South Florida Local News

CINCINNATI (AP) — Andrew Abbott pitched seven innings of shutout ball a day after being named an All-Star, Elly De La Cruz hit a pair of RBI doubles and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Marlins 7-2 on Wednesday night, snapping Miami’s franchise-record 11-game road winning streak.

Abbott (8-1) was named to the NL All-Star team on Tuesday, replacing Yoshinobu Yamamoto of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Against Miami, Abbott allowed one run on six hits and two walks while striking out five. The 26-year-old left-hander lost his shutout bid and left the game when Heriberto Hernández hit a two-out RBI single in the eighth. The Reds ended a four-game skid.

The Reds scored three runs in the first and fourth innings with De La Cruz hitting RBI doubles in each. Noelvi Marte hit a two-run homer, his fourth of the season, in the fourth. Will Benson added his eighth homer in the eighth.

Reds manager Terry Francona moved within three wins of his 2,000th career victory as a manager.

Miami’s Sandy Alcantara (4-9) gave up nine hits and six runs over five innings and had his already-horrific ERA swell further to 7.22 on the season and has allowed 19 earned runs in his past 18 innings (9.50 ERA). Connor Norby hit his sixth homer of the year off Emilio Pagán in the ninth.

Key moment

De La Cruz sparked a three-run first inning with an RBI double to get the Reds on the board. Austin Hays and Tyler Stephenson added RBI hits, and the Reds never looked back.

Key stat

Abbott has given up more than one earned run in just three of his 16 starts this season.

Up next

Miami’s Cal Quantrill (3-7, 5.40) pitches against Cincinnati’s Nick Lodolo (5-6, 3.58) on Thursday.

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

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Lionel Messi became the first player in Major League Soccer history with four consecutive multi-goal games, scoring twice to lead Inter Miami past the New England Revolution 2-1 on Wednesday night.

Miami (10-3-5) has won four straight and is unbeaten in its last five.

Defender Tanner Beason misplayed a header and Messi capitalized, scoring on a half-volley to open the scoring in the 27th minute.

Messi made it 2-0 in the 38th. Sergio Busquets played a ball ahead from just beyond midfield to a charging Messi, who scored on a first-touch shot from the edge of the penalty area that slipped inside the right post.

Messi has at least one goal in five straight games. He has 14 goals — second in MLS to Nashville’s Sam Surridge (16) — and seven assists in 15 regular-season matches.

Óscar Ustari had five saves for Miami.

New England (6-8-6) is winless in five straight.

Carles Gil scored in the 79th minute for the Revolution. Aljaz Ivacic stopped one shot.

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

FRISCO, Texas — During Tuesday’s Big 12 Media Days, UCF linebacker Keli Lawson and defensive end Nyjalik Kelly took their time answering questions from a small group of reporters.

Among the crowd, a booming voice caught their attention, and it was hard to overlook Lee Hunter, who stood out at 6-foot-4 and 325 pounds. Hunter was doing his best to capture the moment on his smartphone, giving his best impression of a journalist.

Kelly burst out laughing before eventually shaking hands with his former teammate.

Hunter spent the past three seasons playing defensive tackle for the Knights before entering the transfer portal after last season’s disappointing 4-8 finish. He drew interest from several teams before eventually signing with Texas Tech in an NIL deal reportedly worth $1.9 million.

“It wasn’t very difficult,” Hunter said of his decision to leave UCF. “I enjoyed the process and I’m blessed to be at Texas Tech. It’s a great facility and great people.”

UCF travels to Lubbock to face the Red Raiders on Nov. 15, opening the door for Hunter to square off against his former teammates.

“I’m looking forward to it because you’re always looking forward to playing against the team that gave you an opportunity,” he said. “I’m a Red Raider and I’m excited to be here and I have no regrets about it.”

Former #UCF defensive tackle Lee Hunter interviews Nyjalik Kelly and Keli Lawson during Big 12 Media Days. pic.twitter.com/0k2QgNRoe5

— Matt Murschel (@osmattmurschel) July 8, 2025

Pop-Tarts in Ireland: Pop-Tarts is expanding its relationship with college football beyond the wildly successful Pop-Tarts Bowl, sending its two surviving edible mascots to Dublin, Ireland, to participate in the 2025 Aer Lingus College Football Classic.

This year’s game features a matchup between the past two Pop-Tarts Bowl winners in Kansas State (2023) and Iowa State (2024).

“We are thrilled to welcome Pop-Tarts as an official partner of the 2025 Aer Lingus Classic. Their entertaining approach to fan engagement adds a uniquely fun element to this year’s event,” John Anthony, co-founder of the Aer Lingus Classic and executive VP of On Location, said in a statement.

This year’s Aer Lingus College Football Classic kicks off on Saturday, Aug. 23, at noon on ESPN.

The Pop-Tarts Bowl takes place on Saturday, Dec. 27, at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.

Embracing the WWE: The Big 12 has extended its partnership with the WWE, highlighted by the broadcast of Friday Night SmackDown from Big 12 markets on the eve of four conference games throughout the 2025 season.

The first SmackDown will be held on Friday, Aug. 22, at 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, on the eve of the 2025 Aer Lingus College Football Classic.  SmackDown will also take place in Cincinnati (Oct. 3), Tempe (Oct. 24) and Salt Lake City (Oct. 31).

“There’s always an opportunity to get new eyes and there are so many people who aren’t familiar with WWE, or who might be lost fans,” said Big E, former WWE champion. “Our product is fresh. We have some great new stars on both the women’s and men’s sides as well as some incredible athletes. So we’re hoping to grow our audience with this partnership with the Big 12.”

All-Big 12 team: The preseason All-Big 12 football team was released on Monday and Arizona State led all schools with five players making the list. ASU’s Sam Leavitt was named first-team quarterback along as Offensive Player of the Year. Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez was named Defensive Player of the Year while Utah quarterback Devon Dampier was named Newcomer of the Year. Dampier previously played at New Mexico.

No UCF players earned a spot on either the offense or the defense.

Please find me on X, Bluesky or Instagram @osmattmurschel. Email: mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com. Sign up for the Sentinel’s Knights Weekly newsletter for a roundup of all our UCF coverage.

General Daily Insight for July 10, 2025

We’re surveying whatever we’ve begun building. The Moon struggles to work with Mercury, heightening nervousness and stifling self-expression. Fortunately, we’re given more support as the Moon trines honest Mars, shining a cosmic light on the truth at hand. Finally, the Full Moon in Capricorn at 4:37 pm EDT awakens us to the areas of life where the structures in place are working or not. It will clarify our next steps by either highlighting cracks in the system or celebrating consistency. Take a good look!

Aries

March 21 – April 19

Your ambitions may look more complicated than they used to. You might realize that the career you thought was the one that you wanted no longer suits you. Perhaps the way that you’re approaching your professional situation or reputation is not the way that you want to approach it. It’s possible that all that needs to shift is your mindset, and everything else will start falling into place. Gratitude can show you what you want more of, rather than what you want less of.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

Look into the places you haven’t been yet. There might have been bucket list items that you’ve been putting off for a while — check in on them! Make sure that your window of opportunity to check off one of those items isn’t in danger of closing. Not every opening will be there forever, and you may find that you have to seize this day to take action. If missing out really will leave you with regret, give the idea the dedication that it deserves.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

It’s time to see how your efforts have paid off. A return on your investments could be right around the corner, whether you were putting in time, money, or energy. That said, maybe you’re hoping to receive something great, but haven’t put in the consistency to receive it — that’s a quick path to disappointment. This is a time for reaping what has already been sown, and what you receive (or don’t receive) should give you a clue into what needs restructuring or continued effort.

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

Your relationships might require a closer look. You may find that you’re not receiving the same energy from someone in your life that you used to. If you address the issue, you could find that they’re feeling let down in some way. Alternatively, if you find that your connection with someone appears better than ever as your bond deepens, then you can ponder how your consistency has paid off within your connection. Hear out your friends and make an effort to understand them.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

Good habits come from consistent effort. Perhaps you’ve been striving to implement better habits recently. Depending on how dedicated you’ve been to this routine, you might soon realize the impact that it has had on your life. You may want to stop and pay attention to what your body is telling you, because otherwise, you risk being so distracted by the hustle and bustle of everyday life that you don’t even notice the positive impacts. Listen to what your body has to say.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

How you put your emotions out there may need revamping. You have potentially been hiding your true feelings as a way of protecting your soul’s core, keeping everything inside so that no one can criticize how you’re feeling. Be careful! This can lead you to bottle everything up until it explodes, because those passionate emotions have to go somewhere in the end. Make sure that you’re not choking back your true feelings to give someone else power over your words. Speak your truth.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

You’re learning to prioritize comfort for yourself. You may find that you are very talented at making others feel comfortable, even at the expense of your own well-being. Feeling relaxed can be difficult when you’re kept busy managing everyone else’s emotions, so listen to yourself as soon as you begin feeling overwhelmed. The people who genuinely care about you should want you to be secure as well. Accordingly, those who don’t respect you don’t deserve your effort! Be discerning with your energy.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

Friendships require honesty to keep going. There might be something that you have left unsaid because you’re afraid of hurting your connection with someone else, but they could be sensing that the energy between you is tense regardless. Keeping it all inside may end up hurting more than helping, so it’s imperative to approach your friendships in the way that you would like to be approached. If you want them to be honest with you, don’t be cruel — just be clear.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

Your lifestyle may need to be more grounded. You might be living beyond your means at this moment, and that’ll probably catch up with you sooner than you’d think. Whether this means that you’re spending more than your budget can handle or over-committing your energy and driving yourself to exhaustion, you shouldn’t push yourself so hard that you give out. Living a more balanced lifestyle could seem boring at first, so keep reminding yourself that the slow times help you appreciate the exciting times.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

How do you show up for yourself? You may find that you have a drive to understand yourself better at the moment, which can be difficult to express aloud. Thankfully, it’s still likely that you’ll find support from the people who care about you. It might be odd to learn that you’re interested in activities that you never expected, but what you’re learning about yourself shouldn’t be blocked before it’s tried and understood. Try new things, then see how much more alive you feel afterward.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

A social eureka moment could occur at any moment. Maybe you’ve known someone for ages, but the role that they’re playing in your life is speedily changing. You may suddenly have a greater appreciation for a person who’s been in your life for a while, or you might find that they express something to you that you would never have expected from them. It can be surprising to watch such revelations come into frame, but be open to seeing people in a new light.

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

A passion for giving back could emerge at any moment. How you show up within your community may be given more clarity as you get to work. You might realize just how much you’ve been showing up for the people around you in big ways — while they’re already setting up a celebration for you. If you feel called to give back more than you have been lately, this is likely your intuition calling you to invest in your community. We’re all in this together!

By DEEPA BHARATH and FATIMA HUSSEIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — A surprise move by the IRS that would allow pastors to back political candidates from the pulpit without losing their organization’s tax-exempt status is drawing praise from conservatives and even some progressive religious groups but concern from other leaders of faith, along with tax and legal experts.

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A 1954 provision in the tax code called the Johnson Amendment says churches and other nonprofits could lose their tax-exempt status if they participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. The rule was rarely enforced.

While the IRS did not go as far as calling for the repeal of the Johnson Amendment, it said in court documents Monday that communications in good faith by a church to its flock does not amount to “intervening” or affecting the outcome of a political campaign.

“Communications from a house of worship to its congregation in connection with religious services through its usual channels of communication on matters of faith do not run afoul of the Johnson Amendment as properly interpreted,” the IRS said.

The new IRS interpretation came after decades of debate and, most recently, lawsuits from the National Religious Broadcasters association and other conservative churches complaining that the amendment violates their First Amendment rights, among other legal protections.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, President Donald Trump called the IRS’ assessment “terrific.”

“I love the fact that churches can endorse a political candidate,” he said. “We have a lot of respect for the people that lead the church.”

While some congregations see a new freedom to speak openly about preferred candidates, others see openings for campaign finance corruption, new pressures on religious leaders and an overall entanglement between church and state.

Praises to the IRS

Robert Jeffress, pastor of a Baptist megachurch in Dallas and a Trump ally, called it “the right decision.” He said his church’s tax-exempt status was threatened because of an IRS investigation into their political endorsements, costing the megachurch hundreds of thousands in legal fees.

“The IRS has no business dictating what can be said from the pulpit,” he said. “They need to stay the heck out of our churches.”

Calvary Church Chino Hills, a Southern California megachurch led by Jack Hibbs, has been endorsing candidates for years, particularly in local elections. Gina Gleason, director of the church’s political engagement team, said she hopes the move will encourage smaller churches previously hesitant for fear of triggering an IRS response.

“I’d have thought if the IRS had targeted any church it would’ve been us,” she said. “But we got sound legal advice from lawyers and religious liberty organizations that explained we were within our constitutional rights.”

For Democrats trying to connect with people of faith, this decision is timely, said Doug Pagitt, pastor and executive director of Vote Common Good, a progressive and evangelical Christian organization.

“Conservative pastors who have been blatantly endorsing candidates regardless of the Johnson Amendment over the years created a disadvantage causing Democrats to step away from faith voters,” he said. “There was a true imbalance between how many more opportunities there were for Republican voters.”

The IRS statement, Pagitt says, also puts an end to the delicate dance pastors and congregations were forced to do.

“You could talk about politics in the church gymnasium, but not in the sanctuary or from the pulpit,” he said. “Pastors could express political opinions on their personal Facebook page, but not on the church’s website. It’s just silly.”

Church politicking concerns

Tax and constitutional law experts, meanwhile, are wary of what entanglements could arise from the IRS’ new position.

Philip Hackney, a University of Pittsburgh School of Law professor who studies the relationship between churches and tax authority, said the decree could allow churches to push new boundaries.

“It’s essentially creating a political intervention tax shelter for churches,” Hackney said. “It has the potential to corrupt their mission, more towards politics and away from their true beliefs.”

Other religious groups, particularly in faith communities of color, are viewing it with skepticism. The Rev. Mark Whitlock, senior pastor at Reid Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church in Glenn Dale, Maryland, said it raises more questions than answers.

“From those of us in the Black church, this decision is being viewed with caution, apprehension and skepticism,” he said. “The question we’re asking is: ‘Why now?’”

Whitlock said he will continue to do what the Black church has always done — educating and civically engaging parishioners. His congregants’ political views vary, too.

“If I do say something in church, it needs to be God-centered, God-focused and a revelation that God gave you,” Whitlock said. “You can’t go to the pulpit as a campaign manager.”

Raymond Chang, president of the Asian American Christian Collaborative, warned that a repeal of the Johnson Amendment could help tether some congregations to certain parties or candidates.

“This can lead to a partisan identity becoming the primary marker of a church or congregation, over a commitment to the Gospel, which cuts against both existing major parties,” he said. “Church leaders may also face pressure to make political endorsements.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that he finds the IRS’ position on the issue “politically convenient and cynical.”

“We’ve seen a lot of the pulpit be coming more and more political over the years — almost weaponized in that respect,” the Democrat said at a church in South Carolina.

What comes next

About 8 in 10 U.S. adults believe churches and other houses of worship should not come out in favor of one political candidate over another during elections, a Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2022 found.

White evangelicals and Black Protestants were a little more divided on the matter, with about one-third in each group favoring political endorsements. But in every other religious group surveyed, there was a strong consensus against political involvement by houses of worship.

Others are more optimistic that the IRS statement puts to bed unfounded criticisms against the agency for a rarely enforced rule.

Terry Lemons, a former IRS official who began at the agency under Democratic President Bill Clinton, called it a “common sense approach through a narrowly written filing.”

Roger Colinvaux, a Catholic University of America law professor, said he would caution churches against “overinterpreting” the IRS statement. He points out that the word “endorse” does not appear anywhere in it and said his biggest concern is religion being used as a partisan tool in campaigns.

Pagitt at Common Good said not all pastors will seize the opportunity because they might be ministering to a divided congregation or might not be comfortable mixing politics and religion.

Chieko Noguchi, spokesperson for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Tuesday that the IRS statement doesn’t “change how the Catholic Church engages in public debate.”

“The Church seeks to help Catholics form their conscience in the Gospel so they might discern which candidates and policies would advance the common good,” Noguchi said. “The Catholic Church maintains its stance of not endorsing or opposing political candidates.”

Bharath reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writer Meg Kinnard in South Carolina contributed reporting.

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

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT

President Donald Trump expressed his disdain for wind power during a meeting with his Cabinet recently, calling it an expensive form of energy that “smart” countries don’t use.

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His comments on Tuesday contained false and misleading information about the use of wind power in the United States and around the world, and came on the heels of an executive order he signed Monday that would end subsidies around “green” energy.

Here’s a look at the facts.

CLAIM: “Wind is a very expensive form of energy.”

THE FACTS: Onshore wind is one of the cheapest sources of electricity generation, with new wind farms expected to produce electricity around $30 per megawatt hour. This compares to a new natural gas plant, around $65 per megawatt hour, or a new advanced nuclear reactor, which runs over $80, according to estimates from the Energy Information Administration. Onshore wind farms cost less to build and operate than natural gas plants on average in most regions of the United States, even without tax credits. Though natural gas plants are available to produce electricity at any time of the day, unlike wind. Offshore wind is among the sources of new power generation that will cost the most to build and operate, at $88 per megawatt hour, according to the EIA.

While electricity rates have risen nationwide over the past decade, states that have added a significant amount of onshore wind power, such as Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico, have kept rates from rising as fast as other states, said Brendan Pierpont, director of electricity modeling at the nonpartisan think tank Energy Innovation. For example, the share of electricity generated from wind in Iowa increased from 15% in 2010 to nearly 60% of the state’s electricity generation in 2023, while the state’s electricity rates grew at a rate slower than that of 42 other states, his research found.

Wind power can be expensive if it’s built where winds are weaker, but the United States is adding it in places with strong wind resources, he added.

“Wind should be seen as part of an overall portfolio of electricity system resources and is an important part of keeping costs down,” he said Wednesday.

Trump has committed to increasing U.S. energy production, particularly fossil fuels. He signed an executive order Monday aimed at phasing out tax credits for wind and solar facilities.

CLAIM: Wind turbines are “almost exclusively” made in China, but President Xi Jinping told Trump they have “very, very few.”

THE FACTS: China is the world’s largest manufacturer of wind turbines, producing more than half of the supply. It is also installing them in China at a record pace. In total, China has 1.3 terawatts of utility-scale wind and solar capacity in development, which could generate more electricity than neighboring Japan consumed in all of 2023, according to a report from the Global Energy Monitor released Wednesday. The report highlighted China’s offshore wind development, calling China the undisputed leader in the offshore wind sector, though it also said coal and gas are still on the rise across China.

“The whole narrative that we’re led to believe in the West is that China is building coal plants and that it’s doing nothing for its carbon footprint,” Tom Harper, partner at the global consultant Baringa, said Tuesday. “So the surprising thing is China is building a portfolio of zero-carbon resources that are designed to not perfectly complement each other, but to work alongside each other to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.”

CLAIM: “If you look at smart countries, they don’t use it.”

THE FACTS: At least 136 countries around the world use wind power to generate electricity, according to the EIA, with many countries growing the amount they produce. The top five markets for wind power in 2024 were China, the U.S., Brazil, India and Germany, while Uzbekistan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia represent the next wave of wind energy growth, according to the Global Wind Energy Council.

Council CEO Ben Backwell said 2024 marked yet another record year for wind energy growth, with the “industry increasingly pushing into new regions.”

Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, disputed the idea that smart countries don’t use wind power. China is soaring ahead in building a massive amount of wind power while Germany, the United Kingdom, Finland, Spain, Sweden, France and many other countries in Europe have large programs of wind construction, he said Wednesday.

“By cutting back on wind power development, the U.S. is ceding the lead to China in this important technology, and killing a lot of U.S. jobs,” Gerrard said in an e-mail.

CLAIM: In New England, two whales washed up over 50 years, “and last summer they had 14 washed up. Now, I’m not saying that’s the wind farm that was built, that maybe it is right.”

THE FACTS: There are no known links between large whale deaths and ongoing offshore wind activities, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA says it analyzes the causes of death whenever possible, following the science and data. Unfounded claims about offshore wind threatening whales have surfaced as a flashpoint in the fight over the future of renewable energy.

The nation’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm officially opened in 2024 east of Montauk Point, New York. The nation’s second-largest offshore wind farm is under construction off the coast of Massachusetts. A five-turbine pilot project has been operating since 2016 off the coast of Rhode Island.

CLAIM: “The birds are dying all over the place.”

THE FACTS: Turbines, like all infrastructure, can pose a risk to birds. However, the National Audubon Society, which is dedicated to the conservation of birds, thinks developers can manage these risks and climate change is a greater threat. An Audubon report found that two-thirds of North American bird species could face extinction due to rising temperatures.

In January, the nonprofit said responsible offshore wind development is a clear win for birds, the U.S. economy and the climate.

“While persistent myths claim widespread and devastating effects of offshore wind turbines on wildlife, the science tells a different story. Our findings clearly indicate that we can responsibly deploy offshore wind in a manner that still protects birds and their habitats,” Sam Wojcicki, Audubon’s senior director for climate policy, wrote in a January post. The organization also supports wind energy on land when it is sited and operated properly to minimize the impact on birds and other wildlife.

CLAIM: “You can’t take them down because the environmentalists don’t let you bury the blades.”

THE FACTS: Wind turbine blades are challenging to recycle. They are designed for durability to withstand hurricane-force winds. However, the U.S. already has the ability to recycle most wind turbine materials, according to the Department of Energy. It issued a report in January that found 90% of wind turbines can be recycled using existing infrastructure, while new strategies and innovative recycling methods will be needed to tackle the rest.

The wind power industry acknowledges that the disposal of wind turbine blades is an issue. Danish wind energy developer Ørsted committed in 2021 to never sending turbine blades to landfill, instead reusing, recycling or otherwise recovering them.

Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.

State lawmakers and members of Congress will be able to visit a controversial immigrant-detention center in the Everglades on Saturday, after some Democratic legislators last week were denied access to inspect the facility.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management on Wednesday sent an email inviting “congressional and state legislators” to tour the detention center, which state officials hurriedly erected as part of an effort to help President Donald Trump’s deportation of undocumented immigrants.

An email from the division said the tour is restricted to “Florida’s state legislators and members of Congress.”

The detention center, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” by Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials, reportedly can house up to 3,000 detainees and is located at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport, a remote site used for flight training.

Lawmakers seeking to tour the facility have until noon Friday to respond to the invitation.

State Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, was among a group of Democratic state legislators who tried to tour the facility on July 3 but were not allowed inside.

“We’re glad to see public pressure forcing the state of Florida to open its doors for a scheduled tour of the Everglades detention center. But let’s be clear: this isn’t a field trip — it’s oversight. The law grants us the right to enter these facilities unannounced, at any time. A scheduled 90-minute tour is not a substitute for lawful access and long-term legislative accountability,” Eskamani said in a statement Wednesday.

Democratic U.S. House members Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Lois Frankel, Darren Soto, Maxwell Frost and Jared Moskowitz said they already were planning “an unannounced oversight visit” to the facility on Saturday.

“We do not need permission to conduct lawful oversight. This sanitized tour is not real oversight,” the Democrats said in a statement Wednesday. The group pointed to “reports of horrific living conditions, rampant denial of due process, the risk of death and destruction from a hurricane, plus irreversible damage to the Everglades and tribal lands.”

But the Democrats said they intend to participate in the tour to inspect the facility and speak with detainees and security workers.

Republicans have touted the facility, with state Attorney General James Uthmeier, in a social-media post this week, calling it a “one-stop-shop deportation center.”

The Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity have filed a federal lawsuit to try to halt the facility. The groups contend it threatens sensitive wetlands and environmentally protected species in the Everglades and the surrounding Big Cypress National Preserve.

By MARYCLAIRE DALE and TASSANEE VEJPONGSA

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A union representing thousands of city workers in Philadelphia and the city have reached a deal to end a more than weeklong strike that halted residential curbside trash pickup and affected other services, officials said Wednesday.

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Nearly 10,000 blue-collar employees from District Council 33 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees walked off the job July 1, seeking better pay and benefits after negotiations with the city failed.

The tentative agreement gives workers a 3% raise in each of the next three years, far from the union’s quest for 5% annual pay hikes. Half of the members will get an additional 2% raise through an added level on the pay scale, Mayor Cherelle Parker said, and most members will qualify by the end of the contract.

Residential trash collection will resume Monday, according to Parker, who asked for “grace” as pools, libraries, recreation centers and other services get back to normal.

“This is a very significant investment in our employees while at the same time ensuring that we as a city are living by our means,” Parker said at a news conference.

District Council 33 is the largest of four major unions representing city workers. Its membership includes 911 dispatchers, trash collectors, water department workers and many others. Police and firefighters weren’t part of the strike.

Parker said that over her four-year term, DC33 workers will have received a total pay bump of 14%, including a 5% one-year hike she gave all four unions after taking office last year.

Many residents seemed to support boosting the pay of DC33 workers, even as trash piled up in neighborhoods. The union says they earn an average $46,000 a year.

• A woman walks past a garbage collection site, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
• A man walks past a garbage collection site, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
• A police officer walks past a garbage collection site, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
• A car drives past a garbage collection site, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
• A man drops off trash at a garbage collection site, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Show Caption1 of 5A woman walks past a garbage collection site, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) Expand

Union members must still ratify the agreement.

Rich Henkels, an actor who just moved into the city, called the settlement “disappointing.”

“The announced raises do nothing for the workers and their families, as the increases will be less than the rate of inflation,” said Henkels, 64.

The settlement was announced early on the ninth day of the strike, a period that included the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Some of the 60 drop-off centers that the city had designated for residential trash were overflowing. Most libraries and some pools across the city were closed, and recreation centers operated on reduced hours.

Last week, judges had sided with the city in ordering some critical employees back to work at the city’s 911 centers, water department and airport.

“We did the best we could with the circumstances we had in front of us,” union President Greg Boulware told reporters in brief remarks Wednesday morning.

By MIKE CATALINI

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (AP) — The Pennsylvania man charged with fatally shooting then beheading his father and posting it on YouTube said on the stand Wednesday that the killing was “Plan B” after trying to arrest his father for what he called false statements and treason.

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Justin D. Mohn, 33, took the stand in a suburban Philadelphia courtroom on the third day of his trial on murder and other charges stemming from the Jan. 30, 2024, homicide of his father Michael F. Mohn.

Mohn, dressed in a blue sport coat, shirt and tie, with his arms shackled to his waist, spoke clearly without any apparent emotion for more than two hours of direct testimony and cross examination.

Responding to questions from his attorney, Steven Jones, Mohn said he shot his father in the bathroom of the family’s Levittown home after telling him he was going to arrest him. Mohn said his father, who he said was an experienced martial artist, told him he would kill him before he let that happen and reached for the gun.

“Unfortunately, he resisted,” Justin Mohn said, adding: “I was hoping to perform a citizen’s arrest on my father for, ultimately, treason.”

He described a list from his notebook, shown during the trial, that had the lines “Boom” and “Slice” as his “Plan B,” and said he expected his father to go along with the citizen’s arrest.

He said he differed politically from his parents, describing them as on the left. He told the court he believed his father wanted to stop him from becoming a politician similar to President Donald Trump and that his father gave false statements in an unrelated civil case Justin Mohn brought in federal court.

Asked why he beheaded his father, he said he wanted to send a message to federal government workers to meet his demands, which included their resignation as well as the cancellation of public debt, among other things. He said he didn’t do it out of hatred for his father or to cause trauma to his family. His mother, Denice Mohn, cried in court at the end of the direct questioning from his attorney.

“I knew something such as a severed head would not only go viral but could lessen the violence,” Justin Mohn said.

Prosecutors said Mohn shot his father with a newly purchased pistol, then decapitated him with a kitchen knife and machete. The 14-minute YouTube video he posted was live for several hours before it was removed.

FILE – Flowers rest at the front door of the Mohn residence in Upper Orchard section of Levittown, Pa., on Feb. 2, 2024. (Tyger Williams/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP, File)

Mohn was arrested later that day after scaling a fence at Fort Indiantown Gap, the state’s National Guard headquarters. He said in court he knew it was wrong to jump the fence at the site. Prosecutors said he called for others to join him in attempting to overthrow the U.S. government.

Mohn had a USB device containing photos of federal buildings and apparent instructions for making explosives when he was arrested, authorities said.

He also expressed violent anti-government rhetoric in writings he published online, going back several years. Earlier in the trial, the judge heard from Justin Mohn’s mother, who said police came to the house he shared with his parents and warned him about his online postings before the killing.

Denice Mohn testified that she and her husband had been offering financial support and guidance as Justin Mohn looked for a job.

Prosecutors described the homicide as “something straight out of a horror film.” They said Justin Mohn killed his father — who had been an engineer with the geoenvironmental section of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Philadelphia District — to intimidate federal workers, calling it a “cold, calculated, organized plan.”

The YouTube video included rants about the government, immigration and the border, fiscal policy, urban crime and the war in Ukraine.

In court, Michael Mohn was remembered as a good neighbor and supportive father. In the video posted on YouTube, Justin Mohn described his father as a 20-year federal employee and called him a traitor.

During a competency hearing last year, a defense expert said Mohn wrote a letter to Russia’s ambassador to the United States seeking to strike a deal to give Mohn refuge and apologizing to President Vladimir Putin for claiming to be the czar of Russia. The judge ruled Mohn was competent to stand trial.

Evidence presented at the trial included graphic photos and the video posted to YouTube. The judge warned members of the public at the trial about the images and said they could leave before the photos were shown. The proceedings are known as a bench trial, with only a judge, not a jury.

By FARNOUSH AMIRI

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it is issuing sanctions against an independent investigator tasked with probing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories, the latest effort by the United States to punish critics of Israel’s 21-month war in Gaza.

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The State Department’s decision to impose sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, follows an unsuccessful U.S. pressure campaign to force the international body to remove her from her post. It also comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is visiting Washington this week to meet with President Donald Trump and other officials about the war in Gaza and more.

It’s unclear what the practical impact the sanctions will have and whether the independent investigator will be able to travel to the U.S. with diplomatic paperwork.

Albanese, an Italian human rights lawyer, has been vocal about what she has described as the “genocide” by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza. Both Israel and the U.S., which provides military support to its close ally, have strongly denied that accusation.

The U.S. had not previously addressed concerns with Albanese head-on because it has not participated in either of the two Human Rights Council sessions this year, including the summer session that ended Tuesday. This is because the Trump administration withdrew the U.S. earlier this year.

Albanese has urged countries to pressure Israel

In recent weeks, Albanese has issued a series of letters urging other countries to pressure Israel, including through sanctions, to end its deadly bombardment of the Gaza Strip.

She has also been a strong supporter of the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants against Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, for allegations of war crimes. She most recently issued a report naming several large U.S. companies as among those aiding what she described as Israel’s occupation and war on Gaza.

“Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on social media. “We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense.”

Albanese’s July 1 report focuses on Western defense companies that have provided weapons used by Israel’s military as well as manufacturers of earth-moving equipment that have bulldozed Palestinian homes and property.

It cites activities by companies in the shipping, real estate, technology, banking and finance and online travel industries, as well as academia.

“While life in Gaza is being obliterated and the West Bank is under escalating assault, this report shows why Israel’s genocide continues: because it is lucrative for many,” her report said.

A request for comment from the U.N.’s top human rights body was not immediately returned.

Israel strongly refutes Albanese’s allegations

Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva, where the 47-member Human Rights Council is based, called Albanese’s report “legally groundless, defamatory, and a flagrant abuse of her office” and having “whitewashed Hamas atrocities.”

Outside experts, such as Albanese, do not represent the United Nations and have no formal authority. However, they report to the council as a means of monitoring countries’ human rights records.

Albanese has faced criticism from pro-Israel officials and groups in the U.S. and in the Middle East. The U.S. mission to the U.N. issued a scathing statement last week, calling for her removal for “a years-long pattern of virulent anti-Semitism and unrelenting anti-Israel bias.”

The statement said Albanese’s allegations of Israel committing genocide or apartheid are “false and offensive.”

Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, celebrated the U.S. action, saying in a statement Wednesday that Albanese’s “relentless and biased campaign against Israel and the United States has long crossed the line from human rights advocacy into political warfare.”

Trump administration’s campaign to quiet criticism of Israel

It is a culmination of a nearly six-month campaign by the Trump administration to quell criticism of Israel’s handling of the war in Gaza. Earlier this year, the administration began arresting and trying to deport faculty and students of U.S. universities who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations and other political activities.

The war between Israel and Hamas began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters stormed into Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 people captive. Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says women and children make up most of the dead but does not specify how many were fighters or civilians.

Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada, and European Union.

Nearly 21 months into the conflict that displaced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people, it is nearly impossible for the critically wounded to get the care they need, doctors and aid workers say.

“We must stop this genocide, whose short-term goal is completing the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, while also profiteering from the killing machine devised to perform it,” Albanese said in a recent post on X. “No one is safe until everyone is safe.”

Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten in Geneva contributed to this report.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I prepared some hand-dipped chocolate goodies and delivered them to a couple of ladies in my neighborhood.

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A few days later, one of the ladies called me to tell me she is diabetic and couldn’t eat them.

I was sad that “it’s the thought that counts” must not come into play anymore. I felt her phone call was rude and unnecessary.

Am I being petty, or was she being rude?

It will make me think twice next time I try to be thoughtful. This friend certainly won’t see goodies from me again.

GENTLE READER: Then you will not want to hear that this lady spent the intervening time fuming over the thoughtlessness displayed in putting her health at risk — as if, instead of trying to brighten her day, you had attempted to force-feed her.

Miss Manners recommends saying, “I’m sorry to hear that. Thanks for letting me know” — and then tossing the conversation in the memory dustbin and, as was your plan, not repeating the gesture. This is also an approximation of what Miss Manners would have counseled the lady with diabetes, had she been asked.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My parents decided to throw us a housewarming party — the day after we moved our family of five into a new home.

They invited some people around town who’d known me as a kid. They also invited my friends, and then asked them to invite more people. And they brought their own snacks.

We had been cleaning the apartment we had moved out of and still needed to put up curtains and assemble beds in the new place.

The guests were polite, but did not help us unpack, except for my brother, who helped me with my daughter’s bed.

Was there a polite way I could have asked these unexpected guests to leave so we could continue working?

GENTLE READER: Trying to explain to guests that, while it is true they were invited to your new home, you are not responsible for making them feel welcome because you were unaware an invitation had been sent is a bit like trying to explain to the police that, although you admit to driving the getaway car, you had no idea your friend intended to rob the bank.

Your audience will be skeptical — if not outright hostile — and you cannot rely on the people who know the truth to back up your story.

Miss Manners says this to encourage you to pay greater attention to your parents’ plans in the future, in case you missed an earlier opportunity to squelch this one.

By the time everyone had arrived, the most you could do politely was look so tired and overwhelmed that the guests decamped voluntarily — or pitched in.

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DEAR MISS MANNERS: I often hear someone say something along the lines of “We politely ask that you refrain from …” or “We politely decline to accept …”

Silly question, but this doesn’t make sense to me: If you’re asking or doing something politely, should you actually say you are doing that thing politely?

GENTLE READER: The correct form is, “We respectfully ask (or decline),” which Miss Manners would normally agree is silly, except that it is not easy to convey respect in very few words.

Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, gentlereader@missmanners.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

Today is Wednesday, July 9, the 190th day of 2024. There are 175 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On July 9, 1868, the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified, granting citizenship and “equal protection under the laws” to anyone “born or naturalized in the United States,” including formerly enslaved people.

Also on this date:

In 1850, President Zachary Taylor died of gastrointestinal illness after consuming a large amount of cherries and iced milk on a hot day five days earlier; Vice President Millard Fillmore was sworn in as president the following day.

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In 1896, William Jennings Bryant delivered his famous “Cross of Gold” speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

In 1918, 101 people were killed in a train collision in Nashville, Tennessee in the deadliest US rail disaster in history.

In 1937, a fire at 20th Century Fox’s storage facility in Little Ferry, New Jersey, destroyed most of the studio’s silent films.

In 1943, during World War II, the Allies launched Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily.

In 1944, during World War II, American forces secured Saipan as the last Japanese defenses fell.

In 1947, the engagement of Britain’s Princess Elizabeth to Lt. Philip Mountbatten was announced.

In 1965, the Sonny & Cher single “I Got You Babe” was released by ATCO Records.

In 1982, Pan Am Flight 759, a Boeing 727, crashed in Kenner, Louisiana, shortly after takeoff from New Orleans International Airport, killing all 145 people aboard and eight people on the ground.

In 2004, a Senate Intelligence Committee report concluded the CIA had provided unfounded assessments of the threat posed by Iraq that the Bush administration had relied on to justify going to war.

In 2010, the largest U.S.-Russia spy swap since the Cold War was completed on a remote stretch of Vienna airport tarmac as planes from New York and Moscow arrived within minutes of each other with 10 Russian sleeper agents and four prisoners accused by Russia of spying for the West.

In 2011, South Sudan officially became an independent nation.

In 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to fill the seat left vacant by the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Today’s Birthdays:

• Artist David Hockney is 88.
• Author Dean Koontz is 80.
• Actor Chris Cooper is 74.
• Musician and TV personality John Tesh is 73.
• Country singer David Ball is 72.
• Business executive/TV personality Kevin O’Leary (TV: “Shark Tank”) is 71.
• Singer Debbie Sledge (Sister Sledge) is 71.
• Actor Jimmy Smits is 70.
• US Senator Lindsey Graham is 70.
• Actor Tom Hanks is 69.
• Singer Marc Almond is 68.
• Actor Kelly McGillis is 68.
• Rock singer Jim Kerr (Simple Minds) is 66.
• Actor-rock singer Courtney Love is 61.
• Actor Pamela Adlon is 59.
• Actor Scott Grimes is 54.
• Actor Enrique Murciano (TV: “Without a Trace”) is 52.
• Musician/producer Jack White is 50.
• Rock singer-musician Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse) is 50.
• Actor-director Fred Savage is 49.
• Actor Linda Park (TV: “Star Trek: Enterprise”) is 47.
• Actor Megan Parlen is 45.
• Animator/writer/producer Rebecca Sugar is 38.
• Actor Mitchel Musso is 34.
• Actor Georgie Henley (Film: “The Chronicles of Narnia”) is 30.

Q: Duncan Robinson scored more 3 -pointers (190) than Norman Powell (179) last season and is making less money. Are we sure Powell is an upgrade? – Harvey.

A: Yes, a far more diverse scorer than a 3-point specialist. As one scout told me, his reference point to Norman Powell is that he is a scorer not just a shooter.  And at one point earlier in his career, Norman was a far superior defender than Duncan Robinson even on Duncan’s best defensive days. That did slip noticeably last season with the Clippers, with the question of whether the Heat can get him back up to a workable level. But, yes, with all due respect to Duncan, an upgrade. The bottom line was that the Heat were not going to be able to retain Duncan at much less than $20 million, which makes the actual price points for the Heat relatively equal.

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Q: Hi, Ira. The Norman Powell trade seems too good to be true, am I missing something? I hope that, unlike the case with Terry Rozier, his offensive numbers will translate to the Heat’s slow-paced offense. – Ray, Deerfield Beach.

A: The difference is that Norman Powell has shown he can score on a team that valued winning. Terry Rozier’s scoring with the Hornets came on the team with little such direction. Norman Powell has done it when it has mattered. That matters. A lot. Further, the Clippers were 22nd in pace last season, not far off the Heat’s No. 27. So Norman has already shown an ability to play amid a slow go.

Q: Ira, I am cautiously optimistic for next year. While I agree with you that there is a chance for another trade move, even a Pat Riley out-of-the-blue blockbuster, I think this team, as constituted, could be a mid-40s-win team. IMHO, it is not a 37-win team adding Norman Powell. It is a 37-win team not having the sturm und drang of the Jimmy Butler situation and adding Andrew Wiggins, Davion Mitchell and Norman Powell. Even with no growth from the young guys, that could be seven or eight  more wins. – Howard, Hallandale Beach.

A: Agree that if not for the Jimmy Butler contretemps last season, something closer to .500 could be achieved. But there remain so many unknowns, including the young players. Erik Spoelstra had ample pieces. But do they fit? The East will afford an opportunity for improvement, but most every team at the top of the conference has a better player than the Heat’s best player.

With the 2025 NFL season fast approaching, the South Florida Sun Sentinel takes a look at 10 storylines to watch for in a 10-part series ahead of the Miami Dolphins’ first day of training camp, which is set for July 22.

It’s the biggest “if” surrounding the Miami Dolphins’ season — “If quarterback Tua Tagovailoa can stay healthy … ”

You can finish the sentence almost any way you’d like. The possibilities are seemingly endless: 

— If Tagovailoa can stay healthy, the Dolphins should be a playoff team;

— If Tagovailoa can stay healthy, Dolphins general manager Chris Grier and coach Mike McDaniel will almost certainly return for the 2026 season;

— If Tagovailoa can stay healthy, wide receiver Tyreek Hill has a shot at 2,000 yards receiving.

The list goes on and on.

Tagovailoa’s health is the No. 1 key to the Dolphins having a successful season. And for Tagovailoa to stay healthy, the Dolphins maintain he must play smarter.

“He needs to know how to protect himself,” Grier said in a season-ending news confernece session. “You’re going to get hit at times, it’s always going to happen, but he needs to control what he can control. He understands that. Not being available for taking chances and risk is unacceptable to us, and he knows that.”

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It seems Tagovailoa has received the message. He knows what must be his point of emphasis in 2025.

“It’s knowing when is the time to give up on a play,” he said. “I would say the longevity for me to be on the field with my guys is more important than whatever that one play is.”

Granted, the Dolphins were only 6-5 last year in Tagovailoa’s starts.

But they were 11-6 in 2023 (11-7 including the playoffs), and 8-5 in 2022.

So, all told the Dolphins are 25-17 (.595) in Tagovailoa’s starts under McDaniel, who revitalized his career in 2022.

If that winning percentage holds in 2025, the Dolphins will go 10-7 (.588).

They key is Tagovailoa playing smarter. 

Playing smarter means getting rid of the ball — throwing it out of bounds or into the ground — instead of holding it for that extra half second in hopes the receiver gets open. Playing smarter means sliding instead of taking on a would-be tackler, such as against Buffalo last year, or it means sliding to avoid a hit, such as he should have done against Houston last year. Playing smarter means not diving at the knees of the defender who intercepted his pass in an effort to make a tackle, such as Tagovailoa did against the Los Angeles Rams linebacker Christian Rozeboom last season.

Dolphins Deep Dive: What is Miami’s goal for the 2025 season? | VIDEO

In a sense, Tagovailoa must control his competitiveness for the good of the team.

“It just comes natural to me to compete in that sense, and that’s just the thing I fight with every time,” he said.

From the sound of things, that message hasn’t simply been relayed to Tagovailoa, it’s been emphasized. 

“And again,” Grier said, “it’s his availability of controlling what he can control, like throw the ball away, you don’t have to run around and be Superman, live for the next play.”

Tagovailoa joined the Dolphins with an injury history. His final season at Alabama in 2020 ended with a combination hip injury, broken nose and concussion against Mississippi State.

His first two seasons with the Dolphins included missed games for a finger injury in 2020 (one game) and a rib injury in 2021 (three games).

The bigger problems started in 2022. Tagovailoa sustained a high-profile concussion at Cincinnati in a nationally televised Thursday night game. He struck the so-called “fencing pose,” meaning, in layman’s terms, his hands and fingers froze in an unnatural position. He spent part of the night in a hospital before flying home with the team. He missed the next four games.

The previous week against Buffalo, Tagovailoa’s head hit the ground after a hit and he wobbled noticeably while trying to get to the line of scrimmage for the next play. The NFL and NFL Players Association took notice and the league eventually changed its head injury policy.

Tagovailoa sustained another concussion later in the 2022 season in a Christmas game against Green Bay, forcing him to miss the finale and the team’s wild-card playoff game. That concussion wasn’t diagnosed until the day after the game.

In 2024, Tagovailoa sustained a concussion against Buffalo after running head-first into safety Damar Hamlin while trying to get a first down. He missed the required four games after being placed on the injured reserve list.

Later in the season he sustained a hip injury while running the ball against Houston. He missed the final two games.

The Dolphins are 3-8 (.273) in games Tagovailoa has missed in the McDaniel era.

Clearly, his ability to stay on the field is important.

McDaniel said Tagovailoa started the offseason knowing his ability to stay on the field in 2025 is paramount. So when McDaniel was asked whether there were teaching reinforcements used with Tagovailoa during the offseason intended to keep him healthy during the regular season, his answer was predictable.

“Come on, every rep this dude has that is an opportunity to reinforce something paramount, I’m probably going to over-reinforce paramount,” McDaniel said, “so yes.”

Previously addressed

Chris Grier, Mike McDaniel or both? Who’s on Dolphins’ hot seat entering 2025 season?

Is this Tyreek Hill’s final season with the Dolphins?

Here are the top stories for Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Get the weather forecast for today here.

SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get our free Morning Update email. Sign up here.

Hollywood mayor and commission give themselves big raise to keep up with Fort Lauderdale

Donald J. Trump Boulevard is the latest presidential road in Palm Beach County

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By NADIA LATHAN and JOHN SEEWER

HUNT, Texas (AP) — As the search in Texas continued Wednesday for more than 160 people believed to be missing days after a destructive wall of water killed over 100 people, the full extent of the catastrophe had yet to be revealed as officials warned that unaccounted victims could still be found amid the massive piles of debris that stretch for miles.

“Know this: We will not stop until every missing person is accounted for. Know this also: There very likely could be more added to that list,” Gov. Greg Abbott said during a news conference Tuesday.

Abbot said officials have been seeking more information about those who were in the state’s Hill Country during the Fourth of July holiday but did not register at a camp or a hotel and may have been in the area without many people knowing.

The lowlands of Kerr County along the Guadalupe River, where most of the victims of the flash flooding have been recovered so far, are filled with youth camps and campgrounds, including Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 campers and counselors died. Officials said Tuesday that five campers and one counselor have still not been found.

Crews in airboats, helicopters and on horseback along with hundreds of volunteers are part of one of the largest search operations in Texas history.

The flash flood is the deadliest from inland flooding in the U.S. since Colorado’s Big Thompson Canyon flood on July 31, 1976, killed 144 people, said Bob Henson, a meteorologist with Yale Climate Connections. That flood surged through a narrow canyon packed with people on a holiday weekend, Colorado’s centennial celebration.

Public officials in charge of locating the victims are facing intensifying questions about who was in charge of monitoring the weather and warning that floodwaters were barreling toward camps and homes.

Abbott promised that the search for victims will not stop until everyone is found. He also said President Donald Trump has pledged to provide whatever relief Texas needs to recover. Trump plans to visit the state Friday.

Scenes of devastation at Camp Mystic

Outside the cabins at Camp Mystic where the girls had slept, mud-splattered blankets and pillows were scattered on a grassy hill that slopes toward the river. Also in the debris were pink, purple and blue luggage decorated with stickers.

Among those who died at the camp were a second grader who loved pink sparkles and bows, a 19-year-old counselor who enjoyed mentoring young girls and the camp’s 75-year-old director.

The flash floods erupted before daybreak Friday after massive rains sent water speeding down hills into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise 26 feet (8 meters) in less than an hour. Some campers had to swim out of cabin windows to safety while others held onto a rope as they made their way to higher ground.

Just two days before the flooding, Texas inspectors had signed off on the camp’s emergency planning. But five years of inspection reports released to The Associated Press don’t provide any details about how the camp would instruct campers about evacuating and specific duties each staff member and counselor would be assigned.

Although it’s difficult to attribute a single weather event to climate change, experts say a warming atmosphere and oceans make catastrophic storms more likely.

Where were the warnings?

Questions mounted about what, if any, actions local officials took to warn campers and residents who were in the scenic area long known to locals as “flash flood alley.”

Leaders in Kerr county, where searchers have found about 90 bodies, said their first priority is recovering victims, not reviewing what happened in the moments before the flash floods.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, the county’s chief elected official, said the county does not have a warning system.

Generations of families in the Hill Country have known the dangers. A 1987 flood forced the evacuation of a youth camp in the town of Comfort and swamped buses and vans. Ten teenagers were killed.

Local leaders have talked for years about the need for a warning system. Kerr County sought a nearly $1 million grant eight years ago for such a system, but the request was turned down by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Local residents balked at footing the bill themselves, Kelly said.

Recovery and cleanup goes on

The bodies of 30 children were among those that have been recovered in the county, which is home to Camp Mystic and several other summer camps, the sheriff said.

The devastation spread across several hundred miles in central Texas all the way to just outside the capital of Austin.

Aidan Duncan escaped just in time after hearing the muffled blare of a megaphone urging residents to evacuate Riverside RV Park in the Hill Country town of Ingram.

All his belongings — a mattress, sports cards, his pet parakeet’s bird cage — now sit caked in mud in front of his home.

“What’s going on right now, it hurts,” the 17-year-old said. “I literally cried so hard.”

___

Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press writers Joshua A. Bickel in Kerrville, Texas, Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, and John Hanna in Topeka, Kansas, contributed to this report.

CINCINNATI — The Miami Marlins extended their franchise-record road winning streak to 11 with a 12-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night.

It’s the longest road winning streak in the major leagues since the Phillies won 13 straight away from home in 2023.

Eury Pérez (2-2) made his sixth start for the Marlins since returning this season from Tommy John surgery and only two hits including Matt McLain’s solo homer, his 10th, in the first inning. Pérez struck out eight and didn’t walk a batter.

After Nick Martinez (6-9) retired the first six batters he faced, the Marlins collected six consecutive hits off him in the third, including a two-run double by Xavier Edwards to take a 7-1 lead.

Martinez, who made his first start at Great American Ball Park since taking a no-hitter into the ninth against the Padres, allowed a career-high 10 earned runs on seven hits.

Key moment

The Marlins caught a break in the seven-run third inning when Agustín Ramírez’s high-hopper went just over the head of Reds’ third baseman Noelvi Marte to drive home another run and keep the rally going.

Key stat

During the road winning streak, the Marlins have outscored their opponents 82-47.

Up next

Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott (7-1, 2.15 ERA) will make his first start since being named to the NL All-Star team and will face Marlins RHP Sandy Alcantra (4-8, 7.01) on Wednesday.

They arrived as two of a kind, played that way as rookies, and were at it again Tuesday night for the Miami Heat at summer league.

Having both joined the Heat a year ago after playing as teammates at Arizona, Pelle Larsson and Keshad Johnson again showed the aggressive promise they potentially can offer beyond meaningless games such as these.

In the Heat’s finale of the California Classic at Chase Center, Larsson and Johnson each went for points in a 93-79 victory over the Golden State Warriors’ summer roster.

Those efforts came with Heat summer-league coach Eric Glass giving 2024 first-round pick Kel’el Ware the night off, on night 2025 first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis again struggled with his shooting, closing 0 for 5 from the field,  leaving late in the fourth quarter after knee to knee contact.

The prime positive takeaway Tuesday was the energy injected into the equation by Larsson and Johnson, as the Heat completed a weeklong stay in the Bay Area, closing the California Classic at 2-1.

“It’s the example that the other guys that are a little bit newer to this, that are still learning our system, they see those guys doing all the right things and competing at a high level and setting that pace for the rest of the group,” Glass said of Larsson and Johnson. “So I couldn’t ask for anything more when it comes to that.”

Larsson, a second-round pick a year ago, and Johnson, who went undrafted a year ago, both are under contract for the coming season.

“We were all just moving, moving the ball,” Johnson said of Tuesday’s effort.

Then there was Jakucionis, who shot a combined 1 of 15 in the three games in the event.

“This is a process. He’s 19 years old. This is just what it is,” Glass said.

The Heat next move on to the larger Las Vegas NBA Summer League, which features rosters from all 30 teams.

The Heat will open defense Friday of their Vegas championship with a 4:30 p.m. Eastern game (ESPN2) against the Atlanta Hawks’ summer roster.

That will be the first of at least five games for the Heat on the UNLV campus, as they close out their summer schedule.

Five Degrees of Heat from Tuesday night’s game:

1. For starters: Ware was given the game off after a pair of uneven starts in the first two of three games at Chase Center, replaced in the starting lineup Tuesday by former FAU center Vlad Goldin, who went undrafted out of Michigan. Goldin was given Sunday’s game off.

In addition to Goldin being back, also back after a game off and in the starting lineup were Larsson, Johnson and Kira Lewis, the 2020 first-round pick of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Lewis closed with 16 points and four assists.

Jakucionis was in the Heat starting lineup for the third time, the lone starter in all three California Classic games for the Heat.

2. Goldin touch: The extended look at Goldin could be part of the Heat evaluating their limited regular-season depth at center beyond Ware and Bam Adebayo, now that Kevin Love was dealt Monday in the trade that delivered Norman Powell from the Los Angeles Clippers.

Golden closed with 10 points and five rebounds in 20 minutes, shooting 4 of 5.

Should Goldin not be deemed sufficient roster depth in the middle on his two-way contract, the remaining options for the Heat on the free-agent market are somewhat limited.

Among remaining free-agent centers at the moment are former Heat big men Thomas Bryant, Orlando Robinson and Cody Zeller.

An option was lost Tuesday night when former Heat center Kelly Olynyk was dealt from the Washington Wizards to the San Antonio Spurs.

3. Attack mode: Larsson continued to play in attack mode, up to 12 points by the intermission.

He closed 5 of 10 from the field, with five rebounds and four assists.

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“He’s just a really steadying presence out there,” Glass said of Larsson.

4. Highlight moments: Johnson offered one of his trademark flying transition dunks in the third period off a steal and feed from Lewis.

While Johnson has yet to consistently show the 3-point touch to make him a 3-and-D power forward in the mold of P.J. Tucker, he did convert a pair Tuesday night and his athleticism continues to stand out on a Heat roster somewhat lacking in that regard.

Johnson, who had his 2025-26 contract fully guaranteed a week ago, closed 6 of 9 from the field, with four rebounds.

“We love what he’s been bringing for us,” Glass said.

While play was closed to the public on Tuesday’s final day of the California Classic, Johnson was able to have his Oakland-based family on hand.

“My family came out,” he said with a smile, requesting the ESPN camera pan to his family. “They always come out. I love my family to death.”

5. Still searching: After shooting 1 of 7 in his Heat debut in Saturday’s opening victory of the California Classic against the Spurs and then 0 for 3 in Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers’ summer roster, Jakucionis this time was limited to five points.

“I think I need to just settle in more, play at my own pace, don’t get sped up too much as I was these three games,” he said, also with four turnovers in his 22 minutes.

On the flip side, at least on summer-league level, Jakucionis has shown better defensive chops than forecast, although he did close with eight fouls. Players have a 10-foul limit during summer league, despite the 40-minute summer games being eight minutes shorted than during the regular season.

The Trump administration’s top diplomat, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was overseeing a deal to free several Americans and dozens of political prisoners held in Venezuela in exchange for sending home about 250 Venezuelan migrants the United States had deported to El Salvador.

But the deal never happened.

Part of the reason: President Donald Trump’s envoy to Venezuela was working on his own deal, one with terms that Venezuela deemed more attractive. In exchange for American prisoners, he was offering to allow Chevron to continue its oil operations in Venezuela, a vital source of revenue for its authoritarian government.

The discussions, which included the release of about 80 Venezuelan political prisoners, and the two different deals were described by two U.S. officials and two other people who are familiar with the talks and sought anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue.

The State Department never sealed the deal. The top U.S. officials did not appear to be communicating with each other and ended up at cross purposes. The approximately 250 people expelled from the United States are still being held in a maximum-security prison in El Salvador. And it became clear that while Trump’s White House once said that it had no control over the detainees in El Salvador, it was willing to use them as bargaining chips.

Both U.S. tracks — one managed by Rubio and the other led by the envoy, Richard Grenell — involved speaking with the same Venezuelan representative, Jorge Rodríguez, president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, one U.S. official and the two other people said.

The conflicting diplomatic efforts signaled a monthslong divide over how to approach Venezuela and resembled the chaos that permeated Trump’s first term, when competing officials vied for influence with the president. But the lack of coordination left Venezuelan officials unclear about who spoke for Trump and, ultimately, left both American and Venezuelan detainees imprisoned.

The offer to swap Venezuelan migrants in El Salvador for prisoners remains on the table, one of the U.S. officials said. The White House is not willing, for now, to extend Chevron’s license in Venezuela.

Grenell declined an interview request but said in an email that The New York Times’ account about the separate deals was bogus.

A person close to Grenell who is familiar with the talks with Venezuela said Grenell did not believe that a swap involving the Venezuelan migrants was going to happen because he believed that Trump would never have authorized the release of accused gang members. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect the sensitive nature of the ongoing negotiations.

Trump’s aides said that there was no tension between any of the diplomats.

“There is no fraction or division,” Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in a statement. “The president has one team, and everyone knows he is the ultimate decision-maker.”

The United States is paying the Salvadoran government millions of dollars to detain migrants who the Trump administration claims are all members of a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, and who it said had come to the United States to commit crimes.

But the Trump administration has provided little proof that the men are gang members, and their lawyers argue that their detentions are illegal and took place without due process.

The negotiations over the swap, which were led by the State Department and John McNamara, the chargé d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá, Colombia, who also oversees Venezuelan affairs, had advanced to the point where in May, Venezuela was set to send a state plane to El Salvador to retrieve the men, one of the two people said.

At the same time, the United States planned to send a plane normally used for deportations to Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, to pick up the political prisoners and the Americans. McNamara planned to fly to Caracas to oversee the handover.

The Venezuelan political prisoners, many of whom were arrested while protesting fraudulent elections held last year, would have been given the choice of staying in Venezuela or going to live in El Salvador, according to one of the people close to the talks.

The swap would have included a range of people who protested the 2024 election results in Venezuela, including a man jailed for criticizing President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela on TikTok and a former mayor arrested in August.

The deal would have freed 11 Americans and U.S. citizens, including Lucas Hunter, who was arrested in January, and Jonathan Pagan Gonzalez, who was arrested last year.

El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, first hinted at such a deal in late April. He suggested on social media that a “humanitarian agreement” would exchange all the Venezuelan migrants for Americans in Venezuelan custody and some Venezuelans. At the time, Venezuelan officials publicly dismissed the proposal and demanded that their “kidnapped” countrymen be returned.

While Rubio and McNamara focused on the prisoner swap, Grenell worked on a deal of his own. Before pitching it to the Venezuelans, Grenell called the president to tell him about the offer and believed he had the president’s support. But Grenell had not actually received the president’s final approval, according to one of the U.S. officials.

The White House had already heard from a group of Florida Republicans, Cuban Americans, who threatened not to support Trump’s tax and domestic policy bill if the administration eased oil sanctions against Venezuela. Trump’s aides believed that allowing Chevron to export oil from Venezuela would jeopardize Trump’s domestic policy agenda. Now that the bill has passed, it is unclear if administration officials will change their minds on the Chevron license.

The exchange arranged by the State Department was set to take place in late May. That month, Grenell went to Venezuela on a separate mission in which he won the release of Joseph St. Clair, an Air Force veteran held in Venezuela.

Senior Trump administration officials still view Grenell as a valuable player in the administration, even though some say they believe that he moved too fast — and without the necessary buy-in — in the episode.

Grenell, the person close to him said, was surprised to learn about the swap, and is the only authorized negotiator on any deals with Venezuela. But since the episode, Rubio has taken the lead in talking to the Venezuelans, one of the U.S. officials said.

The Venezuelan and Salvadoran governments did not provide comment for this article.

The relatives of some Americans detained in Venezuela expressed frustration over the failure of the efforts to win their freedom.

“The sense that we parents had was that you had various people talking, but they weren’t working together — one negotiator would say one thing, and another would say something else,” said Petra Castañeda, whose son, Wilbert Castañeda, 37, a Navy SEAL, was arrested last year in Venezuela. “You would think they would be duly coordinated.”

In Trump’s first term, U.S. officials tried to oust Maduro through sanctions, diplomatic isolation and the support of an alternative president, a young legislator. Rubio and other Cuban American Republicans continue to support sanctions and an isolationist approach.

But in the second term, Grenell has expressed a willingness to work with the Venezuelan government. He made his first trip to Caracas in January, and got several Americans released.

The Maduro government has spent the past year or so rounding up foreigners in its territory and imprisoning them to use in negotiations with foreign governments, according to security analysts and human rights groups.

The Venezuelan watchdog group Foro Penal says there are now 85 people with foreign citizenship wrongfully detained in Venezuela, the largest number the group has ever counted.

While Grenell was able to secure the release of six Americans in January, and then St. Clair in May, many more U.S. citizens and permanent residents remained in Venezuelan custody or were recently captured.

The State Department deal that had been in the works with Venezuela included stern warnings that suggested severe consequences if more prisoners were taken after the swap, one of the people said.

Jetzy Arteaga, whose son, Carlos Cañizales Arteaga, has been held in El Salvador since March after migrating to North Carolina, said she was eager to see the deal revived.

“At first, when we heard that our sons were being used as bargaining chips, this offended us a lot,” Arteaga said. “Our sons are not bargaining chips. But now we realize there is no other option.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By WILL WEISSERT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Turns out Donald Trump gauges his esteem for presidential predecessors by how well their portraits fit into his White House redecorating scheme. Or sometimes how well the frames around those portraits do.

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“I’m a frame person,” Trump said Tuesday during a meeting with his Cabinet. “Sometimes I like frames more than I like the pictures.”

Trump wrapped up a 90-plus-minute session by explaining how he personally worked to redecorate the Cabinet Room, seeming to take real joy in choosing which portraits were hung. The president also said he helped choose the room’s drapes and polled those present about whether he should repaint the room in gold leaf. (Cabinet members think he should.)

“I actually spent time in the vaults. The vaults are where we have a lot of great pictures and artwork. And I picked it all myself,” Trump said. “I’m very proud of it.”

The president said that meant “a lot of time, effort” and “very little money.” He even recounted having gone to Secretary of State Marco Rubio ‘s office and directing that a grandfather clock there be moved to the White House.

“As president, you have the power — if I go into the State Department, or Department of Commerce or Treasury — if I see anything that I like, I’m allowed to take it,” Trump said, drawing laughs. He offered the anecdote despite there not being any record of Trump having paid a public visit to the State Department during Rubio’s tenure.

Trump also pointed out each portrait and shared what he thought of each ex-president depicted. He started by indicating “the great Andrew Jackson ” and went from there — renewing his frequent praise for William McKinley and getting in a dig about how Bill Clinton once offered donors overnight stays in the Lincoln bedroom in exchange for campaign contributions.

• WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 08: A painting of former President Abraham Lincoln is visible on the wall as U.S. President Donald Trump talks about redecorating the Cabinet Room during a cabinet meeting at the White House on July 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump discussed the recent flash flooding tragedy in Central Texas where at least 109 people have died, and other topics during the portion of the meeting that was open to members of the media. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
• WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 08: A portrait of former President James Polk is visible on the wall as U.S. President Donald Trump talks about redecorating the Cabinet Room during a cabinet meeting at the White House on July 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump discussed the recent flash flooding tragedy in Central Texas where at least 109 people have died, and other topics during the portion of the meeting that was open to members of the media. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
• WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 08: A clock, that U.S. President Donald Trump said he took from the State Department is visible as Trump talks about redecorating the Cabinet Room during a cabinet meeting at the White House on July 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump discussed the recent flash flooding tragedy in Central Texas where at least 109 people have died, and other topics during the portion of the meeting that was open to members of the media. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
• WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 08: U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio (L) and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (R), discusses his decorating of the Cabinet Room during a cabinet meeting at the White House on July 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump discussed the recent flash flooding tragedy in Central Texas where at least 109 people have died, and other topics during the portion of the meeting that was open to members of the media. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
• WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 08: A portrait of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower is visible on the wall as U.S. President Donald Trump talks about redecorating the Cabinet Room during a cabinet meeting at the White House on July 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump discussed the recent flash flooding tragedy in Central Texas where at least 109 people have died, and other topics during the portion of the meeting that was open to members of the media. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
• WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 08: A painting of former President Abraham Lincoln is visible on the wall as U.S. President Donald Trump talks about redecorating the Cabinet Room during a cabinet meeting at the White House on July 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump discussed the recent flash flooding tragedy in Central Texas where at least 109 people have died, and other topics during the portion of the meeting that was open to members of the media. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
• WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 08: A painting of former President Abraham Lincoln is visible on the wall as U.S. President Donald Trump talks about redecorating the Cabinet Room during a cabinet meeting at the White House on July 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump discussed the recent flash flooding tragedy in Central Texas where at least 109 people have died, and other topics during the portion of the meeting that was open to members of the media. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
• President Donald Trump, right seated, speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Show Caption1 of 8WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 08: A painting of former President Abraham Lincoln is visible on the wall as U.S. President Donald Trump talks about redecorating the Cabinet Room during a cabinet meeting at the White House on July 08, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump discussed the recent flash flooding tragedy in Central Texas where at least 109 people have died, and other topics during the portion of the meeting that was open to members of the media. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) Expand

Here’s what Trump said about some past presidents:

James K. Polk (1845-49):

“That’s a gentleman named — and we call him — President Polk. He was sort of a real-estate guy. He was — people don’t realize — he was a one-termer. But he was a very good president. But, and I’m not sure I should be doing this, he actually gave us the state of California.”

Then Trump revealed that his choice of Polk’s picture might have had more do with the portrait’s frame being almost the same size as the frame surrounding Jackson’s portrait, which he suggested was especially aesthetically pleasing: “Polk is actually a very good president who’s got the same frame that I needed, OK.”

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-61):

“A very underrated president. Built the Interstate (Highway) System. And he was the toughest president, I guess, until we came along. But I don’t mind giving up that crown, because, I don’t want to be too tough on it. But we want to be humane. But he was the toughest president on immigration. He was very strong at the borders. Very, very strong. And, sometimes you can be too strong. He was strong at the borders and, during a certain period of time, there was so strong that almost every farmer in California went bankrupt. And we have to remember that. We have to work together. We have to remember that. But he was a very good president, and a very good general and a very good president and I thought he deserved a position somewhere on this floor.”

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-45):

“He was not a Republican, to put it mildly. But he was, you know, a four-termer. He was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And, if you notice, we have a lot of ramps outside. You have a ramp. People say, ‘It’s an unusual place for a ramp.’ It was because of him. He was wheelchair bound. But he was an amazing man.”

Abraham Lincoln (1861-65):

“Over there is ‘Honest’ Abe Lincoln. And that picture was in his, ugh, in his bedroom. And we thought this would be a very important place because this is where wars are ended. I’m not going to say wars are declared. I’m going to say wars are ended. OK? We’ll be positive. And, that’s the picture of Abe Lincoln from his bedroom, sat in the bedroom for many, many years. That was his favorite picture of himself. And the Lincoln Bedroom’s very famous. You remember when Bill Clinton had it and he rented it out to people. We don’t do that.”

John Adams (1797-1801):

“They were the first occupants of the White House. 1800. And John Quincy Adams, Mrs. Adams, they were the first occupants. So we have them looking at each other and, in between their stares is Abraham Lincoln trying to make peace.”

(Trump is correct that John Adams, the nation’s second president, and his wife Abigail, were the first first couple to move into the White House in 1800. But he was mistaken about John Quincy Adams, who was John and Abigail’s son and the sixth president. He served from 1825 to 1829).

William McKinley (1897-1901):

“McKinley was a great president who never got credit. In fact, they changed the name of Mount McKinley and I changed it back because he should have been — the people of Ohio, he was the governor of Ohio — the people of Ohio were very happy when I did that. I heard they were very insulted. They took the name of Mount McKinley off. That was done by Obama a little while ago and I had to change it back. I changed it back. He actually was a great president. He was a president. He was the tariff, the most, I guess since me — I think I’m gonna outdo him — but he was a tariff president. He believed that other countries should pay for the privilege of coming into our country and taking our jobs and taking our treasure. That’s the way he explained it. They took our jobs and they took our treasure. And for that he should pay. And he made them pay. And he built a tremendous fortune.”

Will Weissert covers the White House for The Associated Press.