Some have pitched him as a gateway to young people — particularly young men — who have drifted to the right in recent years. Others fear he is a sign of the party beholden to its extremes, pointing to inflammatory rhetoric like “Hamas is a thousand times better” than Israel, describing some Orthodox Jews as “inbred” and that “America deserved 9/11."

Piker's scheduled appearances with Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, have catalyzed questions of how big a tent the party wants to build as it works to regain power in the midterm elections and win back the White House.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Piker cast the reaction as part of a broader fight for the party's future.

“There is definitely, I think, a battle right now for who gets to be more representative of the national Democratic Party,” he said.

Piker remains largely unapologetic for his past remarks, although he's said some were poorly worded. He called the renewed focus on them “totally ridiculous, especially considering that there are far more consequential things happening in the world right now.”

“The super wealthy are picking apart the scraps of the American carcass like a bunch of vultures, and some of the Democrats are talking about their affiliations with a Twitch streamer,” Piker said. “I think Americans understand that this is totally ridiculous.”

The 34-year-old Turkish American streamer has 3.1 million followers on Twitch and 1.8 million on YouTube, making him an influential voice in a shifting media landscape where mainstream outlets are losing clout. Unlike traditional podcasts, his livestreams are often unscripted and interactive. He has hosted prominent Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Piker said he is a “megaphone” for an angry electorate, and he believes the criticism that he faces is less about him personally and more about what he represents — a younger, more populist wing of the party.

“I think they find me to be a more appropriate target than to just actively disparage the voters,” he said.

El-Sayed, who has been backed by progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders, is attempting to channel that appeal in appearances at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan on Tuesday. A physician and former county health official, he is locked in a competitive Senate primary with U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow. It's a critical race for a seat being vacated by Democratic Sen. Gary Peters and the winner of the primary will likely face former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers.

The three candidates have differing views on U.S. foreign policy toward Israel. Both El-Sayed and McMorrow have described the war in Gaza as a genocide. El-Sayed wants to stop all military assistance while McMorrow has pushed for a two-state solution. Stevens has described herself as a “proud pro-Israel Democrat."

McMorrow told Jewish Insider that Piker was someone who “says extremely offensive things in order to generate clicks and views and followers," and she compared him to white supremacist Nick Fuentes. Trump's decision to dine with Fuentes between his presidencies ignited a firestorm of controversy over his association with extreme voices on the right. Stevens said El-Sayed is “choosing to campaign with someone who has a history of antisemitic rhetoric.”

El-Sayed responded to the backlash over Piker by saying “if we want to have a conversation where we're actually bringing people together about the things that we need and deserve, we're gonna have to go to unlikely and uncommon places.”

Not everyone in the party wants to go to those places. Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, who chairs the moderate New Democratic Coalition and co-chairs the Congressional Jewish Caucus, called Piker “an unapologetic antisemite.”

“We are deeply disappointed by the decision to host a speaker at the University of Michigan with a documented record of antisemitic rhetoric," said Rabbi Davey Rosen, the CEO of Michigan Hillel. “Such invitations normalize hate and contribute to a hostile environment for Jewish students.”

Piker said he is not antisemitic and describes himself as anti-Zionist. Hostility toward Israel has risen across the political spectrum and became a fault line within the Democratic Party during the war in Gaza.

Criticism has centered on Piker's past remarks. After the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, Piker argued that whether reports of sexual violence are accurate “doesn’t change the dynamic” of the conflict. He has repeatedly said the core issue is Israel’s conduct in Gaza.

Piker has drawn backlash for a comment in which he said “America deserved 9/11,” made during a 2019 livestream while discussing U.S. foreign policy. Piker has said the remark was poorly worded and added in the AP interview that he “didn’t mean that Americans deserved to die.”

Trump’s expansive threat did not seem to account for potential harm to civilians, prompting Democrats in Congress, some United Nations officials and scholars in military law to say such strikes would violate international law.

Tehran’s representative at the U.N said the threats “constitute incitement to war crimes and potentially genocide.” Amir-Saeid Iravani said Iran would "take immediate and proportionate reciprocal measures” if Trump launches devastating strikes.

Even before the deadline, airstrikes hit two bridges and a train station, and the U.S. hit military infrastructure on Kharg Island. It was the second time American forces struck the island, a key hub for Iranian oil production.

Trump has extended deadlines before

Since the war began, Trump has repeatedly imposed deadlines linked to threats, only to extend them. But the president insisted this one is final and will expire at 8 p.m. in Washington without a major diplomatic breakthrough.

He has also offered contradictory statements about what might actually happen.

Trump has made reopening the strait — through which a fifth of the world’s oil transits in peacetime — part of avoiding wider attacks and suggested that the waterway is not as vital to U.S. oil interests as it is to other countries. He has also said he would be willing to deploy ground troops to seize Iranian oil, while maintaining that major combat operations in that country could soon conclude.

That means the next moves by the U.S. are largely a mystery, even as rhetoric on both sides has reached a fever pitch.

Meanwhile, Iran’s president said 14 million people, including himself, have volunteered to fight. That's despite Trump threatening that U.S. forces could wipe out all bridges in Iran in a matter of hours and reduce all power plants to smoking rubble in roughly the same time frame. He also suggested the entire country could be wiped off the map.

New strikes may not have been linked to Trump's larger threats

It was not clear if the latest airstrikes were linked to Trump’s threats to widen the civilian target list. At least two of the targets were connected to Iran’s rail network, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli warplanes struck bridges and railways in Iran.

Tehran fired on Israel and Saudi Arabia, prompting the temporary closure of a major bridge.

While Iran cannot match the sophistication of U.S. and Israeli weaponry or their dominance in the air, its chokehold on the strait is roiling the world economy and raising the pressure on Trump both at home and abroad to find a way out of the standoff.

Officials involved in diplomatic efforts said talks were ongoing, but Iran has rejected the latest American proposal.

Trump has shrugged off concerns about war crime accusations

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if a deal isn’t reached, Trump said in an online post Tuesday morning. But he also seemed to keep open the possibility of an off-ramp, saying that “maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen.”

Earlier, Iranian official Alireza Rahimi issued a video message calling on “all young people, athletes, artists, students and university students and their professors” to form human chains around power plants.

Iranians have formed human chains in the past around nuclear sites at times of heightened tensions with the West. State media posted videos online that showed hundreds of flag-waving people massed at two bridges and at a power plant hundreds of kilometers (miles) from Tehran, though it was not clear how widespread the practice was.

President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on X that 14 million Iranians had answered campaigns urging people to volunteer to fight — and said he would join them — while a Revolutionary Guard general urged parents to send their children to man checkpoints.

The Guard warned that Iran would “deprive the U.S. and its allies of the region’s oil and gas for years” and expand its attacks across the Gulf region if Trump carries out his threat.

In Tehran, the mood was bleak. A young teacher said that many opponents of Iran's Islamic system had hoped Trump's attacks would quickly topple it.

As the war drags on, she fears U.S. and Israeli strikes will spread chaos.

“If we don’t have the internet, and if we don’t have electricity, water, and gas, we’re really going back to the Stone Age, as Trump said,” she told The Associated Press, speaking on the condition of anonymity for her safety.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot joined a growing chorus of international voices saying that attacks targeting civilian and energy infrastructure could constitute a war crime.

Such cases are notoriously difficult to prosecute, though, and Trump says he’s “not at all” concerned about committing war crimes.

Volker Türk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said he deplored the rhetoric being used over the last two weeks “by all parties, including the latest threats to annihilate a whole civilization and to target civilian infrastructure.”

Airstrikes hit Iran, which fires on Saudi Arabia and Israel

Intense airstrikes pounded Tehran, including in residential neighborhoods. In the past, such strikes have targeted Iranian government and security officials.

The Israeli military said it attacked an Iranian petrochemical site in Shiraz, the second day in a row it hit such a facility. The military later said it also struck bridges in Tehran, Karaj, Tabriz, Kashan and Qom that were being used by Iranian forces to transport weapons and military equipment.

A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, described the strikes on Kharg Island as hitting targets previously struck and not directed at oil infrastructure.

Earlier in the war, American forces hit air defenses, a radar site, an airport and a hovercraft base there, according to satellite analysis by the Institute for the Study of War and the American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project.

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted seven ballistic missiles and four drones launched by Iran.

Saudi Arabia temporarily closed the King Fahd Causeway, the only road connection between Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, and the Arabian Peninsula. Iran also fired on Israel.

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, but the government has not updated the toll for days.

In Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants, more than 1,500 people have been killed. and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Eleven Israeli soldiers have died there.

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 23 have been reported dead in Israel, and 13 U.S. service members have been killed.

Chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz

Iran effectively blocked shipping through the strait after Israel and the U.S. attacked in February. That, and Iran’s attacks on the energy infrastructure of its Gulf Arab neighbors, have sent oil prices skyrocketing, raising the price of gasoline, food and other basics far beyond the Middle East.

Tehran has rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal, saying it wants a permanent end to the war. But as Trump's deadline neared, an official said indirect communications between the United States and Iran remained underway. Mediators from Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey “are racing against time” to reach a compromise before the deadline, the official said.

He said Iran has linked the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to sanctions relief, and the U.S. was open to easing some sanctions, especially on Iran's oil sector, in part to stabilize the global oil market.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing diplomacy.

___

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands, and Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers David Rising in Bangkok; John Leicester in Paris; Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia; Natalie Melzer in Jerusalem; and Konstantin Toropin, Seung Min Kim, Michelle L. Price and Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.

It was the first moonship-to-spaceship radio linkup ever. NASA's Apollo crews had no off-the-planet company back in the 1960s and 1970s, the last time humanity set sail for deep space.

For Christina Koch on Artemis II and Jessica Meir aboard the space station, it marked a joyous space reunion despite being 230,000 miles (370,000 kilometers) apart. The two teamed up for the world's first all-female spacewalk in 2019 outside the orbiting lab.

Houston's Mission Control arranged the cosmic chitchat between the four lunar travelers and the space station's three NASA and one French residents.

As Tuesday dawned, Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman continued to beam back pictures of the previous day's lunar rendezvous, which set a new distance record for humanity. The highlight: an Earthset photo reminiscent of Apollo 8's Earthrise shot from 1968.

The first lunar explorers since Apollo 17 in 1972, Wiseman and his crew are aiming for a Friday splashdown off the San Diego coast on Friday to wrap up the nearly 10-day test flight.

It sets the stage for next year's Artemis III, a lunar lander docking demo in orbit around Earth. Artemis IV will follow in 2028 with two astronauts attempting to land near the lunar south pole.

___

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.

Anystasia April Mireles was last seen on April 4 in the 70000 Block of Rustic Park near the Medical Center on the Northwest Side.

Mireles is believed to be in danger, according to an SAPD missing persons report.

She is 4 feet, 11 inches tall with brown eyes and brown dyed red hair. She also has tattoos on her left finger, her hand, her left ear, along with a scar on her nose.

Mireles was last seen wearing a dark colored matching sweat suit, the report said.

If you have any information on Mireles’ whereabouts, contact SAPD’s Missing Persons Unit at 210-207-7660 or call 911.

• Taft High School administrator bitten by Northside ISD Police Department K-9, district says
• Former Windcrest police chief dismisses lawsuit against city

The Everglades facility remains open, still holding detainees, because the appellate court in early September relied on arguments by Florida and the Trump administration that the state had not yet applied for federal reimbursement, and therefore wasn’t required to follow federal environmental law. State officials opened the detention center last summer to support President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Questions by the three appellate judges during oral arguments in a Miami courtroom focused on how much control the federal government had over the state-built facility and under what circumstances an environmental review was required to be in compliance with federal law. The judges did not indicate when they would rule.

Jesse Panuccio, an attorney for the Florida Department of Emergency Management, told the judges federal funding and federal control of the facility were the two criteria for determining if the federal environmental law would apply and the federal agencies had no control over the state-run detention center.

Florida was notified in late September that FEMA had approved $608 million in federal funding to support the center’s construction and operation.

“You need both,” Panuccio said. “Even with funding, I don’t think that would follow because they don’t have federal control.”

An attorney for the environmental groups said the law requiring a review applied to the facility because the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had authorized the funding and immigration was a responsibility of the federal government, not the state. There only needed to be “substantial federal control” and not complete control, said Paul Schwiep, an attorney representing the Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity.

Chief Judge William Pryor, who was appointed to the appellate court by President George W. Bush, responded, “It's not federally controlled when the state retains authority to make decisions.”

Judge Nancy Abudu, who was named to the appellate court by President Joe Biden, asked an attorney for the federal government if states can be in charge of immigration matters. Adam Gustafson responded that the federal government can delegate certain responsibilities to states.

"Is it also, once the federal government gives the states its authority, it’s the ‘Wild, Wild West?’ Abudu asked.

The federal district judge in Miami in mid-August ordered the facility to wind down operations over two months because officials had failed to do a review of the detention center’s environmental impact according to federal law. That judge concluded that a reimbursement decision already had been made. The appellate court halted the order on an appeal.

The environmental lawsuit was one of three federal court challenges to the Everglades facility since it opened. In the others, a detainee said Florida agencies and private contractors hired by the state had no authority to operate the center under federal law. The challenge ended after the immigrant detainee who filed the lawsuit agreed to be removed from the United States.

In the third lawsuit, a federal judge in Fort Myers, Florida, ruled the Everglades facility must provide detainees there with better access to their attorneys, as well as confidential, unmonitored and unrecorded outgoing legal calls.

___

Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social.

Trump on Monday threatened to blow up every bridge and power plant in Iran if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Such destruction would be so far-reaching that some experts in military law said it could constitute a war crime.

The U.S. has already struck military targets on the Iranian oil hub of Kharg Island , according to a White House official on Tuesday, while Israeli warplanes struck bridges and railways in Iran.

Meanwhile, U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped in Baghdad last week by an Iran-backed Iraqi militia, was released Tuesday.

Here is the latest:

UN says initial findings show Israeli tank fire and a Hezbollah roadside bomb killed peacekeepers

In a statement released Tuesday, a U.N. official said that “based on available evidence,” a projectile fired from an Israeli tank on March 29 resulted in the death of one Indonesian peacekeeper.

“It is recalled that, to mitigate the risk to United Nations personnel, UNIFIL had again provided the Israel Defense Forces with the coordinates of all its positions and facilities on 6 March and 22 March,” the statement read.

Additionally, the March 30 episode that resulted in the death of two other Indonesian peacekeepers came after a improvised explosive device, most likely placed by Hezbollah, was discovered nearby.

“Allow me to reiterate that these are preliminary findings, based on initial physical evidence,” the statement continued, adding the full investigation processes of the U.N. will continue.

Israel says Iran has fired a new barrage of missiles

Israel’s military said Iran had launched missiles at the country Tuesday evening, the seventh time of the day.

Sirens sent people to shelters in the southern part of the country, while earlier salvos had been centered on the major metropolis of Tel Aviv, as well as central Israel and parts of the occupied West Bank.

Northern Israeli communities continued to come under fire from Hezbollah as well.

Sundown Tuesday marks the beginning of the last day of the Passover holiday, an especially important religious occasion in the Jewish calendar.

Earlier in the day, an elderly couple and their son, who were killed in a missile attack, were buried in Haifa.

Top House Democrats issue joint statement asking for Congress to be brought back into session to end war

House Democratic leaders in a joint statement called President Donald Trump “completely unhinged” and asked the House to be brought back immediately into legislative session.

“His statement threatening to eradicate an entire civilization shocks the conscience and requires a decisive congressional response,” said the joint statement from Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and four other top House Democrats.

“The House must come back into session immediately and vote to end this reckless war of choice in the Middle East before Donald Trump plunges our country into World War III,” the Democratic lawmakers said.

They called on House Republicans to put patriotic duty over party loyalty and “join Democrats in stopping this madness.”

Iranian envoy says Tehran will ‘take immediate and proportionate’ action if Trump follows through on attack threats

Iranian envoy says Tehran will not “stand idle’ if Trump follows through on ‘war crime’ threats

Amir-Saeid Iravani, Tehran’s representative at the U.N., said that Trump’s threats earlier Tuesday that a “whole civilization will die” if Iran does not make a deal “constitute incitement to war crimes and potentially genocide.”

During a Security Council session on the Strait of Hormuz, Iravani urged the international community to call out Trump’s rhetoric before it’s too late.

“Iran will not stand idle in the face of such egregious war crimes. It will exercise, without hesitation, its inherent right of self-defense and will take immediate and proportionate reciprocal measures,” he said.

WHO warns about long-term impact of strikes near Iranian nuclear plant

Top World Health Organization official warned about the long-term health risks caused by the continued military activity near an Iranian nuclear power plant.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director general, wrote on X that more military operations near the Russian-built Bushehr power plant, where hundreds of workers were evacuated following a strike recently.

“Such actions could lead to a severe radiological accident, with serious and long-term health consequences for people now and for generations to come, while also harming the environment across Iran, the region, and beyond,” he wrote.

Tehran resident says attacks on power plants will plunge Iran into darkness and leave hundreds of thousands unemployed

An engineer in a construction company who lives in Tehran says hitting infrastructure, including some power plants, has already left many people unemployed.

“Because of this, workers and employees, and people who are losing their jobs and income are becoming against the war,” they said. “There is a huge amount of fear about tonight.”

Speaking to The Associated Press through a messaging app from Tehran, the engineer said only people who are financially able are buying generators to prepare for possible power outages. Just like the internet outage ... so they are less (doomed),” they said. But the fact is, everyone is impacted, the engineer added, speaking anonymously for his own safety.

The engineer said Trump’s threats still lack any clarity.

“People don’t know what his plan is.”

Trump phones into rally to praise Hungary’s Orban

Hours ahead of a deadline he imposed on Iran to capitulate, President Donald Trump boosted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday when Vice President JD Vance dialed him into a rally in Budapest.

Trump told the crowd gathered ahead of Hungary’s weekend election that he loves their country and praised Orban.

“You have a man that kept your country strong,” Trump said.

Vance spoke at the rally for Orban in the Hungarian capital, defending Western civilization and criticizing “bureaucrats in Brussels.”

The vice president attempted to dial the president in front of the crowd and first got an automated message saying the voicemail box wasn’t set up, to laughter from attendees. Soon after, he got Trump on the phone and put him on speaker for the crowd.

Bread and cash shortages leave Palestinians in Gaza struggling to feed their families

In Gaza City, dozens of people had to wade through flooded streets to reach a bread distribution point on Tuesday because of war-damaged drainage systems, AP footage showed.

A $1 bag of bread — about 15 loaves — is barely enough to feed large families, residents said.

Israel’s two-year war has been muted by a fragile ceasefire since October, but many in Gaza fear the Iran war is overshadowing urgent humanitarian needs and delaying reconstruction.

Jamal Hamad, a displaced resident from northern Gaza, said shortages of small bills are compounding the crisis, leaving many unable to pay. Digital options remain out of reach.

People waited for hours in the rain, pushing to reach the front as supplies ran low. Some resold bags for up to $6.

Key bridge between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain closes

The King Fahd Causeway, a key bridge linking Saudi Arabia to Bahrain, closed Tuesday for the second time as a precautionary measure following alerts issued by the National Early Warning Platform in the Eastern Province.

The King Fahd Causeway Authority said on X Tuesday evening vehicle traffic has been suspended.

Iran-backed Iraqi militia releases American journalist Shelly Kittleson

American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped in Baghdad last week, has been released, an Iraqi official with direct knowledge of the situation said Tuesday.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said Kittleson was freed in the afternoon. He did not share her current whereabouts but said that before her release, she was being held in Baghdad.

The powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah said in a statement earlier Tuesday that it had decided to free the journalist, and officials with the militia told The Associated Press that members of the group previously detained by Iraqi authorities would be released in exchange.

Pope Leo expresses solidarity with Lebanese Christians facing ‘injustices’ as Israel invades

In an Easter message released Tuesday by the Vatican, Leo suggested a parallel between Christ’s crucifixion and the suffering of south Lebanese Christians.

“In your misfortune, in the injustice you endure, in the feeling of abandonment you experience, you are very close to Jesus. You are close to Him also on this Easter Day when He conquered the forces of evil, and which resonates for you as a promise of the future,” read the message.

The message was written in French, was signed by the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and was addressed to the residents of the village of Debel.

A convoy carrying over 40 tons of aid led by the Vatican was supposed to have reached the Christian village of Debel for Easter, but was canceled for what Lebanon’s Maronite Church said were “security reasons.”

Leo visited Lebanon late last year on his first international trip as pope.

US senators warn Britain against changes to Diego Garcia island base

Two Republican senators warned Prime Minister Keir Starmer that altering the status of the U.S. military base on the remote Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia could harm U.S.-U.K. relations, as the base plays a key role in operations tied to the Iran war.

Sens. Ted Cruz and Tommy Tuberville urged Britain to halt a planned transfer of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, saying it would undermine U.S. national security.

Passage of the deal through the U.K. Parliament is on hold until American support can be regained.

The Trump administration initially welcomed the deal, but the president changed his mind in January, calling it “an act of GREAT STUPIDITY.”

Iraqi militia says it will free a kidnapped American journalist

The powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militia known as Kataib Hezbollah said in a statement Tuesday that it will release American journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was kidnapped from a Baghdad street last week.

The group said its decision came “in appreciation of the patriotic stances of the outgoing Prime Minister,” Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, without giving more details. It added that “this initiative will not be repeated in future.”

Kataib Hezbollah had not previously acknowledged that it was the group responsible for Kittleson’s abduction, although both U.S. and Iraqi officials had pointed fingers at the group.

Iran agrees to French prisoner swap deal

Iran’s state-run IRNA news outlet confirmed Tuesday that an agreement was reached with Paris for the release of two French citizens, Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, held in Iran over alleged espionage, in exchange for Iranian woman Mahdieh Esfandiari, who was detained over her social media content. The French government will also drop its case against Iran.

The French citizens had been holed up in the country’s diplomatic premises there since their release from prison.

The green light for them to leave Iran, long sought by France, signaled how Iran is differentiating between nations, treating some favorably and others as foes, in the context of the Iran war.

Iranian diplomat responds to Trump’s latest threat

Responding to Trump saying “a civilization will die tonight,” an Iranian diplomat described the country’s civilization as a tree that nourished the West.

“Therefore, no fool would cut off the branch of a tree he is sitting on because he himself would fall first, and it is the sturdy tree that always stands, not the branches and appendages that have grown from it,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press.

Iran fires more missiles at Israel

Just before sunset on Tuesday — twice in less than half an hour — Israel’s military said it was working to intercept missiles launched from Iran.

Sirens went off in the Tel Aviv area as well as parts of the occupied West Bank.

Rubio accuses Iran of terrorism in the Strait of Hormuz

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday accused Iran of committing acts of terrorism in the Strait of Hormuz by attacking commercial shipping vessels attempting to navigate the key waterway.

“The whole world has been impacted, unfortunately, because Iran is violating every law known by striking commercial vessels in the Straits of Hormuz,” Rubio told reporters at the State Department. “It’s a big problem for the world. I mean, this is a regime that doesn’t believe in laws and rules or anything like that. It’s a state sponsor of terrorism, so it is not surprising that they’re now conducting terrorist operations against commercial vessels.”

He declined to respond to a question about what Trump meant when he threatened that “a whole civilization will end tonight” if Iran does not meet U.S. demands to reopen the strait.

Congress, away from Washington, watches and waits on Trump’s threat

Lawmakers are on recess from Washington as Trump threatens to kill “a whole civilization” in the Iran war. So far, the reaction from Congress — which is supposed to have the ultimate say in matters of war — has drawn sharp rebukes from Democrats and mostly silence from Republicans.

Texas Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro called on Trump to immediately make it clear that he is not considering using nuclear weapons, and Colorado Democratic Rep. Jason Crow warned that “calling for the elimination of a civilization is a war crime.”

Most Republicans stayed away from the issue, though Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said on the “John Solomon Reports” podcast that he was “hoping and praying” that Trump’s threat was “bluster.”

“I do not want to see us start blowing up civilian infrastructure,” Johnson said.

Democrats intend to force further votes on legislation to rein in Trump’s ability to attack Iran, but not until Congress returns to Washington next week.

Russia and China veto a watered-down UN resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz

The vetoes by Russia and China came despite the resolution being repeatedly weakened to get the two countries to abstain.

The vote in the 15-member Security Council on the Bahrain-sponsored resolution was 11-2, with Pakistan and Colombia abstaining. It came hours before Trump’s 8 p.m. Eastern deadline for Iran to open the strategic waterway or face attacks on its power plants and bridges.

Bahrain’s initial proposal would have authorized countries to use “all necessary means” — U.N. wording that would include military action — to ensure transit through the Strait of Hormuz and deter attempts to close it.

The final text eliminated Security Council authorization for offensive or defensive action. Instead, it “strongly encourages” countries using the Strait of Hormuz to coordinate defensive efforts to ensure safe navigation through the waterway, where about one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.

Canada’s prime minister urges US not to target Iran’s civilian infrastructure

“Canada expects all parties in this conflict to respect international laws, the rules of engagement, and that means not targeting certainly civilians or civilian infrastructure,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said. “And we urge all parties in this war to follow those responsibilities.”

He made the comments Tuesday at an unrelated announcement outside Toronto.

Carney has at times been critical of Trump, who has previously threatened Canada’s sovereignty. Early in the war, Carney said he supported the strikes on Iran “with some regret” as they represented an extreme example of a rupturing world order.

Iraqi authorities say a drone fired from Iran hit a civilian home, killing two people

The authorities say the explosive-laden drone hit a home in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

The drone dive-bombed and crashed into a house in the village of Zargazawi, in the province of Irbil, early Tuesday, killing a couple asleep in their bed. As the latest in a wave of Iranian bombardment of Iraqi Kurdistan, the attack underscored the rising danger to civilians in the area as the Islamic Republic retaliates against the United States and Israel by hitting their allies in neighboring countries.

The dead couple’s children, sleeping in a separate room, were unharmed. Surveying the damage to the home, Aladdin Jabbar, a cousin in the family, said the two bodies were torn beyond recognition.

“It was a huge injustice,” he said.

Regional authorities condemned the strike and urged the Iraqi government to do more to protect the Kurdish population.

Pakistan’s premier Sharif speaks to Saudi crown prince and briefs him on his peace efforts

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke by phone Tuesday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, reaffirming Pakistan’s “unwavering solidarity” with the kingdom and condemning a strike on an oil facility in Saudi Arabia earlier in the day.

According to a government statement, Sharif praised Saudi restraint amid the current tensions and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to advancing peace efforts aimed at de-escalating the region.

It said Sharif praised the “wisdom and sagacity” of Saudi leadership in exercising restraint during the ongoing conflict.

He also briefed the crown prince on the latest developments in Pakistan’s mediation efforts to ease the Middle East crisis. It said the crown prince appreciated Pakistan’s peace efforts.

Packing up to leave Tehran, a young designer says she’s ‘terrified’

Facing heavy bombardment, many middle-class residents of Iran’s capital have been waiting out the war in the country’s coastal north.

A young designer who lives in central Tehran said her parents left at the beginning of the war but she stayed behind to take care of her cat.

Now, she says she’s “terrified” by Trump’s threats and is planning to drive north with her cat to join her family — if the U.S. really does knock out power plants after Tuesday night’s deadline.

“If there is no electricity, there is no water because the water pressure in Tehran is low and all buildings have electric water pumps. You can’t cook either. In the north, you can at least do something in nature, like the ‘Stone Age’ that he promised,” she said.

The designer spoke on condition of anonymity for her safety.

Normally a popular vacation spot, the Caspian Sea coast is carpeted in forested mountains with plentiful water — unlike other areas which have suffered years of drought.

— Amir-Hussein Radjy

In Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Hezbollah militants, more than 1,500 have been killed

And more than 1 million people have been displaced, the country’s health ministry said.

Among the 1,530 killed are 102 women and 130 children are among the dead, as well as 57 paramedics, according to the government count.

The number of Hezbollah militants killed is unclear.

More than 4,800 people were also wounded in the war.

Eleven Israeli soldiers have died there.

This latest war was sparked after Hezbollah fired rockets towards northern Israel on March 2 in solidarity with Iran also at war with Israel and the United States.

Israel’s military says it struck eight ‘bridge segments’ in Iran

The military gave more details on the strikes following Netanyahu’s confirmation that he and Defense Minister Katz had ordered them.

In a statement, it said it struck bridges in Tehran, Karaj, Tabriz, Kashan, and Qom that were being used by Iranian forces to transport weapons and military equipment.

Top Senate Democrat calls Trump ‘an extremely sick person’

Sen. Chuck Schumer responded to President Trump’s dire threat against Iran by calling on Republicans to vote against the war.

Schumer, a New York Democrat, has joined with others in his party in forcing votes on legislation that would halt Trump from ordering further attacks on Iran unless he received congressional approval. So far, though, just a few Republicans have voted to rein in Trump’s power to order the attacks.

Schumer said on social media that any Republican who declines to vote “against this wanton war of choice owns every consequence” of Trump’s actions.

Oil prices rise as US stocks dip, but markets hold mostly steady ahead of Trump’s deadline for Iran

Oil prices are rising and U.S. stocks are falling Tuesday, but the moves aren’t as dramatic as the dire talk coming from both sides in the war with Iran.

President Trump threatened that a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if Iran doesn’t meet his latest self-imposed deadline at 8 p.m. Eastern time to open the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials, meanwhile, urged young people to form human chains to protect power plants Trump has threatened to bomb.

But the S&P 500 slipped just 0.5% as officials involved in diplomatic efforts said talks were ongoing, even though it was unclear if a deal would come in time to head off Trump’s threatened attacks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 271 points, or 0.6%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% lower.

▶ Read more

Netanyahu confirms that Israeli warplanes struck bridges and railways in Iran

In a statement released by his office, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was using them to transport materials to make weapons.

He said he approved the strikes with Defense Minister Israel Katz and said they weren’t meant to target Iranian civilians but the government.

“This is no longer the same Iran, nor is it the same Israel. We are changing the balance of power from one end to the other,” Netanyahu said.

Pakistan’s military backs mediation efforts, warns attacks on Saudi Arabia risk derailing diplomacy

Pakistan’s military on Tuesday voiced support for government efforts aimed at ending the conflict in the Middle East, stressing the need for restraint and dialogue while warning that recent attacks on Saudi Arabia risk undermining ongoing diplomatic initiatives.

The remarks came during a meeting of top commanders chaired by Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to a statement from the military.

It said the military strongly condemned recent attacks on Saudi Arabia’s petrochemical and industrial facilities, calling them an “unnecessary escalation” that could spoil “sincere efforts to resolve the conflict through peaceful means.”

The forum noted that Saudi Arabia’s restraint “despite grave provocations” had helped enable mediation and diplomatic options but warned that continued attacks risk damaging the “conducive environment” needed for negotiations.

US didn’t target oil infrastructure in Kharg Island strikes, US official says

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military operations, described the strikes overnight as hitting targets previously struck and not directed at oil infrastructure.

The official didn’t clarify what was specifically hit on the island.

The U.S. has already struck various targets on the island, including air defenses, a radar site, the airport and a hovercraft base, according to satellite analysis by the Institute for the Study of War and American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project.

— Konstantin Toropin

Iran has allowed two French former detainees to leave country, French President Emmanuel Macron says

They had been holed up in French diplomatic premises there since their release from prison.

“Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris are free and on route toward French territory, after three and a half years of detention in Iran,” Macron tweeted.

The green light for them to leave Iran, long sought by France, signaled how Iran is differentiating between nations, treating some favorably and others as foes, in the context of the Iran war. Macron has distanced France from the conflict, saying his country wasn’t consulted in advance about the U.S-Israel strikes and didn’t want the war.

Macron thanked Oman for playing a mediation role.

The Wolverines (37-3) claimed all 57 votes in Tuesday's poll in the third year the AP has released its final rankings after the completion of the NCAA Tournament. Michigan beat UConn 69-63 in Indianapolis on Monday night to complete the winningest season in program history, along with winning its first NCAA title since 1989 and the Big Ten's first since 2000.

Michigan spent a week at No. 1 in mid-February and didn't rank lower than fourth after November in its second season under Dusty May.

UConn finished second, followed by Arizona, Duke and Illinois. The Huskies jumped five spots and the Fighting Illini eight after their runs to the Final Four. Purdue, Houston, Iowa State, Florida and St. John's rounded out the top 10.

Iowa and Texas both wound up in the poll after being unranked heading into March Madness. The Hawkeyes finished the season ranked No. 15 after reaching the Elite Eight in a run that included a second-round upset of defending champion Florida, while the 22nd-ranked Longhorns went from the First Four to the Sweet 16.

___

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

The S&P 500 fell 0.3% as Trump threatened that a “whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if Iran does not meet his deadline at 8 p.m. Eastern time to open the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials, meanwhile, urged young people to form human chains to protect power plants that Trump has threatened to bomb.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 165 points, or 0.4%, as of 2:01 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% lower.

The moves were tentative, much like they've been since the start of the war with Iran, because of deep uncertainty about when the fighting may end. During just the first hour of Tuesday's trading, the Dow careened between a gain of 74 points and a loss of 425.

The moves were sharper in the oil market, where prices have spiked because the war has snarled the production and transportation of crude in the Persian Gulf. Much of that oil exits the gulf through the Strait of Hormuz to reach customers around the world, but Iran has blocked it to enemies.

The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude climbed 1.3% to $113.82. Brent crude, the international standard, rose 0.3% to $110.06 and is well above its roughly $70 level from before the war in late February.

The worry in markets has been that a long-term disruption will keep oil prices high for a long time and send a painful wave of inflation crashing through the global economy. Iran on Monday rejected the latest ceasefire proposal and instead said it wants a permanent end to the war.

So far in the war, Trump has made a series of threats to blow up Iranian power plants if it doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz, only to delay it several times. The possibility remains that Trump could back down again, among other scenarios, which is keeping uncertainty high.

A year ago, Trump ultimately backed off many of the stiff tariffs that he initially threatened to put on imports from other countries, though they ended up higher than from before his second term.

“Investors are likely to remain on edge and markets unable to establish trends, probably until there is a clear outcome later this evening: a deal, the U.S./Israeli strikes intensify, or Iran’s retaliation becomes escalatory instead of proportional,” according to Paul Christopher, head of global investment strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

On Wall Street, companies with big fuel bills fell to some of the sharpest losses as high oil prices crank up the pressure.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings dropped 3.8%, and United Airlines sank 2.9%.

Companies whose customers may have the least room to absorb the recent jump in gasoline prices also struggled. Dollar Tree slid 4.7%, and Dollar General fell 1.8%.

The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline across the United States has leaped to $4.14, according to AAA. It was below $3 a couple days before the United States and Israel launched attacks to begin the war in late February.

Companies enmeshed in the cryptocurrency industry were also losers as the price of bitcoin sank. Coinbase Global dropped 1%, and Strategy fell 2.7%.

Stocks of health insurers helped limit the market’s losses after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Medicare Advantage payments will likely see a net average increase of 2.48% in 2027. That was well ahead of what some investors expected, according to UBS analysts led by AJ Rice.

UnitedHealth Group jumped 10.5%, and Humana rose 9.2%.

Universal Music Group also helped to limit losses for global stock indexes after Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management offered to buy the record label behind Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny in a cash-and-stock deal valued at approximately $64 billion.

The proposed purchase, which Pershing Square argued would clear uncertainty that’s weighed on UMG’s stock, would bring the company to Nevada and move its stock listing from Amsterdam to the New York Stock Exchange. UMG’s stock in Amsterdam jumped 11.4% but remains below what Pershing said its bid is worth. That could indicate investor doubt that the deal will happen.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe. Asian stock indexes were stronger, with South Korea’s Kospi up 0.8% for one of the world’s bigger gains.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady ahead of Trump’s looming deadline. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.35% from 4.34% late Monday, egged on in part by the rise in oil prices.

That's well above its 3.97% level from before the war, and the rise has pushed up rates for mortgages and other loans going to U.S. households and businesses, which slows the economy.

___

AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.

Tanner Horner faces either the death penalty or life in prison in the December 2022 killing of Athena Strand, whose body was found two days after she was reported missing in the rural town of Paradise, near Fort Worth.

Jurors, who will decide Horner’s punishment, began hearing testimony after the plea. As Athena’s stepmother testified about the search for the girl, the jury was shown an image of Athena taken from a video inside the delivery truck. She was still alive and sitting on her knees behind the driver’s seat.

According to an arrest warrant, Horner told authorities that he strangled Athena after accidentally hitting her with his van while making a delivery. Horner told investigators that Athena wasn’t seriously hurt after he hit her while backing up, but he panicked and put her in his van.

Horner said he didn’t want her to tell her father what happened, so he first tried to break the girl’s neck and when that didn’t work, he strangled her with his hands in the back of the van, the warrant said. The warrant said Horner took investigators to where he’d left Athena’s body.

Her family said the package Horner had dropped off was a Christmas present for Athena — a box of “You Can Be Anything” Barbies.

The trial was moved from rural Wise County to Fort Worth after Horner’s attorneys argued that he would not have received a fair trial.

Bidunga finished his second season with the Jayhawks as the Big 12 defensive player of the year and an Associated Press All-Big 12 second-team pick. He averaged 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds and was a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year finalist. He led the Big 12 and was fourth nationally with 91 blocked shots and 10th in field-goal shooting at 64%.

Bidunga recorded 13 double-doubles and was the only Division I player to average more than 13 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots.

Harris was voted the Atlantic Coast Conference's most improved player after he increased his scoring average from 6.1 points as a freshman to 21.4 this past season. He also was an AP All-ACC second-team pick after becoming one of two players in program history to score 750 points in a season. Myles Colvin, the Demon Deacons' second-leading scorer, joined Harris and four other teammates in the portal.

Murauskas was joined in the portal by four of his teammates as the Gaels transition from longtime coach Randy Bennett, who left for Arizona State, to Mickey McConnell, who was Bennett's associate head coach. Murauskas was the West Coast Conference's second-leading scorer with 18.4 points and had two 30-point games. He was an All-WCC first-team pick both years he was with the Gaels after transferring from Arizona.

Isaiah Johnson, who led Colorado and was third in the Big 12 in scoring with 16.9 points per game, went into the portal after one season with the Buffaloes.

Providence, which fired Kim English last month and hired Bryan Hodgson, had just one player listed on its 2026-27 roster Tuesday. Among seven players in the portal was Stefan Vaaks, who as a freshman averaged 15.2 points and 3.3 assists and made a Big East-leading 91 3-pointers.

LSU's Dedan Thomas (15.3 ppg) and Michael Nowoko (13.4 ppg), the Tigers' second- and third-leading scorers, were among seven players in the portal with Will Wade returning as coach after the firing of Matt McMahon.

California saw its top two scorers enter the portal in Dai Dai Ames and Justin Pippen. Ames is looking for his fourth school in four years after having made one-year stops at Kansas State and Virginia. He scored 16.9 points per game for the Bears. Pippen, son of NBA great Scottie Pippen, started his career at Michigan and will be heading to his third school in three years after averaging 14.2 points.

KJ Lewis, who averaged 14.9 points and 5.1 rebounds at Georgetown after two seasons at Arizona, is seeking a third school in four years.

Also entering the portal was San Diego State forward Miles Byrd, the Mountain West's defensive player of the year.

Gavin Doty, who averaged 18 points for Siena to rank second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, announced he would follow coach Gerry McNamara to Syracuse.

Purdue announced it had signed forward Caden Pierce, who played three seasons at Princeton and sat out this year as a redshirt while completing his degree. Pierce started 89 games for the Tigers and was 2023-24 Ivy League player of year after averaging 16.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists. He chose the Boilermakers over Duke, Gonzaga, Louisville and Connecticut.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Offset, who was once married to Cardi B, was being treated at a hospital after Monday night's shooting, the spokesperson said in a statement, although his exact condition was unknown. Police said the injuries were not life threatening.

More than three years ago, Offset’s cousin Takeoff, another member of Migos, was shot and killed at a Houston bowling alley.

Monday's shooting followed a fight at the Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, just north of Miami, police said. Officers detained two people.

A rapper known as Lil Tjay, Tione Jayden Merritt, was arrested for the altercation that occurred before the shooting, the Seminole Police Department in Florida said. He was charged with disorderly conduct and operating a vehicle without a valid license.

His lawyer, Dawn M. Florio, told The Associated Press that Lil Tjay did not have a gun and was not charged with any weapons or gun-related crimes.

She said he paid his bond and was released Tuesday afternoon. The 24-year-old rapper is a stalwart of New York’s South Bronx scene, celebrated for his sing-rapping and pop-hip-hop style delivered atop drill beats.

While police said one person sustained injuries at a valet area outside the casino, they did not identify the victim.

The second person detained at the scene has not been charged and investigators were working to identify others involved, police said in a statement Tuesday.

Offset, born Kiari Kendrell Cephus, first made a name for himself with Migos. The Atlanta trio is one of the most popular hip-hop groups of all time, celebrated for their rapid-fire triplet flow, an often imitated delivery that changed the trajectory of trap.

Their career kicked off with the 2013 hit “Versace.” They then had several multiplatinum selling singles, including “Bad and Boujee,” which went No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart, “Stir Fry,” “Narcos,” and “T-Shirt.” Migos released four full-length albums across their career, closing that chapter after the killing of Takeoff.

Offset and Cardi B were secretly wed in September 2017 in Atlanta. In 2024, Cardi B announced that she filed for divorce. They have three children together.

The third member of Migos, rapper Quavo, sought to transform his nephew Takeoff’s tragic shooting into a force for change, holding a summit against gun violence in 2024.

Police said Takeoff was an innocent bystander when he was shot outside a Houston bowling alley after a disagreement over a dice game. Takeoff’s death was among a string of fatal shootings in recent years that involved hip-hop stars such as Nipsey Hussle, Pop Smoke, PnB Rock and Young Dolph.

Offset embarked on a solo career years before Takeoff's death.

As a solo artist, Offset is known for an idiosyncratic style — a melodic, aggressive finesse. He released three full-length albums: 2019’s “Father of Four”; 2023’s “Set It Off,” which he described to The Associated Press as an effort to “bring rap back” in a genre currently led by rappers who sing; and 2025’s “Kiari.”

“‘Set It Off’ was a freedom,” he told AP last year, proof that he could shine as a solo artist outside of Migos. “Kiari,” instead, is “me, for what I am. And recognizing who I am, because I feel like sometimes you could get lost in trying to please other people and trying to do what they want you to do. So, this is like my rebellion. My rebellion album.” ___

Sherman reported from New York. Associated Press reporters Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed.

Vance's two-day visit to Budapest was the clearest sign yet that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is going all-in for an Orbán victory when Hungarians go to the polls on Sunday. With only five days until the vote, Orbán, the European Union’s longest-serving leader and a close Trump ally, is trailing in the polls.

Speaking before over 1,000 Orbán supporters at an election rally at a sports arena in Budapest, Vance campaigned openly for the autocratic leader, telling the crowd: “We have got to get Viktor Orbán reelected as prime minister of Hungary, don’t we?”

Orbán is running for his fifth-straight term as prime minister. He and his nationalist-populist Fidesz party are facing their toughest race in two decades against a center-right challenger, the Tisza party led by Péter Magyar, that could bring an end to his 16 years in power.

Orbán has bristled at the slightest mention of the Hungarian election by any of his EU partners, decrying any expressions of support for his opponent as a grave breach of Hungary’s sovereignty and meddling in the election.

Yet Vance's appearance alongside Orbán at the election rally — dubbed a “Day of Friendship” event — was an unusual step from a foreign leader, and a break with most politicians who avoid taking an active role in the political campaigns of other countries.

To loud applause, Vance asked rally attendees: “Will you stand for Western civilization? Will you stand for freedom, for truth, and for the God of our fathers?”

"Then, my friends, go to the polls in the weekend. Stand with Viktor Orbán, because he stands for you, and he stands for all these things,” Vance said.

‘I love that Viktor’

Long accused by critics of taking over Hungary’s institutions, clamping down on press freedom and overseeing entrenched political corruption — charges he denies — Orbán has become an icon in the global far-right movement.

Trump has repeatedly endorsed Orbán’s candidacy for reelection, and many in the Make America Great Again movement approve of the Hungarian leader's opposition to immigration, curtailing of LGBTQ+ rights, and capture of the media and academia.

But with most independent polls showing a double-digit deficit for Fidesz among decided voters ahead of the April 12 vote, Orbán has sought to boost his profile by appearing publicly with his international admirers.

Vance spoke at length on Tuesday about what he views as the civilizational dangers posed by progressivism, “faceless bureaucrats” and censorship. He lauded Orbán for his strong stand against immigration, and his adversarial approach to the EU.

“I admire what you’re fighting for,” Vance said. “I am here because President Trump and I wish for your success, and we are fighting right here with you.”

Vance used his phone to call Trump from the lectern, to loud applause. After first reaching an automated message about the caller’s voicemail box not being set up yet, Trump answered the call and told the crowd through a microphone: “I love Hungary and I love that Viktor, I tell you he’s a fantastic man.”

Trump said Orbán had not allowed migrants “to storm” and “ruin” Hungary.

“He’s kept Hungarian people in your country,” Trump said.

Hungarian ‘reconquista’

The Trump administration’s embrace of Orbán reflects its affinity for European far-right parties broadly, and the admiration, from Spain to France to Germany and the Netherlands, has been mutual.

Orbán has long been a thorn in the side of the EU, and has tested the bloc’s system of governance by frequently using his veto power to paralyze decision making in order to leverage concessions.

Last month, he vetoed a major, 90-billion euro ($104-billion) EU loan to Ukraine, angering the bloc's leaders who accused him of hijacking the critical aid while undermining the EU in an effort to win his election.

At the rally on Tuesday, Orbán declared that “freedom-loving Americans and Hungarians must unite and save Western civilization.”

“To do this, we must fight the progressives that nest in Brussels,” the EU's de-facto capital, he continued. He declared that Hungary had launched a “reconquista” of EU institutions which “will bring new patriotic governments to power.”

Late last month, Orbán hosted dozens of allies from around Europe and beyond at the Hungarian iteration of the Conservative Political Action Conference, and at a meeting of the far-right Patriots for Europe party family, the third-largest group in the European Parliament.

Trump sent a video message to CPAC Hungary, saying Orbán had his “complete and total endorsement” and was a “fantastic guy.”

Still, Trump’s recent approach to foreign affairs has reverberated in Europe, with his actions over Greenland, Venezuela and Iran straining those relationships. Some commentators have suggested support from Vance and Trump may not help boost Orbán's popularity at home.

Orbán, however, has remained deferential, and echoed Trump’s false claims that he won the 2020 election.

Russian energy

Orbán's government has broken with most EU countries by refusing to assist Ukraine with financial assistance or weapons to ward off Russia's full-scale invasion. Meanwhile, it has remained firmly committed to purchasing Russian energy despite EU efforts to wean off such supplies.

In November, Hungary received an exemption from U.S. sanctions on Russian oil and gas after a White House meeting between Orbán and Trump.

Yet at a joint news conference with Orbán earlier on Tuesday, Vance seemed to contradict U.S. efforts to push its allies to break with Russian energy, excoriating other EU countries for moving to cease their imports of Russian fossil fuels in response to the war.

“It's funny to watch prime ministers and leaders in some of the Western European capitals talk about the energy crisis when frankly they should have been following the policies of Viktor Orbán,” he said.

Despite his clear endorsement of Orbán, Vance lashed out at the EU for what he said was “one of the worst examples of foreign election interference that I’ve ever seen or ever even read about.”

Vance did not address numerous recent reports that Russian secret services are meddling in Hungary's election to tip it in Orbán’s favor.

___

Mike Catalini in Morrisville, Pennsylvania contributed.

Officers responded to the shooting around 9:30 p.m. Monday in the 5500 block of Little Creek Drive, near Old Pearsall Road.

According to an SAPD preliminary report, three people were involved in a road rage incident with the suspect.

At some point, a police spokesperson said the suspect pulled up next to the vehicle with three people inside and opened fire.

A 20-year-old woman, who is at least six months pregnant, was taken to a local hospital as a precaution. An 18-year-old man was also injured in the shooting.

The pregnant woman and the 18-year-old were struck by fragments on their lower bodies, the report said. Both are expected to be OK.

Police said the suspect, who was not identified in its report, was later taken into custody.

SAPD said its investigation is ongoing.

Read also:

• 2 arrested after stolen vehicles recovered on I-10, Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office says
• BCSO: Man arrested, accused of shooting at vehicle, hitting bystander’s car in west Bexar County
• SAPD, Crime Stoppers seek tips in connection with capital murder of 19-year-old man

The vote — 11-2, with two abstentions from Pakistan and Colombia— took place just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an unprecedented threat that a “whole civilization will die tonight" if Iran does not open the strategic waterway and make a deal before his 8 p.m. Eastern deadline. One-fifth of the world’s oil typically passes through the strait, and Iran’s stranglehold during the war has sent energy prices soaring.

Russia and China strongly defended their opposition, both directly citing Trump’s most recent and perilous threat yet to end Iran’s civilization as confirmation that the proposal would have given U.S. and Israel “carte blanche for continued aggression," as Russian envoy Vassily Nebenzia put it.

Nebenzia and China’s U.N. ambassador, Fu Cong, said the most recent text failed to capture the root causes and full picture of the conflict by showing that America and its closest ally started the now spiraling war.

“Such language is highly susceptible to misinterpretation or even abuse,” Cong said in his statement.

He added, “The draft resolution, should it have been adopted, would send a wrong message and have serious, very serious consequences.” Cong said the war is likely to escalate, with the United States now “openly threatening the very survival of a civilization.”

,The foreign minister of Bahrain, which authored the draft, assailed the U.N.'s most powerful body for not taking action and allowing the international community to be “held hostage to economic blackmail" from Iran.

“Failing to adopt this resolution sends the wrong signal to the world, to the people of the world,” Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani said after the vote — “the signal that the threat to international waterways can pass without any decisive action by the international organization responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security.”

But Iran’s ambassador to the U.N. thanked its allies on the 15-member council for refusing to adopt the resolution.

“The text unjustifiably and misleadingly portrays Iran’s lawful measures in the Strait of Hormuz, which have been taken in the exercise of its inherent right of self-defense in accordance with the UN Charter, as threats to international peace and security,” Amir-Saeid Iravani said in his statement.

It’s doubtful the resolution, even if it had been adopted, would have impacted the war, now in its sixth week, because it was been significantly weakened to try to get Moscow and Beijing to abstain rather than veto it.

The initial Gulf proposal would have authorized countries to use “all necessary means” — U.N. wording that would include military action — to ensure transit through the Strait of Hormuz and deter attempts to close it.

The United States, which had supported the draft from its original form, assailed the countries that objected to the resolution.

“No one should tolerate that they are holding the global economy at gunpoint," Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said of Iran, “but today, Russia and China did tolerate it.” He said in his statement: “They sided with a regime that seeks to intimidate the Gulf into submission, even as it brutalizes its own people during a national internet blackout, for daring to imagine dignity or freedom.”

After Russia, China and France, all veto-wielding countries on the 15-member Security Council, expressed opposition to approving the use of force, the resolution was revised to eliminate all references to offensive action. It would have authorized only “all defensive means necessary.” A vote had been expected on Saturday.

But instead the resolution was further weakened to eliminate any reference to Security Council authorization — which is an order for action — and limit its provisions to the Strait of Hormuz. Previous drafts had included adjacent waters.

The resolution vetoed Tuesday "strongly encourages states interested in the use of commercial maritime routes in the Strait of Hormuz to coordinate efforts, defensive in nature, commensurate with the circumstances, to contribute to ensuring the safety and security of navigation across the Strait of Hormuz.”

This should include escorting merchant and commercial vessels, and deterring attempts to close, obstruct or interfere with international navigation through the strait, it says.

The resolution also demanded that Iran immediately halt attacks on merchant and commercial vessels and stop impeding their freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and attacking civilian infrastructure.

In response to the U.S. and Israeli attacks beginning on Feb. 28, Iran has targeted hotels, airports, residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure in more than 10 countries, including the Islamic Republic's Gulf neighbors, some of the world’s major exporters of oil and natural gas.

Iran's blockade in the strait is seen by Gulf nations as an existential threat. Bahrain, a Gulf nation that hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet and is the Security Council’s Arab representative and its president this month, has been pressing for U.N. action.

In response to Iran’s strikes against its Gulf neighbors, the Security Council adopted a Bahrain-sponsored resolution on March 11 condemning the “egregious attacks” and calling for Tehran to immediately halt its strikes.

That resolution, adopted by a vote of 13-0 with Russia and China abstaining, also condemned Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz as a threat to international peace and security and called for an immediate end to all actions blocking shipping.

The suit, filed last year, marked a new front in the PETA's long-running campaign against dog breeders. The case accused the American Kennel Club of promulgating unhealthy “standards,” or ideals, for Frenchies — the nation's most prevalent dog breed, by the club's count — as well as bulldogs, Chinese shar-peis, dachshunds and pugs. The AKC, the nation's oldest purebred dog registry, rejected the claims and said it prioritizes canine health.

Club President Gina DiNardo hailed the decision Tuesday.

“We remain focused on what matters most, the preservation of purebred dogs, advocating for all dogs and the people who care for them, and supporting the right of individuals and families to choose the dog that is right for their household,” she said in a statement.

PETA, also called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said its lawyers were assessing any legal options.

“Money-grubbing dog merchants flood the market with deformed dogs bred at the AKC’s direction,” founder Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement. She urged people to adopt dogs from shelters instead of buying purebred pups: “No dog should be custom-made for a look that causes pain.”

The suit invoked a New York law that is generally used to challenge state and local government decisions, though it's occasionally applied to private organizations. But those have been organizations with some authority over the people suing them, such as union members bringing complaints about their leadership or co-op apartment residents suing their building's board, state Judge David B. Cohen said in a decision filed Monday.

Since PETA isn't subject to the kennel club's authority, the case “must be dismissed,” he wrote, without opining on the dog health issues at the heart of the case.

It focused on canine ailments that can be associated with flat faces — such as those of bulldogs, pugs and Frenchies — or with the short legs and long backs that dachshunds have. Shar-peis, meanwhile, may suffer spates of fever and inflammation known as “shar-pei autoinflammatory disease.”

The problems aren't universal but can be serious.

PETA had wanted the judge to order the AKC to stop using the “standards” for those breeds. The standards guide dog show judges and many breeders.

The AKC has said the standards — which fanciers develop and the kennel club reviews and circulates — reflect “decades of collaboration with veterinary experts and breeders.” The kennel club says it has given over $40 million since 1995 to its canine health research charity.

Kittleson was freed in the afternoon, said the official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly. He did not share her current whereabouts but said that prior to her release, she had been held in Baghdad.

The powerful Iran-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah said in a statement earlier in the day it had decided to free Kittleson, who was abducted on March 31.

The group said its decision came “in appreciation of the patriotic stances of the outgoing prime minister," Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, without giving more details. It added that “this initiative will not be repeated in the future.”

The statement added a condition — that Kittleson must “leave the country immediately” upon her release.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kataib Hezbollah had not previously acknowledged that it was the one responsible for Kittleson’s abduction, although both U.S. and Iraqi officials had pointed fingers at the group.

Two officials within the militia, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, told the AP that in exchange for freeing Kittleson, several members of the group who had previously been detained by Iraqi authorities would be released.

Kittleson, 49, a freelance journalist, had lived abroad for years before the kidnapping, using Rome as her base for a time and building a respected journalism career across the Middle East, particularly in Iraq and Syria. Like many freelancers, she often worked on a shoestring budget and without the protections afforded by large news organizations to staff.

She had entered Iraq again shortly before her abduction. U.S. officials have said that they warned her multiple times of threats against her, but that she did not want to leave.

Iraqi officials have said that two cars were involved in the kidnapping, one of which crashed while being pursued near the town of al-Haswa in Babil province, southwest of Baghdad. The journalist was then transferred to a second car that fled the scene.

Three Iraqi officials said earlier Tuesday that attempts to negotiate her release had run into obstacles.

The two Iraqi security officials and one official from the pro-Iran Coordination Framework political bloc spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the sensitive case publicly.

One of the security officials said that an official with the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iran-backed militias that is nominally under the control of the Iraqi military, had been tasked with communicating with the abductors to secure Kittleson’s release but had run into difficulties in communicating with the Kataib Hezbollah leadership.

“The primary challenge is that the leaders of the Kataib militia — specifically, the commanders of the battalions — are nowhere to be found. No one knows their whereabouts, and the process of establishing contact with them is extremely complex,” they said. “These leaders have gone underground, maintaining no active lines of communication, out of fear of being targeted.”

The political official said a message had been sent to the Kataib leadership to determine their demands in exchange for releasing the kidnapped journalist. Iraqi authorities were willing to release six Kataib Hezbollah members who are currently detained, most of them in connection with attacks on a U.S. base in Syria, they said.

Kataib Hezbollah has previously been accused of kidnapping foreigners.

Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Princeton graduate student with Israeli and Russian citizenship, disappeared in Baghdad in 2023. After she was freed and handed over to U.S. authorities in September 2025, she said that she had been held by Kataib Hezbollah.

The group never officially claimed responsibility for kidnapping her.

Iran-backed militias in Iraq have also launched regular attacks on U.S. facilities in the country since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.

Ryan Peña, 50, was arrested on Friday after San Antonio police said a woman reported that Peña sexually abused her in the past, along with other minors.

An SAPD preliminary report says detectives interviewed several others who made similar reports of abuse.

Peña was arrested in the 9900 block of Kriewald, where the Church of Acts is located, after a warrant was obtained, police said.

Peña‘s website, Ryan Peña Ministries, lists him as a senior leader for the Church of Acts. He’s also seen in multiple videos and images shared on the Church of Acts’ social media pages.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, a 31-year-old woman told police that Peña sexually abused her multiple times over several years until she was 17 years old. The affidavit lists the woman as Peña‘s relative.

During that time, Peña sent her a message on MySpace and told her he wanted to be “friends with benefits,” police said.

According to the affidavit, she said Peña groomed her from a young age and told her that he loved her.

Police spoke with another woman who reported that Peña, also her relative, sexually abused her when she was 12 years old, the affidavit states.

Police said both women reported the abuse to relatives over the years, but did not report the incidents to law enforcement because they “were trying to move on from what happened.”

Peña was booked on a charge of continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14 years old, online jail records show.

Records show he was released from jail on Monday after posting bond.

Also on KSAT:

• Pregnant woman among 2 injured in road rage shooting on Southwest Side, police say
• 2 arrested after stolen vehicles recovered on I-10, Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office says

The incident happened around 11:45 a.m. in the campus’ office area as the K-9 was on campus for an unannounced search, NISD told KSAT.

The administrator, who is a woman, was taken to a local hospital for further treatment, according to the San Antonio Fire Department. Her condition is currently unknown.

No students were involved in the incident, according to the district.

This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.

More news coverage on KSAT:

• San Antonio minister charged with child sexual abuse, records show
• Child hospitalized after being bitten by family dog, Bexar County Sheriff’s Office says

Trump's previous deadline was weeks ago, but it was postponed several times as the Republican president oscillated between heated threats, announced delays and proclamations that the negotiations were going well, sometimes in the same statement.

That was true in Trump's Truth Social post before his Tuesday 8 p.m. ET deadline. After threatening a “whole civilization," Trump said Iran's new leaders were more reasonable and “maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?”

Officials involved in diplomatic efforts said talks continued, but it was unclear if a deal would be reached by the deadline, which Trump has suggested was final. Trump raised the ante on his threats from Monday.

“They’ll have no bridges," he wrote. “They’ll have no power plants. They’ll have no anything.”

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned the U.S. that attacks on civilian infrastructure are banned under international law, according to his office. Trump, speaking with reporters, said he's “not at all” concerned about committing war crimes with such attacks.

So how did Trump's deadline delays and threats escalate over the last weeks?

An ultimatum about reopening the Strait of Hormuz

On March 21, Trump posted on Truth Social that the U.S. would “hit and obliterate” Iranian power plants if it did not fully reopen the strait within 48 hours.

Iran had until the evening of March 23.

Then 12 hours before the deadline, Trump took to Truth Social to share what seemed good news: that both countries had productive conversations toward concluding the conflict.

He wrote that he had instructed the Pentagon to postpone any strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days, to give more time for talks.

That pushed the deadline out to the end of that week.

A threat to target desalinization plants

Before that deadline, on March 26, Trump doubled down on his threats on Truth Social: “They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won’t be pretty!”

But later that day, he extended the deadline for 10 more days, to April 6 at 8 p.m. Eastern, and said on Truth Social that negotiations were “going very well.”

On March 30, Trump put out a mixed statement: celebrating progress in the talks with Iran while also expanding his threatened bombing if a deal wasn't “shortly reached,” adding that “it probably will be."

“We will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!),” he wrote.

It's unclear how soon “shortly reached” meant for Trump, but a deal was not made as the deadline loomed.

An expletive-filled threat to attack power plants and bridges

“Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT," Trump said in a Truth Social post on Saturday, "Time is running out - 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them.” He meant rain down.

As the deadline approached, his posts had doubled down on his threats until Sunday, when Trump pushed it again in an expletive-filled post.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F——-in’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell,” Trump said on Truth Social, followed by another post that specified 8 p.m. as the deadline.

Trump then suggested on Monday that Tuesday's deadline would be final, saying he'd already given Iran enough extensions.

“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump said. “We have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night.”

By Tuesday morning, Trump had sent his statement saying “a whole civilization will die tonight,” to which he added that “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”

What's next for diplomacy with Iran?

Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of Iran’s diplomatic mission in Cairo, said Iran no longer trusts the Trump administration after the U.S. bombed the Islamic Republic twice during previous rounds of talks.

“We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again,” he told The Associated Press.

The talks were continuing as the 8 p.m. Tuesday deadline — 3:30 a.m. Wednesday in Iran — ticked closer.

Indianapolis councilman Ron Gibson said he and his 8-year-old son weren’t harmed in the incident that occurred around 12:45 a.m. Monday, but the bullets struck just steps from the dining room table where his son played with Legos the day before.

“That reality is deeply unsettling,” Gibson said. “This was not just an attack on my home, but endangered my child and disrupted the safety of our entire neighborhood.”

The incident comes as data centers have emerged as a target for extremists motivated by a range of anti-tech, anti-government and pro-environment narratives, according to Jordyn Abrams, a research fellow at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University.

Though the details behind the latest incident are not yet clear, Abrams said local conversations around data centers have increasingly made them a symbol for grievances spanning the political spectrum.

Concerns include the centers’ massive energy consumption and water usage, which consumer advocates fear could drive up electric rates and deplete wells. Data center developers also can strike confidential power deals with local utilities that are profitable for utilities, making it unclear whether center operators are paying for their electricity or are foisting costs onto ratepayers, consumer advocates warn.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement that officers called to a home on East 41st Street just after 9 a.m. Monday found evidence of gunshots being fired at a house, but no injuries were reported. Police said they believe it was an isolated, targeted incident and the FBI was assisting.

“I understand that public service can bring strong opinions and disagreement, but violence is never the answer, especially when it puts families at risk,” Gibson said on Monday. “This will not deter me. I will continue to serve the residents of this district with integrity and respect for all voices.”

Last week, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Development Commission approved a rezoning petition for a project for Metrobloks, a data center developer, in Gibson's district. Some area residents and leaders opposed to the project attended last week’s hearing, raising concerns about the project’s impact on the community, news outlets reported.

Gibson supported the commission's decision in a statement last week.

“The site has remained underutilized for years, and today’s action is an important step toward bringing it back into productive use in a way that benefits both the surrounding neighborhood and our city,” Gibson said. “As the district councilor, when this petition comes before the full Council, I do not intend to call it down.”

The restaurant will be located at 7249 Bandera Road, which is near Eckhert Road and just down the street from John Marshall High School.

The estimated construction completion date for the restaurant is Aug. 31, 2026, the TDLR filing shows. The 2,884-square foot project will also cost approximately $300,000.

According to the filing, the construction involves “partial demolition and remodel of existing restaurant.”

Another Layne’s Chicken Fingers restaurant, according to a separate TDLR filing, is planned along State Highway 46 in Seguin.

Currently, there are no Layne’s Chicken Fingers in the San Antonio area, but a San Marcos location opened last year. Most of its restaurants are located in the Dallas or Houston areas.

In addition to chicken fingers, Layne’s also serves crinkle-cut fries, a signature dipping sauce, chicken sandwiches, grilled chicken wraps and more.

The restaurant was founded in 1994 in College Station by its former owner Mike Layne.

More recent restaurant coverage on KSAT:

• Original Burger Boy location officially reopens after 2025 kitchen fire
• La Panadería to open new restaurant on Northwest Side this fall

But new research released Tuesday shows that such financial gains for many Black-led nonprofits were short-lived, if they happened at all. A subset of large, Black-led nonprofits saw only temporary funding increases between 2020 and 2022, according to the analysis by nonprofit research service Candid and Black philanthropy group ABFE. Smaller organizations saw no significant change.

The pattern of disinvestment put many community groups at a greater disadvantage when President Donald Trump’s policies curtailed funding for diversity, equity and inclusion. The nonprofit sector's struggles deepened as the administration threatened a range of social service programs, left future grants uncertain by cutting agency staff and chilled racial justice funding through anti-DEI executive orders.

Black Voters Matter co-founder Cliff Albright noted these community nonprofits are the same ones now tasked with helping more and more low-income families deal with spiking healthcare costs and rising food prices.

“We're literally being asked to do more with less resources,” Albright told The Associated Press.

Small, Black-led nonprofits tended to have to rely on new rather than continuing funders, losing out on transformational relationships that sustain their longer-term goals and cushion them through challenging periods. These small organizations — those with annual expenses of $1 million or less — got just over one-third of their funding from continuing supporters, according to the report.

The dynamic rang true for a South Side Chicago group serving a predominantly Black neighborhood among the city's most impoverished. Asiaha Butler, the CEO of the Resident Association of Greater Englewood, cofounded the nonprofit more than 15 years ago to empower her neighbors to combat their area's negative narratives.

That mission had a handful of consistent backers. But summer 2020 brought more than two dozen new funders.

“All of a sudden, we were desirable for people to fund,” recalled Butler, adding the “spurt” became a “curse” as the quick infusion of capital tapered off.

“We started seeing this revenue and thinking we're gaining really great relationships with funders," she said. "And, really, those priorities shifted quickly.”

Lacking relationships

Foundations lacked relationships with Black organizations of any scale prior to 2020, according to ABFE CEO Susan Taylor Batten.

Black philanthropy professionals say that distance created a scramble when protestors demanded businesses and philanthropies address systemic racism.

Kia Croom, whose fundraising firm works with nonprofits in Black communities, said her clients received more funding than ever from corporations. Some hired additional development staff to meet the demand — and then underwent layoffs when funds disappeared.

“It was just a very transactional gift at best,” she said.

Positive Results Center CEO Kandee Lewis oversees a Los Angeles nonprofit assisting survivors of domestic violence and other harms. It was wonderful, she said, to receive checks from new supporters. But oftentimes, the support turned out to be a one-time donation rather than the beginning of a relationship.

Lewis felt the funding came only because her group was Black-led — not because funders understood its work.

"They were so busy trying to figure out who was who that they didn’t really take time to get to know people," she said.

Limited networks

Jaleesa Hall knows philanthropy is a relationship game.

She heads Raising A Village Foundation, which aims to advance educational equity through tutoring programs. She didn't have many high net worth members in her network when she founded the Washington, D.C. nonprofit more than six years ago.

That circle made it difficult to catch the attention of foundations, which she said “haven't really cracked” how to find potential grantees outside of their existing web of connections.

“Small, Black-led nonprofits simply aren't in those rooms to begin with," Hall said.

Most of their foundation grant dollars came from first-time funders, according to the report.

Cathleen Clerkin, the associate vice president of research at Candid, said the nonprofits' work is made even more challenging by the “song and dance” necessary to secure long-term investment every year.

“They're just constantly going on first dates with new funders and hoping that somebody will invest in them and understand them,” she said.

Small nonprofit leaders are so focused on day-to-day upkeep and financial viability that they don't have time to attend networking opportunities or money to fly out for national convenings.

T’Pring Westbrook, a nonresident fellow at the Urban Institute's Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy, co-founded a consulting group that works with small nonprofits. The problem isn't that foundations don't want to support marginalized communities, she said, but that they do so through “trend funding.”

“Maybe during Black History Month there will be a funding campaign,” she said. “But the thing about a campaign is a campaign doesn't build sustainability.”

Restrictive practices

Small nonprofits say they face additional barriers, regardless of race, including grant eligibility requirements. And limited staff may prevent qualifying organizations from keeping up with foundations' required weekly or monthly reports on the status of projects they’ve funded.

“It ends up feeling like a burden,” Hall explained. “The juice isn't worth the squeeze."

Philanthropy has seen a sector-wide shift towards trust-based models that offer general operating support and multi-year grants, acknowledging nonprofits' expertise on how to best fulfill their missions. But Batten, the ABFE leader, said Black-led nonprofits generally have not reaped the benefits of those best practices.

The report showed Black-led nonprofits had significantly fewer continuing funders than their non-Black counterparts. Only one-third received general operating support, compared to just over half of other nonprofits.

“We are still seeing remnants of bad practice when it comes to investing in Black communities," Batten said. "There’s just no way for a foundation to move its mission for communities in this country, let alone Black nonprofits to move theirs, if we do not evolve this sector."

‘Pulling teeth’ in Chicago

Butler, the Chicago neighborhood association leader, hears excuses now from supporters who gave at the height of the 2020 racial justice movement: “Priorities have shifted,” they tell her, or there are “new strategic goals."

“Little buzz words that just say perhaps this nonprofit -- grassroots, Black-led, very focused on the Black population -- is probably just not in peoples’ cards to continue to support,” she said.

That downturn delayed a nearly $7 million capital project building off their economic justice work after the post-George Floyd civil unrest. An 8,800-square-foot (817 square-meter) building would include a dine-in restaurant and another Black-owned business. One tenant would provide workforce development trainings. Her goal is to strengthen Englewood’s economic and social fabric through a thriving Black business district.

By 2023, she had secured a $1 million grant — her nonprofit's largest — to start the project. But she compared her search for additional funding to "pulling teeth.” Past philanthropic partners withheld support. Their prospects weren't good.

She's turning to public funding. The City of Chicago provided a $2.5 million grant and Butler said another $1.5 million state award is pending.

“Things shifted and so we didn’t want to start soliciting for a capital campaign,” she said. “The timing was off.”

___

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits 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. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

The Board of Regents announced it had scheduled the meeting for 6 p.m. EDT to consider firing Jay Rothman, the leader of the state's four-year colleges. The regents have not given a clear reason why they're considering terminating Rothman, who has served a little more than four years in the top leadership post.

The vote is scheduled just five days after The Associated Press first reported that the regents asked Rothman to either resign or be fired. Rothman said in two letters to the regents that he would not leave voluntarily without knowing what he did wrong.

Regent President Amy Bogost said in a statement Monday that the board has shared results of a performance review with Rothman, with “direct conversations and clear feedback regarding leadership expectations.” She said the system needs “a clear vision” but did not elaborate on the review's findings.

Rothman countered Tuesday with his own statement insisting regents repeatedly declined to cite a specific reason for finding no confidence in his leadership. No one ever indicated to him that an evaluation could lead to termination, he said, adding that Bogost called his review “overwhelmingly positive.”

“It is disappointing that the first I heard any sort of defense of their position was when they communicated with the media,” Rothman said. “I am left to conclude that, at best, this reflects an after-the-fact rationalization of a decision that was previously made.”

The secrecy has drawn the ire of Republicans who control the Legislature and the system's purse strings.

“This lack of transparency is unacceptable,” said GOP state Rep. David Murphy, chair of the Assembly's colleges and universities committee. “President Rothman deserves to know exactly why the Board has lost confidence in his leadership.”

Rothman has served as president of the 165,000-student, multicampus system since January 2022. The former chair and CEO of the Milwaukee-based Foley & Lardner law firm, Rothman had no prior experience administering higher education.

He has spent his tenure lobbying Republican legislators to increase state aid for the system in the face of federal cuts, navigating free speech issues surrounding pro-Palestinian protests, and grappling with declining enrollment that has forced eight branch campuses to close. Overall enrollment across the system has remained steady under his leadership.

He has to tread carefully dealing with a Republican-controlled Legislature and a Board of Regents with a majority of members appointed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

Rothman brokered a deal with Assembly Republican Speaker Robin Vos in 2023 that called for freezing diversity hires and creating a position at UW-Madison focused on conservative thought in exchange for Vos releasing money for UW employee raises and tens of millions of dollars for construction projects across the system.

The regents initially rejected the deal only to approve it in a second vote held just days later. Evers said at the time the deal left him disappointed and frustrated.

Asked Monday about the move to oust Rothman, Evers didn't take a side. “It's their call,” he said of the board.

The fight over Rothman’s future comes as the flagship Madison campus is losing its chancellor. Jennifer Mnookin is leaving in May at the end of the current academic year to take the job as president of Columbia University.

Rothman makes $600,943 annually as UW president. He can be fired for no stated reason and he has no appeal rights, said Wisconsin employment law attorney Tamara Packard, who reviewed Rothman’s contract at the AP’s request.

Under the contract, Rothman would have to be given six-months’ notice of his termination. In practice, what usually happens is the person is told to focus on transitioning their duties and not actually work in the office any longer, Packard said.

As a part of his “Koy World Tour,” Jo Koy will make his Alamo City return on Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Frost Bank Center.

Most recently, Koy has recorded three Netflix specials since 2020: “In His Elements” (2020); “Live from the LA Forum” (2022) and “Live From Brooklyn” (2024).

In 2024, Koy also hosted the 81st Golden Globe Awards.

According to a Frost Bank Center news release, Koy is one of the top 10 grossing stand-up comedians each year.

Koy is no stranger to San Antonio or the Frost Bank Center. He performed stand-up at the formerly-named AT&T Center in 2021, 2023 and a third show at the Frost Bank Center in 2024.

General tickets for Koy’s Oct. 3, 2026, show will hit the market at 10 a.m. on Friday at the Frost Bank Center or Ticketmaster’s websites.

Anyone interested in exclusive presale access can sign up for the Frost Bank Center’s newsletter and select the “Comedy” genre.

More recent Things To Do coverage on KSAT:

• SeaWorld San Antonio extends free admission to preschoolers, teachers through end of 2026 season
• San Antonio Book Festival to return with over 100 authors on Saturday
• 🎊 Things To Do in April: Siclovia, Poteet Strawberry Festival, Fiesta

The incident happened on Tuesday in the 12700 block of Gral Bustamante, which is located outside of Loop 1604.

BCSO said the dog bit the child on the left side of their head. The child sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

It is currently unclear what breed the dog is. Bexar County Animal Control is investigating the incident.

Read more:

• USAA customer sues company after his vehicle was stranded in Mexico for months
• San Antonio woman convicted in headstone scam sentenced to 6 years in prison

• 📍 Location: VIA Crossroads Park & Ride
• 📅 Date: April 10th
• ⏱️ Line starts: 4:00 p.m.
• 🎁 Medal giveaway starts: 6:00 p.m.
• 🎟️ Cost: FREE to the first 200 people in line

Arrive early, grab your place in line, and get ready to shout “¡Viva Fiesta!” as you snag this year’s KSAT medal. Once they’re gone, they’re gone - so dust off your flower crowns, throw on your brightest Fiesta gear, and meet Myra Arthur at VIA for Fiesta vibes and KSAT fun!

You can read the Official Rules & Regulations here.

General. By appearing in person at the designated location and time, an entry to the KSAT Medal Giveaway at VIA Crossroads Park & Ride sweepstakes (“Sweepstakes”), brought to you by KSAT12 (“Sponsor”) and VIA (the “Co-Sponsor”), entrant acknowledges and agrees that entrant has read, understands, and agrees to be bound by these official Sweepstakes rules (“Official Rules”). By entering the Sweepstakes, entrants agree to waive any right to claim any ambiguity or error in these Official Rules, or the Sweepstakes itself, and agree to be bound by all decisions of the Sponsor, whose decisions are binding and final in all matters related to the Sweepstakes. Failure to comply with these Official Rules or any Sponsor instructions relating to the Sweepstakes’ Official Rules may result in disqualification from the Sweepstakes.

Eligibility. The Sweepstakes is open only to legal U.S. residents who are a minimum of 18 years of age or older at time of entry and reside in Sponsor’s Designated Market Area, as defined by Nielsen Media Research, Inc. (“DMA”). Interested entrants must appear at Co-Sponsor site within designated time to be eligible. Employees of Sponsor and Co-Sponsor and each of their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising agencies, promotion agencies, prize suppliers, and any other vendors providing services in connection with this Sweepstakes and members of these employees’ immediate families (spouses, parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings and their spouses) and those living in the same household with these employees, are not eligible to enter or win.

How To Enter. The Sweepstakes begins at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, April 10th, and runs through the duration of availability on the same day. (the “Sweepstakes Period”). Sponsor’s time clock will be the official time clock of the Sweepstakes. To enter, you must appear at the designated Co-Sponsor site and be among the first two hundred entrants. Entrants must be the natural person assigned to any submitted email account by the provider responsible for the assigning email addresses for the domain associated with such email account. Entrant must also be an authorized account holder for any submitted telephone number. Limit one entry per person during the Sweepstakes Period. Any attempt by any entrant to obtain more than the stated number of entries using multiple identities, or any other methods will void such entries and that entrant may be disqualified if discovered by Sponsor.

Selection of Winners. The first two hundred potential winners will be selected by a KSAT representative according to time of arrival at Co-Sponsor site on Friday, April 10, 2026.

Odds. The odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries.

Winner Notification and Verification. Potential winners will be awarded the KSAT Medal on Friday, April 10, 2026, beginning at 6:00 p.m. subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules. A POTENTIAL PRIZE WINNER IS NOT A WINNER UNTIL HIS OR HER ELIGIBILITY AND COMPLIANCE WITH THESE OFFICIAL RULES HAS BEEN VERIFIED BY THE SPONSOR. If a printing, programming, or other error leads to more prize claims than there are prizes provided for in the Official Rules, prize(s) will be awarded in a random drawing from among all eligible prize claims received at each prize tier.

Prize(s) One KSAT 2026 Fiesta Medal to the first two hundred entrants at Co-Sponsor site. Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) of prize: $10.00. ARV of all prizes: $2000.00 Unless otherwise stated, subject to winner verification and compliance with these Official Rules, all prizes will be awarded on site directly to winning entrant. Sponsor and Co-Sponsor are not responsible for loss, delay, or damage. There will be no substitution, transfer, or cash equivalent for prizes, except at the sole discretion of Sponsor, which may substitute prizes of comparable value. Limit one prize per person and per household. Payments of all federal, state, and local taxes related to the award of the prize are solely the responsibility of the winner. Prizes may not be sold, bartered, or auctioned. Prize is awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied. All properly claimed prizes will be awarded provided a sufficient number of eligible entries are received, but in no event will Sponsor award more prizes than are provided for in the Official Rules. Unclaimed prizes will not be awarded.

Disclaimer and Representations. Each winner assumes all liability for any injuries or damages caused or claimed to be caused by winner’s participation in the Sweepstakes and/or the acceptance and/or use of any prize, and releases the Sponsor and Co-Sponsor and their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, and affiliates, and all of their officers, directors, agents, and employees (collectively, “Releasees”), from any such liability. Releasees are not responsible for: the failure of any entry to be received by the Sponsor because of electronic device errors or failures of any kind, internet disruption, telecommunications, network, electronic, telephone or mobile service outages, delays, busy signals, or any equipment malfunctions or other technical difficulties that may prevent the Sponsor from receiving any entry submission; entries that are illegible, unintelligible, incomplete, stolen, misdirected, garbled, delayed by computer transmissions, lost, late or damaged; any injury or damage to the entrant’s or any other person’s electronic device related to or resulting from participation or accessing or downloading any materials related to the Sweepstakes; or any human errors, any inaccurate transcription of entry information, errors in any promotional or marketing materials or errors in these Official Rules. If you choose to enter using your mobile phone, standard message and data rates may apply.

Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any individual from participation in the Sweepstakes if Sponsor concludes, in its sole discretion, that such person: (a) has attempted to tamper with the entry process or other operation of the Sweepstakes; (b) has failed to comply with or has attempted to circumvent these Official Rules; (c) has committed fraud or attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes; or (d) has acted toward Sponsor, any other entity affiliated with the Sweepstakes, or any other entrant in an unfair, inequitable, threatening, disrupting, or harassing manner. If a dispute arises regarding compliance with these Official Rules, Sponsor may consider, in its sole discretion, data reasonably available to Sponsor through information technology systems in Sponsor’s control, but Sponsor will not be obligated to consider any data or other information collected from any other source. Any failure by Sponsor to enforce any of these Official Rules will not constitute a waiver of such Official Rules. If there is a conflict between any term of these Official Rules and any marketing or entry materials used in connection with the Sweepstakes, the terms of these Official Rules will govern.

Sponsor also reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify these Official Rules for clarification purposes without materially affecting the terms and conditions of the Sweepstakes. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, terminate or modify the Sweepstakes if an insufficient number of entries are received or if the Sweepstakes is not capable of running as planned, including, without limitation, as a result of infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, or technical failures of any sort, or for any reason beyond Sponsor’s control. If due to circumstances beyond the control of the Sponsor, any event related to the Sweepstakes or prize is delayed, rescheduled, postponed, cancelled or has a change of venue, the Sponsor reserves the right, but is not obligated, to cancel or modify the Sweepstakes. Notice of cancellation or modification of the Sweepstakes will be published on Sponsor’s website. If cancellation occurs prior to Sponsor’s receipt of any entries, Sponsor will not be obligated to award prize(s). If cancellation occurs after Sponsor’s receipt of entries, winner(s) will be selected by random drawing from among all eligible, non-suspect entries received prior to cancellation, provided Sponsor is able to do so.

Entry constitutes permission (except where prohibited by law) to use winner’s name, home city and state, likeness and/or voice for commercial purposes including advertising, promotion and publicity without additional compensation. The winner’s name and city of residence may be posted online and disclosed to those who make a timely request for a winners list.

By accessing these Official Rules or entering the Sweepstakes on ksat.com, you are deemed to agree to be bound by KSAT.com’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

In Case of Dispute. EXCEPT WHERE PROHIBITED, ENTRANTS AGREE THAT ALL DISPUTES, CLAIMS AND CAUSES OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR CONNECTED WITH THIS PROMOTION, OR PRIZE AWARDED, WILL BE RESOLVED INDIVIDUALLY WITHOUT RESORT TO ANY FORM OF CLASS ACTION, AND ALL CLAIMS, JUDGMENTS, AND AWARDS WILL BE LIMITED TO ACTUAL OUT-OF-POCKET COSTS INCURRED BY ENTRANT WITH REGARD TO THIS PROMOTION, BUT IN NO EVENT SHALL DAMAGES INCLUDE ATTORNEYS’ FEES, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHER DAMAGES. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of entrants and Sponsor(s) in connection with the Sweepstakes will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of state where the Sponsor is located as set forth below (“State”), without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules or provisions that would cause the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction. The state and federal courts located in the State will be the exclusive forum for any dispute relating to these Official Rules and/or this Sweepstakes. All entrants and winner(s) agree, by their participation in the Sweepstakes, to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in the State and waive the right to sweepstakes jurisdiction.

Severability: If any provision(s) of these Official Rules are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect.

Sponsor/Administrator: KSAT12 - 1408 N. St. Mary’s Street, San Antonio, TX 78215

Co-Sponsor: VIA - 151 Crossroads, Balcones Heights, TX 78201

Jimmie Cole dropped the suit with prejudice earlier this month, meaning it cannot be refiled.

Windcrest Mayor Dan Reese announced the dismissal of the case on Monday night near the end of a city council meeting.

Cole’s attorney, Mark Anthony Sanchez, provided the following written statement to KSAT on Tuesday regarding the suit’s dismissal:

“After much consideration, Mr. Cole has made the personal decision to voluntarily dismiss his claims against the City of Windcrest. This decision is based on private, family-related considerations, and we ask that his privacy be respected during this time. The dismissal is not a reflection on the merits of the case, the positions taken by any party, or any decision rendered by the Court. Out of respect for Mr. Cole and his family, we will not be providing additional details regarding the underlying personal circumstances.”

Cole, who was terminated in mid-December 2024, claimed the city council “conducted a secret and illegal meeting to hide its scheme from the public” instead of discussing his performance in open session, according to the suit filed in state district court in February 2025.

Cole’s termination came after complaints from rank-and-file officers about how he managed the agency and an employee engagement survey that described the police department’s culture as “highly toxic."

Cole was also sharply criticized for his decision to file more than a dozen ethics complaints against council members and as well as residents of Windcrest.

Windcrest officials did not respond to an email from KSAT seeking comment on the lawsuit dismissal.

Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.

Two police officers sustained slight injuries, Istanbul Gov. Davut Gul told reporters. The assailants were carrying long-barreled weapons.

The consulate is located in a high-rise building in Levent, one of the city’s main business districts. Officials said that there are no Israeli diplomats present in Israeli missions in Turkey. Israel withdrew its diplomats amid security concerns and deteriorating relations with Turkey during the war in Gaza.

Interior Minister Mustafa Cifti wrote on X that the attackers had traveled from the city of Izmit, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Istanbul, in a rented car. One of the assailants was linked to a group he described as “exploiting religion,” without naming the organization.

The Islamic State group has carried out deadly attacks in Turkey in the past.

The two wounded assailants are brothers, identified as Onur C. and Enes C. The first has a criminal record related to drugs. Both are being interrogated, according to the Interior Ministry.

Video from the attack showed one assailant carrying what appeared to be an assault rifle, wearing a brown backpack and hiding behind a bus when exchanging fire with police. A police officer falls to the ground, apparently having been shot, and then rolls away to get behind a tree for cover.

One of the police officers was wounded in the leg and the other in the ear, the Interior Ministry said.

Turkish Justice Minister Akin Gurlek said that three prosecutors, including a deputy chief prosecutor, have been assigned to lead an investigation.

Police sealed off the building and blocked several roads, while forensic experts in white protective suits combed the area for evidence.

A witness described seeing officers take cover behind parked cars and communicate with each other during the shooting.

“In general, this is a noisy area, so initially we thought this might be something else. But the gunshots continued,” said Omer Dilki, 34. “We saw the police officers standing behind the cars, take shelter, and call out to each other.”

Ali Rıza Arpacı, who works nearby, described witnessing “serious clashes” happening right in front of him.

“We were almost inside the clashes,” he said, adding that the gunfight lasted for around 10 minutes.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced what he said was a “treacherous” attack.

“We will resolutely continue our fight against all forms of terrorism, and we will not allow the climate of security in Turkey to be harmed by vile and timed provocations like today’s,” he said.

U.S. Ambassador Tom Barrack condemned the assault, praising Turkish authorities for “their swift and decisive response.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry similarly condemned the attack and commended Turkish security forces for their rapid action in thwarting it.

___

Suzan Fraser reported from Ankara. Mehmet Guzel contributed to this report from Istanbul.

___

A previous version of this story, relying on Turkey’s Haberturk news, incorrectly reported that two attackers had been killed. Only one of the three assailants was killed, while the other two were wounded and captured, according to Turkish officials.

• ANOTHER COOL MORNING: Light jacket may briefly be needed tomorrow
• ACTIVE PATTERN: A more energized pattern later this week, sporadic rain chances
• SEVERE WEATHER?: Possibly. But, too early to say when and where

FORECAST

TOMORROW

We’ll have another cool start, in the low- to mid-50s. We’ll warm up to near 80°.

MORE ACTIVE PATTERN AHEAD

Better rain chances show up later this week and weekend, with the highest odds on Friday and Sunday. Showers and storms will be isolated to scattered. Strong storms can’t be ruled out, however, it’s too early to pinpoint when or where that might occur.

NEXT WEEK

The pattern looks to stay active into next week. We’re still outside the scope of any forecast for Fiesta, but you’ll want to stay tuned for updates throughout the week!

QUICK WEATHER LINKS

• WATCH LIVE: Doppler Radar
• Hourly and 10-Day Forecast
• Download FREE KSAT Weather Authority App: Up-to-date forecast information and livestreams from trusted local meteorologists.
• KSAT Connect: Share your weather photos.

According to an end of service announcement published on the tech giant's U.S. support website, Samsung Messages will be discontinued in July. Impacted owners of Samsung smartphones and other gadgets are being asked to switch to Google Messages in the meantime, “to maintain a consistent messaging experience on Android.”

All Samsung Galaxy phones run on Google's Android operating system. To switch to Google Messages, Samsung's website gives users instructions to download the app from the Play Store, if not already on their phone, and set it as the default. Some people may also receive an in-app notification to guide them through the process.

Samsung says switching to Google Messages will give users access to updates like the latest artificial intelligence features from Google's Gemini — which includes an experimental feature called “Remix” to generate images during conversations and AI-powered reply suggestions — and the ability to share higher quality photos between Android and Apple iOS devices through RCS-enabled messages.

Users of older Android operating systems (dating back to Android 11 or older) will not be impacted by the end of Samsung Messages, the company noted. To check what Android OS you have on a Samsung device, open the settings app, click on “software information” and scroll to “Android version.”

Meanwhile, owners of Samsung's latest Galaxy 26 lineup and other newer phones cannot download the Samsung Messages app from the Galaxy Store today.

All devices will no longer be able to download Samsung Messages after it's officially discontinued in July, the company noted. Samsung said users can check their app for the exact date for when service will go offline.

Samsung confirmed in an update on its website Tuesday that this end of service guidance only applies to the U.S. market.

• 📍 Location: Prestige Luxury Automotive
• 📅 Date: April 9th
• ⏱️ Line starts: 4:00 p.m.
• 🎁 Medal giveaway starts: 6:00 p.m.
• 🎟️ Cost: FREE to the first 200 people in line

Arrive early, grab your place in line, and get ready to shout “¡Viva Fiesta!” as you snag this year’s KSAT medal. Once they’re gone, they’re gone - so dust off your flower crowns, throw on your brightest Fiesta gear, and meet Ernie Zuniga at Prestige Luxury Automotive for Fiesta vibes and KSAT fun!

You can read the Official Rules & Regulations here.

General. By appearing in person at the designated location and time, an entry to the KSAT Medal Giveaway at Prestige Luxury Automotive sweepstakes (“Sweepstakes”), brought to you by KSAT12 (“Sponsor”) and Prestige Luxury Automotive (the “Co-Sponsor”), entrant acknowledges and agrees that entrant has read, understands, and agrees to be bound by these official Sweepstakes rules (“Official Rules”). By entering the Sweepstakes, entrants agree to waive any right to claim any ambiguity or error in these Official Rules, or the Sweepstakes itself, and agree to be bound by all decisions of the Sponsor, whose decisions are binding and final in all matters related to the Sweepstakes. Failure to comply with these Official Rules or any Sponsor instructions relating to the Sweepstakes’ Official Rules may result in disqualification from the Sweepstakes.

Eligibility. The Sweepstakes is open only to legal U.S. residents who are a minimum of 18 years of age or older at time of entry and reside in Sponsor’s Designated Market Area, as defined by Nielsen Media Research, Inc. (“DMA”). Interested entrants must appear at Co-Sponsor site within designated time to be eligible. Employees of Sponsor and Co-Sponsor and each of their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising agencies, promotion agencies, prize suppliers, and any other vendors providing services in connection with this Sweepstakes and members of these employees’ immediate families (spouses, parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings and their spouses) and those living in the same household with these employees, are not eligible to enter or win.

How To Enter. The Sweepstakes begins at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 9th, and runs through the duration of availability on the same day. (the “Sweepstakes Period”). Sponsor’s time clock will be the official time clock of the Sweepstakes. To enter, you must appear at the designated Co-Sponsor site and be among the first two hundred entrants. Entrants must be the natural person assigned to any submitted email account by the provider responsible for the assigning email addresses for the domain associated with such email account. Entrant must also be an authorized account holder for any submitted telephone number. Limit one entry per person during the Sweepstakes Period. Any attempt by any entrant to obtain more than the stated number of entries using multiple identities, or any other methods will void such entries and that entrant may be disqualified if discovered by Sponsor.

Selection of Winners. The first two hundred potential winners will be selected by a KSAT representative according to time of arrival at Co-Sponsor site on Thursday, April 9, 2026.

Odds. The odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries.

Winner Notification and Verification. Potential winners will be awarded the KSAT Medal on Thursday, April 9, 2026, beginning at 6:00 p.m. subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules. A POTENTIAL PRIZE WINNER IS NOT A WINNER UNTIL HIS OR HER ELIGIBILITY AND COMPLIANCE WITH THESE OFFICIAL RULES HAS BEEN VERIFIED BY THE SPONSOR. If a printing, programming, or other error leads to more prize claims than there are prizes provided for in the Official Rules, prize(s) will be awarded in a random drawing from among all eligible prize claims received at each prize tier.

Prize(s) One KSAT 2026 Fiesta Medal to the first two hundred entrants at Co-Sponsor site. Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) of prize: $10.00. ARV of all prizes: $2000.00 Unless otherwise stated, subject to winner verification and compliance with these Official Rules, all prizes will be awarded on site directly to winning entrant. Sponsor and Co-Sponsor are not responsible for loss, delay, or damage. There will be no substitution, transfer, or cash equivalent for prizes, except at the sole discretion of Sponsor, which may substitute prizes of comparable value. Limit one prize per person and per household. Payments of all federal, state, and local taxes related to the award of the prize are solely the responsibility of the winner. Prizes may not be sold, bartered, or auctioned. Prize is awarded “as is” with no warranty or guarantee, either express or implied. All properly claimed prizes will be awarded provided a sufficient number of eligible entries are received, but in no event will Sponsor award more prizes than are provided for in the Official Rules. Unclaimed prizes will not be awarded.

Disclaimer and Representations. Each winner assumes all liability for any injuries or damages caused or claimed to be caused by winner’s participation in the Sweepstakes and/or the acceptance and/or use of any prize, and releases the Sponsor and Co-Sponsor and their respective parent companies, subsidiaries, and affiliates, and all of their officers, directors, agents, and employees (collectively, “Releasees”), from any such liability. Releasees are not responsible for: the failure of any entry to be received by the Sponsor because of electronic device errors or failures of any kind, internet disruption, telecommunications, network, electronic, telephone or mobile service outages, delays, busy signals, or any equipment malfunctions or other technical difficulties that may prevent the Sponsor from receiving any entry submission; entries that are illegible, unintelligible, incomplete, stolen, misdirected, garbled, delayed by computer transmissions, lost, late or damaged; any injury or damage to the entrant’s or any other person’s electronic device related to or resulting from participation or accessing or downloading any materials related to the Sweepstakes; or any human errors, any inaccurate transcription of entry information, errors in any promotional or marketing materials or errors in these Official Rules. If you choose to enter using your mobile phone, standard message and data rates may apply.

Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any individual from participation in the Sweepstakes if Sponsor concludes, in its sole discretion, that such person: (a) has attempted to tamper with the entry process or other operation of the Sweepstakes; (b) has failed to comply with or has attempted to circumvent these Official Rules; (c) has committed fraud or attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the Sweepstakes; or (d) has acted toward Sponsor, any other entity affiliated with the Sweepstakes, or any other entrant in an unfair, inequitable, threatening, disrupting, or harassing manner. If a dispute arises regarding compliance with these Official Rules, Sponsor may consider, in its sole discretion, data reasonably available to Sponsor through information technology systems in Sponsor’s control, but Sponsor will not be obligated to consider any data or other information collected from any other source. Any failure by Sponsor to enforce any of these Official Rules will not constitute a waiver of such Official Rules. If there is a conflict between any term of these Official Rules and any marketing or entry materials used in connection with the Sweepstakes, the terms of these Official Rules will govern.

Sponsor also reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify these Official Rules for clarification purposes without materially affecting the terms and conditions of the Sweepstakes. Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, terminate or modify the Sweepstakes if an insufficient number of entries are received or if the Sweepstakes is not capable of running as planned, including, without limitation, as a result of infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, or technical failures of any sort, or for any reason beyond Sponsor’s control. If due to circumstances beyond the control of the Sponsor, any event related to the Sweepstakes or prize is delayed, rescheduled, postponed, cancelled or has a change of venue, the Sponsor reserves the right, but is not obligated, to cancel or modify the Sweepstakes. Notice of cancellation or modification of the Sweepstakes will be published on Sponsor’s website. If cancellation occurs prior to Sponsor’s receipt of any entries, Sponsor will not be obligated to award prize(s). If cancellation occurs after Sponsor’s receipt of entries, winner(s) will be selected by random drawing from among all eligible, non-suspect entries received prior to cancellation, provided Sponsor is able to do so.

Entry constitutes permission (except where prohibited by law) to use winner’s name, home city and state, likeness and/or voice for commercial purposes including advertising, promotion and publicity without additional compensation. The winner’s name and city of residence may be posted online and disclosed to those who make a timely request for a winners list.

By accessing these Official Rules or entering the Sweepstakes on ksat.com, you are deemed to agree to be bound by KSAT.com’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

In Case of Dispute. EXCEPT WHERE PROHIBITED, ENTRANTS AGREE THAT ALL DISPUTES, CLAIMS AND CAUSES OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR CONNECTED WITH THIS PROMOTION, OR PRIZE AWARDED, WILL BE RESOLVED INDIVIDUALLY WITHOUT RESORT TO ANY FORM OF CLASS ACTION, AND ALL CLAIMS, JUDGMENTS, AND AWARDS WILL BE LIMITED TO ACTUAL OUT-OF-POCKET COSTS INCURRED BY ENTRANT WITH REGARD TO THIS PROMOTION, BUT IN NO EVENT SHALL DAMAGES INCLUDE ATTORNEYS’ FEES, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHER DAMAGES. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of entrants and Sponsor(s) in connection with the Sweepstakes will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of state where the Sponsor is located as set forth below (“State”), without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules or provisions that would cause the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction. The state and federal courts located in the State will be the exclusive forum for any dispute relating to these Official Rules and/or this Sweepstakes. All entrants and winner(s) agree, by their participation in the Sweepstakes, to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in the State and waive the right to sweepstakes jurisdiction.

Severability: If any provision(s) of these Official Rules are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect.

Sponsor/Administrator: KSAT12 - 1408 N. St. Mary’s Street, San Antonio, TX 78215

Co-Sponsor: Prestige Luxury Automotive - 1415 W. Bitters Rd., San Antonio, TX 78248

The trial started last month, nearly a year after Gerhardt and Arielle Konig went on a hike on the Pali Puka trail in Honolulu that ended with her bloodied and screaming that he tried to kill her. Gerhardt Konig has pleaded not guilty.

___

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of domestic violence. If you or someone you know needs help, please call the national domestic violence hotline: 1-800-799-7233 in the U.S.

___

The couple were on a weekend trip to Hawaii's capital city for her birthday in March 2025 while their two young sons stayed home on Maui. Near a lookout offering sweeping views, Gerhardt Konig, 47 — upset about his wife's relationship with a coworker — tried to push her off the steep trail, bashed her head with a rock and attempted to stab her with a syringe, prosecutors said.

The trial, with testimony livestreamed by Court TV, has aired the couple's marital problems leading up to the hike, along with their versions of what happened on the trail.

Gerhardt Konig testified that his wife was having an affair, which he confirmed by unlocking her phone while she slept. The relationship, which Arielle Konig characterized as an “emotional affair” involving flirty messages with a coworker, came up during the hike.

Arielle Konig testified that her husband grabbed her and moved her toward the cliff's edge, but she threw herself on the ground in an attempt to hold on. He straddled her and had a syringe in his hand, she said, but she batted it away. She bit his forearm and squeezed his testicles in attempt to get him off her, she said.

Her husband denied pushing her toward the edge and testified that she hit him with a rock on the side of his face. He wrestled the rock away and hit her with it twice in self-defense, he said.

He denied having any syringes on the mountain, or trying to stab her. His defense attorney told jurors no syringe was found at the scene.

Two hikers who heard Arielle Konig's screams helped her get down the trail.

Pali Puka, which means “pierced cliff” in Hawaiian, leads to a hole in a rock ridge through which hikers can look out over the forest to see the ocean. The trail is closed because state officials have deemed it unsafe, but hikers often enter through a small clearing, ignoring a warning sign that reads: “Area Closed! Do not go beyond this sign.”

Gerhardt Konig testified that as he watched his wife crawl away, he believed his marriage and career were over, and he decided to jump to his death. But first, he called his adult son from a previous marriage. The son told authorities that his father said he "tried to kill your stepmom” — a confession Gerhardt Konig denied having made.

He spent hours on the mountain before deciding to come down and surrender to police.

His wife has since filed for divorce.

Elena Moreno Sanchez, 49, was sentenced to six years in prison just before noon on Monday. Judge Stephanie Boyd, who presided over Moreno’s trial, made the ruling inside Bexar County’s 187th Criminal District Court.

According to court records, Moreno was charged with theft of property between $30,000 and $150,000, which is considered a third-degree felony. She faced between two and 10 years in prison and would have been responsible for paying a fine of up to $10,000.

Victims’ testimony

The prosecution called three witnesses to the stand on Monday morning.

The first witness, Norma Sifuentes, was first questioned by the state. She told the court that the headstone she ordered from Moreno never arrived.

“What was delivered by Ms. Moreno (Sanchez) was pain, agony (and) torture for me, my family and the loss of my husband,” Sifuentes told the court. “We have suffered quite a bit, and she has put us through nothing but hell until now. And I want closure of this.”

Sifuentes told the judge that Moreno now works at another San Antonio-area funeral business and worries she could scam other families. Moreno later confirmed that she reports to a supervisor at that business and does not collect any money.

After Moreno pled guilty last fall, Boyd ordered her to pay complete restitution ($50,000) by December — her most recent court appearance before Monday. However, she only paid approximately 70% of that amount back in full.

Following the December hearing, scam victims said they were devastated that her timeframe for repayment was extended to April.

Before proceedings began on Monday, the state and defense confirmed that Moreno had finally paid the victims back completely.

Andrew Hicks, Moreno’s defense attorney, asked Sifuentes if she had received restitution. Sifuentes said she had.

“And I remember your (Hicks’) words. You said, ‘Oh, that’s a good Christmas gift. It came just in time.’ That was very painful for me,” Sifuentes told Hicks. “That was not very nice. ... I don’t know how you can represent someone like that (Moreno).”

Boyd reminded Sifuentes that, due to the U.S. Constitution, “everybody deserves to have an attorney, if they want one.”

The state’s last two witnesses also said they didn’t receive headstones from Moreno.

“It’s always a reminder, when we go visit them (the second witness’ parents), that we just got bamboozled,” the second witness told the court. “Played in our faces.”

The third witness said she learned of Moreno’s Angelic Monuments business from a business card at a local restaurant.

Adriana Terrance was among the first victims of Moreno who first spoke to KSAT back in February 2024.

“This sentencing day came just in time,” Terrance told KSAT on Monday. “Her birthday will be coming up in July, so it’s a good birthday gift for my daughter — for Rebekah — to see that this person has been sentenced.”

After testifying in court, Sifuentes shared a special message for her late husband to KSAT.

“I came and fought for you — out of respect for you and my children and myself,” Sifuentes reflected. ”We did it.”

Moreno speaks

After the state’s three witnesses completed their testimony, Hicks called Moreno to the stand.

Moreno, who said she owned the business for six years on her own, did not intend to take people’s money or cause them additional pain.

“I’ve worked hard to maintain the integrity and the respect of it (Angelic Monuments business),” Moreno told the court.

Moreno said the COVID-19 pandemic and an abusive partner were two reasons there were headstone delivery ”delays.”

“I’m heartbroken,” Moreno said. “I hurt these families ... and I’m terribly sorry for it.”

Instead of prison, Moreno asked Boyd for a “community supervision” — or probation — sentence.

In addition to Boyd’s six-year prison sentence, Moreno is no longer allowed to work “in the funeral home industry, the home health care industry or with minors.”

Background

Moreno operated Angelic Monuments, a now-former South Side business that provided headstones to families who purchased them after losing loved ones.

KSAT first reported on the business in February 2024.

Six family members of departed relatives talked to KSAT about their business interactions with Moreno. At the time, those family members paid more than $25,000 combined but said they did not receive headstones.

Three weeks later, in March 2024, six more families who claimed Moreno had wronged them also came forward to KSAT in a follow-up story.

At that point, San Antonio police said it was investigating the theft reports. In addition, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) assigned Angelic Monuments an “F-” rating and launched its own investigation.

Ten days later, on March 16, SAPD took Moreno into custody after a family told police they wrote a $8.508.09 check for a headstone that never came.

Moreno later posted a $5,000 bond.

One month later, on April 16, officers arrested Moreno again on the updated third-degree felony theft charge.

SAPD officers said the victims’ families paid more than $42,000 combined to Moreno in the forms of cash, checks and credit cards.

By the time she pled guilty to theft in October 2025, 16 families said they were victims of Moreno. In all, they said they paid her at least $50,000 combined.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• Victims angry after woman who pled guilty in headstone scam was given more time to come up with cash
• San Antonio business owner pleads guilty to stealing $50K from families who ordered cemetery headstones
• Funeral headstone business owner arrested again, accused of felony theft
• Funeral headstone business owner arrested in San Antonio, accused of felony theft
• Behind the scenes: How 5 months of reporting on headstone payments led to an arrest
• More families come forward saying Angelic Monuments owner took money but never delivered loved ones’ headstones
• SA business owner accused of taking almost $26K from families ordering headstones for loved ones

A day after the historic lunar flyaround, NASA on Tuesday released striking new photos taken by the U.S.-Canadian crew.

The four astronauts channeled Apollo 8’s famous Earthrise shot from 1968 with their own: Earthset, showing our planet setting behind the gray, pockmarked moon. Another photo captures the total solar eclipse that occurred when the moon blocked the sun from the crew’s perspective.

The three Americans and one Canadian are now headed home, with a splashdown in the Pacific set for Friday. In the meantime, scientists at Houston's Mission Control are poring over the stream of moon photos beaming down.

Apollo 8's three astronauts became the world's first lunar visitors, orbiting the moon on Christmas Eve 1968. Their Earthrise shot became a symbol of the modern-day environmental movement.

Artemis II marks NASA's first return to the moon with astronauts — a critical step toward a lunar landing by another crew in two years.

___

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.

Festival organizers canceled the three-day outdoor event as a result of the travel ban and said those who had bought tickets would get refunds.

Ye applied for an electronic travel authorization to visit the U.K., but it was blocked by the government on the grounds that his presence in the country would not be “conducive to the public good.”

“Kanye West should never have been invited to headline Wireless,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement posted on social media. “This government stands firmly with the Jewish community, and we will not stop in our fight to confront and defeat the poison of antisemitism. We will always take the action necessary to protect the public and uphold our values.”

The rapper, who changed his name in 2021, had been expected to play his first U.K. dates for more than a decade in front of around 150,000 revelers over three nights July 10-12 at the Wireless Festival, in London’s Finsbury Park. Other acts for the festival had not yet been announced.

The event's organizers had been under mounting pressure from sponsors and politicians to cancel the gigs by the rapper, who has drawn widespread condemnation for making antisemitic remarks and voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler.

Last year, Ye released a song called “Heil Hitler” and advertised a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website. Officials in Australia canceled the musician's visa in July after the release of the single.

The 48-year-old apologized in January with a letter, published as a full-page advertisement in The Wall Street Journal. He said his bipolar disorder led him to fall into “a four-month long, manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that destroyed my life.”

Wireless sponsors Pepsi, Rockstar Energy and Diageo pulled out of the festival since Ye was announced as the headliner.

In a statement issued Tuesday before his travel authorization was revoked, Ye said he “would be grateful for the opportunity to meet with members of the Jewish community in the U.K. in person, to listen.

“I know words aren’t enough — I’ll have to show change through my actions,” he said. “If you’re open, I’m here.”

Phil Rosenberg, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, had said the group would be willing to meet with the musician if he pulled out of the festival.

“The Jewish community will want to see a genuine remorse and change before believing that the appropriate place to test this sincerity is on the main stage at the Wireless Festival,” Rosenberg said.

Organizer Festival Republic had stood by Ye. In a statement issued Monday, managing director Melvin Benn urged people to offer the performer “forgiveness and hope.”

“We are not giving him a platform to extol opinion of whatever nature, only to perform the songs that are currently played on the radio stations in our country and the streaming platforms in our country and listened to and enjoyed by millions,” the statement said.

Announcing the cancellation, Festival Republic said that “multiple stakeholders were consulted in advance of booking Ye and no concerns were highlighted at the time.

“Antisemitism in all its forms is abhorrent, and we recognize the real and personal impact these issues have had,” it said in a statement. “As Ye said today, he acknowledges that words alone are not enough, and in spite of this still hopes to be given the opportunity to begin a conversation with the Jewish community in the U.K.”

The Community Security Trust, which works to protect British Jews, said the government had made the right decision.

“Anti-Jewish hatred should have no place in society and cultural leaders have a role to play in ensuring that is the case,” it said in a statement.

“People who show genuine and meaningful remorse for previous antisemitic behavior will always receive a sympathetic hearing from the Jewish community, but that process must come before this kind of public rehabilitation.”

A representative for Ye didn’t reply to a request for comment.

The decision removes the federal obligations for the schools to keep up measures such as faculty training on abiding by a students' preferred name and pronouns and allowing students to use bathrooms that align with their gender identity.

One of the school systems, Delaware Valley School District in rural eastern Pennsylvania, received notice of the change from the Trump administration in February and has since voted to roll back its antidiscrimination protections for transgender students. Another district, Sacramento City Unified, said Monday it "remains committed to the support of our LGBTQ+ students and staff.”

The other affected districts are Cape Henlopen School District in Delaware, Fife School District in Washington, and La Mesa-Spring Valley School District and Taft College in California.

Under the Biden and Obama administrations, the department interpreted Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education, to include protections for transgender and gay students.

The Trump administration has penalized schools that have made efforts to accommodate students based on their gender identity. It has filed lawsuits in California and Minnesota over state policies permitting transgender students to participate in interscholastic sports, and opened civil rights investigations into schools and universities over their policies on transgender students.

Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said the action reflects the administration’s efforts to keep transgender students from participating in girls’ and women’s sports teams and accessing shared locker rooms.

“Today, the Trump Administration is removing the unnecessary and unlawful burdens that prior Administrations imposed on schools in its relentless pursuit of a radical transgender agenda,” she said in a written statement.

Rescinding civil rights agreements is an unusual step, but one the Trump administration has taken before on education issues. Last year, the Education Department terminated one agreement involving books removed from a school library in Georgia, and another targeting harsh discipline and unequal education opportunities for Native students in the Rapid City Area School District in South Dakota.

The rescission of the agreements would mean a step back from protecting vulnerable students in schools, said Shiwali Patel, senior director of education justice at the National Women’s Law Center.

“This is part of the Trump administration’s assault on education and assault on those who are most vulnerable to experiencing discrimination and harassment, including trans students,” Patel said. “They’ve made their intention very clear in wanting to erase protections for trans people.”

Taft College, a community college in California’s Central Valley, settled a case in 2023 with the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights after a student accused faculty of discrimination that included refusing to use the student’s preferred pronouns. The college agreed to faculty training on Title IX and a revision of college policies to clarify that refusal to use a person’s preferred name and pronoun could constitute harassment.

The agreement with Sacramento City Unified School District stemmed from a complaint brought in 2022 by a student after a teacher refused to use preferred pronouns or to place the student, who identified as male, in a boys’ group for a class activity. The 2024 resolution agreement mandated training for employees on civil rights law, sexual harassment and how to handle formal complaints.

Under a settlement the Delaware Valley School District reached with the Obama administration, the district was required to permit students to use bathrooms that aligned with their gender identity.

In February, the Trump administration sent the district a letter saying it was rescinding the settlement. The administration went further, requiring the district to roll back antidiscrimination protections for transgender students.

The school board voted in late March to change its transgender student policies to abide by the Trump administration’s demands.

Since the day he returned to the White House more than a year ago, Trump and his administration have aimed at the rights of transgender people in several ways — and not just in schools.

He has tried to end participation of transgender women and girls in women’s and girls' sports competitions and has sued states that don’t comply. He’s also blocked transgender and nonbinary people from choosing the sex markers on passports. His administration has also tried to stop those under 19 from receiving gender-affirming medical care. ___

Associated Press writers Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco, Moriah Balingit in Washington and Geoff Mulvihill in Haddonfield, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

___

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.

The suit, filed in February by retired Air Force major CL Lucas, accuses USAA of deceptive trade practices and breach of contract.

Lucas’ suit seeks more than $1 million in damages and notes the vehicle was partially stripped after being abandoned along a street in Mexico by a mechanic the family hired.

In statements to KSAT, USAA officials defended the company’s roadside assistance practices but also reimbursed Lucas for the cost of the cross-border tow and paid him a late claim fee.

Stranded three miles from the border

In August 2024, Lucas’ wife drove the couple’s Volvo XC90 to Matamoros to visit family.

While on the trip, the vehicle experienced engine trouble. His wife was unable to drive it back across the U.S.-Mexico border.

Lucas believed the couple’s USAA auto insurance policy provided roadside assistance for up to 75 miles into Mexico. The claim is listed in the company’s app and on its 24/7 Roadside Assistance website.

Lucas told KSAT his wife attempted to use the insurance company’s app, which immediately tried to dispatch a tow truck to Brownsville, Texas, located on the U.S. side of the border.

After Lucas and his wife attempted to use the app multiple times, she then called the company’s international line.

“What they told her is: ‘We can’t help you,’” Lucas told KSAT. “What was unconscionable was that when you’re within three miles of the U.S.-Mexico border that there is absolutely zero resource that’s available, public facing or to what I knew, to get you from Point A on the Mexican side to Point B on the U.S. side.”

After five days of unsuccessfully attempting to get the car back to the U.S. with help from USAA, the couple hired a mechanic in Mexico to work on the car’s engine.

“The hopes were that this individual would repair the car well enough that we could limp it across the border and get it over to a more reputable mechanic and eventually limp it back to San Antonio, where we have a specific Volvo mechanic that we trust,” said Lucas.

The couple’s Plan B did not pan out.

The mechanic stopped communicating with the couple. For weeks, Lucas did not know where his vehicle was.

The car was finally located two months later, in October, along a street in Matamoros, further into the interior of Mexico.

Lucas shared pictures with KSAT Investigates, which show the vehicle partially stripped and its engine mid-teardown.

Lucas said the car also had water damage in its rear portion that compromised an onboard computer.

Lucas, whose government security clearance prevented him from traveling across the border to retrieve the Volvo himself, was finally able to find a vendor through the U.S. consulate and got the car back into Texas by mid-October 2024.

The cross-border tow cost $1,600, according to payment records Lucas provided to KSAT Investigates.

Lucas’ lawsuit contends that USAA updated its app last April to allow users to refine their exact location.

“This remedial update — released after the August 5, 2024 incident — constitutes an implicit acknowledgement that the automatic GPS detection system was insufficient and that USAA knew of and could have corrected the deficiency before Plaintiff’s spouse was stranded,” the suit states.

Dispute between USAA, Lucas escalates

After Lucas filed a report with the Brownsville Police Department for vandalism done to the vehicle while it was in Mexico, he turned in the report to USAA as part of a claim on the damaged car.

Lucas said he was then questioned by a USAA special investigator and asked to provide a statement under oath.

Lucas declined but said he is now forced to report being interviewed by the investigator anytime he takes part in a government background screening.

Lucas amended the police report last April to reflect a theft by conversion, a term used to describe the misuse of property that is entrusted to a person.

He confirmed the Volvo is still not working properly.

Lucas also filed a complaint against USAA with the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), the state agency that oversees the insurance industry.

In February, in a response to TDI, a USAA official wrote, “Policy provisions for roadside assistance were reviewed. Based on our investigation, the vehicle’s mechanical failure occurred in Mexico, an area not typically covered under the roadside assistance provisions of the policy.”

USAA declined to make a representative available for an interview for this story.

A company spokesman instead sent KSAT a statement March 20 indicating that “members who request assistance in Mexico are informed that USAA offers reimbursement for roadside assistance expenses incurred there.”

That same day, Lucas was issued a check from USAA for $2,008.43, for the cost of the cross-border tow and to cover a penalty fee under the Texas Prompt Payment of Claims Act.

The check was issued 592 days after Lucas’ wife first requested towing assistance through USAA’s app and more than 500 days after Lucas submitted the $1,600 invoice to USAA for the tow.

Lucas, who is representing himself in the lawsuit, contends the reimbursement covers approximately 3% of the damages he has suffered during the more than year-and-a-half long ordeal.

USAA sent KSAT the following updated statement in late March.

“USAA Roadside Assistance covers members throughout the United States and within 75 miles of the Mexico border. Members who request assistance in Mexico are informed that USAA offers reimbursement for roadside assistance expenses incurred there. USAA is among the last major insurers to offer reimbursement for roadside assistance expenses incurred in Mexico.”

USAA

Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.

The activist and former San Francisco 49ers quarterback has completed “The Perilous Fight,” to come out Sept. 15 through the Hachette Book Group imprint Legacy Lit. His memoir will come out almost exactly 10 years after he knelt before a preseason game, a protest against police violence and racial inequality that was emulated by some players and criticized by politicians, team owners and fans, some of whom booed him and burned his jersey.

Kaepernick, who has not played in the NFL since 2016, said in a statement that he wanted to offer context for what led to his taking a knee. Before that, he had remained seated during the anthem.

“People saw the moment. But they didn’t see the years that made it possible: the questions about who I was; the injustices I could no longer ignore; the voices of those who came before me that I carried into that stadium,” Kaepernick said in a statement released Tuesday. “That journey, from a Black kid navigating an identity the world didn’t always make space for, to an athlete who realized the game was bigger than football, shaped everything. When I took a knee, it wasn’t a sudden act.”

Legacy Lit is calling the book “equal parts memoir and manifesto,” tracing “the off-the-field battles that turned a single act of protest into a movement that changed American sports and culture forever.” Kaepernick is narrating the audio edition, produced and to be sold exclusively by Audible.

Kaepernick, 38, played six years for the 49ers and helped lead them to an appearance in the Super Bowl in 2013. Baltimore won the game 34-31.

Kaepernick has spoken out often on social issues, launched his own publishing imprint and co-written the picture story “We Are Free, You & Me” and the graphic novel “Change the Game.”

Dallas-based La La Land Kind Cafe is coming to the Shops at Lincoln Heights, according to project details filed with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Construction on the estimated $280,000 project at 999 East Basse Road, Suite 120, is slated to start in May and finish by August. TDLR indicates that the renovations include a tenant finish of an existing space.

The Business Journal reached out to La La Land Kind Cafe for comment but did not receive a response before publishing.

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

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

More recent SABJ coverage on KSAT:

• Weston Urban proposes 27-story apartment tower, 160-key hotel as part of ballpark plan
• Downtown SA takes hit as more hotel rooms sit empty
• City awards $3.7M contract for downtown, East Side connection study
• Holt family buys Southtown restaurant building as Project Marvel presses on
• Thompson Hotel in downtown San Antonio hit with foreclosure notice on $44M loan

Today on Texas Eats NOW:

Dorp Creamery

310 W Grayson St, San Antonio, TX 78212

Fruteria La Tropicana

100 Crossroads Blvd, Balcones Heights, TX 78201

Follow Texas Eats and David Elder on Facebook and Instagram for more food info, pictures, videos and giveaways.

• Facebook: @TexasEatsTV
• Instagram: @texaseatstv
• TikTok: @ElderEats
• Twitter: @TexasEatsTV

As time ticks down on U.S. President Donald Trump's latest ultimatum, their thoughts were clouded by new fears: How long will the power be out if plants are bombed? How would they leave the city if the bridges are taken out?

Five weeks on, they have grown used to the roar of American and Israeli fighter jets, the sound of explosions and sleepless nights. Like many, they've left the capital and returned in search of elusive safety. Married for over a decade, they made it through the COVID pandemic and the 12-day war last June.

They've used clear packing tape to lines the edges of their windows, a precaution against blasts. Mirrors and fragile objects have been moved or secured. A packed bag holds documents, medications and essentials, ready in case they need to leave quickly.

In an expletive-laden threat over the weekend, Trump vowed that “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day,” and that Iran's leaders will be “living in Hell” if they don't open the Strait of Hormuz.

“Honestly, the situation is really unclear,” Arghavan said. “We don’t really understand things like how long the power might go out if it does, or what life without electricity would even look like.”

Alishir said he and his wife could handle life without power — and potentially without running water — for a week at most. “If it goes on longer, we’ll definitely run into problems,” he said.

Their struggles began even before the first American and Israeli bombs slammed into Iran on Feb. 28.

The Iranian government's crackdown on nationwide protests in January severely limited internet access. The internet monitoring organization NetBlocks says it's the longest nationwide shutdown ever recorded.

Arghavan runs a small language school that teaches French to Iranians who want to live in the Canadian province of Quebec.

“We were basically an online school, and our students had classes with kids abroad,” she said. “Around 50% of our learners were outside the country. But now, with all these internet outages, it’s really disrupting our work.”

Iranians are divided over the war: Some take part in daily pro-government rallies; others quietly cheer the strikes against their leaders while condemning the deaths of civilians and damage to infrastructure.

The couple blames Israel and the U.S. for starting the war and hope for a diplomatic solution.

“I really hope an agreement is reached soon and that whatever happens, it ends up helping people, because right now people are the ones paying a heavy price,” Arghavan said.

Florida authorities determined Woods was impaired March 27 when his Land Rover struck a trailer and flipped on its side on a residential street. They found two painkiller pills in his pocket. Woods was arrested and briefly jailed for refusing to submit to a urine test.

“He's just a human being like everyone else and we have struggles,” Day said. "It's unfortunate. The only thing that I don't understand is that it's a little bit selfish of him to drive and put other people in harm's way, as well.

“But when you're the player that he was and how strong-willed he is, he thinks he can do almost anything,” Day said. “And that's probably why he's driving and a little bit under the influence.”

This is the second straight year Woods has missed the Masters, under entirely different circumstances. He had ruptured his Achilles tendon in March of 2025 and didn't even make it to the Masters Club dinner for champions.

Woods entered a plea of not guilty last week, and then sought — and was granted — a motion to seek treatment outside the country.

“He was my hero — he's my hero,” said Day, the Australian who reached No. 1 in the world a decade ago. “The reason why I play golf is because of this tournament and Tiger. It’s hard to see him go through what he’s going through, and especially under the microscope. It must be hard to be who he is and have everything, everyone look on, kind of down on him.

“Some people want him to fail. Some people obviously want him to succeed,” Day said. “It’s really difficult for me to go through that and watch him, and I know that he’s getting the help now, which is good. I’m just hoping he comes out on the other side and is better.”

Woods is a five-time champion at the Masters, the last one in 2019 to complete a most remarkable comeback in golf. In the 14 years between winning green jackets, he had reconstructive knee surgery (2008) and four back surgeries (2014-17), and one arrest for taking what he said was a bad mix of painkillers when he was found asleep behind the wheel of his running car (2017).

Since winning his last Masters, his right leg and ankle were crushed in 2021 when his SUV going about 85 mph ran over a median and tumbled down a hill on a coastal road in Los Angeles. He also had surgery on the Achilles tendon and a seventh back surgery last year.

Nick Faldo was particularly critical of Woods in an interview with Britain's Daily Telegraph last week when he said, “There are two sides to this right now. There’s one side that’s like ... let’s care for Tiger. And then there has got to be a responsibility and an accountability side as well.”

“Forget about golf. We are not meant to be on the streets with two pills in our pocket,” Faldo said. "The bottom line is that I really think that this is a serious issue and something should be done that is a little bit more serious than waving him off to a tropical island and saying, 'Welcome back,’ in three or four months or whatever it might be.”

Phil Mickelson, a three-time Masters champion who was a runner-up in 2023 at age 52, also is skipping the Masters as he deals with a family health matter at home. It's the first time since 1994 neither Woods nor Mickelson was at Augusta National for the first major of the year.

Mickelson is with LIV Golf and plays on a big stage only four times a year at the majors. Jacob Bridgeman, one of the 22 newcomers to the Masters, didn't know Mickelson wasn't playing and is young enough in golf to have only played two majors with him last year.

Woods is a huge part of the Masters, not only from the records he shattered in 1997 at age 21 but recently with his work on a short course during the refurbishing of a municipal course in town known as “The Patch.” He also is opening a TGR Learning Lab in Augusta.

“He’s such a legend in this game, somebody I looked up to,” Harris English said. “Watching him win around this place in ’97 is kind of the reason I started getting into golf. I know he’s going to get through this. He has a big fight ahead of him. He’s a fighter. That’s what he does.”

___

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

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the school hasn't publicly discussed its search. Malone would replace Hubert Davis, who was fired March 24 after five seasons as the successor to retired Hall of Famer Roy Williams.

ESPN was the first to report UNC moving toward hiring Malone.

The 54-year-old Malone spent 12 seasons as a head coach in the NBA, including a 10-year run in Denver. He led the Nuggets to the 2023 championship behind three-time league MVP Nikola Jokic.

The Nuggets fired Malone last spring with less than a week left in that regular season. Almost a year to the day, in another surprise move, Malone is on the verge of taking over a blue-blood program with six national titles, a record 21 appearances in the Final Four and alums including Michael Jordan, James Worthy Vince Carter and Atlantic Coast Conference career scoring leader Tyler Hansbrough.

UNC now has big-name former pro coaches leading its two highest-profile programs. The Tar Heels hired six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick as their football coach in December 2024. Belichick struggled to a 4-8 record in his debut season.

Davis’ firing opened one of the top jobs in college basketball for only the fourth time since the late Hall of Famer Dean Smith’s retirement after 36 seasons in October 1997.

The job had stayed in the “Carolina Family” ever since. Longtime assistant Bill Guthridge replaced Smith, followed by former UNC player Matt Doherty, former Smith assistant Williams and then Davis, who played under Smith and worked on Williams' staff.

Names like Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, Michigan’s Dusty May and Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan — who led Florida to the 2006 and 2007 NCAA titles — had been linked to the job since Davis’ firing. Lloyd announced Friday at the Final Four that he would return to the Wildcats while praising UNC for “the way they’ve handled this.”

Three days later, the search had turned in an unexpected direction with Malone, who has never been a college head coach and has spent most of his career in the NBA. His primary connection to UNC athletics is the presence of daughter Bridget on the Tar Heels’ volleyball team.

During an October appearance on the UNC athletic department’s “Carolina Insider” podcast, Malone recalled hearing his late father, NBA coach Brendan Malone, talk often about Smith and UNC basketball. He also mentioned attending multiple recent practices and Davis asking him to speak to the team at least once.

“I’ve always been a Carolina fan,” Malone said. “And when (Bridget) decided to come here that made it even that much more special, because now I’m ‘Go Heels’ for everything. I root for all the teams, have fallen in love with Chapel Hill.”

Malone's time in the NBA included a brief stint in Sacramento, where he was fired in December 2014, just 24 games into his second season. He also worked as an assistant with the New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Hornets and Golden State Warriors.

Malone had stints in college as an assistant at Oakland, Providence and Manhattan. He spent only one season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, working as director of men's basketball administration at Virginia under Pete Gillen in 1998-99.

David Adelman, Malone's successor in Denver, said he was happy for his friend, adding that Malone would be comfortable with players earning big money through name, image and likeness deals.

“It’s more of a professional environment now, especially at schools like that, where you have to look at it like these guys are under contract now,” Adelman said. “And I think a lot of NBA coaches understand what it means to coach somebody that’s making money.”

___

AP freelancer Michael Kelly in Denver contributed to this report.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

The five fabulous transfers who make up coach Dusty May's starting lineup got down and dirty with the rest of the Wolverines — coming out with the national title trophy Monday night after muscling their way to a 69-63 victory over stingy, stubborn UConn.

Michigan only made two 3-pointers all night.

The Final Four's most outstanding player, Elliot Cadeau, led the Wolverines with 19 points, including the team’s first 3, which came 7:04 into the second half. The second 3, from freshman Trey McKenney, came with 1:50 left and felt like a dagger, giving May's team — which had scored 90 points in five straight March Madness games leading to the final — a nine-point lead.

To no one’s surprise, UConn fought to the finish. Solo Ball banked in a 3 to cut the deficit to four with 37 seconds left — and after two missed free throws, UConn’s Alex Karaban (17 points) barely grazed the rim on a 3 that would’ve cut the deficit to one with 17 seconds left.

Not until McKenney sank two free throws to bring Michigan’s shooting from the line to 25 for 28 for the night could the Wolverines (37-3) kick off the celebration for the program’s second title — the other coming in 1989, a few years before the Fab Five arrived and made two trips to the championship game, but never won a title.

“HAIL TO VICTORS!!!!” Jalen Rose, one of the Fab Five stars, posted on social media. “NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!!”

It was the first men's hoops title for the Big Ten since Michigan State in 2000. Including UCLA's win in the women's NCAA Tournament Sunday, the conference swept the football (Indiana) and basketball titles this year.

Michigan won this one with defense, holding UConn to 30.9% shooting — the fourth straight game the Wolverines held their opponent to a season-low field-goal percentage.

“These guys have done it all year,” May said. “When one side of the ball has let us down, the other side has picked it up. Our togetherness defensively ultimately got us over the hump.”

Michigan had to fight for everything. The Wolverines missed their first 11 shots from 3, finished 2 for 15 beyond the arc and won despite the struggles of their best player, Yaxel Lendeborg. Ailing with a hurt knee and foot that kept him from elevating, the graduate transfer from UAB finished with 13 points on 4-of-13 shooting.

“If you’d told me we would shoot it this poorly and (be) dominated on the glass and still find a way to win, I don’t know if I would have believed you,” May said. “This team just found a way all season.”

The two 3-pointers were tied for second fewest by a winning team in the title game, according to Sportradar. Michigan also got outrebounded 22-12 on the offensive glass by a UConn team that would not go away.

“How are you disappointed at all in your group?” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “These guys have 22 offensive rebounds versus that group of ‘mon-stars’ out there. So, proud of the guys.”

Truth be told, it wasn’t anyone’s prettiest night.

UConn’s hopes of becoming the first team since John Wooden’s UCLA dynasty to win three titles in four seasons came up short, done in by massive foul trouble and its own terrible shooting.

Hurley’s team missed its first 11 shots from 3 in the second half.

Braylon Mullins, the hero of the Duke win that put UConn in the Final Four, finished 4 of 17, though he made a pair of late 3s that kept the game in reach. Tarris Reed Jr., the transfer from Michigan, finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds but never took control.

UConn (34-6) covered the 6 1/2-point spread, and Hurley kept his players out on the court to watch the podium get set up for the victors.

About the only consolation: The Huskies clogged things up, slowed things down and made Michigan beat them at their game.

“It’s complicated, because everyone’s crushed,” Hurley said. “We came here to be out there, doing what those guys are doing right now.”

Nobody did it quite like the Wolverines this year. They came into the title game shooting freely and winning big. In each of their five tournament games, they broke 90 and won by 13 or more.

In this one, they didn’t hit 70 and had to battle to the buzzer. It was ugly — the opposite of an instant classic. And yet, in almost every way, it was the prettiest of them all for Michigan — the one that gives the school what the Fab Five couldn’t manage — namely, a natty.

“Nobody cared about stats the whole season,” Cadeau said. “Nobody cared about nothing but winning. I’m just glad to be part of that.”

Style points aside, this was a championship built from outside — the best team money could buy.

All five Wolverines starters played college ball elsewhere, and all but Nimari Burnett came to Ann Arbor this season. That’s a product of the transfer portal that May has shown no reluctance to use since he arrived from Florida Atlantic two seasons ago.

His ability to form a makeshift group into a winner shows the value of a coach and a culture.

“They might be still calling us mercenaries but we’re the hardest-working team,” Lendenborg said. “We’re the best in college basketball and we’ll be one of the greatest ever.”

Pretty much everyone in the maize and blue would second that.

“Go BLUE. …champions!!! Respect- Love!” was the social media post from another Fab Five icon, Chris Webber.

___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

The fire started around 11:40 p.m. Monday in the 5600 block of Forest Canyon, which is located near U.S. Highway 90.

Upon arrival, fire officials found flames between the two houses. Crews were able to knock down the flames fairly quickly.

The flames ended up damaging the sides of the homes and the roofs, fire officials stated.

One home had no one living inside, while the other was occupied by a family and pets.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

More recent news coverage on KSAT:

• San Antonio minister charged with child sexual abuse, records show
• Videos of Waymo cars going off course have some San Antonians skeptical about riding

In a post on X, the Comal Independent School District said that students and staff are in their thoughts as they return to campus.

“The Falcon Family is strong, and we’re proud of the way this community continues to care for and support one another,” the post said.

The school was closed for the remainder of last week after the shooting on March 30.

Many questions remain about the shooting, specifically the identities of both the teacher and the student.

As of Tuesday, April 7, Comal County officials still have not confirmed their identities, despite multiple requests from KSAT.

The student was pronounced dead at the scene, according to CCSO. The sheriff’s office said the student brought his grandfather’s gun to school, and his family was waiting in the reunification line.

Comal County Sheriff Mark Reynolds previously stated that the teacher is awake and conscious at a hospital in San Antonio. However, it’s unknown if she is still hospitalized.

CCSO is still investigating the unnamed student’s motive, but investigators believe he had been experiencing academic challenges, including failing several classes.

Reynolds also said the sheriff’s office is investigating the connection between the student and the teacher.

More coverage of this story on KSAT:

• What we know about the deadly shooting at Hill Country College Preparatory High School near Bulverde
• Agencies refuse to identify student who shot teacher at Hill County College Preparatory High School
• Student used .357 revolver from home to shoot Hill Country College Preparatory High School teacher, deputies say
• Hill Country College Prep shooting: Resources for families, how to talk to students

WWE Legend Goldberg is letting us inside his rare car collection and the stories behind.

CarFest is this weekend and their bringing together the community for a weekend full of car giveaways, kids’ activities, food and live entertainment.

With Fiesta around the corner, know how your going to get there. Via’s has got you covered.

It really isn’t meat? Jen try’s out vegan Mexican food at restaurant Plantaqueria that you won’t believe isn’t meat.

Go back in time with the Rewind 5K this weekend. With 80s goodies, an outfit contest, free food, drinks and merch.

Where do you want us to go next? We want to see your favorite San Antonio spots. Click here to upload photos or videos. We might air them on the show!

SA Live airs weekdays at 10 a.m. on KSAT 12. Stream the show anytime from the KSAT+ app on Roku, Fire Stick, smart TV, smartphone or our YouTube channel.

And keep in mind, the day begins with scenarios where six teams — Atlanta, Toronto, Philadelphia, Charlotte, Orlando and Miami — all have mathematical chances of finishing fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth or 10th in a muddled Eastern Conference. (Many of those chances are improbable, but they exist.)

Miami and Toronto start a two-game series in Ontario, with the Raptors trying to keep the No. 6 spot in the East and the Heat desperate to start a final-week clawing out of the No. 10 spot.

The game of the night might be in Boston, where Charlotte will pay the Celtics a visit. The Hornets are 43-36, tied with Philadelphia and Orlando for the seventh-best record in the East, and they'll hold either the No. 6, No. 7 or No. 9 spot in the conference — temporarily, anyway — when Tuesday's slate is complete.

Both Los Angeles teams are home; the banged-up Lakers could jump back into the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with a win, and the Clippers could strengthen their tenuous hold on the No. 8 spot.

Who's in and who's out?

Here's what we know so far regarding the NBA playoff field for this season.

— Eastern Conference playoff teams: Detroit has locked up the No. 1 seed and will open the postseason on April 19. Boston, New York, Cleveland are in. At this point, Atlanta and Toronto would get the other two guaranteed spots, but those are not clinched.

— East play-in teams: Nobody is locked into the play-in yet, but entering Tuesday, the four teams headed there are Philadelphia, Charlotte, Orlando and Miami.

— East eliminated teams: Milwaukee, Chicago, Indiana, Brooklyn and Washington.

— Western Conference playoff teams: Oklahoma City, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers, Denver and Houston are in. Minnesota is likely to grab the sixth and final guaranteed spot.

— West play-in teams: Phoenix is probably going to the play-in tournament. The Los Angeles Clippers, Portland and Golden State definitely are.

— West eliminated teams: Memphis, New Orleans, Dallas, Utah and Sacramento.

Monday recap

— Knicks 108, Hawks 105: Jalen Brunson had 17 in the 4th, CJ McCollum's miracle make was too late.

— Magic 123, Pistons 107: Orlando led almost the whole way, had 40-19 edge in free throw attempts.

— Cavaliers 142, Grizzlies 126: Memphis tied the NBA record with 29 made 3s — and still lost by 16.

— Spurs 115, 76ers 102: San Antonio hits 60 wins, waiting to hear about Victor Wembanyama's ribs.

— Nuggets 137, Trail Blazers 132, OT: Portland led by 13 with 6:01 left in regulation, then fell apart.

Tuesday's schedule

— Timberwolves at Pacers: Wolves still vying to clinch 6 seed, then focus on health before Round 1.

— Heat at Raptors: Miami plays at Toronto twice in a three-day span, huge stakes for both teams.

— Hornets at Celtics: Probably game of the night, which nobody would have predicted in October.

— Kings at Warriors: This week is basically preseason for Golden State and its play-in tune-up plan.

— Thunder at Lakers: Oklahoma City on verge of getting No. 1 overall seed for second straight year.

— Mavericks at Clippers: Dallas' Cooper Flagg’s final-week rookie of the year push tour continues.

— Rockets at Suns: Kevin Durant goes back to Phoenix, one of his former stomping grounds.

— Bulls at Wizards: All about lottery odds.

— Bucks at Nets: All about lottery odds.

— Jazz at Pelicans: For Utah, all about lottery odds. (New Orleans’ pick should convey to Atlanta.)

Wednesday's schedule

— Atlanta at Cleveland: A very possible East first-round preview.

— Minnesota at Orlando: Wolves sputtering, Anthony Edwards is aching.

— Milwaukee at Detroit: Giannis Antetokounmpo still wants to play.

— Memphis at Denver: Nuggets chasing No. 3 seed, need a win here.

— Portland at San Antonio: Blazers have work to do to avoid 9-10 game.

— Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers: Clippers have work to do to avoid 9-10 game.

— Dallas at Phoenix: Suns almost certainly will be No. 7 seed for play-in.

National TV schedule

Tuesday on NBC and Peacock: Charlotte-Boston (8 p.m. Eastern) and Houston-Phoenix (11 p.m.).

Wednesday on ESPN: Atlanta-Cleveland (7 p.m. Eastern) and Portland-San Antonio (9:30 p.m.).

Betting odds

Oklahoma City (+130) is favored to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed by San Antonio (+450), Boston (+550), Denver (+1200), Cleveland (+1200) and New York (+1900). Detroit, the No. 1 seed in the East, is +2500. The Los Angeles Lakers were +2500 before Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves got hurt; they're +45000 now.

Key dates

— Friday: All 30 teams play their 81st games of the season.

— Sunday: All 30 teams play their regular-season finales.

— April 14, 15 and 17: NBA play-in tournament dates.

— April 18 and 19: NBA playoff series openers.

— May 2, 3 or 4: Conference semifinals begin.

— May 10: NBA draft lottery.

— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.

— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.

— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.

— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).

Numbers watch

If Denver averages 127 points in its final three games, the Nuggets would become the eighth team in NBA history to reach 10,000 points in a regular season. There have been three Western Conference teams to hit that milestone — they would be the Nuggets in 1981-82, the Nuggets in 1982-83 and ... you guessed it ... the Nuggets in 1983-84.

Stats of the day

— If Houston wins one more game this season, the NBA will have nine teams reach the 50-win mark. The last season with more than nine such teams was 2014-15, which saw 10 teams reach 50 wins. (Minnesota could get to 50 this season if it wins out.)

— Denver has allowed 134 and 132 points in its last two games, respectively, and gone 2-0. It's the seventh time a team has done that in NBA history; three of the previous six instances were done by the super-high-octane Nuggets in 1981 and 1982. San Antonio did it in 1984, Minnesota in 2021 and the Los Angeles Lakers did it in 2024.

___

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

The horn sounded, and Morez Johnson Jr. came over to share a celebratory scream and hearty hug — from one transfer to another — as the Wolverines began running toward midcourt to celebrate a national championship.

Maybe a school really can build an ideal college basketball roster amid the topsy-turvy chaos of the transfer portal, paying players and top-to-bottom overhauls.

Michigan proved it Monday night, rolling out an all-transfer starting lineup that was too big, too strong and too capable of countering anything that UConn could muster — even on a night when the 3-point shot wasn't falling and All-American Yaxel Lendeborg was hobbled by ankle and knee injuries.

The Wolverines still had enough to hold off the Huskies 69-63 and claim the program's first title in 37 years.

And they showed how second-year Dusty May assembled a resilient roster by diving all the way into the portal.

“Man, this whole year, we were a team that played together,” Lendeborg said as he stood amid the confetti on the court at Lucas Oil Stadium. “We didn't have a best player, like I said before. We have a guy that steps up big-time in these games.

“We have players that make plays when they need to make them. And we just played a full all-around team basketball game today. We did it.”

It didn't matter that the Wolverines shot just 38% while making 2 of 15 3-pointers — stunning numbers for a team that entered the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 8 nationally in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency (126.6 points per 100 possessions).

It didn't matter that they were outrebounded — and gave up an incredible 22 offensive boards.

Nor that Lendeborg carried an awkward gait as he grinded his way through a 4-for-13 shooting effort in 36 minutes after twisting his left ankle and spraining a knee ligament in Saturday's win over Arizona in the Final Four.

Not the way these guys complemented each other on the sport's biggest stage.

Point guard Elliot Cadeau, in his first season after two up-and-down years at North Carolina, had 19 points and was named the Final Four's most outstanding player. Johnson, in his first year from Illinois, had 12 points and 10 rebounds. The 7-foot-3 Aday Mara, in his first year from UCLA, helped hold UConn big man Tarris Reed Jr. — who had been a March Madness force — to just 4-of-12 shooting.

“Nobody cared about stats the whole season. Nobody cared about nothing but winning,” Cadeau said.

Four of Michigan's five starters were in their first year after transferring: Cadeau, Johnson, Mara and Lendeborg (UAB).

The fifth starter, Nimari Burnett, was practically a Michigan lifer by comparison; he was in his third season with the Wolverines, after starting his career at Texas Tech then spending two years at Alabama. A similar story followed Gayle, a reserve who had spent two years at rival Ohio State before these last two years in Ann Arbor.

That left only two players in Michigan's eight-man rotation who would qualify as “homegrown” talent: freshman Trey McKenney and fifth-year graduate Will Tschetter.

It's an approach that tailored to the current era of the sport, with players transferring freely between campuses and cleared to profit from the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL), along with schools able to pay athletes directly with the arrival of revenue sharing.

Purists have complained that the revolving door of players makes it harder for fans to get behind their schools than it was when most players spent multiple seasons in the same uniform. Transfers even featured prominently in an executive order signed last week by President Donald Trump seeking to reform college sports.

May shrugged off the critics on Sunday, noting, “I think we are all better in certain situations than others.”

Athletic director Warde Manuel offered a similar defense on the court Monday night after the program claimed its first national title since the Glen Rice-led Wolverines cut down the nets in Seattle in 1989.

“A lot of teams around the country benefited from transfers,” Manuel said. “You can't just say, ‘Well, Michigan had the most transfers.’ Dusty put this team together the way he did.”

And it worked to perfection.

By the end, Mara was jumping around with a few teammates after they had watched the “One Shining Moment” music montage of tournament highlights, with someone picking up a handful of confetti and tossing it into the air to flutter around them.

“It's important to get the right people on the bus,” assistant coach Justin Joyner said. “It's important to get unselfish guys that are about winning, that are about the group. We had that with the best of our players. Yaxel Lendeborg's one of the most unselfish superstars you'll ever be around.

“So when you have that from the top, it permeates through your locker room, it permeates through your group. And eventually you can become a unit that's about winning.”

___

This story corrects a typo in McKenney's last name.

___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Sally Vasquez was fatally shot on April 3 in the 900 block of Burton Avenue, which is located near Aaron Place.

At least one person in a white vehicle, possibly a Toyota Prius, opened fire and struck the corner house on Burton Avenue, San Antonio police said.

One of the bullets went through the home’s walls and hit Vasquez in her head, police stated.

According to a police report, there were “a lot” of bullet holes in Vasquez’s room.

A male witness told an officer that he lived in the room with Vasquez. He also mentioned that two other residents of the home had argued with an unknown person outside before the shooting, the report said.

At the scene, officers also found several shell casings outside the home. Witnesses say they heard multiple shots fired.

Vasquez was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Her manner of death was a homicide, the medical examiner’s office said.

The white vehicle fled from the scene after the shooting, according to police.

SAPD said its investigation is ongoing.

More crime coverage on KSAT:

• Bexar County man takes plea deal, sentenced to 50 years in prison for separate murders
• Man arrested for harboring missing juvenile in west Bexar County, BCSO says

Agyemang was visibly emotional when he was stretchered off, with his right leg strapped, after landing awkwardly in Derby’s 2-0 victory over Stoke in the second-tier English Championship on Monday.

Derby confirmed on Tuesday that the striker would miss soccer’s biggest tournament, which is being held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico in June and July.

“As a result of this injury, Patrick will unfortunately miss this summer’s FIFA World Cup,” Derby said in a statement. “At this stage it would be wrong to put a timeline on his recovery."

The club added that Agyemang would undergo more tests later on Tuesday and “further updates will be communicated in due course.”

Agyemang has helped Derby into contention for promotion to the Premier League thanks to a team-leading 10 goals since arriving last summer from Charlotte in Major League Soccer.

During the recent international break, he came off the bench for the United States and scored in a loss against Belgium and also got some minutes against Portugal.

___

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

Police have not confirmed the name of the 47-year-old former soldier who was arrested Tuesday. But he has been widely reported in the media to be Roberts-Smith, a former Special Air Service Regiment corporal who was awarded both the Victoria Cross and Medal of Gallantry for his service in Afghanistan.

Police charged him Tuesday with five counts of war crime murder. He will remain in custody overnight and make his first court appearance on Wednesday, a police statement said.

He will potentially apply for release on bail Wednesday.

Roberts-Smith is only the second Australian veteran of the Afghanistan campaign to be charged with a war crime.

Former SAS soldier Oliver Schulz, 44, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of war crime murder. He is accused of shooting Afghan man Dad Mohammad three times in the head in an Uruzgan province wheat field in May 2012.

War crime murder carries a potential sentence of life in prison. It's a federal crime in Australia, defined as the intentional killing in the context of armed conflict of a person who is not taking an active part in hostilities, such as civilians, prisoners of war or wounded soldiers.

Police arrested Roberts-Smith at Sydney Airport on Tuesday after he arrived on a flight from Brisbane, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said.

“It will be alleged that the victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murder in Afghanistan. It will be alleged the victims were detained, unarmed and were under the control of ADF members when they were killed,” Barrett told reporters, referring to the Australian Defense Force.

“It will be alleged the victims were shot by the accused or shot by subordinate members of the ADF in the presence of and acting on the orders of the accused,” Barrett added.

A civil court has already found similar allegations against Roberts-Smith credible in a defamation suit he brought after several newspapers published articles in 2018 accusing him of a range of war crimes. In 2023, a federal judge rejected Roberts-Smith’s claims and ruled that he likely killed four noncombatants unlawfully in 2009 and 2012.

But while the civil court found the war crimes allegations were mostly proved on a balance of probabilities, the new charges would have to be proved in a criminal court to a higher standard of beyond reasonable doubt.

In September, Australia’s High Court said it would not hear an appeal, ending his chances of overturning the ruling.

Nick McKenzie, a reporter unsuccessfully sued for defamation by Roberts-Smith who has been investigating allegations against the soldier since 2017, expected SAS colleagues to testify in the criminal trial as they had during the civil trial.

“You’re investigating conduct allegedly taken by some members of the most secretive, elite fighting force Australia has. The journalism task is difficult. What’s been really difficult, though, is those brave SAS witnesses” testifying, McKenzie told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

“For them to come forward and say: ‘Well, we served our country bravely like Ben Roberts-Smith did, alongside him in Afghanistan, but we saw things with our own eyes that we feel uncomfortable about.’ These brave soldiers, some of them broke down after they testified, so difficult was it for them to stand up and speak out,” McKenzie added.

The charges follow a military report released in 2020 that found evidence that elite Australian SAS and commando regiment troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers and other noncombatants.

Barrett said few soldiers were involved in the new allegations.

“The alleged conduct related to these charges is confined to a very small section of our trusted and respected ADF which helps keep this country safe,” Barrett said.

“The overwhelming majority of our ADF do our country proud. Today’s charges are not reflective of the majority of members who serve under our Australian flag with honor, with distinction and with the values of a democratic nation,” she added.

The Office of the Special Investigator was established to work with police on the war crime allegations. The office’s director of investigations Ross Barnett said allegations of 53 war crimes had been investigated and 39 of those investigations had concluded without charges. Around 40,000 Australian military personnel served in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021, of whom 41 were killed.

Hoping to ease some pain for consumers, President Donald Trump and other heads of state have been pulling on various levers, launching more oil on the market in a bid to calm the chaos.

A group of 32 nations that are members of the International Energy Agency began releasing the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history: 400 million barrels. Trump is tapping into oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve while lifting sanctions on Russian and Iranian crude and temporarily waiving the Jones Act, a maritime law that requires ships carrying goods between U.S. ports to be U.S.-flagged.

But despite those maneuvers, crude oil has soared well past $100 a barrel and gasoline is selling for $4.14 a gallon on average in the U.S. While the stopgaps are helping, they're not adding up to enough oil to replace what's stranded, experts say.

“They're all incremental,” said Mark Barteau, professor of chemical engineering and chemistry at Texas A&M University. "You’re talking about these different patches being at the level of maybe 1 to 2 million barrels a day each, and you’ve got to get to 20, so it’s hard to see those actually adding up to the numbers that are needed. And then the question is, how long can you sustain those?”

Trapped oil

Before the war began, roughly 15 million barrels of crude oil and 5 million barrels of oil products passed daily through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, amounting to about 20% of global oil consumption, according to the International Energy Agency.

In addition to that loss, some oil producing nations in the Middle East have halted oil production because they can't ship fuel out of the Gulf and their storage tanks are full. That's taken about 10 million barrels per day off the market, the IEA said.

Then there are the eight countries around the Persian Gulf that together hold about 50% of global oil reserves. Under normal circumstances, they coordinate closely to raise or lower their output to keep prices steady, said Jim Krane, energy research fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute. Usually Saudi Arabia steps in to bring spare oil to market and calm things down, he said.

“But all of that spare capacity is also bottled up inside the Persian Gulf right now and it can’t get to market either,” Krane said. “So the main emergency response system that we have is also blocked.”

The IEA said in its recent report that “the resumption of transit through the Strait of Hormuz is the single most important action to return to stable oil and gas flows and reduce the strains on markets and prices.”

Barring that, world leaders are grasping for ways to free up more oil.

Limitations of short-term fixes

Some nations have found workarounds to move oil out of the Gulf. Saudi Arabia is using its East-West pipeline, which stretches from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, to transfer about 5 million barrels per day out of the Gulf, said Michael Lynch, distinguished fellow at Energy Policy Research Foundation, a non-partisan institution focused on energy and economics. But the nation was already using that pipeline to transport oil, so it doesn’t have a lot of spare room to move oil from stranded tankers.

Trump also temporarily lifted sanctions on approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian oil that was already in transit. But that didn’t add oil to the market — it just widened the pool of potential buyers, said Daniel Sternoff, senior fellow at the Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy.

Typically, most Iranian oil was bought by private refiners in China, who purchased it at a steep discount, Sternoff said. But with sanctions lifted, others could scramble to buy the oil, which in turn raises its price to the benefit of Iran, he said.

“As soon as you are moving to waive sanctions on your adversary with whom you’re fighting a military conflict, to do something in their benefit, it just shows you that you are running out of options to try to prevent a rise in the price of oil,” Sternoff said.

The decision to lift sanctions on Russian oil could have more impact, because Russia had been storing unpurchased oil in tankers, Sternoff said. “By waiving sanctions, it will allow those barrels to clear.”

Trump’s temporary waiver of the Jones Act to allow foreign ships to temporarily transport goods between U.S. ports could potentially help ease natural gas prices by enabling companies to more efficiently ship liquefied natural gas from the Gulf Coast to New England.

But experts don’t expect the waiver to significantly impact the price of oil or gasoline. “It’s helpful, but not a game changer,” Lynch said.

Why U.S. oil production can't solve the problem

The U.S. is a major oil producer, and exports more oil than it imports. But like any other oil producing nation, it can't just ramp up production instantly to fill the void.

“If the U.S. were to try to make up the global shortfall, we would need to nearly double our production,” Barteau said. “We couldn’t drill wells that fast even if we wanted to.”

Increasing domestic production by even 1 million barrels per day, a feat the U.S. accomplished during the shale boom, would be hard to duplicate, Lynch said.

“If we run every drilling rig right now, what happens a week from now when the war is over and the price goes back down $20?” Lynch asked. “People don’t want to develop long-term production based on a short-term price spike.”

Halting exports and using that oil within the U.S. wouldn't bring down gasoline prices either, experts say.

For one, oil is traded on a global market, so events happening halfway around the globe impact prices for everyone.

In addition, the U.S. doesn't produce enough of the type of oil its refineries process. It produced about 13.7 million barrels per day of oil at the end of 2025, according to the Energy Information Administration. And refineries processed about 16.3 million barrels per day that year, relying on imports to fill in the gaps, according to the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), a trade association.

That's because nearly 70% of U.S. refineries are set up to process heavy, sour crude, according to AFPM. But much of the oil produced in the U.S. is light, sweet crude, which was unlocked during the shale revolution.

“They need different crudes than the ones that are being produced right next to them now,” Krane said.

As a result, just 60% of the crude oil processed in U.S. refineries is extracted domestically, according to the AFPM. And retooling domestic refineries would cost billions of dollars, the group said. It also would require shutting down the refinery for a period of time, which generally raises gasoline prices.

“A lot of people like the IEA are making the point that this is the biggest oil crisis ever, which is partly true, partly an exaggeration, depending on how you count things,” Lynch said. “A lot of it has to do with how long does this last ... if it goes on for another six weeks we get to be in some serious trouble.”

More than a month later, the president has been noncommittal about the runoff. He has stayed on the sidelines well past the deadline for candidates to drop off the May ballot and downplayed the threat of Democratic nominee James Talarico.

“I believe that any human being running against him, sick, incompetent, close to death or even a child, would win,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on March 22. “He may be the Worst candidate I have ever seen.”

That missive was a notable shift from Trump’s message the day after the primary, when he said he’d expect the candidate he did not endorse to drop out for “the good of the Party,” adding, “We must win in November!!!” The president’s posture at the time appeared to bode well for Cornyn, whose allies have tried to convince Trump that Paxton would be a weaker candidate in the general election.

But since then, Paxton supporters and activists in the MAGA movement have loudly campaigned against a Cornyn endorsement, and the attorney general was seen discussing the runoff with Trump himself at a GOP fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago, Politico reported.

The notoriously unpredictable president could still weigh in over the next seven weeks. But his inaction before last month’s dropout deadline has only hardened the rivalry.

“Trump not endorsing at this point has had an impact,” said John Wittman, an unaffiliated Republican consultant and former adviser to Gov. Greg Abbott. “And so the reality is that this is still a very close race. Paxton is probably the favorite right now, but this is absolutely a winnable race for John Cornyn.”

The president’s decision to stay out of the runoff, thus far, has coincided with a relatively quiet post-primary period, as the campaigns and their outside supporters reload. But as the May 26 election creeps closer, the race is expected to heat up once more.

The main pro-Cornyn super PAC, Texans for a Conservative Majority, has begun its runoff push, with new AI-forward ads attacking Paxton for various ethical liabilities, including his alleged extramarital affairs. And the Cornyn camp says there’s more coming.

Aaron Whitehead, the executive director of Texans for a Conservative Majority, said after $100 million in spending in the primary, voters need a break from the inundation of ads. But, he assured, they will “see a lot more spending” in the near future.

Texans for a Conservative Majority has been airing an ad depicting an AI-generated Paxton swiping on a dating app and giving money to liberal characters. Whitehead said the attorney general, dogged by allegations of infidelity and ethical impropriety, can expect more negative ads now that it’s a two-man race.

“The problem is, for Paxton, now that it’s mano a mano, we get to focus on him,” Whitehead said. “Only $13 million was spent on him in the primary, just because it was whack-a-mole. We had to do positive [ads], we had to hit [eventual third-place finisher] Wesley Hunt. … Paxton already underperformed.”

Paxton’s position, meanwhile, is bolstered by the conventional wisdom about runoffs, which typically feature a smaller electorate where hardline conservatives make up a larger share of the vote. Speaking to the crowd at CPAC in Grapevine last week, Paxton said he was “optimistic” about the runoff.

“We had six other people in the race — they took 18%,” Paxton said. “That 18%, we’ve done the analytics, more of them go to me than they do to John Cornyn. And finally, we’re gonna raise more money this time. He’s not going to outspend me 20 to 1.”

Early polling of the runoff has shown Paxton leading by a single-digit margin in most surveys, though much of the polls released have been conducted by Democratic groups.

Texans for a Conservative Majority, the pro-Cornyn super PAC, found the runoff started with the two candidates deadlocked at 45%. A runoff poll conducted in late March by right-leaning Quantus Insights found Paxton with an 8-point lead.

Some polling has found that a Trump endorsement for Cornyn would have limited impact on moving the electorate. And Paxton has said he’s committed to staying in the race no matter what Trump does.

Pro-Cornyn machine starts to mobilize

After his initial endorsement pledge, Trump has instead focused on flaws he sees in Talarico.

The president suggested the Austin lawmaker was a weaker candidate than his Democratic primary opponent, Dallas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and that Republicans “allowed” him to win the race before “releasing the avalanche of information we had on him.”

Since Talarico’s primary win, Republicans in Texas and Washington have dug up and promoted numerous clips of Talarico talking about race, gender and sexuality.

Trump’s apparent belief that Talarico is easily beatable, regardless of who Republicans nominate, undermines the Cornyn camp’s chief argument for the endorsement — that Paxton would endanger the seat, and draw precious resources away from other Senate races, in the general election.

The Cornyn campaign, on the other hand, sees Talarico’s candidacy as a threat that their guy is best suited to take on.

“Democrats nominated their strongest candidate for U.S. Senate,” Cornyn senior adviser Matt Mackowiak said. “Texas Republicans must nominate John Cornyn, who is our strongest nominee by far to gain five new congressional seats and advance Trump’s legislative agenda in the final two years of his second term. We have a plan to win the runoff and we are executing it.”

Washington has been relatively quiet since the start of the runoff, but Cornyn’s allies in Senate GOP leadership say their position remains unchanged.

“We’ve been very clear that the fight to protect President Trump’s Senate Majority should not be fought in Texas, and John Cornyn is the only candidate who ensures that does not happen,” Joanna Rodriguez, a spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement.

A joint fundraising committee between Cornyn’s campaign and other groups, including the NRSC, has already made runoff ad buys.

The president’s prioritization of the Save America Act, a bill that would impose new federal restrictions on voter registration, has also shaken up the race. When Paxton offered to consider dropping out if the Senate passed the bill — which does not have the support of enough senators to meet the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster — he thrust the issue, already a favorite of Trump’s, into the spotlight in the Senate runoff.

Will the spending onslaught continue?

As long as Trump stays out, the May 26 runoff will instead be shaped solely by the opinions of the runoff electorate, and the money both sides deploy to shape it.

Cornyn received 41.9% of the vote in the primary to Paxton’s 40.7%, outperforming the attorney general in the state’s big urban counties while Paxton received the edge in rural areas. The two were nearly tied in suburban counties.

Cornyn’s surprise first-place finish in the primary was helped by a larger-than-normal midterm primary electorate, spurred into action by a heated campaign season that ended as the most expensive Senate primary for one state, when including both parties, in U.S. history.

After a furious flurry of ads leading up to the primary — primarily by Cornyn and allied PACs, who dropped over $70 million — the first five weeks of the overtime period have been quieter. Cornyn allies have spent over $2.2 million since March 3, including new ads directly attacking Paxton, while the Paxton camp has spent under $30,000, according to media tracking firm AdImpact.

Ads from the pro-Paxton Lone Star Liberty PAC have been largely targeted at one specific non-Texas voter. About half of the Paxton camp’s spend has been in the West Palm Beach market, where Trump typically spends his weekends.

The Paxton campaign believes it will be better resourced in the runoff. Immediately after the primary, Paxton registered a new leadership PAC and a joint fundraising committee with both Lone Star Liberty PAC and the leadership PAC, creating a larger constellation of organizations from which to spend.

Cornyn saw relatively little incoming compared to Paxton and certainly Hunt in the primary — much of the late spending, from organizations in both camps, was against Hunt, helping to collapse his support. The Paxton camp plans to change that trend in the runoff and begin attacking Cornyn on the airwaves, according to a campaign adviser.

Both campaigns have also rolled out new endorsements since the primary. Among federal legislators, Reps. Nathaniel Moran, R-Tyler, Randy Weber, R-Galveston, and Roger Williams, R-Willow Park, announced support for Cornyn. Paxton got the backing of Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Flower Mound.

With the campaign expected to heat up this month, both candidates will need to appeal to the 13.5% of Republicans who cast a ballot for Hunt. The Houston Republican praised Paxton’s Save Act gambit but has not endorsed between his two former opponents. His supporters, who have leaned toward Paxton in some initial runoff polls, could help decide the overtime winner.

Paxton’s narrow second-place finish came after he significantly lagged Cornyn’s political network in fundraising. The two sides will have to disclose their latest fundraising and spending activity by April 15, providing insight into how much money each candidate has raised since the primary — and how much support Cornyn can expect from the constellation of groups in both Washington and Texas that deployed tens of millions on his behalf in round one.

Trump’s lack of endorsement means donors in his orbit lack a clear signal about who to back, keeping fundraising ability at the forefront of the race.

Waiting on the other side is Talarico, who has proven a prolific fundraiser himself. Though Republicans have spent the early runoff period dumping on the Democratic nominee, some have cautioned that they still expect a difficult race this fall, raising the stakes of the runoff. Sen. Ted Cruz, for example, recently said Democrats are “going to show up in huge numbers, which means we need to take the general very, very seriously.”

“I have concerns about the general election,” Cruz, who has stayed out of the Republican contest, told the Washington Examiner at CPAC. “Regardless of who wins the nomination, the two candidates have attacked each other relentlessly, and the hard left is really energized.”

Disclosure: Politico 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.

Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd reunited to mark the show's 50th anniversary at PaleyFest LA on Monday night. They were greeted with a standing ovation and whoops and cheers from an audience at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

The hour-long crime adventure series debuted on Sept. 22, 1976, in a pre-Internet and streaming world when there were just three major television networks. It was a top-10 hit for ABC in its first two of five seasons, ending in 1981.

“I knew the show was different, special and unique,” Smith told the audience. “Three women chasing danger instead of getting rescued.”

Jackson added, “We made an impact, I think.”

Farrah Fawcett-Majors became a 1970s icon with her feathered hair and sexy swimsuit poster. She left after the first season to pursue a film career. She died in 2009.

She was replaced by Ladd, who showed up on her first day wearing a Farrah Fawcett Minor T-shirt. She had turned down producer Aaron Spelling three times, knowing how beloved Fawcett had been.

“I knew that there was nobody that was going to replace Farrah, so I made a joke of myself,” Ladd said on the red carpet. “Everybody laughed. Farrah would have done something like that.”

Jackson added, "Cheryl stepped in and we didn’t miss a beat.”

Critics weren’t kind, however, calling the show “jiggle television” because the women dressed scantily to go undercover and slamming it for vapid acting.

“It didn’t bother me,” Jackson said on the red carpet. “I knew what we were doing and Gloria Steinem knew what we were doing, and some other very impressive people knew what we were doing. We were helping to punch a hole in that glass ceiling and that makes a big difference."

Five decades later, the show remains popular in reruns and DVDs, having spawned a film series starring Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu.

"We were giving people an hour to sit back, put their feet up, forget everything and watch television,” Jackson said, “and then again just kind of subtly getting the message in there that women are just as capable, intelligent, can do anything that a man can do.”

The mostly older audience cheered and laughed as scenes from various episodes were played. Included in the highlights were Shelley Hack, who lasted one season after replacing Jackson, and the late Tanya Roberts, who appeared in the final season. Smith and the late David Doyle, who played Charlie's go-between, were on the show's entire run.

Smith, who is 80, and Ladd, who is 74, went on to prolific careers in made-for-TV movies and guesting on other shows. Jackson, who quit after three seasons, later starred in the CBS hit “Scarecrow and Mrs. King.”

Jackson left the business nearly 20 years ago to raise her son. Now 77, she said, “I’m ready to go back.”

The trio's sisterhood includes all of them overcoming breast cancer, with Ladd revealing for the first time publicly Monday that she had an aggressive form of the disease. She didn't say when it occurred.

“When Cheryl called me,” Smith said, “the first thing I did was send her my wigs.”

Smith was at Jackson's bedside during her cancer battle. Each of them urged the audience to have regular health screenings.

In one of many lighter moments, the women were asked to name their favorite outfits.

“I wore a lot of turtlenecks,” Jackson said, drawing laughs.

Smith singled out her tiny white bikini seen in the opening credits.

Ladd recalled, “Bikinis, a lot of bikinis.”

Smith joked, “Our ratings went up.”

Jackson, Smith and Ladd will reunite again on May 14 when they are among the recipients at the Paley Honors gala in New York. Smith's memoir titled “I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie” comes out in September.

“I was really proud to be part of that show,” said Ladd, who always welcomed fans expressing their fondness for the Angels. "I felt so loved. You couldn't be in a bad mood. It was always uplifting to hear it.”

Before submerging, the 12 men and women testified how Jesus Christ changed their lives.

Most of them came to this moment through the ministry of Church Under the Bridge, whose congregants include the unhoused and mentally ill as well as Baylor University students and professionals.

It was an Easter Sunday tradition for the congregation to leave its usual home under an Interstate 35 overpass near Baylor University for baptism in the countryside west of Waco.

This would be the last service and last baptism led by founding pastor Jimmy Dorrell, 76, who is retiring from the church after 33 years and 1,700 Sundays. He hopes to be an occasional presence in the congregation but spend more time with ministries overseas.

Dorrell and his successor, Baylor ministerial student Kevin Brown, teamed up Sunday to immerse the newly committed Christians. Each baptism was followed by whoops and applause from the crowd of more than 100, which included Baylor President Linda Livingstone.

The first baptismal candidate in line addressed the crowd before he waded into the cold water.

“I’m John Dokken and I’m dedicating my life to Christ,” he said. “As I approached 80 and turned 80, I realize this is my final chapter.”

A fellow candidate patted his shoulder as he began to weep.

“Through Jimmy, and Kevin, I found a new home, and when it’s time to go I know that I’ll be ready,” he said. “I’m just here to do God’s will. He tells me he’s not through with me so I’ve got to keep going.”

Dorrell said afterward that baptism is always an emotional experience for him.

“These are pivotal moments for people to stand on what they have said verbally but never publicly professed and shown with their words and their baptism that they’re committed to this walk with Christ,” Dorrell said.

Dorrell and his wife, Janet, started Church Under the Bridge in 1993 after they spontaneously invited some homeless residents to join them on a restaurant patio near the interstate. It grew into a weekly Bible study, then a full-fledged worship service under the concrete canopy of Interstate 35.

Not long before, the Dorrells had launched Mission Waco, an urban ministry that was to grow into one of Waco’s major nonprofits serving homeless people using the empowering principles of “Christian community development.” 

Jimmy Dorrell is retired from Mission Waco but involved in its tiny home development, Creekside Community Village, that will soon provide long-term housing for those now homeless.

Over the decades, the Dorrells have continued to live on North 15th Street, a once-blighted street that has been transformed with new housing and small businesses thanks to Mission Waco’s efforts.

Clarice Barron, his neighbor and a Church Under the Bridge member who attended Sunday, said Jimmy Dorrell has transformed many lives in Waco.

“He’s able to actually put himself in the place of the homeless and the mentally ill, and the people with substance abuse [problems],” she said. “He just really wants to do something about it.”

Cindy Julian, who has attended Church Under the Bridge since 2012, said Sunday’s event was joyful but “bittersweet, to watch both of them, Jimmy and Kevin, do the baptisms in the river. We’re going to miss Jimmy, but he’s left us in good hands.

“But Easter is amazing in itself out here. We’re literally practicing what heaven’s like right here. We’ll all be together.”

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

And Texans showed up with record turnout for the March primaries. Now, as we head toward the May 26 primary runoffs, including the rematch between U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton, we want to hear from Texas voters and residents.

Please take a couple minutes to fill out the form below, which will help us center the voices of everyday Texans in our reporting and understand what you care about this election cycle. We want to hear from all Texas residents — regardless of voter eligibility. While not all Texans can cast ballots, everyone who lives here is impacted by policy decisions in the state.

The move departs from Vietnam’s tradition of shared leadership, in which the jobs have typically been held by different people, and echoes power structures in China under Xi Jinping and neighboring Laos.

It has been widely expected since Lam’s reelection as Communist Party head in January, when observers noted that his consolidation of party authority positioned him to assume the presidency as well.

Former central bank governor Le Minh Hung was elected as the country's prime minister for the next five years.

After being sworn in, the 69-year-old told the National Assembly that his top priority was to maintain peace and stability, which were the foundation for fast and sustainable growth. “We aim to improve people’s livelihoods so all can share the benefits of development,” he said.

This is To Lam’s second time holding both jobs, after briefly doing so in 2024 when his predecessor as party chief, Nguyen Phu Trong, died.

The concentration of power was significant since it meant that Lam had a “stronger mandate and far more political room to push through his agenda than any leaders” since the 1980s, when Hanoi launched reforms to shed a state-run economy in favor of a market-oriented one open to foreigners, said Nguyen Khac Giang, of Singapore’s ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute research center.

“The opportunity is obvious. Faster decision-making, greater policy coherence, and a better chance of pushing difficult reforms at a pivotal moment. But the risk is that concentration of power can move faster than institutional reform,” he said.

Lam's rise to the top caps the ascent of a career policeman who advanced from Vietnam’s security services to the top of the political system. This was aided by a sweeping anti-corruption campaign launched by his predecessor, which he oversaw as head of the Ministry of Public Security.

As party chief, Lam has led Vietnam’s biggest bureaucratic overhaul since the 1980s, cutting jobs, merging ministries, redrawing provincial boundaries and advancing major infrastructure projects.

He has focused on economic performance and private-sector growth, aiming to move Vietnam beyond the labor- and export-driven model that has helped lift millions from poverty and build a manufacturing-based middle class. The country is targeting 10% or higher annual economic growth over each of the next five years.

Hung, the new prime minister, said that the 10% growth target is meant to help achieve the country’s strategic goals and that the government had identified “strengthening science, technology, innovation and digital transformation as top priorities.”

But challenges remain, especially the immediate task of turning this ambitious vision into reality with the world economy upended by the energy shock from the war in Iran. Vietnam’s economy expanded at an annualized rate of 7.8% in the first three months of the year, up from 7.1% last year but below the 9.1% target and slower than in late 2025.

Giang said that Lam also faces political hurdles for reform buy-in and the challenge of maintaining Vietnam's pragmatic approach to foreign policy.

Vietnam is facing U.S. pressure over its trade surplus but also has to balance ties with China, its largest trading partner and rival claimant in the South China Sea.

“It has benefited from a careful balancing strategy in foreign policy, but maintaining that position will become harder in a more turbulent world,” he said.

___

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

According to a Monday news release, SeaWorld is offering free admission to all Texas children under age 5, as well as certified current Texas pre-K through 12th-grade teachers.

In order to meet eligibility, the park said parents will need to register their children for the free Preschool Cards online by April 29. Children two years and under always receive free admission to SeaWorld San Antonio.

Eligible active teachers can register for their free Teacher Cards with their teacher ID on ID.me.

Both cards will provide free admission to high-profile events at the park — such as the Seven Seas Food Festival and Concert Series, Electric Ocean, Spooktacular, Howl-O-Scream and Christmas events — from now until Jan. 3, 2027.

Preschoolers and teachers can have their free admission cards upgraded to include SeaWorld San Antonio’s water park, Aquatica, for an additional $39.

Teachers also have the option of adding Aquatica and unlimited parking for $84.

More Things To Do around San Antonio:

• 🎊 Things To Do in April: Siclovia, Poteet Strawberry Festival, Fiesta
• San Antonio Book Festival to return with over 100 authors on Saturday
• Fiesta parades: How to choose where to sit?

“Any type of discriminatory or hateful behavior will not be tolerated and has no place in our arena,” the team said Monday in a statement. “Creating and sustaining environments that are inclusive, safe and respectful is a non-negotiable for the Dallas Stars.”

Stars fan Courtney Ripley told WFAA-TV in Dallas that she took a 12-second video at a game against Toronto in late December. It showed four fans reacting to a goal by appearing to raise and extend their right arms with a straightened right hand facing downward.

The team conducted an investigation that identified the individual who bought the tickets, who was informed of the indefinite ban.

“Additionally, we are increasing in-arena messaging regarding the Fan Code of Conduct and how our fans can report violations, along with prioritizing staff training to identify and handle situations that arise,” the team said.

Fan codes of conduct are prominent throughout the NHL. Every team has a scripted segment that is shared on their video boards, through their public address system or both, telling fans about their respective codes of conduct.

The NHL also has a multipoint fan code of conduct that opens by stating, “The best hockey experiences happen in environments that are inclusive, safe and respectful.”

___

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

Wembanyama took an inadvertent elbow to the ribs from Paul George when the Philadelphia forward was attempting to deflect a pass as the 7-foot-4 Frenchman was sprinting up court on a fastbreak with 10:49 remaining in the first half. Wembanyama tumbled to the court and remained down for a minute while George patted him on the backside apologetically.

The extent of the injury and whether Wembanyama will be available for the Spurs' final three games of the regular season — all at home — against Portland (Wednesday), Dallas (Friday) and Denver (Sunday) wasn't known after Monday's game.

“At halftime I was told he wasn't coming back and I honest to God haven't heard anything else up to this point,” San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said after the win.

Wembanyama subbed out of the game shortly after the collision and immediately went into the tunnel leading to the locker room while keeping his arm pressed to his side.

Wembanyama returned with 5:33 remaining in the period, but asked Johnson to take him out with 44 seconds remaining in the first half. He again went into the tunnel leading to the locker room while holding his arm to his side and was ruled out at the start the second half.

“I think it would be a positive that he felt like he could come back and he played the last four or five minutes of the half," Johnson said. “So, that’s a positive from my perspective, but I have nothing (as far a status update).”

George was not available for comment after the game.

Wembanyama had 17 points, five rebounds and three blocks while playing 15:40 in the first half.

Wembanyama has made it clear that he wants to win the league's MVP award this season. The NBA allows a maximum of two games in which a player logs between 15 and 19.59 minutes to count toward the league-required minimum of 65 games played for award eligibility.

Wembanyama has played 63 games this season, including the NBA Cup Final.

San Antonio (60-19) is is 2 1/2 games behind Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City (62-16) and assured of finishing no worse than second in the conference.

___

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

There's been a lot of thinking to do given the new Giants manager's frustrating 3-8 start in his jump from college coach to the major leagues.

Vitello had a little extra time following Sunday afternoon's game with a night contest the next day to ponder everything that went wrong in San Francisco's third straight defeat, when he was ejected for the first time in his career for arguing in the seventh after Jerar Encarnación was ruled out for running inside the designated lane on his way to first base.

Yes, he constantly dissects the various decisions he makes and is determined to figure this out. The Giants lost again Monday night, squandering an early four-run lead to the Philadelphia Phillies in a 6-4 setback.

“At 3-7 and how yesterday went, I didn't think yesterday was the proper time for me to go gallivanting around San Francisco, so, yeah, I was in my condo the whole night,” Vitello said beforehand. “Whether I'm there or sitting with family I apologize to them, ‘Find something better to watch if you’re watching this.' We're at dinner, I am thinking about this more than that. So, yeah, yesterday sitting at home you finish on a day game and you have a night game, you've got a lot of time to go over that stuff. You replay it all.”

Before the start of a three-game series with the Phillies, Vitello and Matt Chapman connected to discuss the third baseman getting caught stealing after his leadoff single in the ninth inning of a 5-2 loss to the Mets that gave New York a weekend sweep.

Vitello knows those kinds of mistakes would be more magnified later in the season, and said the Giants are “trying” so hard to win "it's probably something that everybody's been a little guilty of, of not going about it the way they would if they were thinking clearly but when you're trying to win games as hard as possible sometimes it actually contradicts what your end goal is.”

Coming into Monday's game, the Giants had been outscored by 25 runs over their initial 10 contests — the worst mark through 10 games for the franchise since it was minus-49 in 1896. And the club's 3-7 record was tied for its second-worst through 10 games since moving to San Francisco in 1958 — the Giants began 2-8 in 1983.

Chapman, for one, hopes a few things will go the Giants' way so they can grab some much-needed momentum to climb their way up in the powerful NL West after falling to the bottom of the standings, and he is thankful the struggles are happening now when there is plenty of time left. San Francisco has missed the playoffs the past four years.

“Whatever it is, I think it's more of an accumulation of maybe some frustrating things happening because we're right there and we're not able to get the job done,” Chapman said. “... It sucks when it looks like it's sloppy baseball and we're making some sloppy mistakes that kind of shot us in the foot last year and was one of the reasons why we probably weren't able to finish as strong. But I don't think it's going to be something that's going to be the story of our season by any means.”

After his ejection, Vitello offered a long explanation to what had upset him. The former University of Tennessee coach regularly shares stories from his experiences in the college ranks.

“I’m sure he got it exactly technically right,” Vitello said postgame Sunday. “It’s just a play I’ve got a lot of history for. A little frustrated about something else that occurred in the game. … Got a ton of history with that play. Lost a game to Lipscomb on that play, lost the game to (Oklahoma State coach) Frank Anderson and a Big 12 championship on that play. The difference between the two that I’m talking about, and I can talk about others, is the runner in Frank’s instance — and I’ve called his team cheaters — completely interfered with the throwing lane for the pitcher. So again, umpires are held accountable by what the rules are, and they enforce those rules."

Several of his players and coaches have said dating to spring training how much they appreciate the passion, energy and approach Vitello takes.

From Day 1, Vitello acknowledged he would be learning on the fly from the dugout's top step and there would be plenty of ups and downs.

“Listen, Tony's great, I like Tony, he's cool,” said center fielder Harrison Bader, who began the series batting .118 (4 for 34) with a home run and determined to get on track. “At the major league level, a little different in terms of the fans and the speed but he won at a really high level in the SEC. It's the same game, so he's familiar to winning and what it looks like to help players win and what that feeling looks like and how to maintain it. So he's in the right spot.”

___

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

This year’s Supreme Court election stands in stark contrast to the swing state's previous two, where national spending records were set in battles over majority control. Spending and national attention is down dramatically this year without control of the court at stake.

Democrats are looking to tighten their control of the court just months before a November election in which they seek to keep the governor's office and flip the state Legislature, where Republicans have held the majority since 2011. Democrats aspire to undo a host of Republican-enacted laws that made Wisconsin a focal point for the nation’s conservative movement in the 2010s.

In Tuesday's Supreme Court race, Democratic-backed Chris Taylor, a former state lawmaker who also worked for Planned Parenthood, faces Republican-supported Maria Lazar. Both Taylor and Lazar are state Appeals Court judges.

Liberals would increase their majority on the court to 5-2 from 4-3 with a Taylor win. That would lock in the liberal majority until at least 2030.

Liberals took control of the state's top court in 2023, ending 15 years under a conservative majority. They held onto their majority with last year's victory in a race that drew involvement from President Donald Trump and billionaires George Soros and Elon Musk, who personally handed out $1 million checks to voters in the state.

Liberals argued that democracy was at stake in the 2025 election, noting that when the court was controlled by conservative justices in 2020 it came just one vote shy of siding with Trump in his attempt to invalidate enough votes to overturn his loss in that year's presidential election.

Since liberals took control, the court has reversed several election-related rulings, including one that overturned a ban on absentee ballot drop boxes, and it is poised to once again be in the spotlight around the 2028 presidential election.

Races for the court are officially nonpartisan, but support for candidates breaks down mostly along partisan lines.

Taylor has focused much of her campaign on abortion rights, with one TV ad saying that “abortion is on the ballot.” In another ad, she criticized Lazar for calling the U.S. Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 “very wise.”

Lazar, who was supported by anti-abortion groups in her run for the appeals court, tried to brand Taylor as nothing more than a politician who will push a partisan agenda on the court.

They sparred over each other's partisanship during the campaign's sole debate last week.

Lazar accused Taylor of being a “radical, extreme legislator” and a “judicial activist.” Taylor said that Lazar would bring “an extreme, right-wing political agenda to the bench.”

Lazar has had a much harder time getting her message out. Taylor had a large fundraising advantage and spent about nine times as much as Lazar on television ads, based on a tally by the Brennan Center for Justice.

The liberal-controlled court has already struck down a state law banning abortion and ordered new legislative maps, fueling Democrats’ hopes of capturing a majority this November.

Taylor has been a judge since 2020 and before that she spent 10 years as a Democrat representing the liberal capital city of Madison in the state Assembly.

Lazar, a judge since 2015, previously worked four years under a Republican attorney general in the state Department of Justice. In that role, she defended a law enacted under former Republican Gov. Scott Walker that effectively ended collective bargaining for most public workers.

A circuit court judge ruled in December that the law is unconstitutional, a decision expected to ultimately land before the state Supreme Court.

Lazar also defended laws passed by Republicans and signed by Walker implementing a voter ID requirement and restricting abortion access.

Democrats are optimistic given the past two Supreme Court elections, which saw candidates they backed winning by double digits.

The seat is open due to the retirement of a conservative justice. Another conservative justice is retiring next year, giving liberals a chance to take 6-1 control of the court if they win on Tuesday.

Raleigh’s homer was pulled deep to right field against two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom of the Texas Rangers to end a 12-pitch at-bat in the first inning. Raleigh fell behind 0-2, fouled off six pitches with two strikes and connected on a 99 mph fastball low in the zone.

His homer was Seattle's lone run in a 2-1 loss.

“Just trying to put the bat on the ball there and fight, don’t punch out,” Raleigh said. “I was able to have a pretty long at-bat, saw some good pitches and put a good swing on that last one.”

It was the second-most pitches in an at-bat that ended with a Mariners homer. Raúl Ibañez homered on the 13th pitch he saw in June 2013.

According to Major League Baseball, it was both the most pitches ever delivered to Raleigh in a plate appearance ending in a hit and the most pitches ever thrown by deGrom during an at-bat ending in a hit.

“That was just an incredible at-bat,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said, “to battle all the way through like that and foul off as many pitches as he did and then finally put that perfect pitch into the right-field seats.”

Raleigh's longest home run drought last season was eight games. He had two homers last season through 11 games, hitting No. 3 in his 14th game.

Raleigh entered batting .132 this year with only one run scored. He nearly homered on Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels in the first inning, but the ball was caught above the wall by Jo Adell, the first of three potential homers the right fielder prevented in that game.

___

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

Dakota Mortensen, who has temporary custody of his and Paul's 2-year-old son, is asking the court to turn a short-term protective order against her into a long-term one as authorities investigate domestic violence reports from earlier this year.

Paul and Mortensen are expected to participate in the hearing remotely while their lawyers appear in person at the Salt Lake City courthouse. Details of the temporary protective order have been kept sealed.

Attorneys are expected to address reports under investigation from February, not a 2023 fight that led to Paul’s arrest and resurfaced just before her “Bachelorette” season was supposed to premiere, though the older issues may be discussed.

ABC last month announced the unprecedented move of shelving an entire, already-filmed new season of “The Bachelorette” with Paul in the title role. The network and its parent company Disney blamed the cancellation on a leaked video, shot in 2023 and posted by TMZ on March 19, in which Paul appears to punch, kick and throw chairs at Mortensen while her young daughter watches and cries.

Police body camera footage of Paul's arrest in that case was featured in the series premiere of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives," which first aired in 2024. Paul is shown calling it “the worst night of my life.” Video of the fight itself, which appears to be from Mortensen's point of view, was not made public until last month's leak.

Paul was charged with aggravated assault and other offenses, including domestic violence in the presence of a child. She pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge, and the other counts were dismissed.

Paul has two children with her ex-husband, Tate Paul, along with the son she had with Mortensen after their 2023 dispute.

A Paul representative said after the cancellation that she had been “silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation” and was “finally gaining the strength to face her accuser.”

Mortensen said in a statement that he was “used to these baseless claims about me and our relationship, which I categorically deny.”

Production has also been paused on the fifth season of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” the Hulu series that made Paul a reality star. Her casting on “The Bachelorette” offered synergy between the shows for Disney, which owns both Hulu and ABC.

She became known as an influencer in the #MomTok community, a group of women from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sharing their lives on TikTok. The group, and Paul's admissions of polyamory within it, helped spawn the hit reality show.

On Sunday, Paul announced she was leaving what is widely known as the Mormon church. She said on Instagram that she will always have love and respect for the Utah-based religious institution but, “It's time to detach myself.”

___

Dalton reported from Los Angeles.

“They always say, ‘I’m not trying to hit you,’’’ Contreras said after the Brewers beat the scuffling Red Sox 8-6 at Fenway Park. “That gets old. So, next time they hit me again, I’m going to take one of them out. That’s a message.”

Contreras has been hit by a pitch 131 times in his major league career, including 24 times by the Brewers — which is 10 more than he's been plunked by any other team. He has a testy history with Woodruff, who has nailed Contreras six times.

After the latest one, Contreras yelled at Woodruff from first base. Then, on a force play, Contreras slid hard into second, banging into shortstop David Hamilton’s left knee with his cleats and tearing his pants.

“I mean, we’ve been through that. It’s been like nine years for me. It seems like every year,” Woodruff said. “He’s trying to play a game and he’s trying to get his side fired up, which is fine. Once I knew what was going on, I wasn’t going to let it affect me.”

Before getting traded to the Red Sox in the offseason, Contreras spent his first 10 big league seasons in the NL Central where he played against Milwaukee a lot, first with the Chicago Cubs and then the St. Louis Cardinals.

Contreras was hit Monday night on the left hand with a fastball that grazed his fingers. Brewers manager Pat Murphy challenged the call, which was upheld following a replay review.

“I thought it wasn’t a hit by pitch,” Murphy said. “That’s why we challenged it. Those are really hard to get overturned.”

Contreras’ younger brother, William, was Milwaukee’s catcher Monday night.

Did he try to calm his big brother as he walked toward first with him?

“I tried,” he said. “He plays like that.”

Willson Contreras hit a solo homer in the ninth inning and reached base five times. He flung his bat not only after the homer, but his first-inning walk, too.

From behind the plate, his younger brother challenged a 2-0 pitch to Willson Contreras that was called a ball. The call was confirmed by ABS.

“I was going to check it whether it was my bother at the plate or not,” William Contreras said through a translator. “I saw it a little closer than it was.”

The teams have two games left in their three-game series.

___

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

Speaking to reporters at the White House, the president refused to say whether any civilian targets would be off-limits.

Iran on Monday rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wants a permanent end to the conflict.

“We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press.

Israel and the United States carried out a wave of attacks on Iran on Monday, killing more than 25 people. Iran responded with missile fire on Israel and its Gulf Arab neighbors.

Here is the latest:

Malaysian commercial vessel allowed to pass in Strait of Hormuz

Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that one of seven Malaysian commercial vessels stranded in the Strait of Hormuz has been allowed to pass and is now heading to its destination.

The ministry said this followed diplomatic talks with Iranian officials led by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. It didn’t give further details.

Malaysia reaffirmed its support for safe and open sea routes under international law, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It called for continued dialogue to maintain peace and stability in the region.

Japan says a Japanese national detained in Iran has been released

Japan said Tuesday a Japanese national who had been detained in Iran since January has been released on bail.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters in Tokyo that his release was confirmed Monday and that Japan is demanding a full release from Iranian authorities.

He said the Japanese ambassador to Iran met the person released and that he was in good health without providing further details.

The person is believed to be a journalist at Japan’s NHK public television.

Another Japanese national, who was detained in Iran last June, was released and returned to Japan in March.

Iran official calls for youths to form human chains around power plants ahead of threatened Trump strikes

An Iranian official early Tuesday issued a video message calling on youths of the Islamic Republic to form “human chains” around power plants in the country ahead of threatened strikes by U.S. President Donald

Alireza Rahimi, identified by Iranian state television as the secretary of the Supreme Council of Youth and Adolescents, issued the video call in a newscast.

“I invite all young people, athletes, artists, students and university students and their professors,” he said.

Gather “Tuesday at 2 p.m. around the power plants that are our national assets and capital, regardless of any taste or political viewpoint, belong to the future of Iran and to the Iranian youth.”

Iran has formed human-chain demonstrations, also known as human shields, in the past around its nuclear sites at times of heightened tensions with the West.

Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s had similar human-shield demonstrations during the 1991 Gulf War. He also dispersed foreign nationals held by his security services to possible targets of the U.S.-led campaign during the war.

Dwindling naphtha stocks strain medical supplies in South Korea

South Korean officials say the country has about three months’ worth of materials to produce intravenous fluid bags as the war in the Middle East threatens to strain critical hospital supplies.

Senior Health Ministry official Jeong Kyung-sil said Tuesday that the country has about three months’ stock of syringes, and materials for roughly two more months of production.

Health Minister Jeong Eun Kyeong said Tuesday the government is prioritizing medical supplies as it seeks to secure more naphtha, a key petroleum product used in plastics manufacturing, amid supply disruptions caused by the war.

“We will continue to secure additional supplies going forward and we are also reviewing alternative supply sources to ensure there are no issues,” the minister said.

South Korea last week said it imported 2.7 tons of naphtha from Russia as it looks to address the shortage.

South Korean chemical giant LG Chem shut down a major industrial plant in Yeosu last month, citing naphtha supply disruptions.

Israel claims recent wave of airstrikes targeting Tehran

Israel claimed the recent wave of airstrikes targeting Iran’s capital, Tehran, but offered no immediate details on what had been targeted.

Already, Israel had faced one missile barrage from Iran on Tuesday.

New Zealand describes US threats against Iranian infrastructure as ‘unhelpful’

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has described Trump’s recent threats against Iranian civilian infrastructure as “unhelpful.”

“Unhelpful because more military action’s not necessary,” Luxon told Radio New Zealand on Tuesday.

“I think the bottom line is that the focus needs to be on not seeing this conflict expand any further,” Luxon said.

“We got threats from the president over the weekend. Any of those actions including bombing bridges and reservoirs and civilian infrastructure would be unacceptable as well,” Luxon added.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ message to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at a meeting in Washington, scheduled this week, would be to de-escalate the conflict, Luxon said.

Peters would “certainly be encouraging the U.S. and Iran to de-escalate quickly,” Luxon said.

UN to vote Tuesday on watered-down resolution on Strait of Hormuz

The U.N. Security Council scheduled a vote Tuesday on a resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz that was watered down for a second time because of opposition from Russia and China.

The original Bahrain-sponsored resolution would have authorized countries to use “all necessary means” – U.N. language that can include military action – to ensure transit through the vital waterway, which Iran has largely blocked, and deter attempts to close it.

The sixth revision of the initial text that will be voted on only “strongly encourages” countries using the Strait of Hormuz to coordinate defensive efforts to contribute to safe navigation in the strait.

It says this should include escorting merchant and commercial vessels, and deterring attempts to close, obstruct or interfere with international navigation through the strait.

The vote is scheduled at 11a.m. EDT, hours before an 8 p.m. EDT deadline set by Trump for Iran to open the strategic waterway, where one-fifth of the world’s oil normally passes, or face attacks on its power plants and bridges.

US Central Command says it struck over 13,000 targets

The U.S. military’s Central Command said early Tuesday that it had struck over 13,000 targets in the war so far.

Latest reports of live fire in the war

Activists reported new strikes targeting Iran’s capital, Tehran, early Tuesday morning.

The United Arab Emirates began firing its air defense Tuesday morning, while Bahrain sounded its missile alert sirens in the kingdom, with both Gulf Arab countries facing a new barrage of Iranian fire.

Filipina killed in missile attack in Israel, Philippines says

The Philippine government says a Filipino national was killed in a missile attack in the northern Israeli port city of Haifa over the weekend.

The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila did not immediately identify the Filipina but said she was killed with her Israeli husband and parents-in-law in a residential area in Haifa on Sunday.

On Feb. 28, a Filipina caregiver, Mary Ann de Vera, was killed in a missile strike in Tel Aviv while helping bring her charge to a bomb shelter in the first known Philippine casualty of the war in the Middle East.

About 30,000 Filipinos live and work — many as caregivers — in Israel.

Drone strike kills 2 in Iraq

Two people were killed in the Kurdish region of Iraq after a home was hit by a drone that authorities said had been launched from Iran.

The drone hit the home in the village of Zargazawi in Irbil province early Tuesday, the Counter Terrorism Directorate of the northern Kurdish region said in a statement. Officials condemned the attack, calling it a violation of international law.

The strike came as Iranian forces and allied militias targeted areas across northern Kurdistan with a wave of drones, rockets and missiles.

US special forces were on the ground in Iran as part of rescue mission

The special operators were part of the teams sent in to retrieve the pilot and weapon systems officer of a downed fighter jet, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military operation.

During a briefing Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “Our special operators, pilots and support crews performed with near perfection under fire,” but he stopped short of confirming that U.S. troops set foot on Iranian soil.

Hegseth and Trump have said they haven’t ruled out boots on the ground but also repeatedly argued that the conflict was limited in scope.

Hegseth has lambasted previous presidents who oversaw the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, insisting that the Iran war “is different. It’s laser-focused.”

— Konstantin Toropin

Shooting by Israel-backed group at a shelter in Gaza is followed by an Israeli strike, killing 8

An Israel-backed armed group in Gaza kidnapped children from a school-turned-shelter on Monday, according to a witness, after which Israel launched an airstrike on the site, health authorities said.

The Israeli military had no response when reached for comment.

An anti-Hamas Palestinian group called Abu Nusseirah posted on social media that they killed five Hamas fighters at the shelter in Maghazi.

An elderly displaced woman sheltering at the school told the AP that dozens of men stormed the site, clashed with people there and forced kids — including girls — into vehicles. Speaking anonymously for fear of reprisals, she said her son was killed in the fighting.

Bodies were taken to al-Aqsa hospital, where health officials said some had been killed in an Israeli airstrike on the school after the clashes. AP footage showed dozens of mourners gathered at the morgue.

Many displaced Palestinians say they fear the Iran war has overshadowed Gaza’s dire humanitarian situation.

3 US troops injured during fighter jet shootdown and rescue

Those injured were the weapon systems officer from the U.S. Air Force F-15E fighter jet that was shot down in Iran late last week as well as two aircrewmen from a helicopter that took fire during the initial rescue for the pilot from the downed jet.

That’s according to a U.S. official, who spoke Monday on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military operation.

After rescuing the pilot, the HH-60 Jolly Green II helicopters were “engaged by every single person in Iran who had a small arms weapon, and one of the aircraft, the trailing aircraft, took several hits,” said Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

At the same White House briefing, Trump said the jet’s downed weapons officer was “bleeding profusely” but still able climb mountainous terrain and communicate his location.

— Konstantin Toropin

A 12-hour drive through Iran offers glimpses of destruction, defiance and daily life

A black banner hangs over a border crossing and portraits of Iran’s killed supreme leader stare down, promising vengeance against the United States and Israel.

But on the 12-hour drive south to the capital, Tehran, daily life continues, with only occasional signs of the ongoing war, including a Shiite religious center that officials say was damaged by a recent airstrike.

Associated Press reporters made the journey on Saturday after crossing into Iran from Turkey. They gained a glimpse of the country at the center of a regional war that has jolted the world economy and shows no sign of ending.

▶ Read more

US stocks drift higher ahead of Trump’s deadline to bomb Iranian power plants

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5%.

Like stock indexes, oil prices seesawed through the day amid continued uncertainty about what will happen in the war with Iran and how long it will slow the global flow of crude oil.

Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market.

▶ Read more

The US and Egypt are pushing Israel not to strike the main Lebanon-Syria border crossing, official says

That’s according to Lebanon’s General Security chief, Hassan Choucair, who said those “ongoing contacts” by Washington and Cairo aim to protect and reopen the Masnaa border crossing.

It’s been closed since Saturday after Israel warned it could be targeted over alleged weapons smuggling by the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Officials in Lebanon and Syria deny that claim, saying vehicles are thoroughly inspected.

The crossing’s closure has forced travelers to take a longer northern route. More than 200,000 people have crossed from Lebanon into Syria since the war escalated five weeks ago, many of them fleeing the conflict.

Trump details the rescue of US airmen shot down in Iran

The United States relied on dozens of aircraft, hundreds of personnel, secret CIA technology and a dose of subterfuge to rescue a two-man F-15E fighter jet crew downed deep inside Iran.

Trump and his top defense aides detailed the daring rescue operation in an unusual level of detail during a news conference at the White House on Monday.

The U.S. surged helicopters, midair refuelers and fighter jets deep into Iran to rescue the pilot within hours. But finding and picking up the jet’s weapon systems officer was a more complicated endeavor.

▶ Read more

Israeli TV station counts down to Trump deadline

As reporters spoke on air, Channel 13 TV’s evening newscast showed a large digital clock marking down the hours and minutes until Tuesday night’s deadline.

Trump lashes out at Pacific allies for not assisting in Iran fight

The president continued to grumble about NATO allies’ refusal to get involved in reopening the Strait of Hormuz and their hesitance to assist U.S. offensive operations against Iran.

As he wrapped up his lengthy news conference Monday, he also fumed about the lack of support from Pacific allies.

“You know who else didn’t help us? South Korea didn’t help us,” Trump said. “You know who else didn’t help us? Australia didn’t help us. You know who else didn’t help us? Japan. We’ve got 50,000 soldiers in Japan to protect them from North Korea. We have 45,000 soldiers in South Korea to protect us from Kim Jong Un, who I get along with very well.”

Trump says it would take 4 hours to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants

The president described the consequences that Iran would face if it didn’t reach a deal with the U.S. by Trump’s 8 p.m. Tuesday deadline.

“We have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night,” Trump said during his Monday news conference.

Power plants in Iran, he continued, would be “burning, exploding and never to be used again.”

Trump refused to say whether any civilian targets would be off limits in the U.S. response.

UN chief warns the US not to strike Iran’s civilian infrastructure

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the U.S. that attacking civilian infrastructure is banned under international law, his spokesperson said Monday.

“Even if specific civilian infrastructure were to qualify as a military objective,” spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, an attack would still be prohibited if it risks “excessive incidental civilian harm.”

A court would need to decide whether such attacks were war crimes, he said.

Trump dismisses that his threatened attacks on Iran’s infrastructure would be war crimes

Trump says he’s “not at all” concerned about committing war crimes as he continues to threaten the destruction of Iran’s bridges and power plants if they don’t meet a Tuesday evening deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“I hope I don’t have to do it,” Trump added.

Israeli military is preparing for weeks of battle against Iran

The military’s chief spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, says the army’s chief has approved battle plans for the next three weeks in the absence of a ceasefire.

“Every day that passes, we hit them more and more. Already we have very good achievements, and we want to reach excellent achievements,” he told a press conference Monday.

Israel’s defense industry to export a $750 million rocket system to Greece

The Israeli and Greek defense ministries signed the four-year export agreement Monday in Athens, said a statement from Israel’s defense ministry.

The Precise & Universal Launching System, is built to launch rockets of different ranges, the statement said.

Israeli defense giant Elbit Systems will supply the rocket launchers and the warheads to Greece. Greek defense industries are expected to produce some parts of the system.

US fighter jet was downed by shoulder-held missile launcher, Trump says

Trump said the F-15E fighter jet that set off a two-day search-and-rescue operation was downed by a shoulder-launched rocket.

Trump described the weapon as a “hand-held shoulder missile — heat-seeking missile.”

The president went on to suggest that the fighter jet was ultimately downed not by the explosion but because of related damage to the aircraft’s engines.

“They shot it and it got sucked in right by the engine,” Trump said.

Trump insists Iranian civilians want the US to keep bombing

Asked why Iranians would want him to follow up on his threat to blow up the country’s infrastructure, Trump says everyday citizens are “willing to suffer ... in order to have freedom.”

“‘Please keep bombing. Do it,’” Trump claimed U.S. officials have heard Iranians say via “intercepts.”

“And these are people that are living where the bombs are exploding,” he said.

US warplane that crashed amid search for downed aviators was hit by enemy fire, general says

A U.S. aircraft that crashed amid the search for the downed airmen was hit by enemy fire while engaging Iranian forces, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday.

Caine, speaking at a briefing at the White House, said that a U.S. A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft was “violently suppressing and engaging the enemy in a close-in gunfight to keep them away” from the pilot of a downed F-15 fighter jet while also being “primarily responsible for communicating with the downed pilot.”

Caine said that after being hit, “this pilot continued to fight, continued the mission, and then upon exit, flew his aircraft into another country and determined that the airplane was not landable.”

The pilot then decided to eject over friendly territory and, according to Caine, “was quickly and safely recovered, and is doing fine.”

Hegseth describes ‘unblinking’ mission in coordination call

The defense secretary said the coordination call held by national security officials during the daring mission to rescue the U.S. airmen lasted nearly two days straight.

“For 45 hours and 56 minutes, we held that call open for coordination,” Hegseth said, describing the call that was held in a secure facility. “Our mission was unblinking.”

CIA Director John Ratcliffe says top-secret technology led to rescue of downed airman

Speaking at a White House press conference, Ratcliffe said the agency used “exquisite technologies that no other intelligence service” possesses to locate the aviator after the F-15 was shot down in Iran.

At the same time, the CIA mounted a deception operation to mislead the Iranians who were looking.

Ratcliffe said the search and rescue operation was “comparable to hunting for a single grain of sand in the middle of a desert.”

The CIA declined to respond to questions Monday about the kind of technology used to locate the airman.

Hegseth draws parallels between the story of Easter and rescued airman

The Defense secretary, who has frequently infused his leadership of the Pentagon with references to Christianity and the language of his faith, said the airman who evaded capture for more than a day was shot down on Good Friday, “hidden in a cave” on Saturday, and on Easter Sunday, “a pilot reborn, all home and accounted for.”

Hegseth said that when the airman was finally able to activate an emergency transponder, his first transmitted message was: “God is good.”

Trump threatens to jail journalist who first reported on downed airman

Trump threatened to jail the journalist who first reported that U.S. forces were searching for an F-15 weapons officer shot down in Iran, if they don’t reveal their sources.

“The person that did the story will go to jail if he doesn’t say, and that doesn’t last long,” Trump said.

Trump didn’t name the journalist or news organization. He said the leak tipped off the Iranians, endangering the officer and his rescuers. He called the leaker “a sick person.”

Iran’s supreme leader issues a rare public statement

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei expressed condolences over the killing of the Revolutionary Guard’s intelligence chief.

In a written social media post, Khamenei said Maj. Gen. Majid Khademi joined a “steadfast line of warriors and fighters” to sacrifice their lives. Israeli strikes have killed dozens of top Iranian leaders, including Khamenei’s father.

The younger Khamenei has not been seen or spoken in public since he succeeded his father as supreme leader.

Trump offers more details of dramatic airman rescue

The president described the scale of the operation undertaken by the U.S. to rescue the second airman from the downed aircraft.

The operation included 155 aircraft — four bombers, 64 fighters, 48 refueling tankers, and 13 rescue aircraft, among others, Trump said.

Much of it was an effort to throw off the Iranians, who were also looking for the missing crew member, the president said.

“We were bringing them all over and a lot of it was subterfuge,” Trump said. “We wanted to have them think he was in a different location.”

Trump says downed officer rushed to get away from the crash site

Trump says the downed weapons officer followed his training to get as far away from the crash site as possible.

When a plane crashes in hostile territory, “they all head right to that site, you want to be as far away as you can,” Trump said.

Trump says the officer was “bleeding profusely” but was able climb mountainous terrain and contact U.S. forces to communicate his location. Rescuers mobilized a massive response that included subterfuge to confuse the Iranians about where they were looking.

Trump says 21 aircraft came to help rescue airmen who crashed in Iran

The president began describing the rescue efforts from Friday and over the weekend after two airmen ejected and landed alive “deep in enemy territory” in Iran.

Trump said 21 aircraft were deployed to help with the search and rescue in the first wave, flying for hours under “very, very heavy enemy fire.” He said the U.S. has one helicopter with many bullets in it.

Trump news conference begins

He is accompanied by his top national security advisers, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and special envoy Steve Witkoff. Also in attendance are his children, Eric and Tiffany Trump, as well as their spouses.

Declaring that “this was one of our better Easters,” Trump started his news conference by speaking about the dramatic rescue of two U.S. airmen in Iran over the weekend.

Trump, with Easter bunny nearby, talks Iran war

In a surreal scene on the White House lawn with flowers and Easter decor, Trump decided to give reporters an update on the Iran war.

With children waiting nearby, someone in a bunny costume steps away, and soft, cheerful music in the background, the president spoke about the rescue of a missing airman shot down in Iran, defended his expletive-laden threats on social media, and warned that Iran should capitulate or face threats to its bridges and power plants.

Turkey’s president says his country has intensified push to end the war

“We are striving to seize any chance, however small, for hostilities to cease and negotiations to open,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised address following a Cabinet meeting. He did not provide details.

Erdogan, a vocal critic of Israel, again accused the country of undermining all attempts to stop the fighting.

Trump defends his use of vulgar language in a social media post

The president used profanity in a Sunday social media posting warning Iran he was serious about targeting the country’s infrastructure if it doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline. He ended the short post by saying, “Praise be to Allah.”

Asked by a reporter about his language, Trump responded he used it “only to make my point.”

Trump added about his use of an expletive, “I think you’ve heard it before.”

Trump suggests Kurdish groups have held onto guns meant for Iranian protesters

Trump appeared to confirm that the U.S. had intended to arm Iranian protesters after mass demonstrations against the government broke out throughout Iran in late 2025 and continued early into this year.

Thousands of anti-government protesters were killed during the crackdowns by government forces. Fox News reported on Sunday that Trump had told the network’s Trey Yingst in a telephone interview that Kurdish groups who were supposed to be delivering the U.S.-provided weapons held on to them.

“They were supposed to go to the people so they could fight back against these thugs,” Trump told reporters on Monday about the weapons intended for protesters. “You know what happened? The people that they sent them to kept them because they said, ‘What a beautiful gun. I think I’ll keep it.’ So, I’m very upset with a certain group of people and they’re going to pay a big price for that.”

Trump says he’d prefer to ‘take the oil’

Trump said he’d prefer to use U.S. military power to take control of Iran’s vast oil reserves, but he acknowledged there’s not much appetite for such a move among the American electorate.

“Take the oil because it’s there for the taking,” Trump said. “There’s not a thing they can do about it. Unfortunately, the American people would like to see us come home. If it were up to me, I’d take the oil. I’d keep the oil. I would make plenty of money.”

Trump warns Iran they’re making a mistake by not capitulating

Shortly after state media reported Iran had rejected a ceasefire proposal, Trump offered a new harsh warning to Iran.

“They just don’t want to say ‘uncle,‘” Trump told reporters as he and first lady Melania Trump hosted the White House Easter Egg Roll. “They don’t want to cry as the expression goes ‘uncle,’ but they will. And if they don’t, They’ll have no bridges. They’ll have no power plants. They’ll have no anything.”

He added another ominous warning: “I won’t go further because there are other things that are worse than those two.”

A regional official involved in the ceasefire talks says the efforts haven’t collapsed

“We are still talking to both sides,” he says, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door diplomacy.

Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu says petrochemical attack weakens Iran’s Revolutionary Guard

He said Monday’s strike on an Iranian petrochemical facility is part of a systematic campaign aimed at destroying the Guard’s “money machine.”

“We are destroying factories, we are eliminating activists and we continue to eliminate senior figures,” he said in a videotaped statement.

An Iranian university student asks the world: ‘Stop this war’

A resident of Tehran in his early twenties says U.S.-Israeli strikes on civilian infrastructure and Trump’s intensifying threats have “terrified” people.

“Everyone is very anxious and scared that the water, power and gas will be cut,” he said, speaking anonymously for his security.

The student first spoke with The Associated Press on the eve of the war, when he participated in anti-government protests at his Tehran university’s campus. At the time, he described heated disagreements with friends who said they hoped a threatened Israeli-U.S. attack would overthrow the Islamic Republic.

“Those who were supporting the war are no longer supporting it,” he said Monday.

— Amir-Hussein Radjy

Key Federal Reserve official open to possible rate hikes amid gas price spikes

Beth Hammack, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, said Monday in an interview with The Associated Press that if inflation remains persistently above the Fed’s 2% target, the central bank should consider lifting its benchmark interest rate.

While Hammack also said the Fed might have to cut its rate if higher gas prices caused the economy to slow and unemployment to rise, a potential rate hike is a noticeable shift for the Fed from before the Iran war, when officials forecast two rate cuts this year. A hike could lift longer-term interest rates for things like mortgages and auto loans.

“My baseline is that we’re on hold for quite some time,” Hammack said, “but I can foresee scenarios where we would need to reduce rates ... if the labor market deteriorates significantly. Or I could see where we might need to raise rates if inflation stays persistently above our target.”

Houthis claim they hit military sites in Israel

The Iran-backed Houthis said they launched a barrage of cruise missiles and drones at several military sites in southern Israel, “successfully achieving its objectives,” according to the group’s military spokesperson.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency says Tehran has rejected the latest ceasefire proposal

The agency said it had has conveyed its response to the U.S. through Pakistan, a key mediator.

“We won’t merely accept a ceasefire,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press on Monday. “We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again.”

Israel to ramp up production of air defense interceptors

Israel’s ministry of defense said Monday that the country’s defense industries would “significantly increase” production and stockpiling of missile interceptors as the war with Iran stretches on.

In a statement, the ministry said production of missile interceptors for the Arrow system, which defends against long-range ballistic missiles, would be sped up. Arrow has been critical in Israeli air defense during the current war, throughout which Israeli authorities have maintained there’s no shortage of interceptor missiles.

Israel’s military says it struck 3 Tehran airports overnight

The military says the strikes hit dozens of helicopters and aircraft it said belonged to the Iranian Air Force. It said the strikes targeted Bahram airport, Mehrabad airport and Azmayesh airport.

US-Israeli assault brings ‘destruction and bloodshed’ to Iran’s capital, resident says

A resident of central Tehran has described living with “anxiety and fear” as U.S.-Israeli strikes pummel the capital.

“Constantly, there is the sound of bombs, air defenses, drones,” she said, speaking on condition of anonymity for her safety.

At least one strike hit near her home, waking her on Wednesday, she said. Rushing into the neighboring street, she saw it “filled with people in pajamas, some of them wrapped in blankets, some of them crying with fear.”

She also described her anger at the popular satellite channel, Iran International, which is based abroad. She said its coverage had amplified exiled Iranian voices supporting strikes on the Islamic Republic. “Some people thought war might bring good things, but war doesn’t bring anything but destruction and bloodshed.”

— Amir-Hussein Radjy

Inks Lake State Park Rangers Sam and Caleb discovered a group of “albino bluebonnets” outside park headquarters.

The beloved bluebonnet (Lupinus texensis) is one of the iconic signs of spring in Texas, but the Park Rangers in Burnet found a group of rare, pale white bluebonnets.

“The uncommon white depiction was caused by “a rare recessive gene that must be carried by both parent plants,” Inks Lake State Park said on Facebook.

The state flower blooms across the Hill Country and usually turns open green fields of grass with deep blue coloration.

Read also:

• Where to safely see wildflowers in Bexar County, surrounding counties
• San Antonio Book Festival to return with over 100 authors on Saturday
• Fiesta parades: How to choose where to sit?

The potential acquisition is described as “a necessary first step to address the growing veteran population in that area (San Antonio)” in the proposed budget.

It’s an initiative that San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has been in favor of for some time.

“Unfortunately, the number of veterans that have died by suicide, a big chunk of those folks were not receiving the benefits they earned when they did that,” Jones said. “As easy as we can make it for my fellow veterans to get the care that they need, all the better.”

Jones previously sent a letter to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Douglas Collins on March 10 expressing the support and need for a new VA medical center in San Antonio.

“This investment is essential to ensuring that veterans across our community have access to modern, high-quality inpatient and outpatient services, including enhanced specialty care, mental health services and other critical clinical programs delivered throughout the region,” Jones wrote in the letter.

Jones also outlined multiple factors she believes demonstrate the need for a new medical facility to replace the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital:

• In the region, 64% of veteran healthcare enrollees are under 64 years old, which is higher than the national average.
• The South Texas Veterans Healthcare System has only 27 beds despite being the second-busiest emergency department within the Veterans Health Administration.
• The number of female veterans receiving health care in South Texas is expected to increase significantly.

“We only have one VA hospital, right, for the entire community,” Jones said. “So that VA hospital has to be top-notch, and I’m glad that we’re taking this first step.”

The Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital officially opened and accepted its first patient back in 1973. Jones said the new facility would be needed to meet “21st century clinical standards.”

“When we look at how many emergency beds they have, for example, it’s a small fraction of what we actually need, especially when you look at the number of new VA facilities that have been built in other communities throughout Texas,” Jones told KSAT.

Read also:

• Thunderbirds to soar into San Antonio sky for Great Texas Airshow

The training, held at the San Antonio Police Department’s training academy, brought together personnel from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, SAPD, the Bexar County Fire Marshal’s Office, and other agencies.

Officials said the exercise was designed to familiarize investigators with how different explosives behave, including the visual and physical effects left behind after a blast.

“They’re able to see the effects of the explosives, they’re able to see the short reports, the color of the smoke, and different ways they perform,” said Travis Gates, a bomb tech with ATF. “(That helps) to hopefully track down and arrest a suspect when he uses these in a criminal terrorist incident.”

Authorities emphasized that post-blast investigations play a critical role in identifying suspects by analyzing debris and remnants left at the scene. Investigators use those materials to determine the type of explosive used and, potentially, trace its origin.

ATF Special Agent Mike Weddel pointed to the 2018 Austin bombings as an example of how such investigative work can lead to identifying those responsible.

“Identify that location where the device was used, and start that response to collect items from that incident that’s going to lead to the identification of a suspect,” Weddel said.

Each explosion during the training involved a pound or less of explosive material, but the impact was still significant. Observers positioned more than 1,500 feet away reported feeling shockwaves from every blast.

Officials said safety remains a top priority, especially as San Antonio prepares for large public events such as Fiesta San Antonio. They added that upcoming international events, including the FIFA World Cup 2026 and other major games scheduled in Texas, are also prompting agencies to refresh and strengthen their training.

“Much of what they’re teaching here they’re taking back with them to the Houston area to be prepared for the World Cup as it approaches,” Weddel said.

Read also:

• Adding San Antonio Police Department officers poised to become budget issue once more

“The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump said. He suggested that his Tuesday 8 p.m. EDT deadline was final, saying he'd already given Iran enough extensions.

The U.S. has told Iran to open the crucial Strait of Hormuz to all shipping traffic or see power plants and bridges wiped out, sparking warnings about possible war crimes.

Israel piled on pressure by attacking a major petrochemical plant and killing the intelligence chief for the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Tehran with its rejection conveyed its own, 10-point plant to end the fighting through Pakistan, a key mediator, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said.

“We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of Iran’s diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press. He said Iran no longer trusts the Trump administration after the U.S. bombed the Islamic Republic twice during previous rounds of talks.

A regional official involved in talks said efforts had not collapsed. “We are still talking to both sides,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door diplomacy.

And even Trump said negotiations with Iran continued.

Activists reported a new wave of strikes on Tehran early Tuesday. Israel claimed credit but offered no immediate details on what had been targeted.

Meanwhile, Japan said Tuesday a Japanese national who had been detained in Iran since January has been released on bail.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters in Tokyo that his release was confirmed Monday and that Japan is demanding a full release from Iranian authorities. He said the Japanese ambassador to Iran met the person released and that he was in good health without providing further details.

The person released is believed to be a journalist at Japan’s NHK public television. Another Japanese national, who was detained in Iran last June, was released and returned to Japan in March.

Trump says Iranians ‘willing to suffer’ for freedom

Trump has issued ultimatums to Iran before, only to find ways to back off. But he was more explicit this time on plans to follow through.

“Every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night,” he said, and all power plants will be “burning, exploding and never to be used again.”

Asked if he was concerned about accusations of war crimes, Trump responded, “No, not at all." He suggested that Iranians want the U.S. to carry out its threats because it could lead to the end of their current leadership.

Iranian citizens are “willing to suffer," he said, "in order to have freedom.” But there has been no sign of an uprising in Iran as residents shelter from bombardment.

International warnings piled up against expanded strikes. “Any attack on civilian infrastructure is a violation of international law and a very clear one,” United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric later told journalists.

Egyptian, Pakistani and Turkish mediators had sent Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff a proposal calling for the ceasefire and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, two Mideast officials told the AP. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private negotiations.

Iranian and Omani officials also were working on a mechanism for administrating the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped in peacetime. Iran’s grip on it has shaken the world economy.

Tehran has refused to let U.S. and Israeli vessels through after they started the war on Feb. 28.

Iran's new supreme leader makes rare statement

Israel struck a key petrochemical plant in the South Pars natural gas field, saying it was aimed at eliminating a major source of revenue for Iran. The field, the world’s largest, is shared with Qatar and is Iran’s biggest source of domestic energy for its 93 million people.

The strike appeared to be separate from Trump’s threats. An earlier Israeli attack there in March prompted Iran to target energy infrastructure in other Middle East countries, a major escalation.

Israel also killed the head of intelligence for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Maj. Gen. Majid Khademi, according to Iranian state media. And Israel said it killed the leader of the Revolutionary Guard’s undercover unit in its expeditionary Quds Force, Asghar Bakeri.

“We will continue to hunt them down one by one,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said of top Iranian officials.

New Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who still has not been seen or heard in public, issued a rare statement expressing condolences over Khademi. Israeli strikes have killed dozens of top Iranian leaders, including Khamenei’s father.

Israel’s military also said it struck three Tehran airports overnight — Bahram, Mehrabad and Azmayesh — hitting dozens of helicopters and aircraft it said belonged to the Iranian Air Force.

A Tehran resident said “constantly there is the sound of bombs, air defenses, drones,” speaking on condition of anonymity for her safety. Another detailed taking sleeping pills to get through nightly bombardments, and said people worry about power, gas and water cuts.

Airstrikes kill at least 29 across Iran

Smoke rose near Tehran’s Azadi Square after an airstrike hit the grounds of the Sharif University of Technology. Multiple countries have sanctioned the university for its work with the military, particularly on Iran’s ballistic missile program.

Authorities and Iranian state media reported at least 29 people killed across the country by strikes.

In Lebanon, where Israel has launched air attacks and a ground invasion that it says target the Iran-linked Hezbollah militia, an airstrike hit an apartment in Ain Saadeh, a predominately Christian town east of Beirut. It killed an official in the Lebanese Forces, a Christian political party strongly opposed to Hezbollah, his wife and another woman.

More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, but the government has not updated the toll for days.

More than 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Eleven Israeli soldiers have died there.

In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 23 have been reported dead in Israel and 13 U.S. service members have been killed.

___

Weissert reported from Washington, Magdy from Cairo and Gambrell from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Isabel DeBre in Ain Saadeh, Lebanon, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations, Amir-Hussein Radjy in Cairo and Josh Boak and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this story.

Authorities stopped the trucks early Monday morning and found six stolen vehicles valued at more than $470,000. Investigators believe the vehicles were heading to Honduras.

Pedro Velasquez, 19, and Dany Arias-Tucios, 48, were arrested and charged with theft of property valued between $150,000 and $300,000. Both men are Honduran nationals, according to the sheriff’s office.

It’s unclear where the vehicles were stolen from.

The sheriff’s office took custody of the trucks, trailers and vehicles pending further identification, and said additional charges or arrests are possible.

Authorities encouraged anyone with information related to the case to submit an anonymous tip to Guadalupe County Crime Stoppers.

Tips can be submitted by calling 1-877-403-TIPS (8477), on the Crime Stoppers website or using the P3Tips app. Eligible tips may qualify for a cash reward.

Read also:

• San Antonio woman convicted in headstone scam sentenced to 6 years in prison
• BCSO: Man arrested, accused of shooting at vehicle, hitting bystander’s car in west Bexar County
• ‘Door Kick Challenge’ causing damage, concern in Seguin neighborhood

The government in partnership with the World Health Organization, the U.N. children's agency and the Gavi vaccine alliance began working to vaccinate children age 6 months to 5 years old in 18 high-risk districts Sunday and will expand nationwide in phases from next month, a joint statement said.

A UNICEF official said the agency was deeply concerned about the sharp rise in cases, which was putting the youngest and most vulnerable children at serious risk. “This resurgence highlights critical immunity gaps, particularly among zero-dose and under-vaccinated children, while infections among infants under nine months, who are not yet eligible for routine vaccination, are especially alarming,” said Rana Flowers, the agency's representative in Bangladesh.

More than 900 cases of measles have been confirmed among 7,500 suspected cases reported since March 15, according to the official data in the South Asian nation of more than 170 million people.

Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease causing fever, respiratory symptoms and a characteristic rash and can sometimes have severe or fatal complications, especially in young children, according to WHO.

Vaccination is crucial to preventing the spread of measles, but the WHO says 95% of the population has to be vaccinated in order to stop the disease from spreading.

Bangladesh’s Health Minister Sardar Mohammed Sakhawat Husain responding to questions in Parliament said Monday that the new outbreak was caused by the mismanagement and failures of past governments.

He said the previous government of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and an interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus failed to make proper decisions regarding vaccine stockpiles, causing shortages affecting vaccines for measles and six other diseases.

The vaccination campaign for measles was disrupted during Bangladesh's recent political upheavals. Hasina was ousted in a mass uprising in 2024, and Yunus led an interim administration that transferred power to an elected government after an election in February.

Authorities are advising parents to go to hospitals whenever someone is suspected to have measles.

““They should avoid taking medicine from shopkeepers unnecessarily. If a child has a fever, especially high fever — 101, 102, 3, 4 (Fahrenheit, or higher than 38.3 Celsius) — they should not rely on medicine from local shops,” said F. A. Asma Khan, deputy director of the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Dhaka.

“Instead, they must take the child to a hospital as soon as possible, because our medical officers are capable of providing proper basic treatment,” she said.

Since the launch of a massive immunization campaign in 1979, Bangladesh has made remarkable progress — raising the coverage of fully immunized children from just 2% to 81.6%.

But UNICEF warned last year that while Bangladesh has made strong strides to increase immunization coverage, stark disparities persist.

Wembanyama’s status for the final week of the regular season is unknown.

San Antonio (60-19) is is 2 1/2 games behind Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City (62-16) and assured of finishing no worse than second in the conference.

Philadelphia lost its second straight as it battles to stay out of the play-in tournament. The 76ers (43-36) are a half-game behind the Toronto Raptors (43-35) for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

Philadelphia center Joel Embiid had 34 points and 12 rebounds, and Paul George added 16 points.

Wembanyama did not play in the second half after taking an elbow from George near midcourt. Wembanyama was sprinting up-court when George attempted to deflect a pass, but instead struck the 22-year-old in the side at the 1:11 mark of the second quarter. Wembanyama remained on the court for about a minute before being subbed.

Wembanyama returned to play five more minutes before asking San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson to take him out of the game with 44 seconds left in the first half. He did not return.

San Antonio opened a four-game homestand to close its regular season before hosting the first two games of the opening round of the playoffs.

Wembanyama had 17 points, five rebounds and three blocks in 15:40. It constitutes an official game per the NBA guidelines, which allow two exceptions of 15 to 19:59 minutes to count toward the league-required minimum of 65 games played for award eligibility. Wembanyama has said he wants to win the league’s MVP award this season.

Wembanyama had played 63 games this season, including the NBA Cup Final.

Luke Kornet, who started the second half in place of Wembanyama, had 10 points and three rebounds.

It was Castle’s fifth triple-double.

Up next

76ers: At Houston on Thursday.

Spurs: Host Portland on Wednesday.

___

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

Their flyby of the moon — NASA’s first return since the Apollo era — even included some celestial sightseeing besides yielding rich science. It was a significant step toward landing boot prints near the moon's south pole in just two years.

A total solar eclipse greeted the three Americans and one Canadian as the moon temporarily blocked the sun from their perspective. Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn nodded at them from the black void. The landing sites of Apollo 12 and 14 also were visible, poignant reminders of NASA’s first age of exploration more than half a century ago.

In an especially riveting retro throwback, Artemis II shattered the distance record set by Apollo 13 in 1970. NASA’s Orion capsule reached a maximum distance of 252,756 miles (406,771 kilometers) from Earth before hanging a U-turn behind the moon, 4,101 miles (6,600 kilometers) farther than Apollo 13.

“It is blowing my mind what you can see with the naked eye from the moon right now. It is just unbelievable,” Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen radioed. He challenged “this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived.”

Artemis II astronauts get an Apollo wake-up message

Apollo 13 commander Jim Lovell wished the crew well in a recording made two months before his death last August. Mission Control beamed up his message to commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Hansen, before their fly-around began.

“Welcome to my old neighborhood,” said Lovell, who also flew on Apollo 8, humanity’s first lunar visit. “It’s a historic day and I know how busy you’ll be, but don’t forget to enjoy the view.”

The Artemis II astronauts carried up with them the Apollo 8 silk patch that accompanied Lovell to the moon. “It’s just a real honor to have that on board with us,” Wiseman said.

Artemis II is using the same maneuver that Apollo 13 did after its “Houston, we’ve had a problem” oxygen tank explosion wiped out any hope of a moon landing.

Known as a free-return lunar trajectory, this no-stopping-to-land route takes advantage of Earth and the moon’s gravity, reducing the need for fuel. It’s a celestial figure-eight that put the astronauts on course for home once they emerged from behind the moon Monday evening.

Astronauts lock in on lunar observations

Artemis II’s lunar fly-around and intense observation period lasted seven hours, by far the highlight of the nearly 10-day test flight that will end with a splashdown in the Pacific on Friday.

Venturing as close as 4,067 miles (6,545 kilometers) to the gray dusty surface, the astronauts zipped through a list of more than two dozen targets, using powerful Nikon cameras as well as their iPhones to zoom in on impact craters and other intriguing lunar features.

Before getting started, they requested permission to name two bright, freshly carved craters. They suggested Integrity, the name of their capsule, and Carroll, commander Wiseman’s wife, who died of cancer in 2020.

Wiseman wept as Hansen put in the request to Mission Control, and all four astronauts embraced in tears.

“Such a majestic view out here,” Wiseman radioed once he regained his composure and started picture-taking. The astronauts called down that they managed to capture the moon and Earth in the same shot, and they provided a running commentary to scientists back in Houston on what they were seeing.

At one point, Koch reported an overwhelming sensation of emotion for a second or two while zooming in on the moon. “Something just drew me in suddenly to the lunar landscape and it became real,” she said.

The Artemis II astronauts made their closest approach to the moon and reached their maximum distance from Earth while they were out of contact. Their speed at closest approach: 3,139 mph (5,052 kph). The spacecraft accelerated as it appeared from behind the moon and the planned communications blackout and made tracks for Earth.

An Earthrise came into view showing Asia, Africa and Oceania as Mission Control called out: “We are Earthbound and ready to bring you home.” Flight controllers in Houston flipped their mission patches over to signify the return leg.

President Donald Trump phoned the astronauts following the flyby, calling them “modern-day pioneers.”

“Today you’ve made history and made all America really proud, incredibly proud,” the president said, adding that more lunar traveling is coming and ultimately "the whole big trip to Mars.”

Wiseman and his crew spent years studying lunar geography to prepare for the big event, adding solar eclipses to their repertoire during the past few weeks. By launching last Wednesday, they ensured themselves of a total solar eclipse from their vantage point behind the moon, courtesy of the cosmos.

Topping their science target list: Orientale Basin, a sprawling impact basin with three concentric rings, the outermost of which stretches nearly 600 miles (950 kilometers) across.

Their moon mentor, NASA geologist Kelsey Young, expects thousands of pictures.

Artemis II is NASA’s first astronaut moonshot since Apollo 17 in 1972. It sets the stage for next year’s Artemis III, which will see another Orion crew practice docking with lunar landers in orbit around Earth. The culminating moon landing by two astronauts near the moon’s south pole will follow on Artemis IV in 2028.

While Artemis II may be taking Apollo 13’s path, it’s most reminiscent of Apollo 8 and humanity’s first lunar visitors who orbited the moon on Christmas Eve 1968 and read from the Book of Genesis.

Glover said flying to the moon during Christianity’s Holy Week brought home for him “the beauty of creation.” Earth is an oasis amid “a whole bunch of nothing, this thing we call the universe” where humanity exists as one, he observed over the weekend.

“This is an opportunity for us to remember where we are, who we are, and that we are the same thing and that we’ve got to get through this together,” Glover said, clasping hands with his crewmates.

___

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.

All neighbors highlighted the need to add more safety assets to slow motorists, and they want the Bexar County Public Works Department to make it happen.

The motorcycle crash explosion happened Thursday afternoon at the intersection of Oakwood Crest and Wooden Fox.

The area is an unincorporated part of Bexar County and is not within the City of San Antonio’s limits.

That means any street or sidewalk concerns must be reported to the Bexar County Public Works Department.

Monica Ramos, the public information officer for Bexar County, said that to get things moving, residents need to make the first move.

“All folks need to do is just to pick up the phone and call us,” Ramos said. “There are no forms to fill out, no surveys, no fuss, no must.”

Ramos emphasized that when residents contact the department, they should be as specific as possible about their concerns, and if they have a video of the issue, they can share it.

Regarding concerns about speeding and other issues on Wooden Fox, Ramos said that public works records indicate the department has not been notified about them.

“They checked with all their service departments ... the ones that go out there and check and maintain these roadways,” Ramos said. “They have no calls or complaints of any kind for anything going in these areas.”

She explained that contacting the department can initiate a study.

“They’ll go ahead and gather all kinds of different information, accident reports,” Ramos said. ”They’ll go into all of those details, put all of their information together, then their engineers will take a look at all of that and then put forward their recommendations.”

Ramos reminded residents to keep in mind that the process does take time.

“We ask residents to just bear with us and have some patience because at the end of the day, if there’s something that we can do to make things safer, we will do everything we can,” she said.

Ramos said residents should not assume someone else has already filed a complaint.

“Please don’t assume that your fellow neighbors and other residents in the area have already made that phone call because they might not have already made that call,” Ramos said. “So, it’s OK if we get multiple calls.”

Ramos shared that, in light of KSAT’s report on issues along Wooden Fox, the Bexar County Public Works Department has already started looking into the concerns along that street to determine what needs to be done.

Residents living in unincorporated areas of Bexar County who happen to have a homeowner’s association or a community organization should tell their officers that they have contacted public works, according to Ramos.

Ramos said some HOAs and COAs actually have the authority under their guidelines and regulations to implement safety features, such as speed bumps or other traffic-calming devices, on their own.

For those county neighborhoods that do not have HOA’s or COA’s, she said that is taken into account when public works conducts its studies.

“It could be that there is some funding already available, maybe left over from a previous project, or if not, they can build it into the funding going into the next fiscal year,” Ramos said. “Just for the record, the next fiscal year starts Oct. 1 of this year.”

To file a complaint, residents are asked to call 210-335-6700, or visit the county website, bexar.org.

Read also:

• Motorcycle crash ends in flames near kids; far West Side residents urge need for speed bumps

The acquisition would be described as “a necessary first step to address the growing veteran population in that area (San Antonio)” in the proposed 2027 budget.

The federal budget’s proposal language frames the funding as an initial phase of a broader effort.

The proposal comes less than a month after San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones, in conjunction with Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs expressing support for a new Veterans Affairs (VA) medical center in San Antonio.

“This investment is essential to ensuring that veterans across our community have access to modern, high-quality inpatient and outpatient services, including enhanced specialty care, mental health services and other critical clinical programs delivered throughout the region,” Jones said in the letter.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones (@mayorgoj)

Jones also outlined multiple factors she believes demonstrate the need for a new medical facility to replace the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital:

• In the region, 64% of veteran healthcare enrollees are under 64 years old, which is higher than the national average
• The South Texas Veterans Healthcare System has only 27 beds despite being the second-busiest emergency department within the Veterans Health Administration
• The number of female veterans receiving healthcare in South Texas is expected to increase significantly

The Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital officially opened and accepted its first patient back in 1973. Jones said the new facility would be needed to meet “21st century clinical standards.”

The timeline for a potential land purchase, construction location and grand opening remains unclear at this time.

Read more news coverage on KSAT:

• Adding San Antonio Police Department officers poised to become budget issue once more
• San Antonio seeks resident input on city services, budget priorities

U.S. forces rescued the pilot within hours of the F-15E Strike Eagle going down late Thursday, surging helicopters, midair refuelers and fighter aircraft deep into Iran after confirming his location, Trump said in a valedictory news conference at the White House, describing the military operation in an unusual level of detail.

The second aviator aboard the aircraft — the weapons systems officer — was rescued nearly two days later.

Trump boasted of the military resources surged and coordination across U.S. agencies to pull off the daring mission to recover the troops in enemy territory, describing the shootdown of the jet by Iran as “a lucky hit” after claiming in a national address last week to have “beaten and completely decimated Iran.”

Another jet is downed in the rescue for the F-15 pilot

The search and rescue operation began in daylight over Iran, with helicopters and other aircraft flying low for seven hours, “at times facing very, very heavy enemy fire,” Trump said.

An A-10 Warthog, which was the attack aircraft primarily responsible for keeping in contact with the downed F-15 pilot on the ground, was hit by enemy fire while engaging Iranian forces, said Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The A-10 was “not landable,” Caine told reporters, but the pilot continued fighting before flying to a friendly country and ejecting. He was quickly rescued and is doing fine.

After rescuing the F-15 pilot, HH-60 Jolly Green II helicopters were “engaged by every single person in Iran who had a small-arms weapon, and one of the aircraft, the trailing aircraft, took several hits,” he said. The crew members received minor injuries and were going to be OK, Caine said.

The rescue of the fighter jet pilot, who was flying under the call sign Dude-44 Alpha, occurred before the Iranians could marshal a comprehensive search of their own, but finding and bringing home the weapon systems officer was an even more complicated endeavor.

An anchor on a channel affiliated with Iranian state television had been urging residents in the mountainous region of southwest Iran where the fighter jet went down to hand over any “enemy pilot” to police and promised a reward for anyone who did.

The weapon systems officer, who rode in the backseat of the F-15 under the call sign Dude-44 Bravo, was injured but followed his training to get as far from the crash site as possible.

Second airman climbs into the mountains to hide out

“Bleeding profusely,” in Trump's telling, the aviator managed to climb mountainous terrain and call for help Saturday using “a very sophisticated beeper-type apparatus.”

When a plane crashes in hostile territory, “they all head right to that site, you want to be as far away as you can,” Trump said.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the spy agency used “exquisite technologies that no other intelligence service” possesses to locate the aviator. At the same time, the CIA mounted a deception operation to mislead Iranians who also were trying to find him.

Ratcliffe said the search and rescue operation was “comparable to hunting for a single grain of sand in the middle of a desert.”

The CIA declined to respond to questions Monday about the kind of technology used to find the airman, but Trump colored in some details.

He said intelligence officials noticed something moving in the dead of night, in the mountains where they were surveilling. Trump said officials kept a camera on the moving object for 45 minutes and when it was no longer moving, they thought maybe they had it wrong.

But “it was the head of a human being,” the president said. “And then all of a sudden, 45 minutes later, he moved a lot, stood up, and they said, ‘We have him.’”

He added, “And that was really at the beginning of something incredible.”

Protected by an “air armada” of drones, strike aircraft and more, rescuers moved in on Sunday. Cargo planes flew in three small helicopters and assembled them near the patch of mountains where the missing airman was concealing himself inside a cave or crevice.

But when it came time to leave, the cargo planes were too weighed down by equipment and personnel to take off from the sandy terrain. The downed airman and his rescue team were picked up by three “lighter, faster aircraft” and the equipment on the ground was blown up to keep it out of Iranian hands, Trump said.

US makes several efforts to throw off Iranian forces

Many of the dozens of aircraft that were part of the operation were there for deception, Trump said.

“We were bringing them all over, and a lot of it was subterfuge,” Trump said. “We wanted to have them think he was in a different location.”

Back in Washington, national security officials coordinated on a call, keeping the phone line open for nearly two days straight.

“From the moment our pilots went down, our mission was unblinking," Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. “The call never dropped. The meeting never stopped, the planning never ceased.”

As Trump detailed the operation, his penchant for boasting and flair for dramatic imagery bumped up against some of his aides' instinct to protect military and intelligence secrets. At one point, Trump turned to Caine, his top military adviser, and asked, “How many men did you send altogether, approximately, for the operation?”

Caine equivocated, responding, “Uhhh, I’d love to keep that a secret, Mr. President.”

“OK, well, we are," Trump continued. "But I will tell you — the number, I’ll keep it a secret, but it was hundreds.”

___

Cooper reported from Phoenix, and Amiri from New York. Associated Press writer Josh Boak contributed to this report.

Co-owner David Blitzer announced Monday that a decision had been made for Fitzgerald to leave the organization. Fitzgerald had been GM since January 2020 and got the title president of hockey operations early in 2024, along with a contract extension.

“Tom and I had a thoughtful conversation today and agreed it was time to move in a new direction,” Blitzer said. “Tom changed the trajectory of our team here, including setting a franchise record for points in a season and helping make New Jersey a hockey destination. He is a well-respected leader across the Devils’ organization and NHL, and I am grateful for our friendship."

Fitzgerald was responsible for building much of the core of the roster around top picks Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes, who were drafted when he was an assistant to Ray Shero. The 57-year-old endured criticism in recent months for signing players to contracts with restrictive no-trade clauses and for extending Jacob Markstrom early, before the goaltender's struggles.

“After talking with David Blitzer, it was apparent to everyone that the best course of action is to move on for the benefit of the team,” Fitzgerald said. “The Devils are fortunate to have a core of great players, vocal and passionate fans, but most importantly, tremendous people who worked with me toward a common goal. I’ve always said that New Jersey is a hidden gem, and I’m proud of the effort that we put in to raise the standard and make it a destination."

New Jersey made the playoffs twice in the five seasons with Fitzgerald in charge, losing in the second round in 2023 and bowing out in the first round last year.

“As we prepare to move forward, it is important I acknowledge our fans: I recognize we have not delivered in the way you expect and deserve and I understand and share in your frustration,” Blitzer said. "This is a critical offseason for our franchise, and we will explore all avenues that best position the Devils to compete for a Stanley Cup once again.”

It's unclear what this means for the future of coach Sheldon Keefe, who is nearing the end of his second season. Fitzgerald hired Keefe in May 2024.

Fitzgerald, who was part of USA Hockey's management group that constructed the roster that won gold at the Milan Cortina Olympics, could immediately become a candidate for one of the other GM vacancies around the league. The Nashville Predators with Barry Trotz retiring and Toronto Maple Leafs after firing Brad Treliving are currently searching for a new head of hockey operations.

“I am incredibly appreciative to David, Josh Harris, and the entire New Jersey Devils organization for being a part of my life for the past decade," Fitzgerald said. "I look forward to the next step in my hockey career and will always look back fondly on my time with the Devils.”

Fitzgerald spent time in Nashville and Toronto during his playing career. He was the first captain of the Predators, wearing the “C” from 1998-02 while Trotz was coaching the team and played two seasons with the Maple Leafs from '02-04.

After going into management, Fitzgerald was director of player development when Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup in 2009. He joined the Devils in 2015.

___

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

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said the gas line was struck Monday afternoon in the 8500 block of New Sulphur Springs Road.

BCSO is assisting with traffic control and expects crews to take “all evening” to do the repair. Drivers should expect possible delays and seek alternate routes, if possible.

Additional information was not immediately available.

Read also:

• Videos of Waymo cars going off course have some San Antonians skeptical about riding

Trump posted late Sunday on his social media platform Truth Social that he has known Hilton for years and called the conservative commentator “a truly fine man” who could turn around a state beset with notoriously high taxes. California, Trump wrote, “has gone to hell.”

“With Federal help, and a Great Governor, like Steve Hilton, California can be better than ever before!” Trump added.

The endorsement — coming about a month before mail ballots go to voters in advance of the June 2 primary — will help Hilton coalesce conservative support in a race with no clear leader. However, Trump is widely unpopular in heavily Democratic California outside his conservative base and Trump's backing would become a liability if Hilton faces a Democrat in the November election.

With a large field, Democrats have been fearful that a quirk in the state's unusual “top two” primary system could allow only two Republicans to reach the November general election ballot — Hilton and GOP rival Chad Bianco, the Riverside County sheriff. Trump's decision — a strong signal to undecided conservative voters — will make that outcome less likely by helping Hilton lure additional support.

Democratic consultant Paul Mitchell called Trump's decision “the safe bet” for Republicans. Rather than cling to a long shot hope that both Republicans reach the November ballot — or risk that both Hilton and Bianco fall short — Trump's blessing should consolidate support behind Hilton and allow him to emerge from a large primary field and reach November.

“Having a Republican on the top of the ticket is essential” to drive turnout in critical down-ballot races, with control of the U.S. House in play,” Mitchell added. In an unpredictable, wide-open race, the smart play for the GOP is to “get one Republican on the ballot.”

There are more than 50 candidates on the ballot — including eight established Democrats and along with Hilton and Bianco, the two leading Republicans. An all-GOP general election is possible in California, which puts all candidates on one primary ballot and only the top two vote-getters advance to November, regardless of party.

Polling in early February by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found the field had broken into two distinct groups, with Bianco, Hilton and three Democrats — U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, former Rep. Katie Porter and billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer — in close competition, with other candidates trailing.

In a statement, Hilton, who hosted a Fox News show for six years and worked as an adviser to former British prime minister David Cameron, thanked Trump for his support and promised to grow jobs and bring down the state's punishing cost of living. “Together we can turn things around,” Hilton said.

Republicans have not won a statewide election in California in two decades. Registered Democratic voters outnumber Republicans in the state by nearly 2-to-1.

Bianco — Hilton's chief GOP rival — said in a video posted on X that “This race is about the future of California, not any one endorsement.” He also posted a photo of Hilton hugging outgoing Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom at a 2016 charity event.

“I have repeatedly said that a Fox News host courting a president's endorsement will never win in California,” Bianco said in the video.

In 2012, Houston-area restaurateur Brad Bailey traveled to Tampa for the Republican National Convention to convince delegates to support a legal pathway for foreign labor — and to soften the immigration rhetoric.

Now, Bailey is likely headed to the Texas House in a campaign supporting the border wall and President Donald Trump’s deportations.

Bailey, the GOP nominee to succeed outgoing state Rep. Steve Toth in House District 15, was the subject of a New York Times dispatch from the 2012 convention about his “personal campaign” to add the foreign labor component to the party platform. Along the way, he condemned the rhetoric around illegal immigration coming from hardliners like then-Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

“Jan Brewer and Joe Arpaio are hijacking the issue and damaging the Republican party brand,” Bailey said at the time. “We need to stop the hatred language and fix this problem.”

Fourteen years later, Bailey, now an elected official, has changed his tune. He says he now opposes all attempts at amnesty — or granting legal status to undocumented immigrants already in the country — and supports Trump’s “bold actions” on the border. However, he declined to say where he stands on the guest worker program he was calling for back in 2012.

“The Biden administration’s open-border policies and willingness to allow millions of illegal immigrants into our country have completely reshaped this issue, making me and many other conservatives craft a new solution for the problem that exists today,” Bailey, chair of The Woodlands Township Board of Directors, told The Texas Tribune.

Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office were the subject of a string of racial profiling lawsuits that came to a head in 2011 and 2012. At the same time, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling upholding the state’s “papers, please” provision Brewer signed into law in 2010. In that context, Bailey and others feared the Hispanic vote would doom Republicans in 2012.

Since then, the GOP has followed Trump’s lead in embracing much of the Arizona-style immigration policy and rhetoric once denounced by Bailey. Some of the biggest immigration laws passed by the Texas Legislature have their roots in Arizona’s SB 1070, including the 2017 sanctuary cities ban and last year’s Senate Bill 8, which requires sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and passed over Democratic opposition that invoked Arpaio’s controversies.

Amid all this, Bailey notes, Republicans have gone from Mitt Romney’s estimated 27% of the Hispanic vote in 2012 to the 48% that went for Trump in 2024. Republicans also cracked South Texas’ longtime status as a Democratic stronghold, turning the Rio Grande Valley red last year as Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz won a majority of the Hispanic vote in Texas.

“The facts show that President Trump’s comments on border security and illegal immigration are resonating with Hispanics and growing the Republican base, not hurting it,” Bailey said.

Bailey will face Democratic nominee Moniqua’ Scott and Libertarian Jessi Cowart in November. Trump carried HD-15 by 27 percentage points in 2024.

Bailey ran unopposed for the GOP nomination after Toth, one of the staunchest conservatives in the Texas House, launched his challenge against U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Humble. Toth was going to support the Texas Youth Summit’s Christian Collins as his successor, but Collins never jumped in.

Despite Bailey’s evolving position on immigration, if elected in November, he’ll likely be a change in pace and tone for the district — at least based on the people and groups he surrounded himself with during the campaign.

He was supported by Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC and the Associated Republicans of Texas, the latter of which backed then-Conroe ISD Board President Skeeter Hubert against Toth in 2024. On top of his $20,000 from TLR PAC, Bailey also received $5,000 from former U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady, who successfully defended himself against a primary challenge from Toth in 2016, and $500 from retiring moderate GOP state Rep. Sam Harless in nearby HD-126.

That likely aligns the former restaurant owner with the business wing of the Texas House Republican Caucus. But although some in the business community have warned that deportation raids are hurting the South Texas economy and their standing among Hispanic voters, Republicans at-large are holding the Trump line.

“I still recognize that finding skilled and unskilled labor remains an issue for all business owners, but hiring illegal immigrants to fill these positions is not the solution,” Bailey said.

As the House prepares for a new freshman class after the previous session-defining class of hardliners, Bailey likely isn’t the only candidate whose positions on conservative policy have evolved, particularly around immigration.

“The world today is nothing like it was in 2012, and pretending otherwise ignores reality,” Bailey said.

Disclosure: New York Times 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.

The issue could turn on whether the power plants were legitimate military targets, whether the attacks were proportional compared with what Iran has done and whether civilian casualties were minimized.

Trump's threat was so broad it did not seem to account for the harm to civilians, prompting Democrats in Congress, some United Nations officials and scholars in military law to say such strikes would violate international law.

The president's eventual actions often fall short of his all-encompassing rhetoric in the moment, but his warnings about the power plants and bridges were unambiguous both on Sunday and Monday as he set a deadline of Tuesday night for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.

A spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday warned that attacking such infrastructure is banned under international law.

“Even if specific civilian infrastructure were to qualify as a military objective,” Stephane Dujarric said, an attack would still be prohibited if it risks “excessive incidental civilian harm.”

Rachel VanLandingham, a Southwestern Law School professor who served as a judge advocate general in the U.S. Air Force, said civilians are likely to die if power is cut to hospitals and water treatment plans.

“What Trump is saying is, ‘We don’t care about precision, we don’t care about impact on civilians, we’re just going to take out all of Iranian power generating capacity,’" the retired lieutenant colonel said.

Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint in the Persian Gulf through which 20% of the world's oil normally flows, has been all but halted, sending oil prices soaring and roiling the stock market.

Trump said Monday that he’s “not at all” concerned about committing war crimes as he continues to threaten destruction. He also warned that every power plant will be “burning, exploding and never to be used again.”

“I hope I don’t have to do it,” Trump added.

When asked for further comment Monday, White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said “the Iranian people welcome the sound of bombs because it means their oppressors are losing.”

“The Iranian regime has committed egregious human rights abuses against its own citizens for 47 years, just murdered tens of thousands of protestors in January, and has indiscriminately targeted civilians across the region in order to cause as much death as possible throughout this conflict,” Kelly wrote in an email.

‘Clearly a threat of unlawful action’

As the conflict has entered its second month, Trump has escalated his warnings to bomb Iran's infrastructure, including Kharg Island, central to Iran’s oil industry, and desalination plans that provide drinking water.

In a Truth Social post on March 30, Trump warned that the U.S. would obliterate "all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet ‘touched.’“

On Easter Sunday, Trump threatened in an expletive-laden post that Iran will face "Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one,” while adding that “you’ll be living in Hell” unless the strait reopens.

“This strikes me as clearly a threat of unlawful action,” said Michael Schmitt, a professor emeritus at the U.S. Naval War College and an international law professor at the University of Reading in Britain.

A power facility can be attacked under the laws of armed conflict if it provides electricity to a military base in addition to civilians, Schmitt said. But the strike must not "cause disproportionate harm to the civilian population, and you’ve done everything to minimize that harm.”

Harm does not include inconvenience or fear, said Schmitt, who has taught military commanders. But it does mean severe mental suffering, physical injury or illness.

Schmitt said military commanders should consider alternatives, such as targeting a substation or transmission lines that feed electricity to a base, before destroying an entire power plant.

“If you look at the operation and you’ve got a valid military objective, but it’s going to cause harm to civilians and you go, ‘Whoa, that’s a lot,’ then you should stop,” Schmitt said. “If you hesitate to take the shot, don’t take the shot.”

‘He’s using that leverage'

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said Monday that Trump is “absolutely not” threatening a war crime when he said he might bomb civilian infrastructure.

The infrastructure is also used by the military, Ernst said, and “it’s an ongoing operation.“

“If he needs leverage, he’s using that leverage,” she said while presiding over a brief pro forma session of the Senate.

But Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, also in the Capitol for the brief session, said it would be a “textbook war crime.”

“If you target civilian infrastructure for the purposes the president was talking about, it clearly is a war crime,” Van Hollen said.

Dujarric, the U.N. spokesman, said the question of whether attacks on civilian infrastructure would be considered war crimes would have to be decided by a court.

However, Katherine Thompson, a senior fellow in defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, said any accountability would more likely come from Congress.

She said thinking otherwise would mean believing that the U.S. would allow its president to be held accountable by foreign entities.

“This is the persnickety, inconvenient truth about international law: It only works if sovereign nations are willing to cede their sovereignty to a foreign body for accountability,” she said.

But Congress would have to say the president has gone too far. And then both houses would have to take action and with enough support to overcome a presidential veto, a highly unlikely prospect.

Trump also appears to have broad legal immunity under the Supreme Court’s ruling in the criminal case before his reelection, said VanLandingham. And the president could also grant preemptive pardons to top officials if needed.

‘We’re giving them a gift'

Even if technically justified under the law of war, strikes that bring harm to civilians could backfire for the U.S. long term, VanLandingham said.

“There's a lot of violence that can still be justified as lawful, but lawful can still be awful,” VanLandingham said. “How far did that get us in Iraq? How far did that get us in Afghanistan? How far did that get us in Vietnam?”

Trump’s rhetoric risks spreading fear among regular Iranians and communicating that the U.S. isn’t worried about their well-being, VanLandingham said. The country’s leaders could use it as propaganda to create and harden opposition, contributing to a longer, tougher war.

___

Associated Press writers Farnoush Amiri and Edith M. Lederer in New York and Mary Clare Jalonick and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report.

Marco Martinez — who plays Norteño, Tejano and Conjunto music — said he performs several instruments, including accordion, bass, bajo quinto, drums and guitar.

His father said Marco’s talent showed up early — first on the drums. He recalled noticing his son could keep a steady beat as a toddler, and said Marco was about 18 months old at the time.

After learning multiple instruments, Marco began focusing on the accordion about two years ago, setting his sights on mastering it next.

With his parents’ support, Marco applied to the Big Squeeze competition.

He advanced to the semifinals and competed a little more than a week ago, and was selected as one of the top two players in his age group to move on to the finals in May.

Marco said he is already practicing, working to balance technical skill with musicality.

“It’s what separates the good from the great,” Marco said.

Beyond the competition, Marco said he hopes to continue his musical journey and keep the genre alive, calling it part of his heritage that he wants to pass on to future generations.

Marco also said he dreams of starting his own band one day and sharing the stage with his favorite group, Intocable.

Read also:

• Act of kindness leads to ripple effect with 2 lives saved through organ donations

Marcos Rene Olvera, 25, was taken into custody on Aug. 13, 2025. According to Olvera’s arrest affidavit, investigators said he wrote “we need to kill the mayor” in a social media group chat that discussed Project Marvel, the city’s plans for a multi-billion-dollar sports and entertainment district.

Olvera was charged with retaliation, a third-degree felony. He bonded out of jail the following day.

The reason for the charge’s dismissal on March 19, according to court records, is “insufficient evidence.”

The domino effect

Olvera’s arrest came less than two months after Jones was officially sworn in as San Antonio’s mayor.

According to an October 2025 KSAT Investigates story, San Antonio police officers began providing Jones after-hours security at her home following the threat.

Multiple San Antonio Police Department sources, who at the time spoke with KSAT Investigates on the condition of anonymity, said the department provided Jones a ballistic vest at her request.

SAPD employs an executive security detail for Jones while she is conducting city business, which is in line with protective measures provided to previous city mayors.

However, an overnight detail made up of SAPD officers is a unique level of security offered to a San Antonio mayor, sources and a previous mayor told KSAT.

On Monday, KSAT reached out to Jones’ office and the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office for comment on Olvera’s dismissed charge.

Following a “thorough review,” the DA’s office told KSAT that it informed the mayor’s office that it “could not proceed with the case against Marcos Rene Olvera at this time.”

“When we receive these types of cases, we must evaluate them individually, taking into account all relevant facts and evidence to ensure we meet the legal elements of the charge. We want to emphasize that we take all threats against public officials with the utmost seriousness, just as we would with any other case,” a DA’s office spokesperson said. “Our commitment to ensuring the safety and security of our community and its leaders remains our top priority. Our dedication to pursuing justice remains constant, and we will take action to address any credible threats when sufficient evidence is available.”

KSAT asked the DA’s office about what qualified as “sufficient evidence” in this case, but evidence specifics have not been made clear.

As of Monday afternoon, the mayor’s office has not yet responded to KSAT’s request.

A second threat

In February, San Antonio police arrested another man who was also accused of threatening Jones.

According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by KSAT, Ignacio Zuniga III, 44, allegedly made the threatening comment on Feb. 15 on the X, formerly known as Twitter, account of a San Antonio news outlet. Zuniga, like Olvera, was also charged with retaliation.

“More wasted money, (sic) stop voting democrat (sic) Bexar County,” the Feb. 15 post read. “We should be hunting these evil demons down and executing them, starting with @Mayor_GOJ (the X account of Jones).”

Authorities later reached out to X, which suspended the account. The social media platform also provided investigators with the phone number, email address and other IP addresses associated with the user, the affidavit states.

Police said officers cross-referenced the information with law enforcement resources to identify the X user as Zuniga.

Zuniga was booked into the Bexar County Adult Detention Center on Feb. 18. He bonded out of custody on Feb. 25, jail records show.

According to online court records, Zuniga’s defense team requested to “amend conditions” of his bond on Monday.

He is expected to make his next court appearance on May 19.

Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.

More related coverage on KSAT:

• ‘We should be hunting these evil demons down’: Man accused of threatening San Antonio Mayor Jones
• Unprecedented security measures for Mayor Jones as SAPD officers ordered to guard her home overnight
• Man arrested for allegedly making online threat against San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones

The effort to remove the soldier's wife, who was born in Honduras and remained in a federal immigration detention center Monday, has drawn backlash from military family advocates who called the detention demoralizing in a time of war and warned that deporting spouses could undermine recruitment.

Staff Sgt. Matthew Blank said he brought his wife, Annie Ramos, 22, to his base in Fort Polk, Louisiana, last Thursday so that she could begin the process to receive military benefits and take steps toward a green card. The couple married in March.

Federal immigration agents detained Ramos as part of the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda, which legal experts say has dispensed with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's practice of leniency toward families of military members.

“I never imagined that trying to do the right thing would lead to her being taken away from me,” said Blank, 23, in a statement to The Associated Press. “What was supposed to be the happiest week of our lives has turned into one of the hardest.”

Ramos' detention was first reported by The New York Times.

Ramos entered the U.S. in 2005, when she was younger than 2 years old. That same year, her family failed to appear for an immigration hearing, leading a judge to issue a final order of removal, according to DHS.

“She has no legal status to be in this country,” DHS said in an emailed statement. “This administration is not going to ignore the rule of law.”

In 2020, Ramos applied to receive Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, also known as DACA, but her husband says her application has remained “in limbo” amid legal fights to end the Obama-era program.

Last April, DHS eliminated a 2022 policy that considered military service of an immediate family member to be a “significant mitigating factor” in deciding whether or not to pursue immigration enforcement. The administration’s new policy states that “military service alone does not exempt aliens from the consequences of violating U.S. immigration laws.”

Prior to the Trump administration's mass deportation push, DHS generally allowed the spouses of active-duty military members to gain legal status through policies like parole in place and deferred action that military recruiters promote, according to Margaret Stock, a military immigration law expert.

Ramos' case would have been easy to resolve in the past, Stock said, but instead DHS now appears to be focusing on detaining members of military families whenever the opportunity arises — including when, like Ramos, they are attempting to apply for legal status.

“It doesn’t make any sense — they’re going to get arrested for following the law? That's stupid," Stock said. “It's bad for morale, it disrupts the soldiers' readiness.”

In September, more than 60 members of Congress wrote to DHS and the U.S. Department of Defense warning that arrests of military personnel and veteran's family members was “betraying its promises to service members who play a key role in protecting U.S. national security."

The Pentagon declined to comment.

Lydiah Owiti-Otienoh, who runs an advocacy group called the Foreign-Born Military Spouse Network, said she's anecdotally seen an increase in cases where the lives of military families have been upended by tightening immigration restrictions. She believes the federal government is undermining its own interests by attempting to deport military spouses.

“It just sends a really bad message — we don’t care about you, about your spouses, anything you are doing,” Owiti-Otienoh said. “If military families are not stable, national security is not stable.”

Blank’s mother, Jen Rickling, told the AP in a statement that her daughter-in-law, a Sunday school teacher and biochemistry major, had been everything she hoped for — someone who “loves my son with her whole heart.”

“We absolutely adore her,” Rickling said. “I believe in this country. And I believe we can do better than this — for Annie, for other military families, and for the values we hold dear.”

Blank says he had been eager to start building a life and with Ramos on the base while he served his country.

“I want my wife home," Blank said. “And I will not stop fighting until she is back where she belongs, by my side.”

___

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.

• COOL MORNING TUESDAY: Mid/upper 40s at sunrise
• WARM, BUT NOT TOO WARM: Warmest afternoon in mid 80s
• RAIN CHANCES: Peak at 40% Thursday and Friday
• ARTEMIS II UPDATE: Passes near moon today!

FORECAST

SMALL RAIN CHANCES THIS WEEK

Plan for a few cool mornings before temperatures climb, but it’s not going to get as warm as the past few weeks. The upper-level pattern will get somewhat busy this week with the best chance of rain being Thursday and Friday.

ARTEMIS II UPDATE

Today is a big day for the Artemis II mission as the Orion spacecraft nears the moon. The crew will officially surpass the farthest distance ever traveled by humans, while making important observations of the moon. Here’s a timeline for today:

QUICK WEATHER LINKS

• WATCH LIVE: Doppler Radar
• Hourly and 10-Day Forecast
• Download FREE KSAT Weather Authority App: Up-to-date forecast information and livestreams from trusted local meteorologists.
• KSAT Connect: Share your weather photos.

The study focuses on the Texas portion of Interstate 35, which stretches from the Oklahoma state line to the Mexico border in Laredo.

TxDOT calls I-35 “The Main Street of Texas.” The corridor study is an opportunity for drivers to highlight potential issues traveling throughout the roughly 590-mile route, according to a news release.

Drivers in or out of the state are able to participate in the survey.

The survey is a quick multiple-choice questionnaire with a total of 11 optional questions. Surveys cannot be submitted without answering at least one question on the first page.

“The study aims to address current and future mobility challenges, incorporate improvement opportunities for all users and transportation modes, and benefit urban, rural and border areas while advancing economic development and regional growth,” TxDOT said in its release.

Some questions cover personal issues driving on I-35, including safety concerns, traffic delays, road conditions and participants are able to rank their top four improvement priorities.

The survey will be open for public feedback from April 6 through May 6, the release states.

Read also:

• Videos of Waymo cars going off course have some San Antonians skeptical about riding
• Motorcycle crash ends in flames near kids; far West Side residents urge need for speed bumps

Melvin Benn, the managing director at Festival Republic, shared a statement on Monday backing his company's decision to book Ye.

“Forgiveness and giving people a second chance are becoming a lost virtue in this ever-increasing divisive world,” he wrote. "I would ask people to reflect on their instant comments of disgust at the likelihood of him performing (as was mine) and offer some forgiveness and hope to him as I have decided to do.”

Ye, who changed his name in 2021, is booked to perform in front of around 150,000 revelers over the course of the festival’s three nights, July 10 - 12.

The rapper has drawn widespread condemnation in recent years for antisemitic remarks and voicing admiration for Adolf Hitler. Last year, he released a song called “Heil Hitler” and advertised a swastika T-shirt for sale on his website. The 48-year-old apologized this past January for his antisemitic remarks in a letter, published as a full-page advertisement in the Wall Street Journal. He said his bipolar disorder led him to fall into “a four-month long, manic episode of psychotic, paranoid and impulsive behavior that destroyed my life.”

Wireless sponsors Pepsi, Rockstar Energy and Diageo have pulled out of the festival since Ye was announced as the headliner, although lead sponsor Pepsi didn't offer a reason. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the booking “deeply concerning.”

“Ye’s music is played on commercial radio stations in this country. It is available via live streams and downloads in this country without comment or vitriol from anyone and he has a legal right to come into the country and to perform in this country,” Benn's statement said.

“We are not giving him a platform to extol opinion of whatever nature, only to perform the songs that are currently played on the radio stations in our country and the streaming platforms in our country and listened to and enjoyed by millions,” the statement continued.

Last week, Ye held two concerts at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, marking his first major U.S. performances in nearly five years. There, fans appeared to separate his personal beliefs and public statements from his music — and were ready to forgive after his January apology letter.

“I don’t really bring into politics or the way someone’s personal opinion are. I’m into the music artistry," said Yovani Contreras, one fan in attendance. "Like, I just, to me, Ye is always gonna be Ye. Kanye is always gonna be Kanye.”

A representative for Ye didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment Monday.

The Bulls fired executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley on Monday, ending a six-year run that produced just one playoff appearance.

Chicago was 224-254 during their tenure. The Bulls entered Monday sitting in 12th place in the Eastern Conference at 29-49 and missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year.

President and CEO Michael Reinsdorf said in a statement that Karnisovas and Eversley “led with a deep commitment to the Chicago Bulls” and that the change is “about positioning our team for sustained success moving ahead.”

“I want our fans to know that I hear you and understand your frustration," Reinsdorf said. "I feel it as well. I know this will take time, and I am fully committed to getting this right. At the Chicago Bulls, our focus remains on building a team that can compete at the highest level and ultimately contend for championships. We are committed to taking the necessary steps to move the Bulls forward in a way that makes our fans proud.”

The Bulls tore up their roster leading up to the trade deadline in February, dealing Nikola Vucevic to Boston, Kevin Huerter to Detroit, Coby White to Charlotte and Chicago product Ayo Dosunmu to Minnesota in an effort to shake up a franchise mired in mediocrity. They hung on to Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey with the idea of building around those two. The Bulls have the salary-cap room to make some big moves this offseason.

“Being in the middle is what we don’t want to do,” Karnisovas said at the time. “I think we’ve seen that for the past four years and we want to change that.”

That's mostly where the franchise has been since Karnisovas was hired out of Denver's front office in April 2020. The Bulls brought in Eversley from Philadelphia a few weeks later and hired coach Billy Donovan that September. Donovan's future is uncertain.

The Bulls' lone playoff appearance since all three were hired came during the 2021-22 season, when they finished sixth in the Eastern Conference at 46-36 and got knocked out by Milwaukee in the first round. The Bulls lost point guard Lonzo Ball to a knee injury during that season, and he missed the next two years.

Chicago's most recent All-Star was DeMar DeRozan in 2023. The lack of a franchise cornerstone player was glaring, and Karnisovas' reluctance to launch into a major rebuild was a big source of frustration among Bulls fans. Rather than give the team the best shot at winning the lottery, he stressed patience and not skipping steps.

That changed this year when Karnisovas made seven trades before the deadline. The Bulls mostly loaded up on second-round draft picks and didn't get any first-rounders in return.

Among the players they acquired were Jaden Ivey from Detroit, hoping the No. 5 pick in the 2022 NBA draft could regain the form he showed before knee surgery. But the Bulls waived him last week following anti-LGBTQ+ comments about religion he made in videos posted on his Instagram account.

Ivey had been sidelined since Feb. 11 and appeared in just four games for Chicago. His contract was set to expire at the end of the season.

The 60-year-old Donovan, meanwhile, got a contract extension last offseason. He could seek another NBA coaching job or return to the college game if he doesn’t remain in Chicago. If he stays, the Bulls could give him a bigger say in basketball operations while remaining their coach.

Donovan has consistently said he still has a passion for coaching, is committed finishing the season and will then discuss the direction of the franchise with management and ownership. He did it again prior to the Bulls' win over Phoenix on Sunday.

“I love the organization,” he said. “I love the relationship with Jerry and Michael Reinsdorf and the relationship with the front office. All those things have been great, the players have been great.”

Donovan has a 467-411 record in 11 seasons as an NBA head coach. He was arguably the top candidate on the market when the Bulls hired him in September 2020 to replace the fired Jim Boylen following a five-year run in Oklahoma City. He led the Thunder to a 243-157 record and playoff appearances each season while working with stars such as Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Chris Paul.

Donovan previously coached for 19 seasons at the University of Florida and won back-to-back NCAA titles. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in September.

___

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

Beth Hammack, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, said in an interview with The Associated Press that her general preference is for the Fed keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged “for quite some time."

And she also said the Fed might have to cut its rate if higher gas prices caused the economy to slow and unemployment to rise. But if inflation remained elevated, a rate hike could be needed, she said.

“I can foresee scenarios where we would need to reduce rates ... if the labor market deteriorates significantly,” Hammack said. "Or I could see where we might need to raise rates if inflation stays persistently above our target.”

Hammack's comments suggest a growing concern among at least some policymakers that inflation, which was elevated before the Iran war, may require rate hikes to tame further. Rate increases by the Fed would be a sharp shift from late last year, when the central bank cut its key rate three times. Rate hikes could lift borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, including for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards.

Other Fed officials have recently opened the door to rate hikes, including Austan Goolsbee, president of the Chicago Fed. And minutes of the Fed's meeting in late January said that several of the 19 officials on the rate-setting committee supported altering the post-meeting statement to reflect the possibility of “upward adjustments” to rates.

A rate hike would almost certainly prompt President Donald Trump to lash out at the Fed, which he has harshly criticized for not cutting rates further. He has called for the central bank's key rate to be lowered to 1%, down from its current level of about 3.6%.

The government will update two inflation measures this week, though only one will likely reflect the impact of the jump in gas prices since the Iran war began Feb. 28. Gas prices averaged $4.12 a gallon nationwide Monday, according to AAA, up 80 cents from a month earlier.

On Friday, the government will issue the March inflation report, providing a first read on the impact of higher gas and energy prices. Economists forecast that annual inflation will worsen significantly, jumping to 3.1% from 2.4% in February, according to a survey by data provider FactSet. On a monthly basis, they expect consumer prices rose 0.8% in March from February, which would be the biggest increase in almost four years.

The Commerce Department will report the Fed's preferred inflation gauge for February on Thursday, though that won't incorporate any impact from the Iran conflict.

Hammack said that the Cleveland Fed's own estimates show inflation could reach 3.5% in April, which would be the highest since 2024. Inflation spiked to 9.1% in June 2022 before slowly declining.

“Inflation has been running above our target for more than five years now,” Hammack said, and a further increase would mean it is “moving in the wrong direction, away from our 2% objective.”

The Federal Reserve is required by Congress to seek low inflation and maximum employment, and higher gas prices could threaten both those mandates, creating a challenging situation for Fed officials.

Consumers may react to higher gas prices by cutting back on their spending elsewhere in the economy, Hammack said, which could lead to weaker growth and layoffs, which the Fed would need to respond to with rate cuts.

How the war impacts the economy will depend on how long it lasts and how high it lifts gas prices and other costs, Hammack said. Now in its sixth week, the conflict has already lasted longer than she expected when the Fed last met March 17-18, Hammack said.

Hammack said rising gas prices stemming from the Iran war are “the No. 1 thing” she hears about from people in her district, which covers Ohio and parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky.

“We know that causes a lot of pain personally, as it eats up a bigger and bigger share of people’s paychecks. So it’s important for us to stay focused on it,” she added.

The 180,000-square-foot “San Pedro II” building is located at 702 Dolorosa Street, and will serve as the new home of UTSA’s College of AI, Cyber and Computing.

The college began offering classes in Fall 2025, and is now home to more than 5,000 students studying programs spanning artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, computing and data science.

The building is also home to the USAA Student Success Center, which offers personalized coaching, mentoring and career preparation resources to help students graduate workforce-ready.

Also housed within the facility is the Najim Innovation District, where students translate classroom learning into real-world solutions by incubating business ventures, participating in community industry projects and developing an entrepreneurial mindset.

The Center for Civic and Community-Engaged Leadership rounds out the building’s academic offerings, providing experiential learning and leadership programs that connect students with community partners.

The Valero Engagement Center, also located within San Pedro II, supports industry engagement and conferences in San Antonio’s urban core.

The University said in a release that San Pedro II is a part of the university’s efforts to create an ecosystem that supports students and the community.

Read more UT San Antonio coverage on KSAT:

• First public AI hub launches at UT San Antonio
• Tropical fish are thriving in San Antonio creeks. Here’s why it matters.

Those messages came after the GOP Representative admitted to sending texts and having an affair with another staffer in 2024.

The San Antonio Express-News reported that the new text messages allegedly asked a staffer for nude photos and attempted to start a sexual relationship with her.

On March 4, 2026, Gonzales admitted during an interview that he had an affair with a staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, in 2024. Santos-Aviles died by suicide in September 2025.

The House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into Gonzales in March. Rules of the House Ethics Committee said if the committee recommends Gonzales be sanctioned, there are several options the House could choose from:

• Expulsion
• Censure
• Reprimand
• Fine
• Limitation or denial of power

Gonzales later announced he is not seeking reelection.

Read also:

• TIMELINE: Rep. Tony Gonzales’ relationship with staffer Regina Santos-Aviles
• Rep. Gonzales remains on Republican runoff ballot after dropping reelection bid, admitting to affair
• US Rep. Tony Gonzales addresses affair accusations on YouTube show, says he ‘made a mistake’

Around 2 p.m. Monday, Boerne police said they responded to the crash near Main Street and James Street.

Police are investigating if the pedestrian was struck by a passing vehicle while entering or exiting his truck. The driver remained at the scene.

The pedestrian was conscious when they arrived at the hospital, according to police.

Traffic along Main Street has reopened.

Read also:

• Videos of Waymo cars going off course have some San Antonians skeptical about riding

The video — from a city-owned security camera — captured part of the incident in which federal officers chased a Venezuelan man to his residence. Another Venezuelan man who lives there was shot during the confrontation. Federal authorities in February dropped all charges against the two immigrants and opened a criminal investigation into whether two immigration officers lied under oath about what had happened.

The city released the video after the New York Times, which obtained a copy earlier, reported that the footage raised questions about why it took weeks for the federal government's case against the two men to collapse. The Times reported that federal investigators had access to the video within hours of the Jan. 14 shooting, but did not watch it until nearly three weeks after they had charged the two men.

“The video makes it crystal clear that, just like in other situations during Operation Metro Surge, the federal government’s account of what happened simply does not match the facts,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement.

Federal authorities initially accused Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis of beating an ICE officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel during the incident. The officer fired a single shot from his handgun, striking Sosa-Celis in his right thigh. Protesters quickly flocked to the scene and clashed with other officers, who were wearing gas masks and helmets.

The city provided no narrative on what the video depicts except to say that it was “related” to the shooting. A statement added, “The City has no additional information and will not be making further comments at this time.”

The video, shot from a distance in the dark, appears to show a person standing with a snow shovel outside the house, near the street, then retreating toward the house and tossing the shovel into the yard. This happens as a person being chased by another person runs up from the street, falls on the sidewalk, gets up, and keeps heading toward the house.

The three appear to scuffle near the front steps for about 10 seconds. The exact moment when Sosa-Celis is shot isn’t clear. A car with flashing lights pulls up, and another person walks up.

The camera actively panned over to view the street where the incident happened before any vehicles arrived, indicating that someone may have been manually controlling it in real time.

The cases against Aljorna and Sosa-Celis were dropped after a highly unusual motion from the chief federal prosecutor for Minnesota, U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen, who said “newly discovered evidence” was “materially inconsistent with the allegations” that were made in the criminal complaint and with evidence presented at a hearing at their preliminary hearing. He said dismissal with prejudice, which meant the charges couldn't be refiled, “would serve the interests of justice.”

Rosen and other federal prosecutors involved in the case, as well as the Department of Justice, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press on Monday.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not mention the video in a statement, but reaffirmed its earlier statement that two officers involved appeared to have given untruthful testimony under oath, and that they were immediately placed on administrative leave pending completion of an internal investigation. Their names were not made public.

“Lying under oath is a serious federal offense. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is actively investigating these false statements,” the ICE statement said. “Upon conclusion of the investigation, the officers may face termination of employment, as well as potential criminal prosecution.”

The statement did not elaborate on the status of their case.

Aljorna's attorney did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Sosa-Celis' attorney, Robin Wolpert, said, “The video is evidence in ongoing state and federal investigations so I can't comment."

Both men are free while they seek legal status. They were ordered released even before the criminal charges were dropped, but ICE took them back into custody for alleged immigration violations before releasing them, again under court order.

State and county prosecutors have been frustrated by the refusal of federal authorities to share information on the incident, as well as the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers. They sued the Trump administratio n late last month for access to evidence they say they need to independently investigate the three shootings.

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office declined to comment on the video, citing the active investigation.

Also among the streaming offerings worth your time this week, as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists: Country hitmaker Ella Langley releasing her sophomore album, Nintendo dropping the monster combat game Pokémon Champions and “Malcolm in the Middle” fans getting a four-episode revival with Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek.

New movies to stream from April 6-12

— Sydney Sweeney stars as real-life boxing legend Christy Martin in David Michôd’s “Christy” (HBO Max, Friday, April 10). The film, which Sweeney also produced, drew some of her best reviews. Her distinctly unglamorous performance spans Martin’s small-town West Virginia beginnings to a professional career shadowed by her abusive manager-turned-husband (Ben Foster). In her review, AP’s Jocelyn Noveck wrote that Sweeney “imbues her no-holds-barred portrayal of Martin with both sweetness and rage, with brio and real vulnerability.”

— One of the highlights of last year, Akinola Davies Jr.’s tender father-son drama, “My Father’s Shadow,” begins streaming Friday, April 10, on MUBI. The film, penned by Davis and his brother, Wale, is loosely autobiographical. Their father died when they were young. But in “My Father’s Shadow,” two Nigerian boys have unexpected day with their father ( Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù ) in Lagos, at a pivotal time for the country. In her review, AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr called it “a gem, a deeply felt memory piece and vibrant portrait of Nigeria in 1993.”

— Jonah Hill made his directorial debut with the coming-of-age skate film “Mid90s.” He returns to directing in “Outcome,” a Hollywood satire starring Keanu Reeves as a movie star named Reef Hawk who fears a video could destroy his reputation. Hill, who co-wrote the movie, also co-stars as Reef’s crisis-management lawyer. It debuts Friday, April 10, on Apple TV.

— AP Film Writer Jake Coyle

New music to stream from April 10

— A chart-topping country hitmaker preps her sophomore album: Ella Langley — known for such radio mainstays like the throwback “You Look Like You Love Me” with Riley Green and the George Strait-referencing No. 1 “Choosin’ Texas,” co-written with Miranda Lambert — will release a new record on Friday, April 10. If the whole of “Dandelion” is anything like those songs, she’s got a long career ahead of her.

— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

New series to stream from April 6-12

— “The Boys” launches its fifth and final season Wednesday on Prime Video. The critically acclaimed series is based on comic books and follows villainous superheroes and the crew trying to thwart them. Series regulars Jack Quaid, Karl Urban, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty and Jessie T. Usher and Chace Crawford are all returning, as are more recent additions played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Jensen Ackles. “Hamilton” star Daveed Diggs also joins the cast.

— Hulu’s sequel to “The Handmaid’s Tale,” called “The Testaments,” also premieres on Wednesday. Ann Dowd reprises her Aunt Lydia character from the original and is now in charge of a school for girls that basically prepares them for adulthood, marriage and babies. These young women have never known anything other than Gilead. It stars Chase Infiniti and Lucy Halliday and is also based on a novel by Margaret Atwood.

— Elizabeth Banks and Matthew Macfadyen lead a new sci-fi comedy, “The Miniature Wife,” for Peacock. They play a couple working on their marriage when their lives are further complicated after an unusual accident. It premieres Thursday.

— Another series launching its fifth and final season is “Hacks” on HBO. The show, debuting Thursday, follows the love-hate relationship between a legendary comedian (Jean Smart) and a talented writer played by Hannah Einbinder. The series has racked up a lot of hardware, including an Emmy for outstanding comedy series. Smart has won four consecutive Emmys for the show while Einbinder has taken home one.

— Do you ever wonder how your favorite former TV stars would fare in the present day? “Malcolm in the Middle” fans are getting their wish. Twenty years after their show went off the air, Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek return to TV for a revival where Muniz’s character is now a dad to a teenage girl. The four episodes of “Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair” premiere on Friday, April 10, on both Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.

— Alicia Rancilio

New video games to play from April 6-12

— Nintendo is pulling out all the stops to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pokémon. Just a month after releasing the cozy community-builder Pokémon Pokopia, it’s dropping the considerably less comfortable Pokémon Champions. This time it’s all about the combat, as you recruit and train monsters before pushing them into the arena to fight other trainers’ creatures. You can compete in ranked events with players from around the world, or enjoy casual or private battles that won’t affect your ranking. It’s a free-to-start challenge, but you may want to set some cash aside for in-app purchases. The fight club opens Wednesday on Switch and Switch 2, with iOS and Android versions coming later in 2026.

— Annapurna Interactive’s People of Note tells the tale of a pop singer named Cadence who decides she wants to start a band. That means she’ll need to trek across the world of Note, where each city is defined by its own style of music. In her travels, though, Cadence learns that a Harmonic Convergence is disrupting music itself, and she and her bandmates will have to solve puzzles, explore dungeons and fight tone-deaf villains to stop Note from going silent. Los Angeles-based Iridium Studios promises that “each battle is an interactive musical performance,” and you can pump up the volume Tuesday on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S and PC.

— Lou Kesten

The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, coming off its first winning week in the last six. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 165 points, or 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.5%.

Oil prices likewise rose after seesawing through the day amid uncertainty about what will happen in the war with Iran and how long it will slow the global flow of oil and natural gas. Iran on Monday rejected the latest ceasefire proposal and instead said it wants a permanent end to the war.

“We won’t merely accept a ceasefire,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press. “We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again.”

Fighting continued in the war, meanwhile, including an Israeli attack on an Iranian petrochemical plant. And in the background was the clock ticking toward a deadline, one that Trump has moved multiple times, where he has threatened to attack Iranian power plants if it does not open the Strait of Hormuz. A fifth of the world’s oil typically sails through the strait during peacetime.

Trump on Monday suggested that his latest deadline of Tuesday at 8 p.m. Eastern time will be the final one, saying he’d already given enough extensions. “The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump said.

Monday also offered the first chance for U.S. stock prices to react to a report from Friday that said U.S. employers hired more workers last month than economists expected. The unemployment rate unexpectedly improved.

They’re encouraging signals for an economy that’s had to absorb painful leaps in costs for gasoline since the war’s beginning. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is nearly $4.12 across the country, according to AAA. It was below $3 a couple days before the United States and Israel launched attacks to begin the war in late February.

For countries that don’t produce as much oil as the United States, the pain has been even worse. That’s because they are more reliant on oil coming from the Middle East, and the war has blocked in much of the crude produced in the Persian Gulf area. That oil typically gets to customers around the world by exiting the Strait of Hormuz.

The price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude rose 0.8% to settle at $112.41 after erasing an earlier modest dip. Brent crude, the international standard, added 0.8% to $109.77 per barrel and remains well above its roughly $70 price from before the war.

On Wall Street, a split performance for the Big Tech stocks that dominate the U.S. market kept things in check. Apple rose 1.1%, and Amazon added 1.4%. Tesla slid 2.2%, and Microsoft fell 0.2%.

Bank stocks were strong, including a 1.3% rise for JPMorgan Chase.

CEO Jamie Dimon said in his annual letter to shareholders released on Monday that the U.S. economy continues to be resilient, and businesses still look healthy. He, though, also acknowledged that prices for stocks and other assets are high, which could imply “anything less than positive outcomes could have a dramatic impact on global markets.”

All told, the S&P 500 rose 29.14 points to 6,611.83. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 165.21 to 46,669.88, and the Nasdaq composite climbed 117.16 to 21,996.34.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady. The 10-year Treasury yield was sitting at 4.33%. That’s still well above its 3.97% level from before the war. The rise has pushed up rates for mortgages and other loans going to U.S. households and businesses, which slows the economy.

A report on Monday said that finance, transportation and other U.S. businesses in services sectors grew in March for a 21st straight month of expansion. But the growth was slightly slower than economists expected, and a measure of prices accelerated at its fastest pace since 2022 in a potentially discouraging signal for inflation.

In stock markets abroad, Japan’s Nikkei 225 added 0.5%, and South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.4%. Many other markets in Europe and Asia were closed for holidays.

___

AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.

KSAT 12 News first reported on one incident last week caught on camera by a viewer in Alamo Heights.

The video shows a Waymo vehicle heading the wrong way down a one-way street in a school zone near Cambridge Elementary School.

Another video posted by TikTok user Alyson Aranda shows a car seemingly frozen in place in the drive-thru of a Whataburger restaurant just north of downtown.

Aranda told KSAT 12 News she shot the video around 2 a.m. Saturday after the car went the wrong way in the drive-thru near Cypress Street and San Pedro Avenue.

In a third recent incident, Olmos Park police said a Waymo car stopped just short of entering a high-water area under a bridge near Contour Drive and McCullough Avenue.

An officer told KSAT 12 News off camera that first responders were able to follow a certain procedure to get the car moved.

San Antonio police said they also intervened in the Whataburger incident by following a procedure which resulted in getting the car manually moved.

In a statement, a Waymo spokesperson described the procedure, which it has made available to first responders here and across the country. It said officers have been trained to either scan a QR code or call a number where they can communicate with the company’s Emergency Response Team.

With some potential passengers, though, the incidents have been a bit more unsettling.

Robert McLaughlin said he has a lot of questions that need to be answered before he rides in a Waymo car.

“How do you actually confirm and know that it’s doing what it’s supposed to, and how do you control it if it doesn’t?” he asked.

April Williams said her concerns also prevent her from getting into the passenger seat of one of them.

“I’ve heard a couple of stories,” Williams said. “It kind of catches me off guard, like, when I actually see the car and I’m like, oh my gosh, you know, nobody’s driving.”

A Waymo spokesman also said in the statement that incidents involving the company’s autonomous cars, which log more than four million miles each week nationwide, are rare.

The statement said when the incidents do occur, the company’s entire fleet learns from the events.

“We are committed to continuous improvement and take several steps to ensure our technology operates appropriately on public roads,” the Waymo statement said.

Read also:

• Parents want human intervention after Waymo drives wrong-way in Alamo Heights school zone