An intensifying El Nino, nature's heat-releasing thermostat that spikes global temperatures, is heading to historically strong levels, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.

In its monthly update, NOAA said this year's El Nino, a natural warming of the equatorial Pacific that alters weather patterns across the globe, has an 81% chance of becoming very strong the top category available by fall. It should rank among the most intense El Ninos since the weather agency started tracking them in 1950.

Its biggest impacts from droughts to downpours to heat waves are likely to be most felt in the fall and winter, meteorologists said.

This El Nino, which formed only last month, already zipped past the weak stage and is now considered moderate with no indications of slowing its strengthening, the government forecast said. Ocean temperatures in key parts of the Pacific that help indicate the El Nino's strength are at or near record highs for this time of year, partly because it comes on top of ocean warming from human-caused climate change, meteorologists said.

It's pretty extreme, said Emily Becker, a University of Miami scientist who works with the NOAA El Nino forecast team. Not unprecedented, but very unusual.

Becker said it will rival the 1997-1998 El Nino, while other meteorologists predict this one could be even stronger. The World Bank said the El Nino that started in 1997 led to 23,000 deaths in weather disasters, increased poverty rates in some countries and cost governments as much as $45 billion.

This is not a run-of-the-mill El Nino, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. Not only is it already breaking records for the time of year, but unlike past super El Ninos, it is on top of considerable background warming from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas. We might not expect to see the exact same impacts from this event as we have seen in historical ones.

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A very strong El Nino based on ocean temperatures in parts of the Pacific does not translate to even more intense extreme weather, but makes those conditions more likely, Becker said.

It increases the chances for most of the southern U.S. to be rainier in the winter, Becker said. It also boosts the likelihood of a warmer winter conditions for the northern United States and Canada.

El Nino usually dampens Atlantic hurricane season. Colorado State University, which pioneered hurricane season forecasts, on Wednesday dramatically reduced its prediction for number of storms due to increased confidence in a strong or very strong El Nino. The forecasters predict overall hurricane activity in the Atlantic will be well below normal.

Global impacts made more likely include a drier Indonesia and a warmer and wetter eastern Pacific, Becker said.

El Nino also acts as a 'thermostat' for global climate by liberating years worth of accumulated heat stored in the subsurface tropical Pacific Ocean and dumping it into the atmosphere, where it eventually dissipatesbut not before warming the entire planet in the meantime, Swain wrote in a blog post.

Many climate scientists are predicting that 2027 because of pent up heat will break the 2024 global high temperature record set by the last strong El Nino.

A strong El Nino would raise the odds of dramatic new climate records over the next 6 to 12 months, said Zack Labe, a climate scientist at Climate Central. It could give a taste of an even warmer world to come, he said.

The defendant in Charlie Kirks killing told his roommate he wishes he hadnt done it the day after the conservative activist was shot in the neck while speaking to a crowd at Utah Valley University, a recording played in court revealed Thursday.

Lance Twiggs, who was also defendant Tyler Robinsons romantic partner, said in an interview with law enforcement that the interaction happened in their apartment in southeastern Utah, more than 200 miles from where Kirk was shot.

Later that same day and only about an hour before turning himself in Robinson posted "it was me at UVU yesterday, in a chat room on the Discord social media platform, according to messages shown by prosecutors.

Defense attorneys unsuccessfully fought the public release of the statements from Twiggs and the chat room messages. They argued prosecutors would characterize the material as a confession, undermining Robinson's right to a fair trial if the statements are broadcast by the media.

But after prolonged debate that included an attorney for Kirk's family arguing for the material to be publicly released, state District Judge Tony Graf allowed a redacted version of the video interview to be played. Some parts were blacked out, with only audio.

Robinson is charged with aggravated murder and has not entered a plea. He turned himself in a day after the fatal shooting of Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump credited with helping galvanize young voters for the Republican in the 2024 election.

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Notes and text exchanges were reviewed in court

Prosecutors allege Robinson confessed in a note to Twiggs that read: I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and Im going to take it. Robinson also allegedly sent a text to Twiggs saying he targeted Kirk because he had enough of his hatred.

State Bureau of Investigation Agent Brian Davis recounted the exchanges between Twiggs and Robinson under questioning by a prosecutor Thursday. They included texts from Robinson worrying about leaving fingerprints on a rifle that belonged to his grandfather, which authorities believe he used to shoot Kirk. Others messages discussed engravings on bullet casings.

Prosecutors said ammunition found in the gun used to kill Kirk had engravings that included Hey Facist! Catch! and If you Read This, You Are GAY.

Robinson appeared to furrow his brow and smirk as the text messages about the engravings were displayed in the courtroom. He was dressed in a jacket and tie with one arm shackled to his waist and appeared to be taking notes with his free hand.

Twiggs spoke to authorities on Sept. 12 two days after Kirk was assassinated while speaking to a crowd of thousands and again on April 20, Davis said. He was given immunity for the statements, meaning what Twiggs said cannot be used against him in a potential criminal case.

Prosecutors contend the shooting endangered others at Kirks campus event an aggravating circumstance that could make the crime punishable by death under Utah law. Robinson also faces possible sentence enhancements based on claims by prosecutors that he targeted Kirk because of his political views.

Twiggs said in the April interview that Robinson sometimes talked about politics, including Trump. But Twiggs said he never heard Robinson talk about Kirk before the shooting. The defendant also did not talk much about gender issues or LGBTQ rights, Twiggs testified.

Graf will decide at the conclusion of this weeks preliminary hearing if prosecutors have enough evidence to bring Robinson to trial.

Robinsons attorneys have not commented on his guilt or innocence but have sought to get the death penalty taken off the table, so far unsuccessfully.

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Lawyers for Kirk's widow wanted all of Twiggs' statement made public

Attorneys for the media and for Kirk's widow, Erika, who has attended this week's hearing, had urged the judge to make Twiggs' statements and other evidence public.

To not be transparent, to not be open and let the world see what happened will create doubt and distrust in the judicial system, Kirk family lawyer Jeffrey Neiman said.

Neiman filed a request late Wednesday for all evidence against Robinson to be displayed openly and in real time during this week's hearing. Neiman wrote that Erika Kirk and Kirk's parents had waited 10 months for the hearing but at times have been denied the chance to meaningfully observe it.

The judge said in response that not all evidence would be openly displayed and he needs to protect the rights of both victims and the defendant.

Investigators say Robinson went to a rooftop near where Kirk was speaking and shot him once through the neck as the activist was taking questions from a crowd of several thousand people. Kirk was declared dead after being taken to a hospital.

Investigators found the suspected murder weapon a bolt-action rifle with one spent round wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near where Kirk was shot.

Robinsons parents and two of his brothers sat behind him, in the front row of the courtroom gallery. Charlie Kirks parents and Erika Kirk sat a few rows back. Sen. Mike Lee, a Utah Republican, also was in attendance.

Robinsons mom cried as the Discord messages were read in court. She rubbed the shoulder of one of Robinsons brothers, who listened with his head bowed.

Kylian Mbapp had a goal and an assist after missing a first-half penalty kick, Ousmane Dembl scored the other and France beat Morocco 2-0 Thursday in the World Cup quarterfinals.

Mbapp's goal in the 60th minute was the 20th of his World Cup career and came in his 20th match at the tournament, moving him one behind Argentina captain Lionel Messi. Dembl scored his fifth goal of the tournament in the 66th.

Mbapp was taken down in the 76th minute and was taken off for a substitute a minute later. He was then shown sitting on the bench with an ice pack on his right ankle.

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After the match and with both shoes on, Mbapp ran and jumped in celebration with his teammates.

France will face either Spain or Belgium in the semifinals in Dallas on Tuesday.

France beat Morocco by the same score in the semifinals of the 2022 tournament in Qatar when the Atlas Lions became the first African team to make it that far. France now remains on track to become only the third nation to play in the final of three consecutive World Cups.

Mbapp got his goal with a perfectly placed shot just inside the far post after Morocco failed to clear the ball. He received the ball just outside the area, took a couple steps forward and then sent his shot sailing into the net. He extended both arms and ran to the sideline to celebrate with his teammates.

France's second goal came after Mbapp took a pass and tapped it back for Dembl. Mbapp kept running forward and took defenders with him, opening space for Dembl's shot.

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France held a 21-4 advantage in shots on goal and 8-1 edge in shots on target for the game.

Mbapp also had the first shot on goal of the game, just missing wide right in the fourth minute. Then, in the 25th, he was running up the left side when he was chopped down in the box by Morocco defender Noussair Mazraoui. Referee Facundo Tello quickly pointed to the penalty spot.

Mbapp lined up waiting for his attempt but was held up by a lengthy video review. He was finally cleared to shoot in the 28th minute, but after a hesitation, Mbapp's shot toward the right corner was corralled by goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who guessed the direction of the shot correctly.

Mbapp made his only other penalty attempt at this year's World Cup in France's 1-0 victory over Paraguay in the round of 16.

Still, France was by far the more active team offensively in the first half, holding a 13-1 advantage in shots on goal.

Morocco's best opportunity came just before the halftime whistle when Achraf Hakimi sent a free kick from just outside the box past the right post.

Eight men were indicted on murder and terrorism conspiracy charges Thursday for their alleged roles in a thwarted drone and sniper attack on the UFC cage-fighting show staged at the White House in June.

The indictment, returned in Ohio, charges all eight in two separate conspiracies, one to provide material support to terrorists and a second to commit murder on federal government territory and to murder a federal government official.

It remains unclear from the court records how close the would-be attackers could have come to being able to carry out the plan had it not been thwarted.

According to the new indictment, the plot began in May, when the group began amassing money, firearms, ammunition, body armor, explosives, drones, medical equipment, communications equipment and other items.

It was on June 10 that law enforcement officials learned about a possible threat to President Donald Trumps UFC cage-fighting show, four days before the mixed martial arts extravaganza was scheduled to take place.

The Justice Department last month announced a series of criminal complaints in different districts across the country in connection with the UFC plot, including from Ohio, Missouri, Washington, Nebraska and California.

The indictment announced Thursday represents an effort by the government to streamline the case and knit the defendants together into a single conspiracy prosecution in Ohio. Officials have said the group members harbored fringe conspiracy theories and hoped the attack would destabilize the government.

One of the defendants told investigators that they planned to fly explosive-laden drones into the event and then shoot panicked crowd members as they fled, according to a federal affidavit.

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Tycen C. Proper 19, of Danville, Ohio, and four others were arrested and charged in Missouri, Nebraska and California the weekend of the cage-fighting event, called Freedom 250. Two more defendants were charged and arrested by the FBI about a week later in Washington and Missouri.

The Justice Department said an eighth man was charged this week. He is 21-year-old Chandler D. Scaggs, of Chapmanville, West Virginia, who was taken into custody in that state. Scaggs was allegedly assigned to be one of the snipers in the plotted attack, according to an affidavit.

The affidavit said Scaggs was apparently to be picked up by Proper and taken to Washington but lost contact with him after Proper was arrested, the same as the others. Scaggs allegedly signaled to the group that he was still willing to participate in the attack and arranged to travel to the event with another co-conspirator.

Scaggs' attorney, Eric Brehm, said his office was thoroughly reviewing the allegations and declined to comment further.

Conspiring to provide material support to terrorists is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, and conspiring to commit murder carries a penalty of up to life in prison.

Federal prosecutors allege that the group planned to murder Trump, Vice President JD Vance, other federal officials, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, trillionaire businessman Elon Musk and other high value targets at the event.

It looks like John Deere owners can soon feel free to fix their own machines.

The Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from several states secured a right-to-repair settlement Wednesday with agriculture equipment giant Deere & Co. commonly known as John Deere that requires the company to let farmers and independent shops fix their own equipment.

The Illinois-based manufacturer has faced complaints for years for withholding the software needed for repairs and forcing customers to use authorized dealers instead of independent ones.

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This marks the second right-to-repair settlement Deere has reached this year, following a separate $99 million class-action settlement with farmers in April. Though the class-action compensated consumers, the FTC's settlement instead requires Deere to make its repair services available to equipment owners and independent shops.

The FTC and attorneys general from Arizona, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin brought the antitrust lawsuit in January 2025, arguing that Deere had illegally restricted farmers and independent shops that might otherwise service them from repairing farm equipment such as tractors. Deere also makes engines and equipment for forestry, landscaping and construction.

Under the order filed in Illinois, Deere will now be required to make diagnostic and repair tools available to equipment owners and independent repair shops, not only its own network of authorized dealers. It also prevents Deere dealers from retaliating against equipment owners or repair shops who choose to fix their own equipment instead of paying for Deere's services. The order is headed to Judge Iain D. Johnston for his approval.

For too long, Arizona farmers and independent mechanics have been at the mercy of Deeres monopoly over repair tools, forced to wait and pay for authorized dealers just to fix broken tractors and other equipment, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement Wednesday.

Deere must pay $1 million collectively to the five states for antitrust enforcement costs and will be subject to strict compliance oversight for the next 10 years.

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In the complaint, the FTC argued that Deere provides a service software tool to authorized dealers but does not provide the full version to equipment owners or independent shops. Deere had said the lawsuit was baseless, denied that its distribution of service tools was anticompetitive and argued that it could not monopolize services since it does not directly provide them.

Deere maintained its commitment to independent repair in a statement Wednesday, adding that the agreement with the FTC reinforces its innovation of more flexible repair options.

This is good news for our customers and for the future of how Deere equipment is supported, said Denver Caldwell, vice president of aftermarket and customer support.

Right-to-repair has become an increasingly common issue over the years, especially for tech products, with consumers complaining that even simple repairs can only be done by company-authorized dealers.

While Europe's still in the throes of summer heat, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the Danish city of Aalborg.

Dozens of Santas, Mrs. Clauses and elves from around the world have descended on Denmark's fourth-largest city for the Nordic nation's annual World Santa Claus Congress, a colorful midsummer tradition for decades.

First staged at an amusement park near Copenhagen in 1957, the congress moved to Aalborg on Denmark's Jutland peninsula two years ago. This year, the Santa suits looked a little stifling under the Danish summer sun.

The event, which marks its 70th anniversary next year, was created to entertain children, but became a popular gathering for Santas who appear in stores and shopping malls during the Yuletide season.

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The gathering offers a chance for professional Santas not the real one, of course! to swap stories, compare beards, sharpen their craft and compete in lighthearted contests months before anyone checks naughty-or-nice lists for the Christmas rush.

The packed agenda features events like gingerbread eating, gift wrapping, balloon modeling, and several noisy parades.

"The grandmas say: 'Oh, it's too early to come here'," said organizer Peter Gislund, himself a Santa Claus in Aalborg during the Christmas season. "The kids say: 'Hooray! Santa's here already'."

Christmas as a state of mind, not just a season

Over the years, the annual four-day gathering has attracted Santas and Mrs. Clauses from as far away as Australia, Hong Kong, Canada and the United States.

Most of the three dozen or so Santas and Mrs. Clauses at the congress this week hail from Scandinavia, but some flew in like Paradise Yamamoto from Tokyo.

"This is very fun, so many children Ho, ho, ho!" said Yamamoto with a laugh after parading through Aalborg waving a Japanese flag and dancing to the song "Feliz Navidad" one of many Christmas classics played during the event.

Robert Hercz, a 64-year-old Norwegian Santa from Oslo, said that despite their different nationalities, all Santas on hand share "a gene" for generosity and spreading joy.

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"You have it or you don't," said Hercz, who was attending the congress for the first time. "We have the true Santa spirit. And it's all about giving, sharing, and putting a little bit of joy in people's hearts."

It's not all ho-ho-ing and belly rubs.

"When Santas are together, they always mingle and talk a little bit," said Gislund. "Maybe I put a little bit of sparkle in the beard and so on. That's the good part of meeting some Santas from all over the world."

For Simon Brns, a 33-year-old Danish Santa, the event is proof that the festive spirit isn't just for Christmas.

"Christmas is not a season. It's a feeling you have in your stomach," he said with a smile. "So if you want, you can have Christmas the whole year."

A South Florida airport officially changed its name on Thursday to the President Donald J. Trump International Airport.

Signs for the Palm Beach International Airport have been removed, while new signage goes up.

Because an entire airport transformation doesnt happen overnight, youll notice a combination of both our classic look and our new brand elements coexisting while traveling through the terminal over the next several weeks, airport officials said in a Facebook post.

Trump Force One," a Boeing 757 owned by The Trump Organization, was the first plane to arrive at the airport under its new name, shortly after 5 a.m. The president's son, Eric Trump, was one of the passengers. The Trump family regularly uses the West Palm Beach airport when they visit President Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago home in nearby Palm Beach. A stretch of road from the airport to Trumps estate was renamed Donald J. Trump Boulevard earlier this year.

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There is no person who has done more for Florida and our country, and no one more deserving of this incredible honor, Eric Trump posted on X. As a son, and someone who flies out of this airport nearly every day, I will forever be proud to see the initials DJT on my boarding pass.

While the name change took effect Thursday, the three-letter airport code will change from PBI to DJT on Aug. 18.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation earlier this year that made the name change possible. Changing the airports name is expected to cost as much as $5.5 million for new signs, branding and other updates.

Keegan Collett, who was departing the airport Thursday morning on his way to Cincinnati, said he was surprised to see the new name. He said he doesn't think Trump deserves to have an airport named after him but isn't necessarily bothered by it.

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At the end of the day, its just the name of an airport, Collett said. "Theres bigger things. I feel like its just more of a distraction. Why even worry about it?"

In Dandridge, Tennessee, on Thursday morning, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty and Representative Tim Burchett attended a ceremony to rename the I-40 Bridge in East Tennessee to the Donald J. Trump Bridge.

Bessent said ahead of the ceremony that no one is more deserving of the honor of a bridge renaming than Trump.

Trump received 82% of the vote in Jefferson County, where Dandridge is located, in the 2024 general election.

President Donald Trump flew partway home from a NATO summit in Turkey on an old baby blue Air Force One plane instead of the new Qatari-gifted and retrofitted red, white and navy blue jet he arrived in, a surprise swap that came as the U.S. and Iran once again began trading strikes.

Trump offered little clarity on the swap, instead saying he would fly on the legacy aircraft for old times sake, and indicating that both aircraft would make a previously unscheduled stop on the way back to the United States at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, a base used by U.S. troops.

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The travel switch raised fresh security questions about the new aircraft that the U.S. spent $400 million to retrofit. Images of the Qatari-gifted jet captured since its unveiling show it is not equipped with some of the same missile detection and countermeasure systems as the older jets.

Trump boarded the new jet at Mildenhall, and it promptly took off for Joint Base Andrews outside Washington after he greeted service members stationed there.

We just landed and met up with our new Air Force One, which was sent earlier to RAF Mildenhall, so we could show the wonderful Servicemembers, as per the entire Bases request, the Republican president said on social media. They were very excited.

He said stopping at Mildenhall was on our way back to the States from Turkey, with virtually no deviation of flightpath.

During the flight, Trump denied to the reporters accompanying him that security concerns involving Iran were a factor in flying two planes home. Asked if he was aware of any credible threats against Air Force One by Iran, Trump brushed off the question.

I have a threat all the time. Im No. 1 on their list, he said, repeating comments from earlier Wednesday that he is one of Irans top assassination targets.

When the reporters asked Trump if he knew why they were asked to keep their window blinds closed during the flight from Turkey to the U.K. aboard the older Air Force One, Trump replied that it probably was due to the sleazebags over here an apparent reference to Iran. He said he was not asked to close the window blinds in his compartment. Iran and Turkey share a border.

New Air Force One doesn't have same security measures

The swap was also announced less than a day after the U.S. military conducted a series of large strikes in Iran in retaliation for its attacks on merchant shipping in the region, and before a new series of strikes on Wednesday.

Trump first announced in a social media post that the gleaming new plane he had proudly shown off a day earlier would instead visit the U.K. base on the way home so military members could tour the Aircraft. Trump said he instead would be flying home in an older plane previously used as Air Force One.

When asked later during a news conference if security concerns had played a role in the switch, Trump didnt directly answer but said that when it came to Iran, he was No. 1 on the list for killing.

When another reporter followed up, Trump said hed be going home by normal methods while the new plane would be shown off to troops.

When asked if the missing countermeasures systems played a role in the jet being swapped out, the U.S. Air Force directed questions to the White House.

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The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the President and his staff," spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement. "As the President has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal including distraction and misdirection to address those threats.

Plane's transponder was turned off for some of the flight

Trump departed Turkey aboard one of the older Boeing VC-25As that have carried presidents for 3 1/2 decades. Consumer flight trackers were unable to monitor its transponder early in the flight after takeoff, suggesting it had been temporarily disabled by the crew -- a security measure used when ferrying the president to and from high-risk environments like war zones, not a major NATO ally hosting a long-scheduled summit.

Other world leaders flights departed with trackable transponders, including those from Germany and the U.K.

The luxurious Boeing 747-800 gifted by Qatar, that was modified to carry Trump, departed earlier Wednesday from Turkey and landed at RAF Mildenhall on Wednesday afternoon, flight trackers showed.

Iran has several missiles and drones in its inventory with enough range to make the roughly 800-mile (1,300-kilometer) flight from its own borders to Turkey, including some of its Shahed drones and Shahab ballistic missiles.

However, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Iran does not possess weaponry that would be capable of effectively striking England at a range of roughly 2,500 miles (4,000 kilometers).

The U.S. Air Force, which oversees the running of the fleet of aircraft used by every president, had previously said that they had to prioritize making only some of the necessary upgrades and changes in order to deliver the Qatari jet also known as the bridge aircraft into service.

The Air Force argued that the rapid conversion of the jet was done without accepting any risk regarding security, safety, or secure communications, but did concede that several highly complex engineering modifications required for the final (Air Force One aircraft) were intentionally excluded from the Bridge aircraft.

Jeremiah Gertler, a senior analyst for Teal Group, an aviation and defense consulting firm, previously told The Associated Press that the absence of countermeasure systems, as well as a seemingly smaller number of communications antennas, suggested that the Qatari jet was better suited to only work as a domestic aircraft.

Trump's first flight on the new Qatari jet was to North Dakota last week.

The original Air Force One planes were built from scratch near the end of the Cold War and they were hardened against the effects of a nuclear blast and included a range of security features, such as anti-missile countermeasures and an onboard operating room.

The jets are also equipped with air-to-air refueling capabilities for contingencies, though it has never been utilized with a president on board.

The pair of Boeing jets that are currently being modified to act as the permanent upgrades to the Air Force One jets have been delayed, and are expected to be delivered in 2028.

The United States launched new airstrikes against Iran early Thursday, and Tehran responded by targeting Gulf countries in an exchange of fire that threatened an interim deal intended to help end the war in the Middle East.

Back-and-forth attacks, including a day earlier, have repeatedly threatened the ceasefire, but Thursdays appeared bigger all around, with sirens sounding at least three times in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navys 5th Fleet headquarters, and missiles targeting Kuwait and Qatar.

The strikes came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signaled the end of a fragile ceasefire and threatened to escalate the conflict if they didn't stop. That raised concerns that the region could tip back into a war that would engulf several countries and could halt energy shipments through the strait that are crucial for the global economy.

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In Iran, the two days of American airstrikes have killed at least 14 people and wounded another 78, Irans Health Ministry said Thursday most of those reportedly members of the armed forces.

In Kuwait, the military said falling debris wounded one person as it shot down three ballistic missiles, a cruise missile and 10 drones. Bahrain said it shot down incoming fire, without elaborating. There was no immediate word of damage in Qatar.

US strikes hit more targets

The U.S. militarys Central Command said it hit some 90 targets across Iran, releasing black-and-white footage of what appeared to be strikes on an airport runway and missile launchers.

The U.S. said the strikes were intended to further degrade Irans ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the strait, through which a fifth of the worlds traded oil and natural gas passed before the war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28.

Attacks on ships and the threat of them virtually halted traffic in the waterway during the conflict, causing the price of oil to skyrocket and raising prices on many basic goods, including food, far beyond the region.

Iranian state media reported explosions in several locations, including Bushehr, home to Irans nuclear power plant complex, and southern port cities.

In Irans southwestern Khuzestan province, at least three people were killed Thursday, state media reported. In Iranshahr, authorities said a strike killed a firefighter at an airport. Those fatalities followed the deaths of at least nine members of Irans armed forces in Wednesdays strikes, according to state media. It wasnt clear when the other death happened and who was killed.

For the first time since April, U.S. strikes also appeared to target Iranian bridges. State media reported a strike on a railway bridge in Irans northeastern Golestan province, and the Revolutionary Guard said two bridges were attacked on the route to Mashhad, where officials plan to bury the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday.

Trump warns that it will get much worse if attacks on shipping happen again

After leaving a NATO summit in Turkey, Trump posted several videos on his social media site of what he said were explosions in Iran and issued another warning to the Islamic Republic.

This is in retribution for yesterdays bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse! Trump wrote.

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Trump said earlier in the day that the latest back-and-forth fighting would not result in long-term military action.

Anything that happens is going to happen very fast, Trump said.

Trump also renewed his past threats to hit Irans civilian infrastructure, including electric and desalination plants, and to seize Kharg Island, through which some 90% of Iranian oil exports pass.

The exchange of fire began after Iran attacked three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.

The new attacks, despite the ceasefire, could reflect a divide among Irans leadership. Hard-liners want to ensure lasting control over the waterway, which is a globally important conduit for fuel shipments and has become a critical lever in confronting the West. Pragmatists want a permanent peace deal to lift international sanctions and provide desperately needed economic relief.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a key negotiator in talks seeking a permanent end to the war, was defiant in a post on X on Thursday morning: America still hasnt learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free. Let me put it plainly: If you strike, youll get hit.

Strikes raise fears that war could resume

Trump fueled concerns that the war could restart by saying Wednesday that the interim agreement to pause the fighting was over. He added that he would allow negotiations to continue, though he cast doubt on the outcome.

They can talk, but I think theyre wasting their time, he said.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, also a top negotiator, retorted on X that Trumps remarks are not a sign of power but an admission of the failure of U.S. policy toward Iran.

Negotiations to reach a final deal were due to start after the funeral for Khamenei, who was killed in the wars first moments. The funeral, which ends Thursday, was supposed to be a period of lower tensions.

The talks are meant to focus on the toughest matters, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehrans disputed nuclear program.

Bonnie Tyler, the gravelly voiced, Grammy-nominated Welsh pop star best known for singing the chart-topping power ballad Total Eclipse of the Heart in 1983 and seeing new generations succumb to its bombastic charms during solar and lunar eclipses, has died. She was 75.

Tyler died unexpectedly in a hospital in Portugal where she was being treated for an illness, her family said Thursday in a statement on her website. She was hospitalized in May in Faro, where she had a home, for emergency intestinal surgery and was later placed in an induced coma.

Bonnies family and team are heartbroken to announce that Bonnie unexpectedly passed away last night in hospital in Portugal as a result of the illness that she was being treated for, her family said.

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Tyler earned three Grammy nods, represented Britain at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 where she came in 19th and was awarded an MBE for her services to music by Queen Elizabeth II in 2023, all largely thanks to Total Eclipse of the Heart, which has had more that 1 billion streams, boosted by real eclipses in 2017 and 2024.

The song spent four weeks at No. 1, the video has surpassed 1 billion views and when Stereogum reevaluated it in 2020, the music outlet declared it an extinction-level event rendered in musical form.

Its pop music as heart-pounding, chest-thumping, blood-gargling, heavens-falling passion explosion. Its sheer spectacle. Its fireworks and lasers and lightning and thunder. It soars and swoops and barrel-rolls, the site said.

The song has never really gone away, covered by the English singer Nicki French in 1995 and the band Westlife in 2006. Cate Blanchett sang it while hitting Billy Bob Thornton with her car in 2001s Bandits, it appeared at a wedding scene in 2003s Old School and One Direction sang it in 2010 on a U.K. version of The X Factor.

Early life

Tyler was born as Gaynor Hopkins a coal miners daughter in public housing with an outside toilet in Skewen, Wales, about seven miles outside Swansea. She grew up with three sisters and two brothers.

She adored the Beatles and her first album was A Hard Days Night. The first song she bought was Hippy Hippy Shake by the Swinging Blue Jeans at 13 and watched Top of the Pops religiously, according to her memoir, Straight From the Heart.

She would record Top of the Pops on a reel-to-reel two-track recorder and write down the lyrics of songs she loved. Her favorites were songs by Janis Joplin, Nina Simone, Tina Turner, Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding.

I used to sing them into my hairbrush for hours and hours, and thats how it all started for me. I fell in love with singing just from doing that. Looking back, even then my voice had a husky tone to it, but I didnt think much of it. I thought everyones voices were different from each others, she wrote.

In 1976 she had to have surgery to remove nodules on her throat, leaving her with that trademark vocal sound. Changing her name to Sherene Davis, she was fronting a soul band when she was discovered by talent scout Roger Bell, who brought her to London for demo sessions. Then she waited for a label until RCA said it was interested.

Under her new RCA-sanctioned name Bonnie Tyler, her debut album The World Starts Tonight in 1977 contained her first chart hit, Lost in France, and she was nominated for a breakthrough artists award at the Brits Awards. She then had a No. 3 hit in 1978 with Its a Heartache, but soon drifted. She then signed with Sony and saw Meat Loaf perform Bat Out of Hell on the BBC. Impressed, she requested to work with Meat Loaf songwriter and producer Jim Steinman.

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Steinman introduced her to his song Total Eclipse of the Heart, which would become the debut single for her fifth studio album, Faster Than the Speed of Night. He borrowed one of the songs lyrics Turn around, bright eyes from his 1969 musical The Dream Engine written as a student at Massachusetts Amherst College. He told her the song was from a prospective musical version of Nosferatu.

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Jim liked to put down a basic rhythm track, do nine takes of the song, choose the best one and then put the kitchen sink on there, like Phil Spector used to, Tyler told The Guardian in 2023. He gave me a cassette to listen to in my hotel and we both preferred take two.

Featuring E Street Band members Roy Bittan on piano and Max Weinberg on drums, Total Eclipse is a rumination on lost love: Once upon a time there was light in my life/But now theres only love in the dark, she sings.

The video, a staple of early-days MTV, was shot in a frightening gothic former asylum in Surrey, where the guard dogs apparently wouldnt set foot in the rooms downstairs where they used to give people electric shock treatment. The visuals included slow-motion tossed doves, candles, dancing ninjas, dancing greasers, Tyler in frighteningly big shoulder pads, fencers, gymnasts, wind machines and shirtless boys wearing swim goggles being doused with water.

Faster Than the Speed of Night earned a Grammy nomination for best rock vocal performance losing to Pat Benatars Love Is a Battlefield and Tyler got another nod for Total Eclipse of the Heart in the best pop vocal performance category, losing to Irene Caras Flashdance What a Feeling.

After the Eclipse

Tyler never reached such dizzying heights again but stayed current with such movie soundtrack singles as Holding Out For a Hero from 1984s Footloose and Here She Comes from Metropolis also in 1984.

Her 2019 disc Between the Earth and the Stars featured duets with Rod Stewart, Cliff Richard and Status Quos Francis Rossi, and she ended that year performing a Vatican Christmas concert before Pope Francis.

In 2013, she switched gears to make a country-flavored record in Nashville, Rocks and Honey, which included the Vince Gill duet What You Need From Me and a little ballad called Believe in Me, written by American songwriter Desmond Child and British songwriters Lauren Christy and Christopher Braide. Believe in Me was picked to represent the United Kingdom at that years Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden.

It was an absolutely wonderful atmosphere there, she told the San Francisco Examiner in 2023. I was being interviewed every 15, 20 minutes, and when I walked out onstage behind the British flag, I thought the roof was going to come off! It was awesome, just awesome!

In 2017, she joined Joe Jonas band DNCE for a performance on the cruise ship Oasis of the Seas as part of a Total Eclipse Cruise. When the moon passed in front of the sun, they played Total Eclipse of the Heart.

Tyler was married to property developer and former Olympic judo competitor Robert Sullivan

Middle-income Americans straining to pay for Affordable Care Act health insurance are unlikely to get relief next year, according to a new analysis that shows insurers in the marketplace are proposing a second straight year of double-digit premium hikes.

Across the 77 insurers in the ACA program that have submitted rate filings that are publicly available, the median proposed premium increase for 2027 is 14%, according to Wednesdays analysis from the healthcare research nonprofit KFF. The insurers cited mounting healthcare costs, federal regulatory changes and the recent expiration of pandemic-era enhanced subsidies as the biggest factors driving premiums higher.

The rise in premiums adds to what already was a significant jump in 2026, when the median rate increase was 20%, according to KFF.

While most Americans in Obamacare still qualify for subsidies that protect them from paying the full premiums, middle-class enrollees who don't get those subsidies will face an especially stark increase in costs. That group includes households with incomes at or above 400% of the poverty level about $63,000 per year for an individual or $129,000 for a family of four.

The rate increases come as federal lawmakers have proposed various policy changes to overhaul the expensive U.S. healthcare system, but no comprehensive legislation has amassed enough support to pass. The higher costs are contributing to Americans existing worries about overall affordability, a concern that many voters say is front of mind with Novembers midterm elections looming.

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Insurers cite rising costs and a smaller, sicker covered population

Health insurers must send filings to regulators every year, explaining what they expect to see in premium rate changes for individual market health plans for the coming year.

Next years rates will be finalized later in the summer, but KFFs analysis looked at those in the ACA marketplace that already are public across 16 states and Washington, D.C., to get an early glimpse at what insurers are saying. The report measured insurers' premium increases as an average across all types of plans bronze, silver, gold and platinum.

The analysis found that insurers listed rising costs across the healthcare sector from hospital visits to prescription drugs, the workforce and sicker patients as the biggest cause of rising premiums. Overall inflation contributed to that pressure, driving prices higher across the entire economy.

Insurers also blamed the expiration of federal subsidies that had offset costs for many people and caused the Affordable Care Act program to balloon in size in recent years. When those tax credits expired in January, many plan costs skyrocketed. That prompted large swaths of enrollees to depart the marketplace, leaving sicker patients who carry higher risks and costs, and driving premiums higher.

New state-by-state data posted by the Trump administration shows that the overall ACA marketplace shrunk by more than 2.5 million people over the past year, with some states seeing declines amounting to nearly a third of their enrollee population.

Some insurers added that federal regulatory changes contributed to their requests for higher premiums. For example, they said new enrollment and eligibility requirements instituted by the Trump administration could affect the overall population of ACA enrollees.

While Affordable Care Act enrollees make up less than 10% of the population, similar cost drivers are likely to make other private plans, including employer-sponsored plans, pricier too, according to KFFs analysis.

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Findings align with other analyses

Georgetown Universitys Center on Health Insurance Reforms also published an analysis of preliminary ACA insurer rate filings last month. Like KFF's, it projected double-digit premium increases in the marketplace next year.

Stacey Pogue, a senior research fellow at the center who authored the report, said the enrollees most affected by the rising premiums will be those who don't qualify for financial help. She said those people already saw the most significant increases to their premiums in 2026, with some of their premiums doubling or tripling.

Those are the folks who kind of got a double whammy this year, she said.

Pogue said the rate filings are demonstrating what many analysts had expected: that the expiration of enhanced tax credits would cause healthy Americans to flee the marketplace and leave a sicker patient population that relies more heavily on insurance.

When the healthy people leave, the prices go up, she said. The analysts all predicted that, and now that's what we're seeing.

Serena Williams withdrew from her doubles match with sister Venus at Wimbledon on Saturday due to a right knee injury.

The 44-year-old Serena was injured during her singles return earlier in the week in a three-set loss.

Im heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles. Coming back to compete again has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside (at)venuswilliams once more meant the world to me. I did everything I could but unfortunately my knee just isnt ready to compete, Serena said in an Instagram post.

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The post included images of four syringes that Serena said shows the fluid they drained from my knee after my singles match. An accompanying video showed her walking with strapping up and down her right leg and what appeared to be one of her daughters holding a cane for her.

However, with the U.S. Open approaching, Serena indicated she could play again somewhere else soon.

All I can say, Serena said, is stay tuned to a city near you.

The Williams sisters Venus is 46 were scheduled to play Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra. It was the only first-round doubles match that wasn't scheduled earlier in the week, having been pushed back to give Serena more time to recover.

Serena was beaten 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3 by 20-year-old Maya Joint of Australia on Tuesday.

Venus played in the mixed doubles tournament on Friday together with Kevin Krawietz, losing in straight sets to Tereza Mihalikova and Lloyd Glasspool.

The Williams sisters are six-time champions as partners in women's doubles at Wimbledon.

President Donald Trump ushered in the 250th anniversary of American independence on Friday with soaring rhetoric about American exceptionalism before veering into a darkly political speech with warnings about a sinister threat of communism that evoked one of the countrys ugliest chapters.

Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty, he said from Mount Rushmore. It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor or even 9/11."

While the language was similar to several other speeches Trump has given in recent days, it was notable for being delivered in a national park that commemorates some of America's most prominent presidents. And it swerved from the typically apolitical, unifying speeches past presidents like Gerald Ford or Ronald Reagan have delivered during earlier high-profile Independence Day celebrations.

Indeed, Trump's language evoked the Red Scare of the 1950s, when alleged communists were persecuted and blacklisted from jobs across America, from Washington to Hollywood.

In New York City, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, delivered his own address that cast America as a nation of contradictions working each day towards the perfection in which it was conceived.

The president's speech capped an Independence Day eve that was otherwise most notable for a brutal heat wave the gripped much of the eastern portion of the country. Officials have warned those celebrating the holiday to stay hydrated and take air-conditioned breaks as needed.

Philadelphia canceled its Salute to Independence parade Friday. The Great American State Fair in Washington shut down in the early afternoon before reopening at 5 p.m. The Capitol Fourth concert, a mainstay of the holiday in Washington, opened its gates a little later than normal but ultimately moved forward with appearances from Patti LaBelle, Trace Adkins, members of the Artemis II space mission and fireworks over George Washingtons Mount Vernon. An Independence Day parade scheduled for Saturday in Washington was canceled.

Looking for a place to cool off

By early afternoon Friday in Washington, hundreds of people were roaming the grounds of the National Mall, home to The Great American State Fair. They snapped photos of the flyovers and tried to cool off inside tents that offered $9 lemonades and $23 turkey legs. Many were dressed in patriotic colors, their faces glistening with sweat.

Glenn Brooks, who was pardoned by Trump for his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, said he was thankful to be participating in this grand event.

The activity culminates in the main event Saturday, when fireworks will erupt in communities across the U.S., along with backyard cookouts and block parties. Trump will deliver another speech at the National Mall in Washington before what is being billed as a historically massive fireworks show.

As the rest of the country struggled under stifling heat, the Pacific Northwest enjoyed temperatures in the 60s with even a few light showers.

World Cup soccer fans in Seattle were staying cool Friday as they got psyched up for Mondays big game between the U.S. and Belgium. In the nearby suburb of Issaquah, Megan Kurowski, 31, brought her two dogs to the dog park so they could get some exercise before she went to work.

Kurowski said she was feeling positive about Americas 250th anniversary and was planning a possible paddleboard to watch the fireworks.

Everyones just, from what it seems, been pretty excited about celebrating 250 years, she said.

The holiday is unfolding at a unique time in the U.S. The anniversary has served as an opportunity for the country to reflect on its history while also reminding it of the political polarization of the moment.

On a holiday of unity, there is an undercurrent of division

In New York, Mamdani, a Democrat, did not mention Trump by name, but parts of his speech appeared aimed at the presidents divisive rhetoric.

For generation after generation, we have been told that when the world has sent its people to our shores, it has not sent its best, Mamdani said in an apparent reference to a common criticism from Trump. Those ideals upon which our nation was built they are strong enough to endure any authoritarian regime, but only if we reach for them."

Freedom 250, an organization aligned with the White House, has come to rival America250, a bipartisan group founded by Congress a decade ago. Freedom 250 has organized much of the activity in Washington, including the Great American State Fair. America250 is behind the ball drops unfolding in many cities, including New York, and will host a concert in Los Angeles on Saturday.

About 4 in 10 U.S. adults feel proud about the countrys 250th anniversary, according to an April survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Roughly 3 in 10 said excited describes their emotions.

Ahead of the holiday, auto technician Joe Fuqua-Bejarano in Topeka, Kansas, sized up what makes us awesome as a people. It is clearly not the politics, in his view, but rather resilience.

Weve just all got to find unity somewhere, whether thats in laughter or perseverance, and keep everybody cool, he said from the fireworks stand where he is doing a booming business as a side hustle.

Christina Zhou, a 25-year-old research assistant from Cambridge, Massachusetts, said she would aim to think about just things that are happening locally.

It feels a little bit more like within our own personal control," she said.

Jerry Chin of Newcastle, Washington, said he wasnt aware that the U.S. was celebrating its 250th anniversary and planned to stay low-key around the holiday. He and his wife generally skip the fireworks and instead stay home with their fearful dogs to keep them calm.

Americas a great place, but there are some concerns, he said. Chin, 55, and his wife worry about healthcare and issues around staying healthy, but they also stress about politics.

Were Democrats, so kind of given up hope, he said. Just feel that it is the way it is. I dont know if there could be change.

At the National Archives in Washington, visitors made their way through the Rotunda to look at the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights -- and to escape the heat outside.

Michael Dresdner, 60, traveled from West Orange, New Jersey, with his wife, Cindi, 57, and about two dozen other people to be part of the America 250 celebrations. He said their group of travelers included people on both sides of the political aisle -- and that is what gave him hope for the future of American democracy.

We are all here, and we all love America, he said.

President Donald Trump on Friday pardoned 11 people, including a former business partner of Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff and nine people identified by the White House as having helped people bypass emissions control systems on vehicles.

The acts of clemency come as Trump has issued a slew of pardons in his second term, particularly for allies, public figures and those seen as politically aligned.

His use of the presidency's sweeping ability to unilaterally grant pardons and commute sentences is among the ways the Republican's return to office has featured an expansive use of executive power.

Trump earlier on Friday announced some of the pardons on social media, without identifying any of the recipients by name.

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"It is my Great Honor to have just signed Pardons for six people who were persecuted by the Biden Administration, and were in, or being sent to, prison, for 'fixing their car,'" Trump wrote on his Truth Social media network.

"I AM SETTING THEM ALL FREE, RIGHT NOW!" he said.

In a list provided Friday evening by the White House, Trump pardoned 11 people, including nine who faced charges related to violations of the Clean Air Act by disabling emissions monitoring systems on vehicles or selling devices that enabled emissions systems to be bypassed.

The pardons come after Trump on Monday signed a memo telling the Environmental Protection Agency that Americans can fix their own vehicles as they see fit. As he signed the memo, Trump referenced a diesel mechanic he pardoned last year who disabled emissions monitoring systems.

The memo also addressed aftermarket auto parts and would supersede the ability of the California Air Resources Board to evaluate parts that affect vehicle emissions.

The White House, in releasing the list of those pardoned, described Trump having "relieved consumers from these regulatory burdens."

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Beyond the emissions-related pardons, Trump on Friday also issued a pardon for Adam Kidan, a former business partner of Abramoff.

Kidan pleaded guilty in 2005 to fraud and conspiracy related to the purchase of a fleet of gambling boats, and in 2006 he was sentenced to nearly six years in prison.

The case was part of a broader investigation of the early 2000s lobbying scandal involving Abramoff, Capitol Hill, the Interior Department and members of President George W. Bush's administration.

After leaving prison in 2009, Kidan began working at a staffing agency, went on to found a staffing business, Chartwell Staffing Solutions, and now serves as president of Empire Workforce Solutions, the White House said.

In March, the newspaper Newsday reported that Kidan was among the hosts of a fundraiser at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort for a Long Island Republican congressional candidate.

A message sent to Kidan's business seeking comment was not immediately returned Friday evening.

Trump on Friday also pardoned ranch owner Jack Harvard, citing an "upstanding record" post-conviction and praising him for allowing the U.S. military and NATO troops to train on his land free of charge.

The White House did not immediately release additional details about Harvard, including his conviction.

Lionel Messi and Argentina beat Cape Verde 3-2 on Friday and advanced to the World Cup Round of 16 in a thrilling match in which the tiny island nation challenged the reigning champion until the final minutes of extra time.

The go-ahead score for Argentina was credited as an own-goal after Cristian Romero's header deflected off Cape Verde's Diney Borges in the 111th minute. Messi scored early in regulation, his record-extending 20th career World Cup goal. Lisandro Martinez scored in the 103rd to put Argentina ahead 2-1.

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Sidny Lopes Cabral and Deroy Duarte scored for Cape Verde both equalizers that stunned the pro-Argentina crowd in South Florida.

Argentina advanced to face Egypt, which beat Australia in a penalty shootout earlier Friday, in Atlanta on Tuesday.

Cape Verde's memorable World Cup debut had been a stunning run that few outside the tiny island nation off the western coast of Africa could have predicted. Behind the stellar play of 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha, Cape Verde became the smallest country to reach the knockout round, securing surprising draws against Spain and Uruguay and another against Saudi Arabia.

Vozinha had 10 saves against Argentina, including five against Messi.

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Messi added another brilliant goal to his resume, sneaking behind the Cape Verde defense on a well-timed run as Martinez lofted a pass toward him, taking a quick touch and hammering a finish into the roof of the net past goalkeeper Vozinha for a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute.

The Argentina captain has seven goals in this tournament one more France's Kylian Mbapp in the Golden Boot race as the top scorer in this year's World Cup and extended his World cup record, moving two goals ahead of Mbapp on the all-time list. He has 12 goals during his record eight-match scoring streak.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are married. Swift's publicist confirmed the marriage took place Friday evening inside Madison Square Garden at a star-packed ceremony.

The couple did not have bridesmaids or groomsmen, instead opting for Swift's brother to serve as her man of honor and Kelce's brother Jason serving as his best man.

The wedding between the superstar singer and football player took place as fans and spectators gathered outside MSG in the blistering heat, eager to be part of the occasion, even though the event was almost entirely hidden away from the public.

Very few details were disclosed in the buildup to the wedding weekend. Yet a permit obtained by The Associated Press this week and other sources helped confirm that the high-profile event would indeed take place at MSG over the July Fourth weekend, packed with its own set of festivities amid a massive heatwave.

The long anticipated union of sports and song brought hype to new heights at a venue made more for historic NBA games and bucket-list concerts.

Singer Camila Cabello, actors Hugh Grant, Ethan Hawke and Jason Sudeikis, and model Karlie Kloss were among those who arrived. Running back Kareem Hunt was among Kelce's Chiefs teammates in attendance. Seattle Seahawks receiver and recent Super Bowl champ Cooper Kupp, New York Giants receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, NFL announcer Joe Buck and Jenny Han, author of the "The Summer I Turned Pretty" series, also entered the arena.

In a culture obsessed with famous couplings it may be the apex celebrity wedding, with perhaps only royal unions getting more attention. Holding such a ceremony in a huge, iconic space that sits at the center of the U.S. media universe while keeping all the details secret made for a surreal scene, but it was a mix of hype and hush that is not out of character for Swift.

An Associated Press camera outside the arena showed a long line of black SUVs dropping off wedding-goers in tuxedos and evening gowns, surrounded by New Yorkers in shorts and Swifties amassing for the occasion.

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Celebrities, athletes and friends were posting on social media about getting ready or about to leave for a black-tie event, including Brandon Borders, producer of the New Heights podcast starring Kelce and his brother Jason Kelce; Beau Allen, retired defensive lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles; and Jessica Chastain.

There was a notable lack of social media posts from guests once they had entered the arena, after reports that phones would not be allowed.

A city permit obtained by the AP shows that the ceremony and its celebration could last until 4 a.m. Guests appeared as though they were coming to a big awards show, but their arrivals were obscured by tents and gazebos. There is a decent chance of rain hitting the area before the night is over.

Weddings have been a constant subject in Swift's songs since she was a teenager, and her actually walking the aisle for the first time at age 36 adds to the drama. It would also be a first marriage for the 36-year-old three-time Super Bowl champ Kelce, who could have been one of the jock characters in Swift's early hits.

Outside the arena, some frazzled tourists joked that it was a bad weekend to visit as they navigated strict road and sidewalk closures, but others appeared happy to sneak a peak at the spectacle. Police cut off most access where guests were being dropped off, but a few patrons gathered in nearby businesses and peered out windows.

Diana Warshavsky, who lives in New York, decided to head over to MSG on Friday to celebrate Swift and Kelce's wedding with fellow Swifties and "send her good vibes."

"We're relatively the same age, I'm a year older than her and I just got married this year as well," Warshavsky said. "I'm just so happy for her."

The relationship of the pop star and the football player has continued to thrill and fascinate millions around the world particularly the Swifties, the pop star's enormous and ardent fan base ever since the pair first started dating in 2023.

The weekend is jam-packed even by New York's standards. The city is celebrating the nation's 250th birthday, a parade of dozens of tall ships will sail the Hudson River, and a World Cup game is scheduled in New Jersey.

Earlier this week, Swift and Kelce donated $26 million to 20 local and national charities across the U.S. Many of the organizations were located in areas where the couple has deep ties, including Nashville, Tennessee; Los Angeles; Kansas City, Missouri; and New York.

Festivities commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence from Great Britain kick into higher gear across the United States on Friday as celebrations are balanced with efforts to stay safe as much of the country bakes under extreme heat.

President Donald Trump will travel to South Dakota to deliver a speech and watch fireworks at Mount Rushmore. And in a novel twist, there will be a ball drop in New York City's Times Square at midnight to usher in the July Fourth holiday with much the same revelry that is typically reserved for New Years Eve.

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The activity culminates in the main event Saturday, when fireworks will erupt in communities across the U.S., along with backyard cookouts and block parties. Trump will deliver another speech at the National Mall in Washington before what is being billed as a historically massive fireworks show.

But for all the celebrations, there are also serious safety considerations as potentially record heat grips much of the Midwest and East Coast. Officials have warned those celebrating the holiday to stay hydrated and take air-conditioned breaks as needed.

The heat has already affected some of the programming surrounding the holiday. In Washington, organizers of the Capitol Fourth concert banned the public from attending a Thursday rehearsal because of the heat. The concert Friday, a staple of Washington's Independence Day traditions, may ultimately be canceled. Organizers of celebrations in Washington on Saturday said they were adding water stations along with cooling resources and medical support.

From Boston to Norristown, Pennsylvania and Gettysburg National Military Park, plans were shifting to accommodate the soaring temperatures. Amtrak canceled some trains in the Northeast due to excessive heat that could affect the tracks.

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The holiday is unfolding at a unique time in the U.S. The anniversary has served as an opportunity for the country to reflect on its history while also reminding it of the political polarization of the moment.

Even the celebrations themselves have not quite escaped the divide.

Freedom 250, an organization aligned with the White House, has come to rival America250, a bipartisan group founded by Congress a decade ago. Freedom 250 has organized much of the activity in Washington, including the Great American State Fair, which has gained attention for the relatively small crowds it has attracted. America250 is behind the ball drops unfolding in many cities, including New York, and will host a concert in Los Angeles on Saturday.

About 4 in 10 U.S. adults feel proud about the countrys 250th anniversary, according to an April survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Roughly 3 in 10 said excited describes their emotions.

Ahead of the holiday, auto technician Joe Fuqua-Bejarano, in Topeka, Kansas, sized up what makes us awesome as a people. It is clearly not the politics, in his view, but rather resilience.

Weve just all got to find unity somewhere, whether thats in laughter or perseverance, and keep everybody cool, he said from the fireworks stand where he is doing a booming business as a side hustle.

Christina Zhou, a 25-year-old research assistant from Cambridge, Massachusetts, said she would aim to think about just things that are happening locally.

It feels a little bit more like within our own personal control," she said.

The Vatican responded aggressively Thursday to a traditionalist group that consecrated bishops without the popes consent, declaring the Society of St. Pius X had formally broken with the Catholic Church. It excommunicated its bishops and priests, and warned its faithful that they too face the harshest sanctions in the church.

By declaring a schism and extending excommunications to potentially thousands of Catholics, the Vaticans doctrine office went above and beyond the minimum sanctions foreseen by the churchs canon law to respond to the consecrations Wednesday of four new bishops.

The society, known by its acronym SSPX, celebrates the ancient Latin Mass and opposes the modernizing reforms of the Catholic Church, which it considers to be rife with heresies and errors. While a fringe movement on the Catholic right, the SSPX has been a thorn in the Vatican's side for five decades because it claims to be even more Catholic than the Holy See.

During a ritual-filled, five-hour Mass on Wednesday at its seminary in Econe, Switzerland, the SSPX consecrated four new bishops in direct defiance of Leo, who had urged the group to hold off for the sake of church unity. An estimated 15,500 people and their children attended, a sign that the SSPX has plenty of supporters who came from around the world knowing full well they were defying Rome.

The harshness of the response suggested that after trying to negotiate with the SSPX, the Vatican under Pope Leo XIV had had enough.

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Vatican decree targeted bishops and faithful

In a decree, the Vatican excommunicated the four new bishops and the two existing SSPX bishops who participated in the ceremony. It declared the consecrations a schismatic act and that the society itself had created a schism, or intentional rupture with the church.

It declared SSPX priests who number about 750 to be schismatic, and therefore excommunicated, and invalidated the sacraments of confession and marriage that they administer. The Vatican warned the faithful to stop going to SSPX Masses, decreeing that those who adhere formally to the society are schismatic and excommunicated.

The Vatican said that applied to people who are members of the SSPX lay branch and those who regularly attend SSPX Masses and formally share its doctrinal positions. The sanctions don't apply to Catholic faithful who attend SSPX Masses "just for liturgical or spiritual reasons" or those who go but accept the pope's authority and teaching.

The SSPX doesn't have an exact count but estimates around 400,000-600,000 people attend its Masses, meaning Thursday's decree could potentially involve the excommunications of thousands of rank-and-file SSPX faithful.

The sanctions, especially those targeting the priests, the faithful and the sacraments they can receive, were particularly harsh and reversed concessions the Vatican had granted the SSPX in recent years as part of its outreach to bring the group back under Rome's wing.

Marc-Andr Mabillard, media manager for the society, expressed shock at the severity of the sanctions and called them unjust."

For us, this excommunication extended to the faithful is brutal. Its not what we expect from a father to whom we refer every day, he told The Associated Press. We are told, You claim to have the truth. Fine. Im just saying that we certainly have our flaws, but our main flaw today is having a leader who doesnt want to communicate with us. And thats terrible.

The Vatican's doctrine chief, Cardinal Vctor Manuel Fernndez, met in February with the SSPX superior, the Rev. Davide Pagliarani, and proposed a dialogue. But Pagliarani asked instead to meet with Leo, who declined but wrote a letter Tuesday begging the SSPX to call off the consecrations.

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The group's founders opposed reforms

French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre founded the SSPX in 1970 in opposition to the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Among other things, the 1960s meetings known as Vatican II revolutionized the churchs relations with other Christians, Jews and people of other faiths and allowed Mass to be celebrated in the vernacular rather than Latin.

Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without papal consent in 1988. The Vatican promptly excommunicated Lefebvre and the four bishops and declared the consecrations a schismatic act.

Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 lifted the excommunications as part of his yearslong outreach to the group. But the SSPX today has no legal standing in the church and with Thursdays decree is declared to be in schism.

The consecrations had posed a crisis for Leo because the American pope has stressed the need for church unity. He has reached out especially to the conservative and traditionalist wing of the church that was in many ways alienated during the Pope Francis pontificate.

The Vatican responded so aggressively in part because the group poses something of a threat by representing a parallel, ultra-Catholic, pre-Vatican II church that has grown in the decades since its original break from Rome. While representing a fraction of the 1.4-billion strong Catholic faithful, the SSPX now has six bishops, 751 priests, 264 seminarians, 145 religious brothers, 88 oblates and 250 religious sisters representing 50 nationalities, according to SSPX statistics.

A key Vatican II document rejected by the SSPX is one that, among other things, deplored antisemitism in every form and repudiated the deicide charge that blamed Jews as a people for Christs death. The Vatican crafted the document as the church reckoned with the role traditional Christian teaching had played in the Holocaust.

The SSPX today says it rejects accusations that it ever taught or practiced antisemitism, and the SSPX distanced itself from one of the original 1988 bishops, the late Bishop Richard Williamson, when he denied the Holocaust.

Traditionalists in communion with Rome respond

In a note accompanying the decree, the Vatican said it was willing, like a caring mother, to welcome any SSPX faithful back into the fold. It laid out specific procedures for SSPX priests and faithful, by signing two forms professing the faith, promising fidelity to the pope and accepting the core teaching of Vatican II.

While the SSPX is out of communion with Rome, plenty of other Catholic traditionalists who love the Latin Mass remain in communion with the Holy See. They had been watching carefully to see how Leo's Vatican would respond to the SSPX consecrations and were surprised by the harshness of Thursday's sanctions.

Hes brought the hammer down, said Joseph Shaw, head of the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales, which is in communion. Shaw expressed sympathy with the plight of ordinary SSPX faithful, saying the invalidation of marriages especially is going to cause massive pastoral problems. It's a sad day."

Luigi Casalini, of the blog Messa in Latino, meaning Latin Mass, said the excommunication of the bishops was correct because canon law provides for it. But the extension of the excommunications to SSPX priests and faithful was an act of unusual severity, he said, while saying the invalidation of SSPX sacraments was problematic.

One of the thousands of worshippers at Wednesdays consecrations was Allison Isermann, a 24-year-old from St. Marys, Kansas, a small town with a large SSPX church. She grew up as a society member and strongly defended its teaching in opposition to Vatican II, specifically its openness to those of other faiths.

It is actually very anti-Catholic and anti-charitable to affirm others and their beliefs when it is our duty and our mission to actually convert and sanctify the world and to restore all things in Christ, she said.

Russia hammered Kyiv in an 11-hour drone and missile attack overnight into Thursday morning, killing at least 21 civilians in the city and injuring scores more in what Moscow said was retaliation for Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil facilities.

Loud explosions shook the Ukrainian capital, where more than 50,000 people sheltered in subway stations after authorities issued air raid warnings, the Kyiv Metro said. Emergency crews dug through the rubble of collapsed and charred apartment buildings all day in search of victims.

Russias Defense Ministry said in a statement that the bombardment was in response to Ukraines recent barrage of long-range strikes, which have caused severe fuel shortages and put pressure on President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine's frequent attacks inside Russia described by Zelenskyy as a 40-day blitz have especially targeted oil refineries, causing a fuel crisis that has frustrated Russians already feeling the wars economic toll.

More than four years after Moscows full-scale invasion of its neighbor, Ukraines technological advances in drone engineering have in recent months given it an edge, analysts and Western officials say. Its strikes on supply routes behind the front line have robbed the Russian army of momentum on the battlefield and made its progress slow and costly, they say.

Kyivs forces have especially targeted supplies to Crimea, triggering the worst fuel crisis on the Black Sea peninsula since it was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 and delivering a blow to the Kremlins narrative that Moscow is winning the war.

Ukrainian officials say they are trying to force Putin to the negotiating table, but so far Moscow's response has been to hit back.

Diplomatic efforts to end the war, most recently by the Trump administration, havent produced results. President Donald Trump and Zelenskyy are expected to attend next weeks NATO summit in Turkey.

Putin thinks that time is on his side, that Western support will peter out and that Ukraines resistance will eventually collapse under pressure from strategic bombing, analysts say.

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Ukraine's top diplomat says it was a night of horror' in Kyiv

The attack killed 21 people in Kyiv, according to the country's Emergency Service. More than 90 others were reported injured.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said it was a night of horror in the capital, which had a pre-war population of roughly 3 million people.

Flashes from exploding drones and missiles lit up the night, and loud booms echoed through Kyiv. Tracers from air defense fire streaked through the air as a huge pall of black smoke rose into the sky.

More than 30 locations across the city reported damage, including about 20 residential buildings, authorities said.

Kyiv resident Serhii Budko said three or four ballistic missiles hit his district of the city. We were inside the shelter and felt the shelter shaking the ceiling and floor, everything, the 24-year-old said.

In Kyiv's Desnianskyi district, residents were trapped inside a damaged nine-story building, and in the Darnytskyi district, most of a nine-story building collapsed.

In Ukraines central Dnipropetrovsk region, meanwhile, a Russian strike killed a 7-year-old girl and wounded four other people, including an 11-year-old girl, all members of the same family, regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said.

The bombardment was exclusively against military or military-linked targets, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Russia's aerial attacks on Ukraine have repeatedly hit civilian areas. More than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the war, according to the United Nations.

No reliable figures are available for battlefield casualties in the war. A report earlier this year by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank, estimated that up to 1.8 million soldiers have been killed, wounded or gone missing on both sides, with Russian troops accounting for most of that number.

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Ukrainian officials urge countries to provide more air defenses

The attack used high-precision long-range weapons and drones to strike weapons factories and energy facilities in and around Kyiv, and military airfield infrastructure in other parts of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministrys statement said.

In all, Russia fired 74 missiles and 496 drones in the attack, Ukraines air force said.

Ukraine's air defenses have improved throughout the war, especially in countering Russian drones. But it is harder to stop ballistic missiles, which accounted for roughly a third of the missiles fired overnight.

Sybiha, the Ukrainian foreign minister, said in April that the country's weapons factories meet up to 75% of its militarys needs. But he and other Ukrainian officials have pleaded with partner countries to supply more Patriot systems that offer the best protection from Russian aerial attacks.

Ukraine attacks another Russian oil refinery

Ukrainian forces struck one of Russias largest oil refineries overnight in the Nizhny Novgorod region east of Moscow, starting a fire, Ukraine's General Staff said.

Also, Ukrainian forces struck a railway bridge over the Siverskyi Donets River in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region, it said. The bridge was used by Russian forces to transport personnel, weapons and military supplies, according to the General Staff.