News - Friday, April 24, 2026

Losing your friends at a major music festival is an inevitability. It happens gradually. One person veers toward a food vendor, another disappears into a crowd pushing toward the stage, phones come out and then fail. Even when messages and calls connect, there’s no meaningful way to describe where you are in a sea of tens of thousands of people moving in every direction at once.

Totem cofounder Carter Fowler says the creators of Totem never seriously considered building an app to do what the device does because, at a fundamental level, a phone cannot do what Totem is designed to do.

Smartphones rely on centralized infrastructure – cell towers, Wi-Fi, satellites and power grids – but Totem’s technology is the opposite, he explains. It is decentralized, operating independently of those systems.

By David Laprad

On a warm Sunday afternoon, residents gathered at the Red Bank Community Center then spilled out toward a wooded trailhead that had been more than 60 years in the making. With a ribbon stretched across the entrance and a crowd of city leaders, partners and neighbors looking on, the city officially opened the Godsey Ridge Trail System – a project many described as both a milestone and a promise fulfilled.

As part of the opening of Godsey Ridge Trail System, Sunshine Loveless, director of SORBA Chattanooga, shared guidance on trail etiquette and safety for the new multiuse system:

• Before you ride or hike: Before heading out, riders should wear a helmet and perform a quick bike check, making sure tires are properly inflated, brakes are functioning and the crank and chain are in good condition. It’s also important to bring water and snacks and to wear appropriate clothing, including closed-toe shoes, for a safe and comfortable ride.

Long before Chef Kenyatta Ashford entered professional kitchens or won “Chopped,” he learned what food meant in a crowded Louisiana home, where meals were rooted in history and identity rather than presentation.

Growing up in a family in which his father was one of 13 siblings and his mother one of nine, gatherings were large, loud and anchored by dishes such as gumbo, red beans and rice and seafood-stuffed vegetables.

In a few months, we will observe the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. That document announced the formation of a new nation and laid the foundation for the rule of law in that new nation.

With its soaring, aspirational proclamations that all persons “are created equal” and “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,” the Declaration laid the groundwork for federal courts to interpret the Constitution and give meaning to concepts such as liberty, equality and justice.

The real estate market changes quietly at first, which is why it pays to watch the signals. Slightly more choices for buyers, a little more time to make decisions and increased negotiating room can reshape the buying or selling experience from one week to the next.

The city of Chattanooga is launching a new Down Payment Assistance Program that will provide up to $21,000 to qualifying first-time homebuyers through a first-of-its-kind partnership with the Tennessee Housing Development Agency.

The program is designed to expand access to homeownership as housing costs rise and the average age of a first-time buyer climbs to 40 nationwide. Funds are available to households earning up to 120% of area median income – about $92,000 for a two-person household and $114,000 for a family of four.

The Hunter Museum of American Art will invite guests to step into an Alice in Wonderland-themed evening of entertainment April 24 on the museum’s River Terrace. Presented by Tremont Tavern and co-chaired by Amber and Dan Norton, the open-air event will feature heavy hors d’oeuvres, specialty cocktails and mocktails, themed activities and performances and a costume contest inspired by Wonderland. General admission includes food, drinks and dancing, while VIP tickets offer access to a private lounge, enhanced food and beverage options and valet service. Proceeds support the museum’s mission to provide arts education and community engagement.

Southern’s School of Education, Psychology and Counseling has received the 2025 Frank Murray Leadership Recognition for Continuous Improvement, a national honor awarded by the Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation.

The award recognizes educator preparation programs that achieve a perfect accreditation score with no stipulations or areas for improvement. Southern was the only institution in Tennessee selected and is among just 22 programs nationwide to earn the distinction this year.

Food City officials recently presented a $12,000 check to the Gamma Pi Boule Foundation, continuing a partnership aimed at supporting scholarships and community-focused initiatives.

The presentation, held inside a local Food City store, brought together company leadership and representatives of the foundation to mark the latest contribution.

As a person of faith, I find it heartwarming to witness the piety with which our Republican leaders model spiritual values for the country.

It starts at the top, of course, with President “Two Corinthians” Trump’s social media depictions of himself – first as a pope, then as a Jesus-like figure delivering divine, hands-on healing to a reclining, apparently ailing figure. Who looks oddly like Jeffrey Epstein.

The Audi Q5 and BMW X3 are among the most popular options for shoppers interested in a small luxury SUV. Each one offers a practical size, a classy cabin and a relatively affordable way to get an SUV with a luxury badge.

Notably, the Q5 and the X3 also received full redesigns last year. The BMW X3 adopted a radically different design inside and out. The Audi Q5’s exterior didn’t change much, but inside there’s a new emphasis on technology.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The criminal indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center this week was met with much outrage but little surprise from civil rights leaders, who have for more than a year prepared for heightened legal scrutiny from the Trump administration, and how to mount a coordinated response.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department's internal watchdog announced a review Thursday of the department's compliance with the law mandating the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, stepping into a politically sensitive saga that has shadowed the Trump administration for the past year.

In a spate of recent appearances in Congress, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recoiled almost every time a lawmaker referred to Medicaid cuts enacted in President Donald Trump's big 2025 tax and spending bill.

Throughout the budget hearings, many Democrats raised concerns about how the cuts could affect rural hospitals and leave vulnerable Americans without health insurance. Kennedy frequently interrupted them to claim no cuts existed.

OFF THE COAST OF RHODE ISLAND (AP) — Offshore wind turbines roughly three times the height of the Statue of Liberty were spinning off the coast of Rhode Island on Thursday, sending clean electricity to the region.

Wind farms are taking shape and operating along the East Coast, even as President Donald Trump seeks to end the U.S. offshore wind industry. He often talks about his hatred of wind power and calls turbines ugly.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. military to "shoot and kill" small Iranian boats that deploy mines in the Strait of Hormuz, he said Thursday, a day after Iran again displayed its ability to thwart traffic through the channel.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Tennessee Titans hope Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate can team with quarterback Cam Ward and fix the offense while improving their relatively poor track record with receivers selected in the first round of the NFL draft.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said he is taking accountability for actions that have created a distraction for New England without addressing specifics about photos published recently of him with longtime NFL reporter Dianna Russini at an Arizona resort.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Eight teams are still waiting to make their first selection of the NFL draft after a chaotic opening round that featured a flurry of trades.

Just 16 of the 32 first-round picks chosen Thursday night were made by the original teams that owned them.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Fernando Mendoza's journey from overlooked two-star recruit to the top of the NFL draft is complete after the Las Vegas Raiders took him with the first pick Thursday night.

Turning the Raiders into a contender is the next challenge for the Heisman Trophy winner who led Indiana to its first national championship.

KNOXVILLE (AP) — Tennessee forward Nate Ament declared Thursday that he's heading to the NBA draft after one season in college.

Ament helped the Volunteers go 25-12 and to a No. 12 ranking in the final AP Top 25 poll with a third straight Elite Eight berth in the NCAA Tournament. The 6-foot-10, 207-pound Ament started all 35 games he played, and he ranked second in scoring 16.7 points a game. He averaged 6.3 rebounds per game, as well.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean prosecutors on Friday rejected a police request for an arrest warrant for music tycoon Bang Si-Hyuk, chairman of the agency behind K-pop supergroup BTS, questioning whether detention is necessary as he faces a high-profile investigation into alleged investor fraud.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A U.S. Army special forces soldier involved with the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is due in court Friday after being charged with using classified information about the mission to win more than $400,000 in an online prediction market.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration said Friday it will offer ultra-fast review to three psychedelic drugs being developed to treat mental health conditions, including depression, the latest step by the Trump administration toward possible approval of the experimental treatments.

BEIJING (AP) — China's top automakers are showcasing their latest models and technologies from intelligent driving to ultrafast charging in Beijing as they compete with global rivals in overseas markets.

Analysts say the biennial auto show in China's capital, which opened to media on Friday, shows how its auto industry is setting the global pace for cutting-edge technologies in areas such as electric vehicles and batteries, eclipsing many foreign brands that used to dominate the global market.

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Businesses have doled out up as much as $4 million to move boats through the Panama Canal with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, according to the Panama Canal Authority, in a move that has created a seismic shift in global trade flows.

NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he was weighing a taxpayer-funded takeover of Spirit Airlines with the intent of reselling the struggling budget carrier after oil prices drop.

The president confirmed his continued interest in offering Spirit a financial lifeline after a lawyer told a U.S. Bankruptcy Court that the airline was in advanced talks with the U.S. government on a financing deal that would allow Spirit to emerge from Chapter 11 protection.

HONG KONG (AP) — DeepSeek, the Chinese artificial intelligence startup that shook world markets last year, launched preview versions of its latest major update Friday as the AI rivalry between China and the U.S. heats up.

DeepSeek's V4 has been keenly anticipated by users looking to test how it compares to U.S. competitors like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Anthropic's Claude and Google's Gemini. Anthropic and OpenAI have accused DeepSeek of unfairly building its technology off their own.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is vowing to crack down on foreign tech companies' exploitation of U.S. artificial intelligence models, singling out China at a time that country is narrowing the gap with the U.S. in the AI race.

In a Thursday memo, Michael Kratsios, the president's chief science and technology adviser, accused foreign entities "principally based in China" of engaging in deliberate, industrial-scale campaigns to "distill," or extract capabilities from, leading AI systems made in the U.S. and "exploiting American expertise and innovation."

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech power company CEZ signed a deal on Friday with Rolls-Royce SMR on preparatory work for the British company to build the first small modular nuclear reactor in the Czech Republic.

CEZ chief executive Daniel Beneš said that the work includes the project plan and licensing documentation necessary for issuing building permits for the reactor.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Iran's top diplomat is expected to travel to Pakistan by this weekend for talks, two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press on Friday, raising hopes for revived negotiations in the Iran-U.S. war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was expected to be accompanied by a small government delegation and could arrive as soon as Friday, the officials said, without providing further details. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has ended its probe into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, clearing a major roadblock to the confirmation of his successor, Kevin Warsh.

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Friday refused to be drawn into a dispute with the United States over reports that the Pentagon is weighing whether to punish members of NATO that fail to support American operations in the Iran war.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Just as the Senate prepared to launch into a late-night vote series, Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana went to the floor to vent.

Frustrated and seemingly exhausted Wednesday, Kennedy said he wanted more time to debate his amendments to a budget resolution to fund immigration enforcement agencies. But he had another complaint.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump, who helped push the term " fake news " into the mainstream, now seems to have a new favorite subject: fake math.

During a Thursday event announcing a deal with drugmaker Regeneron to lower the cost of its pharmaceutical products, Trump defended his past claims that prices on prescription medications had been cut by well over 100% — something that is mathematically impossible without manufacturers dropping prices to zero and then presumably paying consumers to use their product.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Israel and Lebanon have agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group by three weeks after talks at the White House on Thursday.

Trump said the meeting between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States, the second in the past week, went "very well," but during an Oval Office gathering he acknowledged that "they do have Hezbollah to think about." The Iranian-backed group has opposed the talks, and since the initial ceasefire went into effect last Friday, there have been multiple violations by both sides.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department will adopt firing squads as a permitted method of execution as the Trump administration moves to ramp up and expedite capital punishment cases, officials said Friday.

The Justice Department is also reauthorizing the use of single-drug lethal injections with pentobarbital that were used to carry out 13 executions during the first Trump administration — more than under any president in modern history. The Biden administration had removed pentobarbital from the federal protocol over concerns about the potential for unnecessary pain and suffering.

WASHINGTON (AP) — An appeals court on Friday blocked President Donald Trump's executive order suspending asylum access, a key pillar of the Republican president's plan to crack down on migration at the southern border of the U.S.

A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found that immigration laws give people the right to apply for asylum at the border, and the president can't circumvent that.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil.

The move, announced Friday and first reported by The Associated Press, makes good on the Trump administration's threat to impose secondary sanctions on companies and countries that do business with Iran. It's also part of the Republican administration's overall ramped-up campaign to cut off Iran's key source of revenue — its oil exports.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Talking about drafting the best player available sounds good. Trying to snap a skid of four straight losing seasons requires players that fit a team's needs.

The Tennessee Titans tried their best to do just that for new coach Robert Saleh.

Two years ago, Josephine Timperman arrived at college with a plan. She declared a major in business analytics, figuring she'd learn niche skills that would stand out on a resume and help land a good job after college.

But the rise of artificial intelligence has scrambled those calculations. The basic skills she was learning in things like statistical analysis and coding can now easily be automated. "Everyone has a fear that entry-level jobs will be taken by AI," said the 20-year-old at Miami University in Ohio.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Before sunset, a blue flame used to spring to life in Brenda Obare's kitchen with a quick turn of the knob as she started dinner.

Now, her stove is often cold as she crouches over a charcoal burner, coaxing a smoky fire to cook for her family outside her tin-roofed home in Kibera in Kenya's capital Nairobi, one of Africa's largest informal settlements. Cooking gas is too expensive and often unavailable. Charcoal is always there.

HONG KONG (AP) — China on Monday blocked Meta's acquisition of the artificial intelligence startup Manus, which has Chinese roots but is Singapore-based.

In a short statement, China's National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top planning agency, said it was prohibiting a foreign acquisition of Manus and had required all the parties to withdraw from the deal. It did not specifically name Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two and a half centuries after the American colonies declared independence from Britain under King George III, his descendant King Charles III lands in Washington on Monday with trans-Atlantic ties under strain and security in the spotlight.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican senator who had effectively blocked confirmation of President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Federal Reserve said Sunday he was dropping his opposition after the Department of Justice ended its investigation of the current central bank chair.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal law enforcement officials are evaluating how to proceed with a number of high-profile public events featuring President Donald Trump after the attack at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

The third violent assault in the vicinity of Trump in less than two years is renewing the central tension confronting the Republican president's defenders: how to accommodate the public-facing demands of the presidency while minimizing the risk of an attack.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner railed against Trump administration policies and referred to himself as a "Friendly Federal Assassin" in writings sent to family members minutes before an attack that authorities increasingly believe was politically motivated, according to a message reviewed by The Associated Press.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's Justice Department is using the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday to try to pressure preservationists to drop their lawsuit over his planned $400 million ballroom on the site of the former East Wing of the White House.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was somberly contemplative and unusually conciliatory after confronting what he saw as a third attempt on his life in less than two years. He suggested that his personal politics had made him a repeated target, but he also called for unity and bipartisan healing in an increasingly violent world.

TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) — The California man arrested in the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer opposed to the policies of President Donald Trump.

Authorities say Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, was taken into custody at the dinner Saturday night in Washington that was attended by Trump and top members of his administration. A social media profile for a man with the same name and a photo that appears to match that of the suspect show he worked part-time for the last six years at a company that offers admissions counseling and test preparation services to aspiring college students.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The latest U.S. military strike on a boat accused of ferrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean killed three people Sunday, according to a social media post by U.S. Southern Command.

The Trump administration's campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters has gone on since early September and killed at least 186 people in total. Other strikes have taken place in the Caribbean Sea.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Donald W. Riegle, who represented Michigan in Congress for nearly three decades under seven presidents, has died, his family said Sunday. He was 88.

Riegle, who began his career as a Republican and later became a Democrat, died Friday of cardiac arrest at his home in San Diego, according to a family statement.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Microsoft said Monday it will no longer pay a share of its revenue to ChatGPT maker OpenAI, the latest move to untether a close partnership that helped unleash an artificial intelligence boom.

OpenAI relied exclusively on Microsoft's investments in cloud computing services to build the technology that helped make ChatGPT a household name. Microsoft, in turn, relied on OpenAI's technology to build its own AI assistant Copilot.

TORONTO (AP) — Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Monday the Canadian government is developing a government-owned investment fund.

Carney said the fund will invest in major Canadian industrial projects in areas such as energy, infrastructure, mining, agriculture and technology. It will begin at 25 billion Canadian dollars ($18 billion).

NASHVILLE (AP) — Forward Vitali Pinchuk, who was third in the KHL in goals, has signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the Nashville Predators for the 2026-27 season.

Predators general manager Barry Trotz announced the signing Monday. Pinchuk, 24, had 31 goals and 66 points for Dinamo Minsk in the KHL.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court seemed divided Monday over whether to block thousands of lawsuits alleging the maker of the weedkiller Roundup failed to warn people it could cause cancer.

The case came before the justices after a tidal wave of litigation that included some multibillion-dollar verdicts against the global agrochemical manufacturer Bayer, which owns Roundup maker Monsanto.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Technology tycoons Elon Musk and Sam Altman are poised to face off in a high-stakes trial revolving around the alleged betrayal, deceit and unbridled ambition that blurred the bickering billionaires' once-shared vision for the development of artificial intelligence.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday seemed inclined to rule that police could use geofence warrants that collect the location history of cellphone users to find people near crime scenes.

The justices heard nearly two hours of arguments in an appeal from Okello Chatrie, who pleaded guilty to robbing a bank in a suburb of Richmond, Virginia.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The man who authorities say tried to storm the White House Correspondents' Association dinner with guns and knives while President Donald Trump was in attendance is due in court Monday to face charges in a chaotic encounter that resulted in shots being fired, Trump being rushed off the stage and guests ducking for cover underneath their tables.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Preservationists are pressing ahead with their lawsuit against President Donald Trump's planned $400 million White House ballroom, declining a request by the Department of Justice to withdraw the complaint following the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday.

South Carolina's measles outbreak — the worst in the U.S. in more than 35 years — is over, state health officials declared Monday.

On Sunday, the state passed the threshold of 42 days with no new outbreak-related cases. In the end, 997 people were sickened by the vaccine-preventable disease since October and at least 21 of them were hospitalized, based on voluntary reports to the state. State health officials estimate the outbreak response cost $2.1 million.

HONG KONG (AP) — China on Monday blocked U.S. tech giant Meta's acquisition of the artificial intelligence startup Manus, in an unexpected move to reverse a deal that apparently aroused Beijing's concerns about the transfer of advanced technology.

Donald and Melania Trump both called for ABC to fire Jimmy Kimmel on Monday after a joke last week in which the late-night comic described the first lady as having "the glow of an expectant widow."

The remark about the president's wife was part of a routine on Thursday's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" where the host pretended to deliver a comedy routine at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. That event two nights later was cut short when a man armed with guns and knives tried to enter the Washington ballroom where the Trumps and much of the nation's political leadership had gathered.

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge said Tuesday that fired prosecutor Maurene Comey's wrongful termination claims belong in federal court rather than in administrative proceedings despite the government's efforts to get the case moved out of court.

Judge Jesse M. Furman in Manhattan noted in a written ruling that the sole reason provided for her firing last year was Article II of the U.S. Constitution, which vests "executive power" in the president.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Southern Poverty Law Center told a federal court on Tuesday that law enforcement agencies have long known that the nonprofit paid informants to report on the movements of hate groups, rejecting assertions by the Trump administration that the nonprofit steered money to the Ku Klux Klan and other extremist groups without the knowledge of authorities.

NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. special forces soldier is due in federal court in New York on Tuesday on charges that he used classified information about the mission to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to win more than $400,000 on the prediction market Polymarket.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Defense Department can require journalists to be escorted on Pentagon grounds while the Trump administration appeals a judge's decision to block its enforcement of a press access policy challenged by The New York Times, an appeals court ruled Monday.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates announced Tuesday that it will leave the oil cartel OPEC and its wider OPEC+ group effective May 1, a move rumored for some time as the Emirates chafed under production restrictions and had increasingly frosty relations with neighboring Saudi Arabia.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration announced two more payouts Monday for energy companies to walk away from U.S. offshore wind projects under development.

Bluepoint Wind and Golden State Wind have agreed to end their offshore wind leases in exchange for reimbursements totaling nearly $900 million. Both companies have decided not to pursue any new offshore wind projects in the United States, the Interior Department announced Monday.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) — Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, met Monday with Barbados' Prime Minister Mia Mottley and invited her administration to invest in energy production in the South American country.

Rodríguez arrived in Barbados late Sunday, marking her second official visit to a Caribbean island in recent weeks after visiting Grenada on April 9.

CAIRO (AP) — In the heartland of Iran's famed carpet-making industry, manufacturing has ground to a near halt. Dairies struggle to find packages for milk and butter. Giant steel mills that once drove Iran's economy have gone silent. Hundreds of thousands have lost jobs, and millions more are at risk.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer confidence rose modestly in April despite growing anxiety over soaring energy prices brought on by the war in Iran.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index inched up to 92.8 in April from 92.2 in March.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve will meet this week ahead of a looming leadership transition that remains fuzzy, and Wednesday's news conference will be closely watched for any clarification.

Also Wednesday, the Senate Banking Committee will vote on whether to confirm President Trump's nominee, Kevin Warsh, to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The committee is expected to approve Warsh, sending his nomination to the full Senate.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When the Supreme Court killed his favorite tariffs in February, President Donald Trump promptly rolled out temporary import taxes to replace them. But those stopgap levies expire in less than three months.

Now the administration is scrambling to put more durable tariffs in place to keep revenue flowing into the U.S. Treasury and to shore up the president's protectionist wall around the American economy.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and King Charles III greeted each other warmly on Tuesday as the monarch began a day of diplomacy in Washington designed to emphasize a bond between the United Kingdom and the United States that is so strong it can withstand the political turmoil of the moment.

LAS MINAS, Cuba (AP) — Eduardo Obiols Sobredo struggles to feed Cubans young and old, a task even harder now because of a U.S. energy blockade that has caused sweeping water and power outages along with severe gas shortages.

"I feel like crying," the 58-year-old farmer said. "It's so sad to see crops grown with so much effort go to waste, especially when you know there are so many who need them."

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Ron DeSantis was once the future of the Republican Party, a battle-tested conservative twice elected as governor of Florida. Then Donald Trump steamrolled him on his way back to the White House.

Now, more than two years after DeSantis ended his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump, the governor is returning to the national spotlight — at least for this week. He's pushing state lawmakers to redraw Florida's congressional map as part of a coast-to-coast redistricting battle ahead of November's midterm elections. His proposal would make it easier for Republicans to win four more seats, equivalent to Democrats' potential gains from last week's referendum in Virginia.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kid Rock and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth both flew in Army Apache attack helicopters at a base in Virginia on Monday, weeks after military pilots drew scrutiny for hovering near the entertainer's Tennessee home.

On social media Monday night, Hegseth posted photos of himself and Kid Rock at the base. "Kid Rock is a patriot and huge supporter of our troops," Hegseth wrote.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans in Congress launched new efforts Monday to approve and pay for President Donald Trump's proposed ballroom at the White House, arguing that it would help avert security breaches like the shooting at Saturday's White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Donald Trump is withdrawing his nomination of a hospitality company executive to lead the National Park Service, the White House announced Monday.

The withdrawal of nominee Scott Socha comes as the park service has been shaken by widespread firings as part of the Trump administration's pledge to sharply reduce its size.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is pressing for the dismissal of preservationists' lawsuit over the planned $400 million White House ballroom after the shooting at Saturday's media gala. But its latest court filing reads more like a Truth Social post from the president than a document crafted by government lawyers.

NEW YORK (AP) — The woman at the center of Harvey Weinstein 's repeatedly retried rape case testified — for the third time — Tuesday that the former Hollywood honcho trapped her in a New York hotel room and assaulted her, ignoring her pleas not to do anything sexual.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO, world's richest man and OpenAI cofounder, took the stand Tuesday in a high-stakes trial revolving around a bitter feud between himself and former friends Sam Altman and Greg Brockman that could reshape the future development of artificial intelligence.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted again on Tuesday, this time in an investigation over a social media photo of seashells arranged on a beach that officials said constituted a threat against President Donald Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former senior adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci was indicted on federal charges alleging he conspired to hide his communications related to COVID-19 research as the pandemic raged across the country, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed likely to grant tech giant Cisco's bid to shut down a lawsuit claiming that the company's technology was used to persecute members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement in China.

The justices are reviewing an appellate ruling that would allow the lawsuit against Cisco to go forward in U.S. courts.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents executed multiple searches in Minnesota on Tuesday, seizing records and other evidence in an ongoing fraud investigation by the Trump administration of publicly funded social programs for children, authorities said.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma could be dissolved and replaced by a company focused on the public good by the week's end, as a massive legal settlement resolving thousands of lawsuits is set to take effect.

A federal judge on Tuesday is expected to deliver a criminal sentence to the company to resolve a U.S. Department of Justice probe — a last necessary step to clear the way for the settlement.

NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. special forces soldier pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges that he used classified information about the mission to capture former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro to win more than $400,000 on the prediction market Polymarket.

NEW YORK (AP) — General Motors is expecting a $500 million tariff refund after the Supreme Court struck down some of President Donald Trump's most sweeping levies.

That's boosted the Detroit auto maker's outlook for 2026. On Tuesday, GM said it's now looking to rake in $13.5 billion to $15.5 billion in earnings before interest and taxes this year — up from previous forecasts of $13 billion to $15 billion.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The decision by the United Arab Emirates to leave the OPEC oil cartel shook up the 65-year-old alliance that produces some 40% of the world's crude oil and exerts major influence over the price of energy around the globe.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Amazon announced what it called a "major expansion" of its partnership with ChatGPT maker OpenAI on Tuesday, a day after the artificial intelligence company said it was loosening its ties to longtime backer Microsoft.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the collaboration with Amazon's cloud computing division, Amazon Web Services, would involve co-developing a new platform for AI agents that can do computer-based work on people's behalf.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department said Tuesday that it is preparing a limited release of commemorative U.S. passports celebrating America's 250th birthday that feature a picture of President Donald Trump, who would be the first living president to be featured in the travel document.

WASHINGTON (AP) — King Charles III acknowledged "times of great uncertainty" as he expressed gratitude to the American people and marked the 250th anniversary of independence from Britain in a speech to the U.S. Congress that highlighted the bonds between the two countries at a time of political turmoil.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Ron DeSantis was once the future of the Republican Party, a battle-tested conservative twice elected as governor of Florida. Then Donald Trump steamrolled him on his way back to the White House.

Now, more than two years after DeSantis ended his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump, the governor has called a special legislative session on redistricting and other issues that will put him back in the national spotlight and maybe remind Republicans that he could lead the party one day.