It was unclear whether a lasting deal would be reached between the U.S. and Iran before the ceasefire ends next week, but the pause in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah could be an indication some progress has been made.

An end to Israel’s war with Hezbollah was a key demand of Iranian negotiators. Israel has not been fighting with Lebanon itself, but rather with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group inside Lebanon, which said in a statement that “any ceasefire must be comprehensive across all Lebanese territory and must not allow the Israeli enemy any freedom of movement.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he agreed to the ceasefire “to advance” peace efforts with Lebanon, but said Israeli troops would not withdraw.

Pakistan’s army chief met Thursday with Iran’s parliament speaker as part of international efforts to press for an extension to the ceasefire that has paused almost seven weeks of war.

Mediators are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points: Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for wartime damages, according to a regional official involved in mediation efforts.

Reopening the strait is a key demand by the U.S. and the international community as a global energy crisis worsens daily because of the key oil route's closure. The leaders of France and the U.K. will gather dozens of countries Friday to push forward plans to reopen the strait, although the U.S. will not be included..

The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.

Here is the latest:

German foreign minister says long-term accords needed after ceasefire

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Thursday welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon and thanked the U.S. for its role as a mediator.

What is needed now, Wadephul said, are long-term agreements on securing the border, protecting civilians on both sides of the Blue Line, and ensuring the safety of UNIFIL peacekeepers.

He said the talks paved the way for a future reality in which the interests of both sides are equally taken into account: Israel’s legitimate security interests and Lebanon’s right to territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Long-term security in the region can only be achieved through the effective disarmament of Hezbollah, Wadephul added.

Displaced Lebanese return to scenes of destruction

Relief at a ceasefire beginning in Lebanon on Friday was tempered by the destruction that many encountered upon returning to their homes.

In the southern village of Jibsheet, a trickle of residents returned to flattened apartment blocks and streets littered with chunks of concrete, twisted aluminum shutters and dangling electrical wires.

“I feel free being back,” 23-year-old Zainab Fahas said. “But look they destroyed everything: the square, the houses, the shops, everything.”

In the southern Beirut suburb of Haret Hreik, Ahmad Lahham, 48, waved the yellow Hezbollah flag. He stood on a mountain of rubble that was his apartment building and also housed a branch of Hezbollah’s financial arm, Al-Qard Al-Hassan.

Iran’s pressure in its talks with the U.S. brought the truce, condemning Lebanon’s direct talks with Israel, he said.

“Only the Iranians stood with us, no one else,” he said, calling Lebanon’s leaders “the leadership of shame.”

South Korea tanker passes through Red Sea route

A South Korean-flagged tanker carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port has safely exited the Red Sea, South Korean officials said.

The passage marks the country’s first such shipment since it began seeking alternative energy routes while Iran is largely blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Friday described the passage as a “valuable accomplishment” during the government’s efforts to overcome challenges posed by the war.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries did not immediately say how many tankers would attempt to use the Red Sea route or when the vessel that passed would arrive in South Korea.

Officials say 26 of South Korea’s vessels remain stranded in the strait.

Trump hails Israel-Lebanon ceasefire as ‘historic day’

In two social media posts Thursday night, U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday could have been “a historic day for Lebanon.”

In a separate Truth Social message after the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon went into effect, Trump added that he hoped the Lebanon-based, Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group “acts nicely and well.”

“It will be an GREAT moment for them if they do,” Trump added.

Australia strikes deal with BP to underwrite fuel imports

BP has become a fifth company to strike a deal with the Australian government to underwrite fuel imports at prices inflated by the Iran war.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the BP deal on Friday at Viva Energy’s Geelong refinery, southwest of Melbourne, that was damaged by fire over Wednesday night. He said the damaged refinery continued to produce diesel and jet fuel at 80% capacity and gasoline as 60% capacity.

Viva on Thursday secured 570,000 barrels of diesel underwritten by the government in shipments from Brunei and South Korea at prices that might otherwise be commercially unviable.

Australia has sufficient fuel supplies contracted into May, but there are concerns that shortages could emerge in the months ahead.

A new proposal was unveiled late Thursday that would have extended the program for five years with revisions. It was a departure from the clean 18-month renewal Trump had demanded and Speaker Mike Johnson had previously backed.

Lawmakers scrambled back to the Capitol as Democrats blasted the process, with many members flipping through pages of the bill on the floor as votes began. The effort collapsed when a key procedural vote fell short, doomed by GOP defections.

“We were very close tonight,” Johnson said.

Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern kicked off a fiery floor debate late Thursday by asking, “Does anybody actually know what the hell is in this thing?

“Are you kidding me? Who the hell is running this place?" said McGovern.

At the center of the standoff that has stretched throughout the week is Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which permits the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI and other agencies to collect and analyze vast amounts of overseas communications without a warrant. In doing so, they can incidentally sweep up communications involving Americans who interact with foreign targets.

U.S. officials say the authority is critical to disrupting terrorist plots, cyber intrusions and foreign espionage.

Its path to passage has teetered all week in a familiar fight, as lawmakers weigh civil liberties concerns against intelligence officials’ warnings about national security risks.

“There are a lot of opinions,” Johnson said earlier Thursday. “We want to make sure that we have this very important tool for national security, but we also do it in a way that jealously guards constitutional rights.”

Trump and his allies had lobbied aggressively all week for a clean renewal of the program. A group of Republicans traveled to the White House on Tuesday, and on Wednesday CIA Director John Ratcliffe spoke directly with GOP lawmakers. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Thursday there had “been negotiations late into the night with the White House and some of our members.”

“I am asking Republicans to UNIFY, and vote together on the test vote to bring a clean Bill to the floor,” Trump wrote on Truth Social this week. “We need to stick together.”

But it remained unclear whether Israel would completely stop strikes on Hezbollah, and whether the militant group would recognize a deal it did not play a role in negotiating and which will leave Israeli troops occupying a stretch of southern Lebanon.

Barrages of gunshots rang out across Beirut as residents fired into the air just after midnight to celebrate the beginning of the truce, and displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs despite warnings by officials not to attempt to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.

U.S. President Donald Trump heralded the deal a “historic day for Lebanon,” even as he expressed confidence that the war with Iran would soon end in a Las Vegas speech.

“I will say the war in Iran is going along swimmingly,” Trump said. “It should be ending pretty soon.”

An end to Israel’s war with Hezbollah was a key demand of Iranian negotiators, who previously accused Israel of breaking the current ceasefire deal with strikes on Lebanon. Israel said that deal did not cover Lebanon.

Pakistan’s army chief met Thursday with Iran’s parliament speaker as part of international efforts to press for an extension of the ceasefire.

While oil prices fell on hopes of a deal, the head of the International Energy Agency warned that energy shocks could get worse if the Strait of Hormuz doesn’t reopen soon. Iran closed the crucial waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil normally passes, shortly after the war began. Europe has “maybe six weeks or so” of jet fuel left and broader economic consequences will grow the longer the strait is closed, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The leaders of France and the U.K. will gather dozens of countries — but not the United States — on Friday to push forward plans to reopen the strait.

The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.

Israel says it will keep troops in Lebanon

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he agreed to the ceasefire “to advance” peace efforts with Lebanon, but he said Israeli troops would not withdraw.

Israeli forces have engaged in fierce battles with Hezbollah in the border area as they pushed into southern Lebanon to create what officials have called a “security zone.” Netanyahu, in his video address, said it will extend 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Lebanon.

“That is where we are, and we are not leaving,” he said.

Hezbollah has said that Lebanese people have “the right to resist” Israeli occupation of their land and that their actions “will be determined based on how developments unfold.”

The U.S. State Department said that according to the agreement, Israel reserves the right to defend itself “at any time, against planned, imminent or ongoing attacks.” But otherwise, Israel “will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military, and other state targets.”

Trump announced the agreement as a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, but a Hezbollah official said the ceasefire was a result of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Israel and Hezbollah have fought several wars and have been fighting on and off since the day after the start of the Gaza war. Israel and Lebanon reached a deal to end that war in November 2024, but Israel has kept up near-daily strikes in what it says is an effort to prevent the Iran-backed militant group from regrouping. That escalated into another invasion after Hezbollah again began firing missiles at Israel in response to its war on Iran.

Flurry of diplomacy led up to Lebanon ceasefire

The agreement came after a meeting between Israel's and Lebanon’s ambassadors in Washington and a flurry of subsequent phone calls from Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a White House official.

They were the first direct diplomatic talks between the two countries in decades. Hezbollah had opposed direct talks between Lebanon and Israel.

Trump spoke Wednesday evening with Netanyahu, who agreed to a ceasefire with certain terms, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Rubio then called Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, who got on board. Trump then spoke with Aoun, and again with Netanyahu.

The State Department worked with both governments to formulate a memorandum of understanding for the truce.

Pakistan army chief meets with Iranian parliament speaker

Pakistan’s army chief met Thursday with Iran’s parliament speaker as part of efforts to press for an extension to a ceasefire that has paused almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the U.S. and Iran.

Even as the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and renewed Iranian threats strained the ceasefire, regional officials reported progress, telling AP the United States and Iran had an “in-principle agreement” to extend it to allow for more diplomacy. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.

Mediators are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points: Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for wartime damages, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

Trump suggested the ceasefire could be extended.

“If we’re close to a deal, would I extend?” Trump said in an exchange with reporters. “Yeah, I would do that.”

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Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. AP journalists Matthew Lee and Ben Finley in Washington, Samy Magdy in Cairo and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Leo was travelling Friday to Douala, Cameroon’s main port city, to celebrate Mass and visit a hospital. The Vatican predicted some 600,000 people would turn out for the liturgy, the biggest crowd Leo is expected to draw on his 11-day odyssey, the first to Africa by history's first American pope.

Later Friday back in the capital Youande, Leo had an appointment with students, professors and administrators at the Catholic University of Central Africa. Popes have often used such encounters, especially in the developing world, to rally young people to persevere in the face of poverty, corruption and other challenges.

Catholics represent about 29% of Cameroon's 29 million people. It is an overwhelmingly young country, where the median age is 18.

An attention to young people

Leo has already offered words of encouragement to Cameroon’s youth, including in his opening speech to President Paul Biya, at 93 the world’s oldest leader. In the speech, Leo demanded the “chains of corruption” in Cameroon be broken and said Cameroon’s youth represent the future and hope of the country.

But with Biya in power since 1982, Cameroon perhaps represents the most dramatic example of the tension between Africa’s youth and the continent’s many aging leaders.

Despite being an oil-producing country experiencing modest economic growth, young people say the benefits have not trickled down beyond the elites.

“Of course, when unemployment and social exclusion persist, frustration can lead to violence," Leo warned in his opening address to Biya and government authorities earlier this week. "Investing in the education, training, and entrepreneurship of young people is, therefore, a strategic choice for peace. It is the only way to curb the outflow of wonderful talent to other parts of the world.”

According to World Bank data, the unemployment rate in Cameroon stands at 3.5%, but 57% of the labor force aged 18 to 35 works in informal employment.

The dire economic outlook in Cameroon has led to significant brain drain and has strained an already understaffed health sector, as many doctors and nurses are leaving the country for more lucrative jobs in Europe and North America.

In 2023, about a third of trained doctors who graduate from medical school in Cameroon leave the country, according to the Ministry of Higher Education.

Growing frustration over Biya’s record and long-term rule intensified during last October’s tense presidential election, in which Biya secured an eighth consecutive term.

When Cameroon’s main opposition candidate, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, contested the result of the poll, deadly protests erupted throughout the country.

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Mark Banchereau contributed from Dakar, Senegal.

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

The male wolf, named Neukgu, burrowed out of his enclosure at the O-World zoo in Daejeon on April 8, prompting a search that gripped the nation and raised fears about his safety. Animal rights activists questioned whether the wolf could survive outside the zoo and also worried it might be killed during capture, something that happened to a puma that escaped from the same zoo in 2018.

Intense national concern even prompted President Lee Jae Myung to make a statement reassuring the public police, fire officials and the military were doing their best to capture the wolf alive.

At one point, authorities nearly captured Neukgu after spotting him on a mountain near the zoo earlier this week, but he broke away from a perimeter set by rescue workers. A driver also spotted the wolf and shared a video of him trotting along a dark mountain road, lit by the headlights of the vehicle trailing behind.

Neukgu was finally found and tranquilized on a hill near an expressway early Friday, after an hours-long search involving drones, police and emergency workers and veterinarians, according to city and zoo officials. He was in stable condition after being taken back to the zoo, where veterinarians used a scope to remove a fishing hook from his stomach but found no other significant health issues.

Daejeon officials released social media videos showing rescuers pulling the limp wolf from a ditch and placing it in a carrier, and the animal undergoing medical examinations at the zoo.

Social media was flooded with celebratory posts, including messages like “welcome back” and “Neukgu, it’s dangerous outside the house.” Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo in a Facebook post expressed his “deepest gratitude to citizens of Daejeon and also the entire nation for your support in ensuring Neukgu’s safe return.”

Born at the zoo in 2024, Neukgu is a third-generation descendent of a group of wolves brought from Russia in 2008 as part of a project to reintroduce wolves resembling those that lived in the Korean wild before going extinct in the 1960s.

Lee Kwan Jong, director of O-World, said Neukgu will be kept in a separate area from other animals and receive care until he has fully recovered and stabilized.

The zoo’s management, which has been criticized over a series of animal escapes, closed the facility following Neukgu’s escape and says it has not decided when it will reopen.

Lee Kwan Jong said the zoo, which is reviewing its security measures, will prioritize Neukgu’s recovery.

He's expected to be a huge attraction when the zoo reopens.

He went camping. He jammed with local musicians. He drank root beer delivered on roller skates. He shopped for records. He bought a guitar. Then he went home.

The next time people in Benton saw George Harrison, it was with 73 million others who tuned in to watch his band, the Beatles, make their U.S. debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show" about four months later. The British Invasion, which changed popular music and American culture, was underway.

Now, the house where Harrison and his brother Peter stayed in Benton, 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of St. Louis, is for sale.

You’ll forgive Beatles fans if they’re worried about its future. In 1995, the house at 113 McCann Street had a date with the wrecking ball. Activists, including Harrison’s sister, Louise Harrison Caldwell, who had moved away in the late 1960s, stepped in to save it.

Coal mining brought the family of Harrison's sister to Benton

Previously known for hosting the state's last public hanging in 1928, Benton, population 6,700, was built on Southern Illinois' rich veins of coal. Louise Caldwell moved to town when her husband, a mining engineer, got a job in what was then a thriving industry.

The house they chose is a five-bedroom bungalow built in 1935 with a brick facade across its wide front porch.

In the mid-1990s, a state agency bought the house from a subsequent owner with plans to flatten it for parking. Mega-fan Robert Bartel of Springfield, a Beatles author and documentarian, alerted the media and Fab Four loyalists.

Local investors repurchased it from the state and opened the Hard Day's Nite Bed and Breakfast, featuring the couch Harrison traded guitar licks on and stacks of other loaned Beatles memorabilia, including a bevy from Bartel.

The bed-and-breakfast closed in 2010. Benton resident Grady Adams has since operated it as regular bed-and-bath apartments but now wants to sell, listing it for $105,000. Brian Calcaterra, Benton’s director of economic development, suggested the city draft an ordinance to protect the house from demolition by a new owner, but Benton Mayor Lee Messersmith said the city council has not discussed the matter.

“Of course, if it doesn't get demo'd, I would prefer that,” Adams said.

Interest in reviving the bed-and-breakfast is unclear

Whether there's interest — or energy — to return the McCann Street house to its Beatles glory is up for debate.

Jim Kirkpatrick of Creal Springs, author of “Before He Was Fab,” a recollection of Harrison's visit which has been optioned for a movie, has had at least one encouraging conversation with someone considering purchase.

Benton business owner Robert Rea, a historian who helped save the Beatles house three decades ago, said the obsession has faded.

“When we did this (in 1995), the world went crazy because they thought, ‘George is going to come, he’s going to save the house,'” Rea said. “And I’m just being honest with you, maybe I’m missing it or something, but that momentum is not here.”

Harrison's last chance to walk the streets in anonymity

Harrison's trip was perhaps the last time the musician could enjoy obscurity. He camped in Shawnee National Forest. He sat in with a popular local group when they played a nearby Veterans of Foreign Wars hall. The band’s leader took him to a drive-in restaurant with carhops on skates, where he guzzled root beer for the first time.

At a record store on Benton's downtown square, Harrison bought a pile of vinyl. Included was James Ray’s R&B single, “I’ve Got My Mind Set on You,” Harrison’s 1987 cover of which went to No. 1.

He also bought a Rickenbacker 425 guitar like the one bandmate John Lennon had. Harrison played the guitar a month later when the Beatles recorded “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” It sold at auction in 2014 for $675,000.

One day during Harrison's visit, he and Caldwell dropped by WFRX radio, where then-17-year-old Marcia Schafer Raubach had a Saturday afternoon teen program. Harrison gave her a copy of “She Loves You,” which he told her had just hit the top of the British charts.

Raubach interviewed Harrison on the air, the first for a Beatle in America, and played the 45, which she still has. She said it sounded different than the songs American teens were then punching up on jukeboxes. But it didn't make an impression on her audience.

Despite his longish hair in a land of crew cuts, Raubach found Harrison, dressed in a crisp white shirt, jeans and sandals, “very clean cut, he was personable and mannerly and they call him the ‘quiet Beatle’ — well, he was.”

“If I had known what they were going to become, I would have handled that differently,” Raubach, now 79, said. “It’s still amazing that he even came here and that I met him. I think he really liked Southern Illinois.”

Harrison never returned to Benton, though, dying in 2001 at 58. Caldwell was 91 when she died in 2023.

The airline will soon open bookings for four-hour stints in the Skynest sleep pods and says they will be the first lie-flat beds for budget air travelers. Fliers will get cozy with their fellow passengers, however, so crumbs, strong perfumes and bedsharing are forbidden.

The curtained berths will be available to economy and premium economy fliers on the airline’s new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft from November. The planes will service the Auckland to New York route, which is one of the world’s longest commercial flights and leaves economy passengers sitting upright for a marathon 16 to 18 hours.

Instead, travelers will have the option of a pre-booked four-hour spot in a curtained pod, with costs starting from 495 New Zealand dollars ($291) on top of the price of their economy tickets. But use of the six pods, arranged in a triple-bunk style layout between cabins, will put fliers in close proximity to others, prompting the airline to publish etiquette notes.

Passengers must refrain from snacking in the pods, which can’t be used by children or any additional visitors.

“That means solo snoozes only please, no musical nests or tag-teaming,” Air New Zealand’s website says. For those worried about cleanliness, the airline assures travelers that the pillows, blankets and sheets supplied “are all refreshed” between four-hour naps.

Fliers are also required to change into specially provided socks to enter the pod, fasten their seatbelts over their blankets and forgo dousing themselves in any smelly “perfumes or potions.” Passengers will be woken by a gentle change in lighting at the end of their four-hour stint in the bunk – or by a flight attendant, possibly less gently, if they don’t rouse in time.

Each berth is about the length of a regular bed — 80 inches or 203 cm — but the pods don’t leave headroom for sitting up and access “requires bending, kneeling, crawling, or climbing into the space,” the aircraft’s website says. The bunks are 25 inches (64 cm) wide at shoulder height, tapering to 16 inches (41 cm) at the foot of the beds.

Seats or couches that convert into beds in the sky aren’t a new offering for business and first class travelers, but Air New Zealand believes its lie-flat bunks for economy travelers will be a world first.

The offering from New Zealand’s national carrier is the latest from airlines seeking to sell seat upgrades and other add-ons to economy travelers. Air New Zealand first announced the economy beds were in development in 2020.

The airline has increased fares and cut some domestic flights from its schedule in response to increased jet fuel costs during the war in the Middle East. In March, it suspended its earnings outlook due to fuel price volatility and warned that more changes to its routes were possible.

But on one of its longest flights, travelers might finally get some shut-eye — although they should expect snoring, for which earplugs are provided, the airline said.

“Statistically, someone’s going to do it,” Air New Zealand’s website reads. “It might be you.”

Oil prices fell Friday, while U.S. futures edged up modestly.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1% to 58,930.87 after reaching an all-time high on Thursday. South Korea’s Kospi was 0.6% lower at 6,191.19. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 1% to 26,126.86, while the Shanghai Composite index edged down 0.1% to 4,051.45.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3%, while Taiwan’s Taiex traded 0.5% lower.

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that he’s open to extending the two-week ceasefire in the Iran war, and Iran’s U.N. envoy said Tehran remained “cautiously optimistic” over negotiations with the U.S.

As optimism over an extended ceasefire grew, oil prices fell early Friday after climbing a day earlier. Brent crude, the international standard, was 1.1% lower at $98.31 per barrel. It had surged roughly 40% since the beginning of the Iran war in late February. Benchmark U.S. crude was down 1.4% to $89.90 a barrel.

Global energy shocks are growing over impacts of the Iran war, with the Strait of Hormuz remaining largely closed while the U.S. imposed a sea blockade on Iranian ports. The head of the International Energy Agency told The Associated Press on Thursday that Europe has “maybe six weeks or so” of jet fuel supplies remaining and warned of flight cancellations “soon.”

On Thursday, Wall Street set another record with the benchmark S&P 500 closing 0.3% higher at 7,041.28, just a day after it eclipsed its previous all-time high in January. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% to 48,578.72, and the tech-focused Nasdaq composite added 0.4% to 24,102.70.

Shares of PepsiCo gained 2.3% following its announcement of better-than-expected quarterly results. U.S. logistics company J.B. Hunt Transport Services was 6.3% higher also on stronger-than-expected results.

In other dealings, gold and silver prices were up. Gold’s price was 0.1% higher at $4,814.60 an ounce, while silver prices gained 0.4% to $79.04 per ounce.

The U.S. dollar rose to 159.43 Japanese yen from 159.17 yen. The euro was trading at $1.1778, down from $1.1781.

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AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed to this report.

The Paris meeting is part of attempts by sidelined nations to ease the impact of a conflict they didn’t start and haven’t joined, but that has sent the global economy reeling. After the war started on Feb. 28, Iran effectively shut the narrow strait though which a fifth of the world’s oil usually passes.

The U.S. is not part of the planning for what has been branded the Strait of Hormuz Maritime Freedom of Navigation Initiative. In a post on X ahead of Friday’s conference, French President Emmanuel Macron said the mission to provide security for shipping through the strait would be “strictly defensive,” limited to non-belligerent countries and deployed “when security conditions allow.”

Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer have spearheaded international efforts to increase diplomatic and economic pressure on Iran, which Starmer has accused of “holding the world’s economy to ransom.” U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of a retaliatory American blockade of Iranian ports has raised the economic jeopardy even higher.

“The unconditional and immediate reopening of the Strait is a global responsibility, and we need to act to get global energy and trade flowing freely again," Starmer said before the meeting.

Military planning underway

France and Britain also have led military planning meetings, in an echo of the “coalition of the willing” assembled to provide security for Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire in that war.

French military spokesman Col. Guillaume Vernet said Thursday that the mission is still “in construction.”

Macron's office said participants will contribute “each according to its capabilities,” stressing options to ensure safe passage through the strait will depend on the security situation after a lasting ceasefire.

“What matters is that ship operators have all the means at their disposal to be sure their vessels will not be hit if they pass through the strait. That may require intelligence, mine-clearing capabilities, military escorts, communication procedures with coastal states, etc.,” an official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with the French presidency's customary practices.

Sidharth Kaushal, a research fellow in sea power at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said mine-clearing and creating a warning system for maritime threats were more likely roles for the coalition than warships escorting commercial tankers though the strait.

“You need huge numbers of vessels for that sort of thing, which nobody has,” he said.

Iran expert Ellie Geranmayeh, deputy head of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said mine-clearing is an area where European countries and their partners could play a role.

“They would be a better party to do this than the United States, because once you have U.S. military doing this and lingering on Iranian shores, it creates a potential arena for Iran and the U.S. to have miscalculations and get back into a sort of military tension,” she said.

Dozens of countries involved in talks

Britain has discussed using mine-hunting drones, deployed from the ship RFA Lyme Bay, for a Hormuz mission.

The war has highlighted the shrunken state of the Royal Navy, which has deployed just one major warship, destroyer HMS Dragon, to the eastern Mediterranean. France, which has the European Union’s most powerful military, has sent its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to the region, alongside a helicopter carrier and several frigates.

More than 40 nations have taken part in diplomatic or military meetings led by France and the U.K. in recent weeks, though fewer are likely to commit military resources.

Macron's office said about 30 countries are to attend Friday's talks, including some from the Middle East and Asia. The list has not been disclosed. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni are expected to attend in person, with others joining by video.

The operation is partly a response to Trump, who has berated allies for failing to join the war and said reopening the strait is not America's job. The president has called allies “cowards,” said NATO “wasn’t there when we needed them” and telling Britain: “You don’t even have a navy.”

“I imagine there’ll be some desire on the part of many European states, and potentially Canada, to demonstrate the ability to provide security in a way that’s distinct from if not completely separate from the U.S. and which also demonstrates a capacity for independent action,” Kaushal said.

“How many states actually have spare capacity to offer to this is a pretty open question.”

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Lawless reported from London.

It wasn’t the Iran war, nor the still-going partial government shutdown over Department of Homeland Security funding. He wanted to talk about a monumental issue of a different kind, hoisting up large artist renderings of the $400 million White House ballroom he’s building, complete with hand-carved “top-of-the-line” Corinthian columns.

“I’m so busy that I don’t have time to do this. I’m fighting wars and other things,” Trump said before extensively detailing plans for “the greatest ballroom anywhere in the world.”

His divided attention has become a Democratic point of attack and a concern for some Republicans who worry he’s not spending enough time on issues that voters care most about ahead of November’s midterm races.

The contrast was on full display Thursday, when, as Trump flew to Las Vegas to discuss tax cuts for Americans earning tips, his administration was pushing ahead with plans to build a 250-foot Triumphal Arch near the Lincoln Memorial replete with a Lady Liberty-like statue and a pair of golden eagles.

The president’s ability to speak to the concerns of working people has always seemed incongruous with his biography as a billionaire real estate developer. Yet his populist policies and emphasis on the economy during his 2024 campaign helped catapult him back to the White House.

Republican strategist Rick Tyler noted that, when Trump first ran for president in 2016, his wealth was a selling point.

“While other people, like Mitt Romney, played down how rich he was, Trump was giving free helicopter rides at the Iowa State Fair,” Tyler said. “People loved it.”

Still, Trump’s preoccupation with some of the gilded trappings of the presidency, as more Americans worry about bills, has drawn accusations that he’s a modern-day Marie Antoinette.

“‘Fighting wars’ and surging gas prices, yet Trump has time to brag about his billionaire backed ballroom,” Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, responded on X to Trump’s Air Force One presentation.

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential hopeful, has been more direct in comparing Trump to the last queen before the French Revolution, who has come to embody extravagant opulence — even posting an AI-generated image of Trump's face on her body on social media.

"TRUMP ‘MARIE ANTOINETTE’ SAYS, ‘NO HEALTH CARE FOR YOU PEASANTS, BUT A BALLROOM FOR THE QUEEN!’ Newsom wrote in October 2025, at the start of a 43-day government shutdown.

White House says Trump's success benefits all Americans

Asked about opponents invoking Marie Antoinette, White House spokesman Davis Ingle said Trump “is going to go down in history as the most successful and consequential president in our lifetime.”

“His successes on behalf of the American people will be imprinted upon the fabric of America and will be felt by every other White House that comes after him," Ingle said in a statement.

The president faced similar critiques during his first term. But lately he's been unabashed about accusations he’s disconnected from Americans' worries about high costs, which could leave Republicans with an uphill battle to retain control of Congress.

About two-thirds of Americans said Trump is “out of touch” with the concerns of most people in the United States today, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll from February, though the same percentage said the same about the Democratic Party.

Presidents are usually removed from voters, separated by layers of security and surrounded by adoring subordinates. In her book “Why Presidents Fail And How They Can Succeed Again,” Elaine Kamarck argues that presidents get too focused on their own political narratives rather than the public's concerns. Yet, when it comes to Trump, “All of this stuff is frankly unique to him.”

She pointed to the ballroom as well as Trump's other White House renovations, soon adding his signature to paper currency, and renaming the Kennedy Center after himself.

“It's a reflection, I think, of his own background as a businessman and somebody who made his fortune selling his name," said Kamarck, who worked in Bill Clinton’s White House.

While Trump focuses on the ballroom and other Washington projects, some public work projects in other parts of the country have languished.

Joe Meyer, the former mayor of Covington, Kentucky, spent years pushing for critical improvements to the Brent Spence Bridge connecting his town with Cincinnati, a project listed as a top federal priority dating back to Trump's first administration.

Federal funds for improvements were approved under President Joe Biden but held up by a Trump-ordered review. Work is now finally set to begin later this year, though delays will likely limit design options and slow the project, Meyer said.

“The ballroom is Washington inside-baseball,” Meyer said. “The bridge is just a wreck. It’s frustration that we’ve been dealing with forever.”

A $100 tip and a golden tractor

Trumpeting new tax deductions for tips, Trump staged ordering McDonald's to the Oval Office — which he has crammed with gold flourishes — and tipped the grandmother making the delivery $100. When she described large medical bills from her husband’s cancer treatments, Trump said she should bring him to an upcoming UFC fight on the White House lawn.

When hundreds of farmers were invited to the White House for an agricultural policy speech, they stood on the South Lawn beside a tractor that had been painted gold. It drizzled, but Trump stayed dry, addressing them from a covered second-floor balcony.

“You don’t mind rain,” the president told the farmers below.

He then flew to Miami for a conference of Saudi investors who, the president noted, were too rich to be impressed by U.S. families scrounging to save up $5,000.

“I know they’re looking like, ‘What the hell is $5,000?’" Trump joked. "Their shoes cost them more than $5,000."

When asked in February, meanwhile, for his message to young people wanting to buy a home, Trump replied: “Save a little longer. Wait a little longer."

Members of the Cabinet have also fed the perception that Trump's promised “ Golden Age ” may not be arriving for everyone. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. advised Americans to buy liver instead of beef.

“If you go and buy a steak, it’s still pretty expensive. But if you buy the cheaper cuts, it’s great meat. And it is very, very affordable. Or liver, or, you know, all these alternatives,” he told podcast host Joe Rogan.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said people could still afford meals consisting of “a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, corn tortilla and one other thing.”

The White House has sought to show that Trump is attuned to voter concerns by sending the president to politically competitive parts of the country to trumpet his efforts to lower costs. But Trump has stepped on the message by insisting that affordability concerns are a Democratic “hoax.”

Texas-based Republican consultant Brendan Steinhauser said he thinks that Trump “can kind of get away with" building a ballroom because voters have come to expect that from him as a brash dealmaker and businessman.

But Steinhauser said he worries that dramatic increases in gas prices and a potentially weakening economy could resonate with voters. Ahead of the midterms, Steinhauser said, Democrats could score points “trying to make it more about Trump and his oligarch friends.”

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Associated Press writers Linley Sanders in Washington and Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this report.

Instead, he became the second Guardians pitcher in eight months to fall short in the ninth inning.

“I did my best. Maybe next time,” Messick said after Cleveland's 4-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night.

Leody Taveras led off the ninth with a grounder that just eluded diving second baseman Juan Brito and went into right field for a single to break up Messick's no-hit bid.

Cleveland still has the longest current gap between no-hitters of any major league franchise. The team’s most recent one was Len Barker’s perfect game on May 15, 1981, against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Up to that point, Messick had faced only one batter over the minimum and silenced a Baltimore lineup that came into the game third in the American League in on-base percentage (.334).

Blaze Alexander followed with a line-drive single to center that ended Messick's night. The 25-year-old Messick was removed to a standing ovation from the crowd of 14,748.

“That was very special what we got to watch tonight. That’s an unbelievably talented lineup that he took a no-hitter into the ninth against and just continued to attack,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “He and (catcher Austin) Hedges were magnificent with their sequencing. With that arsenal, that was a beautiful game.”

It was the first time in 11 career starts that Messick went more than seven innings. He was the 54th overall pick in the 2022 amateur draft out of Florida State and made his big league debut last year.

Messick threw 112 pitches, 78 for strikes. The 69.6% strike rate was the third-highest of his career. He walked two and equaled a career best with nine strikeouts. He was charged with two runs in eight-plus innings.

Messick got ahead of hitters early with 21 first-pitch strikes to the 27 batters he faced. The 18 swings and misses also tied a career high.

Out of Messick's six-pitch repertoire, the most effective was the changeup. He threw it 29 times and got 22 strikes, including nine whiffs. His most-used pitch was his four-seam fastball, which he threw 43 times.

“I know they were looking for it. It's just, the bottom falls out of it when you've got late movement like that, especially when you’ve set it up with other pitches, the heaters and the curveballs and cutters — you have to take an outlier swing to it,” Hedges said of the changeup. “You could tell they were trying to, but it’s just that good of a pitch.”

The sinker was Messick's third-most frequent pitch in his first three starts this season, but he threw it only twice against the Orioles.

Hedges said he had the feeling it might be a special night when center fielder Steven Kwan caught Taylor Ward's deep flyball at the wall to end the third inning. José Ramírez — who had a two-run homer in the first — made a nice stop on a grounder by Coby Mayo deep in the hole at third to end the fifth.

“The crowd got pretty loud and that’s an awesome feeling when everybody gets into it. I was really trying to lock in every pitch,” Messick said. “Pretty much about the sixth inning on, I prayed between pretty much every inning and I just was telling myself to execute.”

Baltimore averted a shutout when Gunnar Henderson’s sacrifice fly against closer Cade Smith drove in Taveras. Pete Alonso hit an RBI double before Smith retired the final two batters with runners at second and third for his fourth save.

“The boys were into it the whole game. Once Leody got that hit, I equate it to a sniper in the NBA, where it only takes one to go in for everything to change," said Orioles first-year manager Craig Albernaz, who was Cleveland's bench coach in 2024 and associate manager last season. “Messick was on. He had all his pitches dialed in the strike zone. He did a great job changing speeds in all counts, (getting) weak contact. He was on tonight.”

It was the fourth time since Barker's gem that a single Cleveland pitcher carried a no-hitter into the ninth. John Farrell went eight innings on May 4, 1989, against Kansas City before Kevin Seitzer broke it up with a single after Willie Wilson reached on an error.

Carlos Carrasco went 8 2/3 innings against Tampa Bay on July 1, 2015, and Gavin Williams had a no-hitter for 8 1/3 innings last season on Aug. 6 against the New York Mets.

Carrasco came within one strike of a no-hitter when Rays left fielder Joey Butler lined a slider on an 0-2 count that just eluded the glove of leaping Cleveland second baseman Jason Kipnis.

Juan Soto broke up Williams’ no-hit bid with a home run to center.

Messick is one of five American League pitchers with at least three wins. He improved to 3-0 this season and is third in the AL with a 1.05 ERA.

“I mean it (stinks), but it is baseball. I’ll have plenty more years to pitch a baseball game, so it might happen again,” he said.

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

Admission was free and open to the public, drawing a lively crowd eager to see the three-time NBA champion up close. With the San Antonio Spurs back in the playoffs, organizers described the event as a homecoming for Green, who played a key role in the team’s 2014 championship run.

Former Spur George Hill also made an appearance, adding to the excitement and giving fans another familiar face to cheer for.

Fans in attendance had the opportunity to share what the event meant to them, as well as their thoughts on the Spurs’ playoff return and their enduring support for the team.

The Spurs will host the Trailblazers in Game 1 of the first round at 8 p.m. Sunday at the Frost Bank Center.

Read also:

• Where to score free food, coffee after each Spurs playoff win

Israel has not been fighting with Lebanon itself, but rather with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group inside Lebanon. Hezbollah said in a statement that “any ceasefire must be comprehensive across all Lebanese territory and must not allow the Israeli enemy any freedom of movement.”

Nearly 2,200 people in Lebanon have been killed by Israeli air strikes.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s army chief met with Iranian officials in Tehran on Thursday in a bid to ease tensions in the Middle East and arrange a second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran after almost seven weeks of war.

The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports continued as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration would ramp up economic pain on Iran with new economic sanctions on countries doing business with it, calling the move the “financial equivalent” of a bombing campaign.

The White House said any further talks with Iran would likely take place in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, though no decision had been made on whether to resume negotiations. Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator after it hosted direct talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad.

Here is the latest:

Trump hails Israel-Lebanon ceasefire as ‘historic day’

In two social media posts Thursday night, U.S. President Donald Trump said that Thursday could have been “a historic day for Lebanon.” In a separate Truth Social message after the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon went into effect, Trump added that he hoped the Lebanon-based, Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group “acts nicely and well.” “It will be an GREAT moment for them if they do,” Trump added.

Australia strikes deal with BP to underwrite fuel imports

BP has become a fifth company to strike a deal with the Australian government to underwrite fuel imports at prices inflated by the Iran war.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the BP deal on Friday at Viva Energy’s Geelong refinery, southwest of Melbourne, that was damaged by fire over Wednesday night. Viva on Thursday secured 570,000 barrels of diesel underwritten by the government in shipments from Brunei and South Korea at prices that might otherwise be commercially unviable.

Albanese said the damaged Geelong refinery continued to produce diesel and jet fuel at 80% capacity and gasoline as 60% capacity.

Viva chief executive Scott Wyatt expected to import fuel to make up for the shortfall in the refinery’s production.

Australia has sufficient fuel supplies contracted into May, but there are concerns that shortages could emerge in the months ahead.

Sri Lanka repatriates Iranian sailors, including torpedo attack survivors

Sri Lanka has sent home 238 Iranian sailors, including 32 who were injured in a U.S torpedo attack which sank their warship in early March.

Defense Ministry spokesman Brig. Franklin Joseph said everyone except a few crew members from a second ship which later anchored in Sri Lanka were repatriated earlier this week.

A U.S submarine sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena on March 4 as it returned home after taking part in am Indian naval exercise..

Sri Lankan navy recovered 87 bodies while 32 sailors wounded in the torpedo attack were hospitalized. The second ship was brought to a southern Sri Lankan port after the crew reported technical problems.

Trump says Iran

war ‘going along swimmingly’

The president said in a Las Vegas speech he was feeling pretty positive about the Iran war, despite the energy price spikes, the death and destruction and the anxiety about the future of NATO and the Middle East.

“I will say the war in Iran is going along swimmingly,” Trump said. “It should be ending pretty soon.”

Trump added that the war was “was perfect” as he praised the power of the U.S. military.

Reports of shelling in Lebanon continue after ceasefire goes into effect

Lebanon’s state-run National News agency reported that Israeli shelling continued in the villages of Khiam and Dibbine about a half hour after the truce began.

The Lebanese Army also repeated its warning to people displaced from southern Lebanon about returning home because of intermittent shelling.

Israel’s military told The Associated Press very early Friday that it was looking into reports of shelling and artillery fire in southern Lebanon.

The terms of the ceasefire, as provided by the U.S. State Department, prohibit Israel from offensive military actions in Lebanon. But they appear to leave more room for “self-defense,” including “against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.”

UN chief welcomes Israel and Lebanon ceasefire and calls on all parties to observe it

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hopes the ceasefire will pave the way for negotiations toward a long-term solution to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Guterres commends the United States for facilitating the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon, he said.

The secretary-general reaffirms U.N. support for all efforts to end hostilities and the suffering of people on both sides of the Israel-Lebanon border, Dujarric said.

A 10-day ceasefire agreed on by Israel and Lebanon has gone into effect

A 10-day ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump and agreed on by Lebanon and Israel started at midnight.

The two neighboring countries held their first direct diplomatic talks in decades on Tuesday in Washington after more than a month of war between Israel and the Iran-backed, Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group.

Hezbollah started firing on Israel right after the start of the Iran war. It kept up attacks focused on northern Israel communities through Thursday night, with at least eight people injured, including two seriously, according to Israel’s emergency services.

Air raid sirens were sounding in a few northern Israeli communities just minutes before the ceasefire was going into effect. Israel’s military also said late Thursday it was striking Hezbollah rocket launchers.

Trump claims Iran has ‘agreed to give us back the nuclear dust’

The president made the assertion in an exchange with reporters before departing for an event in Las Vegas on Thursday.

If true, it would be a major concession from Iran, and would lock in a key demand of the U.S. to end the conflict.

“They’ve agreed to give us back the nuclear dust that’s way underground because of the attack we made with the B-2 bombers,” said Trump, using a term he’s adopted as shorthand for the roughly 970 pounds of enriched uranium buried under Iranian nuclear sites damaged by U.S. strikes on the country last year.

Iran has repeatedly insisted that it doesn’t seek a nuclear weapon and that its program is for peaceful proposes. Neither Iran nor countries acting as intermediaries in the conflict have talked about what would be a major breakthrough.

Pressed by a reporter on what is he waiting for to move forward, Trump offered that it was “very complicated.”

He added, “I don’t think we’re waiting. I think we’re moving very fast. It could happen pretty quickly.”

The White House did not respond to follow-up queries about whether Iran has agreed to give up its enriched uranium, under what terms and to whom it would be surrendered. Trump has previously made claims about Iran’s nuclear program that have turned out to be imprecise.

UN envoy says Israel will react to any Hezbollah threats and hold its positions southern Lebanon during ceasefire

Ambassador Danny Danon told U.N. reporters Thursday that the 10-day ceasefire will be “challenging” because of Hezbollah, which said after the ceasefire announcement that continuing Israeli occupation grants Lebanon the right to resist.

Danon said Israel believes in direct negotiations with Lebanon, but knows this is a complex issue for the Lebanese government because of Hezbollah.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered to go to Washington — where the ambassadors of Israel and Lebanon met earlier this week — for negotiations, the ambassador said.

“We will come to any meeting to promote peace, but I cannot speak for the Lebanese government. We know that they are under pressure and threats from Iran,” Danon said.

Iran remains ‘cautiously optimistic’ about negotiations with the US, its UN envoy says

Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said the Islamic Republic welcomes and supports diplomatic efforts to bring a “sustainable end to this unlawful and unwarranted war,” including by Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia.

“Despite our deep mistrust of the United States, stemming from its repeated betrayal of diplomacy, we nevertheless enter the negotiation in good faith and remain cautiously optimistic,” he told the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday.

“We believe that should the United States adopt a rational and constructive approach and refrain from advancing demands that are inconsistent with international law, this negotiation can lead to a meaningful outcome,” Iravani said.

He spoke at an assembly meeting in support of vetoes by Beijing and Moscow of a U.N. Security Council resolution backed by the U.S. and Gulf nations aimed at opening the Strait of Hormuz.

Hezbollah warns displaced people not to rush back home

The Lebanese militant group called on people to exercise restraint and refrain from returning to areas in south and eastern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs that have been hit hard by Israeli strikes “until the situation becomes fully clear.”

The Lebanese army issued similar warnings, urging people not to rush back to those areas after the 10-day ceasefire kicks in at midnight Beirut time.

Previous ceasefires saw tens of thousands of people clogging roads as they attempted to drive back to check on homes and belongings in the first hours of the truce.

More than 1 million Lebanese people have been displaced during the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah.

UAE official says Iran is viewed as the ‘main enemy’

Anwar Gargash, diplomatic advisor to the UAE’s president, said Gulf states have a different view of Iran, seeing it as the “main enemy”, citing its missile and drone attacks despite.

“We are fully aware of the position of many Arab societies in viewing Israel as the primary enemy, but the view in the Gulf states may be different... Iran is the one that attacked the Gulf states with thousands of missiles and drones, and for this reason we do not trust it, and we view it as a primary enemy,” he said during a media briefing Thursday at Dubai Press Club.

Gargash added that the UAE has questions over Iran’s nuclear program as well as its ballistic missiles and drones, and said that just as Tehran is seeking guarantees and reparations for war damage, the UAE also wants assurances that such “cowardly” attacks will not happen again.

Flurry of diplomacy to get to ceasefire in Lebanon

The 10-day ceasefire that Israel and Lebanon agreed to came about following a meeting between the nations’ ambassadors and a flurry of subsequent phone calls from President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a White House official.

After the talks Tuesday in Washington that included Rubio, Trump spoke Wednesday evening with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who agreed to a ceasefire with certain terms, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Rubio then called Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, who got on board. Trump then spoke with Aoun, and again with Netanyahu.

Meanwhile, the State Department worked with both governments to formulate a memorandum of understanding for the truce.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker says Lebanon ‘integral part’ of regional ceasefire

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf made these remarks on Iranian state television after meeting Pakistan’s army chief Gen. Asim Munir in Tehran. U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 10-day truce between Lebanon and Israel in a bid to end the war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group.

Iran, Hezbollah’s key patron and ally, has included ending the war in Lebanon as one of its conditions in its talks with Washington, mediated by Pakistan.

There was no mention about resuming in-person talks with Washington, as both sides gear up for a second round of talks.

US details ceasefire deal between Israel and Lebanon

The 10-day halt to the fighting that will begin later Thursday can be extended if there’s progress in talks to reach a lasting peace agreement and Lebanon “effectively demonstrates its ability to assert its sovereignty,” the State Department said.

President Donald Trump announced the truce following talks held in Washington this week. Israel hasn’t been fighting with Lebanon itself but rather with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group inside Lebanon.

In the statement that the U.S. says was agreed to by Lebanon and Israel, there is a provision to allow Israel to defend itself “at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.” Hezbollah has said it will respond to any strikes by Israel.

But otherwise, Israel “will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military, and other state targets,” the statement says.

Trump says he could go to Pakistan to sign deal if agreement is reached with Iran

The president once again claimed progress is being made in talks with Iran and suggested he could be involved in the signing of a peace agreement, if one is reached.

“If the deal is signed in Islamabad, I might go,” said Trump, who heaped praise on Pakistani Prime Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistani Army Gen. Asim Munir for their role as mediators in the U.S.-Iran talks.

“The field marshal has been great. The prime minister has been really great in Pakistan, so I might go. They want me.”

Foreign minister says Portugal is open to ensuring maritime navigation remains free in the Strait of Hormuz

Foreign Minister Paulo Rangel said on Thursday his country’s prime minister will participate in a conference on Friday co-hosted by the French and British leaders on setting up a mission to ensure freedom of navigation through the strait after the Iran war ends.

But Rangel said a decision on Portugal’s contribution to such a mission won’t be taken “before we know exactly what is at stake” because the mission plan is still unclear.

He said the Portuguese “fully understand the value of freedom of navigation” because they have been “navigators for centuries.”

“So let’s go to the meeting, let’s see what are the plans,” Rangel said after talks with Cypriot counterpart Constantinos Kombos.

Trump says he has ‘to do what’s right’ as he pushes back against Pope Leo XIV on Iran war

Trump isn’t worried that his taunting of Pope Leo XIV might offend his voters.

“I have to do what’s right — the pope has to understand that,” Trump told reporters. “I have nothing against the pope. His brother is MAGA all the way.”

The U.S. president has maintained that the Iran war is about stopping that country from developing a nuclear weapon and he criticized that country’s leadership for killing its own people as he objected to the papal emphasis on peace.

The president added that he’s “sure the pope is a great guy,” yet he suggested Pope Leo XIV was naive about geopolitics.

“The pope has to understand that this is the real world,” Trump said.

Trump suggest he’s open to extending Iran ceasefire

The 14-day ceasefire is set to expire April 22, but Trump said it’s possible that the deadline to make a deal could be pushed out further.

“If we’re close to a deal would I extend?” Trump said in an exchange with reporters. “Yeah, I would do that”

Netanyahu says Israeli troops will remain in an expanded security zone in south Lebanon despite ceasefire

Israel’s Netanyahu says Israeli troops will remain in an expanded security zone in south Lebanon despite a ceasefire.

He said troops will remain in a10-kilometer deep zone, “much stronger, more extensive and more continuous than before.”

“That is where we are, and we are not leaving.”

Hezbollah, in commenting on the ceasefire, had said continuing Israeli occupation grants Lebanon the right to resist.

Trump calls Israel-Lebanon ceasefire ‘very exciting’ opportunity

“I had a great talk with both of them today,” Trump said of this conversations with Aoun and Netanyahu. “They’re going to be having a ceasefire, and that’ll include Hezbollah.”

Trump in an extended exchange with reporters said also that he expected that Aoun and Netanyahu would meet in the next week or two, before saying the White House meeting between the Mideast leaders could happen in the next four or five days.

The president added that he was open to visiting Lebanon “at the right time.”

Trump says $4 a gallon gas ‘not very high’ given importance of stopping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon

The U.S. president played down prices at the pump averaging $4.09 a gallon nationwide, saying the cost wasn’t so great relative to the risk of evening higher prices tied to keeping Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

“Well, they’re not very high, if you look at what they were supposed to be in order to get rid of a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters about gas prices before a planned trip to Las Vegas.

The president repeated a past claim that he thought the war with Iran would have driven energy costs much higher.

Gas prices are up roughly 29% from a year ago, according to AAA.

Netanyahu says he has agreed to 10-day ceasefire in bid ‘to advance’ peace efforts with Lebanon

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has agreed to a 10-day ceasefire in Lebanon.

In a video statement, Netanyahu said he was taking the step in an attempt “to advance” peace efforts with Lebanon.

Israel and Lebanon opened negotiations this week in Washington aimed at forging a peace agreement. The Hezbollah militant group, which has been fighting Israel for six weeks, has said it opposes the dialogue.

“We have an opportunity to make a historic peace agreement with Lebanon,” Netanyahu said.

Italian premier hails Israel-Lebanon ceasefire as ‘excellent news’

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni greeted the announcement of a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon as “excellent news,” achieved “thanks to the mediation of the United States.”

She added that the ceasefire must be fully respected, singling out Hezbollah “for having started this conflict,” and expressed hope that it would create conditions for talks leading “to a full and lasting peace” between Israel and Lebanon.

Italy has the second-largest contingent of U.N. peacekeepers serving in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah reacts to ceasefire announcement

Hezbollah said in a statement that “any ceasefire must be comprehensive across all Lebanese territory and must not allow the Israeli enemy any freedom of movement.”

Israel offered no official comment on Trump’s announcement.

Hezbollah added that “Israeli occupation on our land grants Lebanon and its people the right to resist it, and this matter will be determined based on how developments unfold,” a stance that could complicate the ceasefire.

Israel has staged a ground invasion in southern Lebanon, where its forces have been engaged in fierce battles with Hezbollah militants in the border area. It is unclear whether Israel would withdraw some or all of its forces as part of the truce.

▶ Read more

Northern Israeli leaders criticize proposed Lebanon ceasefire

Two local leaders in northern Israel criticized a proposed ceasefire with Lebanon, warning it would leave communities vulnerable.

Moshe Davidovich, head of the Mateh Asher Regional Council, said agreements may be signed in Washington but “the price is paid here in blood, in destroyed homes and shattered communities.”

He warned that a ceasefire without strict enforcement against Hezbollah and a buffer zone up to the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (18.64 miles) north of the Israeli border, would amount to “waiting for the next massacre.”

Eitan Davidi, head of the Margaliot moshav, called the move “a surrender” and “a political defeat.” He told the N12 news site it was made without coordination with northern residents and contradicts the stated goal of dismantling Hezbollah’s capabilities.

China’s UN envoy calls US blockade of Strait of Hormuz ‘a dangerous and irresponsible move’

Ambassador Fu Cong said the strait “should be safeguarded” for international navigation and called on Iran to take ‘proactive measures’ to open the waterway, used to ship about 20% of the world’s oil.

“The issue of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is a spillover effect of the conflict in Iran,” he said. “Only a complete ceasefire can fundamentally create conditions for easing the situation.”

Fu told the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday that Beijing is engaged “in intensive mediation with all parties to actively promote talks for peace”’ and an end to the war in Iran.

The 193-member world body was meeting to hear China and Russia explain why they vetoed a Security Council resolution backed by the U.S. and Gulf nations aimed at opening the Strait of Hormuz.

Fu claimed the resolution would have given “a carte blanche for the continuation of aggressive actions and further escalation” rather than de-escalate the conflict and promote negotiations.

The annual event, held under this year’s “Fiesta Together” theme, has outgrown multiple venues over the years — from Traders Village to Palo Alto College to the Frost Bank Center.

This year, the walk moves to Retama Park, with overflow parking available at IKEA and River City Church. Accessible shuttles will also be on-site.

The event kicks off at 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 18.

A space made by the community, for the community

For Percy De La Luna, community engagement manager for ABC of Southwest Texas, the Walk for Autism is personal.

“I myself am on the autism spectrum, and there is nothing quite like getting to love my community every day,” De La Luna said.

Having been diagnosed later in life, De La Luna had never experienced an event like this growing up, and attending for the first time was emotional.

“I didn’t grow up getting to go to these walks,” De La Luna said. “I got diagnosed much later on in life. And so there was like a 10-year-old me partying alongside the other 10 year olds.”

One moment from the event stuck with him.

“I got to talk to a mom and she said that this was one of those events where her kid was the normal one because everyone’s kid was just like hers,” he said. “This was a space made by this community for this community.”

Chelsea Steele, with ABC of Southwest Texas, said the event is open to everyone, not just families with a direct connection to autism.

“Our walk for autism is aimed to get in front of parents, caretakers, grandparents, anyone that has somebody that’s on the spectrum or has a diagnosis or, you know, suspected diagnosis, but it can be for anybody that feels like they want to be part of a community,” Steele said. “So I think that’s what ABC celebrates and represents — that every child is unique and different and we’re going to celebrate that child."

‘Little posses,’ big love

One of the most visible — and heartwarming — sights at the walk is the sea of custom shirts families wear to honor their loved ones.

“There are families that are all wearing these incredible shirts with their loved one’s face on it and I call them little posses because you see the child who inspired it all and just a whole family of neighbors, teachers, of their friends, all decked out just for them. What a beautiful way to say I love you,” De La Luna said.

Steele said that visible show of solidarity is at the heart of what the walk represents.

“That’s the beauty in it is that it’s not just families that have a child that is on the spectrum or has a diagnosis,” Steele said. “It’s everybody in the community showing up. It’s very symbolic saying, ‘Hey, you’re not walking alone. We’re walking right there with you.’”

A national anthem, a moment of inspiration

For Jonathan Cazares, the walk is where his two worlds — family and friends — come together in the most unexpected, meaningful way.

“Having my family and friends meet at my walk is really crazy thinking that they would never meet and that they would never ever wear a shirt I made for them and it’s just awesome. It’s a really special feeling,” Cazares said.

Cazares, who is on the autism spectrum, also performs the national anthem to kick off the event each year — a moment that inspires others in the community.

“They get to look at Jonathan singing and go, ‘Well, if he can do that, I can do it,’” De La Luna said. “It is truly an inspiration.”

Even after years of performing, the nerves don’t fully go away.

“I still get really nervous to this day,” Cazares said. “But I also pretend that there’s just a little bit of people.”

Last year, 12,000 people attended the walk.

Free programs, funded by the community

Beyond the celebration, the walk serves a critical purpose: keeping ABC of Southwest Texas’ programs running — all of which are free to families.

“We don’t ever charge any money. All of our programs are free,” Steele said. “So that’s how we keep our programs alive is through events like our walk.”

Donations and participation fund a wide range of services, including an autism support program, bereavement care and support groups, home fire safety programs, toilet training classes and case management connecting families to resources.

“If they have a child that has a suspected diagnosis or they’ve been diagnosed with something on the spectrum, we can help them break down disabilities, how to navigate life with that,” Steele said.

The organization also provides support for families who have lost a child.

“Any family that’s lost a child, zero to 17, we could help them with counseling,” Steele said. “We could help with cremation, burial plots, all of that stuff, and that’s free, of course.”

Party with a purpose

De La Luna puts it simply: this event is about fun, family and leaving with more than you came with.

“You know the phrase is party with a purpose — come party with a purpose,“ he said. ”This is a space for families to create a community like no other.”

“The goal is for families to leave this space with a pretzel in hand and flyers of all these incredible resources for their families and a smile on their face,” De La Luna said.

How to support ABC of Southwest Texas

🗓️ April 18, 2026

📍Retama Park

🎟️ Free admission

Eva Davidson, a student at Northeast Lakeview College, was named this year’s winner of the annual Fiesta poster contest — a competition that, for the first time, was open exclusively to Alamo Colleges students.

While Davidson’s academic focus is geology, art has been a lifelong passion.

“I have been doing art probably my entire life. I would draw the covers of books that I was reading, I would try to draw the characters from movies, anything that I thought was interesting,” Davidson said.

A professor’s push, a deep dive into history

It was a professor who recognized Davidson’s artistic potential and encouraged her to enter the contest. Once she committed, Davidson approached the project with the same rigor she might apply to a research paper.

“I realized I need to do a lot of research if I want to do this correctly and make it good, make it interesting, make it a valuable piece of art. So for the Fiesta poster this year, I spent a lot of time looking into previous Fiesta years,” she said.

“It was understanding why people throw Fiesta,” she added.

What she found was that while the celebration has deep roots, it has also always been about joy and community.

“Over the many years that Fiesta has been going, it’s become this celebration of fun, of partying. People love to party. It brings joy. It lets you express who you are, what you want,” she said.

A painting that puts people first

Davidson’s winning design features eight people, each representing the diversity and spirit of Fiesta and San Antonio’s rich culture. The figures take center stage in the piece, rendered in a monochromatic palette that allows them to stand out and shine.

Her design won’t just hang on walls — it will also be featured on an official Fiesta medal, which Davidson said may be her greatest prize yet.

“I think the medal’s the coolest thing ever. I haven’t collected many medals over my years, but I think I’ve already got the best one,” she said.

Her design is also available for purchase as a poster, T-shirt and more at the Fiesta store and AMOLS’ Party Supplies.

An opportunity she hopes others get, too

Davidson expressed gratitude for the Fiesta Commission’s decision to limit this year’s contest to Alamo Colleges students, calling it a meaningful connection between young artists and the city they call home.

“It’s a great way to feel, personally as a young person, as a young artist, feel connected to the place around me that has given me so much. So I’d love that opportunity for more young artists in the future,” Davidson said.

Fiesta Youth, San Antonio’s premier LGBTQ+ youth program, has been offering weekly programming and a safe, welcoming environment since opening its doors in September 2013.

“And throughout the year, we just provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth to come be themselves, hang out, have fun,” organization co-founding board member Darrell Parsons said.

Parsons remembers the night Fiesta Youth first opened its doors.

“We were waiting around waiting for youth to show up, and the first one came through the door. And 10 more came through the door that night,” Parsons said. “And since then, we probably have between 30 and 50 youth attending weekly programming.”

Organizational growth has been more than just numbers.

“So to see it go from just a small organization to what it is now, it’s been heartwarming. It’s been really nice,” Parsons said. “I wish I would have had this when I was a kid, but you know, we have it now, and that’s what matters.”

Crystafer Stone, a volunteer who has been involved with Fiesta Youth for eight years, echoed that sentiment.

“To see that there’s something now for the kids that are out there today, it’s a life-saving place for these kids to be,” Stone said.

Midnight in Garden of Good and Evil: A party with a purpose

One of Fiesta Youth’s biggest annual moments is its signature fundraising event with humble beginnings.

“This event actually started in the backyard of two of our supporters,” Parsons said. “They wanted to have a Fiesta event. We wanted a Fiesta event that was a fundraiser. So, we got together, and we said, ‘Let’s do it at your house.’”

The Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil masquerade extravaganza has outgrown a simple backyard entirely. Now in its 12th year, the event takes over The DoSeum, a popular San Antonio children’s museum, and transforms it into an adults-only playground for the night.

“We get to play around on everything that’s open out here at the museum, so we get to bring out our inner child,” Stone said.

The event — open to guests 21 and older — includes dancing, drag performances, food and drinks all covered in the total price of admission. Every dollar raised goes directly back to supporting LGBTQ+ youth programming.

“We raise close to about $80,000 every year, and that has a huge impact when it comes to programming,” Parsons said.

Scholarships, community and Fiesta spirit

The fundraiser also serves as the platform for another cornerstone of Fiesta Youth’s mission: scholarships.

To date, $86,000 in scholarship money has been given to LGBTQ+ and allied youth.

For Parsons, the event — and Fiesta itself — represents something bigger than a party.

“You know, we’re a diverse community here in San Antonio, but we have a cause that brings us all together with Fiesta,” Parsons said. “Fiesta Together means we’re going to do this together. We’re in this together.”

“These nonprofit organizations — they depend on the community. They depend on Fiesta San Antonio to survive and thrive and Fiesta Together means that we’re all in this together and we support each other,” Parsons added.

How to get tickets and support Fiesta Youth:

🗓️ April 18, 2026

📍The DoSeum

🎟️ $100+ includes food, drink, parking and more

To make any purchases or get more information, click here.

Mercy Dubon, 31, faces charges for engaging in organized criminal activity and theft, records show.

The sheriff’s office said Dubon is the third suspect arrested and is the wife of the alleged “ringleader.”

Rodrin Garcia Rivera, 31, and Pedro Moreno, 68, were arrested in March for their involvement in the large-scale material theft that targeted construction sites across Bexar County.

A search warrant was issued at a residence associated with Garcia Rivera on March 24 after deputies watching the home witnessed him moving equipment to a storage unit. They also saw Moreno giving Rivera money for copper wire.

Deputies found a large number of stolen materials, including circuit breakers valued at $420,000, copper wiring valued at $143,000, and three vehicles.

The sheriff’s office said on April 15 an arrest warrant was executed for Dubon at her home.

Dubon told investigators that she handled prices and coordinated drop-off locations for the stolen construction materials. She also managed the finances.

Dubon said people were hired to work at new home construction sites, where they would steal copper wire and electrical materials.

The sheriff’s office said Garcia Rivera sold the stolen material.

More people are expected to face charges in connection with the theft operation, according to the sheriff’s office.

Dubon is currently booked in the Bexar County Adult Detention Center.

Read also:

• SAPD requests public’s help to locate suspect accused in Northwest Side murder investigation
• Woman arrested after standoff at Northwest Side apartment complex, police say

The dog bite happened around 4 p.m. Thursday in the 5000 block of Leonhardt Road.

The man was taken to a hospital for treatment.

ACS said the dog was surrendered to the agency and charges are pending.

No additional information was immediately released.

Read also:

• Nearly a dozen dogs rescued at West Side home with ‘unsanitary living conditions,’ ACS says

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced Lyons' departure, calling him a great leader of ICE who helped to make American communities safer. Mullin said Lyons' last day will be May 31.

“We wish him luck on his next opportunity in the private sector,” Mullin said in a statement. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press asking why he is resigning.

Lyons, who was named acting director in March 2025, led the agency at the center of President Donald Trump’s plans to reshape immigration to the U.S.

Under his leadership, the agency was granted a massive infusion of cash through Congress, which it used to expand hiring and detention capabilities, and it ramped up arrests to meet demand from the administration.

ICE was also central to a series of high-profile immigration enforcement operations in American cities, including Chicago and Minneapolis, a deployment that ended after backlash erupted over the deaths of two American protesters at the hands of federal immigration officers.

Stephen Miller, the president’s deputy chief of staff and the main architect of his immigration policy, called Lyons a "dedicated leader."

“His courageous work at ICE has saved countless thousands of American lives and helped deliver safety and tranquility to millions of Americans,” Miller said in a statement.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson described Lyons in a post on X as “an American patriot who made our country safer.”

It’s not clear who might replace Lyons. But whoever does will take over an agency flush with cash while still a flashpoint for controversy. ICE is at the center of a battle in Congress, with Democratic lawmakers demanding restraints on immigration officers before agreeing to restore routine funding for DHS.

On Thursday, Lyons, along with two other top immigration officials, appeared before a House subcommittee to argue for his agency’s budget and faced continued scrutiny from lawmakers of ICE’s actions.

Lyons' departure also comes as DHS is under new leadership after Trump fired former Secretary Kristi Noem, who led the department through the administration’s major immigration policy changes.

Mullin, who took over as secretary last month, is likely to continue to advance the president’s agenda but has struck a softer tone on some of the administration’s most contentious policies.

Public perceptions of ICE during Lyons' tenure were low. In a February AP-NORC poll, most U.S. adults, including independents, said they have an unfavorable view of the agency.

Lyons faced questions in Congress over the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and was asked if he would apologize for the way some Trump administration officials characterized Good as an agitator. He declined to do so.

“I welcome the opportunity to speak to the family in private. But I’m not going to comment on any active investigation,” Lyons said.

Lyons said he had seen video that captured Pretti’s shooting but said he could not comment, citing an active investigation.

Lyons, who joined ICE in 2007 as an immigration enforcement agent in Texas, signed off on a memo, first obtained by The Associated Press, that granted federal immigration officers sweeping powers to forcibly enter homes and make arrests without a judge’s warrant.

Trump’s border czar Tom Homan described Lyons as serving selflessly and “a highly respected and effective acting Director of ICE.”

__

Golden reported from Seattle.

It happened around 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the 3000 block of Horse Ranch Road.

The sheriff’s office said the child was taken to a trauma center where they are stable but still considered critical.

According to the sheriff’s office, it is too early to determine any criminal elements.

The Criminal Investigations Division is conducting the investigation.

Read also:

• 24-year-old hospitalized after dog bite on Northeast Side, ACS says

U.S. President Donald Trump announced the agreement as a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon. However, Israel has not been fighting with Lebanon itself, but rather with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants inside the country, who were not formally part of the agreement.

Barrages of gunshots rang out across Beirut as residents fired into the air just after midnight to celebrate the beginning of the truce.

Displaced families began moving toward southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs, despite warnings by officials not to attempt to return to their homes until it became clear whether the ceasefire would hold.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he agreed to the ceasefire “to advance” peace efforts with Lebanon, but said Israeli troops would not withdraw.

Israeli forces have engaged in fierce battles with Hezbollah in the border area as they pushed into southern Lebanon to create what officials have called a “security zone.” Netanyahu, in his video address, said it will extend 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Lebanon.

“That is where we are, and we are not leaving,” he said.

Hezbollah said that “Israeli occupation on our land grants Lebanon and its people the right to resist it, and this matter will be determined based on how developments unfold” — a stance that could complicate the ceasefire.

Israel reserves right to defend itself

The U.S. State Department said that according to the agreement, Israel reserves the right to defend itself “at any time, against planned, imminent, or ongoing attacks.” But otherwise, Israel “will not carry out any offensive military operations against Lebanese targets, including civilian, military, and other state targets.”

The wording suggested Israel would maintain the freedom to strike at will, as it did in the months following the ceasefire that ended the previous war. This time, Hezbollah said it would respond to any strikes by Israel.

It's unclear when the 1 million people displaced by the war will be able to safely return.

Lebanon’s state-run National News agency reported that Israeli shelling continued in the villages of Khiam and Dibbine about a half hour after the truce went into effect. Israel’s military said it was looking into reports of shelling and artillery fire in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah kept firing rockets at northern Israeli towns and communities right up to the start of the ceasefire. Air raid sirens went off in some often-targeted border towns less than 10 minutes before midnight.

Flurry of diplomacy

The agreement came after a meeting between Israel's and Lebanon’s ambassadors in Washington and a flurry of subsequent phone calls from Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a White House official.

They were the first direct diplomatic talks between the two countries in decades. Hezbollah had opposed direct talks between Lebanon and Israel.

Trump spoke Wednesday evening with Netanyahu, who agreed to a ceasefire with certain terms, according to the official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Rubio then called Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, who got on board. Trump then spoke with Aoun, and again with Netanyahu.

The State Department worked with both governments to formulate a memorandum of understanding for the truce.

“May have been a historic day for Lebanon. Good things are happening!!!” Trump said in a social media post.

Trump extends White House invitation

Lebanon has insisted on a ceasefire to stop the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah before engaging in more talks, while vowing to commit to disarming the group.

Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948, and Lebanon remains deeply divided over diplomatic engagement with Israel.

Trump also invited the leaders of Israel and Lebanon to the White House for what he said would be “the first meaningful talks" between the countries since 1983.

“Both sides want to see PEACE, and I believe that will happen, quickly,” Trump wrote on social media.

Lebanon and Israel signed an agreement in 1983 saying Lebanon would formally recognize Israel, and Israel would withdraw from Lebanon. The deal fell apart during Lebanon’s civil war and was formally rescinded a year later.

A Hezbollah official said the ceasefire was a result of Iran’s negotiations with the U.S., in which Iran had insisted Lebanon be included in its own ceasefire, and came about through efforts by mediator Pakistan. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Pakistan army chief meets with Iranian parliament speaker

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s army chief met Thursday with Iran’s parliament speaker as part of international efforts to press for an extension to a ceasefire that has paused almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the U.S. and Iran.

It was unclear whether the frantic diplomacy could lead to a lasting deal before the ceasefire ends next week. The Iran war has killed thousands of people and upended global markets by disrupting the flow of oil.

Iranian state television did not provide details on the meeting between Pakistani Army Gen. Asim Munir and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, his country’s chief negotiator.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan, a key mediator after hosting the talks between the U.S. and Iran that authorities said helped narrow differences between the sides.

The White House said any further talks regarding Iran would likely take place in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, though no decision had been made on whether to resume negotiations. The fragile ceasefire is holding despite a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and Iranian counter-threats to target regional ports across the Red Sea.

Trump suggested the ceasefire could be extended.

“If we’re close to a deal, would I extend?” Trump said in an exchange with reporters. “Yeah, I would do that.”

The war has jolted markets and rattled the global economy as shipping has been cut off and airstrikes have pounded military and civilian infrastructure. Oil prices have fallen amid hopes for an end to fighting, and U.S. stocks on Wednesday surpassed records set in January.

Officials say US and Iran are making progress

Even as the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and renewed Iranian threats strained the ceasefire, regional officials reported progress, telling AP the United States and Iran had an “in-principle agreement” to extend it to allow for more diplomacy. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations.

But tensions simmered.

The commander of Iran’s joint military command, Ali Abdollahi, threatened to halt trade in the region if the U.S. does not lift its naval blockade, and a newly appointed military adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said he does not support extending the ceasefire.

Mediators seek compromise on sticking points

The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.

Mediators are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points: Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for wartime damages, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

Since the war began, Iran has curtailed maritime traffic through the strait, which a fifth of global oil transited through in peacetime. Tehran’s effective closure of the strait sent oil prices skyrocketing, raising the cost of fuel, food and other basic goods far beyond the Middle East.

___

Becatoros contributed from Athens, Greece. Matthew Lee and Ben Finley in Washington, Samy Magdy in Cairo, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Court records in Bexar County are public, and finding them online can take less time than you think.

Here’s everything you need to know to search for a Bexar County court case from your phone or computer:

• Open the Bexar County Justice Information Portal
• Click “Smart Search” on the left to search for court records
• Enter the case number or search by name (format: last name, first name and middle name)
• Scroll to find the case you are looking for and click the case number

The court case page has the entire case summary and includes bond information, assigned court and attorney, date and notes for every hearing and upcoming hearing dates.

Read more court coverage on KSAT’s Open Court page.

Cuevas was followed by a group of boys after leaving San Antonio Independent School District’s Brewer Academy on April 16, 2025. Shortly after leaving the school, Cuevas was killed.

“It’s been rough,” Alejandra Cuevas said. “It really has been, it’s been exhausting.”

Investigators identified five suspects connected to the death of Simon Cuevas. One suspect, Caesar Tijerina, died by suicide during the investigation.

Two of the suspects, who are siblings, are minors, so there are not as many details available about their status. However, one of the juveniles was 14 years old at the time and the other was 16 years old.

They were initially charged with capital murder, but that charge was downgraded to assault causing bodily injury.

The last two suspects are Andrew Cantu and Fernando Flores, who both face the charge of injury to a child with intent to cause bodily injury.

“When I hear an injury to a child and my child is not even alive — It’s hard, it’s just hard,” Alejandra Cuevas said. “My child was only 14, he was loved, he is still loved and very missed.”

Several other mothers attended a balloon release in honor of the one-year mark since Simon Cuevas’ death.

“It’s a slap in our face, and I say our face, as a community,” Sylvia Zapata said. “Most of all, what is sad is that we’re giving an impression to our younger generation that it’s OK to do these things because you have a district attorney who doesn’t care about us.”

Alejandra Cuevas said she plans to be in court for all the sentencing dates in the future for Cantu and Flores.

Previous coverage of this story on KSAT.com:

• Attorney explains possible reasons why charges for suspects in Simon Cuevas case were downgraded
• SAISD student Simon Cuevas’ murder case remains unsolved as new school year starts
• ‘I wish that I could’ve been there’: Mother of teen shot, killed near SAISD campus seeks justice

KSAT helped kick off the 11-day party with a purpose on Thursday, April 16, with live coverage from Fiesta Fiesta.

Myra Arthur and Ernie Zuniga were at Travis Park for the official kickoff. Watch the 2-hour special below.

KSAT has everything you need to know about the 11-day celebration and day-by-day guides on our Fiesta page!

Also, be sure to check the weather forecast from the KSAT Weather Authority team before heading out to Fiesta events so you can dress appropriately.

If you’re planning to head to Fiesta, submit your photos and videos on KSAT Connect!

Watch more Fiesta coverage live on KSAT

Here’s when you can watch some of the biggest events on KSAT 12, KSAT Plus (our free streaming app), YouTube and KSAT.com.

• Monday, April 20: Texas Cavaliers River Parade and River Parade en Español, coverage starts at 7 p.m., followed by the SA Live River Parade After Party. — Watch on KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Thursday, April 23: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, coverage starts at 7 p.m. at the Alamo Stadium. — Watch on KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Friday, April 24: Battle of Flowers Parade and Battle of Flowers en Español, coverage begins at 10 a.m. — Watch on KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Fiesta Pooch Parade, coverage starts at 7:30 a.m. at Heights Pool in Alamo Heights. — Watch on KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: King William Fair Parade, coverage begins at 8 a.m. — Watch on KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Battle of Flowers Band Festival, 2-5 p.m. (rebroadcast) — Watch on KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.
• Saturday, April 25: Fiesta Flambeau Parade and Flambeau en Español, coverage starts at 7 p.m. — Watch on KSAT 12, KSAT.com and KSAT Plus.

You can get more information about how to stream KSAT 12 for free here.

Find more news on KSAT’s Fiesta page. You can also sign up for our free Things To Do and Fiesta newsletters.

Read also:

• Fiesta’s biggest event no longer free; city council approves $5 gate fee for Fiesta de los Reyes
• Cone zones may not disappear even after ‘completion’ of downtown street project, city says

Mejía, 48, a former head of the Working Families Alliance who had support from Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, will fill the seat previously held by Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill and serve until January.

Her victory is a win for progressives and means Democrats hold on to the 11th District seat in the House, where Republicans hold a thin majority. It also adds to a string of victories for Democrats heading into this year’s midterm elections.

The Associated Press called the race for Mejía minutes after the polls closed.

Mejía later spoke in Montclair to an enthusiastic crowd of supporters who called out in unison with her that she was an “unbought, unbossed, sassy new member of Congress.”

Republicans criticized her throughout the campaign as too far to the left. She pushed back against those arguments, calling for better health care and education and attacking billionaires for having a “stranglehold” on the economy.

“It is not radical to say that a worker who toils every day cannot make ends meet, that they deserve justice, that they deserve higher wages,” Mejía said Thursday night. “That is not radical, that is good conscience. That is a good economy.”

Her speech echoed Sanders, who congratulated her in a social media post and said she would be a “great progressive addition” to Congress.

Mejía emerged from a crowded primary in February and cast the race as a test of Trump’s leadership. She criticized his pardons of people convicted of Jan. 6-related crimes and faulted him for freezing funds authorized by Congress.

She campaigned on populist economic policies and pushing to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She has criticized the Israeli government and said she stands with Palestinian communities in their “pursuit of peace and dignity.”

Hathaway, 38, tried to use Mejía's progressive credentials to his advantage, as national Republicans cast her as a socialist. After her victory he congratulated Mejía and wished her well. He added that he still believes the district is looking for “balanced, pragmatic” leadership, not “far-left policies.”

The two could go head to head again in November’s election for a full two-year term.

The 11th District, which covers parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties in northern New Jersey’s wealthy suburbs, was long a Republican stronghold but has become increasingly Democratic since Trump’s first term.

Sherrill first won the seat in 2018’s midterm elections, when Democrats flipped dozens of seats to take control of Congress. In 2024 she won reelection by about 15 points, while Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, carried the district by nearly 9 points.

Mejía's margin of victory was greater. With more than 90% of votes counted late Thursday, she led Hathaway by about 20 percentage points. Additional mail-in ballots — which have favored Mejía by an even larger margin — will be counted in the coming days as they can arrive as late as Wednesday.

Saran Cunningham, an 86-year-old retired special educator, said she was initially reluctant to support Mejía, worried that her views were too far to the left. She backed another candidate in the primary. But recently, outside the Morristown early polling location, she said she would now vote for Mejía.

“I think we’ve been tilting a little bit more to the right lately, which worries me,” Cunningham said. “I think that we need people in Congress who will fight for things that will help people as opposed to hurting them.”

Rob Berkowitz, 62, cast his early vote for Hathaway at the Denville polling station. Describing himself as a conservative, Berkowitz gave Trump high marks on immigration, the economy and the war in Iran, comparing him to Winston Churchill. He criticized the Democratic Party for moving away from leaders in the style of Harry Truman, whom he praised.

“They want borders wide open. They don’t want to enforce existing immigration laws,” Berkowitz said.

The February Democratic primary pitted Mejía against former Rep. Tom Malinowski and others in a race where the American Israel Public Affairs Committee was a key player. The group’s affiliated super PAC tried to thwart Malinowski after he questioned unconditional aid to the Israeli government. That effort appeared to backfire as Mejía, who said she agreed that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, came out on top.

Over the years she has been a regular presence in the state Capitol, advocating for progressive causes, and was Sanders’ political director during his 2020 presidential run. During the Biden administration, she was deputy director of the Labor Department’s Women’s Bureau.

In addition to winning Sanders’ endorsement, she was backed by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

Hathaway, a former Yale University football player, has worked in health care and finance as well as in politics as an aide for former GOP Gov. Chris Christie.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s latest ruling comes in response to an appeals court’s instruction to clarify an earlier decision on the 90,000-square-foot (8,400-square-meter) ballroom planned for the site where it demolished the East Wing of the White House.

Trump on social media called Leon, who was nominated to the bench by Republican President George W. Bush, a “Trump Hating” judge who “has gone out of his way to undermine National Security, and to make sure that this Great Gift to America gets delayed, or doesn’t get built.”

The administration filed a notice that it will ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to review Leon's latest decision, too.

National Trust for Historic Preservation president and CEO Carol Quillen, whose group sued to challenge the project, said in a statement that the group is pleased with the court's ruling.

Leon said that below-ground work on security measures is exempt from his order suspending above-ground construction. Government lawyers have argued that the project includes critical security features to guard against a range of possible threats, such as drones, ballistic missiles and biohazards.

Leon's latest ruling comes several days after a three-judge panel from the D.C. appeals court instructed him to reconsider the possible national security implications of stopping construction.

In his previous order, Leon barred above-ground work on the ballroom from proceeding without congressional approval. The judge also ruled on March 31 that any construction work that’s necessary to ensure the safety and security of the White House is exempt from the scope of the injunction. Leon said he reviewed material that the government privately submitted to him before concluding that halting construction wouldn’t jeopardize national security.

Leon had suspended his March 31 order for two weeks. He stayed his latest decision for another week, which gives the administration more time to seek Supreme Court review.

Leon said he is ordering a stop only to the above-ground construction of the planned ballroom, apart from any work needed to cover or secure that part of the project. Otherwise, the Trump administration is free to proceed with the construction of any excavations, bunkers, military installations, and medical facilities below the ballroom.

“Defendants argue that the entire ballroom construction project, from tip to tail, falls within the safety-and-security exception and therefore may proceed unabated," the judge wrote. “That is neither a reasonable nor a correct reading of my Order!”

On Saturday, the appeals court panel said it didn't have enough information to decide how much of the project can be suspended without jeopardizing the safety of the president, his family or the White House staff.

Leon said he recognizes the safety implications of the case, but stressed that “national security is not a blank check to proceed with otherwise unlawful activity.” He also said he has “no desire or intention to be dragooned into the role of construction manager.”

On April 2, two days after Leon's previous ruling, Trump’s ballroom won final approval from the 12-member National Capital Planning Commission, which is charged with approving construction on federal property in the Washington region.

The preservation group sued in December, a week after the White House finished demolishing the East Wing to make way for a ballroom that Trump said would fit 999 people. Trump says the project is funded by private donations, although public money is paying for the bunker construction and security upgrades.

• FRIDAY: Temps near 90, heat index
• SATURDAY: Mid-morning cold front, windy, 60s by afternoon; plus scattered rain
• SUNDAY: A small temp rebound, some peeks of sunshine
• MONDAY: Showers likely, cool temps

FORECAST

Brace yourselves. Fiesta is always an interesting weather stretch, but 2026 may be more interesting than most. Don’t cancel your plans, but do be prepared to face various kinds of weather. VIVA!🎉

FRIDAY

After a cloudy morning, temperatures will reach to near 90 this afternoon. It may feel a few degrees warmer due to thick humidity. While a stray storm along the Rio Grande can’t be ruled out, any rain will stay west of San Antonio.

SATURDAY

A mid-morning to midday cold front will take temperatures from the 70s in the morning into the low-60s by the afternoon. Here’s what you’ll want to plan for:

• Gusty north winds of up to 30mph
• Chilly temperatures (low-60s by the afternoon)
• Scattered rain. Mostly light showers, but a few rumbles of thunder are possible.

SUNDAY

Cool temperatures in the morning will give way to a mild day. Some sunshine is possible late in the day, which should get us into the 70s. Any rain appears to stay to our west of San Antonio until Sunday night.

MONDAY

A disturbance will roll through, giving us good chances for light rain. Because it’ll be cloudy and damp, temperatures will struggle to warm. Low-60s are a good bet most of the day. It’s possible that the rain could wind down a bit in time for the River Parade, but you’ll still want to plan for cool and damp conditions.

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He returned to the piano only after a mentor told him about a large number of piano pieces for the left hand alone.

After exhaustive practice he made a comeback, playing recitals as South Korea's only known professional left-hand-only pianist.

He is now preparing for a new challenge: his first joint performance with an orchestra at an international music festival next month.

“I’m so, so nervous I could die,” Lee, 54, said with a smile during a recent interview with The Associated Press at his Seoul home. “It’s just one concerto but working with an orchestra has its own difficulties.”

Thrown into despair

In August 2012, Lee, then a doctorate candidate at the music school at the University of Cincinnati, abruptly collapsed at his home.

He survived after extensive surgery, but the stroke damaged about 60% of his brain’s left hemisphere. He couldn’t move his right arm and leg and suffered temporary aphasia.

Lee was later brought back to South Korea in a wheelchair. His father, Lee Hae Chang, a baseball legend in South Korea, said his son couldn’t recognize him upon arrival.

“After the stroke, I didn’t even imagine playing the piano. I only thought about whether I could stand on my feet again,” Lee Hun said.

Performing with five fingers

Lee’s condition was also hard on his family, who had to care for him daily. His mother Poong Ok Hee recalled she had fought a lot with her son because of his mood swings. He often resisted her advice and assistance.

Things began changing after he dined with his former piano teacher, Chun Yung Hae, in 2013. Chun encouraged him to play the piano again, saying there were more than 1,000 pieces for the left hand alone. That rekindled his passion for the piano, and Lee began practicing immediately that night.

In 2016, Lee made a formal debut as a one-handed pianist at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, where he received treatment and rehabilitation. After performing Camille Saint-Saens’ “6 Etudes for the Left Hand Alone,” Lee played “Amazing Grace” with Chun, with Lee using his left hand and Chun her right hand. At least one spectator cried.

“He is a pianist so he must play the piano. He was completely hopeless and in despair, so I tried to give him some hope. But I didn’t expect him to play as well as this,” said Chun, who served as dean of the College of Music at Seoul’s Kyung Hee University.

Performing a masterpiece with orchestra

Lee has steadily given recitals, appeared on TV programs and written a memoir. He now walks without assistance and communicates relatively smoothly in Korean.

Local media dub him as “Korea’s Paul Wittgenstein,” an acclaimed Austrian pianist who is considered a pioneer in one-handed piano music. He lost his right arm in World War I and commissioned left-hand repertories by famed composers, including Ravel, Strauss, Prokofiev and Britten. His brother was philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein.

On May 2, Lee is to appear at the annual Icheon Young-Artist International Music Festival in South Korea, performing with a festival orchestra. They’ll play Ravel’s “Piano Concerto for the Left Hand,” which was also commissioned by Wittgenstein.

It’s a highly difficult piece for a pianist, Lee said, but it’s something he’s been eager to play.

Chung Eun-hyon, head of Lee’s agency, Tool Music, said Lee has told him it’s his dream to play the concerto. Chung said he feels deeply emotional as he helps “make his dream come true.”

Dreams of a two-handed comeback

Before becoming a one-handed pianist, Lee said he focused on how to perfect skills to wow audiences. Now, he agonizes over how to convey his emotions and interpretation of music to people.

“He plays a sort of music that truly touches the heart of people and it’s not about finger dexterity,” said Lee Eungkwang, head of a cultural foundation responsible for the Icheon festival.

“I’m really curious what it was like when he played with both hands,” Lee said.

Lee Hun said he hopes to make a two-handed comeback one day, saying he succeeded in pressing a piano key once with his right hand at a concert in November 2024.

Medically speaking, prospects for Lee regaining the use of his right hand and performing with both hands are dim, according to his doctor at St. Mary’s Hospital, Koo Jaseong.

“I still would like to give him a round of applause to his efforts. Though rare, there have been reports of miraculous recoveries too,” Koo said.

“If you book a ticket, we want you and your family to have the certainty that you’ll fly without endless delays and cancellations,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement.

O’Hare has the most number of flights of any U.S. airport, and it already had one of the worst records for flight delays nationwide last year.

More than 3,080 flights were planned on peak days this summer, which represented a 14.9% increase from the summer before, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration. That increase comes as air traffic controllers deal with taxiway closures for construction projects.

In its draft order, the federal government said both American and United announced expansion plans at O’Hare that could lead to significant delays this summer and limit the airfield’s ability to handle the expected amount of traffic.

Duffy said that the schedule was unrealistic and would have exceeded what the airport could handle. So the number of flights at the airport will be limited to a maximum of 2,708, which is still slightly higher than maximum of 2,680 flights that were scheduled at the peak of last summer. He said that “will reduce delays and make this busy summer travel season a little easier."

On slower days of the week, fewer flights will have to be cut because a smaller number was scheduled in the first place. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays are typically slower days of the week for flights.

The flight limits will take effect May 17 and last through Oct. 24.

Airlines will go through the details of the order to figure out how many flights they have to cancel and then will notify customers.

American Airlines said that once implemented, the FAA’s order will improve reliability and reduce delays for customers traveling through O’Hare this summer.

“We are grateful to Secretary Duffy, Administrator Bedford, and their leadership teams for acting swiftly to ensure that Chicagoans and all consumers continue to benefit from sensible competition and to help minimize flight disruptions during the busy summer season,” American said in a statement.

American told employees in a memo that it estimates that it will have to cut no more than 40 arrivals and departures per day, but it estimates that United might have to cut more than 200 arrivals and departures based on the published schedules. United did not provide an estimate of how many flights it will have to cut.

United said the airline appreciates that the government came up with “a solution that makes sense for everyone who cares about O'Hare's success.”

Both airlines will review the order and their scheduled to determine where to make cuts and then notify travelers who are affected.

___

Associated Press Transportation Writer Josh Funk contributed to this report from Omaha, Nebraska.

Hamilton was FEMA’s temporary leader from January to May of last year but was fired one day after testifying on Capitol Hill that he did not agree with proposals to dismantle the organization charged with coordinating the federal government's response to disasters, an idea Trump had repeatedly floated.

“I do not believe it is in the best interest of the American people to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency,” he told members of a House Appropriations subcommittee.

FEMA has lacked a permanent administrator throughout Trump's second term and is currently on its third temporary leader, something critics have said undermines the agency's effectiveness.

Trump offered Hamilton the job Wednesday, according to the person, who was not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The New York Times first reported Trump's intent to nominate Hamilton.

Hamilton’s nomination would come at a crucial time for FEMA and as its future remains uncertain. Trump has said he wants to shift more responsibility for disasters to states and has created a FEMA Review Council, expected to propose sweeping reforms to how the agency supports disaster-impacted communities.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has expressed support for FEMA while calling for reforms, striking a stark contrast from his predecessor Kristi Noem, who vowed to "eliminate FEMA as it exists today” and whose dealings with the review council grew fraught.

It’s unclear how Hamilton would lead FEMA or what Trump expects from his leadership.

Hamilton's relationship with DHS officials became “very hostile” during his short tenure at FEMA, he said in a September episode of the podcast “Disaster Tough.” He wanted to cut “wasteful spending” and “downsize the agency,” he said, but not dismantle it.

Trump has not officially announced the nomination and could change his mind. Hamilton could also face headwinds during the Senate confirmation process over never having served as a state emergency management director.

Federal law requires FEMA’s administrator to have “a demonstrated ability in and knowledge of emergency management and homeland security” and no less than five years of executive leadership and management experience. If confirmed, he would become the principal advisor to the president and the Homeland Security secretary for all matters related to emergency management.

Hamilton spent a decade in the U.S. Navy Seals, serving on Seal Team Eight for four overseas deployments between 2005 and 2015, according to his LinkedIn profile and a Congressional bio.

He then served as a supervisory emergency management specialist at the U.S. State Department and as the Department of Homeland Security’s director of emergency services for several years.

Hamilton ran for Congress in Virginia’s 7th district in 2024 but lost in the Republican primary.

In a LinkedIn post earlier this month marking 47 years since FEMA’s establishment, Hamilton said he was grateful to have served under Trump and alongside FEMA colleagues. “I wish my tenure had been longer,” he wrote, “as there is still much more work to do for reform.”

New facilities will now be required to have industrial zoning, get a specific use authorization from the city council, and be at least 1,000 feet away from schools, public parks, churches, and residential areas.

The changes, passed in a 9-2 vote, were prompted by the federal government’s acquisition of an East Side warehouse, which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reportedly wants to use as a detention facility.

While the city’s new restrictions don’t appear likely to apply to the planned ICE facility, a member of the city‘s legal staff left the possibility open during exclusive interviews with KSAT, saying it’s not a completely black-and-white issue.

The warehouse at 542 SE Loop 410 is owned by federal government, which does not have to follow local zoning rules.

Deputy City Attorney Susan Guinn said the changes will not have any effect on ICE’s plans for the East Side property “at this point, with the current facts.”

However, the head of the regulatory division was less definitive when KSAT asked what would happen if the government were to bring in a private contractor to operate the facility.

“That is something we definitely would be looking at,” Guinn said, “who then has control of the facility?”

Guinn stressed it would be “fact-specific,” though, and the city doesn’t have the details.

“We would just be speculating right now,” Guinn said, “So I’m not going to close that off either way.”

Guinn said the newly adopted ordinance might not impact ICE because the government made the plans known, though it has not notified the city directly.

The changes also include new requirements for detention facilities to notify city officials 30 days ahead of renovating, building, or operating a detention facility.

Guinn said no matter who ends up running the East Side facility, they would still have to notify the city of these changes moving forward.

Posturing or preparation?

The council’s two conservative members, Councilman Marc Whyte (D10) and Councilwoman Misty Spears (D9), were the only votes against the new restrictions.

Whyte, who pulled the item for discussion, also asked city legal staff to confirm the ordinance wouldn’t have any effect on the planned ICE facility.

“As we understand it, councilman, that’s correct,” First Assistant City Attorney Liz Provencio told him.

City staff also told Whyte they were unaware of any private detention facilities currently operating in the city.

“This new ordinance here doesn’t do anything,” Whyte told his colleagues. “This is a political statement that you want to make.”

District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez said many detained immigrants are held in privately operated facilities, “and ICE often turns to (a) privately operated facility when their own facilities exceed capacity.”

McKee-Rodriguez said that he believes this might happen because the warehouse “will not have the sewage capacity that they’re looking for."

“It would be foolish to think that just because there aren’t any facilities now,” McKee-Rodriguez said, “that there won’t be in the future.”

KSAT asked ICE questions Thursday afternoon about its timeline, plans, who would operate the facility and whether it would hire contractors to open or run other facilities. We have not yet heard back on that request.

KSAT has been following through on potential detention facilities in San Antonio. Read more of our reporting below:

• ICE confirms purchase of East Side warehouse, plans to hold immigrant detainees inside
• Neighbors concerned about ICE potentially buying East Side warehouse
• State, local lawmakers push back against East Side ICE facility in new letter to DHS
• Why is San Antonio trying to crack down on detention centers if changes won’t include East Side ICE facility?
• As Mayor Jones asks DHS to back off ICE facility plans, city looks at legal options

San Antonio police arrested Alyssa Herrera, 36, on Tuesday, jail records show. She is accused of tampering with physical evidence, a third-degree felony.

Herrera was officially booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center just after 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday. County court records show a judge set her bond at $150,000.

Herrera is married to Daniel Sebastian Ordonez, 31, and was the daughter-in-law of Daniel Antonio Ordonez, 54. The elder Ordonez’s body was found in a bloody bag in the backyard of his home located in the 3100 block of Vera Cruz.

SAPD first took the younger Ordonez into custody on an evidence tampering charge on April 9 before Herrera was arrested and charged this week.

Daniel Antonio Ordonez reported missing

According to police, a relative — who does not live in San Antonio — reported the elder Ordonez as missing on April 4. The relative, who had access to his cellphone and smartwatch, noticed unusual activity on those devices and called police.

Officers and the victim’s girlfriend met at the cellphone’s location: a property the elder Ordonez owned in the 300 block of West Theo Avenue near Interstate 35, SAPD said.

Investigators later found a truck belonging to Ordonez in the back of the Theo Avenue property. Upon its discovery, officers said they discovered the truck had an “apparent bullet hole” through the driver side’s “rear window.”

Ordonez’s daughter asked her brother (Sebastian Ordonez) and Herrera to meet police at the Theo Avenue location.

Herrera and her husband lived with Ordonez’s father at the home on Vera Cruz. The younger Ordonez gave police permission to search the Vera Cruz home, which included a structure behind the primary home. Sebastian Ordonez warned officers that the rear structure’s door was locked, according to Herrera’s arrest affidavit.

Investigators said they later located a large black trash bag in the rear structure of the property with “blood” leaking from the bag. According to the affidavit, officers poked a hole in the bag and saw what was inside: a dead male later identified as Daniel Antonio Ordonez.

At the time, police said Sebastian Ordonez and Herrera were detained for questioning.

CSI arrives on scene

SAPD’s crime scene investigative (CSI) unit were soon called to the scene.

The unit, while using a substance that exposes the presence of blood if it has been cleaned or not, discovered blood was scattered in and around the home on Vera Cruz, court documents state.

Police noted several security camera mounts around the home no longer had security cameras mounted on them. Investigators said two other vehicles belonging to the elder Ordonez were also moved to separate locations.

The victim’s truck

Sebastian Ordonez and Herrera told officers that they were with the elder Ordonez throughout Easter weekend. Herrera denied any involvement in connection with Antonio Ordonez’s death.

However, further police investigation determined a red Toyota Prius was following a person driving the victim’s truck just before 2 p.m. on April 7 along South Zarzamora Street. The truck was in the process of being moved to the victim’s property on West Theo Avenue.

Approximately 48 minutes later, investigators said Sebastian Ordonez called 911 and requested a welfare check at the property. A neighbor to the West Theo Avenue later told police they saw a male near the victim’s truck “banging” on the property’s fence on April 7 before he entered the Toyota Prius and drove away.

The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office said Antonio Ordonez died from a gunshot wound to the head and ruled his death as a homicide. Police said no shell casings were recovered from the home on Vera Cruz.

Purchases surface on victim’s bank account

After a search warrant was executed, police gained access to the victim’s cellphone and his most recent bank purchases via an application.

According to his banking app, multiple purchases were made in the three days (April 4-6) leading up to the April 7 welfare check call to SAPD.

On April 4, investigators said purchases were made with the victim’s debit card at a Walmart location. Among the items purchased were black duct tape, towels and a “mummy-style sleeping bag.” Police also obtained surveillance video from the Walmart, which indicated Sebastian Ordonez used the debit card to make those purchases.

A series of purchases at a Home Depot location also appeared to link Sebastian Ordonez, as well. According to the affidavit, the younger Ordonez was seen on Home Depot surveillance video buying gloves, a shovel, a sledgehammer, acrylic sheets and 100 pounds of concrete mix, among other items that were discovered at the home in the 3100 block of Vera Cruz.

The relative, who reported Antonio Ordonez missing, told officers that the victim wasn’t known to share his bank account information or purchases with anyone else.

Herrera is expected back in court for a pre-indictment hearing on July 13.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• ‘It’s mind-blowing’: Man, 31, charged with tampering his father’s dead body, SAPD says

Milenko Faria was interviewed at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offices near Los Angeles, while his wife, Dr. Rubeliz Bolivar, entered her sixth day in immigration custody in Texas and was unable to attend the appointment they had been waiting for for more than 10 years.

Bolivar, who worked as a doctor in an area federally designated as medically underserved, was arrested by Border Patrol agents at McAllen International Airport on Saturday. She was with their American-born daughter, preparing to board a flight to join her husband and attend their asylum interview together.

Bolivar, 33, was the second Venezuelan physician arrested in the area within the span of a week. On April 6, Dr. Ezequiel Veliz was detained by Border Patrol agents at a checkpoint in South Texas. After spending about ten days in detention, his attorney, Victor Badell, said he was able to successfully request a bond hearing and secure his release on Thursday after paying a bond of $8,000.

The arrests are part of President Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies. Following an enforcement surge in Minnesota in January, in which two U.S. citizens died, the Department of Homeland Security has focused on less visible arrests.

Bolívar worked in the emergency room of a hospital in McAllen, city of about 150,000 in the Rio Grande Valley near the Mexican border, starting in June 2025, when she was accepted into her medical residency program.

“She was always focused on the community, and when she was accepted, it was an immense joy,” Faria, 36, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “We have never done anything outside the law. We have done everything by following the steps in accordance with the law to obtain permanent residency."

The husband said that she arrived at the U.S. with a tourist visa in 2016, after graduating from medical school in her native Venezuela.

Before her authorized period of stay expired, she was included in the asylum application filed by her husband, he said. Both are also seeking a green card through an application for skilled workers, processed by Faria’s employer, a California company where he has worked as an information systems technician since 2019.

The couple was beneficiary of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela that shielded more than 600,000 Venezuelans from deportation. Trump terminated the protections for Venezuela, Haiti, Syria, Afghanistan, Nicaragua and other countries, a decision that has been challenged in federal court.

The Department of Homeland Security said that Bolivar was arrested because she was in the country illegally.

“She has overstayed her visa since 2017, nearly a decade, and had no legal status,” said DHS spokeswoman Lauren Bis.

Jodi Goodwin, an immigration attorney in South Texas, noted that around September or October 2025, she observed a change in policy regarding travel of individuals with pending applications before USCIS.

”It just became a very apparent trend where anyone that had some kind of application pending with USCIS, whether it was an adjustment of status or asylum, anything like that, they were going to be arrested,” said Goodwin.

Faria and Bolivar lived together in Santa Maria, California, until she moved to Texas in the summer of 2025 for her medical residency. He said he traveled every two months to visit his wife and daughter. The day of her arrest was the first time Bolívar had traveled since moving to Texas.

Bolivar was arrested by Customs and Border Protection officers before passing through transportation security screening, where she was asked to show her identification. She showed her driver’s license — bearing the “Real ID” endorsement required to domestic flights — and a work authorization valid until 2030.

She told them that she was adjusting status to a green card and was traveling to California for an asylum interview but the officer detained her after asking for her nationality and demanding that she provide proof of legal permanent residency, said Faria. He received text messages from his wife at the time she was being arrested.

Their 5-year-old daughter, a U.S. citizen, was also arrested and handed over to her grandfather 19 hours later. The girl is currently in California with her father.

The doctor was transferred to ICE custody on Sunday and is being held at El Valle Detention Facility in Texas.

She has asked several times why she was detained but has not received any response yet, Faria said.

Ezequiel Veliz, the other Venezuelan physician, came to the United States to become a doctor in 2018 under a tourist visa. His friend, Hector Ruiz, described him as a kind-hearted doctor who loves his pet cats and is devoted to his work.

Veliz adjusted his immigration status as a student and later as a doctor at a South Texas hospital in the Rio Grande Valley working under TPS. The pause in the protection status had immediate consequences on his two-year residency.

“He was one year and four months into that. He couldn’t continue working legally. He had to stop,” said Badell, his attorney.

He was waiting for a visa requested by the hospital when he was detained at a Border Patrol checkpoint traveling to Houston with his husband on April 6.

___

Associated Press writer Valerie Gonzalez contributed.

Owner David Blitzer announced the hire less than 48 hours after the team’s regular season ended without a playoff appearance. Mehta was an assistant when the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup each of the past two years.

“We quickly realized this job was in high demand and were incredibly fortunate to meet with many qualified candidates," Blitzer said. "Sunny’s familiarity with our organization and experience with a two-time Stanley Cup-winning team are characteristics that will serve as a foundation for future success. Our expectations are to be a perennial playoff team and compete for the Stanley Cup, and I look forward to Sunny leading us there.”

Mehta, 48, established the NHL's first full-fledged analytics department when he joined his home-state Devils in 2014 and worked for them through 2018. He spent time with Washington before going to Florida.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, who also had a vacancy after firing Brad Treliving late last month, also showed interest in Mehta, given their interest in a numbers-driven GM. The Devils beat Toronto the punch.

Raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey, Mehta grew up a Devils fan. He had a career as a professional poker player and worked in finance before getting into hockey.

“I knew this was the place I wanted to be,” Mehta said, thanking the Panthers for the chance to take the next step in his career. “New Jersey has a tremendous young core that will be looking to get back to being a contender, a complement of young assets and draft picks, and a passionate fan base hungry for success.”

The Devils parted ways with longtime GM Tom Fitzgerald late in the season. The future of coach Sheldon Keefe is not clear, though he guided the team to the playoffs in his first year in charge.

Mehta takes over at an important time for the franchise, with U.S. Olympic hero Jack Hughes at the center of a young core and captain Nico Hischier eligible to sign an extension as soon as July 1.

“I’m focusing on playing hockey here,” Hischier said about it the morning after Fitzgerald left. "I still have one more year. I’m with the Devils right now, and then we’ll see what happens."

If he is able to trade defenseman Dougie Hamilton this summer after his $7.4 million roster bonus is paid, it will clear up valuable salary cap space to use to improve the forward group.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

In his testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, kicking off an expected sprint of seven budget hearings he'll attend across congressional committees and subcommittees over the next week, Kennedy emphasized the administration's work to reform dietary guidelines and crack down on waste, fraud and abuse.

Republicans on the committee praised Kennedy as a “breath of fresh air” and asked him to promote his department's recent actions. Democrats, who have been furious over Kennedy's sweeping overhaul of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, largely had a different agenda.

They needled Kennedy on what they viewed as the Trump administration’s hypocrisy on fraud, demanded to know why he was cutting budgets for various programs and slammed his efforts to pull back vaccine recommendations and messaging, which they said have caused unnecessary deaths.

Kennedy fired back, often raising his voice as he accused the Democrats of misrepresenting his work and past statements.

Here are three standout moments from Thursday's hearing:

A standoff over measles

One heated exchange early in the hearing came between Kennedy and Rep. Linda Sanchez. The California Democrat decried recent measles outbreaks across the U.S. and asked Kennedy to answer for the fact that under his leadership, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pulled back public health messaging supporting vaccination.

“As a mother, this horrifies me,” Sanchez said. “Did President Trump approve your decision to end CDC’s pro-vaccine public messaging campaign?”

Kennedy repeatedly refused to answer, saying first he wanted to respond to the “misstatements that you've made” and later praising the Trump administration's record on preventing measles, although protections against the disease have eroded in some parts of the country as vaccination rates have dropped.

“That's not answering my question,” Sanchez said as the two talked over each other.

But Sanchez also got Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist before he entered politics, to acknowledge that a 6-year-old who died of measles last year in West Texas could have potentially been saved with vaccination.

“Do you agree with the majority of doctors that the measles vaccine could have saved that child’s life in Texas?” she asked.

“It's possible, certainly,” Kennedy said.

RFK Jr. denies talking about Black children being ‘re-parented’

A fight erupted between Kennedy and Rep. Terri Sewell, a Democrat from Alabama, when Kennedy vehemently denied making remarks he'd said in 2024.

The comments dated back to when Kennedy was a presidential candidate. On the “High Level Conversations” podcast in 2024, he said, “Psychiatric drugs — which every Black kid is now just standard put on Adderall, SSRIs, benzos, which are known to induce violence, and those kids are going to have a chance to go somewhere and get re-parented to live in a community where there'll be no cellphones, no screens, you'll actually have to talk to people."

“Have you ever re-parented, or parented, I should say, a Black child?” Sewell asked, as her staff held up a poster featuring an abbreviated version of the quote.

“I don't even know what that phrase means,” Kennedy said. “I'm not going to answer something I didn't say.”

“You're making stuff up,” he later claimed.

A recording of the podcast shows he made the comments during a conversation about free rehabilitation facilities he was proposing opening at the time in rural areas around the country.

HHS spokesperson Emily Hilliard said Kennedy before joining the administration was referring to spaces where young people facing alienation, mental health challenges and despair could get re-parented, which she said was a psychotherapy term for “developing the emotional regulation, discipline, boundaries, and self-worth that may not have been established in childhood.”

For Kennedy and his former party, civility is the exception

Kennedy spent most of his life as a Democrat, the scion of one of the nation's most famous political families. Both Republicans and Democrats during the hearing began their remarks by expressing their admiration of Kennedy's relatives, among them former President John F. Kennedy.

But again and again throughout Thursday's hearing, the fraying of bonds between Kennedy and his former party was on full display as spiteful comments were passed back and forth.

The health secretary grew defensive and visibly agitated. He repeatedly criticized Democratic lawmakers for not giving him a word in edgewise.

“They've all shut me up,” Kennedy said at one point. “They give a little speech that they can go and market, you know, for fundraising, and they don't allow me to answer the question.”

On a few rare occasions, the exchanges were civil. One representative, Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, used humor to make that happen.

“I promise to give you easy, comfortable questions if you don't yell at me and hurt my feelings,” she told Kennedy. He promised he wouldn't.

__

An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Kennedy's remarks about Black children were made last year. He made the remarks in 2024.

Around $200 million in public safety funding is at risk for Houston, Dallas and Austin, with Houston facing the biggest potential loss of state funding.

On Monday, Abbott’s office told the state’s largest city that the state will withdraw around $110 million in public safety grants, if it does not repeal an ordinance limiting coordination between police and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents.

Abbott’s office followed that on Thursday with similar letters to Austin — warning the city that around $2.5 million in similar funding could be at risk — and Dallas, which stands to lose more than $32 million in grants, as well as more than $55 million in World Cup public safety funding.

Some cities have also been under legal scrutiny from Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office, which said their policies violate Senate Bill 4, a state law that bans local governments from adopting measures that “materially limit” immigration enforcement.

“Cities in Texas are expected to make the streets safer, not more deadly,” Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott’s spokesperson, said in a statement.

Mahaleris didn’t immediately respond to the Tribune’s questions about whether the governor’s office has sent similar letters to any other local governments.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson pushed back against Abbott’s threat in a public statement, saying that the city’s policy is consistent with SB 4 and only provides clarity for officers when they interact with immigration officers.

“The City of Austin has made great progress on public safety — but our APD officers do not have the capacity — and should not be asked — to do the jobs of other entities,” Watson said. “There is great irony that the state would try to punish the City for providing services that keep Austinites safe by threatening grants that keep Austin safe.”

The Austin Current reported that Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into the Austin Police Department’s immigration policy, which it revised after the January detention and alleged deportation of a Honduran woman and her 5-year-old child sparked community backlash.

Meanwhile, it’s not clear whether Dallas is also being investigated by Paxton’s office, which didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

In response to Abbott’s letter, Dallas spokesperson Rick Ericson said: “We remain committed to complying with all applicable state and federal laws while continuing to prioritize public safety for the residents of Dallas, and ensuring our officers have the resources and support necessary to effectively serve the community.”

Meanwhile, Houston Mayor John Whitmire — who voted for the ordinance targeted by Abbott — called the governor’s threat a “crisis situation” and immediately pushed for a special city council meeting to reconsider the measure. But while Whitmire received an extended deadline from the governor’s office, Houston was also slapped with a lawsuit from Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office Thursday over the same issue.

Whitmire’s office didn’t immediately respond to a comment request about Paxton’s lawsuit.

Councilmember Alejandra Salinas, who spearheaded Houston’s ordinance, called on city leaders to “vigorously defend” the ordinance and residents’ constitutional rights. Prior to Paxton’s lawsuit, she had already been calling on the city to challenge Abbott’s threat in court.

“It’s no longer a question about whether the City should go to court. We’re already there,” Salinas said. “The Mayor and City Council must vigorously defend the law we voted for and that the City Attorney deemed legal. I stand ready to work with my colleagues to defend our laws and protect Houstonians’ constitutional rights.”

Workers who earn tips and overtime are seeing bigger returns this tax season, but those savings and others resulting from the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that Trump signed last year have been eaten away by higher gas pricesdriven by the Iran war.

The president recalled in his remarks how a woman in Las Vegas gave him the idea to make tips tax-free, a move that he said is now helping “thousands of Nevada waiters and waitresses, casino dealers, bartenders, bellmen, barbers, caddies."

“Every single American at every income level has more money in their pockets this week because of the Republican tax policies,” Trump said. “And we got to win the midterms. If we don't, these policies are going to be taken away from you.”

The president’s rare trip out West comes as Trump faces growing political pressure to wrap up the war and focus on a message that helps his party as they try to defend their congressional majorities in November’s elections. Trump insisted before departing from the White House for Las Vegas that gas prices were “not very high” compared with what he thought they would be because of the Iran war.

On Friday, Trump will hold an event in Phoenix with conservative political group Turning Point USA. But his first stop is in Las Vegas where he will hold a roundtable with several police officers who have benefited from new tax breaks on overtime, along with a barber and a casino pit supervisor, who got to claim the new tax breaks on tips.

The Treasury Department said Wednesday that the average tax refund this year has been over $3,400, up about $340 from a year ago.

Vegas, once known for affordable living, feels economic pain

In Las Vegas, the entertainment industry has been the city's financial lifeblood and many workers depend on gratuities from visitors.

But it’s also a city of commuters, including the tipped workers who drive to their jobs at glitzy casinos. Gasoline is averaging $5 a gallon in Las Vegas, up 28% from a year ago, according to AAA.

Nicholas Delaney, an airline attendant who lives in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson and said he did not vote for the president in 2024, said he thinks Trump is doing a “terrible” job when it comes to the cost of living. He thought the tax break for tips was a good policy, but is concerned about the cost of groceries and gas.

“I gotta spend over $100 for a full tank of gas, 13 gallons? Crazy,” Delaney said.

Paula Goodman, a bartender in a Henderson casino, said the cost of living is her biggest concern right now, adding that she spends more than $400 a week on groceries for her family.

But Goodman, who voted for the president, said she thought he is “doing a pretty good damn job,” and doesn’t blame him for high gas prices, which she portrayed as just a fluctuation. As a bartender, she said she personally appreciated the tax savings on tips she brings home.

“Every little penny nowadays is, like, huge,” she said. “You’ve seen diesel, right? $6.11.”

Tax refunds are offset by gas prices

The White House said Trump is focused on tax cuts, deregulation and boosting U.S. energy production to drive down prices, and describes high gas prices as a temporary disruption from the war in Iran.

“Tens of millions of Americans are benefiting this tax season from the president’s signature provisions” in the tax law, said White House spokesman Kush Desai, saying that shows “how the administration hasn’t lost focus on delivering on our affordability agenda at home.”

Even so, the conflict has made things less affordable. The Bank of America Institute looked at its deposit and spending data and in a Tuesday analysis concluded that “the average increase in tax refunds could cover the average increase in gasoline spending for at least five months.”

Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide, the insurance and financial services company, said last week in an analysis that “the steep rise in gasoline prices looks likely to completely offset the increased tax funds windfall with households,” stressing that the money back would likely prevent a sharper drop in consumer spending.

Trump's economic message focusing on the tax breaks has also been drowned out this week by distractions from the president himself, who angered even some of his own supporters when he got into a public fight with the pope and posted a now-deleted image on social media depicting himself as Jesus.

GOP strategist Ron Bonjean said among Republicans, “the frustration and concern is growing every week about whether or not we will be able to hold onto the House this November.”

It takes a lot of repetition for a message like promoting the tax bill to break through to voters, but Trump’s tendency to drift into other subjects can dilute that, Bonjean said. Trump, who has at times dismissed affordability concerns as “a hoax,” and “con job” from Democrats, has to acknowledge the economic realities people are facing now if he wants to help his party this November, Bonjean said.

“He absolutely has to talk about his plan to bring down high gasoline costs, or else he’s lost his own message. It won’t be credible just to talk about no taxes on tips,” Bonjean said.

When will gas prices come down?

While the president has said he thinks the war with Iran will end soon, a deal to resolve it has not yet emerged, with the U.S. and Iran still proffering stances that are far apart.

Trump on Sunday said in a Fox News Channel interview that gas prices “could be the same or maybe a little bit higher” by the November midterms.

By Wednesday, in another Fox News interview, Trump walked back that comment. “I think they'll be much lower” before the election, on the assumption the war will be long over.

“When that’s settled, gas prices are going to go down tremendously,” Trump said.

Hours later at the White House, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was less rosy, predicting that gas prices will fall sometime this summer, depending on how the negotiations with Iran go.

“I’m optimistic that sometime between June 20th and September 20th, that we can have $3 gas again,” Bessent told reporters.

Joe Spica, a Democratic candidate for the state legislature and a steward of The Culinary Workers Union, which represents about 60,000 hospitality workers in Las Vegas and Reno, said Las Vegas workers are feeling belt-tightening that is happening all over, because that means fewer visitors to Las Vegas, and fewer tips for workers.

“Something has to change, and it has to change fast,” Spica, a bellman at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, said at a news conference Thursday organized by the union and the Nevada Democratic Party.

“The policies of this administration are hurting Las Vegas,” he said.

___

Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.

Robert Downey Jr. was there to introduce the trailer for the film, which brings together the Avengers and the X-Men together in a Marvel Studios film for the first time.

“What I want to do is give away like 30,000 spoilers right now,” Downey said.

He’s returning to the franchise not as Iron Man, but as the main antagonist Victor Von Doom, or Doctor Doom.

Kevin Feige said they’ll be re-releasing “Avengers: Endgame” in September in the lead up to “Doomsday,” which, he said, “picks up where ‘Endgame’ left off.” It opens on Dec. 18.

“I think we might have nailed it,” Downey said.

Evans said he’d only come back if there was a good reason, and Doctor Doom was a good reason.

Grogu and Mando hunt warlords

“The Mandalorian and Grogu” director Jon Favreau showed the audience the opening of the first Star Wars movie in seven years. The film, which opens on May 22, begins with a title card saying the Galactic Empire has fallen and ex-warlords remain scattered throughout and, in the Outer Rim, the Mandalorian and Grogu hunt them down.

The sequence shows a one man, and child, battle against one such ex-warlord, with a big fight on a snowy cliff as they attempt to take down what looks like AT-AT walkers. Later, Sigourney Weaver’s character scolds the bounty hunter for his messy job, which left the target dead and them with no new information.

She also proposes a new mission, which would put him back in the orbit of the Hutts, with Jabba’s heir Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White).

“’Star Wars’ made me fall in love with movies,” Favreau said. “I hope that our excitement and love and joy of Star Wars translates to a new generation of fans.”

He said that there are over 49 minutes of sequences filmed for large format screens.

Woody and Buzz make their CinemaCon debut

Tom Hanks and Tim Allen made an appearance on behalf of “Toy Story 5,” in what is apparently their first time ever at CinemaCon. The two actors joked about seeing footage of them voicing Woody and Buzz for the original film, which came out in 1995, and saying they look like their grandkids.

Hanks said one of his iconic lines, “you are a toy” and Allen responded with one of his, “you are a sad, strange little man.”

They also showed a new scene showing Woody’s arrival back to Bonnie’s house after his adventures with Bo Peep. The film opens on June 19.

Dwayne Johnson introduces the new Moana

Dwane Johnson helped close out the presentation to promote the live-action “Moana,” in which he reprises his role as Maui.

He said his character was inspired by his grandfather, holding up a picture of him on his phone, describing him as charismatic with a “wicked sense of humor” and a “one of a kind spirit.” He also loved to sing. Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” he said, was a favorite.

The new Moana, Catherine Laga’aia, also appeared on stage with Johnson.

“I grew up watching ‘Moana’ with my family,” she said. “I can’t believe I had this experience.”

A powerhouse studio at the box office

Disney releases dominated the box office in 2025 with nearly $2.5 billion in domestic ticket sales and $6.6 billion globally with hits like “Lilo & Stitch,”“Zootopia 2” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” A box office driver for many years, it's fitting that Disney is closing CinemaCon.

Already this year, Disney has boosted the box office with its original Pixar hit “Hoppers,” which has made over $355 million globally to date. Kicking off the summer movie season, which begins the first weekend in May, is not a Marvel movie, however. It’s a legacy sequel from their 20th Century Studios: “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” Gird your loins.

Disney's impact on the exhibition industry cannot be understated. Last year its releases made up over 27.5% of the annual domestic box office alone. The studio also has a 60-day exclusive theatrical window, the most robust in Hollywood.

The Walt Disney Co. is facing its own challenges too. On Tuesday, the company began mass layoffs in its ranks, expected to total around 1,000 with some of the cuts coming from the movie studio and its marketing department.

Orson Welles once said, “if you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.” And, so, for an exhibition industry that operates on small margins, and with the box office still down around 20% from its pre-pandemic norms, Disney is about as close as the conference can get to going out on a high note.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said in a federal court filing Thursday that it has completed its review of the Second Avenue subway line project, and will begin reimbursing state transit officials again for construction costs.

Janno Lieber, MTA's CEO, said the reversal means “long-awaited transit justice” will soon come to neighborhoods in upper reaches of Manhattan. The Second Avenue subway project is building new stations northward along Manhattan’s Upper East Side, bringing subway service to parts of the Harlem neighborhood.

“It shouldn’t have taken seven months and a lawsuit to get here," he said in a statement.

The federal Department of Transportation said the agreement means taxpayers' “hard-earned dollars will not fund unconstitutional DEI initiatives,” referring to diversity, equity, and inclusion principles. The administration argued that use of DEI principles has led to soaring costs on federal projects and is unconstitutional.

“This has always been about securing the best deal for the American taxpayer and ensuring their dollars are spent efficiently and fairly,” the agency said in a statement.

Lieber, addressing reporters later Thursday, called the dispute "an “unnecessary waste of the public's time and money” since the state agency was complying with the administration's new rules regarding minority and women-owned businesses in federal projects.

“The whole point was they sent us a letter saying we didn't make the standards of the new rules before they even issued the new rules,” he said. “It was just a bunch of gamesmanship.”

The USDOT had withheld roughly $60 million from the Second Avenue project as it launched its review. Overall, the project is supposed to cost $7.7 billion, with the federal government covering around $3.4 billion.

The dispute over the Second Avenue subway was among a number of major transportation projects in New York and New Jersey that Trump has sought to scuttle as he feuded with Democratic leaders in those states.

The administration in October also halted billions of dollars in funding for a massive new rail tunnel between New York and New Jersey. A federal judge in February, however, ordered federal officials to resume payments for the tunnel project under the Hudson River.

Last year, the USDOT rescinded approval for New York's first-in-the-nation congestion fee and threatened to pull funding from the state if it did not abandon the toll, which is imposed on drivers entering the busiest part of Manhattan.

But a federal judge ruled last month that the agency lacked the authority to unilaterally rescind approval of the $9 fee.

Moses Johnson said his family has grown increasingly frustrated over the lack of progress in prosecuting the person who shot and killed his son, also named Moses Johnson, in June 2020.

Nearly six years later, the case has yet to go to trial.

“I’ve been waiting and waiting, going on six years — nothing,“ Johnson said. ”It’s frustrating. I don’t know what’s going on, but somebody needs to do something about it.”

Court records show the case has faced a series of legal setbacks and delays. In 2023, a judge suppressed key evidence. An appeals court overturned that ruling in 2024, allowing the evidence to be used.

The defense then appealed to the state’s highest criminal court, which agreed in January 2025 to review the case. More than a year later, that review is still pending.

The family said the teen left home that day to pick up a pair of shoes from a friend who lived nearby. The friend had prior issues with a man identified by police as Gilberto Perez.

Johnson said the group was walking along a street when Perez got into a vehicle, turned around and approached them. An argument followed, and shots were fired.

The teen died at the scene.

Johnson said the lack of communication from prosecutors has added to the family’s frustration.

“My question is, why can’t you sit down and talk to us, give us that kind of information?” he said. “Why can’t we just pick up the phone and know what’s going on?”

Despite the delays, the family said they will continue pushing for answers and accountability.

“We’re still waiting,” Johnson said. “We want answers. We want justice.”

The DA’s office said it has been in contact with the Johnson family and empathizes with the family for the frustrations about the lengthy process, in a statement to KSAT, but said it remains committed to supporting the family.

The Bexar County District Attorney’s Office has kept Moses’ next of kin informed about our team’s filing of the appeal, why it was being filed, and its pending status through both in-person notifications and text messages. Once a case enters the appeals process, the scheduling and review are at the discretion of the appellate court, which is beyond our control.

“Currently, the case is under review by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, and we remain hopeful for a favorable outcome when the opinion is issued.

“We understand that this process can take a significant amount of time, and we empathize with the frustration that Moses’ family may be feeling. However, our commitment to supporting the family during this challenging period remains strong, and we will provide them with updates as soon as they become available.”

Bexar County District Attorney's Office

The Johnson family said it has not heard from the office since 2023, and when they went last week to get answers, they weren’t given any.

Perez has been in the Bexar County jail since his July 2020 arrest. If he goes to trial and is convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

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Juan R. Gonzalez, 52, received a 37-month prison sentence for tax evasion on Wednesday.

Gonzalez owned and operated a San Antonio residential construction business called Gonzalez Construction, working as a subcontractor for other entities.

In 2020 and 2021, the DOJ said Gonzalez “organized his personal and business financial activities so as to evade the assessment of his federal income taxes.”

Gonzalez used tactics including commingling funds, dealing extensively in cash, using a nominee name and more in an effort to “mislead or conceal,” the DOJ said.

He did not file tax returns for 2020 or 2021, when he earned around $1,030,079 in taxable income, resulting in a tax liability of around $370,752.64.

The DOJ said Gonzalez was previously convicted of tax evasion in 2011 and was indicted in May 2025 on 22 counts, including two counts of tax evasion, 18 counts of structuring currency transactions and two counts of identity theft.

He pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion on Jan. 7. A judge also ordered Gonzalez to pay the owed money in restitution to the IRS.

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• Balcones Heights mayor sues city over alleged retaliation

Aberg moved ahead of Harris English and Viktor Hovland with an 8-iron to about 15 feet on the back corner of the green on the par-3 17th and made the birdie. He closed with a par, pleasing because he felt that 8-iron confirmed how well he was swinging the club.

Houston Open champion Gary Woodland, Matt Fitzpatrick and Rickie Fowler were in the group of players at 65.

Masters champion Rory McIlroy skipped this $20 million signature event for the second straight year, having said Harbour Town doesn’t suit him.

Scottie Scheffler, the runner-up last week at Augusta after a 65-68 finish, had a shocking start. His first tee shot was out-of-bounds on the right. He didn't know out-of-bounds was over there.

“It was looking like it was going to hit those trees and I guess it flew right through them and then hit path and went out-of-bounds,” Scheffler said. “Thumbs up for the start. It was a good bogey.”

That it was, a 12-foot putt to limit the damage, followed by a par save on the next hole and then it was business as usual in the tougher afternoon conditions for a 68.

Aberg had a disappointing week at Augusta National by his standards — a tie for 21st, his first time out of the top 10 in three appearances at the Masters.

“I felt like I was playing well but made some silly mistakes that prevented me from having a real chance,” Aberg said. “But I also felt like in the grand scheme of things, I was swinging it nice, I was moving it nice, so I didn’t have to prepare that much in terms of my golf swing on Monday through Wednesday, and I felt like good golf was in there.”

The challenge for Aberg and the other 52 players who were in the Masters was to stay sharp inside the ropes on an island that makes this tournament feel like a working vacation.

Hovland is feeling less stressful more because of his swing, instead of the week at the Masters when he made a big run up the leaderboard on Sunday only to catch the wrong gust at the wrong time that led to double bogey on the 15th hole. He still shot 67.

Hovland doesn't feel he's all the way back with his swing, but he found enough signs of progress to believe he is getting close. He played bogey-free for a 64 that featured no birdies on the three par 5s.

“The whole year I've been working really hard, and I think now that I’m seeing my game progress and get closer to where I want it to be, I can start to relax a little bit more and focus on kind of the recovery aspect of things,” Hovland said.

English also played bogey-free for his 64, finishing with a birdie to a front pin over the bunker.

Davis Love III refurbished the fabled course to restore greens to their original design, but players felt it looked the same. And it played the same — opportunity from the fairway, trouble otherwise as Scheffler and others discovered.

Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood each opened with a 76.

The toughest day belonged to someone who didn't even play. Brooks Koepka was the first alternate and showed up at Hilton Head in case someone withdrew. That typically means a two-hour wait in the morning, taking a break, and waiting some two hours during the afternoon wave.

Bad news for Brooks — this signature event has players in twosomes off the first tee, one right after the other. He was at the course about 6:45 a.m. (the first tee time was 7 a.m.) and could not leave until the last group teed off at 2:10 p.m.

There were three alternates on property — Keith Mitchell and Taylor Moore — because if Koepka got in, the stipulation for his return from LIV Golf was two additional players added to the field.

Morikawa seemed to be the best hope with his back that first went bad at The Players Championship. But he played the Masters with some trepidation and tied for seventh, and he played bogey-free at Harbour Town for a 66.

___

This version corrects the two other alternates were Keith Mitchell and Taylor Moore.

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

In their first news conference since returning to Earth, the three Americans and one Canadian said their lunar flyby puts NASA in a much better position for a moon landing by a crew in two years and an eventual moon base. They spoke from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, their home base.

Commander Reid Wiseman later told The Associated Press that he’s been so busy since getting back that he hasn’t had time to gaze up at the moon, let alone Carroll Crater, the name suggested by the crew for a bright lunar crater in honor of his late wife. They shared two daughters whose anxieties and fears over their father’s journey ended with his safe splashdown late last week.

“Being 252,000 miles away from home was the most majestic, gorgeous thing that human eyes will ever witness,” he said in an interview with the AP. But hurtling back through the atmosphere at 39 times the speed of sound, “that is scary and that is risky.” That’s why he yearned for home midway through his flight. “You just want to hold your kids and you just want them to know that you’re safe.”

Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canada’s Jeremy Hansen launched to the moon from Florida on April 1, NASA’s first lunar crew in more than a half-century and by far the most diverse.

They became the most distant travelers ever — breaking Apollo 13's record — as they whipped around the lunar far side, illuminated enough to reveal features never viewed before by the human eye. The sight of a total lunar eclipse added to the wonderment.

Their Orion capsule, which they named Integrity, parachuted into the Pacific last Friday to close out the nearly 10-day voyage. Artemis II's Houston homecoming the next day coincided with the 56th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 13.

Wiseman said he and Glover “maybe saw two moments of a touch of char loss” to the heat shield as Integrity plunged through the fastest, hottest part of reentry. Once aboard the recovery ship, they peered at the bottom of the capsule as best they could, leaning over to view any signs of damage. They spotted a little loss of charred material on the shoulder, where the heat shield meets the capsule.

“For four humans just looking at the heat shield, it looked wonderful to us. It looked great, and that ride in was really amazing,” Wiseman said.

He cautioned that detailed analyses still need to be conducted. “We are going to fine-tooth comb every single, not even every molecule, probably every atom on this heat shield," he said.

The heat shield on the first Artemis test flight in 2022 — with no one aboard — came back so pockmarked and gouged that it pushed Artemis II back by months if not years. Instead of redoing it, NASA opted to change the capsule's entry path to minimize heating. Future capsules will sport a new design.

As the parachutes released right before splashdown, Glover said he felt like he was in freefall — like diving backward off a skyscraper. “That’s what it felt like for five seconds,” he said, adding when the ride smoothed out: “It was glorious.”

Since their return, the four astronauts have endured round after round of medical testing to check their balance, vision, muscle strength and coordination, and overall health. They even put on spacewalking suits for exercises under conditions simulating the moon’s one-sixth gravity of Earth to see how much endurance and dexterity future moonwalkers might have upon lunar touchdown.

NASA already is working on Artemis III, the next step in its grand moon base-building plans. The platform from which the rocket launches headed back Thursday to Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be prepped for next year’s Artemis launch.

Still awaiting an assigned crew, Artemis III will remain in orbit around Earth as astronauts practice docking their Orion capsule with one or two lunar landers in development by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.

Artemis IV will follow in 2028 under NASA’s latest schedule, with two astronauts landing near the moon’s south pole.

NASA is aiming for a sustainable moon presence this time around. During the Apollo moonshots, astronauts kept their visits short. Twelve astronauts explored the lunar surface, beginning with Apollo 11’s Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969 and ending with Apollo 17’s Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt in 1972.

Koch said that since returning, she and her crewmates are “feeling even more excited and just ready to take that on as an agency.”

“We made it happen,” she added.

Everyone will need to accept extra risk to achieve all this and trust that any future problems can be figured out in real time, Hansen noted. “We’re not going to be able to pound everything flat before we go. We're going to have to trust each other," he said.

While everything went smoothly for them, “it was also very clear to us that it can get pretty bumpy,” he said. Future crews will have to "understand it can get real bumpy real fast.”

___

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.

For veterans in San Antonio, the post is more than just a historic building. It is a place where generations come together to remember, heal and support one another.

For Monica Morris, that mission is personal.

Morris is the first female commander of the historic post. She is also a survivor of the Sept. 11 attack on the Pentagon.

She said those memories are still difficult to revisit.

“It was just a really traumatic experience. Helped a couple people get out of the Pentagon. Was just a really bad day,” Morris said.

Morris said experiences like that are exactly why VFW posts remain important.

“The VFW posts are a safe haven for our combat veterans … it’s a place where you can feel comfortable because you’re with people that have experienced similar events,” Morris said.

Veterans say that support system is especially meaningful because it allows people from different backgrounds and generations to connect through shared experiences.

“There are people that look like me that come to places like this,” said Ann Rebollar, U.S. Army Medical Service Corps officer veteran.

“We also supporting each other as veteran communities,” Rebollar said.

For retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Robert Trujillo, the post reflects something much bigger about the American story.

“Freedom isn’t free,” Trujillo said. “We lost a lot of veterans. We have a lot veterans that are ill. We have lot of aging veterans. We have young veterans. Everybody brings something to the plate, and we can’t forget.”

As America approaches its 250th birthday, veterans at VFW Post 76 say places like this ensure the sacrifices behind that freedom are never forgotten.

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No one was arrested after more than a half dozen drone sightings around Coors Field April 3 to April 5, but it is possible the drone pilots could still face a fine later. Still the Federal Aviation Administration and FBI issued a warning Thursday to try to keep drones away from the stadium during the Rockies' next home games because they are concerned about the potential threat they pose.

“The illegal drone activity did not jeopardize anyone’s safety, but there were enough violations that the teams on the ground were concerned about the number of operators that did not seem to understand the seriousness of the situation. Thus the proactive messaging,” FBI spokeswoman Vikki Migoya said.

The FAA routinely restricts the airspace around major sporting events to protect the crowds and make sure the game can be played without interruptions.

The greatest fear is that someone could use a drone in a terrorist attack that could be just as deadly as the drone attacks that have become common on the battlefields of the Ukraine and Iran wars. That is why the federal government and World Cup host cities are investing hundreds of millions in drone defenses ahead of those games.

But even without a threat like that, Migoya said the problem is that illegal drone activity distracts law enforcement.

“Every instance of illegal drone activity requires a law enforcement intervention to ensure the intent is not nefarious; the fewer violations there are, the more law enforcement can focus on what might be a true threat,” she said.

All the airspace within 3 miles of Coors Field is restricted starting one hour before a game and continuing for one hour after a baseball or football game. Pilots are responsible for checking those restrictions before they fly.

The FAA said that drone operators who violated the restrictions could face fines up to $75,000 per violation and even lose their licenses.

Drones are also required to broadcast their locations. But authorities have other methods available to track down the operators.

A new survey from CouponCabin reveals that 63% of consumers admit to spending money they didn’t have just to attend social events.

Even more concerning, 15% say they’ve accumulated more than $2,000 in debt trying to keep up with friends, parties and experiences.

“FOMO, or as you may know, the fear of missing out, is super common in today’s world,” said CouponCabin Chief Savings Expert Melanie Lowe. “And it doesn’t come without a price tag.”

Lowe said social media is only fueling the problem.

The survey found that 86% of Americans have spent money directly due to social pressure.

“I think because we can see what people are doing, we can see the events, we could see, you know, this person’s wedding, person’s birthday party,” Lowe said, “it almost makes you feel more obligated to attend the event.”

While 42% of respondents admit to splurging on trips they couldn’t afford, the real budget-buster may be those everyday outings.

“It’s not really necessarily these large events, these big vacations that we’re going on,” Lowe said. “It could be something as simple as buying a gift for a friend’s party. And, when you have multiple events like that throughout the year, it can really add up.”

Lowe recommends prioritizing the people and events that matter most, while looking for ways to save where possible.

The goal isn’t to miss out entirely, but to participate in a way that doesn’t jeopardize your financial health.

“It is OK to say no to some of these events,” Lowe said. “If you know that you cannot afford something, you can say no and you don’t need to feel guilty about it.”

She also suggests proposing alternatives, like lower-cost get-togethers, instead of skipping social time altogether.

For a look at the CouponCabin survey, click here.

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The arch is one of several projects the Republican president is pursuing alongside a White House ballroom to leave his lasting imprint on Washington.

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, whose members were appointed by Trump, approved the design concept for three projects: the arch, a plan to paint the gray granite exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, and construction of an underground facility to conduct security screenings of tourists and other guests.

It's the first step in the commission's process. The federal agency next will review updated designs for all three projects at a future meeting before taking any final votes.

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said the action by the commission is "another step in accomplishing President Trump’s promise to the American people from the campaign trail — to Make America Safe and Beautiful Again.”

Triumphal Arch

The arch itself would stand 250 feet tall (76 meters) from its base to a torch held aloft by a Lady Liberty-like figure atop the structure. That figure would be flanked up top by two eagles and guarded at the base by four lions — all gilded. The phrases “One Nation Under God” and “Liberty and Justice for All" would be inscribed in gold lettering atop either side of the monument.

A public observation deck on top would provide 360-degree views of the surroundings.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum pitched the arch in a statement he personally delivered at the meeting, saying that long-ago plans for Columbia Island, the federal land where the arch would rise, called for a monument to be built there. But those plans fell by the wayside, he said, allowing the plot to become a “barren" and “grass-covered” traffic circle in need of adornment.

His department oversees the National Park Service, which manages the land where the arch would be built. Burgum said Washington is the only major Western world capital without such an arch.

But at 250 feet tall, the arch would dwarf the Lincoln Memorial, which is 99 feet (30 meters) tall, and be close to half the height of the Washington Monument, an obelisk that is about 555 feet (169 meters) tall. Three of four people who delivered public comment at the meeting opposed the arch, largely because of its size. The commission received about 1,000 written comments, all opposing the project, according to its secretary Thomas Luebke.

The commission’s vice chairman, architect James McCrery II, said he preferred the arch without the figure and eagles on top, which would significantly reduce its height by about 80 feet (24.4 meters). McCrery also objected to the lions on the base, saying they are “not a beast natural to the North American continent." He also sounded opposed to a planned underground tunnel for pedestrian access to the arch.

A group of veterans and a historian has sued in federal court to block construction on the grounds that the arch would disrupt the sightline between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery, among other reasons.

Eisenhower Executive Office Building paint job

Trump dislikes the gray granite exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

“It’s one of the most beautiful buildings anywhere in Washington," he said last year. “I think it’s just incredible, but you have to get past the color because the stone they used was a really bad color.”

The White House presented two proposals to the commission: paint the entire building bright white, or paint most of it white while leaving the granite on the exposed basement and subbasement.

Josh Fisher, a White House official, said the administration prefers painting the entire building, which opened in 1888. He said the exterior is in “great disrepair” and that experts who were consulted could not guarantee that a cleaning would improve the condition.

Public comment, both written and in person, was 100% against the proposed paint job, with opponents arguing that it would harm the granite and fail to solve the problem. Other opponents asserted that the building is beautiful as is.

White House officials have to return at a future date with the results of paint testing, the commission said.

Commissioner Chamberlain Harris, who also is Trump's deputy director of Oval Office Operations, noted that most White House staff work out of the EEOB. She said painting the building white to match the White House would create a “homogenous environment" and help foster a “sense of belonging” for the staff.

The office building sits across a driveway from the West Wing and its granite, slate, and cast iron exterior makes it one of America’s best examples of the French Second Empire style of architecture. It originally housed the departments of State, War and Navy, and currently is home to ceremonial offices for the vice president, offices for the second lady, the National Security Council and other White House offices.

The building is a National Historic Landmark and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the proposed paint job is also the subject of litigation in federal court.

Underground screening center for White House visitors

The U.S. Secret Service, the Interior Department, the National Park Service, and the Executive Office of the President want to start construction in August on a 33,000-square-foot (3,066-square-meter) center to screen tourists and other visitors to the White House.

It would be built beneath Sherman Park, federal land southwest of the White House, to provide a more secure place to screen those going on White House tours or attending events. The new facility would have modern technology and seven lanes to ease processing and reduce wait times.

Officials want it operating by July 2028, six months before Trump’s term ends.

Preston Henry Tolth, 26, could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in federal prison, with credit for three years already served, under the conditions of the proposed agreement.

U.S. District Judge Douglas Rayes asked Tolth during a hearing in Phoenix if he was entering the plea because he was, in fact, guilty.

“Yes, your honor,” Tolth said.

Ella Mae Begay was 62 when she vanished in 2021 from Sweetwater, Arizona, a community in the northern part of the Navajo Nation where she spent her days visiting with relatives and weaving rugs that she sold to nearby trading posts.

In 2022, Begay's niece Seraphine Warren walked from the Navajo Nation to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness about her aunt's disappearance and the high rate of homicides and missing persons cases in Indian Country. Begay's case has drawn national media attention and provided fuel for tribal leaders and victim advocates as they push for more law enforcement resources and cooperation between tribal and federal investigators.

Navajo Nation police identified Tolth, whose father was dating Begay's sister, as a suspect within days of her disappearance.

Under the conditions of the agreement, Tolth acknowledged using force to take Ella Mae Begay’s pickup truck, striking her in the face several times and leaving her on the side of the road before driving away and eventually selling the truck for money and methamphetamine.

Rayes is scheduled in May to review the latest plea agreement, which also protects Tolth from future murder or manslaughter charges in relation to Begay's case.

Members of Begay’s family say prosecutors negotiated the agreement against their wishes and without their input.

Begay’s son, Gerald Begay, took a break from his construction job in Denver to listen to Thursday’s hearing by phone. He told The Associated Press that he plans to attend the next court hearing and ask the judge to reject the plea agreement in hopes that Tolth can be put on trial.

“The prosecutors aren’t thinking about our rights or what we need as a family,” he said.

In an emailed statement, Lennea Montandon, a spokesperson with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the district of Arizona, said the office has complied with federal victims' rights law while prosecuting Tolth and will continue to do so. Tolth's public defender declined to comment on the new agreement.

In a 2021 FBI interrogation, Tolth confessed to attacking Begay in a fit of anger and leaving her for dead. But Rayes dealt prosecutors a major blow by ruling that confession inadmissible in court, saying the FBI agent had unlawfully coerced Tolth into waiving his right to remain silent. In court filings, prosecutors acknowledged that weakened the government’s case significantly.

At a hearing earlier this month, Rayes rejected an earlier agreement that would have released Tolth from federal custody on a sentence of three years of time served in exchange for a guilty plea. The judge's rare move came after Begay's grieving family members testified that Tolth should not walk free without leading investigators to her remains.

“Accountability is not time served,” Begay's niece Seraphine Warren had told the judge. “It’s about truth, and we still don’t have the truth.”

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Peters reported from Edgewood, New Mexico.

Officers called to the home in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Annandale early Thursday found the bodies of Fairfax, 47, and his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, 49, Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis said.

Justin Fairfax fatally shot his wife, a successful dentist, in the basement before going to an upstairs bedroom and killing himself, Davis said. Their son called 911.

One of Justin Fairfax's longtime friends told The Associated Press that he became increasingly despondent after his wife filed for divorce last year. The judge overseeing the divorce recently wrote that his “isolation, drinking, and a lack of participation in family life are manifestations of what seems to be a sense of fatalism and hopelessness.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org

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A turn in fortunes

Less than a decade ago, Justin Fairfax's political career was taking off. He won the race for lieutenant governor in 2017 and seemed poised to become Virginia’s second Black governor two years later when Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam faced widespread calls to resign over a racist photo in his medical school yearbook. Fairfax would have become governor if Northam had stepped down.

But two women came forward accusing Fairfax of sexually assaulting them years earlier.

Fairfax said the encounters, which occurred before he was married, were consensual and refused calls to resign. He tried to run for governor in 2021, but was largely shunned by Virginia Democrats and defeated in the Democratic primary.

A career and marriage fall apart

Cerina Fairfax said in court filings that she and her husband separated nearly two years ago. But they were still living in the same house with their two teenage children, who were both home when the deaths occurred, Davis said.

In a March 30 order, the judge told Justin Fairfax to move out by the end of April, writing “it is clear tensions in the Fairfax home have been extremely high for an extended period of time.”

The judge said in court documents that Justin Fairfax’s “mental and emotional health” suffered after two setbacks: his unsuccessful 2013 campaign for the Democratic nomination for attorney general and the 2019 sexual assault scandal. After both, he drank heavily and withdrew from his family, but while it took about a month to recover from the first setback, he never bounced back from the second.

Cerina Fairfax testified during the divorce proceedings that her husband drank daily, and that his living space was littered with empty wine bottles and piles of dirty laundry. He bought a handgun in 2022 with money intended for horseback riding lessons for their children, court records showed.

Sophia A. Nelson, a Virginia author and journalist who described Justin Fairfax as a close friend, said Thursday that he never moved past the 2019 scandal.

She told the AP that during a group text with her and another friend Tuesday night, he expressed how the recent sexual assault allegations against Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell of California had brought back for him what he continued to insist was an unfair rush to judgment.

Nelson said she and other friends repeatedly asked Fairfax to seek help. She urged him to move out but believes he wasn't able to do so financially.

“I was concerned, as were other close friends, fraternity brothers, family members,” Nelson said. "There were talks of suicidal thoughts.”

Filings show that Justin Fairfax had financial challenges following the sexual assault allegations, which prompted his resignation as a partner at a prestigious law firm. The IRS filed a lien against the couple for more than $91,000 in unpaid taxes that was resolved in 2021.

Nelson said Fairfax was “unemployable” after the scandal and tried to rebuild his legal career, but with a few successes.

Davis, the police chief, said Justin Fairfax was recently served with paperwork telling him when next to appear in court. He said officers went to the family’s home in January after Justin Fairfax alleged that his wife had assaulted him -- but cameras she had set up around the home showed “the alleged assault never occurred.”

Cerina Fairfax had a thriving dental practice

The couple met as undergraduates at Duke University and married in 2006. Cerina Fairfax also attended the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry, which honored her in 2015 as an outstanding alumna.

A profile page on the website of her family dentistry practice described her as an avid reader who liked to travel, practice yoga, go on trail runs with her Vizsla-breed dogs, and “spend time with her wonderful family.”

“It’s very sad for this community,” Davis said. “A lot of people who know the Fairfax family, everybody’s shocked. We’re shocked.”

An outpouring of grief

The deaths stunned political leaders throughout the state.

“We are keeping Cerina and Justin Fairfax’s family — especially their two children — in our prayers as we all process this shocking and horrifying news,” Virginia’s Democratic U.S. senators, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, said in a joint statement.

Fairfax had served as co-chair for Warner’s 2014 reelection campaign.

Virginia's Democratic governor, Abigail Spanberger, posted on X that she was deeply saddened and praying for the families.

“This tragedy reminds us that domestic violence can occur in any family and in any place,” she wrote.

Nelson said that as much as she and Justin Fairfax’s other friends wanted to believe he would never abuse women, killing his wife would be his epitaph and undercut the good and honorable things he had done in public life.

“You now fit what many, many men have done in domestic violence incidences like this,” Nelson said while fighting back tears. “And that’s how you’re remembered.”

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Biesecker reported from Fairfax County, Virginia. Associated Press reporters Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland, Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia, Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington, Allen G. Breed in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed to this report.

“I’ve spent more than two decades guiding on the river, and if a border wall cuts off access, that’s the end of my career,” said Danny William Miller, Jr., a professional river guide and Terlingua resident who is one of the plaintiffs. “No one comes to Big Bend to see steel walls and razor wire. If they build this, they’re not just destroying a landscape, they’re wiping out our way of life.”

Miller, along with the Friends of the Ruidosa Church — a preservation group in the area — and the Center for Biological Diversity, a national nonprofit organization, filed the lawsuit in the Western District of Texas in El Paso.

“While we fully support thoughtful, effective approaches to border safety, building a permanent wall in this unique landscape does nothing to solve local realities,” the group said in a statement. “The rugged terrain, steep canyons, and the Rio Grande itself already serve as natural deterrents and have for generations.”

The lawsuit argues the Trump administration needs Congress’ approval to proceed with its plan because its efforts to build a barrier have “vast economic and political significance.”

Bypassing Congress to waive environmental laws to build a barrier along the Rio Grande, the lawsuit says, violates the “major questions doctrine,” which requires the White House to seek congressional approval before taking sweeping economic actions.

The U.S. Supreme Court cited the doctrine in its rulings against the Trump administration’s tariffs on imports and the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness program.

In February, the Trump administration waived over two dozen environmental laws to clear the way for a 150-mile-long border barrier through West Texas, including Big Bend National Park and the adjoining state park, a rugged and scenic stretch with unscalable canyons along the Rio Grande.

The Border Patrol’s Big Bend Sector, which encompasses 517 miles of the 1,950-mile-long U.S.-Mexico border, has historically been the least busy of the nine sectors. In fiscal year 2025, Border Patrol recorded 3,096 apprehensions in the Big Bend sector — accounting for just 1.3% of the 237,538 apprehensions recorded across the entire U.S.-Mexico border.

The move angered residents and has bipartisan opposition, including from local sheriffs who say the federal government should listen to the needs of local law enforcement officials if it wants to help prevent illegal immigration in the area.

After strong public opposition, the Trump administration has given conflicting messages about whether it plans to build a physical barrier in the area.

As of April 16, a map on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website no longer indicates that a border wall will be constructed in the Big Bend region from Big Bend Ranch State Park — which borders the national park to the west — to the Amistad National Recreation Area in Del Rio. The website indicates the Trump administration plans to install “detection technology” in that area.

A spokesperson for the Border Patrol’s Big Bend Sector previously told Marfa Public Radio that there are “currently no plans for border wall construction” in the state park. But emails obtained by the radio station from Paul Enriquez, an infrastructure director for Border Patrol, say the administration may still build barriers along the Big Bend region in the future.

Meanwhile in Washington, D.C., lawmakers and advocates spoke against the Trump administration’s efforts to erect barriers all along the Texas-Mexico border on Thursday during a news conference.

“Something we don’t have to fight over in Texas is that we love Big Bend. Who the hell came up with this is really my question,” said U.S. Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin. “Just leave it alone, or protect it and cherish it, instead of trying to screw something up that people of all political stripes agree on.”

Gabby Birenbaum contributed to this report

Trout homered for the fifth time during a four-game series on Thursday, crushing a 446-foot drive in the seventh inning for the Los Angeles Angels in an 11-4 victory.

The three-time MVP joined Jimmie Foxx (1933), Darrell Evans (1985) and George Bell (1990) as the fourth player with five homers in a series against the Yankees, according to MLB research.

Trout homered twice on Monday before going deep again in the following two games. In the series finale Thursday, Trout drove a 2-2 slider from reliever Angel Chivilli about halfway up the left field bleachers to give the Angels a 7-4 lead. That drive made Trout the first player to hit five homers in a series in the Bronx.

“I heard that after the game,” Trout said. “It’s pretty surreal. All the great players that came through here, so it’s pretty cool.”

“Honestly, not surprising,” Los Angeles manager Kurt Suzuki said. “When you’re with Mike every day, there’s nothing that you believe that he can’t do."

He also became the first visiting player to homer in four consecutive days at the current Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009.

Trout went 6 for 16 with five homers and nine RBIs in the series. He also has homered in his last five games at Yankee Stadium and drew an intentional walk in his next plate appearance before Jo Adell hit a grand slam.

“At this point it’s vintage Mike Trout,” Adell said. “When he’s healthy and feeling good, there’s nothing like it. It’s special. It’s one of a kind. So for all of us to experience it, it’s special.”

“He’s unbelievable,” Suzuki said. “He really is. It’s been an amazing week for him.”

Trout is hitting .246 with seven homers and 16 RBIs. He is 9 for 27 (.333) with five homers and 13 RBIs on the Angels’ road trip, which coincides with him making a mechanical tweak.

Trout’s career-high homer streak is seven games, achieved Sept. 4-12, 2022. He has homered in four straight games for the fourth time in his career.

Trout’s homer was part of a four-game series that featured four homers from Yankees’ slugger Aaron Judge. Judge homered twice Monday, again on Wednesday and went deep in the first inning in the series finale.

“He’s unreal,” designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton said after the Yankees lost for the seventh time in nine games. “Cool showing from him and Judgie all series. Obviously, you don’t want that against us, but you got to acknowledge the greatness.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time opposing players who owned multiple MVPs hit at least three homers in the same series.

“It was an impressive show by those two,” Suzuki said. ”

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

Doncic played in 64 games and Cunningham played in 63. But the league and the union both agreed that each should be on the ballot based on the “extraordinary circumstances provision” in the collective bargaining agreement.

Doncic — who is one of the favorites to contend for MVP honors after winning the league's scoring title — missed two games to attend the birth of his daughter in Slovenia. Cunningham missed 12 games as a result of a collapsed lung that was diagnosed on March 17.

“The NBA and NBPA agreed that, taking into account the totality of the circumstances for Cunningham and Doncic, each player qualified for awards,” the league and the union said in a statement.

Doncic, in a statement posted to social media, said he is “grateful to the NBPA for advocating on my behalf and to the NBA for their fair decision," adding that it was important to him “to be present for the birth of my daughter in December.”

“This season has been so special to me because of what my teammates and I have been able to accomplish, and I am honored to have the opportunity to be considered for the league’s end-of-season awards,” the statement said.

Minnesota's Anthony Edwards, who played in 60 qualified games, also tried to get on the awards ballot through the extraordinary circumstances challenge — but sought his approval before an independent arbitrator. His challenge was denied.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch — noting that Edwards doesn't get held out to rest — was not pleased about that and said he'd like an explanation.

“I’m not sure why we have a rule if we have an appeal process that is overturned in two-thirds of the cases that were held before," Finch said. “Feels more like a suggestion than a rule.”

The statuses of Doncic and Cunningham were a major topic toward the end of the season. San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama — an MVP candidate and the likely defensive player of the year — got to the 65-game mark in the Spurs' next-to-last game, and Denver's three-time MVP Nikola Jokic became qualified for this year's awards on the final day of the regular season. Jokic has been first or second in MVP balloting in each of the last five seasons and won the league's rebounding and assist titles this season.

And the union — which worked with the league to come up with the 65-game policy — has said it wants the rule changed, saying it was put into place to address load management and not to keep deserving players from awards. That said, many players have spoken out in favor of the rule.

“I would say it's an opportunity for us to reevaluate the rule in itself,” NBPA President Fred VanVleet of the Houston Rockets said.

VanVleet — speaking in a video posted by the union and filmed ahead of Thursday's news — said he thinks voters should be able to make decisions for All-NBA and other awards on a case-by-case basis.

Nuggets coach David Adelman said last week that he hopes the 65-game rule is changed, somehow, this summer. He said if players like Jokic can play 64 games, never wanting to come out, and not be award-eligible, then something is wrong.

“That’s not the spirit of what that rule is,” Adelman said.

A number of players will be ineligible for most major individual awards this season because of the 65-game rule, including the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James — whose 21-year streak of making an All-NBA team will end. Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Golden State’s Stephen Curry have also missed too many games to be eligible.

With the decisions on Doncic, Cunningham and Edwards now complete, the NBA sent ballots to the panel of reporters and broadcasters who cover the league on Thursday — a few days behind the typical schedule from recent years.

It's unclear when the announcement of award winners will begin.

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

Sarah Acosta got a preview of some of the food coming to the Fiesta favorite this weekend from chef Pieter at NOLA Restaurant, who was busy preparing beignets, boudin balls and red beans and rice ahead of the festival.

>> 🎊 ¡Viva! Your guide to Fiesta 2026 in San Antonio

A Taste of New Orleans kicks off Friday at the Sunken Garden Theater. The three-day event features live music, family activities and plenty of New Orleans-style food, including gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish, Cajun catfish and sweet treats.

This year marks the event’s 40th anniversary.

Pieter said dishes like beignets and boudin balls are always crowd favorites, giving people a little taste of New Orleans without leaving San Antonio.

Organizers say proceeds from the event help support scholarships and community programs through the San Antonio Zulu Association.

Taste of New Orleans runs from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, from noon to 11 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 10 p.m. Sunday. Food and drinks are purchased separately inside the event.

More Fiesta coverage on KSAT.com:

• For San Antonio medal collectors during Fiesta, the chase is part of the fun
• How to watch 2026 Fiesta parades, events on KSAT
• Share your Fiesta pictures on KSAT Connect!

Darius Patric Torres, 26, was taken into custody on Tuesday. Court records show Torres has been charged with capital murder of multiple people.

Officers were dispatched to a shooting call just before 10:15 p.m. on June 18, 2022, to a home in the 2500 block of Patron Drive.

At the time, SAPD said a dark-colored SUV pulled up in front of the home and opened fire on people who attended a family barbecue. Authorities said between 20 and 30 shots rang out before the SUV fled the scene.

In all, seven people were hit. Authorities said two men — Juan Gomez, 46 and Alejandro Gomez-Soliz, 45 — were killed. Five others were treated for injuries at a local hospital.

Torres, who was 22 at the time of the shooting, has had his bond set at $750,000. As of Wednesday night, he remains in custody at the Bexar County Adult Detention Center.

Another shooting moments later

According to Torres’ October 2023 arrest affidavit, officers were dispatched to a nearby convenience store for a shooting in progress call six minutes after the Patron Drive shooting call.

The store, located at the intersection of South Zarzamora Street and Gillette Boulevard, is approximately 1.3 miles from the Patron Drive shooting.

Police said surveillance video from the store showed a dark-colored vehicle pull in and “shoot multiple rounds at a specific vehicle.” Despite the gunshots also striking other vehicles and nearby buildings, no one was injured by gunfire, the affidavit states.

After the suspect vehicle fled the convenience store, surveillance video and accompanying audio showed the driver of the “specific vehicle” went inside the store and told someone that a person named “Nate” was the person who opened fire on them.

Based on the surveillance video and shell casings recovered on Patron Drive and the convenience store, investigators said they determined the same dark-colored vehicle — a Dodge Durango — was present at both shooting scenes.

A potential connection to a third shooting

One day later, on June 19, 2022, SAPD investigators said they spoke to a victim of an alleged drive-by shooting four days before the Patron Drive and convenience store shootings.

The victim shared video of a potential suspect vehicle, a gray-colored Dodge Durango, with police. They told officers they believed a male named “Christian” and another male in the Dodge Durango were involved in the June 14, 2022, shooting as well as the two drive-by shootings, on June 18, 2022.

According to the victim, the Dodge Durango was known to frequent the Hunter’s Glen Townhomes, which are located in the 9200 block of Somerset Road.

Later, on June 19, 2022, SAPD observed a 2011 Dodge Durango committing a traffic violation and pulled the vehicle over at the intersection of Southwest Military Drive and Bynum Avenue.

Officers said three people — Torres, Nathan Martinez and Christian Jimenez — were in the vehicle at the time of the traffic stop. Investigators said Torres matched the description of the other male who was accused of being in the Dodge Durango with a male named “Christian” in the June 14, 2022 drive-by shooting.

When officers approached the Dodge Durango, “several” handguns and “narcotics” were visible in the vehicle. Two of the handguns also had a “switch” on them. A “switch” can turn a typical handgun into an automatic weapon, investigators said.

Torres, who admitted to police two of the guns in the Dodge Durango were his, was originally taken into custody along with Martinez and Jimenez on weapons and drugs charges.

After the vehicle was impounded and a search warrant was executed, SAPD crime scene investigators said they found shell casings inside the Dodge Durango that “matched” the same shell casings found after the Patron Drive shooting, according to the affidavit.

Additionally, police said one of the weapons that belonged to Torres matched the “type and caliber” of shell casings recovered on Patron Drive.

On June 20, 2022, one day after Torres, Martinez and Jimenez were arrested, a surviving victim of the Patron Drive shooting spoke to San Antonio police from the hospital.

The victim told SAPD he “received threats” weeks earlier from a male named “Christian” that “Christian” and another male named “Nate” were planning to “shoot up” the home on Patron Drive.

Martinez’s capital murder arrest

Torres is not the first capital murder arrest connected to the Patron Drive shooting.

Martinez, who was 18 at the time of the Patron Drive shooting, was arrested in November 2023 and also charged with capital murder in connection with the case.

At the time of the November 2023 arrest, an SAPD spokesperson said officers linked Martinez to two separate August 2023 shooting investigations.

According to updated county court records, Martinez, 22, was taken back into custody on March 23. He is currently held without bond before his capital murder trial is scheduled to begin on May 4.

Martinez’s trial will take place before presiding Judge Stephanie Boyd in Bexar County’s 187th Criminal District Court.

While the October 2023 affidavit states Torres, Martinez and Jimenez were all initially charged with capital murder, current online court records only show capital murder charges filed for Torres and Martinez.

It is unclear if Jimenez is still facing capital murder charges.

KSAT reached out to SAPD and the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday night for clarification on Jimenez’s current status in connection with the Patron Drive shooting.

On Thursday, an SAPD spokesperson confirmed only Torres and Martinez are facing capital murder charges at this time. A Bexar County DA’s Office spokesperson declined to comment on the status of Torres, Martinez and Jimenez’s charges because they are “pending” cases.

Torres’ next court appearance has yet to be determined.

More related coverage of this story on KSAT:

• Ballistic evidence ties teen to multiple shootings, deaths, SAPD says
• 2 dead killed in drive-by shooting at family BBQ on Southwest Side identified

Unai Emery's team reached its second European semifinal in three seasons with a 7-1 aggregate victory.

Watkins had netted twice in last week's 3-1 win in the first leg of the quarterfinal in Italy, and the striker set the pace at Villa Park.

He tapped in a low cross from the left provided by Morgan Rogers for a 1-0 lead after 16 minutes for his 100th goal for Villa.

Rogers had a golden opportunity to increase the lead but Bologna goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia saved his penalty kick.

Only a minute later, though, Villa doubled its lead when Emiliano Buendía scored from a tight angle.

Rogers made it 3-0 with another angled shot in the 39th, and Ezri Konsa finished the scoring seconds before the final whistle.

Villa reached the Champions League quarterfinals last season and is on course to secure a spot in the lucrative top-tier competition next campaign while sitting fourth in the Premier League.

Big return to Europe

Forest made the semifinals by beating 10-man Porto 1-0 in what's been a successful return to European competition after a 30-year absence. It advanced 2-1 on aggregate after last week's draw in Portugal.

Morgan Gibbs-White put the hosts ahead in the 12th minute with a deflected effort from outside the box after Porto defender Jan Bednarek was sent off for fouling Chris Wood, who then had to be substituted with a knee injury.

Wood is a key striker for relegation-threatened Nottingham — and New Zealand's World Cup plans — and only recently returned from a long-term knee injury.

Porto has never beaten a Premier League club in England in 24 attempts.

The last time Nottingham reached a European semifinal was in 1984 in the UEFA Cup.

Freiburg’s first final four

Freiburg marched into the semifinals by beating Celta Vigo 3-1.

The Bundesliga team reached the last four in a European competition for the first time on a 6-1 aggregate score after last week's 3-0 victory in the first leg of the quarterfinal.

Freiburg has scored 11 goals in its last three games in the second-tier competition.

Igor Matanović put Freiburg 1-0 up with a stunning left-footed volley from outside the area. Yuito Suzuki doubled the advantage with a deflected shot late in the first half and then beat goalkeeper Ionut Radu after interval.

Williot Swedberg’s consolation goal came in stoppage time for the Spanish hosts.

Freiburg’s next opponent will be Braga, which came from two goals down to win 4-2 at Real Betis after those teams were tied 1-1 from the first leg.

Crystal Palace in Conference League semifinals

Crystal Palace clinched a last-four spot in the third-tier Conference League despite a 2-1 loss to Fiorentina in Florence.

Palace advanced 4-2 on aggregate after a 3-0 home win in the first leg to meet Ukraine’s Shakhtar, which advanced past AZ Alkmaar on Thursday.

Strasbourg and Rayo Vallecano also advanced.

Italy in trouble

Italy’s soccer crisis only worsened with European exits for Bologna and Fiorentina.

As a result, Italy doesn’t have any club in a European semifinal for the first time in seven years.

That came after after Atalanta — the only Italian club to reach the Champions League round of 16 — was eliminated in a whopping 10-2 aggregate loss to Bayern Munich.

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

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the panel, told reporters she had met with Warsh Thursday and urged him to disclose more information about his assets than was included in financial disclosure forms released earlier this week. Warsh, a former top official at the Fed and a wealthy investor, listed financial assets worth well more than $100 million. The figures are given in ranges so a precise value wasn't disclosed.

Warsh has large stakes in several investment funds and owns a solo financial advisory firm, Vicarage LLC. He has pledged in ethics filings to sell those holdings and stop working as an adviser if he is confirmed as Fed chair. Yet he has not disclosed the values of all his investments through the funds, or the names of some of his clients.

“This is a real problem,” Warren said. “No one has gone forward in the Trump administration without disclosing fully their financial holdings."

It's the latest hurdle for Warsh, 56, who is already facing an unusually turbulent path toward the Fed chair position, which he has sought for at least a decade. Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican and member of the Banking panel, said this week he won’t vote for Warsh until a Department of Justice investigation into current Fed chair Jerome Powell is resolved. The stand-off threatens to delay Warsh’s confirmation until after Powell’s term as chair ends May 15.

But even if Warsh is confirmed, he will likely face ongoing pressure from Trump to cut the Fed's key interest rate despite the Iran war pushing inflation higher and many other policymakers expressing skepticism about cuts. And he could end up serving while Powell remains on the Fed's governing board, an uncomfortable arrangement that hasn’t occurred since the late 1940s.

Warsh was a member of the Fed's governing board from 2006 to 2011, and is married to Jane Lauder, the daughter of billionaire cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder, a major Republican donor. He has also worked in finance and has made roughly $10 million as an advisor to billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller's family office, according to his disclosure form.

Warren said Warsh declined in their meeting to disclose more information about his holdings, “which, frankly, raises more concerns.” She added that his extensive investments are “a red flag surrounded by fireworks and sparklers.”

Warsh said in his disclosures that “pre-existing confidentiality” agreements prevent him from specifying the size of individual holdings or in some cases what they are. For example, he owns a stake in Polymarket, the prediction betting market, but did not say how large it is. He said he would comply with all ethics requirements by selling those investments if confirmed.

Also Thursday, all 11 Democrats on the Banking Committee called for next week's hearing to be postponed until the DOJ drops the investigation into cost overruns for a $2.5 billion Fed building renovation project and Powell's role in it, as well as an effort by Trump to fire Fed governor Lisa Cook.

Both moves “appear to be part of the Trump Administration’s broader effort to take control of the Fed,” the letter said.

Powell said last month that he would continue to serve as Fed chair if no replacement is confirmed by the end of his term. He added that previous chairs have done the same. Yet on Wednesday, Trump threatened to try to fire Powell if he did so.

Powell has also said he would remain on the Fed's governing board even after his term as chair ends if the investigation isn't dropped. By doing so, he could prevent the Trump administration from filling another seat on the board, a step he might take if he saw it as a way to preserve the Fed's political independence.

Powell serves a separate term as governor that lasts until January 2028. A Fed chair hasn’t remained on the board as a governor even after a new chair is appointed since 1948.

The battles over Powell, as well as the uptick in inflation from the Iran war, could create extensive headaches for Warsh.

“The ground has shifted materially beneath Warsh’s feet since he was nominated,” Marco Casiraghi, an analyst at Evercore ISI, an investment bank, wrote earlier this week. “Both with the oil shock and the failure to swiftly resolve the DOJ investigation, which we think means Powell will now likely stay on as a regular governor for several months.”

Trump is likely to keep pushing for Fed rate cuts regardless of who is chair. The Fed’s short-term rate influences other borrowing costs in the economy, including for mortgages, auto loans, and business borrowing.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier this week appeared to reduce the pressure on the Fed somewhat, when he told reporters Tuesday that rates should be cut, “but if they want to wait for some clarity, I understand that.” Many Fed officials have said they want to see if the jump in energy prices starts to push up inflation more broadly. If it doesn't, the Fed could potentially look past the gas price spike and cut rates, particularly if the economy weakens.

Yet when Trump was asked Wednesday on Fox Business whether he still expects interest rates to decline, he said, “when Kevin gets in, I do. ... interest rates should be much lower.”

___

Associated Press Writer Fatima Hussein contributed to this report.

The memo, a copy of which was sent to The Associated Press, followed a long day of reports suggesting Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund was on the verge of cutting its financial backing of the upstart league.

The newsletter Money in Sport reported in February that LIV Golf already had spent $5.3 billion and was projected to surpass $6 billion by the end of the year.

“I want to be crystal clear: Our season continues exactly as planned, uninterrupted and at full throttle,” O'Neil said. “While the media landscape is often filled with speculation, our reality is defined by the work we do on the grass. We are heading into the heart of our 2026 schedule with the full energy of an organization that is bigger, louder, and more influential than ever before.”

Left unclear was how long the funding would last for LIV Golf, which launched in June 2022 by paying roughly $1 billion in signing bonuses to some of the PGA Tour's biggest names, such as Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm.

Prize money for individuals and the 13 teams was raised to $30 million this year.

Koepka since has left LIV and was allowed to rejoin the PGA Tour this year with stipulations. Patrick Reed also left LIV and is playing a European tour schedule this year. He is virtually certain to be eligible to return to the PGA Tour in 2027 through the European tour points race.

Questions about LIV's future funding were raised as the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia revealed a new five-year investment strategy.

“The 2026-30 strategy marks a natural evolution as PIF moves from a period of rapid growth and acceleration to a new phase of sustained value creation, with a strengthened focus on maximizing impact, raising the efficiency of investments, and applying the highest standards of governance, transparency and institutional excellence,” the PIF said in a release.

The plan was developed before the U.S.-Israel war against Iran. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor who loves golf and was behind LIV Golf, told the London-based Financial Times, “Of course the war would add more pressure to reposition some priorities.”

LIV players at Chapultepec Golf Club for LIV Golf Mexico that starts Thursday did not have answers as speculation ran rampant throughout the day.

One player said Al-Rumayyan met with players the first week of March in Hong Kong and said funding for LIV was set through 2032. The player spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private. The player also said O’Neil arrived in Mexico City Wednesday and was to meet with the players.

LIV Golf promoted the Mexico event Wednesday evening on social media with the message, “Slow news day? We are ON.”

LIV has played five events this year, in Saudi Arabia, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Africa. It celebrated an inspirational victory at its biggest event in Australia when Anthony Kim won after the American had been away for 12 years while battling drug and alcohol addiction.

DeChambeau won the last two events in playoffs, and this week tries to become the first LIV player to win three in a row. DeChambeau, a two-time U.S. Open champion, missed the cut in the Masters last week.

LIV's focus has been on a global reach, with its first U.S. tournament not scheduled until May 7-10 at Trump National in northern Virginia.

“The life of a startup movement is often defined by these moments of pressure,” O'Neil said. “We signed up for this because we believe in disrupting the status quo. We have faced headwinds since the jump, and we’ve answered every time with resilience and grace. Now, we answer by doing what we do best: putting on the most compelling show in sports.”

He ended his note to the staff by saying, “We are pioneers, and while the road isn’t always smooth, the destination is worth every mile. Let’s go out and show the world why LIV Golf is the future of the game.”

LIV is in the second year of a Fox Sports television deal, with network putting it on various platforms like FS1. The opening round of the Mexico event has three hours on the Fox Sports app. The previous two years, its U.S. broadcast partner was the CW.

___

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

Security guards detained the man without incident shortly after 10 a.m., within 3 minutes after he entered the Hartford building. They held him until city police officers arrived, a spokesperson for Hartford police said.

It wasn't immediately clear what the man's plans were, Lt. Aaron Boisvert said.

The man was brought to Hartford police headquarters and charged with illegal possession of an assault weapon, criminal possession of a firearm, possession of a large-capacity ammunition magazine and trespassing. Court and public records show he has a criminal history that includes convictions for assault, threatening and drug possession.

It was not immediately clear if the man has a lawyer who could respond to the allegations.

Woonsocket, Rhode Island-based CVS Health, Aetna's parent company, released a brief statement on the incident and did not immediately respond to follow-up questions.

“Earlier today, a suspicious person attempted to enter our office, was apprehended immediately by our security team and taken into custody by local police,” the statement said.

The arrest comes amid concerns about health care executives' safety, following the December 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City. Luigi Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a wealthy Maryland family, has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges connected to the killing. He has become a cause célèbre for people upset with the health insurance industry.

In February, CVS Health announced it would be laying off more than 300 remote workers who reported to the Aetna headquarters.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, specifically pointed to operations in the Pacific, saying the U.S. would be targeting vessels that left before the blockade began earlier this week outside the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for energy and other shipments.

U.S. forces in other areas of responsibility “will actively pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran,” he told reporters at the Pentagon.

The military also detailed an expansive lists of goods that it considers contraband, declaring that it will board, search and seize them from merchant vessels “regardless of location.” A notice published Thursday says any “goods that are destined for an enemy and that may be susceptible to use in armed conflict” are “subject to capture at any place beyond neutral territory.”

The expansion of U.S. military efforts to target Iranian shipping is another pressure point for Tehran and comes as a ceasefire is set to expire in mere days. Mediators are pressing for an extension to a truce that has paused almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the U.S. and Iran.

US military details items that could be seized from Iran-linked ships

The military's new list of banned materials includes products such as weapons, ammunition and military equipment that are classified as “absolute contraband.” However, it also lists items such as oil, iron, steel, aluminum and other goods as “conditional contraband” that it argues can be used both for civilian and military purposes.

Otherwise innocuous items like electronics, power generation equipment or heavy machinery can be seized if “circumstances indicate intended military end-use,” the notice says.

More than 10,000 American troops are helping enforce the blockade on Iranian ports. While no ships have yet been boarded, defense leaders say the military is warning Iran-linked ships that it could fire warning shots or escalate to other force if they try to outrun the Navy.

In the first three days of the military action, 14 ships have turned around rather than confront the naval blockade, according to U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Iran war.

Some Iran-linked or sanctioned vessels that left through the strait have appeared to halt their movements, turn off their radio transponders or head back toward Iran's coast, shipping data firms say.

Ships near th

e blockade face US warnings

Vessels that approach the blockade, which is being enforced in Iran’s territorial seas and international waters and not in the Strait of Hormuz, get a warning, Caine said.

“Any ship that would cross the blockade would result in our sailors executing pre-planned tactics designed to bring the force to that ship — if need be, board the ship and take her over,” he said.

U.S. Central Command has released a recording of a radio broadcast sent to vessels in the region that said the military was ready to use force if needed to compel compliance.

“Vessels will be boarded for interdiction and seizure transiting to or from Iranian port,” the message said.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that “less than 10% of America’s naval power” is being used to enforce the blockade. The Navy has 16 warships — 11 destroyers, three amphibious assault ships, an aircraft carrier and a littoral combat ship — in the Middle East out of a battle force of roughly 300 total warships.

Also supporting the blockade are a series of aircraft as well as surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence operations designed to give the Navy the latest information on the vessels it is encountering.

The Navy is likely tracking ships linked to Iran through satellites, drones and other forms of surveillance as well as each commercial vessel’s past history, said Kevin Donegan, a retired vice admiral and former commander of the Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain.

“It’s a pretty complex operation to make work,” said Donegan, who spoke Thursday during a webinar hosted by the Middle East Institute. “Not just from the intelligence standpoint, but positioning all the ships in the right way to make the intercepts if you have to.”

Donegan stressed that the blockade is only one pressure point on Iran and that it won’t end the conflict on its own.

“For it to be most effective, this military tool is added to the other operational tasks that were being done and paired with — hopefully, diplomacy,” Donegan said. “And if those two are scripted together in the right way, we can potentially get the outcomes we want.”

US Central Command chief appears at the Pentagon

As Hegseth and Caine discussed the blockade, Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, made a rare appearance in the Pentagon briefing room.

He said that before the ceasefire took hold, American service members and troops from allied countries in the Persian Gulf had “fought together side by side.”

“In creating the largest air defense umbrella in the world across the Middle East, we embedded specially trained U.S. military air defenders alongside our partner nation soldiers,” Cooper said, adding that Bahrain’s king and crown prince knew American soldiers by name.

The three-member board presiding over the agency authorized the highly anticipated draft blueprint Thursday, the first administrative step toward adopting the water development board’s plans for the next 50 years. The plan, released every five years, encompasses the projects that 16 regional water planning groups in Texas said are the most urgent, water development board officials said. 

The board’s latest estimates come as the state’s water supply faces numerous threats. Growing communities across Texas are scrambling to secure water, keep up with construction costs and cope with a yearslong drought. This week, Corpus Christi officials said the city may be just months away from declaring a water emergency. Meanwhile, other rural cities by the Coastal Bend are rapidly drilling wells to avoid a crisis. Residents in North Texas have also been bracing for groundwater shortages.

In an effort to restrain the crisis, lawmakers last year called an election in which voters approved a $20 billion boost for communities to use on water-related expenses. The water development board’s estimate shows that what lawmakers proposed on the ballot falls dramatically short of the needed cash, experts said.

“What this number tells me at the end of the day is if we don’t get serious about (funding water projects), there are going to be serious consequences for Texas,” said Perry Fowler, executive director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network. “Even with the billion-dollar-a-year plan kicking in, it’s not going to be enough to offset the costs of the projects that are going to have to be executed.”

The new estimate accounts for 3,000 projects, from regional infrastructure upgrades to smaller endeavors such as drilling new water wells. Texas’ water supplies are expected to drop by roughly 10% between 2030 and 2080, according to the water plan. In that same time frame, the maximum amount of water communities can draw is also expected to decline by 9%.

The 80-page plan notes approximately 6,700 recommended strategies that would add water to the state’s dwindling portfolio. The recommendations — which are not accounted for in the cost — include developing new supplies from aquifer storage and recovery, brackish groundwater, desalination and recycled water. It also calls for water conservation.

The report suggested that if Texas does not implement the plans and recommendations, the state is one severe drought away from an estimated $91 billion in economic

damages in 2030.

The state’s plan attributes a variety of reasons for the bigger price tag, such as higher costs of construction due to inflation, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains, and a growing backlog of water supply projects.

“There’s a plan that can meet our needs,” said Matt Nelson, deputy executive administrator for the Office of Planning at the water development board, adding that they take their cues from the regional planning groups. “These are local projects that folks need to implement; they’re needed regardless of how they’re funded. It’s important to remember these are not top-down projects or state projects.”

Experts told The Texas Tribune that the board’s estimate is only a fraction of what Texas communities will need to ensure they have water in 50 years’ time, saying growth and development are outpacing the state’s ability to keep up.

“This is a bigger water plan in terms of volume strategies and capital costs compared to anything we’ve ever seen before,” said Jeremy Mazur, the director of infrastructure and natural resources policy at think tank Texas 2036.

Mazur suggested that the $174 billion only covers water supply projects and does not account for updating aging infrastructure, adding that the actual price could amount to a quarter of a trillion dollars.

“There’s a substantial magnitude with regard to the capital investment needed to both fix our aging and current systems and potentially develop the water infrastructure, water supply projects that we need.“

The report largely confirmed what many water experts have warned regarding threats to the state’s water supply, said Sarah Kirkle, director of policy at the Texas Water Association.

“Population growth, extreme weather, and economic development needs are all increasing demands on our infrastructure, and the state is going to need more water, sooner,” Kirkle said. “This is all while water projects are becoming more costly and complex because the easiest and cheapest local projects have already been developed.”

Fowler, with the infrastructure network, said he expects the Texas Legislature to take up the issue next year, when lawmakers meet for the 90th legislative session. He said the state should take a bigger role in ensuring that communities can afford their respective water projects.

“It’s going to have to be a top-down priority, there’s no way around it,” he said. “The challenges are so immense that it’s going to take all hands on deck.”

Texas residents have until the end of May to comment on the proposal. Water development board officials must adopt it by January 2027.

Alejandra Martinez contributed to this story.

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

Today on Texas Eats NOW:

MEXICO CEATY

849 E Commerce St, San Antonio, TX 78205

Mexico Ceaty is a new 21,000-square-foot culinary destination now opening in downtown San Antonio at the Shops at Rivercenter. A creation of chef Jason Dady, the concept transforms the traditional food court into a vibrant, Mexican-inspired marketplace featuring multiple dining options, a large central bar, and retail spaces that celebrate the culture and flavors of Mexico.

During a private tour, David Elder got a preview of the expansive space, which includes street taco stands, a bakery, a Tex-Mex concept, and a speakeasy-style mezcal bar. Designed to reflect the energy of a traditional Mexican market, this innovative destination brings together food, art, and entertainment, creating an all-in-one experience that aims to become a major attraction along the River Walk.

Follow Texas Eats and David Elder on Facebook and Instagram for more food info, pictures, videos and giveaways.

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Alyssa Herrera, 36, was booked into jail Tuesday on a charge of tampering with physical evidence.

Her husband, Daniel Sebastian Ordonez, 31, is already in custody, facing the same charge as a result of his arrest last week.

The victim in the case is Ordonez’s father, Daniel Antonio Ordonez, 54.

According to an arrest affidavit, another family member called for a welfare check on the victim earlier this month after having trouble reaching him.

The affidavit says the caller, who lives out of town, also reported that the victim told her he’d had a bad fight with his son. It says police later were able to track the missing man’s phone to one home that he owned near Theo Avenue.

Officers found the phone in a potted plant and his keys elsewhere on the property, the affidavit says.

Later, when police searched a different home where Ordonez and the two suspects lived, on Vera Cruz Street near Southwest 19^th Street, they found a body in a trash bag in a backyard shed, the document says.

Investigators said they also noticed a puddle of blood near the bag and were able to detect areas where blood had been cleaned up, both inside and outside the home.

The affidavit says the victim was shot in his head and his death has been ruled a homicide.

Celia Sosa, who lives across the street, called the situation “ugly.”

Although she noticed police outside the family’s home, she only learned from news reports that the case involved a murder.

Another neighbor described the allegations as “shameful.”

“It doesn’t make sense,” said Justin Covarrubias, who lives down the street. “Why are you fighting with your family? It doesn’t make sense.”

The murder investigation is one of two major cases to happen on that street this week.

Officers with Animal Care Services descended on another home four doors down Wednesday and seized nearly a dozen dogs.

Lisa Norwood with ACS said the animals were living in “unsanitary conditions” on that property.

The pet owner is facing charges, she said.

“I used to pass there all the time,” Covarrubias said. “Dogs tried to attack me a couple of times. I wonder if that was actually the house I passed by.”

While the two cases are not connected, together they have people in the neighborhood wondering what is going on there.

When it comes to the murder case, police say they are still investigating.

Read also:

• Affidavit: SAPD employee allegedly accessed internal info, shared photo with auto theft suspect
• SAPD requests public’s help to locate suspect accused in Northwest Side murder investigation
• Man charged with possession of methamphetamine in DEA raid on Northeast Side, authorities say

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said it is the first criminal case against a federal officer involved in the Minnesota immigration crackdown, which was part of a surge of forces into cities including Los Angeles, Chicago and New Orleans.

“There is no such thing as absolute immunity for federal agents who violate the law in the state of Minnesota,” Moriarty told a news conference, saying the agent acted outside the scope of a federal officers’ authority.

An arrest warrant filed in Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, says Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Gregory Donnell Morgan Jr. is charged with two counts of second-degree assault. Minnesota authorities say Morgan, 35, was driving back to immigration offices at the end of his shift when the incident occurred Feb. 5.

The driver and front-seat passenger of a car called 911 saying the driver of an unmarked SUV pulled alongside them, rolled down his window and pointed a handgun at them both. The car's driver told investigators they feared it was a “crazy person driving down the road aiming guns at people," according to the warrant.

A spokesman for Moriarty’s office said no arrangements have been made for Morgan to surrender and that there is an active nationwide warrant for his arrest. If convicted, Morgan faces up to seven years in prison for each assault charge.

Department of Homeland Security and Justice Department officials didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

A person returning a call to a possible phone listing for Morgan said it was a wrong number for him. A message sent to a possible email address for Morgan bounced back as undeliverable. No one immediately returned a phone message left at a number for a person listed as sharing an address with Morgan. It was not immediately known if he had an attorney who could speak for him.

Accused agent told state investigators he 'feared for his safety'

Moriarty said during a news conference that Morgan was driving a rented, unmarked SUV on the shoulder of the highway when a car also moved into the shoulder to try to slow Morgan down, its driver not knowing he was an officer. After the car returned to the legal lane, she said, Morgan pulled up alongside and pointed his service weapon at the two people in the car.

According to the warrant, Morgan then merged his SUV back into traffic ahead of the victims, who took cellphone photos of the SUV’s license plate.

The warrant does not identify the victims.

Morgan and his partner, who was not charged, told investigators they were returning at the end of their shift to the federal building being used to stage officers. The arrest warrant says Morgan "made no claim that he was conducting any law-enforcement operation or activity or responding to any emergency situation.”

Morgan told investigators with the Minnesota State Patrol that the other vehicle “swerved over in front of him and cut him off,” the warrant said. Investigators wrote that Morgan said “he feared for his safety and the safety of others” when he drew his gun and yelled: “Police! Stop!”

The warrant says the victims couldn’t tell Morgan was a law enforcement officer and couldn't hear him because their windows were up.

Trump administration has warned against arresting federal agents

The charges could intensify a clash between the Trump administration and Minnesota officials over the crackdown. Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, has warned that the Justice Department could investigate and prosecute state or local officials who arrest federal agents for performing their official duties.

Moriarty said she is not concerned about blowback from federal authorities and that her office will “hold people accountable if they violate the laws of the state.”

Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said federal officers are granted immunity for actions within the scope of their official responsibilities.

He said the actions described in the arrest warrant don’t seem relevant to the officer’s duties. But because he apparently was on-duty at the time, the officer could petition to move the charges to federal court and make a claim for immunity.

“When you look at it more closely, flashing a gun is a serious threat,” Gerhardt said. “And there’s a good argument that isn’t part of his official duties … it’s abusing his powers.”

Minnesota still investigating killings of 2 US citizens by federal officers

DHS deployed about 3,000 federal officers to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area from December through February in what the department called its “ largest immigration enforcement operation ever.” The Minnesota operation led to thousands of arrests, angry mass protests and the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens.

Backlash over the officers' aggressive tactics mounted, and two of the crackdown’s most high profile leaders were soon gone. Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in March shortly after the Minnesota surge ended. That same month, Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol sector chief who led immigration operations in several large cities, announced his retirement.

Minnesota authorities continue to investigate the conduct of federal officers during the immigration crackdown, insisting they can't trust the federal government to investigate itself. Minnesota sued the Trump administration last month for access to evidence in three cases involving shootings by federal officers, including the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

___

Lauer reported from Philadelphia and Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia. Associated Press reporters Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington and Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed.

The city council initially expected to consider the change Friday, but Mayor John Whitmire subsequently announced that the meeting will now be on April 22. Whitmire said the deadline to respond to the state’s demand was postponed, and this change will give his office more time to discuss the issue with both state and community leaders. 

“This strikes the balance to protect our people, essential services, and our finances,” he said in a Thursday post on social media. “We are making significant progress through constructive conversations.” 

In March, Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz and Whitmire announced a new rule directing local law enforcement to wait 30 minutes for federal agents to arrive at the scene, if they encounter people with administrative immigration warrants during situations like traffic stops. But on April 8, the city council voted overwhelmingly for an ordinance to stop that practice, while also requiring the Houston Police Department to deliver quarterly reports on its coordination with ICE. 

Two days later, Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office launched an investigation, alleging the ordinance violates Senate Bill 4, which bans cities from adopting policies that “materially limit” immigration enforcement. It says that the requirements would have a “chilling effect” on Houston police’s cooperation with federal agents, though the measure’s backers said the ordinance only undoes a previous city policy that went beyond what state law mandates on the city’s engagement with ICE. 

State leaders then turned up the dial Monday, as Gov. Greg Abbott’s office threatened to withdraw $110 million in public safety grants from the city and block it from future funding — if the ordinance stays. 

“It does not matter what a council member’s legal opinion is,” Whitmire told reporters Tuesday. “There’s only one opinion that matters, and that’s the governor’s.”

Whitmire was one of the 12 people who voted in favor of the ordinance, despite previously downplaying Houston police’s cooperation with ICE before acknowledging it in November. The Houston Chronicle also reported that the mayor felt that the ordinance “codified existing policy,” despite the measure eliminating a part of the ICE directive he announced in March.  

“The potential loss of state funding poses real challenges for the Houston Police and Fire Departments and will impact public safety services across our city, the 2026 FIFA World Cup preparations and the Homeland Security Department,” he added. “Our public safety departments rely on a combination of local, state, and federal resources to operate effectively.”

Whitmire then told local media outlets Tuesday that the city’s ability to access the fund was already cut Monday afternoon.

Though, in the letter to the mayor, Abbott’s office said the city must respond by April 20 to confirm that it will act to repeal the ordinance or risk the grants’ termination. 

In a Tuesday statement to The Texas Tribune, Abbott’s spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said “as of now, future funding is on hold.”

“Additionally, under the terms of the contract between the City of Houston and Texas, the State will submit a bill to the City—if it does not immediately reverse course—for the $110 million the City would owe the State,” Mahaleris added. “If the City refuses to pay, the Texas Comptroller is required to deny the payment of *any* funds to Houston until the debt is paid.” 

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, who is in the primary runoff against Paxton to be Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate, said in a social media post that he supports Abbott’s push, calling Houston’s ordinance “absurd” and “dangerous.” The senator also on Thursday co-introduced a bill to ban so-called sanctuary cities from accessing certain federal funding.  

Paxton’s office didn’t immediately respond to a comment request. 

Council member Alejandra Salinas, who led the push for the ordinance, said in a Tuesday statement that the city should challenge Abbott’s threat on the public safety funding in court instead of immediately bowing to the governor’s demand. 

“If we don’t, we set a dangerous precedent that the State can bulldoze lawful city policies and constitutional rights whenever it chooses. Houstonians deserve a City willing to fight for them, defend our laws, and protect our residents,” she said. 

The ACLU of Texas similarly urged the city council to protect constitutional rights of all residents, adding that the ordinance “supports longstanding protections under the Fourth Amendment.”

“Gov. Abbott is putting the safety of Texans at risk to score political points,” Caro Rivera Nelson, an ACLU Texas attorney, said in a statement. “By threatening to withhold $110 million in public safety funding over this common-sense ordinance, the governor is not only turning his back on law enforcement; he’s trying to usher in a new era of state overreach.

Besides Houston, Abbott’s office has similarly threatened to withdraw $2.5 million in public safety grants from Austin over its new policy on ICE and administrative warrants, saying in a Thursday letter that the city has until April 23 to respond to the demand. Paxton’s office is also investigating Austin over the same issue, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

Police in Waukesha, west of Milwaukee, said the “area was experiencing heavy rainfall accompanied by significant thunder and lightning” when someone reported seeing the man on the ground Wednesday evening.

“Preliminary information indicates the individual was struck by lightning while walking through the parking lot during the storm,” police said.

A weather pattern combining very moist air with a strong jet stream has stretched from as far south as central Texas into the Midwest and east across the Great Lakes. From Monday through Wednesday, the National Weather Service received more than 1,100 reports of large hail, winds above 60 mph (96 kph) and tornadoes as part of the storm system, said Bill Bunting, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Storm Prediction Center.

Teams were out Thursday surveying damage to determine the exact number of tornadoes, Bunting said.

The storms have rumbled across a number of states for the better part of this week and could continue into the early weekend.

“There's been a tremendous amount of lightning with these storms over the last few days,” said Mark Gehring, a meteorologist with the weather service in Milwaukee.

“We've had the temperature and humidity of summer and it's lasting an entire week — in mid-April,” he added. “In addition to a very stormy pattern, nearly every day we're having heavy rain. We've had tornadoes nearly every day, very large hail.”

Five tornadoes have been confirmed across southern and central Wisconsin, but the number could rise after surveys, Gehring said.

In addition to lightning, hail and tornadoes, the storms have brought rain — lots of it, with scores of flood warnings and flood watches issued by the weather service over multiple states.

Crews were hurriedly pumping water from a dam in Cheboygan, Michigan, this week, even removing floodgates to relieve pressure. Some residents were told to prepare a “go bag” containing important personal items, though Cheboygan County Sheriff Todd Ross said the number of people in the zone was relatively small.

“We are in crisis mode now,” said Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who declared emergencies in dozens of counties because of flooding and other weather woes.

In northern Michigan, Bellaire, population 1,000, said its wastewater treatment system was being overwhelmed, forcing the release of partially treated waste into area swamps. The village urged residents to reduce home water use.

Carl Johnson, 59, has a home on the rapidly rising Muskegon River in western Michigan. He went on Facebook to tell people that his boats were ready if someone needed help. People living in the river’s flood plain below the Croton Dam in Newaygo County were ordered to evacuate.

“It’s out of the banks everywhere. It’s really bad,” Johnson said of the river.

Bruce Carlson, who lives behind the Croton Dam, said the roar of the water was “deafening.” Consumers Energy, which owns the dam, said it was structurally sound.

The Wisconsin River is at major flood stage in Portage, Wisconsin, and is forecast to reach or surpass the 20.7-foot (6.3-meter) record sometime Friday morning, meteorologist Gehring said.

“Right now, it's at 19.9 feet (6 meters), not that far off,” he said. “In Portage, there's a large area of low-land flooding. Many roads are flooded. There's a levee there. It's important that the levee holds.”

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers declared a state of emergency earlier this week.

Cars were stranded Wednesday night in high floodwater on a highway in Milwaukee and the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office posted online to urge people not to drive in southeast Wisconsin.

But at least in Wisconsin, a respite could be near.

“We have one more severe, heavy rain event coming this way before we get a good break,” Gehring said. “That's going to be on Friday evening. That's going to be the last gasp of severe rain.”

Bunting said the storm system will continue to move north and east and likely will take three to four days to finally move off the U.S. east coast.

“Probably, the most concerning day in terms of intense thunderstorm potential and tornadoes is Friday, extending from northern Oklahoma into central Wisconsin and far eastern Illinois,” he said.

___

Williams reported from West Bloomfield, Michigan. White reported from Detroit.

Taco Palenque will give out free breakfast tacos after every Spurs playoff win, according to a news release. Customers must use coupon code “SPURSWIN” in the Taco Palenque app or present it in the restaurant.

The Taco Palenque offer is available at all of its locations from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., even outside of San Antonio, the release said.

Eightball Coffee and La Panadería have also joined in to provide some free food or coffee.

La Panadería will give out Fiesta-themed mini conchas for free at every La Panadería location after a Spurs win. The promotion is only available for the first 50 customers who purchase an additional item.

Eightball Coffee, which is located at 1432 S. St. Mary’s Street, partnered with San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson to provide free coffee the following day after each San Antonio win from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

The Spurs are set to compete in their first playoff game in seven years at 8 p.m. on Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Frost Bank Center.

Read more Spurs coverage from KSAT:

• Former Spur Tiago Splitter to face San Antonio in 2026 NBA Playoffs
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Revenue jumped 8.5% to $19.44 billion in the January-March period compared to the same period a year ago, the Purchase, New York, company said Thursday. That handily beat Wall Street’s forecast of $18.95 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

“The consumer is coming back multiple times to our brands, responding to our holistic value plus execution, plus advertising, plus innovation strategy,” PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said Thursday during a conference call with investors.

PepsiCo leaned heavily into price increases to combat inflation in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. The company hiked prices by double-digit percentages for eight straight quarters in 2022 and 2023 before settling into more moderate price increases.

That took a toll on sales. Consumers stopped buying Frito-Lay snacks or shifted to cheaper store brands. PepsiCo's market value has fallen by more than $40 billion from 2023.

PepsiCo began cutting prices on value brands like Chester's and Santitas last spring to win back exasperated customers. Then, last September, activist investor Elliott Investment Management took a $4 billion stake in the company and began pressing for further price cuts and other changes. PepsiCo agreed to accelerate its price cuts late last year.

In February, ahead of the Super Bowl, PepsiCo slashed U.S. prices on Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos and Tostitos chips by up to 15%. At a Michigan Walmart on Thursday, a 9.25-ounce bag of Doritos was advertising a price rollback to $3.97, down from $4.48.

PepsiCo said new products like Cheetos NKD and Doritos NKD, which have no artificial ingredients, and snacks with trendy ingredients, like Smartfood FiberPop and Doritos Protein, are also attracting shoppers, both in the U.S. and internationally.

On the beverage side, PepsiCo is seeing new customers thanks to its recent acquisition of Poppi, a gut health soda, and a new lower-sugar version of Gatorade that has no artificial ingredients. On Thursday, PepsiCo announced that it will shift Gatorade's packaging and marketing to focus more on hydration for general consumers and less on athletes.

“So two types of consumers are coming into the category, because both of a stronger core and also innovation,” Laguarta said. “And I think we’re going to continue to play both levers.”

Net income rose 27% to $2.33 billion for the quarter. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned $1.61 per share. That also beat Wall Street’s forecast of $1.54 per share.

PepsiCo shares rose 2% in morning trading.

The renowned Baron, also a former editor of The Boston Globe and The Miami Herald, gave a keynote address Wednesday as New York University handed out journalism awards. The Associated Press was praised for its “unyielding defense of ethical standards and principles” for not changing its style guidance after President Donald Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico. The AP's lawsuit against the White House for reducing some of its access is currently under consideration by an appeals court.

NYU also honored The Atlantic for how it wrote about its editor inadvertently being included in a text chain with Trump administration and military figures, and student journalists at NYU, Stanford and the University of Texas at Dallas.

Worries that ‘to each his own’ is replacing an ethical compass

While conceding he risked sounding sanctimonious, Baron dove right in. He said he worried that journalists can't agree on an ethical compass — seeking the truth with humility is his suggestion — and that “to each his own” is becoming the evolving ethos for many who cover and talk about the news.

“We will be doing ourselves no favors if that turns out to be the case,” he said. “All of us will likely be tainted by the worst practices of any one of us.”

Baron praised some work he considered exemplary, including Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown's reporting on the Jeffrey Epstein case and Knight Ridder stories in the run-up to the Iraq War more than two decades ago. But he spent more time on his concerns.

Among them: How Paramount Global mogul David Ellison and his choice for CBS News editor-in-chief, Free Press founder Bari Weiss, are positioning that network. Paramount is also seeking Trump administration approval for its takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, which would also give the company control over CNN. Ellison has said CBS News — and CNN if it comes to that — will maintain editorial independence.

Ellison has said he wants CBS News to prioritize talking to Americans who identify as center-left or center-right politically, a group that he considers the majority of the country. Baron said that was “a political goal. It is not a journalistic one.”

He said that a news organization using that as a guiding principle “is fated to compromise ethics when a rock-solid story moving toward publication is deemed to fall outside the designated political comfort zone.” A CBS News representative had no immediate comment.

Ellison's perceived closeness with the Trump administration has become a prism through which much of CBS News' coverage is now viewed.

For example, the network was criticized in February for different framing of statistics on who ICE was arresting in immigration crackdowns. The network initially reported that 40% of those arrested had no criminal history and that 14% were charged or convicted of violent crimes — the so-called “worst of the worst” the administration had talked about deporting. But later on “CBS Evening News,” the focus had shifted to the statistic that 60% of those arrested had a criminal history.

CBS News has also received attention for inviting Trump administration officials to sit at its table later this month at the White House Correspondent Association dinner. Those dinner invites are common for news outlets at that event — not just CBS — but are being watched more closely due to the administration's attacks on the media.

Cable networks that operate as a bullhorn for the administration

In his NYU speech, Baron also criticized “cable networks that function as mouthpieces and bullhorns for the administration, who routinely funnel on-air personalities into its top positions and who supply them with lucrative landing spots when they exit. These outlets render themselves largely indistinguishable from the governments they are supposed to cover.”

His remarks came less than 24 hours before Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News Channel host, used his Pentagon podium to criticize journalists he said were “only looking for the negative” in their coverage of the Iran war. He said it reminded him of a biblical story of Pharisees who cast doubt on a miracle performed by Christ.

“Your politically motivated animus for President Trump nearly completely blinds you from the brilliance of our American warriors,” Hegseth said Thursday.

Baron denounced media figures from both political sides who see everything through a partisan lens, consult only people who say what they want to hear and seize on an isolated fact to make sweeping judgments. “This is an outrage and advocacy industry," he said, “not a fact-finding profession.”

He also said many journalists failed to live up to the mission of seeking the truth about Biden's cognitive and physical struggled during his term as president. Baron announced his retirement from the Post in January 2021, days after Biden took office.

“Did some among us shy from aggressively exploring his intellectual and physical health for fear of aiding Donald Trump's campaign and alienating loyal readers, viewers and listeners?” Baron asked. “My guess is yes. If so, would that be an ethical breakdown in our profession? Again, I'd say yes.”

___

David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social.

The department said that more than half of the 200 licenses reviewed during the audit had significant problems such as remaining valid long after an immigrant was authorized to be in the country. So the state was ordered to review all of this type of licenses and revoke illegal ones.

The federal government has reviewed records related to these non-domiciled CDLs in every state since Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy put a spotlight on this issue after an August crash in Florida that killed three people. Most states have either complied or are in negotiations with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, but California has lost $200 million. Several other states — including Pennsylvania, Minnesota and North Carolina — have been warned they are at risk of losing some funding.

“I promised the American people I would hold any state leader accountable for failing to keep them safe from unvetted, unqualified foreign drivers. I’m delivering on that promise today,” Duffy said.

Duffy has said that immigrants account for about 20% of all truck drivers nationwide, but these non-domiciled licenses immigrants can receive only represent about 5% of all commercial driver’s licenses or about 200,000 drivers. New York issued 32,606 of them. New rules the Transportation Department has announced will prevent 97% of those foreign drivers from getting a commercial license again.

New York officials have defended their licensing practices and said they are complying with federal law and that audits during the first Trump administration supported that.

This is not the first time that the Transportation Department had withheld or threatened to withhold funding from New York since Trump returned to office.

Duffy put a hold on $18 billion in funding for a subway extension in Manhattan and tunnels beneath the Hudson River for Amtrak and commuter rail trains. The Trump administration agreed Thursday to restore funding for the subway project. In February, a judge ordered the funding to continue for the tunnel project. Duffy also threatened to pull federal funding from New York if it did not abandon a congestion pricing fee for driving into a large swath of Manhattan and if crime on the subway system was not addressed. The state also fought those efforts in court and won.

Gov. Kathy Hochul's spokesman Sean Butler said the action related to commercial driver's licenses seems to be part of broad effort to attack blue states.

“This continues a yearlong pattern of Secretary Duffy threatening to withhold money that keeps our roads, subways, and other infrastructure safe for New Yorkers. We will fight back, and once again we will win,” Butler said.

Trucking industry groups have praised the Transportation Department's efforts to get unqualified drivers off the road, crack down on questionable trucking schools and go after trucking companies that violate the rules and then just change their names and keep operating. The industry said that too often unqualified drivers who shouldn’t have licenses or can’t speak English have been allowed to get behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound (about 39,916 kilograms) truck.

"Thes“ enf”rcement actions will remove bad actors from the road and restore accountability to the system. Today’s action is an important step toward safer highways and a stronger, more professional trucking industry.” said Todd Spencer, who is president of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association trade group.

But immigrant groups say some drivers are now 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 Sikhs.

In a Facebook post, SAPD identified the suspect as 18-year-old Jaden Gutierrez.

Officers were dispatched to the shooting around 12:35 a.m. on March 15 in the 5900 block of White Cloud Street.

Upon arrival, SAPD said its officers found a 17-year-old girl and a 22-year-old man with gunshot wounds.

The girl, later identified as Josielynn Cordova, was pronounced dead. The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office said she died from a gunshot wound to the torso.

The 22-year-old man was taken to a local hospital with serious bodily injuries, police said. At this time, his condition is unknown.

Witnesses told SAPD that Gutierrez allegedly entered the location and retrieved a gun before shooting Cordova and the man, authorities said.

If you have any information on Gutierrez’s whereabouts, contact SAPD’s Homicide Unit at 210-207-7635.

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The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, a day after topping its prior all-time high set in January, for its 11th gain in 12 days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 115 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%.

U.S. stocks have leaped more than 10% since hitting a low in late March, driven by hopes for an end to the war or something that could avert a worst-case scenario for the global economy. Now, the wait is on to see if such hopes were prescient or just wishful thinking.

Pakistan’s powerful army chief met Thursday with Iran’s parliament speaker as part of efforts to press for an extension to a ceasefire that has paused almost seven weeks of war between Israel, the U.S. and the Islamic Republic.

Oil prices climbed, showing that caution still remains in financial markets. The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose 4.7% to settle at $99.39. It’s gone from roughly $70 before the war to as high as $119 at times on uncertainty about how long the war will keep oil stuck in the Persian Gulf area and away from customers.

“The key upside risk for the market is that peace talks between the US and Iran break down,” ING Bank strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote Thursday. “This isn’t an unrealistic scenario, given that US and Iranian demands remain fairly wide apart.”

In the meantime, big U.S. companies are continuing to deliver growth in profits for the start of 2026 that’s even better than analysts expected. Such growth is the lifeblood of the stock market, whose level tends to follow the track of corporate profits over the long term.

PepsiCo rose 2.3% after reporting better results for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Customers bought more snacks during the quarter, after the company said in February it would cut prices on Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos and Tostitos chips to win back people frustrated by high prices.

J.B. Hunt Transport Services vroomed 6.3% higher, and Marsh & McLennan climbed 4.4% after both likewise delivered stronger results than expected.

Technology stocks also broadly got some support after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., an industry heavyweight, reported stronger revenue and profit for the start of 2026 than analysts expected. TSMC’s Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang said the company expects strong demand to continue into the spring.

On the losing end of Wall Street was Abbott, which fell 6% even though it reported slightly better results than analysts expected. The health care company cut its forecast for profit over the full year, mostly because of its purchase of cancer-screening company Exact Sciences.

Allbirds slumped 35.8%, but that gave back only a portion of its 582% surge from the day before. The company formerly known for sneakers is pivoting to the artificial-intelligence industry and hopes to rent out the use of high-powered AI chips as a service.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 18.33 points to 7,041.28. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 115.00 to 48,578.72, and the Nasdaq composite gained 86.69 to 24,102.70.

In stock markets abroad, indexes climbed across much of Europe and Asia. Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumped 2.4%, South Korea’s Kospi rallied 2.2% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.7% for some of the world’s larger moves.

China on Thursday reported 5% economic growth for the January-March quarter, an acceleration from the previous quarter. While economists say China has largely shrugged off the initial impacts of the Iran war, some are warning its massive export engine could be hit more significantly in the coming months on slower global economic growth.

In the bond market Treasury yields rose a bit after a report showed fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.31% from 4.29% late Wednesday.

___

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

The school initiated a hold protocol in response to the fight, a district spokesperson said, which clears the hallways and keeps students inside classrooms.

Principal Rick Flores said the school is “calm and safe,” in a letter to parents, and that the fight did not disrupt testing on campus.

“We want to assure parents that fighting is not tolerated,” Flores said. “We take this type of incident very seriously and appropriate disciplinary action is being taken.”

According to the San Antonio Police Department, the two students were detained by San Antonio Independent School District officers. SAPD also responded to the scene to assist an SAISD officer.

Flores said the school is investigating the cause of the fight.

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In the first three months of the year, Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico’s campaign said he brought in $27 million, while vulnerable incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia said he raised $14 million. Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s campaign reported raising $8.8 million and former Sen. Sherrod Brown reported $10.1 million in his comeback bid in Ohio.

The money will help Democrats make their case to voters and counter Republican attacks, but it doesn’t change the fundamental fact that control of the Senate will be decided in territory that favors Republicans. Except for Maine, where Democrats Graham Platner and Janet Mills are still battling for the party's nomination to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins, all of the top battleground races are in states President Donald Trump won in 2024.

The totals reported to the Federal Election Commission Wednesday offer only a snapshot of overall fundraising, as most major campaigns have joint fundraising committees and other accounts from which they can spend. National parties and independent groups also will spend hundreds of millions across the country.

Republicans lagged

Democrats far outpaced Republicans.

In Texas, incumbent Sen. Jon Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton — who are locked in a bitter runoff for the GOP nomination — raised $4.2 million combined, just 15% of Talarico's revenue for the quarter. Two of the three main Republicans in Georgia — Derek Dooley and Buddy Carter — combined for about $1.1 million. The third, Mike Collins, raised just over $1 million.

Former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley raised $3.2 million in North Carolina and Sen. Jon Husted raised $2.9 million in Ohio.

Collins, a top target for Democrats, raised $3.1 million in Maine. Mills, the governor who is preferred by much of the Democratic establishment, raised $2.6 million, while Platner, an oyster farmer backed by progressive leaders including Sen. Bernie Sanders, raised $4 million.

In Alaska, Democratic former Rep. Mary Peltola reported raising $8.7 million, compared with $1.7 million for Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.

Money isn't everything

Republicans said flush coffers don't guarantee victory.

Retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina pointed out that his opponent in 2020 also celebrated successful fundraising quarters but didn't win.

Democrats Beto O'Rourke in 2018 in Texas and Jaime Harrison in 2020 in South Carolina shattered fundraising records and still lost to their Republican rivals.

"We don’t have to outraise them," Tillis said. "We just got to out run them.”

There's an imbalance in Republicans' favor at the national committee level. The Republican National Committee reported roughly $109 million cash on hand in its most recent FEC filing, compared with roughly $16 million for their Democratic counterpart, plus Democrats are carrying about $17 million in debt.

Waiting in the wings for Republicans is a super political action committee tied to Trump — MAGA Inc. — which has more than $300 million cash on hand, according to the FEC.

The rosy first-quarter contributions carry some advantages for Democrats, namely the ability to buy limited advertising slots ahead of the election to get on the air early and make an impression with voters. Candidates also get favorable rates for television ads so their money goes further than independent expenditures by outside groups, though that advantage is eroding as ad spending increasingly shifts toward digital streaming.

“Winning in Texas will require unprecedented resources,” Talarico campaign manager Seth Krasne said in a statement. “This grassroots fundraising haul puts our movement in a strong position to spread our message in some of the most expensive media markets in the country.”

Talarico will face the winner of the GOP runoff on May 26 between Cornyn and Paxton.

___

This story has been corrected to show that Cooper raised $8.8 million, not $13.8 million; Brown raised $10.1 million, not $12.5 million; Whatley raised $3.2 million, not $2.1 million; Peltola raised $8.7 million, not $8.9 million; and Cornyn and Paxton raised $4.2 million combined, not $2.5 million.

___

Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti in Washington contributed to this report.

The Cuban-born star is celebrating half a century in entertainment this year. Long before a decades-spanning acting career, Plana remembers the moment he first felt the power of performance.

He was in the second grade, dressed in a crisp white outfit adorned with academic medals, standing in front of a crowd of about 1,100 people. Tasked with reciting a poem, he delivered it without fear.

“I had these 1,100 people captive,” Plana recalled. “When people ask me about the seminal moment … it has to go back to that moment.”

At the time, he didn’t think much of it. A teacher asked him to perform, and he simply said yes.

“I wasn’t even aware of it,” he said. “I had an affinity and kind of a natural gift for it.”

That early spark would later be shaped by far more difficult circumstances.

By third grade, Plana’s life changed dramatically amid the Cuban Revolution. He described leaving his home as a “radical extraction” from everything familiar.

“All of a sudden we were … ripped out of this culture, everything we knew,” he said. “We really were strangers in a strange land.”

At age 8, Plana left Cuba with his mother and brother. The journey to the United States was traumatic, he said, recalling being strip-searched at the airport before arriving in Miami and seeking exile.

Despite the upheaval, Plana quickly adapted. He said he learned English in about six months after realizing he needed to break out of what he described as a “bubble” of language.

That determination would prove pivotal years later in high school, when a teacher gave him a life-changing direction while reading the Declaration of Independence.

“He said, ‘I want you to read it like the immigrant that you are,’” Plana recalled. “That was my first direction.”

The moment reshaped how he approached language, identity and performance.

“It was one of the most transformational experiences I’ve ever had,” he said.

Around that same time, Plana lived just half a block from MGM Studios, peering through gates as a paperboy and wondering what existed behind them.

“I started seeing this incredible world,” he said. “I never imagined that I could be part of that world.”

Eventually, he would become part of it.

Plana built a career that includes roles alongside comedy legends in “Three Amigos,” which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

“I was so blessed … working with some of the greats,” he said. “And I was right in the thick of them.”

Though he once planned to become a lawyer, Plana said he ultimately caught what he jokingly calls “the bug” for acting — a passion he describes as “the incurable virus.”

Today, his focus extends beyond the screen.

In San Antonio, he has helped expand a program called Seniors in Play, using theater to support seniors, encouraging participants to write and perform stories from their lives.

“You get them out of their apartment … and they start to connect,” he said. “Performing arts are therapeutic. They help to heal.”

The program has grown from two centers to 15 across the city and county, offering participants a chance to revisit meaningful life experiences through storytelling and performance.

Watch the full Pickup Lines with Tony Plana in the video player above.

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Ernie Zuniga started Pickup Lines, a digital talk show, straight from his vehicle. The segments feature a diverse range of guests, including executives, small business owners, and everyday individuals, as they share personal journeys, news, and stories.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Marie-Therese Ross in Alabama on April 1 after she overstayed her 90-day visa, according to DHS. Ross is now being held at a federal immigration detention facility in Louisiana.

Ross is among the thousands of people targeted by the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda that has detained the spouses of U.S. soldiers and military veterans who previously received greater leniency under scrapped policies.

Rodolphe Sambou, Consul General of France in New Orleans, told the AP that the French government has “fully mobilized” to push for her release. He said he has visited her in detention twice so far.

“Given her age, we really want her to get out of this situation as soon as possible,” Sambou said. “We want to get her out of jail.”

Sambou said that he has been communicating frequently with Ross’ family and French officials in Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Paris to try and coordinate Ross’ release and ensure she has access to sufficient food and health care. He said the French government has also contacted DHS.

He declined to comment on her legal status or other details of her case.

Ross married Alabama resident William Ross in April last year, Calhoun County marriage records show. Ross died in January, according to an obituary from his family, which says he was a former captain in the U.S. Army.

A lawyer who is representing Ross in a separate legal matter did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ross' family did not respond to requests for comment.

___

Associated Press writer Samuel Petrequin contributed reporting from France.

___

Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

___

This story has been corrected to say that Marie-Therese Ross is 85, not 86.

Friar and other company executives are banking OpenAI's future on more of the latter as it shifts its focus to business-oriented products while shedding some of its consumer offerings as a pathway to profitability.

OpenAI says it will introduce a new artificial intelligence model for “high-value professional work” as the company faces heightened competition with rival Anthropic in attracting corporate customers to adopt AI assistants in their workplaces.

“You’ll see a new model coming from us in short order. We feel very excited about it,” Friar said in an interview with The Associated Press.

OpenAI boasts of more than 900 million weekly users of its core ChatGPT product, and Friar said about 95% of them “don't pay anything” for the popular chatbot. But while all those interactions build habits and reliance, they also strain the costly computing resources needed to power the company's AI systems and highlight the need for big business customers to help pay the bills.

OpenAI, valued at $852 billion, and Anthropic, valued at $380 billion, both lose more money than they make, putting the privately-owned San Francisco-based AI research laboratories in a fierce competition to generate more revenue as they race toward becoming publicly traded on Wall Street.

A push to improve performance and sales of OpenAI's business-oriented products — already Anthropic's bread and butter — has driven OpenAI to abandon some consumer initiatives, like the AI video generator app Sora.

“I think it was a little heartbreaking, but we’re like, OK, it’s not the main event right now," Friar said. "We need to make sure that our new model that’s coming has enough compute.”

Codenamed Spud, OpenAI says its “smartest model yet” offers “stronger reasoning, better understanding of intent and dependencies, better follow-through and more reliable output in production.” It will be part of OpenAI's answer to Anthropic's new Claude Mythos, which Anthropic claims is so “strikingly capable” that it is limiting its use to select customers because of its apparent ability to surpass human cybersecurity experts in finding or exploiting computer vulnerabilities.

While most people can't use Mythos, Anthropic also on Thursday released Opus 4.7, describing it as its most powerful “generally available" model. OpenAI hours later introduced its own new specialized model called GPT-Rosalind, named after scientist Rosalind Franklin, that's designed to advance drug discovery and other life sciences research.

Friar, the former CEO of neighborhood social platform Nextdoor, said business customers accounted for about 20% of OpenAI’s revenue when she was hired in 2024 as chief financial officer. She said it’s now 40% and expected to account for half of OpenAI’s sales by the end of the year.

It's a sharp turnaround from late last year, when OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman was promoting a now-shuttered Sora partnership with Disney, launching a plan to sell ads on ChatGPT and floating the idea of letting ChatGPT engage in erotica with paid adult users.

Altman said on the “Mostly Human” podcast earlier this month that a sharper focus was needed — and Friar agrees.

“Tech companies, when they’re growing, it’s just this natural thing that happens. There’s so many cool things you could do,” she said, adding that companies can end up doing “really badly” if they do too many things, while "great companies are very good at, in a reasonable period of time, kind of doing that winnowing down and refocusing and it’s super painful.”

Signaling that shift was the hiring three months ago of Slack CEO Denise Dresser to be OpenAI's first chief revenue officer.

Dresser said in a recent AP interview that she has been laser-focused on meeting with corporate leaders and positioning OpenAI as the go-to platform for workplaces employing AI agents to automate a variety of computer-based job tasks.

“It’s really clear to me that companies are past the experimentation phase and they’re into using AI to do real work,” Dresser said. “Leaders at companies are recognizing that AI is probably the most consequential shift of their lifetime.”

But those leaders also have a choice, namely Anthropic's Claude that has become widely used by software professionals. Founded in 2021 by a group of ex-OpenAI leaders who said they wanted to prioritize AI safety, Anthropic has positioned itself as the more responsible AI vendor. The distinction drew attention when President Donald Trump's administration punished the startup after a contract dispute over AI use in the military, and Altman used the opportunity to cement OpenAI's own deal with the Pentagon.

Consumer interest in Anthropic surged and the company said its annualized revenues hit $30 billion, a higher number than what OpenAI has reported, though they measure it differently. Friar and Dresser declined to reveal OpenAI's latest sales but both have suggested that Anthropic's number is inflated because it doesn't account for revenue it must share with cloud computing providers Amazon and Google.

Even so, it remains a tight competition that's also tied to the health of the stock market and the future of the economy.

“They’re likely quite close,” said Luke Emberson, a researcher at nonprofit institute Epoch AI. "Certainly the trends show Anthropic is growing much faster than OpenAI. If that continues, they’re likely to cross soon.”

The urgency led Dresser to send a memo to OpenAI employees on Sunday, first reported by The Verge, that asserted that Anthropic's coding focus “gave them an early wedge” but expressing confidence that OpenAI has the “real structural advantage” as AI usage expands beyond software developers and OpenAI builds enough computing capacity to operate its AI systems.

“Their story is built on fear, restriction, and the idea that a small group of elites should control AI," Dresser's memo said of Anthropic. “Our positive message will win over time: build powerful systems, put in the right safeguards, expand access, and help people do more.”

But for skeptics of the financial viability of the AI industry, the trajectory of both money-losing companies is alarming as smaller startups increasingly become dependent on their AI tools. Anthropic has imposed rate limits on heavy users, forcing some to wait for hours to use Claude, and both companies have set up service tiers that reward premium payers, said author and AI critic Ed Zitron.

“It’s what I call the subprime AI crisis,” Zitron said. “People built their lives and they built their businesses on top of these companies that, as they try and save money, will start turning the screws.”

One thing that both AI leaders and critics agree on is that it is an expensive technology, though whether it is worth the cost in electricity-hungry AI computers remains to be seen.

“People will say, well, ‘Once they go public, they’re safe.’ That’s not true,” Zitron said. “Public companies can and will die, especially ones that are dependent on $100 billion to $200 billion every year or so, just to keep breathing.”

In an exclusive Associated Press interview Thursday, International Energy Agency Director Fatih Birol said Europe has “maybe six weeks” of remaining jet fuel supplies and said the global economy faces its "largest energy crisis."

In general, some European countries hold several months' worth of jet fuel inventory at a time, according to an IEA report released this week.

Jet fuel — a refined kerosene-based oil product — is airlines' biggest cost, making up about 30% of overall expenses, according to the International Air Transport Association. And jet fuel prices have roughly doubled since the war began. Shortages could start next.

“Every passing day that the Strait of Hormuz remains shut, Europe is edging closer to supply shortages,” said Amaar Khan, head of European jet fuel pricing at Argus Media. “The strait accounts for around 40% of Europe’s jet fuel imports, but no jet fuel has passed the strait since the war broke out.”

Airline officials have largely reacted with caution, acknowledging potential fuel issues but working to reassure customers. Still, some carriers have already passed costs on to consumers by increasing fees for baggage and other add-ons, embedding costs into ticket prices, or raising fuel surcharges.

A handful of airlines already are cutting flights. Experts say other parts of air travel — such as scheduling flexibility and routes — would likely be impacted.

Here's a look at how jet fuel supplies work and how consumers might see effects.

How does jet fuel get to the plane?

Jet fuel is made from crude oil at refineries, which also create gasoline and diesel.

Airlines generally buy jet fuel from refineries or fuel companies, similar to drivers buying gasoline from stations, but on a much larger scale. Jet fuel travels on ships and through pipelines and is stored by airlines at airports.

Purchasing is handled by airlines. If fuel supplies are running out in a region, that doesn’t necessarily mean there will be no flights. Some airlines might have more stored than others.

But remaining flights are likely to be expensive, reflecting fuel costs.

Larger airlines have advantages in regions with shortages. They have the financial means to deal with high prices, said Jacques Rousseau, managing director at financial firm Clearview Energy Partners.

In Europe, a number of countries are now relying on less than 20 days of coverage in their fuel supplies, according to this week's IEA report. Supplies haven’t dropped below 29 days since 2020, the report said.

If that falls under 23 days, physical shortages may emerge at some airports, resulting in flight cancellations and lower demand, the report warned.

Which regions could feel pain?

Asia-Pacific countries are the most reliant on oil and jet fuel from the Middle East, followed by Europe, Rousseau said.

Most of Europe’s jet fuel is produced by European refiners, but about 20-25% of its supply is missing because of the war, Rousseau said.

To fill some gaps, the U.S. has increased its exports of jet fuel to Europe considerably, sending about 150,000 barrels per day in April, or about six times the normal level, Rousseau said.

Availability of jet fuel is less of an issue in the U.S., a major oil producer, he added.

“I tell my kids ... we’re not so much going to run out of supply," Rousseau said. "It’s just going to cost more here, whereas in different parts of the world you could actually get to a point where there’s just no fuel.”

How much is the world supply of jet fuel lagging?

The world is losing 10 million to 15 million barrels of oil a day due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, said Pavel Molchanov, senior investment strategist at investment firm Raymond James & Associates.

“There are exactly the same refineries in exactly the same places in Asia and Europe, but if there is not enough oil for those refineries to operate, it’s going to lead to physical supply disruption,” he said.

Even though the IEA has released 400 million barrels of oil from members' emergency reserves, that won't help in the short term, he added.

“It could take until the end of the year to get all of those barrels onto the market,” he said.

How will my travel be affected?

Christopher Anderson, a professor of operations, technology and information management at Cornell University, said travelers should prepare for more than just higher airfares.

“This is no longer just a fuel-price story. For airlines, it is now a network-planning story,” he said. “Higher fuel costs matter, but so do longer routings, reduced scheduling flexibility and greater uncertainty about what demand will look like even a few weeks out.”

Travelers might see “a market with later booking patterns, more schedule volatility and fewer low-fare options if this disruption lasts into the core summer season,” he said.

What are airlines doing?

Dutch airline KLM and U.K. budget carrier easyJet told AP they weren't experiencing current fuel shortages, without commenting further on the IEA’s warning.

Still, both airlines are among those that have seen higher costs eat into their budgets.

On Thursday, KLM said it would cut 160 flights next month — about 1% of its total European routes. The airline cited “rising kerosene costs” and said a limited number of flights are “no longer financially viable to operate.”

In a Thursday update, EasyJet said it expects to see a pretax loss of 540 million to 560 million pounds (about $731 million to $758 million) for the first half of the 2026 fiscal year. Still, CEO Kenton Jarvis said demand remains strong overall — noting that Easter travel was easyJet’s busiest ever for that holiday period.

Lufthansa said Thursday that labor disputes and high fuel prices are forcing it to immediately shut down feeder airline CityLine, earlier than planned, and take its 27 older, less fuel-efficient planes out of service. The decision accelerates a shutdown that had been expected for next year.

U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines — which frequently flies to European destinations — said on Thursday that it was “aware of the potential jet fuel supply issue” on the continent and monitoring the situation. Delta, which bought a refinery in Philadelphia in 2012 to manage its largest expense, said it doesn’t expect any “near-term impact to our operations.”

How are prices affected?

Other airlines have sounded the alarm about rising fuel prices, with some already passing along new costs to travelers, often embedded into ticket prices and add-on fees.

U.S. carriers Delta, United, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and JetBlue have all increased checked baggage fees, for example, in recent weeks.

United CEO Scott Kirby said in a recent memo to staff that if fuel prices stay elevated, it could add $11 billion in annual costs. “For perspective,” Kirby wrote, “in United’s best year ever, we made less than $5B.”

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific recently bumped fuel surcharges by roughly 34% across all routes, while Air India added up to $280 in fees to some flights earlier this month. Emirates, Lufthansa and KLM have also adjusted fees or fares to keep pace with the price volatility.

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AP writer David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany, contributed to this report.

In an interview with the arts website Hyperallergic, Duwaji, an illustrator, said she felt “a lot of shame being confronted with language I used that is so harmful to others," adding “being 15 doesn't excuse it."

"I’ve read and seen a lot of what others have had to say in response, and I understand the hurt I caused and am truly sorry," she said in the interview, published Wednesday, in response to a question about adjusting to life as a public figure.

Duwaji did not specify which comments she was referring to, nor did she address other, more recent social media activity regarding Israel that has attracted heavy scrutiny as Mamdani tries to ease concerns among some in the city's Jewish community over his own criticism of Israel's treatment of Palestinians.

Last month, The Washington Free Beacon reported on years of Duwaji’s online activity across a handful of social media platforms, finding she had shared posts praising female Palestinian militants who participated in plane hijackings and bombings in the 1960s and early 1970s. In 2015, she shared a post in which someone else wrote that Tel Aviv was occupying Palestinian land and “shouldn’t exist.”

Duwaji also once used a racial slur for Black people while affectionately addressing a friend and used an abbreviated slur for gay people in 2013.

The mayor has previously said his wife is a “private person” who does not hold a formal position in City Hall. Asked Thursday about which specific posts his wife regretted, Mamdani demurred.

“She shared some of her reflections in this interview. I won’t add much to them, what I will say, however, is that she is someone of incredible integrity,” Mamdani told reporters.

He added that questions about Duwaji's social media activity were “part and parcel” of his own choice to run for mayor, “a decision that has ramifications for those that I love.”

Separately, Duwaji has also come under criticism for liking an Instagram post that appeared to cheer Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack on Israel. The Free Beacon has also reported that Duwaji provided an illustration for an essay by an author who described the Oct. 7 attack as “spectacular" and had called Jewish Israelis “rootless soulless ghouls.”

Mamdani has previously said his wife had been commissioned to illustrate an excerpt of a book by a third party, and said she had never engaged or met with the author, and that Duwaji had not seen the author's previous comments. He called the author's rhetoric “patently unacceptable” and “reprehensible.”

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AP writer Jake Offenhartz contributed

A change-of-plea hearing for Jones is scheduled for April 28 in Brooklyn federal court, according to a court filing Thursday. It was originally set for May 6, but was moved at the request of the parties.

Jones, 49, had previously pleaded not guilty to separate indictments charging him with profiting from rigged poker games and providing sports bettors with non-public information about injuries to stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Jones is charged in both cases with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.

A message seeking comment was left for his lawyer, Kenneth Montgomery. He told a judge at Jones’ arraignments in November that they “may be engaging in plea negotiations.”

Jones, a onetime teammate of James, was arrested last October along with Portland Trail Blazers head coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, and others, including a sports bettor accused of cashing in on injury information.

Jones was one of three people charged in both the poker and sports betting schemes. He remains free on bail.

A native of Galveston, Texas, Jones earned more than $20 million playing for 10 teams in 11 seasons from 1999 to 2009. He and James played together in Cleveland from 2005 to 2008 and Jones served as an unofficial assistant coach for James’ Los Angeles Lakers during the 2022-2023 season.

According to prosecutors, Jones sold or attempted to sell non-public information to bettors that James was injured and wouldn’t be playing in a Feb. 9, 2023, game against the Milwaukee Bucks, texting an unnamed co-conspirator: “Get a big bet on Milwaukee tonight before the information is out.”

James wasn’t listed on the Lakers’ injury report at the time of the text message, but the NBA’s all-time scoring leader was later ruled out of the game because of a lower body injury, according to prosecutors, and the Lakers lost the game 115-106.

On Jan. 15, 2024, prosecutors said, sports bettor Marves Fairley paid Jones approximately $2,500 for a tip that Davis, the Lakers’ forward and center at the time, would see limited playing time against the Oklahoma City Thunder because of an injury.

Fairley then placed a $100,000 bet on the Thunder to win, prosecutors said, but the tip was wrong. Davis played his usual minutes, scored 27 points and collected 15 rebounds in a 112-105 Lakers win, prompting Fairley to demand a refund of his $2,500 fee, prosecutors said.

In the poker scheme, according to prosecutors, Jones was among former NBA players used to lure unwitting players into poker games that were rigged using altered shuffling machines, hidden cameras, special sunglasses and even X-ray equipment built into the table.

According to the indictment, Jones was paid $2,500 for a game in the Hamptons where he was instructed to cheat by paying close attention to others involved in the scheme. His instructor likened those people to James and NBA All-Star Steph Curry, prosecutors said. When in doubt, Jones was told to fold his hand, prosecutors said.

In response, according to prosecutors, Jones texted: “y’all know I know what I’m doing!!”

The poker scheme often made use of illegal poker games run by New York crime families that required them to share a portion of their proceeds with the Gambino, Genovese and Bonnano crime families, according to prosecutors.

Members of those families, in turn, also helped commit violent acts, including assault, extortion and robbery, to ensure repayment of debts and the continued success of the operation, officials said in court documents.

A hot hand from outside the three-point arc, Jones once proclaimed himself in an interview with insidehoops.com as “the best shooter in the world.” He played in every regular season game for three consecutive seasons from 2003 to 2006.

After his playing days, he worked as a “shooting consultant” for the Cavaliers and was an assistant coach when the team, led by James, won the NBA championship in 2016.

“Long live the movies,” Ellison said.

A starry show and a commitment to theaters

His company’s pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, in a deal valued at $111 billion, has been the source of much handwringing and speculation in Hollywood and exhibition. But Ellison came to the conference ready to show the exhibitors in the audience that he is serious about his commitment to movies and theaters, with a glossy mini movie about the studio’s past and future directed by Jon M. Chu and narrated by Tom Cruise. The promo featured cameos by Will Smith, Mark Wahlberg, Chris Pratt, Timothée Chalamet, John Krasinski and Teyana Taylor and closed with sweeping music and Cruise seated atop the iconic Paramount water tower.

“The future is paramount and the future looks pretty great from here,” Cruise said in the video.

Ellison told the exhibitors, “I love cinema and I love film. I always have and I always will,” and promised, “you can count on our complete commitment.”

The studio also announced that a third “Top Gun” movie is in development, in the script stage, with Cruise returning.

Paramount put on a big show for exhibitors with appearances by Johnny Depp, Billie Eilish and James Cameron. They touted planned franchises and IP like the live action “Call of Duty,” “A Quiet Place Part III” and the fourth “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie. They also originals including the adaptation of “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” with Daisy Edgar-Jones, a new Damien Chazelle movie with Cillian Murphy and Daniel Craig, and Teyana Taylor’s directorial debut, the dance movie “Get Lite.”

Depp was there to talk about starring in Ti West’s “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol,” a story he said he’s been obsessed with since he was a child. Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans and Anna Faris came out for the sixth “Scary Movie.” And Gina Prince-Bythewood and actors Thuso Mbedu and Damson Idris also previewed the tribal action movie “Children of Blood and Bone.”

Debate about the merger

In late February, Paramount Skydance reached a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, which has been at the center of many discussions at the trade show and convention about what the implications might be for the depleted exhibition business.

No one mentioned Paramount at the over two-hour Warner Bros. presentation on Tuesday, but several of the filmmakers who made appearances were among the thousands who signed an open letter opposing the merger, including Denis Villeneuve and J.J. Abrams. In fact, the only studio other than Paramount to reference it at all was Amazon MGM, itself the product of an $8.5 billion merger, and it was in an irreverent promo for the “Spaceballs” sequel.

Cameron, who co-directed Paramount’s upcoming concert film “Billie Eilish — Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D),” is one of the filmmakers who has said he supports the deal and is unbothered by the prospect of a Paramount-owned Warner Bros. In an interview with The Associated Press last week, Cameron praised Ellison as a “natural born storyteller” who “really cares about movies.”

“He’s the right man for the job to run a major studio, and now it looks like he’s going to have two of them, you know, swept under his leadership, which doesn’t bother me at all,” Cameron said.

The regulatory question

Paramount, which closed its own $8 billion merger with Skydance just months ago, promised that it would release 15 movies in theaters in 2026. The deal awaits a shareholder vote later this month and government regulatory approval at the state and federal level. The U.S. Justice Department still needs to weigh in on the blockbuster combination that could give Paramount pricing power over movies and other offerings, potentially hurting customers.

In documents filed to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Paramount said, “Our priority is to build a vibrant, healthy business and industry — one that supports Hollywood and creative, benefits consumers, encourages competition, and strengthens the overall job market.”

They’ve also said they would look for ways to save some $6 billion through job cuts in “duplicative operations.”

Executives at Paramount have argued that merging with Warner will allow it to compete with bigger rivals particularly in the streaming space and bring larger content libraries for its customers. The 102-year-old Warner Bros. has a film library that includes “Harry Potter,” “Superman” and “Barbie.”

On Wednesday, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker held a spotlight hearing in Washington, D.C., on the potential anticompetitive impact of the consolidation of two of Hollywood’s big five studios into one.

Actor Mark Ruffalo, who has been one of the most outspoken critics of the merger said, “tens of thousands of workers will be left poorer, along with the audiences we serve.”

David Borenstein, who just won an Oscar for his documentary “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” noted that it could further erode access to documentary filmmaking, “because a small number of distributors have consolidated power and decided to feed audiences a narrow and politically safe diet of content.” While neither Paramount Studios nor Warner Bros. are particularly well-known for their non-fiction releases, WBD companies CNN and HBO are.

Ellison did not attend the meeting in D.C. on Wednesday. An Ellison spokeswoman confirmed he attended a funeral Wednesday.

Bexar County court records show Manuel Rubio, 29, was taken into custody Wednesday night on the following charges:

• misuse of official information, a third-degree felony
• unauthorized disclosures of information, a Class B misdemeanor

According to Rubio’s arrest affidavit, a search warrant was previously obtained for a different suspect’s social media account in an auto theft investigation.

A detective noticed a picture of the auto theft suspect’s vehicle on the social media account, which the detective determined was taken from SAPD’s digital records system.

According to the warrant, the detective recognized the photo — which was taken from SAPD’s EAGLE Helicopter — as one that they uploaded into the system’s investigative section.

Further investigation revealed that the photo was sent to the suspect through Rubio’s phone number, who the affidavit identified as a civilian SAPD records employee.

An internal audit also indicated that Rubio was the only person to view the photo in the system. Rubio viewed the photo on the same day he communicated with the auto theft suspect on social media, court documents show.

Additionally, Rubio told the suspect that they were under police surveillance, which may have impacted law enforcement safety and the overall investigation, the affidavit states.

According to the detective, Rubio also accessed criminal justice information services for an unidentified pro basketball coach, his own family’s felony criminal records, a victim in an assault case and other classified data, according to the warrant.

In a subsequent interview with investigators, the affidavit states Rubio admitted to sending the photo to the suspect and accessing the other investigative information.

He was also aware his actions were a violation of city policy, court documents state.

Rubio was booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on a combined $11,000 bond, records show. He has since bonded out of custody.

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The bill, pushed forward by House Democrats with a group of Republicans over the objections of the GOP leadership, would require a three-year extension of temporary protected status for Haitians by the Trump administration. That would allow hundreds of thousands of qualifying immigrants to remain in the United States without fear of deportation.

The vote was 224-204, drawing applause in the chamber. But it faces uncertainty in the Senate, and the Republican president would almost certainly seek to veto it.

“I know firsthand how important our Haitian neighbors are to our communities, to our civic life, to our culture, to our workforce, to our economy,” said Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, who is co-chair of the House Haiti Caucus and represents one of the largest Haitian communities in the country.

During the debate, she recounted the number of Haitian immigrants working in health care, housing construction, and other industries. Haitians with temporary legal status "are not the problem, quite the contrary, they are part of the solution,” she said.

Pressley has said deporting Haitians back to the troubled Caribbean country would be a “death sentence,” given the effects of natural disasters and gang violence. "Congress can do the right thing," she said.

Ten Republicans, many from districts with large numbers of Haitian residents, joined all Democrats and one independent in voting for passage.

Congress tries to act before the Supreme Court does

The effort to help 350,000 Haitians living lawfully in the United States comes as the administration is working to end the temporary legal status for several groups, exposing them to deportation.

In less than two weeks, the Supreme Court is prepared to consider a fast-track case that would end the protected status for Haitian and Syrian immigrants in a challenge widely seen as threatening the broader program. The administration filed emergency appeals after lower courts stopped the immediate end of the program.

It is part of the administration's efforts to strip certain immigrant groups of legal status as the White House works to fulfill Trump's campaign promise of conducting the largest mass deportation operation in history. Some 1.3 million people fleeing countries around the world have been granted temporary protected status in the U.S.

The protections for Haiti, first approved after a devastating 2010 earthquake, have been extended multiple times. The State Department warns Americans not to travel to Haiti “due to kidnapping, crime, terrorist activity, civil unrest.”

Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, an advocacy organization, fought back tears as she described the fear of deportations coursing through the community.

“We are asking, where will you be on the right side of history?" she asked at a news conference outside the Capitol. “Or continuing to cause trauma to people who are asking for nothing other than safety and protection.”

Trump has described migrants from poorer countries in vulgar terms, and he has falsely accused Haitian migrants in Ohio of eating their neighbors’ cats and dogs.

The conservative majority court has allowed the end of temporary legal status for a total of 600,000 people from Venezuela while lawsuits play out, leaving them to face potential deportation.

Lawmakers debate whether to help Haitians or stick with Trump

Rep. Laura Gillen, D-N.Y., whose district includes Long Island's Haitian community, said she promised constituents she would work to protect their status. She introduced the legislation with Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York as soon as she took office last year.

“It's cruel to expect Haitians to be forced to return to these deadly, dangerous conditions,” she said at a news conference. “Human lives are at risk.”

Lawler said there are differences of opinion on immigration policy, but that Haitian immigrants have become vital to his community and forcing them out would be unjust and unwise.

“They are small business owners, they are nurses, they are caregivers, they participate in our economy and take care of American citizens,” he said. “Congress has a responsibility to act.”

But Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, decried the number of immigrants, including Haitians, who have entered the U.S., and cited Democratic efforts to halt funding for enforcement and deportation efforts.

“Make temporary permanent,” he said, “that's their plan.”

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, said the program was a “backdoor amnesty” for foreigners.

To Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., the temporary status first granted under the Obama administration has become an “an open-ended invitation” for immigrants to enter the country, including some illegally, and remain.

"The Trump administration has heeded the cries of the American people," he said.

Using a discharge petition to force votes

The vote was the latest effort by House Democrats to maneuver past the Republican majority using a discharge petition — once a rare tool, but now used increasingly to form bipartisan coalitions.

The discharge petition process forces the bill to the House floor for consideration, powering past House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and GOP leaders. It was used to help pass legislation that required the Justice Department to release the files of the sex trafficking investigation of Jeffrey Epstein.

Republicans hold a slim majority in the House and are typically able to swat back such efforts from Democrats. But Democrats and Republicans have formed bipartisan alliances to reach the majority needed on the discharge petitions.

Pressley's effort to discharge the bill won support from four Republicans on the initial petition, and several more once it came to the floor vote.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol painted a sobering picture of the global repercussions of what he called “the largest energy crisis we have ever faced,” stemming from the pinch-off of oil, gas and other vital supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

“In the past there was a group called ‘Dire Straits.’ It’s a dire strait now, and it is going to have major implications for the global economy. And the longer it goes, the worse it will be for the economic growth and inflation around the world,” he told The Associated Press.

The impact will be “higher petrol (gasoline) prices, higher gas prices, high electricity prices,” said Birol, speaking in his Paris office looking out over the Eiffel Tower.

Economic pain will be felt unevenly and “the countries who will suffer the most will not be those whose voice are heard a lot. It will be mainly the developing countries. Poorer countries in Asia, in Africa and in Latin America,” said the Turkish economist and energy expert who has led the IEA since 2015.

But without a settlement of the Iran war that permanently reopens the Strait of Hormuz, “Everybody is going to suffer,” he added.

“Some countries may be richer than the others. Some countries may have more energy than the others, but no country, no country is immune to this crisis,” he said.

'Slow growth or even recession'

Nearly 20% of the world’s traded oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz in peacetime. Birol warned that not reopening the waterway within weeks could compound the repercussions for global energy supplies.

“In Europe, we have maybe six weeks or so (of) jet fuel left,” he said. “If we are not able to open the Strait of Hormuz ... I can tell you soon we will hear the news that some of the flights from city A to city B might be canceled as a result of lack of jet fuel.”

Dutch airline KLM and U.K.-based budget carrier easyJet said Thursday that they were not experiencing current fuel shortages, without commenting further on the IEA’s warning. Meanwhile, U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines — which frequently flies to destinations across Europe — said it was aware of the continent's "potential jet fuel supply issue” and monitoring the situation, although it didn't expect immediate impacts. Still, all three airlines are among those that have already seen higher costs eat into their budgets.

KLM is cutting 160 flights to and from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport next month, accounting for about 1% of its total European routes. The airline cited “rising kerosene costs,” and said a limited number of flights are “no longer financially viable to operate.”

Travelers are already paying the consequences. Beyond flight cancellations, some carriers are increasing ticket fares and add-on fees.

Birol added: “Many government leaders tell me that if Hormuz is not open until (the) end of May, many countries — starting from the weaker economies — are going to face huge challenges, and this will go from the high inflation numbers to coming close to slow growth or even to recession in some cases.”

Birol spoke out against the so-called “toll booth” system that Iran has applied to some ships, letting them travel through the strait for a fee. He said allowing that to become more permanent would run the risk of setting a precedent that could then be applied to other waterways, including the vital Malacca Strait in Asia.

“If we change it once, it may be difficult to get it back,” he said. “It will be difficult to have a toll system here, applied here, but not there.”

“I would like to see that the oil flows unconditionally from the point A to point B,” he said.

Damage for Persian Gulf energy facilities

More than 110 oil-laden tankers and over 15 carriers loaded with liquefied natural gas are waiting in the Persian Gulf and could help ease the energy crisis if they could escape through the Strait of Hormuz to world markets, Birol said, adding: “But it is not enough.”

Even with a peace deal, war-damage to energy facilities means it could be many months before preconflict levels of production are restored, he said.

“Over 80 key assets in the region have been damaged. And out of these 80, more than one-third are severely or very severely damaged,” he said.

“It will be extremely optimistic to believe that it will very quick,” Birol said. “It will take gradually, gradually, up to two years to come back where we were before the war.”

‘Dark shadow’ of geopolitics

Birol said it is incomprehensible that “a couple of hundred men with guns” — apparently referring to Iranian forces — are able to hold hostage the global economy. He said his Paris-based agency, which advises governments on energy policy and helped coordinate a record release of emergency oil reserves earlier in the crisis, has warned for years about the critical importance of the Strait of Hormuz.

The global shock could spur the embrace of other energy technologies, including nuclear power, and “will reshape the global energy map for the next years to come,” he said.

On his office shelves, Birol has a couple of soccer balls — he's a devoted supporter of the Turkish club Galatasaray — and other memorabilia, including a photo of his late father playing soccer, and reams of books. One in particular stood out for its timely title: “Oil, Power and War.”

“Energy and geopolitics have been always interwoven,” Birol said. “But I have never, ever seen ... such a dark and long shadow of geopolitics.”

He added: "Unfortunately, energy is at the heart of many conflicts which, again, makes me, as an energy person, rather sad, to be honest.”

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AP Business Writer Wyatte Grantham-Philips contributed from New York.

Díaz-Canel spoke during a rally that drew hundreds of people to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the declaration of the Cuban Revolution’s socialist essence.

“The moment is extremely challenging and calls upon us once again, as on April 16, 1961, to be ready to confront serious threats, including military aggression. We do not want it, but it is our duty to prepare to avoid it and, if it becomes inevitable, to defeat it,” Díaz-Canel said.

He spoke as tensions remain high between the two countries, with Cuba’s crises deepening as a result of a U.S. energy blockade.

Earlier this week, Trump said his administration could focus on Cuba after the war in Iran ends.

“We may stop by Cuba after we finish with this,” he said. He described it as a “failing nation” and asserted that it’s “been a terribly run country for a long time.”

Trump previously has threatened to intervene in Cuba, like he did in early January when the U.S. military attacked Venezuela and halted key oil shipments from the South American country.

Weeks later, Trump threatened tariffs on any country that sells or provides oil to Cuba.

Both Trump and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio — whose parents emigrated from Cuba in the 1950s before the revolution — have described the island’s government as ineffective and abusive. The U.S. demands on Cuba's government in return for easing sanctions have included an end to political repression, a release of political prisoners and a liberalization of the island's ailing economy.

Díaz-Canel accused them of trying to construct a “narrative” that has no justification.

“Cuba is not a failed state. Cuba is a besieged state. Cuba is a state facing multidimensional aggression: economic warfare, an intensified blockade and an energy blockade,” said Díaz-Canel, the main speaker at Thursday’s rally.

“Cuba is a threatened state that does not surrender. And despite everything. And thanks to socialism. Cuba is a state that resists, creates, and make no mistake, a state that will prevail,” Díaz-Canel added.

Both Cuba and the U.S. have acknowledged talks to resolve the tension, but no details have been disclosed.

The Cuban president recalled the achievements made possible by the revolution and its social welfare system, which allows for free education that has trained thousands of professionals, many of whom have chosen to emigrate due to the country's economic crisis.

The oil embargo imposed by Trump worsened the already harsh conditions brought on by an economic crisis that has lasted for five years, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and a tightening of U.S. sanctions aimed at pressuring for a change in the island’s political model.

Experts have warned of a humanitarian crisis.

Measures to prevent the island from acquiring oil from its Venezuelan, Mexican and Russian suppliers are exacerbating the already poor living conditions of the population, including prolonged blackouts and fuel shortages.

The rally commemorated the 65th anniversary of a historic speech by the late leader, Fidel Castro, during a crisis with the United States. That moment marked the ideological course the Caribbean nation would take and its opposition to Washington’s continental hegemony.

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Follow AP’s Latin America coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Locally owned, Susie’s Comida is showing us some of their best Mexican dishes and talking about their delicious tortillas.

Celebrating their centennial, the Cavalier Grand Marshall stops by to talk about the recipient of their $2 million donation.

Cowboys AC and Heating stop by to introduce the new face of Cowboys and thank the community for over 20 years of business.

Hilley and Solis are giving away $9,999 in Uber ride vouchers to help people get home safe from Fiesta. Just scan the QR Code on to redeem.

Jen talks with author of Breaking Alzheimers about 3 simple tips that people can use to prevent Alzheimers.

Nearly 700 drones and dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles were used, as Ukrainian officials acknowledged that vital stocks of advanced interceptors are running low.

Tetiana Sokol, a 54-year-old Kyiv resident, said two missiles hit near her home and she took cover with her dog in the hallway as flashes lit up the night and windows shattered from the blast wave.

“On the third attack everything broke, everything flew, we were shocked, we didn’t know where to run. I grabbed whatever came to hand and ran away with the dog,” she told The Associated Press.

Moscow's forces have hit civilian areas almost daily since its all-out invasion of its neighbor more than four years ago, with the regular assaults occasionally punctuated by massive attacks. More than 15,000 Ukrainian civilians have died in the strikes, the United Nations says.

Russia's Defense Ministry maintained the operation was launched against military-related targets “in retaliation” for Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia against oil refineries and weapons plants.

European Council President António Costa described Thursday's strikes in Ukraine as “yet another horrendous attack” while people slept in their homes.

Zelenskyy on a mission to improve air defenses

The attacks came in the wake of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's 48-hour trip this week to Germany, Norway and Italy in an urgent search for more air defense systems that can stop Russian missiles.

Ukraine has developed a significant domestic arms industry, especially in the production of drones and missiles, but cannot yet match the sophistication of U.S. Patriot air defense systems.

Yuriy Ihnat, head of communications for the Ukrainian air force, said the Russian attack made extensive use of ballistic missiles, which only Patriot systems can reliably shoot down.

“We desperately need more missiles for the Patriot systems," Ihnat told Ukraine’s private TV channel 1+1.

Ukraine fears the Iran war is depleting stockpiles of the advanced American-made air defense systems it needs, and strongly opposes a U.S. pause on Russian oil sanctions.

“Another night has proven that Russia does not deserve any easing of global policy or lifting of sanctions,” Zelenskyy said on X.

Ukrainian city grieves over death of young boy

Thursday's strikes killed four people in Kyiv, including a 12-year-old, with more than 50 others injured, authorities said. Attacks killed nine people in the southern port city of Odesa and four in the central Dnipro region.

The central city of Cherkasy declared a day of mourning Thursday for the funeral of eight-year-old Bohdan Serhiiev, killed in a Russian drone strike earlier this week.

Mourners left flowers and stuffed toys next to the open casket before the burial, while friends and classmates held white balloons and a sign reading “Eternal Memory.”

“He was such a happy kid. He was always running around and he loved me so much,” Bohdan’s 15-year-old brother Denys Zhuk, told the AP. "We played together, went to soccer l together. I love my younger brother so much. I just wish he was here with me.”

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Hanna Arhirova and Derek Gatopoulos in Kyiv contributed.

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

“I asked him how they found me. They found me on social media, liked my videos and they liked my merchandise,” Melissa Rojas said.

Rojas traveled to the desert festival area and set up alongside dozens of Latino-owned brands, which were part of a celebration tied to Karol G’s historic performance as Coachella’s first Latina headliner.

She said that shoppers were supportive, and some of her followers even traveled two hours to make an appearance.

“I feel seen, and I feel honored for (Karol G) to be in this, in this big moment that’s hers because it’s her time to shine,” Rojas said, in part. “But she’s bringing us alongside all this, because it wasn’t just me, it was other small brands, Latinos."

Rojas plans to return for another pop-up event at Coachella on Sunday. She will continue to appear at Fiesta events in San Antonio.

You can find Rojas’ pop-up schedule on her Instagram account.

He was released pending an appeal, which will be heard at a later date.

If the verdict and sentence are upheld, Malema will be disqualified as a lawmaker. South African law bars anyone from serving in Parliament if they have been convicted of an offense and sentenced to more than 12 months in prison without the option of a fine.

Malema was convicted in October on five counts, including unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, discharge of a firearm in a built-up area and reckless endangerment.

Malema addressed hundreds of his party supporters, popularly known as “fighters," many of whom traveled from various provinces to attend the sentencing. Clad in their red party regalia, they chanted and sang before and after the sentence was delivered.

A defiant Malema criticized the magistrate, claiming she was biased against him throughout the case. “We were tried by a magistrate who doesn't read, who uses emotions, who speaks politics. We are done with her, we are going to a higher court,” he said.

Delivering the sentence, Magistrate Twanet Olivier said she considered the magnitude of the offense when she determined his sentence. “We hear daily, or weekly, of children playing in the front yards, in the street, who are caught in crossfire, random shots fired, killing people. It’s just the first time that we hear, it’s being called celebratory shots,” Olivier said.

The fiery lawmaker, who leads the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters party, was charged alongside his bodyguard Anton Snyman, after the video of the incident went viral. Snyman was found not guilty.

During his trial and sentencing, Malema said that the charges against him were politically motivated as they were brought by Afriforum, a lobby group for the white Afrikaner minority group that has been at odds with Malema for years.

Olivier said the sentence and verdict was based solely on his actions on the day.

Malema, whose party is the fourth-biggest in the country, is a divisive figure, mainly because of his party policies, which include the expropriation of white-owned land without compensation and the nationalization of mines and banks.

He appeared in a video shown by U.S. President Donald Trump during a tense meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa last year, where he was singing a controversial anti-apartheid song that has been interpreted by some as calling for violence against Afrikaners.

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Follow AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

Jay Bryant pleaded not guilty to murder after his 2023 indictment, but his lawyer and federal prosecutors told the court in recent letters that they were negotiating a plea agreement.

A court docket entry Thursday indicated that Bryant intends to change his plea, without saying anything about the charge or conduct to which he might admit or the punishment he might expect. No date was set for a change of plea, and prosecutors declined to comment; a message was sent to Bryant’s attorney.

The notice isn't an irreversible commitment, and defendants can change their minds about pleading guilty even as they're sitting in court.

If Bryant goes through with the plea, it could bring a measure of both closure and complexity to the already convoluted case. Co-defendants Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington were convicted by a jury, but Jordan was later cleared by a judge — and Bryant has been something of an outlier.

He was indicted nearly three years after the others, when authorities said Bryant's DNA was found on a hat in the music studio where Jam Master Jay was gunned down. Born Jason Mizell, he was the DJ in Run-DMC, crafting beats and scratches that helped propel rap into music’s mainstream in the 1980s. The trio's hits included “It’s Tricky” and a take on Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.”

By the time the DNA was allegedly matched to Bryant, prosecutors had long since articulated a theory that Jordan and Washington — both of whom were close to Mizell — went after him out of anger over a failed drug deal. According to prosecutors and trial witnesses, Jordan shot the DJ while Washington blocked the door during the shooting and ordered one of Mizell's to get on the ground. Both men denied the allegations.

Jordan was Mizell's grandson, and Washington was one of the DJ's childhood friends. Bryant, by contrast, had little if any connection to the rap star. He knew someone in common with Jordan and Washington, according to testimony at their trial, but it was unclear whether Bryant had ever met Mizell.

After the alleged DNA match, prosecutors contended that Bryant had slipped into the studio building and opened a back fire door so that Washington and Jordan could avoid buzzing up and could ambush the DJ.

Meanwhile, Bryant’s uncle claimed that his nephew told him he shot Mizell after the artist reached for a gun. No other witnesses even placed Bryant in the studio, however, and prosecutors differed with the uncle's account, even though he was their witness . Instead, they suggested that Bryant touched the hat and then Jordan or Washington carried it into the studio and dropped it.

Neither Washington's nor Jordan's DNA was found on the hat, according to court papers.

One of Jordan’s lawyers, Michael Hueston, argued that the charges against Bryant raised reasonable doubt about the case against Jordan. Jordan's conviction ultimately was overturned for unrelated reasons.

Bryant, now 52, was jailed on federal drug and gun charges when he was indicted in Mizell's death. He has since pleaded guilty in the drug and firearm case and is awaiting sentencing.

It’s the medals.

At Travis Park, collectors were already showing off their favorites, trading medals with others and talking about what keeps them coming back year after year.

“Chasing Fiesta medals. It’s a sport? It’s a sport, I guess,” Fiesta medal collector Noreen Espinoza said. “I don’t know, but it’s a lot of fun.”

For some, the hobby quickly turns into something bigger.

“I went crazy, got medal fever and been doing it ever since, but I don’t know what drives it,” Fiesta medal collector Sal Rios said.

Collectors said part of the appeal is the exclusivity, and the effort it takes to get certain medals.

“Just innocent fun? Yes, it is. It can be a little competitive,” another attendee said. “I feel some people, you know? It’s a sport. The dedication to get in the line. ‘Who has the best medals, or who has the more exclusive medals.’”

That dedication can lead to sizable collections.

“Just over 300,” one collector said when asked how many medals they have at home.

Others said the medals mean more than just collecting.

“In addition to these all the other events, you have a memory of what that is, and you are able to keep it,” Fiesta medal collector Edward Riojas said. “And whenever you want that memory to come back, you go ahead and just bring out that medal and look at it.”

Everyone seems to have their favorites.

“SA Potholes. I stood in line for this one,” one person said.

“And, of course, the Virgen de Guadalupe,” another attendee said. “Everyone loves this one.”

Even the small details and designs spark excitement in the crowd.

“Oh, I see her spine! That’s beautiful!” one person said while looking at a medal.

While Fiesta Fiesta is packed with color, energy and tradition, some attendees said the event’s community feel is what makes it stand out.

“Adam Caskey, he’s the best. I love him,” one attendee joked when asked what makes Fiesta Fiesta feel like the people’s event.

The event is more than just medals. Fiesta-goers are also encouraged to bring their wildest Fiesta gear, trade medals and take part in the People’s Parade.

As one attendee put it, no Fiesta celebration is complete without a favorite beverage.

“Big Red,” one attendee said. “Everyone loves Big Red.”

Fiesta Fiesta is set for April 16 at Travis Park and serves as the official kickoff to Fiesta season.

More recent Fiesta 2026 coverage on KSAT:

• Fiesta events for April 16: Fiesta Fiesta, Taste of the Republic
• WATCH: KSAT’s Fiesta Fiesta special to kick off Fiesta 2026
• 🎊 ¡Viva! Your guide to Fiesta 2026 in San Antonio

And Adebayo wants the league to look at how plays like that can be reviewed going forward.

Ball will play Friday for the Hornets in their play-in elimination game at Orlando — the reality that Charlotte coach Charles Lee hoped for, and something that Miami coach Erik Spoelstra didn't seem to have a problem with.

“I didn’t think that he needed to be penalized more moving forward. I don't think that would make sense," Spoelstra said Thursday as the Heat held their season-ending meetings — two days after being eliminated from the postseason with a 127-126 loss in Charlotte, a game that Adebayo missed much of after being injured on a play where Ball grabbed at his ankle as he was falling.

“I don’t think he’s a dirty player. I just think, in that moment, all things can be true,” Spoelstra said. “It was a dirty play and a dangerous play. It should have been caught at that moment. But it wasn’t and then, you know, you move on.”

The league said Ball made “unnecessary and reckless contact” with Adebayo. Ball was fined $35,000 for the foul, plus another $25,000 for using profanity in a postgame on-court interview.

“Everybody’s going to have their opinion on it," Adebayo said when asked his thoughts on the play. “Nobody’s really going to know the truth but LaMelo if it was dirty or not, obviously. Everybody's going to try to defend him or defend me. ... We move on at this point.”

The flagrant foul from Tuesday’s game, if called as a Category 2 in real time, would have resulted in Miami being awarded two free throws and possession of the ball — plus would have led to Ball's ejection.

An NBA investigation is standard after such plays; referee Zach Zarba even told a pool reporter Tuesday night that the league would be looking into the play further. The league's word came late Wednesday night, and only then could Lee exhale.

“I think the league handed out something that was what they deemed to be fair," Lee said in Charlotte on Thursday before the team's flight to Orlando. "And we’re glad that we still have him going on to the next game. I know he never has the intent to try to hurt anybody out there on the court. But I'm glad everything’s kind of settled now.”

Per NBA rules, the Heat could not challenge the ruling on the play because no foul was called. Play continued, leaving no opportunity for a replay review. Adebayo was diagnosed with a lower-back contusion as a result of the fall, and he wondered why mechanisms exist to take 3-point makes off the scoreboard after several more minutes of play — but incidents like the one Tuesday can't be reviewed unless immediately whistled.

“I think the officials handled it, I guess, by the rule book,” Adebayo said. “I feel like it'll be a change at some point. It doesn't make sense that three or four plays go by and you can review a 3-point shot but you can't review a hostile act.”

It's at least the second time Ball has been involved in such a play with Adebayo. During a game at Miami in January 2024, when Ball grabbed at Adebayo’s leg as the Heat star was running to the other end of the court. Adebayo stumbled but did not fall.

“There's never been any, like, bad blood between us. ... There's always been good conversations,” Adebayo said. “As far as those incidents, I can't tell you what goes through his mind.”

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

Democrats voiced concern that the United States is becoming further entrenched in another lengthy conflict in the Middle East. They promised to keep raising the issue through more war powers votes in the coming weeks.

The 213-214 vote came one day after a similar effort failed in the Senate. The U.S. and Israel struck Iran on Feb. 28, and a fragile ceasefire is now in its second week.

Democrats overwhelmingly supported the attempt to rein in Trump's use of military force.

“We're standing at the edge of a cliff and Congress must act before the president pushes off,” said New York Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. “Every day we delay, we inch closer to a conflict with no exit ramp.”

Republicans tried to cast the effort as hypocritical.

Florida Rep. Brian Mast, the committee chairman, said Congress never voted on a war powers resolution when the U.S. attacked Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen in 2024 while Democrat Joe Biden was president.

“When Joe Biden was responding to merchant marine vessels being attacked, it was OK. No war power needed. It went on for about a year,” Mast said. “President Trump responds — war power, war power, war power. ... That's the hypocrisy.”

Under the War Powers Act of 1973, Congress must declare war or authorize use of force within 60 days — a deadline in the Iran war that will arrive at the end of April. The law provides for a potential 30-day extension, but lawmakers have made clear that they want the Republican administration to soon lay out a plan for the war's end.

While the House vote failed, it gave Democrats an opportunity to highlight some of the most negative effects of the war: the billions of dollars spent, the death of at least 13 service members, the soaring gas prices and fissures with long-standing allies who do not support Trump's actions.

“Gas prices at home are up to $7 in my home state, and families are hurting," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash. “Another 10,000 U.S. troops are being sent in to join 50,000 already stationed in the Middle East with absolutely no strategy, no plan and no exit.”

Republicans defended Trump as taking decisive action against an Iranian government that has long terrorized the Middle East and its own people.

“President Donald Trump has sent a message that those who threaten the United States and our partners will be ultimately held accountable," said Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C.

In Thursday's vote, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was the only Republican to cross party lines and vote for removing U.S. forces from the war. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine was the only Democrat to vote against the measure.

The first House vote to curb Trump's miliary action with Iran failed in early March, 212-219.

Weighing a mere 673 grams (1.4 pounds), Yuji represents the most recent case of assisted rearing at the Guadalajara Zoo in western Mexico.

The story of Yuji has captured the attention of the Mexican public, drawing parallels to Punch, the Japanese macaque that went viral on social media after growing up clinging to a stuffed orangutan following his mother’s rejection.

Unlike Punch, Yuji has not yet had physical contact with other members of his species; he spends most of his time inside a monkey crate at the Guadalajara Zoo’s Comprehensive Center for Animal Medicine and Welfare, CIMBA, where he is under the care of 12 veterinarians and biologists.

No date has been set for Yuji’s transfer to a habitat shared by 12 other adult patas monkeys and three other infants. That will depend on when he is weaned from a milk-only diet and starts an adult diet complete with fruits and vegetables, said veterinarian Iván Reynoso Ruiz, head of the primate section at the Guadalajara Zoo. That could happen when Yuji is around 6 months old, he said.

Just hours after giving birth on March 3, Kamaria began exhibiting irregular behavior. She struggled to hold her firstborn correctly, leaving the infant unable to secure a grip on its mother.

After noticing a problem, keepers separated the mother from her newborn, who weighed just 443 grams (less than a pound) and required immediate placement in an incubator at CIMBA to stabilize his temperature and safeguard his health, Reynoso Ruiz said.

This was the start of the infant's assisted rearing, a process often used by zoos to protect the health and development of at-risk offspring. A caregiver named him Yuji after a popular Japanese manga character.

During his first few weeks, Yuji was under round-the-clock supervision and was bottle-fed fortified milk.

From the start, Yuji was given a stuffed animal for comfort. Reynoso Ruiz explained that the toy fulfills the role of a mother by serving as his primary source of security. To maintain hygiene, staff rotate the original stuffed dog with two other toys — a bear and a monkey — to ensure he always has a clean companion.

To stimulate his development, caregivers outfitted Yuji’s crate with a small hammock and ropes. As he began gaining weight and sleeping for longer intervals, his team adjusted his feeding schedule. Yuji now receives the first of his four daily bottles at 7:00 a.m.

While the stories of Punch and Yuji have been popular on social media, some animal rights advocates oppose the practice of assisted rearing.

Diana Valencia, an animal rights activist, argues that there is no substitute for a natural habitat, and that animals “have the right to be born, grow, develop, and die where they belong.”

Responding to these criticisms, the Guadalajara Zoo’s primate expert emphasized that modern zoos provide a unique opportunity to protect species from global threats. He said the intervention was a matter of life or death, and that Yuji likely would have perished in the wild without a “second chance” at survival.

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Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

The group’s endorsement by Republican governors — at least eight so far — has stirred debate about free speech in America’s schools, with critics arguing many of the same conservative leaders have sought to silence others with measures to restrict what teachers can say on sex education, LGBTQ+ issues and other topics.

Adding to the divisions has been some governors’ invocation of Christian religion in their support of the clubs.

At her news conference last month announcing a partnership with Turning Point USA, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said God had worked through Kirk to grow the conservative group and that she hoped it would spark “the exact type of civic engagement that we want to see” among high school students.

“It’s never too early to learn the values of faith and freedom that power our country,” she said.

For Fayetteville High School student Lily Alderson in Arkansas, that crossed a line. Alderson, president of the school’s Young Democrats club, said the governor’s endorsement violates the requirement that governments not favor a particular religion.

“We’re a public school,” Alderson said. “We shouldn’t be a school — or a state, even — that is telling people what they should believe in.”

At the same high school, Lukas Klaus leads the local Turning Point USA chapter. As he sees it, the Republican governors are ensuring conservative voices like his are allowed to be heard.

“I’ve heard numerous other stories from around the states of Club America chapters trying to get started where they’re having serious problems with the administration straight-up saying ‘no,’ ” said Klaus. He said he has never heard of a public school disallowing a Young Democrats club.

The push gained momentum after Charlie Kirk’s death

In recent months, the Republican administrations of Nebraska, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Montana, Florida, Tennessee and Indiana have each announced partnerships with Turning Point USA to promote school chapters, called Club America, in every high school in those states.

Already, there are nearly 3,400 Club America chapters across the 50 states, according to Turning Point USA, which says it has more state partnerships in the works.

While the partnerships don’t require schools to establish the conservative clubs, they do make clear that efforts to start the clubs can’t be rejected by school administrators.

Turning Point USA got its start in 2012 on college campuses, promoting itself as a hub for young people committed to conservative values. Kirk was the co-founder and the face of the group, known best for his “ Prove Me Wrong ” events on college campuses where he invited students to challenge his conservative views on political and cultural issues. Kirk was killed by a sniper in early September while speaking on a college campus in Utah.

While Kirk was praised by conservatives as a champion of free speech, he was also criticized for comments that many other Americans found hateful toward LGBTQ+ communities, non-Christians, people of color and women.

Some of those critics faced a backlash from Republicans who saw them as dishonoring Kirk, leading to firings by universities, sports teams and media companies. Florida’s education commissioner also promised to investigate teachers over objectionable comments about Kirk. In Texas, a teachers union has sued the state’s education department, accusing it of an improper “wave of retaliation” against public school employees over their social media comments following the assassination.

Critics say governors are elevating Turning Point over other clubs

The governors’ endorsements of Turning Point USA, to the exclusion of other student clubs, has come under criticism from teachers unions and civil liberties groups.

Tim Royers, president of the Nebraska State Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, said he could only imagine how Republican leaders would react if a Democratic governor announced they were calling for a democratic socialist club in every high school.

“They would be running to the press to talk about how awful that is,” Royers said. “How is this fundamentally any different?”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas said the state’s support for the clubs amount to “differential treatment based on the content or viewpoint of the clubs, and a problem under the First Amendment.”

Turning Point USA spokesman Matt Shupe called objections from the ACLU hypocritical, noting the civic organization’s mission to protect free speech rights.

“The state of Arkansas is not forming our chapters; they’re not doing our job or our students’ jobs for us, nor are they saying other groups can’t be formed,” Shupe said in an email. “They’re simply stating students cannot be blocked from forming a Club America or a TPUSA college chapter when students want to start one.”

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Akbarzai reported from New York. ___

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

Segovia, better known online as ArnieTex, has built a massive following by sharing Texas-style barbecue and Mexican American recipes across platforms like YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.

Now, he’s adding “New York Times best-selling author” to his resume.

Segovia’s new cookbook, “ArnieTex: Over 100 Recipes for Mexican-American Cooking and Texas-Style BBQ,” has quickly gained national recognition.

Before becoming a social media personality, Segovia said he spent more than two decades in the competitive barbecue circuit. His digital journey began as a way to promote his spice blends, but it quickly evolved into something much bigger.

“We started to make cooking videos on YouTube to promote our spices,” Segovia said. “People liked our recipes and it just took off.”

ArnieTex and his team continued making reels and videos, and YouTube promoted a video featuring Segovia and his mother.

“In a couple of years’ time, you know, we had a little over 50,000 followers on YouTube,” said ArnieTex. “But after that video, when they promoted it, I mean, we shot up from 50,000 to about 115,000 within a month. And then after that, it was just like this giant snowball, and it just kept rolling.”

Although Segovia had long considered writing a cookbook, it was his audience that pushed the idea forward.

“People were asking for it in the comments,” he said. “They’re saying, ‘You should write a cookbook.’”

The opportunity became reality when DK Publishing reached out with an offer to collaborate.

“‘We think you have great recipes. We’d like to help you write a cookbook,’” Segovia recalled. “It was like serendipity.”

ArnieTex and his team spent 14 months refining recipes, translating his instinctive cooking style into clear, step-by-step instructions.

“I cook like grandma and mom — just a pinch of this, a dash of that,” he said. “That’s the way I’ve cooked my whole life, you know, you taste and you adjust.”

But for the cookbook, that approach had to be carefully measured to ensure the recipes were easy to follow, so readers could recreate the dishes at home.

Segovia will be among the featured authors at Saturday’s festival, where attendees can meet writers and attend panels. There will also be activities for kids.

The San Antonio Book Festival runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Read also:

• San Antonio Book Festival to return with over 100 authors on Saturday
• SeaWorld San Antonio extends free admission to preschoolers, teachers through end of 2026 season
• 🎊 Things To Do in April: Siclovia, Poteet Strawberry Festival, Fiesta

Attorney Doug Duncan said this week in a court filing that Woods has a constitutional right to privacy when it comes to his prescription medications. The attorney asked a judge overseeing the case in Martin County, Florida to hold a hearing to determine if the drug records are necessary for the criminal investigation.

If the judge determines the drug records are necessary, Duncan asked for a protective order limiting their release only to prosecutors, law enforcement officers, state experts and Woods' defense team.

Woods has pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence. A sheriff’s office report said deputies found two pain pills in his pocket and he showed signs of impairment after his SUV clipped a truck's trailer and rolled over on its side.

Woods was traveling at high speeds on a beachside, residential road on Jupiter Island with a 30 mph (nearly 50 kph) speed limit when his Land Rover caused $5,000 in damage to the truck, according to an incident report. Woods agreed to a Breathalyzer test that showed no signs of alcohol, but refused a urine test, authorities said.

Prosecutors told the court they would issue a subpoena seeking copies of all prescription medication records for the legendary golfer on file at Lewis Pharmacy in Palm Beach, Florida from the start of the year through the end of last month.

Prosecutors also demanded in court papers on Wednesday that Woods reveal the names and locations of any witnesses he plans to present in his defense.

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Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social.

House Republicans approved the resolution last month despite conservationists' warnings that the move would lead to devastating pollution in one of the country's last remaining wild areas. The Senate followed suit Thursday, voting 50-49 to send the measure to Trump for his signature.

Democrats argued on the Senate floor that lifting the ban would set a dangerous precedent that could lead to lifting protections on public lands across the country. Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith warned Republicans were stealing part of their state's identity.

Klobuchar, who has supported iron mining in the past but is now running for Minnesota governor, called the Boundary Waters a place of “mist over meadows” and “sunlight on leaves.” Smith said the GOP was ignoring Minnesotans who don't want to see the wilderness area destroyed.

“You can support mining, but that does not mean you support every mine in every place,” Smith said.

No Republicans spoke on the lifting the ban.

Stars, solitude and silence

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness stretches for about 150 miles (about 240 kilometers) in the Superior National Forest along Minnesota's border with Canada.

It's a land of crystalline lakes, vast forests of pine, spruce and birch, striking sunsets and clear, star-dusted nights. For those willing to paddle and portage off the most-traveled routes, the region offers solitude and a silence broken only by the cries of loons and the occasional howl of a wolf.

Logging is prohibited, planes passing over it can dip no lower than 4,000 feet (1,220 meters) except in emergencies and motorized watercraft are limited to only certain areas. Tens of thousands of canoeists, kayakers and campers explore the wilderness each year, according to U.S. Forest Service data.

Company eyes region's metals

Part of the national forest that encompasses the wilderness area sits on what's known as the Duluth Complex, a rock formation that contains copper, nickel, lead, zinc, iron, silver and gold, according to the Forest Service.

Twin Metals Minnesota LLC, a subsidiary of Chile-based Antofagasta Minerals, submitted a plan to the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2019 to mine copper, nickel and other precious metals in the national forest. Company officials said in an operational plan that year that the mine would create hundreds of union jobs, more than a thousand “spinoff jobs" and tax revenue for struggling communities in northeastern Minnesota.

“With this Project, Minnesota can be a model for modern, sustainable and environmentally and socially responsible mining,” the plan said.

The first Trump administration renewed the company's mineral leases on the site in 2019, but Biden interior officials terminated the deals in early 2022. The next year the administration imposed a 20-year moratorium on mining across 400 square miles (103,600 hectares) in the forest. The administration said the ban would protect the watershed and canoe wilderness.

Twin Metals has filed a federal lawsuit seeking a declaration that the leases remain valid. A judge threw the case out in 2023. A company appeal is pending.

Trump looking to jump-start mining projects

The president has called to boost domestic energy and mineral production, declaring an energy emergency days after retaking office in January 2025. His administration last fall reinstated a 2017 legal opinion that allowed Twin Metals to renew its leases in the Superior National Forest. Minnesota regulators approved the company's exploratory plans in December.

U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber, a Duluth Republican, introduced the resolution to lift the moratorium in January. He said the ban has cost Minnesota jobs and put the country's mineral security at risk. He remarked on the House floor ahead of the vote in that chamber that it's better to mine in Minnesota than deal with China or Russia for key minerals.

Environmentalists, outdoor enthusiasts push back

Lifting the moratorium would allow mining in the national forest along the edge of the Boundary Waters, not in the wilderness area. But eliminating the ban has hit a sore spot with environmentalists and outdoor enthusiasts. They warn that pollution from mining operations will flow through the wilderness area's watershed and contaminate the region with mercury and sulfides, chemical compounds that contain sulfur. They maintain that fish, wildlife and plants will suffer, particularly the wild rice that plays a crucial role in Minnesota's Chippewa tribal culture.

Teddy Roosevelt's great-grandson and other relatives wrote a letter to Republican senators urging them to keep the moratorium in place. The Friends of the Boundary Waters, a group that works to protect the area, has orchestrated a demonstration in front of Stauber's office in Hermantown, Minnesota, and staged a rally at the Capitol building in St. Paul to protest lifting the moratorium. The issue has become another flashpoint of contention between the state and the Trump administration after federal immigration officers shot and killed two Minneapolis residents in January.

Twin Metals promised an environmentally safe project

The company argued in its 2019 plan that mine would carry on a tradition in northeastern Minnesota, noting the area around the site was once home to 11 mines. The company also insisted that new low-carbon technologies designed to combat climate change need precious metals. Wind turbine construction requires copper, lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles need cobalt and nickel is a key part of corrosion-resistant alloys in desalinization plants.

The $1.7 billion mine would operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, according to the proposal. But the plan was laced with pledges to protect the environment. The company said the mine would be underground and that no waste rock would be stored above ground, eliminating a potential source of acid drainage, and the area would be revegetated after the mine closed, among other promises.

Company needs permits and could face court challenges before mining can begin

Trump is expected sign the resolution, but even without a moratorium it could be years before a mine opens. Twin Metals said in its 2019 proposal that construction could take two to three years, but that could be optimistic.

Trump could quickly renew the company's federal leases and push federal agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to issue permits. Twin Metals would still need as many as 18 permits from state officials, according to the 2019 proposal, and would face an uphill battle if voters pick Klobuchar as governor in November.

And environmental groups could challenge any of those permits in court, blocking construction for potentially years while the cases are resolved.

Celebrity deaths — including Chadwick Boseman in 2020 and James Van Der Beek earlier this year — have highlighted the increase in colorectal cancer deaths among younger adults, but the new paper was called the first to parse which people are most affected by the alarming rise.

The researchers found that over the last 30 years, the rise in colorectal cancer deaths in young adults occurred almost entirely among people without a four-year college degree.

Of course, getting a college degree doesn't protect you from getting colon cancer. Rather, experts say it's a marker for other issues: People without degrees tend to earn less money, have poorer diets, exercise less and get less medical care.

It’s not totally unexpected that the death risk is concentrated in the less advantaged, but the paper published Thursday in JAMA Oncology is the first national study to actually show the connection, said Dr. Paolo Boffetta, a researcher at Stony Brook Cancer Center in New York who wasn’t involved in the work.

American Cancer Society researchers used government data on more than 101,000 younger adults, ages 25 to 49, who died of colorectal cancer from 1994 through 2023.

Overall, the colorectal cancer death rate rose from about 3 per 100,000 in that age group to about 4 per 100,000. But for people who only made it through high school, the rate rose from 4 to 5.2 per 100,000, while the rate for people with at least a bachelor's degrees did not change from 2.7 per 100,000.

Ahmedin Jemal, the study’s first author, said the findings underscore the need for public awareness about colorectal cancer and for younger adults to heed screening recommendations. Symptoms can include blood in stool or rectal bleeding; changes in bowel habits, such as diarrhea, constipation or narrowing of stool that lasts more than a few days; unintended weight loss; and cramps or abdominal pain.

The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 158,000 cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year. Overall, it’s the nation’s second leading cancer killer, behind lung cancer, and is expected to claim more than 55,000 in 2026.

The number of deaths for adults younger than 50 is around 7% of the total — about 3,900. Earlier this year, cancer society researchers reported that colorectal cancer mortality in Americans under 50 had increased by 1.1% a year since 2005, making it now the deadliest cancer in that age group.

Scientists don't know what's behind that increase. But they note risk factors include obesity, lack of physical activity, a diet high in red or processed meat and low in fruits and vegetables, and a family history of colorectal cancer. The American Cancer Society changed its screening guidelines in 2021, lowering the age U.S. adults should start getting screened from 50 to 45.

Why did the researchers behind Thursday's study look at education level and not other factors?

Death certificates don’t detail how much money a person had, or most other aspects of their life. But they do note how much schooling someone completed. And other research has found that data often aligns with statistics about income, health insurance, physical activity and chronic disease. So education serves as a proxy, but can't speak to other factors, like whether the person had health insurance.

“The focus on education is really (due to) something which was available in the data,” Boffetta observed.

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

HARLINGEN — For more than a decade, Diana Padilla has been teaching Texans in the Rio Grande Valley how to farm.

For four hours on Sundays, she and her husband, Saul Padilla, would help their student farmers at a community garden the couple had set up on their farm by preparing the soil for them, teaching them how to use the space, and telling them what would be good to plant and what wouldn’t be.

“We were mostly there for, like, pep talk,” Padilla said.

The idea for the community garden came from their weekends spent at the farmer’s market where some people couldn’t afford their organic vegetables. If the people couldn’t afford them, Padilla thought, maybe she could teach them how to grow their own. .

Her mission dramatically expanded when, in the summer of 2023, she learned she had been awarded a federal grant to teach the rest of the state how to till the land.

Her nonprofit, HOPE for Small Farm Sustainability, had received $7.5 million to educate Texans interested in farming. As part of the grant, Padilla could hire educators in other regions outside the Valley and purchase land to harvest.

Her first hire lived about 500 miles away in Kaufman County, near Dallas.

Padilla was on the cusp of hiring three more people in Central Texas. But his plans to expand came to a sudden halt last month when the U.S. Department of Agriculture notified her that the government was terminating the grant as part of President Donald Trump’s pledge to eliminate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs.

“It was heartbreaking,” Padilla said.

In a March 23 letter, the USDA said it canceled the grant following a review of the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program, which was started during the Biden administration. The USDA alleged that the program was “rife with DEI preferences” and an example of wasteful spending.

Padilla vowed to appeal the decision. She said there was nothing about her program — which is open to anyone interested in learning about farming — that explicitly focused on DEI. She was adamant her organization would debunk allegations of wasteful spending.

Now, HOPE has a slim window to convince the federal government to restore funding. If Padilla cannot, at risk are her efforts to empower would-be farmers amid a dramatic trend of farm loss across Texas, and to ensure the agriculture economy persists outside of big farming.

“We are going to appeal, but we’re going to need everybody’s support,” Padilla said. “We have an obligation to safeguard our food system for the future of Texas.”

One-on-one training

Jamie Cumming had been teaching local residents in Kaufman County about gardening and foraging. She ran a small homestead academy she led from her home and small farm.

As a struggling small farmer with six children, she couldn’t afford to teach all the skills she wanted to pass on for free, so she was excited to learn about HOPE and that it was looking to hire educators across the state to teach aspiring farmers what they needed to know to build a sustainable farm. She took the job in October 2024 and has held workshops a few times a month that are open to anyone who wants to learn how to farm, along with classes at the community garden.

But because of the USDA’s decision to pull the grant, the programming and Cumming’s job in Kaufman County ended.

“It’s a big disappointment, because it was going so well,” Cumming said.

HOPE had paid for equipment such as a tiller, drip line, landscape fabric and seeds. It’s also paid for water, a classroom and educational guest speakers.

About 27 people had been assigned a plot of land in Kaufman County that the county is allowing them to use. The aspiring farmers ranged from young families to a 78-year-old woman who farmed when she was younger.

Cumming said she didn’t collect demographic data from the people who attended her workshops. She estimated she had about four Black or Hispanic participants among the 27 farmers.

What most had in common was that they had full-time jobs and were trying to learn how to farm during their free time. Part of their education included learning about the right season for certain plants to grow, how to irrigate, how to identify plants, and how to mix seed-starting soil.

“That one-on-one training has really been a blessing for so many who are trying “to do this,” Cumming said. “We need to help that and let that flourish.”

Funding for the USDA’s Increasing Land program came from the American Rescue Plan Act, a Biden-era COVID-19 relief bill, to improve access to land. However, the agency, which is now under the Trump administration’s leadership, concluded that the grant awards did little to improve land access.

“Under the guise of increasing land access for producers, the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program included no minimum requirement for direct producer support,” the USDA said in a statement to The Texas Tribune. “Instead, the program permitted the abuse of federal funds, including expenditures on the purchasing of a barbeque smoker, construction of a gazebo, massages, and for one awardee, a $20,000 budget for ink pens alone.”

The agency did not respond to questions specifically about HOPE and its activities.

Padilla insists she spent the money correctly. Of the $7.5 million grant, HOPE had spent less than 10%. Most of the $700,000 that has been spent was used for equipment and education for farmers.

The majority of the grant funds, 59%, were budgeted to purchase additional land, but none of those transactions had been completed.

Padilla said HOPE had identified and was close to purchasing four properties in Central Texas — close to Houston, San Antonio, and Austin — for people in those areas who were interested in farming. The land would have been used for community farming that early-stage farmers could share and continue learning.

Losing farm land

Padilla and her husband started their own farm, Yahweh’s All Natural Farm and Garden, in 2008. Her husband is the farmer and she is the entrepreneur and, together, they made a business of his passion.

It took a lot of hard work, knowing how to grow and knowing how to market their products.

She knew if early-stage farmers weren’t persistent, they would likely quit, so they set out to teach people how to do that with the help of other USDA grants.

They started their first community gardens on their 75-acre farm where aspiring farmers could learn from the couple. Then in 2014, they officially launched HOPE.

Padilla’s effort to increase the number of farmers faces staggering odds. In the 25 years between 1997 and 2022, Texas lost more than 3.7 million acres of working land, according to data from Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute. Working land is privately-owned farms and ranches that produce food and provide wildlife habitat. Of those, 1.8 million acres were lost in the final five years.

Within that same 25-year period, the Rio Grande Valley, where Padilla is based, lost 751,000 acres of farmland.

Small family farms are the most prevalent type of farm. In 2024, they made up 86% of all farms in the U.S. That’s down from 2021, when they made up 89%.

Salomon Torres, projects and grants adviser for HOPE, said the loss of farmland is a disturbing trend. It contributes to illiteracy among the general public about where their food comes from, among other consequences.

“Agriculture has always been a contributor to a local economy, as far as jobs, as far as keeping land productive,” Torres said. “If land becomes completely urban, it’s going to desensitize people about the source of their food.”

The accessibility of land for locally-sourced food is considered significant for people’s health but also for their well-being, said Judith McGeary, executive director of Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance.

“I think it’s a threat to national security,” McGeary said. “Because when we cannot raise food in this country, we are reliant on imports, which we already are, to a great extent — far more than most people realize.”

The loss of small farmers was not due to a lack of interest, McGeary said. There has been a growing interest in farming among young people, but what is less discussed, she said, is how often those young farmers fail because of the lack of land, infrastructure and hands-on support.

“Very smart, talented, motivated people often cannot make a go of it,” she said. “And that’s not just a problem for them, it’s a loss for all of us.”

Advocates for small farmers in Texas say educational programs like the one HOPE was providing are needed across the state.

P. Wade Ross, director of the Texas Small Farmers and Ranchers Community Based Organization, said the fundamental issue is that many government bureaucrats don’t know the farming landscape. They make decisions like cutting off funding for HOPE, not realizing the consequences.

“Why do you need to do that when this is a program that’s helping you achieve all the initiatives that you say are your initiatives?” Ross said.

“What happens a lot of times is people who are the decision-makers get so caught up in what they don’t want,” he said“and they don’t realize they’re cutting their arm off to get rid of what they don’t want.”

Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.

Zhen Qin, 30, was taken into custody for aggravated assault against a public servant, Bexar County court records show.

Authorities were called for a welfare check around 9:50 a.m. Wednesday in the 15600 block of Market Hill Boulevard, near North Loop 1604 West.

Police said Qin had lived at the apartment, which was supposed to be vacant at the end of March.

Management attempted to contact Qin multiple times and called for a welfare check to make sure she was OK.

Police and the San Antonio Fire Department arrived at the complex to breach the door. As authorities attempted to breach the door, police said Qin started swinging a knife, striking a San Antonio firefighter.

The firefighter sustained minor injuries and was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

Qin then barricaded herself in a room in the apartment complex. SAPD said negotiators were contacted, and she was later taken into custody.

There have previously been other calls to the location, according to police.

A woman who told KSAT she is the former roommate of Qin said she reported the suspect multiple times.

“They still wouldn’t do anything. It took one of my roommates being assaulted by her to have all of us, besides (the suspect), move to other apartments,” the former roommate said.

Qin was booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on a $40,000 bond, according to jail records.

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