracting investment. 

“Governor Abbott will continue to work with the Legislature to protect Texans and ensure their voices are heard,” Mahaleris said.

Local resistance

In February in San Marcos, just south of Austin, residents packed City Hall to protest a proposed data center that would have consumed more than 25 million gallons of water annually — in their view, threatening the city’s beloved namesake river that flowed through town.

One protester wore a blow-up salamander costume, referencing the endangered Texas blind salamander native to the river. A crowd of hundreds outside sang, chanted and held signs that read “Keep San Marcos wet” and “2 dry 4 AI.” 

Inside, residents told council members over an eight-hour meeting to reject the zoning change needed for the project to move forward. 

“All of us met at the water, and that’s what brought us here,” said Randi Finn, who was running a childcare station at the protest for parents who wanted to testify against the center. “We want these springs to be here for our kids and for our grandkids.”

Similar scenes have played out across Texas, from Round Rock to Waco to Athens. Residents aren’t willing to wait for legislators, who have vowed to look at data center issues before the next regular session begins in January.

The trouble is, when it comes to protecting quality of life, Texas gives cities and counties markedly different powers. Cities such as San Marcos have zoning powers that allow them to deny projects. San Marcos council members voted the proposal down.

But outside of city limits, counties — where a large number of the proposed data centers plan to build — have little power to control where or how projects are built.

County leaders can vote down tax abatement agreements, removing some of the economic incentive, but that wouldn’t block a company from building a data center. 

State lawmakers — many of them Republicans stuck between outcry from communities that don’t want these projects and a president who does — have not shown much interest in giving counties more regulatory power.

Roughly two-thirds of the projects are slated for counties that voted in 2024 for President Donald Trump, according to the Tribune’s analysis, creating headaches for Texas’ Republican majority.

Some county leaders have considered how to block or slow projects. But when Hood County commissioners tried to pass a moratorium on data center projects, Republican State Sen. Paul Bettencourt fired off a threatening letter to the attorney general arguing they had no right to do so. Other counties weighing moratoriums dropped the idea; one that went through with it got sued by the developer and revoked its own moratorium.

“There’s an underlying no-growth philosophy — that’s not a majority of the party but it’s there — that’s driving this,” said Bettencourt, who represents part of the Houston area. “That’s not good public policy long-term.”

In Caldwell County, where at least three data center projects plan to locate, County Judge Hoppy Haden said he’s lost so much sleep over the issue that he now has big bags under his eyes. He’s taken heat from citizens at town halls where he feels made out to look like he’s pro-data center when really he just has little authority to slow or stop problematic projects in his county south of Austin best known for Lockhart barbecue. 

“I would be a liar if I said that didn’t bother me because it does,” Haden said. “I’m just as concerned as everybody else and we’re doing what we can and certainly we’re not just sitting around hoping they go away.

“All the town halls in the world are not going to make these guys go away, unfortunately,” he added. “We have to come up with solutions to the issues that they create. Because they’re going to still come.”

In Hays County, which straddles Interstate 35 south of Austin and includes San Marcos, Judge Ruben Becerra wanted to set up his own county department to review the projects to make sure they can be run sustainably. He knew the county’s existing development services office that usually handles requests for say, an H-E-B distribution center, wasn’t equipped to understand the impacts of a data center.

“Theres no world where I’m going to sit idle, sit on my hands, and watch it happen, without at least fighting for our communities,” Becerra said, adding, “Do I have the statutory authority to do X, Y, Z? I really don’t care. I’d rather push hard and ask for forgiveness than to lay down and say, well I can’t do it, and throw my hands up in the air and say well it’s up to the [Legislature] and I’ll wait for 10 more years to see if something actually happens.”

ABOUT OUR DATA SET 

The Texas Tribune acquired information on data centers from Cleanview and Data Center Map, two companies that compile and sell data on operating and planned data centers. The Tribune joined these datasets based on location and manually identified and removed duplicates that appeared in both sources. This data was filtered to data centers that had latitude and longitude coordinates, which were used alongside Census data to determine the types of areas data centers are being built in. The data was supplemented with other data centers identified with Tribune reporting.

Paul Cobler and Alejandra Martinez contributed reporting.

Disclosure: Google, H-E-B, Rice University 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 Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

The 28,000-acre Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge that spans Burnet, Travis and Williamson counties on Monday announced it has added nearly 300 acres, about a year after a 317-acre addition through an initiative by The Conservation Fund in partnership with Friends of Balcones.

The expansion was supported by a mix of public and private funding, including donations from the Woodnext Foundation and the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a national coalition that protects national parks. Both new tracts were purchased from landowners in Burnet County.

A medley of wildlife and greenery call the refuge home. Goldfinches and wrens live within the rolling hills’ thick blanket of oaks, elms and juniper trees. Below are caves and sinkholes where tooth cave spiders and tiny pseudoscorpions crawl around.

But most people visit the refuge to catch a glimpse of a pocket-sized songbird with a striking gold head.

The 4-inch tall golden-cheeked warbler is the only bird species whose population nests exclusively in Texas; they only breed in Central Texas’ ashe juniper and oak woodlands.

“I always like to say that golden-cheek warblers are all Texans,” said Ellen Gass, Texas field representative at The Conservation Fund. “That’s why we work so hard to protect them.”

This warbler draws birders from across the nation who travel to the Hill Country just to hear its unique, buzzy song for themselves.

Nicole Sarkar, executive director at Friends of Balcones, said expanding the golden-cheeked warbler’s habitat is important because they have been on the national endangered list since 1990. Development and flooding has caused their habitat to shrink, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Securing more than 600 more acres will help protect where warblers nest, along with hundreds of other bird species that live in the refuge, Sarkar said.

In addition to expanding the refuge, which is protected and owned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Gass said the woodlands greenery is also a natural flood buffer.

”By protecting habitat in this area, we get this added benefit of helping flood mitigation and flood prevention,” Gass said. “Especially in an area that’s seeing really, impactful and quick development.”

The new 600 acres don’t have a public trail, but elsewhere in the refuge, visitors can trek 10 miles of trails and birdwatch from its many observation decks.

The refuge was created in 1992 to protect the golden-cheeked warbler and the black-capped vireo, a small songbird with a dark head and red eyes that likes to hop between low bushes and short trees. After more than 30 years of being on the endangered species list, the black-capped vireo was removed in 2018.

Sarkar said she hopes the same happens for the golden-cheeked warbler, which she spotted for the first time in April.

“​​I’ve heard the song, I’ve listened to it, and then I’ve seen photos of the bird,” she said. “But to be able to hear it and see it at the same time while at the refuge was really exciting.”

Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson’s unexpected departure only a few months before the November midterm election, which includes one of the most hotly contested U.S. Senate races the state has seen in years, has some local election officials and voting rights advocates worrying the transition will complicate their ability to administer a smooth election.

“It’s the unknown, the uncertainty that is scary,” said Tandi Smith, the Kaufman County elections administrator. “Are we going to continue to receive guidance? Are we going to be ensured that we’ll be prepared for any coming changes? We just don’t know.”

Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, is required by law to appoint a new secretary as soon as possible. His office, in an emailed statement, said the new appointee would be announced “at a later date.”

Nelson, who has been the state’s chief election official for more than three years, last week announced that she’d be stepping down from the role effective July 17. Nelson’s departure will happen just as election officials across the state are preparing in earnest for the November general election. In the summer months, they’ll be recruiting election workers, seeking polling locations, and processing voter registration applications, among other duties.

Some voting rights advocates say a new appointee may want to direct local election officials to change election procedures, which could lead to chaos and confusion for voters. Although the secretary of state’s office has no law enforcement authority and can’t change the law, it can issue election law opinions on how to implement election and voting rules.

“If the new secretary of state has a laundry list of demands that election administrators can’t meet, that’s going to throw our elections into disarray,” said Emily Eby French, policy director at Common Cause Texas. French noted that there were three secretaries of state between 2017 and Nelson’s appointment in 2023, some of whom remained in the role only for about a year before resigning.

“I am very concerned that we are going to go back to that period of instability that we were in before Jane Nelson,” she said.

In the months leading up to the March primary election, county election officials across the state navigated challenges including a rare mid-decade residistricting cycle and issues with the statewide election management and voter registration system, known as TEAM. The majority of counties in the state rely on the system, which was overhauled last summer by the secretary of state’s office, to manage elections and to maintain voter registration lists.

The Texas Association of County Election Officials has twice publicly asked Nelson’s office in the past six months to act and resolve the problems. The secretary of state’s office has said that problems with a new version of the system were expected, especially given that the system handles the data of more than 18 million voter registration records. They’ve also said the situation was aggravated by the unexpected midcycle redistricting and problems with an outside vendor that forced some counties to suddenly add large amounts of data to the state system with little warning.

But despite these tensions, state election officials have consistently remained supportive of local election officials through politically tense periods and have maintained a nonpartisan approach when interpreting the law, said Chris McGinn, the executive director of the Texas Association of County Election Officials.

The agency has also often promoted the idea that county election officials are the election experts in each of their communities.

“There’s a fear that that could change to where the office is dictating how counties should operate with a more political approach,” he said.

Others, including some local election officials, are less concerned about top-down interference and say that a leadership transition in the office now won’t affect election officials’ ability to conduct a smooth election in November. That’s because ultimately, the election is handled by local officials in each of the state’s 254 counties.

Nelson’s sudden departure “shouldn’t have any noticeable impact on the ability of the election officials in Texas to run free and fair elections,” said Joshua Ferrer, an assistant professor of government at American University. Ferrer has done research on the recent heightened turnover of state and local election officials across the country.

“Even when officials leave, the replacements, and the staff that are still there are able to do an equally good job,” Ferrer said.

Smith, the Kaufman County elections administrator, said she’d like to see the incoming secretary of state advocate for more funding and resources for county election departments.

“Funding is something we’ve talked about for years,” Smith said, recalling when a tornado touched down in the North Texas county during the 2024 primary runoff election and her office had to scramble to ensure polling locations stayed open. “We want to be able to provide secure facilities for our voters and to make sure that there are no delays when there are storms of that nature, but funds are limited.”

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

Natalia Contreras covers election administration and voting access for Votebeat in partnership with the Texas Tribune. Natalia is based in Corpus Christi. Contact her at ncontreras@votebeat.org.

That was certainly the vibe on Sunday night, where the crowd delighted in familiar Broadway heroes finally winning their Tonys, and where the biggest award went to a Broadway musical that celebrates, well, Broadway musicals: “Schmigadoon!”

There were reunions within the reunion, too. For example, the original cast of “The Book of Mormon,” including Josh Gad, Nikki M. James and Andrew Rannells, was on hand to perform a number marking the show’s 15th anniversary — a definite highlight of the night, especially seeing Gad move to the song “Man Up.”

As for the acceptance speeches, many moms and dads and spouses and kids were thanked, of course. But one winner refreshingly thanked all the babysitters that made their career possible.

Some highlights of the night:

Pink sure got that party started

In the show's first bit, new host Pink, who has not performed on Broadway, pretended she didn't know what she was doing, and dangled uncomfortably from a wire, trying to be Peter Pan. Then Neil Patrick Harris, who's hosted multiple times, came out and told her she just needed to be herself: “You’re Pink! You can do anything,”

Of course he was right. The consensus was that Pink killed it, starting with the opening number, where she led an enormous ensemble of some 170 Broadway performers in a version of “Lady Marmalade” that was a love letter to this season's shows, with current casts performing onstage and lots of actors name-checked in the audience, too. As in: “Gitchie Gitchie Lesley Manville, Gitchie Gitchie Carrie Coon."

The number was written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (the duo behind “Dear Evan Hansen” and “The Greatest Showman”) and Mark Sonnenblick (who co-wrote “Golden” in “Kpop Demon Hunters”), and the reaction in the theater was ecstatic.

Thank you for … canceling us?

This was a new kind of thank-you. When “Schmigadoon!” won best musical, producer (and “Saturday Night Live” creator) Lorne Michaels spoke first, saying “Sometimes singing, dancing, jokes and a happy ending are all you need.”

Then producer Christine Schwarzman spoke and thanked Apple TV for canceling the third season of the TV show it was adapted from.

“Without them dropping it, we couldn’t have picked it up and ran with it. So, thanks Apple TV,” she said, to laughs.

A voice teacher gets a deserved thank-you

There was no award that had the audience cheering louder and longer than when Joshua Henry finally won a Tony, after four nominations during a stellar Broadway career.

Henry won best actor in a musical for his career-topping turn as Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Black pianist who suffers the horrors of racism in the current revival of “Ragtime,” an adaptation of E.L. Doctorow’s novel.

In addition to his wife and kids, Henry thanked his first voice teacher, which got huge applause from the crowd. He also thanked Audra McDonald and Brian Stokes Mitchell, legendary Broadway actors who preceded him in the 1998 run of “Ragtime.”

Babysitters deserve gratitude, too

Henry’s “Ragtime” co-star, Caissie Levy, was waiting for him for a long hug backstage. Levy, who was the original Elsa in the Broadway version of “Frozen,” had just won her own first Tony, for leading actress in a musical. In her own speech, Levy thanked a lot of people, but one unusual shoutout was to her family's babysitters: “Thank you to … every babysitter who’s made it possible for me to be both a Broadway actor and a mother.”

Levy, a mother of two, plays the character called Mother.

A play about history makes some of its own

The winner for best play, “Liberation” by Bess Wohl, toggles between the present time and the ’70s, exploring the roots of second-wave feminism through a consciousness-raising group that meets in an Ohio gym.

But it was a different kind of history that playwright Wohl addressed in her acceptance speech — the fact that she was the first American woman to win the category since Wendy Wasserstein won for “The Heidi Chronicles” in 1989.

She told women and girls who were listening; “May you speak your truth and may the world be wise enough to listen.”

“Liberation” also won the Pulitzer Prize this year.

If anyone can make 'Oedipus' funny, it’s Cole Escola

There is literally not one single thing that is funny about the story of Oedipus, the Sophocles classic tragedy with a shocking ending.

But Cole Escola, the mastermind behind the hit comedy “Oh Mary,” found a way. Presenting along with Maya Rudolph, who is now playing Mary Todd Lincoln in Escola’s play, the writer-actor noted of Oedipus:

“(It’s) a play that asks the question: Can women really have it all?”

If you don't get the reference, ask Manville. The veteran British actor won for leading actress in a play for her devastating turn as Jocasta in Robert Icke's modern retelling of the tragedy — her Broadway debut. As she noted in her own speech, she plays Oedipus’ wife and, also, it turns out, his mother.

To which someone in the audience called out: “Spoiler!”

This is New York. They support the Knicks

When actor John Leguizamo introduced a segment on the show, he couldn’t resist ending his remarks with “Knicks in four!”

The crowd at Radio City Music Hall gave a huge cheer. You thought they were going to root for the other guys?

The Knicks lead the San Antonio Spurs by 2-0 in the NBA Finals.

Learning some moves during commercial breaks

The audience at Radio City Music Hall doesn't just sit there in silence when the Tony telecast goes to commercials. There's usually something happening, and this time, there were opportunities to learn some moves.

During one break, the audience was instructed on how to use the paper fans that many found under their seats, meant for the number featuring “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” which reimagines the 1980s feline musical as a celebration of queer ballroom culture.

And during another break, the crowd was shown how to dance to the upcoming “Time Warp” number from “The Rocky Horror Show.”

A suspect was taken into custody after the attack, which unfolded around 7 p.m. in one of the nation’s busiest transportation hubs. The sprawling rail complex beneath Madison Square Garden serves Amtrak, Long Island Rail Road, NJ Transit and New York City subway lines and is used by hundreds of thousands of commuters and travelers each day.

Paramedics found one victim with serious injuries, two with moderate injuries and two with minor injuries, according to the city’s fire department. All five were taken to Bellevue Hospital. Another person, whose condition was not immediately known, was transported to a separate hospital.

Authorities did not immediately release details about what led to the stabbing or whether the victims were targeted.

By late Sunday, the immediate chaos had given way to a familiar Penn Station scene. Travelers wheeled luggage past a roped-off area near Tracks 5 and 6 where medical gloves, discarded bandages and traces of blood still marked the floor.

The violence erupted as New York prepared for one of its biggest sports events in decades. Monday night’s matchup between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs will be the first NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden since 1999 and is expected to draw massive crowds to the arena.

President Donald Trump has said he plans to attend the nationally televised game, prompting extensive security involving the Secret Service, New York Police Department and other agencies around Madison Square Garden and the surrounding blocks. Authorities did not immediately indicate whether the stabbing would affect security plans for the game.

Amtrak police said they were investigating the stabbing and had taken a suspect into custody. Authorities did not immediately release the suspect’s identity or provide information about potential charges.

Some businesses around San Antonio are offering deals exclusively for fans decked out in Spurs gear during the NBA Finals run.

Click here to view a list of dates, times and how you can watch all the action on KSAT 12.

>> Spurs announce free watch parties, pep rally and fan events ahead of NBA Finals

Fans can also share photos of their Spurs game-day gear on KSAT Connect for a chance to be featured on air and online.

Check out which places will offer deals to fans wearing Spurs gear during the NBA Finals:

• Bali Ayu Day Spa: The business, located at 5811 Worth Parkway at The Rim, is giving customers $10 off any service when they wear Spurs gear to their appointment and allow a photo to be posted to the spa’s social media. The offer is valid through the end of the NBA Finals run. The offer can’t be combined with any other specials or promotions. More details can be found here.
• Pluckers Wing Bar: Fans who wear Spurs gear on game days will score five free wings with the purchase of an adult entree at participating San Antonio locations. The deal is not valid at the Frost Bank Center. More details can be found here.
• Take 5 Oil Change: Customers who wear their Spurs gear to Take 5 Oil Change will score 25% off their oil change. For more information, click here.
• Wok Inn: When customers wear their Spurs gear on game days or the day after a game at any location, the restaurant will offer guests a $6 single lemon chicken meal or a free egg roll. More information can be found here.

This list will be updated as more places announce promotions.

More Spurs coverage on KSAT:

• Share your photos celebrating Spurs in the NBA Finals on KSAT Connect!
• Free options to watch Spurs against Knicks in NBA Finals

Trump is a longtime Knicks fan who confirmed Friday that he would attend the first NBA Finals game in New York since 1999. He has already attended a number of major sporting events in his second term, including the 2025 Super Bowl, Daytona 500 and Ryder Cup.

Part of the fallout from Trump’s visit was the cancellation of a Game 3 watch party outside MSG. The New York Police Department said in a statement Sunday the decision was made in coordination with the Secret Service.

“There will be no watch parties outside of Madison Square Garden for Game 3 only,” the statement said. “This was done fully in coordination with the Secret Service because of the presidential visit. We expect watch parties at Madison Square Garden to resume for Game 4.”

Such parties, where thousands of fans pack in to watch the game on a big screen, have been a point of contention for the city’s police department, even without the complication of a presidential visit.

More than two-dozen people were arrested as Friday’s watch party spilled into the streets surrounding the Garden after the Knicks beat the Spurs in San Antonio. One woman was accused of punching a police officer in the face, the NYPD said.

Heading into the NBA Finals, the city had moved to cancel watch parties outside the arena altogether because of rowdy behavior at unofficial gatherings but later reversed itself and granted a permit for Game 1 last Wednesday.

Matt McCool, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s New York field office, said he understood that with the Knicks on a historic run there would be some disappointment from fans.

“At the same time, our responsibility is to ensure the highest level of public safety,” he said. “After careful coordination and assessment, the Secret Service and the NYPD jointly determined that outdoor watch parties could not be accommodated in the immediate vicinity of Madison Square Garden due to the security requirements associated with an event of this scale and the need to maintain a secure environment for protective operations.”

Team-sanctioned watch parties will go on at Wollman Rink in Central Park and Brooklyn Bowl, the Knicks website said. Both events required advanced registration and were already at capacity as of Sunday afternoon.

Strict rules were put in place for those attending the game. The Knicks warned fans to bring as little as possible to Game 3 and encouraging them to arrive at least two hours before tipoff as part of enhanced security measures.

The Knicks said Saturday that a strict no-bag policy would be in place and there would be “TSA-style screening procedures” for fans when they enter Madison Square Garden for the game that is scheduled to begin just after 8:40 p.m. EDT.

The Knicks said there would be no storage at MSG for prohibited items brought to the arena. A list of them is available at https://www.secretservice.gov/prohibiteditems.

___

Associated Press writers Michael Sisak and Jake Offenhartz in New York contributed to this report.

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

The World Wide Developers Conference, which attracts thousands of developers from some 60 countries to Apple’s Silicon Valley headquarters, usually focuses on software, in contrast to the fall unveiling of the latest iPhones.

Analysts expect the iPhone maker to give updates on new AI features and capabilities, including developments with its Siri voice assistant.

“While hardware products are rarely launched at a developer show, we could see hints of Apple’s expansion into foldables, wearables, and smart home products by way of developer and ecosystem updates," said Emarketer senior analyst Gadjo Sevilla, who called 2026 a ”transition year” for the conference.

Apple has been playing catch-up with on AI with its Big Tech peers. It uses Google’s Gemini AI model to help power its AI features.

Sevilla said he anticipates Siri will be reimagined as an AI chatbot and will be more conversational, have memory to pick up previous conversations, and will be able to complete multiple tasks with single requests.

There is optimism around the potential for an enhanced Siri, he said.

“An upgraded, agentic version of Siri — capable of managing conversations and tasks across iPhones, Macs, and iPads — could become as ubiquitous as features like AirDrop and Handoff, which already unify Apple’s ecosystem,” Sevilla said.

Cook announced his retirement in April, ending a 15-year run that saw the company’s market value soar by more than $4 trillion during an iPhone-fueled era of prosperity. Ternus has been with Apple for the past quarter century, including the past five years overseeing the engineering underlying the iPhone, iPad and Mac — a role that made him a prime candidate to succeed Cook.

The transition to a new CEO comes at a pivotal time for Apple. Artificial intelligence has unleashed the most upheaval within the industry since Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in 2007. Apple has gotten off to a rough start in AI after stumbling in its efforts to deliver new features built on the technology, as promised nearly two years ago.

Lokudu and several of his colleagues work all day at the hospital treating an influx of patients. Notifications of suspected cases come even late at night.

“I have not received my allowance (and) what happened to others could happen to me as well,” Lokudu told The Associated Press. “Despite all the infection prevention and control measures we are implementing, we do not know what may happen.”

Health authorities believe the outbreak, which took the eastern region of Congo by surprise after spreading silently for weeks without detection, started in the bustling mining area of Mongbwalu in Ituri province.

Mining conditions conducive to virus spread

Mongbwalu has emerged as the epicenter of the rare Bundibugyo type. The town attracts large numbers of laborers who work in large gold mines with muddy pools of gold deposits, narrow pits and caves. They live in low-income areas including crowded camps and have little access to proper health protocols.

The conditions increase the possibility of transmitting the disease, which spreads through close contact with bodily fluids of the sick and deceased such as sweat, blood, feces and vomit.

There also has been widespread skepticism regarding the disease, making the job of medical treatment more difficult for Lokudu and his colleagues, while some of the health workers and first responders have died from the disease.

“It is one thing to be far away and hear statistics being reported, but what is happening on the ground is enormous,” Lokudu said. “People are sacrificing their rest and comfort for this cause. There should be recognition that they deserve compensation. These workers should receive their salaries regularly.”

The Congolese government didn't respond to a request for comment from the AP.

Minimal resources available

Congolese authorities released new statistics on Sunday, saying there have been 488 confirmed cases, including 86 deaths, as of Friday. On Thursday, the Central African nation recorded 71 new cases in a day, which authorities said is a sign of “active community transmission.”

In neighboring Uganda, there have been 19 confirmed cases and two deaths.

Bundibugyo has no approved vaccines or treatment, so Congolese health workers have been targeting symptoms of the species. The government said at least five people have recovered from Ebola since the outbreak was officially confirmed by Congo's health ministry on May 15.

The disease “had a big head start,” according to World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Hospitals in the region couldn't test for the right type of Ebola that had begun spreading several weeks before confirmation.

Health workers are handling the disease with minimal resources, because agencies have been scrambling to bring aid into the region. Masks, gloves, boots and medications were initially all in short supply.

“There has been an erosion of the health system,” said Heather Kerr, country director for the International Rescue Committee in Congo. “There has not been investment in the health system, and this has been going on for years.”

Tough conditions for health workers

“During the first week, we did not even have time to go home and eat. The second week was the same. We only eat once a day, what amounts to breakfast in the evening,” said Alice Bamuhinga, a nurse at the Mongbwalu hospital.

Even with widespread skepticism and disregard for health protocols, many in the town are becoming aware of the outbreak's grave reality.

Asero Jeanne, 52, had five children. Two died from the disease within two weeks. When her daughter became ill, the family thought it was malaria and neighbors advised them to avoid the hospital, saying “anyone who went there would die immediately,” Jeanne said.

The daughter died after three weeks of moving between hospitals and home, followed by a son who died days after. Then Jeanne became sick.

“I saw about 20 people die,” Jeanne said. “I watched them being taken to the morgue, yet God is allowing me to leave here alive. I thank the doctors.”

UN health agency offers a plan

Tedros on Friday launched a $518 million plan to combat the outbreak, saying “containing Ebola depends on political commitment, sustained financing, and the trust and engagement of communities.”

Efforts to contain the disease also have been hindered by the conflict between the government and Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, in addition to attacks by Islamist militants.

For health workers on the front line of Congo's Ebola outbreak, the work has become harder as the disease spreads faster than their current treatment capacity.

“Despite the alerts we receive and the teams we have on site, we lack the means to travel into the field,” Lokudu said. “As a result, there are alerts we are unable to investigate.”

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Ope Adetayo reported from Lagos, Nigeria.

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For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The musical parodies golden-age Broadway classics like “The Music Man” and “Oklahoma!” centered on a modern-day couple finding themselves in a “Brigadoon”-like fantasyland where the wholesome townspeople keep breaking into song. The win is a redemption for creator Cinco Paul, whose TV series was canceled after two seasons. He won Tonys for the score and the book Sunday.

“Sometimes singing, dancing, jokes and a happy ending are all you need," said producer Lorne Michaels, the creator of “Saturday Night Live,” after the win.

The win for “Schmigadoon!” also completes what some unofficially call a “studio EGOT,” giving the producing company credits for winning awards at all four major ceremonies. Apple already has Emmys for comedies “Ted Lasso” and “The Studio,” the Oscar for best picture for “CODA” and a Grammy via Chris Stapleton’s contribution to the “F1” soundtrack.

Who took home the Tony Awards

The prize for the best new play went to Wohl’s “Liberation,” about a consciousness-raising women’s group in 1970s Ohio, which earlier this year also won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

Wohl’s play collects stories from second-wave feminists from all walks of life as they tackle misogyny, racism and traditional gender roles. Wohl is only the fourth woman to win a best play Tony, joining Wendy Wasserstein, Yasmina Reza and Frances Goodrich.

“I want to honor women everywhere who have the courage to use their voice," said Wohl, who thanked her mom, daughters and female producers. "And to all the girls out there: May you speak your truth, and may the world be wise enough to listen.”

“Liberation” joins a list of 18 plays that have won the Pulitzer Prize for drama and the Tony Award in the same year.

The Tony for best play revival went to “Death of a Salesman,” Arthur Miller’s masterpiece that looks at the unraveling of the American Dream. It won the 1949 Tony for best new play and best revival crowns in 1984, 1999 and 2012.

It earned a leading six Tonys: “Roseanne” star Laurie Metcalf won her third Tony for playing Willy Loman’s wife opposite Nathan Lane in the revival, which also won for lighting, scenic design and sound design. Joe Mantello won best director for a play.

‘Ragtime,' ‘Giant,’ and other stand-out plays

“Ragtime” — a big, soaring musical that depicts an America being remade by immigration, racial violence, industrial wealth and political unrest — won the best musical revival.

Caissie Levy, who was Broadway’s first Elsa in “Frozen,” won her first Tony for playing the matriarch of a wealthy suburban family in “Ragtime.” She thanks all the babysitters who let her become both a mother and a Broadway performer.

Moments later, Joshua Henry, a four-time nominee, won his first Tony as Coalhouse Walker Jr. in “Ragtime.” “Even in the face of pain and tragedy, he found a way to be heard,” Henry said of his character. "Every artist in this room, every artist at home, fight — fight to be heard

Lithgow won his third Tony for best lead actor in a play for “Giant” playing children’s writer Roald Dahl in Mark Rosenblatt’s production set in 1983, when the author is facing intense backlash for his antisemitic comments. At 80, he is the oldest man ever to win a competitive acting Tony.

“Two Tony bookends with 53 years between them,” he said. “In those years, I have worked with hundreds of just fantastic theater artists. I’ve had dozens and dozens of ecstatic moments on the stage, but I have to tell you right now, this moment has got to be one of the best.”

Shoshana Bean, who won best featured actress in a musical for playing a single mom in “The Lost Boys,” echoed the themes of “Liberation” in her speech.

“This is for the mamas. This is for the single mamas. This is for my single mama. You are the wild heroes. This is for the incredible army of women that surround and uplift me," she said.

“Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” which reimagines the 1980s classic feline musical as a celebration of queer ballroom culture, won for best direction of a musical by Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch.

“We honor the Black and brown trans women and gay men who were ballroom’s pioneers, as well as today’s icons, and our cast of astonishing triple-threats, including people from their 20s to their 80s, and every decade in between,” Levingston said.

Lesley Manville, an Oscar nominee for “Phantom Thread,” won best lead actress in a play, making her Broadway debut in a modern retelling of Sophocles’ classic tragedy “Oedipus.”

Pink's performance as the host

Pink, the Tony's host, started the show spinning and then dangling uncomfortably from a harness over the stage, dressed like Peter Pan. Former host Neil Patrick Harris stepped in to suggest the first-time host just be herself.

“You’re Pink, Pink. You can do anything,” he told her.

After lifting Harris off the stage with her legs, Pink relented to his suggestion, added a top hat and belted out “Lady Marmalade” with contributions from dozens of performers including Lea Michele and Megan Thee Stallion — and some 170 performers.

In her opening remarks, Pink, who has not yet gotten a Broadway credit, called herself theater’s second-biggest fan after her teenage daughter, Willow. “I’m not here just to steal peoples’ wigs, although I will be doing that. I’m here to celebrate the hardest-working people in show business,” she said.

“Schmigadoon!” and “Death of a Salesman” each went into the main telecast with a lead of three Tonys after a pre-show on Pluto TV hosted by Laura Benanti and Tituss Burgess that announced the more technical awards. Qween Jean became the first openly trans Tony winner ever for making the costumes for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball.”

Plenty of medleys and dance sequences

After the big opening number, Pink was generally a genial, exuberant figure, popping up in new outfits for a few self-deprecating bits, but then roaring to life when leading a very convincing “All That Jazz” as “Chicago” celebrated its 30th anniversary, with the pop singer nailing the Bob Fosse-inspired choreography.

The In Memoriam section was led by Leslie Odom Jr. singing a powerful “Without You” from “Rent,” honoring such lost figures as actors Robert Duvall, Robert Redford and Diane Keaton, as well as playwright Tom Stoppard. Rachel Zegler then stunned with a version of “What I Did For Love” from “A Chorus Line,” which last year celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Other performances included the original lead cast members of “The Book of Mormon” — Josh Gad, Andrew Rannells, Rory O’Malley and Nikki M. James — reuniting to celebrate its 15th anniversary.

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For more coverage of the 2026 Tony Awards, visit https://apnews.com/hub/tony-awards.

Figures released by electoral authorities showed conservative politician Keiko Fujimori with a modest lead over nationalist congressman Roberto Sánchez with 58% of ballots tallied in a contest overshadowed by people’s concerns about surging crime. The outcome, expected to be tight, may not be known for days.

The figures showed Fujimori received 5.96 million votes, or 52.6%, while Sánchez earned 5.36 million votes, or 47.4%.

Unlike the first-round vote, no major incidents delayed the opening or closure of voting centers. In the capital, however, voter turnout throughout Sunday appeared lower than in the previous contest, with practically no lines in many voting centers, despite voting being mandatory.

Fujimori, daughter of a disgraced former president, and Sánchez, an ally of an imprisoned ex-president, were on the runoff’s ballot after beating 33 other candidates in the vote in April, but neither earned even 20% of support. Electoral authorities took more than a month to declare them winners of that contest.

Crime was the top concern for voters

Crime, particularly extortion, remained the overarching concern for voters. A 2025 national survey carried out by the state’s National Institute of Statistics and Informatics found that 84% of respondents in urban areas feared becoming victims of a crime in the following 12 months.

Experts attribute the increasing power of organized crime in Peru to the profits that decades-old criminal groups are earning from illegal gold mining in the Andes and the Amazon.

But the candidates' crime-fighting proposals were not enough to make inroads with voters, many of whom associate each aspiring president with controversial Peruvian politicians.

Official results from April's election showed Fujimori received 17% of the vote and Sánchez got 12%. More than six weeks later, a nationwide poll conducted by Ipsos found that similar shares of voters were supporting the candidates, with about 3 in 10 saying they were undecided.

Fujimori is linked to the authoritarian and corrupt legacy of the government of her late father, Alberto Fujimori, in the 1990s. She became Peru's first lady in 1994 after her parents’ separation.

Sánchez is one of the closest allies of jailed former President Pedro Castillo, whom many perceive as corrupt and chaotic. Castillo’s 16-month term saw more than 70 Cabinet changes.

Food vendor Magali Quiquia said she cast a blank ballot because she did not find either candidate convincing,

“Five years ago, I was disappointed by Castillo with his corruption, and ... Roberto Sánchez is the same," Quiquia, 44, said. She added that she believes “Fujimori hasn’t done anything either” despite her party having multiple seats in Congress.

Voting is mandatory for Peruvians aged 18 to 70. Failure to do so results in a fine of up to $32.

More than 27 million people are registered. Of those, about 1.2 million were expected to cast ballots from abroad, mainly in the United States and Argentina.

Proposals include prison labor and a police purge

For most of her fourth presidential campaign, Fujimori promised to crack down on crime. Her proposals included implementing technology to track extortion, militarizing borders and increasing the presence of police and military personnel in high-risk areas. Fujimori, 51, also said that prisoners will be required to work and “repay society” should she win.

In the only debate before the runoff, Fujimori defended her father’s government and promised to defeat crime just as he defeated the Shining Path, a violent extremist group.

Sánchez, a former minister now popular with rural voters, pledged to combat corruption within the police force and promote reforms that would enable the military to support security efforts.

The 57-year-old, who wears a wide-brimmed peasant hat gifted by Castillo, told debate viewers that he would be open to “all options to generate jobs and progress” but also emphasized his support for Chinese investments.

Sánchez tried to ease the concerns his candidacy is generating among investors, saying he will not nationalize any assets of transnational companies that extract minerals or gas from Peru.

Lima resident Heidi Ramírez, 41, said she was undecided until she was in line at the voting center. After talking with friends who “convinced me,” she said she chose Sánchez.

The United States ambassador to Peru, Bernie Navarro, stopped by a voting center in Lima on Sunday. Upon leaving, he told the television station Latina his visit was to “observe and ensure that there is transparency here.”

The runoff's winner will be sworn in to a five-year term on July 28.

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Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City.

After three weeks of indie horror dominance at the box office, the slasher spoof “Scary Movie” topped ticket sales with $55 million over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, easily besting the far-from-mighty “Masters of the Universe.”

A new order has lately come to movie theaters, which have seen Gen Z ticket buyers flock to the horror hits “Obsession” and “Backrooms,” both made by YouTubers-turned-filmmakers. Those movies have even outshone The Walt Disney Co.’s “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.”

This weekend, comedy was the underdog champ. Though the genre has been all but left for dead in theaters, the sixth “Scary Movie” notched a franchise-best $105.5 million global launch. The Wayans brother comedy even outdid its primary satirical target, the “Scream” franchise. Earlier this year, “Scream 7” debuted with $97 million worldwide.

Both franchises are distributed by Paramount Pictures, though Miramax produced the new “Scary Movie.” Co-written by Marlon, Shawn, Keenan and Craig Wayans, the sequel marks the Wayans’ return to the franchise after their departure over creative differences following 2001’s “Scary Movie 2.”

“This is an outstanding opening for a comedy sequel this far into the series,” said David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm FranchiseRe. "It’s a huge bounceback after the last episode crashed in 2013 when Anna Faris and Regina Hall were excluded. The weekend figure is triple the average for the genre.”

Reviews weren’t good (26% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and audience scores (a “B” CinemaScore) were so-so. But that didn’t stop the $30-million “Scary Movie” from dominating its much bigger-budget competition.

“Masters of the Universe,” a sword and sorcery action adventure based on the 1980s animated series and Mattel toys, failed to revive the dormant franchise. The Amazon MGM release, the second “Masters of the Universe” film following a 1987 movie of the same title, opened with $29.3 million domestically.

“Masters of the Universe,” starring Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man, added $25 million overseas. But for a film that cost nearly $200 million to produce, a much higher launch was needed to make profitability likely.

It’s Mattel Studios’ first release since 2023’s “Barbie.” But after the extraordinary $1.45 billion success of that film, “Masters of the Universe” will be closer to a flop for the toy company.

A24’s “Backrooms,” last weekend’s top release, slid steeply on its second weekend, dropping 68% with $25.9 million. But “Backrooms,” a $10 million movie based on 20-year-old Kane Parson’s YouTube series, remains a record-breaking phenomenon. It's now A24’s highest-grossing film ever with $212 million worldwide, moving ahead of “Marty Supreme."

In a near tie for third place, Focus Features’ “Obsession” grossed $25.6 million in its fourth weekend. That marked a paltry 7% drop from the previous weekend for 26-year-old Curry Barker’s horror sensation. Not accounting for inflation, no horror movie has ever had a better fourth weekend.

“Obsession,” about a man who wishes his crush returned his affections, was made for less than $1 million. It’s now grossed $152.1 million domestically and $224.8 million worldwide — a record for Focus.

In its third weekend, “The Mandalorian and Grogu” fell all the way to sixth place with $10 million. It was even bested by Fathom Entertainment’s “The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act,” a combination of the last two episodes of the animated series. It collected $12.7 million.

A few other movies hit milestones.

Lionsgate’s Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” became the studio’s highest-grossing film ever with $898 million globally. That puts it ahead, not accounting for inflation, of both the highest grossing entries in the studio’s “Twilight” and “Hunger Games” franchises.

And 2026 got its first billion-dollar movie. “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” crossed $1 billion worldwide for Universal.

The weekend overall was up a remarkable 63% from the same weekend last year, according to Comscore. Ticket sales on the year are up more than 13%. Next weekend, Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day” debuts.

Top 10 movies by domestic box office

With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

1. “Scary Movie,” $55 million.

2. “Masters of the Universe,” $29.3 million.

3. “Backrooms,” $25.9 million.

4. “Obsession,” $25.6 million.

5. “The Amazing Digital Circus: The Last Act,” $12.7 million.

6. “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” $10 million.

7. “Michael,” $7.7 million.

8. “The Breadwinner,” $3.4 million.

9. “Pressure,” $3 million.

10. “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” $2.8 million.

Leo celebrated Spain's Christian roots and culture with the huge morning Mass in downtown Madrid and an evening spectacle that featured flamenco dancers, classical guitar and a moving meditation by Spanish actor Antonio Banderas on art, faith and beauty.

In his remarks, Leo challenged Europe to consider what the continent's identity would be without the influence of Christianity. He cited its art, culture and the role played by Christians — “motivated by their faith” — to build its schools, hospitals and other institutions.

“Is it seriously possible to believe that Europe — which we deeply love — would be the same without the influence of faith?” Leo asked, in demanding that religious expression be allowed to keep its place in the public sphere.

A morning Mass and procession on floral carpets

Leo, who arrived in Spain on Saturday at the start of his weeklong visit, has been keen to highlight the long tradition of Christian culture and devotion here to encourage especially young generations to find their faith. It’s a tall order in a once-staunchly Catholic country where religious observance has largely been on the wane.

Sunday fell on the Catholic Corpus Domini feast day, which often features processions of faithful through towns and cities led by a priest carrying the Eucharist. In Spain, as in other predominantly Catholic countries, the processions often feature elaborate floral carpets arranged along the route.

During Sunday's Mass, Leo said that the floral carpets express the “spiritual sentiments of this country” through “altars erected in the streets.”

“This is not an exhibition, a remnant of folklore or a simple display of beauty,” he said. “It is a profession of faith in the presence of the risen Lord, who is alive and continues to walk among us.”

He said that the continued observance of such devotional practices points to what Spain can and should be for the world.

“Herein lies the task of Spain today and in the future: to ensure that the religiosity which has shaped and defined this country for centuries is not a museum of the past to be visited, but a school of faith from which to draw even today,” he said.

At the end of the Mass, Leo carried a gilded monstrance, or container, holding a Eucharistic host and walked over some of the 16 floral carpets that decorated the half-kilometer (less than half-mile) procession route, as children dropped additional petals before him and the crowd tossed petals from behind the barricades.

Huge crowds greet the American pope

Leo's visit to the country of 50 million has drawn huge crowds, with a vigil service Saturday night. drawing an estimated 600,000 young Spaniards. They knelt for several minutes in silent prayer alongside Leo, suggesting that there is indeed interest in the faith among young people, despite Spain’s heavily secularized society.

On Sunday, their numbers doubled: Organizers said that 1.2 million people had turned out on a brilliant spring morning for Leo's Mass at Madrid's iconic Plaza de Cibeles and surrounding streets, with more trying to get in.

“It’s spectacular,” said Julián Tapiador, a consultant who came to the Mass. “I’m so proud that the pope is in Spain after 15 years. Hopefully he comes again and we can all see him again.”

Octavio Puche, a retiree, thanked Leo for making the trip.

“Apparently society is not as secularized as it seems, because there are a million people here in Madrid, and I think he has shown a very human face of Christ, very close to the people, to their suffering,” he said.

Sex abuse scandal hangs over visit

Despite the warm welcome, the clergy sexual abuse scandal, which has erupted belatedly in Spain in recent years, has loomed over Leo's trip. The Catholic hierarchy has begun to reckon with its legacy after reporting in the local media.

Leo is expected to meet survivors while in Spain, but several victims groups have complained that they have been left in the dark about when the meeting is taking place and whether they are invited.

Miguel Hurtado, a prominent survivor who accused a monk at Montserrat Abbey outside Barcelona of sexually assaulting him more than two decades ago, protested outside the Vatican’s embassy in Madrid on Sunday. He said that he wrote to the Vatican requesting a meeting with Leo and for the pope to cancel his planned Wednesday visit to the 1,000-year old Benedictine monastery.

“I understand you can’t meet with all of us victims, because we are more than 400,000,” Hurtado said, speaking to a cardboard photo of Leo.

As he spoke, a crowd of nuns and others lined the street outside the Vatican embassy, waving Spanish flags and chanting slogans in favor of former dictator Gen. Francisco Franco, who ruled Spain with an iron grip for nearly four decades after the 1936-39 civil war.

The Catholic Church was a pillar of Franco’s dictatorship, and at least until the 1960s, the church enjoyed broad control and influence over Spanish society that waned after democracy took root.

“Spain is Christian and not Muslim!” the crowd yelled.

A form of popular piety dating back centuries

The tradition of laying flower carpets — and destroying them when the procession tramples them — dates back two centuries and is popular also in Latin America, where elaborate sand designs are also made. The painstaking displays are considered an offering to the Eucharist.

According to Spanish organizers, the 16 flower carpets decorating Sunday's procession route off Plaza de Cibeles were prepared by a Spanish florists association from the northern region of Galicia. Florists used more than 30,000 flowers, most the yellow and white colors of the Holy See flag, for the carpets that feature decorations such as the Holy See keys.

Poland has already had its tradition of Corpus Domini flower carpets recognized by UNESCO, and Galicia is trying to have its tradition listed along with other countries as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage.

Wildly popular religious processions, pilgrimages and feasts continue to be held in most Spanish regions. The most recognizable are Semana Santa, or Holy Week, processions during the final week of Lent where brotherhoods and robed penitents parade ornate statues of Christ and the Virgin Mary through cities, towns and villages alongside marching bands. Such processions draw the faithful as well as droves of nonbelievers and tourists.

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Alicia León and Srdjan Nedeljkovic contributed to this report.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

The race for governor between Sand and Republican Zach Lahn stands to be one of the most competitive in the country as Iowans face a state budget deficit, struggling agricultural economy and cancer crisis. Democrats are putting faith in him to blaze a trail in the state after struggling electorally in recent cycles, hoping his message of unity will resonate with their fellow Iowans.

A few hundred people in Des Moines roared, waved campaign signs and snapped photos as Sand took the stage, a state flag hanging behind him.

“You might think we have a big hill to climb. I've seen bigger,” Sand said. “We're building a coalition of — not red versus blue — but of the well-fed versus the fed-up.”

Sand, who was unopposed on the primary ballot, learned who his opponent would be after Tuesday’s primary settled an unpredictable five-way Republican contest.

The rally was the first one that Tracy Schloss has ever attended. A lifelong Democrat, Schloss said he doesn't like the state's direction after nearly a decade of total Republican control, saying the leaders have “lost sight of the common people.”

“It's time, you gotta step up or the country will still keep going the way it's going," said the 62-year-old retiree from Ankeny, a suburb of Des Moines.

Schloss said he thinks Sand is a “bright spot" who can get voters excited, and he's more optimistic than he's been in recent years that the election will be a success for Democrats.

Iowa is a political battleground this year

Iowa has open races for both governor and U.S. senator for the first time since 1968, plus three battleground congressional races. National attention on the state has soared in recent months, drawing President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance to Iowa.

Democrats still have a 200,000-person deficit in statewide voter registration, and they are outnumbered in every House district. Sand, along with Senate candidate Josh Turek, say they can win over independents and Republicans who are frustrated with party politics and a Republican trifecta in Washington and Des Moines that they blame for the state's challenges.

Turek will face U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, who already has portrayed Turek as a liberal puppet for party leader Sen. Chuck Schumer.

Lahn has also rejected Sand's nonpartisan pitch.

“Rob Sand is not a moderate,” Lahn said in his victory speech Tuesday. “He’s a liberal career politician pretending to be someone he’s not.”

Sand says it’s time for changes

As he has during campaign events over the past year, Sand asked attendees to sing the first verse of “America the Beautiful.” And when he introduced himself, he talked about his upbringing hunting, fishing and going to church.

Even if Sand is elected governor in November, he will likely have to work with Republican majorities in the state House and Senate, which recently passed bills to restrict the executive’s power that outgoing Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law.

Sand said it's good to have balance rather than a political system centered around amassing power and punishing political enemies.

“We have found ourselves in this position because we have too many people who want us to only think about red or blue,” Sand said Sunday. “Red and blue are colors.”

Neither Sand nor Lahn use their party's traditional blue or red in campaign materials, opting instead for green. They both say they aren’t beholden to their party establishments and that Iowans want a new direction, though Lahn’s Republican Party has held a statehouse trifecta for nearly a decade.

Little known before his bid for governor, Lahn made a splash as a business owner criticizing farm consolidation and tax breaks for corporate giants, a regenerative farmer who subscribes to Robert F. Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement and a former political operative who galvanized Iowa’s conservative grassroots.

Sand’s campaign has given about $750,000 to the Iowa Democratic Party already this cycle, funding that Republicans call hypocritical for a candidate who claims he is not a party man. The Sand campaign says that sum reflects his investment in a state party-run coordinated campaign that will help him get elected as governor, even as it also supports candidates up and down the ballot.

“Rob Sand loves to talk about rising above the ‘two-party system’ — right up until it’s time to campaign, cash checks, and share the stage with Democrat Party insiders," Iowa GOP spokeswoman Jade Cichy said in a statement Sunday.

Beshear brings national support as he considers his own future

Beshear, chair of the Democratic Governors Association and a potential presidential candidate in 2028, told a cheering crowd Sunday that he's “all in” for electing Sand.

As Democrats continue to debate what went wrong in 2024 and the direction of the party, Beshear has offered up his own example as the leader of a red state for lessons on how the party can go forward.

“I am living, breathing proof that Democrats can win anywhere, and we should be fighting everywhere,” Beshear told the crowd Sunday.

In addition to rallying with Sand, Beshear also attended a “Beers with Beshear” fundraiser for congressional candidate Sarah Trone Garriott, who wants to unseat Republican Rep. Zach Nunn in the competitive House district that includes Des Moines. Beshear told The Associated Press that he would see Turek, too.

The Democratic Governors Association, which Beshear chairs, gave the Iowa Democratic Party about $140,000 so far this cycle, according to filing reports.

Her 2 1/2-foot putt to win caught the left edge, and it toured half the circumference of the hole while the gallery watched in disbelief. When it finally fell amid an outburst of gasps and roars, Korda put her hand over her open mouth before she laughed at the absurdity of her sport.

“It's even sweeter, especially with that ice cream swirl on the last hole,” the world's top-ranked player said.

This trophy was the cool treat Korda wanted more than anything: She won the 81st U.S. Women's Open on Sunday for her second consecutive major victory, holding off Charley Hull and Gaby Lopez by one shot.

The 27-year-old Korda claimed her fourth major overall with a steady 2-under 69 in the final round — but only after her second putt on the 18th came perilously close to a spin-out that would have forced a three-way playoff. When it dropped, Korda had her fourth LPGA Tour victory already from a season in which she also has three second-place finishes in just eight starts.

She finished at 8-under 276 and celebrated with a tear-streaked face after sharing the lead with multiple competitors throughout the windy finale of the first Women's Open ever held at this venerated 100-year-old country club in Pacific Palisades.

This victory was nothing like Korda's major win at The Chevron Championship in April, when she streaked away from the field. Korda was seven shots off the lead after the opening round before fighting her way back to a third-round co-lead, and she never separated from Sunday's competitive pack at Riviera — but she was the only one among the top seven finishers without a bogey on the back nine.

“I didn’t feel my best on the back nine,” Korda said. “I had a lot of emotions swirling in my stomach, (but) it’s a dream come true. I’ve dreamt about this moment since I was a little girl.”

Korda said she'll remember her 9-foot birdie putt on the 17th meant much longer than her frightening final shot because it broke her out of a four-way tie for the lead with Lopez, the hard-charging Hull and three-time major champion In Gee Chun.

“I don’t really throw out fist pumps too often, but I did this weekend,” Korda said. “I threw out a double fist-pump on that (17th) hole, because I knew what it meant.”

The champion made just three birdies and a bogey Sunday, playing steadily and comfortably with her improved competitive mentality. Korda has stressed positivity and steadiness after her inexplicably winless 2025.

And after the hair-raising finish, Korda claimed the $2.5 million winner’s share of this Open’s record $12.5 million purse.

“This week was definitely a grind,” Korda said. “I don’t even feel like I had my B game. I was just grinding out there, and that’s what I guess major championships are all about, right? It doesn’t matter if you have your B or C game. You have to be there mentally.”

Korda arrived at Riviera as the favorite, but the entire Open was a challenge she met splendidly.

After a rough opening-round 73 during which she changed out of a pair of Nike shoes given to her by LeBron James, she took the extraordinary step of altering her grip — per the suggestion of her big sister, Jessica — and coolly put together back-to-back 67s to take a share of the lead into the final round.

The leaderboard only separated late Sunday after seven players began within two strokes of the lead.

Korda fended off excellent final rounds from England's Hull and Mexico's Lopez, who both narrowly missed out on their first major victories. Hull finished second at a major for the fifth time in her career.

Chun finished two shots back at 6-under 278, while third-round co-leader Sei Young Kim carded a 1-over 72 to finish at 279.

Hull played her first two rounds at 3 over, squeezing under the cut by one stroke and beginning Sunday three shots back, but she charged into the lead before the wind picked up off the Pacific. Starting three groups ahead of the leaders and hunting flagsticks all day, Hull finished the final two rounds at 10 under with a 65-67.

“It was quite windy and I hit the ball fantastic, so fair play to Nelly Korda for back-to-back wins,” Hull said. “But I just love playing in the majors. I pretty much only get up for the major. It’s really weird, I just love playing in majors. Like if it’s a normal week-to-week, I struggle sometimes getting the motivation, but when it comes to major week, I just love it.”

Hull’s bogey on the 14th left Lopez, Chun, Kim and Korda all tied for the lead at 7 under. While Kim and Lopez fell back with bogeys, Korda added to a string of nine consecutive pars. But after Hull made a 7-foot birdie putt on the 17th to regain a share of the lead, Korda barely missed a 22-foot birdie putt on the 16th.

Hull ended with a 9 1/2-foot par putt for her 67. A few minutes later, Lopez made her 15-foot putt to join the pack of leaders, but Korda pulled ahead moments later with her gutsy birdie on the 17th.

Korda dropped her approach shot squarely on the 18th green and two-putted to a victory that immediately made her think about how far she has traveled since her first U.S. Open as a precocious teen at Sebonack in 2013.

“Obviously, I’ve had doubts,” Korda said. “Even mid-round I was like, ‘Well, will I ever win it?’ You always have those doubts, but I think you’re just a human being if you have them. ... I don’t know if a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, but I just think I’m just extremely proud of my fight this week, and (fulfilling) the dream of that little girl.”

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

The Democratic primary is still seen as Platner's to win, but he is facing questions about his past that could make it difficult to defeat longtime incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

“We’re going to win on Tuesday and we’re going to win in November and we’re going to take power back for the people in this country,” Platner said to about 400 people clapping and cheering him on in Portland.

The New York Times on Thursday reported an ex-girlfriend's allegations that Platner repeatedly grabbed her by the shoulders during arguments and once twisted her arm behind her back and locked her in a room. Platner has repeatedly called those allegations of violence untrue.

Other Platner ex-girlfriends interviewed by the Times described positive experiences, while some said he was volatile and insulting. That story came days after news reports revealing that Platner had exchanged sexually explicit messages with several women while married.

Despite the allegations, no major Democrats who had previously endorsed Platner have rescinded their support.

And at Sunday's event, attendees avoided asking about Platner's past and instead asked him about the U.S. Supreme Court, what committees he would want to work on once in the Senate, and whether he supports a federal wealth tax.

“What has blown my mind is that everybody knows what’s going on,” Platner said in response to a question about what outsiders watching the Maine Senate race are getting wrong about the state's voters.

Platner said he hoped eventually to join the Senate Appropriations Committee, as well as the committees overseeing agriculture and health care, while mentioning he would like to work with Kentucky's Republican Sen. Rand Paul because of his foreign policy positions.

Platner took a swipe at Sen. John Fetterman, who has criticized the Senate candidate recently, calling him a “creep” and likening him to a “Nazi sympathizer.” Some have questioned whether Platner would be similar to Fetterman, who has a reputation for speaking and voting against his party.

Platner said as a senator it’s important to build relationships and that ”you can’t just go down there and be John Fetterman," while also calling the Pennsylvania Democrat an expletive. He added that Fetterman “said mean things” about him recently.

Platner held a rally with California Rep. Ro Khanna in Bar Harbor on Friday, where he received a standing ovation and declared that Mainers “have my back.”

A combat veteran, Platner has repeatedly said that he struggled with alcohol and post traumatic stress disorder after his military service, but says he is a changed man.

The latest news has deepened some Democrats’ nervousness about Platner, who already faced scrutiny over online posts that were dismissive of sexual assault and a skull tattoo recognized as a Nazi symbol. Platner has apologized for the posts and covered up the tattoo, saying he didn't realize its significance when he got it.

Rahm Emanuel, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate who spent the weekend in neighboring New Hampshire, said the “jury is still out” on whether Platner can beat Collins.

“Everybody is holding their breath whether this is the start of something or the end of something,” he said. “If it’s the end, that’s one thing. If it’s the beginning of something and we’re not done, that’s another thing.”

Kurt Fedora, 62, a mental health worker from Buxton, said he attended Sunday's event to hear Platner talk about working-class issues and fighting corruption. He said he’s unmoved by recent revelations about Platner’s history, and considers them a smear campaign by conservative opponents.

“Maybe there will be something to it, but they’re really reaching far to try to pin something on him. And it’s politics as usual,” Fedora said.

Others worried that Platner at times reminded them of President Donald Trump.

Debbi Conley, a 69-year-old retiree from Gorham, said she wanted to learn more about Platner even as she's almost certain he'll win on Tuesday, but she’s skeptical of him at the moment.

“I think people have been frustrated with Susan Collins, so they’re looking for alternatives,” Conley said. “My concerns with Graham Platner are that he’s talking about change, but sometimes it reminds me of the same talk that Trump had like ‘drain the swamp’.”

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Associated Press writer Steven Sloan contributed to this report from Warren, New Hampshire. Kruesi reported from Providence, Rhode Island.

The truce in the Iran war that was reached in April has not spread to Lebanon, where Israel has been battling Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants. Israel says it is defending its northern communities that face Hezbollah drone and rocket fire.

Iran sees Israel’s ground invasion, with thousands of troops, and airstrikes in Lebanon as a ceasefire violation. It insists that any deal with the United States must end the fighting there. Israel disagrees.

Here’s a timeline of key events.

Feb. 28

The United States and Israel attack Iran. War begins.

March 2

Hezbollah enters the war by firing rockets at Israel. Israel retaliates.

April 7

A fragile ceasefire in the Iran war is announced, with talks to continue. Israel is not included in them.

April 8

Israel bombards Lebanon’s capital, Beirut, killing over 300 people in a 10-minute attack.

April 14

Lebanon and Israel hold their first direct diplomatic talks in decades in Washington.

April 17

A fragile ceasefire is announced between Israel and Lebanon, but Hezbollah plays no part. Fighting soon resumes from both sides.

May 31

Israel’s ground invasion of Lebanon makes its deepest incursion in over a quarter-century.

June 1

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatens to strike Beirut if Hezbollah attacks don’t stop. U.S. President Donald Trump says Israel and Hezbollah agree to calm the fighting.

June 2

Israeli drone strikes in Lebanon kill 11 people.

June 3

Israel and Lebanon say they agree to renew the fragile ceasefire and create security zones that exclude Hezbollah.

June 4

Hezbollah’s leader rejects the ceasefire agreement and demands that Israel withdraw from Lebanon.

June 5

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard says “there will be no calm in the region ” if Israel doesn’t withdraw.

June 6

Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon kill three members of the Lebanese military.

June 7

Hezbollah again fires at Israel. Israel strikes Beirut’s southern suburbs. Iran fires at Israel.

June 8

Israel launches airstrikes in the early morning targeting central and western Iran in response to Iranian missile fire. Iranian state television reports the sound of explosions being heard in Isfahan, Tabriz and Tehran, without elaborating.

Less than 48 hours after missing a shot at the end of Game 2 that would have beaten the New York Knicks and evened the series, the 22-year-old big man from France who is becoming the face of the league said the pressure of the situation does not bother him as the Spurs enter Game 3 facing a 2-0 deficit.

“There’s really no reason to overthink it,” Wembanyama said Sunday. “This is what I’m built for.”

Wembanyama has not been the problem for the Spurs. He led them with 26 points in the series opener and had a Game 2-high 29 points.

Teammate Keldon Johnson’s message after Wembanyama’s would-be game-winning jumper clanked off the rim and out is, “Shoot it again.”

“He’s our guy,” Johnson said. “From day one, he’s been our guy. He’s the engine offensively and defensively. You can’t make every game-winner, but you can’t make a shot you don’t take. And we’re living with that shot. Every day of the week, twice on Sundays, we’re living with Vic taking our game-winning shot because that’s our guy and that’s the belief that we have in Victor.”

The belief team-wide is strong, players said before practicing at Madison Square Garden, where they know they’ll confront a hostile atmosphere on Monday night. Guard Stephon Castle called each of the first two games at home winnable, but falling short has ratcheted up the urgency.

“Our sense of urgency is probably the highest it’s been all playoffs,” said Castle, who insists his ankle feels better than expected after injuring it Friday night. “I think it’s just human nature to come out with a certain sense of urgency, especially after a loss.”

San Antonio lost back-to-back games to Oklahoma City in the Western Conference finals, though that came after winning the opener. The Spurs have not lost three in a row all season.

“If they’re not desperate now, I don’t know,” Knicks guard Deuce McBride said. “They know their backs are against the wall, and they’re going to have to come out and they’re going to have to fight. We’re going to be ready, we’re going to exceed that and we’re going to do everything we can do to bring home a win.”

Trying to turn things around, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson had not yet taken a walk around New York City before running practice Sunday. He and his staff maintained the same routine they’ve gone through all playoffs.

“You dig into the film, you argue, beat yourself up,” Johnson said. “You give each other feedback, figure out how to help the guys for the next game.”

One of his takeaways is a feeling his team has not played up to its standard as much as New York, which has won 13 in a row. Perhaps going on the road will help.

The Spurs are 6-3 on the road this postseason, including a win in Game 7 of the West finals at the defending champion Thunder. Keldon Johnson said he and his teammates believe they can win “regardless of where we’re playing at, whether it’s here, on Mars, away, home.”

Center Luke Kornet thinks there’s something fun about the environment.

“All the adversity, noise and all that stuff just honestly helps you sharpen up and kind of focus even more on the basketball,” said Kornet, who played his first two NBA seasons with the Knicks from 2017-19. “That kind of you-against-everybody-else-in-the-building atmosphere, the pressure kind of brings you together.”

The pressure has never been higher, given that no team in league history has lost the first two games of the finals at home and gone on to win the title. Veteran leaders hope the Spurs can park the past and not dwell on a gut-wrenching defeat.

“The only thing that matters is what’s in front of us right now,” forward Harrison Barnes said. “We can’t take last game and bring it into this game. You can learn from it, but I think the biggest thing for us how do we focus on making the plays, focus in on just how to begin as a team and just going out there and just playing free.”

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

The son, also named Robert Coles, told The Associated Press that his father died Thursday at a hospice center in Lincoln, Massachusetts.

The elder Coles was famed for documenting the needs of children, particularly those caught in the crucible of social upheaval. The second and third parts of his five-volume "Children of Crisis" won him a Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for general nonfiction.

In a 1965 Washington Post essay, he wrote that, expecting to find many psychiatric problems among the children of poverty, that instead "I was constantly surprised at the endurance shown by children we would all call poor or, in the current fashion, 'culturally disadvantaged.'"

"What enabled such children from such families to survive emotionally and educationally ordeals I feel sure many white middle-class boys and girls would find impossible?"

He would visit the same families repeatedly in order to get to know them well, and brought along crayons to allow the children he studied to draw pictures about their experiences and perceptions.

He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1998. He also was one of the first recipients of a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant." In 1999, a panel of judges ranked "Children of Crisis" as No. 44 on its list of the century's 100 best English-language works of nonfiction.

The "Children of Crisis" books came out from 1967 to 1978. His first book focused on the effects of desegregation on children. The second looked at life among migrant workers, sharecroppers and others dwelling in mountain areas.

He subtitled the third volume "The South Goes North" as it focused on both Black and white Southerners who moved into urban areas in the North. The fourth looked at children of Native American origin, as well as Alaska Natives and Hispanic children. A fifth volume examined children of wealth and privilege.

His other books included "Their Eyes Meeting the World," exploring the meanings of children's drawings; "The Moral Life of Children," "The Political Life of Children" and "The Spiritual Life of Children." He also wrote books on psychoanalyst Anna Freud and reformer Dorothy Day.

While many of his books probed conditions in the United States, he also studied children around the world. In all, he wrote more than 50 books and hundreds of articles and essays.

Some of his peers found his work to be more that of a reporter and advocate than that of a psychiatrist or scientist.

"He's a very good journalist who talks to kids sensitively and tells stories well," the late Harvard professor Lawrence Kohlberg, a leading authority on moral development, told AP in 1986. "But no psychiatrist would take what he says seriously."

He had gotten interested in children's reaction to crises in the early 1960s while serving in the South as an Air Force doctor. He was particularly taken by Ruby Bridges, who was only 6 when she became the center of a storm of abuse as the first Black child in a previously all-white school in New Orleans.

"She demonstrated moral stamina; she possessed honor, courage," he said in 1986. He even wrote a children's book about her, "The Story of Ruby Bridges," in 1995. (Ruby's heroism also caught the eye of artist Norman Rockwell, who depicted her brave entrance into the school in his 1964 work "The Problem We All Live With.")

Coles' wife, Jane, helped out during the interviews with children.

"At first the children were frightened to death of us — they'd never had white people in their homes before," Coles told People magazine. "But I began to throw away my questions. I threw away my necktie. I began to sit on the floor."

The 1995 PBS documentary "Listening to Children: A Moral Journey with Robert Coles" showed him at work, interviewing a cross-section of American children and analyzing their drawings, as he had done in his books.

"A child is an opportunity and a moral challenge. How are we going to do justice to this new life with all its possibilities?" he said. "If we fail as parents, we are failing also as citizens."

Coles held a longtime appointment as a research psychiatrist at Harvard's University Health Services. In 1977, he was named professor of psychiatry and medical humanities, and in 1995, he was appointed as a professor of social ethics in the School of Education.

In a popular Harvard class he taught called the Literature of Social Reflection — jokingly called "Guilt 105" — he stressed that "we should look inward and think about the meaning of our life and its purposes," he told People magazine in 1990.

Born in Boston, Coles went on to graduate from Harvard in 1950. He received a medical degree from Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1954. A 1972 Time magazine cover profile said he became interested in psychiatry as "the most philosophical of the disciplines" — and besides, he found he was unnerved when children cried when being vaccinated.

He acknowledged that he and his own family lived well, telling The New York Times in 1997, "It makes me uncomfortable, seeing the disparities between the world I document and the world I inhabit."

His wife died in 1993. They had three sons.

• MONDAY: Hot afternoon with temps feeling like 100+°, a 30% chance stray shower
• NEXT WEEK: No rain & hot!
• TROPICS: Eyes on potential development NEXT weekend

FORECAST

Hope you’ve been enjoying your weekend! It has definitely felt like summer out there and that weather pattern will continue in the week ahead.

MONDAY

Your Monday will start with muggy conditions and temperatures in the upper 70s. Skies will remain partly cloudy through the day. Showers with potentially a rumble of thunder or two will develop in the early afternoon over areas southeast of San Antonio. That shower activity will be very spotty in nature and move northwest through the later afternoon hours. Once the sun has set, shower activity will fall apart and the rest of your Spurs watch party weather will remain dry.

NEXT WEEK

High pressure and Gulf moisture will keep our pattern steady this week. Highs gradually climb into the mid to upper 90s, with heat index values in the triple digits each afternoon thanks to the humidity.

After Monday’s showers, rain chances will drop off during the week ahead. A change in our weather pattern could dissolve this week’s high pressure and potentially bring more tropical moisture at the start of next week.

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.

Holding a black No. 18 flag out the window, the Joe Gibbs Racing star celebrated his 63rd career victory by smoking the tires of his No. 11 Toyota down the straightaway in honor of Kyle Busch, his late teammate whom he tied for ninth on the all-time win list in the NASCAR Cup Series.

“Truthfully, I had to outlive him to tie him,” said Hamlin who radioed “We love you, KB” on his victory lap. “He was an amazing teammate. He taught me so much at tracks like this. I just can’t say enough.”

It was the second consecutive victory for Hamlin and his second consecutive win at Michigan, where he celebrated last year by taunting fans who booed him.

But there were only raucous cheers from the front-stretch grandstands Sunday as Hamlin jogged up to the flag stand to get the checkered flag while still carrying his Busch tribute flag

Busch drove the No. 18 from 2008-22 for Gibbs, teaming up with Hamlin for a NASCAR-record 523 races. Busch's death on May 21 rocked the NASCAR industry, which was already grieving over the offseason deaths o f Greg Biffle and his family in a plane crash. Hamlin’s father also died in a Dec. 28 house fire.

Noting that Hall of Famer Ned Jarrett also died last week, Hamlin dedicated his third win this season to Busch and his family.

“The offseason, it was rough for me, and it was rough for the NASCAR family,” Hamlin said. “Just an unbelievable feeling to be able to strap in every week, and I don’t take it for granted, this opportunity that I’m in. I just love we’re making the best of it.”

Just like last week’s win at Nashville Superspeedway, when the Joe Gibbs Racing car started on the pole position but was penalized for jumping the start, Hamlin qualified first at Michigan but dropped to the back at the green flag because of a penalty for unapproved adjustments to his No. 11 Toyota.

Hamlin patiently worked his way to the front over 400 miles. He took the lead for good on a three-wide pass during a restart with 38 laps remaining, sweeping into first around Spire Racing teammates Daniel Suarez and Carson Hocevar, a home-state favorite.

Hamlin won by 11.110 seconds, his widest margin of victory in Cup and the largest win at Michigan since June 1991.

“This Joe Gibbs team just keeps giving me amazing race cars,” Hamlin said. “This Toyota was just amazing. And at the last run there, it just hammered down. It had a few good restarts, and then once we got to the lead, I was going to lay it out.”

Erik Jones (another Michigan native) finished second after also starting from the rear for unapproved adjustments. Bubba Wallace was a season-best third, followed by Kyle Larson and Hocevar, who notched his best Michigan finish.

“I don’t think anyone was going to contend with Denny at the end,” Larson said. “He was flying.”

Crash causes red

The race was stopped with 51 laps remaining to repair a damaged SAFER barrier after a hard crash involving Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott.

During a restart on the 148th lap, the drivers were running side by side for second. Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet bobbled and skidded up the track into Bell’s No. 20 Toyota, which shot into the outside wall at the 2-mile oval where speeds top 200 mph.

The impact with Bell’s Camry severely deformed the SAFER barrier, which is comprised of steel and foam to absorb energy in wrecks. A red flag was displayed for 20 minutes to fix the damaged section of the barrier.

Both drivers climbed from their cars and walked to an ambulance for a trip to the track’s infield care center. Team owner Joe Gibbs said after the race that Bell had wrist and ankle injuries that would need to be evaluated this week.

Elliott patted Bell on the shoulder and apologized for the wreck before they entered the ambulance.

“I’m fine; it was totally my fault,” Elliott said. “I feel really bad for Bell, just taking him out. I was trying to run on the bottom and make use of our fresh tires and at least get to second and hopefully stay side by side with him. I got in there and got free and thought I was going to spin and was committing to spin out, and as soon as I started to commit to spinning, it just hooked up and hooked a right. Unfortunately, it sent Christopher into the wall super hard, and then me shortly there behind.

“Just racing really hard. I felt like that was kind of a turning point in the race. We needed to make something happen. I stepped over the line again and paid for it. … I just told him I’m sorry. Obviously, it was not on purpose.”

Rough rookie season

A nightmarish debut season in the Cup Series continued for Connor Zilisch, who crashed twice in the first eight laps and finished last in the 37-car field. The Trackhouse Racing driver has finished outside the top 30 the past three races and is still seeking the first top 10 of his rookie campaign.

“I was really loose, but it’s just unfortunate,” Zilisch said. “Another short race for us. We’ll go try and get them at Pocono next week.”

Up next

NASCAR will make its lone trip this season to Pocono Raceway on June 14. Chase Briscoe won last year to earn his first victory with Joe Gibbs Racing.

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Iran’s state broadcaster confirmed the launches, and Iran closed its western airspace to brace for a possible response. Tehran had warned of retaliation after Israel struck Beirut’s southern suburbs without warning earlier Sunday in defiance of Washington’s request days ago to stand down. Israel said the Iranian-backed Hezbollah fired at northern Israel earlier in the day.

"Should these acts of aggression be repeated, the responses will be broader in scope and will encompass all American and Zionist targets throughout the region,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said in a statement that referenced attacks in Lebanon and on Iran’s coast and vessels around the Strait of Hormuz.

Sirens sounded in several areas of Israel, sending millions running for shelter. Israel’s military said it intercepted the missiles, and multiple explosions were heard in the north. Less than an hour later, the military said people could leave areas reinforced against missile attacks.

“Iran has made a grave mistake,” Israel military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said. The military's chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, said it will “strike the enemy with determination as soon as the order is given.”

But Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, said U.S. President Donald Trump told it that he doesn’t think Israel needs to respond further. And Trump told the Financial Times: “I call all the shots. He (Netanyahu) doesn’t call the shots.”

U.S. official: Netanyahu to hold off attack ‘for the time being’

A senior U.S. official said Trump had called Netanyahu to urge him not to retaliate immediately for the Iranian missile attack. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe a private phone call, said that Trump believed he had convinced Netanyahu to wait.

Trump “got Bibi to hold off for the time being,” the official said. The official would not offer any other details of the call, and there was no immediate comment from Netanyahu's office.

Iran had warned that an attack on Beirut would renew full-scale war across the Mideast, even as Pakistan and other mediators try to restart talks between Tehran and Washington.

“U.S. forces across the Middle East remain vigilant and ready,” the U.S. Central Command posted on X shortly before the missile launches. The U.S. Embassy in Israel later directed employees and family members to shelter in place.

Israel’s attack on Beirut came a few days after the Lebanese and Israeli governments agreed to a ceasefire in U.S.-hosted talks, though Hezbollah rejected the deal. The strike on a residential building killed two people and wounded 20, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

“The army will continue to act in all of Lebanon," the Israel military spokesperson said.

Israel’s strikes and ground invasion in Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah, and the militant group’s resistance to disarming, have complicated an overall deal to end the war in the Middle East.

Iran says any deal must include an end to fighting in Lebanon.

Trump told a Fox News Channel reporter that he wanted the Iranians to stop firing missiles and return to the negotiating table. He also said that Israel’s strikes earlier Sunday were not coordinated with the U.S. and “I’m not happy about it.”

Israel last week had announced it would strike the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, but urgent talks via Washington halted that on the condition that Hezbollah stop targeting Israeli border towns.

Hezbollah, which claimed responsibility for firing at Israel earlier Sunday, wants the direct talks between Lebanon and Israel to end. Instead, it supports Iran’s stance that an overall ceasefire deal between Tehran and Washington include the situation in Lebanon.

Netanyahu, who seeks reelection later this year, is under heavy domestic pressure to respond to both Iran and the Hezbollah threat, which has paralyzed life for thousands of residents along Israel’s northern border.

But Trump has made clear he does not want to see the war resume.

Trump said earlier Sunday in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he would like to see a “more surgical attack on Hezbollah.” He also said he was “not demanding” that Lebanon be part of an overall ceasefire deal in the Iran war.

Iran continues to assert its grip on the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. continues its blockade of Iranian ports, with shipments of oil, natural gas and fertilizer affected and the global economy in pain.

Iran since the ceasefire took effect has launched missiles and drones at Gulf nations and said it was targeting the U.S. military presence. After its launches against Israel, Iraq’s Civil Aviation Authority announced that the country’s airspace would close for 72 hours and Syria’s aviation authority announced a 12-hour airspace closure.

All flights from Tehran’s main international airport were suspended, the civil aviation authority said, according to the official Mizan news agency.

Diplomacy continues before and after missile launches

Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, was in Tehran on Sunday delivering a message to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei from Pakistan’s army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency. There were no details on the message's contents.

Khamenei has not been seen in public since he was named the Islamic Republic’s ruler after his father was killed on Feb. 28 as Israeli and U.S. strikes sparked the war.

Pakistani authorities have said Islamabad, with support from regional countries including Qatar, Turkey and Egypt, is working to help bridge differences.

In Cairo, the Egyptian and Qatari foreign ministers discussed “proposed elements” of a potential agreement between the U.S. and Iran, the Egyptian foreign ministry said, without details.

And after Iran's missile launches at Israel, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with counterparts in France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Britain, Egypt and Turkey as well as Pakistan’s army chief, Iran's state TV said.

___

Chehayeb reported from Beirut, Magdy from Cairo, Lidman from Tel Aviv, Israel, and Anna from Lowville, New York. Associated Press writers Hassan Ammar in Lebanon, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Matthew Lee in Washington, Abby Sewell in Beirut, and Michelle L. Price in Bridgewater, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

When he walked to the 14th tee at Muirfield Village, he was trailing for the first time since the 17th hole Friday. The four-shot lead he had at the start of the final round was gone. He was 3 over for the day as everyone was charging. The tournament was slipping away.

Poston delivered three birdies over the next five holes, the last one an 8-iron to 7 feet on the 18th hole with tournament host Jack Nicklaus watching a wild affair unfold. That forced a playoff with Ryan Gerard, and Poston won on the second extra hole when Gerard missed a 6-foot par putt.

“I needed to play the last five holes really well,” Poston said. “I knew I was going to be shaking Mr. Nicklaus’s hand walking off 18 no matter what, and I want to be proud of the effort when I did. So just to do it the way that I did ... is a dream come true, and something I’ll certainly carry with me the rest of my career.”

Nicklaus was certainly impressed, and at times could relate.

For all the late fireworks — that included a five-way tie for the lead late in the afternoon — key to the biggest win of Poston's career was the 17th hole.

Poston was in deep rough and chose to lay up short of the creek, hitting wedge to 12 feet. Gerard holed a 40-foot birdie putt to take the lead. Poston had to make par to stay within one shot, and he poured in the par to set up his big finish.

“After Ryan made his putt, that made that putt honestly a little easier,” Poston said. “I knew exactly what I needed to do.”

Nicklaus, who has made a few clutch putts in his career, concurred.

“He had to make it,” Nicklaus said. “I think sometimes when you have to make a putt, you find yourself in that position that you say, ‘Well, I don’t have any choice, I got to make it.’ So yeah, I think by and large those are easier, actually.”

Nothing felt easy on this day, starting with 33 holes on one of the PGA Tour's most demanding courses, with Poston knowing he could be facing 36 holes of U.S. Open qualifying on Monday.

He built the four-shot lead Sunday morning over the final 13 holes of the storm-delayed third round. That was gone in 12 holes, and he trailed after the 13th hole of the fourth round.

Wyndham Clark, Tommy Fleetwood and Sam Burns were charging. Gerard wasn't going anywhere, playing rock-solid until one mistake on the final playoff hole — a three-putt from 55 feet.

"I know there were a lot of people kind of tied for the lead at one point coming down the stretch, and I felt like I stepped up and executed golf shots that I wanted to execute," said Gerard, who closed with a 4-under 68. “Just stings a little bit.”

Poston's birdie on the final hole of regulation gave him a 72. They finished at 12-under 276.

The perks went beyond the $4 million prize.

Poston earned a spot in the next three majors with one great week. He moved to No. 39 in the world ranking, meaning he will be added to the U.S. Open field a week from Monday. He captured the one British Open spot available at the Memorial, and he gets in the Masters next year.

“I told myself in the playoff that this is my U.S. Open qualifier,” Poston said. “I want to play in the majors. I want to play in the big events. This is a huge boost of confidence for me and my game and knowing that I can compete in those and play in those. Just thrilled to get it done.”

Fleetwood drilled a fairway metal to 5 feet for eagle on the par-5 15th to briefly take the lead. Clark birdied the 16th hole to share the lead. Burns was never too far behind. All of them were at 11 under heading to the final few holes.

Clark closed with two pars for a 67. He wound up alone in third, one shot out of the playoff.

Fleetwood hit into the rough with his first three shots on the 17th and had to scramble for bogey. He shot 68. Burns also missed the 17th fairway, and his next shot tumbled back down the rough and settled on the bridge over a small creek. He hit that to 40 feet, and his long par putt peeked into the cup and somehow stayed out. A 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th narrowly missed. He shot 69 and tie for fourth with Fleetwood.

Scottie Scheffler, trying to join Tiger Woods with a third straight victory at the Memorial, was never in the mix for so much of the week. He closed with a 71 and tied for 12th, but felt he did enough right over the weekend that his game was headed in the right direction.

His next stop is the U.S. Open, where a victory would give him the career Grand Slam.

Rory McIlroy is now 0 for 14 at the Memorial. He birdied his first three holes before getting caught in dense rough that slowed his momentum. He shot 68 and tied for 12th.

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

The vote was Kosovo's third in less than 18 months. It was scheduled after the main political parties failed to agree by a March deadline on who should replace former President Vjosa Osmani. The first inconclusive election in February 2025 left the country without a functioning government for much of last year, forcing a second election in December.

Kurti's ruling Vetevendosje party won around 43% of the votes followed by the Democratic Party of Kosovo with 21,7% and the Democratic League of Kosovo with 18%, the state election authorities said after counting nearly 90% of the ballots cast on Sunday. The final tally also will need to include some 100,000 votes of Kosovars living abroad.

Kurti and his party had a comfortable majority of more than 50% of the votes in a previous early election in December. Coupled with a lower turnout, the fall in support appears to reflect voter disappointment with mainstream politicians who have kept the small Balkan nation in a state of a prolonged crisis.

The political stalemate has negatively affected Kosovo’s economy, already hit hard by the global energy crisis and rising fuel prices. Kosovo, one of the youngest and poorest countries in Europe, declared independence from Serbia in 2008, after a 1998-99 war that ended in a NATO bombing that forced Serbia to withdraw.

Kosovo’s president is elected by at least 80 lawmakers in the 120-member assembly, requiring a broader political consensus. The newly elected lawmakers will face the same task once the new assembly is formed after Sunday's vote despite a reshuffle in the their numbers.

Kurti told supporters in Pristina that the election confirmed the dominance of his party. He promised to “communicate, meet and cooperate with all political parties ... because public interest comes first for us.”

The main opposition parties have accused Kurti of seeking to impose full control over all political institutions in the country.

Osmani joined the opposition LDK in the election, having turned against Kurti after he refused to back her for a second term. Osmani earlier Sunday expressed “great optimism” that the election will “take us out of the repeated crisis that has damaged our country, both domestically and beyond our borders.”

While the key players blamed each other for the crisis, their inability to reach a compromise has fueled frustration among Kosovo’s just under 2 million voters, who want the government to focus on the economy and living standards instead.

The turnout on Sunday was 36,3% while it was nearly 45% in December.

Arton Smajli, 42, a resident of the capital, Pristina, said that “we are tired, but the will for change is greater than that.”

Sejdi Shala, 73, was also optimistic that the election will bring “stability of the institutions and the society.”

The institutional vacuum, without a stable government, has delayed access to the EU and other international funds available to the country. European Council President António Costa, during a visit last week, urged Kosovo to end the political stalemate and unite over the goal of EU integration.

Kosovo has been recognized by the United States and most EU countries, but not by Serbia and its allies, Russia and China. Pristina and Belgrade have been told that they must mend relations to move forward with their EU membership bids.

Just before 4 p.m. Saturday, officers responded to the shooting in the 12000 block of Culebra Road.

According to an SAPD preliminary report, officers found the 32-year-old man sitting in his vehicle with an apparent gunshot wound.

The man was taken to a local hospital. The extent of his injuries was not immediately available.

No arrests have been made, and the shooter has not been identified, according to the report.

It is unknown what led up to the shooting, police said. The investigation is ongoing.

Read also:

• Man accused of fatally stabbing Las Palapas founder to be psychologically evaluated, records show

Deputies responded to a disturbance call at approximately 6 a.m. Sunday in the 22800 block of Match Play.

BCSO said the disturbance was contained inside the residence. The male victim’s age was not released.

Investigators recovered narcotics and at least one firearm at the scene. Several people were arrested, including the person believed to have fired the weapon and others in connection with narcotics, according to authorities. The exact number of arrests had not been confirmed as of Sunday morning.

Formal charges had not been announced as of this report. The shooter faces a charge likely related to assault with a deadly weapon, according to preliminary information from the scene, though the sheriff’s office said specifics were still being worked out. Narcotics charges were also pending.

Read also:

• Man hospitalized after shooting on far West Side, SAPD says

The event was organized by For the Girlies Collective, a local craft club that brought vendors together for a morning of Spurs-themed goods and coffee.

“The Spurs support us and our businesses so much, especially here at Early Bird,” said Jezelle Araiza, representing For the Girlies Collective. “It’s just a way to show them that even when they’re traveling, we still come together for the city and we still support them.”

Among the vendors was Tiffany Vargas, who sold handmade clay earrings at the event. She said markets like this one play an important role in building her customer base.

“I do a lot of markets and a lot of people discover us from these markets, which I love,” Vargas said. “Some people that have never heard of me.”

Early Bird Coffee Manager Rose Burns said the event drew a larger-than-usual crowd to an already popular spot.

“If you’ve ever been here, we are a really busy coffee shop anyway,” Burns said. “Sundays are one of our busiest days, but it is probably going to be packed to the door, line out the door pretty much all day.”

Vendor Suzette Deliz echoed the value of face-to-face connections that in-person markets provide.

“I feel like there’s nothing like meeting somebody in person, and so being able to reach out and meet people in person is very helpful,” Deliz said.

For those who missed Sunday’s event, For the Girlies Collective plans to host more pop-ups in the future and will post updates on Instagram.

Read also:

• San Antonio woman turns crochet hobby into booming Spurs-inspired business

Each of the dozen victims — ranging from teenagers to people in their 60s — were in stable condition, the Toledo Police Department said Sunday. No arrests have been made and authorities have not identified any potential suspects.

The gunfire erupted Saturday near the Old West End Festival, a popular annual summer gathering along streets dotted with Victorian homes. Videos posted to social media showed people running at the sound of gunfire and medics tending to the wounded in a park filled with event tents and food trucks.

Toledo Deputy Police Chief Joe Heffernan has said it appeared that at least two people fired weapons and were “probably shooting at each other.”

As the search for the shooters wore on, Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates vowed “justice will be swift and strong.”

“Those who were frightened, traumatized or harmed by this violence will remain at the forefront of our efforts. I’ve felt outrage before, but this is personal,” Bates said in a statement. "This is my home. These are my friends and neighbors. It is not OK.”

In a brief update posted to social media Sunday, Toledo police said investigators were continuing to make progress and were following multiple leads. Authorities have urged festivalgoers to come forward with any photos or videos that might have caught a glimpse of the suspects.

Hundreds of people were at the festival, an annual two-day celebration in Toledo’s historic district featuring live music, food vendors, home tours and shopping. Located in northwest Ohio near the western edge of Lake Erie, Toledo is about 55 miles (90 kilometers) southwest of Detroit.

“As far as violence, this is over the top, right?” Toledo police Lt. Dan Gerken said Saturday. “Twelve people being shot, that’s the most I’ve been to a scene. I’ve been to a lot of scenes, but this is way over the top.”

The remainder of the festival was canceled Sunday. Organizers said “it would not be compassionate, responsible or possible" to continue through the weekend.

“We are heartbroken about those that were injured at the Old West End Festival,” the festival said in a statement.

The victims ranged in age from 14 to 61, with most of them in their early 20s. Fire Chief Allison Armstrong said it was difficult for emergency responders to get the injured to the hospital due to closed roads and traffic leaving the festival, but all were transported within an hour.

Kevin Berry was sitting in the neighborhood arboretum listening to live music with friends when he heard gunshots ring out.

“Everybody hit the deck,” he said.

When Berry looked back up, he saw a gun being tossed to the ground less than 50 feet (15 meters) away from him. Officers who were already on site for the festival responded immediately.

Berry, who has medical training and served in the Navy, walked around looking for anyone who might need help and saw at least five people with gunshot wounds.

George Kral, the city’s safety director, said the Old West End Festival is one of the most iconic festivals in Toledo.

“And it’s a shame that something like this had to ruin it," Kral said.

The Ohio shooting was one of at least two episodes of mass gun violence in the U.S. over the weekend.

In Kansas City, Missouri, nine adults were injured in a shooting early Saturday, police said. Officers dispatched to the area about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of downtown found a large crowd dispersing. Police said none of the victims had life-threatening injuries and that no suspects were in custody.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at 10 Downing Street.

In a statement released by Starmer's office following their evening meeting, the leaders condemned Russia’s “large-scale missile and drone attacks — including the repeated use of the Oreshnik missiles — on Ukrainian cities with a tragic toll on civilians." They also condemned Russia's “irresponsible and dangerous Russian drone incursions” into NATO territory, including last month's in Romania.

Russia has stepped up its aerial campaign against Ukraine recently, most notably with the launch of the Oreshnik missiles.

“The leaders underlined the urgent need to scale up the production of interceptors and co-develop anti-ballistic missile and deep strike capabilities," the leaders said.

No details, financial or otherwise, on how this would be done were provided.

Ukraine’s shortage of air defense systems, in part because of the depletion of U.S. stocks during the Iran war, has left civilians especially vulnerable to ballistic missiles, even as Kyiv’s defenses stop most of Moscow’s drones and its forces have made advances elsewhere on the battlefield.

The worry for Ukrainians is that the Iran war, which has been in abeyance for weeks, may now reignite after Iran launched missiles on Sunday at Israel in the first such bombardment since a fragile ceasefire took effect in early April, complicating mediation efforts for a deal to end the war.

Following their meeting in London, the European leaders called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree “an immediate and complete ceasefire” with the current line of contact as a starting point for any negotiations.

The U.K., France and Germany, the so-called E3 group of European nations, have been prominent backers of Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. The U.K. and France lead the “coalition of the willing” initiative to provide security guarantees for Ukraine as part of a peace process.

The meeting comes in the wake of a Russian drone strike that killed three people waiting at a bus stop in southeastern Ukraine. A separate drone strike damaged a storage center for spent nuclear fuel in the Kyiv region, just 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine’s General Staff said. The attack sparked a fire that was extinguished within an hour. Radiation remains within safe levels, officials said.

The International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said the incident was “deeply concerning” due to the large amounts of nuclear material held at the facility. He said in a statement that the agency would visit the site of the attack soon.

The Russian attacks follow a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack on Saturday that targeted Saint Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, underscoring Kyiv’s growing ability to hit deep inside Russia.

With the front line barely moving as swarms of drones hinder advances, both sides have sought an edge by launching long-range strikes.

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Associated Press writer Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, contributed to this report.

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

The attack came at a time of heightened tensions following a spate of Israeli settler attacks, and the deadly shooting of a Palestinian baby over the weekend, in the nearby West Bank. Police identified the attacker as a resident of the Arab town of Taybeh in his 20s, but his precise motives weren't immediately known.

The attack began with a shooting Sunday morning at a gas station near the town of Kokhav Yair, located on the Israeli side of the boundary with the occupied West Bank. Several other shootings were reported in two nearby Israeli towns and close to the Israeli settlement of Salit, inside the West Bank.

Police initially feared a series of coordinated attacks, but eventually determined that a gunman and an accomplice who may have served as his driver were involved. The suspected accomplice was arrested later after he tried to stab police with a glass bottle.

Israel's military said that a 55-year-old reservist was killed near Tzur Natan. The Magen David Adom rescue service said that five other people were wounded, two severely.

Fears of a widespread attack prompted authorities to order residents to stay at home, and children in the area were kept in lockdown at school for at least three hours.

“Since Oct. 7, the scenario we were expecting was terrorists crossing into our towns from over the boundary. I don’t think that anyone imagined that we would discover the attackers were Israeli citizens,” Oshrit Gani Gonen, the regional council head, told Israeli media, referring to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war in Gaza.

Security minister posts video reportedly with dead gunman

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the security forces who killed the attacker, while Israel’s hard-line public security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the police force, released a video of himself standing next to what appeared to be a blurred image of the dead gunman.

“This is the end of every terrorist, this is how it should look,” said Ben-Gvir, who recently led an effort to pass a new law that seeks to impose the death penalty on Palestinian attackers. That law faces legal challenges.

Ben-Gvir has come under sharp condemnation from other Israeli leaders for making contentious videos, such as his treatment of flotilla activists who were detained after attempting to break the maritime blockade to Gaza.

The West Bank has experienced a surge in deadly violence since the war in Gaza began. Israel has stepped up military operations across the territory, killing hundreds of people. It says raids are aimed at militants, but scores of civilians have also been killed.

The Oct. 7 attack killed around 1,200 people and took 251 as hostages. Israel’s ensuing offensive in Gaza has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, including combatants and civilians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry, part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by U.N. agencies and independent experts. It doesn't give a breakdown of civilians and militants.

Israeli strikes kill 9 in Gaza

Also on Sunday, at least five Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit a police point in Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent. The dead were taken to a field hospital run by the Red Crescent. At least 10 others were wounded, the charity said.

An Israeli strike later in the day killed at least four Palestinians when it hit a vehicle in the western part of Gaza City, according to Shifa hospital, which received the casualties.

The Israeli military didn't immediately comment on either strike, but has said in the past that it would target militants that pose a threat to its troops. While the heaviest fighting has subsided since the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal last October, the ceasefire has seen almost daily Israeli fire.

Israel later closed the crossings with Gaza until further notice due to the deteriorating security situation, according to the defense body that oversees humanitarian aid in Gaza, which issued the statement after Iran launched missiles at Israel.

Netanyahu, in a Cabinet meeting, repeated his pledge to take 70% of Gaza: “We are presently holding more than 60% of the territory, and soon we will reach 70%.” He said that Israel isn't allowing Hamas to “rearm or harm us,” in comments released to the media.

The head of the U.S.-created Board of Peace that oversees the ceasefire acknowledged last month that next steps in the truce have stalled over the key issue of disarming Hamas.

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Samy Magdy contributed to this report from Cairo.

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A previous version of this story was corrected to show that the location where the Israeli man was killed was on the Israeli side of the boundary with the Israel-occupied West Bank, not inside the West Bank.

TV footage showed the 34-year-old midfielder clutching his chest with both hands in an off-the-ball action in the 65th minute of Denmark’s international friendly against Ukraine at Nature Energy Park in Odense, Denmark.

In the next TV image shown, Erikson was lying on his back on the ground, surrounded by worried-looking players. Ukraine’s coaching staff were seen waving medical personnel onto the field.

Within minutes, the Danish soccer federation sent a post on X saying Eriksen was “conscious and, under the circumstances, doing well.”

A fuller statement by the federation came 10 minutes later, with Denmark team physician Morten Boesen saying: “Christian is doing well and walked off the pitch by himself. As I see it, the pacemaker responded as it should.

“He was briefly unconscious, but regained consciousness very quickly, and we were quickly in contact with him.”

Boesen said Eriksen “will now undergo further examinations at the hospital to determine what caused the incident.”

“We are in ongoing contact with him and the doctors at the hospital," Boesen added. "But Christian is doing well, and he asked me to send his regards to all the players and tell them that he was OK.”

The game was officially abandoned by the referee in the 79th minute — with Denmark leading 2-1 and there having been no further play after Eriksen's collapse — after the match official spoke to both coaches and sets of players.

While Eriksen was being treated, there was initially a hush in the crowd before a chant of “Eriksen, Eriksen” went around the stadium.

After the match was called off, players from both teams formed a circle around the two coaches in one half of the field. The coaches were seen talking to the players. The teams then walked around the field to applause from the crowd, with some players visibly upset.

Denmark great

Eriksen, one of Denmark’s greatest ever players, was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator in the months following his face-forward collapse during Denmark’s opening European Championship group game in 2021, against Finland in Copenhagen.

In that incident that sent soccer into shock, Eriksen was resuscitated during a lengthy period of on-field medical treatment led by Boesen and said he was later informed he was “gone from this world for five minutes.”

Eriksen resumed his professional playing career 259 days later after getting a contract at Brentford in the Premier League. After a spell at Manchester United from 2022-25, he joined German club Wolfsburg in a deal through the 2026-27 season.

In a post on X, Wolfsburg said Eriksen had been taken to Odense University Hospital and that the club was following developments.

“All the best and a speedy recovery, Christian,” Wolfsburg said.

United also released a statement, saying it was “encouraged by Denmark’s update on Christian Eriksen.”

“The club is sending strength and love to Christian and the Eriksen family as we await further news,” United said.

Neither Denmark nor Ukraine have qualified for the World Cup.

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

It was the same court where he twisted his right ankle and crumpled to the ground, wailing in agony before being pushed off on a wheelchair during a semifinal match against Rafael Nadal in 2022.

The same court where he wasted a lead of two sets to one against Carlos Alcaraz in the 2024 championship match.

“All the emotions came out, because this court is very, very special to me. It’s special in a very positive way, but also special on the negative way, because I had some of the toughest moments of my life here," Zverev said.

"I was laying on this court with an injury that I didn’t know if I would ever come back from. I lost a Grand Slam final here, so all of those memories for me, they’re not wiped out. They're still with me, but this one will beat all of them.”

After so many missed opportunities, Zverev is no longer one of the best players never to win a major title.

In his fourth major final, Zverev beat Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1 for the French Open title.

It was a unique opportunity for Zverev without Jannik Sinner or Alcaraz across the net and the third-ranked German took full advantage on the red clay of Roland Garros.

When Cobolli missed an overhead on the second championship point after more than four hours of the five-set encounter, Zverev joined an elite group of players that captured their first major in their fourth final: Eight-time major champion Andre Agassi, 2001 Wimbledon winner Goran Ivanisevic and 2020 U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem.

Then when Zverev finally got his hands on the Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy, he turned it upside down, held it between his legs and then hoisted it above his head with both arms as he let out a loud roar.

“This trophy for me is very important because if I would have lost this one, this self-belief would have gone down a lot,” Zverev said. “But now that I’ve won it, I feel like I can do it again.”

No Sinner or Alcaraz

Zverev had been an overwhelming favorite for the title ever since the top-ranked Sinner struggled in the first week’s heat wave and wasted a two set and 5-1 lead against Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round. A day later, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic was also eliminated.

Alcaraz, the two-time reigning champion, withdrew before the tournament with an injured right wrist.

Zverev also lost a lead of two sets to none in the 2020 U.S. Open final to Thiem and was beaten in straight sets by Sinner in the 2025 Australian Open final.

It was the 25th title of Zverev’s career.

Cobolli's 1st Slam final

The 14th-ranked Cobolli had never been past a Grand Slam quarterfinal until this week. He was attempting to become the first Italian man to raise the singles trophy at Roland Garros since Adriano Panatta 50 years ago.

Cobolli comes from the same tennis club in Rome as Panatta did and Panatta was asked by tournament organizers to present the trophy to celebrate the anniversary of his 1976 triumph.

The honors, however, went to Zverev.

Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva won the women’s singles trophy on Saturday.

Zverev took control early on

The match was played in perfect conditions and Zverev’s game was almost flawless at the start as Cobolli appeared nervous.

A group of women in the stands held up letters to form Zverev’s nickname: “Sascha.”

Cobolli likes to stand way over near the corner of the court and hit big kick serves out wide into the ad court. Zverev knew what was coming and returned one such kick serve early in the first set with a backhand that he wrapped around the outside of the net post. Cobolli ended up winning the point, but it was a message from Zverev that he knew how to handle his opponent’s tactics.

The next time Zverev hit a wrap-around-the-net-post return, Cobolli couldn’t handle it and Zverev won the point.

Cobolli’s supporters in his box were all dressed in blue, the color of Italy’s national teams, and as Cobolli worked his way back into the match, there were chants of “Ole, Ole, Ole; Flavio, Flavio.”

Both players were treated by a trainer as the match wore on and Cobolli appeared to run out of energy in the fifth.

“He deserved it more than me at the end of the match,” Cobolli said, adding that he was slowed by cramps.

Zverev said his cramps "were more mental.

“I actually think that the cramp helped me in a way, that I let go, I kind of hit my shots a bit more and just let go,” he added.

Abuse allegations

Moments after Zverev’s previous Grand Slam final in Australia in 2025, a person in the stadium yelled out the names of two of his ex-girlfriends who accused him of physical abuse.

One case was resolved following an agreement between German prosecutors, lawyers for Zverev and his former partner. The ATP Tour investigated another case and concluded there was insufficient evidence.

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AP Sports Writers Samuel Petrequin and Jerome Pugmire contributed to this report.

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

“You're catching me up,” Lewis Hamilton, who has the most wins in history with 105, told Antonelli after the 19-year-old Italian beat him in a bizarre and much-delayed Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.

Antonelli replaced Hamilton at Mercedes last year, and only won his first race in March. He now has five wins in a row and a vast lead of 66 points over Hamilton, who was second Sunday.

“He’s only 19, so just imagine what the future holds for him, but I’m going to do my best to try and chase him down for the rest of the year,” Hamilton said. “It’s a real privilege to witness it.”

Antonelli said he needed to find his focus again but stayed cool when the race was stopped and briefly seemed set to be abandoned before a restart. All that on a tight, twisty circuit threaded between metal barriers where any slip brings a crash.

An uncertain restart

Antonelli was on course for victory with 10 laps remaining when the race was red-flagged after parts of the asphalt broke away and two cars crashed in quick succession, one of them Charles Leclerc in third place.

After a long delay, officials said the race would be resumed from a standing start. When that happened, Antonelli took control again to become the youngest F1 winner in Monaco, and was never in real danger of being overtaken.

“Thank you so much guys, the car was a beast today," he told the Mercedes team.

Isack Hadjar was confirmed third for Red Bull after battling engine problems and seeing off an investigation.

Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate George Russell missed the points for the second race running, dropping out of the top 10 with a penalty. That followed an engine failure while battling Antonelli for the lead of last month’s Canadian Grand Prix.

Russell said Thursday the title was Antonelli's “to lose.” Now it certainly seems that way.

Max Verstappen started second for Red Bull but lost power at the start and dropped to the back before retiring the car at the end of the first lap. Like many F1 drivers, the four-time champion lives in Monaco and suggested he’d watch the rest of the race from home.

Hamilton's turnaround

Hamilton was in jubilant mood after placing second, with Kim Kardashian watching. The seven-time champion paid tribute to Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur for his role in turning around Hamilton and the team’s fortunes.

“Fred has been awesome in supporting me. I think last year was really tough for both of us,” said Hamilton, adding that he was “seeing the fruits” of changes which Vasseur implemented. Hamilton wasn't on the podium in any Grand Prix in all of 2025 in his first year with the team.

Vasseur was back at the track with Ferrari on Sunday after he missed Saturday’s qualifying session. The team said he had been under observation at a medical facility, without giving any further details of his condition.

Confusion continues after the finish

The track damage put a decidedly un-glamorous twist on one of F1’s most prestigious races as drivers waited in the pit lane, officials gazed at the damaged asphalt and a road-sweeping machine inched along the circuit clearing away loose stones. Antonelli admitted he'd been hoping the race wouldn't be restarted at all.

There was more confusion as numerous drivers received time penalties or were under investigation, meaning the final standings remained uncertain.

Hadjar was facing an investigation after the race for a potential breach of red-flag rules after the FIA's technical delegate said Red Bull had tried to replace engine parts, against the rules, but stopped when challenged.

Hadjar kept the place, his first podium finish since joining Red Bull, after a hearing decided no penalty was needed because no changes were actually made.

Russell had been second in the standings before the race — the position is Hamilton's now. Russell crossed the line 13th, later upgraded to 12th, after a hefty penalty for failing to serve an earlier penalty properly. He said he didn't understand what happened.

New team Cadillac could have had its first F1 point when Sergio Perez crossed the line 10th, but lost it for a false start at the restart. That put Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso up to 10th for his team's first point of a year which it started with severe reliability problems.

More disputes were to come Sunday evening as Alpine said it was challenging the spate of penalties issued for pit lane speeding, one of which cost Gasly third. That is under the “right of review” system under which decisions typically take days.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

The Bulls announced that King died Sunday and said they were notified by a family member. No other details were immediately available.

“Stacey King was a cherished member of the Bulls family and one of the truly unique personalities in our organization’s history,” Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “His connection to Chicago, the Bulls and our fans spanned more than three decades — first as a player and later as the unmistakable voice that helped bring Bulls basketball into the homes of generations of fans. We will miss him deeply and remember the joy, energy, humor, candor and passion he brought to our organization, our broadcasts and our fans every day. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.”

King began his NBA playing career with the Bulls, who selected the 6-foot-11 forward/center out of Oklahoma with the sixth overall pick in the 1989 draft. He averaged 6.6 points and 3.3 rebounds over his five seasons with the Bulls.

He played a total of eight seasons in the NBA during a career that also included stops in Minnesota, Miami, Boston and Dallas. King posted career averages of 6.4 points and 3.3 rebounds.

As a broadcaster, King endeared himself to a new generation of Bulls supporters. He spent more than two decades as a commentator on Bulls games.

“Stacey loved being a Bull,” Bulls president and CEO Michael Reinsdorf said in a statement. “You could feel it in everything he did — the way he played, the way he called games and the way he connected with our fans. He had a unique gift for bringing people together and making every game feel personal. He brought an energy and love for the game that came through in every broadcast, helping fans feel connected to our team. Whether it was through a broadcast, a conversation or a photo with a fan, Stacey made people feel seen and valued.

“We were fortunate to know him not only as a player and broadcaster, but as a friend. Stacey genuinely cared about people, and he made our organization better. We will miss him dearly, and his impact, memory and legacy will remain a part of the Chicago Bulls forever.”

Chicago Sports Network president and CEO Michael McCarthy called King “one of the most beloved figures in Chicago sports.”

“Stacey had a unique ability to connect generations of Bulls fans,” McCarthy said. “Whether through his basketball insight, his humor, or his unforgettable calls, he made every game more enjoyable and every broadcast better.”

King delighted fans with his memorable calls and nicknames. His enthusiasm was apparent every time the Bulls hit a big shot.

“We enjoy what we do,” King said last month on his “Gimme the Hot Sauce” podcast, a reference to a comment he'd frequently make after big plays. “It's a fun job. It never seems like work for me. Every night, I go to work, win, lose or draw, I'm having fun.”

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

Trump, in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC's “Meet the Press,” said he “didn't guarantee” there would be no wars if he were back in office.

"First of all, I didn’t guarantee no war. Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?" Trump said.

Trump also defended plans for a now-scrapped $1.8 billion fund that would have compensated allies of the Republican president and he repeated his baseless claims of mass fraud in California’s drawn-out vote count from Tuesday’s primary. He ended the interview abruptly when he became frustrated with pushback from NBC's Kristen Welker.

Iran ‘is not an endless war’

In his 2024 campaign, Trump repeatedly cast his Democratic opponents as warmongers and said he was a president who started “no new wars" and would bring an era of peace.

But Trump said in the NBC interview, taped Friday in Wisconsin, that as a candidate, “I didn’t promise anything.”

“I don’t like these endless wars. This is not an endless war. We’ve been doing this for three months,” he said of the war with Iran, which began Feb. 28.

Trump said he was “doing the world a service” and “doing our country a service” because he had to stop Iran from having a nuclear weapon. But elsewhere in the interview, Trump repeated a contradictory message where he said U.S. strikes last year “obliterated” Iranian nuclear sites.

He also defended his decision in his first term to withdraw from Democratic President Barack Obama's nuclear deal with Iran, an agreement he has heavily criticized, without negotiating the “better deal” he has promised to reach.

“It takes years to do these things,” Trump said.

Trump without evidence claims fraud in California vote

California's notoriously prolonged vote count has been a magnet for election conspiracy theories, and Trump since Tuesday's election has claimed without evidence that Democrats are rigging the election. The Trump-appointed top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles said Friday that his office had opened “multiple election fraud investigations.”

Late-tallied Democratic-leaning mail ballots have eaten into the vote totals for Trump's preferred candidates for governor and Los Angeles mayor. While Trump has often said that changes to vote totals as late ballots are counted are a sign of fraud, they are merely a reflection of a slow vote-counting process.

Trump in the interview kept claiming that it was a sign of “cheating” and “a rigged election," and grew increasingly frustrated as Welker pressed him for evidence to support that.

“All I have to do is look. All I have to do is look,” Trump said.

“But that’s not evidence,” Welker responded.

“And I listen. And I listen to people. And let’s see what happens,” Trump replied.

‘Anti-weaponization’ fund

Trump defended plans that his Department of Justice said it has now abandoned to create a $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund” as part of a settlement to resolve Trump's lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Wednesday that the department was scrapping the plan. That announcement came after the plan was paused by a judge and after both Democrats and some Republicans said they were concerned about the fund's lack of oversight and the possibility of payouts being made to participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

Trump told NBC he thought the fund was “a great idea” and that he would be “disappointed” if it were not approved.

When asked if he thought people who attacked police officers on Jan. 6 should get a payout, Trump said, “I wouldn’t be inclined to say so, but I have to see it." He then began making unfounded and false claims about the riot and those who stormed the Capitol. Trump granted a sweeping pardon on his first day back in office in January 2025 to the more than 1,500 people prosecuted over Jan. 6.

Rain interruptions and an abrupt end

The NBC interview was conducted in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, before Trump was set to speak at a roundtable event with farmers. The interview was repeatedly interrupted as waves of heavy rain fell on the metal roof of the barn where the taping took place, making it difficult at times to hear.

At the end, Welker pressed Trump on the settlement fund and his claims about the California election. Trump raised his voice and began calling Welker and the media “crooked," attacking her credibility and complaining about what he called “the fake, dirty press.”

As Welker tried to switch subjects, Trump continued on and there was cross talk between the two. Trump ended the interview, saying said, “Let's call it quits." He took off his microphone, telling Welker, “Thank you, darling. Have a good time." He said he had given the interview enough time, stood up and walked away.

Welker said during the broadcast that she spoke to Trump on Saturday and he agreed the rain had caused complications and said he would do another interview in the future.

The second case was found in a one-month-old calf 5.6 miles away from where the first case was detected on Wednesday, according to a USDA social media post. USDA deployed mobile response teams and increased surveillance in the area in response to the detection, the post said.

Abbott’s expanded order authorizes the use of “all available resources of state government to respond to this disaster,” he said shortly before signing the declaration during a news conference in Austin.

The order further reassigns all resources from across the state as needed and makes available all state personnel, including those from university systems, to speed the shipment of sterile flies into Texas and the construction of a sterile fly facility in South Texas.

The sterile flies are intended to break the reproduction cycle of the parasitic fly.

“Here is the reality of this cycle. This is likely to spread over the course of the summer. During winter months, it may kill off the flies or reduce their number, but we can’t make it through a second summer,” Abbott said. “So I am pushing for the facility in the state of Texas, under construction right now, to be completed by May of next year, as opposed to November of next year.” 

The state is prioritizing resources for Zavala County and nearby Uvalde County. 

USDA established a 20-kilometer “infested zone” that prevents the movement of animals from the area without an inspection. A much wider surveillance zone — including Uvalde, Lima Grande and Crystal City —  surrounds the quarantined area in Zavala County.

Abbott was briefed on the screwworm situation Friday by state and federal officials. At a news conference afterward, he said his order — which expanded a disaster declaration he issued in January — directed all state agencies to be ready to respond. 

Abbott said the federal government is covering the cost of building facilities to raise and distribute sterile flies, adding that state agencies don’t need additional funds to meet his order but money will be provided if necessary.

“We need a high volume of sterile flies as quickly as possible. It’s great news we are getting the volume that we are getting both from Panama, as well as Mexico, but listen, it’s critical that the new facility that is being constructed right now be completed even faster,” Abbott said. 

USDA representatives praised the federal response, saying their projections showed the screwworm was expected to arrive in Texas last year and that their efforts, combined with the state’s, had held it back until now.  

The governor’s expanded disaster proclamation follows a series of emergency declarations by county judges, including those in Kinney, Jim Webb and Uvalde counties. 

State law gives broad authority to the Texas governor and health commissioner in times of crisis, including the ability to waive laws that hinder state agencies’ ability to appropriately respond to screwworm. 

A sample from a 3-week-old calf from La Pryor in Zavala County tested positive for the country’s first case of New World screwworm, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said June 3.

The infested calf was doing well, officials said, and an inspection of its herd found no other cases of screwworm. There have been no other signs of screwworm in the country so far.

State Rep. Gina Hinojosa, an Austin Democrat who is running against Abbott for governor, has also called for Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, and House Agriculture and Livestock Committee Chair Ryan Guillen, R-Rio Grand City, to immediately call a public interim hearing about the situation.

“I know this is an unorthodox request because I am not a member of the committee, but travelling the state, and in the district I represent, I am hearing real concerns about food security,” she said in a Sunday post on X. “We owe Texans a public vetting of the state’s response to this crisis.” 

Guillen told The Texas Tribune that his office has started the planning for a hearing on the issue in the coming weeks. Burrows’ office didn’t immediately respond to a comment request.

The USDA said in a social media post earlier that it had activated personnel on the ground and was working with local partners. The federal agency also said issues with screwworm shouldn’t immediately cause food supply chain issues, as screwworms do not infect meat, fruits or vegetables.

However, an outbreak of screwworm threatens to do $1.8 billion in damage to Texas’ economy, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture estimate. An outbreak also could increase already record-high beef prices nationwide, given the state’s importance to the cattle industry. 

Screwworm in the flesh of an infested animal will cause significant damage to the wound, as flies repeatedly cycle in and out, lay eggs, and enlarge the wound, leading to illness and death. 

Even if the animal survives, there’s usually extensive damage to the animal’s hide and health. 

Cattle are particularly susceptible to screwworm due to their inability to protect an open wound, and their large frame can allow eggs to develop in multiple locations from a single cut. 

“Texas livestock producers and all Texans must now be vigilant in their efforts to manage and combat the invasive pest,” Farm Bureau President Russell Boening said in a statement after screwworm had been confirmed in Texas.

Some South Texas officials are frustrated by what they say has been a lack of communication from the USDA. 

“It’s a complete lack of information,” said Val Verde County Judge Lewis Owens.

As cases of screwworm continued to pop up in Mexico over the last year, some within 25 miles of the Texas border, Owens said border counties have been kept in the dark over the exact location of the cases. The situation, he said, has left them unable to provide answers to their communities.

“A little bit of communication goes a long way,” Owens said.
”If we know what the hell’s going on, then I can tell my constituents. If we don’t, then the anger goes up.”

Owens also took issue with Rollins blaming the proliferation of screwworm on President Joe Biden’s “open border” policies, which she said enabled the illicit movement of cattle throughout Mexico.

“These flies do not fly to new areas on their own,” Rollins said during a call with media and officials on Thursday. “If they move, it’s because they are moving with the animal.”

Owens pointed out that the USDA, under the Biden administration, closed ports of entry to cattle from Mexico in November 2024. The Trump administration announced their reopening in February 2025 only to shut them down again in May 2025.

Crossings have been shut down, Owens said, adding: “So, let’s not keep blaming individuals or blaming other parties.”

Nowell Borders, an Edinburg rancher with ranches in Mexico, said he was concerned about his animals but was more worried about wildlife that will be much more difficult to catch and check for screwworm.

“Deer is a several billion dollar business in Texas and hunting, and I think it could be a detriment, a huge detriment to wildlife,” Borders said.

Borders owns a 100,000-square-foot facility in South Texas that he has offered as a pop-up production facility for sterile flies.

Scientists say dispersing sterile screwworm flies is the most efficient way to eradicate the pest. The sterile male flies reproduce with female screwworm flies, which can mate only once in their lifetime, producing unviable eggs.

The USDA is building a facility in Edinburg that will produce 300 million sterile flies per week. However, that facility is not expected to begin operating until fall 2027.

“I specifically offered anybody and everybody from Texas A&M, anybody and everybody from any state agency, offering to ensure construction can be conducted 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to make sure the facility in Texas will be up and running even faster than what is currently scheduled,” Abbott said Friday.

Federal officials are also working with Mexican partners to launch a facility in Metapa, Mexico that is expected to open later this month. Currently, the only active sterile fly production facility is in Panama. Sterile flies from that facility have been shipped to dispersal facilities in Mexico and Edinburg to help spread sterile flies to needed areas.

The USDA has dispersed more than 130 million sterile flies in Texas since January.

Borders said a pop-up facility on his property could be up and running in about a month. The federal government has, so far, not taken him up on his offer.

For now, he’d like the USDA and state partners to start dispersing sterile flies as far north as San Antonio as soon as possible.

“I think that’s the most important thing you could get going,” Borders said. “They need a facility to start, like, last week.”

Michael Schmoyer, associate administrator with the USDA, said the agency responded swiftly to the first confirmed case, with officials on site and deploying sterile flies within hours.

Eleven containers, each carrying 80,000 to 100,000 sterile flies, have been deployed, Schmoyer said.

Earlier this year, the USDA began dropping sterile flies over a 50-mile area north of the Texas border and will now drop 4 million flies a week over the infestation area.

Alex Nguyen contributed to this story.

Packwood's death on Saturday was announced in an obituary sent to media outlets by his family. The release didn't include additional details.

Packwood was a political scrapper who first refused to quit the chamber in which he had served for 27 years, saying he didn't want to be remembered only for that controversy.

Before the #MeToo era, Packwood stood out as an example of private behavior undermining a man’s public image. He had been praised by Planned Parenthood and others.

The great-grandson of a member of the 1857 Oregon Constitutional Convention, Packwood established himself as a social moderate and fiscal conservative who often voted across party lines. He considered running for president in 1980.

Elected to the Senate in 1968, Packwood was best known as the leading Republican advocate of abortion rights and was widely admired by women's groups throughout the country until the Senate Ethics Committee launched an investigation into the allegations of sexual and official misconduct in 1993.

More than two dozen women, former employees and acquaintances, accused him of making unwanted or uninvited sexual advances.

The allegations remained the target of an ethics probe that widened to include other alleged acts of official misconduct. He resigned in September 1995, then went to start a lucrative lobbying business in Washington.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, who replaced Packwood in 1996, said while he should be praised for his record on abortion rights and tax reform, how he treated women overshadows it all.

“His horrible history as documented in his own diaries will forever overshadow that public record. Simply put, historians’ first line about Bob Packwood must include those women who he abused and assaulted for years and years,” Wyden said in a statement.

As chairman and then ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, Packwood was a master of cutting deals and forging compromises needed to pass tax legislation through Congress. He was most proud of the lead role he played in a sweeping tax reform of 1986 that lowered the top income tax bracket and eliminated many itemized deductions.

Over his career, he was described as a blunt, independent, outspoken politician who was a maverick, boat-rocker, loose cannon, skilled partisan, and, above all, political survivor.

"I think they probably all ring true," Packwood told The Associated Press in December 1992.

"I would like to think that I am nobody's lackey. I try to reach conclusions independently and then I'm willing to fight for those conclusions; if necessary, having to fight against my party or my party's president," he said.

Packwood won his first Senate election at age 36, narrowly defeating Democratic Sen. Wayne L. Morse, an Oregon legend who had held the seat for 23 years. He quickly grabbed attention as a rising star in the GOP. By 1980, he was elected chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

But he lost the seat when the White House backed a competitor after Packwood publicly accused President Ronald Reagan of alienating women, African Americans and Jews.

Just two weeks after Packwood's reelection in 1992, The Washington Post printed allegations from former female employees and acquaintances that the senator had subjected them to uninvited sexual advances.

The Senate Ethics Committee also investigated allegations that Packwood solicited jobs from lobbyists for his ex-wife, used his staff to try to threaten the female accusers into keeping quiet and obstructed the investigation by altering his personal diaries.

The Senate held two days of extraordinary debate in 1993 over whether Packwood should have to comply with an ethics committee subpoena for his diaries, in which he reportedly made entries relevant to the investigation. The Senate voted 94-6 to enforce the subpoena.

Packwood took the case to federal courts and lost, ending when Chief Justice William Rehnquist refused Packwood's request for the U.S. Supreme Court to intercede.

Packwood launched his lobbying business, Sunrise Research Corp., in 1997. By 1999, the firm was grossing $1.5 million a year. His business slowed in later years, but he told a City Club of Portland audience in 2010 that he was still spending about half his time in Washington lobbying for a number of clients.

It was interesting work, Packwood told the audience, according to The Oregonian, but "it is not as much fun as being in the Senate."

As Congress became increasingly partisan following his departure, Packwood continued to advocate a centrist tact and called for Oregon to create nonpartisan elections in his 2010 City Club speech.

Packwood's wife, Elaine Franklin, was his former chief of staff who became a political consultant in Portland. The couple had homes in the Portland area and Washington.

In a November 2002 interview with the Salem Statesman Journal, Packwood said he had gotten past the scandal that forced him out of office.

"People have told me it must have been tough on me, or it seems unfair," he said. "But you cannot go through the rest of life and say look what happened. Pretty soon you become a bore to your friends.

"I told myself I was not old enough to retire,” Packwood said, “so I have got to get at life and not complain about it.”

The operation, according to the army’s statement, was conducted in the Mandara mountains which form a part of the militant group’s stronghold. It resulted in the release of several people, including children, who had been abducted across different communities in Borno.

Two infants “succumbed to exhaustion" due to the challenging mountainous terrain and the hardship they endured during their prolonged captivity, an army spokesperson, Haruna Sani, said.

“The remaining rescued abductees were successfully evacuated to safe locations for medical care and humanitarian support, marking a major operational success and a significant setback for the terrorist group,” Sani said.

Nigeria faces a complex security crisis, especially in the north where a more than decade-long insurgency and the activities of armed groups that carry out kidnappings for ransom and illegal mining have heightened the country’s security challenges.

Among the most prominent Islamic militant groups are Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, which is affiliated with the Islamic State group and known as Islamic State West Africa Province.

Last month, the West African country said its joint operation with the United States had killed 175 ISWAP fighters.

The insurgency in Nigeria’s northeast has killed thousands of people and displaced millions, according to the United Nations. Analysts say not enough is being done by the government to protect its citizens, despite repeated promises by President Bola Tinubu to curb the crisis.

The team's participation in the World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, has been complicated by the Iran war. Problems with processing visas earlier led Iran to move its training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, which is on the border with California.

“First of all, we’re very happy that the team has finally arrived, and we’re delighted about that,” Hajsafi said. "Thank God, the team’s condition is very good.

“With everything that happened, visas were eventually issued. Personally, however, I do have a complaint about FIFA. Why did it take so long? As far as I understand, visas were issued only to the players and a few members of the coaching staff.”

Some members of Iran's entourage are still without U.S. visas before games in Los Angeles and Seattle. Those include the Iranian Football Federation’s secretary-general, Hedayat Mombeini, and its vice president, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi.

“Unfortunately, several key members of our coaching staff, whose roles are very important within the team, were not granted visas,” Hajsafi said. "That includes the team manager, the executive director and the media director, all of whom play very important roles.

“From here, I would like to ask FIFA to address this issue so that, God willing, the situation can be resolved in the coming days.”

Iran had been training in the Turkish city of Antalya. The team flew directly to Tijuana, Mexico, which is just south of San Diego, on a private jet from the Mediterranean city’s airport.

Hajsafi was the first player to exit the plane with markings for German charter airline USC, which arrived at about 5:05 a.m. He led the team, dressed in blue blazers over white T-shirts, through a brief security check with Mexican officials and dogs before boarding a bus.

The bus stopped briefly at the entrance to the Tijuana airport, where around 20 or so Iran fans waved flags.

Iran plays its first two games in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15, and Belgium six days later, then heads to Seattle to face Egypt on June 26. Iran and the U.S. could meet in the round of 32 on July 3 in Arlington, Texas, if both teams come second in their groups.

In March, U.S. President Donald Trump had discouraged Iran from participating in the tournament, saying he didn’t think it was “appropriate” and raising concerns over players’ “life and safety.” A day later, Iran’s national team pushed back, saying “no one can exclude” it from playing.

Iran finalized its team on Monday, including 17 home-based players whose clubs haven’t played since February because of the war. Star forward Sardar Azmoun was dropped in March, reportedly because of a social media post that angered Iranian authorities during the war.

Iran’s sports minister said in March that it would “not be possible” for the team to participate in the World Cup, but the republic’s soccer federation said in May that it was moving ahead with a team. The federation had insisted that all players and staff be granted visas, including those who had military service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

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

The San Antonio Spurs are down 0-2. They say they’re unfazed.

Such is the state of things in the NBA Finals, where both teams were taking a travel day on Saturday. Practices resume Sunday and Game 3 of the title series is Monday night at Madison Square Garden, where President Donald Trump will be watching alongside fans who are willing to pay nearly $10,000 for seats so far from the court that 7-foot-4 Spurs center Victor Wembanyama will look tiny.

The Knicks insist they’re not celebrating yet. The Spurs insist they’re not defeated yet.

“Every single day, we chip away and try to be the best that we can be. ... Even with the series it is now, next game, mindset has to be 0-0 again,” said Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, the late-game hero in both the Game 1 and Game 2 wins that New York got in San Antonio to take an absolute stranglehold on the series. “It’s just how it has to be. You can’t be comfortable. You can’t be satisfied with anything. Just got to continue to push forward.”

That’s all they’ve done for a month and a half now.

They’ve won 13 consecutive games, the second-longest single-season playoff run in NBA history behind only a 15-game winning streak by Golden State in the 2017 postseason. They have a chance to be the first team in NBA history to make it through the last three rounds of the playoffs — the conference semifinals, conference final and NBA Finals — unbeaten.

“One of the things that we preach is being present,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “In order to be present, you can’t think about the past, you can’t think about the future. For all of us as humans, that’s hard as heck to do. I constantly, boom, flick myself in the head, tell myself, ‘Be present, be present, be present.’ I obviously mention it to the group, too. With those guys being who they are, they’ve really embraced it, and they’re really trying to live it every single moment during this run.”

They don’t get rattled, even on this stage. Counting the NBA Cup final, which isn’t recognized in standings or official league stats, the Knicks are 4-1 against the Spurs this season. The four wins by New York all have something in common: the Knicks trailed by double digits in each of those games.

— Cup final in Vegas, the Spurs led by 11 (and lost by 11).

— Regular-season game at MSG, the Spurs led by 12 (and lost by 25).

— Game 1 of the finals, the Spurs led by 14 (and lost by 10).

— Game 2 of the finals, the Spurs led by 12 (and lost by one).

“We just need to figure it out,” Wembanyama said. “We need to keep working on it.”

The only Spurs win over New York was the regular-season game at home, where they won by two after trailing by 19 and never leading by more than six.

Go figure.

“It was going to take everything to win the series anyway,” Spurs guard Stephon Castle said. “Putting ourselves in this type of predicament is going to be tough, but I don’t think it’s anything we can’t handle.”

The Knicks have an idea of what’s coming on Monday.

The Garden will be shaking to its core, since people who spent the kind of money that they’re spending to come see a basketball game likely won’t decide to sit quietly in their seats. The energy in the city will be beyond compare, with a 53-year wait for another NBA championship now just two games away and oddsmakers — who have the Knicks at -550 to win the series — basically saying it’s inevitable. And the Spurs will come out throwing whatever punches they have left to throw.

“Knowing them, there’s going to be another level,” Brunson said. “We have to be prepared and be ready to match it and play for 48 minutes. No matter what goes on in the game, we have to have each other’s back, what’s going on, who is on a run, what’s not, who is up, who is down, making sure we are playing together for 48 minutes is really important.”

If the Knicks could use a cautionary tale, they need look no further than Mikal Bridges. He was with Phoenix when the Suns took a 2-0 lead in the 2021 finals against Milwaukee. The Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo won that series in six games. It’s a different situation now — those two Suns wins were in Phoenix, not on the road — but it is a reminder that two wins aren’t enough.

“It’s still 0-0 as far as we’re concerned,” Knicks forward Josh Hart said. “Being up 2-0 means really nothing. This (San Antonio) team is going to come out on Monday with an unbelievable amount of energy and desperation, and we’ve got to be better.”

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

Polling closed at 8 p.m. local time, with preliminary results expected Monday.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his governing Civil Contract party are looking for a strong mandate for a new geopolitical course for Armenia. The opposition they face includes some parties that are vocally pro-Russia.

Casting his vote on Sunday, Pashinyan said that the country would continue strengthening its independence, statehood, democracy and rule of law.

"The European Union is our main partner in democratic reform implementation, and we will continue that path,” he said.

He also stressed that there were no tensions between Armenia and Moscow, saying "our relations with Russia are institutional and based on mutual respect,” the Armenpress news agency reported.

Russian officials have hit Armenian exports with a barrage of restrictions in recent weeks. President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials have made thinly veiled threats comparing Armenia’s path to that already taken by Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia.

Meanwhile, Armenian investigators said that they issued six arrest warrants for members of the opposition Strong Armenia party the day before the election, accusing them of buying votes. The nation's Central Election Committee confirmed Saturday that the party could run after a member of another opposition party, Republic, appealed for Strong Armenia to be barred over corruption allegations.

Commenting on the arrests on Sunday, the head of the Strong Armenia party, Russian Armenian business owner Samvel Karapetyan, said that they “would not change the minds of Armenian voters.”

Karapetyan is under house arrest for allegedly advocating for the government’s overthrow, a charge that the billionaire has rejected as politically motivated. He was escorted to a polling station where he spoke briefly to the media before returning home.

“The Armenian people will make the right choice and Armenia will finally have a legitimate government,” he said.

Trump offers support as Putin urges caution

Armenia’s National Assembly must consist of at least 101 members who are elected for five-year terms. Parties must win at least 4% of the vote to take a seat, while blocs made up of three or more parties must hit 8%.

Two political blocs and 17 parties are taking part in Sunday's election. Most pollsters and experts have predicted Pashinyan, who came to power in 2018 following sweeping street protests, will come out ahead.

“I think Armenians expect, first of all, a peaceful, independent and prosperous Armenia from this election, as we have today,” said Hripsime Grigoryan, a Civil Contract member of the outgoing parliament.

Pashinyan has spoken on several occasions about the need for a balanced foreign policy to ensure that Armenia maintains good relations with the United States, Europe and Russia, as well as regional powers such as Turkey and Iran — both of which border Armenia.

Despite this, Pashinyan has attracted far more enthusiasm in the West than in Moscow. He has been endorsed by several European leaders, and U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, of Armenia, a great friend and Leader, is making his Country strong, wealthy, and very secure,” Trump wrote on social media, urging Armenians to “Make (Armenia) Great Again.”

This has displeased the Kremlin. Speaking to journalists after Russia’s Victory Day parade on May 9, Putin said if the Armenian people saw benefits in joining the European Union, then “we will certainly have nothing to say against it.”

Yet he also reminded reporters, “We are currently living through everything that is happening in respect of Ukraine. And how did it start? It started with Ukraine’s joining or attempting to join the EU.”

Opposition wants closer ties with Russia

Unlike the Civil Contract party, most of Armenia’s opposition supports building stronger relations with Moscow.

The Strong Armenia party seeks to develop business ties with Russia and has accused Pashinyan of attempting to start a war with Moscow.

Other potential contenders include former President Robert Kocharyan, who leads the Hayastan bloc and also has accused Pashinyan of undermining relations with Russia, and the Prosperous Armenia Party, led by pro-Russia business owner Gagik Tsarukyan.

These parties also have strongly criticized Pashinyan for attempting to normalize relations with neighboring Azerbaijan. The Armenian leader and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev initialed a document on moving toward a peace deal at the White House alongside Trump in August.

Armenia and Azerbaijan were locked in a decades-long conflict over the fate of Karabakh, a breakaway region that had been controlled for decades by ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia. Azerbaijan took control of the entire Karabakh region during a rapid offensive in 2023.

“I want this government to change, because the condition of our country is getting worse,” Sahakyan Elina, a supporter of the Prosperous Armenia Party, told The Associated Press at a rally Thursday. “I don’t want to live with my enemies in unity.”

EU criticizes Moscow's pressure

Russian officials have imposed new restrictions on Armenian produce in the lead-up to the parliamentary vote, banning the import of Armenian flowers, certain types of cognac and wine, eggplant, potatoes, dried fruits, fish and more.

Russia says the bans are related to violations of agricultural import rules.

The European Commission on Thursday described the move as “nothing short of economic coercion.”

“By extending export restrictions on Armenian products, Moscow is weaponizing economic relations for political pressure. We know this playbook all too well,” the commission said in a statement.

Moscow also controls a significant portion of Armenia’s energy and infrastructure, and supplies it with cheap gas, which is a point that Putin has been quick to drive home in his meetings with Pashinyan.

Putin also has stressed that Armenia can't join the EU and remain within the Eurasian Economic Union, a Russia-led customs bloc.

“Being in a customs union with the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union is impossible,” Putin said. “It’s simply impossible by definition.”

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Associated Press writers Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, and Sam McNeil in Brussels, contributed to this report.

David Lammy, who is also the justice minister, said he challenged Vance in what he described as a “robust” phone call on Saturday. Lammy and Vance have struck up a friendship, based on their religious beliefs and family backgrounds, even though they come from different sides of the political spectrum.

“We had an agreeable conversation because we have got a relationship, but I wanted to make him clear that I disagree with some of the facts that he was asserting and to present the facts to him," Lammy told Sky News.

The call came a day after Vance said in a post on social platform X that there should be “righteous anger” in response to the murder of Henry Nowak, 18, who died in December after being stabbed by Vickrum Digwa in the English city of Southampton.

Digwa, who is Sikh, falsely claimed to police he was the victim of a racist assault by Nowak, who was white. When police officers arrived, they initially treated the wounded man as a suspect before noticing his injury and trying to resuscitate him.

Vance appeared to blame the murder in part on “the mass invasion of migrants, many of whom despise the West and the people who love it.”

Lammy said he wanted to “emphasize a number of things” to Vance, including that the killer was British and is now behind bars.

"This has got nothing to do with mass migration," Lammy said.

Digwa, 23, was convicted of murder for stabbing Nowak with an 8-inch (21 centimeter) Sikh dagger and sentenced this week to life in prison with a minimum 21-year term.

The case has been seized on by anti-immigration activists and politicians in the U.K. On Tuesday, police in Southampton were pelted with chairs, cans, rocks and flares after a demonstration over Nowak’s death attended by far-right figures and others.

In a statement issued Friday in response to Vance's comments, Prime Minister Keir Starmer 's office criticized people “trying to interfere in our democracy and seeking to stir up division on our streets.”

The Independent Office for Police Conduct, which investigates allegations of police wrongdoing, is probing the actions of police officers on the scene.

The victim’s father, Mark Nowak, has said the case was not about racism or religion, and that he wanted his son’s death to lead to safer streets and not to be used to create “further division, hatred or tension.”

Lammy also said he told Vance “it’s not helpful to tweet in this way, partly because of what the Nowak family have asked for, and reminded him about their desire not to make this an issue of division and hatred, but to make this an issue of common sense.”

Loved ones gathered to say goodbye to Joey, remembering him as funny, warm and full of ambition. His aunt said he had talked about following in her footsteps and becoming a nurse.

The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed to KSAT on Sunday Rodriguez died on Monday, June 1. Rodriguez died from blunt force injuries to his head and declared his death an accident, officials said.

As the family grieves, relatives said they have felt supported by the wider San Antonio community, especially Spurs fans.

“We feel like the city of San Antonio has shown more than enough love for my nephew,” said Moses Rodriguez, Joey’s uncle. “We got a lot of loving and caring people in San Antonio.”

Another uncle, Joey Lopez, said the family is grateful for the support.

“We’re thankful from the bottom of our heart,” he said.

In the days since the accident and Joey’s death, his family and authorities are reminding people to be safe while celebrating and to always buckle up when they get on the road.

The family said the support from San Antonio has helped them as they continue to mourn Joey’s loss.

Read more:

• ‘Feels like a nightmare’: Teen dies after falling from truck during Spurs playoff celebration
• Teen dies from injuries after falling from truck during Spurs celebration, family says
• Family not giving up hope, say teen declared ‘brain dead’ after falling from truck during Spurs postgame celebration
• ‘Fighting for his life’: Teen on life support after falling from truck during Spurs celebration
• Teen hospitalized after falling from vehicle while celebrating Spurs victory near SW Military, SAPD says

Jose Luis Rodriguez III, known by his friends and family as Joey, had been “fighting for his life” at the hospital since the May 28 injury, according to a family member.

On Sunday, June 7, the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed to KSAT that Rodriguez was pronounced dead around 3:49 p.m. on June 1.

Victoria Lopez, Rodriguez’s aunt, sat down with KSAT in an exclusive interview on Tuesday and remembered Rodriguez as her only nephew and called this past week a “nightmare.”

“He was ready to go out there into the world and make something of himself,” Lopez said. “It’s just a terrible tragedy.”

Watch the full story here.

Rodriguez was finishing his junior year at Frank Tejada Academy before he died.

The medical examiner’s office said Rodriguez died from blunt force injuries to his head and declared his death an accident.

San Antonio police told KSAT no arrests have been made in the case, and it is still an active investigation.

The family is hosting a plate sale for Rodriguez from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 13. The plate sale will take place at 328 S. San Gabriel.

Read more:

• ‘Fighting for his life’: Teen on life support after falling from truck during Spurs celebration
• Teen hospitalized after falling from vehicle while celebrating Spurs victory near SW Military, SAPD says

Jose Luis Rodriguez III, known by his friends and family as Joey, had been “fighting for his life” at a hospital since the fall on May 28, according to a family member.

On Sunday, June 7, the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed to KSAT that Rodriguez was pronounced dead around 3:49 p.m. on June 1.

“It feels like a nightmare,” said Victoria Lopez, Joey’s aunt.

Rodriguez’s family is now urging the community to celebrate safely as the Spurs head deeper into the playoffs.

Family remembers Joey

Victoria Lopez remembered Rodriguez as the family’s only grandson and a rising senior at Frank Tejeda Academy.

She described him as funny, warm and full of ambition.

“I remember when he was little, they shaved his head — I would tell him that he looked like Avatar, and he was just so funny,” Lopez said.

Rodriguez had even talked with his aunt about following in her footsteps as a nurse.

“I remember him telling me, ‘Do you think I should become a nurse?’ Because I’m a nurse and I was like, ‘Yeah, nephew, you can do it, you just, you know, you got to be ready for whatever comes through,” Lopez said.

“He was ready to go out there into the world and make something of himself, and it’s just a terrible tragedy,” she added.

The night of the incident

Lopez said her family grew up celebrating the Spurs and had continued the tradition of honking during playoff runs. On Thursday night, Rodriguez wanted to celebrate on Southwest Military Drive.

His mother initially told him no, Lopez said, but she changed her mind when she believed that a parent would be present. A parent was not there the night of the incident.

“She told me that he had fell off the truck, and my heart just sank because I knew that it was not good news,” said Victoria Lopez, Joey’s aunt.

According to a San Antonio Police Department preliminary report, Rodriguez fell from a vehicle in the 300 block of West Dickson Avenue, near Southwest Military Drive.

The medical examiner’s office said Rodriguez died from blunt force injuries to his head and declared his death an accident.

SAPD told KSAT on Tuesday afternoon that the case remains an active investigation and no arrests have been made.

As San Antonio celebrates the Spurs’ run in the Finals, Rodriguez’s family is asking fans to put safety first.

“Please put your seatbelt on and keep your kids in a car seat if, you know, they’re at that age because, I mean, anything can happen,” Lopez said.

San Antonio police officers have echoed that message, asking everyone to celebrate responsibly.

Despite the grief, Lopez said the family is leaning on each other and their faith.

“We’re going to be here, we’re gonna have to stick together, and we’ll see him again,” she said.

Read more:

• Teen dies from injuries after falling from truck during Spurs celebration, family says
• ‘Fighting for his life’: Teen on life support after falling from truck during Spurs celebration
• Teen hospitalized after falling from vehicle while celebrating Spurs victory near SW Military, SAPD says

Now, more than a decade after attending his last Knicks game at Madison Square Garden, Trump is making a rare trip back to New York City as president to cheer for them in Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. Invited by Knicks owner James Dolan, he will be the first sitting president to attend an NBA Finals game.

The Knicks are seeking their first championship since 1973, when Trump was 26 and a relative newcomer to the family real estate business that vaulted him to wealth and fame. Two years after that triumph, the team’s owners at the time hired him as a consultant as they looked to sell the arena.

Trump has been to more major sporting events than any of his predecessors, including the Super Bowl and Daytona 500, golf's Ryder Cup in the New York City suburbs, where he was cheered, and last year's U.S. Open men’s tennis championship in Queens, where he was booed and blamed for long security lines.

On June 14, when he turns 80 while wrestling with myriad crises including the war with Iran, economic unease and court rulingsblunting his agenda, he will host a UFC fight on White House grounds. Trump also has expressed interest in attending soccer's World Cup, which kicks off this week across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

New Yorkers love the Knicks more than they love Trump

Trump is an avid sports fan, but the affinity he professes for the Knicks is different.

It speaks to the Republican president’s identity as a New Yorker and harkens to a bygone era where a front-row seat at a Knicks game was a chance for him and other boldface names to see and be seen.

In a city whose wealthy gatekeepers largely turned their noses at Trump's brash personality and playboy image in the 1990s and 2000s, the Garden’s Celebrity Row was one club where he felt at home.

“I’ve been a Knick fan for a long time,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last week, a day after New York rallied to win Game 1. “I watched that end of the game and they were dominant — really amazing.”

After another win Friday in San Antonio, the Knicks head home with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. They have won a remarkable 13 straight playoff games and last lost on April 23, uniting the city in a way unseen since the Knicks went to the NBA Finals twice in the 1990s.

Enter Trump. He returns to the Knicks zeitgeist not as the tabloid curiosity who once sat shoulder to shoulder with the late John F. Kennedy Jr. at a game in 1999, but as a president who is disliked by a majority of the city's Democratic voters.

Trump, who gave up his lifelong New York residency for Florida in 2019, is making his first trip to New York City since he spoke at the United Nations in September. In 2024, he went on trial in the city and was convicted of 34 felony counts related to hush money paid on his behalf during his 2016 campaign.

Knicks fans, though, do not seem to be concerned so much with his politics, but that his attendance — and the hoopla accompanying it — could mess up the team’s momentum. The Knicks said people going to the game should arrive at least two hours before tipoff for airport-style security screening.

“Why does Donald Trump always have to ruin a good thing?” U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, an avid Knicks fan and the House Democratic leader, told CNN. “Like, literally, the Knicks haven’t been in the NBA finals for 27 years. The city is trying to celebrate this. We’ve embraced this team, and this guy has to inject himself.”

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat who struck up a cordial relationship with Trump after the two met in November, was more inviting.

“We’re excited to welcome anyone and everyone who’s rooting for the Knicks in this moment," said Mamdani, who will also be at the game — albeit, not with Trump.

Last week, as Trump began floating the idea of attending a game, New York magazine published an article, “Is Trump Really a Knicks Fan? An Investigation.” The story, filled with pictures of Trump at Knicks games from 1991 to 2014, described him as a “textbook example of a celebrity bandwagon fan."

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver disagrees.

“Before he ever ran for office, he was a big Knicks fan,” Silver told reporters last week. “I’ve been with the league for a long time. I was there at many Knicks games with him in the old days.”

A courtside regular in the 1990s

Trump and the Knicks came into existence the same year, 1946.

His affiliation with the team — at least in the public record — dates to 1975 when he acted as a real estate adviser to the then-owners of the Knicks and Madison Square Garden, who were looking to sell the building known in a bit of Trump-style branding as “The World’s Most Famous Arena."

Trump claimed to reporters at the time that two groups of “Arab oil interests” were interested in paying $50 million to $75 million. But the arena’s leadership passed on the idea, saying it was “not conceivable” to make such a deal during the Middle East oil crisis raging at the time.

Trump was not much of a known entity when the Knicks won their only championships in 1970 and 1973.

By the time they rebounded in the 1990s, Trump was front and center, taking his then-wife Marla Maples to Game 3 of the NBA Finals in 1994 and his current wife, first lady Melania Trump, to Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 1999. In between, he added to his Knicks fan bona fides with a cameo in the Knicks-themed Whoopi Goldberg film “Eddie” in 1996.

Back then, Trump was a more of a mythic figure than a consequential one, known as much for the women he dated and married as the buildings he built.

But just as those Knicks came up short in the NBA Finals against Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets and David Robinson and the Spurs, Trump was running into problems of his own. His business empire was in disarray after his casinos fell into financial trouble and his airline, Trump Shuttle, went out of business.

Like the Knicks, Trump went into rebuilding mode and charted a new course: reality TV with NBC's “The Apprentice” and “Celebrity Apprentice,” and then, politics. On a Knicks TV broadcast in 2010, he hinted at a possible presidential run.

That same year, as the Knicks struggled to recapture the magic of the 1990s, Trump recorded a video trying to persuade LeBron James to join the team.

“The real winners of the world want to be here," Trump told him.

The group is called the Korean Jackals, a fan community built around a shared passion for the Spurs despite a 14-hour time difference and an ocean separating them from San Antonio.

Two members of the group, Dongwook Kwon and Taesung Kwon, spoke — with the help of their friend, and translator, Tami Kang — about how the Spurs’ international reach continues to inspire fans far beyond Texas

Taesung Kwon said his journey as a Spurs fan began more than a decade ago during the 2012-2013 season.

He regularly watched game highlights and was drawn to the team’s defensive style and unselfish ball movement.

At the time, his favorite player was Spurs legend Tony Parker.

As players came and went, his loyalty to the franchise never wavered. Today, his favorite Spur isn’t the team’s biggest star.

“Wemby is too obvious,” Taesung Kwon said. “K.J. — Keldon Johnson.”

The Spurs’ playoff run has brought excitement and emotion to fans around the world. Dongwook Kwon said one of the most memorable moments came during Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“I was so nervous, so nervous,” Dongwook Kwon said. “And when the Spurs won Game 7, I cried.”

Like many international NBA fans, members of the Korean Jackals often sacrifice sleep to follow their team. Spurs games that tip off in the evening in San Antonio are frequently broadcast early the next morning in South Korea.

Despite the long hours and early alarms, the group remains committed to supporting the Silver and Black.

As the Spurs Race For Seis, the Korean Jackals will be watching from afar — coffee in hand, sleep-deprived, but energized — proving that Spurs fandom extends well beyond South Texas.

Read also:

• Free options to watch Spurs against Knicks in NBA Finals; Start with KSAT 12 in San Antonio
• Former Spur Danny Green talks NBA Finals, expresses gratitude for the Alamo City
• Spurs nonprofit ticket giveaway sends local youth volunteers to NBA Finals

The behavior changes observed so far are subtle, such as altered routines for buying gasoline and fewer visits to clothing and furniture stores. They also are uneven across the population. During recent earnings calls with analysts, executives from American mainstays like Walmart, McDonald's and Dollar General cited overall shopper resilience as well as noticeable cutbacks by lower-income customers.

But the new signs of strain cited by major retailers as generous income tax refunds helped shore up their sales make some economists and analysts think they will see a wider retrenchment when the refunds are gone and consumers face the cumulative impact of more expensive gas and higher prices for food, clothing, insurance and other goods and services.

Trevor Chapman, a communications executive in West Hills, California, said that instead of going to a local independent gas station, he and his wife now plan their fuel stops around Costco stores with filling stations. The couple also is doing more online food shopping to avoid impulse buys, he said.

“Gas is a kind of catalyst,” Chapman said. “It trickles down into the entire budget. We’re trying to keep everything as normal as possible. But it’s starting to feel like it’s adding up more and more.”

Well before the U.S. and Israel launched the war, many consumers already were being more choosy with their discretionary purchases, fatigued by several years of stubborn inflation and tariffs on imported goods imposed last year.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported last week that higher prices, not more purchases, accounted for most of the growth in Americans' spending in April, when a key inflation gauge reached the highest level since October 2023.

Topping up instead of filling up

Members-only warehouse stores like Costco, Walmart's Sam's Club and BJ's Wholesale Club have seen more traffic at their fuel pumps since the war began in late February, according to the companies. Fuel typically costs less at the wholesale clubs.

But many drivers are not filling their tanks up, Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey told analysts late last month. For the first time since 2022, Walmart customers and Sam’s Club members are buying an average of less than 10 gallons per trip, he said.

“That’s an indication of stress,” Rainey said.

Costco members also are making changes. They are visiting store gas stations more frequently to “top up in between what would have normally been a gap between getting the tank to empty because of the concern about what might the gas price be tomorrow,” Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip said in late May.

Meanwhile, the gas price surge has hurt convenience stores, where 80% of all fuel is sold in the U.S., according to Jeff Lenard, a vice president at the National Association of Convenience Stores.

A sales analysis by the trade group found that the number of pump transactions at the properties of 130 convenience store companies fell by nearly 10% across March and April compared to the same two months last year. The number of sales inside the companies' stores dropped by 10.4%, according to the analysis.

“When you lose gallons to the big box, you also lose in-store sales," Lenard said.

Changing eating habits

Higher gas prices did not stop many Americans from dining out in the first two months of the war with Iran. Tax refunds helped, the National Restaurant Association said. Customer traffic at U.S. restaurants in April was unchanged from the same month last year, although a 2.6% increase in restaurant spending resulted largely from higher menu prices, according to market research firm Circana.

But cracks are starting to form as budget-conscious U.S. residents shoulder the combined weight of paying more for gas and other consumer goods on top of increasing costs in other areas from inflation past and present.

The price of gas won't help bring customers with household incomes of $45,000 or less back to U.S. fast-food restaurants, McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said last month. People in that income group began scaling back their fast-food purchases after the period of inflation that accompanied the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the trend picked up speed last year.

U.S.-based restaurant consulting firm Revenue Management Solutions analyzed 14.6 billion restaurant transactions from the last ‌four years ⁠and found that as gasoline gets more expensive, restaurant visits gradually decline, according to Chief Research Officer Sebastián Fernandez. The analysis indicated the impact doubles when gas hits the $4 mark, which it did as a nationwide average on March 31.

Consumers also are making concessions when they shop for groceries, according to Stew Leonard, president of an eight-store supermarket chain his father founded, Stew Leonard's. He's noticed customers buying meat in bulk to freeze and being less tempted to buy the products showcased during live food demonstrations or offered for sampling.

“It's telling me that people are sticking more to their shopping list,” Leonard said.

Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos also cited $4 a gallon gas as a tipping point that had more consumers with household incomes above $100,000 frequenting the discount chain. Vasos told analysts Tuesday that many of Dollar General's core shoppers, who have mid-to-low incomes and live in rural areas, were paring back their food spending.

Sophie Tolsdorf, 29, of La Grange, Kentucky, said she is one of the consumers stocking up on meat when the price is reasonable. She also switched to buying whole fruit instead pre-cut fruit in containers and cut back on the rawhide bones for her dog that cost $40 a pack.

“He might have noticed,” Tolsdorf said. "He's definitely a little bit bored during the workday now.”

Needs versus wants

Before the war, retailers had spent multiple earnings seasons highlighting consumer caution and selectivity as factors that could weigh on sales of nonessential products. Shoppers appear to have curbed their discretionary spending even more as the cost of buying gas went up, said Marshal Cohen, chief retail advisor at Circana.

Between April 25 and May 23, U.S. retailers sold 6% fewer non-grocery products than they did during the comparable four-week period of 2025, Cohen said. Housewares, clothing, footwear and sports equipment had the biggest declines, anywhere from 5% to 7%. Circana reported that toys and beauty items remained bright spots, registering at least an 8% increase in the number of units sold.

Location intelligence company Placer.ai, which tracks people's movements based on cellphone usage, saw visits to the gas stations of BJ’s, Costco and Sam’s Club stores start to accelerate in early March, aligning with a sharp rise in fuel prices, according to R.J. Hottovy, the company's head of analytical research.

By early May, Placer.ai's data showed four consecutive weeks of reduced foot traffic at clothing, electronics and home furnishing stores, and more trips to grocery stores and dollar stores.

“Consumers are prioritizing value-oriented retailers like warehouse clubs, superstores, and off-price chains," Hottovy said.

___

AP Food Writer Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit contributed to the report.

A four-goal, third-period rally by the Hurricanes nearly made NHL history and in process sent shockwaves through T-Mobile Arena.

And this game ended in a way perhaps befitting all the craziness, a shot from Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore off the skate of Brandon Bussi — the backup goalie put in the game in the third period after not playing for two months — that went into the net at 5:38 of double overtime to give the Golden Knights a 5-4 victory over Carolina.

“I have experienced a lot of games in playoffs,” Golden Knights coach John Tortorella said. “I haven't experienced one like this.”

Almost overlooked was the four-point night by Vegas' Mitch Marner, who also produced the fastest hat trick in Cup Final history.

The Golden Knights took a 2-1 series lead. The teams take two days off before meeting in Game 4 on Tuesday night in Las Vegas. Teams with a 2-1 series lead went on to win the Cup 46 of 57 times, or 80.7%.

Carolina had been 6-0 in overtime this postseason. The Hurricanes were trying to become the first team to win after trailing by at least four goals in the third period, but now clubs in that situation are 0-109.

“We just left our foot off the gas,” Theodore said on the ABC broadcast. “I think we have to be sharper in the third, but I liked the resiliency out of our group. I liked the way we started that second overtime, and I felt like we were more on our toes.”

This was the 10th time the first three games of a Cup Final were decided by a point. The last time was in 2016 between Pittsburgh and San Jose.

The Golden Knights seemed to have it in hand after scoring four times in the second, including a natural hat trick by Marner.

But Jordan Martinook, Taylor Hall and Jordan Staal scored goals for the Hurricanes. Their goals, occurring 39 seconds apart, are the fastest three in a Cup Final game.

Andrei Svechnikov jammed in a puck on a six-on-four power play with 1:42 left to force overtime.

“I love that we feel like we can come back from anything, but you can’t put yourself in a hole like we did,” Martinook said. “The second period, for them to come out like that and take total control of the game, it’s something that can’t happen, especially this time.”

Marner’s scoring outburst came over a 6:10 stretch of the second period, and he had four points in the period. He had the secondary assist on Tomas Hertl’s goal midway through the period.

The last time a player had four points in a period of the Cup final was in 1919 when Frank Foyston of the Seattle Metropolitans pulled off that feat.

Marner nearly added to the total in the third period, but failed to capitalize on a breakaway and a penalty shot. Those missed chances came back to bite the Golden Knights.

The Hurricanes made the comeback after changing goalies to open the third, going with Bussi, who made 18 saves. Frederik Andersen had given up those four goals on 16 shots.

Carolina also rallied without forward and former Golden Knight William Carrier, who had an upper-body injury in the second period.

Vegas’ Carter Hart stopped 29 shots.

Vegas twice thought it took the lead early in the second period, but the Hurricanes successfully challenged both goals to keep the game scoreless.

The Golden Knights received a major boost when defenseman Brayden McNabb took the ice. He took a puck in the face in the first period Thursday night at Carolina and didn’t return to the game. McNabb, who had on a cage to protect his face, is Vegas’ best defensive defenseman. He was on the first defensive pair with Theodore.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The 24-year-old right-hander's record-setting pitch was low and outside to Kyle Karros in the third inning.

“It’s one of those things: It is what it is,” Misiorowski said. “I’m going to keep going, trying to get strikeouts, and if that’s what it takes to get strikeouts, then so be it.”

Misiorowski (7-2) has thrown the 12 fastest pitches by a starter. His previous high was 103.4 mph against St. Louis on May 25.

He threw 52 pitches 100 mph or faster Saturday night, including a record 45 of at least 101 mph. He allowed just an unearned run while striking out eight in seven innings, lowering his ERA to 1.50 in a 7-1 victory over the Rockies at Coors Field.

"Miz has got great extension and great velocity, so that doesn’t surprise me," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said about the 103.7 mph fastball. “But we've got to get off that — the harder the better, and all that. He’s got to throw the ball in the zone and throw his other pitches in the zone. As I say often, good hitters can time up anything.”

Misiorowski threw a record 57 pitches 100 mph or faster in the May 25 game, including 40 of 101 mph or more.

The fastest pitch overall since tracking began was clocked at 105.8 mph by Cincinnati reliever Aroldis Chapman in September 2010 at San Diego, according to Statcast.

___

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

The American pontiff traveled to Spain dozens of times as a priest, but this is the first visit here by a pope in 15 years. And Spaniards turned out in droves to welcome Leo, with an estimated 500,000 people — many of them young — cheering “This is the youth of the pope” at a raucous evening prayer vigil in Plaza de Lima in Madrid, where Leo was treated to a rock star's welcome.

Leo's visit signals a return of papal attention to Europe’s Christian roots after Pope Francis largely stayed away from the traditional centers of Christianity in favor of smaller Catholic communities farther away.

Leo is seemingly keen to bring his message of peace, unity and human dignity to a continent sorely polarized over migration, the Russia-Ukraine war and anxiety over artificial intelligence.

The pope, known as León XIV in Spanish, opened his weeklong trip in Madrid, greeted at the airport by the country’s Catholic monarchs, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. He told reporters, while traveling, that he was particularly heartened by reports of a spiritual awakening among young people in the once staunchly Catholic but now secularized country.

During his welcome address, Leo appealed to Spaniards, especially political leaders, to put polemics aside and invest in educating young people to appreciate diversity and complexity rather than shunning them.

“Today, the temptation to gain popularity by fanning the flames of polarization seems to have grown rather than diminished, and human dignity continues to be violated,” Leo said.

He appealed to Spain’s place at the heart of Christian Europe to serve as a model for the rest of the continent, while also recalling the country's 800-year Moorish past, when cities like Toledo and Córdoba became, he said, “centers of dialogue between languages, religions and knowledge.”

“For the love of truth, I invite everyone to set aside the divisive and polarizing narratives of your societal reality and history,” he said. Doing so will help Europe “overcome sterile simplifications through the fruitful appreciation of complexity.”

Spaniards find themselves increasingly divided over issues including immigration, feminism and political corruption, while historically Spain was riven by territorial and independence movements.

Spain's parliament prepares for first-ever papal speech

The highlight of Leo’s visit to Madrid will be his speech on Monday to a joint parliamentary session of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate — the first by a pope. Such speeches are rare and often become one of the most important of a pontificate.

But Leo will find a highly polarized legislature, with the government Socialist party hammered by a series of corruption scandals. Conservative parties, including the Popular Party and Vox, have called for Sánchez to step down before a general election due by next year, and have roundly criticized his government’s migration policies.

Spain’s Socialist-led government has bucked a general trend in Europe and the United States by announcing it will grant legal status to potentially hundreds of thousands of immigrants living and working in the country without authorization. Sánchez has highlighted the benefits of legal migration to the Spanish economy with an aging workforce and low birth rate.

Despite some expected protests of Leo’s visit, his speech to parliament in particular is something of a milestone for Spain’s Catholic Church. Shaped by the anticlerical violence of the country’s 1936-1939 civil war, the church has dealt more recently with a credibility crisis over revelations of decades of clergy abuse and cover-up.

And yet there are signs of renewed interest in all forms of spirituality, Christian and otherwise, especially among young Spaniards, said sociologist Narciso Michavila Núñez, president of the GAD3 consulting firm that polls young people about their faith, among other things.

In recent surveys, he said, pollsters are registering newfound interest in faith among Gen Z Spaniards. Michavila and others cite the popularity of Spanish pop star Rosalía’s new hit album “Lux,” which is overtly spiritual.

“The truth from a common view is not that God is in fashion. What is new in this moment, in this visit of the pope, is that God in the Spanish society is not a taboo anymore,” he said.

Leo pointed to the signs of a spiritual awakening in comments to reporters en route to Madrid. But he also acknowledged that he's facing stiff competition from Bad Bunny, who is holding two concerts this weekend.

“If they are confronted with the question ‘Do you want to go see Bad Bunny or do you want to go to see the pope?’ I think many will see Bad Bunny,” Leo said. “But I think there will also be a few here to see the pope. And that says something, you know.”

Pope to meet with abuse victims and migrants

In a sign that the clergy sexual abuse crisis continues to overshadow papal trips, Leo confirmed he would meet with survivors during his visit. The Spanish Catholic hierarchy is belatedly reckoning with decades of abuse and cover-up.

“Abuses are still an open wound,” he told reporters.

Spain's king also cited the church’s sexual abuse crisis in the country in his welcome speech, but he insisted such cases “neither are nor can be representative of the immense ecclesial community.”

“Your clarity and firmness, which I also wish to acknowledge, are essential in the process of healing and repairing the harm inflicted: they are essential for the victims, for the faithful, for the church, and for society,” Felipe told Leo, in an apparent reference to a recently launched church-state reparations system for some victims of clerical abuse.

Leo’s trip is the first papal visit to Spain since Pope Benedict XVI came in 2011 for World Youth Day.

After Madrid, the other highlights of the trip include Leo’s visit midweek to Barcelona, where he will celebrate Mass in the Sagrada Familia basilica on the centenary of the death of its famed architect, Antoni Gaudí.

Leo will also fulfill a wish of Francis by ending his visit with a two-day stop in the Canary Islands, the Spanish archipelago closer to Africa than the Iberian Peninsula and a key destination for migrants leaving West Africa.

Leo will meet with migrants and the humanitarian organizations providing care for them. He is expected to toss a wreath of flowers into the sea, in memory of migrants killed during the treacherous Atlantic crossing. He’ll do so from the port in Las Palmas that in 2020 earned the nickname the “Dock of Shame” because thousands of migrants were forced to sleep in the open for weeks on end during a spike in arrivals.

Francis had made reaching out to migrants and refugees a hallmark of his papacy, and Leo has followed suit by demanding dignified treatment of migrants, especially in his native U.S.

“For those of us who are immigrants and find ourselves in this situation of having family far away, someone like the pope — who is an important figure for the entire world — coming here is truly something that makes me say ‘wow,’” said Constantina Nchama, an immigrant from Equatorial Guinea.

“It’s something that happens once in a lifetime,” she said. “I’m very, very excited about that, truly.”

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Georgia's Republican-led Legislature will convene June 17 for a special session focused on redistricting for the 2028 elections. The agenda includes new voting districts not only for Congress, but also for the state House and Senate — and potentially even the state's utility regulatory commission.

It will mark the first time since a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling weakened minority voting protections that a state legislature will attempt to redraw its own districts. Mississippi Republicans and New York Democrats also could undertake legislative redistricting before their 2027 and 2028 elections, respectively.

Ir remains to be seen, though, how many legislatures will follow, and whether the outburst of mid-decade redistricting will extend down to county commissions, city councils and school boards that make myriad decisions affecting people's lives. The impact could be widespread.

“The stakes here are not political, they are deeply human,” said Joe Kennedy III, founder of Groundwork Project, a nonprofit that supports local civil rights and democracy organizations.

What's fueling the redistricting movement?

Voting district boundaries typically are redrawn once a decade after each U.S. census to account for population changes. But last summer, President Donald Trump urged Texas Republicans to redraw congressional districts to try to win additional seats in the midterm elections. Other states followed with their own partisan gerrymandering.

Then a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling in late April jumpstarted even more redistricting. The court struck down a majority-Black congressional district in Louisiana as an illegal racial gerrymander, providing grounds for Republicans in other states to reshape districts with large minority populations that have elected Democrats.

Why is Georgia redrawing its districts?

A federal judge ruled in 2023 that some of Georgia’s congressional, state Senate and state House districts were drawn in a racially discriminatory manner. The Legislature quickly approved revised maps with new majority-Black districts, though they resulted in little change to Republican majorities in the 2024 elections.

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has called lawmakers into special session to again redraw districts in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Louisiana case. That could allow Republicans to undo the court-ordered changes they made in 2023 and potentially redraw other Democratic-held minority districts to the GOP's advantage.

Republicans have yet to unveil details of their plans. But Democratic state Rep. Tanya Miller, who is running for attorney general, denounced the upcoming redistricting as a means of “rigging maps to maintain power.”

How many seats are at stake?

Several months before the Supreme Court ruling, a report by Fair Fight Action and Black Voters Matter forecast that Republicans in 10 Southern states could eliminate 191 Democratic-held legislative seats — including 140 districts with Black or Hispanic majorities — if the Supreme Court gutted federal Voting Rights Act protections for minorities.

“If anything, our report was an understatement,” Cliff Albright, co-founder and executive director of Black Voters Matter, recently told The Associated Press. “What’s at stake is the future of this democracy.”

Other analysts don't expect that many seats to be redistricted. But they do expect the Supreme Court's decision to ripple through states.

“We’re going to potentially see a lot of frenzied efforts at every level, including at the local level, to try out undoing district maps and configurations that have performed quite well in providing improved representation for communities of color,” said Kareem Crayton, vice president of the Washington office of the Brennan Center for Justice.

What states have pending court cases?

The precedent from the recent Supreme Court decision already is being applied in several states. In light of the ruling, a federal appeals court is allowing Alabama to use a state Senate map approved by Republican lawmakers in this year's election instead of one imposed by a federal judge who found the state had diluted the voting power of Black residents. The change affects two state Senate districts in the Montgomery area.

The Supreme Court has sent legislative redistricting cases filed on behalf of Black voters in Mississippi and Native Americans in North Dakota back to lower courts for further consideration in light of its Louisiana decision. The Washington attorney general has asked the Supreme Court to do the same for legislative redistricting cases involving Hispanic voters in that state.

What's stopping states from redistricting?

About half the states have provisions in their constitutions prohibiting mid-decade redistricting of state legislative seats, said Justin Levitt, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles who runs the “All About Redistricting” website.

But even in states where it's allowed, lawmakers may have fewer reasons to redraw their own districts than those for Congress, Levitt said. Politicians who promoted congressional redistricting for the 2026 midterms often justified it as a way to counter gerrymandering in other states and win as many seats as possible for their party. They had extra motivation because a swing of only a few seats nationally in the November elections could affect control of the closely divided U.S. House.

By contrast, most state legislative chambers already are dominated by one party.

”There’s a lot less incentive, if you already control the state legislature by 10 or 12 seats, to eke out an incremental one or two at the expense of really ticking off your own party membership, or at the expense of maybe risking losing seats in a broader way,” Levitt said.

Could local governments also redraw districts?

The Supreme Court decision making it more difficult to prove Voting Rights Act violations already has affected some local governments.

Plaintiffs have voluntarily dismissed a challenge to commission districts in Meriwether County, Georgia. A federal court has accepted new legal briefs in a challenge to Board of Supervisors districts in DeSoto County, Mississippi. And Indiana's attorney general has asked a federal appeals court to take note of the Louisiana case when deciding a challenge to how judges are selected in Lake County.

Over roughly the past four decades, data from the University of Michigan shows that cities, counties and school boards have been involved in more than three-fifths of the 466 lawsuits alleging violations of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which forbids providing minorities less opportunity than other voters to elect the representatives of their choice.

But that doesn't necessarily mean local governments will rush to redistrict as a result of a weakened Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court decision cleared the way for officials to justify redistricting based on partisan ambitions. But many local offices are officially nonpartisan.

Reyes Antonio Chaires Jr., 44, was pronounced dead at 4:38 p.m. Saturday. He had been transported by ambulance and admitted to the hospital on Thursday.

Chaires was booked into the Bexar County jail on June 3, 2026, on a charge of possession of a controlled substance. He was originally arrested by the San Antonio Police Department.

His cause of death will be determined by the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office, though BCSO said they believe detoxing may have been a contributing factor.

The Castle Hills Police Department is leading the death investigation. The Texas Commission on Jail Standards has been notified, per state requirements.

Separately, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs Unit is conducting a concurrent administrative investigation.

According to a KSAT Investigates analysis, Charies’ death is the fifth Bexar County jail inmate death this year.

Read also:

• Inmate dies after possible medical episode inside Bexar County jail, BCSO says

The results from this positive vibe shift have been spectacular all season, and it's working again at the U.S. Women's Open. After Korda started poorly this week at Riviera, she shook it off and responded with two straight stellar rounds that have put the World No. 1 in prime position to win the title she covets most of all.

Korda shot her second straight 4-under 67 on Saturday to claim a share of the lead in the 81st Open, ending with three consecutive birdies and finishing even with Sei Young Kim at 6-under 207.

“It’s always amazing to be in this position,” Korda said. “That’s what we work so hard for, to be in this spot. So whatever happens tomorrow happens, but I’m going to give it my all and see what the outcome is.”

Korda, already a three-time major winner after dominating The Chevron Championship in April, has played her way into prime position to contend for her second straight major title and first U.S. Open championship.

It won't be simple: Seven players were within two shots of the top of a leaderboard crowded with major winners. First-round leader Jennifer Kupcho and 2015 U.S. Women’s Open champion In Gee Chun were a shot back at 5 under after 69s, while second-round co-leader Ruoning Yin, Mexico’s Gaby Lopez and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka were 4 under.

But Korda's surge in Southern California is her latest superlative in a year already featuring three wins, three second-place finishes and a spot atop the world rankings in her first seven starts.

“I’m not going to get too frustrated,” Korda said. “I think last year I really, really wanted it, and the more you want it, sometimes the more you stiffen up and you get a little bit more nervous. So I play my best golf when I’m happy, free Nelly and I’m kind of joking around out there. That’s kind of the attitude that I’m going to have (Sunday).”

Korda was seven shots off the lead and struggling with her driver after that opening-round 73. Her big sister, six-time LPGA Tour winner Jessica Korda, encouraged her to strengthen her grip, and Nelly promptly got into contention by posting Friday’s lowest score and then surging steadily up the leaderboard on moving day.

Korda chipped in from the fringe for birdie on the third hole Saturday, and she nailed an 18-foot birdie putt on the sixth. She finished with her birdie spree, reaching the par-5 17th green in two before smashing her 154-yard approach shot to 4 feet on the 18th.

Korda had never posted consecutive rounds in the 60s in a U.S. Women’s Open, not even last year when she tied for second at Erin Hills.

She believes that experience and her ongoing work on her mental game have put her in a prime position to execute Sunday. Her attitude shift was a necessary self-improvement decision encouraged by her parents, her time with a sports psychologist and even her fiance, who sometimes implores her to be a bit more positive.

“So there has been a bunch of work that I’ve done with other people, but I would say the person that makes the biggest change is myself,” Korda said.

Several players traded the lead on a sunny afternoon in front of the week’s biggest crowd at this 100-year-old country club in Pacific Palisades.

Kim was one shot off the lead after each of the first two rounds, and the South Korean star carded a steady 68 after a birdie on 17 to stay right on pace with Korda.

“I tried to keep my patience and just waited for a chance,” said Kim, a 13-time winner on the LPGA Tour. “When the chances came to me, I just made it. ... When I finished, that was the first time I saw the scoreboard with a lot of good golfers, especially Nelly and then Gaby, who I played with. It always feels great to play with great players. I’m competitive, so it’s really like I’m lucky to play with them.”

Both second-round leaders are also still firmly in contention.

Southern California native Alison Lee was one shot off the lead on the back nine before making three late bogeys and finishing at 3 under. Lee, who gave birth to son Levi 15 months ago, would be only the fourth mother to win the U.S. Open and the first since Juli Inkster in 2002.

Yin made three bogeys on the front nine before getting back to 4 under with two late birdies. Her 71 made her the first golfer in U.S. Open history with seven consecutive rounds of even par or better.

England's Charley Hull carded Saturday's low round at 65, making seven birdies and moving just three shots back of the lead. Asterisk Talley, a 17-year-old amateur from California’s Central Valley, shot a 66.

___

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

FORECAST HIGHLIGHTS

• SUNDAY: Staying hot & humid. 20% chance stray shower
• NEXT WEEK: No rain & hot!

FORECAST

SUNDAY

Sunday looks even drier, with only a 20% shot at a stray shower. Showers are expected to be short-lived and limited to small areas, so you shouldn’t need to cancel any outdoor plans. Expect similar heat and humidity, feeling like 100° during the afternoon.

NEXT WEEK

A ridge of high pressure will begin to build into the area on Monday. This “heat high” is known for keeping things hot and dry, especially in the early summer. his will bring rain chances down and temperatures up. Most of next week will be quiet, humid, and warm.

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.

No suspects were in custody hours afterward, Toledo Deputy Police Chief Joe Heffernan said, and officials urged people who were at the festival to come forward with any photos or videos on their phones for possible leads.

The shooting happened near the Old West End Festival, an annual gathering of live music and home tours.

Heffernan said it appeared that at least two people fired weapons and they were “probably shooting at each other.”

Two of the victims were in critical condition, Heffernan added. The ages of the victims ranged from 14 to 61, with most of them in their early 20s.

“I am deeply concerned about the situation in Toledo tonight,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in a statement. “Summer festivals should be safe spaces for families to spend time together without fear of violence.”

Multiple videos posted to social media showed people running amid the sound of gunshots and emergency officials tending to others who appeared wounded.

Fire Chief Allison Armstrong said it was difficult to get to the hospital due to closed roads and traffic from people leaving the festival, but emergency responders were able to transport all patients from the scene within an hour.

Kevin Berry was sitting in the neighborhood arboretum listening to live music with friends when he heard a handful of gunshots ring out.

“Everybody hit the deck,” he said.

When Berry looked back up, he saw a gun being tossed to the ground less than 50 feet (15 meters) away from him. Officers who were already on site for the festival responded immediately.

Berry, who has medical training and served in the Navy, walked around looking for anyone who might need help and saw at least five people with gunshot wounds.

“The folks who were hit were spread out around the arboretum area,” he said.

The Old West End Festival is a two-day celebration in Toledo’s historic district that includes live music, food vendors, home tours and shopping. Berry described it as the “kick-off to Toledo’s summer festival season.”

George Kral, safety director for the city, said officials were discussing with organizers whether it would continue through the weekend.

“This is one of the most iconic festivals in Toledo,” he said, “and it’s a shame that something like this had to ruin it.”

Iran said that it targeted American military assets in both countries, after the U.S. attacked surveillance facilities on Qeshm Island and near Sirik that Iran said were used to protect borders and “ensure the security of navigation in international waters." Tehran called the attack a ceasefire violation.

Later Saturday, U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces had shot down two Iranian attack drones over the Strait of Hormuz.

The latest exchanges came as the Trump administration presses Iran to make a deal to end the war, which has strained the global economy and threatened a hunger crisis in some of the world's most vulnerable countries.

Pakistan’s interior minister, Mohsin Naqvi, arrived in Iran on Saturday as part of mediation efforts.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is seeking to ratchet up economic pressure on Iran. The U.S. Treasury Department is considering allowing Gulf allies to tap into frozen Iranian assets to pay for damages they sustained in the war, according to a person familiar with Secretary Scott Bessent's thinking who spoke Saturday on condition of anonymity to share internal deliberations.

Iran says it targeted US air base and Navy

The U.S. military said earlier that it had shot down several Iranian missiles and drones launched toward the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf Arab allies, and struck some of the Islamic Republic’s coastal surveillance radar sites in response.

“The attack drones posed an immediate threat to regional maritime traffic,” U.S. Central Command said.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted the Ali Al Salem air base, which hosts U.S. forces in Kuwait, and the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

The U.S. military said there were no reports of harm to U.S. personnel.

Earlier in the week, Iranian drones heavily damaged a passenger terminal at Kuwait’s main airport, killing one person and wounding dozens.

The U.S. military kept up its blockade on Iranian ports in response to Tehran’s grip on the strait, a crucial corridor for global oil and natural gas shipments. Energy prices have spiked, posing political problems for U.S. President Donald Trump's Republican Party before the midterm congressional election.

Deals remain elusive

Trump increasingly appears to be boxed in. U.S. and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative agreement a week ago to extend the ceasefire by 60 days and start a new round of talks on Iran’s nuclear program. Trump, however, has called for unspecified changes, and Iranian officials have shown no public sign of agreeing to the deal.

The fighting in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have seized large swaths of the south while saying it targets the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, also challenges efforts to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has demanded that any lasting truce extends to Lebanon.

The Trump administration has touted the latest ceasefire agreed to earlier in the week by the Lebanese government and Israel after U.S.-brokered talks in Washington. However, Hezbollah has rejected the agreement.

Ratcheting up financial pressure

Miad Maleki, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former Iranian sanctions expert at the Treasury Department, said it's significant that the U.S. is signaling it could allow Gulf countries to access some of the $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets stored abroad.

Iran had been seeking some of the funds as part of a deal, and rather than offering Tehran that concession, the U.S. is pressuring them to move quickly.

“So the U.S. government is saying: ’Hey, not just that we’re not going to give you these funds. As a matter of fact, we’re going to take these funds from you, and we’re going to help Gulf states to take it,” Maleki said.

Allowing Gulf states to use the frozen assets would also bolster U.S. ties there, he said. It would send a clear signal that America is sticking with its partners as they've sustained attacks and repercussions from the war.

However, Maleki said some Gulf states may be reluctant to use the funds out of concern that they could face retaliation from Iran for doing so.

___

Michelle L. Price reported from Bridgewater, New Jersey. Munir Ahmed contributed to this report from Islamabad.

Ridden by jockey Jose Ortiz from 12 lengths off the lead, Golden Tempo surged from the back of the pack to win the 158th rendition of the race. The victory came five weeks after his last-to-first charge to win the Kentucky Derby.

“Golden Tempo is amazing. Jose is amazing,” said DeVaux. “I think he needed to do this to kind of show that he was meant to win the Derby and that he is a horse that belongs in that conversation of being one of the top 3-year-olds.”

Golden Tempo held off Commandment to win by a length and a quarter at odds of 6-1. Commandment was second and favorite Renegade placed third.

“I followed them closely in the second turn,” Ortiz said. “They started to pick it up, so I did as well. I was just waiting for the right time to go all in. When I asked him to go, my horse responded.”

DeVaux, after becoming the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner, is the second in four years to do so at the Belmont. Jena Antonucci won it with Arcangelo in 2023. DeVaux is the first woman to win multiple Triple Crown races.

“It’s overwhelming,” DeVaux said. “All the credit goes to Golden Tempo, who won the race, and Jose did a wonderful job of making it happen. But I’m just so fortunate to be in this position. It’s history-making, and I’ve kind of shied away from it, but I’m really grateful that I am that person.”

DeVaux was born in Saratoga Springs and began her training career there, but she doesn’t call herself a Saratoga native. She spends most of her time in Kentucky now and said she grew up in southern Florida. But after all the support she’s received from the town, she has started to embrace it.

“Everyone is kind of calling me the hometown girl,” DeVaux said. “So that’s kind of fun. I’m going to miss our appetizer (at) Saratoga, as we call it, the ‘Bellatoga.’”

Golden Tempo was the third choice in the race. There were concerns about whether he could pull off another big comeback win in a field that included Renegade. The Todd Pletcher-trained horse finished second to Golden Tempo by a neck in the Derby.

The pace was not nearly as fast as it was at Churchill Downs, yet Golden Tempo still was able to close in time to win the 1 1/4-mile race in 2:03.49. It didn’t matter, as he was the best in the field of nine horses.

“He wasn’t going to get that setup as he did in the Derby,” Ortiz said. “We all knew that, and I was a little worried about it. He needed some kind of setup. But today, there wasn’t one and he showed up today and won.”

Golden Tempo won two-thirds of the Triple Crown after DeVaux and owners decided to bypass the Preakness. He is the second horse in as many years to win the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont after not running in the middle jewel.

“We made our decision, and we won today and we’re going to be happy about that,” DeVaux said.

This was the third and final time for the Belmont at Saratoga in upstate New York, while its traditional home on the border of Queens and Long Island is getting demolished and rebuilt. Run at 1 1/4 miles because of the track at Saratoga, the race is set to return to Belmont Park next year when it will return to its traditional 1 1/2-mile distance.

“It’s so meaningful,” DeVaux said. ”A lot of family here. Saratoga, it’s been wonderful to have such a historic race here. ... It’s so meaningful because the town gets to have this and celebrate it along with us.”

Golden Tempo paid $14 to win, $7.32 to place and $3.88 to show. Commandment paid $7.02 to show and $4.08 to place, while Renegade paid $2.52 to place.

Ortiz followed Renegade, ridden by older brother Irad, just as he did in the Derby. It worked out just the same in the first Saturday in June as the first Saturday in May.

“He was bouncing a bit today, which made me very happy because I wanted him to be a little bit sharper today,” Jose Ortiz said. “You can see him, he’s very relaxed. He does what I ask him to do. That’s the main thing.”

Co-owner Vinnie Viola dedicated the race to his late friend Dominic DiPrisco, who died Wednesday at age 70. Viola prayed to DiPrisco Saturday morning, hoping for an extra push in the Belmont Stakes.

“I know you’re in heaven, and I love you, and this race is for you,” Viola said. “It means more than I can express in words right now.”

Ortiz won the Belmont Stakes for the second time, nine years after his first aboard Tapwrit in 2017.

“We just wanted him to get better and keep winning these kinds of races,” Ortiz said. “We’re very happy with him. It’s all about him.”

___

AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno in New York contributed.

___

AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing

Kai Havertz put the four-time champions in front with a header from a free kick in the second minute but Antonee Robinson tied the score in the 37th with a left-foot volley from the top of the arc following Christian Pulisic’s corner kick.

Sané scored off a short pass from Havertz, a diagonal shot between the legs of Miles Robinson that appeared to take a slight deflection off the defender and beat goalkeeper Matt Freese to the far post.

The 16th-ranked United States has lost nine straight games to European opponents dating to 2022.

Hosting the World Cup for the first time since 1994, the Americans open against Paraguay on Friday, then play Australia and Turkey. The U.S. hadn’t lost its last match heading into a World Cup since 2002.

No. 10 Germany starts against Curaçao on June 14 in a group that includes Ivory Coast and Ecuador.

The match drew a sellout crowd of 63,636 to Soldier Field, site of the 1994 World Cup opener. Chicago refused to bid to host 2026 World Cup matches, citing what it said was a lack of financial assurances by FIFA.

The U.S. played without top defender Chris Richards, sidelined since tearing a pair of left ankle ligaments on May 17.

Germany was missing 18-year-old midfielder Lennart Karl, ruled out for the World Cup after injuring a thigh in training. Oliver Baumann started in goal as Manuel Neuer rested while recovering from a calf muscle issue.

Freese started in goal for the 15th time in 18 matches.

Die Mannschaft went ahead after Tyler Adams' foul just outside the penalty area. Joshua Kimmich's free kick was headed in by Havertz at the top of the 6-yard box for his 22nd international goal.

Robinson scored his fifth international goal after Jonathan Tah's headed clearance attempt on Pulisic's corner kick went just outside the area. Robinson celebrated with a cartwheel and a backflip.

___

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

Now he's back in much friendlier territory and took the T-Mobile Arena ice Saturday for Game 3 before a Vegas fan base that has cheered him, the roars growing louder with each postseason game.

That continued during introductions, so loud it was difficult to hear Hart's name. The only player who received a louder ovation was defenseman Brayden McNabb, back after taking a puck in his face Thursday night in Game 2.

Hart has given those fans plenty of reasons to get behind him, his play in goal a major reason why the Golden Knights are in the championship round of the playoffs. The series is 1-1.

“Just really fortunate to be here in Vegas,” Hart said. “It’s a great culture of people.”

The chants in Carolina stemmed from Hart being one of five 2018 Canadian world junior hockey players acquitted of sexual assault last July. The NHL ruled those players were eligible to sign deals beginning Oct. 15 and to play starting Dec. 1. Hart signed a two-year, $4 million contract with Vegas.

But Hart could have been suiting up on the other side. The Hurricanes considered signing him and Michael McLeod — one of the five involved in the scandal — but decided against taking such a step.

Hart entered the Stanley Cup Final playing at such a high level that he put himself in the conversation for the Conn Smythe Trophy, which goes to the NHL playoffs MVP.

He took a 12-4 playoff record into Game 1, a 2.22 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage. Against the Hurricanes, however, Hart has a 3.90 GAA and .855 save percentage.

Not all of it his fault. The Golden Knights' defense had several unusual lapses in the first two games, putting Hart in position to make some difficult saves. Even so, the expected goals against Hart and the Golden Knights was 4.47 at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick, and the Hurricanes lit the lamp six times at even strength.

Vegas coach John Tortorella again defended Hart’s play when asked how the goalie was handling the situation.

“Carter’s played very well,” Tortorella said.

Hart looked as if he would run his postseason winning streak to eight games Thursday night, taking a shutout into the final 9:40 of Game 2. But then the Hurricanes scored three times and again in overtime to win 4-3.

Now Hart and the rest of the Golden Knights will try to regroup. They are used to being in this situation, having lost Game 2 in three of the four playoff series this year, the first two at home before eliminating Utah and Anaheim each in six games.

But Vegas hasn't dealt with this kind of loss. The Golden Knights have snatched victories from other teams; this time they had it done to them.

Game 3 will tell where Hart and his teammates stand.

“It's in the past,” center William Karlsson said. “There nothing we can change, so now we just look ahead.”

___

AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Castro's celebration of his 95th birthday with top officials and military leaders at the Ministry of Interior in Havana on late Friday offered Cuba's socialist government an opportunity to close ranks and project defiance as the Trump administration escalates its pressure campaign on the fuel-starved island.

State TV broadcast footage of Castro, clad in his olive-green military uniform, entering a packed theater to a standing ovation, followed by his grandson and bodyguard, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez, and Cuban President Miguel Diáz-Canel.

Diáz-Canel delivered an effusive tribute to the “heroism and dignity" displayed by Castro and his late brother, the central figure of the Cuban revolution, Fidel Castro. He praised Raúl Castro, who served as defense minister of Cuba for nearly 50 years, for his “courage and loyalty (that) made him a target from a very early age for the intelligence services of our enemies."

In a more direct response to provocations by the Trump administration, Diaz-Canel warned that “there will be a decisive and resolute battle" if the U.S. acts on its threats to invade the island.

“Raúl is Raúl," he said, echoing the slogan that has appeared in billboards across Havana and in a flood of social media posts since the May 20 U.S. indictment of Raúl Castro on murder charges — an apparent attempt to mobilize national unity to counter the government's image of isolation. “Raúl is Cuba, and Cuba is untouchable.”

Friday's late-night celebration, two days after Castro turned 95, marked a rare public appearance for the low-profile but influential Cuban army general. Although he formally retired from politics in April 2021, Castro is believed to wield considerable political power.

The Justice Department’s indictment unsealed last month accuses Castro of ordering the 1996 shootdown of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles. It was the steepest in a series of escalations since the Trump administration all but cut off Cuba’s oil supplies in January, exacerbating the island's long-running problems like blackouts and a public health crisis.

The Trump administration demands that Cuba’s socialist government release political prisoners, implement major economic reforms and change its way of governance to avoid becoming a national security threat. Cuba has said it poses no threat to the U.S.

The explosion occurred at a home in The Overlook at Bear Creek subdivision, which is located approximately nine miles south of Fredericksburg near U.S. Highway 87.

Deputies said the cause of the explosion was likely a propane gas leak.

The explosion, which ignited just before 8:30 a.m., happened after one of the residents attempted to use the stove, GCSO said. The first sheriff’s deputy arrived on scene just before 8:40 a.m.

Both residents were rushed to San Antonio-area hospitals for further treatment.

Investigators said the home is lined with propane and electric utilities, but the source of the gas leak remains unclear at this time.

The sheriff’s office said it are working with various agencies to determine the cause of the incident and the investigation remains ongoing.

Read more:

• 2 hospitalized after house explosion in Gillespie County, fire officials say
• Gillespie County house explosion likely caused by propane gas leak, sheriff’s office says

Carlos Favela, who worked for the sheriff’s office for two years, was stopped at a checkpoint by U.S. Border Patrol officers Thursday night.

On Saturday, the sheriff’s office said Favela has since resigned from the agency.

When he was stopped, the sheriff’s office said an undocumented immigrant was inside the vehicle.

BCSO said Favela will be issued a notice of proposed dismissal, in accordance with its policies, and was placed on unpaid administrative leave pending termination.

“Of course, we have to let due process run its course, but my intention is to separate this person from the agency as soon as possible,” Salazar said. “He will never wear this uniform again.”

BCSO said Favela will be dishonorably discharged immediately, and is no longer associated with the agency.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is conducting a criminal investigation. The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office is simultaneously conducting a separate internal investigation.

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