South Florida Local News

DALLAS — Observations and other notes of interest from Wednesday night’s 118-108 loss to the Dallas Mavericks:

– So much for the notion of overstated concern.

– Can the Heat make it work with both Tyler Herro and Norman Powell?

– As Wednesday night showed, it ultimately might be the only way.

– Herro did his part, at least in the first half, against the Mavericks.

– Powell was just a spectator, sidelined by an ankle sprain.

– Yes, when Herro returned last week from his September ankle surgery, it initially was an either/or approach by Herro and Powell.

– Understandable.

– Acclimation takes time.

– But few teams go anywhere with just one go-to scorer.

– Except maybe the play-in round.

– In today’s how-high-can-you-go NBA it takes more than one 20-something scorer.

– The Heat have two.

– Getting them and keeping them on the court is the challenge.

– So far with just three games together, Powell sidelined for two others.

– Last week, the Heat made it work with Herro and without Powell against the Mavericks.

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– But with Anthony Davis back and the game on the Mavericks’ court, more was needed.

– Like the best of Herro. (Check.)

– And the best of Powell. (Street clothes.)

– Can the Heat make it work with Herro and Powell side by side?

– They have to, if they want to take it to another level.

– With Powell out, Heat opened with a lineup of Herro, Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, Pelle Larsson, and Davion Mitchell.

– The Mavericks opened with a lineup of Ryan Nembhard, Max Christie, Cooper Flagg, Naji Marshall and Davis.

– Jaime Jaquez Jr. again played as sixth man for the Heat.

– Dru Smith, Simone Fontecchio and Kel’el Ware then followed together off the bench for a quick nine deep.

–  Ware reached 100 career blocks shortly after entering.

– Heat coach Erik Spoelstra reiterated before the game that the Heat’s league-leading pace could still evolve.

– “We still want to do better, some different things,” he said. “And if we need to pivot a little bit, we will. But that’s where we are right now.”

– It was of no matter to Spoelstra that the Mavericks entered 7-15.

– “You have to respect how many close games they’ve been in and how they play, particularly at home,” he said at the morning shootaround at SMU. “It is not indicative of their record at all. I mean, I think one of the more impressive things is they’ve been able to sustain a top-five, top-six defense with that record.”

– The difference between last week’s game against the Mavericks was this time Davis was in uniform for Dallas.

– “He’s a Hall of Fame player,” Spoelstra said, “Look, that’s basically what’s happened with their team. They haven’t been able to fully realize what it could look like with all of their guys healthy and in the right spots.”

– Spoelstra added of his Team USA work with Davis, “I got to know him with USA Basketball. And I love him. I just think he’s about the right things. He impacts winning. He’s a Hall of Fame talent, but he plays the right way on both ends of the court.”

– As he did before last week’s matchup against the Mavericks that the Heat won at Kaseya Center, Spoelstra gushed pregame about Dallas’ Cooper Flagg.

– “He just has a great maturity about him,” Spoelstra said. “He’s not even 19 years old. I just can’t even fathom that. My oldest son is seven, and if I project him, it just doesn’t make sense. And if I was 19 in his shoes, I would stat hunt and not play the right way. He just has a great, competitive spirit, plays the right way, competes to win. That’s an extremely hard thing to teach young players.”

– Flagg then thrived despite three early fouls.

– As for the emergence of undrafted Mavericks point guard Ryan Nembhard, Spoelstra joked about Gonzaga coach and fellow USA Basketball coach Mark Few, “I don’t want to hear from Mark Few anymore about any of the Nembhards. I’ve been hearing about Nembhards forever, just pounding me to get one on our team. But he’s a Gonzaga guy and you’ve got to love those competitive guys, the Mark Few guys, and he’s one of them. Just super competitive. We love those stories, two-way guys who are starting to break through. But he’s doing it with a competitive spirit for sure.”

– Having the opportunity to get to .500 on the road was of no small matter to Spoelstra, with the Heat entering 4-5 away from Kaseya Center.

– “It is because we started out slow on the road,” he said. “Our guys are a competitive group, an ambitious group. We want to have a better road record, with the understanding that it’s tough going on the road. You have to do even more and be even more intentional.”

– Said Adebayo, “We’re taking care of home, but now we’ve got to go on the road and take care of business. It’s harder to win on the road, but we got what it takes. We’ve got to keep playing the same way we’ve been playing at home and take it to the road.”

– Next up is at Orlando on Friday night.

– Wednesday night’s matchup marked the earliest the season series against the Mavericks has concluded in the franchise’s histories, beating the previous earliest date by one day, Dec. 4 during the 1996-97 season. The Heat have now completed the series against Dallas before yet facing Atlanta, Boston, Brooklyn, Indiana, Toronto, Washington, Houston, Minnesota, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Phoenix, Sacramento and Utah.

DALLAS — Even after Monday night’s 3-for-all against the Los Angeles Clippers, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra knew the 3-pointers were going to be harder to come by on Wednesday night against the Dallas Mavericks.

So, no, there was no easy button in this one, at least for the visiting team, nothing like Monday’s 24 of 46 from beyond the arc.

Instead, for the second time in a week against the Mavericks, 3-pointers and points in general were hard to come by for the Heat, this time resulting in a 118-108 loss at American Airlines Center.

Last week, in defeating the Mavericks at Kaseya Center, the Heat found a way despite closing 5 of 27 on 3-pointers.

This time, it was 11 of 37 from beyond the arc, not enough to offset Dallas’ 16 of 32.

“I felt like it was an opportunity that slipped for us to be able to have that gratification of winning a game where we weren’t making shots,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We made a good comeback there at the end. But through three quarters, there was more discouragement from our missed shots that was affecting our concentration level and resolve defensively.”

And so one game after 140 points against the Clippers, again forced to play in the mud against the Mavericks, with little in the way of offense beyond 22 points from Kel’el Ware, 21 from Bam Adebayo and 20 from Tyler Herro, all in the first half. Ware also had 10 rebounds.

The Mavericks this time had Anthony Davis back after he was out last week with a calf strain. He closed with 17 points and 17 rebounds. Mavericks rookie guard Ruben Nembhard, who began his emergence last week against the Heat, added 15 points and 13 assists.

Five Degrees of Heat from Wednesday night’s game:

1. Game flow: The Heat led 33-28 after the first quarter, with Herro scoring 12 in the period.

Both teams went for extended stretches with zone defense, with the difference being the Mavericks converting their 3-point attempts, putting them up 64-54 at halftime.

Then, when the Mavericks pushed their lead to 17 in the third quarter, it was their largest lead of the season to that stage, with Dallas taking a 93-80 lead into the fourth.

Through it all, the Heat moved within seven midway through the fourth quarter, sparked by backup point guard Dru Smith.

“I think when we went in there in the second half, that second unit, we were just trying to cut into that lead however we could,” Smith said. “Every time out we’re talking about get it to 10, maybe get it to six.”

A driving Adebayo layup later brought the Heat within 110-106 with 2:54 to play, but that’s when the rally stalled.

“We had several breakdowns and then you could feel our lack of resolve from the discouragement of missing shots,” Spoelstra said. “Yeah, we had a rough night shooting the basketball, but that’s going to happen in this league. And you still have opportunities to find a way to win and I think that was an opportunity that was missed. It would have been a really gratifying win to find a way to get the job done.”

2. Herro early: With Powell out and with Andrew Wiggins limited to a 1-of-7 start, the keys to the offense were handed to Herro, who offered an effective  balance of floaters and 3-pointers in the first half, on the way to 20 points over the first two periods.

With that effort, Herro extended his career-best streak of games with at least 20 points to 15, dating to last season. Herro’s previous longest such steak was seven.

Herro shot 8 of 12 in the first half, with the balance of the Heat 11 of 41. The problem was after a 20-point first half, Herro did not score again.

“They were in the zone a lot, so you have to have the right execution a lot of times,” Spoelstra said. “There was a segment where they finally went back to man. I probably could have done a better job getting the group organized to get him some space and places where he could operate.”

Since returning from September ankle surgery, Herro has scored 24, 29, 24, 22 and then Wednesday night’s 20.

But there was a tangible air of disappointment afterward in not getting more second-half touches.

“I didn’t really have the ball in the second half,” Herro said. “It just didn’t find me. It’s all good.”

Adebayo acknowledged as much, as well.

“We understand the kid can go get a bucket at any time,” he said of Herro. “Just understand that.”

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3. Rotation revision: With Powell held out, the Heat not only got Pelle Larsson back after he was sidelined for the second half on Monday night by a foot sprain, but Larsson was in the starting lineup. It was Larsson’s 16th start of the season.

It was the fifth absence of the season for Powell, who missed four previous games with groin strains.

“He’s not quite ready to play,” Spoelstra said, “so we think more treatment will be more helpful.”

The starting lineup was rounded out by Herro, Wiggins, Adebayo and Davion Mitchell, which kept Ware in reserve.

As for the remainder of the rotation, Spoelstra primarily went with a bench unit of Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Simone Fontecchio and Smith.

Ware then played as a closer in place of Larsson.

“He did some good things,” Spoelstra said of Ware, “so we’ll focus on that and then we’ll continue to develop him on all those finer details.”

4. But then . . .: Held out three games ago and then limited to one minute of mop-up duty on Monday night, Nikola Jovic got a chance to play as 10th man, as the Heat offense sputtered beyond Herro.

Jovic entered for the first time with 6:07 left in the second period and played the balance of the half, going scoreless.

He did not return in the second half, as his tumble from the rotation continues.

5. Orlando squared: Up next is the first of two games in Orlando over a five-day span.

Friday night’s game at Kia Center will be a mundane regular-season game, with Tuesday night’s game an NBA Cup quarterfinal matchup, for the right to advance to Las Vegas for the semifinals of the in-season tournament. (Both of the matchups will count toward the regular-season standings.)

“That’s what you look forward to in this league,” Adebayo said of the matchups against the Magic. “You look forward to the competition and the high stakes.”

The Heat lost their season opener in Orlando 125-121 on Oct. 22, with the upcoming matchups giving the Heat three games in Orlando by Dec. 9.

Here’s a look at how the Miami Dolphins (5-7) and New York Jets (3-9) match up in six key areas ahead of Sunday’s Week 14 game at MetLife Stadium (1 p.m., CBS):

When the Dolphins run: Miami goes the way of its run game. In the stretch of four wins in five games, the Dolphins have rushed for at least 141 yards in the games won and at least 164 during the three-game winning streak. Running back De’Von Achane is on a tear of 100-yard performances that have now put him at 1,000 yards on the season. Rookie Ollie Gordon II and second-year back Jaylen Wright are now both being used sparingly behind him.

Right tackle Austin Jackson’s return to the lineup for the first time since Week 1 brought more tenacity to the run game from his side, and right guard Cole Strange may have had his best game with Miami in the win against the New Orleans Saints. Meanwhile, center Aaron Brewer and left tackle Patrick Paul continue to do their thing, while the package of Daniel Brunskill as a sixth offensive lineman presents something the Jets didn’t see in the first meeting.

New York’s run defense is tied for 25th and no longer has Quinnen Williams on the defensive line after the trade with the Dallas Cowboys. Miami rushed for 123 yards against the Jets earlier this season. Expect them to do it even more this time around, especially in the first cold-weather game the Dolphins have played this year. Edge: Dolphins

When the Jets run: The Dolphins’ run defense has gone from consistently poor to on and off in recent weeks. They stopped the run in wins over the Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills and against the Saints. They did not stop the run last time they faced the Jets, giving up 197 yards on the ground, but they did force the ball out for three fumble recoveries.

Running back Breece Hall remained on the roster after the trade deadline, and he has 834 rushing yards on the season, with a 4.5 average of yards per carry. It’s also Tyrod Tayler at quarterback for the Jets this time instead of Justin Fields. Taylor is still a run threat, although not as much as Fields.

New York’s No. 7 rushing offense goes against the Dolphins 29th-ranked run defense that, as mentioned, has been better in recent weeks. Linebacker Jordyn Brooks leads the NFL with 137 tackles. It’s just a matter of how much he’s making up for others in the wrong lanes or missing tackles and the defensive line helping keep blockers off of him. Edge: Jets

When the Dolphins pass: Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is trying to rebound from a rough performance against the Saints in which he was 12 of 23 for 157 yards and an interception while being largely inaccurate. He’s up to 14 interceptions on the season, tied for the league lead.

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Last time against the Jets, the game in which Tyreek Hill was lost for the season, Darren Waller debuted for Miami and scored two touchdowns. He’s in his second game back from missing four games on IR with a pectoral injury. The Jets’ 10th-ranked pass defense, which no longer has cornerback Sauce Gardner in the secondary, should be varying its coverages to shift attention between Waller and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. New York has not intercepted a pass all season, so something’s got to give.

Will McDonald has seven sacks to lead the Jets pass rush, as he and fellow edge rusher Jermaine Johnson can get after it. Jackson has his second game back protecting Tagovailoa’s blind side, and he shook some rust off in pass protection against New Orleans. Tagovailoa was sacked four times in the game, some of it coming down to coverage sacks. Edge: Jets

When the Jets pass: The Dolphins faced Fields last time and Taylor this time. Taylor is 1-2 in three starts this season, completing 60.8 percent of passes for 773 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions. Against the Falcons last Sunday, he was 19 of 32 for 172 yards and a touchdown.

Top Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson is on injured reserve, but Adonai Mitchell, whom the Jets picked up in the trade with the Colts, had eight catches and 102 yards and a touchdown last Sunday. He will be a focal point for cornerbacks Jack Jones and Rasul Douglas, depending on which side he’s on, as one and then the other intercepted a pass for the first time with the Dolphins in the past two games. Hall must be accounted for out of the backfield. Rookie tight end Mason Taylor, the son of Dolphins great Jason Taylor, as well, after he had five catches for 65 yards in the first meeting.

The Dolphins pass rush finally has Chop Robinson going after he had 1 1/2 sacks against the Saints in his first start of the season and second of his career. He and Bradley Chubb can win on the edge against the Jets’ young first-round tackles they’re trying to develop in Olu Fashanu on the left side and Armand Membou at right tackle. Edge: Dolphins

Special teams: Dolphins kicker Riley Patterson continues to make his kicks, Jake Bailey is among the league’s best in punting this season, and Malik Washington is a solid returner. But the last special teams play we saw from Miami was the onside kick surrendered.

Now, the Jets have had two return touchdowns this season. Nick Folk has made all but one kick this season and hit the game-winner against the Falcons. And they blocked a field goal earlier this season. Edge: Even

Intangibles: Miami’s the team on a three-game winning streak and still holding on to slim hopes. The Dolphins are also visiting the site where their 2024 season was torn to shreds, so those coming back should remember that. It’ll be below 40 degrees, which Miami hasn’t played in this season. New York has traded some of its top players but is still playing hard. Edge: Dolphins

PREDICTION: Dolphins 20, Jets 17

Dolphins Deep Dive: Prediction time — Can Miami continue winning streak vs. Jets? | VIDEO

By MICHELLE L. PRICE and GARY FIELDS

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has renamed the U.S. Institute of Peace after President Donald Trump and has planted the president’s name on the organization’s headquarters despite an ongoing fight over the institute’s control.

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It’s the latest twist in a seesaw court battle over who controls the U.S. Institute of Peace, a nonprofit think tank that focuses on peace initiatives. It was an early target of the Department of Government Efficiency this year.

On Wednesday, the State Department said it renamed the organization to the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace to “reflect the greatest dealmaker in our nation’s history.” The new name could be seen on its building, which is near the State Department.

Trump has spent months openly lobbying for a Nobel Peace Prize even though he was passed over for this year’s installment — arguing he had a hand in easing a series of conflicts around the world. But Trump has also ordered strikes on suspected drug vessels off the coast of Venezuela and repeatedly threatened that attacks on land could be coming, which would be an act of war against that country.

The takeover of the Peace Institute was also anything but peaceful, with his administration seizing the independent entity and ousting its board before actually affixing his name to the building.

Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, said: “The United States Institute of Peace was once a bloated, useless entity that blew $50 million per year while delivering no peace. Now, the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, which is both beautifully and aptly named after a President who ended eight wars in less than a year, will stand as a powerful reminder of what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability.”

She added, “Congratulations, world!”

George Foote, a lawyer for the former Institute leadership and staff, said the renaming “adds insult to injury.”

“A federal judge has already ruled that the government’s armed takeover was illegal. That judgment is stayed while the government appeals, which is the only reason the government continues to control the building,” Foote said.

Since March, the headquarters has switched hands multiple times in court actions related to the DOGE takeover. A final decision on its fate is pending in federal appeals court.

USIP has maintained the organization is an independent creation of Congress and outside the president’s executive authority. The administration argues it is an executive branch organization.

After Trump fired the institute’s board in the the spring, the staff was fired as well and the building was turned over to the General Services Administration.

A federal district court overturned the action in May, putting the headquarters back into the hands of USIP leadership. But that action was reversed weeks later by a federal appeals court.

Employees at this juncture have been fired twice and the building is in GSA’s possession.

The building is expected to be the backdrop for the signing of a peace agreement Thursday between Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame. High-ranking officials from the African Union, Angola, Burundi, Kenya, Togo, Qatar, Uganda and the United Arab Emirates are also expected to attend the signing, according to Yolande Makolo, a senior adviser to Kagame.

The USIP website remained unchanged Wednesday night, but its lead item was headlined, “President Donald J. Trump to Sign Historic Peace Agreement at USIP Headquarters,” followed by a write-up of the deal between Congo and Rwanda that Trump was overseeing at the institute on Thursday.

The Institute of Peace was created by Congress in the 1980s. President Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law in 1985. Described as an independent, nonprofit think tank funded by Congress, its mission has been to work to promote peace and prevent and end conflicts while working outside normal channels such as the State Department. It was operating in 26 conflict zones, including Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mali and Burkina Faso, when DOGE shut the operation down.

There is also broad speculation that Trump will be awarded a new peace prize from FIFA on the sidelines of the World Cup draw, happening in Washington on Friday.

Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Will Weissert contributed to this report.

By MATT BROWN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met separately with President Donald Trump and Republican senators Wednesday as tech executives work to secure favorable federal policies for the artificial intelligence industry, including the limited sale of Nvidia’s highly valued computer chips to U.S. rivals like China.

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Huang’s closed-door meeting with Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee came at a moment of intensifying lobbying, soaring investments and audacious forecasts by major tech companies about AI’s potential transformative effects.

Huang is among the Silicon Valley executives who warn that any restrictions on the technology will halt its advancement despite mounting concerns among policymakers and the public about AI’s potential pitfalls or the ways foreign rivals like China may use American hardware.

“I’ve said repeatedly that we support export control, that we should ensure that American companies have the best and the most and first,” Huang told reporters before his meeting at the Capitol.

He added that he shared concerns about selling AI chips to China but believed that restrictions haven’t slowed Chinese advancement in the AI race.

“We need to be able to compete around the world. The one thing we can’t do is we can’t degrade the chips that we sell to China. They won’t accept that. There’s a reason why they wouldn’t accept that, and so we should offer the most competitive chips we can to the Chinese market,” Huang said.

Huang also said he’d met with Trump earlier Wednesday and discussed export controls for Nvidia’s chips. Huang added that he wished the president “a happy holidays.”

The Trump administration in May reversed Biden-era restrictions that had prevented Nvidia and other chipmakers from exporting their chips to a wide range of countries. The White House in August also announced an unusual deal that would allow Nvidia and another U.S. chipmaker, Advanced Micro Devices, to sell their chips in the Chinese market but would require the U.S. government to take a 15% cut of the sales.

The deal divided lawmakers on Capitol Hill, where there is broad support for controls on AI exports.

A growing battle in Congress

Members of Congress have generally considered the sale of high-end AI chips to China to be a national security risk. China is the main competitor to the U.S. in the race to develop artificial superintelligence. Lawmakers have also proposed a flurry of bills this year to regulate AI’s impact on dozens of industries, though none have become law.

Most Republican senators who attended the meeting with Huang declined to discuss their conversations. But a handful described the meeting as positive and productive.

“For me, this is a very healthy discussion to have,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican. Rounds said lawmakers had a “general discussion” with Huang about the state of AI and said senators were still open to a wide range of policies.

Asked whether he believed Nvidia’s interests and goals were fully aligned with U.S. national security, Rounds replied: “They currently do not sell chips in China. And they understand that they’re an American company. They want to be able to compete around the rest of the world. They’d love to some time be able to compete in China again, but they recognize that export controls are important as well for our own national security.”

Other Republicans were more skeptical of Huang’s message.

Sen. John Kennedy, a Louisiana Republican who sits on the upper chamber’s Banking Committee, said he skipped the meeting entirely.

“I don’t consider him to be an objective, credible source about whether we should be selling chips to China,” Kennedy told reporters. “He’s got more money than the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, and he wants even more. I don’t blame you for that, but if I’m looking for someone to give me objective advice about whether we should make our technology available to China, he’s not it.”

Some Democrats, shut out from the meeting altogether, expressed frustration at Huang’s presence on Capitol Hill.

“Evidently, he wants to go lobby Republicans in secret rather than explain himself,” said Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee.

Warren added that she wanted Huang to testify in a public congressional hearing and answer “questions about why his company wants to favor Chinese manufacturers over American companies that need access to those high-quality chips.”

By STELLA MARTANY

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — The United States inaugurated a massive new consulate compound Wednesday in Irbil, the capital of northern Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region.

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The move highlighted Washington’s diplomatic and strategic engagement in the Kurdish region, particularly as the U.S. moves troops that had been stationed elsewhere in Iraq as part of a mission against the Islamic State group, under an agreement with the central government in Baghdad.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Michael Rigas joined Kurdish leaders for the inauguration of the sprawling complex — planned as the largest U.S. consulate in the world — built on a 206,000-square-meter (50-acre) site along the Irbil–Shaqlawa highway at a cost of $796 million.

“America’s investment in this new consulate provides a secure platform to advance the interests of the United States,” Rigas said. “It demonstrates the value that a sovereign, secure and prosperous Iraq, in mutually beneficial partnership with the United States can deliver for its own people and for America.”

The opening comes amid ongoing challenges in Iraq, including regional tensions and attacks on energy infrastructure. A drone strike last week on the Kormor natural gas field caused widespread power outages.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Rigas appeared to cast blame on Iraq’s politically powerful Iran-backed militias.

He urged both Baghdad and Irbil to “disempower and dismantle Iran-aligned militias that continue to engage in violent and destabilizing activities and only serve to harm Iraqi sovereignty.”

Kurdish regional President Nechirvan Barzani referred to the consulate as a “clear political message regarding the importance of Irbil and the Kurdistan region.”

He said the facility underscores the deep partnership between the U.S. and the Kurdish authorities and will serve as a hub for diplomatic, economic and security cooperation.

Follow AP’s Middle East coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/middle-east

By LAURAN NEERGAARD and LAURA UNGAR

WASHINGTON (AP) — A dozen prior leaders of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — appointed by Republicans and Democrats alike — issued a scathing denunciation of new FDA assertions casting doubt on vaccine safety.

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The former officials say the agency’s plans to revamp how life-saving vaccines for flu, COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases are handled — outlined in an internal FDA memo last week — would “disadvantage the people the FDA exists to protect, including millions of Americans at high risk from serious infections.”

“The proposed new directives are not small adjustments or coherent policy updates. They represent a major shift in the FDA’s understanding of its job,” the officials, former FDA commissioners and acting commissioners, wrote Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The internal memo by FDA vaccine chief Dr. Vinay Prasad hasn’t been publicly released but a source familiar with the document confirmed its authenticity. The document claimed — without providing evidence — that COVID-19 vaccines caused 10 children’s deaths. It went on to outline planned agency changes in handling those and certain other vaccines, and said that FDA staff who disagreed should resign.

FILE – In this undated photo provided by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Vinay Prasad smiles for a portrait. (U.S. FDA via AP)

Among Prasad’s plans were revising how yearly flu shot updates are handled and focusing more on “the benefits and harms of giving multiple vaccines at the same time.” A common message of vaccine skeptics is that too many shots may overwhelm kids’ immune systems or that ingredients may build up to cause harm — although scientists say repeated research into those claims has turned up no concerns.

On Wednesday, the former FDA leaders wrote that Prasad’s claim about child deaths related to COVID-19 vaccines had been reported to a surveillance system that doesn’t contain medical records or other information sufficient to prove a link — and that government scientists had carefully combed through those reports in previous years, reaching different conclusions. They also noted that “substantial evidence” shows COVID-19 vaccines reduce children’s risk of severe disease and hospitalization.

But the bigger picture, the former FDA leaders argued, is that the new proposals would reject long-standing science about how to evaluate vaccines being updated to better match virus strains, slow innovation to replace older vaccines with newer, potentially better ones, and make the process less transparent to the public.

An administration spokesman didn’t immediately comment.

Many doctors and public health experts also have expressed alarm about the memo.

“Vaccines save lives, period,” Dr. Ronald Nahass, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said in a statement. “It is a sad day when FDA creates confusion and mistrust without supplying evidence, spreading propaganda that makes lifesaving vaccines harder to access and that creates additional confusion and mistrust for the public.”

The FDA’s planned vaccine changes come at a time when Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who helped lead the anti-vaccine movement for years — is seeking to broadly remake federal policies on vaccines.

FILE – Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a news conference at the Hubert Humphrey Building Auditorium in Washington, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file)

Kennedy already ousted a committee that advised the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine recommendation and replaced it with handpicked members. And in August, he fired Susan Monarez 29 days into her tenure as CDC chief over vaccine policy disagreements. The CDC’s vaccine advisory committee will meet Thursday and Friday to discuss h epatitis B vaccinations in newborns and other vaccine topics.

Ungar reported from Louisville, Kentucky. Associated Press writer Ali Swenson contributed to this report.

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.

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER

NEW YORK (AP) — One of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell ‘s most vocal accusers urged judges on Wednesday to grant the Justice Department’s request to unseal records from their federal sex trafficking cases, saying “only transparency is likely to lead to justice.”

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Annie Farmer weighed in through her lawyer, Sigrid S. McCawley, after the judges asked for input from victims before ruling on whether the records should be made public under a new law requiring the government to open its files on the late financier and his longtime confidante, who sexually abused young women and girls for decades.

Farmer and other victims fought for the passage of the law, known as the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Signed last month by President Donald Trump, it compels the Justice Department, FBI and federal prosecutors to release by Dec. 19 the vast troves of material they’ve amassed during investigations into Epstein.

The Justice Department last week asked Manhattan federal Judges Richard M. Berman and Paul A. Engelmayer to lift secrecy orders on grand jury transcripts and other material from Epstein’s 2019 sex trafficking case and a wide range of records from Maxwell’s 2021 case, including search warrants, financial records and notes from interviews with victims.

“Nothing in these proceedings should stand in the way of their victory or provide a backdoor avenue to continue to cover up history’s most notorious sex-trafficking operation,” McCawley wrote in a letter to the judges.

The attorney was critical of the government for failing to prosecute anyone else in Epstein and Maxwell’s orbit.

She asked the judges to ensure that the orders they issue do not preclude the Justice Department from releasing other Epstein-related materials, adding that Farmer “is wary” that any denial could be used “as a pretext or excuse” to withhold information.

Epstein, a millionaire money manager known for socializing with celebrities, politicians, billionaires and the academic elite, killed himself in jail a month after his 2019 arrest.

Maxwell was convicted in 2021 by a federal jury of sex trafficking for helping recruit some of Epstein’s underage victims and participating in some of the abuse. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

In a court filing Wednesday, Maxwell’s lawyer again said that she is preparing a habeas petition in a bid to overturn her conviction. The lawyer, David Markus, first mentioned the habeas petition in court papers in August as she fought the Justice Department’s initial bid to have her case records unsealed. The Supreme Court in October declined to hear Maxwell’s appeal.

Markus said in Wednesday’s filing that while Maxwell now “does not take a position” in the wake of the transparency act’s passage, doing so “would create undue prejudice so severe that it would foreclose the possibility of a fair retrial” if her habeas petition succeeds.

The records, Markus said, “contain untested and unproven allegations.”

Engelmayer, who’s weighing whether to release records from Maxwell’s case, gave her and victims until Wednesday to respond to the Justice Department’s unsealing request. The government must respond to their filings by Dec. 10. The judge said he will rule “promptly thereafter.”

Berman, who presided over the Epstein case, ordered victims and Epstein’s estate to respond by Wednesday and gave the government until Dec. 8 to reply to those submissions. Berman said he would make his “best efforts to resolve this motion promptly.”

Lawyers for Epstein’s estate said in a letter to Berman on Wednesday that the estate takes no position on the Justice Department’s unsealing request. The lawyers noted that the government had committed to making appropriate redactions of personal identifying information for victims.

Last week, a lawyer for some victims complained that the House Oversight Committee had failed to redact, or black out, some of their names from tens of thousands pages of Epstein-related documents it has released in recent months.

Transparency “CANNOT come at the expense of the privacy, safety, and protection of sexual abuse and sex trafficking victims, especially these survivors who have already suffered repeatedly,” lawyer Brad Edwards wrote.

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH

A former suburban St. Louis police officer admitted that over several months last year, he pulled over 20 women’s vehicles and searched their phones for nude photos and videos.

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In a deal with federal prosecutors entered Tuesday, former Florissant Officer Julian Alcala pleaded guilty to 20 counts of willfully depriving someone of their right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. In exchange, prosecutors dropped a felony obstruction count.

The count he pleaded guilty to is punishable by up to a year in prison. Alcala, 30, remains free on bond pending his March 11 sentencing.

According to the plea deal, Alcala pulled over a woman in February 2024 and took her cellphone to his vehicle, saying he needed to do so to confirm her insurance information. Instead he found a video of the woman engaged in sexual activity on her phone and texted it to his own phone. He also found a nude photo of the woman and used his phone to take a picture of the image.

Over the next three months, he took 19 other women’s phones back to his vehicle during traffic stops, purportedly to confirm their insurance or vehicle registration, the plea deal states. He then looked for nude images and took photos of ones he found.

He was caught after the first victim looked in her deleted texts and learned that the video of her engaged in sexual activity had been sent to an unknown number. She called the FBI, which traced the number to Alcala. The FBI then executed a search warrant and found the other nude photos, according to the plea agreement.

Alcala’s attorney, Scott Rosenblum, didn’t immediately respond to a Tuesday email seeking comment.

By PETER SMITH and JULIE CARR SMYTH

A former missionary with an Ohio-based ministry has been indicted on federal charges of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with four different minors in Haiti over multiple years.

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Jeriah Mast, 44, of Millersburg, Ohio, was indicted for alleged actions during his multiple visits to Haiti between 2002 and 2019. Mast — who according to authorities admitted to abusing about 30 victims in Haiti and more in Ohio — worked for part of that time for the Millersburg-based Christian Aid Ministries, which coordinates missionary activities for Amish, conservative Mennonite and related groups.

It marks the second court case against Mast, who was sentenced in Holmes County court in 2019 to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing two minors in Ohio.

Mast received an early judicial release in October after serving just under six years, according to Ohio’s inmate database. As a condition of his release, he was placed on three years’ supervised probation and required to complete an intensive supervision program, including sex-offender specific programming.

Court records indicate that presiding retired Judge Edward Emmett O’Farrell of Tuscarawas County granted Mast’s release based on “an exemplary record” behind bars and “most importantly, the Defendant’s stated and demonstrated remorse for the crimes he committed, and the emotional and psychological pain and suffering he inflicted upon the child victims and their families in this case.”

Mast was arrested on the federal charges on Nov. 5 and formally indicted on Tuesday. He is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in federal court in Cleveland.

“Crimes against children, like those mentioned in these allegations, are reprehensible,” U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio said in a statement. “Such appalling and morally corrupt behavior will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We commend the work of Homeland Security Investigations and the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, whose thorough work led to these federal charges being filed today.”

The charges are based on a U.S. law that prohibits citizens from “traveling in foreign commerce and engaging in any illicit sexual conduct with another person,” according to court filings.

The court docket indicates Mast is represented by a public defender, who did not immediately return email and phone messages seeking comment late Wednesday.

The Mast scandal came into public view in 2019 after he abruptly returned home from Haiti. In a subsequent interview with Holmes County authorities, he admitted to molesting about 30 children in Haiti between about 2003 and 2019, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court by Special Agent Jason M. Guyton of Homeland Security Investigations. Details of his admission indicate many if not all of the reported victims were boys.

The federal charges accuse Mast of abusing four different minors in 2004, 2007 and 2011. One was a 13-year-old boy Mast met through his missionary work and allegedly molested in a tent, according to the criminal complaint.

The case was among those that drew attention to issues of sexual abuse in Amish and related, plain-dressing church communities such as conservative Mennonites and the Charity churches that Mast belonged to. Advocates have said victims have been pressured to forgive abusers and not to seek prosecution outside the disciplines of the largely closed religious communities.

Holmes County, where Christian Aid Ministries is based, is the hub of one of the nation’s largest Amish settlements. In 2019, CAM placed two of its managers on leave amid revelations that they knew as early as 2013 that Mast had confessed to sexual activity with young men, yet kept him on the job.

A CAM spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment on Wednesday.

CAM’s work in Haiti came into the spotlight in 2021 when 17 missionaries and their children were kidnapped by a gang. They went free later that year, some ransomed by a third party, CAM acknowledged. CAM said most of the rest escaped.

On Wednesday, Joly Germine, alleged to be the founder and leader of the gang, was sentenced in federal court in Washington to life in prison for orchestrating the kidnapping.

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

St. Thomas Aquinas, ranked nationally No. 11 by MaxPreps, and No. 21 Chaminade-Madonna will try to take the easier road to the FHSAA state championship games next weekend at Pit Bull Stadium on the campus of FIU, as they have home semifinal games.

Six-time defending state champion St. Thomas Aquinas (5A) and four-time defending state (1A) champ Chaminade-Madonna both rolled to regional final victories, as did defending champ West Boca (6A) and also Cardinal Newman (1A).

Defending Class 4A state champion American Heritage rallied to defeat Archbishop McCarthy 25-20 while the other two winners — West Broward and Cardinal Gibbons — both won by three points.

I was 8-1 last week in running my overall record to 176-33 (84.2%) for the year.

5A

Riverdale (12-1) at No. 11 St. Thomas Aquinas (12-1) (Friday, 7:30 p.m.): In a battle of the Raiders, Riverdale comes in on an eight-game winning streak following a 28-26 win over Manatee to reach the state semifinal for the first time in school history. Senior quarterback Theodis Harris ran for two TDs in their recent win, but departed with a concussion, so his status is up in the air. Senior Lovensky Blanchard leads the team on the ground with 1,385 yards and 21 TDs. The six-time defending state champion St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders have won 12 straight games since opening the year with a 26-23 loss to California Mater Dei. Senior QB Mason Mallory accounted for all four scores in last week’s win over McArthur, which was the 34th consecutive playoff win during their streak. St. Thomas Aquinas 24, Riverdale 7.

6A

West Boca Raton (11-2) at No. 70 Seffner Armwood (13-0) (Friday, 7 p.m.): The host Hawks have won 35 of their past 38 games and have outscored the opposition 577-58 this season. Armwood has pitched three straight shutouts, and seven in their past eight games, as eight players have double-digit tackles for losses, led by junior linebacker Theo Wilson (86 tackles, 32 TFLs, 12 sacks). West Boca junior quarterback Trey Moran accounted for three TDs as the 6A defending state champion Bulls thumped Mitchell 41-3 for their fifth straight win. West Boca senior and UM commit Javian Mallory enters the game averaging 101.3 yards per game. Armwood 20, West Boca 16.

West Broward (11-2) at Gainesville Buchholz (12-1) (Friday, 7:30 p.m.): We have another game featuring the same mascots: the Bobcats. Senior DL Jayson Farfan led West Broward with  three of the team’s six sacks last week, while sophomore linebacker Tyler Tindel had 18 tackles, a sack and defended a pass as West Broward rallied from a 14-point first-quarter deficit to knock off the region’s top seed, Miami Southridge. Buchholz has won 11 in a row, thanks in part to senior Justin Williams (64 receptions for 1,059 yards, 12 scores; 492 rushing yards, 9 TDs). West Broward, playing in their first state semifinal, has won 11 games in a row since losing the first two games of the year. Gainesville Buchholz 21, West Broward 17.

4A

American Heritage (7-5) at Choctawhatchee (12-1) (Friday, 7 p.m.): The defending 4A state champion Patriots rallied to defeat host Archbishop McCarthy 25-20 as backup running back TJ Mullen ran for 158 yards and a TD, filling in for senior Jonathan Bueno, who left in the first quarter with an injury. Mullen, who started the season as a defensive back, might be called on again with Bueno’s status uncertain. It was the Patriots’ third straight win. The host Indians, who won their lone state championship in 1990 (Class 5A), are also riding a three-game win streak, and last reached the final four in 2014. Choctawhatchee 21, American Heritage 20.

2A

Cardinal Gibbons (10-3) at Jacksonville Bolles (12-1) (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.): The host Bulldogs steamrolled Pensacola Catholic 44-10 behind senior QB Jaden Weatherly (1,860 passing yards, 22 TDs; 271 yards rushing, 6 TDs) and crushed visiting Pensacola Catholic 44-10. It’s the sixth state semifinal appearance in seven seasons for Bulldogs coach Matt Tobin. They have won 11 state titles (the last coming in 2011), which is second in the state to St. Thomas Aquinas and their 16. Cardinal Gibbons handed its coach Matt DuBuc his 100th career victory with a 20-17 win over previously undefeated Miami Immaculata La Salle (12-1) in the regional final. The Chiefs ran for 294 yards as they reached the state semifinals for the first time since 2021, when they won the second of back-to-back state titles. Jacksonville Bolles 17, Cardinal Gibbons 16.

1A

Tampa Carrollwood Day (12-0) at Cardinal Newman (10-3) (Friday, 7:30 p.m.): Cardinal Newman is hoping to win the first state semifinal in school history. Last season, the Crusaders fell 22-21 in double-OT on a 2-point conversion by Clearwater Central Catholic in their state semifinal debut. Cardinal Newman senior RB Phoenix Donghia (1,068 rushing yards, 22 TDs) and senior LB Adam Balogoun-Ali (101 tackles, 15 TFL, 2 sacks per game) lead the way. Carrollwood Day averages 44 points and 484 yards per game, led by sophomore running back Kameron Battle (2,021 yards rushing, 21 scores; 334 receiving yards, 6 TDs). Carrollwood Day 31, Cardinal Newman 27.

Jacksonville Trinity Christian Academy (9-4) at No. 21 Chaminade-Madonna (10-2) (Friday, 7:30 p.m.): Chaminade-Madonna faces a familiar foe if it wants to reach its 10th consecutive state final appearance. The Lions topped the Conquerors 35-6 in last year’s state semifinals after Trinity Christian had won the previous two meetings in 2020 and 2016, en route to winning 3A state championships in both years. Chaminade-Madonna has won seven state championships in the past nine years. Trinity Christian Academy is no stranger to winning champions either having won nine in the school’s history, the last one coming in 2021, when they won the 2A title. Chaminade-Madonna 28, Trinity Christian 7.

Inaugural Florida Invitational Tournament

7A-4A South Division Championship game

Cantonment Tate (10-3) vs. Dr. Joaquin Garcia (10-3) (Thursday, 7 p.m.) at The Villages Charter School stadium near Orlando: The Aggies, from just north of Pensacola, have a young team with just 19 seniors on its 57-player roster. This game should be a contrast of styles, as Tate relies on a potent running game, averaging 186.3 yards on the ground per game, thanks in part to sophomore Tanner Clark’s 114.2 yards per game. Since a knee injury sidelined starting sophomore quarterback Miles Delarosa in September, Tate has gone the quarterback-by-committee route, finally settling on Clark, who has run for 1,500 yards and accounted for 18 TDs. Dr. Joaquin Garcia, winners of five in a row, is led by senior QB Caleb Butler (2,131 yards passing, 24 TDs; 275 rushing yards, 6 TDs).

Dr. Joaquin Garcia coach Brandon Walker, whose team finished 1-9 in his first year and has reached the postseason the past two years, said there was a level of disappointment when they didn’t make the main FHSAA playoffs, but that was erased when they got the No. 1 seed in the south bracket of the FIT.

“We have come a long way in the three years that we have been open as a school,” Walker said. “I am super proud of our players, coaches, and school for all of the hard work it has taken to get to where we are. We are nowhere near where we want to be, but our program has taken steps every year, and we will continue to climb the ladder. Tate has a good football team, and it’s going to take a great effort on our part to get the victory.”

OXFORD, Miss. — Shelton Henderson scored 18 points, Tru Washington added 17, and Miami defeated Mississippi 75-66 in an ACC/SEC Challenge game on Tuesday night.

The Hurricanes (7-2) shot 49% from the field and 44% from deep, and led for all but four minutes of the game. Miami led by as many as 19 points early in the second half.

Henderson grabbed nine rebounds and had five assists, pacing the Hurricanes in both categories. Malik Reneau scored 15 points (7-for-12 shooting) and had six rebounds.

Miami rode an extended 18-5 run to end the half up 42-26. They surrendered a 9-0 run to Ole Miss that made it a single-digit game, but held off the comeback attempt for a comfortable win.

Travis Perry and Patton Pinkins each scored 11 points to pace the Rebels (5-3). Malik Dia had nine rebounds and nine points, shooting 2 of 10 from the field. The Rebels were held to 35% shooting.

Up next

Miami hosts Southern Miss on Saturday.

By TIM REYNOLDS

SUNRISE — Troy Stecher and Scott Laughton both got their first goals of the season, Dakota Joshua added a goal and an assist, and the Toronto Maple Leafs topped the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Tuesday night.

Bobby McMann had two assists for the Leafs, who have won three of their last four, and John Tavares added an empty-netter with 18.6 seconds left.

Sam Reinhart got his 14th of the season, a short-handed score in the second period for Florida. But Laughton scored with 7:42 left to restore the two-goal edge for the Leafs.

Florida has lost four of its last five, and four straight at home.

It was the first Florida-Toronto game since the second round of last season’s playoffs, a series where the Maple Leafs took the first two games and held leads of 2-0 and 3-1 in Game 3 — before losing that game on a goal by Brad Marchand in overtime. Florida would roll to wins in Games 5 and 7 in Toronto, both by 6-1 scores, and went on to capture its second consecutive Stanley Cup.

But this Florida roster looked a whole lot different than the one last spring did.

The Panthers were again without their long-term injured players — Aleksander Barkov, Matthew Tkachuk, Dmitry Kulikov, Eetu Luostarinen and Tomas Nosek among them — plus were without forward Carter Verhaeghe, who missed the game because he and his wife were expecting a baby.

It meant Florida added Jack Studnicka to its fourth line. Studnicka was making his Panthers debut and playing an NHL game for the first time since April 2024.

Up next

Panthers: Host Nashville on Thursday, the fourth game of a six-game homestand.

By AARON BEARD

DURHAM, N.C. — Isaiah Evans hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 19.7 seconds left, and No. 4 Duke held on to beat No. 15 Florida 67-66 on Tuesday night in the ACC/SEC Challenge.

The slim sophomore was sitting at 0 for 7 from behind the arc when Florida’s Boogie Fland hit a 3 with 34.6 seconds left for a 66-64 lead, coming on a night the reigning national champions had trailed by 15. But Evans calmly sunk the shot that helped Duke (9-0) stay unbeaten in a thrilling finish.

Florida (5-3) had a final desperation possession down one with 1.4 seconds left, but Maliq Brown tipped Thomas Haugh’s heave at the inbounds point to run the final time off and send Cameron Indoor Stadium into an ear-ringing frenzy.

Star freshman Cameron Boozer scored 29 points for the Blue Devils. Evans had 13 points and a career-high five of Duke’s 11 blocks.

Haugh scored 24 points for the Gators, who trailed 36-24 at the break but absolutely worked Duke on the glass in the second half to climb back in it. Florida finished with a 44-33 rebounding advantage, including 20-11 on the offensive glass for the game while finishing with 13 second-chance points after halftime.

This marked the first time the Blue Devils had hosted a reigning national champion in nonconference play at Cameron Indoor Stadium since beating UCLA in February 1996, and this one came with the unusual sight of Duke wearing black uniforms at home tied to a fan blackout.

Up next

Florida: The Gators face No. 5 UConn next Tuesday in New York’s Madison Square Garden, a matchup of teams that have won the past three NCAA titles.

By SEAN MURPHY

The owners of an all-girls summer camp in the Texas Hill Country, where 25 campers and two teenage counselors died in catastrophic July 4 flooding, announced plans on Tuesday for new safety upgrades that will be in place when a portion of the camp opens next summer.

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Camp Mystic owners said in a letter to parents that they plan to exceed new camp safety laws that were passed by the Legislature and signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott following the devastating floods that killed at least 136 people and washed away homes and vehicles.

“We are preparing for next summer at Camp Mystic Cypress Lake and we know that safety is of the utmost concern to all of you, as it is for us,” the Eastland family wrote in the letter to parents of Camp Mystic campers. “We thank the Heaven’s 27 families and our state leaders for passing legislation to help make camps safer, and it is our goal not only to be in compliance with the new camp safety laws, but to exceed their requirements.”

The children and counselors who died have become known as “Heaven’s 27.” Camp Mystic’s owners include the wife and other family members of Dick Eastland, who also died in the flooding.

The enhanced safety measures at the camp include four flood warning river monitors designed to provide early detection of high-water events, two-way radios in every cabin enabled with national weather alerts and high-capacity generators to maintain power in critical areas of the camp, including its office and dining hall.

“We recognize that returning to Camp Mystic carries both hope and heartache,” the Eastland family said in the letter. “For many of your daughters, this return is not simple, but it is a courageous step in their healing journey.”

The Eastland family announced in September that it planned to build a memorial for the girls who died in the flooding and to reopen Camp Mystic Cypress Lake, a separate property that is not adjacent to the Guadalupe River and that sustained no damage in the July 4 floods. That plan drew fierce criticism from some of the victims’ families, who said they were never consulted about Camp Mystic’s plans.

“To promote reopening less than three months after the tragedy — while one camper remains missing — is unthinkable,” CiCi and Will Steward, whose 8-year-old daughter Cile Steward died in the floods and whose body still has not been recovered, wrote to Camp Mystic officials when their reopening plan was first announced.

The families of several of the girls who died in the floods have sued Camp Mystic and the Eastlands in state court, alleging camp operators failed to take necessary steps to protect the campers as life-threatening floodwaters approached.

Camp Mystic plans to offer six separate 10-day sessions in 2026, beginning May 30 and ending Aug. 9. They also plan to offer tours of the camp in April for enrolled campers, counselors and their parents.

BOSTON (AP) — Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers was banned for life Tuesday from an academic society in the latest fallout over recently released emails showing he maintained a friendly relationship with Jeffrey Epstein after the disgraced financier pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from a minor.

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The American Economic Association, a nonprofit scholarly association dedicated to economic research, said it had accepted Summers’ resignation and banned him for life from “attending, speaking at, or otherwise participating” in its events.

“The AEA condemns Mr. Summers’ conduct, as reflected in publicly reported communications, as fundamentally inconsistent with its standards of professional integrity and with the trust placed in mentors within the economics profession,” the group said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Summers declined to comment.

The Epstein emails include messages in which Summers appeared to be getting advice from Epstein about pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman who viewed him as an “economic mentor.”

“im a pretty good wing man , no?” Epstein wrote on Nov. 30, 2018.

The next day, Summers told Epstein he had texted the woman, telling her he “had something brief to say to her.”

“Am I thanking her or being sorry re my being married. I think the former,” he wrote.

Summers’ wife, Elisa New, also emailed Epstein multiple times, including a 2015 message in which she thanked him for arranging financial support for a poetry project she directs.

After the emails came out last month, Summers went on leave from teaching at Harvard University and from his position as director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School. Other organizations that ended their affiliations with Summers include the Center for American Progress, the Center for Global Development and the Budget Lab at Yale University.

Epstein, who authorities say died by suicide in jail in 2019, was a convicted sex offender with vast connections to wealthy and powerful people, making him a fixture of outrage and conspiracy theories about wrongdoing among American elites.

Summers served as treasury secretary from 1999 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He was Harvard’s president for five years, from 2001 to 2006. When asked about the emails last week, Summers issued a statement saying he has “great regrets in my life” and that his association with Epstein was a “major error in judgement.”

By SEUNG MIN KIM

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday that his administration will embark on a reconstruction of Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia.

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“We’re also going to rebuild Dulles airport because it’s not a good airport,” Trump said during a meeting of his Cabinet members at the White House. “It should be a great airport, and it’s not a good airport at all. It’s a terrible airport.”

Dulles is one of the three Washington-area airports and its quality is a hotly-debated topic among Washingtonians.

Trump, a former real estate mogul, said the Dulles building was “incorrectly designed.” He nonetheless praised Eero Saarinen, the Finnish-American architect who designed the main terminal at Dulles.

“We’re going to turn that around and we’re going to make Dulles airport — serving Washington and Virginia, Maryland, etc. — we’re gonna make that into something really spectacular. We have an amazing plan for it.”

His motorcade took an unannounced drive through Dulles in early November. At the time, the White House said Trump wanted to take the detour to the airport to assess potential future projects.

During Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy singled out the controversial “people movers” that ferry travelers in between concourses. One of the vehicles, which are also called “mobile lounges,” crashed in November.

Still, some experts questioned the substance of Trump’s Dulles remarks.

Sheldon H. Jacobson, an airport security and aviation infrastructure expert whose research contributed to the design of TSA PreCheck, called the president’s announcement a “head-scratcher,” noting it comes amid substantial modernization work already underway at Dulles, including a new 14-gate concourse set to open next year that will give passengers direct access to its AeroTrain system.

“I can think of a lot higher priorities right now,” he said, pointing to the long-needed updates to the nation’s aging air traffic control equipment. Trump said Tuesday that his administration was also working on modernizing the air traffic control system.

Jacobson said the airport’s continued reliance on people movers remains a “glaring weakness,” but added that “there are a lot of things actually in very good shape at Dulles right now,” including the AeroTrain.

“I’m not sure what he’s thinking,” Jacobson said of Trump. “His comments are non sequitur to the reality of this airport.”

The Transportation Department announced later Tuesday that it is inviting bids for a Dulles project that would build “completely new terminals and concourses” at the airport. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority said in a statement that it will work with the Transportation Department to build upon the existing $7 billion plan to improve Dulles.

Associated Press writers Rio Yamat in Las Vegas and Josh Funk in Omaha contributed to this report.

By JOSH FUNK

The Trump administration’s latest move to enforce standards for commercial truck drivers, by flagging nearly half of the driving schools as noncompliant, doesn’t figure to disrupt the industry, experts say. But the heavy scrutiny on immigrant drivers might.

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The bigger, more reputable schools were not included in the list and many of the schools that were appear to have already been idle, leading trucking industry officials to predict minimal turmoil. The self-certification process that has been in place since 2022 allowed questionable schools to gain recognition. Plus, these efforts to enforce training standards — and the previous moves to strengthen licensing particularly for immigrants — will take effect gradually over time as licenses come up for renewal and new drivers graduate from schools.

The fact that there are probably more drivers than needed right now in the midst of a 10% drop in shipments since 2022 because of the economic uncertainty also helps, although trucking companies still struggle to find enough well-qualified drivers with clean records.

Even before a truck driver that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says was not authorized to be in the U.S. made an illegal U-turn and caused a crash in Florida that killed three people, the administration focused on making sure truck drivers meet English proficiency standards. The focus on immigrant drivers, who account for about 20% of all truckers, intensified after that August crash as the Transportation Department audited commercial driver’s license programs and Duffy proposed new restrictions that would severely limit which noncitizens could get a license to drive a semi or a bus.

A court put the new rules on hold. But Duffy threatened to withhold millions from California, Pennsylvania and Minnesota after the audits found significant problems under the existing rules like commercial licenses being valid long after an immigrant truck driver’s work permit expired, That pressure prompted California to revoke 17,000 licenses.

Some immigrant drivers are afraid to go on the road

Trucking company owner Dave Atwal said that as a result many of his drivers at Diamond Transportation in Lodi, California, are “just afraid to go to some of these other states where they might get harassed.” Atwal has been able to assign some drivers to in-state routes, but he has lost more than 40 drivers who either walked away from the job or were unable to renew their licenses even though they have several years of safe driving on their records.

Dave Laut said he has had a hard time finding all the drivers he wants to have behind the wheels of his 300 or so trucks at FBT Inc. Immigrant drivers are bearing the brunt of the government enforcement, according to Laut who is Sikh like the driver in the Florida crash and the driver of another fatal crash in California this fall.

“A lot of (Sikhs) are quitting truck driving,” he said. “They feel people target them, and they feel insulted and they are quitting jobs. They are hardworking guys. They stand out more.”

Laut said his company underwent a Homeland Security audit of his drivers’ immigration statuses about two weeks ago. It passed that review, which many trucking firms in California are undergoing.

But Duffy’s announcement Monday that as many as 7,500 trucking programs could soon be decertified will threaten the ongoing effort to attract and train new drivers — particularly if any schools doing things the right way get caught up with schools not playing by the rules.

But many of the schools that would be forced out of business were already idle before the Transportation Department took action, so decertifying them may not have a dramatic impact. The vast majority of the schools at risk either failed to submit a required biannual report or hadn’t submitted any certificates verifying that a student had completed their course in the past year.

Trucking industry can likely absorb the changes

Logan Cooper, who arranges for trucks to deliver containers of imported goods from ports and rail yards for OEC Group, said “there’s some room to absorb this in the industry” but there will likely be some impact over time.

But Blair Robbins, who advises companies about their transportation needs as a partner with EisnerAmper, said that even if all these efforts do lead to higher rates, they would be increasing off the current lower shipping rates that are depressed because of the decline in the number of shipments in recent years. Robbins said he has seen estimates that only about 5% to 10% of the workforce might be affected, and that will happen gradually over time.

Tougher standards should mean safer drivers

Dane Rogers, CEO of Western Pacific Truck School in California and the national Commercial Vehicle Training Association, supports the federal government’s efforts to enforce the 2022 driver training standards. Rogers’ school, which trains hundreds of drivers every year, was not found out of compliance.

“We’ve been highlighting this for years,” Rogers said. “There’s so many truck schools that just pop up, and they don’t adhere to the rigorous standards set forth by either California or the FMCSA – Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.”

Jeffery Burkhardt, who is chair of the national trucking schools group, said established schools don’t have any problem complying with the standards. Burkhardt is also is senior director of operations at Ancora, which provides CDL training at colleges, community colleges and companies.

“For the legitimate schools it’s not a problem. We welcome it. For the illegitimate schools, it’s a bad thing for them,” Burkhardt said.

Decertifying nearly half of all trucking schools could limit the number of new drivers and create monthslong waiting lists at the remaining schools. But Rogers and major trucking groups, including the American Trucking Association and the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, think it is a good idea to ensure schools are meeting the standards to prepare drivers to handle 80,000-pound trucks on highways across the country.

“Do you want more truck drivers that are dangerous, or do you want less truck drivers that are more competent?” Rogers said. “I would go with the latter.”

But this may extend wait lists at trucking schools

Antonio Yates said classes at the 100 Placement Truck Driving School he works at in Detroit are already full for the next two to three months, and he expects the wait time will get worse if all these schools close. He said the number of immigrants willing to pay $5,000 to learn how to operate a semitrailer truck or $3,000 to learn to drive a bus has increased over the past year or so.

“They’re from all over, South America, Africa. They’re from everywhere,” said Yates, who added that most are paying for the training themselves.

Yates acknowledged that understanding the English language can be tough for some.

“If I can’t communicate with you, I can’t even train you properly,” he said. “We turn people away all of the time.”

Associated Press writers Corey Williams, Audrey McAvoy and Sophie Austin contributed to this report.

A second man has been arrested in connection with a shooting outside of a Pembroke Pines sports bar in October that killed one man and injured another, the police department said Tuesday.

Two men had been shot multiple times just before 4 a.m. Oct. 19 in the parking lot of Rickey’s Sports Bar and Grill at 8389 Pines Blvd. One of the men was pronounced dead that morning at the hospital while the second man survived, Pembroke Pines Police previously said.

Richaun Erick McKnight, 21, and Clayton Hicks, 27, are facing charges in connection with the shooting. McKnight’s arrest was announced Tuesday evening; Hicks was arrested the day after the shooting.

Surveillance video showed the two victims had been in an argument in the parking lot with a man wearing a gray track suit, then walked back toward their red Dodge Journey that was parked nearby, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The man in the track suit walked after them, raised his arm and fired a gun toward them, surveillance video showed, according to the affidavit. A second man wearing black, later identified as Hicks, then came into view and also shot toward the two victims, whose names are redacted in the affidavit.

Hicks was then seen running and getting into a white BMW X3 before picking up the other shooter and driving away west on Pines Boulevard, the affidavit said. License plate reader data led detectives to identify Hicks as the owner of the BMW.

Detectives found Hicks’s BMW in Miami-Dade County later that day and surveilled him before pulling the car over for a tint violation, according to the affidavit. Hicks told a Pembroke Pines Police officer who questioned him during the stop that he had been at the sports bar that morning and shot 22 rounds.

Hicks told the detective he “just started shooting” at one of the victims “because he heard shooting,” according to the affidavit. Hicks at first told the officer he had been alone but once shown the surveillance video said he had taken a friend named “Larry” home. He denied knowing the second shooter.

Court records were not available Monday night in McKnight’s case.

Hicks faces one count of second-degree murder with a firearm and one count of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm, court records show. He has pleaded not guilty.

McKnight as of Monday night is facing one count of second-degree murder with a firearm, the police department said in a news release. He was arrested in Fort Lauderdale in coordination with the FBI and Miami Police.

By BEN FINLEY and KONSTANTIN TOROPIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military would have committed a crime if it killed the survivors of an attack on an alleged drug boat, legal experts say.

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It doesn’t matter whether the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with drug cartels as the Trump administration asserts. Such a fatal second strike would have violated peacetime laws and those governing armed conflict, the experts say.

“I can’t imagine anyone, no matter what the circumstance, believing it is appropriate to kill people who are clinging to a boat in the water,” said Michael Schmitt, a former Air Force lawyer and professor emeritus at the U.S. Naval War College. “That is clearly unlawful.”

The White House confirmed Monday that a second strike was conducted in September against a vessel accused of trafficking drugs off the coast of Venezuela and insisted it was done “in self-defense” and in accordance with the laws of armed conflict.

A news report about that attack spawned a new level of scrutiny from lawmakers and added to a growing debate about whether service members can refuse to follow illegal orders, which some Democratic lawmakers recently encouraged.

Here’s what to know about the strikes and laws of armed conflict:

What set off the debate

The Washington Post reported last week that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a spoken directive to “kill everybody” on a boat targeted on Sept. 2, the first vessel hit in what the Trump administration calls a counterdrug campaign that has grown to over 20 known strikes and more than 80 dead.

Two men survived that first attack, which killed nine others, and were clinging to the wreckage, the newspaper reported. The commander in charge, Adm. Frank Bradley, ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, killing the two men, the Post reported.

Hegseth called it “fake news” on social media, saying the boat strikes are “in compliance with the law of armed conflict — and approved by the best military and civilian lawyers, up and down the chain of command.”

President Donald Trump said Sunday that the administration “will look into” it but added that “I wouldn’t have wanted that — not a second strike.” He noted that Hegseth told him “he did not order the death of those two men.”

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters Monday that Bradley had ordered the second strike and “was well within his authority to do so.” She denied that Hegseth said to leave no survivors.

The administration has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and asserted the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, similar to the war against al-Qaida following the Sept. 11 attacks.

What the law allows during armed conflict

A second strike killing survivors would have been illegal under any circumstance, armed conflict or not, Schmitt said.

He said the U.S. is not in a legitimate armed conflict with drug cartels, which would have to be committing high levels of violence against the country, not just trafficking drugs that kill Americans.

Even if it was, “it has been clear for well over a century that you may not declare what’s called ‘no quarter’ — take no survivors, kill everyone,” Schmitt said.

Whether an armed conflict is taking place likely would not be settled by an international body like the International Criminal Court, to which the U.S. is not a party, said Matthew Waxman, a Columbia University law professor who was a national security official in the George W. Bush administration.

The U.S., however, could face blowback from allies, which may decline to share information for military operations that are illegal under their own laws or international law, said Waxman, who served in the State and Defense departments and on the National Security Council under Bush.

America’s armed conflict against al-Qaida received support from the U.N. Security Council, NATO and U.S. allies, he said.

The legal threat posed to US military personnel

If the U.S. is not in an armed conflict, that means it violated international human rights law, which governs how countries treat individuals, Schmitt said.

“You can only use lethal force in circumstances where there is an imminent threat,” Schmitt said. “And that wasn’t the case.”

Brian Finucane, a senior adviser with the International Crisis Group and a former State Department lawyer, agreed that the U.S. is not in an armed conflict with drug cartels.

“The term for a premeditated killing outside of armed conflict is murder,” Finucane said, adding that U.S. military personnel could be prosecuted in American courts.

“Murder on the high seas is a crime,” he said. “Conspiracy to commit murder outside of the United States is a crime. And under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Article 118 makes murder an offense.”

The Pentagon’s own manual on the laws of war describes a scenario similar to the Sept. 2 boat strike when discussing when service members should refuse to comply with unlawful orders.

“For example,” the manual says, “orders to fire upon the shipwrecked would be clearly illegal.”

What Congress has said about what comes next

Leaders of the Armed Services committees in both the House and Senate have opened investigations.

Republican Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, chairman of the Senate’s committee, and its top Democrat, Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed, said the committee “will be conducting vigorous oversight to determine the facts related to these circumstances.”

Concern about the second strike comes after a group of Democratic lawmakers — all veterans of the armed services and intelligence community — released a video calling on U.S. military members to defy “illegal orders.”

Among them was Sen. Mark Kelly, an Arizona Democrat and former Navy fighter pilot who has questioned the use of the military to attack the alleged drug boats. The Pentagon says it’s investigating Kelly over possible breaches of military law tied to the video.

Kelly said Monday that “if what seems to have happened, actually happened, I’m really concerned about our service members.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune has defended the boat strikes as stopping the flow of narcotics into the U.S. and said to wait for the outcome of the reviews.

“Obviously, if there was a direction to take a second shot and kill people, that’s a violation of an ethical, moral or legal code. We need to get to the bottom of it,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican.

Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Lisa Mascaro and Joey Cappelletti contributed to this report.