Category: U.S. News

NEW YORK (AP) — Falling bricks and buckling columns at a Midtown Manhattan high-rise sent emergency crews scrambling Tuesday, forcing evacuations of the surrounding area around a towering office building currently being transformed into luxury apartments, fire officials confirmed.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said a nearby school housing roughly 400 children was among the buildings that had to be cleared out. No one was hurt, and every worker inside the high-rise was accounted for, the mayor said. Streets in the vicinity were shut down to both pedestrians and vehicles.

The building dates back to the 1970s and once served as the worldwide headquarters for pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. It sits in a heavily trafficked part of the city, approximately one block from the historic Chrysler Building and positioned between Grand Central Terminal and the United Nations headquarters.

The New York Fire Department reported receiving calls about falling bricks at roughly 8 a.m. from the 38-story structure. Upon investigation, officials discovered that two columns on the 21st and 22nd floors had buckled, and that floors between the 21st and 26th floors were showing signs of sagging.

The conversion of the office building into residential units has been described as the largest project of its kind in the city’s history, according to Gensler, the architectural firm overseeing the work. The planned development would include more than 1,600 residential units and calls for adding over a dozen new floors on top of the existing tower, along with a redesign of an adjoining tower. A Gensler spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

When asked directly whether the building was in danger of collapsing, Mayor Mamdani said first responders had identified “structural issues with the building” and urged those nearby to “follow the instructions of those on the ground.”

The city’s building department confirmed that its inspectors and engineers had been dispatched to the site at 235 East 42nd Street.

“Our top priority right now,” the mayor stated, “is the safety of those who live in this area and the safety of those who work in this area.”

A weeklong preliminary hearing for the man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk is now in its second day, with prosecutors in Utah pushing to demonstrate they have sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial.

Tyler Robinson, 23, faces an aggravated murder charge in connection with the September 10th shooting of Kirk on the Utah Valley University campus. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Robinson’s defense attorneys have made no statements regarding his guilt or innocence.

Tuesday’s proceedings are expected to include video footage from the Washington County sheriff’s office recorded on September 11th — the day Robinson turned himself in — along with a recorded statement from Robinson’s roommate, who was also his romantic partner.

Prosecutors allege Robinson left a note for his roommate that read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.” Robinson also reportedly sent a text message saying he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred,” according to prosecutors.

Monday’s session produced no major revelations, but it was the most substantial presentation of evidence in the case so far. Former Utah Valley University Officer Christopher Bagley testified that he witnessed the shooting while Kirk was addressing a campus crowd of thousands. After the shooting, Bagley said he went to a nearby gravel rooftop and found what appeared to be a position where someone had been lying flat with a direct line of sight to where Kirk was standing.

“It looks like a sniper pad,” Bagley told the court.

Defense attorney Kathryn Nester’s objections were largely overruled by state District Judge Tony Graf on Monday. However, Graf did side with the defense in blocking the introduction of a compilation of surveillance videos from Utah Valley University, ruling that some had been altered — either zoomed in or marked with circles drawn around individuals. Prosecutors said they would attempt to reintroduce the footage Tuesday with those alterations removed.

During cross-examination, Nester questioned Bagley about an empty pistol holster found on the ground after the crowd dispersed. Bagley acknowledged he never took possession of the holster and was unsure whether it had been fingerprinted. Notably, Utah is an open carry state, allowing residents to carry firearms openly or concealed without a permit.

Legal experts say the prosecution faces a relatively low bar at this stage. Mark Kouris, a former prosecutor and state judge in Salt Lake City, explained that prosecutors only need to show reasonable grounds to believe Robinson committed the crime — a much lower standard than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” requirement at trial.

“This standard is extremely low, and the chances of them not getting through it are, quite frankly, almost nothing,” said Kouris, who now serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law.

Throughout Monday’s hearing, Robinson sat quietly between his attorneys, reviewing prosecution exhibits on a monitor and occasionally writing notes. His wrists were shackled to a chain around his waist.

Monday also marked the first time Kirk’s parents, Kathryn and Robert, and his widow, Erika, attended the courtroom proceedings since the case began. Robinson’s parents were also present, seated a few rows behind the Kirk family. Kirk’s family briefly stepped out of the courtroom twice — once when the officer began testifying about Kirk’s arrival on campus, and again when prosecutors played graphic videos of the shooting, including the moment Kirk was struck and the response from security personnel. Both times, they returned to their seats.

In addition to the video evidence, prosecutors have said they plan to present DNA evidence tying Robinson to the suspected murder weapon, autopsy findings, and witness statements. They are also expected to argue that the shooting endangered others at the campus event — an aggravating factor that could make the crime eligible for the death penalty under Utah law.

After the hearing concludes, Judge Graf will decide whether the case should move forward to trial, a step legal experts say is very likely.

When Abraham Lincoln won the presidency in 1860, the United States was teetering on the brink of collapse.

The Civil War that followed over the next four years took more than 700,000 lives and put the very survival of the American Republic to the test. Yet as that devastating conflict neared its end, Lincoln’s focus shifted — not just to winning, but to healing.

In his second inaugural address, Lincoln issued a challenge to the country: “Let us strive on to bind up the nation’s wounds to achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace.”

Lincoln recognized that protecting what he saw as history’s greatest experiment in self-government demanded something beyond military triumph. It called for the strength of character needed to rebuild what the war had torn apart.

Now, more than 160 years later, the latest Foundations of Freedom commentary — produced weekly by Salem Media — draws a direct line from that moment in history to the divisions Americans face today.

The commentary poses a pointed question: while disagreement among Americans is inevitable, do we still possess the wisdom and moral character necessary to heal as one nation?

The state of Utah has pulled the operating license from a boarding school where media personality and hotel heiress Paris Hilton says she suffered abuse as a teenager, with officials determining the facility “failed to provide applicable health and safety services for clients.”

The license revocation took effect Monday and targets the Provo Canyon School campus located in Springville. Under the action, the school has a 15-day window to request a formal hearing before the Department of Health & Human Services.

A broad list of violations dating back to 2025 prompted the state’s decision. Among the cited issues: insufficient staff-to-client ratios, unnecessary physical restraint and aggressive contact with a student, neglect of care, and failure to verify employee credentials or submit background checks on time. State health officials had already stepped in with temporary restrictions back in May after staff failed to get immediate medical attention for a student who had sustained serious injuries.

Hilton, 45, issued a statement Tuesday responding to the news. “For more than fifty years, children came forward with stories of abuse, neglect, and trauma,” she said. “Today, the state confirmed what survivors have known all along: Provo Canyon School failed the children in its care.”

She continued: “I was one of those children. I know what it feels like to cry for help and believe no one is coming. Today, children still inside that facility know someone is finally coming to protect them.”

Hilton spent nearly a year at the school during the late 1990s. She has alleged that staff members physically beat her, watched her shower, gave her unidentified pills, and confined her alone in a room without clothing.

Hilton had been publicly calling on Utah officials to shut the school down. She has taken her story to Capitol Hill and state legislatures across the country, and her advocacy has contributed to the passage of laws protecting teenagers in Utah and 15 other states. Utah has historically been a major hub of the so-called troubled teen industry — a network of private, for-profit residential facilities serving youth with behavioral challenges.

As of Tuesday, Provo Canyon School had not responded to a request for comment. The state’s letter indicated that all operations at the campus must cease by August 6.

This past June, Hilton visited the school to show support for two families who have filed lawsuits claiming their children were mistreated there.

The school is currently under different ownership than when Hilton attended, and the current administration has stated it is unable to address anything that occurred prior to the ownership change, including the period when Hilton was a student.

One of the most significant chapters in American history began with something almost impossibly small — a single flake of gold.

The discovery set off the California Gold Rush, a phenomenon that drew hundreds of thousands of people to the West Coast and fundamentally altered the direction of the United States.

A preliminary hearing is now underway for the individual accused of killing conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.

Prosecutors are presenting their case before the court, seeking to establish that there is enough evidence to move forward with charges serious enough to potentially result in the death penalty.

Ford is recalling a combined total of 110,626 Mustang vehicles across the United States due to two distinct safety concerns, according to an announcement Tuesday from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The first recall covers 67,842 Mustang and Mustang GTD vehicles. According to NHTSA, these cars may experience windshield wiper problems in cold weather conditions — specifically, the wipers could become stuck operating only at their highest speed setting, and the vehicle’s windshield washing system may stop working altogether.

The second recall involves 42,784 Mustang Mach-E vehicles. NHTSA says the rear differential pinion shaft in these electric vehicles may crack and break, which could cause the car to lose its driving power. There is also a risk of unintended movement if the vehicle is parked without the parking brake engaged.

In both cases, Ford dealerships will fix or replace the faulty components at no expense to vehicle owners, NHTSA confirmed.

PROVO, Utah — A Utah judge is hearing more evidence Tuesday in the preliminary hearing against the man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk, with prosecutors set to introduce additional law enforcement video and a recorded statement from the defendant’s roommate.

The weeklong proceeding, now in its second day, has not produced dramatic new revelations but represents the most substantial presentation of evidence yet against defendant Tyler Robinson, 23. Robinson faces an aggravated murder charge in connection with the killing of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump.

A former Utah Valley University officer, Christopher Bagley, testified Monday that he was present and witnessed the shooting while Kirk was addressing a crowd of thousands on campus on September 10. After the shooting, Bagley said he went to a nearby gravel rooftop where it appeared someone had been lying flat with a direct line of sight to where Kirk had been standing.

“It looks like a sniper pad,” Bagley told the court.

Robinson has not yet entered a formal plea, and his legal team has not addressed his guilt or innocence publicly. His attorneys have, however, attempted without success to remove the death penalty as a possible punishment.

Based on an exhibit list prosecutors filed earlier this year, Tuesday’s session is expected to include video from the Washington County sheriff’s office recorded on September 11 — the day Robinson turned himself in — along with the roommate’s recorded testimony.

According to prosecutors, Robinson left a note for his roommate, who was also his romantic partner, that stated: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.” Prosecutors have also said Robinson texted his roommate that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”

Prosecutors have indicated they also intend to present DNA evidence tying Robinson to the suspected murder weapon, autopsy results, witness accounts, and video footage of the killing itself. They are further expected to argue that the shooting put others at the campus event at risk — an aggravating factor that could make the offense eligible for the death penalty under Utah law.

Monday was the first time Kirk’s parents, Kathryn and Robert, and his widow, Erika, had been in the courtroom since proceedings began. Robinson’s parents were also present, seated a few rows behind the Kirk family. Robinson sat quietly between his attorneys, watching evidence on a monitor and occasionally writing notes. His wrists were secured with shackles connected to a chain around his waist.

Prosecutors played several graphic videos of the shooting, including footage of the moment Kirk was shot and of security personnel providing first aid, as they presented their case to state District Judge Tony Graf. Kirk’s family briefly stepped out of the courtroom on two occasions — when the officer began testifying about Kirk’s arrival on campus, and again when the shooting videos were introduced. Both times, they returned.

While the proceeding resembles a trial, prosecutors only need to demonstrate reasonable grounds to believe Robinson killed Kirk and that the case should proceed to trial. That standard is considerably lower than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” threshold required at an actual trial.

Mark Kouris, a former prosecutor and state judge in Salt Lake City, said prosecutors should have little difficulty clearing that bar. “This standard is extremely low and the chances of them not getting through it are, quite frankly, almost nothing,” said Kouris, who now serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Utah’s S.J. Quinney College of Law.

Defense attorney Kathryn Nester raised repeated objections to evidence presented by prosecutors, though the judge overruled most of them. During her cross-examination of Bagley, she questioned him about an empty pistol holster found on the ground after the crowd dispersed. Bagley acknowledged he never took possession of the holster and was unsure whether it had been fingerprinted. Utah allows residents to openly carry or conceal firearms without a permit.

Judge Graf sided with the defense on one matter, blocking prosecutors from introducing a compilation of surveillance videos from Utah Valley University because some had been digitally altered — zoomed in or marked with circles around certain individuals. Prosecutors indicated they would attempt again Tuesday to introduce the footage with those alterations removed.

Before his death, Kirk and the organization he co-founded, Turning Point USA, played a significant role in energizing conservative young voters during the election that gave Trump a second term. The Republican president has publicly stated he hopes Robinson receives the death penalty.

Erika Kirk said at her husband’s memorial service that she forgives Robinson. Before Monday’s hearing, she released a statement thanking supporters for their kindness and prayers. “Every court proceeding serves as a painful reminder of his death,” she wrote, “and the loss that has irrevocably impacted our lives and the lives of his children.”

Four U.S. states are seeking a staggering $1.4 trillion in penalties from Meta Platforms, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, over claims that it deliberately engineered its platforms to be addictive to young users and deceived the public about the risks involved.

Meta disclosed the penalty figure in a court filing submitted Monday, responding to documents filed by state attorneys general outlining how damages should be calculated if the states win at trial. The amount is nearly equal to Meta’s current market capitalization of roughly $1.5 trillion — and had not been previously made public.

The case is heading toward an August trial in Oakland, California, brought by the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Kentucky, and New Jersey.

Meta pushed back sharply on the penalty demand, calling it completely unsupported by the evidence in the case.

“A sanction of that size has no analog in the history of consumer protection enforcement,” the company stated in the filing.

Representatives for the attorneys general did not respond to requests for comment following the filing.

While the states’ penalty filings remain sealed from public view, attorneys for the states explained at a June court hearing how they arrived at the figure. They said they multiplied the number of legal violations by fine amounts established under state law, with the violation count based on estimates of how many teens and young users were affected by Meta’s conduct.

In total, 29 states have filed federal lawsuits against Meta, with most alleging the company violated the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by gathering data from children without obtaining proper consent from parents. The August trial before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers will cover all claims under that federal law, as well as the four states’ additional allegations that Meta broke state consumer protection laws by misleading users about platform safety.

Meta has denied all of the allegations. The company argues that the attorneys general have no evidence it misled anyone about its platforms’ supposed addictiveness, pointing out that “social media addiction” is not a recognized psychiatric diagnosis — and therefore, any statements it made denying addictiveness could not be considered false.

An additional 14 states have filed claims under their own state laws, and those cases are scheduled for a separate trial in February.

Last month, Judge Rogers turned down Meta’s attempt to have the trial thrown out, ruling that genuine factual disputes remain — including whether Meta’s platforms are addictive, whether the company falsely denied designing them that way, and whether it “partially” targeted children with its platforms.

Following that ruling, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Meta was prioritizing profits over children’s well-being and violating consumer protection laws. He pledged to hold the company “fully accountable” for its part in the teen mental health crisis.

Meta is not alone in facing this type of legal pressure. Snapchat and its parent company Snap Inc., YouTube and parent Alphabet Inc., and TikTok and parent ByteDance are all confronting thousands of lawsuits in federal and state courts. The suits allege these companies knowingly built features into their platforms designed to addict children and teenagers, contributing to a growing mental health crisis among young people.

States across the country have pursued these companies in court, with some cases consolidated before Judge Rogers and others proceeding in individual state courts. New Mexico was the first state to take one of these cases to trial, and in March a jury awarded the state $375 million after determining that the company had misled New Mexico consumers. A judge in New Mexico is now weighing the second phase of that case, which seeks additional damages and a court order requiring changes to the company’s Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp platforms.

George E. Johnson, the Chicago entrepreneur who built a landmark company that reshaped Black hair care in America through brands like Afro Sheen, Ultra Wave, and Classy Curl, has died at the age of 99, according to news media reports.

Johnson passed away Monday at his downtown Chicago condominium from natural causes, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, citing his son, John Edward Johnson. The New York Times, citing his second wife, Madeline Murphy Rabb, reported that he died of a respiratory illness.

Born in a sharecropper’s shack in Mississippi, Johnson moved to Chicago with his mother when he was just 2 years old. He would go on to establish one of the most influential Black-owned businesses in American history.

Johnson Products Company was established in 1954 at a time when mainstream U.S. companies largely ignored African American consumers. The business, which Johnson co-founded alongside his first wife, Joan Johnson — who passed away in 2019 — captured close to 80% of the Black hair care market by 1960. In 1971, the company became the first Black-owned firm to be listed on the American Stock Exchange, now called NYSE American.

Leveraging the energy of the Black Pride and Black Power movements in its marketing, the company became the sole sponsor of the television music program “Soul Train,” helping the Chicago-based weekly show expand from a local broadcast into a nationally syndicated phenomenon.

Johnson’s path to entrepreneurship was anything but easy. After dropping out of high school, he worked as a door-to-door cosmetics salesman before deciding to strike out on his own. His initial application for a business loan was turned down by the first bank he approached, according to the Chicago Sun-Times and BlackPast.org, an online encyclopedia focused on African American history.

Undeterred, Johnson secured a $250 loan from another bank by telling the loan officer the money was for a family vacation rather than a business venture. In his 2025 memoir, also titled “Afro Sheen,” Johnson reflected on his reasoning: “I knew this request (for a vacation loan) wouldn’t rattle [the loan officer’s] belief that he was superior to me. Nor would it challenge his stereotypes of Black men as subservient or unintelligent.”

The company’s early flagship products, including Ultra Wave for men and Ultra Sheen for women, were hair-relaxing items designed for home use that helped consumers achieve the straight and wavy styles fashionable in the 1950s and early 1960s. As the Black Power movement grew and more African Americans embraced natural hair textures, Johnson Products adapted by introducing the Afro Sheen Blow Out kit in the late 1960s, according to BlackPast.org. The company’s Classy Curl product later helped popularize the “Jheri curl” perm style, originally developed by white hairdresser-chemist Jheri Redding.

Eventually, the company faced mounting pressure from major hair care and cosmetics corporations like Revlon, which moved aggressively into the African American market. After Johnson and his first wife divorced, the business changed ownership multiple times before a majority African American investment firm purchased it from Procter & Gamble in 2009.

A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit filed against pop superstar Taylor Swift, which accused her of lifting phrases from a Florida woman’s poetry and using them in more than a dozen of her songs.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that plaintiff Kimberly Marasco failed to demonstrate that her poems qualified as protectable expression, that Swift had ever been exposed to the poems, or that an average person would find the songs and poems to be substantially similar.

Marasco, who represented herself in the case, was reached by email after the ruling and said she disagrees with the judge’s decision and intends to file an appeal.

Representatives for Swift and the other defendants — which include Republic Records and Universal Music Group — did not provide comment when contacted.

Swift, 36, was alleged to have drawn from Marasco’s poetry books when writing songs such as “Down Bad” and “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart,” both featured on Swift’s 2024 album “The Tortured Poets Department.”

Judge Cannon determined that any overlap between the two works involved only what she described as “unprotectable ideas, themes, metaphors, and isolated words.” She offered several examples of such common concepts, including facing adversity, being “gaslighted,” and the feeling of being “submerged” underwater.

This was not the first time the lawsuit was dismissed. Cannon had already thrown out an earlier version of Marasco’s complaint last September.

Regarding the new claims Marasco added, the judge wrote that “the works are not even substantially similar — a point plaintiff effectively concedes by characterizing the alleged copying as ‘paraphrase[s],’ ‘rephrase[s],’ and copying with ‘minor word substitutions.’”

Monday’s dismissal was issued with prejudice, which means Marasco is legally barred from filing an amended version of the complaint. Judge Cannon’s chambers are based in Fort Pierce, Florida.

In other Swift news, the singer married Travis Kelce, also 36, the star tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan on July 3.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The grandfather of a young man fatally shot by Tennessee National Guard members in Memphis is demanding to see video evidence and says he won’t stop fighting for answers until he does.

Evaniel Johnson is waiting to find out whether footage backs up the law enforcement account that his 20-year-old grandson, Tyrin Johnson, turned toward guard members while holding a gun as he ran from them early Sunday morning. Memphis police say the guard members had responded to a report of gunfire in the area.

The National Guard members were part of a crime-fighting patrol in Memphis that was established last year by President Donald Trump, who has deployed troops and federal agents to Democratic-led cities he has characterized as being overrun by crime.

“Show me the video,” Evaniel Johnson told The Associated Press. “Please show me that — and then I’m OK. Until you show me that, I’m gonna fight and advocate for my grandson until there’s no breath in me.”

Johnson, who previously worked as a correctional officer with the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office in Nashville, does not believe his grandson would have attempted to shoot at guard members, and questions why deadly force would be necessary against someone who was running away. He described his grandson as “no hoodlum.”

According to the grandfather, Tyrin Johnson had been carrying a firearm for his own protection after being attacked — or “jumped” — recently in Nashville. He was reportedly on edge about a vague dispute that had been playing out on social media and feared being targeted again.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has confirmed it is reviewing the shooting and that two guard members discharged their weapons. The Johnson family says TBI officials told them Tyrin was struck twice in the chest. The Memphis Police Department declined to say what video footage existed or when it might be made public.

The National Guard did not immediately respond to questions about whether the two members involved in the shooting had been placed on administrative leave.

Tennessee Senate Democratic Leader Raumesh Akbari and Chairwoman London Lamar, both representing Memphis, released a joint statement offering their condolences to the family and stressing the importance of a transparent investigation. The two lawmakers called on the TBI to release any available video as soon as doing so would not compromise the investigation.

“Transparency serves everyone — the Johnson family, the members of the National Guard involved, and a community that deserves confidence in the outcome, whatever the facts ultimately show,” they wrote.

State Rep. Justin Pearson, a Democrat seeking a U.S. House seat, also called for a thorough and open investigation and went further, demanding that the federal task force be dissolved.

“Memphis does not need armed soldiers in our streets terrifying our people,” Pearson said in a statement.

The deployment of Tennessee National Guard troops to Memphis under President Trump’s directive drew a divided reaction from residents and even prompted a lawsuit, though it did not spark large-scale protests. Data from the TBI indicates that at least three people have died as a result of four separate shootings involving officers connected to the federal task force.

Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee welcomed the federal intervention, while Democratic Memphis Mayor Paul Young took a more measured stance — acknowledging he never requested the National Guard’s presence but recognizing the deployment would proceed regardless of his position.

A review of online federal, state, and local court records from Memphis, Nashville, and elsewhere shows Tyrin Johnson had no significant criminal history beyond a few traffic violations. In May, he was arrested for failing to appear at a 2025 hearing related to a driving-without-a-license charge in Wilson County, just outside Nashville. Court records show he was released on bond.

He had been enrolled at Tennessee State University from August 2023 through May 2024, according to university spokesperson Angel Higgins.

Evaniel Johnson said he had hoped his grandson would go back to school and was in the process of grooming him to take on a larger role in the family’s real estate development business. He had even lined up a Nashville project for Tyrin to manage in the coming weeks.

On the Fourth of July, the Johnson family had gathered at Evaniel’s Nashville home to play cards on the back porch. He wishes now that his grandson had stayed.

“He was down there like all the rest of the people trying to enjoy the Fourth of July,” Johnson said. “His future was buying homes, living life, taking care of his little baby. He had a future. It’s gone now.”

PHOENIX (AP) — Newly released police records reveal a shocking series of events that unfolded in February when an 18-month-old boy was pulled from a backyard pool in a Phoenix suburb, pronounced dead at a hospital, and then discovered breathing hours later in the facility’s cold room.

According to the documents, two Gilbert police officers observed what appeared to be signs of life on multiple occasions, yet the child was still transferred to the hospital’s cold room following treatment by medical staff.

At one point during the incident, Dr. Aryan Toosi reportedly told an officer, “Please do your thing and let me do my thing. I went to medical school for a reason,” according to the police report.

Emergency responders were called to the home around 5:30 p.m. on February 8 after a drowning was reported. They performed life-saving efforts on the toddler before transporting him to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead roughly an hour after arrival.

Approximately five hours after that declaration, police received word that the child was actually breathing. He was then airlifted to a different hospital and ultimately survived, later being discharged.

Gilbert police are now recommending that negligence charges be filed against the boy’s parents. Investigators noted a strong smell of marijuana inside the home and found open doors that may have allowed the child to reach the pool without supervision. The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office confirmed it is reviewing the case but declined to comment further on Monday.

In 911 calls from that evening, two relatives desperately reported that the child had been pulled from the pool, with screaming audible in the background. One caller said the toddler was unconscious.

When an Associated Press photographer visited the home where the near-drowning took place on Monday, no one answered the door.

Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, where the toddler was initially treated, released a statement saying the hospital completed “a thorough review of all aspects of the care provided to learn what happened and to make meaningful changes to strengthen our care.” The hospital described the incident as “a heartbreaking situation” and did not provide additional details.

It was a team from the local medical examiner’s office that discovered the boy breathing when they arrived at the cold room, at which point he was quickly rushed to another hospital, police said.

Scott Holden, an attorney representing Dr. Toosi, told the AP that he would not issue a full statement on the doctor’s behalf, but wanted “to assure you that there is much more to this case, both factually and medically, than has been reported thus far.”

A GoFundMe campaign launched in February to assist the family with medical costs noted that the toddler would require extensive therapy going forward. “Thank you for your prayers, your kindness, and your support for baby Vincent — our miracle fighter,” the page reads.

KNXV-TV, an ABC affiliate based in Phoenix, was the first outlet to break the story.

This is not the first time someone has been found alive after being declared dead. In 2020, Timesha Beauchamp, a 20-year-old woman with cerebral palsy from Southfield, Michigan, was pronounced dead by a doctor over the phone after paramedics responded to a 911 call at her family’s home. A funeral home later opened the body bag and found her gasping for air. She was rushed to a hospital but never recovered and passed away two months later. The city of Southfield eventually settled a negligence lawsuit brought by her family for $3.25 million.

The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily allowed Texas to enforce a new law that limits children’s ability to download apps without parental approval, even as legal challenges to the measure continue in lower courts.

Under Texas’ App Store Accountability Act, minors must obtain permission from a parent or guardian before they can download the majority of apps onto their mobile devices.

The high court’s decision means the law can be put into practice while lawsuits challenging it are still being heard and decided at the lower court level.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed Texas to move forward with enforcing a state law that requires app stores to confirm users’ ages and secure parental consent before children can download apps or make in-app purchases on smartphones and other mobile devices.

Justice Samuel Alito issued two one-sentence orders rejecting emergency requests from groups challenging the Texas App Store Accountability Act. Those groups argue the law violates constitutional free speech protections.

The decision follows a ruling last month by a three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which said the law could take effect. That panel had put on hold a lower court’s December ruling that had found the law unconstitutional.

Among those suing to stop the law are the Computer & Communications Industry Association and Students Engaged in Advancing Texas. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is named as a defendant in both lawsuits.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs contend the law improperly restricts access to content that is protected under the First Amendment, including news articles and educational material.

Attorneys for Students Engaged in Advancing Texas wrote: “Equity and the public interest support relief because protecting First Amendment rights — and parents’ rights to supervise their children as they see fit, not as the government tells them they should — is always in the public interest.”

On the other side, attorneys from Attorney General Paxton’s office defended the law as a way to shield children from what they called “dangerous modern products.”

“A child with access to an app store and a mobile device (such as a tablet or smartphone) can potentially download any number of software applications, potentially agreeing to invasions of the child’s privacy and sale of the child’s data and be exposed to any conceivable content without parental consent or even parental knowledge,” those attorneys wrote.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to put a stop to a Texas law that forces app stores and developers to verify the ages of mobile device users, requiring parental approval before anyone under 18 can download apps or make in-app purchases.

The justices turned down requests from those challenging the law to reverse a lower court ruling that had allowed the measure to go into effect while the legal fight over its constitutionality plays out. The challengers argued the law runs afoul of the First Amendment’s free speech protections.

The lawsuit was brought by the Computer & Communications Industry Association — a group whose membership includes major app store operators such as Apple and Google — along with a student coalition called Students Engaged in Advancing Texas and two individual students. They went to court seeking to prevent the Texas law from being enforced.

This case marks yet another free speech showdown at the nation’s highest court involving Texas efforts to shield children from online content. Last year, the Supreme Court upheld a separate Texas law requiring age verification on adult websites. That decision came down 6-3, with the court’s six conservative justices forming the majority and the three liberal justices dissenting.

Texas enacted its App Store Accountability Act in 2025. Under the law, accounts for users younger than 18 must be connected to a parent or guardian’s account. Before a minor can download any app, the parent or guardian must be notified of the app’s age rating and must give their approval. Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed the measure into law.

The legislation is part of a growing movement among U.S. states and other nations to place limits on children’s smartphone use and reduce the potential harms of social media. Australia made history in 2025 by becoming the first country to outright ban social media access for children under the age of 16.

U.S. Judge Robert Pitman in Austin, Texas had previously blocked the law last December, concluding it likely violates the First Amendment. In his ruling, Pitman compared the law’s requirements to an extreme bookstore policy.

“The act is akin to a law that would require every bookstore to verify the age of every customer at the door and, for minors, require parental consent before the child or teen could enter and again when they try to purchase a book,” Pitman wrote.

However, on June 4, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals placed Pitman’s ruling on hold, allowing the law to take effect. The appeals court stated that “Texas has a substantial, if not compelling, interest in protecting children, and parents need to have the necessary information to make informed choices affecting their children’s upbringing.”

In urging the Supreme Court to step in and block the 5th Circuit’s decision, the Computer & Communications Industry Association argued the Texas law unlawfully requires app stores to act as gatekeepers over a massive amount of online speech.

“No state has ever required its citizens to prove their age before reading a newspaper, entering a bookstore, or even accessing the internet,” the group stated in its court filing, adding that the Texas law “does exactly that — for every mobile app on every mobile phone.”

DETROIT (AP) — Long before it was ever called the United States, this nation was built not on centuries of shared tradition, but on something harder to pin down: a collection of stories it repeated to itself again and again — a mix of truths, myths, and outright fabrications — until it willed itself into being.

“A city upon a hill.” “All men are created equal.” “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Tales of presidents splitting logs and owning up to chopping down cherry trees. A founding father flying a kite in a thunderstorm. And towering above them all, the “American Dream” — a story that traveled across states and entire oceans.

The United States grew into the nation that built the most powerful storytelling machines the world had ever seen — the American frontier, Hollywood, and Madison Avenue. It also sat at the heart of the internet and social media revolution — technologies that muddled and scrambled information even as they gave a voice to groups that had long been silenced, allowing them to offer their own perspectives on the American experience.

This past Saturday marked 250 years of what many call the Great Experiment. And even in this era of deep division, the American story still carries enormous weight. It shapes hearts and minds in a country where the national narrative — and the question of who controls it — has always been a source of power. And as is evident today, it is those who win who get to write and control the history.

Frontier historian Richard Slotkin once put it plainly. “There’s nothing organic about the United States. It’s an invented country,” he told The Associated Press. “And if we stop telling the American story, we’re just a bunch of folks. … You have to keep adding new chapters to the story and making the story make sense.”

In politics and entertainment, in classrooms and at tourist destinations, Americans do exactly that — at a relentless pace, and sometimes, perhaps, to a degree that isn’t healthy.

The country today holds countless versions of its own story, each reflecting what America has been, is, and might one day become. But in the 2020s, telling that story is a crowded and contentious endeavor, riddled with misinformation and deliberate falsehoods. The battle plays out in schools, political arenas, newsrooms, entertainment, and history books alike.

Is your anthem “This Land Is Your Land,” “God Bless America,” or “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue”? Do you side with Sean Penn or James Woods? Tucker Carlson or Jimmy Kimmel? Do you wear a bald eagle on your shirt or a pride flag? Do you drive a pickup truck or an electric vehicle? These choices signal what kind of American you see yourself as.

Do you grab flag-themed souvenirs at Walmart, or do you express your love of country differently? Do you belt out the National Anthem at sporting events? Do you share memes celebrating America’s greatness — or lamenting its failures? Do you watch old World War II films with a sense of reverence? Every one of those choices is a small act of storytelling, a contribution to the ongoing national narrative.

Consider singer-songwriter Jesse Welles — progressive and openly patriotic, carrying on the tradition of Woody Guthrie and Bruce Springsteen — who uses flag imagery and pointed lyrics at his concerts to assert that he and those who share his beliefs will not be written out of the American story. “Good morning, America. Good evening, America. I love ya,” he likes to sing.

Or consider Donald Trump, a master of brand-driven storytelling, who is actively reshaping the story America tells about itself. Regardless of how one feels about him, it’s difficult to argue that the American narrative — both at home and abroad — doesn’t bear his unmistakable mark. He is well aware of his influence over the tale.

“The left has warped, distorted, and defiled the American story with deceptions, falsehoods, and lies,” Trump said shortly before losing the 2020 election.

Yet the president’s version of the story frequently centers less on the nation itself and more on Donald Trump personally.

Through a torrent of superlatives and self-promotion, he has placed his own story front and center — both in a figurative and a literal sense. He has expressed interest in being added to Mount Rushmore. His face may appear on currency during his own lifetime. It will appear on this year’s anniversary edition of the U.S. passport. His image is displayed throughout Washington, D.C., alongside other visible marks of his presence — from a triumph arch to the disputed redesign of the reflecting pool to the equally controversial $400 million ballroom being added to the White House. Whatever else these projects represent, they are attempts to claim pieces of the American story as his own.

It is a pattern that has defined much of his life — presenting himself as the living symbol of American success. Even this month’s anniversary celebration became a contest over which story to tell, with Trump’s influence clearly in play.

There was America250, a bipartisan effort created by Congress. And there was Freedom 250, a version backed by the Trump administration that hewed much more closely to the MAGA interpretation of American history. The two events effectively represent a tug-of-war over which version of America gets the spotlight — a tension made more visible when several musical acts pulled out of Freedom 250 concerts, saying the events had become too politically charged.

The story shifted.

The American flag sits at the heart of the national narrative — a piece of cloth that contains contradictions and complexities (“gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there”). It always has, going back to the legend of Betsy Ross.

Its display — in ballparks, at solemn military ceremonies, in the aisles of big-box stores — invites people to think about their country and its purpose. Its deliberate destruction, protected under the principle of free speech and itself a significant chapter in the American story, is used by some as a form of passionate protest, and condemned by others as shameful and even treasonous.

That tension is no surprise, given that the flag is a physical representation of the American story — something Jesse Welles makes plain at his performances.

“It’s an extraordinarily potent symbol for anybody — left, right or center,” said Ken Burns, the celebrated documentary filmmaker. “It’s interesting when we have this assault on traditional democratic institutions that the people who are out in the streets protesting have sort of reclaimed — and they never should have relinquished — the American flag.”

But how the flag is used — and by whom — varies considerably. Republicans and older white Americans are more likely to fly it, wear it as clothing, or, as in the case of Pete Hegseth, use it as a pocket square. Democrats and Black Americans are less likely to do so. That was the finding of an AP-NORC poll conducted last month.

John Baick, a historian at Western New England University, has noticed less flag imagery during Trump’s second term than during his first, suggesting that the intense focus on Trump himself may have crowded it out. Baick argues that the use of storytelling in today’s political environment shapes the broader sense of what the United States is — and he sees that sense fragmenting, as reflected in how the flag is being used.

“I think it’s just become a muddled mess,” Baick said. “I think it’s just going to be almost the breakdown of a national system and states will figure it out, cities will figure it out, individuals will figure it out. They’ll put out their flags, but … they’ll tell their own stories.”

The national story is far from finished. Fox News business journalist Maria Bartiromo, when recently recounting her family’s history, referred to the United States as “this young nation” — a reminder of just how new this country really is. Nations like China and Russia have thousands of years of stories to draw upon. The United States has fewer than 400, even counting back to its earliest origins.

And so the American story presses on. Where it goes next — and whose voice will carry the farthest — remains to be seen.

An Afghan man who spent a decade fighting alongside U.S. Special Forces died from a severe allergic reaction while being held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement — just one day after agents arrested him for deportation proceedings, according to his death certificate.

Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, 41, experienced what the document describes as “an adverse drug reaction” to an unknown substance, which set off anaphylaxis and worsened his existing asthma condition. His death on March 14 at a Dallas hospital was officially classified as an accident.

The circumstances surrounding Paktiawal’s death have sparked widespread anger, given that he had put his life on the line as a U.S. ally in Afghanistan for ten years. Advocacy organization AfghanEvac and several members of Congress have been pushing for a full accounting of what took place.

Among more than 50 deaths that have occurred in ICE detention during President Donald Trump’s second term, Paktiawal’s is the only one so far to be ruled an accident, based on tracking by The Associated Press. The majority of the other deaths have been attributed to natural causes or suicide.

On Monday, AfghanEvac called on Texas officials to make public the complete autopsy report. Authorities have been fighting to keep it sealed, arguing that releasing it could compromise an active criminal investigation into the death.

“This family has a right to know what happened. Why won’t they release the report?” said Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac. He pressed authorities to explain what triggered the allergic reaction, how that substance entered Paktiawal’s body, and why the death certificate lists the date of injury as the day before he was actually taken into custody.

Paktiawal was among the thousands of Afghans evacuated to the United States when American forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021. He came through a legal immigration process and applied for asylum. That application was still pending when ICE agents showed up at his home in Richardson, Texas, on March 13 and arrested him as he was in the process of taking some of his six children to school.

ICE has defended its decision to pursue deportation against Paktiawal, pointing to prior arrests on food stamp fraud and theft charges. He had not been convicted in either case.

According to a one-page ICE summary of the incident, Paktiawal was screened at the agency’s Dallas field office and told staff he had no known medical conditions or allergies. A few hours later, he began having trouble breathing and complained of chest pain while in a holding room, and was transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital.

The following morning, hospital workers noticed his tongue had swollen while he was eating breakfast and administered epinephrine, a medication used to treat severe allergic reactions. Despite life-saving efforts, he was pronounced dead roughly 40 minutes later.

The death certificate lists the official cause of death as “anaphylaxis complicating acute asthma exacerbation.” Anaphylaxis is an extreme allergic response that can be triggered by food, medication, or insect venom. The document also notes that methamphetamine toxicity, heart disease, and cigarette smoking were contributing factors.

People who knew Paktiawal — including family members and coworkers — said they had never seen him use methamphetamine. A second autopsy conducted privately on behalf of the family was unable to confirm whether meth was present in his system because no blood was available for testing, according to VanDiver. Paktiawal’s wife has stated that he used an inhaler to manage his asthma, but ICE agents turned her away when she tried to hand over the device at the time of his arrest.

The Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office conducted the official autopsy and established both the cause and manner of death.

County officials have declined to release the full autopsy report, citing guidance from ICE that doing so could hinder a federal investigation. They have asked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office for authorization to withhold the record under a “law enforcement exception” in the state’s open records law.

In a written response to an AP request for the report, Dallas County official Jennifer Rose stated that releasing it “would interfere with the detection, investigation, and prosecution of a crime,” without providing further detail. The medical examiner’s office declined to comment on the matter.

Paxton’s office has not yet issued a ruling, but it previously approved a comparable request from another Texas county to block release of an autopsy report for a Vietnamese man who died in ICE custody in July 2025, according to documents the AP obtained.

A man from upstate New York has taken ICE to court, claiming the federal immigration agency trampled on his free speech rights after it dispatched officers to his home in response to a strongly worded email he had sent to the agency’s former leader.

David Streever, a U.S. citizen from Rochester, was traveling abroad in Finland when two federal officers arrived at his home in June and handed his wife a warning notice. The notice stated that an email Streever had written several months earlier was being treated as a threat, according to his legal team. Streever had composed the email in January, addressing it to Todd Lyons, who was at the time serving as ICE’s acting director. The email was written following the fatal shooting of Minneapolis resident Renee Good by an immigration officer during a demonstration against ICE.

In the message, Streever referred to Lyons as “a monstrous human being” who “will never know peace.” On Monday, Streever filed a lawsuit in Washington D.C. arguing that ICE’s response to that email was a violation of his First Amendment protections.

The full three-paragraph email, with the subject line “What’s next,” also drew a comparison to a Nazi Germany leader: “You are a monstrous human being and will go down in history as America’s Reinhard Heydrich, the butcher.

“The way you are protecting the obvious execution in Minnesota, even as we see the videos, will lead to your downfall. Even Trump will turn on you before the end, and you will be a sad, despised man who eats himself alive with shame at your own pathetic weakness.

“You will never know peace. You will seek to lose yourself, to escape the burden of knowing the truth about yourself. But wherever you go, you will find yourself. You will torment yourself until your last day on Earth.”

Streever is among at least two upstate New York residents who received federal warning visits in June following online criticism of ICE. The Philadelphia-based Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression is handling Streever’s legal representation and says the lawsuit was filed because his right to free expression was infringed upon.

“This is very clearly within the protection of the First Amendment,” said Adam Steinbaugh, an attorney with the foundation. “It was in the context of political speech.”

When Streever returned from Finland and was staying at a hotel in New York City, federal agents also attempted to confront him there, but hotel staff turned them away, according to Steinbaugh.

The lawsuit also names Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin as a defendant. Neither ICE nor Mullin’s office offered an immediate response to the filing on Monday. ICE had previously declined to comment on the warning issued to Streever, saying an investigation was ongoing.

In a statement released last week, ICE said: “ICE investigates all credible threats towards its employees and officers, including threats to the ICE Director.”

Federal officials paid a visit to Streever’s home during the same week they approached Paigelynne Gonyea, a poll worker, at a voting location during New York’s primary elections — confronting her about a social media post she had made.

Gonyea believes the federal visit was connected to a post she made in January in which she wrote “I think today is a great day for Jonathan to be indicted,” alongside a photo of Jonathan Ross, the ICE officer who fatally shot Renee Good. Ross had already been publicly identified by news outlets at that point.

Lauren Bis, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, presented a different social media post from Gonyea — one in which Bis alleged Gonyea had shared the home address of an ICE officer. Part of that post was blacked out. Bis stated in June that Gonyea “committed a federal crime by posting the address of an ICE law enforcement officer online” and warned that “if you doxx our officers, we will investigate you, and you will be brought to justice.”

A representative from the New York Attorney General’s Office has confirmed the office is aware of both residents’ encounters with federal agents and has said it has been reviewing the interaction between Gonyea and federal officers that occurred at the polling location.

A police officer lost his life Sunday night after responding to a 911 call reporting gunshots at a home in Rittman, Ohio, according to the Wayne County Sheriff. The suspect and two other people also died, and two more officers along with a police dog were injured in the incident.

Wayne County Sheriff Tom Ballinger spoke to reporters about the shooting, which took place in Rittman — a community located roughly 40 miles south of Cleveland. The initial 911 call came in around 9:30 p.m., reporting what Ballinger described as “some type of disturbance and shots fired.”

When officers arrived on scene, the situation turned deadly almost immediately. “Officers responded to the area and immediately started taking fire,” Ballinger said. “At this point, we have lost an officer in the line of duty.”

The conditions of the two injured officers and the police dog were not immediately available. Sheriff Ballinger did not offer additional details regarding the deaths of the suspect and the other two individuals, and he declined to take questions from reporters.

No names of those involved have been released at this time.

President Donald Trump announced Monday that the federal government has deposited an initial $1,000 into more than 500,000 so-called “Trump Accounts,” a new program intended to give newborn Americans an early entry point into the stock market and help build long-term wealth.

To mark the occasion, Trump rang the opening bell from the White House Oval Office alongside top executives from the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq — two rival exchanges whose cooperation, Trump noted, was something neither Democrats nor Republicans had previously managed to achieve.

Among those present for the bell-ringing were Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman, Nasdaq President Nelson Griggs, Intercontinental Exchange CEO Jeffrey Sprecher, and NYSE Group President Lynn Martin.

The program is open to U.S. citizens born between 2025 and 2028. Funds deposited into the accounts are automatically placed into a low-cost index fund geared toward long-term growth. Account holders gain full control of their accounts when they turn 18, at which point they may withdraw the money or continue investing. Any gains will be subject to taxes upon withdrawal.

Backers of the program say it promotes long-term investing habits and financial literacy from an early age. Critics, however, raise concerns that families with tight budgets may struggle to make additional contributions, potentially limiting the full benefit of the accounts. The program operates alongside existing tax-advantaged savings tools such as college savings plans and retirement accounts.

Trump said the initiative gives children who are not born into wealth a meaningful financial foundation, and he cautioned account holders against pulling money out early, particularly given the current strength of the market.

The rising cost of living has emerged as a significant concern for voters ahead of the November midterm elections.

A number of major American companies have announced their support for the program through employer matches or additional seed funding. Participating businesses include payment giant Visa, technology firm Dell, and media and telecommunications company Comcast. Chipmaker Micron has committed $250 million specifically to support the Trump Accounts initiative.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who attended the program’s launch, offered his take on the broader goal: “Trump Accounts are about making every child and every American a capitalist. Every one of our kids is now going to be an owner of the biggest producers in our country.”

A pivotal weeklong preliminary hearing got underway Monday for the man accused of gunning down conservative activist Charlie Kirk, as prosecutors work to convince a judge they have sufficient evidence to take the case to trial.

Tyler Robinson, 23, faces an aggravated murder charge in connection with the September 10 shooting death of Kirk on the campus of Utah Valley University, where Kirk had been speaking to a crowd of thousands. Robinson has not yet entered a plea, and his attorneys have made no public statements about his guilt or innocence.

The hearing marks the most significant public presentation of evidence in the case to date. Once it wraps up, state District Judge Tony Graf will decide whether the case moves forward to trial.

Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, along with his parents Robert and Kathryn, and his sister Mary released a statement ahead of Monday’s proceedings, expressing gratitude to supporters who have reached out with kindness and prayers.

“Every court proceeding serves as a painful reminder of his death,” Erika Kirk wrote in a statement posted on X, “and the loss that has irrevocably impacted our lives and the lives of his children.”

She also noted that the public support “has sustained us during the darkest days of our lives.” The statement concluded: “Out of respect for the judicial process, we will not be commenting further at this time.”

This week marks the first time Kirk’s family will be in the same courtroom as the man accused of taking his life, according to a source familiar with the situation who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

During her husband’s memorial service last September, Erika Kirk made a striking declaration when she announced she had forgiven Robinson.

“My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life,” she said, visibly fighting back tears.

“I forgive him because it was what Christ did. It is what Charlie would do,” she added.

Her words stood in sharp contrast to the reaction from many prominent conservatives, including President Donald Trump, who stated on Fox News in September that he hopes Robinson receives the death penalty.

Following her husband’s death, Erika Kirk assumed leadership of Turning Point USA, the conservative youth organization that her husband co-founded.

The case has not been without controversy. Judge Graf recently found that prosecutors had violated his restrictions on public statements when Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard told a media outlet that his office had more than enough evidence to convict Robinson. Defense attorneys argued the comments were designed to sway potential jurors and pushed for the death penalty option to be removed as punishment. Graf rejected that request, calling it too extreme and noting that Ballard’s remarks were not made with malicious intent. The judge said any concerns about juror bias could be handled by broadening the jury pool or more thoroughly screening prospective jurors.

Paul Cassell, a University of Utah law professor and former federal judge, said the hearing shifts the focus to whether the evidence supports going to trial and whether the death penalty is appropriate. He noted that evidence already made public in court filings points to what he called “an overwhelming case.”

“This seems like the proverbial slam dunk at this stage of the case, where the only issue is whether there is a sound basis for moving forward with a trial on the merits,” Cassell said.

In Utah, the death penalty is only available when aggravating circumstances are present. Prosecutors contend that Kirk’s shooting put others in the crowd at risk, which they argue qualifies as an aggravating factor.

Investigators say DNA consistent with Robinson’s profile was discovered on the rifle’s trigger, a fired cartridge casing, two unfired rounds, and a towel used to wrap the weapon.

Authorities also say that after officials released a surveillance photo of the suspect along with details about the rifle, Robinson’s parents confronted him. They reportedly persuaded him to meet with a family friend — a retired sheriff’s deputy — who helped arrange for Robinson to turn himself in.

Prosecutors allege Robinson left a handwritten note for his roommate, who was also his romantic partner, reading: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.” He also reportedly sent a text message about Kirk saying, “I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”

Defense attorneys tried and failed to prevent prosecutors from using recorded statements from Robinson’s roommate during the hearing. They had argued the roommate should testify in person so Robinson could exercise his right to challenge witness credibility. Judge Graf ruled that opportunity would come at a later stage.

The hearing is expected to resemble a condensed version of a trial, with prosecutors planning to present DNA evidence, investigator testimony, autopsy findings, witness accounts, and video footage of the shooting. Prosecutors are not required to lay out their entire case and may rely on secondhand accounts or hearsay at this stage. The legal standard here is lower than at trial — they need only show reasonable grounds to believe Robinson committed the crime, rather than proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

A Utah district court judge began hearing arguments Monday as prosecutors laid out their case for why a 23-year-old man should stand trial for the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The week-long preliminary hearing is taking place before District Court Judge Tony Graf in state court in Provo. Prosecutors must establish probable cause to believe Tyler Robinson fired the single shot that ended Kirk’s life on September 10, 2025. Kirk, who was 31 years old at the time, was shot while appearing at Utah Valley University in Orem — a city located about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City — for one of his signature campus debate events.

Kirk had built a national profile through those campus appearances and was widely credited with helping energize young conservative voters during the 2024 presidential election. He co-founded Turning Point USA at age 18 in 2012, and the organization grew into a significant force within Republican politics.

If Judge Graf determines probable cause exists, Robinson would enter a plea at an arraignment that could occur the same day, with a trial date to be set at a later time. Robinson faces seven criminal charges in total, with aggravated murder among them. Prosecutors have announced their intention to seek the death penalty.

Robinson, who had been studying to become an electrician, surrendered to police the day after the shooting. According to court filings, his parents recognized him from images of the gunman and confronted him, leading to his surrender.

During the hearing, prosecutors planned to present video footage they say shows Robinson on the Utah Valley University campus both before and after Kirk was shot. Additional evidence expected to be introduced includes DNA from the rifle authorities allege was used in the killing, a recorded statement from Robinson’s roommate, and a handwritten note that reads, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I took it.”

Defense attorneys are expected to point to ballistics testing that came back inconclusive when attempting to match a bullet fragment recovered from Kirk’s body to the alleged murder weapon.

The shooting was captured on cellphone video that spread rapidly across social media, adding to a national conversation about political violence in an increasingly divided country. Kirk’s death came amid a broader pattern of attacks on political figures in recent years.

Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk, who has since taken over leadership of Turning Point USA, is expected to attend the hearing in the Provo courtroom alongside Kirk’s parents, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

The defense had sought to prohibit livestream television coverage and photography from the courtroom, arguing such coverage was contributing to sensational media reporting. That effort was unsuccessful. Erika Kirk had publicly called for cameras to be permitted inside the courtroom in the interest of transparency.

A new federal program is now up and running, giving eligible newborns a financial head start through investment accounts known as Trump Accounts.

The government has officially launched the initiative, which provides tax-advantaged savings accounts seeded with $1,000 for qualifying babies. The program is designed to give children a financial foundation from birth through a government-funded investment vehicle.

The United States is turning 250 years old, and while the milestone has inspired ambitious plans for community service drives and patriotic product launches, the celebrations are unfolding against a backdrop of national division and declining patriotism.

Well-known nonprofits had hoped the semiquincentennial would spark record-breaking volunteerism, and major corporations including Walmart and Coca-Cola have stepped in as sponsors, offering commemorative merchandise and community initiatives. But the private sector’s dreams of a unifying national moment have run into a complicated reality.

A recent survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that fewer Americans today view their country as exceptional compared to a decade ago — part of a broader erosion of patriotic sentiment. Even the American flag, a centerpiece of anniversary celebrations, stirs different feelings depending on a person’s political views, age, and racial background.

Adding to the tension are two separate commissions organizing competing events. America250, the official nonpartisan group established by Congress in 2016, has been running the primary national commemoration. But late last year, President Donald Trump created Freedom 250, a nonprofit led by his allies, to put on alternative programming.

At a June 24 campaign-style rally kicking off Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair — an event that lost nearly all of its scheduled musical performers after concerns it had become too politically charged — Trump declared: “The American dream is alive again. That’s something that nobody thought they’d be saying when you went through that last four years of incompetence.”

The tone of that event stood in sharp contrast to America250’s flagship volunteer initiative, called America Gives, which encourages Americans to serve alongside nonprofit partners and track their hours through an online tool.

Salvation Army USA National Commander Merle Heatwole, whose organization co-sponsors the America Gives program, said some potential participants have wrongly assumed the nonpartisan initiative has a political agenda. He noted that thousands of churches did participate in a “Good Neighbor Day” of volunteering in May, calling that a bright spot.

“Some people have shied away because they’re not sure whether this is a nonpartisan effort, or whether it’s connected to the Trump administration versus the Democratic administrations,” Heatwole said. “That, I think, has hindered it slightly. But I think that overall, people are excited about having an opportunity to get involved.”

The America Gives online tracker recorded just over 38 million volunteer hours heading into the holiday weekend. For context, Americans logged 4.99 billion service hours in a single year between 2022 and 2023, according to an AmeriCorps analysis of Census Bureau data — though it remains unclear exactly how many hours would set a new single-year record.

America250 Chair Rosie Rios said she expects a significant surge in reported hours by year’s end, noting that many partner organizations tend to wait until “the last second” to enter their data. She stressed that the program’s only goal is highlighting the importance of service.

One consultant who has spent 30 years in the nonprofit sector, Jayne Cravens, found that most nonprofits are not taking advantage of semiquincentennial campaigns. She pointed out that many organizations simply lack the infrastructure to deliver meaningful volunteer experiences — a problem made worse after the Trump administration significantly cut AmeriCorps, the federal agency dedicated to national service, in 2025. Nonprofits were left scrambling to replace lost staff and funding.

Audra Watson, who leads youth civic programs at the nonprofit C&S, is heading a three-year effort to boost civic participation among 20 million people between the ages of 14 and 24. She has found that most young people are getting engaged through channels unrelated to the 250th anniversary. While the milestone has generated “some excitement for some young people,” she said those participants tend to be “hand-raisers” who are already “deeply excited about history.”

Watson has found that when young people focus on local issues — where she believes they have the most real influence — partisan divisions tend to fall away.

“For some young people, the 250th is their thing,” she said. “But for many, many more of them this is about really taking that energy and catalyzing that energy around issues of their community.”

Marketing professionals say brands must walk a careful line given the country’s polarized atmosphere and declining national pride. The existence of two competing logos has only added to the confusion, marketing executives noted. The America250 emblem features a bold red, white, and blue ribbon forming the number “250,” while the Freedom 250 design uses a classic serif font inside a circle of 13 stars, a reference to the original American flag.

“Once you have two competing logos, it’s confusing,” said Allen Adamson, co-founder of the marketing consultancy Metaforce.

Walmart, a founding sponsor of America250, is supporting a mobile recording studio traveling the country to collect personal stories from Americans. A selection of those recordings will be preserved by the Library of Congress, the company said.

Coca-Cola launched a program called “Paint the Nation,” a public art project resulting in dozens of murals created in partnership with local artists across the country. The company said each mural is meant to capture local culture and community pride, building what it described as a “visual legacy that extends beyond the anniversary year.” The beverage giant is also releasing commemorative mini-cans representing all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.

Not everyone is feeling the celebratory spirit. Aaron Hilton, 36, of Suffolk, Virginia, said he has noticed plenty of paper plates, cups, and T-shirts bearing the America 250 name, but he has no interest in buying them. He attributes his lack of enthusiasm to the current political climate.

“I’ll end up getting the Coke because I do drink Coke, but otherwise I really don’t want to buy anything like that,” Hilton said. “I’m not feeling really patriotic about this.”

Darrell Brown, 60, of Alexander, Arkansas, feels very differently. He has already purchased commemorative T-shirts and flags, and he decorates his lawn every year with a 7-foot inflatable Uncle Sam. This year, he added even more American flags than usual to mark the occasion. Brown said he has been sticking to merchandise featuring the America250 logo and views the existence of two competing designs as needlessly divisive.

“I don’t believe this should be a political issue,” he said. “I think it should be just about celebrating the country, regardless if you’re a Democrat or Republican.”

Cultural historian M.J. Rymsza-Pawlowska, who wrote a book about the 1976 bicentennial, suggested that future generations may look back on the 250th with more appreciation than people feel right now. She noted that during the bicentennial, the wounds of the Vietnam War and Watergate were still fresh. President Richard Nixon had initially replaced a bipartisan planning commission with political appointees who favored a top-down celebration, but he ultimately scrapped those plans in favor of federal funding for grassroots programs. Those efforts grew into forms of civic engagement — such as environmental cleanups and voter registration drives — that remain common today.

Private donors continue to fund similar efforts, though not at the scale that government support once made possible. State humanities councils have launched a “By the People” campaign to fund community-driven programs examining the nation’s culture and envisioning its future.

“We don’t really know what the ultimate legacy of the 250th will be,” Rymsza-Pawlowska said. “A commemoration is just an opportunity to do a thing that you were already doing but have an occasion for it. And possibly get some money for it.”

PROVO, Utah — A critical legal proceeding got underway Monday in the murder case surrounding the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, as prosecutors in Utah work to persuade a judge that enough evidence exists to bring the accused killer to trial and pursue a death sentence.

The five-day preliminary hearing represents the most substantial presentation of evidence in the case to date. It also marks the first time Kirk’s parents and widow will be present in the same courtroom as the defendant, Tyler Robinson.

Robinson, 23, faces an aggravated murder charge in connection with the September 10 killing of Kirk — a conservative activist and ally of President Donald Trump — at Utah Valley University. He surrendered to authorities the day after the shooting.

According to prosecutors, Robinson left a note for his roommate, who was also his romantic partner, that served as a confession. The note reportedly stated, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it.”

Robinson has not yet entered a plea in the case, and his legal team has made no public statements regarding his guilt or innocence. His attorneys have, however, attempted to remove the death penalty as a possible punishment — efforts that have not succeeded so far.

The hearing is structured similarly to a condensed trial, though prosecutors are held to a lower standard here than at an actual trial. Rather than proving guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt,” they must only show there are reasonable grounds to believe Robinson committed the killing.

After the hearing concludes, state District Judge Tony Graf will decide whether the evidence is strong enough for the case to move forward to a full trial.

Among the evidence prosecutors plan to present are DNA findings tying Robinson to the suspected murder weapon, investigator testimony, autopsy results, witness accounts, and video footage of the shooting. Prosecutors are also expected to argue that others at Kirk’s campus event were put in danger — a factor that, under Utah law, could make the crime eligible for the death penalty.

During this phase of the proceedings, prosecutors are permitted to use hearsay, or secondhand information, to support their case.

Robinson’s roommate is not anticipated to appear in person during the hearing, though recorded testimony from the roommate could play a central role in the prosecution’s presentation.

Beyond the alleged confession note, prosecutors have indicated that Robinson also sent text messages to his roommate stating he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred.”

Before his death, Kirk and the organization he co-founded, Turning Point USA, played a significant role in energizing conservative youth voters in support of Trump’s successful second presidential campaign.

President Trump has publicly stated his hope that Robinson receives the death penalty.

Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, spoke at his memorial service and said she has forgiven Robinson. She is expected to be present throughout the week’s proceedings alongside Kirk’s parents, Robert and Kathryn Kirk, according to a source familiar with the matter who requested anonymity due to not being authorized to speak on the record.

It’s a big week for entertainment fans, with a wide range of new movies, TV shows, music, and video games arriving on streaming platforms and store shelves.

Among the most anticipated releases, as highlighted by Associated Press entertainment journalists: the viral horror film ‘Backrooms’ arrives for home viewing, Netflix launches a fresh take on ‘Little House on the Prairie,’ and the Rolling Stones drop a new studio album packed with famous collaborators.

The wildly successful theatrical release ‘Backrooms’ becomes available for purchase through all major streaming platforms on July 7 as a premium video-on-demand title. The film was helmed by Kane Parsons, 20, who expanded his popular viral web series about the unsettling nature of liminal spaces into a full-length feature. Chiwetel Ejiofor stars as a furniture store salesman. AP Film Writer Jake Coyle described the movie in his review as a ‘fitfully unsettling nightmare that never convincingly builds beyond its creepy, dated-decor premise.’

On July 10, Peacock begins streaming ‘Reminders of Him,’ based on a Colleen Hoover novel. Maika Monroe portrays a woman attempting to piece her life back together following prison, heartbreak, and tragedy, with Tyriq Withers co-starring. AP reviewer Mark Kennedy praised it as ‘a well-crafted, well-acted sad-happy Hoover adaptation,’ and gave Monroe special credit, writing that she ‘stretches out her dramatic muscles to play Kenna and nails the assignment, a woman with a hard shell who is looking for a little grace, a tricky role that’s both flirty and maternal.’

Also landing on July 10 is ‘The Long Walk’ on HBO Max, arriving just after the Fourth of July holiday. The film, adapted from a Stephen King story, is set in a bleak postwar America and follows 50 boys chosen by lottery to compete in a brutal endurance contest that ends only when a single survivor remains. Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson lead the cast, and the film was directed by Francis Lawrence, known for his work on the ‘Hunger Games’ franchise.

— AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr

The Rolling Stones are back with a new album called ‘Foreign Tongues,’ due out Friday, July 10. The band tapped actors Anya Taylor-Joy and Charles Melton to appear together in the music video for the soulful R&B single ‘Jealous Lover.’ The album also features the Cure’s Robert Smith on guitar for the energetic track ‘Divine Intervention,’ along with contributions from Steve Winwood, Paul McCartney, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith. In a touching tribute, the album also includes a recording from the late drummer Charlie Watts, captured during one of his final studio sessions before his passing in 2021.

‘Stranger Things’ actor Finn Wolfhard releases his second solo album, ‘Fire From the Hip,’ on July 10, one year after his debut record ‘Happy Birthday.’ The 12-track project marks a noticeable evolution — moving away from the lo-fi, distortion-heavy garage rock sound of his first effort toward more polished, melodic songwriting. The lead single ‘I’ll Let You Finish’ is a playful nod to the now-infamous 2009 Video Music Awards moment when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech.

Adam Lambert steps out on his own with his sixth solo studio album, simply called ‘Adam,’ also arriving this week. Lambert drew inspiration from 1990s alternative rock and electronic music, citing Nine Inch Nails, Björk, Prince, and Muse as influences. The 12-track record includes the dark, dance-floor-ready ‘Eat U Alive’ and the catchy glam track ‘Under the Rhythm,’ which samples ATC’s ‘Around the World (La La La La La).’ Both songs deal with the theme of losing yourself in a romantic relationship.

— AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy

Husband-and-wife R&B duo The War and Treaty — Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Blount-Trotter, originally from Albion, Michigan — are releasing their latest album, ‘The Story of Michael and Tanya.’ The Associated Press first covered the pair in 2018, calling them ‘a powerhouse R&B duo who sound as though they were born to sing together.’ Their lead single ‘Don’t Say Goodbye’ is a smooth, timeless track built on rich harmonies and soulful production. The album also features guest appearances from Wynonna Judd and Whoopi Goldberg.

— AP Music Writer Maria Sherman

Netflix launches a reimagined version of ‘Little House on the Prairie’ on Thursday, July 9. Like the beloved original series, this new production draws from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s classic book series, following the Ingalls family as they settle in Kansas during the late 1800s. Luke Bracey takes on the role of father Charles, while Crosby Fitzgerald plays matriarch Caroline. Skywalker Hughes portrays eldest daughter Mary, and Alice Halsey plays the spirited younger daughter Laura, nicknamed Half-Pint.

J.K. Simmons leads the cast of ‘The Westies,’ a new crime drama on MGM+ premiering Sunday, July 12. The eight-episode series is based on the real Irish gang that controlled the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood in Manhattan during the early 1980s. The story unfolds as the Jacob Javits Convention Center rises in their territory, bringing with it a wave of illegal opportunities — and tension between the gang’s younger and older members over how to run things.

— AP Writer Alicia Rancilio

EA Sports is getting football fans ready for the fall with the release of ‘College Football 27’ on Thursday, July 9. The game is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, and PC and features streamlined play-calling, a new ‘Dynasty Blueprint’ mode, and an updated ‘Road to Glory’ campaign that lets players chase the Heisman Trophy while earning sponsorship deals. Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy, Miami wide receiver Malachi Toney, and Oregon quarterback Dante Moore grace the cover. Perhaps the most talked-about new feature is Mascot Mashup, a mode that pits college mascots against each other in full 11-on-11 games.

Bandai Namco’s ‘Echoes of Aincrad’ arrives Friday, July 10, on PlayStation 5, Xbox X/S, and PC. The game is set inside a 100-story floating castle — a virtual reality maze filled with friendly villagers on the lower levels and increasingly dangerous monsters, including giant cows, as players climb higher. A spinoff of the long-running Sword Art Online franchise, ‘Echoes’ marks the first entry in the series that allows players to build their own custom avatar instead of playing as the franchise’s signature teenage hero, Kirito.

— Lou Kesten

ALEXANDRIA, Louisiana — The Trump administration is moving ahead with plans to establish a 528-bed facility to hold migrant families and unaccompanied children near a major airport, a move designed to make deportations faster and more efficient.

The site in Alexandria, Louisiana, is intended to solve a longstanding logistical problem: rounding up children from foster homes and shelters scattered across the country and having no nearby location to house them in the final hours before a deportation flight. That problem came into sharp focus last year when Guatemalan children were roused from sleep in the middle of the night and given almost no time to travel to Harlingen, Texas, where they then sat waiting on an airport tarmac for hours.

A federal judge stepped in to halt those deportations, but the disorganized episode exposed just how unprepared authorities were without a dedicated holding space near the airport. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is describing the new Alexandria site as a “staging area” rather than a detention center, noting that people would remain there for only a few days at most.

Despite that characterization, immigration advocates are voicing serious concerns. Several worry that children could end up being held at the facility for weeks or even months — a pattern that has emerged at other federal immigration sites. They are also raising questions about oversight and say this facility marks a significant shift in how the government handles migrant children.

“It’s an expansion of the deportation system in ways we haven’t seen before,” said Leecia Welch, chief legal counsel at the nonprofit Children’s Rights. “There’s just so much that could go wrong with this facility.”

Under current law, unaccompanied children — those who arrive in the U.S. without a parent or close relative — are not placed in ICE-run facilities. They are required to be quickly transferred to state-licensed shelters and foster care programs, which fall under the Office of Refugee Resettlement within the Department of Health and Human Services. However, a spokesperson at the airfield where the new facility is being constructed confirmed that agency will have no role in operating it.

Instead, the facility will be managed by a nonprofit arm of LaSalle Corrections, a private prison company, according to Ralph Hennessy, executive director of the England Airpark Authority. He said the facility could open as early as August.

ICE officials signed a contract late last month to build the facility at a former military base near Alexandria International Airport, located roughly 175 miles northwest of New Orleans, Hennessy said. Records obtained by The Associated Press show it is intended to function as a 72-hour holding center for migrants awaiting deportation flights.

A Texas-based nonprofit called Compass Connections, which operates shelters for unaccompanied immigrant children, had originally been selected to help run the facility and presented plans publicly in February. However, the company’s president, Sonya Thompson, told the AP last week that the organization is no longer part of the project. She did not provide further details.

During public board meetings, airpark officials referred to the facility as a “humanitarian effort” for families choosing to “self-deport.” Immigration advocates counter that families and unaccompanied children sometimes make that choice under duress or without fully understanding their legal options.

“These are people that are volunteering to go back home and they’re going back home as a family unit,” Hennessy told the AP.

The facility will sit adjacent to the country’s busiest deportation hub. According to data from the ICE Flight Monitor, an initiative of Human Rights First, more than 4,400 immigration enforcement flights passed through Alexandria International Airport in 2025. ICE planning documents state that families and children at the facility “are in the legal custody of ICE and can only be released at the direction of ICE.”

The agency has directed contractors not to refer to those held there as prisoners, detainees, or inmates. Contractors have also been told not to use bars or cages when transporting families and children. The facility will not be required to conduct headcounts, and families will be permitted to wear their own clothing, according to agency guidelines.

LaSalle Corrections, based in Louisiana, operates a number of private prisons and federal immigration detention centers across the South, including a facility known as the “Louisiana Lockup” inside the state’s maximum-security prison in Angola. The official contractor for the new ICE holding site will be the company’s nonprofit arm, the LaSalle Family Foundation, which according to its tax filings provides chaplain services and educational programming inside correctional facilities.

LaSalle Corrections itself will also be involved in operating the facility and ensuring it meets compliance standards, according to an email from the company’s chief financial officer, Tim Kurpiewski, reviewed by the AP. A LaSalle spokesperson declined to comment.

The company’s track record has drawn scrutiny. Two detainees have died since April at a separate LaSalle-run ICE facility in Louisiana. Additionally, a facility called Winn Correctional Center was found in June to have violated standards related to environmental health and safety, food service, use of force, medical care, and other areas, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General.

A seaplane with eight people on board made a rough touchdown in New York City’s East River on Sunday, leaving two passengers with minor injuries, according to city officials.

The New York City Fire Department described the incident as a “hard landing” that occurred around midday. Despite the dramatic impact, the aircraft stayed upright and crews were able to tow it back to the dock without further incident.

Video and photos circulating on social media captured the scene, showing a white plane tilted sharply to one side with the tip of its left wing dipping into the water, while a helicopter flew overhead.

Editor’s note: This report reflects updated figures from the New York City Fire Department regarding the number of passengers aboard and the number of people injured.

As the United States marks 250 years since its founding, author Mitchell S. Jackson is offering a thought-provoking take on what it really means to be a patriot.

Jackson argues that truly loving America requires being willing to confront the truth about the country’s past — even when that truth is difficult or uncomfortable to face.

In his reflection on the nation’s milestone birthday, Jackson makes the case that honest storytelling about American history is not an act of criticism, but one of genuine love for the country.

A Delta Air Lines commercial jet reportedly collided with a firework in the skies above Chicago while the city was in the middle of its Fourth of July celebrations.

The pilot of Delta flight 1076 radioed air traffic controllers shortly before touching down at Chicago Midway International Airport on Saturday evening, reporting that a firework had struck the aircraft during its approach. An audio recording posted online by LiveATC.net captured the pilot describing what felt like “a big bang” aboard the plane.

According to that recording, the aircraft was flying at an altitude of between 200 and 250 feet when the incident took place. The pilot expressed hope that the noise “was just a mortar that went off” — referring to the device used to launch aerial fireworks into the sky.

Both Delta and the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that the plane landed safely at approximately 8:30 p.m. local time. The flight had originated in Atlanta and was carrying 52 passengers along with six crew members.

No one on board was hurt, and Delta — which is headquartered in Atlanta — announced Sunday that maintenance crews who examined the Airbus A319 found no signs of damage to the aircraft.

The FAA has announced it will open an investigation into the episode.

Whether other aircraft were hit by fireworks that same night remains unknown. In the LiveATC.net audio, an air traffic controller can be heard referencing “multiple reports” of similar encounters and noting that Chicago city officials had been made aware of the situation.

The FAA did not immediately answer questions about whether additional firework-related incidents involving Saturday flights had been reported. The Associated Press reached out to both Chicago’s city government and the Chicago Police Department seeking more information.

Two Tennessee National Guard soldiers assigned to a federally directed crime patrol in Memphis fatally shot a 20-year-old man early Sunday after he reportedly turned toward them with a firearm while being chased on foot, according to authorities.

The Trump administration ordered National Guard deployments to Memphis and five other cities run by Democratic mayors — among them New Orleans and Washington, D.C. — as part of an effort to address what the administration has characterized as an unchecked surge in violent crime. Critics point out that violent crime has actually dropped considerably in many Democrat-led cities since its peak during the pandemic. The Guard presence in Memphis began last fall as part of that broader federal push.

City and local leaders in the affected communities have pushed back against the federal intervention, arguing it is not needed, and some have taken legal action to challenge the deployments.

Memphis police said the soldiers were responding alongside local officers to reports of gunfire at around 4 a.m. when they spotted an armed man and gave chase on foot.

According to the police department, the guardsmen fired their weapons after the man turned in their direction while still holding his gun.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified the man as Tyrin Johnson, 20, and announced it is looking into the details surrounding the shooting. No officers or soldiers were hurt, the agency said.

Johnson died at the scene. Guard spokesperson Lt. Col. Darrin Haas said in a statement that two National Guard medical specialists tried to provide first aid before Johnson succumbed to his injuries.

Johnson’s older cousin, Terracle Nelson, 46, described him to The Associated Press as “as good a boy as can be.” She said Johnson had been living in Nashville, working in construction and taking university courses. He had also recently become a father for the first time earlier this year.

Nelson was with other family members when officials informed them that Johnson had been shot twice in the chest.

“I just want to know, how they shot a 20-year-old twice in the chest, he hadn’t harmed anyone,” Nelson said.

Law enforcement did not immediately respond to questions about the total number of shots fired. The TBI declined to comment on Nelson’s account of the events.

Memphis Mayor Paul Young described the shooting as an “unfortunate incident” and said he would wait for the TBI’s findings before making further remarks, according to a statement from spokesperson Penelope Huston.

Federal troops have been operating in Memphis since October, despite opposition from Mayor Young, a Democrat. The deployment has the backing of the state’s governor, a Republican. The soldiers are part of the Memphis Safe Task Force, which was established by the Trump administration and includes both federal and local agencies.

Memphis, a city of more than 600,000 residents, has long grappled with elevated levels of violent crime, including carjackings, assaults, and homicides. Officials from both parties have acknowledged that certain crime categories declined last year — a trend that predates the military deployment and mirrors patterns seen in cities across the country.

The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan agency, has estimated that the deployments cost nearly half a billion dollars through the end of December and are projected to exceed $1 billion in taxpayer costs this year.

In April, the Tennessee Court of Appeals determined that Democratic state and local officials did not have legal standing to halt the federal troop deployment in Memphis.

In May, four Memphis residents filed a federal lawsuit still pending in court, seeking to prevent the task force from enforcing a rule that prohibits people from coming within 25 feet of law enforcement officers while recording their activities.

Those residents, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, also claim that task force members have repeatedly retaliated against them for filming operations. They allege they have been followed by officers and that unmarked vehicles and people in tactical vests have appeared outside their homes after they were seen observing the task force.

It has been one year since the devastating flood at Camp Mystic claimed the life of a young girl named Chloe, and her parents are still searching for the truth about what happened that day.

Matthew and Wendie Childress spent the past year trying to find answers following their daughter’s death at the Texas camp. Their journey through grief and the pursuit of accountability is now the subject of a new podcast titled After the Flood.

Dominic Anthony Walsh of the Texas Newsroom spoke about the podcast, which explores the Childress family’s experience in the aftermath of the tragedy and the questions that remain unanswered a full year later.

Detroit’s Guardian Building continues to captivate visitors and locals alike, serving as a stunning testament to the city’s rich history and enduring spirit.

NPR correspondent Don Gonyea recently visited the iconic Art Deco structure and shared his impressions in an audio postcard, highlighting what makes this landmark so remarkable.

The Guardian Building is widely recognized not only as an architectural gem but also as a reflection of Detroit’s resilience and beauty — qualities that have defined the city through generations.

National Guard soldiers shot and killed a man in downtown Memphis during the early morning hours of July 5, according to Memphis police.

Authorities say the man who was killed was armed with a handgun at the time of the incident.

The case has been turned over to state investigators, who will lead the investigation into the fatal shooting.

LOS ANGELES — The Minions have claimed victory over Woody and Buzz at the Fourth of July holiday box office, though the margin was razor thin.

“Minions & Monsters,” the seventh entry in the long-running “Despicable Me” franchise, brought in an estimated $36.4 million over the holiday weekend at North American theaters, according to studio estimates. Hot on its heels was “Toy Story 5” — which last week dethroned “Supergirl” — pulling in an estimated $31 million for the same period.

The Minions film, which follows the beloved yellow henchlings as they chase stardom during Hollywood’s Golden Age, got a head start by opening Wednesday. Over its first five days in theaters, it earned an estimated $61.4 million domestically. The franchise continues to perform strongly on the global stage, with “Minions & Monsters” raking in $160 million worldwide during its debut week.

Moviegoers in the mood for something patriotic amid the nation’s 250th birthday festivities had another option: “Young Washington,” which opened in third place with nearly $21 million. The film centers on George Washington’s military service during the French and Indian War.

“Supergirl” slipped to fourth place, earning just under $10 million — a sharp 74% decline from its already disappointing opening weekend performance.

According to figures compiled by Rentrak, the overall holiday weekend box office fell roughly 24% compared to the same time last year. However, the summer season as a whole is still running about 12% ahead of 2025, boosted in part by the low-budget Gen-Z hits “Obsession” and “Backrooms,” which landed in sixth and seventh place respectively, just behind Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day.”

Final domestic numbers are expected Monday. The following rankings reflect estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, per Rentrak:

1. “Minions & Monsters” — $36.4 million
2. “Toy Story 5” — $31 million
3. “Young Washington” — $20.8 million
4. “Supergirl” — $9.6 million
5. “Disclosure Day” — $6 million
6. “Obsession” — $5.3 million
7. “Backrooms” — $3.3 million
8. “Jackass: Best and Last” — $2.7 million
9. “Scary Movie” — $1.1 million
10. “The Invite” — $800,708

NEW YORK (AP) — Eight people were shot Saturday night at a Fourth of July family cookout near the famous Coney Island beach in New York, including four children, according to police.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said one of those wounded — a 21-year-old woman — was listed in critical condition following the attack. The remaining seven victims were reported to be in stable condition and expected to recover.

The violence erupted in the courtyard of an apartment complex located about a block away from the well-known Coney Island boardwalk. The shooting happened not far from where the Nathan’s Famous hot dog eating contest had taken place earlier that same holiday.

According to Commissioner Tisch, a suspect wearing a black mask opened fire into the courtyard where a family had come together for a cookout celebration. The shooter fled the scene, though investigators were able to recover a firearm.

The four children who were shot ranged in age from 6 to 14 years old — specifically ages 6, 7, 12, and 14, Tisch confirmed. She also noted that there had been no reports of any trouble or disturbances at the gathering before the shooting took place.

A new California law is taking aim at one of the more confusing aspects of grocery shopping — those often-puzzling date labels printed on food packaging.

The legislation standardizes how ‘use by’ dates are displayed on food products, a move supporters say will help cut down on the enormous amounts of edible food that consumers discard every year simply because they misread or misunderstand the labels.

Nick Lapis of Californians Against Waste discussed the new law, explaining how inconsistent food date labeling has long led shoppers to throw out food that is still perfectly safe to eat. By creating a uniform standard, the law aims to eliminate that confusion at the consumer level.

Food waste is a significant issue both environmentally and economically, and advocates argue that clearer labeling is one of the most straightforward ways to address it. The new California measure is seen as a meaningful step toward reducing the tons of food that end up in landfills each year due to label misunderstanding.