“We have had substantive contact with him over mental health issues,” Vancouver Police Interim Chief Steve Rai told a news conference.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — A man drove a vehicle into a crowd at a Filipino heritage festival in the Canadian city of Vancouver killing 11 people and injuring more than 20 others, in what authorities described as a car ramming attack that shook the country ahead of federal elections.

The vehicle entered the street at 8:14 p.m. Saturday and struck people attending the Lapu Lapu Day festival, the Vancouver Police Department said in a social media post.

A Vancouver man was arrested and authorities are still investigating the motive, but police said that initially they are confident it’s not an act of terrorism.

, 30, is charged in the stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.

Prosecutors said they intended to seek the death penalty if Kohberger is convicted at his trial, which is set to begin in August.

But his attorneys asked Judge Steven Hippler to remove the death penalty as a possible punishment, citing Kohberger’s diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. They have also filed several other motions challenging the death penalty, including one based on purported violations by the state in providing evidence.

“Mr. Kohberger’s autism spectrum disorder (ASD) reduces his culpability, negates the retributive and deterrent purposes of capital punishment, and exposes him to the unacceptable risk that he will be wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death,” defense attorneys wrote in court papers.

They argued that executing someone with autism would constitute cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Prosecutors argued that under U.S. Supreme Court precedent, the only mental disability that precludes imposition of the death penalty is an intellectual disability — and Kohberger’s diagnosis was of mild autism “without accompanying intellectual . . . impairment.”

The judge agreed.

“Not only has Defendant failed to show that ASD is equivalent to an intellectual disability for death penalty exemption purposes, he has not shown there is national consensus against subjecting individuals with ASD to capital punishment,” Hippler wrote. “ASD may be mitigating factor to be weighed against the aggravating factors in determining if defendant should receive the death penalty, but it is not (a) death-penalty disqualifier.”

Kohberger was a criminal justice graduate student at Washington State University, in Pullman, about 10 miles (16.1 kilometers) from Moscow, at the time of the killings in November 2022. He was����weeks later. Investigators said they matched his DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene.

Autopsies showed the four were all likely asleep when they were attacked, some had defensive wounds and each was stabbed multiple times.

The jury returned a verdict of guilty on all counts in the same federal courthouse in Manhattan where a different jury convicted Bob Menendez of many of the same charges last year. The Democrat is supposed to begin serving an 11-year prison term in June.

Nadine Menendez, who stood but did not appear to react as the verdict was delivered by the jury foreperson, was scheduled to be sentenced on June 12, six days after her husband is expected to report to prison.

Outside the courthouse, she wore a pink mask as she stood next to her lawyer, Barry Coburn, said he was “devastated by the verdict.”

“We fought hard and it hurts,” he said. “This is a very rough day for us.”

The evidence shown to jurors over a three-week trial followed the timeline of the whirlwind romance between the couple that began in early 2018 and continued after criminal charges were brought against them in September 2023. Repeatedly during the trial, prosecutors said they were “partners in crime.”

During a 2022 raid on the couple’s Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home, FBI agents found nearly $150,000 worth of gold bars and $480,000 in cash stuffed in boots, shoeboxes and jackets. In the garage was a Mercedes-Benz convertible, also an alleged bribe.

Both Nadine and Bob Menendez said they are innocent and never took bribes.

Initially, they were to be tried together, along with the three businessmen, but Nadine Menendez’s trial was postponed a year ago after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery.

Bob Menendez, 71, resigned from the Senate last August following his conviction. Before the charges were brought he had been chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Prosecutors accused Nadine Menendez of starting to facilitating bribes to the senator around the time that they began dating, before they married in the fall of 2020.

At the time, she was in danger of losing her home in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, after missing nearly $20,000 in mortgage payments, trial testimony showed. A longtime friend, Wael Hana, provided cash to save the home — and prosecutors said that in return, the senator began helping Hana preserve a business monopoly he had arranged with the Egyptian government to certify that imported meat met religious requirements.

Nadine Menendez also needed a new car after her old one was destroyed when she struck and killed a man crossing a street. (She did not face charges in the crash). Prosecutors said a businessman, Jose Uribe, gave her a Mercedes-Benz, and in return Bob Menendez used his clout to pressure the New Jersey attorney general’s office to stop investigating some of Uribe’s associates.

Prosecutor said more cash and gold bribes were paid to the couple by Fred Daibes, a prominent real estate developer who prosecutors said wanted the senator to protect him from a criminal case he was facing in New Jersey. Prosecutors said Bob Menendez also helped Daibes secure a $95 million investment from a Qatari investment fund.

Nadine Menendez, 58, was described by prosecutors at her trial as crucial to the scheme, enabling the senator to communicate with the businessmen and Egyptian government officials.

Besides his conviction on bribery charges, Bob Menendez also was convicted of acting as an agent for the Egyptian government. Prosecutors said that in return for some of the bribes, he ghostwrote a letter for Egyptian officials to give to his fellow senators to calm their concerns about human rights abuses and encourage them to lift a hold on $300 million in military aid.

Coburn had argued during his closing arguments to the jury that the evidence was insufficient for a conviction.

“These things we’re talking about here are unproven,” he said.

He said the dealings the senator had with the businessmen were just what a politician is supposed to do for his constituents.

In a rebuttal argument , Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Richenthal urged the jury to convict Nadine Menendez, calling the evidence against her “consistent and overwhelming.”

Uribe pleaded guilty and testified against the others. Hana and Dabies were convicted along with the senator. Hana has been sentenced to eight years in prison while Daibes got seven years behind bars.

Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said in a statement that the verdict “sends the clear message that the power of government officials may not be put up for sale and that all those who facilitate corruption will be held accountable for their actions.”

His death was announced by Cardinal Kevin Farrell in a statement which read, “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church.″

The pope passed hours after he had celebrated Easter. He blessed the faithful in St. Peter’s Square and, rode through the crowd gathered there in what�� (AP)��called “a surprise popemobile romp.”

The pope’s death was confirmed by Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, the head of the Vatican health department, according to the��.

The doctor said Pope Francis also had episodes of respiratory insufficiency. He had suffered previously from bilateral pneumonia, type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

The pope’s time of death was 7:35 a.m. local time. The first public commemoration of Pope Francis began. With sunset, Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, began a Rosary prayer for Francis.

��to an icon of the Madonna as a choir sang. Sister Raffaella Petrini, one of the highest-ranking women at the Vatican, presented the first reading.

In the statement announcing the pope’s death, Farrell said, “He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with faithfulness, courage, and universal love, especially for the poorest and most marginalized.

Flags were lowered to half-staff in Italy to mourn his death. The day — Easter Monday — was already a public holiday there. Bells rang in mourning at the Vatican.

��ordered flags to fly at half-mast at “all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, on the day of interment.”

One of those at St. Peter’s Square on Monday, Evan Bonnano, who is from Philadelphia, said it is “a very sad day. It is honestly impressive, I think, that he made it to Easter. I think that is almost like a miracle for Italy.”

Pope Francis had several health challenges over his lifetime. He had part of one lung removed when he was a young man,�� reported.

In 2022 and 2023, he had to cancel planned travel due to his health.

In addition to his breathing issues, Francis had diverticulitis and had part of his colon removed in 2021.

, going so far as to sign a resignation letter in December 2022 that would be used if he became “impaired.”

On Feb. 14, he was hospitalized after having bronchitis symptoms. He was diagnosed with double pneumonia. He was in Rome’s Gemelli hospital for five weeks.

During Holy Week, the pope did not lead the main services, but he did make appearances throughout the past few days, visiting a prison for 30 minutes on Thursday, visiting St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, and giving the Easter blessing from the basilica on Sunday.

He blessed Rome and the world with an aide reading his address. Francis performed the blessing, with a weak voice but without the nasal cannula that he had been wearing to receive oxygen, saying, “Brothers and Sisters, Happy Easter.”

Pope Francis will be buried outside of the Vatican, the first in more than a century. Instead of being buried beneath the basilica, he will be buried at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. He announced the plan in December 2023, saying he had a “very strong connection” with the basilica where he would visit to honor the Virgin Mary.

The last pope not to be buried at St. Peter’s Basilica was Pope Leo XIII, who died in 1903.

The Archdiocese of Seattle sent ����Xվ 7 News the following statement about his death:

The Archdiocese of Seattle��is deeply saddened by the news of the death of Pope Francis, who has been the universal shepherd not just for Catholics, but for all of God’s children. He fought through his recent health challenges with such grace and had a beautiful public moment on Easter Sunday – our holiest of days, celebrating the resurrection of our Lord. What a beautiful gift to the world.

We are immensely grateful for the pastoral care he shared with us and for his lifelong commitment to demonstrating the love of Jesus Christ. He loved the poor, the outcast, the downtrodden, the marginalized, the earth and all of God’s children. His papacy will be celebrated for teaching all of us to love like Christ did.”

Archbishop Paul D. Etienne issues the following statement:

I am deeply saddened at the news of the death of Pope Francis. I am also profoundly grateful for his years of witness to the Gospel. By his teaching and pastoral charity, he has reminded us that the heart of God is loving mercy and all people are called to exercise this mercy in all of our relationships. May Pope Francis now experience the same loving mercy from the living God he served so selflessly throughout his ministry and life. Please join me in praying for the peaceful repose of this good shepherd.”

By early Friday, memorials of candles and flowers dotted the campus and a school-wide vigil had been scheduled as students and faculty tried to start healing from the previous day’s shooting, which sent shockwaves of fear across the campus.

“I heard some gunshots and then, you know, just blacked out after,” said Carolina Sena, a 21-year-old accounting student who was inside the student union when the shooting started. “Everyone was crying and just panicking. We were trying to barricade ourselves in a little corner in the basement, trying to protect ourselves as much as we could.”

The shooter, identified by police as Phoenix Ikner, is believed to be a Florida State student and the son of a sheriff’s deputy who opened fire with his mother’s former service weapon, investigators said. Authorities have not yet revealed a motive for the��, which began around lunchtime Thursday just outside the student union.

Officers quickly arrived and shot and wounded the gunman after he refused to comply with commands, said Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell.

The two men who were killed were not students, said Florida State University Police Chief Jason Trumbower, adding that he would not release additional information about the victims.

The shooter obtained access to a weapon that belongs to his mother, who has been with the sheriff’s office for over 18 years and has been a model employee, said Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil. Police said they believed Ikner shot the victims using his mother’s former service handgun, which she had kept for personal use after the force upgraded to new weapons.

Five people who were wounded were struck by gunfire, while a sixth was hurt while trying to run away, Revell said in a statement Thursday night. They were all in fair condition, a spokesperson for Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said.

The shooter was a long-standing member of the sheriff’s office’s youth advisory council, the sheriff said.

“He has been steeped in the Leon County Sheriff’s Office family, engaged in a number of training programs that we have,” McNeil said. “So it’s not a surprise to us that he had access to weapons.”

As of Thursday night, Ikner was in the hospital with “serious but non-life-threatening injuries,” according to Revell.

Witness says the suspect’s shotgun jammed

Ambulances, fire trucks and patrol vehicles from multiple law enforcement agencies raced toward the campus just west of Florida’s capital after the university issued an active shooter alert.

Aidan Stickney, a 21-year-old studying business management, was running late to class when he said he saw a man get out of a car with a shotgun and aim at another man in a white polo shirt.

The gun jammed, Stickney said, and the shooter rushed back to his car and emerged with a handgun, opening fire on a woman. Stickney ran, warning others as he called 911.

The S&P 500 was down 3.8% in midday trading, after earlier dropping more than 5%, following its����wrecked the global economy in 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,349 points, or 3.3%, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 3.8% lower.

So far there are few, if any, winners in financial markets from the trade war. European stocks saw some of the day’s biggest losses, with indexes sinking roughly 4%. The price of crude oil tumbled to its lowest level since 2021. Other basic building blocks for economic growth, such as copper, also saw prices slide on worries the trade war will weaken the global economy.

China’s response to U.S. tariffs caused an immediate acceleration of losses in markets worldwide. The Commerce Ministry in Beijing said it would respond to the 34% tariffs imposed by the U.S. on imports from China by imposing a 34% tariff on imports of all U.S. products beginning April 10. The United States and China are the world’s two largest economies.

Markets briefly recovered some of their losses after the release of Friday morning’s U.S. jobs report, which said employers accelerated their hiring by more last month than economists expected. It’s the latest signal that the U.S. job market has remained relatively solid through the start of 2025, and it’s been a linchpin keeping the U.S. economy out of a recession.

But that jobs data was backward-looking, and the fear hitting financial markets is about what’s to come.

“The world has changed, and the economic conditions have changed,” said Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of global fixed income at BlackRock.

The central question is: Will the trade war cause a global recession? If it does, stock prices will likely need to come down even more than they have already. The S&P 500 is down roughly 15% from its record set in February.

Much will depend on how long Trump’s tariffs stick and what kind of retaliations other countries deliver. Some of Wall Street is holding onto hope that Trump will lower the tariffs after prying out some “wins” from other countries following negotiations. Otherwise, many say a recession looks likely.

For his part, Trump has said Americans may feel����because of tariffs, but he has also said the long-term goals, including getting more manufacturing jobs back to the United States, are worth it. On Thursday, he��, where the U.S. economy is the patient.

“For investors looking at their portfolios, it could have felt like an operation performed without anesthesia,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.

But Jacobsen also said the next surprise for investors could be how quickly tariffs get negotiated down. “The speed of recovery will depend on how, and how quickly, officials negotiate,” he said.

Vietnam said its deputy prime minister would visit the U.S. for talks on trade, while the head of the European Commission has vowed to fight back. Others have said they were hoping to negotiate with the Trump administration for relief.

Trump criticized China’s retaliation on Friday, saying on his Truth Social platform that “CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED – THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!”

On Wall Street, stocks of companies that do lots of business in China fell to some of the sharpest losses.

DuPont dropped 11.3% after China said its regulators are launching an anti-trust investigation into DuPont China group, a subsidiary of the chemical giant. It’s one of several measures targeting American companies and in retaliation for the U.S. tariffs.

GE Healthcare got 12.3% of its revenue last year from the China region, and it fell 13.3%.

In the bond market, Treasury yields continued their sharp drop as worries rise about the strength of the U.S. economy. The yield on the 10-year Treasury tumbled to 3.94% from 4.06% late Thursday and from roughly 4.80% early this year. That’s a major move for the bond market.

The Federal Reserve could cut its main interest rate to relax the pressure on the economy, as it was doing late last year before pausing in 2025. But it may have less freedom to move than it would like.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in written remarks being delivered in Arlington, Virginia that tariffs could also drive up expectations for inflation. That could be even more damaging than high inflation itself, because it can drive behavior that begins a vicious cycle that only worsens inflation. U.S.��they’re bracing for sharp increases to their bills.

“Our obligation is to keep longer-term inflation expectations well anchored and to make certain that a one-time increase in the price level does not become an ongoing inflation problem,” Powell said.

That could indicate a hesitance to cut rates because lower rates can give inflation more fuel.

In stock markets abroad, Germany’s DAX lost 4.3%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 3.7% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 2.8%.

The Associated Press writers Jiang Junzhe, Huizhong Wu and Matt Ott contributed to this reporting

The bipartisan is modeled after the

Under the proposal, the president would be required to explain why a tariff is needed and its potential impact on the economy.��After 60 days, the tariff would expire unless Congress passed a joint resolution approving it.

“Trade wars devastate American working families, small businesses, and manufacturers,” Cantwell said. “Article One, Section Eight of the U.S. Constitution gave Congress—the explicit authority to impose duties and regulate commerce, given the far-reaching impact to our national economy.”

Congress would take tariff power under bill

Congress would also have the authority to pass a joint resolution to end the tariff at any time.

“For too long, Congress has delegated its clear authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce to the executive branch,” Grassley said in a .

For decades, global commerce abided by tariff rates agreed to by the U.S. and 122 other countries during the 1980s and 1990s. On Wednesday, President Trump dismantled that arrangement, saying other countries had exploited the system and “ripped off” the United States for years, causing its once-mighty manufacturing base to shrink.

“Our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered,” Trump said in the Rose Garden. “Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years. But it is not going to happen anymore.”

The 7.7 magnitude quake, with an epicenter near Mandalay,����‘s second largest city, struck at midday and was followed by a strong 6.4 magnitude aftershock.

The full extent of death, injury and destruction was not immediately clear — particularly in Myanmar, one of the world’s poorest countries. It is����and information is tightly controlled.

The head of Myanmar’s military government said in the televised speech on Friday evening that at least 144 people were killed and 730 others were injured.

“The death toll and injuries are expected to rise,” Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing said.

Photos from the capital of Naypyidaw showed multiple buildings used to house civil servants destroyed by the quake, and rescue crews pulling victims from the rubble.

Myanmar’s government said blood was in high demand in the hardest-hit areas. Images of buckled and cracked roads in Mandalay and damaged highways as well as the collapse of a bridge and dam raised further concerns about how rescuers would even reach some areas in a country already enduring a widespread humanitarian crisis.

Near Bangkok’s popular Chatuchak market, a 33-story building under construction, with a crane on top, crumpled into a cloud of dust, and onlookers could be seen screaming and running in a video posted on social media.

The sound of sirens echoed����and vehicles filled the streets, leaving some of the city’s already congested streets gridlocked. The elevated rapid transit system and subway shut down.

While the area where the quake struck is prone to earthquakes, they are usually not so big and it is rare for them to be felt in the Thai capital, which sits on a river delta and is at moderate risk for quakes.

April Kanichawanakul, who works in an office building in Bangkok, initially didn’t even realize it was an earthquake, the first she’d ever experienced. “I just thought I was dizzy,” she said.

She and her colleagues ran downstairs from the 10th floor of their building and waited outside for a signal that it was safe to go back in.

Crane-topped building collapsed in a cloud of dust

In Bangkok, at least three people were killed in the building collapse and 90 were missing, according to Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai. He offered no more details about the ongoing rescue efforts but first responders said that seven people had been rescued so far from the area.

At least two of the dead were construction workers who were killed by falling rubble or debris, rescue worker Songwut Wangpon told reporters. The building was being built by the China Railway Construction Corporation for Thailand’s government auditor general.

Elsewhere, people in Bangkok evacuated from their buildings were cautioned to stay outside in case there were more aftershocks.

The U.S. Geological Survey and Germany’s GFZ center for geosciences said the earthquake was a shallow 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), according to preliminary reports. Shallower earthquakes tend to cause more damage.

Screaming and panic as buildings swayed

Bangkok’s city hall declared the city a disaster area to facilitate the response. The greater metropolitan area is home to more than 17 million people, many of whom live in high-rise apartments.

“All of a sudden the whole building began to move. Immediately there was screaming and a lot of panic,” said Fraser Morton, a tourist from Scotland, who was in one of Bangkok’s many malls.

“I just started walking calmly at first but then the building started really moving, yeah, a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, people running the wrong way down the escalators.”

Like Morton, thousands of people poured into Benjasiri Park from nearby shopping malls, high rises and apartment buildings along Bangkok’s busy Sukhumvit Road.

Many were on phones trying to reach loved ones as others sought shade from the hot early afternoon sun.

Voranoot Thirawat, a lawyer working in central Bangkok, said her first indication that something was wrong came when she saw a light swinging back and forth. Then she heard the building creaking as it moved back and forth.

She and her colleagues ran down 12 flights of stairs. “In my lifetime, there was no earthquake like this in Bangkok,” she said.

Paul Vincent, a tourist visiting from England, was at a streetside bar when the quake struck.

As he came onto the street himself, he said he saw a high-rise building swaying and water falling from a rooftop pool.

“There was people crying in the streets and, you know, the panic was horrendous really,” he said.

Bridge and monastery collapse and dam bursts in Myanmar

In Mandalay, the earthquake reportedly brought down multiple buildings, including the Ma Soe Yane monastery, one of the largest in the city, and damaged the former royal palace. Meanwhile, Christian Aid said its partners and colleagues on the ground reported that a dam burst in the city, causing water levels to rise in the lowland areas in the area.

A video posted online showed robed monks in the street shooting video of the multistory monastery before it suddenly fell into the ground. It was not immediately clear whether anyone was harmed.

In the Sagaing region just southwest of the city, a 90-year-old bridge collapsed, and some sections of the highway connecting Mandalay and Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, were also damaged.

The military seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, and is now involved in a bloody civil war with long-established militias and newly formed pro-democracy ones.

Government forces have lost control of much of Myanmar, and many places are incredibly dangerous to access or simply out of reach for aid groups. More than 3 million people have been displaced by the fighting and nearly 20 million are in need, according to the United Nations.

The Red Cross said downed power lines added to challenges for their teams trying to reach several hard-hit areas.

“This disaster will have left people devastated and in need of drinking water, food and shelter,” said Julie Mehigan, head of Asia, Middle East & Europe for Christian Aid. “Myanmar is one of the least developed countries in the world. Even before this heartbreaking earthquake, we know conflict and displacement has left countless people in real need.”

Myanmar’s government declared a state of emergency in six regions and states including the capital Naypyitaw and Mandalay. It was not clear what the declaration meant since the entire country has been under a state of emergency since 2021.

Residents in Yangon rushed out of their homes when the quake struck. In the capital Naypyitaw, the quake damaged some homes and religious shrines, sending parts toppling to the ground.

Injuries reported in China

To the northeast, the earthquake was felt in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in China and caused damage to houses and injuries in the city of Ruili on the border with Myanmar, according to Chinese media reports.

Videos that one outlet said it had received from a person in Ruili showed building debris littering a street and a person being wheeled in a stretcher toward an ambulance.

The shaking in Mangshi, a Chinese city about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Ruili, was so strong that people couldn’t stand, one resident told The Paper, an online media outlet.

Dozens of settlers attacked the Palestinian village of Susiya in the Masafer Yatta area, destroying property, said the activist group Center for Jewish Nonviolence.

They attacked Hamdan Ballal, one of the documentary’s co-directors, leaving his head bleeding, the activists said. As he was being treated in an ambulance, soldiers detained him and a second Palestinian man, the group said. It said his whereabouts were now unknown.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the episode but did not immediately comment.

“No Other Land,” which won the Oscar this year for best documentary,����by residents of Masafer Yatta to stop the Israeli military from demolishing their villages. It has two Palestinian co-directors, Ballal and Basel Adra, both residents of Masafar Yatta, and two Israeli directors, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.

The����has won a string of international awards, starting at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2024. It has also drawn ire in Israel and abroad, as when Miami Beach briefly proposed����of a movie theater that screened the documentary.

Woods and Vanessa Trump, who was married to Donald Trump Jr., had been seen at Torrey Pines in San Diego along with her daughter, Kai, when Woods arrived for the final round to hand out the trophy to the winner of the Genesis Invitational. He is the tournament host.

Kai Trump goes to the Benjamin School with Woods’ two children, Sam and Charlie. She and Charlie competed on an invitation at a high-profile junior golf tournament this week.

“Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side! We look forward to our journey through life together,” Woods said on X, where he has 6.4 million followers.

He added: “At this time we would appreciate privacy for all those close to our hearts.”

‘Love is in the air’

One photo shows Woods and Vanessa Trump posing together, another with them lying in a hammock with her arm draped across his chest as he gazes skyward.

Woods and Vanessa Trump had been featured in gossip outlets for the last several weeks. She was married to Donald Trump Jr. for 12 years. They had five children together.

Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side! We look forward to our journey through life together. At this time we would appreciate privacy for all those close to our hearts.

— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods)

Woods announced March 11 that he ruptured his left Achilles tendon, knocking him out of the Masters and likely for the rest of the year.

It was not clear what prompted Woods, who keeps his personal life fiercely private, to publish photos confirming the relationship.��.

Woods said at the time he and Vonn “wanted to limit the ‘stalkarazzi’ and all those sleazy websites that are out there following us,” saying it could lead to dangerous situations involving his children. He also said their photos would devalue anything the paparazzi had.

Woods has two children from his marriage to Elin Nordegren, who divorced him 2010 after he had been exposed for multiple extramarital affairs.

His only other public relationship was with Erica Herman, which lasted about seven years until he ended it in October 2022. It was a messy split, and����that owns his south Florida estate, where she had been living.

A full 20 years later in 1994, the 45-year-old Foreman became the oldest man to win the heavyweight championship, throwing one perfect combination to steal Michael Moorer’s title in an epic upset.

Few fighters ever had more big moments than Big George Foreman — and even after he finally left the ring, he was only getting started.

The fearsome heavyweight, who lost the “Rumble in the Jungle” to Ali before his inspiring second act as a surprising champion and a successful businessman, died Friday night. Foreman was 76.

Foreman’s family��, not saying how or where he died.

“A devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father and a proud grand- and great-grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility and purpose,” his family wrote. “A humanitarian, an Olympian and two-time heavyweight champion of the world, he was deeply respected. A force for good, a man of discipline, conviction, and a protector of his legacy, fighting tirelessly to preserve his good name— for his family.”

A native Texan, Foreman began his boxing career as an Olympic gold medalist who inspired fear and awe as he climbed to the peak of the heavyweight division by stopping Joe Frazier in 1973. His formidable aura evaporated only a year later when Ali pulled off one of the most audacious victories in boxing history in Zaire, baiting and taunting Foreman into losing his belt.

Foreman left the sport a few years later, but returned after a 10-year absence and a self-described religious awakening.

The middle-aged fighter then pulled off one of the most spectacular knockouts in boxing history, flooring Moorer — 19 years his junior — with a surgical right hand and claiming Moorer’s two heavyweight belts. Foreman’s 20 years is easily the longest gap between heavyweight title reigns.

“His contribution to boxing and beyond will never be forgotten,” former heavyweight champion of the world, Mike Tyson, said on X, formerly Twitter, as he expressed his condolences.

Foreman’s transformation into an inspirational figure was complete, and he fought only four more times — finishing 76-5 with 68 knockouts — before moving onto his next career as a genial businessman, pitchman and occasional actor.

Outside the ring, he was best known as the face of the George Foreman Grill, which launched in the same year as his victory over Moorer. The simple cooking machine sold more than 100 million units and made him much wealthier than his sport ever did.

“George was a great friend to not only myself, but to my entire family,” Top Rank president Bob Arum said. “We’ve lost a family member and are absolutely devastated.”

In the first chapter of his boxing career, Foreman was nothing like the smiling grandfather who hawked his grills on television to great success.

Foreman dabbled in petty crime while growing up in Houston’s Fifth Ward, but changed his life through boxing. He made the U.S. Olympic team in 1968 and won gold in Mexico City as a teenager, stopping a 29-year-old opponent in a star-making performance.

Foreman rose to the pinnacle of the pro game over the next five years, but was also perceived as an aloof, unfriendly athlete, both through his demeanor and through the skewed racial lenses of the time.

Jim Lampley, the veteran boxing broadcaster who worked alongside Foreman for many years at HBO, told The Associated Press on Friday night that Foreman’s initial demeanor was an attempt by his camp to emulate Sonny Liston, the glowering heavyweight champ of the 1960s.

“At some point somewhere along the way, he realized that wasn’t him,” Lampley said.

Foreman stopped Frazier in an upset in Jamaica in January 1973 to win the belt, with his knockout inspiring Howard Cosell’s iconic call: “Down goes Frazier! Down goes Frazier!”

Foreman defended his belt against Ken Norton before accepting the fight with Ali in the now-immortal bout staged in Africa by promoter Don King. Ali put on a tactical masterclass against Foreman, showing off the “rope-a-dope” strategy that frustrated and infuriated the champion. Foreman was eventually knocked down for the first time in his career, and the fight was stopped in the eighth round.

Foreman told the BBC in 2014 that he took the fight almost out of charity to Ali, who he suspected to be broke.

“I said I was going to go out there and kill him, and people said, ‘Please, don’t say you’re going to kill Muhammad,’” Foreman said. “So I said, ‘OK, I’ll just beat him down to the ground.’ That’s how easy I thought the fight would be.”

Exhausted and disillusioned, Foreman stopped fighting in 1977 and largely spent the next decade preaching and working with kids in Houston after his religious awakening. He returned to boxing in 1987 in his late 30s with a plan to defy time through frequent ring appearances, and he racked up a lengthy series of victories before losing to Evander Holyfield in a surprisingly competitive title fight in 1991.

Three years later, Foreman got in the ring with Moorer in Las Vegas, more for his celebrity than for his perceived ability to beat Moorer. The champion appeared to win the first nine rounds rather comfortably, with Foreman unable to land his slower punches. But Foreman came alive in the 10th, hurting Moorer before slipping in the short right hand that sent Moorer to the canvas in earth-shaking fashion.

Lampley, who was calling the fight, named his upcoming autobiography — which includes a prologue about Foreman — after his famous call of that moment: “It Happened!”

Foreman quit the ring for good in 1997, although he occasionally discussed a comeback. He settled into a life as a boxing analyst for HBO and as a pitchman for the grills that grew his fame and fortune. Much of the world soon knew Foreman as both a lovable friend and a ferocious fighter.

“He started performing as this pitchman, this product pitchman with the big, ever-present giant grin on his face,” Lampley recalled. “When I was working with him, people would say, ‘George is a big clown.’ And I would say, ‘Well, you can call him a clown, but he’s actually a genius. He may be the greatest genius I’ve ever met.’ And people would say, ‘Well, genius, what do you mean?’ I’d say, ‘Well, check the bank account. If that isn’t proof enough, I don’t know what is.’ So, he was a genius. He was a human genius.”

Foreman briefly starred in a sitcom called “George” in the 1990s, and he even appeared on the reality singing competition “The Masked Singer” in 2022. A biographical movie based on his life was released in 2023.

Foreman had 12 children, including five sons who are all famously named George Edward Foreman.

“Legendary boxing champion, life-changing preacher, husband, father, grand- and great-grandfather and the best friend you could have,” WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman wrote on social media. “His memory is now eternal, may Big George rest in peace.”

AP Sports Writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this report.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s recall, which covers more than 46,000 Cybertrucks, warned that an exterior panel that runs along the left and right side of the windshield can detach while driving, creating a dangerous road hazard for other drivers, increasing the risk of a crash.

The stainless steel strip, called a cant rail assembly, between the windshield and the roof on both sides, is bound to the truck’s assembly with a structural adhesive, the NHTSA report said. The remedy uses an adhesive that’s not been found to be vulnerable to “environmental embrittlement,” the NHTSA said, and includes additional reinforcements.

Tesla will replace the panel free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed May 19, 2025.

The recall of 46,096 Cybertrucks covers all 2024 and 2025 model years, manufactured from November 13, 2023, to February 27, 2025. The NHTSA order says that Tesla became aware of the problem early this year.

Videos posted on social media showing people ripping the panels off of Cybertrucks with their hands have gone viral in recent days.

The Cybertruck, which Tesla began delivering to buyers in late 2023, has been recalled eight times in the past 15 months for safety problems, including����because a fault in an electric inverter can cause the drive wheels to lose power. Last April, the futuristic-looking trucks were recalled to fix acceleration pedals that can get stuck in the interior trim. Other recalls were related to windshield wipers and the display screen.

It’s the latest setback for the Elon Musk-owned electric automaker, which has come under attack since President����took office and empowered Musk to oversee a new Department of Government Efficiency that’s��.

While no injuries have been reported, Tesla showrooms, vehicle lots, charging stations and privately owned cars have been targeted.

Prosecutors in Colorado����last month in connection with attacks on Tesla dealerships, including����and the words “Nazi cars” spray-painted on a building.

And federal agents in South Carolina last week arrested a man they say set fire to Tesla charging stations near Charleston. An agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives wrote in an affidavit that authorities found writings critical of the government and DOGE in his bedroom and wallet.

Even before the attacks ramped up in recent weeks, Tesla has been struggling, facing increased competition from rival electric vehicles, particularly out of China.

Though largely unaffected by Thursday’s recall announcement, Tesla shares have plummeted 42% in 2025, reflecting����as sales crater around the globe.

With regard to Thursday’s recall, Cybertruck owners may contact Tesla customer service at 1-877-798-3752 and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888-327-4236, or go to nhtsa.gov.

The recall is the latest in recent months tied to products potentially contaminated with the virus that has sickened and killed cats in several states, after racing through poultry and dairy cattle in the U.S. and causing illnesses in at least 70 people.

Savage Pet, of El Cajon, California,����one lot of large and small chicken boxes because they may be contaminated with Type A H5N1 influenza virus. The boxes are cardboard and contain individual plastic packages of products. The lot code and best-by date 11152026 is stamped on products. The pet food was distributed in California, Colorado, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington state.

Warning around Savage Pet products

New York City health officials this week urged consumers to avoid Savage Pet products because of the cats’ illnesses.

One cat fell ill and died this month after eating the Savage Pet products. Final test results are pending, but a preliminary test for H5N1 was “nonnegative,” which indicates that a certain amount of virus was detected, a department spokesperson said.

“The July 2026 opening date you refer to for the I-405 Renton to Bellevue express toll lanes is actually only the date used for traffic and revenue forecasting. This financial work uses a more conservative date to ensure we’re not overestimating the amount of revenue the express toll lanes might generate.”

Drivers are going to have to wait a little longer for the construction to wrap up on Interstate 405 (I-405).

The Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT) announced that the between Bellevue and Renton won’t open until July 2026. The lanes were anticipated to open late this year. WSDOT also announced that the southbound express toll lanes on State Route 167 (SR 167) won’t go active until 2030.

Positive news for south-end drivers, though. WSDOT expects to open the (SR 509), from Interstate 5 (I-5) at 212th in Kent to 188th in Burien. This will also be a tolled road. The toll rate-setting process is about to get underway. The proposed tolls would be viable by the time of day, ranging between $1.20-2.40.

The new SR 167 extension from I-5 in Fife toward the Port of Tacoma is expected to open in December 2026. That will also be a tolled facility, with tolls potentially running from $1-3.

The Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC) is about to start the rate-setting process for all these tolled roads. It’s possible the max tolls on I-405 could go up to $18. The rates just went up to a $15 max last March.

Related on MyNorthwest: Increasing tolls and ferry fares before the Washington State Transportation Commission

Check out more of Chris’ Chokepoints��here. You can also follow Chris on��.

Related on MyNorthwest: Trump’s suggestion that US ‘take over’ the Gaza Strip is rejected by allies and adversaries alike

What to know

Death toll:��Gaza’s Health Ministry said at least 404 people were killed in the strikes and more than 560 were wounded. Rescuers are still searching the rubble. It is among the deadliest days of the war, which has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and displaced an estimated 90% of Gaza’s population.

Israel’s position:��Prime Minister����said he ordered the strikes because of a lack of progress in talks to extend the ceasefire. The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israel’s actions. The Israeli military ordered people to evacuate eastern Gaza, including much of the northern town of Beit Hanoun and other communities further south, and head toward the center of the territory, indicating that Israel could soon launch renewed ground operations.

Hamas’ response:��The militant group accused Netanyahu of upending the ceasefire agreement and exposing����“to an unknown fate.”����are believed to still be alive.

Freed Israeli hostages voice anger and alarm over resumption of war

In stories on Instagram shared by Israeli media, several Israelis released from Hamas captivity in the first phase of the recent ceasefire made desperate appeals to the government to prioritize the release of the hostages and resume negotiations.

“Returning to fighting? Did you listen to a word of what we, the returnees released in the last deal, have been saying to you? Do you see us?!” wrote former hostage Omer Wenkert. He added that “the sense of being forsaken is the strongest I have ever felt.”

Romi Gonen, who was among the first hostages freed in the last ceasefire, said she “will never forget the moment in captivity when I heard the booms after the (first) deal collapsed and realized I would not be freed anytime soon.” She wrote, “I beg you, the people of Israel, we must continue to fight for them. And the government of Israel – get them out! This is the most urgent thing.”

A Palestinian health official says Tuesday is the deadliest day of the war in Gaza

Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the records department in Gaza’s Health Ministry, said at least 263 of the 404 people confirmed dead so far Tuesday were women or children 18 and under. He described it as the deadliest day in Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023.

Saudi Arabia has condemned ‘in the strongest terms’ Israel’s attacks in Gaza

A statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry called for an immediate ceasefire and for the protection of civilians.

Before the outbreak of the war in October 2023, Saudi Arabia appeared to be close to forging diplomatic relations with Israel in a potentially historic U.S.-brokered agreement. The war put that process on hold. Saudi Arabia says it will not normalize relations with Israel without a halt to the fighting and a path toward establishing a Palestinian state.

Mediator Qatar condemns Israel’s resumption of war in Gaza

Qatar has strongly condemned Israel’s resumption of its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The Arab country has served as a key mediator with Hamas and helped broker the ceasefire that took hold in January.

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday condemned “the resumption of the Israeli occupation’s aggression against the Gaza Strip,” saying it threatens regional stability.

Egypt, which also played a key role in brokering the ceasefire, has also condemned the wave of heavy strikes Israel launched early Tuesday.

This is a developing story, check back for updates

The Associated Press’ Natalie Melzer, Samy Magdy, Joseph Krauss contributed to this report

In the latest tally of the destruction, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said Sunday evening that more than 400 homes were damaged as wildfires swept across the state Friday. At least 74 homes in and around Stillwater were destroyed by wildfires, Mayor Will Joyce said Sunday night on Facebook.

The emergency management department also said the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed four fatalities related to the fires or high winds.

The National Weather Service said weekend tornado watches had mostly expired, but dangerous winds were still possible in the Carolinas, east Georgia and northern Florida through Sunday.

In Mississippi, Hailey Hart and her fiancé Steve Romero hunkered down with their three huskies inside their 1994 Toyota Celica as a tornado ripped apart their home Saturday in Tylertown.

Romero said he prayed out loud and hugged Hart as the car rolled onto its side, windows shattering, before it landed on its wheels again. After the twister passed, they could hear people nearby screaming for help.

“It was a bad dream come true,” Romero said.

Next door, Hart’s grandparents crawled out from the rubble of their destroyed house after they sought shelter in a bathroom as falling trees collapsed the roof.

“Everything was coming down on us,” said Donna Blansett, Hart’s grandmother. “All I could do was pray to God to save us.”

They escaped with just a few scratches and aches. Family members, friends and volunteers spent Sunday removing debris and salvaging anything they could find, including some damp clothes, a photo album and a few toiletries.

“I’m so happy you’re alive,” Hart said through tears, as she embraced her grandmother on Sunday.

Related on MyNorthwest: Oklahomans survey devastation after hundreds of homes are destroyed and damaged by wildfires

Forecasters warned of dangerous conditions that turned deadly

The dynamic storm that began Friday earned an unusual “high risk” designation from weather forecasters. Still, experts said it’s not unusual to see such��.

President Donald Trump said in a post on his social media network that his administration is ready to assist affected communities.

“Please join Melania and me in praying for everyone impacted by these terrible storms!” he posted Sunday.

At least three people, including an 82-year-old woman, were killed in central Alabama when multiple tornados swept across the state.

In Troy, Alabama, parks officials said the recreation center where many residents had taken refuge had to be closed due to damage from overnight storms. No one was injured.

“We are thankful the Lord provided protection over our community, and over 200 guests at the Recreation Center storm shelter on Saturday night,” the parks department said in a statement.

More on MyNorthwest: Big two-alarm fire at auto salvage yard in Kent challenges fire crews

Fatalities from twisters in battered Missouri reach 12

Missouri resident Dakota Henderson said he and others rescuing trapped neighbors found five bodies scattered in rubble Friday night outside what remained of his aunt’s house in hard-hit Wayne County. Scattered twisters����in the state, authorities said.

“It’s really disturbing for what happened to the people, the casualties last night,” Henderson said Saturday, not far from the splintered home he said they rescued his aunt through a window of the only room left standing.

Coroner Jim Akers of Butler County, Missouri, described the home where one man was killed as “just a debris field.”

“The floor was upside down,” he said. “We were walking on walls.”

More on MyNorthwest: Washington highways among the worst in the nation, per report

Deaths in Mississippi and Arkansas

In Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves announced that six people died and more than 200 were displaced after tornadoes sowed devastation across three counties. And in the northern part of the state, roads were inundated and some people were stranded by flood waters.

One of the deaths occurred in Covington County, where Seminary resident Traci Ladner said she watched a tornado knock down trees and power lines and destroy a house Saturday as she drove home from Ward’s Restaurant.

The twister touched down briefly, traveled over Highway 49 and then went back up before making another quick descent, she said.

“I was crying. My legs were shaking. It was pretty scary,” she said.

In Arkansas, officials confirmed three deaths.

More on MyNorthwest: Spring arrives, but winter lingers — cold, rainy weather continuing throughout WA

Wildfires and dust storms drive up the death toll

Wind-driven wildfires caused extensive damage in Texas and Oklahoma and officials warned Sunday that parts of both states would again face an increased risk of fire danger in the coming week.

More than 130 fires were reported across Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt said.

“Nobody has enough resources to fight fires when the wind is blowing 70 mph,” said Terry Essary, the fire chief of Stillwater, Oklahoma. “It’s an insurmountable task.”

Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokesperson Keli Cain said Sunday that two people were killed as a result of the wildfires and weather.

Meanwhile, dust storms spurred by high winds claimed almost a dozen lives on Friday. Eight people died in a Kansas highway pileup involving at least 50 vehicles, according to the state highway patrol. Authorities said three people also were killed in car crashes during a dust storm in Amarillo, in the Texas Panhandle.

Reynolds reported from Louisville, Kentucky. Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City, Utah; Bruce Shipkowski in Toms River, New Jersey; Jeff Roberson in Wayne County, Missouri; Gene Johnson in Seattle; Janie Har in San Francisco and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed.

“Our brave Warfighters are right now carrying out aerial attacks on the terrorists’ bases, leaders, and missile defenses to protect American shipping, air, and naval assets, and to restore Navigational Freedom,” Trump said in a social media post. “No terrorist force will stop American commercial and naval vessels from freely sailing the Waterways of the World.”

He also warned Iran to stop supporting the rebel group, promising to hold the country “fully accountable” for the actions of its proxy. It comes two weeks after the U.S leader sent a letter to Iranian leaders offering a path to restarting bilateral talks between the countries on Iran’s advancing nuclear weapons program that Trump has said he will not allow to become operational.

The Houthis reported a series of explosions in their territory Saturday evening. Images circulating online showed plumes of black smoke over the area of the Sanaa airport complex, which includes a sprawling military facility.

At least nine people were killed, said Anees al-Asbahi, spokesman for the Houthi-run health ministry. In a statement on social media, he said another nine were wounded.

Nasruddin Amer, deputy head of the Houthi media office, said the airstrikes won’t deter them and they would retaliate against the U.S. “Sanaa will remain Gaza’s shield and support and will not abandon it no matter the challenges,” he added on social media.

The airstrikes come a few days after the Houthis said they would resume attacks on Israeli vessels sailing in waters off Yemen in response to Israel’s blockade on Gaza. There have been no Houthi attacks reported since then.

Earlier this month, Israel halted all aid coming into Gaza and warned of “additional consequences” for Hamas if their fragile ceasefire in the war isn’t extended as negotiations continue over starting a second phase.

The Houthis had described their warning as taking hold in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Arabian Sea.

The Houthis targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, during their campaign targeting military and civilian ships between the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in late 2023 and January of this year, when a tenuous ceasefire in Gaza took effect.

The attacks raised the Houthis’ profile as they faced economic problems and launched a crackdown targeting dissent and aid workers at home amid Yemen’s decade-long stalemated war that’s torn apart the Arab world’s poorest nation.

The Houthi media office said the U.S. strikes hit “a residential neighborhood” in Sanaa’s northern district of Shouab. Sanaa residents said at least four airstrikes rocked the Eastern Geraf neighborhood in Shouab district, terrifying women and children in the area.

“The explosions were very strong,” said Abdallah al-Alffi. “It was like an earthquake.”

The United States, Israel and Britain have previously hit Houthi-held areas in Yemen. Israel’s military declined to comment.

Saturday’s operation against the Houthis was conducted solely by the U.S., according to a U.S. official. It was the first strike on the Yemen-based Houthis under the second Trump administration, and it comes after a period of relative quiet in the region.

Such broad-based and pre-planned missile strikes against the Houthis were done multiple times by the Biden administration in response to frequent attacks by the Houthis against commercial and military vessels in the region.

The USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group, which includes the carrier, three Navy destroyers and one cruiser, are in the Red Sea and were part of the mission. The USS Georgia cruise missile submarine has also been operating in the region.

Trump announced the strikes as he spent the day at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

“These relentless assaults have cost the U.S. and World Economy many BILLIONS of Dollars while, at the same time, putting innocent lives at risk,” Trump said.

___

Baldor reported from Washington and Magdy reported from Cairo. AP White House Correspondent Zeke Miller contributed from Washington.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams need SpaceX to get this relief team to the space station before they can check out. Arrival is set for late Saturday night.

NASA wants overlap between the two crews so Wilmore and Williams can fill in the newcomers on happenings aboard the orbiting lab. That would put them on course for an undocking next week and a splashdown off the Florida coast, weather permitting.

The duo will be escorted back by astronauts who flew up on a rescue mission on SpaceX last September alongside two empty seats reserved for Wilmore and Williams on the return leg.

Reaching orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the newest crew includes NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, both military pilots; and Japan’s Takuya Onishi and Russia’s Kirill Peskov, both former airline pilots. They will spend the next six months at the space station, considered the normal stint, after springing Wilmore and Williams free.

“Spaceflight is tough, but humans are tougher,” McClain said minutes into the flight.

As test pilots for Boeing’s new Starliner capsule, Wilmore and Williams expected to be gone just a week or so when they launched from Cape Canaveral on June 5. A series of helium leaks and thruster failures marred their trip to the space station, setting off months of investigation by NASA and Boeing on how best to proceed.

Eventually ruling it unsafe, NASA ordered Starliner to fly back empty last September and moved Wilmore and Williams to a SpaceX flight due back in February. Their return was further delayed when SpaceX’s brand new capsule needed extensive battery repairs before launching their replacements. To save a few weeks, SpaceX switched to a used capsule, moving up Wilmore and Williams’ homecoming to mid-March.

Already capturing the world’s attention, their unexpectedly long mission took a political twist when President Donald Trump and SpaceX’s Elon Musk vowed earlier this year to accelerate the astronauts’ return and blamed the former administration for stalling it.

Retired Navy captains who have lived at the space station before, Wilmore and Williams have repeatedly stressed that they support the decisions made by their NASA bosses since last summer. The two helped keep the station running — fixing a broken toilet, watering plants and conducting experiments — and even went out on a spacewalk together. With nine spacewalks, Williams set a new record for women: the most time spent spacewalking over a career.

A last-minute hydraulics issue delayed Wednesday’s initial launch attempt. Concern arose over one of the two clamp arms on the Falcon rocket’s support structure that needs to tilt away right before liftoff. SpaceX later flushed out the arm’s hydraulics system, removing trapped air.

The duo’s extended stay has been hardest, they said, on their families — Wilmore’s wife and two daughters, and Williams’ husband and mother. Besides reuniting with them, Wilmore, a church elder, is looking forward to getting back to face-to-face ministering and Williams can’t wait to walk her two Labrador retrievers.

“We appreciate all the love and support from everybody,” Williams said in an interview earlier this week. “This mission has brought a little attention. There’s goods and bads to that. But I think the good part is more and more people have been interested in what we’re doing” with space exploration.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

In emergency applications filed at the high court on Thursday, the administration asked the justices to narrow court orders entered by district judges in Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington that blocked the order President Donald Trump signed shortly after beginning his second term.

The order currently is blocked nationwide. Three federal appeals courts have rejected the administration’s pleas, including one in Massachusetts on Tuesday.

The order would deny citizenship to those born after Feb. 19 whose parents are in the country illegally. It also forbids U.S. agencies from issuing any document or accepting any state document recognizing citizenship for such children.

Roughly����over the executive order, which they say violates the Constitution’s����promise of citizenship to anyone born inside the United States.

The Justice Department argues that individual judges lack the power to give nationwide effect to their rulings.

Five conservative justices, a majority of the court, have raised concerns in the past about nationwide, or universal, injunctions.

But the court has never ruled on the matter.

The Trump administration made a similar argument in Trump’s first term, including in the Supreme Court fight over his ban on travel to the U.S. from several Muslim majority countries.

The court eventually upheld Trump’s policy, but did not take up the issue of nationwide injunctions.

More from MyNorthwest: WA among 21 states suing Trump Administration over ‘illegal’ Education Department firings

The new crew needs to get to the International Space Station before����can head home after nine months in orbit.

Concerns over a critical hydraulic system arose less than four hours before the Falcon rocket’s planned evening liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. As the countdown clocks ticked down, engineers evaluated the hydraulics used to release one of the two arms clamping the rocket to its support structure. This structure needs to tilt back right before liftoff.

Already strapped into their capsule, the four astronauts awaited a final decision, which came down with less than an hour remaining in the countdown. SpaceX canceled for the day. The company did not immediately announce a new launch date, but noted the next try could be as early as Thursday night.

Once at the space station, the U.S., Japanese and Russian crew will replace Wilmore and Williams, who have been up there since June. The two test pilots had to move into the space station for an extended stay after Boeing’s new Starliner capsule encountered major breakdowns in transit.

Starliner’s debut crew flight was supposed to last just a week, but NASA ordered the capsule to return empty and transferred Wilmore and Williams to SpaceX for the return leg.

More from MyNorthwest: Boeing’s Everett workforce impacted by latest rounds of cuts