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  • Judge says roommate of Charlie Kirk murder suspect won’t testify in person at preliminary hearing


    The Utah judge in the murder case of Charlie Kirk’s killing has denied a defense request to force Tyler Robinson’s former roommate to testify in person during the preliminary hearing, saying that the credibility of any testimony can be challenged later if the case goes to trial.

    Judge Tony Graf made the ruling during a hearing Monday morning, saying the purpose of a preliminary hearing is to establish whether there is enough evidence to justify bringing the case to trial, not to determine whether someone is innocent or guilty.

    Graf also postponed a ruling on whether prosecutors could face sanctions for comments to the media about a bullet fragment recovered from the conservative activist’s body until Friday. The defense team had asked Judge Tony Graf to block the death penalty in the case, claiming the prosecutors’ comments could sway potential jurors regarding his guilt.

    Robinson, 23, has not yet entered a plea. He is charged with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 killing of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who was shot in the neck while addressing a crowd of thousands at Utah Valley University.

    Prosecutors have said DNA consistent with Robinson’s was found on the trigger of the rifle, the fired cartridge casing and two unfired cartridges. Defense attorneys note that forensic reports indicate multiple people’s DNA was found on some items, which they say requires a more complex analysis.

    Robinson reportedly texted his roommate, who was also his romantic partner, that he targeted Kirk because he “had enough of his hatred,” prosecutors have said.

    Robinson’s defense team asked the judge to block prosecutors from using recorded statements from the roommate in the preliminary hearing, set to begin on July 6. The roommate should be brought to testify in person, the defense attorneys said, so that Robinson can exercise his right to confront witnesses in person and challenge their credibility. But Graf denied that request, saying the time for challenging witnesses will come later.

    “The Utah Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized that a preliminary hearing is not a trial on the merits, but a gateway to the finder of fact,” Graf said. The task of determining whether a witness is credible is a job for the jury if the case goes to trial, he said.

    The case has attracted widespread attention, and online speculation and conspiracy theories grew after the defense team disclosed in public court documents that initial tests were inconclusive to determine whether the bullet was fired from the suspected murder weapon.

    Conjecture over that evidence fueled unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that there might have been a second shooter, or that his death was staged. Attorneys on both sides have raised concerns that the misinformation and extensive media attention could taint the potential jury pool.

    Judge Graf held a hearing earlier this month over whether prosecutors should be held in contempt for their comments about the bullet.

    Robinson’s attorneys accused prosecutors including Deputy Utah County Attorney Christopher Ballard of trying to influence potential jurors by going on a “media tour” to talk about ballistics evidence in the case.

    Ballard argued at the June 12 hearing that he didn’t speak to the media about case specifics, and he only remarked generally about how ballistics testing can be inconclusive.

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    Brown reported from Denver and Boone from Boise, Idaho. Associated Press reporter Hannah Schoenbaum contributed from Salt Lake City.


  • Federal judge halts Trump administration effort to subpoena Walz in immigration enforcement probe


    A federal judge has blocked an attempt by the Trump administration to subpoena Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other state officials, accusing the Justice Department of using its investigatory powers to retaliate against state officials for not cooperating with federal efforts to crack down on illegal immigration.

    In a ruling unsealed Monday, U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz found the “dominant purpose” of the subpoenas was to “coerce Minnesota officials into assisting the federal government with enforcing civil immigration law and to harass and retaliate against them for failing to do so.”

    Tensions between the Trump administration and Minnesota’s Democratic leaders escalated in January as federal immigration officers clashed with protesters in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, especially after officers’ fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

    President Donald Trump even threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to quell protests and accused Walz, who was Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ running mate in 2024, and others of encouraging protesters to disrupt Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity.

    Judge finds ‘weak to nonexistent’ reasons for subpoenas

    The subpoenas seeking records were served in January as part of an investigation into whether Walz and other officials obstructed or impeded law enforcement actions. They were sent to the offices of Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and officials in Ramsey and Hennepin counties.

    The ruling is the latest rebuke by the federal judiciary of Justice Department efforts to aggressively implement the Trump administration agenda in courts and target the president’s political adversaries through subpoenas and similar demands.

    The judge ruled that there appeared to be “extremely weak to nonexistent” connections between the information sought in the subpoenas and any possible criminal violation. The subpoenas seek materials “that largely if not entirely relate to constitutionally protected conduct,” the judge wrote, noting that Minnesota has the legal right not to devote its resources to enforcing federal immigration law.

    The Justice Department “is not conducting a criminal investigation,” the judge wrote, “but is instead using the grand jury process for other (unlawful) purposes.”

    The evidence that the subpoenas were issued for unlawful reasons is overwhelming, the judge said, arguing that the Justice Department “has struggled — without success — to identify a single plausible investigatory justification” for them.

    The Justice Department said in a statement that it “takes the unlawful obstruction of federal law enforcement operations extremely seriously and will continue to act in full compliance with the law to investigate these matters.”

    Targets hail the judge’s decision

    Walz, in a statement, called the ruling “a victory for the rule of law and our democracy.”

    “The U.S. Justice Department is pursuing criminal investigations into the President’s political opponents,” said Walz, the 2024 Democratic nominee for vice president. “This case was just one example of that, but we are seeing daily reminders of this administration’s lawlessness — in Minnesota and around the country. We all must continue to seek justice and uphold the rule of law.”

    Ellison said “it should disturb every American that Donald Trump is weaponizing the criminal justice system against people he disagrees with.”

    The subpoenas are “a politically motivated retaliation against our city for lawfully standing up to ICE and fighting for our residents,” Her said in a statement.

    Frey said the investigation was “never about justice, law, and order, but the absence of it.”

    “Subpoenaing political opponents because they spoke on behalf of their constituents violates the core tenets of our democracy and human decency,” he said.

    Frey also observed that criticizing government action is not a crime.

    “One of the defining strengths of our democracy is the ability to challenge those in power without fear of retribution. Elected officials have both the right and the responsibility to speak honestly about how government decisions affect the people they serve,” he said.

    Subpoenas were among many federal actions against Minnesota officials

    Over the last year, judges have dismissed indictments against two prominent Trump foes, former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, and grand juries have repeatedly refused to return indictments sought by the Justice Department.

    The moves reflect mounting public concerns that the Justice Department, an institution meant to make investigative and prosecution decisions independent of the White House, is being politicized under the current Trump administration.

    Vice President JD Vance has separately called on the Justice Department to investigate Walz and Ellison over allegations they failed to stop widespread social services fraud, though the department has not said whether it will open an investigation. Walz and Ellison have described those allegations as politically motivated and defended their efforts to combat fraud in Minnesota.

    Meanwhile, other legal battles related to the immigration surge continue. The federal government has suggested Minnesota prosecutors don’t have jurisdiction to investigate federal officers.

    Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in March sued the administration for access to evidence in the Good and Pretti killings, accusing the administration of withholding evidence from state investigators. Moriarty also has pursued criminal charges against ICE officers in two other incidents, including the nonfatal shooting of a Venezuelan man, and suggests her office is investigating several other cases as well.

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    Associated Press writer Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.

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    This story has been corrected to show the federal judge’s name is Patrick Schiltz, not Schlitz.


  • Clive Davis, music industry starmaker, has died at 94


    NEW YORK (AP) — Clive Davis, the record company lawyer who became one of the music industry’s most powerful figures, launching or resurrecting the careers of such superstars as Janis Joplin, Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana and Alicia Keys, has died, his family confirmed. He was 94.

    Davis died in his Manhattan apartment, weeks after being hospitalized for an upper respiratory issue, his publicist Aliza Rabinoff said.

    “To the world, our father was the iconic music legend whose vision, instincts, and relentless pursuit of excellence shaped the soundtrack of countless lives. He discovered, mentored, and championed the greatest artists in modern music history, leaving an indelible mark on culture that will endure for generations,” the statement read.

    Many artists mourned his passing on Monday. Carlos Santana called him “a visionary.” Michael Bublé said the music executive “believed in people and their dreams.” Patti Smith thanked Davis for a half century of “love and support.”

    Unlike other record moguls whose influence waned as they got older, Davis’ might only seemed to grow, spanning multiple genres and labels. Into his later years, he was directing the careers of everyone from Barry Manilow to “American Idol” winners Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson. And his exclusive pre-Grammys gala, held the Saturday night before the Sunday award show every year since 1975, continued to be an institution.

    “Clive’s talent has always been seeing and hearing what other people don’t,” former President Barack Obama said in a video message played at this year’s gala.

    A Brooklyn background

    Clive Jay Davis was born on April 4, 1932 in Brooklyn, New York, where he grew up in the Crown Heights neighborhood. His father was an electrician and traveling salesman. He attended New York University and then Harvard Law School, eventually landing a job as an in-house lawyer at Columbia Records.

    Davis always had a knack for business, and by 1967, became president of the company, just seven years after being hired as an attorney. He cited attending the Monterey International Pop Festival that year as pivotal; it eventually led him to bringing Bruce Springsteen, Chicago, Neil Diamond and many other groups to the label — bringing a counterculture spirit to a company that had resisted rock ‘n’ roll.

    Davis took big swings in the music industry, particularly in his support for Black artists, beginning when he signed Gamble and Huff’s Philadelphia International Records in 1971.

    In 2015, the NAACP recognized Davis for his groundbreaking work by presenting him with the Vanguard Award. And last summer, Davis was presented with the Apollo Theater’s Apollo Legacy Award and inducted onto its Walk of Fame.

    An unrivaled career

    His success stories were staggering, with Houston a crowning achievement and devastating tragedy: Davis signed her to his Arista record label when she was just a teen and turned her into America’s reigning pop princess.

    Houston racked up multiple No. 1 hits and became one of the top-selling artists in pop history before drug abuse hobbled her career. She died in a Beverly Hills hotel room in 2012, hours before she was to appear at Davis’ annual pre-Grammy Awards gala. He had been convinced she was turning her life around.

    “Maybe I should have been more skeptical,” Davis wrote in his 2013 memoir, “The Soundtrack of My Life,” “but I’ve always been optimistic, and I felt hopeful. It felt like old times.”

    He also launched the career of multiplatinum, multiple-Grammy winner Keys — and was quick to note other talents he signed, including Joplin and Billy Joel, Blood Sweat & Tears and other “all-timers,” as he so often put it.

    “I signed Patti Smith, the great Renaissance woman … I signed Lou Reed … I signed the Grateful Dead,” he proudly touted in an interview with The Associated Press in 1999.

    He also signed the then up-and-coming producer Sean “Diddy” Combs to a label deal with his Bad Boy Records. Under Davis, the label would have some of its biggest successes, most notably with late rap icon the Notorious B.I.G. That was long before the hip-hop mogul Diddy would be incarcerated, convicted of violating the federal Mann Act, which bans transporting people across state lines for any sexual crime.

    An exec who built lifelong careers

    Davis didn’t simply have an eye for new talent — he also knew how to keep veterans relevant, decades after their first hit. Aretha Franklin, whose legend was made at Atlantic Records, flourished in her later years at Arista, as did Luther Vandross, who made his last albums for another Davis label, J Records.

    It was Davis who conceived of the 1999 album “Supernatural,” which paired guitar god Santana with some of the day’s hottest talents. The record won a record-tying eight Grammys and gave Santana more success than he had ever enjoyed in his decades-long career.

    And he had middle-aged star Rod Stewart trade in his rock hits for standards from “The Great American Songbook.” The album, released in 2003, sold millions and was so successful it spawned four titles in all.

    Davis didn’t always make the right choices; he turned down a chance to sign up Meat Loaf. And he and his collaborators didn’t always agree.

    He and producer David Foster fought bitterly over the arrangement for Houston’s all-time hit, a cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.” Davis won that fight — and the song was published with its iconic a cappella intro.

    And Manilow strongly objected to recording “I Write the Songs,” noting that he didn’t even write the song, a Bruce Johnston ballad that became a signature hit for Manilow, who would have similar latter-day success mining the music of the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

    “He’s just brilliant at picking ideas he thinks the public will connect,” raved Manilow, who had worked with Davis since he was a budding singer at Columbia Records.

    But not an infallible figure

    Davis also had his struggles. Though he became president of Columbia Records in 1967 after joining the label in 1960 as a lawyer, by 1973 he was gone in a bitter fallout. The label accused him of mismanagement of funds and he was fired. Although Davis says he was later cleared, it wasn’t the end of his problems; he later was indicted on tax evasion charges, pleaded guilty to one count and had to pay a $10,000 fine.

    However, Davis would declare victory: He says Columbia gave him the money to start Arista to resolve the dispute, and the label would become a huge success with artists like country superstars Brooks & Dunn, sassy R&B group TLC, Babyface, Houston, Franklin and others.

    The label had huge success with a debut act — Milli Vanilli. But the male pop duo would become the embarrassment of the industry when, after winning a Grammy, it was revealed that they weren’t actually singing their songs (Davis blamed the debacle on the label’s European division, which he said signed them; the group was later stripped of its best new artist Grammy).

    In 1999, as Arista was celebrating its 25th anniversary, Davis faced another crisis: The label’s then-parent company, BMG Entertainment, a division of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, wanted him to retire; most of its executives were eased out by 60, and Davis was in his mid-60s.

    In 2000, despite support from his superstar roster, the company ousted him in favor of producer and songwriter Antonio “L.A.” Reid, who would later become chairman of Island/Def Jam.

    Still, Davis’ successes were many

    However, instead of severing its ties with Davis, BMG helped him launch J Records in what BMG has described as the largest record company startup ever created. Vandross was one of his initial artists, along with forgettable acts like the boy-band O-Town.

    J Records was a success from the start, though, and only grew in stature with the arrival of a young singer named Keys, a piano-playing singer-songwriter with powerful pipes and dramatic R&B songs. Keys’ albums would go on to sell millions and win several Grammys.

    His influence grew even more when Davis was tapped for BMG’s U.S. division.

    He became a key backer of the careers of the winners of “American Idol,” guiding many albums to platinum status. The show’s link to Sony BMG came through a deal between Davis and 19 Recordings Unlimited, the label managed by “Idol” creator Simon Fuller.

    In 2007, however, Davis disagreed with the direction of Clarkson’s “My December,” and she publicly criticized him. The album was a flop, and she later apologized.

    In 2008, Sony BMG replaced Davis as chairman and chief executive officer of the BMG label group, giving him the title of chief creative officer.

    He was serving as worldwide chief creative officer at Sony Music Entertainment up until his death.

    A love-filled personal life

    In his memoir, Davis confirmed longtime rumors that he was bisexual and had been living with a man in recent years.

    “Do I feel I could have been similarly attracted to a woman?” Davis wrote. “The answer is yes.”

    He is survived by his four children, sons Fred, Doug and Mitchell, daughter Lauren, and his eight grandchildren Austin, Charlie, Matthew, Hayley, Harper, Sloane, Billie and Cody, two great grandchildren, cousin Jo Schuman and partner Greg Schriefer.

    His family shared a loving statement on Monday.

    “Through every chapter of his remarkable life, family remained Clive’s greatest pride and deepest joy. Today, we celebrate not only a towering figure whose influence changed music forever, but the man who led our family with grace, generosity, and kindness. We will miss him greatly, cherish him always, and carry his love with us for the rest of our lives.”

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    This story has been corrected. Houston died in Beverly Hills, not Los Angeles.

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    Former AP writer Nekesa Mumbi Moody was the main writer of this obituary.


  • Young Washington Mystics on rise after road wins over Liberty and Lynx


    NEW YORK (AP) — The Washington Mystics have really grown on their recent road trip after suffering some tough lessons early in the season.

    Washington has won three straight games on the road, including closing out victories late over New York and Minnesota.

    “I think it takes time to get to where you want to go,” said Washington forward Kiki Iriafen, who scored the go-ahead basket in the wins over both the Liberty and Lynx. “And that’s something that our coaches have stressed to us. Like the first month of May was kind of hard having back to back losses and even this month, as well. But our coaches told us, like, playoff contending teams don’t happen in May.”

    The three consecutive road wins — Washington also won at Connecticut last week — were the first time the team has done that since 2024. The victory at New York on Friday night snapped a 10-game regular season losing streak to the Liberty.

    “You just want to get better each and every month. So kind of looking at the season as month to month to month rather than we lost X amount of games or we have this many more games to go,” Iriafen said. “I think it’s just a comfortability. We’re all getting more comfortable with each other.”

    Coach Sydney Johnson feels that his young team bought in during training camp by putting in the work to get better. The Mystics have the youngest roster in league history.

    “I think it’s a combination that we understood we were fielding one of the youngest teams in the history of the league. At the same time, having really competitive players from winning programs,” Johnson said. “We also know that it’s really, really hard to win in this league. Really, really hard. And so we’ve learned some tough lessons, and we’re taking some of that learning and transferring it to future performances.”

    Washington returns home to face Minnesota on Wednesday.

    Power poll rankings

    Las Vegas and Minnesota sit tied atop the power poll this week. The two teams were followed by Atlanta and New York. Dallas was fifth and Golden State sixth. Washington moved up four spots to seventh. Indiana, Los Angeles and Portland were next. Toronto, Phoenix and Chicago came after the Fire. Seattle and Connecticut rounded out the poll.

    Player of the week

    Sonia Citron of Washington was the AP player of the week. She averaged 21 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists to help the Mystics win their three games last week. Olivia Miles of Minnesota, Jordin Canada of Atlanta, Jessica Shepard of Dallas and Marina Mabrey of Toronto also received votes.

    Game of the week

    New York at Las Vegas, Tuesday. The Liberty and Aces will meet for the first time this season with the next matchup taking place in New York on June 30 with the Commissioner’s Cup championship at stake. The Liberty have dropped their last two games, blowing fourth quarter leads in both contests. Las Vegas is coming in off a dominating win over Golden State.

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    AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball


  • Former Wimbledon champion Vondrousova suspended for 4 years for refusing doping test


    Former Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova was suspended for four years on Monday for refusing an anti-doping test, the latest high-profile player sanctioned.

    The Czech cited “mental stress” and fear when the testing agent “rang my door late at night without properly identifying themselves.”

    The International Tennis Integrity Agency made the announcement, saying Vondrousova refused a test in December and the maximum four-year ban for a routine first offense was reached by an independent tribunal following a hearing this month.

    Vondrousova became Wimbledon’s first unseeded female champion when she beat Ons Jabeur in the 2023 final. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 6 that year. She also reached the French Open final in 2019, losing to Ash Barty.

    The 26-year-old Vondrousova detailed her reaction to the missed test in an Instagram post in April.

    “It is very tough for me to talk about this, but I want to be transparent with you about my mental health,” Vondrousova said. “The recent doping control incident happened because I reached a breaking point after months of physical and mental stress.”

    The ITIA said Vondrousova “did not submit a sample when notified by a Doping Control Officer during an out-of-competition test attempt at her home at around 8 p.m. on 3 December 2025” and that she instead signed a refusal form.

    “I have never doped. I have never had a positive test,” Vondrousova wrote on Instagram after the ruling was released. “Throughout my entire career, I have undergone countless anti-doping controls and have always stepped onto the court with a clear conscience. Just three days after the incident that ultimately changed my life, I was tested again. The result was negative. Just like every test before it.”

    Vondrousova was represented by Los Angeles-based lawyer Howard Jacobs, a specialist in doping rules cases. Jacobs helped two-time Grand Slam singles champion Simona Halep win an appeal case in 2024 at the Court of Arbitration for Sport against a four-year ban for doping.

    Vondrousova becomes the latest high-profile tennis player involved in a doping case after Halep, Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek.

    Sinner accepted a three-month ban in a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency at the start of last year and Swiatek accepted a one-month suspension at the end of 2024.

    Halep, Sinner and Swiatek each proved they were not entirely responsible for their positive tests.

    “We recognize this is a significant ban,” ITIA CEO Karen Moorhouse said. “You can’t have an anti-doping system where a player is in a better place by refusing to take a test than they would by taking a test and testing positive. So that feeds into the structure of the doping rules that provides for a starting point in the four-year ban for refusing to take a test.”

    Vondrousova’s ban expires June 21, 2030. She can appeal the decision to the Switzerland-based CAS.

    During a hearing before the tribunal, Vondrousova presented explanations that stress and poor mental health affected her decision making, in addition to concerns for her safety because she claimed the tester did not identity herself.

    The tribunal also took testimony from the doping control officer and concluded the evidence offered “no compelling justification” for the test refusal.

    Tennis players and other pro athletes are required by anti-doping rules to specify where they will be available for a one-hour period each day to give samples for testing.

    The female testing agent showed up at Vondrousova’s home outside the assigned hour that the player signed up for that day — in a surprise test. Athletes are required to submit for testing if they are located for a surprise test outside their assigned hour. If they are not found when a tester shows up outside assigned hours, there is no sanction.

    “Unpredictable testing is an essential tool to protect clean sport,” Moorhouse said. “The independent tribunal ultimately supported that principle. This case is an important reminder that players can be tested at any time, in any place, and that refusal comes with significant risk.”

    The ITIA would not say if any inconsistencies were found in Vondrousova’s previous anti-doping history.

    “We wouldn’t disclose that,” said Nicole Sapstead, the ITIA’s senior director of anti-doping, adding: “We look at all things like that.”

    Vondrousova, ranked 122, hasn’t played since January.

    Wimbledon starts next week.

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    AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.

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


  • Supreme Court reinstates murder conviction in case of Etan Patz, missing New York City boy


    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday reinstated a murder conviction in the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz.

    The justices, by a 6-3 vote, granted an appeal from New York prosecutors who had urged them to undo a federal appeals court decision that overturned the verdict. The three liberal justices dissented.

    Prosecutors had been preparing to try the man, Pedro Hernandez, for a third time. His first trial ended in a mistrial.

    The unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed Hernandez’ murder and kidnapping conviction in the second trial because of how the judge had answered a question from jurors.

    Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had called the basis for overturning the conviction “a slender reed” that essentially ignored a five-month-long trial with 66 witnesses.

    The justices agreed, in an unsigned opinion, that federal courts should not second-guess state courts under a 1996 federal law that was intended to reduce federal court oversight of state criminal trials.

    “The Second Circuit exceeded its authority in holding that Hernandez is entitled to relief,” the justices wrote.

    Hernandez, 64, has been serving a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

    Bragg hailed the high court’s decision. “It’s impossible to imagine the pain of losing a child, waiting so long for justice and having to brace for more proceedings,” Bragg, a Democrat, said at a news conference on an unrelated issue, adding that he hoped the Patz family gained some peace of mind from the high court’s ruling.

    A message seeking comment was sent to Etan’s father.

    Hernandez’ lawyers said they were “terribly disappointed” by the ruling. “We firmly believe that an innocent man is in jail for a crime that he did not commit,” attorneys Harvey Fishbein and Alice Fontier said.

    Hernandez admitted to the crime under police questioning, but his lawyers say he confessed falsely because of a mental illness that sometimes made him hallucinate. They emphasized that the admission came after police queried him for about seven hours before reading him his rights and recording the interview. Hernandez then repeated his confession on tape, at least twice.

    Etan vanished while walking to his downtown Manhattan school bus stop on May 25, 1979. Hernandez worked at a nearby convenience shop at the time, but the Maple Shade, New Jersey, resident didn’t become a suspect until 2012.

    Etan was among the first missing children ever to appear on milk cartons, and the anniversary of his disappearance became National Missing Children’s Day.

    Hernandez already has been tried twice. A jury deadlocked in 2015, and then a different panel of jurors convicted him at a 2017 retrial.

    During deliberations, the 2017 jurors asked a complicated question: If they decided Hernandez didn’t confess voluntarily when he hadn’t been read his rights yet, must they disregard his other confessions? The then-judge responded simply, “the answer is no.” The jury went on to convict.

    In overturning that verdict, the appeals court said the jury’s question should have gotten a more fulsome answer, including the possibility of discounting all the confessions.

    Hernandez’ retrial had been expected to start in September, and his lawyers and prosecutors were due to give the trial judge a status update next week.

    Asked about next steps, Bragg said prosecutors would await guidance from appellate judges and the state trial court that has handled the case.

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    Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report from New York.


  • Lionel Messi becomes top scorer in World Cup history with 2 more goals for Argentina


    ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Scoring goals and breaking records is what Lionel Messi does, and he is already doing that again in his sixth World Cup.

    The Argentina captain has the World Cup scoring record all to himself after another standout performance, one that began with frustration after missing a penalty kick and ended in pure elation with another victory.

    Messi, who many consider the greatest player of all time, scored both goals in his team’s 2-0 victory over Austria on Monday. That gave him 18, six days after his first-ever hat trick in the tournament had matched Germany striker Miroslav Klose’s previous record for World Cup goals. Later Monday, Kylian Mbappé matched Klose’s mark of 16 with two goals in France’s 3-0 win over Iraq.

    “Beyond anything I’m so happy for the win,” Messi said. “It was huge, tough and difficult. It would allow us to be relaxed to what’s ahead. All matches in this World Cup are very even, very intense. I’m enjoying this moment and craving to enjoy with my teammates.”

    The first goal against Austria came in the 38th minute and two days before his 39th birthday, and amid the concern of an ailing father back at home. It was the sixth consecutive World Cup game in which Messi has scored — joining France striker Just Fontaine and Brazil great Jairzinho as only players to do so.

    That was about a half-hour after he missed a penalty kick with a chance to match the record.

    “There were moments when I was really angry about missing the penalty, but I was able to make up for it,” said Messi, who has won a record eight Ballon d’Or awards as the best player in Europe.

    Argentina advanced to the knockout round by winning its first two Group J games. Messi also scored all the goals in a 3-0 win over Algeria in Kansas City.

    Messi added his 18th World Cup goal in the waning seconds of stoppage time when he shot one through several defenders after his first attempt was turned away by goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.

    “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Messi said in translated remarks. “The way things are going in the World Cup, the way it’s being played, it’s a very even game. No one is giving away anything.”

    The goal record became Messi’s alone in the first half when he caught Schlager leaning the wrong way after Thiago Almada let Facuno Medina’s pass go by him and directly onto Messi’s left foot from about 20 yards.

    “I have no more words to talk about Leo,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said through an interpreter.

    As the ball went into the net on the record 17th goal, Messi ran toward a corner and thrust his right arm into the air to celebrate the mark with the decidedly pro-Argentina crowd among the 70,649 fans in the sold-out home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

    “Someone who is 39 years old and can score two goals, and five goals overall at the beginning of the World Cup, well, that makes a difference,” Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said through an interpreter. “We knew that he is on a level of his own, and Lionel Messi showed us today that he’s one of the best, and he is the best.”

    There had been a gasp from those same fans when Messi missed the penalty in the ninth minute.

    His left-footed attempt went just wide of the right post. He is now 4 of 7 on penalty kicks in regulation play at the World Cup, with misses in three consecutive tournaments.

    Klose played in 24 World Cup matches for Germany, which wrapped up his fourth tournament by winning the 2014 final 1-0 in extra time over Messi and Argentina.

    In an interview published on June 12, Klose said he expected Messi to break the scoring record.

    “With the larger field of competing teams there are more games and so more chances to score goals. And I assume Argentina and France will go far,” Klose told German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung. “That’s perfectly OK, the record will be broken eventually anyhow and Messi is welcome to be the one who does it. I’m a big fan of Messi, always have been. Messi is a genius.”

    Messi’s hat trick in the previous game, in his 200th international appearance, came 20 years to the date of his World Cup debut in Germany, when he also scored. Monday was his FIFA-record 28th match in the tournament.

    The penalty kick came after Lautaro Martinez was running free in the box and was tackled from behind by Xaver Schlager and Stefan Posch, the defender playing with a broken jaw.

    Play continued for more than a minute with Martinez still on the ground near the goal. When the game was stopped for him, officials reviewed the play and called the penalty.

    Messi’s father has been undergoing medical treatment for an undisclosed illness, the family said in a statement last week while not providing any specific details. The 68-year-old Jorge Messi has played a key role in his third son’s soccer career, acting as his agent and managing his business affairs off the field.

    Lionel Messi was overcome with emotion after scoring his first goal against Algeria, and said after that match his tears followed some tough days not related to soccer.

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    AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth in Duesseldorf, Germany, contributed to this report.

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    AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup


  • US stocks drift after oil prices ease and Big Tech stocks fall


    NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks drifted through a mixed day of trading on Monday after oil prices eased and falling Big Tech stocks weighed on Wall Street.

    The S&P 500 slipped 0.4%, coming off its 11th winning week in the last 12, and pulled 1.8% below its all-time high set early this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 148 points, or 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite slumped 1.3%.

    In the oil market, prices fell following talks over the weekend between the United States and Iran on their war. U.S. Vice President JD Vance said they created a “good foundation for a successful final deal.”

    An end to the war could clear the Strait of Hormuz for oil tankers and allow for the undisputed resumption of deliveries from the Persian Gulf. Iran’s military had said Saturday that it closed the Strait of Hormuz again, though U.S. Central Command has disputed that.

    The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil fell 3.2% to $77.52, closer to its roughly $70 price from before the war. Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 2.6% to $73.86 per barrel.

    The lower oil prices, though, did not pull down Treasury yields in the bond market. Yields have been climbing because of speculation the Federal Reserve may hike interest rates this year to keep a lid on inflation, which has been accelerating because of expensive oil caused by the Iran war. Economists expect a report on Thursday to show a measure of inflation for U.S. consumers sped up to 4.1% in May from 3.8% in April.

    The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.50% from 4.46% late Thursday and from just 3.97% before the war.

    Traders are betting on a nearly 90% chance the Fed will raise its federal funds rate at least once by the end of the year, with a small minority calling for four increases. That’s up from the 57% chance seen just a week ago, according to data from CME Group.

    High yields in bond markets worldwide caused by worries about inflation are threatening to slow economies, and they have already sent rates higher for mortgages and other kinds of loans. High yields also hurt prices for investments, particularly those seen as the most expensive. That raises the pressure on companies whose stock prices have soared in the mania around artificial-intelligence technology.

    SpaceX fell 16.4% to $154.60. It’s the third straight drop for the company behind xAI since a big three-day run following its ballyhooed debut on the U.S. stock market, when it initially sold its stock at $135 per share.

    The day’s heaviest weights on the S&P 500 included drops of 5% for Alphabet, 4.7% for Amazon and 4.5% for Broadcom.

    Elsewhere on Wall Street, AbbVie climbed 6.2% after saying it agreed to buy Apogee Therapeutics and its potential treatments for patients with dermatologic, respiratory and other related inflammatory and immunological diseases.

    Apogee Therapeutics soared 46.7% following the announcement of the deal, valued at roughly $10.9 billion.

    All told, the S&P 500 fell 27.79 points to 7,472.79. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 148.01 to 51,712.71, and the Nasdaq composite fell 351.33 to 26,166.60.

    In stock markets abroad, the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 rose 0.7% after Keir Starmer said he was stepping down as leader of the governing Labour Party and will leave office within weeks.

    In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 jumped 1.5% and ended at another all-time high, led by AI stocks. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.7% to its own record, helped by AI-related companies.

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    AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott and AP Senior Producer Mayuko Ono contributed to this report.


  • Family of 1-year-old killed by police at a Walmart in Mississippi wants video released


    A Mississippi family whose 1-year-old child was killed when police fired into a moving vehicle said Monday they want authorities to release video showing whether officers were in danger of being struck when one of them opened fire.

    The shooting has sparked outrage in the small city of Senatobia, where some say it’s the latest in a series of troubling encounters between police and Black residents.

    Kohen Wiley was riding with his mother and another woman in a Walmart parking lot on June 14 when police responded to a shoplifting call. The family says they were driving away, while the officers say the car was heading toward them.

    “I watched my baby take his first breath, and I watched my baby take his last breath,” Vellesiya Wiley said at a news conference Monday.

    The other woman in the car, whose name has not been released, suffered “critical injuries,” according to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, which is handling the inquiry.

    Standing alongside Kohen’s parents and grandparents at a local church, civil rights attorney Ben Crump told reporters Monday that the best way to determine whether the officers were at risk is to publicly release any body camera, dash camera or Walmart security camera video.

    “If that is the truth, then show us that,” Crump said. “The longer you delay releasing the video, the more distrustful we become.”

    The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation declined to comment on what videos investigators have or whether they would be released, agency spokesperson Bailey Martin said Monday.

    “This case has been made a top priority,” Martin said in an emailed statement, “and we currently have multiple agents working tirelessly to ensure every aspect of the investigation is thoroughly examined.”

    The agency says the officers weren’t hurt. Senatobia Police Chief Harold Vanderford did not return a phone message seeking comment Monday.

    State investigators gave an initial account of the shooting last week, saying that when Senatobia police arrived at the Walmart, they found two women and a child getting into a car and driving away.

    “Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one. An officer then discharged their weapon and the vehicle fled the scene,” the agency statement said.

    Kohen’s mother has said the shoplifting call was over a box of diapers that her friend was carrying — and that she believes her friend had paid for the diapers. State investigators declined to comment on those details.

    Crump questioned why police didn’t let the car go and take down the license plate number.

    “They were called over a box of diapers and a family now has to bury their baby,” Crump said Monday. “You cannot put those two things next to each other and call it reasonable policing.”

    Crump also said an independent autopsy would be performed.

    While there’s no question the child was shot by police, he said, details about the angles at which any bullets struck the child could yield clues as to whether the officer fired from in front of the car or off to the side — and therefore whether that officer was in any danger.

    Policing expert Ian Adams, who teaches criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, told The Associated Press last week that police should know that “shooting into a moving vehicle is a very bad idea and one to be avoided at almost all costs,” noting the danger to passengers and other bystanders.


  • US strike on an alleged drug boat kills 2, leaves 6 survivors, in the Caribbean


    WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has conducted another strike Sunday against a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the Caribbean on Sunday, immediately killing two people and leaving six survivors amid an ongoing campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America.

    The latest attack — which now number at more than 60 — brings the number of people who have been killed in boat strikes by the U.S. military to more than 210 people since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” in early September.

    It is unclear if the survivors of this strike were rescued. In this case, and the strike on June 16 that left two survivors, U.S. Central Command said that they notified the U.S. Coast Guard. A statement from the Coast Guard said they suspended their search for survivors for the June 16 strike a day later with “no signs of survivors or debris” but had no comment on the current strike.

    As with most of the military’s statements on strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, U.S. Southern Command said it targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. The military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs.

    A black and white video posted on X showed a boat speeding through the water before being struck by a visible projectile and then bursting into flames.

    President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and fatal overdoses claiming American lives. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narcoterrorists.”

    Critics of the strikes have questioned the overall legality as well as their effectiveness. Part of the argument has been that the fentanyl behind many fatal U.S. drug overdoses is typically trafficked over land from Mexico, where it is produced with chemicals imported from China and India.

    On Thursday, U.S. lawmakers demanded that the Pentagon release “unedited video” of the very first strike that the military conducted after reports emerged that the U.S. chose to conduct a follow-up strike on survivors of its initial attack.

    Two men on the boat initially survived the attack that killed nine others, and they were clinging to the wreckage when the vessel was struck again, killing them. The White House confirmed the follow-up strike, insisting it was done “in self-defense” to ensure the boat was destroyed and in accordance with the laws of armed conflict.

    But some legal scholars said a second strike killing survivors would have been illegal under any circumstance, armed conflict or not.

    The Pentagon’s watchdog said in May that it planned to look into whether the U.S. military followed an established targeting framework when carrying out the strikes. However, the evaluation is focused specifically on what’s known as the six-phase Joint Targeting Cycle and not on the legality of the strikes, the inspector general’s office said.

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    This report has been corrected to reflect that the attack took place on Sunday in the Caribbean, rather than Thursday in the Pacific.