Nope — to all of those teams.

The blaring headline in bold letters still seemed like a feverish dream to the bulk of a fan base that wasn’t even alive the last time the franchise won a title, but it’s true:

LeBron James is heading to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The NBA’s career scoring leader made the announcement on social media Friday, saying it will be his “last decision” and that it comes after he strongly considered retirement.

“I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team and I am so excited to energize a new fan base and start this incredible journey one last time,” James said.

A four-time NBA champion, James wrote he was “done” when his 23rd NBA season ended and that it was his last with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“I was pretty sure I played my last game. I was honest at that last press conference when I said I needed to look at myself and decide if I still love this game,” James wrote. “I still truly love this game, and I have more to give.”

The 41-year-old James is set to sign a modest $8 million, two-year contract on the veterans’ minimum with the Sixers, according to ESPN. He made nearly $53 million last season.

“I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family,” James wrote. “What am I really playing for at this point? I still want to sacrifice. I still want to work. I still want to grind. I still want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning.”

James celebrated his decision on Instagram with a career highlight reel set to Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill’s “Dreams and Nightmares,” the adopted sports anthem of city teams.

The video ends with the lyric, “hold up, wait a minute. Y’all thought I was finished?” and cuts to a 76ers’ logo.

Fanatics already had his No. 23 jersey on sale for $125 with delivery not expected until the end of August. The company sold out within hours of the announcement.

Much as James did for Cleveland when he ended a 56-year championship drought for the city by leading the Cavaliers to the title in 2016, he can snap a lengthy title drought for the Sixers.

The Sixers went 45-37 last season and were swept in the second round by the NBA champion New York Knicks.

Most betting sites had the Sixers as 9-1 favorites to win the championship behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks, as of Friday afternoon.

James joins a 76ers team that has not won an NBA championship since 1983 and has not advanced out of the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs since 2001.

He’s the biggest elite free-agent star to sign with a Philadelphia sports team since Bryce Harper signed a 13-year, $330 million deal with the Phillies ahead of the 2019 season. Like James, Harper was a teenager on the cover of Sports Illustrated and has long had to live up to lofty expectations at every single turn.

“He’s going to have a great couple of years here, and obviously everyone’s going to expect him to win a championship here like everywhere else,” Harper said. “So nothing new for him. He’s had all the pressure since he was in high school or younger than that.”

The 76ers should boast one of the top starting fives in the NBA with second-year standout VJ Edgecombe, fellow All-Stars Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown — the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, a five-time All-Star and the league’s fourth-leading scorer this past season acquired in a stunning offseason deal with the Celtics.

Maxey posted an Instagram story of him celebrating in a gym and yelling “what!? what?!” over the news while Brown wrote on X “#throwtheballup.” Brown wrote the same phrase in his introductory note to Philadelphia, and it has already been branded on billboards throughout the city.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro even proclaimed Friday as LeBron James Day in the state.

Turned out with the Brown deal, new 76ers team president Mike Gansey — an Ohio prep basketball star with James — was just getting started with his summer of surprises.

No move, of course, hits like James’ arrival.

Playing with his home team in Cleveland to the bright lights of Los Angeles and with the talent he took to Miami, James won an NBA championship everywhere he played. James left the Lakers after an eight-season run highlighted by the 2020 NBA title.

James is the NBA’s oldest active player at 41 and the only player in league history to have a career spanning 23 seasons; this coming season will be his 24th. Speculation has been rampant for more than two months about his future, officially starting in May when the Lakers were eliminated from the NBA playoffs.

James’ resume is beyond compare in NBA history. He’s a 22-time All-Star, a 21-time All-NBA selection, a four-time Most Valuable Player, a four-time NBA Finals MVP, a three-time All-Star Game MVP, and was a member of the NBA’s 75th anniversary team.

He’s also coming off a season where he averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game. For his career, he’s averaged 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists in more than 1,600 games.

James started his career in Cleveland in 2003 and spent seven seasons with the Cavaliers before heading to Miami for four seasons — where he won his first two NBA titles. He then returned to Cleveland for four more seasons, including that title run in 2016, and left in 2018 for the Lakers.

Cleveland and Miami were believed to be on James’ radar again as he weighed this decision.

“Thank you LA. Miami I’ll forever love and Northeast Ohio will always home!” James wrote.

He eighty-sixed them all for a shot to win a title with the 76ers, a franchise with a career lineup that includes Wilt Chamberlain, Allen Iverson, Julius Erving, Charles Barkley and, for the next two seasons, LeBron James.

___

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

Towering 407 feet (124 meters), Starship soared from the company’s base at the southern tip of Texas. NASA monitored the space-skimming flight, a critical step toward using the Starship as a lunar lander for moon crews.

The hourlong journey ended with a splashdown so soft that the spacecraft remained afloat in the Indian Ocean as the SpaceX webcast drew to a close, drawing cheers from employees back at the launch site.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX had replaced six of the 33 engines on the first-stage booster after some of them failed to ignite last week, resulting in a last-second launch abort. The previous Starship flight in May also experienced engine trouble, which prevented the booster from making a controlled return.

This time, all of the engines fired at liftoff, but not enough of them lit back up for the booster's return, causing it to descend too fast and slam into the Gulf of Mexico. The spacecraft continued soaring eastward, popping out the Starlinks one by one 124 miles (200 kilometers) up before reentering.

It was the 13th flight of the world’s biggest and most powerful rocket, and the second this year of the new version dubbed V3. Like the previous demo, neither the booster nor spacecraft was meant to be saved, instead plunging into the sea.

The stainless steel, retro-looking spacecraft hovered upright over the Indian Ocean before lowering into the water, more than 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) from where the flight began.

It was the best reentry yet, according to SpaceX, with the intact booster floating amid just a few flames. Previous flights ended with the spacecraft engulfed in flames and exploding at splashdown — or rupturing in midair.

“We're really pumped about this,” said SpaceX engineer Kate Tice, calling it “lucky flight 13.”

The Starlinks accomplished all their jobs before reentering over the Indian Ocean.

After being ejected from the Starship’s Pez-like dispenser, the Starlinks had just 20 minutes to communicate via lasers and radio before reentering. SpaceX said its engineers made contact and even downloaded data from each one. With more than 10,000 Starlinks currently providing internet, SpaceX boasts the world’s largest satellite constellation.

Six of the newly launched Starlinks carried cameras that photographed Starship’s heat shield at flight's end, beaming back amazingly crisp shots even as the spacecraft bobbed in the ocean. The heat shield was also equipped with sensors to measure the extreme pressure placed on the spacecraft during launch. Most of the heat shield’s thermal tiles were black, but some were deliberately painted white to simulate missing tiles, part of an experiment to test the shield’s robustness.

"We got all the heat shield data we needed and then some!" Musk said on X.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman offered congratulations. “Excited for what will be learned from this mission,” Isaacman noted on X.

SpaceX wants to make sure Starship’s heat shield can withstand the heat of entry before trying to return it to the Starbase launch pad near the Texas-Mexico border. The company already has used a pair of giant mechanical arms at the pad to capture a Starship booster. The company plans to do the same with the actual spacecraft, which is designed to be totally reusable.

NASA needs Starship to wrap up testing and reach orbit soon so the Artemis III astronauts — three Americans and one Italian — can practice docking their capsule with it next year.

Starship is also the vehicle with which Musk intends to build a city on Mars. He's already booking tourist trips to Mars, as well as the moon.

The latest test flight was delayed first by the July 16 launch abort, then again on Thursday by thick clouds from Tropical Storm Bertha.

___

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

He assured the crowd of journalists, though, that he'd scrapped the most biting parts of his remarks.

“That was going to be a doozy,” Trump said about the speech he’d been prepared to give in April, before a gunman upended the original dinner and forced its postponement.

“As I said three months ago, the show must go on,” the president said to begin his remarks, hailing the decision to reschedule the dinner. He referred to “the attempted mass murder” that could have happened that night in April, but then moved largely to humor — and insults.

Trump's return to the correspondents' dinner — and his promise to come back next year as well — represented a notable moment in his relationship with the news media, which he has attacked, sued and taken administrative action against since he took office for his second term early last year. Among the audience members were reporters he had sanctioned and barred from events.

Trump’s sometimes off-color speech, which lasted more than an hour, was full of vague potshots directed at individuals he doesn’t like — from actress Jane Fonda to rock legend Bruce Springsteen to “Barack Hussein Obama.”

Among other targets of Trump’s pointed humor: Late-night talk show hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel; Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; California Gov. Gavin Newsom; former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; and Trump's own speechwriters, whose jokes he sometimes criticized even as he delivered them. Some of the comments flirted with racism.

The president also spent some time expressing pride in the ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, formerly the Trump International Hotel. “It’s great to be back at a place that I know very well because I built it,” Trump said.

Trump also made reference to the journalism awards that had been handed out earlier in the evening, most of them for stories challenging him and his administration. “Do I have a say in those awards?” he asked with a grimace.

He made a brief mention of the Iran war and several remarks about the ballroom he is building at the White House. He also used the occasion to joke about the possibility he would serve a third term — something barred by the U.S. Constitution's 22nd Amendment.

“Just like my presidency, the second time is always better,” the president quipped. “And the third time will be better yet.”

He added: “I’m only kidding.” Then, at the end, he donned a red cap that said “Trump 2028” and delivered the “scoop” that he was running again.

It was a very different dinner than the previous one

Earlier, Trump had entered the ballroom to polite applause, and was thanked for his support by outgoing White House Correspondents’ Association president Weijia Jiang of CBS News. After dinner, he then sat through more than an hour of awards presentations.

One of the winners, Tyler Pager of the New York Times, was in fact one of the reporters who had been subpoenaed by Trump’s Justice Department over his reporting about Trump’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet. Those subpoenas were withdrawn on Thursday in a New York courtroom — just one of the arenas where the president, in his second term, has been seeking to control media coverage that displeases him.

The rescheduled dinner was taking place at a smaller venue this time that held only about 700 people. Security was markedly tighter. Guests entered via a single entrance, through two ID checks and past a detection dog, armed officers and security guards. There was no red carpet and no separate cocktail receptions preceding the dinner.

“Let’s try this again,” Jiang quipped, welcoming the crowd. The White House press corps, she noted, “always have a follow-up.” Turning serious, she referred back to the trauma and confusion of the original dinner in April.

“Tonight our message is this: We are back,” she said. “We will not be intimidated. We refuse to let an act of violence have the final word.”

Early in his speech, Trump signaled that he had decided to tone it down. But he kept some zingers. Like this one, to the media-heavy audience: “This is really the largest group of ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ people put together at one time.”

People received awards for bravery during April shooting

Besides the pared-down approach, there was another change at Friday’s dinner: two additional awards. One was presented to Victor Gonzales, the Secret Service agent who was staffing a security checkpoint in April and was struck in his protective vest.

Gonzales “placed himself directly in harm’s way and engaged the armed suspect,” Jiang said. “He stayed in the fight and the attacker was stopped.”

A second award was presented to the staff of the Washington Hilton hotel, site of the first dinner, who were hailed for their professionalism under pressure.

The dress code this time was a looser “black tie optional,” and dinner included grilled peach and burrata salad, lobster and beef Wellington. The evening, as at the last dinner, featured entertainment by mentalist Oz Pearlman — who this time got the chance to do his act..

Jiang and her fellow board members had worked hard to bring about this WHCA dinner 2.0, not wanting to let a violent act — or the image of colleagues hiding under tables — remain the final thought. Announcing the rescheduling, she emphasized the dinner’s stated purpose: “A celebration of a free press and the vital role of journalism in our democracy for over a century.”

There’s still lots of criticism of the event

But it’s also clear that some people felt the dinner should not be rescheduled at all.

Many never thought it was much of a good look in the first place, with the sight of journalists in formal wear cozying up to their sources, or the objects of their reporting.

“It undermines the public faith in how the press does its work, and it makes it look like we are pals with the people we cover,” Kelly McBride, an ethics expert at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank, said when the deliberations were taking place.

The new dinner came during a time of fast-increasing tension between the media and a president who, in his second term, has tried to exert pressure on media outlets he is unhappy with in a variety of ways. That pressure has ranged from sanctions against members of the White House press corps to regulatory actions through the Federal Communications Commission to outright lawsuits. Those tensions have only escalated since April.

Trump, though, ended with an attempt to mend fences — to a point. “I have a lot of respect for your profession,” he told the assembled journalists after an hour of speaking. He also touted his own success, and declared: “When I'm not around, you're all gonna be broke.”

And he concluded about the evening: “I didn't know what to expect. It's far worse than I originally thought.”

___

Jocelyn Noveck covers the intersection of media and entertainment for The Associated Press.

Kaepernick and rock star Bruce Springsteen were honored Friday night with the ACLU Ralph Ellison Award for Defenders of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in the Arts, Business, Science and Sports. The honor comes a decade after Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem in protest against police violence and racial inequality.

“We know our civil liberties are under attack, we know humanity is under attack, education is under attack. They are trying to encroach on our rights, encroach on our dignity, encroach on the future that we want to build together,” Kaepernick said in his acceptance speech. “When we look back at this moment, it will not be the speeches that change the direction of history. It's going to be whether we decided: Are we going to build the schools or not? Are we going to defend the rights of others, or are we going to watch? Are we going to build community together, or are we going to stand in isolation?

“The consequences of these decisions are going to be the reality that the future generations inherit.”

Kaepernick was joined in protest by teammate Eric Reid and others, but he also drew criticism from politicians, team owners and other players. Kaepernick and Reid filed collusion grievances against the NFL in 2017, saying they were blacklisted. They reached a settlement in 2019.

“He demonstrated in real time the price America too often exacts from those who challenge racial injustice," said Deborah Archer, the ACLU's president. “His peaceful protest was met with extraordinary personal sacrifice. He lost the career he spent his life building. He became the target of criticism, hostility and relentless public attack, and yet he never retreated.”

Springsteen — who closed the event with a solo rendition of “Streets of Minneapolis” — and Kaepernick were honored as part of an awards ceremony hosted by actress Laverne Cox.

“It's important for us to recognize all of the people who are contributing to the fight to protect civil rights and civil liberties,” Archer said. “Those folks — actors, athletes — these folks have all shown up in incredibly powerful ways.”

___

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

The 26-year-old Richardson got off to a slow start but quickly made up time, finishing in 10.77 seconds to breeze past training partner Kayla White and win by 0.13 seconds at Icahn Stadium.

“It feels phenomenal to be back in a better place — healthy, mentally, physically, emotionally," Richardson, who battled injuries last year, said in an interview with Peacock after the race. “It shows that hard work pays off."

Lyles, the reigning Olympic champion, was trailing early but quickly caught up to the field — and then blew right by them. He matched his personal-best time by finishing in 9.79 seconds. The 32-year-old Ronnie Baker took second and Kenny Bednarek finished third.

“I did what I do,” Lyles said in a postrace interview. “There’s no better rush than (winning). It’s my natural high. That’s my vice. Winning, running fast, that feeling of flying, that feeling of being better than everybody in the world — you can't get that around here, only around me.”

Lyles celebrated after the race by signing a trading card with his image on it. He planned to give it to a “special fan,” he said. This was his third national title in the 100.

It's been quite a stretch for Lyles, who got married in April. He also recently attended a FIFA World Cup game, where he posed for photos with Jamaican great Usain Bolt.

Lyles is gearing up for world championships next season and then the 2028 LA Olympics.

“Shoot, I was just playing around this year," Lyles said. “I’m scared for y’all next year. I am real scared. Because you all ain’t going to have this nice Noah who goes around and just thinks that it’s all lollygagging and good. Next year I've got plans. I got places to run fast."

Richardson stuck around for the men’s race, sitting on the grass with her spikes off as her partner, Christian Coleman, competed. Coleman was fourth.

She's rounding into the form that led to a gold medal in the 100 at the 2023 world championships and silver at the 2024 Paris Games.

“Just really remembering who I am and just knowing that consistency and just being determined to be better," said Richardson, who won her third 100 national title.

Erin Marsh used a strong 800-meter race to eclipse Timara Chapman by 38 points to win the heptathlon. Marsh, the sister of Philadelphia All-Star outfielder Brandon Marsh, finished with 6,059 points.

Garrett Scantling edged Kyle Garland by 95 points to take the decathlon crown. Euphenie Andre won the women's triple jump, Tyus Wilson took the men's high jump title and Annette Echikunwoke the women's hammer throw. Nick Christie won the men's race walk half marathon and Lauren Harris the women's race.

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Xavier Isiah Gutierrez, 21, impersonated another inmate with the first name “Xavier,” who was scheduled to be released from custody, the sheriff’s office said in a Wednesday news release.

On Wednesday, the sheriff’s office said Gutierrez pulled off his escape on Sunday.

However, a Friday update from HCSO and jail records confirm Gutierrez left the jail one day earlier than initially reported — July 18.

At the time of the July 18 escape, HCSO said Gutierrez was jailed for a felony theft case in Brazoria County and an evading arrest warrant out of Pearland.

Deputies said Gutierrez posed as another inmate, Zavier Aldaco, who was scheduled to be released from custody. Gutierrez was released in Aldaco’s place.

In its Friday update, the sheriff’s office said it obtained a warrant Wednesday before tracking down and arresting Gutierrez at a home in Guadalupe County. Gutierrez was taken into custody without incident.

In addition to charges from Pearland and Brazoria County, officials said Gutierrez is now facing an escaping while under arrest charge, which is considered a third-degree felony. Jail records show his combined bond on three charges has since been raised to $50,000.

The sheriff’s office said Wednesday it is reviewing the incident and is “committed to identifying any necessary improvements to its procedures and safeguards” to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

HCSO said its investigation remains ongoing.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• Suspect escapes from Hays County Jail after posing as another inmate, sheriff’s office says

Krystine Chaffin from ACS spoke with KSAT on Friday about the overcrowding. She said it’s the result of several factors, including the annual summer increase in stray animals, flood-related rescue calls following last week’s storms and recent animal cruelty investigations.

She said there are animals for everyone.

“We have puppies, kittens, cats, dogs, all breeds,” Chaffin said.

She said the shelter is not housing pets displaced by the flood that swept the area last week. Instead, officers responded to several technical rescues involving animals trapped in flooded drainage ditches and rising water, adding to an already crowded shelter.

The shelter’s population also increased after recent animal cruelty investigations. One of those cases occurred Thursday, when authorities seized 30 dogs from a home on La Charca Drive near Cerro Vista. Chaffin said those dogs were brought to Animal Care Services and are filling up a lot of space.

“We did everything we possibly could to make sure we reduced euthanasia,” Chaffin said.

Because the dogs are part of an active cruelty investigation, they must remain at the shelter while the legal process plays out, occupying valuable kennel space that cannot immediately be used for incoming animals.

Chaffin said that is why they are asking the community to help create space through adoptions and fostering.

“Essentially, we are desperate for our community to step forward,” Chaffin said. “If a pet has been here over 24 hours longer than it needed to, that’s still critical for us.”

Animal Care Services is waiving all adoption fees through Sunday. Adopted pets will be spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped at no charge. However, you must go through the full pet screening and adoption or foster application process.

Read also:

• Free and low-cost spay, neuter options available for San Antonio pet owners

Port Aransas police responded around 5:35 p.m. to Beach Marker 46 after receiving reports that a child had been pulled from the water and was not breathing.

A Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game warden began CPR on the child before Port Aransas police arrived. The child was taken to the hospital, where they later died, the police department said.

Police said the child’s grandparents lost sight of the child while getting ready to leave the beach. The child was later found in the water.

“This tragedy serves as a heartbreaking reminder that young children can disappear from sight in only moments, and constant, uninterrupted supervision around the water is essential,” Chief James Stokes said.

The police department said the drowning remains under investigation in coordination with the Nueces County Medical Examiner.

The Port Aransas Police Department encourages all beach visitors to practice water safety by:

• Maintaining constant arm’s-length supervision of young children
• Ensuring children who cannot swim wear a properly fitted U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket whenever they are near or in the water
• Never relying solely on flotation devices as a substitute for adult supervision
• Designating a responsible adult to actively watch children whenever they are in or around the water

Read also:

• 5 released from hospital after head-on crash in north Bexar County, BCSO says
• State investigators uncover alleged fraud, mail theft ring at Northwest Side apartment

In a Facebook post, the department identified the suspect as Luis Barrios, 36. According to Bexar County court records, he faces one count of aggravated robbery.

Another suspect in the case, identified as 57-year-old Omar Resendez-Diaz, was taken into custody Wednesday and also charged with aggravated robbery, records show.

The robbery happened July 18, just before 11 a.m., in the 6900 block of North Loop 1604 East.

Barrios and Resendez-Diaz allegedly entered a Security Service Federal Credit Union, held an employee at gunpoint and stole items from customers, SAPD said.

Following the robbery, authorities said Barrios and Resendez-Diaz fled in a vehicle that was later found abandoned on Nacogdoches Road.

The vehicle had been reported stolen in an aggravated robbery on July 17, and the suspects’ clothing in that case matched the clothing worn by one of the credit union robbery suspects, officials said.

Barrios was booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on a $500,000 bond, records indicate.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• Affidavit: Man arrested in connection with armed robbery at Northeast Side credit union
• SAPD: Masked, armed suspects rob credit union on Northeast Side, flee with ‘large amount’ of cash

Officers responded to the shooting around 9:15 p.m. Wednesday in the 1800 block of East Sonterra Boulevard, near the U.S. Highway 281 access road.

According to police, an unknown number of people pulled up in a vehicle next to the man and fired at least 12 shots before the vehicle sped off.

“Right now, detectives are actively investigating to solve that case,” SAPD officer Emily Garvin said. “It seems to be isolated. It is part of the investigation, but we would just advise the community that if you see something, definitely say something.”

The victim, a 26-year-old man, was hit at least five times. Police said he was shot in the arm, abdomen and chest.

He was rushed to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries and is alive as of Friday evening.

Police are not sure how many people are responsible for the shooting.

“We don’t have a specific type of vehicle or a certain color of the vehicle, but we would just say to just be cognizant, know of the people that live in your surrounding areas,” Garvin said.

Anyone with video of the shooting is asked to contact the SAPD Homicide Department at 210-207-7635.

Read also:

• State investigators uncover alleged fraud, mail theft ring at Northwest Side apartment
• 11 indicted in connection with deaths of 7 migrants packed in sealed train container in South Texas
• Escapee arrested in Guadalupe County after posing as another inmate at Hays County Jail, HCSO says

Firefighters and authorities in both European countries were caught off guard by the virulence of the fires, which were fueled by high temperatures and the long-term effects of climate change. Firefighters in Spain admitted the fires were so fast and violent that they could not be tackled head on. Some people even fled by boat when flames swept through the touristic area on France’s Atlantic coast.

Some 141,000 fled homes in the Gironde and Landes departments in France, the French interior ministry said. In central Spain, 60,000 were forced from their homes, according to the Spanish interior ministry.

Dozens of French firefighters were injured, authorities said, but no deaths were reported in either country despite the scenes of panic as townsfolk fled by car and police went door to door to tell people to leave as large plumes of smoke rose from the neighboring woodlands.

Wildfire headed toward Bordeaux

France’s Interior minister Laurent Nunez said that the large wildfire that ravaged large swaths of land in southwestern France is heading toward the city of Bordeaux.

Speaking to French TV channel Tf1, Nunez said the wildfire that earlier in the day forced the evacuation of the Cap Ferret peninsula has swept across 140 square kilometers, with 110,000 people fleeing their homes in the Gironde region.

“We learned in the middle of the afternoon that, following the wind shift, it had become a large, self-sustaining fire that is extremely difficult to bring under control,” Nunez said. “It is now moving east, toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area. We are going to reorganize our response so we can fight it from the ground and prevent it from advancing toward Bordeaux.”

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has asked the Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to activate the government’s crisis response unit, and has instructed the armed forces to mobilize in order to provide the maximum possible reinforcement to the civilian emergency services.

“This fire that we have been living with and fighting against here in Gironde for three days has reached an unprecedented magnitude," Sophie Brocas, the Nouvelle Aquitaine Prefect, said. “To combat it, we will receive extremely significant national reinforcements.”

The blaze started on Wednesday near Cap Ferret peninsula on France’s Atlantic coast, located 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Bordeaux. Local authorities in the Gironde department said 53 homes and a campsite were destroyed, adding that 42 firefighters were injured. Around 1,500 people who fled the peninsula arrived by sea in the city of Arcachon, some aboard small water taxis and others on larger boats.

“It’s quite impressive and even frightening," said Laurent Moretti, a resident in the town of Arès. “An evacuation on this scale has never happened before. All we really hope is that the firefighters can quickly get it under control.”

A separate wildfire broke out in Landes, causing 31,000 evacuations. Authorities believe the causes of both fires in France were accidental.

More than 20,000 people had already been evacuated from towns and vacation resorts on Thursday, but that number exploded on Friday as both France and Spain asked fellow European Union members for help.

Macron said France will receive EU reinforcements including two Croatian Canadair firefighting aircraft, two Portuguese Air Tractor aircraft, and two heavy-lift Black Hawk helicopters from the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said that Italy and Greece are each sending two Canadair water-dumping airplanes, while a thousand Spanish soldiers helped firefighting efforts.

Spain struggles to tackle multiple fires amid a heatwave

In Spain, the government declared a national emergency for wildfires for the first time as the blazes in Madrid and the nearby province of Ávila prompted the evacuation of some 60,000 people from towns west of the capital.

“I want to send a message of support to the thousands of families who face a difficult night ahead,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who will visit the fire-ravaged area on Saturday, wrote on X.

The fires are being fanned by a heat wave with temperatures expected to top 39 degrees Celsius (102 Fahrenheit).

Two major fires near Madrid merged into one single blaze that had quickly charred 30 square kilometers (11.5 square miles) by Friday afternoon. Regional President Isabel Díaz-Ayuso called it the worst in Madrid's history.

Francisco Martín, the central government representative for the region of Madrid, said that another 20,000 people had been ordered to shelter at home. Martín said more evacuations could be coming and that the priority now was to protect the town of San Lorenzo, the home of the Escorial, Philip II's 16th-century royal palace and monastery.

Meanwhile, a blaze in Ávila, less than two hours northwest of Madrid, consumed 90 square kilometers (34 square miles). Spain's Civil Guard arrested one man and is investigating another for allegedly having used heavy machinery in an area where it was prohibited for fire risk. Police believe a spark ignited the fire on Thursday.

“All around the town was smoke and fire, I was scared. Everything was fire and smoke, people were nervous,” 33-year-old Joaquin Espinosa said before he and his neighbors were evacuated from the village of Chapinería.

Devastating summer for fires in Spain

In one week, Spain has had the worst fires on record for both the regions of Castilla La Mancha and Madrid.

Firefighters were still trying to extinguish Spain’s second-largest ever fire in the Guadalajara province of Castilla La Mancha after it had destroyed some 320 square kilometers (120 square miles) over the last week. Thirteen people were also killed in a fire in southern Spain earlier this month, the deadliest fire in recent memory for Spain.

Spanish Minister for the Ecological Transition Sara Aagesen said that Spain has seen 1,140 square kilometers (440 square miles) already burned this year, more than five times the burned terrain it had through the first half of 2025.

Spain has experienced record temperatures in recent summers and forest fires of increasing violence.

Wildfire analyst Raúl Quílez said that besides the impact of climate change, Spain’s rural areas have become more exposed to fires with the abandonment of farmlands that traditionally provided buffer zones around villages. Now, he said, trees and undergrowth often reach right to homes, putting them in harm’s way.

"That makes a perfect cocktail for this type of fires,” Quílez told The Associated Press by phone from Valencia, where he works as an analyst for regional firefighters.

___

Alicia León in Chapinería, Spain, contributed to this story. Petrequin reported from Paris. Wilson reported from Barcelona, Spain.

Fudd, the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft by Dallas, scored 30 points in the finals to top Portland's Bridget Carleton.

“I was shocked, that’s crazy to be the first is definitely an honor,” Fudd said of being the first rookie to win.

Fudd's 30-point effort was tied for the second-most ever, equaling Sabrina Ionescu and Allie Quigley's total. Ionescu holds the record, scoring 37 points in 2023.

Fudd hit her first six shots in the finals to get into rhythm. Carleton, from the expansion Fire, had 29 points in the opening round, but struggled in the finals, scoring 19 points.

Fresh off her victory, Fudd issued a playful request for a rematch with Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry. The two had a 3-point competition when Fudd went to his camp when she was in high school.

“I mean Steph if you’re listening, I'm asking for a rematch,” Fudd said.

The 3-point competition capped off the Friday night festivities. Elena Delle Donne, Shakira Austin and high schooler Jezelle Banks led team Washington to the Shooting Stars championship to tipoff the action. The trio scored 31 points to edge Seattle’s three in the finals, with Banks hitting two of the 4-point shots from just inside halfcourt to put the team over the top.

“She carried. She carried,” Austin said of Banks. “You could just tell in her energy, like as soon as we started, like it was confidence and I think that showed in how she hit those tough shots.”

In the 3-point competition, Carleton had a stellar first-round, scoring 29 points. She hit 13 of her first 16 shots. Fudd also had a great opening round, scoring 24 points. She made four of her final five shots. That carried over to the finals.

Carleton’s hot shooting in the opening round brought the crowd, which included Jayson Tatum, Russell Westbrook, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, Dwyane Wade and Sheryl Swoopes, to its feet.

Other players in 3-point contest were Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard, who scored 20 points, Golden State’s Janelle Salaun, who had 19 points; Toronto’s Marina Mabrey, who had 18 and Minnesota’s Natisha Heideman, who had 17.

In the Shooting Stars competition, Seattle had 24 points to finish as runner-up after missing all of the team’s 4-point shots.

This was the first year that the contest was conducted. A skills competition was done in previous All-Star weekends. The format was a two-round, timed shooting competition in which teams had 70 seconds to score as many points as possible from seven shooting locations around the court. The competition featured shots ranging from a layup to the 4-pointer.

Washington had the highest score in the preliminary round, posting 35 points. Once again, Banks hit 4-point shots to help her team reach the championship round.

Seattle’s squad needed to beat the 20 points that the Detroit/Dallas team put up to advance to the finals. High schooler Tatianna Griffin hit two of the 4-point shots to help Seattle reach the finals. Minnesota finished in fourth with 19 points with a team of Courtney Williams, Rebbekah Brunson and Ryan Carter.

Detroit/Dallas had former Shock great Deanna Nolan, Wings All-Star Jessica Shepard and high schooler Morghan Reckley.

The new CBA gave Fudd $20,000 for winning the 3-point contest and each participant received $10,000. That’s about eight-times last season’s prize money.

Each shooting stars winner received $15,000. Each competitor, not including the high school players, will receive $7,500. Last year, the winners of the skills contest each received $2,575 from the WNBA.

In addition Aflac, like it has the past two years, gave extra money to the winners. Fudd took home $40,000 for winning the 3-point contest. Carleton received $30,000 for finishing second and Howard got $15,000 for placing third.

Team Washington got $40,000 from Aflac with Seattle receiving $32,500 and Dallas $12,500.

___

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

In a statement, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said it is a coordinated reopening of the port in Douglas, Arizona, that will occur in phases beginning Aug. 24. It is also contingent on Mexico adhering to a joint action plan between the countries in response to the New World screwworm.

Rollins said the closure was previously necessary to protect the livestock industry. As of Friday, there has been 42 cases in the U.S., all but one of which has been reported in Texas.

“The closure of the Southern ports of entry for the last year has been a tough but necessary action to control the spread of the NWS in Mexico,” Rollins said. “Thanks to the work of the federal government as well as state, local, and industry partners, it is now safe to reopen the Douglas, Arizona, port in 30 days to resume the hundreds year old movement of cattle.”

According to the USDA, Sonora and Chihuahua have a strong animal health infrastructure program and are considered the lowest-risk Mexican states for the screwworm. The U.S. will be working with them on the reopening.

In a statement, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller thanked Rollins for responding to his call to reopen the U.S.-Mexico border to import cattle. Miller said he is still concerned about the New World screwworm, but the decision should have been made sooner.

“Resuming cattle importation from Mexico is the right move for ranchers and American consumers,” Miller said. “The prolonged closure has already taken a toll on producers, disrupted supply chains, and created uncertainty that could have lasting consequences for the cattle industry.”

In the same statement, Miller also criticized the USDA’s response to the screwworm, saying it hasn’t gone far enough. Miller said producers have paid the price as a result.

“The USDA has spent more than a year reacting instead of getting ahead of the problem,” Miller said. “We cannot afford to rely on half-measures when billions of dollars in livestock production are on the line.”

The USDA closed all southern ports of entry to livestock imports from Mexico in May 2025, and they have remained closed since then. This has prevented cattle from being legally imported into the U.S. from Mexico.

Colleen DeGuzman contributed to this story.

Eleven girls from Girl Scout Troop 702 will travel to New York City from July 25-28, a trip they funded largely through Girl Scout cookie sales.

The troop has spent the past three years working toward the experience, selling about 8,000 boxes of cookies each year.

“We had our goal and we reached our goal, and now we get to go to New York,” said Bella Lozano, who is entering eighth grade at St. Matthew’s Catholic School and has been a Girl Scout for seven years.

For many of the girls, it will be their first visit to New York City. Lozano said she’s most excited to see a Broadway show and learn more about American history.

“We all have our history lessons, so the history that happened in New York was, I think, really eye-catching to us,” she said.

The itinerary also includes visits to the Statue of Liberty and the National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum.

“I’m most looking forward to the Statue of Liberty because I think it’s a key monument for our country,” Ava Barrera said.

Julianna Reyes said visiting the 9/11 Memorial will be especially meaningful.

“It’s a way to honor all the people who helped get people to safety and to remember everyone who sadly died,” she said.

Along the way, the girls say selling cookies has taught them lessons that extend far beyond business.

“I’ve learned how much it means to be a leader and how it means to work as a group,” Maeve Tynan said.

The scouts also credited patience, a positive attitude and confidence for helping them meet their fundraising goal.

“Anything is possible,” Barrera said. “We never gave up.”

Read also:

• San Antonio exhibit highlights rancheras’ overlooked role in the American Revolution
• America250: Spanish Governor’s Palace offers glimpse into San Antonio’s overlooked role in America’s founding
• Daughters of the American Revolution members preserve history, honor veterans in San Antonio

Whitmer remains popular in the battleground state, where she has twice won by substantial margins, and her endorsement gives Stevens a significant boost a day before early in-person voting begins. Whitmer also has history with El-Sayed, whom she defeated in the 2018 Democratic primary for governor.

The second-term governor appeared with Stevens and South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn in Detroit on Friday, repeating her endorsement in front of more than 100 people at a Teamsters hall. She said Steven has “what it takes to win.”

"Michiganders need a fighter in Washington and there are few leaders with more fight in ’em than Haley Stevens,” Whitmer said, who left the event without taking questions from reporters.

Stevens has pitched herself as a Democrat who has won tough elections, including flipping a Republican-held House seat. She has been backed by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, a two-term Democrat who is retiring from the seat.

She's in a tight race for the Democratic nomination against El-Sayed, a progressive whose supporters include Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen.

“The corporate establishment has closed ranks and made their pick – now, Michigan voters will get to make theirs,” said Roxie Richner, a spokesperson for El-Sayed.

The winner of the Aug. 4 primary will face Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers in November for a critical, battleground Senate seat. Democrats are hoping to flip the Senate in November, and Michigan remains a key part of their plan.

Stevens is a four-term congresswoman from the Detroit area. Her candidacy has benefited from tens of millions in spending by outside political groups, including nearly $30 million from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which supports pro-Israel candidates.

El-Sayed, who accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, has criticized Stevens for taking money from AIPAC.

Whitmer is a term-limited governor who isn’t on the ballot this fall, though she has been mentioned as a possible 2028 presidential candidate. She is the best-known politician in Michigan.

Whitmer had long weighed the decision. Stevens’ success winning in a competitive district, including converting the GOP-held seat for Democrats in 2018, was among the factors in the endorsement, according to a person who was familiar with the governor’s deliberations but was not authorized to discuss private conversations and spoke on condition of anonymity.

In one exchange in early January 2024, D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, apologizes for “putting her through this.”

“It’s okay,” she said in a text, “neither of us are capable of watching and taking care of the baby. it’s for the best no?”

He later apologizes again before asking if it’s his, and she replies, “of course it’s yours David.”

The testimony came during a preliminary hearing where a judge will decide if Burke should go on trial in Rivas Hernandez's killing. Prosecutors are seeking to prove Burke began sexually abusing Rivas Hernandez when she was 13 and he was 18, then stabbed her to death when she threatened to reveal their long sexual history and crater a career that had earned him millions.

They allege he dismembered the body in his garage, and a police analyst testified in the preliminary hearing that samples pulled from apparent blood stains there matched Rivas Hernandez's DNA. Her body was discovered in the trunk of a Tesla that had been towed from the Hollywood Hills in September, nearly five months after authorities said she was killed. The Tesla was registered to Burke.

Burke has pleaded not guilty to murder, sexual abuse of a child and mutilation of a body, and his lawyers have said he is innocent.

Prosecution gives evidence of sexual abuse

Prosecutors spent Friday afternoon detailing the nature of the relationship between Burke and Rivas Hernandez. Photos of the two of them kissing and lying in bed were shown in court. The pictures showed that she had “David” tattooed in red ink on a finger — one of two that had been cut off when her body was found.

Then Los Angeles police detective Corey Farrell described one-by-one more than three dozen photos of the two of them that could not be shown in court because they depicted explicit sexual abuse. Rivas Hernandez was 13 and 14 in the photos.

Rivas Hernandez’s mother began crying and her father looked down as the detective began describing the images.

Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman came over to comfort the mother, Mercedes Martinez, and the couple got up and left the courtroom.

The images were recovered from his iPhone that was seized during a search of his home. The text message conversations taken from his iCloud account often discussed contraception and pregnancy, and in early January 2024, they discuss the abortion.

Tension rises between Burke and Rivas Hernandez

In a text conversation months later, she says she regretted that she “took a innocent life of a literal baby.”

She asks Burke if anyone knows they have sex, and he replied “nope and i want to keep it that way until we married.”

Rivas Hernandez turned 14 in September 2024 and soon after traveled with Burke to London and to Texas to meet his family.

Messages after that show tension growing between them.

In one text in November 2024, she says: “i literally had sex with you for almost a year straight.” He tells her she's acting like it's their first breakup when it's their eighth.

The detective returns to the stand Monday for the fifth and likely final day of the preliminary hearing.

Autopsy doctor details results of exam

Earlier in the day, the doctor who performed the autopsy on Rivas Hernandez gave the difficult details of her death.

Much of what Dr. Grant Ho of the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner said on the stand was already known: She had been killed by two sharp force wounds to her upper body.

But the details he shared of what the autopsy showed — and tellingly, what it was unable to determine because of how degraded her body was when it was found — were part of what made Friday's proceedings perhaps the most difficult so far.

Ho testified that he could not say when the death occurred — one of many challenges brought on by the body's degradation.

“It’s extremely difficult to tell,” Ho said.

He said she had been dead for “at least weeks,” later adding that it also could have been months.

Authorities say Burke sent a car to pick up Rivas Hernandez on April 23, 2025, from her hometown of Lake Elsinore, California, some 80 miles (129 km) outside Los Angeles. They exchanged messages until she arrived at his home, after which her phone went dead.

Her body was found in the front trunk of the Tesla registered to Burke on Sept. 8, 2025 — the day after she would have turned 15.

“She didn’t make it to her 15th birthday, correct?” Silverman asked. “Correct,” Ho replied.

Ho said there were many “skin defects” that could have been postmortem, but the two he identified as potential stab wounds had related internal trauma. One wound on the abdomen penetrated her liver. Another, on the left chest, damaged her ribs.

Defense seizes on inconclusive drug test

He testified that toxicology tests, done only on her liver because no blood was available, initially showed positives for benzodiazepines — medications typically used for anxiety — and methamphetamine. He said with further testing the benzodiazepine was negative. The methamphetamine was inconclusive, and as a result Ho said “I cannot say that it played any role in the death.”

Burke's attorney, Marilyn Bednarski, asked if decomposition could affect the accuracy of drug test results, and Ho agreed it could.

“In the toxicology report there is not enough information to support an overdose death, correct?” Bednarski asked. Ho said she was correct.

Bednarski asked if it helps in an autopsy examination to talk to the friends and family of the deceased about their life — if they had a mental health issue, were suicidal, were a frequent drug user or were violent.

Ho answered “potentially” to each of those but said there were no such conversations in this case.

Burke's music career was on the rise

Under the name D4vd (pronounced “David”), became an online musical phenomenon as a teen with a blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. He had huge followings on TikTok, Soundcloud and Spotify, where his top songs, including his 2022 breakthrough “Romantic Homicide,” have more than a billion plays.

He opened for SZA on tour in 2023 and in 2024 he played the Coachella music festival and released his first full-length album, “Withered,” two days after when authorities say Rivas Hernandez was killed.

“We can now confirm that the substance found in Lorenzo Salgado’s van was not a narcotic or any other illicit substance,” Garcia said on social media, without revealing the source of the information. “As his family has said all along, this was an electrolyte powder to stay hydrated working outside in the hot Texas summer. The attempt to cast a shadow over Lorenzo Salgado’s name has failed.”

District Attorney Sean Teare’s Office said in a statement that it was not commenting on the test results — which have not been publicly released by the FBI —  but that it also has “been notified that lab testing of the substance found in Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s van was negative for narcotics/ illicit drugs.”

Ruby Powers, a Houston immigration attorney who is representing Victor Hugo Salgado Araujo, Lorenzo’s brother, said the Texas Department of Public Safety, which tested the substance, told Salgado Araujo’s family the preliminary test results show it wasn’t an illegal drug. 

Powers added the full lab results will come Monday.

“An unproven claim was allowed to circulate before it was tested, and the way it was made public did real damage, diverting attention from what actually matters in this case. Lorenzo was shot, and no lab report answers for that,” Powers said.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas said it does not have “any additional information to provide at this time,” and DPS spokesperson Sheridan Nolen said the agency is not commenting on the investigation since it’s ongoing. The FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which are investigating the shooting, didn’t immediately respond to emails from The Texas Tribune seeking comment.

Last week, the FBI, in an affidavit seeking a search warrant, wrote that an agent spotted plastic bags inside Salgado Araujo’s van and suspected that they contained methamphetamine. 

FBI Special Agent David McNeilly, who filed the search warrant application, wrote in the affidavit the three “small clear plastic bags are consistent with how users of drugs package controlled substances for distribution, manufacturing, and possession.”

The application for the search warrant was made public a day after it was filed in court on Tuesday — unusually fast for federal agents, who don’t typically publicize such information before a search has been completed.

Powers previously said the baggies were filled with granulated salt that they used to mix with water and lemon to make a homemade electrolyte drink while working in the Texas summer heat. 

Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, an attorney for two other passengers in the van, also announced on social media that his clients said there were no illegal drugs in the vehicle and that they would sometimes carry salt to mix with water and help prevent cramps.

Salgado Araujo, an undocumented father of three U.S. citizen sons who had started the process to legalize his immigration status, was on his way to work at a construction site July 7 with his brother and two other workers when ICE agents in unmarked SUVs stopped their van in east Houston. Through his three decades as a Houston resident, he kept a clean criminal record.

An unnamed ICE spokesperson said that Salgado Araujo “rammed an ICE law enforcement vehicle, refused to follow multiple verbal commands, and weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer resulting in our officer firing his weapon in self-defense.”

The three men say that Salgado Araujo did not try to run over anyone and none of the agents were in danger.

“At no moment were the agents in front of the vehicle,” Daniel Tirado Pantoja, a rear passenger in the van, said in his hand-written statement in Spanish. “Lorenzo (Salgado Araujo) had come to a full stop while the agents fired.”

Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego, who was also in the back seat, wrote in his statement that Salgado Araujo had already stopped the van before the ICE agent shot him in the stomach.

Rojas Pliego wrote in his statement that it is “impossible to say that they were going to get run over. That’s a lie — no officer was behind nor in front — they were on the sides.”

Aaron Reitz, the new Assistant Attorney General for the Southern District of Texas, later offered additional details about the pursuit and shooting.

Reitz said federal officers were investigating two Guatemalan men in the same neighborhood who were also driving a white van. Salgado Araujo and the other three men are Mexican citizens.

According to Reitz, once ICE encountered Salgado Araujo’s white van, the driver initially evaded them before agents spotted the van again and surrounded it.

“Preliminary information indicates the driver shifted the van into reverse, then forward again, while an officer was partially inside the van or immediately next to it,” Reitz alleged.

Alex Nguyen and Lomi Kriel contributed to this story.

The Kenmore Air seaplane struck a rocky shore along Sucia Island, a state park north of the main San Juan Islands, on Thursday evening after veering past sailboats and other vessels. A swift rescue by nearby boats and a helicopter got everyone safely to hospitals.

As of Friday afternoon, three passengers remained hospitalized, all in satisfactory condition. The pilot was among those released. The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office said the people had head injuries, broken bones and cuts.

The crash came less than three weeks after a seaplane carrying eight people made a rough landing in New York City’s East River, causing minor injuries.

Videos posted on social media showed the aircraft turning to one side as it flies low over the water near several boats and the shore. The plane makes a hard landing, at first touching down on just one float, then briefly skips into the air before hitting land.

The San Juans are a rugged archipelago between Washington and British Columbia. They are a popular summer vacation spot known for ferries, whale watching and hiking.

First responders and witnesses race to the scene

Dave Eastman was in a dinghy on the water when the plane approached. At first he was worried it was going to hit his boat, he said, but then he saw it flying low toward the island. There were six or seven boats in the area and everyone raced to help, he said.

In the videos, passengers can be seen exiting the plane as black smoke rises. Soon bright orange flames engulf the fuselage, which came to rest partially submerged against a large rock.

“It kind of just shook us up a little bit,” he said. “Knowing everyone’s OK, at least that everyone is alive at this point, that kind of helps ease the concern.”

Eastman, of Lynnwood, Washington, said Thursday started off with nice weather, but a lightning storm hit the area around the time of the crash. Heavy rain began falling as the plane was burning, he said.

Several agencies scrambled to respond. The U.S. Coast Guard sent a helicopter while their Canadian counterparts mobilized a hovercraft, according to a recording of San Juan County dispatch audio posted by Broadcastify.

A video released by the U.S. Coast Guard showed a person being hoisted from a vessel below into an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter, his right leg immobilized in a splint.

Sucia Island features a maze of coves, beaches and rocky points. The plane went down near Shallow Bay, which cuts a wide crescent into the island near a campground.

The same type of seaplane crashed near Seattle in 2022

The plane's operator said it was a DHC-3 Otter made by de Havilland Aircraft of Canada. That is the same model of floatplane as one that plunged into the waters of Puget Sound northwest of Seattle in 2022, killing 10 people.

Federal regulators ordered seaplanes to be inspected afterward, and investigators found a single component of a critical flight control system had failed.

The plane that crashed Thursday was operated by Kenmore Air, a tourism airline based near Seattle, which is a different company than the one involved in the 2022 crash. Founded in 1946, Kenmore Air bills itself as the largest seaplane operator in the U.S.

The Otter is a workhorse seaplane model that has been used widely for decades, said aviation safety expert John Cox.

The cause of the crash will be investigated

The National Transportation Safety Board may be able to quickly get an idea of what happened because investigators will be able to interview the pilot and witnesses and watch videos of the crash, Cox said.

The wreckage was recovered and placed on a barge by Friday afternoon. The agency will publish a preliminary report in about a month.

In a statement, the airline said it would not speculate about why the plane went down. According to the flight tracking website Flightradar24, the seaplane made an abrupt 180-degree turn about three minutes before the crash, heading back toward Sucia Island, which it had just passed on its path west.

“There was a weather system in the area at the time, and the pilot adjusted the flight path in response to that weather,” Kenmore Air said.

The plane was up to date on its maintenance, with its last 100-hour inspection completed June 25, the airline said.

“We are grateful that everyone aboard has been accounted for,” Kenmore CEO David Gudgel said. He said the company canceled all scheduled flights for Friday and was cooperating with investigators.

The aircraft took off from Lake Union in Seattle, which is about 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Sucia Island, and was headed to Roche Harbor, the site of a historic hotel, marina and resort on San Juan Island.

___

McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire, and Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut. Associated Press transportation reporter Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed.

The U.S. and Iran showed no sign of backing away from their conflict after a 13th straight night of strikes. With fighting flaring again and diplomacy uncertain, both sides made moves suggesting an escalation was possible. U.S. embassies in the Middle East began alerting Americans in the region that options to leave could become more limited, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guard advised residents of neighboring countries to stay away from bases with U.S. troops.

Saudi Arabia struck the port city of Hodeida in Yemen in response to Iranian-backed Houthi rebel attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said early Saturday. The Houthis said they would escalate after tensions have been brewing for weeks, breaking a yearslong calm.

American forces disabled the M/T Lavine in the Gulf of Oman after the ship attempted to run the blockade at least four times, Capt. Tim Hawkins, U.S. Central Command spokesman, told The Associated Press. Hawkins stressed that the ship’s crew was warned and didn’t comply with commands. The military then fired into its engine room. It’s the second commercial ship to be disabled since the military reimposed its blockade.

Earlier on Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump met with top national security aides to discuss the situation with Iran and whether the administration should maintain the current course or escalate military attacks, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. It was not immediately clear if any decisions were made at the meeting, which was earlier reported by The New York Times. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

In an event in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump described negotiations with Iran as “by far the most serious that we’ve seen,” even as the U.S. has launched daily strikes. Trump added that he's “not in a hurry” to end the war.

Vowing that Iran “will not bow to U.S.” bullying, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi noted ongoing discussions with two global powers often at odds with Americans — China and Russia — and warned in an interview with the semiofficial news outlet Tasnim that the Islamic Republic is “neither intimidated by threats nor will we yield to pressure.”

At the center of the fight is the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passage for world energy supplies that has been effectively shut down by Iranian attacks, sending fuel prices soaring and causing widespread economic turmoil.

US strikes sites across Iran and countries in the region are targeted

In the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, which is home to a contingent of American military advisers, security officials said Friday that U.S.-led forces had shot down five explosives-laden drones. Repeated blasts echoed in Irbil, the capital of Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region, and plumes of black smoke were seen near its airport, where U.S. forces are based. U.S. military officials did not respond to a request for comment on the apparent attacks.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had targeted the U.S. base in Udairi, Kuwait, destroying three ammunition and storage sheds. It also claimed to have struck a watchtower for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain.

U.S. Central Command did not respond to inquiries about the claims.

Both Bahrain and Jordan said they had intercepted aerial attacks by Iran on Friday.

As a barrage of assaults was aimed at bases of the U.S. and its allies, the U.S. hit a Revolutionary Guard naval base in northern Iran, according to the semiofficial news outlets Fars and ISNA. Blasts from U.S. bombardment were also reported on Iran’s Qeshm Island, a base for naval assets including drone boats that Iran can use to attack vessels in the strait, as well as in Isfahan province, home to a major Iranian air base and one of Iran’s nuclear sites.

Additional strikes reportedly hit Iran’s southwest Khuzestan province and southern Fars province.

U.S. Central Command said the latest barrage was designed to “further degrade Iran’s ability to threaten civilian mariners and commercial vessels transiting regional waters” as the Americans push to reopen the strait, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas transited in peacetime.

Houthi attacks give Iran more leverage in potential negotiations

A diplomatic delegation from Oman, which has been involved in mediation efforts between the U.S. and Iran, was in Tehran on Friday to discuss managing shipping traffic in the strait, according to Iran’s state news agency.

Iran’s ability to effectively close the strait — and cause economic chaos far beyond the Middle East — gives it tremendous leverage in negotiations. Its Houthi allies increased that leverage when they targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea on Thursday — increasing the risks of shipping through another vital route for Middle Eastern oil. The attacks made good on the Houthis’ threat to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-linked shipping.

An official at the Transport General Authority also said a Saudi vessel was targeted Friday while sailing in the Red Sea, resulting in minor damage to its hull, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Houthi-run Al Masirah television said early Saturday that Saudi strikes hit facilities belonging to the state telecommunications corporation and also targeted Kamaran island, off Yemen’s western coast. The broadcaster said one employee was injured and a woman was also wounded in Kamaran Island.

Saudi Arabia said it would do everything necessary to protect its ships and warned the Houthis if they continued “hostile acts then there will be no hesitation in responding.”

Trump also has threatened “major military punishment” against the Houthis if their attacks on ships continue.

The strait at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, and around 12% of the world’s trade, including one-fourth of global container traffic, passes through there. The passage has become more crucial for Saudi Arabia, which has been forced to divert millions of barrels of oil a day to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, dipped slightly Friday to about $96, but it's still up substantially from before the war, when it was trading around $72 a barrel. Motorists in the U.S. saw gas prices tick up to an average of $4.11 a gallon, AAA said.

No signs of diplomatic breakthrough as war's human toll expands

Beyond the economic impact, the human toll was also apparent, with the Iranian Health Ministry reporting that 3,434 people have been killed since the war began.

In other developments, the International Maritime Organization said at least 6,000 mariners were stranded on about 400 vessels around the Strait of Hormuz. U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk's office said some seafarers have been abandoned by their ships’ owners, leaving them to “fend for themselves without food, water, fuel, medical care, electricity or means to communicate with their families.”

There have been no public signs of progress in negotiation efforts.

Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar of Pakistan, which has played a significant role in previous negotiations, met his Iranian counterpart, Araghchi, on Friday. Before the meeting, Araghchi appeared to brush off any attempts at mediation, saying he did not think the conflict needed more mediators, instead insisting the U.S. must change its position.

The U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28 and have offered shifting goals for the war, including toppling Tehran’s government and eliminating its nuclear program.

Israel signaled its willingness to rejoin the conflict in recent days. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he would travel to the U.S. next week and meet with Trump.

___

Frankel reported from Jerusalem and Toropin from Washington. Associated Press journalists Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Erin Cunningham in Jerusalem, Matthew Lee, Darlene Superville and Collin Binkley in Washington, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City and Fay Abuelgasim in Cairo contributed.

The decision at a U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization meeting in South Korea came days after Israel’s Foreign Ministry urged the committee to reject efforts to designate the small West Bank town of Sebastia and the Lebanese castles, calling the nominations a “weaponization of cultural heritage.”

At their meeting in Busan, members of the UNESCO committee decided to place Sebastia and five castles in Lebanon’s Mount Amel area on both the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger after reviewing the nominations on an emergency basis, citing ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.

Sebastia, a hilltop town about 10 kilometers (6 miles) northwest of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, is identified by scholars as ancient Samaria, capital of the biblical Kingdom of Israel. The area’s archaeological remains span the Iron Age, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic periods. Christian and Islamic tradition holds that John the Baptist was buried there, according to a UNESCO website.

Sebastia’s nomination, first submitted by the Palestinian delegation to UNESCO in 2012, argued that World Heritage status was needed to help preserve the site, saying it remains largely undeveloped under Israeli control and requires additional conservation despite attracting tourists.

The designation comes as Israel, which does not recognize a Palestinian state, moves to expropriate large swaths of land around the site, even as it faces pressure to crack down on violence by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian territory.

The five castles in the Mount Amel region are recognized for their layered architectural heritage, combining Crusader, Ayyubid, Mamluk and local influences, reflecting the evolution of fortified architecture over nearly nine centuries, according to UNESCO. The designated sites include the Crusader-built Beaufort Castle, also known as Al-Shaqif, which Israeli forces seized in May during their deepest incursion into Lebanon in more than a quarter-century.

Adel Naim Daoud Atieh, a member of the Palestinian delegation to UNESCO, said the World Heritage designation rewards the perseverance of Sebastia’s residents, “who have protected this extraordinary site through generations, despite occupation, restrictions, and repeated attempts to separate them from their own heritage.”

Israel withdrew from UNESCO in 2019, accusing the organization of being biased against it and of downplaying its historical ties to the Holy Land. A member of the Israeli delegation, which is attending the Busan meetings as observers, said it was a “shame politicization has ruined UNESCO and led to mockery of history.”

In Tuesday’s statement, Israel’s Foreign Ministry accused the Palestinian delegation of waging a “hostile, one-sided campaign” at UNESCO by falsely portraying Sebastia as an area facing an emergency, calling the effort a political attempt to “erase the site’s profound, well-documented Jewish and Christian history.”

The ministry also objected to listing Beaufort Castle as a World Heritage Site as part of the nomination covering the five castles in the Mount Amel area.

The ministry said Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group, has turned the castle into a military stronghold by building tunnels beneath the site and launching rockets from the area, and accused UNESCO of ignoring those developments.

Asked about the Israeli claims, UNESCO said in a statement to The Associated Press that all nominations are evaluated under the same criteria, procedures and technical requirements, and that it does not take positions on political disputes. The Lebanese Embassy in South Korea declined to comment on Israel’s statement, but a Lebanese delegate at Friday’s meeting said the castles had been used “only for cultural and tourism purposes” since Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000 and accused Israeli media of portraying tourist facilities as military tunnels.

The UNESCO committee on Wednesday placed another Lebanese site, Tyre, an ancient Phoenician city in the southern part of the country, on the list of world heritage sites in danger. Tyre, Lebanon’s fourth-largest city, came under intense Israeli airstrikes in early June during Israel’s war with Hezbollah, before a ceasefire took effect later that month.

Kim birdied the final four holes of his bogey-free round at TPC Twin Cities to get to 14 under for the tournament and open a a three-shot lead over three players after two rounds.

Ben Kohles, who had a two-shot lead entering the day, shot a 69 to drop into a tie for second with Chandler Phillips (65) and Emiliano Grillo (67).

Two bad swings cost Scottie Scheffler, and the world’s top-ranked player was seven shots back after 70.

Kim had the fourth 59 on tour since 2024. Jake Knapp was the last to do so during the first round of the 2025 Cognizant Classic. Jim Furyk holds the tour record with a 58 at the 2016 Travelers Championship.

“Today was an awesome day, but still, I’m only halfway there so still need to kind of get focused up for the weekend,” said Kim, who shot 69 Thursday.

Kohles' post-round interview was interrupted by a roar when Kim made his final putt.

“That’s sick,” he said smiling. “There’s a 59. I guess 62 wasn’t as good.”

Kim’s mindset is to not play “too protective.” That is not easy at the par-3 17th and par-5 18th where water lines each hole.

“I just kind of told myself like, ‘Hey, this is the way, this is the moment to get into the history books and let’s go for it, let’s not try to luck our way into it, let’s try to step up and hit some really good shots,’” he said.

Kim needed to make an uphill 24-foot putt with little break on the final hole to reach the magic number.

“I tend to leave those short when it’s that uphill and I just, last thing was just get it there, just don’t leave it short,” said Kim, who raised his hands and did a few fist bumps when the ball sank into the cup.

Kim, whose previous career low round was 62, made five straight birdies beginning on No. 3 and added three in a four-hole stretch beginning on No. 9.

Eight of his birdies were from more than 10 feet.

“When you hit a putt and it does exactly what you kind of envisioned before you hit it, it’s an awesome feeling. Felt like that all day out there,” said Kim, whose lone tour win came at the 2018 John Deere Classic.

Second in the Valero Texas Open in April, Kim’s best finish in 12 tournaments since was 17th, and he missed four cuts, including the past three weeks at the British Open, Scottish Open and John Deere Classic.

Playing the previous five weeks, Kim thought about skipping this week’s tour stop.

“I felt decent energy-wise,” Kim said, “so I went home after I missed the cut at the Open, just spent a couple days relaxing and came up here and really happy I did.”

Kim and Kohles played in the morning before the wind picked up and gusts topped 20 mph. Afternoon scores reflected the change.

“Definitely wasn’t a 59 out there. Maybe somebody playing really well could have shot 64, 63,” Grillo said.

Scheffler was at 9 under before his approach shot found the water at No. 14, leading to a double bogey. His tee shot at the par-3 17th landed in the right rough, and a second shot from an awkward lie with the ball well below his feet skidded 34 feet past the hole, leading to a bogey.

“Just got a bad break, but that happens,” he said.

___

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

The statement contradicts repeated assertions by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other officials that the projects were canceled because they did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs or had other problems that made them a poor investment of taxpayer dollars.

Democrats and environmental groups seized on the court filing Friday, saying the administration had “weaponized” the federal government to kill good jobs and punish working families because of their political views.

Democrats say what was ‘obvious’ has now been acknowledged

“This administration has now admitted in court what has long been obvious: it terminated nearly 300 cost-cutting energy projects for no reason other than the fact that the states they were in did not vote for the president in the 2024 election,” said Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio and Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state. Both are high-ranking Democrats on the House and Senate Appropriations committees, respectively.

“Weaponizing the federal government like this is outright un-American, and it’s hardworking families already struggling with sky-high costs who are suffering the consequences of this corrupt abuse of power,” Kaptur and Murray said.

They called on congressional Republicans to join them in holding the Trump administration "accountable for the President’s failure to look out for all Americans.”

The Energy Department announced last October that 321 funding awards across 223 projects were terminated, saying that after review, they “did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs or were not economically viable."

The cuts, part of broader attacks from President Donald Trump on climate programs and clean energy funding, slashed federal support for projects to build battery plants, develop hydrogen technology, upgrade the electric grid and capture carbon dioxide emissions.

Russell Vought, the White House budget director, highlighted the cutbacks in a social media post, saying money “to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled.”

The Energy Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Projects from many states were cut

Projects that were cut were located in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington state. All 16 targeted states supported Harris, but Wright said the cuts were “business decisions" based on whether the projects were a good use of taxpayer money or not.

The cuts were immediately challenged in court, and more than two dozen Democratic members of Congress, led by California Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, wrote a letter to the Energy Department's acting inspector general requesting a formal investigation. The department's internal watchdog launched an investigation in December.

Government lawyers had p reviously confirmed in a court filing late last year that the selection of grants in fact “was influenced by whether a grantee’s address was located in a State that tends to elect ... Democratic candidates in state and national elections (so-called “Blue States”).”

That filing came in a separate suit filed by clean energy groups and the city of St. Paul, Minnesota, over the canceled funding. The most recent admission came in a case called Thakur v. Trump that’s been ongoing since last spring. Federal lawyers acknowledged that they used keywords related to diversity, gender, vaccine hesitancy and COVID-19 to screen for projects that ran afoul of the Trump administration’s priorities.

Holly Bender, chief program officer for the Sierra Club, said the latest court filing shows “the Trump administration is brazenly admitting to a vindictive approach to cancelling much-needed energy infrastructure that ignores the job losses, air pollution and increasing bills that people are experiencing everywhere.”

Instead of “building the energy projects we desperately need,” billions of American taxpayer dollars are “going to line the pockets of a small handful of fossil fuel company CEOs,” Bender said, citing nearly $3 billion pledged by the Trump administration to cancel offshore wind projects in favor of fossil fuel projects such as natural gas and coal.

“The same way that you want to season a steak or a pork chop, you want to add multiple layers. And I think spice does that if you do it the right way," says Turner Greaves, bartender at New York’s Sip and Guzzle.

He makes a tequila highball called Doctor Green which he describes as “super-herbaceous, vegetal, a little bitter. It’s got tomatillo, green apple, shiso, horseradish, and then you can make it spicier with a little serrano pepper on the side.”

Customers get to add more spice with a little spice dropper delivered with their serve.

Cocktail tastes are changing from sweet to savory

James Stevenson, co-founder of Brutes of Mayfair cocktail bar in London, says drinks were very sweet when he started out 20 years ago, and now consumers' tastes have shifted.

“I think there’s a real movement toward savory cocktails," he says. "Every drink we put on the menu that is more savory or has a pickled element or spice element tends to be our bestseller.”

Stevenson makes a mezcal-based Bagheera that he describes as a turbo-spiced margarita.

“We juice (blend) rather than shaking the drink, with fresh chile and coriander," he says. They make a fresh syrup, adding tequila and freshly squeezed lime, and finish off the drink with a house-made tajin salt rim.

Agave spirits are a good match for spicy and savory

It's no coincidence both bartenders picked agave-based spirits — tequila and mezcal — for their spicy offerings.

Stevenson explains that a lot of the flavor profiles you get from agaves are fresher, more vegetal than other spirits. “They’re just very akin to chiles" he says. Noting that tequila pairs well with salt, he adds, "Spice and savory flavors are just a natural kinship.”

Alex Lyoness, bar manager at London’s FlipDog, makes his Late Night cocktail with a hint of an after-hours kebab and pickles. He uses a white tequila and a Raicilla (an agave similar to mezcal). Soy sauce brings a deep flavor, he says, and a homemade chile tincture spices things up.

He then adds an onion and olive brine “like the ultimate dirty martini,” and garnishes with a bright pink pickled turnip.

Looking for a tingly feeling

But chiles aren't the only way to add spice. Lyoness says you're looking to create a “mouthfeel.” He uses Sichuan peppercorns and the Timur berry, which he says has a cool, numbing quality. “What you’re looking for is that tingling across the palate,” he says.

Greaves recommends bringing a little classic cooking into your drinks.

“You can add ginger, you can add garlic cloves, and star anise and fennel into these drinks, and it adds so many different elements of pepper, of spice. Go home and then throw cayenne into a margarita,” he says.

How hot is too hot?

To judge the heat, try to read it on your palate, says Greaves: “If it starts creeping all the way down to your esophagus, I think that’s definitely a spice level that you can loosen up a bit.”

A good spicy drink should “give you the itches on the sides of your mouth” but not overwhelm, he says.

And don’t forget that no two chiles are the same.

“It’s all about tasting, trying and tweaking,” Anderson says.

Adding a spicy rim to your glass is an easy way to get extra kick

For a spicy rim, mix any spices from your cupboard with a good rock salt, Anderson says. (You can freshly grind the spices for a more aromatic and vibrant mix.)

He recommends coriander seed for a more citrusy mix, and black pepper or cardamom powder for a savory feel. You can even try adding fruit powders.

“Something like a freeze-dried strawberry, freeze-dried raspberry, with a little bit of spice. It’s great,” Anderson says.

Then, simply run a lemon or lime wedge along the rim of your glass and gently roll it in a shallow plate of the salt mix.

___

5 songs to drink spicy cocktails to:

“Hot Stuff” – Donna Summer

“Hot in Herre”– Nelly

“Spice up your Life” – The Spice Girls

“Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot” – The Merrymen

“Drop it like its Hot” - Snoop Dogg feat. Pharrell

The indictment, unsealed Friday morning, was filed July 22 in the Western District of Texas’s Del Rio Division.

Nine of the 11 defendants are in custody. The other two suspects — Karina Garcia and Seferino Huerta-Casillas — remain at large.

According to the indictment, on May 9, 2026, smugglers used red bolt cutters to cut the lock off a Conex shipping container on a stationary Union Pacific train in Del Rio. They loaded seven people inside — migrants who had recently crossed illegally from Mexico — before shutting the door.

Investigators said the container was stacked on top of another shipping container, had no ventilation and could not be opened from the inside.

Outside temperatures that day ranged from 88 to 92 degrees.

As the train traveled east toward San Antonio, officials said the people inside began to panic. They sweated profusely and gasped for air. At least one messaged a loved one and pleaded for help, according to the indictment.

When the train arrived in San Antonio, smugglers opened the container door, discovered the migrants in peril and fled — leaving one person dead near the railroad tracks. The train then continued south to Laredo.

On the following day, a Union Pacific rail yard worker in Laredo spotted a leg protruding from a container. Six more people were found dead inside.

The seven victims were four Mexican nationals and three Honduran nationals, including the 14-year-old.

U.S. Attorney Justin Simmons for the Western District of Texas held a joint press conference Friday morning with Homeland Security Special Agent in Charge John Pasciucco to announce the charges.

“Each of these individuals paid anywhere from $1,500 to $10,000 to be brought across by this alien smuggling organization only to die in the sweltering Texas heat,” Simmons said.

The U.S. attorney said the smuggling organization had been operating since at least April 2023. The organization used the Union Pacific rail system to move migrants past U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints along U.S. Highway 90 between Del Rio and San Antonio.

“Those thinking about entering this country illegally: don’t,” Simmons said. “You do not have to turn your life over to smugglers and the cartels with which they work because they don’t care about your life. They only care about your money.”

The 11 defendants face two federal counts: conspiracy to transport illegal aliens resulting in death, and aiding and abetting the transportation of illegal aliens resulting in death. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Among the defendants are four U.S. citizens, five non-U.S. citizens and two lawful, permanent residents.

The indictment also seeks forfeiture of property connected to the alleged smuggling operation, including $53,000 in cash, three firearms and multiple vehicles.

Federal investigators are asking anyone with information on the whereabouts of Garcia or Huerta-Casillas to contact Homeland Security Investigations or any local law enforcement agency.

The case was investigated by HSI San Antonio, Laredo Police Department, Texas DPS and U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Del Rio and Laredo sectors.

More related coverage of this story on KSAT:

• What we know about 6 people found dead in a Laredo boxcar, another found near Bexar County railroad
• Officials announce 11 indictments in connection with deadly South Texas human smuggling investigation

The EU, a day earlier, fined Google 890 million euros ($1 billion) for allegedly breaking digital antitrust regulations by corralling consumers toward its own services and apps to the detriment of competitors.

Trump’s announcement comes a day after the White House said it would impose double-digit tariffs on imports from more than 60 countries, accusing them of inadequately enforcing bans on goods produced by forced labor. The new tariffs replace temporary 10% worldwide import taxes that Trump imposed after a stinging defeat at the Supreme Court.

Also, a series of explosions sounded near a military base hosting U.S. forces in northern Iraq and sirens rang out in Bahrain on Friday, hours after the American military said it finished its 13th night of strikes against Iran. The conflict has flared again over the past week, as the U.S. has pounded Iran while Tehran has attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz and targeted U.S. assets and allies in the region.

Here's the latest:

Trump discusses next steps on Iran with aides

Trump met Friday with top national security aides to discuss the situation with Iran and whether the administration should maintain the current course or escalate military attacks, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.

It was not immediately clear if there had been any decisions made at the meeting, which was earlier reported by The New York Times. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

In an event in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump described negotiations with Iran as “by far the most serious that we’ve seen,” even as the U.S. has launched daily strikes.

“We’re locked and loaded and ready to go, but we’re talking to them,” Trump told reporters, adding that he’s “not in a hurry” to end the war.

___

— By Matthew Lee

US military says it fired on another merchant vessel trying to breach blockade of Iranian ports

American forces disabled the M/T Lavine in the Gulf of Oman on Friday after the ship attempted to run the blockade at least four times, Capt. Tim Hawkins, U.S. Central Command spokesman, told The Associated Press.

Hawkins stressed that the ship’s crew was warned and didn’t comply with commands. The military then fired into its engine room.

It’s the second commercial ship to be disabled since the military reimposed its blockade. U.S. Central Command said it also has redirected 12 vessels.

Hegseth names replacement for Army chief in Europe

The Pentagon has nominated a replacement for Gen. Christopher Donahue, who suddenly departed last month as commanding general of U.S. Army Europe and Africa and commander of NATO’s Allied Land Command.

Hegseth announced Friday that he’s selected Lt. Gen. Kevin D. Admiral for the post.

Admiral will not be promoted to general, confirming earlier reports that the Pentagon plans to downgrade the post from a four-star to a three-star position as part of a broader effort by Hegseth to reduce the number of generals in the ranks.

Admiral now is serving as commanding general, III Corps and Fort Hood in Fort Hood, Texas. An Army official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters, said Donahue is now on transitional leave pending approval of his retirement.

Trump says he thinks Michael Jordan is the best ever but ducks suggestions he’s a sports ‘fixer’

Asked if Jordan or LeBron James were the best basketball player ever, the president said he golfed with Jordan and “he’s a really good guy.”

“I think LeBron is, maybe he’s a racist,” Trump said. “Maybe he doesn’t like Trump.”

He added, “I like people that like me, so I would say Michael Jordan all the way.”

Trump was also asked about golfer Bryson DeChambeau who reportedly threatened to call the president after being given a controversial two-stroke penalty during the recent British Open.

The president didn’t say if he sees himself as a sports “fixer” after intervening to help get a U.S. red card overturned during the World Cup.

Trump suggested it was more like “me being a judge.” He said of DeChambeau, “I thought it was a tough call against him.”

Trump says Xi and Putin vowed to stay out of Iran war — and he trusts them

Asked about a recent comment from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying China and Russian are “enabling” Iran, Trump suggested otherwise.

“President Xi said he will not partake, and President Putin said the same thing,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday. “I trust them.”

He added that there “could be some things they do” — without elaborating — but emphasized it “has not been major.”

Earlier on Friday, Trump said that both Xi and Putin had personally promised not to sell weapons to Iran.

“If they did, it would be very bad for them,” Trump said on social media. “Certainly not in their best interests.”

Trump defends new tariffs announced this week

Trump called the latest tariffs his administration announced on 60 economies late Thursday “very standard tariffs” that “follow the line” when asked whether he believes the latest tranche announced this week could overcome legal challenges.

The administration’s tariffs announced this week are based in the argument that the countries targeted have failed to adequately enforce a ban on goods made with forced labor.

Citing the Supreme Court’s decision this summer that struck down the president’s Liberation Day tariffs, Trump said: “I thought the decision by the Supreme Court was not a good one, but we have many forms of tariffs.”

Trump said he’d be ‘willing’ to call senators to help move stalled elections bill

“I’d certainly be willing,” Trump said when asked if he could be doing more to help the Republican-controlled Senate pass a stalled elections bill he wants to sign into law.

Trump said he helped move the bill through the Republican-controlled House by calling a few representatives and getting them on board to send the bill to the Senate.

He said Senate Majority Leader John Thune has “got four or five people that are very difficult,” including some “I put out of office.”

“So I understand how it feels. I mean, they’re doing the wrong thing,” Trump said, asking who wouldn’t be for showing ID and proof of citizenship to vote.

“No Republicans should put us in a position where they don’t approve of something like that,” he said.

Trump says he’s not feeling pressure to settle the Iran war ahead of the midterm elections

The president said, as far as the elections are concerned, “I’m not in a hurry.”

He said he won’t let rising gas prices and inflation continuing to run hot sway his decision on the war in Iran.

“We have to do it right,” Trump said, adding “elections take care of themselves.”

Trump was reelected in 2024 promising to bring down the cost of living but has seen prices rise dramatically in the months since the war with Iran began.

That has complicated things for Republicans hoping to maintain control of Congress.

Trump celebrates new nuclear reactors in his push to speed up power production

The president hosted executives from nuclear power companies in the Oval Office to celebrate a new milestone in the White House’s push to accelerate the growth of nuclear power in the U.S.

Last year, Trump signed four actions creating a pilot program aimed at having four new nuclear reactors go critical by July 4. Four companies ended up meeting that deadline, Trump said on Friday.

“America is building again, America is dreaming again, and we’re leading the world in pioneering the next generation of nuclear power,” he said.

Trump says U.S. will place ‘a major tariff’ on Mexico for diarrhea-causing parasite

Asked when it would be safe to eat lettuce again, after a diarrhea-inducing parasite found in lettuce produced in Mexico has affected patients in nine U.S. states, Trump said his government is “going to put a major tariff on tax on Mexico because of the lettuce.”

He added that his administration would also “put a big tariff on Canada because of the smoke” caused by hundreds of wildfires raging across Canada, which has carried smoke by winds into the U.S.

Trump defends subpoenas targeting New York Times journalists, says case isn’t over

A day after his administration withdrew subpoenas that would have required three New York Times journalists to testify about their sources, Trump said he isn’t retreating.

“We have a long way to go with that case,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Friday.

Trump said he supports the subpoenas, which were issued in response to a story about Trump’s Qatari-gifted Air Force One jet.

“We’re not after journalists, we’re after leakers,” Trump said. “And the way you find them is through the journalists.”

Trump says US and Iran are talking, he thinks they’re being ‘serious’

“Sort of everybody” is involved in the talks with Iran to end the war, Trump said.

He said Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and “a lot of people” are talking to Iran.

“We’ll see what comes of it,” the president said.

“We’re talking to them right now,” Trump said. “I think they’re getting more and more serious as the days go by, for maybe the obvious reason. But we are talking to them right now.”

Trump says Venezuela is ‘not really ready’ for election yet

Asked when that the country will hold elections after U.S. forces toppled President Nicolás Maduro, Trump responded, “They’re not really ready for them yet.”

He said the U.S. has brought economic benefits to Venezuela without elaborating, or mentioning the devastation of recent, major earthquakes there.

“They’re not ready yet for the elections, but at some point they will be,” the president added before mentioning the country’s prowess in the Miss Universe pageants once he owned.

Trump declines to answer question about possible war crimes in Iran

Answering questions from reporters, Trump was asked if he considers it a war crime to blow up civilian power plants and bridges, as he has repeatedly threatened to do in Iran.

Trump replied, “I wont respond to that question.”

The president has repeatedly threatened to blow up civilian infrastructure in Iran before backing down.

Democrats demand answers on Iran war casualties from Pentagon

Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee are demanding answers on how the Pentagon is handling the reporting of Iran war casualties.

In a letter Friday, the 12 lawmakers note that the Pentagon’s Defense Casualty Analysis System, or DCAS, “has reported inconsistent casualty figures, raising additional questions about the transparency and reliability of the Department’s public reporting and statements.”

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell argued this week that the system is “regularly updated online” following news reports that information about injuries was being withheld.

However, the system now shows only 14 troops killed, though that total stands at 18. The system also shows only 420 troops have been wounded in the conflict. A U.S. official has told The Associated Press that the total is well over 500.

Parnell blamed “temporary data disruptions” in a social media post Thursday.

The lawmakers are seeking detailed information about the Iran war casualties as well as details about the reporting process of that data to DCAS

Trump’s newest tariffs face immediate court challenge

The Liberty Justice Center, a libertarian advocacy group that successfully challenged earlier Trump tariffs, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York, challenging the double-digit import taxes that Trump imposed Friday.

The Trump administration, invoking the Trade Act of 1974, targeted 16 U.S. trading partners with tariffs of 10% to 12.5%, charging that they had failed to crack down on imports produced by forced labor.

But the Liberty Justice Center calls the new tariffs a pretext to allow Trump to maintain a wall of tariffs around the U.S. economy after the Supreme Court struck down big global taxes he’d imposed last year.

The new levies took effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday as time ran out on temporary tariffs Trump had turned to after the Supreme Court defeat.

“The administration allowed one global tariff to expire and immediately replaced it with another under a different statute,” said Sara Albrecht, chair of the Liberty Justice Center. “Changing the statute doesn’t change the law. Every tariff authority has limits, and every administration must respect them.”

Her group represented businesses that successfully challenged Trump’s 2025 global tariffs.

Trump says he’s ‘fine’ with Canada disinviting US from opening ceremony for new shared bridge

On social media, Trump says he’s OK with Canada’s decision “considering they are paying substantial TARIFFS to the United States.”

Canada alone is celebrating the completion of a new bridge to the U.S. over the Detroit River. The multibillion-dollar Gordie Howe International Bridge will serve as a critical path for trade and casual travel between the U.S. and Canada.

Canada scratched a joint gathering after Trump this week suddenly announced 50% tariffs on Canadian goods entering the U.S.

Trump says US will investigate EU trade practices, claiming the bloc unfairly fined tech giants

The president says he’s opening the formal investigation because the bloc has unfairly levied billions of dollars of fines against Google, Apple and other U.S. companies.

Trump made the announcement a day after the EU hit Google with a fine of 890 million euros ($1 billion) after it said the technology behemoth broke digital antitrust regulations by setting up Google Play and its ubiquitous search engine to corral consumers toward its own services and apps to the detriment of competitors.

In a lengthy post on social media, Trump said he has warned the EU about its practice of fining U.S. tech companies. He named Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon and others.

Democrats select South Carolina for their first presidential nominating contest in 2028

The decision most likely cements a dramatic break from decades of tradition by keeping Iowa and New Hampshire off the top of the calendar and elevating more racially diverse states.

The Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee weighed competing bids led by South Carolina and Nevada for the first spot. The choice will need to be approved by the full Democratic National Committee, which is scheduled to meet in August.

South Carolina or Nevada had been expected to go first, with each state aggressively campaigning for the coveted spot.

US embassies across the Mideast begin sending country-specific travel warnings for Americans

U.S. embassies across the Middle East sent out country-specific travel alerts to Americans, advising them that already limited options to leave the region may become more limited due to escalating tensions between the United States and Iran.

At least 11 embassies in the Mideast released advisories that echo broader “worldwide caution” and regional warnings that the State Department has put out since last weekend. The department was criticized for its messaging to Americans in the Middle East before and during the war that began in late February.

Neither the worldwide alerts nor the country-specific ones being released on Friday say that intensified hostilities are imminent but they note that some airlines have already canceled flights into the region and that others may follow suit.

The 11 embassies to issue the alerts are Bahrain, the virtual embassy in Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Netanyahu to visit Washington next week for meeting with Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to travel to the United States for an official visit next week, his office said in a statement Friday. He’ll meet with President Trump in Washington on Tuesday, according to the statement, and also attend the funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham.

The last time the two leaders met in Washington was in February, just weeks before they launched a joint war against Iran. Since then, tensions have grown between the longtime allies, including over how to prosecute the war.

Israel had opposed Trump’s recent negotiations with Iran, while Trump was upset over Israeli military action in Lebanon, which he saw as a threat to his diplomatic efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

But with Iran and the United State fighting once again, Israel has also signaled its willingness to rejoin the conflict. In recent days, Israeli officials have said they’re preparing to respond if Iran launches an attack on Israeli soil.

Second lady Usha Vance shares family photo after son’s birth

Vance added a message with her social media post thanking the public “for all the good wishes as we settle into life as a family of six.”

She included photos of her larger family seated on a couch, as well as a close-up of the baby.

Vance gave birth Sunday to Alec Neel Vance, her fourth child with Vice President JD Vance. Alec is also the first child born to a sitting vice president in more than 150 years.

He joins older siblings Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel.

White House correspondents’ dinner, redux: What will Trump have to say?

When guests arrive for the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Friday at Washington’s Waldorf Astoria hotel, security will be much tighter, the guest list smaller, the partying pared down.

That much, the correspondents’ association can control.

What remains out of its control — and perhaps the biggest question — is what the dinner’s most prominent guest, President Donald Trump, will bring to the table.

Call it White House Dinner 2.0, or Take Two, or, in Trump’s own words, a “HOT ticket.”

The big unknown is whether Trump will bring the fighting words (“rather nasty,” he said) against the press he’d planned to deliver in April — before the event descended into chaos when a gunman stormed a security checkpoint, forcing an evacuation of the room.

▶ Read more

The latest import duties might stick

Wendy Cutler, a former senior U.S. trade official, said the latest round of tariffs involved “few surprises” since they range just between 10% and 12.5%.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office spent four months investigating the basis for those tariffs to meet legal requirements under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974.

“Time will tell whether the third attempt to impose tariffs is the charm and this action stands up to legal challenges,” said Cutler, senior vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute.

These duties are less likely than earlier ones to be overruled by U.S. courts, she said.

Further tariffs may be coming in the fall related to alleged structural excess capacity of trading partners, she noted.

China opposes unilateral tariffs in ‘all forms’

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “opposes all forms of unilateral tariffs” in response to the new 12.5% tariffs, reiterating a longstanding statement by Beijing.

“Tariff wars and trade wars do not serve any parties’ interests,” ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a regular news conference.

Trade tensions have clouded relations between China and the U.S., two of the world’s biggest economies, as Trump’s hefty “Liberation Day” tariffs resulted in a sharp drop in Chinese exports to the U.S.

Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who agreed to set up new boards of trade and investment at their mid-May meeting in Beijing, are expected to meet again in September.

They said the 22-year-old Volpato, who switched allegiances from Italy to Australia before the World Cup, was allegedly clocked at 50 kilometers per hour (30 miles per hour) over the designated speed limit when police stopped him on Sydney’s Anzac Bridge early Friday morning.

He was subjected to a roadside drug test which returned a positive result for cocaine, police said in a statement on Friday.

Football Australia said in a statement Saturday that it was "aware of allegations involving one of our players.

"We have been in contact with the player and continue to monitor the matter and support the player throughout this process,” it added.

One Australian media outlet said Volpato had tested negative to cocaine in a urine test, but it was not clear if it was related to the Friday incident. Others said Volpato had consistently denied the allegations of drug use and had undergone voluntarily independent testing.

Volpato made three appearances for the Socceroos at the World Cup.

___

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

Abbott said the damage was widespread after seeing flooded roads, including Dobie Road, from the air. He said the hardest-hit area he saw was around Cotulla, where floodwater covered large stretches near the Nueces River.

“The area that I saw that had the most water was here in the greater Cotulla area,” Abbott said. “Once you’re over the Nueces, that water is everywhere.”

Reychel and Magda Narvais came to the Red Cross center in downtown Cotulla after floodwater rose near their home off Dobie Road. They said they were not home when the water approached their doorstep, and later were unable to get back because the road was flooded.

Magda Narvais said she had seen flooding near their home before, but never this severe in the 20 years she’s lived there.

“It’s always the road back behind our house, but not to that level,” she said.

Reychel Narvais said seeing water inside a neighbor’s home was difficult, explaining 2 feet of water entered homes around them.

The family said the flooding was especially difficult because Magda Narvais is fighting stage 4 cancer.

“We’ve lost many other things,” Magda Narvais said.

Reychel Narvais said the experience put their losses in perspective.

“When we saw all that water going, I thought, ‘We’re going to lose our house,’” she said. “But my dad said, ‘It’s all replaceable. We have so many people that can help us.’”

As the two women came to gather supplies to help clean their home and help their neighbors, they said they were glad the community stuck together.

“At the end of the day, everyone comes and helps whoever needs it,” Magda Narvais said.

Abbott thanked first responders, local officials and other agencies for warning residents and helping the community prepare. The Narvais family said many in the community warned them of flooding days in advance.

“La Salle County and their leadership, they are a model of how to prepare for an event like this,” Abbott said. “They were knocking on doors 10 days in advance.”

Read also:

• Water quality questions remain at Canyon Lake after flooding; officials warn of hidden debris
• Boerne horse ranch seeks volunteers after flood causes up to $1 million in damage
• Volunteers, community rally around popular Kerrville Mexican restaurant after flood

Deputies responded to the two-vehicle crash at approximately 9:30 p.m. Thursday in the 25000 block of Blanco Road, which is located near Midnight Drive.

According to a Bexar County sheriff’s deputy at the scene, an SUV and a truck collided head-on after one of the vehicles traveled southbound in the northbound lanes.

In an updated Friday statement to KSAT, a Bexar County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson confirmed that the truck was traveling southbound before it collided with the northbound SUV.

While all five people were transported to a hospital for further treatment, the sheriff’s office said three of them (two from the SUV and one from the truck) suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

All five people have since been released from the hospital and are recovering, BCSO said.

According to the sheriff’s office, alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the crash.

Read also:

• Affidavit: Man arrested in connection with armed robbery at Northeast Side credit union

Trump's move follows a report released July 4 by his Domestic Policy Council saying leaders of the Smithsonian and its National Museum of American History don't tell history “in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic.”

The president lacks authority to quickly fire the Smithsonian leadership or to order changes to exhibits, so his executive order targets the sidewalks out front, which are maintained by the National Park Service. His executive order calls for signs telling visitors about the White House report and directing them to resources for what he calls “accurate information regarding America’s history.” It also calls for a temporary exhibit that corrects information he deems inaccurate.

Smithsonian officials declined to comment on Trump's order.

Anthea M. Hartig, director of the American history museum, pushed back on the White House report during congressional hearings this week.

“As we continue to fact check the report, we unwaveringly attest that it does not fairly or accurately characterize the full body of work at the museum,” she told lawmakers. “There is always room for improvement. But I also know the beauty and the inspiration and the expertise that lies in our collections, our exhibits, and our programming.”

The Smithsonian operates outside the executive branch and museum directors report to Secretary Lonnie Bunch, who is subject to oversight from a Board of Regents.

Trump’s escalating effort to force changes at the Smithsonian marks the Republican president’s latest move to transform cultural pillars of society, such as universities and art, that he considers out of step with conservative sensibilities. Trump had himself installed as chairman of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts with the aim of overhauling programming, and his handpicked board voted to add his name to the building, only to have a federal judge later order the signs to be removed.

Trump has also imposed changes on historical sites beyond Washington, including in Philadelphia, where the administration won a court ruling last week allowing it to reinstall interpretive panels that critics say whitewash the history of slavery at the site of President George Washington’s home. Advocates, academics and officials have been concerned for months that the version that complies with Trump’s order could give a history that plays down the pain in the nation’s past in favor of a more triumphant view.

Trump in March revealed his intention to force changes at the Smithsonian Institution with an executive order that targeted funding for programs that advanced “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology.”

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was killed July 7 when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers chased his white work van through the streets, then shot him through the window in front of his work crew, including his brother.

Salgado Araujo’s sons read from prepared remarks at a Houston hearing with Democratic members of Congress. The sons' voices often choked with emotion as they described their father as a humble and hardworking family man. He lived without legal status in the U.S. for 35 years, ran a homebuilding business and had never been in trouble with the law.

“He didn’t need anybody to know his name,” Lorenzo Salgado Araujo Jr. told the hearing, held by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. “He worked hard to protect and provide for our family, to put me and my siblings through college. He taught us that good things come to those that work hard.”

The Department of Homeland Security said shortly after the shooting that Salgado Araujo had rammed his van into the immigration vehicles chasing him, then “weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE law enforcement officer,” and that the officer fired in self-defense. The officers were not wearing body cameras.

Passengers in Salgado Araujo’s van describe a different version of events

At least two of the passengers in the van have disputed the government's account, saying the officers crashed into the van and were safely on the sides of the vehicle, never in danger of being struck, when the officer fired. All three passengers in the van were arrested and remain in immigration detention. One of them is Salgado Araujo’s brother, Victor, whose account of the killing is not public because his petition for release is sealed.

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare told the hearing that DHS, which oversees ICE, has ignored his requests for information and evidence, including the name of the officer who fired the fatal shot.

Nevertheless, he said, his office was making “significant progress.” He declined to discuss specific evidence or speculate on when his office’s investigation would end.

Salgado Araujo’s sons said their father would have never run from officers, who were driving unmarked vehicles, if he’d known who they were. They had talked as a family about what they would do if he encountered ICE, and they said he believed he would find a way to get back home to them.

Salgado Araujo’s sons describe an excruciating wait for information

They said he was a man of routine. The day he was killed started as most did: He woke up before dawn, his wife cooked him a hearty breakfast, then he said goodbye to her and their dog. He got into his white van, said a prayer and left before 6 a.m. to pick up his crew.

Ronaldo Salgado said his mother called him around 7 a.m. to say something bad had happened. He saw a Facebook post about an encounter with immigration officers and rushed to the scene. He was there for hours, he said, begging officers and neighbors for information, even asking one homeowner to climb onto her roof to survey the scene.

Then a Facebook video appeared.

“I learned again from a Facebook post that our dad had been shot,” he told the hearing. “Not because I could see him, but because I could hear his voice on videos posted online crying for help.”

He rushed to the hospital. More hours passed before Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia demanded answers, and they learned he was dead.

Garcia said the Democratic delegation has sent multiple letters to DHS and ICE about the shooting and has received no response. The delegation also invited representatives of the department and the administration to attend the hearing, and they declined.

An email sent to DHS by The Associated Press seeking comment Friday was not immediately returned.

The FBI executed a search warrant on the van, alleging that officers saw several small bags inside filled with a white substance that appeared to be methamphetamine. Salgado Araujo's sons said the insinuation that their father was involved in drug trafficking was “absurd.” The substance, the family said, was a salt mixture that the crew used as electrolytes to stay hydrated while working under the blazing sun.

Teare, the district attorney, said later Friday on the social platform X that the substance tested negative for any illegal drugs.

Lorenzo Salgado Araujo Jr. called what happened to them “a kafkaesque nightmare.” They said they mourned not only for their father but also for the families of others killed by immigration officers, including Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 26-year-old who was shot in Maine days after their father.

The sons say they want justice

The sons called on Congress to make sure justice is served.

Salgado Araujo Jr. asked people to imagine what the brothers were experiencing by picturing a loved one “pinned to the ground in pain and yelling out in desperate need of help.”

“Picture the anger and helplessness of watching that person bleed out through a video on your phone. What would you do after?” he said. “How would you cope with the feeling of losing your protector, your role model, your mother’s loving partner, your grandmother’s little boy?”

He added, “That feeling you feel right now is only a fraction of what my family and I have felt these past 17 days.”

He was born with cerebral palsy, which has taken away all movement in his body except for his left foot, which he uses to control a mouse tied to a computer.

His disease has not stopped him from communicating and accomplishing his goals.

“I’m using this computer so you can understand me better,” said an automated voice coming from Conley’s computer, called a Tobii Dynavox device.

“This computer can be controlled by my eyes by using infrared light. Those lights are shined into my eyes and reflected on the screen of this computer. So when I look and dwell at a letter for two seconds, the computer will type it for me.”

He said the one drawback is that it doesn’t work well in bright rooms or in the full sun, but like with most things, he’s tackled that with humor.

“I really feel like a vampire trying to communicate with this thing,” the computer said for him, as his face lit up with laughter.

Conley has never lost his feisty personality or his determination to do what he wants.

So when he decided he wanted to write a book about his life, his thoughts, and his opinions, he did it.

It took a while, but the book was just released, titled “I Did It Mike’s Way.”

He even signed it in his own way, with a footprint.

Some of it reads like a journal. He’s lived in Japan, Florida, and now he’s back in San Antonio navigating life as a quadriplegic.

When asked what made him want to write the book, he said, “the American dream.”

Conley’s message to other people with cerebral palsy or similar disabilities is, “Keep on fighting,” the way he has.

Raul Morales, 51, allegedly yelled the Arabic phrase “Allahu akbar” while attacking two men separately Thursday on Manhattan's Upper West Side, according to police accounts of what witnesses told them.

Police had no immediate comment Friday on how they decided that hate crime laws pertained to the Jewish victim but not the other, who is of Asian descent. Morales was awaiting arraignment, and prosecutors ultimately will decide what charges he faces in court.

As Morales was led out of a police station Friday evening, he shouted about seeking justice for someone. When reporters asked about the stabbings, he responded that he was “gonna talk about it” as he was ushered into a police car.

It wasn't immediately clear whether Morales has an attorney who could comment on the allegations.

The stabbings happened about two blocks apart Thursday afternoon, police said. Both victims were taken to a hospital and were expected to survive. They were in stable condition Friday, state Attorney General Letitia James said at a morning news conference with other officials and community leaders.

The Jewish victim was attacked just after leaving a nearby synagogue, called the Jewish Center, Rabbi Yosie Levine said.

“He was just trying to pray at his synagogue, and now we’re the ones praying for his recovery,” Levine said.

The Asian American Foundation, a New York-based advocacy group, said in a statement the attacks “underscore the persistent safety challenges” and mistreatment — from harassment to physical assault — facing Asian Americans in the city.

“We demand continued, meaningful investment in community safety and hate prevention that protects everyone,” the group said in a statement.

Hate crimes in New York City have been on the rise in recent years, while overall violent crime rates have dropped, according to police data. Tisch said in April that more than half of all confirmed hate crimes in the city so far this year targeted Jewish people. Estimates of the size of the city's Jewish community vary, but it's far less than half the overall population.

“We are undeniably being disproportionately targeted, again and again and again,” City Comptroller Mark Levine said at the Friday morning news conference, where he also told Asian Americans: “We stand in outrage with you.”

James and Levine are Democrats.

Paramount said in a filing Friday that it won't close its Warner buyout until either a court ruling is made on the states' claims or June 1, 2027. The agreement comes just days after U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín granted a temporary restraining order to freeze the transaction for weeks, noting that the states had raised some “serious questions” and made a strong case about the merger's potential to “substantially lessen competition.”

Paramount and the states have also agreed to cancel an preliminary injunction hearing that was set for Aug. 3. The states’ case in now headed down the path toward a larger antitrust trial.

Both sides touted the delay as a victory.

The result was “exactly what we have sought from the outset: a direct path to a trial based on the evidence," Paramount said in a statement. The company, which was bought by Skydance just last year, added that it looked forward to proving its transaction is “good for competition, good for consumers, and good for creators.”

Meanwhile, California Attorney General Rob Bonta — who is leading the states' case — called the delay great news for audiences, movie theaters and entertainment and media workers nationwide.

“Our argument against this illegal merger is straightforward: When too few corporations have too much power in markets central to American life, it makes things more expensive, and it makes things worse,” Bonta said in a statement. He added that the states were eager to see their challenge through court and ensure the Paramount-Warner combo "never sees the light of day.”

The Writers Guild of America has also filed a lawsuit seeking to block the merger, arguing that the deal would cause specific harm to movie and TV writers. The delay will give more time for that case to make its way through court, too.

States argue merger would harm Hollywood competition

A Warner-Paramount tie-up would bring together two of the last five legacy studios in Hollywood and a host of TV networks that include CNN. Warner’s HBO Max streaming service and fan favorite titles like “Harry Potter” would come under the same roof as Paramount-owned CBS and the Paramount+ streaming service, which includes titles like “Top Gun."

Last week, the 12 states — which, beyond California, also include entertainment heavyweights like New York — sued to block the buyout, alleging that such a combination would “extinguish competition” in Hollywood and lead to fewer choices for consumers, particularly moviegoers and cable customers.

Paramount has repeatedly called the states' claims meritless and not reflective of the current industry. The company points to tech and streaming giants’ growing reach across the entertainment industry and argues the merger would help it compete with bigger rivals like Netflix (which once wanted to buy much of Warner’s business itself) and others “who have harmed the market for theatrical exhibition.”

The states' complaint doesn’t focus specifically on streaming. It alleges that the merger violates the Clayton Act — a key federal antitrust law — due to anticipated reach across three markets: theatrical movie distribution, theater releases of bigger blockbusters and the licensing of basic cable channels.

Trump administration says deal would benefit consumers

The challenge by the states — all of which have Democratic attorneys general — notably contrasts with the Trump administration’s effective greenlight of the deal. The U.S. Justice Department announced in June that it wouldn’t challenge the merger, and instead released an unusually long statement ruling that a Paramount-Warner tie up would bring “benefits for American consumers and workers.”

The Justice Department maintained that its review wasn’t political. But critics have raised their eyebrows — and pointed to Republican President Donald Trump’s close relationship with the billionaire family of Paramount CEO David Ellison. Many eyes are also on Warner assets like CNN, a network that has long attracted ire from Trump and members of his administration, particularly in light of editorial turmoil at Paramount-owned CBS following Skydance's takeover.

Friday's delay “materially reduces the near-term concern that a politicized Paramount would control CNN during the 2026 midterms,” noted Mike Proulx, vice president and research director at Forrester.

Still, there is uncertainty farther down the road.

“I’ve said from the start that anyone who thinks they know how this deal ends should think again," Proulx wrote. “What we know is that the path to either outcome just got longer, messier, and likely more expensive.”

The now monthslong delay could become very costly for Paramount. The company previously pledged to start paying Warner shareholders added “ticking fee” compensation amounting to about $7 million per day if the deal wasn’t closed by Sept. 30.

Including billions of dollars in debt, Paramount’s proposed purchase of Warner is currently valued at nearly $111 billion based on outstanding shares.

Beyond the U.S., Paramount has also touted regulatory clearances in countries like Canada, China and Australia. The European Union also gave the deal its blessing, conditional on company commitments to adjust film distribution partnerships there. Meanwhile, ongoing reviews continue in the U.K., which has separately suggested it may intervene.

U.N. member nations rejected a U.S. proposal to delay the vote until the end of next week as well as a Russian proposal to extend Türk’s term just until the end of the year. The vote in the 193-member General Assembly to reappoint Türk was 144-10, with 13 abstentions.

While he got strong support, the votes and speeches also reflected concern that Secretary-General António Guterres quietly nominated the Austrian lawyer this month after private consultations, with no public discussion, as the U.N. chief nears the end of his own 10-year tenure.

Türk’s job as the U.N. rights chief, by its nature, is tricky: It requires speaking out against rights violations by the governments of the countries that make up the membership of the world body. For instance, Türk has sharply criticized Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Türk got wide support but loud pushback from the U.S. and Israel

Türk, whose term was supposed to expire on Oct. 11, has faced opposition from critics and some countries for his criticism of Israel’s attacks in Gaza and his approach to China’s crackdown on its Uyghur minority. None of Türk’s predecessors have served two full terms since the job was created in 1993.

U.S. deputy ambassador Jeff Bartos warned before the vote that reappointing Türk would prove that the General Assembly “is dysfunctional” and that the vote “was quietly shoved onto the agenda at the last minute to bypass meaningful review.”

“Make no mistake, if this assembly tolerates procedural overreach, backroom deals and the misuse of U.N. posts, there will be consequences,” he warned. “The United States will immediately reassess our engagement, participation and funding.”

The Trump administration already owes nearly $4 billion to the U.N. for its regular dues and for the separate budget for U.N. peacekeeping operations.

Russia’s deputy ambassador, Dmitry Chumakov, said Guterres had sown discord among U.N. members and accused Türk of “political bias” and promoting “Western geopolitical interests under the pretext of concern for human rights.”

Speaking for the European Union, Ireland’s U.N. Ambassador Fergal Mythen reaffirmed the 27-nation bloc’s “wholehearted support” for Türk.

“The European Union believes that Mr. Türk has demonstrably fulfilled responsibilities entrusted to him effectively and with integrity in an objective and non-selective manner over the past four years,” Mythen said. He takes on another term when “the multiplication of obstacles and challenges and rights violations is relentless, and the promotion and protection of all human rights becomes ever more contested.”

Guterres, whose own second five-year term ends Dec. 31, sent letters to regional groups at the United Nations this month informing them of his intention to reappoint Türk. The African group had no objection, but the Latin American countries had several, including Nicaragua, Argentina and Paraguay.

Before the vote, Israel’s Foreign Ministry called Guterres’ action to get a second term for Türk the U.N. secretary-general’s “latest moral failure,” saying on social media that the choice should be left to his successor.

“After years of bias against Israel, the answer is accountability — not rewriting the rules,” the ministry said.

Guterres is ‘following the rules’ on the reappointment, UN says

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric says Guterres was following the 1993 resolution that established a U.N. high commissioner for human rights and allows for a second term.

“The secretary-general is doing things in a very transparent manner, following the rules and his authority,” Dujarric told reporters Friday. “Consultations were had with member states prior to this and with regional groups.”

As human rights chief, the longtime U.N. functionary who worked for Guterres at United Nations headquarters in New York, Türk has expressed concerns on issues in China as diverse as the fate of detained individuals — like artist Gao Zhen, lawyer Yu Wensheng and media mogul Jimmy Lai — and counterterrorism and assimilation practices that affect ethnic minorities including the Uyghurs in the regions of Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and Tibet.

Critics insist he could have done more to publicly follow up on a report issued by his predecessor, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, that said China’s discriminatory detention of Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang may amount to crimes against humanity.

Türk also has stopped short of joining independent U.N. rights experts who have accused Israel of genocide against Palestinians during its war against Hamas in Gaza. Israel vehemently denies those claims.

Former head of Human Rights Watch Ken Roth said: “The biggest stain on Türk’s reputation is his utter abandonment of the Uyghurs.”

Türk has used both private engagement with Beijing and public advocacy to support human rights in China, his office said. Roth called that “an admission that he is doing nothing, that he’s putting the plight of the Uyghurs on the deep back burner, and is just pretending to care.”

The Chinese government denies the Uyghurs have been or are being persecuted. It maintains its policies in Xinjiang rooted out terrorism and religious extremism after sporadic bouts of violence rocked the region in previous decades.

___

Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Farnoush Amiri in New York and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

• TONIGHT: Clear, quiet, and seasonable
• WEEKEND: Sunny and dry, mid to upper 90s
• NEXT WEEK: Back near 100°
• NUECES & FRIO RIVERS: Continue to flood near Cotulla & Tilden

FORECAST

WEEKEND

Early morning clouds will give way to sunshine for most of Saturday as afternoon temperatures reach the mid 90s.

Slightly warmer Sunday, with a high in the upper 90s.

Enjoy time by the local pool, splashpad, or river knowing rain will not be a factor this weekend.

NEXT WEEK

The heat high settles over, and we’ll have a typical end-of-July weather pattern: Hot and sunny with highs near or just above 100°.

NUECES & FRIO RIVERS

It is taking a long time for the nearly 500 billion gallons of water that fell last week to drain into Choke Canyon and Lake Corpus Christi along the Nueces and Frio Rivers. Areas of Cotulla and Tilden along the rivers are still flooded. Cotulla, and folks downstream along the Nueces, can expect the river to remain at major flood stage through the weekend.

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.

The ballistic missile strike came a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in Kyiv with senior representatives of Raytheon, the U.S. company that makes the Patriot air defense systems that Ukraine desperately needs to counter the devastating ballistic missiles Russia uses to advance its invasion. Raytheon didn't immediately respond to an email inquiring whether any of its workers were at the event.

“Missiles for Patriot systems are the number one priority,” Zelenskyy said on social media, where he reported the attack.

The attack hit the grounds of a privately operated military training site that was hosting an event, acting regional military administration head Ruslan Oliinyk wrote on Facebook, citing preliminary information. The site is about 20-30 kilometers (12-19 miles) from central Kyiv, in the Bucha district.

Emergency crews responded to the area, where 27 homes and 44 vehicles also were damaged, Oliinyk said.

The Ukrainian Defense Industry Council, which describes itself as the country’s largest association of private defense manufacturers, said industry representatives were at the site when it was hit, although it did not immediately provide further details.

Ruslan Kravchenko, the country’s prosecutor general, opened a war crimes investigation into the attack and a separate criminal case over possible negligence in organizing the event.

Investigators will examine who approved its location, timing and format, and whether adequate precautions were taken, Kravchenko said.

The Ukrainian government imposed reporting restrictions on the attack.

Meanwhile, a Ukrainian attack on a military plant in Russia killed six people and wounded 26 others, the regional governor said.

Zelenskyy meets with delegation from US company Raytheon

The Raytheon meeting came less than three weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to give Ukraine a license to produce Patriots. The pledge marked an important shift, as Trump recently adopted a more positive tone toward Zelenskyy.

In another sign that Ukraine is changing minds in Washington, ardent Trump ally Laura Loomer met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday. After years of minimizing the invasion, she rebuked Russian President Vladimir Putin for missile attacks on Ukraine.

The Ukrainian leader said late Thursday that he held talks with a Raytheon delegation, adding that the company was ready to jointly produce Patriot interceptors with Ukraine. The system is comprised of radars, command-and-control systems, and different types of interceptor missiles.

The company made no immediate comment about the meeting on its website or social media accounts.

“Our teams — both at the government level and from the private sector — will stay in close touch to work (it) out,” Zelenskyy said on social media.

Zelenskyy is keen to move quickly on a coproduction agreement as Russia relentlessly fires ballistic missiles that are hard to stop and cause civilian casualties as well as inflicting huge damage on civilian areas.

Zelenskyy has for several years been pleading for more and quicker Patriot deliveries from Western partners. Ukraine has developed its own innovative air defenses, but large-scale production is vital.

Even so, experts and Kyiv officials have cautioned that setting up production in Ukraine would likely take years.

Ukraine hits another hub of Russia's biggest online retailer

When the Trump administration engaged in a diplomatic effort to end the war last year, Putin portrayed Russia as negotiating from a position of strength. The peace efforts have produced no results so far.

But since first attacking its neighbor in 2014, Russia has captured only around 20% of the country.

Now, the Russian army’s advance is stalling due to Ukraine’s successful front-line and mid- and long-range attacks using cutting-edge drone technology it has developed at home and that is now coveted by other countries, Western officials and analysts say.

Ukraine has expanded its campaign of disruption with bigger and increasingly frequent drone attacks inside Russia that are hitting high-profile targets, causing fuel shortages and piling pressure on Putin.

Ukrainian forces again targeted the logistical hubs of Wildberries, Russia’s biggest online retailer that is often compared to Amazon, the company’s founder said Friday.

Founder Tatyana Kim said Wildberries logistical facilities came under attack in St. Petersburg, the adjacent Leningrad region and in Simferopol — a city in illegally annexed Crimea.

Photos and videos published by Russian media showed massive plumes of smoke rising over St. Petersburg.

Ukraine struck four other Wildberries warehouses across Russia in recent days, sparking massive fires.

Kyiv officials want ordinary Russians to feel the consequences of the war and question whether Putin can keep them safe. The almost daily attacks have caused consternation in Russia.

Ukraine keeps targeting Russian oil facilities, weapons plants

Ukrainian long-range weapons hit an oil facility nearly 1,350 kilometers (840 miles) from the Ukrainian border, as well as a military plant, Zelenskyy said Friday.

The plant in Russia's Kirov region makes components for aircraft and missiles used in attacks on Ukrainian cities, he said.

The Ukrainian attack on the military plant killed six people and wounded 26 others, regional governor Alexander Sokolov said. He didn’t identify the plant, but Astra online news outlet said it was the Avitec plant, which makes air defense missiles and aircraft components.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported Friday that its air defenses shot down 571 Ukrainian drones overnight.

___

This story was corrected to show that the Ukrainian attack that killed six people in Russia was on the military plant, not the oil facility.

___

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

“They not only tackled him, not only tased him, not only kicked him, but you saw they shot him three times in his head and other parts of his body,” Crump said.

He spoke at an emotional news conference with Ruiz's mother, siblings and 13-year-old daughter, Kah’liyah Aliomar.

Ruiz, 38, was killed on a busy city street Wednesday, just a couple of blocks away from his daughter's home and along the route she walks to school. Police say Ruiz pulled a knife during a struggle with four officers, injuring one of them. That officer then fired the shots, according to police. All four officers have been placed on administrative leave pending a state investigation, and the officer who fired the shots has not yet been identified.

Aliomar cried as she described learning of her father’s death.

“My heart was broken and hurt so much knowing I can’t see my father anymore,” she said.

His mother Elsa Ruiz said she never imagined she would have to bury her son.

“He was my love. He loved his daughter, he loved his family. He did not deserve to be taken out like that. They took my baby from me,” she said, sobbing.

The family promised to seek justice for Ruiz’s death, which Crump called an unjustified “execution.”

“Anytime there is excessive use of force, there should be accountability,” Crump said. He said it was “shocking on every level.”

The shooting was captured on cellphone video that was widely shared online, though Madison Police Chief John Patterson cautioned Thursday that the video did not show the altercation from the police officers’ perspective.

But unlike nearly every other similarly sized city, Madison doesn’t require its police to use body-worn cameras, so there is no footage from the officers’ perspective. Over the last decade city officials have repeatedly debated adopting the cameras — at times creating subcommittees and doing studies on the idea — but local officials have primarily blamed budget concerns and political inertia for the ongoing stalemate.

Another common source of opposition, identified in a 2021 feasibility study, came from community groups worried the cameras would be used to surveil and criminalize marginalized groups. Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said Thursday that she expects the new budget that takes effect in January to include funding for body-worn cameras.

“Thank God there was video,” Crump said. “If there wasn’t video, imagine what the narrative would have been.”

Wisconsin court records show Ruiz had been in and out of jail over the past decade for mostly misdemeanor offenses including disorderly conduct, drug possession, auto theft, battery and invasion of privacy. He was also convicted of felonies including possession of cocaine and marijuana, robbery, strangulation, resisting an officer and causing bodily harm.

“People are saying he’s a criminal. So what? He had a family, he had me,” Aliomar said, breaking down into tears.

Police said they were at the street to investigate reports that someone was trying to enter parked cars, something Crump said amounted to only the suspicion of a low-level property crime.

“I need somebody to help me understand why they felt it was OK to execute my brother based on no facts at all,” Veronica Ruiz said. “I hope everyone continues to support and come together and find justice for him.”

The police chief has released few details about the shooting. Patterson said Thursday that a Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation probe must run its course. A separate investigation by the city’s independent police monitor is also underway.

“The situation was clearly dangerous,” Patterson said, and that he did not know the extent of the knife injuries sustained by the officer. He also said he wanted transparency and accountability in the investigation.

The killing sparked protests, calls for justice from elected officials and anger from a community where police have killed three people in the same neighborhood since 2012.

___

This story has been updated to correct that Corey Ruiz's daughter's last name is Aliomar, not Ruiz.

___

Boone reported from Boise, Idaho.

The ouster of Karim Khan comes at a time when the court is already facing daunting challenges, including a campaign by the United States to “dismantle” the ICC, which was established to prosecute people responsible for humanity’s worst crimes.

By a large majority, the ICC’s 125-member states voted to remove Khan, a British barrister, for “serious misconduct and serious breach of duty,” the court’s oversight body, the Assembly of States Parties, said in a statement.

“The ICC should hold itself to the highest standards. This includes ensuring a safe workplace with effective and credible mechanisms available to staff or others who experience abuse, including sexual violence or harassment,” Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement to The Associated Press.

The 56-year-old Khan was accused of sexual misconduct with a female aide, as outlined by the AP in a series of stories, allegations he has steadfastly denied. According to documents seen by the AP, Khan engaged in a sexual relationship with the woman and tried to prevent her from pursuing her allegations.

The oversight body will now need to hold elections for a new prosecutor, someone who is likely to face sanctions by the Trump administration, which has already brought the force of financial penalties and travel bans on 13 members of staff, including Khan.

Khan's lawyers criticized the process leading to his ouster, complaining that he was blocked from addressing the session Friday and arguing the regulations had been rewritten to disadvantage him.

Khan's “removal was determined by a process in which he was never given a fair opportunity to be heard, and in defiance of the conclusions of the independent judges who examined the full evidential record,” attorney Tayab Ali said in a statement. He said Khan's legal team would challenge the decision “through all available legal mechanisms."

The decision comes at a time when the global tribunal is under enormous pressure.

In a statement last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was launching a “sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court to U.S. sovereignty.”

Rubio said he will pressure member states to withdraw from the institution, sanction organizations that work with the court and ban staff from traveling to the United States. Countries that “enjoy the benefits of the U.S. security umbrella” will be called upon to reject the court’s jurisdiction over U.S. citizens, Rubio said.

Hours after Friday's vote, Venezuela announced it would withdraw from the court. “Venezuela considers that the Court’s actions reflect a demonstrated geographical bias, which has disproportionately concentrated its work on African and Latin American countries, to the detriment of the Global South,” Félix Plasencia, the country’s foreign affairs minister announced in a statement.

Earlier this year, prosecutors at the court announced they were dropping an investigation into whether U.S. sanctions against Venezuela qualified as crimes against humanity, citing a lack of evidence. A separate investigation into possible crimes committed by Venezuelan security forces under former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro will continue.

Trump’s administration already has brought sanctions against Khan and a dozen other ICC staff in retaliation for warrants the court has issued for top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over the war in Gaza and investigations into U.S. personnel in Afghanistan.

The allegations against Khan have become entwined with the court’s investigation into the war in Gaza, experts said.

“Political considerations have been folded into this, especially as it is the first time a prosecutor has pursued warrants against a Western ally,” Iva Vukusic, a researcher at Utrecht University who has been following the process, told the AP.

Khan's removal will have no immediate impact on the arrest warrants in 2024 for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity, which can only be withdrawn by ICC judges.

Before ending the closed session, Kaukoranta called for the international community to respect “the dignity and privacy of all those involved” in the case regarding Khan.

“I expressed my deep appreciation to the assembly of states parties for the diligent consideration of this difficult matter, and for the spirit of unity shown in upholding the integrity of the court,” she said.

___

Quell reported from The Hague, Netherlands. Amiri reported from New York.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the outbreak first tied to shredded lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants now includes Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. Previously the agency's investigation included five states: Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia.

The CDC, Food and Drug Administration and state health officials have been tracing the supply of the lettuce and interviewing people across the nation about the foods they ate two weeks before getting sick.

The number of cases linked to the lettuce is now 1,947, including at least 98 people who had to be hospitalized. There have been no deaths, the agency reported on its website.

The total number of people sickened by the outbreak is likely higher than the official tally, given that not all cases are reported, the agency noted.

FDA officials earlier this week said they remain focused on lettuce from Taylor Farms as the source of the multistate outbreak. The company last week announced it was recalling iceberg lettuce grown in central Mexico.

Asked when it would be safe to eat lettuce again, Trump said Friday that his government is “going to put a major tariff on tax on Mexico because of the lettuce.”

On Thursday, the FDA announced it was investigating a separate outbreak of cyclospora reported in 72 people. Regulators had not yet identified the products linked to the illnesses.

Overall, cyclospora cases have set a U.S. record. Since May 1, CDC has received reports of more than 4,100 laboratory-confirmed cases and is investigating more than 7,400 other likely cases across 41 states. Federal health officials have said that other “brands, restaurants, retailers, or distribution channels” could be tied to the outbreak as the investigation continues.

Cyclospora is a microscopic parasite that infects food that has come into contact with human feces, most commonly when produce is irrigated or washed with contaminated water. When ingested, the parasite causes intestinal illness marked by “frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the CDC.

Mexican health officials announced Thursday that the parasite was not detected in the lettuce or water at the Taylor Farms plant in the Mexican state of Guanajuato.

The results were announced following a visit by Mexican health authorities to the Taylor Farms plant between July 18 and 20, during which 10 samples of iceberg lettuce were collected. Four water samples also were collected for analysis, authorities stated.

___

Fabiola Sanchez contributed to this story from Mexico City. Fatima Hussein contributed from Washington.

___

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

Miles, 17, of Knoxville, Tennessee, is one of more than 500 incoming first-year students at Howard who learned this week that they have been unenrolled from the prestigious, historically Black Washington, D.C., university and no longer have spots for the upcoming fall semester that begins Aug. 17.

Many have taken to social media — some in tears — to share their stories. Some posts have gone viral.

After Miles learned she had been unenrolled, her mother, Kendra Miles, said the school's automated system would not allow the family to enroll in a payment plan because the amount that was owed made them ineligible to sign up.

“I’ve reached out since we got the email (Wednesday). I've emailed, literally, everybody," Kendra Miles said. “I emailed her adviser. He responded and said it wasn't a mistake and there was nothing they could do.”

On Friday, Howard confirmed in an email that the school sent notifications to “502 first-time-in-college students whose accounts did not reflect the required enrollment and financial obligations by the previously communicated deadlines."

Starting in March, the unenrolled students began receiving specific communications about enrollment requirements, payment expectations and deadlines via email and orientation sessions, the school said.

“The university recognizes that timing differences may have occurred between when financial aid was reflected and when charges were finalized,” Howard said in the email. “Students who believe their account did not accurately reflect their financial standing at the deadline should contact the Bursar’s Office. Each case will be reviewed individually to determine whether adjustments or reinstatement are appropriate.”

Howard, one of about 100 historically Black colleges and universities in the United States, had an undergraduate enrollment last fall of about 11,000. The average annual tuition for undergraduate students living on campus is about $38,000. Housing costs are about $13,600.

Colleges try to walk a fine line

Robert Kelchen, a professor of higher education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, said colleges generally try to walk a fine line in making sure students can enroll, but also making sure students pay their bills.

Howard “either had students who owed a lot of money and they didn’t think a lot of students would pay, or potentially, they have a really big incoming class and they can replace those students,” Kelchen said.

Laverne Mickens coaches students and their families on how to apply for college scholarships. Mickens said that she answered more than 400 emails Wednesday and Thursday from students and families impacted by the enrollment situation at Howard. She said most of them were strangers and they were “frantic and crying.”

Students and parents are upset

“People are devastated,” said Mickens who runs The Scholarship College Mama LLC, which is not affiliated with Howard. “Parents are saying: ‘Can you help us? Howard unenrolled us.’ ”

A'Zariah Miles, who plans to major in biology, chose Howard over other schools that accepted her. Now, she is worried that it is too deep into the summer to enroll elsewhere.

“Everybody’s housing is booked, or I can’t enroll because it’s too late or I missed orientation,” she said. “I've been trying to continue to have hope with Howard, but I don't really have that much time before school starts and I don't really want to have a gap year.”

Like Miles and others, Saniah Collins learned Wednesday that she no longer was enrolled at Howard.

“My mom is part of a parent group chat,” said Collins, 17, of Atlanta. “That day we learned that a lot of students were getting unenrolled."

Collins received an email from the school Wednesday afternoon that said a July 10 deadline to pay her tuition balance or make payment arrangements had passed and the school no longer could hold her place.

But Collins said she was also told by an adviser that most of her balance for the fall semester was paid. She's not giving up.

“I worked like crazy to get into this school,” Collins said. “Howard has been my everything. My whole senior year, my whole summer I worked consistently on scholarships. We tried to make ourselves 10 steps ahead to make sure we were on the right page.”

Given that HBCUs are seen as caring and nurturing places for Black students, the mass removal of students from Howard’s fall enrollment is a bad look for the school, said Marybeth Gasman, an expert in higher education at Rutgers University.

“If it were me and it was over 500 students, I wouldn’t have done it in one day,” Gasman said. “I would have also done the due diligence of going through each one. Now, they are going to have to go back and do that.”

___

Williams is as member of AP’s Race & Ethnicity team. He reported from Detroit.

“ @KingJames hey bro hope you’re having a good day...... Want to join us in philly?? Peace," Embiid wrote.

His recruitment skills were on point and James — the four-time NBA champion and career scoring leader — will join Embiid in a startling turn of events on the Philadelphia 76ers.

Ok, fine, just a short 12 years after the July 1, 2014, post.

The 76ers expect James to be worth the wait and hope he can win an NBA championship in Philadelphia much as he did in his previous three stops in Cleveland, Miami and with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The 76ers are used to playing the long game. The franchise hasn't won an NBA championship since 1983, when Julius Erving still soared and a year before James was born.

Certainly not as dominant as he was in his MVP heyday, LeBron James is still, well LeBron James and his addition should lift any team mired in the NBA mucky middle such as the Sixers into contention.

Throw him into in a lineup that includes a league MVP in Embiid, All-Stars Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown, and promising second-year standout VJ Edgecombe, and it's no shock the Sixers moved up few a few pegs Friday on the betting board and into the short list of favorites for an NBA title.

Just not the favorite.

James is again chasing a ring and his arrival on a two-year deal for the veterans' minimum of about $3.9 million per season shook up the Sixers and put the Eastern Conference on notice — yes, even the NBA champion Knicks — that a real championship contender might finally emerge in Philly.

The 76ers won the offseason

Here they come, team of the year?

The Sixers earned straight A's on their summer school report card even before James said he would sign with team.

The Sixers fired team president Daryl Morey and replaced him with longtime Cleveland executive Mike Gansey, who came out swinging for the fences in his first month on the job. He pulled off the shocker of a trade with Boston that landed them Brown — the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, a five-time All-Star and the league’s fourth-leading scorer this past season.

It's difficult to fathom that an oft-injured Embiid — who won Olympic gold with James — and Maxey alone would have been enough to coax James to Philadelphia.

But adding a stud like Brown?

Brown surely played a key deciding factor in James' decision — his “last” one, he says — and now the Sixers boast perhaps the top starting five in the NBA.

And boy, what a bargain.

There are some caveats, of course.

James turns 42 in December and there are a lot of miles on those legs. James battled injuries last season and played in only 60 games. Embiid has never been reliable with only 57 combined games played the last two seasons, and the Sixers have churned through a slew of imported stars over the last decade — James Harden, Jimmy Butler, Paul George — and still haven't advanced out of the second round since 2001.

There's only one ball and a lot of talent that has the resume to command it.

But with apologies to Wilt Chamberlain, many, many apologies, James becomes the most accomplished player to ever wear a 76ers uniform.

He won't be alone in that No. 23 uniform — Fanatics sold out almost instantly of his jerseys on Friday.

It’s also a big win for front office boss Bob Myers, who openly pitched for James to sign in Philadelphia on his agent’s podcast and won four championships as a Golden State Warriors executive.

The balance of power shifts in the East. Not by much

The Sixers ended their season with a second-round sweep to Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and the NBA champion Knicks.

The Knicks are still the team to beat. By talent, by virtue of winning it all and, at least out of the East, the betting favorite to again reach the NBA Finals.

The Knicks have largely stayed pat while other hopeful contenders went for major moves.

The Heat — hey, when exactly is that presser? — like their chances after they traded with Milwaukee for Giannis Antetokounmpo. The two-time MVP was the latest on a long list of superstar acquisitions made since Pat Riley arrived to take over as team president in 1995.

Much like the Sixers before they acquired Brown, the Heat are a two-star team with Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. Antetokounmpo, Adebayo and James would have made them a new Big 3, much like when James won titles in Miami with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Toronto is hopeful for a resolution to their held-up trade with the Los Angeles Clippers that should land them Kawhi Leonard. The trade is on hold pending the outcome of the NBA’s investigation into whether the Clippers circumvented salary cap rules.

It's a bad day for Cleveland

The Cavaliers would have loved a sentimental third tour with James and have the franchise's greatest player eventually retire in Cleveland.

James instead left the Cavaliers in a lurch, and they have to hope they can re-sign 36-year-old James Harden as part of a lineup that includes Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell.

They will be projected to finish behind the Knicks and 76ers in the East.

Don't forget, Detroit won 60 games last season and would like to prove its early playoff exit was a part of the growing pains of a contender.

LeBron's legacy

Look, James' legacy is set and not even a flameout in Philly is going to change his indelible stamp on the game from the court to the cash register.

There is one major mark he could hit should he send the Sixers on a parade route down Broad Street. He would become the first player to win NBA titles with four teams.

Sixers coach Nick Nurse turned 59 on Friday and there's no better professional gift he could have received than LeBron James.

Purchased on a discount rack.

Look for LeBron on opening night in New York. Look for LeBron on a Christmas game in Philadelphia. Look for LeBron to keep Sixers' tickets sky high on the secondary market even on nights when Embiid sits.

Look for the ride of a lifetime in Philadelphia where the franchise wants to reach the sky again just like it did with Dr. J.

___

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

U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons and U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons and Homeland Security Investigations San Antonio Special Agent in Charge John A. Pasciucco announced the indictments of 11 people connected to the investigation during a Friday morning news conference.

The identities of the indicted are:

• Franklin Williams Ayala Aguilera
• Jonas Ulloa-Aguilera
• Damian Huerta Analucas
• Karina Garcia
• Eric Hernandez
• Mayra Alejandra Huerta
• Seferino Huerta-Casillas
• Pascual Raymundo Loarca
• Rosario Cristal Lopez-Saldana
• Maria Norma Neri de Moran
• Edson Alejandro Perez

Simmons said five suspects are non-U.S. citizens, four are U.S. citizens and two are “lawful, permanent” U.S. residents. Of those indicted, law enforcement is actively searching for two suspects — Karina Garcia and Seferino Huerta-Casillas.

All 11 are facing the following charges:

• conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death
• aiding and abetting the transportation of aliens resulting in death

If convicted, each charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

“Those thinking about entering this country illegally: don’t,” Simmons said Friday. “There is a legal pathway for you to come into this country. You do not have to hand your life over to smugglers and the cartels with which they work because they don’t care about your life.”

The train’s path

The bodies of six immigrants were found just after 3:30 p.m. on May 10, 2026, at a rail yard in the 12000 block of Jim Young Way, which is located approximately 15 miles north of downtown Laredo.

In a previous news release, the Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office identified five of the six immigrants found in Laredo:

• A 56-year-old man from Mexico
• A 45-year-old man from Mexico
• A 29-year-old woman from Mexico
• A 24-year-old man from Honduras
• A 14-year-old boy from Honduras

The Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the woman from Mexico died due to hyperthermia. Officials believe it is likely they all suffered the same cause of death.

A seventh person, a Mexican resident believed to be connected to those found in Laredo, was discovered on May 11, 2026, along railroad tracks in southwest Bexar County, Sheriff Javier Salazar said two months ago.

Simmons said Friday that the immigrants were in a shipping container carried on a train from Del Rio to Laredo. As the train arrived in San Antonio, the U.S. attorney said the body of that seventh person “fell out of the (train) car” and “left for dead.” The train then continued its trek to Laredo.

The seventh immigrant, a man, was later identified as Nereo Aguilar Garcia, 49, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office.

According to Simmons, individuals paid the human smuggling organization between $1,500 and $10,000 to get them across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Pasciucco credited the Homeland Security Task Force’s “critical role” in Friday’s federal indictments.

“By leveraging the expertise and resources of our HSTF partners, we have coordinated efforts across agencies, shared vital intelligence and enhance the effectiveness of our enforcement actions in a short period of time,” Pasciucco said.

In addition to the DOJ and HSI, Pasciucco said the U.S. Border Patrol and Laredo Police Department contributed to the federal investigation.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• What we know about 6 people found dead in a Laredo boxcar, another found near Bexar County railroad
• Body found near Bexar County railroad believed to be connected to Laredo boxcar deaths, sheriff says
• Boxcar where 6 immigrants found dead in Laredo traveled from California, police say

A seventh person, who is a Mexican resident believed to be connected to those found in Laredo, was discovered along railroad tracks in southwest Bexar County on Monday, according to Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar.

Indictments handed down

U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons and Homeland Security Investigations San Antonio Special Agent in Charge John A. Pasciucco announced the indictments of 11 people connected to the investigation during a July 24, 2026, news conference.

The identities of the indicted are:

• Franklin Williams Ayala Aguilera
• Jonas Ulloa-Aguilera
• Damian Huerta Analucas
• Karina Garcia
• Eric Hernandez
• Mayra Alejandra Huerta
• Seferino Huerta-Casillas
• Pascual Raymundo Loarca
• Rosario Cristal Lopez-Saldana
• Maria Norma Neri de Moran
• Edson Alejandro Perez

Simmons said five suspects are non-U.S. citizens, four are U.S. citizens and two are “lawful, permanent” U.S. residents. Of those indicted, law enforcement is actively searching for two suspects — Karina Garcia and Seferino Huerta-Casillas.

All 11 are facing the following charges:

• conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death
• aiding and abetting the transportation of aliens resulting in death

If convicted, each charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

He was identified on Wednesday as Nereo Aguilar Garcia, 49, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office.

According to a May 2026 news release from the Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office, the identities of five people found in Laredo are:

• 56-year-old man from Mexico
• 45-year-old man from Mexico
• 29-year-old woman from Mexico
• 24-year-old man from Honduras
• 14-year-old boy from Honduras

Six of the bodies were discovered just after 3:30 p.m. Sunday during a rail yard inspection in north Laredo.

The Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the woman from Mexico died due to hyperthermia. While exams for the other five people remain pending, officials believe it is likely they all suffered the same cause of death.

Salazar said his office believes the train originated in Del Rio and had a door open to allow people to load in before the train split, with half going to Houston and half going to Laredo.

The medical examiner’s office said it believes the “individuals originated from Mexico and Honduras.” The office said it is working closely with the Mexican Consulate to facilitate communication with families of the deceased.

The Department of Homeland Security is investigating the case as a potential human smuggling event, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson.

The discoveries took place a little more than a year after two guilty verdicts were reached in the 2022 migrant smuggling tragedy along Quintana Road, which left 53 people dead, making it the nation’s most deadly.

Referencing Sunday’s tragedy, Laredo Mayor Victor D. Treviño said in a statement that it is “a reminder of the ongoing humanitarian challenges along the border and the need for solutions that prioritize both security and human life.”

Read more:

• 6 found dead inside railroad boxcar, Laredo police say
• Body found near railroad tracks in southwest Bexar County, sheriff’s office says

According to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office’s arrest report, Romo performed poorly on field sobriety tests after getting stopped while driving south on Interstate 43 on Thursday. Sheriff’s officials said Romo was taken into custody, booked and released.

He has a court appearance set for Sept. 21.

Romo went to high school about 35 miles from Milwaukee in Burlington, Wisconsin.

The 46-year-old Romo has been the lead game analyst for CBS’ NFL coverage since 2017 after making four Pro Bowl appearances during an NFL career that ran from 2004-16 and was spent entirely with Dallas.

CBS had no comment regarding the arrest.

Romo remains the Cowboys’ franchise leader in career touchdown passes with 248. He held the franchise record for career passing yards (34,183) until Dak Prescott overtook him last season.

___

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

According to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office’s arrest report, Romo performed poorly on field sobriety tests after getting stopped while driving south on Interstate 43 on Thursday. Sheriff’s officials said Romo was taken into custody, booked and released.

He has a court appearance set for Sept. 21.

Romo went to high school about 35 miles from Milwaukee in Burlington, Wisconsin.

The 46-year-old Romo has been the lead game analyst for CBS’ NFL coverage since 2017 after making four Pro Bowl appearances during an NFL career that ran from 2004-16 and was spent entirely with Dallas.

CBS had no comment regarding the arrest.

Romo remains the Cowboys’ franchise leader in career touchdown passes with 248. He held the franchise record for career passing yards (34,183) until Dak Prescott overtook him last season.

___

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

The decision by the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee will need to be approved by the full organization, which is scheduled to meet in August.

Nevada is expected to follow South Carolina, with New Hampshire, New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia rounding out the early-state calendar. Those states will wield outsized influence in the nominating contest before Super Tuesday, when voters across a large group of states cast presidential primary ballots.

“This calendar will battle test our candidates, ensure our nominee can appeal to broad swaths of the electorate and this calendar will allow voters, not money, but voters to be the ultimate decider,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said after the vote.

The overhaul reflects Democrats’ effort to give greater influence to states that better mirror the party’s diverse coalition, particularly Black and Latino voters, after years of a calendar led by Iowa and New Hampshire, two states with overwhelmingly white electorates.

But hopes of emerging from Friday’s meeting with a party unified around one map were dashed by anger from states that had previously led the process. Rita Hart, chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, said she was disappointed but not surprised by Friday’s calendar vote, which she called “very messy” and a sign that the national party is “out of touch with voters.”

There was more angst in New Hampshire, where the secretary of state is required by law to schedule its presidential primary at least seven days before any other state holds a similar contest, setting up a potential conflict with the DNC calendar.

“The Democratic National Committee’s decision today is wrong for Democrats, wrong for New Hampshire, and wrong for the country,” said a group of congressional leaders in New Hampshire, including Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan.

Democrats elevate more diverse states

Democrats opted to lead with South Carolina after President Joe Biden successfully pushed to move the state to the front of Democrats’ 2024 calendar after the state revived his struggling 2020 presidential campaign. South Carolina has long been the first Southern contest and has served as a key test of candidates’ support among Black voters.

Jaime Harrison, a former DNC chair in attendance Friday, told The Associated Press after the vote that keeping his home state first on Democrats’ nominating calendar signaled to Black voters the value they bring to the party, especially after a Supreme Court decision aimed at weakening their voting power.

“I think we needed a strong statement to say to the most loyal members of our party, which are Black voters, that we’re going to stand up with you,” said Harrison, who also chaired South Carolina's Democratic Party. “It was just really important for us to stand up and say, ’We see you, we hear you, but most importantly, we’re gonna fight like hell for you. And your voices are important.'”

Much of Friday's debate stood as a contrast on several fronts. South Carolina proponents argued they had the experience to stand up a lead-off primary, and served as a showcase for the Black voters whose support has become vital for Democrats.

“Black voters didn't just show up for this party in 2020. They saved us,” Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb said, in making her argument for South Carolina. "They saved our entire country from Donald Trump.”

Nevada's supporters, meanwhile, portrayed their state as the party's future, in which they argued Latino voters play a larger and larger role.

“We are the battleground state," said Artie Blanco of Nevada, a DNC vice chair. "We win elections because we leave no voter untouched.”

Republicans still need to do their calendar. They’re expected to stick with their traditional early-state lineup led off by Iowa and New Hampshire.

Anger emerges from states that are not selected

Iowa has long led both parties' calendars with caucuses. Hart declined to say whether Iowa Democrats will defy the national party in 2028. She said they will wait until after the state’s midterm races when Democrats hope to make recently unattainable gains in the increasingly conservative state.

“We’re going to win elections here, and then we’re going to tell them what we’re going to do,” said Scott Brennan, who formerly represented Iowa on the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee.

New Hampshire Democrats similarly would not commit Friday to following the new calendar.

“This committee’s vote does not change the realities governing New Hampshire’s primary, which are beyond the control of both this committee and our state party,” said New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley.

Asked about some states not committing to the new calendar, Martin said the party will “have to cross that bridge when we get there.”

“We got some time, and the calendar was just set here,” said Martin.

The new map will shape the opening stage of what is expected to be a crowded Democratic presidential primary. Without an incumbent or clear front-runner, the states that vote first could once again play an outsized role in determining which candidates gain momentum, attract donors and emerge as viable contenders.

The calendar decision is one of the first milestones in what's expected to be a tumultuous two-year sprint to the Democratic nomination.

There has not been a truly open Democratic presidential primary — without an incumbent president or a dominant front-runner — in almost two decades.

___

Holly Ramer in Concord, N.H., and Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed reporting.

___

Kinnard reported from Columbia, S.C., and can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

Clark called her conversation with Obama “a moment I’ll probably remember for the rest of my life.”

“It was obviously super cool. He just complimented me for the way that I handle everything, obviously with everything that’s been going on,” the Indiana Fever star said Friday after meeting Obama. “He’s somebody that has been in front of the media quite a bit and he reminded me, ‘When I got famous in my 40s, I didn’t have to do it in my 20s.’"

Obama spoke to the players for a few minutes on the basketball court at the center which opened last month.

“Some of you I’m meeting for the first time. All of you are extraordinary and I could not be bigger fans,” Obama said. “The way the game has been growing lately, the way it’s been picking up and people paying attention to your excellence, I think it’s been something for basketball fans, generally, a sight to see. It’s been making me happy.”

He spoke to the players for a few minutes before taking a group photo. Obama then spent about 10 minutes shaking hands with the players and taking photos with them, including Clark.

“I know many of you are involved in some wonderful ventures off the court, looking out for other young people and inspiring them. I just wanted to say thanks,” Obama said.

The former president gave a shout out to A’ja Wilson in his talk to the players and then went over and chatted with her as well.

After the photo-ops were done, Obama stepped on the court and talked with New York Liberty star Jonquel Jones, getting down in a defensive stance for a few seconds on her.

“I feel like as a hooper, you know when someone’s challenging you. So I was just like, let me go over there with the basketball, you know, do a little cross, bump him a little bit," Jones said. “And I knew that I would get him activated a little because he’s a hooper, too.”

Jones said she had met Obama once before.

“He’s a role model for me and it was nice to be able to have that moment,” Jones said. “Someone that I look up to, someone that has paved the way for a lot of people to be here and see him continuing, his family continuing to give back to the community when they’ve already done so much is just so inspirational.”

That was the extent of his time on the court. He told the players that he didn’t play 5-on-5 anymore to protect his Achilles. He did say that he broke in the court with a game of “horse.”

Obama was the first sitting U.S. President to attend a WNBA game when he and his daughter, Sasha, sat courtside in 2010 for a Washington Mystics game. He also has hosted many of them at the White House after they either won WNBA championships or NCAA titles.

Obama was gifted with a No. 44 WNBA All-Star jersey that the players were going to autograph later.

This was the first professional sport to use the basketball court at the center, which opened in June. Obama went to the NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles in February. Obama said he unfortunately wasn’t going to be able to make the All-Star Game on Saturday because of a previous engagement with his wife, Michelle.

“It’s fitting for our 30th anniversary that we’re here as the first sports league to play in the Obama Presidential Center,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said. “Someone who has inspired hundreds of millions of people to dream big and accomplish things like President Obama has and his tie to basketball is amazing, too. I think there’s no more fitting person to be meeting with the players.”

After talking to the players, Obama went across the center to talk to a group of investors in the league and nearly 100 high school girls to talk.

___

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

Produced by environmental scientists, the report — which the state for more than six months had refused to release — said regulators should have more authority to reject industrial water withdrawal permits, force entities to examine alternative sources of water and clamp down on users who might be using more water than they should be.

The report noted limits around publicly available information on data center water use but did not lay blame with the industry for the concerns raised about the aquifer.

The groundwater supply in Virginia’s populous eastern coastal plain region “is constrained, and current projections indicate declining availability in the near future,” said the report, which Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s office provided to The Associated Press Thursday.

Data centers use water, sometimes in large amounts, to cool their servers. Worries about data centers' impact on the quality and supply of both ground and surface water — and about tech companies’ failures to be as transparent as the public would like — have dogged projects around the country. The issues have become politically explosive heading into the midterm elections.

Perhaps nowhere are those topics more resonant than in Virginia, home to hundreds of data centers with more under development and where the sustainability of groundwater, the supply stored naturally under the earth's surface, in the coastal eastern region has been a long-running concern.

A wide range of interest groups had begun to publicly admonish the governor's administration for withholding the report; those reviewing it Friday said its findings were sobering.

“We’re standing on the ledge,” said Jay Ford, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Virginia policy manager.

Report says lawmakers should tighten regulations

Virginia enacted its first groundwater law in 1973, but legislators acknowledged it was “too permissive” and tightened it in 1992, the report said. The law remains in effect, but the report warns it should be strengthened again.

State Sen. Richard Stuart, a conservative Republican who represents Virginia’s coastal Northern Neck region and has made conservation a cornerstone of his legislative work, said he's been making noise about the issue for at least 15 years. Increasingly, local governments in his district are being told by regulators that they will have to shift to new surface water sources because of the strain on groundwater.

He said the water crunch is happening at the same time as many new data centers are coming online across his district. He wanted more specifics, so he passed a bill requiring the study.

The report found that groundwater withdrawals in the region fell sharply roughly 15 years ago after a paper mill closed, which, along with regulatory efforts, helped water levels rise in the area’s biggest aquifer. Recently, those trends stalled, and levels throughout the aquifer are projected to resume declining, it said.

There likely isn’t enough groundwater to sustainably add any big, new industrial user, according to the study.

The report suggests the Legislature strengthen regulators' permitting authority; require applicants who want to tap large volumes of groundwater first examine surface water or water reuse; require better planning for local water use; and beef up funding for water management staffing and equipment.

Lawmakers should also weigh in on how they want regulators to prioritize drinking water for the public with current law, which directs them to consider protecting current uses.

Stuart said Friday that while he was still processing the more than 100-page report, its summary findings were worrisome, though they will help lawmakers make tough decisions moving forward.

“Folks worry about the lack of the ability for growth. A lot of them are talking about industrial and commercial. I’m worried about our citizens having drinking water, and I’m worried about our seafood industry because they need clean water,” he said.

Data centers would struggle to get a groundwater permit, study finds

The report said most existing and planned data center capacity is located in public water supply service areas that mostly draw from surface water. But it went on to note that no comprehensive public data exists about groundwater-sourced water withdrawals from the facilities.

While it’s also not clear exactly how many data centers are under development in the state’s eastern region, 371 are in operation across the state and another 438 are planned, according to Cleanview, a company that tracks data centers and other power infrastructure development.

The report’s authors performed an analysis to evaluate what hypothetical water withdrawals from a data center would look like and whether they could be permitted.

“Under current conditions, it appears unlikely that a data center with evaporative cooling technology (or any comparable water user) would find a reliable, sufficient groundwater supply anywhere” in the region, the report said.

Groundwater management and quality as more data centers come online has also been a concern in states including Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Georgia and South Carolina.

Administration initially blocked the report's release, but Spanberger says she will act on it

The state’s delay in issuing the report had raised transparency concerns and questions about its contents, partly because of its connection to data centers.

A wide range of advocacy organizations and a committee that advises state regulators on eastern Virginia groundwater issues had begun to raise concerns in June and July about why the report due in January had not yet been made public. Stuart said he had not been able to obtain a copy of it.

The AP sought the report under an open records request, and the Department of Environmental Quality withheld it. After AP requested comment for a story about the refusal to release the report, the governor’s office provided a copy late Thursday night.

Jack Bledsoe, a spokesperson for Spanberger, who took office in January, attributed delays in the report's release to a backlog of outstanding items from the previous governor's administration.

“This report represents the most comprehensive analysis of groundwater resources conducted in Virginia history. Governor Spanberger is committed to working with the General Assembly to carefully evaluate its findings, strengthen the Commonwealth’s groundwater management policies, and protect Virginia’s water supply for future generations,” Bledsoe said.

___

Associated Press reporters Michael Phillis in Washington and Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, contributed to this report.

The announcement was made in a Friday afternoon news conference at the La Salle County Courthouse.

“Now, there are officially three people whose lives have been lost because of the July floods,” Abbott said.

The death comes as two others have already been confirmed — one in Uvalde and one in Kerr County — as severe weather has devastated areas of South Texas.

The Uvalde County Sheriff’s Office identified the Uvalde victim as 74-year-old Stephen Rolf. Rolf died after floodwaters swept away his vehicle.

Officials said they found the vehicle in floodwaters at the intersection of U.S. Highway 83 North and County Road 400.

The Kerr County Sheriff’s Office identified 65-year-old John Mark Steward as the other flood victim. Officials said Steward was swept away from the Goat Creek Road area of Kerr County and was later found near Center Point River Road.

Abbott tours Cotulla damage

Abbott visited Cotulla on Friday to survey flood damage firsthand and help serve meals to residents affected by the storms.

The governor said he flew over Cotulla to assess the damage. He has also conducted aerial surveys of several other areas across South Texas.

Abbott said the greater Cotulla area has sustained the most significant flooding he has witnessed.

The Nueces River crested at 29 feet, 3 inches in La Salle County and was sitting at 25 feet as of Friday afternoon, Abbott said. He expects the river to continue declining in the coming days.

Across Texas, Abbott said officials have rescued 530 people since flooding began. In Cotulla alone, at least 48 residences have sustained damage, including at least six with major damage.

As of Friday, significant portions of La Salle County remain flooded and inaccessible, slowing efforts to fully document property damage across the region.

Governor praises La Salle County leaders

The governor also praised local leaders for their early preparation, saying their actions saved lives.

“I want to thank all of the local leaders, the first responders, the volunteers and our fellow Texans for their effective response. What they did truly saved lives,” Abbott said.

Officials knocked on residents’ doors 10 days before the floods arrived, urging them to either evacuate or prepare for rising waters.

“The work is beginning with regard to fixing this region and getting it rebuilt and put back together,” Abbott said.

The American Red Cross is currently providing meals to residents in Cotulla as recovery efforts continue.

Read also:

• Ingram animal rescue and rehab rebuilds after floodwaters damage enclosures, wash away supplies
• Kerrville extends disaster declaration after widespread flood damage

Every major index lost ground overall for the week amid increasing pressure from a sharp escalation in the U.S. war with Iran. Investors are also contending with new tariffs from the Trump administration and worries about the economy suffering under the weight of stubborn inflation.

The S&P 500 barely budged in a day of uneventful trading. It rose 3.68 points, or less than 0.1%, to 7,411.98. The index notched its second consecutive losing week, which hasn't happened since March.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 235.60 points, or 0.5%, to 51,947.25.

The Nasdaq fell 161.87 points, or 0.6%, to 24,975.82. It was weighed down by sharp losses from several big tech stocks.

Micron Technology fell 7% and Broadcom fell 2.7%. Both companies have large market values that tend to weigh more heavily on the market. They were big reasons for the technology-heavy Nasdaq lagging the market, and also why the market's gains were kept in check despite more stocks rising than falling within the S&P 500.

Heavy fighting in the Middle East throughout the week again threatened to slow the global flow of oil and gas. It has been an ongoing concern for Wall Street, and now many of the buffers in the energy market from earlier in the year, including strategic reserves in the U.S., have been weakened.

“If escalation continues and the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, the impact will land on an energy market with far less resilience than in the spring,” wrote Theodore Bunzel, head of geopolitical advisory at Lazard Asset Management, in a report.

Brent crude, the international standard, fell 3.9% to $96.78. It rose the first four days of the week and moved back above $100 on Thursday. Before the Iran war began in late February it was trading around $72 per barrel.

Bond yields also eased and relieved some of the pressure on stocks. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.68% from 4.71% late Thursday.

Markets in Europe gained ground, while Asian markets closed lower.

The U.S. is also ramping up its global trade war with a fresh round of tariffs on dozens of nations. The new round of tariffs impacts nearly all U.S. imports and they are paid by companies importing those goods, who then typically pass the added costs along to consumers. That move came just as the clock was running out Friday on stopgap levies the president imposed after a stinging defeat for other tariffs at the Supreme Court.

Rising energy prices and fresh tariffs could result in hotter inflation, which has been squeezing consumers and looming over the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy.

The Fed meets next week and has been closely monitoring prices and their impact. Rising inflation dashed hopes earlier this year for an interest rate cut. Wall Street has since leaned more toward a potential rate increase, which the central bank can use to help cool inflation.

Wall Street is anticipating at least one rate hike by the end of the year, with a nearly 38% chance that could happen at the upcoming meeting next week, according to CME FedWatch.

Higher energy costs threaten to take a bigger chunk out of household budgets, which means a shift in spending toward more basic needs, like gasoline. Nationally, a gallon of gasoline costs $4.10 per gallon, according to AAA. That’s still lower than this spring as the conflict in Iran expanded, but it’s almost a dollar higher than last year at this time.

Investors are worried about the impact to companies profits. Those profits and expectations for more growth are what typically justifies a stock's value. The latest round of corporate earnings showed that companies are still notching growth, but concerns are growing.

American Express fell 4.3% despite reporting a jump in profit during its most recent quarter. AmEx maintained its profit forecast for the year and has been spending more heavily to keep wealthy individuals amid more competition.

Worries about the sustainability of broader profits are on top of lingering concerns about AI-focused tech companies. Companies like Alphabet and Nvidia have been spending heavily on AI technology. Investors are increasingly questioning whether those investments will produce profits to justify the large stock values that have been steering the broader market higher throughout the year.

___

AP Business Writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed to this report.

Experts say spaying and neutering pets can help reduce unwanted litters and ease overcrowding at local animal shelters.

The City of San Antonio offers free spay and neuter surgeries for many qualifying residents through its Animal Care Services program.

The city works with several local clinics and organizations, including the East Side Spay & Neuter Clinic, West Side Spay & Neuter Clinic, SNIPSA and Spay Neuter Network.

Depending on the program, pets may also receive a rabies vaccine and microchip at no additional cost.

Residents who do not qualify for free services may still be eligible for low-cost options through participating organizations. Those services are often less expensive than surgeries performed at private veterinary clinics.

Appointments can fill quickly as shelters and rescue organizations continue dealing with overcrowding.

SNIPSA told KSAT it has completed 3,000 spay and neuter surgeries so far this year, setting a new record for the organization.

To find out whether you qualify, visit the San Antonio Animal Care Services website, select “Spay & Neuter Services” and follow the instructions to make an appointment. The website will indicate whether your ZIP code qualifies for free services.

Pet owners can also contact SNIPSA and Spay Neuter Network directly for information about available appointments and low-cost programs.

Anyone who suspects an animal is being abused, neglected or harmed is encouraged to call 311. Animal Care Services can dispatch an officer to investigate, and reports may be made anonymously.

Read also:

• Ingram animal rescue and rehab rebuilds after floodwaters damage enclosures, wash away supplies

The flood victim was swept away while driving July 20 in Val Verde County, Abbott said during a media briefing in Cotulla, a city about 90 miles southwest of San Antonio

The widespread flooding killed two last week — one person who was driving in Uvalde County, and another whose RV was swept away in Kerr County.

Abbott said earlier this week that as many as 135 homes in Kerry County were destroyed or heavily damaged by the flood, and that the state is continuing to assess the damage it left behind.

Since the flooding began July 12, the state has “provided more than 2,700 personnel, more than 1,400 vehicles, more than 22 boats, more than 20 aircraft,” Abbott said. “And altogether, the state has rescued more than 500 people across our state.”

He said the number of homes damaged is expected to grow in coming days because some areas are still so inundated with water that they’re inaccessible.

Abbott assessed damage from a helicopter earlier Friday and said the area with the most water was Cotulla, where at least 48 homes were  recorded as damaged, but he called it a preliminary number.

“We all know that as soon as the waters recede, evaluators will be able to get in and evaluate more about the properties damaged,” he said. “So, that number is likely to go up.”

Until then, he said, the water is still high as floodwater continues to flow downstream. 

“Once you’re above the Nueces [River], that water is everywhere, and it seems like it just continues to persist,” he said. “We saw destruction to homes. We saw destruction to infrastructure.”

As the six-lane Gordie Howe International Bridge dominated the skyline behind them, officials lined up in Windsor, Ontario, to hail what one described as “one of the most significant infrastructure achievements in Canada's history.” The bridge opens to traffic on Monday.

“Some days are remembered because they mark the end of a journey. Others are remembered because they mark the beginning of something entirely new. Today is both,” said Chuck Andary, interim CEO of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority, which will operate the bridge.

Missing from the event: U.S. and Michigan representatives. Canada scratched a joint gathering after President Donald Trump this week suddenly announced 50% tariffs on Canadian goods entering the U.S. A soloist sang the national anthem, “O Canada,” but the U.S. anthem was not performed.

“Our relationship has been challenged over the last few years, and President Trump is threatening tariffs just this month. But team Canada has never been more united,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford told the crowd, which applauded at times during his defense of the country.

Bridges are critical to moving goods between countries

More than 70% of Canada’s exports go to the U.S., making America its largest trade partner, and Detroit is the No. 1 port for truck traffic on the U.S.-Canada border, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The Howe bridge will instantly create competition. For nearly a century, the privately owned Ambassador Bridge has been the only route for large commercial trucks moving between the U.S. and Canada at Detroit. Businesses say the new span will be faster and less expensive.

The bridge is named for Howe, a Canadian icon — “Mr. Hockey” — who played on the other side of the Detroit River for the NHL's Detroit Red Wings. He died in 2016. Ford and Mark Wiseman, the Canadian ambassador to the U.S., wore hockey sweaters with Howe's No. 9.

Trump didn't attend, but his role was felt

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens repeatedly praised Howe and appeared to take a subtle dig at Trump. He said he recently texted Dr. Murray Howe to ask who might be his father's target these days if he had to slam someone into the hockey boards.

“He's a gentleman. He didn't answer,” Dilkens said. “But I think we all know who that person might be if Gordie was going to check one person into the board.”

Surrounded by family, Murray Howe thanked residents of both countries and specifically named Canadian officials and the U.S. president. He recalled how his father grew up in Saskatchewan before moving to Ontario at age 16 for a tryout with the Red Wings.

“This bridge will serve as an unmistakable symbol of the priceless bond and true friendship between the people of Canada and the people of the United States,” Murray Howe said, expressing the same long-term view as other speakers.

Canada paid for the bridge but will share revenue

Construction, which began in 2018, took years, partly because of a global slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Canada paid to build the bridge at an estimated cost of $6.4 billion. A recent agreement says Canada will share some toll revenue with the U.S. government for 15 years.

Trump praised his administration for that deal in a social media post while the Ontario event was in progress. “We changed the terms,” he said.

Michigan will also get a share, but not until Canada’s costs are recovered, likely decades from now.

The bridge is 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) long and rises 151 feet (46 meters) above the Detroit River at its highest point. Pedestrians and bicyclists carrying proper identification will be able to cross it for free in a few weeks.

___

White reported from Detroit.

Colt Gray, 16, entered the plea Friday without having reached a deal with prosecutors. The Sept. 4, 2024, shooting also left several others wounded at the school of 1,900 students about 45 miles (73 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta.

Gray, who was 14 at the time, was charged as an adult. His trial had been scheduled to start in mid-October.

A jury in March convicted his father, Colin Gray, on charges including second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. He is scheduled to be sentenced next week. Prosecutors said he gave his son the assault-style rifle used to open fire at the school.

Teachers Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, died in the shooting. Another teacher and eight more students were wounded, seven of them hit by gunfire.

Teen faces life in prison

Barrow County Superior Court Judge Nicholas Primm questioned Gray to ensure he understood the consequences of his plea and was entering it voluntarily. Gray responded, “Yes, your honor,” each time.

Murder carries a minimum sentence of life in prison. The judge must decide whether Gray should be eligible for parole after hearing victim statements, evidence and each side's summary of the case.

Victim: ‘Those decisions were his and his alone’

Family members of those killed and students who were shot gave statements, expressing anger and grief, with most asking the judge to sentence Gray to life without parole.

Breanna Schermerhorn, whose son Mason was killed, said she doesn't forgive Gray. While adults around him missed warning signs, she said, he brought the gun and pulled the trigger.

“Those decisions were his and his alone,” she said.

Shayna Aspinwall, Richard Aspinwall's wife, lamented that the lives of their daughters, who were 2 and 5 when their father died, will be “forever marked by his absence.”

“It is a life sentence of grief and trauma for those left behind,” she said.

A teenage student who was shot told the judge she remembered feeling “really scared and confused because I saw Colt standing in the door with a gun.” The Associated Press is not identifying the girl, who is a minor.

She said she realized she had been shot and asked a friend to hold her hand. She asked other friends to call her brother to let him know she'd been shot and didn't know if she'd make it. She had multiple surgeries and wasn't able to walk for about a year.

“After the shooting, I struggled with so much anxiety, and I felt like my life was over,” she said.

Apalachee High School Principal Jessica Rehberg said Colt Gray’s “cruel actions” deserve “the harshest consequences.”

The hearing is set to resume Monday, and Gray's defense attorney wrote in a court filing that he plans testimony from a psychologist, a juvenile detention center counselor and Gray's grandmother.

Investigator says Colt Gray carefully plotted the shooting

Barrow County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Jason Smith testified about the timeline. Gray told his second period teacher just before 10 a.m. that he needed to see a crisis counselor but instead went to a bathroom to prepare for the shooting, Smith said.

He emerged from the bathroom at 10:21 a.m., and when he was unable to reenter his classroom, he went down the hall to another classroom, where he opened fire and then shot other people in the hallway. He ultimately surrendered to law enforcement officers.

Smith said he interviewed Gray at the school and again at the sheriff’s office.

Prosecutors played a recording of the interview at the school. Gray sobbed hysterically during questioning. He repeatedly apologized, said he wasn't trying to justify his actions and said what happened was “horrible" and “the worst nightmare for everyone involved.”

He talked about having uncontrollable urges and hearing people tell him to do things and said he was supposed to see a doctor soon: “I was so close to getting the help I need and the medication I need.”

Gray told Smith that right before the shooting he felt things were getting really bad and he feared he was going to be attacked. He repeatedly mentioned believing teachers, and possibly students, were plotting against him.

The teenager was much calmer several hours later during the second interview. He said he didn’t target anyone specifically and didn't know how many people he'd killed.

“Colt indicated that it was spontaneous, that it was a last minute thing,” that he heard voices and on the way to the crisis counselor and “decided to do the shooting,” Smith testified. But the investigation showed that the shooting had been planned in detail for some time, he said.

The investigator described a notebook Gray had that included a detailed step-by-step plan to get himself ready in the bathroom that included notations like, “Don’t shoot anyone in the bathroom. You will alert people.”

On one page he wrote, “I’m not a killer,” and “I’m scared.” On multiple pages, he wrote “why” dozens of times. He also estimated the number of people he would kill and injure. On one page, he wrote, “Surprised if I make it.”

Sheriff’s deputies had previously interviewed Colt and Colin Gray in May 2023 about an online threat linked to the son. Colt Gray denied making the threat.

Investigators found a shrine in Colt Gray's bedroom to Nikolas Cruz, the shooter in the 2018 massacre at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, prosecutors have said. Gray told Smith he “became obsessed with him on an emotional level,” referring to Cruz.

An investigator testified during Colin Gray's trial that he had sought help for his son from a counseling service weeks before the shooting but then failed to follow through.

Colt Gray's mother, Marcee Gray, who was separated from Colin Gray, told investigators she had urged him weeks before the shooting to secure his guns and restrict their son’s access to them. Instead, over time, Colin Gray bought the teenager ammunition, a gun sight and other shooting accessories, records show.

The latest arrest happened Tuesday at the complex, located on Whitby Road near Babcock Road. Alyssa Zurita, 24, was taken into custody on several charges, including fraud.

Three other people were arrested on similar charges earlier this month: Allen Searcy, 42; Angel Delagarza, 31; and Bryan Duenas, 44.

An arrest affidavit mentions two other people who investigators wanted to arrest. However, as of Friday afternoon, online records showed that had not yet happened.

The affidavit says the four suspects were on hand when criminal investigators with the Department of Public Safety raided the apartment on a warrant related to fraud.

“We were just getting up and suddenly we heard a noise, the voice yelling, ‘Open the door! Open the door!” said a neighbor, who wanted to remain anonymous. “One of them had the rifle and all that, all the equipment. And then I said, ‘Wow, what is this going on?’”

The neighbor said the July 1 raid was actually one of two at the apartment this month. She said investigators returned there this past Tuesday.

The affidavit says during a search of the apartment, investigators found more than 400 pieces of personal information belonging to 273 victims. The victims included seniors, children and even a person who had died.

Additionally, it says they found several counterfeit mailbox keys, as well as machines to make them and phony credit cards.

It says the apartment itself was leased by the suspects using the name and information of one of the victims without his knowledge.

The neighbor who spoke anonymously was stunned to learn what investigators say was happening inside the apartment.

While there was no mention in the affidavit about exactly how the suspects were able to obtain the victims’ information, a neighbor said she suspects they may have gotten some of it from mailboxes at the same apartment complex.

She said she noticed recently that her own debit card had been stolen from her mailbox.

Read also:

• Second suspect arrested in connection with Northeast Side bank robbery, SAPD says
• Suspect tied to business burglaries, stolen ATMs in south Bexar County, affidavit states
• Homeowners eager for capture of burglars who stole millions in Stone Oak neighborhood

Today on Texas Eats NOW:

CAVENDER GRANDE FORD

3600 I-35, San Antonio, TX 78219

Host David Elder rolled up to Cavender Grande Ford at 3600 N IH-35 and turned the lot into a full-on fajita cookout alongside General Manager Casey Ogletree. We’re talking seasoned tri-colored peppers, perfectly caramelized onions, juicy chicken, warm tortillas, and fresh salsa. The best part? It was completely free while supplies lasted. As Casey put it, this is his favorite Friday of the month, and one look at that sizzling flat-top and you’d understand why.

But the fun didn’t stop at the grill. Everyone who came out had a chance to register to win a Ninja cooler and two chairs — a perfect summer prize whether you’re headed to the beach, the lake, or a backyard get-together. Of course, Cavender Grande Ford brought the deals to match the meals. Right now at Cavender Grande Ford, you can drive home in a 2026 Bronco Sport Big Bend for under $30,000. The 2026 Explorer ST Line loaded with black leather, red stitching, black wheels, and a blacked-out grille is rolling out the door for under $45,000. And the headliner? 2026 F-150s at 2.9% financing for up to 84 months — some of the cheapest rates we’ve seen in years on America’s favorite truck.

NADC

1007 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78702

NADC Burger — short for Not a Damn Chance — is exactly the kind of Austin story that sounds too good to be true: a Michelin-starred chef and a professional skateboarder walk into a kitchen, start giving away burgers for free, and accidentally build one of the most talked-about burger empires in Texas. And yet, here we are.

The brainchild of Chef Phillip Frankland-Lee and pro skateboarder Neen Williams, NADC grew out of a genuine friendship. The two bonded over skateboarding and cooking around 2021, and after post-skate sessions kept ending with burgers, they started collaborating. Together, they spent the better part of two years perfecting every variable: the beef, the cheese, the sauce, the bun, the pickles, the onions — right down to the precise amount of each.

The result is deceptively simple and wildly satisfying. The NADC Burger is a double smashburger built on two 3-ounce patties of 100% American wagyu beef, layered with New School’s Real American Cheese, a secret sauce (think tangy, umami-forward), onions, pickles, and slightly tamed jalapeños. Every element is calibrated to cut through the richness of the wagyu. Pair your burger with an ice-cold beer, some Beast Mode loaded fries, and settle in.

ROUND ROCK DONUTS

106 W Liberty Ave, Round Rock, TX 78664

Tucked inside the century-old Lone Star Bakery at 106 W. Liberty Avenue in Round Rock, this beloved institution isn’t just selling pastries. It’s serving up a piece of Texas history, one perfectly golden ring at a time.

The story begins in 1926, when German immigrant Reinhold Moehring opened the Lone Star Bakery on Round Rock’s Main Street. In the years that followed, Moehring obsessed over his dough, experimenting with recipes through the 1930s in hopes of crafting something truly singular. By the early 1940s, he had cracked the code: a hand-rolled, yeast-risen glazed donut with a distinct yellow-orange hue born from fresh eggs — a donut unlike anything else in Texas. The Round Rock Donut was born.

Nearly a century later, that recipe remains unchanged, and the process is still beautifully hands-on. The glazed original is still the undisputed star, but the menu has grown to include chocolate, strawberry, and maple-iced varieties — plus the showstopping Texas-size donut, a comically enormous creation that dwarfs a standard ring and can be customized any way you want: glazed, half-and-half, or fully chocolate.

The world has taken notice. TasteAtlas recently named Round Rock Donuts No. 21 on its list of the Top 150 Most Legendary Dessert Places in the World — ranking it 4th in the United States and 1st in Texas.

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

• Facebook: @TexasEatsTV
• Instagram: @texaseatstv
• TikTok: @ElderEats
• Twitter: @TexasEatsTV

It is, however, too early to predict if it will be a true “drought buster,” hydrological experts say, or if rising lake levels will push back mandatory water use restrictions for residents.

Corpus Christi, Texas’ eighth-largest city, has been racing to avoid a water emergency in which demand outpaces available water supplies. Earlier this year, city projections showed that “day zero” — when supplies are six months away from being outstripped by demand — could arrive as early as May. Spring rains pushed that estimate back to September 2027, but not before drawing statewide and national attention as the city appeared to be the first major U.S. city to be on track to run short of water.

For months, local leaders said the region needed either steady rain or a hurricane to replenish the largely empty reservoirs. Last week’s intense storms across Central and South Texas, which triggered flash flood emergencies, evacuations and rescues, may deliver some of the hoped-for relief.

The biggest gains (so far) have been at Choke Canyon Reservoir. The lake climbed from 7.9% of capacity on Monday to 14.8% by Friday, almost doubling its water levels. The reservoir was last consistently full in the early 2000s and has been below 50% full since 2013.

“It’s nothing to sneeze at,” said Robert Mace, a water expert and executive director of the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University. He said reservoirs are still rising, signaling that more water is on the way.

Just a few months ago, the region’s outlook was far more dire. In April, the major regional reservoirs reached historic lows — Choke Canyon dropped to 7.4% of capacity while Lake Corpus Christi fell to 8.5%. That same month, at least six small cities and towns in the Coastal Bend region issued disaster declarations amid the water crisis. Corpus Christi, which supplies water to some of its neighbors, told its residents and businesses to cut their water use.

“Even if [Choke Canyon] stopped going up today, it buys Corpus valuable time to pursue alternative supplies,” Mace said.

Rainfall runoff from the Frio, Atascosa and Nueces River systems is expected to contribute vital inflows to both Choke Canyon Reservoir and Lake Corpus Christi.

The Frio River, which flows into Choke Canyon, rose from a depth of around one foot in recent weeks to nearly 30 feet on July 22 in Tilden. At its peak, the river carried roughly 20,000 cubic feet of water per second.

Flows have remained steady, meaning more water is still moving toward the reservoir.

“This flood event has broad shoulders as it’s moving down the river towards these reservoirs,” Mace said.

Greg Waller, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service’s West Gulf River Forecast Center in Fort Worth, said forecasts show Choke Canyon Reservoir could rise a total of 12 feet, bringing it up to 192 feet. The lake is nearing 186 feet, “which is good, but it’s nowhere near full,” Waller said. “This would be good for water supply storage for Choke Canyon.”

While inflows are already reaching Choke Canyon Reservoir, Lake Corpus Christi is expected to begin seeing inflows within the next week. However, forecasting those flows is more complicated.

Waller calls the Nueces River problematic for a hydrological forecaster because it crosses the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone. During dry periods, the ground can absorb water before it can reach the reservoir.

How much will the ground suck up? It is hard to predict. Waller said the last five rain events have shown “variable loss” of water. Forecasters expect some water will recharge the aquifer this time as well, but it’s too early to calculate how much.

Corpus Christi officials said in a news release that they are closely monitoring upstream river flows to Choke Canyon and Lake Corpus Christi.

“Our team is continuously tracking upstream gauge levels and coordination efforts across the watershed,” said Nick Winkelmann, chief operating officer of Corpus Christi Water. “We are fully prepared to manage incoming volumes to ensure dam safety, optimize municipal supply storage, and fulfill all regulatory requirements.”

The city plans to hold a meeting next week to discuss what the rising lakes mean for its water emergency.

The Nueces River in Cotulla crested at significant flood levels at 29 feet on July 22 — up from 4 feet in the weeks prior. That water will continue to travel downstream in the coming days.

Waller said that once the water shows up at Tilden, forecasters will have a better idea how much water will make its way to Lake Corpus Christi, which currently sits at 32% capacity. The water could arrive as early as July 27 with a steady rise the first week of August, he said.

“We’re running our modeling to try to share this information, so [the city] can make the best decisions,” Waller said.

Whether the storms will end the Coastal Bend’s drought remains uncertain.

“Texas is a state of drought with occasional massive flooding, and so we’re seeing that,” Mace said.

Still, he cautioned against declaring victory: “We’ll have to see what happens with how much water comes into these reservoirs as to whether or not they’re drought busters for Corpus Christi.”

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

The race for Texas’s senate seat is shaping up to be one the most expensive competitions in the nation. Democratic nominee James Talarico is setting records, raising more at this stage of the race than any Texas general-election candidate in the past decade and posting the largest quarterly haul of any active Senate race.

GOP nominee Ken Paxton is lagging behind, having raised less than a quarter of what his rival has since the start of the race. Despite his fundraising disadvantage, Paxton benefits from new rules on how national party committees can spend in coordination with candidates and, like many cash-strapped Republicans, is leaning heavily on fundraising in coordination with other candidates and party groups.

Here’s what you need to know

• How much have the candidates raised?
• How do they compare to past cycles?
• What kind of donations are they getting?
• Where are the contributions coming from?
• What about ad buys and outside spending?

How much have the candidates raised?

The campaigns of Talarico and Ken Paxton reported raking in $31.6 million and $9.3 million, respectively, in their last quarterly filing with the Federal Election Commission. Since the beginning of 2025, Talarico’s campaign has lapped Paxton’s several times over, raising a cumulative $72.0 million compared to $16.8 million by Paxton’s. 

The Democratic Senate nominee ended June with $23.3 million on hand, more than triple his GOP rival. Despite Paxton’s weaker fundraising performance, his campaign may have less to worry about after the Supreme Court struck down federal limits on how much political parties could spend in coordination with their candidates. 

While the ruling lets both parties spend without limit, Republicans are expected to benefit more, due to their stronger large-donor support at the national level. National party committees can accept up to $44,300 per year from an individual donor, compared with just $3,500 per election for candidate committees.

Through his principal campaign committee, Paxton raised $9.2 million since the start of his campaign. Additionally, $7.5 million was raised through his joint fundraising committees, which allow candidates to raise money alongside other candidates or organizations and split the dollars according to a predetermined formula. Talarico’s joint fundraising committees raised about $6 million, only about 8% of his total haul compared to about 45% of Paxton’s.

The use of joint fundraising committees has grown in recent years. In 2024, an FEC deadlock meant the fundraising vehicles could be used for buying ads without allocating their costs to candidates, effectively allowing some candidates or organizations to subsidize the campaigns of others. Republican candidates, who are often more strapped for cash, have taken advantage of this loophole more frequently.

How do they compare to past cycles?

Note: Fundraising includes dollars reported by candidates’ principal fundraising committees. Dollars are adjusted for inflation and reflect the latest dates covered by committee filings.

Compared to the same point in past cycles, Talarico has raised more than any other general election nominee in the previous decade. On the other hand, Paxton is falling behind his Republican predecessors.

While Democratic candidates significantly outperformed their Republican counterparts in 2018 and 2024 as well, that has yet to translate into a win for the challengers. In 2024, Colin Allred ended his campaign having raised nearly $21 million more than Ted Cruz and lost by 8.5 percentage points. Beto O’Rourke raised nearly $45 million more than Cruz in 2018 but still lost by 2.6 percentage points.

What kind of donations are they getting?

The Senate candidates are running in one of the country’s most anticipated elections, driving large hauls from individual donors. Neither candidate has received strong support from PACs. Talarico and Paxton have received just about $359,000 and $241,000 from PACs, respectively. The Senate hopefuls have relied on contributions from individual donors to fuel their war chests. 

Talarico’s campaign has shown strong small-donor fundraising. Of his total fundraising, 51% came from individuals who have contributed less than $200 over the course of the campaign. In contrast, 88% of Paxton’s contributions came from larger donors.

Where are the contributions coming from?

Contributions to the candidates were concentrated near the state’s largest cities. Talarico received the most from Travis County, where donors who contributed over $200 sent a combined $3.8 million to his campaign as of June 30, 2026. Paxton’s largest pull came from Dallas County where he raised about $1 million as of May 6, 2026, though Talarico still managed to outraise him there too.

Of the itemized contributions that went to Talarico and Paxton, about 55% and 83% came from within Texas, respectively. Of their out-of-state contributions, Talarico saw the most come from California and New York while Paxton received the most from Florida and Utah.

What about ad buys and outside spending?

Since the GOP runoff election on May 26, pro-Paxton advertisers have been relatively quiet. Meanwhile, Talarico’s campaign launched its largest ad push so far in the general election: a $4.4 million ad buy, according to AdImpact. The 30-second ad features the Democrat speaking about affordability while leaving a Red & White food store.

So far, the bulk of independent expenditures have been spent opposing Paxton leading up to the primary and GOP runoff. The largest spender was a pro-Cornyn super PAC named Texans for a Conservative Majority, which spent about $25 million opposing Paxton. The group has close ties to Trump’s inner circle and has purchased some of the race’s most expensive ads to attack Paxton. 

The GOP candidate’s largest outside support came from Lone Star Liberty PAC, which spent about $770,000 supporting Paxton and $200,000 opposing Talarico. The second largest spender supporting Paxton was Fellowship PAC, a crypto super PAC which spent $500,000.

Talarico has only been the target of about $763,000 in opposition spending. Leading up to the primary, about $4.1 million was spent supporting his candidacy, nearly $4 million of which came from Lone Star Rising PAC. The super PAC is Talarico’s largest outside spender and is backed by several billionaire donors.

Corey Durell Ruiz, 38, was shot and killed on a city street Wednesday, the moments of his death captured in bystander videos that were later posted online. The race of the officer who fired his gun has not been released by police. Ruiz is identified as Black or Latino in Wisconsin court records.

“It does not matter who you are or what your past is, you should not lose your life as a result of an encounter with law enforcement,” Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.

Wisconsin court records show Ruiz had been in and out of jail over the past decade for mostly misdemeanor offenses including disorderly conduct, drug possession, auto theft, battery and invasion of privacy. He was also convicted of felonies including possession of cocaine and marijuana, robbery, strangulation, resisting an officer and causing bodily harm.

“He’s a human being. He had a family. He has parents who loved him, who brought him home, who cared for him,” Common Council President Sabrina Madison said, adding that she’s struggling to understand what she’s seen in videos of the shooting that have circulated on social media.

“My first thought is, when the officer’s walking away, why isn’t he walking away in cuffs?” Madison said. “I’m angry, there’s no way around it.”

Ruiz's family has retained Ben Crump, a prominent civil rights attorney, who said the case must be examined for excessive force.

Shooting sparks turmoil in a fed-up community

Frustrated residents marched, and a memorial of flowers and signs grew near the place where Ruiz died. It was just blocks from where two other police killings happened in 2015 and 2012.

A group of about 20 protesters burst into Thursday's news conference, taking the microphone from police Chief John Patterson and arguing with some attendees who said they wanted to hear more about the investigation.

One protester held a sign saying “Corrupt cops deserve to die too!!!”

Moments earlier, the mayor said the shooting would be “rigorously investigated.”

Once the protesters quieted down, the chief resumed his presentation, promising his department's full cooperation with the state investigation.

Police have released few details

None of the four officers who were detaining Ruiz wore body cameras, but passersby recorded the confrontation on video, and accused the officers of overreacting.

“I thought, ‘Holy cow — what could have warranted that?’ It looked to me like they had him under control,” David Ortiz-Whittingham, who saw officers swarming and heard the gunshots, said Thursday. “Even now, knowing about the knife, did he have to die for it? Could this have been de-escalated?”

The police chief released few details Thursday, saying a Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation probe of the officer-involved shooting must run its course.

Earlier Thursday, Madison's independent police monitor, Aeiramique Glass, said police had not yet shared evidence or the officer's identity with her office, which will review the case and can recommend to the district attorney that charges be filed if warranted. She said the department and city are “obstructing what the community and the public” want.

“Let me do my job,” she said.

Patterson said the police were committed to cooperating with Glass.

The chief urges people not to draw conclusions

Patterson has urged caution in reading too much from the cellphone videos. He said none show the perspective of the officers, and additional unreleased video was being reviewed.

The officer who fired his weapon is an 11-year veteran of the force, the chief said. He and the three other responding officers will be placed on administrative leave.

Patterson said police were responding to calls that someone was attempting to enter parked vehicles, and the suspect fled on a bike before the officers surrounded him. One deployed a taser, but Patterson said the effort failed to control the man.

In the videos circulating online, the man can be seen standing before he's brought to his knees as the officers struggle to force him into a prone position. Then he falls quickly to the pavement after what sounds like three gunshots, and seems motionless as the officers handcuff him behind his back. Arriving officers then escort one of the officers a short distance away.

Patterson said he did not know the extent of the knife injuries sustained by the officer.

“This situation was clearly dangerous,” Patterson said before adding he was saddened by the loss of life.

A neighborhood now accustomed to police shootings

The shooting happened in the middle of an intersection in the popular Marquette neighborhood, less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the state Capitol. Bystander videos show numerous cars at the scene, with people watching as it unfolds.

“I saw everything! I saw everything! You did not need to kill him! ... We watched it all!” a woman yells in the video recorded by Ortiz-Whittingham.

Residents who dealt with two other police killings expressed frustration Thursday.

In 2015, a white police officer shot and killed Tony Robinson, who was biracial, on the same street. Large protests followed, but the district attorney filed no charges, determining the officer was justified. In 2012, Paul Heenan, a white musician, was fatally shot after he had been drinking and mistakenly entered his neighbor's house. That officer was exonerated as well.

The chief acknowledged that the neighborhood “has experienced a lot of trauma” and urged people to support one another.

“I want transparency. I want accountability,” Patterson said.

Questions about race and technology emerge

Black advocacy groups, protesters and politicians are speaking out against the shooting, which has also focused attention on the Madison Police Department’s lack of body-worn cameras. The force of around 500 is among the largest in the Midwest that doesn’t use the devices.

Madison, the Common Council president, said Thursday that she expects a police request for $400,000 to be approved, enabling the cameras to be phased in over the next three years. Others lamented that cameras weren't already being used.

The mayor said her budget, which has not yet been released, will include funding for body-worn cameras. Rhodes-Conway said the city needs to put together a policy for their use before the budget takes effect in January.

And now it's a talking point in the governor's race

The shooting has quickly infused itself into the race to succeed Gov. Tony Evers, who is not seeking a third term. Voting is already underway in the Aug. 11 primary.

Democratic socialist candidate Francesca Hong called the shooting “state sanctioned violence.” Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a Democrat, said the reports are “painfully reminiscent of the tragedies we have witnessed in Kenosha, Minneapolis, and far too many communities.”

Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany called on his rivals to let the state investigation “establish the facts without politicians rushing to judgment.”

___

This story was first published on July 23, 2026. It was corrected on July 24, 2026, to remove inaccurate information about the killings of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery. The story previously corrected the name of a state agency to the Division of Criminal Investigation, not the Department of Criminal Investigation.

___

Associated Press writers Ed White in Detroit and Jake Offenhartz in New York contributed to this report.

The administration announced tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on 60 economies late Thursday, saying the countries had failed to adequately enforce a ban on goods made with forced labor.

The new tariffs took effect just as stopgap levies Trump imposed after a stinging defeat at the Supreme Court expired at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

Countries object to what they call unfounded labor claims

Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell rejected claims linking Australia, a major exporter of beef, gold and copper, to modern slavery and raising the tariff on its exports to the U.S. to 12.5% from the 10% level imposed after Trump’s “Liberation Day” hikes last year.

“We believe that amongst all of the countries in the world Australia does take the issue of slavery, modern slavery, seriously, and will continue to do that,” Farrell told reporters in Adelaide.

Australia believes the higher tariffs are “completely unjustified and we will continue to lobby the United States Trade Representative to remove all tariffs on Australian goods,” Farrell said.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the tariffs on his country, also subject to a 12.5% import duty, were “extremely disappointing,” unjustified and harmful to trade.

A U.S. investigation serving as the basis for the tariffs did not provide meaningful evidence to support allegations of forced labor.

“Tariffs are not the way — they drive up costs and uncertainty for businesses,” he wrote on X.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas questioned the U.S. stance in comments on Channel News Asia.

“If you compare our labor laws to the ones of the United States, I mean we have, people have paid vacations, we have very good conditions, labor conditions for our employees, so it's not really grounded,” Kallas said.

Also facing a 12.5% tariff, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry said it would “continue to engage the USTR (United States Trade Representative) to explore options.”

Some hope to forestall the new tariffs

Japan likewise protested the 12.5% tariff imposed on its exports, noting Tokyo had been reassured by the Trump administration that there would be no more tariffs on top of an earlier agreement on a 10% U.S. import duty.

“Our understanding is both sides are still committed to that,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said.

“It is regrettable that the measure imposes tariffs on the grounds of non-existence of measures banning imports of goods made by forced labor, even though Japan’s industry and trade are in line with international rules,” Kihara said.

South Korea’s trade ministry said the announcement eased some uncertainty over U.S. trade policy, but noted that a Section 301 investigation into alleged Korean excess production continues.

The combined duties on South Korean exports should not exceed 15%, the ministry said in a statement.

Thailand noted it is subject to the new 12.5% tariff by the U.S. under the forced labor provision, but the measure exempts around 2,120 items, representing more than half the value of Thai goods exported to the U.S.

China opposes unilateral tariffs in ‘all forms’

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “opposes all forms of unilateral tariffs” in response to the new 12.5% tariffs.

“Tariff wars and trade wars do not serve any parties' interests,” ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a press conference.

Trade tensions have clouded relations between China and the U.S., two of the world’s biggest economies, as Trump’s hefty “Liberation Day” tariffs resulted in a sharp drop in Chinese exports to the U.S.

Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who agreed to set up new boards of trade and investment at their mid-May meeting in Beijing, are expected to meet again in September.

Some Chinese exporters say, however, the impacts are limited as the latest U.S. tariffs on China remain at lower levels than last year's rates, which were initially 34%.

“Of course it’d be best if they (the tariffs) are not there,” said Richard Chan, manager of Golden Arts Gifts & Decor, which manufactures Christmas trees and decorations in the southern Chinese city of Dongguan and supplies globally to those including Walmart.

Golden Arts' share of sales to the U.S., however, already have fallen as U.S. tariffs added more uncertainty. They have pivoted more to Europe, which now accounts for roughly 70% of their sales, Chan said.

The latest import duties might stick

Wendy Cutler, a former senior U.S. trade official, said the latest round of tariffs involved “few surprises” since they range just between 10% and 12.5%.

The U.S. Trade Representative's office spent four months investigating the basis for those tariffs to meet legal requirements under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974.

“Time will tell whether the third attempt to impose tariffs is the charm and this action stands up to legal challenges,” said Cutler, senior vice president of the Asia Society Policy Institute.

These duties are less likely than earlier ones to be overruled by U.S. courts, she said.

Further tariffs may be coming in the fall related to alleged structural excess capacity of trading partners, she noted.

Experts say these tariffs may be less disruptive

Washington has generally tended to engage in increased trade friction, William Bratton of BNP Paribas said in a research note Friday.

“On the positive side, however, these tariffs are lower than the earlier (Emergency Powers Act) ‘reciprocal’ tariffs and appear to exempt a substantial proportion of Asia’s current trade flows with the U.S.,” he said.

The Trump administration has made tariff exceptions, however, including imported goods that the U.S. does not produce, Cutler noted.

“This should reduce the impact of these duties. Nevertheless, they will contribute to higher prices both for end consumers and businesses importing inputs and machinery,” she said.

Immediate pushback, legal and political

There was immediate pushback, both legally, and politically.

The Liberty Justice Center, a libertarian advocacy group that successfully challenged earlier Trump tariffs, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York, challenging the double-digit import taxes that Trump imposed Friday.

The group called the new tariffs a pretext to allow Trump to maintain a wall of tariffs around the U.S. economy after the Supreme Court struck down big global taxes he’d imposed last year.

“The administration allowed one global tariff to expire and immediately replaced it with another under a different statute,” said Sara Albrecht, chair of the center. “Changing the statute doesn’t change the law. Every tariff authority has limits, and every administration must respect them.”

Her group represented businesses that successfully challenged Trump’s 2025 global tariffs.

Rep. Linda Sanchez, a California Democrat questioned the reasons for the latest slew of tariffs.

“If he was serious, he would not be applying the same tariff rate to China, one of the worst forced labor abusers in the world, as he does to countries like Australia,” she said. “Then again, unlike China, Australia doesn’t manufacture any Trump corporation products.”

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said Americans will be the ones paying for the new tariffs.

“Instead of continuing his disastrous tariff scheme, the president must put the American people first and revoke these harmful policies that are making everyday Americans’ lives flat-out unaffordable," Gillibrand said. "At home in New York and across the country, people are struggling, and they need relief.”

___

Chan reported from Hong Kong. Associated Press writers Tong-hyung Kim in Seoul, South Korea, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Grant Peck in Bangkok and Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, as well as AP Economics Writer in Washington, and AP Business Writer Michelle Chapman in New York, contributed to this report.

California has become notorious for its ponderously slow vote counts that can drag on for weeks and sometimes longer, largely the result of multiple changes over the years that were intended to increase turnout but have done little to achieve that. Among the changes: Every voter receives a mail-in ballot that can arrive at an election office seven days late and still be counted, provided the envelope is postmarked by Election Day.

Yet even with that generous weeklong window, the primary driver of the higher rejection numbers is late-arriving ballots, according to data compiled by the secretary of state's office. Voting experts suspect the main problem is postmarks on ballots that came after Election Day, making them ineligible to be counted. The culprit could be U.S. Postal Service changes that might affect the timing of when postmarks are applied.

Late-arriving ballots drove the rejections

According to state data, 148,241 mail ballots were rejected in the June election, or a rate of 1.73% of all mail ballots.

In raw numbers, that's up from the 2024 primary, when 108,982 mail ballots were rejected, or a 1.56% rate. In 2022, 105,818 mail ballots were voided during the primary, or a rate similar to 2024.

Lateness accounted for 93,479 rejected ballots in June, by far the largest category for disqualifying a ballot. That was up from about 70,000 in the 2022 primary and about 76,000 in the 2024 primary, though turnout in those elections was smaller compared to last June.

Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, said the jump in rejected ballots because of lateness is a major concern that — along with postal procedures — might also be connected to a late surge in ballots in June. Many voters waited until the final days to make a decision in a wide-open and chaotic race for governor.

“Ballots rejected due to lateness are caused primarily to being postmarked too late to count, not because they arrived too late to count,” Alexander wrote in an email.

Rejection rates have fluctuated over time, but the growing number of those set aside for lateness compared to recent elections “does really demand the question why this is happening,” said Mindy Romero, director of the Center for Inclusive Democracy, a nonpartisan research group.

Lawmakers concerned about USPS postmark changes

In January, a group of mostly Democratic U.S. senators sent a letter to the U.S. Postal Service, alarmed that mail-processing changes might affect postmark dates for mail-in ballots during an election year that will determine control of Congress.

Updated agency policy says postmarks might not indicate the first day the Postal Service received the mail, but rather the day it was handled in one of its processing centers. Those centers are increasingly likely to be further away from certain communities because of recent consolidations within the Postal Service, which could further delay postmarks.

On Thursday, two Wisconsin Democrats, U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Gov. Tony Evers, called on the Postal Service to address delays that caused hundreds of ballots to arrive after Election Day in the state in April. In June, a federal judge halted President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to create a federal voter list and limit who can receive a mail ballot.

Earlier this year, California election officials urged voters to send their mail ballots early, warning that Postal Service changes could lead to slower mail service.

In California, the highest mail ballot rejection rate in June — 3.52% — was in Tulare County, in the agriculture-heavy Central Valley. It was followed by Alpine County, south of Lake Tahoe, and Merced County, also in the Central Valley, which both notched a 3.36% rejection rate.

Mismatched signatures and multiple ballots in an envelope

Nearly 44,000 ballots were set aside because the voter’s signature didn't match the one on record with county officials. Over 8,300 ballots were rejected because there was no signature on the returned ballot envelope.

In 743 cases, the voter had already cast a ballot, so the mail ballot was voided. Other reasons for rejection included a ballot being missing from the return envelope, or multiple ballots were sent back in a single envelope.

The data didn’t break down the uncounted ballots by party registration.

Florida, Texas and other large population states quickly wrap up vote counting, while California is a national laggard.

After the June primary, President Donald Trump seized on California’s reputation as the national slowpoke in vote counting to renew his long-standing criticism of the state’s elections, while the Republican’s Department of Justice launched an investigation into Los Angeles County’s elections.

There is no indication of any widespread problems with mail voting, which has gained in popularity among Democrats and Republicans alike. A report by the Brookings Institution published in 2025 found that the number of cases of mail voting fraud was minuscule — about four cases per 10 million mail ballots.

The Republican president made the announcement a day after the EU hit Google with a fine of 890 million euros, or $1 billion, after it said the technology behemoth broke digital antitrust regulations by setting up Google Play and its ubiquitous search engine to corral consumers toward its own services and apps to the detriment of competitors.

In a lengthy post on social media, Trump said he has warned the EU about its practice of fining U.S. tech companies. He named Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon and others.

“The United States of America is not a ‘PIGGYBANK’ for Europe, nor will we allow it to be!” Trump said, adding that his post should serve as notice of an immediate trade investigation “into the practice of ‘ROBBING’ American Companies and, in turn, the American Taxpayer.”

“The European Union will pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct, which I have consistently warned them about,” he said.

In the post, Trump asserted that the penalties against the companies “will be entirely reversed” and predicted “a substantial TARIFF” would be placed on the EU “at the earliest possible moment.”

“Stay tuned!” he said.

Investigation follows new Trump tariffs

Trump's move comes a day after the White House announced double-digit tariffs on imports from more than 60 countries, accusing them of inadequately enforcing bans on goods produced by forced labor. The new tariffs replace temporary 10% worldwide import taxes that Trump imposed after the Supreme Court struck down his biggest tariffs.

The new tariffs are being implemented using Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which permits the president to impose import taxes and other sanctions against countries found to engage in “unjustifiable,” “unreasonable” or “discriminatory” trade practices.

José Castañeda, a spokesperson for Google, said the company has worked hard to comply with the EU's Digital Markets Act and has expressed its concerns about the effects of recent decisions by the European Commission.

"We appreciate the engagement by the administration and U.S. government,” he said.

Representatives of Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment. There also was no immediate comment from the Brussels-based European Commission.

Trump had threatened retaliation over EU fines

The EU's billion-dollar fine against Google was the latest major crackdown on Big Tech by Brussels, which has led the world in reining in some of the world’s largest companies from Silicon Valley to Beijing.

It has done so despite the risk of incurring the wrath of Trump, who has lashed out at the 27-nation bloc’s digital regulations in a broader campaign against Europe: imposing high tariffs, making threats to seize Greenland from Denmark by force, and rattling trust within the NATO military alliance.

Trump had threatened retaliation if American tech companies are penalized.

Google had recently lost its appeal of a $4.5 billion antitrust fine imposed by the EU for throttling competition and reducing consumer choice through the dominance of its mobile Android operating system.

The European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch and highest antitrust enforcer, said it was acting in the interest of consumers after an investigation of Google.

“The best products should succeed because they’re better, not because they’re owned by the company running the search engine. And European consumers have a right to be told by app developers where to sign up to the best offers, even when the app store owner does not get a cut,” said Teresa Ribera, the commission’s executive vice president for clean, just and competitive transition.

Google’s president of global affairs, Kent Walker, assailed the fine as “product degradation driven by a small group of self-serving complainants” that will hurt European businesses and consumers.

He said the EU’s Digital Markets Act forces Google “to strip away real-time search features Europeans love — like instant pricing and direct availability for hotels, flights, and restaurants — and dismantle safety protections on Google Play.”

The EU describes some of the world’s leading tech giants — Amazon, Apple, Google parent Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and TikTok owner ByteDance — as “gatekeepers” that control access for consumers.

“In the EU, businesses have the right to compete fairly. Gatekeepers have the obligation to ensure a level playing field and consumers the right to choose for cheaper alternative offers,” European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said. Alphabet reported $403 billion in revenue last year.

—-

Associated Press writer Kaitlyn Huamani in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

In an interview this week, Mealer addressed the shooting in detail for the first time, expressing full confidence that ongoing investigations by the Texas Department of Public Safety, FBI and Houston police will produce a “fulsome accounting” of what happened.

“Any time there’s a loss of life, that is obviously a profound tragedy,” Mealer said, adding that she has been in touch with the FBI’s Houston field office. She acknowledged “the one issue that I think everyone will agree upon” is the need to outfit agents with body cameras, which none of the officers were wearing.

But she otherwise preached patience to let authorities’ fact-finding unfold, drawing on her Army background to argue that incomplete information can distort early conclusions about incidents where someone is gunned down.

“I think we need to see what comes out of those [investigations], because from being in the military as well, things go wrong,” she said. “You look at something from one lens, you’re missing feedback. So, I support the calls for investigation. Speculating to me is not a helpful, productive path forward.”

Mealer’s comments about the July 7 shooting were her first since she posted on social media that same day, calling the incident “yet another reminder of the dangers law enforcement face” while voicing confidence that investigators would “ensure justice is served.” Her more circumspect approach stands in sharp contrast to the assertive response from U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, the Democrat who currently represents much of Houston’s predominantly Hispanic East End, including Magnolia Park.

The neighborhood is among the East End territory being shifted into a new red-leaning seat, which Mealer hopes to represent, under the new congressional map approved by Texas Republicans last summer.

Garcia, a longtime and ardent critic of President Donald Trump’s border agenda, moved aggressively to fill the information vacuum in the days after the shooting, pressing federal officials for answers as Immigration and Customs Enforcement remained initially tight-lipped.

That effort began with a letter she and other Houston Democrats penned to the heads of ICE and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, demanding an independent investigation and more transparency to back up ICE’s account that the agent shot Salgado Araujo after he tried to run over the agent with his van. Garcia later challenged that version of events after meeting with two witnesses who said agents fired into the vehicle unprovoked.

Additionally, Garcia directly pressed ICE officials on what led up to the deadly vehicle stop, to which DHS said they received a “credible tip from law enforcement partners.” Through a series of follow-up calls, Garcia announced acting ICE Director David Venturella further disclosed two details the agency hadn’t volunteered publicly: there was no dashboard camera footage, and Salgado Araujo wasn’t the target of the operation.

Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz said this information played into his agency’s move to launch its own probe after initially planning to defer to the federal investigations.

“The facts have changed, right?” Diaz said. “So now we hear, because of the congresswoman’s great work, that the wrong person was in the van, and well, perhaps it was the wrong van.”

Garcia has also pressed ICE on its uneven rollout of body cameras, noting at a press conference earlier this month that Congress approved funding in April for DHS to carry out a pledge from the agency’s then-secretary to “rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras” to its agents.

“Even after we’ve given ICE specifically $20 million for body cameras, and [former DHS Secretary] Kristi Noem promised in February of this year that she was going to purchase them and get them in the field, here we were in Houston and the agents didn’t have them,” Garcia said. She added that Acting ICE Director David Venturella told her that all agents in the field will have body cameras by the end of July.

DHS has since said ICE field offices that have yet to receive body cameras would have them in hand within 60 days.

When asked this week how redistricting might impact Magnolia Park’s ability to hold ICE accountable, Garcia said “it’s important to have someone that looks like you,” adding that “representation matters.”

“I know that many of the constituents that I have in the current 29th Congressional District are saddened, and they’re concerned because they’re not sure that they’re going to be able to compete, particularly with parts of the district that go all the way to Liberty County,” she said in a press call with reporters, referring to the newly crafted 9th Congressional District that is set to take in parts of Garcia’s district, pairing it with Republican-heavy areas outside Houston.

Mealer, who is endorsed by Trump and has campaigned on upholding his immigration agenda, is considered the favorite to defeat Democratic opponent Leticia Gutierrez for the seat, one of five targeted by Texas Republicans in the redistricting map they approved last summer. In 2024, Trump carried the area covered by the new District 9 by 20 percentage points.

Mealer’s push for accountability — more limited in nature, given she does not yet hold the official powers that come with a congressional seat — has focused on the body camera deficit. She contended that their usage by police departments has improved community relations and can help “bridge the gap.”

A 2021 study by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and Harvard Business School found officers who had access to their own footage felt less distanced from the public — a shift linked to more respectful behavior during stops.

Asked what she would do differently if she was in Congress when the shooting occurred, Mealer said she hasn’t “heard a specific action item at this point that isn’t already happening” beyond the push for cameras. And she insisted that it would not be prudent to rush to judgment before the full picture emerges.

“With these issues, you want it to be based on facts that happened, not turned into partisan talking points,” she said. “Once we see the results of the investigation, then [we] can see — were there other safeguards, or was this just a tragedy?”

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

The Bulldogs received 88 of 164 votes to reach the title game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta in early December. Texas was the second choice, with 57 votes, and Mississippi a distant third with six. Texas A&M, Alabama, Oklahoma, LSU and Kentucky also received votes.

Only 10 times since 1992 has the media’s preseason predicted champion proceeded to win the SEC title game.

Media also voted on preseason All-SEC teams, with Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss edging Texas’ Arch Manning for first-team quarterback.

Predicted order of finish

1. Georgia, 2,510 points

2. Texas, 2,449

3. Mississippi, 2,004

4. Texas A&M, 1,967

5. LSU, 1,961

6. Alabama, 1,930

7. Oklahoma, 1,914

8. Tennessee, 1,320

9. Florida, 1,217

10. Missouri, 1,105

11. South Carolina, 956

12. Auburn, 936

13. Vanderbilt, 751

14. Kentucky, 546

15. Mississippi State, 467

16. Arkansas, 262

First-team offense

QB: Trinidad Chambliss, Mississippi

RB: Kewan Lacy, Mississippi; Ahmad Hardy, Missouri

WR: Cam Coleman, Texas; Ryan Coleman-Williams, Alabama

TE: Trey’Dez Green, LSU

OG/OT: Trevor Goosby, Texas; Cayden Green, Missouri; Jordan Seaton, LSU; Earnest Greene III, Georgia

C: Drew Bobo, Georgia

All-purpose: Mario Craver, Texas A&M

First-team defense

DL: Colin Simmons, Texas; Will Echoles, Mississippi; Dylan Stewart, South Carolina; Princewill Umanmielen, LSU

LB: Whit Weeks, LSU; Xavier Atkins, Auburn; Rasheem Biles, Texas

DB: KJ Bolden, Georgia; Zabien Brown, Alabama; Bray Hubbard, Alabama; Ellis Robinson IV, Georgia

First-team specialists

PK: Tate Sandell, Oklahoma

P: Grant Chadwick, LSU

Return specialist: Ryan Niblett, Texas

Kickoff specialist: Tate Sandell, Oklahoma

Long snapper: Ben Anderson, Oklahoma

Second-team offense

QB: Arch Manning, Texas

RB: Jadan Baugh, Florida; Nate Frazier, Georgia

WR: Mario Craver, Texas A&M; Isaiah Sategna III, Oklahoma

TE: Lawson Luckie, Georgia

OG/OT: Dontrell Glover, Georgia; Michael Fasusi, Oklahoma; Michael Carroll, Alabama; Lance Heard, Kentucky

C: Mark Nabou Jr., Texas A&M

All-purpose: Ryan Niblett, Texas

Second-team defense

DL: David Stone, Oklahoma; Elijah Griffin, Georgia; Taylor Wein, Oklahoma; Quincy Rhodes Jr., Arkansas

LB: Raylen Wilson, Georgia; Suntarine Perkins, Mississippi; Kip Lewis, Oklahoma

DB: Kelley Jones, Mississippi State; DJ Pickett, LSU; Ty Benefield, LSU; Eli Bowen, Oklahoma; Peyton Bowen, Oklahoma

Second-team specialists

PK: Lucas Carneiro, Mississippi

P: Grayson Miller, Oklahoma

Return specialist: Isaiah Sategna III, Oklahoma

Kickoff specialist: Lucas Carneiro, Mississippi

Long snapper: Trey Dubuc, Texas

Third-team offense

QB: Gunner Stockton, Georgia

RB: DeSean Bishiop, Tennessee; Hollywood Smothers, Texas

WR: Ryan Wingo, Texas; Nyck Harbor, South Carolina

TE: Willie Rodriguez, Kentucky

OG/OT: David Sanders Jr., Tennessee; Patrick Kutas, Mississippi; Brandon Baker, Texas; Wendell Moe Jr., Tennessee

C: Braelin Moore, LSU

All-purpose: Jaden Baugh, Florida

Third-team defense

DL: Kam Franklin, Mississippi; DJ Hicks, Texas A&M; Gabe Harris, Georgia; Jayden Woods, Florida

LB: Arion Carter, Tennessee; TJ Dottery, LSU; Yhonzae Pierre, Alabama

DB: Keon Sabb, Alabama; Champ Anthony, Auburn; Khalil Barnes, Georgia; Jelani McDonald, Texas

Third-team specialists

PK: Alex McPherson, Auburn

P: Ethan Pulliam, Mississippi State

Return specialist: Vernell Brown III, Florida

Kickoff specialist: Terry Bussey, Texas A&M

Long snapper: Brett Le Blanc, Missouri

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Apple snails are native to South America, but they have been found in growing numbers on the San Antonio River.

The river authority has worked since 2019 to remove the snails and their egg clusters, which can often be spotted on river walls and look similar to bright pink bubble gum.

The river authority said that over the past seven years, crews have removed nearly 43,000 adult snails and more than 118,000 egg clusters.

“They can lay anywhere from 500 to 2,000 eggs every 10 to 14 days,” said Adrian Arroyos, an aquatic biologist with the San Antonio River Authority.

Arroyos said he believes the invasion may have started when someone dumped an aquarium containing at least one apple snail into the river.

“With no natural predator, that makes their spread pretty easy,” Arroyos said.

To help slow the species’ population, the river authority launched two pilot programs at the start of the year.

“We’re attacking them based on frequency, but we’re also trying to disrupt their reproductive strategy,” Arroyos said.

One effort sends crews and volunteers onto the river in kayaks to scrape off egg clusters and remove adult snails when possible. The river authority initially sent teams out every 14 days, but officials found that they were still being outpaced by the snails’ reproductive cycle.

“We changed up the frequency this year to every 10 days,” Arroyos said.

Under the water, the river authority is also testing two types of barriers as part of the pilot effort.

“In a year on materials, probably anywhere from $2,500, we try to keep it as low cost as possible,” said Arroyos. “Obviously, the money that we get is taxpayer-based, so we want to make sure we’re managing our resources properly. And that’s exactly why we also did a pilot project first.”

The river authority plans to collect and review data at the end of the year to determine whether the pilot programs are working.

Officials are also reminding residents not to dump aquariums or aquatic pets into local waterways.

The San Antonio River Authority has partnered with several pet shops that will take unwanted tanks and the animals inside free of charge. Those pet shops include Papa Jim’s Tropical Fish, Texas Tropical and Marine and Elegant Reef Tropical Fish Studio.

Read also:

• Animal Care Services removes 30 dogs from Northeast Side property amid cruelty investigation

Paxton’s office secured the injunction last year against clinics operated by Maria Margarita Rosas. She still faces criminal charge that she provided unlawful abortions and employed unlicensed individuals.

But the Texas 15th Court of Appeals, created three years ago by the Texas Legislature to handle major business and state civil cases, found that the trial court erred in granting the injunction because the judge relied only on affidavits from Paxton’s office that didn’t provide direct evidence that the violations occurred.

Justice Scott Field’s opinion said the evidence submitted to support the injunction “does not reasonably support” the claim that abortions were performed at the clinics and the lower court “abused its discretion in granting the temporary injunctive relief.”

Abortion is completely banned in Texas with very limited exceptions.

The appeals court, overseen by three Republican judges appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott, did not give an opinion on whether the accusations against Rosas are valid. Instead, it focused on the injunction that forced the clinics’ closure.

A spokesperson for Paxton’s office said the attorney general will appeal the court’s decision to the Texas Supreme Court to “ensure clarity in temporary injunction procedure in this and other cases.”

In a statement, the Center for Reproductive Rights called the appeals court ruling a “significant step” toward justice for Rojas, adding that the state has unfairly targeted her.

“The state of Texas has no case,” said Jenna Hudson, the group’s senior counsel. “Maria Rojas has been an upstanding midwife who delivered babies and provided lawful care for underserved pregnant patients.”

Rojas owned and operated Clinica Waller Latinoamericana in Waller, Clinica Latinoamericana Telge in Cypress, and Latinoamericana Medical Clinic in Spring, according to the attorney general’s office.

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

A new campaign launched Friday will promote programs that let veterans who recently drove large military vehicles skip the required skills test for a commercial driver’s license. Other soldiers can attend a commercial driving school during their last six months of active duty. The GI Bill will also pay for 100% of commercial driver's license training and for some people even pay a housing allowance while they are in school.

The campaign will be part of a broader interagency effort to help veterans find good civilian jobs that the White House plans to announce on Monday.

The Transportation Department began enforcing existing English language requirements for truckers last summer. Concerns about truck driver qualifications then took on more urgency after an August crash in Florida, when a truck driver performed an illegal U-turn that killed three people. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that driver, who is from India, should never have been licensed in the first place.

Audits conducted in every state uncovered numerous non-domiciled commercial driver's licenses that remained valid long after an immigrant's work permits had expired or were issued without properly verifying their citizenship status.

Since then, about 26,000 drivers have been pulled off the road for failing to demonstrate English proficiency, and the Transportation Department said 30,000 commercial licenses were canceled because they were issued illegally. The federal government has tried to withhold millions of dollars of highway funds from California and New York for failing to comply and revoke thousands more licenses, but that has wound up in court. Several other states — including Pennsylvania, Minnesota and North Carolina — have been warned they are at risk of losing funding.

“We are removing more and more dangerous foreign drivers off our roads every day and restoring the integrity of America’s trucking industry,” Duffy said. “Our new Freedom Haulers campaign will help build on these successes and get the word out that there’s never been a better time for America’s former service members to get behind the wheel of a big rig.”

The federal government has been actively enforcing CDL rules

The trucking industry has applauded the administration's effort to get unqualified drivers off the road and close down sham CDL schools, and companies praised this new effort to get more veterans behind the wheel.

“Veterans make up 15% of our workforce and bring the highest levels of leadership, discipline and technical skills that are essential to our success. We are dedicated to providing them with meaningful careers and a supportive environment where they can thrive," said Derek Leathers, who is chairman and CEO of Werner Enterprises.

Cole Stevens, who is chief strategy officer at the trucking company that bears his last name, said veterans' backgrounds make them great drivers.

“Some of the best drivers and industry leaders I’ve had the privilege of working with are military veterans," Stevens said. “Their integrity, accountability, and mission-first mindset make them an incredible asset.”

In addition to enforcing existing restrictions, the government announced plans to restrict which immigrants can qualify for a non-domiciled commercial driver's license and require them to take the test in English, but those rules are being challenged in court.

The only immigrant drivers who can get a license under the new rules are holders of an H-2A, H-2A or E-2 visa. H-2A is for temporary agricultural workers while H-2B is for temporary nonagricultural workers, and E-2 is for people who make substantial investments in a U.S. business.

Immigrants account for about 20% of all truck drivers, but all of these non-domiciled licenses for immigrants represent only about 5% of all commercial driver’s licenses, or about 200,000 drivers.

Some immigrant groups have said they believe that many drivers are being unfairly targeted. The spotlight has been on Sikh truckers because the driver in the Florida crash and the driver in another fatal crash in California in October are both Sikh.

Truck driving may appeal to veterans

The Transportation Department plans to work with the Pentagon and Departments of Veterans Affairs and Labor to promote the career field as a good job that offers independence to veterans who don't want a desk job in civilian life.

Veterans still have to study the rules and pass the written test for a commercial driver's license, but soldiers who recently drove big military vehicles over 2.5 tons (2.25 metric tons) can skip the skills test. The government said more than 40,000 veterans have already used that program, which can enable them to get on the road within a few weeks.

The Transportation Department said that truck drivers currently make an average of $70,000 a year, as the truck market has tightened up and rates have increased.

Veterans who served for at least three years can also use the money from the GI Bill program to pay for CDL training, and they might even qualify for a housing stipend.

The Missions play at home Tuesdays through Sundays, with several weekly promotions aimed at helping fans save money while enjoying a night at the ballpark.

On AARP Tuesdays, fans can get $2 hot dogs and $2 beers. The team also offers $2 berm and outfield seats on Tuesdays. Fans sitting in the berm area are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets. Sofia’s also offers $2 pizza.

Learn about more promotions in the video above.

Read also:

• Pearl to open mini golf course featuring San Antonio landmarks

The shooting happened around 9:15 p.m. Tuesday in the 12600 block of Emmett Grove, where the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said gunfire was exchanged between two to three vehicles. Investigators say multiple homes and parked cars were struck by bullets.

The violence unfolded just yards from pickleball courts where families and friends had gathered for an evening game, including Henry Madrano IV. A video he and his daughter shared on social media captured the moment players heard a barrage of gunfire and rushed for cover.

“As soon I turned, I saw about six gun flashes out the window, a car window, that was heading away from us,” he said. “So I mainly told my family to get in the farthest corner and get down.”

He described the moment as surreal, and traumatizing for his family and other teens.

“Some of the girls were hysterical. The boys were hysterical,” he said. “When they bunched up in the corner, which is really not the right thing to do, they were just trying to find cover. They were trying to be safe.”

Homeowners who spoke off camera said bullets pierced their windows and shell casings were found in their yards. They hope the shooting was an isolated incident, and they said the gunfire has left them uneasy.

Alessandro Flores regularly plays at the courts and lives in a nearby neighborhood. He said the shooting has him watching his back.

“I know you’re locked in playing the game and stuff, but still you’ve got to be aware of your surroundings,” he said. “No matter where you are, something like that could happen.”

He said he was surprised to learn the violence happened so close to a place where families gather to play.

“You don’t expect something like that,” Flores said. “You kind of expect like, it’ll be like a chill day playing pickleball with your friends or your family. So it was shocking for sure.”

Madrano said he sought out the courts in the Stillwater Ranch neighborhood because he felt it was safe for his family.

“Whether it’s isolated or not, it’s reckless,” Madrano said. “Bullets can go anywhere; they don’t have a name on it. ... I probably wouldn’t go back in the evening. I probably would go in the morning maybe.”

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the shooting.

Deputies arrested a 17-year-old boy and 18-year-old Aniya West less than a mile from the scene. West was charged with tampering with evidence. Information about the juvenile has not been released.

Investigators are also looking into the role of a man who arrived at an urgent care center with gunshot wounds shortly after the shooting. Authorities said he did not cooperate with deputies, and they are working to determine whether he was a victim or involved in the exchange of gunfire.

Read also:

• Suspect tied to business burglaries, stolen ATMs in south Bexar County, affidavit states
• Affidavit: Man arrested in connection with armed robbery at Northeast Side credit union
• Mother of 17-year-old killed in crash on SW Military Drive speaks out after suspect’s bond reduced

A lawsuit filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City on behalf of Rhonda Grayson and Jeffrey Kennedy names Principal Chief David Hill and the Muscogee Nation Citizenship Board as defendants.

It says that Hill and the citizenship board are violating an 1866 treaty between the tribe and the U.S. government by refusing to recognize Black Creek Freedmen as citizens as ordered by the Muscogee Nation Supreme Court in July 2025.

The board denied the applications of Grayson and Kennedy in 2019 after it incorrectly determined they could not identify a lineal descendant of the tribe, but the court said the pair are entitled to tribal citizenship.

However, Hill and the board have not yet issued the citizenship cards, denying Grayson and Kennedy their “right to vote and the ability to participate fully as members of the Nation,” according to the lawsuit.

Last August, Hill blocked the tribe’s citizenship board from issuing citizenship cards until leaders decide how to change the tribe’s constitution. The tribe's headquarters is in Okmulgee, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of Oklahoma City.

A spokesman for the Muscogee Nation said late Thursday afternoon that it had not yet been served with the complaint.

“We would point out that federal law and precedent is clear that matters of Muscogee Nation law and governance are to be addressed through the Nation’s own governmental institutions,” the Muscogee Nation said in a statement.

“We are committed to ensuring that the Muscogee Nation’s Constitution and laws are followed fairly and consistently,” the statement said. “Getting policies right is always more important than getting them done quickly. Anything less would undermine the integrity of our governmental processes and the rights of our citizens.”

The Muscogee Nation is one of five tribes in Oklahoma that once practiced slavery.

Under the 1866 treaty, the tribe abolished slavery and granted citizenship to the formerly enslaved. The Muscogee Nation adopted in 1979 a constitution that restricted membership to the descendants of people listed as “Muscogee (Creek) Indians by blood” on the Dawes Rolls, a census of members of the five tribes created around 1900.

When the Dawes Rolls were created, people were listed on two separate rolls: those who were Muscogee and those who were identified by the U.S. government as Freedmen.

The court's 2025 ruling also directed the board to apply the treaty of 1866 to future applicants who can trace an ancestor to either roll. The decision could create a path to tribal citizenship for thousands of new members who are not Muscogee by blood.

Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons, a Black Creek Indian who is one of the lawyers representing Grayson and Kennedy, said Thursday that there are about 100,000 Black Creeks across the United States.

Successful legal cases were brought against two of the five Oklahoma tribes, the Seminole Nation and the Cherokee Nation, which have since granted citizenship to Freedmen descendants.

“Every day of non-compliance is another day that Black Creek Freedman are denied our birthright and our very identity as citizens,” said Grayson, president of the Muscogee Creek Indian Freedmen Band.

“The fight is bigger than every one of us,” she told reporters Thursday. “It belongs to every Black Creek Freedman descendant who has carried this history, protected these stories and refused to let our identity be dismissed or diminished.”

___

This story was first published on July 23, 2026. It was updated on July 24, 2026, to make clear that the Muscogee Nation Citizenship Board’s determination was incorrect when it said the Creek Freedmen citizenship applicants could not identify a lineal descendant of the tribe.

___

Williams is a member of AP's Race & Ethnicities Team. He reported from Detroit.

The Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas is trying to turn a key talking point of his Republican opponent against him — alleging Attorney General Ken Paxton is guilty of the same type of voter fraud he has spent years trying to eliminate.

“As our state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton has gone on a voter fraud witch hunt,” state Rep. James Talarico, who is challenging Paxton in the race to replace U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, said during a campaign event in Houston. “Turns out, he was committing voter fraud the whole time, voting illegally in six elections in a row from the wrong address.”

Talarico’s comments come after ProPublica and The Texas Tribune revealed that Paxton moved out of the home he shared with his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, in 2024 but continued to vote using that address, including during the March Republican primary in which he beat Cornyn. Three election experts told the news organizations that Paxton may have broken state law.

Last week, the Collin County Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Texas secretary of state, urging that office to investigate Paxton for election fraud.

Paxton has repeatedly declined to answer the newsrooms’ questions about his voter registration and residency. On Tuesday, he held a rare news conference to tout the endorsement of nearly two dozen sheriffs and attacked Talarico as soft on crime. Talarico denied the charge at his own news conference Wednesday, saying he’d voted for billions of dollars in law enforcement funding as a member of the Legislature.

When a Dallas Morning News political writer asked Paxton why he voted in Collin County, the attorney general shook his head as a campaign aide interceded.

“We’re just going to answer questions on law enforcement today,” the aide said.

Paxton’s office and campaign did not respond to similar questions on Thursday from ProPublica and the Tribune. They also did not answer questions about Talarico’s comments.

The fact that Paxton voted in six elections from an address at which he appears not to live may resonate with voters because it reinforces longstanding accusations by critics that he has used his office for personal gain, said Southern Methodist University political science professor Cal Jillson. That was the central theme of the Texas Legislature’s impeachment of Paxton in 2023 on charges of bribery and corruption. The state Senate voted to acquit Paxton.

“There’s been a whole series of legal challenges he’s been able to slip out of, but voters are at least vaguely aware of them,” Jillson said. The latest reporting about his voting practices “is just another example of playing fast and loose with a law you must be familiar with as attorney general,” Jillson said.

Texas law permits voters to temporarily cast ballots using an address where they do not reside, so long as they intend to return. Election lawyers told the newsrooms that it is unlikely Paxton could make such an argument given his ongoing public and acrimonious divorce. (Examples of reasons considered valid include attending an out-of-area college or serving in the military.)

It is unclear what will happen with the complaint filed against Paxton.

State law requires the secretary to “promptly” refer complaints to the attorney general if “there is reasonable cause to suspect that criminal conduct occurred.”

Secretary of State Jane Nelson’s last day in office was Friday, three days after the complaint was filed. Gov. Greg Abbott appointed one of his senior advisers, Robert Howden, to replace her. The office continues to decline to answer questions from reporters, but Collin County Democratic Party Vice Chair Mary Higbe said the secretary of state told her in an email Thursday that the complaint “remains under review by one of our staff attorneys.”

The attorney general’s office has not responded to questions about whether it received the complaint or whether it would hire a special prosecutor to investigate it, given that it involves the attorney general himself.

The silence from the Republican-led state government suggests an effort to slow-walk investigating Paxton, said Jon Taylor, a political science professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He said that’s difficult to square with rhetoric by Paxton and the secretary of state’s office that securing Texas elections is a top priority.

“You push the idea that you’re going to be really tough on election wrongdoing, and yet here you are with allegations in which you seem to be uninterested in pursuing,” Taylor said. “That smacks of rank hypocrisy.”

Merz's presentation of an incomplete set of changes, however, raised questions and risked undermining his effort to generate new momentum.

Merz took office less than 15 months ago with pledges to reform and turn around Germany’s economy, Europe’s biggest, after years of stagnation. But that economic turnaround has been slow to start. And the middle-of-the-road coalition of Merz’s center-right Union bloc and the center-left Social Democrats, two traditional rivals, has yet to persuade voters that it can produce results.

That has resulted in Merz’s popularity sinking to rock-bottom levels, while the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD, has gained support on the back of widespread discontent.

Merz tries to seize an opportunity

Merz took the opportunity to make a series of changes after a senior ally quit as the leader of his bloc's parliamentary group over personal conduct that undermined his credibility. Merz plans to put his chief of staff, Thorsten Frei, in that job.

The German leader said Health Minister Nina Warken will take Frei’s place at the chancellery, a post that is key to the smooth functioning of the government. She will be the first woman to take that job. Another close ally, Carsten Linnemann, the general secretary of Merz’s Christian Democratic Union party, will become health minister.

Merz said there will be further Cabinet changes, but didn’t offer details. He said those decisions will take “a few days yet, and perhaps more time.”

“The personnel changes follow a clear line,” he said. “We want a government that works with great vigor and pleasure and also represents the personal diversity of our society and politics. We are a reform government and want to continue showing that.”

Difficult regional elections are ahead

The governing parties face three difficult regional elections in September. In the eastern region of Saxony-Anhalt on Sept. 6, AfD is hopeful of winning a majority that would give it control of a state government for the first time.

After months in which voters were turned off by squabbling in the coalition, Merz’s government recently embarked on big plans for potentially painful change — including a proposed reform of the creaking pension system that would include raising the retirement age gradually, income tax cuts for low- and middle-income earners and an effort to slash red tape.

“The government has found its rhythm, despite some criticism,” Merz declared last week. “We have delivered, and we have recognized the dimension of the tasks we face.”

Ally quit over surrogacy

Only days later, though, he faced a new distraction. Jens Spahn quit as leader of the Union’s parliamentary group — one of the most powerful positions in the coalition — after it emerged that he and his husband had used the services of a surrogate mother in the U.S. to have a baby.

Surrogacy isn’t allowed in Germany. Merz’s party opposes allowing it, a position that it reaffirmed at a convention in February, and Spahn himself had spoken out against it in the past. That prompted accusations of double standards.

Frei will now take Spahn’s job, a position he’s widely considered better suited to than coordinating the chancellery. Frei was the Union’s parliamentary chief whip under Merz when the center-right was in opposition.

Warken takes his place at the chancellery after shepherding the first of the government’s reforms, meant to curb rising costs in the German health insurance system, through parliament earlier this month.

Merz said she has showed that “she can push through reforms against resistance," praised her as a tough negotiator and said that “she is also at home with the security policy issues” that are important at the chancellery.

Linnemann, a conservative who lacks government experience, will take her place at the Health Ministry. Merz said that “we must maintain the course of reform” in health policy and that requires a “steadfast” minister.

Merz took no questions and didn't mention multiple German media reports that he also plans to replace Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder. That issue remained open Friday afternoon amid reports that a candidate had first accepted the job, then changed his mind, and the uncertainty drew negative headlines.

Merz’s coalition last year set up a huge fund to underpin an effort to upgrade worn-out transport infrastructure, but frustration remains — for example with the unreliability of the national railway.

AfD co-leader Alice Weidel argued that Merz had caused “yet more chaos” with his reshuffle and said in a post on X that the government being preoccupied with itself doesn't do justice to Germany's “many-faceted” problems.

“Germany needs new elections,” she wrote. The next national election isn't due until early 2029.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention logged 2,318 cases of measles as of Thursday, according to an agency update on Friday.

The nation had 2,289 cases in 2025, the worst year for measles in more than three decades. Now, 2026 has easily become the U.S.’s worst year for measles since 1991, as major outbreaks in South Carolina, Utah and Arizona have sickened hundreds and smaller clusters of cases sparked in other states.

In November, international health officials will meet to determine if the U.S. and Mexico have lost their measles-free status. The U.S. eliminated local measles spread in 2000 by maintaining high vaccination rates, which have fallen in recent years to below the 95% coverage needed to prevent outbreaks.

Measles cases are undercounted

While measles cases in the U.S. are climbing, it may be impossible to say exactly how far-reaching the spread is. Public health departments and disease researchers have long acknowledged that official counts are incomplete, because some people get sick and don’t seek out treatment — something not unique to measles.

Furthermore, experts say the spread might be greater than what’s known because the virus is one of the most contagious known to medicine and vaccination rates nationwide have declined. National vaccination rates for measles, mumps and rubella — which dropped to 92.5% among kindergartners in the 2024-25 school year, from 95.2% in 2019-20 — obscure even lower rates in certain communities.

In Utah, where public health officials have fought measles for more than a year, the virus has sickened more than 700 people during that time, according to the state health department. Experts relying on mathematical modeling and genetic analyses indicate that a large outbreak on the Utah-Arizona border could be around three to four times bigger than what’s currently known, state epidemiologist Dr. Leisha Nolen said.

The picture is muddier in South Carolina, which had the nation’s largest outbreak in 35 years. There, the 997 total is likely an undercount, the state health department has said, but it doesn’t know by how much.

Dr. Brannon Traxler, acting director of the state department of health, said the undercount is “impossible to know and may vary during the course of an outbreak.”

Data gaps can make it hard to reliably estimate an outbreak’s true scope. Experts say hospitalization rates can be a good barometer, but measles hospitalizations are not required to be reported in every state.

“If we really had some kind of solid gold standard for the percentage of all cases that have hospitalization or some measure of severity, then that would be another way of estimating the outbreak size that we could see if it’s consistent with these other methods,” said Damon Toth, an applied mathematician at the University of Utah’s medical school who is working on one of the Utah outbreak analyses.

Researchers are still analyzing the 2025 Texas outbreak

In Texas, researchers are still working to estimate the size of the state’s 2025 outbreak and early findings show it might have been nearly twice the size of the 762 known cases.

Rémy Pasco, a mathematical epidemiologist at the University of Colorado Boulder who is working on the analysis, said the undercounts were unsurprising. In the absence of an adequate community vaccination rate — 95% according to health experts — “there’s just not much you can do about measles once you have it,” he said.

The CDC defines an outbreak as three or more linked cases. But by the time three such cases are identified in communities with low vaccination rates and less disease surveillance, “either you missed the previous ones or you’re going to have a lot more,” he added.

Dr. Varun Shetty, Texas’ chief state epidemiologist, said there were instances where people tested positive for measles but health officials couldn’t confirm who else was in the person’s household or if they were sick.

“What we’re able to count and report is almost always an underestimate of what actually occurred, because it relies on people being willing to be able to get tested, to share information with healthcare providers and with public health,” Shetty said. “Sometimes that just doesn’t happen.”

The state health department previously reported that 182 probable measles cases went unconfirmed in March 2025 among minors in Gaines County — the epicenter of the outbreak — due to a lack of information. The confirmed case count for the western Texas county for the whole outbreak is 414.

Shetty expects to keep seeing measles cases and even outbreaks because so many people are unprotected.

“It’s really critical, not only for individual people, but for communities, to have high vaccination coverage,” he said.

Vaccination is about protecting others, physician says

Dr. Mark Roberts, retired director of the Public Health Dynamics Lab at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, worries most for the people he calls “innocent bystanders.”

Research and measles modeling by his team shows those who cannot get vaccinated — young babies, people with weak immune systems and those who rarely don’t get robust immunity from the vaccine — bear the brunt of outbreaks early on.

Some people see skipping vaccination as like deciding not to wear a seat belt in a car, Roberts said.

“Not vaccinating your kid is like saying, ‘I don’t want my car to have brakes,’” he said. “Because it’s other people that you can hit. It’s not just you in your car. It’s other people.”

___

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

“It’s been just really rewarding to see the team kind of like, carry a little bit more confidence in their step,” Cantú told The Associated Press. “Maybe I’ve got some new confidence too.”

The feat caps a trajectory that began with Cantú getting his first star right out of the gate when Californios opened in 2015. He got a second one in 2018. At a June ceremony in San Diego, Cantú, with his wife Carolyn by his side, received his third star and a crisp white Michelin chef's jacket.

The accolade feels like validation not just for Californios but for the notion that Mexican food in Mexico and across the diaspora can be an elevated experience. Similar to fine dining Chinese restaurants just a few miles away from Californios, Mexican American restaurants have dealt with criticism for daring to charge more and offering tasting menus. Meanwhile, few bat an eye at French and Japanese restaurants with similar prices.

Shoot for the Michelin stars

The Michelin Guide, started in 1889 by French brothers Andre and Edouard Michelin, created a star-ranking system in the 1920s. Today, the guide has ratings for over 40,000 restaurants. To evaluate a restaurant, Michelin sends undercover inspectors posing as regular diners. The inspectors said Californios ascended the ranks because it has never been “afraid to cross borders” on the plate, according to Michelin’s website.

From the first bite, Californios patrons experience the Texas-born Cantú's blend of Mexican culture with California ingredients. He starts a meal with a sope, a small hand-formed masa cake made with white corn and beans from a farm in nearby Santa Rosa. Then, with a spatula, caviar made in partnership with a Sacramento sturgeon farm is carefully placed on top.

“It’s just really, really delicious and kind of feels like a warm hug,” Cantú said. “It feels comforting.”

Michelin inspectors agreed.

Californios deserved a three-star promotion, one of five inspectors said on Michelin’s website, for dishes consistently “executed with such precision, refinement and clarity without losing the Mexican identity — things like kombu or the matsukasa yaki fish taco.”

Sometimes Cantú and his team would try to guess if a diner could be an inspector. That turned out to be a good reminder that “every guest gets the same quality of presentation and hospitality,” the chef said.

Mexican food's growing recognition comes as immigration enforcement gets harsher

In the past few years, Michelin has starred a number of Mexican restaurants including a 10-by-10 foot (3-by-3 meter) taco stand in Mexico City. The growing recognition comes at a precarious time for immigration enforcement policies and the treatment of immigrants — even those in the U.S. legally.

Not someone who seeks to inject politics into food, Cantú could not ignore constant headlines about federal immigration operations — some of which have resulted in deaths including a Mexican man in Houston and a Colombian man in Maine earlier this month. Immigrants are “the backbone of all these dish pits and kitchens,” Cantú said. He has shown support through gestures. In March, he collaborated on an “anti-ICE” fundraising dinner.

“The culinary world is like a huge supporter of immigrants and the need for immigrants and the need to treat people with respect,” Cantú said. “It’s hard for me to say much more.”

Being in a blue state, Cantú is certain most of Californios’ diners share that sentiment.

Gustavo Arellano, a food writer and journalist who’s also Mexican American, believes the cuisine’s popularity really helps humanize the immigration debate.

“You see this especially like in small Southern towns where the rhetoric is ‘I’m against illegal immigrants. I don’t want too many Mexicans,'” Arellano said. “But, then they look at the Mexican restaurant in town and they’re like ‘Well, not them.’”

Californios shows Mexican food is just as worthy of fine dining

Growing up, Cantú watched his father and uncle in Texas run a Mexican restaurant and tortillería. As a chef working at high-end establishments in Austin and San Francisco, he found himself asking, “Why is no one doing Mexican cuisine and treating it with like extreme care?”

Inspired by the Bay Area, he settled on the name Californios. It's a nod to descendants of Spanish and Mexican settlers who settled in the 1700s and 1800s in what would become California.

Californios started with a $57 four-course tasting menu. The pushback was immediate.

“There was a ton of like, ‘This is not Mexican cuisine,’” Cantú said. “Even from our families, you know, trying to explain a contemporary cuisine to a lot of people is totally foreign because people kind of think that cuisine exists in a cookbook and that it doesn’t change.”

Californios is at the forefront of what some call “alta California” cuisine, where the children of Mexican immigrants or immigrants themselves use classical chef training with Mexican flavors. The term refers to the former Spanish province north of Baja California; Arellano describes it as an “ideology” that originated in California and has spread across the U.S.

Raised flavor profiles and prices ultimately raise skepticism. Arellano argues people think this way partly because they're trying to keep Mexican food in a box.

“There's always going to be a knee-jerk reaction,” Arellano said. “It goes to this myth that Mexican food should be cheap because Mexicans, all of us are supposedly working class that cannot afford higher-end stuff. That's classist.”

Cantú plans to keep bringing attention to his Mexican-California brand of fine dining. A cookbook is in the works.

“Mexican cuisine is one of the most diverse and complex cuisines in the world,” Cantú said, “and there’s countless Mexican immigrants in the United States and Latin immigrants who have their own ideas and concepts of what things can be.”

___

Tang reported from Phoenix.

Palestinians in the West Bank have been facing a wave of violence as Israel’s hard-line government, dominated by settler leaders and supporters, has overseen a surge in settlement construction over the past four years. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in these areas to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.

4 Palestinians and 2 Israelis killed as fear of violence escalates

The Palestinian Health Ministry said Israeli soldiers shot and killed four Palestinians in the village of Tell in the northern West Bank while the military reported the deaths of two soldiers, one of whom was a settler in a local defense squad.

Two other Israelis and four more Palestinians were wounded, health officials said, and the Israeli military announced it was preparing for an “extensive” counterterror operation in the West Bank. It said it conducting a manhunt for Palestinians suspected of attacking Israelis and that it had apprehended two during a raid in Nablus.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a joint statement with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, called Friday for more troops to the West Bank and the razing of the homes of the accused in Tell, as well as collecting weapons and revoking work permits in the village.

“The security forces must be allowed to act freely and with full force against terrorism,” they said.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich went farther, saying that the villages of Tell, Iraq Burin and Beit Furik “need to look exactly like the refugee camps in Nablus and Tulkarm,” referring to the mass demolition campaign that displaced tens of thousands in the West Bank towns last year.

“It is necessary to evacuate the population there for their protection and to clear these villages of terrorist infrastructure,” Smotrich said. “A sharp, determined, and unequivocal military action is required here and now.”

Human rights group B’Tselem warned the violence could spin out of control as Israeli settlers and soldiers amass near multiple Palestinian cities.

“Israeli violence is spreading across the West Bank, fueled by Israeli politicians openly calling for revenge,” said Yuli Novak, the group’s executive director. "We know where this leads. Millions of Palestinians are now completely exposed to further attacks, with no one protecting them.”

An unclear confrontation at the center of the tension

The exact circumstances of Friday’s incident remained unclear, but Israeli media reports and interviews with local Palestinian officials suggested a group of settlers entered Tell and were confronted by residents who were fearful of an attack.

The village is off-limits to Israelis as part of Area B under the 1993 Oslo Accords struck after the first Palestinian Intifada.

According to the Israeli military, one of the villagers took one of the settlers’ weapons and fired on the group, killing Benayahu Mellet, 32, a security guard in a settlement nearby.

In a video of the incident, confirmed by the Israeli military and circulated online by the military correspondent for Israel’s Army Radio, two armed men in civilian clothing, as well as at least one Israeli soldier, are shown pointing their weapons at a group of Palestinians who had gathered in a field.

At one point, the two armed men rushed toward several Palestinian residents with their guns drawn. In the footage, the residents try to push them back and appear to disarm one of the men before opening fire.

In a statement, the Israeli military said it killed the man who took the settler’s weapon and that he was armed when soldiers shot him. But a separate video, published by Israeli media outlets and confirmed by the military, showed Israeli forces firing on a group of Palestinians in the same field who were already on the ground.

More than a dozen gunshots can be heard in the footage, which is less than a minute long. The military said the suspect was one of the people killed in the field. It did not respond to questions about why soldiers killed the other men — all of whom were related — or how long after the original altercation the killings took place.

Later, army chief Eyal Zamir said he was sending more troops to the occupied West Bank.

Yossi Dagan, head of the Samaria Regional Council, a settler group in the northern West Bank, posted a video online in the wake of the Tell confrontation demanding the government crack down hard on Palestinians.

“We demand an iron fist and for the government to carry out a wide military operation against the Palestinian Authority and against Hamas,” he said.

Settlers have long targeted villages in the northern West Bank

Five Palestinian villages surrounding Nablus were attacked by Israeli settlers on Friday, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.

The towns and villages surrounding Nablus sit in one of the most violent parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In addition to newly approved settlements, at least nine farming outposts dot the area and attacks by Israeli settlers, army incursions and confrontations have become frequent.

Palestinians and human rights groups have increasingly documented armed settlers entering villages in the area. Livestock theft, arson and the defacement of mosques are routinely reported.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, since the beginning of this year, 87 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank governorates, including 21 by Israeli settlers.

Israeli deaths have repeatedly been followed by revenge against nearby Palestinian communities called “price tag” attacks.

That pattern followed the March 21 death of 18-year-old Yehuda Sherman, who was killed when a Palestinian vehicle struck his ATV near Beit Imrin. Senior politicians, including Smotrich, attended Sherman’s funeral and called for vengeance.

At the time, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs documented 32 settler attacks affecting 30 Palestinian villages and communities across the West Bank, about a third near Nablus governorate over the following two days. Settlers torched homes and vehicles, vandalized property and assaulted residents, injuring at least 32 Palestinians, according to OCHA.

More than 700,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for an independent state along with the Gaza Strip.

——

McNeil reported from Brussels, Bwaitel from Ramallah and Cunningham from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Sam Metz in Ramallah contributed to this report.

The New York-based company said Friday it earned $3.11 billion, or $4.53 a share, compared to $2.89 billion, or $4.08 a share, in the same period a year earlier. The results beat analysts' forecasts, who were looking for AmEx to earn a profit of $4.40 a share, according to FactSet.

AmEx continues to benefit from global economic growth that has disproportionately benefited the wealthy and high net worth individuals, as its customer bases skews heavily toward those demographics with the Platinum Card, Gold Card and other high-end credit cards. Its customers often put almost all of their spending on credit cards, and pay those cards off at the end of each month. The average AmEx customers spent $6,759 on their cards in the quarter, up from $6,393 in the same period a year earlier.

But at the same time, the company is spending heavily to keep those customers as it faces increased competition from other high-end credit card products like JPMorgan Chase's Sapphire Reserve Card, Citigroup's Strata card and Capital One's Venture X brand. The company's quarterly expenses rose 12% from a year ago, costs that went into increased marketing as well as refreshes of its credit card products.

While the company upped its guidance on how much revenue it expects to bring in this year, the company did not change its profit outlook for the year, as the company plans to put more resources into marketing and bringing in new customers. The company also expects to put additional investments into technology like artificial intelligence, like many other Fortune 500 companies.

Those efforts seem to be paying off. The company signed up another 3 million customers in the second quarter, of which three-quarters of those new customers signed up for an AmEx card with an annual fee.

Alan Vargas-Gonzalez, 23, of Mexico, and five other immigrants were arrested on April 17, 2025, in Eagle Pass.

Authorities said Vargas-Gonzalez served as the immigrants’ “foot guide.” Of the group, he was the only one not wearing camouflage clothes and did not have any carpet glued to the bottom of his shoes.

Upon further investigation, DOJ investigators later learned that Vargas-Gonzalez was connected to a March 2025 human smuggling attempt that resulted in the death of a woman from Guatemala, officials said.

A forensic examination of his cellphone revealed evidence that confirmed Vargas-Gonzalez’s involvement in the 2025 attempt, the DOJ said.

Vargas-Gonzalez was arrested on April 17, 2025, and subsequently indicted on May 14, 2025.

A superseding indictment filed on Oct. 1 charged him with separate counts of illegal transport, a DOJ release said. Vargas-Gonzalez pleaded guilty to one of those charges on Nov. 17.

Read also:

• Man sentenced to 30 years in prison for deadly shooting over financial dispute, Bexar County DA’s Office says

In the span of 24 hours, Jin was 15 time zones away, digging into an In-N-Out hamburger in Los Angeles and watching fireworks with his family on the eve of Independence Day, marking America's 250th anniversary.

“It’s so dramatic. It's unimaginable,” the pastor told The Associated Press outside the nation's capital.

He said he was suddenly released after being held since October, then put on a plane to the U.S. after President Donald Trump raised his case with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in May.

“It's a miracle,” Jin said this week.

Jin has led one of China's most influential underground churches, which defy government restrictions by not being registered with authorities. He is an exceptional case of a high-profile Chinese detainee going free following a U.S. request at a time when Beijing's leadership has only become more unyielding to foreign pressure.

Chinese pastor credits Trump for his release

Jin said Chinese authorities released him without forcing him to make a confession or going through a show trial, dropping the charges instead. He said he did not know if there was any deal or swap for his release and credited Trump's “unique diplomacy.”

“It has results,” the pastor said.

Trump, when leaving Beijing in May, told reporters that he brought up Jin's case and that Xi said he would “strongly consider the pastor.” Trump also has vowed to “save our Great Christian population” worldwide.

When asked about Jin's release, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the country manages religious affairs in accordance with the law. “We firmly oppose interfering in China's internal affairs with so-called religious issues,” the ministry said.

Jin is handed new Nikes and taken on an unknown journey

Jin said he was called suddenly to gather his few belongings, including a Bible, on July 3. He was handed new clothes and a new pair of Nike shoes. He was told he was being moved from the detention center in the southern city of Beihai, where he had been locked up for 266 days.

“Could it be that these people, now pressured, would put me under home arrest?” Jin said he wondered. He had heard from his lawyers that Trump had brought up his case with Xi less than two months earlier.

But he crossed out that possibility when the police van whisked by his old neighborhood and took him to a high-speed train station.

He was escorted into a train car with no other passengers, just police officers, who were recording video. Jin said he still did not imagine he could be freed because China rarely responds to outside pressure and many other Christian pastors and political activists are still locked up.

“I thought they would move me to a secretive place,” he said. A release was “too good to believe.”

He and the officers traveled some 470 miles to the southern metropolis of Guangzhou and then headed to the international airport, Jin said.

A temporary court was set up in a VIP room at the airport, where prosecutors read out a document, the pastor said.

After declaring “criminal evidence solid and criminal facts established,” the lead prosecutor informed Jin of the decision not to indict him on charges including illegal business activity and fraud stemming from running an unregistered church.

China has cracked down on the pastor's church

Jin founded Zion Church in 2007, and it grew into one of the most influential independent congregations in China. They are different from officially sanctioned places of worship, which accept Communist Party rule.

In 2018, authorities in Beijing shut down the church's physical sanctuary after the congregation refused to install surveillance cameras. Jin sent his family to the U.S. but stayed behind to keep developing the church, which met in small groups and gained a strong online following during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In October 2025, Jin and other church leaders were detained in another crackdown.

Pastor gets back his passport and heads to America

At the airport, Jin said he was handed his passport before stepping on a plane. A U.S. diplomat had been waiting for him for hours.

For the nearly 13-hour flight, Jin was too excited to sleep. When he landed in Los Angeles, the pastor said he was welcomed by U.S. officials and given a fee-free one-year visa.

He reunited with his family after a yearslong separation and got to hold his three grandchildren for the first time — the youngest was barely a month old.

His daughter Grace Jin Drexel, who had lobbied for months for her father’s release, said she didn’t recognize him at first because he lost a lot of weight and had visibly aged.

Now free, Jin is working for the release of other Christians

Jin said he would be working to help free the eight other Zion Church members and other Christians detained in China. That includes Wang Yi, pastor of the Early Rain Covenant Church, who is serving nine years in jail.

To that end, Jin met House Speaker Mike Johnson this week, along with relatives of three detained Christians in China.

“I am free in this country, so warmly welcomed, so I am making a special call not to forget that many more are still detained,” he told AP, choking up. “I hope we will continue to strive for them to be free.”

The Republican speaker said Jin's release had bipartisan support. “This is something we all agree on,” Johnson said. “It’s about religious freedom around the world.”

Jin said another hope is for China to legalize independent churches.

“Probably the most important wish in my lifetime is that Chinese churches can be recognized by their own government,” Jin said.

___

Associated Press writers Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, Lisa Mascaro in Washington and Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to the report.

The action exposed children to cyberbullying, unwanted contact and predatory behavior, commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said.

“Children’s content must never be visible to strangers,” he said. If TikTok does not take steps called for by the European Union's landmark Digital Services Act, “minors are exposed to predators, to grooming and to cyberbullying,” Regnier said, adding that children aged 13 to 15 can “easily” change their accounts from private to public and the private accounts of minors aged 16 to 17 can be seen by anyone on the internet. “We do not accept this,” Regnier said. “Putting default settings for minors is not a beauty contest under the DSA. It must be effective.”

The investigation comes on the heels of back-to-back crackdowns on Big Tech by Brussels, which has led the world in regulating tech behemoths including Meta and Apple.

TikTok can now defend itself and reply to the findings. If unsatisfied with the Chinese firm’s response, the European Commission could issue a so-called non-compliance decision and possible fine worth up to 6% of the company’s total annual revenue.

The Chinese social media firm, whose parent company ByteDance is based in Beijing, said in a statement it would review Brussels' findings and “continue to engage constructively with the Commission.”

“Protecting minors online is a goal we share, and we are committed to building on our strong track record of continuous improvement,” TikTok said in a statement.

If unsatisfied with the firm’s response, the commission could issue a so-called non-compliance decision and possible fine worth up to 6% of the company’s total annual revenue.

The commission estimates most of TikTok's 170 million users in the EU are children, with 7% of children aged 12 to 15 spending four to five hours daily on the app.

The 27-nation European Union found in February that TikTok had breached another aspect of its digital rule book with an “addictive design” of features such as autoplay and infinite scrolling that could harm the physical and mental health of users and minors especially.

Adis Hernandez-Rivas was sentenced Thursday in Bexar County’s 187th Criminal District Court in the murder of Duniel Valladares Fernandez, the DA’s office said in a news release.

Hernandez-Rivas’ sentence comes just two days after Marco Antonio Moreno Vasquez received a 40-year sentence in connection with the same murder case.

Murder weapon found in fridge

Authorities responded to the shooting in February 2023 and found Fernandez suffering from a gunshot wound. Fernandez was later pronounced dead at the scene.

Hernandez-Rivas and Vasquez confronted Fernandez over a financial dispute. Evidence revealed that Vasquez provided Hernandez-Rivas with the gun and “instructed him to shoot during the confrontation,” the DA’s office said.

Surveillance video captured the shooting and provided investigators with “critical” evidence, including the suspect vehicle’s license plate and images of those involved, according to the DA’s office.

Days after the shooting, law enforcement in Atascosa County found the vehicle during a traffic stop. Hernandez-Rivas and Vasquez were identified and taken into custody without incident, the release states.

The murder weapon was recovered from Vasquez’s residence, where the DA’s office said it had been concealed inside a refrigerator.

Ballistic evidence confirmed the shell casings from the scene matched the firearm, the release states.

Read also:

• Man arrested at I-35 construction site, accused of impersonating a police officer

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages Canyon Lake, told KSAT it does not conduct water quality testing following flood events. Instead, the agency is urging visitors to be responsible by swimming only in designated beach areas, wearing properly fitted life jackets and using caution around flood debris.

Officials also recommend avoiding stagnant, murky or foul-smelling water.

Many visitors at the lake said they weren’t overly concerned.

“I feel like I didn’t see much of a difference, just a little more murky,” said 12-year-old Hilson Tucker.

When asked if that bothered him, he replied “no.”

His father, Ross Tucker, said he checks for any official alerts before bringing his family to the lake.

“It hasn’t concerned me too much,” he said. “I do check to make sure there are no alerts out before we come to the lake, and Canyon Lake is not putting out any alerts. I feel like it’s safe.”

Businesses on the lake also remain open.

Frasier McNew, who operates Jet Ski Dude, said the Corps of Engineers oversees the recreation area and would close it if conditions were considered unsafe.

“No, no we wouldn’t be allowed to be open,” McNew said. “The whole park would be closed. The corps, they oversee us directly, they would be shutting us down.”

McNew said after last year’s flooding, there was more debris. After last week’s flooding, it hasn’t been much of an issue, pointing out that it’s clear enough to see your phone if you drop it in the water.

“Last year, there was a bunch of wind — it kept all the debris in one place until it slowly sank,” McNew said. This year, there wasn’t that much wind, so they actually spread out throughout the lake a little bit.”

KSAT has also reached out to the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority for the latest Canyon Lake water quality testing results and is still waiting for a response.

Farther upstream, the Upper Guadalupe River Authority said initial testing found bacteria levels at most Upper Guadalupe River sites in Kerr County were within the state’s recreational standard and consistent with pre-flood conditions.

Even so, the agency continues to advise people to avoid swimming in Kerrville and to use caution throughout the river, because murky water and flood debris can hide dangerous hazards.

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which conducts routine water quality monitoring every four months, says it plans to test Canyon Lake next week. Until then, the agency recommends people remain aware of debris and other hazards that can linger after major flooding.

Read also:

• Frio River at Concan is open — but river experts, visitors urge caution after flooding
• Kerrville extends disaster declaration after widespread flood damage
• Boerne horse ranch seeks volunteers after flood causes up to $1 million in damage

China claims virtually the entire sea passage, a key global trade route, despite a 2016 arbitration ruling based on the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea that invalidated Beijing’s expansive claims.

Clash happens in the same area for second day

The latest high-seas faceoff happened near Scarborough Shoal for the second day in a row. The Philippine coast guard said a Chinese coast guard ship approached a Philippine government fisheries vessel at a distance of seven meters (23 feet) in what it called a “reckless” maneuver that created a serious risk of collision.

The Philippine coast guard strongly condemned “the dangerous and unprofessional actions of the China coast guard,” saying the shoal “is an integral part of the Philippine territory and its surrounding waters form part of the country’s territorial sea and exclusive economic zone.”

The Chinese coast guard said multiple Philippine ships, including three coast guard vessels, gathered in the waters on Friday and that it issued verbal warnings, deployed interception measures, and used water cannon to expel them.

“We sternly warn the Philippines to immediately cease its infringing and provocative actions or bear all consequences that may arise,” it said in a statement.

A clash on Monday at the Second Thomas Shoal left two injured.

Violence in South China Sea high on ASEAN agenda

The decades-long territorial standoffs were high on the agenda of the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their Asian and Western counterparts in three days of closed-door talks that started Tuesday in the Philippine capital.

The ASEAN ministers discussed the South China Sea disputes Tuesday and issued a joint statement in which they said that “concerns were expressed by some ministers on the land reclamations, activities, serious incidents in the area, including actions that put the safety of all persons at risk, and damage to the marine environment.”

The 11-nation regional bloc’s top diplomats welcomed “significant progress” in negotiations with China on a code of conduct that aims to prevent a major armed confrontation in the disputed waters. They said they aim to conclude the negotiations this year.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, met Wednesday on the sidelines of the ASEAN talks and discussed Monday's clash at the Second Thomas Shoal, calling the incident “escalatory.”

Two Philippine sailors aboard a boat were injured after being hit by wooden poles by Chinese coast guard personnel in a separate boat, the Philippines said. China accused Philippine sailors of attacking the Chinese with oars and long sticks.

Nearly a week of ministerial meetings in Manila was capped Friday with the commemoration of ASEAN’s 1976 Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, a nonaggression pact, where Philippine Foreign Sec. Theresa Lazaro said that in a time of global uncertainty, peace needs to be always defended.

“Peace is a daily choice,” Lazaro said. “It requires continuous labor, deliberate restraint, inclusive dialogue and an unyielding adherence to the rule of law.”

___

Associated Press video journalist Joeal Calupitan in Manila, Philippines and writer Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed to this report.

We head to the King William district for day 5 of our Pizza Week. Pizzeria Vesuvio gives us a taste of their authentic Italian Pizza & some flavors with an international flair.

The Vasquez Sarcoma Foundation is in the KSAT Community Spotlight this month. It was started by two cancer survivors who realized there weren’t many support groups out there for Sarcoma patients. Now, they’re building community & hope for fellow survivors and looking for donations for their Blessing Bags - gift bundles with supplies to help cancer survivors find comfort during the tough battle.

Thousand Branches Wellness is helping people put their mental health first. They provide help with things like trauma, PTSD, night terrors, flashbacks, avoidance, panic attacks, sadness, isolation, and shame.

Friday, July 24

Multiple southbound lanes are closed on U.S. Highway 281 at Hildebrand Avenue after a crash on Friday morning, according to TxDOT.

Drivers are encouraged to take an alternate route to reach their destinations.

For more information on traffic, you can click here to view our traffic page on KSAT.com. To view more on the current weather conditions, click here.

Click the links below for current road closures.

• San Antonio road closures
• Bexar County road closures
• TxDOT highway conditions

Wangchuk’s fast became a rallying point for India’s “Cockroach” protests, which began more than a month ago demanding education reforms after alleged leaks in some of the country’s most competitive entrance exams. Since then, the movement has tapped into broader public anger over unemployment, government accountability and economic opportunity, drawing professionals, families and activists to demonstrations in New Delhi and cities across the country.

The demonstrations have become one of the most sustained waves of public dissent against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in recent years, with thousands joining after police used tear gas and batons to disperse marchers trying to reach Parliament on Monday.

The call for nationwide protests on Friday was issued in solidarity with students who were beaten by police during a march to Parliament,

In a post on X, Wangchuk said he ended his fast in the presence of two federal ministers after appeals from dozens of members of parliament and following “a long negotiation on various conditions and in view of possible violence in the country.” He did not elaborate on his talks with the ministers.

Protest organizers said demonstrations would continue until Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned, insisting on comprehensive examination reforms, and compensation for the families of students who died by suicide after exam paper leaks.

After separate talks with two ministers on Friday, the organizers said the government had asked until Saturday afternoon to respond to their demands. Government minister J.P. Nadda confirmed that the two sides would meet again on Saturday.

“We won’t let Sonam sir’s sacrifice go in vain,” said Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of Cockroach Janta Party, using the nickname protesters have given the renowned activist. Dipke's party is the satirical group that has spearheaded the movement, named after a remark by the country’s chief justice of the supreme court comparing some unemployed young people to cockroaches.

Modi publicly addressed the protests for the first time on Thursday, announcing fast-track courts to prosecute cases involving examination paper leaks. In a separate video message, Modi also said his government would introduce legislation in Parliament to crack down on exam paper leaks.

The announcements did little to calm the movement, as protesters said they failed to address their demands for government accountability.

Fabeha Sayyed, 23, said Modi’s video message showed he was finally paying attention to the issue, but she questioned why he had not asked the education minister to resign.

“If he were so concerned about the protests, about the students and the families of students who committed suicide, then it is not hard for him to get a person to resign,” she said.

In two cases last month, the Texas Supreme Court pushed back on the agency’s assessment that a parent should lose their rights entirely, clearing the way for the children to be put up for adoption.

In a third June court case, which could change how future abuse and neglect determinations are made, an Austin judge found that DFPS violated the constitutional rights of Temecia and Rodney Jackson after their newborn girl was briefly taken from them in 2023 over a dispute with a pediatrician over managing the child’s jaundice condition.

The judge ruled the agency violated the couple’s due process rights by giving them no way to appeal its decision that it was “unable to determine” whether they abused their child.

“Our goal is to hold people’s toes to the fire to what the Constitution requires. The Constitution requires due process,” said Sophia Howard, a Texas ACLU law fellow who worked on the Jacksons’ successful case.

While there’s no precise way to determine whether families in the crosshairs of a DFPS abuse investigation are winning more than before, Texas courts are giving a clear signal: it’ll take much more than than general concerns about child abuse for the state to permanently remove a child from their home.

What’s happening in the courts is the result of policies Texas has been spearheading for years: an intense decades-long bipartisan effort to rewire the agency’s mission, court-ordered reforms stemming from a costly 15-year-old lawsuit over conditions in the state’s foster care system and a post-pandemic parent population more willing to push back against the state after suffering through school lockdowns and whiplash-inducing public health advice about COVID-19.

Andrew Brown, vice president of policy for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative policy group that has advocated for reform of the state’s child welfare system, said parents are more vocal about exercising their rights.

“I think COVID played into that, because it gave families a very stark reality check,” Brown said.

The pandemic added fuel to a decades-long trend of some parents pushing back against what they see as government overreach, which helped push states like Texas to remake their child welfare systems, Brown and others said.

As part of that overhaul, the state has been transferring nearly all responsibility for foster care children to private companies.

“I think there are multiple streams that are leading to this particular moment,” Josh Gupta-Kagan, director of the Columbia Law School’s family defense clinic.

Child welfare reforms bring other urgent concerns

The idea of putting parents on better legal footing during child abuse investigations is a decades-old conversation that began after studies consistently showed Black children were unfairly targeted in state child abuse investigations.

Some estimates show that over half of all Black children in the United States will have been the subject of a child welfare investigation before their 18th birthday. Most of those investigations are because of poverty misinterpreted as neglect, not abuse, researchers have found.

“There were abuses in the past of removal power. People who weren’t poor, saw poverty as abuse,” said Vicki Spriggs, CEO of Texas CASA, the nonprofit group of volunteers often called on by a judge to serve as a child’s advocate in a Child Protective Services case. “There were some very significant misuses of removal.”

The parental rights conversation is becoming louder as the state’s child welfare agency enters its most transformative era.

DFPS is up for Sunset this year — the routine performance review for state agencies that will undoubtedly be a first comprehensive evaluation of DFPS’ handoff of foster care management to the private sector.

A little over 50% of the state’s foster care management is now in private hands. But it hasn’t been a completely smooth transition.

This week, DFPS abruptly canceled its $137.6 million contract with EMPOWER, which manages foster care placement and services in Dallas and eight adjoining counties, after a rocky two years that saw at least two children die in its care.

DFPS had placed EMPOWER under state supervision in March. That supervision was supposed to continue until next month — but the agency abruptly canceled the contract and transferred the region’s foster care management to two other contractors. The agency has also asked a court to seal a report on the progress EMPOWER has made since March.

At the same time, the agency is also trying to settle a 2011 class action lawsuit filed by children’s lawyers alleging dangerous foster care conditions — which has cost the state more than $200 million to date to pay for federal court monitoring and reforms.

Spriggs worries that so much DFPS regulatory change, coming at the same time as historic federal cuts to public health and tougher restrictions on food assistance and Medicaid, may put more children at risk as poorer families face even more financial strain.

“People are losing jobs, so all those things that keep tensions from happening in families are increasing while … they’ve raised the bar on (child neglect) removals,” she said.

Texas’ long road to reform and rapid fixes

So how did Texas get here? Starting in 2004, a gruesome series of child deaths occurred despite state intervention and regulation.

A 9-year-old Arlington boy was found starved to death despite six CPS visits to his home in 2004. The same year, a woman killed her 10-month old in Plano, months after a CPS visit. More highly publicized deaths followed involving children already known to be in danger by the state.

Then-Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst called for investigations into the agency. In 2005, the state claimed it would need 800 more workers and more than $300 million to improve the state’s child protection system.

Texas lawmakers responded, approving money to improve training, salaries, recruitment and technology for CPS workers.

But by 2017, Democrat and Republican Texas lawmakers had grown frustrated with more than a decade of attempts to fix a swamped state Child Protective Services system that seemed to produce more heartbreaking headlines than stable families. That year, they began moving away from a remove-and-hold child foster care system and enhancing the rights of parents being investigated.

Meanwhile, headlines about the ongoing federal lawsuit over troubling foster care conditions — which lingered despite federal court oversight — prompted the state to hire private lawyers to try to bring it to an end.

“It finally got to the point where people started paying attention and realized, ‘Oh, this isn’t right,” the TPPF’s Brown said. “The system had grown so large, and the net had grown so large, that you were pulling in families that did not need to be there, and you were pulling in families who … previously would have just been helped by community organizations, and places of worship, you know, the civil society in their neighborhoods.”

That year, with House Bill 7, lawmakers streamlined removal procedures, making it less likely that children were removed simply because they lived in poorer circumstances instead of facing immediate physical danger. With House Bill 11, lawmakers began moving both care and placement of foster care children into the hands of private nonprofit organizations.

The 2021 legislative session produced two landmark bills that pushed Texas into the forefront of child welfare reform.

One new law strengthened parents’ rights in child abuse medical investigations, prohibiting the removal of children based on the sole medical opinion of an expert contracted by DFPS. And because most CPS investigations involved families accused of neglect, not immediate harm, the Legislature also narrowed the definition of neglect that would require state intervention, from “substantial risk” to “immediate harm.”

As a result, the number of children removed from their homes began dropping rapidly. In 2016, there were 19,070 child removals in Texas. That number declined by 47% in 2025 to 10,011.

“I do think the system is often overbroad and intervenes in families harmfully and unnecessarily,” said Gupta-Kagan, the family defense lawyer and Columbia Law School professor. “I think the system is basically spread too thin and distracted by too many petty cases.” 


In 2023, Texas lawmakers passed another nation-leading initiative by expanding parental due process rights: Parents subjected to a state child abuse investigation must now be given a written, Miranda-style warning telling them that they can have an attorney present during a CPS investigation interview and can refuse to participate in an interview.

“What Texas really did was, we looked at our system from a couple different angles,” said the TPPF’s Brown, “We looked at both the structural failings of the way the bureaucracy was running. But we also started looking at, well, how are we making these decisions that are impacting the lives of kids and their families?”

State leaders keep child welfare a priority for 2027

When Texas lawmakers return to Austin in January, the public is going to hear more about the treatment of parents and families in the foster care system and whether any adjustments are needed in the way foster care is working under the newer contracted system.

Both Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows have listed the child welfare system — particularly how parents are investigated — as priorities for the upcoming session.

Brown said he’s hoping to see more reforms, especially when it comes to helping parents. Florida has a new complaint office just for parents who are facing state abuse investigations and Brown said he’d like to see a similar office created within the attorney general’s office in Texas.

But he also wants to see the results of the Sunset review of the agency before pitching even bigger ideas.

“We’ve done so much,” Brown said. “Let’s watch Sunset play out … and then make strategic choices on how to move forward.”

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

The Midland school district voted to sue Education Commissioner Mike Morath and state leaders this week, focusing on a piece of Texas’ school finance system known as recapture or “Robin Hood.” Texas courts have repeatedly found recapture in compliance with the state constitution — in 1995, 2005 and 2016, respectively.

But the latest challenge from West Texas represents decades-long frustrations Texas schools hold with state leaders’ approach to paying for public education. Despite new dollars approved last year, many districts have closed schools, shuttered programs and cut staffing in response to a funding crisis they say the Legislature helped cause.

Here’s what to know.

What is recapture?

Recapture, often referred to as “Robin Hood,” passed into law in 1993 after the predominantly Hispanic and low-income Edgewood school district and dozens of other underfunded campuses sued Texas over significant disparities between the resources students in their communities received and kids who attended school in affluent neighborhoods.

Under recapture, school districts that receive more local property tax revenue than their state-determined need must send excess funds back to the state. The state then redirects that money to districts that struggle to generate local funding.

During the 2024–25 fiscal year — the most recent with finalized data — 225 districts sent nearly $3 billion back to the state, according to data from the Texas Education Agency. That’s up from just over $1.4 billion a decade prior.

How much is recapture costing districts?

As districts’ local economies have grown, so has their property wealth — resulting in more districts sending money back to the state.

In 1994 — the year after recapture passed into law — 34 school districts redistributed $131 million through the system, many of them in Texas’ wealthy suburbs, according to the Texas School Coalition, an organization advocating on behalf of recapture districts.

Since then, districts have sent roughly $45.5 billion in total recapture funds to the state — including those located in urban communities with high numbers of students in low-income households as well as from oil-rich areas.

Austin ISD sent more than $770 million back to the state during the 2024-25 school year, by far the most of any district. Austin has led the state in recapture payments for nearly 20 consecutive years, according to the coalition. Slightly less than half of the district’s students come from low-income households, though the number of children learning English and kids with dyslexia rank high above state averages.

West Texas’ Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD paid roughly $198 million, the second-largest amount. The Midland school district, which recently sued the state, paid the sixth-most at $92.4 million. Houston ISD, the largest district in Texas, paid the tenth-most at $55.5 million.

What are arguments for and against recapture?

Some property-wealthy districts argue that because Texas counts recapture as part of its funding contribution to public schools, elected state leaders use it not as a tool to improve resources for low-income students but rather as an excuse to avoid funneling additional money to the children most in need.

Frustrations with recapture are underscored by the reality that many Texas districts are sending money back to the state as they close schools, cut programs and navigate staffing shortages.

But without recapture, advocates fear, schools in property-wealthy districts would receive significantly more funding to educate their students than those in areas with low property values, potentially leaving underserved children worse off.

Some public education advocates argue that the problem is not with recapture but with inconsistent and unreliable state funding. Prior to the 2025 legislative session, for example, Texas schools endured six years without a boost to the pot of money schools can use to raise teacher salaries and cover operational expenses.

What is Midland ISD arguing in its lawsuit?

Located in a community rich in oil and gas, Midland will pay the state more than $83 million for recapture this school year, according to a draft of the legal filing. That represents 27% of the district’s $313 million generated locally.

Midland has consistently ranked top 10 in recapture districts over the last decade, according to the Texas School Coalition.

Midland school trustees contend that recent changes to Texas’ education funding system, dating back to 2019, unfairly deprived local communities of decision-making power over how they tax residents, instead granting much of that authority to the education commissioner.

Rather than allowing local school boards to set taxes within a certain range determined by the state, districts do so at the rate decided by the commissioner or risk losing state funding, they argue. Meanwhile, state lawmakers continue to impose requirements on how districts spend money raised locally, which the Midland trustees say prevents them from addressing their community’s particular needs.

Roughly 68% of the district’s students are Hispanic, while nearly 55% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch — the latter of which the state and federal governments consider a measure of poverty. The trustees argue that the number of students who come from low-income households shows that property wealth does not necessarily equate to educational wealth.

What is the broader political context?

State leaders have allocated tens of billions of dollars toward reducing the annual tax bill homeowners and businesses pay each year. They have also imposed tighter limits on how much local governments can increase taxes to pay for services such as public safety and parks.

The legal challenge to recapture from Midland, a community that reliably votes Republican, comes as top GOP leaders such as Gov. Greg Abbott now push to abolish school property taxes. Several Texas House lawmakers and prominent conservative groups have embraced the approach, though finance experts warn doing so would prove costly and appears unrealistic.

Property taxes make up the majority of public school funding, while state dollars generally fill remaining gaps along with some federal aid.

Attorneys Kevin O’Hanlon and Kara Belew, meanwhile, will represent Midland ISD in the recapture lawsuit.

O’Hanlon represented the Texas Attorney General’s Office in Edgewood v. Kirby — the landmark school finance case that led to the creation of recapture. Belew has served as statewide budget director for Abbott, as one of the Texas Education Agency’s top finance experts and as a senior policy adviser for the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation.

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

Discussion

At 1000 PM CDT (0300 UTC), the remnants of Bertha were located near latitude 30.0 North, longitude 96.0 West. The remnants are moving toward the west near 14 mph (22 km/h), and this general motion is expected to continue tonight.

Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph (55 km/h) with higher gusts.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 1008 mb (29.77 inches).

Watches and Warnings

CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:

None.

SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:

There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

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

Land Hazards

STORM SURGE: Water levels may remain elevated through the next high tide cycle along the Louisiana and Texas coastline but should subside thereafter.

RAINFALL: The remnants of Bertha are expected to produce total rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches with isolated totals to 4 inches tonight over South Texas. This rainfall may produce isolated flash flooding, especially in urban areas.

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

SURF: Swells generated by the remnants of Bertha will continue to affect the Louisiana and Texas coast through tonight. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. Please consult products from your local weather office.

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

Since 2016, high schools from across San Antonio and surrounding areas have held a week-long food drive of peanut butter jars leading up to the opening weekend of high school football. Those jars are then distributed to local hunger relief organizations.

Last year, 46 tons of peanut butter were collected and donated to more than 40 organizations. To date, the fundraiser has reached over 1.8 million people.

“It’s pretty exciting when you just stop and think,” Steve Teal, the founder of the Peanut Butter Bowl, said at the event’s annual media day at Alamo Heights High School. “Sometimes you’re just right in it, so to realize, 1.8 million people? That’s not just food and protein, that’s hope for them.”

What started as a single game between Johnson and Brandies has turned into a statewide competition. Copperas Cove set the record for most peanut butter jars collected by a single school last year, totaling 12,240.

“I mean, those guys from Copperas Cove, they took it and ran with it,” said Ron Rittimann, the former coach at Alamo Heights. “And they included their whole community. ... Everybody’s kind of chasing them right now, but I’m (going to) go ahead and pick a San Antonio school to win it this next year.”

Usually, schools answer the call, and the competitive nature of high school football is used to inspire participation.

“We have the best platform in the world: Texas high school football,” Rittimann said. “We have an arena to play the game in but also to reach so many people.”

Coach Joe Hubbard, from East Central High School, emphasized the importance of exposing the Peanut Butter Bowl to young people, as the event sees participation from middle and elementary schools as well.

“I think service is so important. And us continuing to teach that piece to our young men, it’s just great for our community,” Hubbard said.

Peanut butter is a staple in food pantries and an excellent source of protein. According to Hubbard, Peanut Butter Bowl donations have been able to feed families for a full year.

That effort continues to grow today, and it can never get big enough.

“Not only the state is big, this country is big, and there’s a lot of people that are hungry,” Teel said. “So how can we reach the rest of the state, how can we start reaching the nation, feeding people?”

The 2026 Peanut Butter Bowls will take place Aug. 27 to 29.

Read also:

• Harlan High School product Tate Taylor continues rapid ascension using coach’s guidance

San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie joined participants during the esports tournament, even picking up a controller to compete alongside some of the Gold Star families.

“It’s been great so far. USAA is great at this,” Champagnie said. “It’s great to just be here, be involved and just show up to the community.”

The Gold Star Gamers’ Cup brings USAA employees together to compete in honor of Gold Star families — the relatives of U.S. military service members who died while serving their country. The tournament recognizes those families while giving employees an opportunity to show their support through a team-based gaming competition.

USAA also completed Operation Homefront for a large-scale back-to-school volunteer effort benefiting military families.

“I’m a military brat, a veteran and a military spouse, so bringing opportunities like the Gold Star Gamers’ Cup and working with nonprofits that serve the military, like Operation Homefront, is really close to my heart,” said Glenda Oakley, corporate impact director at USAA. “It’s very important for us to serve the military community.”

Thousands of volunteers packed about 7,400 backpacks with donated school supplies for military children in the San Antonio area and across the country as families prepare for the start of the school year.

The backpacks will be distributed to military children across the Alamo City, where many families are connected to the armed forces through the region’s military installations. Organizers said the effort is intended to help ease back-to-school expenses and ensure students have the supplies they need for the new school year.

Read also:

• Victor Wembanyama tabbed as cover athlete for NBA 2K27 standard edition

On Wednesday, July 22, all Bexar County residents can visit the zoo for $8. The zoo is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This week’s Locals Day celebrates each City Council district and Bexar County precinct, a San Antonio Zoo news release said.

Wednesday will also feature “special activations” from CPS Energy and Bexar County, the zoo said.

Locals Day tickets can be purchased online. One guest per party must provide an ID or utility bill with a Bexar County resident address.

For anyone who can’t visit the zoo on Wednesday, don’t worry. There are more Locals Days planned throughout the year.

Upcoming Locals Day events:

• Aug. 6
• Sept. 5
• Sept. 13
• Oct. 9
• Nov. 27
• Dec. 4

To learn more about the zoo or its exhibits, click here.

Read also:

• San Antonio Zoo welcomes 1-year-old female giraffe from Tulsa

Prosecutors are alleging that D4vd, whose legal name is David Burke, killed the girl then dismembered her in the garage after she threatened to reveal their sexual relationship and crater his career. Police technicians took the samples from a rubber floor mat, a rowing machine and a Tesla charger in the garage, and Los Angeles police criminalist Samantha Tosch testified that they matched Rivas Hernandez.

The testimony came on the third day of a preliminary hearing where a judge will decide if Burke should stand trial on charges of murder, sexual abuse of a child and mutilation of a body. He has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers have said they will vigorously defend him.

Tosch said the matches of several samples were “one septillion times more likely to occur if it originated from Celeste rather than anyone else in the population,” and pointed out the number had 24 zeros.

Prosecutors had previously said in a court filing that her DNA was found in the garage, but the evidence hadn't previously been shown publicly.

DNA evidence and testing key to hearing

Testing was also done on a trash bag in the garage and stained cleaning wipes inside it. Tosch said the bag swab showed a mixture of DNA from four people, at least two of them male — and one of them that she said was Burke's.

Rivas Hernandez's DNA was found on the wipes but not the bag. Burke's was not on the wipes.

Another police criminalist testified that most of the garage stains were not visible to the naked eye and were uncovered by a chemical test that makes the area glow blue. A photo displayed in court showed the rubber mat cloaked in bright blue.

Tosch conceded under questioning from the defense that she couldn't say with certainty that the DNA profiles came from blood, and could've been from touch.

“It’s possible that they did not come from blood?” Burke's lawyer, Blair Berk, asked.

“I cannot with any certainty say that they came from blood,” Tosch replied.

Under further questioning by Berk, Tosch also acknowledged that it can't be determined how DNA got on a spot, and that it's even possible for it to transfer between people. And she acknowledged there's no way to clearly establish how long the DNA had been there.

Defense questions how and what police tested for DNA

Burke's lawyers have previously given little indication of any counternarrative they may present about how Rivas Hernandez was killed and how her dismembered body was found in the trunk of Burke’s Tesla about five months later.

But they began giving glimpses into their defense strategy as they pressed various prosecution witnesses on why they didn't conduct more DNA testing on items found in the singer's home and car.

Berk dwelled on a pair of small chain saws found in Burke's garage, where prosecutors say he dismembered the body. Lauren Wallace, another LAPD criminalist, testified that initial chemical tests showed no signs of blood on the saws, so the handles were not swabbed for any DNA left behind by someone who touched it.

“If an item has somebody else’s DNA on it, you wouldn’t be able to see that at the time,” Berk said.

“No you’re not able to see touch DNA,” Wallace said, then reiterated that the blades had tested negative for blood.

“But that doesn’t preclude at all that there could be somebody else’s touch DNA,” Berk said.

An indie-pop singer whose music and online presence brought him a huge following, D4vd's songs and videos often have dark and violent imagery often delivered through an alter-ego character he calls Itami. His breakthrough single in 2022 was called “Romantic Homicide,” one of several of his songs with more than a billion plays on Spotify. His debut full-length album, “Withered,” was released two days after prosecutors say Rivas Hernandez was killed.

On Thursday, he wore orange jail clothes and glasses, sitting at the defense table calmly and intently watching the witnesses testify. He did not betray any emotion during the proceedings but was seen during the recess interacting with and smiling with his attorneys.

Rivas Hernandez's parents were back in the courtroom Thursday afternoon, sitting in the front row. They did not have a visible reaction to the mostly technical testimony.

D4vd relationship with teen began when she was 13

Prosecutors are seeking to prove Burke began a sexual relationship with Rivas Hernandez when she was 13 and he was 18.

They said in a court filing that she had grown jealous of his relationships with other women and threatened to expose him and ruin his multimillion-dollar career the night before she was killed. The court filing said he sent a car to pick her up on the night of April 23, 2025, and stabbed her when she arrived at his home.

Prosecutors say he kept the body for weeks or months in the front trunk of the Tesla, where it was found after the car was towed 4 1/2 months later.

Unlike nearly every other similarly sized city, Madison doesn’t require its police to wear them.

The absence of that footage has left residents in the dark about key moments leading up to the shooting, when police say Corey Ruiz pulled a knife during a struggle with four officers, injuring one of them. That officer then fired the shots, according to police. All four officers have been placed on administrative leave pending a state investigation.

In the meantime, the deadly encounter has reignited a contentious debate about body cameras, one that has long vexed local officials and pitted some of the city’s progressive groups against each other.

This past November, the Madison Common Council rejected a proposal to redirect funding from a police oversight group to a body-camera program. A new proposal to allocate $414,800 for a three-year roll out of the program is expected to be approved by the legislative body.

Police Chief John Patterson has described the proposal as “modest,” adding that the cameras had become “essential tools for the modern police officer.”

Law enforcement experts tend to agree and some expressed surprise that the city’s nearly 500 officers weren’t already using the cameras.

“There are very, very few agencies of that size that do not have a body-worn camera program,” said Michael D. White, a criminal justice professor at Arizona State University who led training on camera adoption for the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Madison has a long-standing tradition of being an innovative, progressive police department, so it’s startling,” he added.

As far back as 2016, roughly 80% of police departments with 500 or more sworn officers had acquired body-cameras — a figure that White said was now approaching 100%.

Over the last decade, Madison officials have repeatedly debated adopting the cameras. Committees have borne subcommittees, which have produced feasibility studies, amendments and hours of debate.

Local officials primarily blame budget concerns, along with political inertia, for the ongoing stalemate. Another common source of opposition, identified in a 2021 feasibility study, came from community groups worried the cameras would be used to surveil and criminalize marginalized groups.

“I cannot approve something that doesn’t have a policy and procedure behind it that is potentially going to hinder the community more than help the community,” said Veronica Figueroa, then a member of the body-worn camera subcommittee.

As camera adoption has become more widespread in recent years, those concerns have largely faded away, according to Common Council President Sabrina Madison.

But she said local officials have largely been preoccupied by another issue: finding shelter for a homeless population that has grown since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was like: if we’re going to figure out anything, we’re going to figure out how to fund shelter operations,” Madison told The Associated Press on Thursday. “So the last couple years, that’s where the focus has been.”

The city did briefly conduct a body camera pilot program in the summer of 2024. A subsequent report found the cameras had little impact on officers’ behavior or the community’s feeling toward police.

Dr. Broderick Turner, an independent researcher who analyzed the program and authored the report, noted the length of the pilot — only 90 days — meant there was little time for anyone to notice a meaningful difference. And he described demographic differences in the city's response.

“Black communities tend to want body cameras, but Madison is majority white,” Turner said. “The groups opposed were less impacted by crime and less impacted by policing.”

For some in the city, Wednesday’s shooting has surfaced memories of Tony Robinson, an unarmed 19-year-old who was fatally shot by Madison police in 2015.

His death ultimately led to the creation of the Office of the Independent Police Monitor.

This past winter, Madison lawmakers shot down a budget proposal that would have paid for a body camera program by cutting funds to the monitor.

Katey Nelson, a member of the police civilian oversight board, said the amendment had presented residents with a “false choice.”

“There are cuts that can be made with the Madison Police Department or the County Sheriff’s department, but they’re trying to pit similar agendas against each other,” she said.

“Nobody can agree on anything,” Nelson added. “Now we’re here, looking at another police shooting where we don’t have what we need to make sure the officers are held accountable.”

Loomer had spent years minimizing Russia's invasion of Ukraine and amplifying Russian propaganda to her nearly 2 million followers. This week she had a change of heart.

“Just experienced my first air raid in Ukraine. Sirens blaring. This is everyday for every Ukrainian,” Loomer wrote on X during her visit to the country. “I often said I don’t care. Looking back, that wasn’t very nice of me to say.”

“We need to have moral clarity,” she added Thursday.

It was a stunning reversal for a woman who had spent years criticizing U.S. support for Ukraine's defense, declaring it “a country full of Nazi apologists” — a claim used by Russia to justify its yearslong invasion — and “led by a Jihadi apologist.”

The skepticism of Ukraine has been shared by other major conservative influencers, including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The issue became a major point of contention between more traditional Republicans, like former Vice President Mike Pence, and Trump's MAGA base. Vice President JD Vance was among the earliest and most vocal critics of continued U.S. military aid to the country, and he and Trump clashed with Zelenskyy in a heated Oval Office meeting.

It was unclear what had prompted Loomer's trip or how she had arranged the meeting with Zelenskyy, which she plugged as an interview for her Rumble show, “Loomer Unleashed.”

She posted a photo of the two and later a clip from the interview in which she asked Zelenskyy about the Oval Office confrontation and how his relationship with Trump seemed to have improved since then. Zelenskyy credited a brief conversation at the Vatican for the detente — one he called a “historic moment, because we changed the relations during 15, 20 minutes.”

Loomer and the White House did not respond to requests for comment on the trip, but Trump gave his stamp of approval on social media.

“Very good!!!” he wrote on Thursday evening.

The meeting was confirmed earlier by Dmytro Lytvyn, a spokesperson for the president, who said that no Ukrainian government institution had organized the visit. He added that Zelenskyy's office first learned that Loomer was in Ukraine through social media.

“It is really important that @LauraLoomer is in Ukraine and sees things with her own eyes as they are,” Zelenskyy's office had written Tuesday.

“It takes courage to come to Ukraine and not be deterred by Russian propaganda or air raid sirens. Thank you, Laura,” the office added Thursday.

In addition to the meeting with Zelenskyy, Loomer also visited the Dormition Cathedral of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, one of the country’s most significant religious landmarks, which came under Russian attack last month.

The attack on the monastic complex of golden domes in the heart of Kyiv, which is also known as the Monastery of the Caves, sparked a fire that caused significant interior and exterior damage, according to UNESCO. Zelenskyy had called it Moscow’s “biggest crime yet against Christian culture.”

Russia denied responsibility for the attack, claiming, without offering evidence, that the complex was hit by one of Ukraine’s U.S.-made Patriot air defense missiles — saying that it might have veered off course due to its age.

In a video recorded from inside the church, Loomer accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of hypocrisy by portraying Russia as pro-Christian.

“I just don’t think that you should be allowed to say that you’re protecting Christianity if you’re trying to drone strike Jesus Christ,” she said.

Sergiy Kyslytsya and Tetyana Berezhna, two top Ukrainian officials, were among those who met with Loomer and joined her for the visit.

The meeting comes amid continued hostilities between Russia and Ukraine that have been overshadowed in recent months by the war with Iran.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday at an annual gathering of foreign ministers in Manila that the administration is poised to help end the “senseless war” in Ukraine but acknowledged there was no quick path to a deal.

___

Colvin reported from New York.

Now, people in Guadalupe County are raising similar concerns, protesting what they say is a lack of transparency from county leaders as two data center projects move forward near their homes.

Guadalupe County homeowners packed meetings to oppose the Palomino Alpha and Cloudburst data centers, citing potential impacts ranging from utility costs to environmental concerns.

“I feel like they’re rotten,” Al Green, a homeowner in Guadalupe County, said. “They’re taking advantage of most people.”

Green and other opponents say the facilities could affect local air quality because of backup generators and other associated infrastructure.

Palomino Alpha and Cloudburst data centers did not reply to KSAT’s request for comment prior to publication.

While some community members voiced support for the projects during public meetings, others lined up to speak against them.

“The water bills, I don’t want them to go up any higher,” Cynthia, a homeowner in Seguin, said. “But if the data centers start draining the waters from the homeowners, what do we do?”

Bobby Levinski, an attorney with Save Our Springs Alliance, said they filed a lawsuit against the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court, alleging problems with how the county handled public meetings tied to the projects.

“What was happening in Guadalupe County was a pattern of meetings that didn’t quite meet the standards that are required under state law under the Texas Open Meetings Act and the Texas Tax Code,” Levinski said. “So that’s the reason for the lawsuit.”

The Guadalupe County Attorney’s Office told KSAT in an email, “We appreciate your reaching out to us with your inquiry; unfortunately, we cannot grant your request as it is the policy of our office to not comment on pending litigation.”

Levinski also raised ethical concerns involving Guadalupe County Judge Kyle Kutscher.

“The judge, from what we understand, owns quite a bit of property on the Palomino Alpha site,” Levinski said. “It’s over 100 acres between he and his family.”

Opponents spoke with media before a Crystal Clear Special Utility Board meeting and then spoke at the meeting due to one of the data center’s water usage being a discussion item on the agenda.

The utility board meeting wrapped up Thursday night, and the board did not speak with KSAT because no decision was going to be made on water usage for the data centers.

Read also:

• Air quality concerns on West Side rise as data center company seeks approval to run diesel generators

For Katie Buck, owner of Buck Wild Animal Rescue and Wildlife Rehab, the flooding was the second major flood to hit the property in as many years. This time, she said, the destruction was significantly worse.

“It was heartbreaking. I think that’s the main word I can use for this,” Buck told KSAT. “I mean, it was scary.”

The property sits along Lazy Creek, which feeds into the Guadalupe River. During last week’s heavy rain, the creek quickly overflowed, sending floodwaters across the property.

Buck shared video with KSAT showing water surrounding the home where she grew up as the flood swept through the rescue area.

“It was so sad to watch all of our stuff disappear,” Buck added. “It didn’t do that last year. So it seems like it was a little more rough than last year, as far as the amount of rain, the amount of water that came through here.”

Despite the damage, Buck said every animal at the rescue survived and was accounted for.

She was able to move hundreds of animals to safety before floodwaters completely took out their enclosures.

The flooding also damaged equipment and scattered debris across the property, leaving behind a costly recovery effort.

This week, dozens of volunteers gathered to help clear fallen trees, remove twisted metal and haul away debris left behind by the flood at Buck Wild Animal Rescue and Wildlife Rehab.

“We’ve had numerous groups come in,” Buck said. “This enclosure was destroyed. We had to cut metal and bring all this stuff out. There were trees wrapped up.”

As cleanup continues, Buck said she’s concerned about the future of rebuilding in a region that has now experienced consecutive years of severe flooding.

“The resources are getting less,” Buck said. “It’s very hard to decide whether or not we’re willing to go through this again.”

Buck said she plans to apply for grants available to nonprofit organizations to help fund repairs and recovery. She also hopes to eventually open a second location on higher ground, reducing the risk of future flood damage while allowing the rescue to continue caring for injured and orphaned wildlife across Central Texas.

Read also:

• Boerne horse ranch seeks volunteers after flood causes up to $1 million in damage
• San Antonio animal rescue group helping pets displaced by recent Hill Country floods
• Water quality questions remain at Canyon Lake after flooding; officials warn of hidden debris

“There was this emptiness to it,” recalls Myers, of Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh.

He turned to the biblical Book of Psalms — its hymns, poetry and prayers covering “the entire spectrum of human existence and emotion, from elation to utter despair,” Myers recalled. “Something told me it’s in there somewhere, the inspiration that I need."

He started reading all 150 chapters, in order. When he got to 121, he found words that clicked: “My help comes from God, maker of the heavens and the Earth."

“There it was,” Myers says today. ”My faith did have the answers. It just took time to be able to find them."

Myers, 70, is retiring this month as spiritual leader of Tree of Life, a position he had assumed just over a year before the shattering events of Oct. 27, 2018.

On that Sabbath morning, a gunman shot his way into the synagogue, shouting antisemitic invective and murdering 11 worshippers from the three congregations sharing the building — Dor Hadash, New Light and Tree of Life.

In the nearly eight years since, the congregation has worked to grieve and heal. It endured a long-delayed trial leading to the gunman's death sentence. It experienced the disruptive pandemic and the groundbreaking for a new building.

“My mission has come to a conclusion to the best that I could,” Myers said in an interview. “It was time for the next chapter also for the Tree of Life. It’s time to step aside so that there is space for new voices."

Rabbi says goodbye with signature blend of scripture and pop culture

Myers plans to return to his native New Jersey to be near his daughter and granddaughter. He wants to catch up on reading, do some writing, check off some “bucket list” goals with his wife. He also plans to work more on healing his own inner wounds after prioritizing the congregation's needs.

“As Mr. Spock says in ‘Star Trek II,’ the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few,” says Myers, who frequently glides between scriptural and pop culture references.

Myers similarly quoted from the Beatles and Broadway’s “Rent” in a farewell address to his congregation on July 17. He thanked congregants, clergy, public officials, the police officers who risked their lives to rescue him, some suffering serious injuries.

He recalled each victim by name. “May your memories always be for a blessing,” he said. He concluded by having the congregation join him in singing Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend.”

Members, in interviews, pay tribute to Myers and what he achieved.

“He was really just a new rabbi and hardly broken in yet, and we went through the thing that we went through,” says Audrey Glickman, a survivor of the attack. "He has steered a constant ship and taken care of everyone, and I think he has earned himself a rest."

His journey to Tree of Life started in his childhood synagogue's choir

Myers grew up near Newark, New Jersey, recalling summers at the beach at Asbury Park, where transistor radios were tuned to pop music stations. As a boy, he sang soprano in his synagogue choir. By his mid-teens, he was leading that choir and developing his distinctive high tenor voice — one that, in 2018, was heard worldwide as he sang the traditional Jewish mourner's prayers for those who fell.

Myers started college as a pre-med student but soon pivoted toward his deep interests in Judaism and music. He went to school to become a cantor or hazzan, a type of Jewish clergy who leads worship.

After several years serving congregations in New York and New Jersey in the middle-of-the-road Conservative denomination of Judaism, he studied for ordination as a rabbi and came to Tree of Life. It was a small Conservative congregation, sharing its building with two others in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood, the heart of Jewish Pittsburgh.

Sabbath services had just begun that Saturday morning. After hearing gunfire in the lobby, he urged worshippers to flee if they were able — and those who were frail to lie down or hide. He took shelter as he heard gunshots ring out.

“I was praying,” Myers recalled on the witness stand during the gunman's 2023 trial. “I thought about the history of my people, how we’ve been persecuted and hunted and slaughtered for centuries, and how all of them must have felt the moments before their death, and what did they do.”

He asked God to forgive him for being unable to save his congregants. He expected to die but was escorted to safety by police officers.

He was still wearing his prayer shawl.

After surviving the attack, Myers' leadership stood out

In the days afterward, the funeral services unfolded. Alan Hausman, a lay leader in the congregation who has long worked in public safety, accompanied Myers throughout that week. Responding to deadly emergencies “takes a toll on you,” Hausman says. “And he kept going.”

With its damaged building a crime scene, Tree of Life began worshipping at a nearby synagogue, Rodef Shalom. For Myers and others, it was crucial to resume their Jewish observances in defiance of the killer's intentions.

There were uplifting moments. Sam Schachner, the congregation’s then-president, recalls his son's bar mitzvah a few weeks after the attacks — the first truly joyful event after Oct. 27.

Myers “could have reasonably said, ‘I’ve been through a lot. Can we postpone this?’” Schachner says. “He didn’t. He had this ability to be there for others when he was going through such pain.”

Then the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the healing. Myers led remote services from his home. But presiding over his daughter's outdoor wedding helped, fulfilling another Psalm's promise. “God turned my mourning into rejoicing,” he says.

After resuming in-person worship, the three congregations braced for a long-delayed trial. It began in the spring of 2023, just as Myers' daughter was expecting her first child.

Myers told prosecutors that if the baby was a boy, he would attend his circumcision even if it conflicted with Myers' scheduled testimony -- unwilling to “let the shooter deprive me” of partaking in a key Jewish rite. Instead, a granddaughter arrived, and Myers was on the witness stand as scheduled.

The lengthy trial concluded with the conviction and death sentence of the gunman, who remains on death row.

With shared trauma, Tree of Life bonds with church shooting survivors

Tree of Life began a meaningful relationship with Mother Emanuel AME Church of Charleston, South Carolina, a historically Black congregation where a racist gunman killed nine Bible study participants in 2015. Members visited each others' congregations, and Myers developed a bond with Emanuel's pastor, the Rev. Eric Manning.

When Myers testified, Manning was in the courtroom. They understand each other. Manning believes it's important to speak out against rising antisemitism and other forms of hatred — a word he refuses to utter, speaking only of “H.”

“Antisemitism is the world’s oldest disease,” he says. “It doesn’t require any sort of prescription or inoculation to eliminate. It requires people to honor the worth and dignity of every human being.”

Most of the aging and damaged Tree of Life building has been demolished. Plans for a new building, while scaled back from original designs, call for a memorial to the victims, along with antisemitism exhibits, a sanctuary and event space.

The building is slated to open in 2028, says Carole Zawatsky, who heads the nonprofit, The Tree of Life, which is overseeing the project in cooperation with the similarly named congregation.

“The memorial is there to remember each of the 11 victims. To always ground us,” Zawatsky says.

Myers was “the right guy at the right time,” says Robin Friedman, current president of the congregation. She calls it a ”bittersweet" departure.

Recently about 50 Jewish families, many with young children, joined the congregation, bringing their own energy and ideas. That has boosted hopes for the future.

Says Glickman: “We intend not to let the shooter win and not to fade away into history.”

___

AP video journalist Jessie Wardarski contributed. She and Smith were among the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette journalists who shared the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news for coverage of the synagogue massacre.

___

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.

Dominguez plays Jimmy “The Kid” Sanchez in the film, which was shot around San Antonio and features some of the city’s recognizable landmarks.

“I didn’t want to look like an actor playing a boxer, I wanted to look like a legit boxer in a boxing film,” said Dominguez.

He said he drew inspiration during filming from local boxing figures, including “210 Bam” and Mario Barrios.

“We got permission and we filmed at all the major landmarks, they got me shadowboxing at The Alamo raising my hands up — that was such a classic scene. I loved that scene,” said Dominguez. “Running on the River Walk, Arneson Theatre, downtown, in front of the Alamodome — just trying to capture as much of San Antonio as we can in this film, and I wanted to make that a point. Because I love my city, this is my city, born and raised.”

“Heart of Glory” was directed by the late Jorge López Ramírez, who was honored during the film’s debut. The film was written by Lorena Dominguez.

The movie debuted Thursday at The Gunter Hotel as part of the festival lineup.

Read also:

• Victor Wembanyama tabbed as cover athlete for NBA 2K27 standard edition

• TONIGHT: Scattered rain with rumbles of thunder (40%)
• T.S. BERTHA: Weak storm will bring some rain to coastal Texas today
• NUECES & FRIO RIVERS: Continue to flood near Cotulla & Tilden

FORECAST

TONIGHT

The last bit of upper-level rainmaking energy from Bertha will pass overhead tonight and generate scattered showers and non-severe storms. Flooding is unlikely and areas south and east of San Antonio, who didn’t get much rain last week, will have an opportunity to get up to half an inch.

It’s all gone by the morning commute with lingering clouds leading to vast sunshine by midday Friday.

Bertha poses no significant threats to travel and will be gone by the weekend. If you have beach plans, keep them.

NUECES & FRIO RIVERS

It is taking a long time for the nearly 500 billion gallons of water that fell last week to drain into Choke Canyon and Lake Corpus Christi along the Nueces and Frio Rivers. Areas of Cotulla and Tilden along the rivers are still flooded. Cotulla, specifically, can expect the Nueces to remain at major flood stage through the weekend.

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.

The National Hurricane Center said wind gusts of tropical storm force were still possible along the upper Texas coast Thursday evening, and water levels in the area may remain high from storm surge. By late evening, the hurricane center declared Bertha had dissipated.

Its remnants are still expected to produce 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.6 centimeters) of rainfall, with isolated totals up to 4 inches (10.1 centimeters) that could trigger flash flooding in coastal and south Texas, the hurricane center said.

Bertha first grazed southern Louisiana on Wednesday in a slow crawl westward. The storm weakened as it made its second landfall about 75 miles (115 kilometers) northeast of Galveston, Texas, on Thursday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center said. It remained a tropical storm for a few hours before being downgraded to a depression, marked by maximum sustained winds of 38 mph (61 kph) or less.

Thick clouds associated with Bertha prompted SpaceX to call off Thursday evening’s planned Starship launch from the southern tip of Texas. The space-skimming test flight was rescheduled for Friday, when the forecast called for clear skies.

No deaths or significant damage have been reported since Bertha formed Monday in the Gulf of Mexico south of the Florida Panhandle. The storm caused some coastal flooding as its center first struck land Wednesday in Louisiana southwest of New Orleans, but its heaviest rains stayed over the Gulf waters.

That rainfall south of the storm's center began moving inland along Texas' southeastern coast Thursday afternoon. Tropical storm force winds on Thursday extended as far as 140 miles (225 kilometers) from the storm’s center, the hurricane center said.

A tropical storm warning was discontinued by evening from Sargent, Texas, to the Vermilion and Cameron Parish line in Louisiana.

Galveston businesses stay open as offic

ials predict a 'windy day’

In Galveston, an island city of 53,000 people southeast of Houston, local officials urged residents to brace for a “windy day” and secure any outdoor objects that might become airborne projectiles.

“While no significant impacts are forecast, some gusty storms may blow through the island throughout the day,” Galveston’s Office of Emergency Management said in a Facebook post Thursday.

The Galveston Historic Seaport canceled its sightseeing boat tours Thursday afternoon as a precaution, but was otherwise operating normally, said employee Jesi Hahn.

“We’ll definitely be open,” Hahn said. “We usually close for big hurricanes.”

At the nearby Harbor House Hotel and Marina, employee Justin Timber said he wasn’t aware of any canceled reservations.

“It seems like a normal day,” he said. “Restaurants are clicking. Everything’s great.”

In Florida, storm damages a boardwalk and topples a Waffle House sign

Electrical outages across the Gulf Coast were minimal, according to the website poweroutage.us. Still, Bertha’s passage wasn’t harmless.

In Pensacola, Florida, officials closed an area around a storm-damaged beach boardwalk, Mayor D.C. Reeves said Thursday on Facebook. He posted a photo showing part of the boardwalk’s support structure ripped away and a fence damaged nearby.

Strong gales earlier in the week knocked over a Waffle House sign onto a car in Panama City Beach, Florida. Heavy surf and the threat of rip tides had prompted warnings at Gulf Coast beaches for swimmers to stay out of the water.

Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical Storm Arthur in June brought heavy rainfall to the southeastern U.S.

In the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto churned far from land Thursday. The hurricane was more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph).

The hurricane center said swells generated by Fausto could cause life-threatening surf and rip tides in parts of southern California.

___

Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia, and Thanawala reported from Atlanta. AP journalist Marcia Dunn in Cape Canaveral, Florida, contributed.