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May-lee Chai | Star Tribune (TNS)

Like many women of her generation, the unnamed Japanese American writer at the center of Marie Mutsuki Mockett’s bold, erotic “The Tree Doctor,” finds herself in midlife, squarely ensconced in the sandwich generation. She’s burdened with the double-whammy of childcare and tending to an elderly parent while holding down a job, in this case as an adjunct lecturer.

At novel’s start, Mockett’s protagonist has flown from her home in Hong Kong for what was supposed to be a brief trip to northern California to help her widowed mother, who has dementia and needs to be placed in long-term care.

Then, the pandemic hits. All nonessential travel is banned; Hong Kong has imposed a strict quarantine for travelers. The woman is stranded in her childhood home, remotely teaching a class on Japanese aesthetics and trying to console her two children and husband through video chats.

This could have been a novel solely about the unfair amount of work that disproportionately fell upon many women during the pandemic, the care-giving while also doing economic labor. But Mockett has something far more sly in mind. And it’s not about learning how to bake sourdough bread, like so many pandemic-era memes aimed at women.

As she cares for her mother’s long-neglected garden, the woman calls on a man at the local nursery — known as “The Tree Doctor” — and one thing leads to another, as the saying goes. A torrid, graphic, no-holds barred affair ensues.

The woman isn’t going to leave her husband or children. She’s not looking for a replacement mate. She’s intellectually fulfilled by discussing the intricacies of “The Tale of Genji” with her bright college students. No, she’s in it for the sex, for re-discovering what her body needs after decades of putting herself dead last on the checklist of things to do.

Mockett is the author of four books, including novel “Picking Bones from Ash” and two works of nonfiction. Her prose is as lush as the garden in the woman’s Carmel home, as Mockett weaves together discussions of flora, dissections of passages from “Genji” and the woman’s memories of childhood trips to Japan with her mother.

Marvel, for example, at how Mockett describes the irises: “Late spring was a time of lush color, dominated by violet and blue. The color purple in Japanese was murasaki, she recalled with delight. In the iris bed, there were now five flowers blooming, and the wisteria had, like Rapunzel, sent down its lilac curls.”

The title character remains an archetype, an antidote to the life of self-sacrifice that has been unhealthy for the woman. He may be a fantasy of sorts, but it’s also unrealistic to expect women, particularly mothers, to fulfill everyone else’s needs but their own. As the woman notes, “Someone once said that for every baby a woman has, that’s two books she doesn’t write.”

“Tree Doctor” is a book that says that kind of sacrifice takes its toll.

By: Marie Mutsuki Mockett.

Publisher: Graywolf, 256 pages, $17.

©2024 StarTribune. Visit at startribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

TORONTO — Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 61st and 62nd goals of the season to go along with an assist as the Toronto Maple Leafs built a four-goal lead before hanging on late to down the Florida Panthers 6-4 in a potential first-round playoff preview Monday.

Nicholas Robertson and Matthew Knies also had a goal and an assist each for Toronto, while Tyler Bertuzzi and David Kampf provided the rest of the offense.

Ilya Samsonov made 26 saves for the Leafs, who were without five regulars — including star winger Mitch Marner (high ankle sprain) for an 11th straight game.

Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and two assists for Florida. Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett and Brandon Montour also scored. Sergei Bobrovsky allowed five goals on 16 shots through two periods before getting the hook. Anthony Stolarz made six saves in relief.

The Leafs, who sit third in the Atlantic Division and would have played Florida if the playoffs started Monday, had a chance to clinch a post-season berth for an eighth consecutive year, but results elsewhere didn’t go their way.

The Panthers, meanwhile, could have overtaken the Boston Bruins for first in the Atlantic with a victory.

Toronto, which fell to Florida in an emphatic five games in the second round of last spring’s post-season on the Panthers’ march to the Stanley Cup final, opened the scoring at 13:59 of the first period when Robertson scored on a breakaway following a turnover at the Leafs’ blue line.

Matthews, who became just the ninth different player in NHL history to twice hit 60 goals in a season Saturday, doubled the lead 33 seconds later when TJ Brodie circled Florida’s net and found the sniper in front for his 61st.

Florida got on the board 47 seconds into the second when Montour’s effort through a screen beat Samsonov for his seventh, but Bertuzzi took a pass from Matthews at the lip of Bobrovsky’s crease 39 seconds later to bag his 19th.

Samsonov then made a huge stop on Anton Lundell that had the Scotiabank Arena crowd on its feet.

Kampf scored his seventh for a 4-1 advantage at 8:32 after Leafs enforcer Ryan Reaves won a puck battle behind Florida’s net.

Knies, who fed Robertson’s breakaway pass on Toronto’s opener, added his 13th off a Pontus Holmberg setup for a 5-1 lead through 40 minutes.

Tarasenko got one back at 2:12 of the third when he tipped 22nd — and fifth since being acquired from the Ottawa Senators ahead of last month’s trade deadline — on a nice deflection from the slot.

Reinhart made it 5-3 with 8:02 left in regulation with his 52nd as the Panthers continued to push before Bennett got Florida within one with 1:50 remaining with his ninth.

But Matthews scored his 62nd into an empty net to seal it after some nervy moments.

UP NEXT

Panthers: Visit Montreal on Tuesday.

MIAMI — Mike Trout hit two solo homers and the Los Angeles Angels rallied from an early four-run deficit and beat the Miami Marlins 7-4 on Monday.

Trout’s second shot — a 473-foot blast in the sixth — landed in the walkway high above the wall in left-centerfield. It was the 26th multihomer game of Trout’s and the two blasts put him at 371 in his career, surpassing Gil Hodges for 81st on the all-time list.

Trout’s bid for a third homer ended when Miami reliever Tanner Scott (0-2) walked him to load the bases in the eighth. Brandon Drury then reached on a fielder’s choice that scored Anthony Rendon from third and snapped a 4-4 tie.

The Angels padded their lead in the ninth on Jo Adell’s RBI single and a balk by reliever Anthony Bender that scored Adell from third. Trout grounded out to third to end the inning.

Adam Cimber (1-0) induced a double play grounder against Jake Burger to end the sixth and pitched a scoreless seventh. Matt Moore followed with a perfect ninth and Carlos Estevez pitched the ninth for his second save.

Luis Arraez had two singles and three walks for the Marlins, who lost their season-starting fifth straight.

George Soriano relieved Miami starter Max Meyer to start the sixth and allowed consecutive solo shots against Nolan Schanuel and Trout that tied it at 4-all.

In his first appearance since July 23, 2022, Meyer gave up two runs, two hits, walked two and struck out four. Meyer, the third overall selection in the 2020 major league draft, missed last season after undergoing right elbow surgery.

Nick Gordon’s two-RBI double capped a four-run first for Miami against starter Chase Silseth. Burger and Jazz Chisholm Jr. also hit RBI singles.

The Angels narrowed the deficit on Aaron Hicks’ RBI groundout in the second before Trout’s first solo shot in the fourth.

Silseth was lifted after three innings and 76 pitches. The right-hander allowed four runs and five hits, walked two and struck out five.

Two-time Masters golf champion Bubba Watson threw the ceremonial first pitch before the game.

The Marlins selected the contract of LHP Kent Emmanuel from Triple-A Jacksonville and designated RHP Vladimir Gutierrez for assignment. Gutierrez pitched four innings of relief in Miami’s 9-7 loss against Pittsburgh on Sunday.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Angels: OF Mickey Moniac walked in two plate appearances after sitting out the series finale against Baltimore on Sunday because of illness.

Marlins: LHP Braxton Garrett (left shoulder soreness) is scheduled to throw three innings in an extended spring training game Tuesday in Jupiter, Fla.

UP NEXT

LHP Tyler Anderson (season debut) will start the second game of the series for the Angels on Tuesday. The Marlins will go with LHP Jesús Luzardo (0-0, 3.60).

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump posted a $175 million bond on Monday in his New York civil fraud case, halting collection of the more than $454 million he owes and preventing the state from seizing his assets to satisfy the debt while he appeals, according to a court filing.

A New York appellate court had given the former president 10 days to put up the money after a panel of judges agreed last month to slash the amount needed to stop the clock on enforcement.

The bond Trump is posting with the court now is essentially a placeholder, meant to guarantee payment if the judgment is upheld. If that happens, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee will have to pay the state the whole sum, which grows with daily interest.

If Trump wins, he won’t have to pay the state anything and will get back the money he has put up now.

Until the appeals court intervened to lower the required bond, New York Attorney General Letitia James had been poised to initiate efforts to collect the judgment, possibly by seizing some of Trump’s marquee properties. James, a Democrat, brought the lawsuit on the state’s behalf. Her office declined to comment Monday.

The court ruled after Trump’s lawyers complained it was “a practical impossibility” to get an underwriter to sign off on a bond for the $454 million, plus interest, that he owes.

The company that underwrote the bond is Knight Specialty Insurance, which is part of the Knight Insurance Group. The chairman of that company, billionaire Don Hankey, told The Associated Press that both cash and bond were used as collateral for Trump’s appellate bond.

Trump is fighting to overturn a judge’s Feb. 16 finding that he lied about his wealth as he fostered the real estate empire that launched him to stardom and the presidency. The trial focused on how Trump’s assets were valued on financial statements that went to bankers and insurers to get loans and deals.

Trump denies any wrongdoing, saying the statements actually lowballed his fortune, came with disclaimers and weren’t taken at face value by the institutions that lent to or insured him.

The state courts’ Appellate Division has said it would hear arguments in September. A specific date has not been set. If the schedule holds, it will fall in the final weeks of the presidential race.

Under New York law, filing an appeal generally doesn’t hold off enforcement of a judgment. But there’s an automatic pause — in legalese, a stay — if the person or entity obtains a bond guaranteeing payment of what’s owed.

Courts sometimes grant exceptions and lower the amount required for a stay, as in Trump’s case.

Trump’s lawyers had told the appeals court more than 30 bonding companies were unwilling to take a mix of cash and real estate as collateral for a $454 million-plus bond. Underwriters insisted on only cash, stocks or other liquid assets, the attorneys said.

They said most bonding companies require collateral covering 120% of the amount owed.

Trump recently claimed to have almost a half-billion dollars in cash — along with billions of dollars worth of real estate and other assets — but said he wanted to have some cash available for his presidential run.

Recent legal debts have taken a sizable chunk out of Trump’s cash reserves.

In addition to the $175 million he had to put up in the New York case, Trump has posted a bond and cash worth more than $97 million to cover money he owes to writer E. Jean Carroll while he appeals verdicts in a pair of federal civil trials. Juries found that he sexually assaulted her in the 1990s and defamed her when she went public with the allegation in 2019. He denies all the allegations.

In February, Trump paid the $392,638 in legal fees a judge ordered him to cover for The New York Times and three reporters after he unsuccessfully sued them over a Pulitzer Prize-winning 2018 story about his family’s wealth and tax practices.

In March, a British court ordered Trump to pay to pay legal fees of 300,000 pounds ($382,000) to a company he unsuccessfully sued over the so-called Steele dossier that contained salacious allegations about him. Trump said those claims were false.

Trump could eventually generate cash by selling some of the nearly 60% of stock he owns in his newly public social media company, Trump Media & Technology Group — but that would be a longer-term play. Trump’s stake could be worth billions of dollars, but a “lock-up” provision prevents insiders like him from selling their shares for six months.

BOSTON — Lawyers representing migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard nearly two years ago by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis can sue the charter flight company that transported them to the island off the Massachusetts coast, according to a ruling Monday by a federal judge in Boston.

The 50 Venezuelans were sent to Martha’s Vineyard from San Antonio, Texas, and had been promised work and housing opportunities.

Under Monday’s ruling, the migrants can proceed with their suit against Florida-based Vertol Systems Co., which had agreed to fly them to the island for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

An email to the company seeking comment after the afternoon release of the ruling was not immediately returned.

Migrant flights lawsuit dropped against Florida

Also named in the suit is DeSantis, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for president before dropping out in January.

The U.S. District Court of Massachusetts said in its ruling that it does not have jurisdiction over DeSantis in this case.

The court, however, found that the facts of the case “taken together, support an inference that Vertol and the other Defendants specifically targeted Plaintiffs because they were Latinx immigrants.”

The DeSantis administration noted that the judges’ order dismissed the state defendants.

“As we’ve always stated, the flights were conducted lawfully and authorized by the Florida Legislature,” Julia Friedland, the deputy press secretary for DeSantis, said in a statement. “We look forward to Florida’s next illegal immigrant relocation flight, and we are glad to bring national attention to the crisis at the southern border.”

The court also said that “Unlike ICE agents legitimately enforcing the country’s immigration laws … the Court sees no legitimate purpose for rounding up highly vulnerable individuals on false pretenses and publicly injecting them into a divisive national debate.”

‘It was all a political stunt’: South Florida Hispanics fume over Martha’s Vineyard controversy

Iván Espinoza-Madrigal, executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights, called the 77-page ruling a major victory in the Martha’s Vineyard case.

He said in a statement that the ruling sends the message that private companies can be held accountable for helping rogue state actors violate the rights of vulnerable immigrants through what it characterized as illegal and fraudulent schemes.

By PAT GRAHAM (AP Sports Writer)

Hall of Fame defensive lineman Warren Sapp is headed back to the classroom in order to be more of a hands-on coach for the Colorado Buffaloes.

Deion Sanders added the 51-year-old Sapp to the staff as a graduate assistant, which paves the way for him to work on the field with the team. Sapp, who’s taking classes, introduced himself to the Buffaloes as the senior quality control analyst — a mouth-full, he added — but that role would limit his involvement on the field.

“We’re building mansions here,” Sapp said to the team when he was introduced by Sanders to the group in a video posted on YouTube. “That’s why I’m here, to help you build your mansion.”

The University of Miami standout spent 13 seasons in the NFL with Tampa Bay and the Oakland Raiders. Sapp was the 1999 AP defensive player of the year and won a Super Bowl title with the Buccaneers following the 2002 season.

Sapp, who finished his career with 96 1/2 sacks, is looking forward to working alongside Sanders and the rest of the staff.

“I’ve been a Deion Sanders fan since I was 12 years old,” Sapp said in the video posted through “ Well Off Media,” which is run by Deion Sanders Jr. “We’re all here for the man. Let’s go ride — championship time.”

Deion Sanders had nothing but praise for Sapp’s pedigree — pointing out he had a gold jacket, too — and his trash-talk game.

“That’s how we meet, talking junk,” Sanders said to the team.

Sanders has been busy tinkering with his coaching staff following a 4-8 showing in his first season at Colorado. He added Robert Livingston as the defensive coordinator and brought in Phil Loadholt to shore up a shaky offensive line to better protect his QB son, Shedeur Sanders. The team is sticking with Pat Shurmur as the offensive coordinator after he took over play-calling duties during last season.

Colorado is gearing up for its spring game on April 27 at Folsom Field. It will be aired on the Pac-12 Network, the team announced Monday, and followed that night by a concert featuring Lil Wayne at CU Events Center.

The Buffaloes are moving from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 next season.

By MICHAEL R. SISAK (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — The judge in Donald Trump’s April 15 hush-money criminal trial declared his daughter off-limits to the former president’s rancor on Monday, expanding a gag order days after Trump assailed and made false claims about her on social media.

Judge Juan M. Merchan said the original gag order — barring Trump from making public statements about jurors, witnesses and others connected to the case — did not include his family members, but subsequent attacks warranted including them.

Trump is now also barred from commenting publicly about the family of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, though he is still free to go after Bragg, the elected Democrat whose office is prosecuting the case.

“This pattern of attacking family members of presiding jurists and attorneys assigned to his cases serves no legitimate purpose,” Merchan wrote. “It merely injects fear in those assigned or called to participate in the proceedings that not only they, but their family members as well, are ‘fair game,’ for Defendant’s vitriol.”

A violation could result in Trump being held in contempt of court, fined or even jailed.

Trump criticized Merchan and Merchan’s daughter, a Democratic political consultant, in a series of Truth Social posts last Wednesday, a day after the judge issued his original gag order. Another post, over the weekend, included a photograph of Loren Merchan.

Prosecutors had urged Merchan to clarify or expand his gag order after Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform last week that Loren Merchan “makes money by working to ‘Get Trump,’” and wrongly accused her of posting a social media photo showing him behind bars.

Trump’s lawyers had fought the gag order and its expansion, arguing that Trump was engaging in protected political campaign speech.

Trump’s lawyers and the Manhattan district attorney’s office declined comment.

The trial, which involves allegations Trump falsified payment records in a scheme to cover up negative stories during his 2016 presidential campaign, is scheduled to begin April 15. Trump denies wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Merchan’s gag order echoes one in Trump’s Washington, D.C., election interference criminal case. It prohibits statements meant to interfere with or harass the court’s staff, prosecution team or their families — now including Merchan’s family.

The Broward School Board’s top lawyer could be fired this month following questions over whether the school district failed to share enough money from a 2018 tax referendum with charter schools.

General Counsel Marylin Batista could be terminated without cause at the April 16 School Board meeting, under a proposal from Board member Daniel Foganholi.

“In recent weeks, concerns have arisen regarding the conduct and decision-making of the General Counsel, despite the Board’s explicit directives and established protocols,” Foganholi wrote in an agenda item. “The General Counsel has undertaken certain actions independently, which have led to unfavorable outcomes for the School District.”

He specifically listed the School Board’s efforts to resolve the dispute over charter school funding. The School Board decided in 2018 to only share a small portion of money with charter schools from a referendum for teacher pay, safety and security and mental health. The total amount was about $4.6 million over four years.

But state officials said court rulings have made clear the district must provide a proportional share of the referendum money. About 30 charter schools sued the district in October to receive money they say they are owed, and the State Board of Education found the School Board out of compliance Wednesday. A state lawyer said the district owes charter schools about $80 million.

The School Board voted March 20 to try to resolve the issue quickly, but district lawyers submitted a memo stating reasons why the district shouldn’t have to share the money. Some board members said the memo didn’t reflect the will of the board.

During the state Board of Education meeting, Batista gave answers that indicated she agreed the School Board had to share money with charter schools, based on court rulings in 2021 but said it was a decision of management at the time. She was interim general counsel at the time the rulings became final.

• Education | Broward schools had warnings of charter school funding controversy
• Education | State board says Broward schools owe $80 million to charter schools
• Education | State says Broward schools must pay millions to charter schools by December

Foganholi, one of two appointees of Gov. Ron DeSantis on the School Board, cited other issues as well.

“Since my swearing in back in 2022, there have also been multiple public major missteps and different legal opinions given on the same topic, depending what board member requests guidance,” he said in the agenda item.

Batista, responding to a request from the South Florida Sun Sentinel for comment, said, “I remain focused and committed to advancing the best interests of the School Board.”

If she is fired without cause, she is entitled to 60 days notice and 20 weeks severance, according to her contract.

Batista has been a lawyer with the school district since 1996. She became interim general counsel for the board in May 2021, after then-General Counsel Barbara Myrick was on indicted on a felony charge of improperly disclosing information from a statewide grand jury. Myrick has pleaded not guilty, and her case is still pending.

Batista initially didn’t apply for the permanent job, but when the School Board failed to reach an agreement with two candidates who were finalists for the job, it agreed to negotiate with her for the permanent job. She started as the permanent general counsel in February 2023.

By KIM CHANDLER (Associated Press)

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama inmate seeking to block the state’s attempt to make him the second person put to death by nitrogen gas has filed a lawsuit arguing the first execution under the new method was “botched” and caused cruel and prolonged suffering.

Attorneys for Alan Eugene Miller, who survived a 2022 lethal injection attempt, filed the lawsuit Friday in federal court in which they challenged the execution method and asked a judge to prevent a potential execution from going forward.

Miller’s attorneys argued that the first nitrogen execution in January left Kenneth Smith shaking and convulsing on a gurney as he was put to death. The suit argued that it would be a violation of the ban on cruel and unusual punishment to put him to death using the same protocol, which used a mask to deliver the nitrogen gas. They also argued the state is seeking to execute Miller to “silence” him in retaliation for speaking out about his failed lethal injection attempt, calling that a violation of his free speech and due process rights.

“Rather than address these failures, the State of Alabama has attempted to maintain secrecy and avoid public scrutiny, in part by misrepresenting what happened in this botched execution,” the lawyers wrote. They said Alabama was unable to conduct such an execution “without cruelly superadding pain and disgrace, and prolonging death.”

A spokeswoman for Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment on the lawsuit.

In February, Marshall’s office asked the Alabama Supreme Court to set an execution date for Miller using nitrogen gas. The court has not yet ruled on the request. Miller is scheduled to file a response with the court this week.

The request for an execution date comes as the state and advocates continue to present opposing views of what happened during the state’s first execution using nitrogen. Smith shook and convulsed in seizure-like movements for several minutes on the death chamber gurney as he was put to death on Jan. 25.

Miller was sentenced to death after being convicted of a 1999 workplace rampage in which he killed Terry Jarvis, Lee Holdbrooks and Scott Yancy.

Like Smith, Miller survived a previous lethal injection attempt. The state attempted to execute Miller by lethal injection in September 2022, but that execution was called off after officials were unable to insert an intravenous line into the 351-pound (159-kilogram) prisoner’s veins.

After that attempt, the state struck an agreement with Miller’s lawyers that it would never again seek to execute Miller by lethal injection and that any attempt to execute him in the future would be done with nitrogen gas. However, Miller’s attorneys argued that witness accounts of Smith’s execution contradict Marshall’s assertion that it was “textbook” and went according to the state’s plan.

A separate lawsuit filed by another death row inmate seeking to block the use of nitrogen gas said witness accounts show that Smith’s execution was a botched “human experiment.”

An attorney listed for Miller did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the lawsuit.

Miller said that during the aborted 2022 lethal injection attempt, prison staff poked him with needles for over an hour as they tried to find a vein and at one point left him hanging vertically as he lay strapped to a gurney.

Miller, a delivery truck driver, was convicted in the fatal workplace shootings of the three men. Prosecutors said Miller killed Holdbrooks and Yancy at one business and then drove to another location where he shot Jarvis. Each man was shot multiple times.

Testimony at Miller’s trial indicated Miller was delusional and believed the men were spreading rumors about him. Jurors convicted Miller after 20 minutes of deliberation and then recommended a death sentence, which a judge imposed.

By KIM TONG-HYUNG and HYUNG-JIN KIM (Associated Press)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea test-fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile toward waters off its eastern coast Tuesday, South Korea’s military said, as it pushes to advance its weapons aimed at remote U.S. targets in the Pacific.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched from an area near the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, and flew about 600 kilometers (372 miles) before landing in the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.

Lee Sung Joon, spokesperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the launch likely followed up on a North Korean test in March of a solid-fuel engine built for a new intermediate-range hypersonic missile it has been developing. If perfected, such weapons could reach the U.S. Pacific military hub of Guam and beyond, experts say.

Lee didn’t specify why the South Koreans were assessing the missile as an IRBM or whether it was flown at less than its capacity, but said the North Koreans were likely experimenting with new warhead technologies.

Japan’s Defense Ministry gave more details in its assessment, saying the missile flew about 650 kilometers (403 miles) while reaching a maximum altitude of 100 kilometers (62 miles) before landing in waters outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone. The Japanese military didn’t immediately say whether it assessed the missile as intermediate range or something else.

It was the North’s first known launch event since March 18, when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a live-fire drill of artillery systems designed to target South Korea’s capital.

Japan’s coast guard shared an assessment of the country’s Defense Ministry that the missile has already landed but still urged caution for vessels passing the area.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that no damage related to the missile has been reported. He said North Korea’s frequent missile launches “threaten the peace and safety of not only Japan but also the region and the international security.”

Tensions in the region have risen since 2022 as Kim used Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a distraction to accelerate his testing of missiles and other weapons. The United States and South Korea have responded by expanding their combined training and trilateral drills involving Japan and sharpening their deterrence strategies built around strategic U.S. assets.

There are concerns that North Korea could further dial up pressure in an election year in the United States and South Korea.

Following the March 19 test of the solid-fuel IRBM engine, Kim said the strategic value of such weapons would be just as important as his intercontinental ballistic missiles targeting the U.S. mainland.

In recent years, North Korea has been focusing on developing more weapons with built-in solid propellants. Those weapons are easier to move and hide and can be made to launch quicker than liquid-propellant missiles, which need to be fueled before launch and cannot stay fueled for long periods of time.

Kim has also vowed to acquire hypersonic missiles that can overwhelm its adversaries’ missile defense systems. Other weapons North Korea have tested this year include cruise missiles and “super-large” multiple rocket launchers aimed at the Seoul capital area.

The latest launch came two days after North Korea reaffirmed its plans to launch several reconnaissance satellites this year. South Korea’s military said Monday there were no signs that a satellite launch is impending at the North’s main launch facility in the northwest.

Kim has described satellites as crucial for monitoring U.S. and South Korean military movements and enhancing the threat of his nuclear-capable missiles. Last November, North Korea put a military spy satellite into orbit for the first time.

___

AP journalist Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

___

Follow AP’s Asia-Pacific coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific

The Florida Supreme Court tore a page from the Florida Constitution and flung it in the faces of the people Monday by effectively banning abortion in Florida. Six of the seven justices said the word “privacy” does not mean what most people sensibly assume it does.

But in a second ruling that was both sound and surprising, a court dominated by appointees of Gov. Ron DeSantis allowed the people of Florida to vote in November on a ballot initiative that would specifically protect abortion rights. It will be on the ballot as Amendment 4.

In a 4-3 decision, justices rejected Attorney General Ashley Moody’s contrived arguments that the initiative’s ballot summary is misleading. But Justice Carlos Muñiz picked up two votes for a concurring opinion that hints at an eventual “fetal personhood” declaration by the court that would render Amendment 4 moot.

The 6-1 decision to ban abortions, the most radical act yet of this reactionary court’s contempt for precedents it dislikes, says in effect that the people didn’t know abortion would be affected when they approved Florida’s landmark 1980 privacy amendment to the state Constitution.

That provision guarantees — or did until Monday — that “every natural person has the right to be let alone and free from governmental intrusion into the person’s private life except as provided herein…”

And if the people didn’t know, the majority said, then the court was wrong to conclude in 1989 that abortion was included in the right to privacy.

All seven justices in 1989 agreed with the majority opinion that nothing could be more private or personal than the decision whether to abort or continue a pregnancy.

What the 1989 court said then is still self-evident.

Monday’s decision not only upholds Florida’s ban on abortion after 15 weeks but effectively implements another law, labeled the Heartbeat Protection Act by its legislative supporters, that forbids abortion after six weeks — a time when many women don’t yet know they are pregnant.

It is astonishing, appalling and intolerable that Charles Canady, the senior justice, did not recuse himself and voted for that outcome. While representing Florida in Congress, he opposed abortion stridently. His wife, Jennifer, a freshman state House member, co-sponsored the six-week ban, written so as to take effect immediately if the court upheld the 15-week law.

That outcome is no less disgusting for its inevitability since DeSantis began packing the court with candidates curated for their ideologies, first by a nominating commission that DeSantis commands, secondly by a secret cadre of advisers led by a leading abortion opponent, the Federalist Society’s Leonard Leo, and finally by DeSantis himself.

It was the ultimate in judicial activism, a trait DeSantis and his justices all claim to abhor. Moreover, the majority opinion also focused on what it imagined were the intentions of those who supported the 1980 privacy amendment rather than on the plain and logical meaning of the text.

Whatever happened to textualism?

The decision also contradicted the unmistakable opinion of a majority of voters who rejected the Legislature’s 2012 attempt to do what the court finally did this week. That failed amendment would have barred public funds for abortion and held that the privacy clause could not be used to provide broader privacy rights than those in the U.S. Constitution.

Once again, Justice Jorge Labarga’s solitary dissent casts harsh light on the majority’s biased conclusions.

“Contrary to the majority,” he wrote, “I am convinced that in 1980, a Florida voter would have understood that the proposed privacy amendment included ‘broad protections for abortion.’

“The right of privacy is no novel concept … even in early considerations of the right of privacy, scholars recognized that the right would be one that would evolve over time — and it did.”

By 1980, Labarga noted, the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision (since repealed by a right-wing majority), had educated the entire American public on how privacy bears on abortion.

Seven years after Roe, Florida voters wrote privacy rights into the state constitution. Labarga wrote at length to document what Florida voters heard and knew in the aftermath of Roe.

Labarga warned that Monday’s decision could jeopardize other aspects of privacy despite the majority’s claim that it doesn’t.

“What the majority has done today supplants Florida voters’ understanding — then and now — that the right to privacy includes the right to an abortion,” he wrote, concluding by expressing his “deep dismay.”

Infuriated voters have options. They can and should vote overwhelmingly for Amendment 4 on Nov. 5.

In the longer range, they should stop electing politicians like DeSantis, and demand that their legislators restore the independence of the judicial nominating commissions, which was destroyed by a 2001 law enabling the governors to appoint all nine members of each panel rather than only three.

They should also demand that Florida’s Judicial Qualifications Commission investigate Canady’s ethics in voting to uphold, in effect, his wife’s new abortion ban.

The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Opinion Editor Dan Sweeney, editorial writer Martin Dyckman and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Editorials are the opinion of the Board and written by one of its members or a designee. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.

The former head of the Pentagon’s investigation into the mysterious health incidents known as Havana Syndrome told the CBS investigation show “60 Minutes” he believes Russia was behind them and was attacking U.S. officials abroad and at home.

In partnership with The Insider, a Russian exile media outlet, and German magazine Der Spiegel, 60 Minutes reported Sunday night on new evidence connecting a possible domestic incident of Havana Syndrome to Russia and identified a Russian military intelligence unit, identified as 29155, as the possible culprit of some of the suspected attacks, the latest turn in a case that has confounded U.S. spy agencies.

Havana Syndrome got its name from the city where U.S. and Canadian diplomats and intelligence officials first reported in 2016 experiencing strange noises and sensations of pressure, and later developed debilitating symptoms like vertigo, migraines and hearing and cognitive problems. The incidents were later reported around the world, which led to suspicions that a foreign adversary, possibly Russia, was attacking U.S. diplomats and spies with some type of directed energy weapon.

To read the full report, click here to go to miamiherald.com

A Republican House member from Michigan openly mused during a town hall last week about wiping out the Gaza Strip, telling his constituents that “it should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima.”

“Get it over quick,” Rep. Tim Walberg said, according to a video that emerged online from the March 25 event in Dundee, Michigan.

His remarks, invoking the U.S. atomic bombings of Japan during World War II while discussing his opposition to U.S. humanitarian aid for Gaza, drew swift condemnation, including at least one call for his resignation. He said that his remarks were taken out of context and that the clip showed only part of his response.

Justin Amash, a former House GOP colleague in Michigan and a Palestinian American, denounced Walberg for his comments, writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday that they “evince an utter indifference to human suffering.

“The people of Gaza are our fellow human beings — many of them children trapped in horrific circumstances beyond their individual control,” Amash wrote. “For him to suggest that hundreds of thousands of innocent Palestinians should be obliterated, including my own relatives sheltering at an Orthodox Christian church, is reprehensible and indefensible.”

Amash, the only sitting Republican member of Congress to support President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, left the Republican Party in 2019 while facing attacks by Trump. Amash is running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan.

In a post on X on Sunday morning, Walberg, 72, a former pastor and a longtime House member who represents southern Michigan, sought to clean up his remarks and accused his critics of twisting his words.

“As a child who grew up in the Cold War Era, the last thing I’d advocate for would be the use of nuclear weapons,” he wrote. “In a shortened clip, I used a metaphor to convey the need for both Israel and Ukraine to win their wars as swiftly as possible, without putting American troops in harm’s way.”

Walberg’s office also provided an audio recording and a transcript of the exchange that prompted his remarks. He had been asked why the United States was spending money to build a pier to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.

“We shouldn’t be spending a dime on humanitarian aid,” he said, according to the recording. “It should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Get it over quick. The same should be in Ukraine. Defeat Putin quick. Instead of 80% of our funding for Ukraine being used for humanitarian purposes, it should be 80%, 100% to wipe out Russian forces, if that’s what we want to do.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

WASHINGTON — Observations and other notes of interest from Sunday night’s 119-107 victory over the Washington Wizards:

– If Jimmy Butler Week is about to follow, then everything else is a non-issue.

– Including the passive start Sunday, before late and needed on-demand scoring.

– And the lack of a breakout game in two weeks.

– Perhaps it’s the lingering remnants of his illness.

– Perhaps it’s allowing others to thrive, as Terry Rozier did Sunday.

– Perhaps it’s merely waiting for this moment at hand.

– With huge games now following against the Knicks, 76ers, Rockets and Pacers.

– And that’s the thing with Butler, wondering about what is next.

– Mostly, when that “it” moment is about to happen.

– This week would be as good a time as any.

– Affording greater confidence that Playoff Jimmy is about to follow.

– Yes, there is something to be said about pacing oneself at 34.

– But there also is plenty to be said about giving oneself a week off before the playoffs, rather than having to push through the play-in round.

– At one point, Rozier was up to 15 shots when Butler stood at five.

– With Duncan Robinson back from his back issue, the Heat opened with a lineup of Bam Adebayo, Nikola Jovic, Butler, Rozier and Robinson.

– That lineup entered 4-5.

– Robinson had missed the previous five games with left facet syndrome, with coach Erik Spoelstra embracing the return.

– “It is good,” Spoelstra said. “Considering everything, we’re encouraged where we are right now from a health standpoint and where we’re trending.”

– The only injuries for the Heat were the absences of Caleb Martin (ankle), Tyler Herro (foot) and Josh Richardson (shoulder).

– Orlando Robinson, Cole Swider and Alondes Williams were back with the Heat after the Heat’s G League affiliate closed out its regular season Saturday.

– The Sioux Falls Skyforce advanced to the G League playoffs after finishing second in that Western Conference under coach Kasib Powell, the former Heat forward.

– “I really commend Kasib and the staff and the players,” Spoelstra said. “It feels like there were six or seven mini-seasons within one season. Just all the changes in personnel and the successes have been significant with the fact that we had a lot of call-ups and guys have gotten a lot better. And we’ve said that it’s either going to happen with us or somewhere else, that’s the whole point of that league and our developmental program. We want to serve players to do that.”

– Spoelstra added, “Now, we also want to have success and I think Kasib has done a really good job managing all of that this season and keeping the ship going in the right direction. We all watched the game last night. But we’re encouraged that we get the No. 2 seed and still have to do it in the playoffs.”

– Haywood Highsmith and Jaime Jaquez Jr. entered together first off the Heat bench.

– With former Wizard Delon Wright third off the Heat bench.

– And then Thomas Bryant for nine deep.

– Instead of Kevin Love, who was active.

– A starter the previous five games, Patty Mills this time was shuffled out of the Heat mix.

– Adebayo’s first steal was the 500th of his career.

– Spoelstra watched from the team plane as Nova Southeastern fell Saturday on a late 3-pointer in the NCAA Division II championship game.

– Having spent time with Nova coach Jim Crutchfield and studied his system in Davie, Spoelstra offered empathy.

– “I watched it on the plane actually because that’s when the game was happening and they were down almost 10 points in the second half,” Spoelstra said. “They came storming back and really looked like they were going to make the plays necessary to win. But I tip my hat to coach Crutchfield. What he’s done at Nova really is amazing. I have so much respect for him. He’s a unique basketball thinker and mind.”

– Spoelstra added, “If I were 19, 20 years old and I was a good player down here in South Florida, I would definitely go there. That’s a fun style of basketball. You play at a high level. You’re coached extremely well, You get to compete for championships, and it looks like they just had some amazing memories and experiences from that. It was a tough loss, but there’s a lot to be proud of from this year.”

WASHINGTON — Little was asked and little was required for the Miami Heat over these past two games against the Portland Trail Blazers and Washington Wizards.

Now the calculus changes to higher math than that required in Sunday night’s 119-107 victory over the Wizards at Capital One Arena or Friday night’s 60-point annihilation of the Trail Blazers at Kaseya Center.

Against opponents that now stand at 19-55 (Blazers) and 14-61 (Wizards), it didn’t require Erik Spoelstra or his players to conjure their best.

But next up are four consecutive games against opponents with winning records, starting Tuesday against the New York Knicks at Kaseya Center and continuing against the Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers.

“We can’t worry about the next four,” center Bam Adebayo said. “We got to worry about the next one and then we move on.”

So make it mission accomplished against the Blazers and Wizards, and victories in six of the last nine for the Heat (41-33), while going Sunday without Tyler Herro and Caleb Martin.

Terry Rozier, who left briefly in the third period with a sore left knee, led the Heat with 27 points. The Heat also got 22 points, nine rebounds and five assists from Adebayo, 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists from Jimmy Butler and 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists from Nikola Jovic. There also were 10 points from Haywood Highsmith.

“Every game is not going to be easy, like we showed tonight,” Rozier said. “But we feel like we can make our push and we will make our push.”

The Wizards, playing out the string on the way to more lottery balls. were without Bilal Coulibaly, Richaun Holmes, Tyus Jones, Kyle Kuzma, Isaiah Livers, Eugene Omoruyi and Landry Shamet.

Spoelstra said it was a test simply to survive.

“Teams that are out of the playoff running,” he said, “you can play fast and free and you don’t really have the pressure and context that all the teams that are jockeying positions feel. So they can be super ignitable.”

Five Degrees of Heat from Sunday night’s game:

1. Closing time: It was tied 29-29 at the end of the first period, with the Heat then taking a 66-59 lead into halftime, their largest lead of the game to that stage.

The Heat then pushed their lead to 17 in the third period and went into the fourth up 95-80.

Butler and Duncan Robinson then returned after a Heat timeout with 6:42 to play, with Spoelstrs forced to call another timeout as the Wizards closed within 107-97 with 4:17 to play.

A pair of Butler baskets that included a three-point play then helped push the Heat’s lead back to 15, settling matters.

“In the second half when we were able to get some consecutive defensive stops and push it to a double-digit lead,” Spoelstra said, “that was the first time we were able to really create some separation and keep it there. That was encouraging to see.”

2. Early energy: Rozier was just about the Heat’s only early energy, with 20 points by the intermission.

Rozier was up to 8 of 13 from the field at that stage, including 4 of 7 on 3-pointers. The rest of the Heat were 3 of 12 from beyond the arc in the first half.

Rozier did all of that without a turnover in the first half.

“Terry is getting a lot more comfortable,” Spoelstra said. “He really is pure, he wants to help, he wants to contribute, he wants to make things better and easier with the group.”

It was a mostly lethargic start otherwise for the Heat, with Butler attempting only four first-half shots.

Rozier then went to the Heat locker room with 6:02 left in the third period, replaced by Delon Wright, who promptly drained a 3-pointer on his first shot of the night. Rozier was back on the Heat bench and back in the game before the close of that third period.

“Everything was good and he was cleared,” Spoelstra said.

Rozier said he will be ready for Tuesday night.

“I’m going to get treatment, regardless,” he said. “That’s just being a professional and taking care of your body. But it’s just a little discomfort. I’m good.”

Rozier also tied his career high with four steals, closing 11 of 19 from the field, 5 of 11 on 3-pointers.

3. Robinson returns: Robinson was back after missing the previous five games with a back ailment, returning to the starting lineup.

Out since March 20, Robinson showed the rust early, well short on his first two 3-point attempts, as part of an 0-for-7 Heat start on 3-pointers.

Those two 3-point attempts were Robinson’s only shots in the first half.

Robinson then converted his first two 3-pointers of the second half, leading the Wizards to call time with the Heat up 72-59.

“Always nice to see them go through. Good to get a couple to go,” Robinson said.

It had Spoelstra heartened, as well.

“I think he caught a little bit more of a rhythm in the second half,” Spoelstra said, “not just with the shooting, just where to go and where the actions are and all those things. You can see what he adds. The two back-to-back threes immediately put it to double-digits and that’s what he’s fully capable of.”

Robinson closed 2 of 7 from the field, with each attempt from beyond the arc, in 28 minutes.

“It was an issue that had kind of built up over time a little bit,” Robinson said of the back issue. “So trying to be smart about managing it.

4. Still no Love: On the active roster for the second consecutive game, Kevin Love remained out of the mix, with Thomas Bryant again getting the minutes at center behind Adebayo.

Love still has not played since bruising his right heel in the Feb. 27 loss in Portland. He was in uniform and warmed up before the game.

“I have every intention of getting him back into the mix,” Spoelstra said. “These are fluid decisions when guys are in, out and then we’re trying to keep some level of continuity.

“I’m fully aware of how important K-Love is to us and he’s been great about it. I think with another day of work, he’ll be ready on Tuesday.”

Also out of the mix was guard Patty Mills, who had started the previous five games with Robinson out.

Love and Mills were the only available Heat players not to see action.

5. Martin’s night off: Martin is expected back Tuesday night. He was listed as being out with ankle discomfort, but has been dealing with several ailments, including knee soreness and a splinted thumb.

“He’s been dealing with a few nagging injuries,” Spoelstra said. “They weren’t getting better. We think he’ll feel a lot better with this extended stretch and the two days we had before the last game.”

By sitting Sunday, Martin will have played in only one game over a six-day span if he returns Tuesday.

By MARC BERMAN (Associated Press)

MIAMI GARDENS — Jannik Sinner’s strong 2024 continued as he won the Miami Open with 6-3, 6-1 victory over 11th seed Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday.

In a flawless display on a 79-degree afternoon, Sinner, the 2024 Australian Open champion, moved to 22-1 on the year in winning the Miami Open for the first time. Sinner had been runner-up twice in 2021 and 2023.

In his second straight Miami Open finals appearance (Sinner lost last year to Daniil Medvedev), the 22-year-old played with an abundance of confidence despite the crowd cheering on the underdog from Bulgaria. Sinner ended it in 1 hour, 13 minutes with a backhand winner.

“This was my third time in the final and I figured this would be the lucky one,″ Sinner said. “I’m really happy I can hold the big trophy.″

Chants of “Gri-gor’’ resounded the entire match inside the home stadium of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. Dimitrov had created a buzz this week with upsets of top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals and No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev in the semifinals.

Sinner, who was never broken and faced just one break point, was undeterred by the pro-Dimitrov crowd and could be an early favorite for the upcoming French Open.

The men’s tour swings in April to the clay-court season in Europe finished off by the French at Roland Garros which begins on May 20.

Sinner won his first major at the Australian Open, then captured the title Rotterdam, and was a finalist in Indian Wells. His only loss in 2024 was in the Indian Wells final to Alcaraz.

Dimitrov, 10 years older than Sinner at 32, will vault into the top 10 rankings for the first time since 2018 while Sinner also hits a milestone, moving from No. 3 to 2 — highest ranking of his young career.

Dimitrov won the first eight points on his serve, holding at love in each game. Then the Bulgarian got broken at 2-2 when he tried to get too fancy.

Amidst a long rally, Dimitrov hit a drop shot into the net. Thereafter, he advanced to the net twice only to get beaten by two deft passing shots by Sinner. While Dimitrov has a decent net game, Sinner is perhaps the best passer in tennis.

At 3-5, Dimitrov got broken again with Sinner at his best. He set up a double-set point with an inside-out forehand return that clipped the far sideline for a winner. Dimitrov saved the first set point before Sinner closed it out with another passing shot — this time with a backhand down the line.

His chances in the second set were wiped out when he got broken at 2-1. Sinner kept the ball deep on the final two rallies of the game and Dimitrov flubbed shots into the net. At 4-1, Dimitrov got broken again when he flubbed an easy volley long.

The American women made a clean sweep. On Saturday, Danielle Collins won the women’s singles title. In women’s doubles Sunday, Americans Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands rallied from a set down to top Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada) and Erin Routliffe (New Zealand) 4-6, 7-6 (5), 11-9 in a third-set match tiebreaker.

The American men didn’t fare well in Miami without anyone advancing in singles to the round of 16.

___

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

MIAMI — Oneil Cruz raced home on Jason Delay’s bunt in the 10th inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Miami Marlins 9-7 on Sunday for a four-game sweep of their season-opening series.

The Marlins were sent to their third 0-4 start in franchise history (joining the 1995 and 2001 teams). The franchise has never started a season 0-5. Their worst start with one win came in 1998 when, after taking the season opener, the Marlins lost their next 11 games. In 1998, the Marlins went a franchise-worst 54-108, while the team finished 67-76 in 1995 and 76-86 in 2001.

Cruz opened the 10th on second as a pinch runner for Rowdy Tellez. He advanced to third when reliever Tanner Scott (0-1) committed an error on Alika Williams’ sacrifice attempt.

Delay then sent another bunt toward first and Cruz beat first baseman Jake Burger’s throw to the plate. Ke’Bryan Hayes reached on a two-out infield single and Michael A. Taylor gave Pittsburgh a 9-7 lead with a bases-loaded walk.

“Alika got a bunt down in a situation where you normally don’t bunt,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “Not too many teams are able to deploy a weapon like we were able to with Oneil being there and we wanted to get him to third.”

Miami had runners on the corners with no outs in the bottom half. But Hunter Stratton retired Burger, Bryan De La Cruz and Jazz Chisholm Jr. for his first career save.

“I just tried to keep everything the same,” Stratton said. “Just kept it simple.”

Pittsburgh’s bullpen allowed two runs over 20 1/3 innings in the series.

Miami trailed 7-6 before Nick Gordon connected for a pinch-hit homer against Pirates closer David Bednar (1-0) in the ninth inning.

Tellez hit a three-run drive for the Pirates, who last opened the season with a four-game sweep on the road in 1903.

“Confidence is huge in baseball,” Delay said. “We’re feeling good right now and we’re going to try to ride it some more.”

Chisholm hit a grand slam and Avisaíl García also went deep for Miami.

In the top of the eighth, two spectators ran into center field and attempted to take a picture with Chisholm before they were detained and removed by stadium security.

Miami was the last big league team without a homer before Chisholm’s drive capped a five-run first against Bailey Falter.

Pittsburgh responded with three runs in the second, highlighted by Williams’ two-run triple.

Hayes added an RBI single in the fourth, but García made it 6-4 when he hit a solo drive to center in the bottom half.

Tellez struck out in his first three at-bats, but he delivered a big blow in the seventh. His three-run drive off Vladimir Gutierrez lifted the Pirates to a 7-6 lead.

“Frustrating first three at-bats but you never want to give up at-bats,” Tellez said. “Going into that one, faced (Gutierrez) before, kind of knew everything in his repertoire.”

Marlins starter Trevor Rogers completed five innings of four-run ball in his first appearance since April 19, 2023. Rogers, who missed most of last season with a left biceps strain, allowed seven hits, walked four and struck out six.

Falter was lifted after four innings. The left-hander gave up six runs and five hits.

MAKING MOVES

Before the game, the Pirates activated RHP Roansy Contreras from the paternity list and optioned LHP José Hernández to Triple-A Indianapolis. Pittsburgh also outrighted OF Canaan Smith-Njigba to Indianapolis and announced C Ali Sánchez refused an outright assignment to Indianapolis, electing to become a free agent.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Pirates: RHP Colin Holderman (illness) allowed three runs and two hits while recording two outs during a rehab outing with Indianapolis on Friday.

Marlins: RHP Edward Cabrera (right shoulder impingement) made a rehab start with Triple-A Jacksonville Sunday.

UP NEXT

Pirates: LHP Marco Gonzales will make his Pittsburgh debut when he starts the opener of a three-game series at Washington on Monday. The Nationals will start LHP MacKenzie Gore.

Marlins: RHP Max Meyer will start the opener of a three-game home set against the Los Angeles Angels on Monday. The Angels will go with RHP Chase Silseth.

By MIKE PESOLI and JEFFREY COLLINS (Associated Press)

BALTIMORE (AP) — As divers assisted crews with the complicated and meticulous operation of removing the steel and concrete from the fallen Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, some near the site took time on Easter Sunday to reflect on the six workers presumed to have plunged to their deaths.

As cranes periodically swung into place and workers measured and cut the steel to prepare to lift sections of twisted steel, Rev. Ako Walker held a Mass in Spanish at Sacred Heart of Jesus, about 5 miles (8 kilometers) up the Patapsco River from the collapse.

“Yes we can rebuild a bridge, but we have to look at the way in which migrant workers are treated and how best we can improve their situation as they come to the United States of America,” Walker said of the men who were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador and were patching potholes.

Dive teams were in the river Sunday surveying parts of the bridge underwater and checking on the ship to ensure it can be safely floated away once the wreckage is lifted. Workers in lifts used torches earlier to cut parts of the twisted steel superstructure above water.

The bridge fell early Tuesday as the crew of the cargo ship Dali lost power and control. They called in a mayday, which allowed just enough time for police to stop vehicles from getting on the bridge, but not enough time to get a crew of eight workers off the structure.

Two workers survived, two bodies were found in a submerged pickup and four more men are presumed dead. Weather conditions and the tangled debris underwater have made it too dangerous for divers to search for their bodies.

Each part of the bridge removed from the water will be lifted onto a barge and floated downstream to the Tradepoint Atlantic logistics center, where it will be inspected, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath said.

Everything the salvage crews do affects what happens next and ultimately how long it will take to remove all the debris and reopen the ship channel and the blocked Port of Baltimore, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said.

It can also alter the course of the National Transportation Safety Board investigation, which Moore said is important to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

“We need to have answers on what happened. We need to know who should be accountable for this. And we need to make sure we’re holding them accountable,” Moore said Sunday on CNN.

The crew of the Dali, which is as long as the Eiffel Tower is tall, remains onboard the ship. The vessel is tangled in 3,000 to 4,000 tons of debris. Most of its containers remain intact, but some were torn open or knocked away by the falling debris.

The Dali is managed by Synergy Marine Group and owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd. Danish shipping giant Maersk charted Dali, which was on its way out of port when it hit the bridge’s support column.

Along with clearing the shipping channel to reopen the port, officials are trying to figure out how to rebuild the major bridge, which was completed in 1977 and carried Interstate 695 around southeast Baltimore and was a vital link to the city’s centuries of maritime culture.

It took five years to build the original bridge. President Joe Biden’s administration has promised to pay the full cost to rebuild and state and federal transportation officials said they will work as quickly as possible.

But exactly how long the new bridge will take can’t be figured out now. Engineers haven’t been able to assess the condition of the ramps and smaller bridges leading to the collapsed structure to get the full scope of what must be done.

Congress is expected to consider aid packages to help people who lose jobs or businesses because of the prolonged closure of the Port of Baltimore. The port handles more cars and farm equipment than any other U.S. facility.

“This matters to folks in rural North Carolina, in Kansas, and Iowa. This matters to the global economy. And it should not be something that has anything or any conversation around party. We are talking about an American tragedy to an American city,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

On Monday the Small Business Administration will open a center in Dundalk, Maryland, to help small businesses get loans to help them with losses caused by the disruption of the bridge collapse.

The workers weren’t parishioners at Sacred Heart of Jesus, whose pews were packed Sunday for mass. But its pastor, Walker, reached out to the families because as he said the Latino community in Baltimore is large in number but closely connected.

He said in an interview before mass that they were good men working not just for their families in the U.S. but also for relatives in their countries.

Walker hopes their stories encourage people to embrace migrant workers who want to improve their lives and grow their communities.

“We have to be bridges for one another even in this most difficult situations. Our lives must be small bridges of mercy of hope of togetherness and of building communities,” Walker said.

___

Collins reported from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press writers Sarah Brumfield in Washington, D.C.; Kristin M. Hall in Nashville, Tennessee; Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee; and Lisa Baumann in Bellingham, Washington, contributed.