Airdate: 07/12/26 and 05/10/26
Guests: Becki Mangum, CEO of Andrews Behavioral Health
White House entrance undergoing ‘security enhancements and upgrades’
Security enhancements are underway on the North Portico of the White House, according to a White House official.
The work to the entrance of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is for “security enhancements and upgrades,” the official said, and is expected to be finished around mid-September.
It’s not yet clear what the security enhancements entail.
The project has been covered up by large tarps that have columns and a lamp printed on the side to mimic the existing portico.
The new security project comes as work was already being done to the front face of the White House.
In late June, scaffolding went up around the columns around the front door of the building, which a White House official said at the time is “standard restoration work” to repair the stone columns.
Separately, the Trump administration is proposing a project that would fence off Lafayette Park and possibly even Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House citing security risks, according to a plan submission from the Commission of Fine Arts.
“The concept approach may include discreet fencing, monitoring systems, and alarms, applied in a way that preserves day-to-day openness while enabling temporary closures when required,” according to the plan submission, which includes multiple options for permanent 8 or 9-foot non-scalable fencing around Lafayette Park and possibly even Pennsylvania Avenue.
The commission is to discuss the proposal at a meeting on July 16.
The plan pointed to the current temporary fencing and bike racks that have been installed to close off the park to visitors, but said those temporary measures are “not sustainable” in the long-term.
The plan also said that Lafayette Park and Pennsylvania Avenue are a “focal point” for the public to gather for demonstrations. They said that there have been assemblies that “elevate into non-peaceful demonstration.”
“A permanent fence that is properly anchored would provide separation which would assist in de-escalating most potentially violent protest,” the plan added.
The Trump administration has undertaken several other projects around the People’s House since the president returned to office.
On the South Lawn, a granite helipad is currently being constructed for Marine One. Trump announced last week the multimillion-dollar helipad would be paid for by Sikorsky Aircraft, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin.
Trump’s transformation of the White House also includes demolishing the East Wing last year to make way for construction of his massive White House ballroom. Trump has described the project, which faces legal challenges, as a “shield” and fortress for future presidents.
Trump has also paved over the grass at the White House Rose Garden to create a patio with tables, and erected two massive flagpoles on the North and South lawns. He also installed plaques underneath portraits of presidents along the West Wing Colonnade, dubbed the “Presidential Walk of Fame.”
Some of the projects have drawn opposition. The National Trust for Historic Preservation sued to block construction of the White House ballroom, and a U.S. District Court judge issued an order halting work — but that order was later put on hold as an appeals court hears the case.
Crews draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool again as part of troubled revamp
WASHINGTON — Crews are again draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool as President Donald Trump’s problem-plagued efforts to revamp the waterway pushes well past his initial goal of having it ready by July 4 to mark the nation’s 250th birthday.
The president at first suggested his renovations would last a century. But, within weeks of the project originally reaching completion last month, the water was beset by an algae bloom and pieces of the new coating appeared to be peeling off the bottom.
Trump has blamed the peeling on vandals, though critics allege it’s from shoddy repair work.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose agency oversees the National Park Service, told conservative podcaster Katie Miller in an interview released earlier this week that the new round of draining was planned. He also said that the water might still contain debris from an extensive Independence Day fireworks display over the National Mall.
“Drain the water, clean up the fireworks stuff,” Burgum told Miller, who is the wife of deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller. “Repair the vandalism that was done. Fill it back up again.”
The work on the Reflecting Pool is just one of a number of projects Trump has spearheaded across the nation’s capital. Most prominently, he demolished the White House’s East Wing to build a $400 million ballroom and plans to build a towering arch between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
He initially announced his intentions to beautify the Reflecting Pool this spring, saying he wanted it completed before the nation’s 250th birthday celebrations.
Water was drained and Trump directed that the bottom be painted what he called “American flag blue.” In May, the president posted on his social media site of the pool: “The goal is to have it done, at this higher level, prior to July 4th — We are ahead of schedule!”
But problems began quickly after the initial work was finished. Trump blamed vandals, and court documents later showed that the National Park Service reported to the U.S. Park Police a June 9 incident in which a sharp knife or razor cut the pool’s new liner.
On Thursday, former Olympic canoe racer David Hearn pleaded not guilty in D.C. Superior Court to deliberately damaging the Reflecting Pool. Hearn has said he reached inside the pool to examine the peeled sealant and let go of a chunk when he was told to by a park worker.
His attorneys and other Trump administration critics have derided the case as an abuse of prosecutorial power and maintain he is being scapegoated for the poor job done fixing up the Reflecting Pool.
At least three other people have been charged in the same court with misdemeanors for allegedly removing pieces of paint from the Reflecting Pool, according to online court records. All three pleaded not guilty during their initial court appearances Wednesday.
The pool was closed for the Independence Day celebration, which featured what Trump said was the largest fireworks display in the world. The president had said that the pool would have to be drained anew as part of the new round of repairs.
Burgum has also said that the Trump administration won’t seek bids for the new rounds of repairs. He told CNN’s “State of the Union” last weekend: “We’ll use the same company because they did a fantastic job.”
Ohio-based Green Water Solutions, also known as Greenwater Services, was given a $1.7 million contract to install a water-purification system in the Reflecting Pool, while Virginia-based Atlantic Industrial Coatings was awarded $14.7 million to repaint and waterproof the pool’s concrete floor.
Democratic senators and House members are investigating the pool project, including seeking answers about how much taxpayer funding is involved.
Alvarez’s 112th-minute goal helps lift Argentina past Switzerland 3-1 and into World Cup semifinals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Perhaps it is in Argentina’s character that the reigning World Cup champion always finds a way to win.
Perhaps it is simply its ability to suffer.
Whether it was tiny Cape Verde taking them to extra time, or Egypt burying them in a two-goal hole late in their match, Lionel Messi and La Albiceleste have always been able to survive. And that was the case once more on Saturday night, when Julián Alvarez’s long-range strike in the 112th minute and Lautaro Martínez’s finish later in extra time sent them back to the semifinals with a thrilling 3-1 victory over Switzerland at raucous Arrowhead Stadium.
“We’re among the best four,” Alvarez said, “so we’re meeting our objectives, and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. The whole match was hard, and we would have loved to have the win earlier, but we tried to get the win however we could.”
“It seems like if there’s no suffering, it doesn’t count,” Argentina’s Leandro Paredes added, “but as long as the results come through.”
Alexis Mac Allister had the other goal off a corner kick from Messi for La Albiceleste, helping to send them into a showdown with England on Wednesday in Atlanta. The Three Lions beat Norway 2-1 earlier in the day.
Messi’s nine-game World Cup scoring streak ended, but his pursuit of a second World Cup title continues. With Argentina and England joining France and Spain in the semifinals, it’s the first time the top four teams in the FIFA rankings have advanced that far.
“A match is coming up,” Paredes said, “that every kid dreams of playing.”
The game against Switzerland swung on a call sure to rile up those who think Argentina has been favored by World Cup officials.
The Swiss had just tied the game on Dan Ndoye’s goal in the 67th minute when Paredes was shown a yellow card for a tackle on Breel Embolo. But video showed the Swiss player falling before the Argentina midfielder made contact with him, and since Embolo received a yellow card earlier in the match, he was sent off and Switzerland was left to defend with 10 players.
It was the second time a yellow card has been overturned using the “mistaken identity” protocol at the World Cup. The rule allows the video assistant referee to intervene when an incorrect player is shown a yellow or red card.
“We were punished because of a rule that in my opinion is completely unacceptable,” Switzerland coach Murat Yakin said. “I don’t understand. It’s very painful that we were eliminated that way. I don’t think we deserve that today, in my opinion.”
It was a maddening end to the Swiss’ first World Cup quarterfinal appearance since 1954. They still have never made a semifinal, nor have they beaten Argentina in eight meetings — three of those in the tournament that matters the most.
“It was just a disaster,” Switzerland’s Remo Freuler said of the red card.
Argentina has made its base for the past month in Kansas City, training at the home of Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City while winning over thousands of new fans. And on Saturday night, they filled Arrowhead Stadium for the second time this tournament, hoping to see Messi make more magic after his hat trick against Algeria in the same building a few weeks ago.
It was brutally hot and humid throughout the day, but the temperatures began to fall with the setting sun, producing a picturesque setting for the 100th match of an expanded World Cup, and the final match of the quarterfinal round.
The defensive-minded Swiss had only conceded three goals in five games, and they dominated the ball in the opening minutes. But leave it to Messi, whose eight goals in the tournament are tied for the most with France’s Kylian Mbappé, to send a jolt through that heavily pro-Argentina crowd which included Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
He helped to earn an early corner kick with some nifty footwork, then delivered the ball that Mac Allister turned into a 1-0 lead.
For most of the match, the Swiss struggled to break down an Argentina back line that had conceded two goals apiece in its last two games. And it didn’t help their cause that they were playing without Johan Manzabi, one of their best goal-scorers, who remained out with a knee injury after missing their round of 16 penalty shootout win over Colombia.
But after forcing Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez into making a couple of tough second-half saves, the Swiss broke through when Ricardo Rodriguez slipped a tidy pass to Ndoye and he easily found the back of the net.
Whatever momentum the equalizer gave the Swiss disappeared with Embolo’s red card a few minutes later.
Argentina turned up the pressure with Mac Allister missing wide with a header in the 89th minute, and Messi creating an opportunity in front of the goal that he sent just wide in the second minute of stoppage time, leaving the game tied into extra time.
There, just as they have all tournament, La Albiceleste found a way to keep their quest for back-to-back championships alive.
“We knew this could happen,” Argentina midfielder Thiago Almada said. “They have top players, very good position, they were trying to find people inside. We knew how to hold up and we made it through.”
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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
Mardy Fish leads celebrity golf event at Edgewood Tahoe
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Nev. (AP) — Former tennis player Mardy Fish moved into position for his third American Century Championship title Saturday, taking a four-point lead in the celebrity tournament.
Fish had a 25-point day under the modified Stableford scoring system to get to 52 with a round left at Edgewood Tahoe.
Defending champion Joe Pavelski was second after a 19-point round. The former hockey player was the first-round leader.
LPGA Tour great Annika Sorenstam was third with 47 points, and NBA star Stephen Curry followed at 41. Curry won in 2023.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Alvarez hits AL-leading 31st homer, Wade has first career grand slam and Astros beat Rangers 9-3
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Yordan Alvarez had another moonshot for his AL-leading 31st home run, LaMonte Wade Jr. hit his first career grand slam and the Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers 9-3 on Saturday night.
The Astros led for good after Alvarez, also the AL leader with 70 RBIs, hit a two-run homer 425 feet to straightaway center in the first inning, a night after a towering 455-foot blast pulled to right in the series opener. The American League All-Star starting designated hitter is one behind National League All-Star DH Kyle Schwarber for the major league lead in homers.
Peter Lambert (8-5) pitched three-hit ball over six innings while striking out seven and walking one. The right-hander, who didn’t make the Astros roster out of spring training, is 6-1 with a 2.84 ERA over his last nine starts.
Ezequiel Durán homered twice for the AL West-leading Rangers (48-47). He had a solo shot off Lambert in the fourth, and added a two-run homer in the ninth.
Wade’s slam in the second was his 57th career homer and his second in nine games with the Astros (47-50). Christian Vázquez went deep leading off the third to make it 7-0, when they already had eight of their 10 hits.
All three Houston homers came off Texas starter Kumar Rocker (2-8), who struck out six, but walked two and also hit a batter over 5 2/3 innings.
Alvarez, now with 201 career homers, also had a double and walked twice. He has hit .455 (10 of 22) with seven homers and 11 RBIs in six games this season at Globe Life Field.
Up next
Houston’s Cristian Javier (0-1, 10.22 ERA), who missed nearly three months because of a right shoulder strain, makes his first start since April 8 in the series finale Sunday going into the All-Star break. The Rangers go with MacKenzie Gore (5-8, 4.72), who pitched five innings Wednesday in a loss to the Angels, in place of Jacob deGrom (left glute strain).
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
White Sox hope No. 1 pick in the draft spells sure thing in Chicago
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Expected to go as the first pick in the amateur draft, Roch Cholowsky submitted a video to Major League Baseball with the correct pronunciation of his last name.
For the record, the name is pronounced chil-OW’-skee.
Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred still botched the pronunciation of Cholowsky’s name at the podium Saturday when the Chicago White Sox indeed made the UCLA shortstop the No. 1 pick of the draft.
No harm done, Cholowsky insisted.
“I didn’t hear it get butchered,” Cholowsky said. “I heard Roch and kind of lost it.”
Cholowsky burst into tears at a draft party far from the Philadelphia site of the draft.
He led off the lineup of MLB draft prospects who did not show up at the city’s convention center, just a few miles away from Citizens Bank Park, the home of Tuesday’s All-Star Game. MLB said Friday that no amateur players were scheduled to attend the draft, just like last year.
Cholowsky was thrilled he’ll be headed to Chicago, where he enjoyed a fruitful predraft meeting with team officials and mingled in the clubhouse of a team that has been perhaps the biggest surprise in baseball and entered Saturday in first place in the AL Central.
“It really felt like to me like a college clubhouse,” Cholowsky said. “It’s just a different feel in there.”
A 6-foot-2 right-handed hitter, Cholowsky was a Golden Spikes finalist at UCLA and had a 1.088 OPS with 21 homers and 60 RBIs in his junior season. He was the Big Ten Player of the Year.
White Sox general manager Chris Getz said in a statement that Cholowsky “is a leader on the field as well as in the clubhouse. He has more than lived up to very high expectations, and we cannot wait to get him into our organization, get started and see him continue his growth and success.”
The next two picks went about as widely predicted.
Tampa Bay selected Texas high school shortstop Grady Emerson with the second pick and Minnesota took Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey third.
Just 18 years old, the 6-3, 185-pound Emerson bats left, throws right and is widely considered the best all-around player in the draft. A University of Texas commit, Emerson transferred to Fort Worth Christian for his senior year, when he played under head coach Rusty Greer, a nine-year MLB veteran who spent nine seasons with the Texas Rangers.
The 21-year-old Lackey didn’t receive any Division I offers until his senior year of high school and has since blossomed into one of the top catching prospects in the draft out of Georgia Tech. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder showed some versatility by also playing third base.
The rest of the top 10
San Francisco selected right-handed pitcher Jackson Flora — a noted fried chicken aficionado — out of UC Santa Barbara with the No. 4 pick. The Pirates took outfielder Derek Curiel from LSU with the fifth pick. Louisville outfielder Zion Rose went sixth to Kansas City and Oak Grove High School (Mississippi) outfielder Eric Booth Jr. went seventh to Baltimore.
The Athletics drafted Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress with the eighth pick, Atlanta took Virginia outfielder AJ Gracia with the ninth pick and Colorado selected Kentucky shortstop Tyler Bell 10th.
There were just three pitchers selected among the first 20 overall.
The Philly connection
Phillies fans cheered the 34th overall pick in the draft when the White Sox drafted high school star Landon Thome.
The Nazareth Academy (Illinois) infielder is the son of former Phillies, White Sox and Cleveland great and baseball Hall of Famer Jim Thome.
Jim Thome helped changed the perception of the Phillies from long-time losers to championship contenders when he left Cleveland and signed a six-year, $85 million contract with Philly ahead of the 2003 season.
The 18-year-old Thome went two picks before the Phillies drafted California high school shortstop Tyler Spangler with the 36th pick — and sent the bulk of the fans fleeing for the exits.
Family affair
The Marlins selected shortstop Jacob Lombard with the No. 14 pick. Lombard is the son of Detroit Tigers bench coach George Lombard Sr and younger brother of top Yankees prospect George Lombard Jr.
The Brewers took high school shortstop Trey Ebel with the 25th pick. He is the brother of Brady Ebel, whom they drafted with the 32nd selection last year. Their father is Los Angeles Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel — expected to pitch to Phillies slugger Bryce Harper in the Home Run Derby on Monday night.
The players were no-shows
With former White Sox and Phillies players Jimmy Rollins and Greg Luzinski on hand to rally hundreds of fans at the draft, Chicago had the top selection for the first time since taking Harold Baines in 1977.
Baines was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019.
The White Sox, who the No. 1 pick after they lost 102 games last season and won the draft lottery, have pegged Cholowsky as a future star that can help them win their first World Series title since 2005.
Led by All-Star third baseman Miguel Vargas, the White Sox have emerged as one of the top surprises and entered Saturday in first place in the AL Central after enduring three straight 100-loss seasons.
“It’s definitely a lot more motivation to get up there and join those guys at some point,” Cholowsky said. “Being part of a contending team is pretty cool. I value winning a lot.”
Cholowsky is the first collegiate shortstop to go No. 1 overall since Vanderbilt’s Dansby Swanson in 2015 and was UCLA’s first No. 1 draft pick since Gerrit Cole in 2011.
No players in Saturday’s draft went to the podium after their name was called.
Major League Baseball has weaved the idea of forcing players to attend into negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. MLB proposed requiring up to 10 prospects to attend the draft, and each would get a $50,000 draft attendance bonus.
That meant the loudest ovation during draft festivities belonged to the Phillie Phanatic when he was introduced during mascot roll call. Phillies fans just about booed Braves mascot Blooper out of the convention center and had more jeers for Manfred.
Manfred turned the crowd reaction around before the start of the draft as he name-dropped some of the great stars in Phillies history.
There was another announcement to make inside the convention center.
“We’re going to see the arrival of tremendous talent today,” Siera Santos of MLB Network told the crowd.
Just not live in Philadelphia.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Khosla family agrees to purchase defending Super Bowl champion Seattle for $9.612B
The Seattle Seahawks are being sold to the Khosla family, including Vinod Khosla, in accordance with the wishes of late team owner Paul Allen, the team announced on Saturday.
The Khosla family entered into a formal agreement to purchase the defending Super Bowl champions for $9.612 billion, according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to the The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal is still subject to approval by the NFL.
The Khosla family will become the team’s controlling owner, according to a social media post by the Seahawks.
“We are honored to be entrusted as the next stewards of the Seattle Seahawks,” Vinod Khosla said in a statement. “We look forward to building on the winning legacy Paul Allen created and to earning the trust of the Seahawks organization and fans everywhere.”
Allen’s estate announced on Feb. 18 it had begun the process of selling the team, which is coming off its second Super Bowl victory in franchise history. Investment bank Allen & Company LLC and law firm Latham & Watkins led the sales process, which was estimated in February to continue through the offseason.
Vinod Khosla is the founder of Khosla Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm.
His current net worth is $13.7 billion, Forbes reported this month.
The company invests in experimental technologies such as biomedicine, robotics, and was the first venture firm to invest in OpenAI, per Forbes.
The Khosla family will be required to relinquish its ownership stake in the San Francisco 49ers as part of the deal. Khosla joined 49ers ownership group as a minority owner in 2025, purchasing 3.1% of the team.
NFL owners still have to ratify a final purchase agreement and they are expected to meet in August to approve the deal, ESPN reported.
The Seahawks have been in the Allen family since 1997, when Paul Allen bought the team for $194 million from then-owner Ken Behring. Allen was critical in keeping the Seahawks in Seattle, which is where the team is expected to remain after the sale is finalized.
The Seahawks have a lease at Lumen Field that runs through 2032 with three 10-year options.
Since Allen, cofounder of Microsoft, died in 2018 from complications of non-Hodgkin lymphoma at 65, the Seahawks and the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers have been owned by his sister, Jody.
The estate agreed in September to sell the Trail Blazers to an investment group led by Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon. The Trail Blazers will remain in Portland as part of the deal, which is awaiting final approval from the NBA Board of Governors.
The last NFL team to be sold was the Washington Commanders in 2023. A group led by Josh Harris that includes Magic Johnson bought the team from longtime owner Dan Snyder and his family for a record $6.05 billion.
The Seahawks beat the New England Patriots 29-13 in the Super Bowl in February.
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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the name of the family purchasing the team to Khosla throughout.
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AP NFL writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
14 nations and the EU reaffirm 2016 ruling invalidating China’s claims in South China Sea
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The United States, the United Kingdom and a dozen other Western and Asian countries reasserted on Sunday that China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea are illegal based on a 2016 arbitration ruling.
A joint statement issued by the 14 nations said they rejected “destabilizing” actions in the disputed waters that threaten regional stability. The 27-nation European Union released a separate statement, reaffirming the ruling as a “landmark decision in the peaceful settlement of disputes.”
The statements commemorated a July 12, 2016, arbitration ruling by a tribunal established in The Hague under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, saying the landmark decision is “is final and legally binding.”
China reiterated Sunday that the ruling was “null and void and has no binding force” and Beijing “neither accepts nor recognizes it.”
China refused to join the arbitration initiated by the Philippines in 2013 after a tense standoff in the contested waters a year earlier that ended with Beijing effectively seizing a disputed shoal.
Beijing rejected the 2016 ruling and continues to defend its claims to virtually the entire sea passage, a key global trade route that has long been feared as one of Asia’s most active flashpoints. The areas has been the scene of repeated territorial standoffs involving China and the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
“We reaffirm the Arbitral Tribunal’s decision that there is no legal basis for China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, including those based on `historic rights,’” the U.S.-led statement said.
The arbitration tribunal largely decided in favor of the Philippines, ruling then that under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, “there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources” in the South China Sea outside of its regular territorial areas recognized under the convention.
The convention, largely regarded as the treaty governing the world’s oceans and seas, took effect in 1994 and has been ratified by more than 170 countries and parties, including China and the Philippines.
In addition to the U.S. and Britain, the other countries listed in Sunday’s statement were the Philippines, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Italy, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovenia.
“We reiterate our strong opposition to any destabilizing or unilateral actions including by force or coercion that threaten peace and stability in the region,” they said.
The nations stressed “our strong opposition to the use of coast guard, military and maritime militia forces to harass, obstruct, intimidate lawful operations by other states at sea or in the air and in so doing endanger the safety of personnel and fishermen and seriously degrade regional peace and security.”
“Freedom of navigation and overflight as well as other internationally lawful uses of the sea as reflected in UNCLOS” must be upheld, the countries said, adding that the territorial disputes should be resolved peacefully based on the 1982 U.N. convention.
In Beijing, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the arbitration tribunal and its ruling “seriously contravene the general practice of international arbitration” and “gravely infringe upon China’s legitimate rights as a sovereign state and state party to UNCLOS and are unjust and unlawful.”
“China opposes and will never accept any claim or action based on those awards,” the Chinese foreign ministry said, adding that Beijing “does not accept any means of third-party dispute settlement or any solution imposed on China.”
Territorial confrontations in the disputed waters have become more prevalent in recent years, particularly between Chinese and Philippine and Vietnamese forces and fishing fleets.
Chinese coast guard ships and support vessels have used powerful water cannons, military-grade lasers and dangerous blocking maneuvers against Philippine forces and fishermen from rival claimant countries that have led to collisions in the high seas and high-risk encounters in the air.
The United States has repeatedly called on China to comply with the arbitration ruling.
The former Biden and current Trump administrations both warned that Washington is obligated to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, if Filipino forces, vessels or aircraft come under armed attack in the disputed waters.
US attacks Iran over ship being hit in Strait of Hormuz; Tehran lashes out again at Gulf Arab states
The outburst of fighting raised new questions about efforts to reach a permanent end to a war that began on Feb. 28. The strait, a key transit route for oil and natural gas, has become the key sticking point in negotiations, and repeated fighting over the past week has left negotiations in danger of collapse.
The U.S. military’s Central Command said it hit some 140 targets in Sunday’s strikes, far more than in the two previous rounds of attacks, and went after missile and drone launch sites, ammunition dumps, communication equipment and other sites. It said the attacks would weaken Iran’s ability to threaten civilian shipping.
“Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay,” U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote online.
The U.S. has launched three rounds of airstrikes targeting Iran in the last week over Iranian attacks on ships heading through the strait using a route seeking to avoid the Islamic Republic’s territorial waters. Iran retaliated by attacking nations in the region hosting U.S. military forces, while insisting it alone must control the strait and potentially charge vessels for traveling through it.
“The era of one-sided deals is OVER,” Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and a main negotiator, wrote Sunday. “We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”
About a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed through the strait before the war began. Iran’s grip on it during the war led to a global energy crisis, though oil prices have sharply dropped since wartime highs of $120 a barrel.
Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman get attacked
Missile alerts sounded across several Gulf Arab nations early Sunday morning.
Qatar’s military said it intercepted incoming Iranian fire, with explosions heard in the neighboring United Arab Emirates. Three people, including a child, were wounded as a result of falling shrapnel from the interception of Iranian attacks, Qatar’s Interior Ministry said, giving no further details on their conditions.
Meanwhile, missile alerts sounded for the third time on Sunday in Bahrain, an island kingdom in the Persian Gulf home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. Kuwait’s military also said it was intercepting incoming fire.
The Omani state news agency said drones struck sites in northeastern Oman, in the area that sits on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had previously claimed attacks on Oman. The attack came after the two countries held talks on Saturday.
Sirens also sounded in the United Arab Emirates, but the government said missiles did not cross into UAE borders. The UAE so far hasn’t been targeted in the most recent round of Iranian attacks. The last attack on the Emirates, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, came in May when a drone sparked a fire on the edge of the country’s sole nuclear power plant.
Iran also made a series of claims about attacks elsewhere that were not immediately confirmed.
In the Strait of Hormuz attack, a Cyprus-flagged container ship was hit by Iran and suffered “significant engineroom damage” and a civilian crew member was missing, U.S. Central Command said early Sunday morning. All of the crew, including the missing member, were Indian nationals, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
India condemned the attack and said it was working with Oman on a search-and-rescue operation. It called for “free and unimpeded” navigation through the strait.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, overseen by the British military, said the ship had been traveling on a route hugging the shoreline of Oman. That’s been the way ships have entered and exited the Persian Gulf while avoiding Iranian territorial waters.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said multiple vessels “disregarded our warnings and instructions to correct their course and proceed along the approved route.” One of them “was struck by a warning shot and brought to a stop.”
Iran said that the strait would remain closed “until further notice” and said it would consider targeting “additional enemy bases in the region” if it faced more attacks.
Iranian state media reported U.S. strikes across swathes of the entire country, including southern Iran in the province closest to the Strait of Hormuz, and military sites in a province near Tehran.
Attacks followed more diplomatic talks about the strait
The latest violence followed Iran and Oman’s foreign ministers meeting on Saturday to discuss the strait. The narrow strait sits in both Iran and Oman’s territorial waters, but has long been considered an international waterway.
Oman said it and Iran agreed to continue discussing the Strait of Hormuz “at the technical and political levels.” However, Iran offered no statement about the strait being open to all — something sought by the Trump administration.
U.S. President Donald Trump suggested last week that an interim deal in the Iran war was “over.” But mediators, including Pakistan, Qatar and Egypt, have continued efforts to reach an agreement.
Iran’s new supreme leader, still unseen since the war began, also vowed in his first statement since the funeral of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that Iranians would avenge his killing in the war’s opening strikes on Feb. 28.
Such revenge “is the will of our nation and must certainly be carried out,” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said in a statement carried on state television.
US questions who is in charge in Iran
U.S. officials, speaking Friday on condition of anonymity about the current situation with Iran, said the resumption of strikes even before the latest round came as a result of what they described as a rogue faction of Iranian hard-liners who were trying to sabotage the ceasefire.
Iran has insisted its theocracy is unified under the new supreme leader.
The strikes in Iran over two rounds of strikes last week killed at least 17 people and wounded 115 others, Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour said.
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Weissert reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
US Sen. Lindsey Graham has died after a brief and unexpected illness, his office says
His office did not provide did not provide any additional details about the South Carolina Republican and said his family “appreciates prayers at this time and asks for privacy during this incredibly difficult period.”
“Senator Lindsey Graham, one of the greatest people and Senators I have ever known, is dead!” Trump posted on social media early Sunday morning. “He was always working, and was a true American Patriot. Lindsey will be greatly missed!!! DETAILS AND ARRANGEMENTS TO FOLLOW. So sad!”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said “my heart is heavy this morning to learn the passing of my friend and colleague, Senator Lindsey Graham.”
“Lindsey’s long and dedicated service in the Air Force and in Congress carried him to far-flung regions of the world,” Thune said. “He was a strong advocate for the United States and a strong ally to freedom-loving countries across the globe. He believed in the might of America to achieve good in the world and dedicated his life to advancing that cause.”
Graham was close with Trump
First elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002 after serving in the House, the former Air Force lawyer long promoted a policy of robust U.S. military interventionism and strong national defense that in later years, would put him at odds with the growing isolationist wing of the Republican Party.
But in recent years, Graham also became well known for his close ties with Trump, whom he briefly ran against for the party’s presidential nomination in 2016.
Graham and Trump’s relationship would begin on a rough note, with the senator calling the then-businessman “unfit for office.” Graham also used a profanity to describe Trump after he made disparaging comments about former Sen. John McCain, Graham’s best friend in the Senate and a Vietnam War veteran. McCain and Graham, along with former Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., were known as the “Three Amigos” and frequently traveled to push their hawkish foreign policy views around the globe.
Not long after, Trump read out Graham’s personal cellphone number during a campaign rally in South Carolina and continued to belittle him throughout 2016 as Graham made it clear he would not support Trump, even though he was the party’s presidential nominee.
But Graham shifted significantly once Trump won the White House, emerging as one of Trump’s top allies — speaking with him frequently and becoming a regular presence on the golf course alongside the president — even as McCain remained a critic.
In a 2018 interview with The Associated Press, Graham explained his pivot by saying McCain taught him that the country must move forward after elections and that meant “you have an obligation” to help the president. McCain ran twice for the White House.
“And I’ve tried to be helpful where I could because I think he needs all the help he can get,” Graham said of Trump. “You can be a better critic when people understand that you’re trying to help them be successful.”
Graham appeared to break with Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying, “Count me out. Enough is enough.” But the senator returned to the fold and remained close with the president during his second term.
Foreign policy was a focus for Graham
Graham especially advised Trump on foreign policy matters such as Iran and Russia, and had just announced an agreement on Friday with the Trump administration to move forward on a package of Russia sanctions. The senator had been in Ukraine to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said that the senator visited his country 10 times during the years of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“Lindsey was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer,” Zelenskyy said.
His travels made him a familiar face to dozens of world leaders.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday mourned Graham’s death, calling him “a great friend of Israel” and “a cherished friend of mine.”
Netanyahu said Graham understood that the security of Israel and the United States is inseparable and devoted his life to defending America, strengthening the U.S.-Israel alliance and standing up for the free world.
“Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend,” Netanyahu said, extending condolences to Graham’s family and the American people.
The Republican had a prominent career on Capitol Hill
Graham had been serving as the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, giving him a central role during Trump’s second term as Republicans pushed major legislation on party-line votes with a slim majority in the chamber.
His committee oversaw a process called reconciliation, a Senate procedure that allowed Republicans to pass significant policies such as last year’s tax law without the threat of a Democratic filibuster.
He had previously led the Senate Judiciary Committee when Republicans confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court in 2020, and was in line to regain that gavel if the party kept control of the Senate after this year’s midterms.
Graham was a key player in the Senate’s efforts to craft a massive immigration overhaul in 2013 as a member of the so-called Gang of Eight, a bipartisan group that wrote a sweeping measure that would have altered virtually every part of U.S. immigration law. It passed the Senate with 68 votes but was never taken up by the House, so it did not become law.
But Graham’s views on immigration, particularly an endorsement of a pathway to citizenship for people in the U.S. without legal status, put him at odds with some Republican factions.
He sometimes faced primary challenges in his home state of South Carolina, but he won the nomination outright in June while running for a fifth term. Graham was slated to face Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician from Charleston, in November’s general election.
The senator addressed the president in his victory speech last month, saying, “I’m going to help you change this world and change this country.”
Little explanation from Graham’s office
The sparse statement by Graham’s office, which did not explain his death, comes during a stretch of concern about a lack of transparency about lawmakers’ health.
Rep. Tom Kean Jr., a New Jersey Republican, was absent without explanation for months before returning to Congress and disclosing that he had been diagnosed with depression.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, was hospitalized weeks ago for undisclosed health reasons.
Republicans hold a narrow 53-47 majority in the Senate. Under South Carolina law, Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, will appoint a temporary replacement for Graham, and that person will serve until January.
McMaster said in a statement that Graham was “irreplaceable.”
“The fiercest of fighters for South Carolina and America — and a loyal and steadfast friend,” McMaster said. As he offered condolences to his family, he added: “We shall not see his likes again.”
Graham was not married and did not have children. His closest living relative is sister Darline Graham Nordone, whom he helped raise after both their parents died.
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Chris Megerian in Washington, Brian P. D. Hannon in Bangkok and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
Dangerous heat wave threatens oppressive temperatures in much of the US
A widespread and dangerous heat wave was building across the U.S. on Saturday, with triple-digit highs expected in the Southwest and Great Plains this weekend before spreading eastward under a dome of high pressure that meteorologists say could trap oppressive temperatures for a week or more.
Forecasters advised people to stay hydrated and find places to cool off, warning of temperatures 15 to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (8 to 14 degrees Celsius) warmer than normal in many areas, including at night — especially bad for people’s health because their bodies won’t have a chance to recover. The heat dome was expected to affect as much as two-thirds of the continental United States.
“The heat doesn’t necessarily stop when it’s dark out,” said Josh Adam, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Bismarck, North Dakota, where temperatures will surpass 100 F (37 C) until Tuesday, a dramatic spike for a state where summer temperatures are typically in the 80s.
Tynika Smith of Bloomington, Minnesota, handed out frozen towels and wash cloths along with battery-operated fans at encampments of homeless people in nearby St. Paul and will continue next week, when temperatures are forecast to climb into the mid- to high 90s. The residents put the ice packs around their necks and on their heads.
“They can’t get into a car with air conditioning or go into a house,” said Smith, who also distributed water, freezer pops, food and hygiene supplies.
The encampments are so secluded that it’s difficult for the residents to walk or bicycle to cooling centers, she said. There also is little outside shade, while the temperature inside their tents gets even hotter than outdoors.
“I can only do so much,” Smith said, “but at least I can help them stay cool for a little bit.”
Temperature records expected to be broken
The National Weather Service predicted that more than 90 U.S. local temperature records will be tied or broken through Wednesday — with two-thirds of those being overnight heat records. Temperatures were not forecast to drop below 80 F (27 C) at night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Miami; Tampa, Florida; Galveston, Texas; and Charleston, South Carolina.
The heat dome — formed when high pressure traps hot air while blocking cooling winds and rain — is one of the strongest to affect the Dakotas in 25 years, said Chad Merrill, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather.
Record triple-digit highs were forecast for the weekend in Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana and the Dakotas.
In Helena, Montana, where temperatures were expected to creep above 95 F (35 C), Last Chance Splash Waterpark & Pool was holding a swim meet for hundreds of swimmers.
The timing couldn’t be better, as it’s uncommon for Helena to get so hot, said Sean Swingley, assistant manager.
“It’s certainly a hot day, but the pool is nice and cool,” Swingley said. “Usually in the summer we have a couple 95 degree days, but it mostly hovers around 85 to 90 in June and July.”
Nevada, a state accustomed to hot weather, was even hotter than normal, said Andrew Gorelow, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Las Vegas. The temperature there was expected to hit 111 F (48 C) on Saturday, Gorelow said.
Hydrating and finding cool spaces is critical, experts said.
They also warned that the heat could spike fire risk in some parts of the country that already are dry, including the Rockies, where Merrill said dry thunderstorms could develop.
Climate change is supercharging heat
Climate change from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas is causing more intense and longer-lasting heat waves that cover larger areas, scientists say.
This year’s temperatures also are expected to be affected by El Nino, a natural warming of the equatorial Pacific that alters weather patterns and spikes temperatures across the globe.
The current El Nino — which formed last month and is too young to have affected this heat wave much — is expected to rank as among the most intense since the weather service began tracking the phenomena in 1950, experts said.
By fall it has an 81% chance of becoming “very strong” — the top category — according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Company sues water district over wells
HENDERSON COUNTY — A Dallas-area company, which is attempting to install dozens of high capacity water wells in East Texas, is suing a groundwater conservation district for their “deliberate scheme” to allegedly stop the company from drilling. As the fight for groundwater rights continue in Texas, the owners of Redtown Ranch Holding, LLC and Pine Bliss, LLC filed a lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday against the Neches and Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District. This stems from a years long dispute, as they attempt to obtain permits to drill 43 water wells on their properties in Anderson and Henderson counties.
Since then, the plaintiffs have faced several obstacles after the district suspended their permits and allegedly blocked them from filing new applications under a new moratorium that was adopted in May.
The Background
In 2024, Redtown Ranch Holdings and Pine Bliss sought 43 permits from the state for high-capacity water wells on their properties, which span an approximate total of 11,500 acres across Anderson and Henderson Counties.
Shortly after passing through a few application processes, the NTVGCD voted to suspend all 40 permits after numerous East Texas public officials began to speak out against the proposed wells and their potential impact on the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer, which supplies water for the ranches’ groundwater and much of the counties. Continue reading Company sues water district over wells
Four killed in fatal head-on crash on US Highway 259
BOWIE COUNTY, Texas (KETK) – Four people were killed in a fatal two-vehicle crash on US Highway 259 on Saturday morning near DeKalb.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, a Nissan Altima was heading north along on US Highway 259 about four miles south of DeKalb in Bowie County at around 3:20 a.m. on Saturday.
DPS said the Nissan crossed into oncoming traffic in the southbound lane and collided head-on with a Dodge Charger that was heading south. Four people were pronounced dead at the scene including the three occupants of the Dodge, Joel Ellestad, 22, Payton Butler, 24, Ty Byrd, 20, and the driver of the Nissan, Dru Wilson, 23 of DeKalb.
“The entire Daingerfield-Lone Star ISD community extends its heartfelt condolences to the Butler, Byrd, and Ellestad families during this time of profound loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with each family as you grieve the loss of your loved ones,” Daingerfield-Lone Star ISD said on Friday. “We pray that you find strength in the love of family, the support of friends, and the cherished memories that will forever remain in your hearts. The Blue Tiger Family stands with you, lifting you in prayer and surrounding you with our love, care, and support.”
A DPS investigation into the crash is currently ongoing.
NFL player Broderick Washington Jr. holds 4th annual youth football camp in Longview
LONGVIEW, Texas (KETK) — Summers in East Texas bring college and pro football players back to the Pineywoods as they return home to hold youth camps during the offseason.
Baltimore Ravens defensive lineman Broderick Washington Jr., a former Longview Lobos and Texas Tech standout, returned home to Longview on Friday night for his 4th annual youth football camp.
Washington, who’s entering his seventh NFL season, all with the Ravens, returned to Lobo Stadium to put on his free youth football camp for kids ages 5-17.
The kids participated in drills and skills training while being coached by Washington, along with other players, Longview coaches and others.
Washington, who missed a good chunk of the 2025-26 season due to an injury, is back healthy and ready to be an anchor on the Ravens’ defensive front.
He talked about how fellow pro and former Lobo Trent Williams was a big inspiration for him to have his annual camp, and why giving back to the Longview community is so important to him.
“To me man it means a lot just because I think I always followed Trent’s lead with this stuff. That’s all I heard about when I was in school. Trent was always the standard and I think when I was in school that was what I was always chasing, so just to be able to do that and always come back and see the kids, and especially the ones that’s been here year after year it’s just awesome to see their growth and it just does so much for me before going into my own season as well. It means the world to me to be able to come out and do this,” Washington said.
Washington will also hold a family fun day event on Saturday, July 10 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Boys and Girls Club of Big Pines in Longview.
He and the Ravens open the 2026-27 regular season at the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, September 13 at noon.
Firefighter dies after medical emergency
SLOCUM — A firefighter with the Slocum Volunteer Fire Department died on Saturday, after he experienced a serious medical emergency while on duty earlier this week. According to our news partner KETK, their Fire Safety Chief Dan Hernandez experienced a medical emergency while responding to a fire on Tuesday and was taken to a hospital in Palestine.
After being stabilized, Hernandez was taken by an ambulance to a hospital in Tyler for further treatment. Slocum VFD later announced that Hernandez died on Saturday morning while surrounded by family, friends and fellow firefighters.
“Whether answering emergency calls, supporting his fellow firefighters, or lending a helping hand whenever it was needed, he carried himself with courage, compassion and dedication. His commitment to protecting our community reflected the very best of being a volunteer firefighter,” Slocum VFD said on Saturday. “We honor Dan’s sacrifice and his impact on all of us who had the privilege to know him and serve alongside him.” Continue reading Firefighter dies after medical emergency
Students abducted in May by Islamic militants in Nigeria are rescued, government says
Government spokesman Bayo Onanuga did not specify the total number of students rescued, but authorities said at the time of the abductions on May 15 that more than 40 people had been abducted. One of the teachers abducted alongside the students was killed shortly afterward.
Eight militants were arrested as part of the operation, while an unspecified number of the militants were killed, Onanuga said.
The abductions in a southern state had represented an escalation of the country’s security crisis because most such abductions previously had taken place in the north.
“This successful military operation has ended the siege and standoff of over 50 days and has brought relief to the entire nation and the affected families in particular,” Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said in a statement.
In the same week as the Oyo abduction, dozens of children were kidnapped in Borno, the epicenter of Nigeria’s security crisis.
Abductions at schools are common in Nigeria, where militant groups target them to put pressure on the government and extract ransoms.
New York Times reporters are subpoenaed after Air Force One stories, raising press freedom concerns
The new jet, a present from the U.S. ally that the administration spent $400 million on to retrofit and upgrade, entered service last week. But Trump used an older model Air Force One jet to leave a NATO summit in Turkey and later referenced threats against him made by Iran.
The subpoenas seek to force the reporters to testify before a federal grand jury in Manhattan next week, the Times said, adding that federal agents delivered some subpoenas to the reporters at their homes. The subpoenas were issued after FBI Director Kash Patel and other Justice Department officials met at the White House on Friday to talk about the matter, according to a person familiar with the discussions who was not authorized to discuss the issue publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The Times journalists who received subpoenas included Julian E. Barnes, Eric Lipton, Tyler Pager and Eric Schmitt, the Times reported.
“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” David McCraw, a lawyer for the Times, said in a statement.
Bruce D. Brown, president of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, said Trump’s “war on the press is looking for another victim.”
He said in a statement that the subpoenas “break from longstanding Justice Department practice to protect the public interest and press independence by requiring prosecutors to only seek information from reporters as a last resort when all other avenues have been exhausted.”
The department said that “to be clear, reporters are not the targets, those leaking classified information are.”
Its statement said “we value and appreciate the important role that the press plays in this country, but DOJ also plays an important role to make sure that the people entrusted with our nation’s secrets do what they’re supposed to do with that information, which means not sharing classified information.”
While recognizing “there may always be natural tension there,” the department said “we are not going to ignore the law and stop investigating the people who work in the administration and think it’s okay to leak classified information impacting national security.”
Part of a pattern of anti-press actions
Issuing subpoenas represents further ramping up of Trump’s effort to threaten independent new organizations by leveraging the power of the federal government against them. It is also part of a systematic pattern by the Republican president to attempt to undermine press freedom in order to shield him from negative coverage.
Earlier this year, the Justice Department issued subpoenas seeking to compel testimony from reporters at The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. In both cases, the department later withdrew the subpoenas, though.
In January, FBI agents searched the home of Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson, who has been covering Trump’s transformation of the federal government, as part of a leak investigation into a Pentagon contractor accused of taking home classified information.
During his first term, Trump suggested that the press constituted an “enemy” of the American people. Since returning to the White House last year, he has waged an aggressive campaign against the media unlike any in modern U.S. history.
Trump’s pattern of attacks against news outlets and media figures he believes are overly critical of him has included filing lawsuits against outlets whose coverage he dislikes, threatening to revoke TV broadcast licenses and seeking to bend news organizations and social media companies to his will.
The Justice Department over the years has developed and revised internal policies governing how it will respond to news media leaks.
Though the department across presidential administrations has periodically seized the phone records of individual journalists in hopes of identifying sources for national security stories, it is extremely rare for the government to attempt to compel reporters to reveal their sources before a grand jury.
In April 2025, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi rescinded a policy from President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration that protected journalists from having their phone records secretly seized during leak investigations — a practice long decried by news organizations and press freedom groups.
Doing so again gave prosecutors the authority to use subpoenas, court orders and search warrants to hunt for government officials who make “unauthorized disclosures” to journalists.
A memo Bondi issued said members of the press are “presumptively entitled to advance notice of such investigative activities,” and subpoenas are to be “narrowly drawn.” Warrants must also include “protocols designed to limit the scope of intrusion into potentially protected materials or newsgathering activities,” the memo stated.
Trump didn’t use his new Air Force One while leaving Turkey
The president flew the new Air Force One to Turkey during this week’s visit. But he departed Wednesday on one of the older-model Air Force One jets for Mildenhall, a Royal Air Force base in Suffolk, England.
The newer plane also flew to Mildenhall. Trump then switched to that plane for the flight home to Joint Base Andrews.
The abrupt swap came as a shaky ceasefire with Iran had collapsed, with the U.S. launching airstrikes on Iran and Tehran attacking three Gulf Arab states. Iran and Turkey share a border, sparking speculation that the new jet lacked certain sophisticated security and countermeasure systems.
The Times, citing anonymous sources, reported the switch had come at the urging of the Secret Service, and that the newer plane lacked some of the advanced security features of the older aircraft, including antimissile capabilities.
Trump denied any security concerns, posting on social media that the stop in Mildenhall was so that service members there could view the new jet. During the flight, Trump denied to the reporters accompanying him that security concerns involving Iran were a factor in flying two planes home.
Still, asked if he was aware of any credible threats against Air Force One by Iran, Trump responded, “I have a threat all the time. I’m No. 1 on their list.”
The White House later denied any security shortcomings
“The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff,” spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.
Cheung added that, “As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal — including distraction and misdirection — to address those threats.”
The White House did not answer a message Saturday seeking comment about the subpoenas having been issued against Times journalists.
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Associated Press writers Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin Richer, Michelle L. Price and Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.
Mikel Merino stars again as Spain edges Belgium 2-1 in the World Cup quarterfinals
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Mikel Merino is Spain’s World Cup hero once again, and even he finds it hard to believe.
A mere four days after Merino scored a clutch goal as a substitute in injury time to beat Portugal, he found himself in the right spot again in the quarterfinals when Belgium’s backup goalkeeper spilled the ball into his path.
Merino booted it home in the 88th minute, sending Spain to a 2-1 victory Friday and into a titanic semifinal showdown with tournament favorite France.
“I’ve done this again, and it’s happened to me again, so it would seem that coincidence exists,” a smiling Merino said. “If you’re ready and you try, I guess it can happen for you.”
Already a versatile contributor in any role he can get as a depth player for his country or English club Arsenal, the multi-positional Merino has transformed into the ultimate super-sub while providing exactly what Spain needed to survive two knockout matches against top opponents.
Merino has scored two goals in his first World Cup — and they’re both historic.
“Honestly, it’s crazy to be able to help the team once again,” he said. “This time in a different way, but at the same time to believe and trust that the opposing goalkeeper could make a mistake and to stay alert. … I prepare for when the moment comes, and hopefully they keep coming.”
Merino is the first to admit he also needed luck, and Belgium keeper Senne Lammens provided it after he was forced into his first World Cup match in the 71st minute by an injury to starter Thibaut Courtois.
Merino came on in the 86th minute and scored on his second touch of the match, charging into the box and pouncing after Lammens lost control of Pau Cubarsí’s long shot.
Fabián Ruiz scored a rebound goal in the 30th minute for Spain, but Belgium forward Charles De Ketelaere evened it with the first goal allowed by the Spanish team in the entire World Cup in the 41st minute.
Merino’s clutch goal against an upset-minded Belgium sent La Roja to the semifinals for the first time since they won the World Cup in 2010. A powerhouse matchup with France has been anticipated since the draw was announced late last year, and Spain was grateful to secure its spot.
“We came here for this, to play against the best teams in the world,” Merino said. “We are confident in our possibilities, at the same time respecting the opposition. This is one of those games that you dream of when you’re a kid, and now we have the chance to compete against a massive rival. Hopefully we’ll get the win.”
Spain and France will meet Tuesday in Arlington, Texas, in a matchup anticipated for years. Neither team has lost at this year’s World Cup.
“It will be a clash of giants,” Spain coach Luis De La Fuente said through a translator. “We are capable of winning this game — and not just now, but I would have said this a few weeks ago as well. They are a great giant of football, but I trust our team.”
Courtois made four saves, but the Real Madrid keeper went down to the grass in the second half after a long kick. He received treatment during the hydration break, but broke down in tears when coach Rudi Garcia removed him moments later.
Only Germany’s Manuel Neuer has played more World Cup matches than Courtois’ 21. Lammens, the capable Manchester United keeper, was forced to become the first goalkeeper other than Courtois to play for Belgium in the last four World Cup tournaments — and he wasn’t able to make the play that would have kept it level.
“We were on equal footing with Spain, and we have nothing to feel bad about,” Garcia said. “In the first half, they only had one chance, but they were very efficient. Unfortunately, to beat a team of this caliber, you need luck on your side as well, and it was too much for us to get into the semifinals.”
Belgium desperately pressed for an equalizer in the final minutes with substitute forward Romelu Lukaku leading the effort, but Aymeric Laporte acrobatically volleyed the best chance out of the box in the second minute of injury time.
“We knew how we could hurt them, and I think we did this today,” Belgium defender Brandon Mechele said. “It’s a pity that it ended like this, but I think we can be proud of the tournament we played.”
Spain remained unbeaten in 37 straight competitive matches since March 2023, while Belgium’s streak of 18 consecutive unbeaten matches across all competitions ended.
Spain didn’t allow a goal in its first five matches at this year’s tournament, and goalkeeper Unai Simón hadn’t conceded in a World Cup-record 650 minutes dating to Qatar.
The streaks abruptly ended when De Ketelaere muscled past Cubarsí and headed home a cross from Timothy Castagne for Belgium’s tying goal.
Belgium hadn’t generated anything close to a strong scoring chance before the latest big moment for De Ketelaere, the Atalanta forward who scored two goals in Belgium’s 4-1 rout of the co-host U.S. on Monday.
Belgium captain Youri Tielemans was removed from the starting lineup after getting injured during warmups. He joined injured defender Amadou Onana on the sidelines.
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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
Defending champion Joe Pavelski leads celebrity event at Edgewood Tahoe
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Nev. (AP) — Defending champion Joe Pavelski took a two-point lead Friday in the first round of the American Century Championship at Edgewood Tahoe.
The former NHL player had a 29-point round under the modified Stableford scoring system. Former tennis player Mardy Fish has second, followed by NBA star Stephen Curry at 26 and former quarterback Tomy Romo at 23.
Fish won the celebrity event in 2020 and 2024. Romo took the 2018, 2019 and 2022 titles, and Curry won in 2023.
Charles Barkley was 62nd in the 90-player field with minus-six points.
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Mavs sign Euro prospect to finish massive 6-team trade that also netted them Aldama and Sasser
DALLAS (AP) — The Mavericks have signed Tarik Biberovic, a move that finishes off a six-team trade that is also bringing Santi Aldama and Marcus Sasser to Dallas.
The move announced Friday means Biberovic is finally coming to the NBA after spending the past eight years playing professionally in Turkey. The 25-year-old native of Bosnia and Herzegovina was a late second-round draft pick by Memphis in 2023.
Aldama also was acquired from the Grizzlies in the massive trade that included Detroit, Milwaukee, Washington and the Los Angeles Clippers. Aldama plays for Spain alongside Sergio De Larrea, who was acquired by the Mavericks after he was drafted 25th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers last month.
De Larrea signed with the Mavericks and is competing in the Las Vegas Summer League this week.
Khris Middleton, acquired by Dallas in the trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Wizards in February, went back to Washington in a sign-and-trade as part of the six-team deal. The Davis trade was part of the Mavericks moving on from the ill-fated trade of Luka Doncic to the Lakers in February 2025.
The 7-foot-1 Aldama averaged 10.4 points and 5.4 rebounds in 23 minutes per game over five years with Memphis. The 25-year-old played two seasons at Loyola of Maryland before going to the NBA.
Sasser, a Dallas native, joins the Mavericks from Detroit, where he averaged 7.0 points and 2.7 assists in 166 games over three seasons. The nephew of former Texas Tech standout Jason Sasser played four years in college at Houston.
Dallas traded guard AJ Johnson, a top-20 protected 2030 first-round pick and a 2029 second-round pick to Memphis to get Aldama and the rights to Biberovic. Along with Middleton, the Wizards got a 2033 second-round pick from Dallas.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
Rangers’ Jacob deGrom will miss next start with mild left glute strain
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom will miss his next scheduled start for the Texas Rangers and won’t be immediately available after next week’s All-Star break with what the club said Friday is a mild left glute strain.
The 38-year-old deGrom was pulled from his most recent start last Tuesday after 80 pitches and five innings. He said then the strain is something he’s dealt with throughout his career and has typically worked itself out in time to make his next start.
Manager Skip Schumaker said placing deGrom on the injured list is a possibility, but the hope is that skipping Sunday’s start against the Houston Astros and then having the four-day break will allow deGrom to avoid the IL.
“We’re just kind of wait and see how he recovers,” Schumaker said. “I think the All-Star break is at the right time for him to recover.”
DeGrom is 7-5 with a 3.49 ERA in 18 starts.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
Astros reinstate shortstop Jeremy Peña from 10-day injured list
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Houston Astros reinstated shortstop Jeremy Peña from the 10-day injured list on Friday, and he was the leadoff batter for their series opener against the Texas Rangers.
Peña hadn’t played since June 28 because of a calf strain. The 28-year-old MVP of the 2022 World Series is hitting .295 with six home runs and 21 RBIs. Manager Joe Espada said he plans to start Peña in the entire three-game series against the AL West leaders, who are two games ahead of the Astros.
To make room for Peña on the active roster, the Astros designated infielder Braden Shewmake for assignment.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
Langford and Burger homer in a four-run eighth as the Rangers beat the Astros 7-3
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Wyatt Langford and Jake Burger homered in a four-run eighth inning as the Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros 7-3 on Friday night.
Langford’s leadoff homer and Burger’s three-run shot came off Bryan King (2-2) after the Astros had rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to tie the score in the seventh inning. Houston’s rally included Yordan Alvarez’s 200th career home run, his 30th of the season.
Langford hit a walk-off homer on Thursday night in a 7-6 win over the Los Angeles Angels hours after being reinstated from the injured list.
Cole Winn (5-2) retired all four batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings for his second win in two nights.
The Rangers (48-46) lead the AL West by 1½ games over Seattle (47-48) and three games over the Astros (46-50). Houston has lost three of its last four games.
The Rangers took a 2-0 lead on Hunter Brown in the first inning and made it 3-0 in the fifth on Joc Pederson’s home run.
Alvarez’s 455-foot shot to right field leading off the sixth was his sixth in five games at Globe Life Field this season and 18th in 35 career regular-season games at the park.
Texas starter Cal Quantrill allowed the one run on Alvarez’s homer, one of five hits, and walked one in a season-high six innings making his fourth consecutive start following 15 relief appearances. His 79 pitches were also a season high.
Houston tied the score at 3 in the seventh on Yainer Diaz’s two-run homer off Chris Martin.
Brown gave up three runs in six innings. The 2025 All-Star made his fifth start after missing 2½ months with a strained shoulder and matched a career high with five walks to go with four hits.
UP NEXT
Saturday night’s middle game of the series will match Astros RHP Peter Lambert (7-5, 3.26 ERA) against Rangers RHP Kumar Rocker (2-7, 3.95)
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb
Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs agree on 5-year extension that could top $250M
Victor Wembanyama has signed what will be the richest contract in San Antonio Spurs history, a five-year extension that could exceed $250 million if the player option in the final season is picked up, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said Friday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because the financial figures were not disclosed by either side. The Spurs, who went to the NBA Finals this past season behind the All-NBA center and unanimous Defensive Player of the Year, announced that Wembanyama had signed, simply saying the sides agreed on “a multi-year contract extension.”
“Spurs family, I’m here to stay,” Wembanyama wrote on social media Friday. “Whatever it takes.”
The agreement comes at a discount; Wembanyama could have agreed to a deal that would have topped $300 million over five years — but chose a lesser amount to help give the Spurs flexibility going forward with their young core and in anticipation of the contracts some of those budding stars will be eligible for in coming years, the person said.
And that was the only detail really for the sides to hammer out. The 22-year-old Wembanyama is already considered one of the game’s most dominant players, and it was a no-brainer that the Spurs would offer an extension. The only question was whether Wembanyama would accept a deal that starts with him making 25% of the salary cap figure, or if he’d hold out to see if he could initially make 30% of the cap.
ESPN first reported the agreement.
Wembanyama will make about $16.8 million this coming season, the last under the terms of his rookie contract. The newly signed deal kicks in for 2027-28 and will start with a salary of around $43.5 million, then keep rising from there. The 7-foot-4 center from France would have a $57.5 million option for 2031-32.
Wembanyama was the Most Valuable Player of the Western Conference finals this past season, finished third behind Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver’s Nikola Jokic in the overall MVP voting for the season, and has led the league in blocks per game in all three of his NBA seasons so far.
He averaged 25 points and 11.5 rebounds this past season, leading San Antonio to a 62-20 record, the No. 2 seed in the West and a berth in the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks. The Spurs lost that series in five games.
“It’s painful. It’s painful,” Wembanyama said a few minutes after the finals ended. “But I’m not running away from that. I’m using it to fuel me. … I’m not satisfied with not winning. But as I said, this is the biggest lesson of my life. As a team, there’s no better experience than what we just lived.”
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
WNBA regular-season record crowd of 20,996 watches Wings beat Tempo in Montreal
MONTREAL (AP) — Paige Bueckers scored 34 points and the Dallas Wings beat the expansion Toronto Tempo 108-95 on Friday night in front of a WNBA regular-season record crowd of 20,996 at Bell Centre.
The game broke the regular-season mark of 20,711 set in Washington on Sept. 19, 2024, against Indiana. The league’s two largest crowds — both 22,076 — came in Detroit in the 2003 and 2007 WNBA Finals.
“Being the only team in Canada, it’s a responsibility for us and how cool is that,” Tempo coach Sandy Brondello said. “We get to be seen all over Canada. We want to make sure we can come out tonight and celebrate the WNBA and celebrate the Tempo with our new fans.”
Toronto will face New York in Montreal on Sunday. The Tempo also will play two games in Vancouver, British Columbia.
“I said to the team today what a unique opportunity this is. We’re creating firsts. We say we’re Canada’s team so we’re taking the show on the road,” Brondello said. “I always say, a fan has to just come and watch one game and they’ll fall in love.”
Jessica Shepard had 20 points and 17 rebounds to help the Wings (15-8) sweep a four-game trip that also saw them beat the Tempo in Toronto. Arike Ogunbowale also had 20 points, and Azzi Fudd added 13.
Bueckers was 13 of 22 from the field and had six assists and six rebounds.
Marina Mabrey had 34 points for Toronto (9-13), hitting 6 of 9 3-pointers. Laura Juskaite added 25 points. The Tempo have lost four straight.
“It’s really special for Canada and for the Toronto Tempo franchise,” said Dallas coach Jose Fernandez said. “It just shows the trajectory of where the WNBA is and what the franchise in Toronto is doing for basketball fans in Canada.”
The Bell Centre also hosted the largest crowd in Professional Women’s Hockey League history, drawing 21,105 for a game between Montreal and Toronto on April 20, 2024.
Up next
Wings: Host Chicago on Sunday night.
Tempo: Vs. New York on Sunday in Montreal.
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Polk County Sheriff’s Office seeking further information on suspect recently arrested in connection with a woman’s murder
POLK COUNTY, Texas (KETK)– The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is seeking more information regarding a 36-year-old man who was arrested on Friday in connection with a woman’s murder.
According to the sheriff’s office, Cody Allen Laviolette was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and unlawful restraint in connection with a woman’s death in May. Laviolette’s mother was also arrested on Friday and charged with manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance.
Prior to the arrest, several women allegedly came forward to investigators to report their interactions with Laviolette, according to the sheriff’s office.
Additionally, the sheriff’s office said they have individuals who may have information about Laviolette but are believed to be reluctant to come forward due to the notion that Laviolette is protected by his family in Onalaska.
“The Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone who may have witnessed criminal activity involving Cody Laviolette or who believe they may have been a victim to contact investigators. Information provided by witnesses and victims may assist in addressing these matters and advancing the ongoing investigation,” the sheriff’s office said.
Polk County Sheriff’s Office seeking further information on suspect recently arrested in connection with a woman’s murder
Man charged in deputy-involved shooting
MARION COUNTY — A man was booked into the Marion County Jail on Wednesday due to his alleged involvement in an officer-involved shooting in June. According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and our news partner KETK, the shooting occurred on June 24 in the 2700 block of Highway 49. Once deputies arrived on the scene, a man who was later identified as Robert Landrum discharged a rifle, allegedly striking a deputy’s patrol unit.
As additional deputies arrived on the scene, Landrum allegedly refused to disarm and was shot by law enforcement after pointing his gun towards deputies, the sheriff’s office said. Landrum was then taken into custody and flown to a hospital in Shreveport. After being released from the hospital, Landrum was booked into the Marion County Jail on Thursday and charged with aggravated assault against a public servant.
The Texas Rangers have launched an investigation and the sheriff’s office said no additional information will be released at this time.
Appeals court rejects effort to defend Texas law offering in-state tuition for undocumented students
A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected an effort to defend the Texas Dream Act, leaving in place a ruling that ended a longstanding state law that allowed some undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at public colleges and universities.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said advocacy groups, Austin Community College and a student could not step into the case to defend the Texas Dream Act because federal law bars states from giving undocumented students a tuition benefit based on residency unless the same benefit is available to all U.S. citizens, regardless of where they live.
The law allowed students who graduated from a Texas high school or earned an equivalent diploma in the state, lived in Texas and pledged to seek permanent residency when eligible to pay in-state tuition, even if they did not have legal immigration status.
Gov. Greg Abbott praised the 2-1 ruling on X, saying Texas and the Trump administration’s Justice Department “just secured another major victory for the rule of law.”
La Unión del Pueblo Entero and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund called the ruling a disappointment.
“Education is a human right, no matter someone’s immigration status or background,” said Tania Chavez Camacho, LUPE’s president and executive director.
Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF, which represents Students for Affordable Tuition, said the organization would seek further review in federal court after consulting with its clients.
Saenz said the panel majority was “now complicit in one of the greatest juridical travesties in recent history,” referring to the swift end of the Texas Dream Act after Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office and the Trump administration agreed the law should be blocked.
Austin Community College said in a statement that it “remains focused on supporting all students and the community we serve” and would follow the law while continuing its mission to provide “accessible, high-quality education and opportunities for all.”
Marco Julian Gonzalez, a University of Texas at Austin business student whose fraternity and sister sorority backed the students in court, said the ruling was disheartening.
“We know who these people are and we know who they are not, and when you have politicians go on the airwaves and call our friends criminal illegal aliens we take offense and that kept us motivated to keep going,” Gonzalez said.
Judge Jerry E. Smith wrote the majority opinion for the 5th Circuit Court, joined by Judge Don Willett. Judge Irma Carrillo Ramirez dissented.
Smith was appointed by President Ronald Reagan, Willett by President Donald Trump, and Ramirez by President Joe Biden.
The background
Texas was the first state to let certain undocumented students pay in-state tuition when lawmakers passed the Texas Dream Act in 2001 with little debate and broad, bipartisan support.
The law, signed by the Republican former Gov. Rick Perry, allowed certain students without legal status to qualify if they graduated from a Texas high school or earned an equivalent diploma here, lived in the state for at least three years before graduating and signed an affidavit saying they would seek permanent residency as soon as they were eligible.
Supporters said Texas benefited from students educated in its K-12 schools by making college more affordable and moving them into the workforce. But as Republican politics shifted on immigration, the law became a target.
After multiple failed efforts from state lawmakers to change the law, U.S. Justice Department lawyers sued Texas last year. Paxton’s office quickly agreed the law conflicted with federal immigration law and asked a judge to block it. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor approved the agreement and blocked the law the same day.
Students for Affordable Tuition, La Unión del Pueblo Entero, Austin Community College and student Oscar Silva asked the court to let them defend the Texas Dream Act themselves.
Students for Affordable Tuition is a group of students who say they were harmed by the ruling. La Unión del Pueblo Entero, or LUPE, is an immigrant-rights group. They asked to intervene along with Austin Community College and Silva, a University of North Texas graduate student who qualified for in-state tuition under the Texas Dream Act.
O’Connor, a President George W. Bush appointee who sits in the Northern District of Texas’ Wichita Falls division, rejected their request, so they appealed to the 5th Circuit.
What the students and immigrant advocates say
Advocacy groups Students for Affordable Tuition and LUPE, Austin Community College and Silva argued they have the legal right to intervene. They urged the court to apply a more lenient standard for intervention instead of requiring proof that their defense of the Texas Dream Act would ultimately succeed.
Students for Affordable Tuition said the stakes are concrete for its members, who “face significant increases in their higher education costs, putting college out of reach for many of them, some of whom have already spent years in college and will not be able to complete their specific program.”
“The people of Texas are entitled to genuine litigation before a federal court invalidates their democratically enacted statute,” lawyers said in a legal brief to the 5th Circuit.
Thomas Saenz, the lead lawyer for Students for Affordable Tuition, also stressed that affected students did not get due process because of how quickly the Texas Dream Act was overturned.
It is “important to emphasize here how extraordinary that it all occurred as quickly as it did,” Saenz told the 5th Circuit during oral arguments on June 4. “The court needs to look at whether this extraordinary situation violated due process rights held by students for affordable tuition and the other students who benefited or would benefit in the future.”
The groups believed the Texas Dream Act did not conflict with federal law because eligibility was not based solely on residency. Students also had to graduate from a Texas high school or earn an equivalent diploma here, live in the state for at least three years before graduating and sign an affidavit saying they would seek permanent residency as soon as they were eligible.
What the federal government says
Justice Department lawyers sued Texas, saying the Texas Dream Act violated a 1996 federal immigration law. That federal law says states cannot give people who are not lawfully present a higher education benefit unless U.S. citizens can get the same benefit, no matter where they live.
U.S. Department of Justice attorneys arguedvthat the Texas Dream Act so clearly conflicted with federal immigration law that allowing others to intervene and defend it would be futile.
“We opposed intervention … only on the grounds that it’s legally futile because the statutes are preempted,” Andrew Marshall Bernie, an attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, told the appeals court during oral arguments last month.
Responding to concerns over due process, Bernie argued courts are not constitutionally required to hear from outside groups when a state law is challenged for violating a federal statute. In the end, he said, the outside groups did get due process because their arguments have been heard by the trial court and the 5th Circuit.
Broader impact
The Texas Dream Act opened higher education to more than 57,000 students, lawyers for LUPE, ACC and Silva told the court. The end of the law could cost Texas hundreds of millions of dollars a year through reduced wages, earnings and consumer spending, lawyers for LUPE, ACC and Silva told the court. ACC said it expected lost revenue, administrative burdens and negative effects on programs and services if the ruling remains in place.
Since O’Connor blocked the Texas Dream Act last year, students and colleges across the state have faced confusion over who still qualifies for in-state tuition.
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board told colleges to identify and reclassify students who are not lawfully present as nonresidents but did not provide clarity on how to do so. That uncertainty led at least one student with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, to be initially charged out-of-state tuition, The Texas Tribune previously reported.
Students for Affordable Tuition told the 5th Circuit that several Texas colleges had charged DACA recipients out-of-state rates, even though Texas lawyers said they should still qualify for in-state tuition.
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This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Detainees tell their lawyer an ICE officer shot a Houston driver through a passenger window
HOUSTON (AP) — Three men inside a van who witnessed the fatal shooting of the driver by an immigration officer in Houston said the Mexican man was shot through a passenger window and that the officer was never threatened, a lawyer who has spoken with them said Friday.
The shooting Tuesday during an attempted traffic stop by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Houston has revived critical voices deriding the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and how ICE operates. Immigration arrests around the country recently surged to 10,000 over a five-day period, fueled in part by massive Congressional funding.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, has released no evidence to support the officer’s story that Lorenzo Salgado Araujo ignored their commands and rammed into an ICE vehicle with his white van, or that the officer fired in self-defense.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia has said the acting director of ICE told her officers thought someone in the van, but not Salgado Araujo, had a final order of removal but did not share a name.
The officers were not wearing body cameras and neither ICE nor DHS have released photos, videos or other evidence from the scene.
The men tell an attorney that the ICE story is untrue
Salgado Araujo was a 52-year-old homebuilder who was shot and killed as he was driving his crew to a construction site. His family said he had lived in the U.S. for more than 35 years, had no criminal record and was close to finishing the long process of obtaining legal status when he was killed.
ICE detained the other three men in the van and they all told a lawyer that no officer was in front of the van or even in danger.
“After speaking with these men, I have no doubt that what they’re saying is the truth. I know that these agents — the agency — is going to try to cover it up,” attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarra said during a news conference.
Images of the van after the shooting appear to show no damage, he said.
ICE has not released the names of the detained men, but family members said they have been able to briefly talk with them. Salgado Araujo’s brother was among those arrested.
Garcia said at the same news conference it was unsurprising that Salgado Araujo drove off when ICE tried to stop his vehicle, given that their vehicles were unmarked and had no lights.
“What would you do if you were being followed by someone and the cars were unmarked?” Garcia said.
Salgado Araujo was at least the eighth person to die during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign. No immigration officers have been charged in the killings and video footage in several previous shootings has contradicted the accounts of federal officers.
The detained men say ICE is pressuring them to self-deport
ICE is pressuring the men to self-deport, which would make it harder for them to share their version of events with investigators or others, said Juana Degollado, who said her stepfather Daniel Tirado Pantoja is among the detained men. She said he has no legal permission to live in the U.S. but has no criminal record.
“It is extremely important that we preserve the integrity of this investigation,” Balderas-Ibarra said. “That will all be out the window if they are deported.”
DHS said allegations that the men have been pressured to leave the country are “categorically false.”
DHS said Thursday that officers investigating a tip weeks earlier saw two white vans at the address of a target. While heading to that address Tuesday, officers saw a white van and someone inside who resembled the person they were looking for, the department said in a statement.
“No one in that van had warrants or any legal problem,” Degollado told The Associated Press in a text message.
ICE refuses to release officer’s name or other information
DHS said it will not release the officer’s name because they could face threats and violence and their family could be at risk.
DHS also has not responded to requests for other information, including how long the officer has worked for ICE or whether anyone involved in the shooting is on administrative leave.
Unlike some previous deaths involving federal immigration officers, few photos or videos surrounding the shooting have emerged publicly in the days since Salgado Araujo’s death.
The League of United Latin American Citizens offered a $5,000 reward for video or other evidence, but the positions of the vehicles means surveillance cameras in the area were blocked from recording the shooting, CEO Juan Proaño said.
Local prosecutors are talking to witnesses
Local prosecutors were not invited into the investigation by federal officials but have spent the past three days in the Houston neighborhood looking for surveillance footage and talking to witnesses, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said.
Teare said anyone with video or other information must share it with his office so the truth about the shooting can be determined.
“We will go to the ends of the earth to collect all the evidence, so that we can eventually let the public know what happened,” Teare said.
The FBI is tightly controlling the evidence in the case, but Houston Mayor John Whitmire said he wants a local independent investigation and the police chief will meet with federal investigators next week to see what can be done.
“We recognize that it is a federal police agency that was out of control Tuesday morning,” Whitmire said.
Houston police do not work with ICE and the mayor said he found out about the shooting from the media.
Salgado Araujo’s family said they found out he was dead through the ICE statement instead of directly from the agency. Garcia said officers kept his belongings and sent him to the hospital where he died without including his name.
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Brook reported from New Orleans and Foley from Iowa City, Iowa. Associated Press reporters Valerie Gonzalez in McAllen, Texas; Rebecca Santana in Washington; and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed.