STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Divine Ugochukwu scored a career-high 23 points and No. 9 Michigan State overcame a sloppy performance to beat Penn State 76-72 on Saturday.

Jaxon Kohler posted his fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds while Carson Cooper added 10 points for the Spartans (9-1, 2-0 Big Ten), who committed a season-high 17 turnovers and trailed for long stretches in both halves.

They were able to bear down, however, and avoid a second-straight loss after falling to No. 4 Duke on Monday.

Freddie Dilione scored a career-high 22 points, Kayden Mingo added 11 and Ivan Juric had 10 for the Nittany Lions (8-3, 0-2), who led by as many as nine in the first half and then by three with five minutes left four days after getting blown out by Indiana 113-72.

But thanks to some timely shooting by Ugochukwu, who went 8 for 10 from the floor, including 5 for 5 from 3-point range, Michigan State quickly made up its 39-36 halftime deficit against a team that usually plays the Spartans tightly.

Seven of the last nine games in the series were decided by single-digits. With six lead changes, including four in the final 12 minutes, this one was trending that way until Ugochukwu got open early in the second half and again down the stretch.

The sophomore made the Spartans’ first three shots in the opening three minutes of the second, then sunk his fourth 3-pointer with 3:27 left to give Michigan State the lead for good.

Ugochukwu provided some cushion and made it 72-67 with his final deep make just over 2:30 later.

Dilione made a jumper and added a 3-pointer to get it back to a two-point game, but Ugochukwu nailed a pair of free throws with eight seconds left to seal the Spartans’ fifth-straight win against Penn State.

Up next

Michigan State hosts Toledo on Tuesday.

Penn State and Pitt play on Sunday, Dec. 21, at the GIANT Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

— By TRAVIS JOHNSON, Associated Press

By VIRGINIA MAYO

ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) — Getting ready for the holiday season has never been stressful for Christel Dauwe — after all, her holiday period lasts all year long in her Christmas ornament shop in the Belgian city of Antwerp.

Her collecting began in her teenage years, and she now has more than 64,000 ornaments in her personal collection and another 18,000 displayed in her shop, the Christel Dauwe Collection.

“My personal wish is to have a Christmas museum, where ornaments and the idea of Christmas can be on permanent display,” she told The Associated Press. But until that day comes, her small shop uses every corner to display its vast inventory.

Its wares include birds of every feather, fruit arrangements, cars, angels, snowmen and other figurines, ranging from a few euros for a wood laser-cut Cathedral of Antwerp to more than 500 euros ($580) for a special ornament of Alexander the Great on horseback.

The store began 35 years ago as an antiques shop, selling a few ornaments on the side, but Dauwe wanted to try selling more.

On the suggestion of a Polish au pair, Dauwe and her husband traveled to Poland and found a factory that could produce exactly the ornaments she wanted. The only catch was that 200 pieces of each design had to be ordered at a time.

They returned home deflated.

“After second thoughts though, we decided to order 20 shapes of 200 each, and one day they arrived — all 4,000 of them. We gave some away and the rest we put in the shop and, well … That’s the story from there,” she said.

The original Polish factory still supplies many of the shop’s ornaments, in addition to 32 other European companies.

“There is an ornament here for everyone. We’ve had people come in who say they have a new pet or even a new car and we try to match an ornament to them. In the end the goal is not to have some kind of posh tree decorated all with the same colors and Christmas balls. The goal of ornaments is to make you smile,″ she said.

Some ornaments are more personal. And one year there was an ornament of Christel herself, designed by her husband as a surprise.

She’s been asked to provide ornaments for weddings and other events as well.

As far as having Christmas all year round, Dauwe says she is never bored with it. Twice a year she goes around the shop and dusts each ornament individually. She has met people from all over the world, and entertains die-hard locals who stop into the store just for a morning chat.

“There are two ways to go with Christmas. It’s either the nostalgia of the past or the hope for the future,″ she said. ″Hope is what is the most important to me. It’s what keeps you going.”

By DEEPA BHARATH

LOS ANGELES (AP) — With eyes closed and a small mallet in hand, the Rev. Kyohei Mikawa gently struck the bronze Himalayan singing bowl resting in his palm and bathed the Buddhist sanctuary in a resonant hum.

Mikawa spent the next 45 minutes skimming bowls, playing a tongue drum and chanting to create an immersive experience called a sound bath as he sat facing a dozen people relaxing or meditating on yoga mats.

Sometimes known as sound healing or sound meditation, sound baths have surged in popularity over the past decade, driven by growing public interest in mental health and wellness. But sound baths are no longer confined to yoga centers, crystal healing studios or other new age spaces. They have crossed over to mainstream worship spaces, including churches, temples and synagogues.

Faith leaders like Mikawa, who oversees Rissho Kosei Kai Buddhist Center in Los Angeles’ largely Latino neighborhood of Boyle Heights, are increasingly embracing sound baths. They see it as a way to reach out to their neighbors who may not be affiliated with a religion, but still want to be in community with others seeking spiritual experiences. They have also found ways to make this practice mesh with their respective faith traditions.

Adding religious practice to sound baths

The sounds that punctuated Mikawa’s session emanated from centuries of Buddhist tradition and practice, energizing and calming the mind at once, he said. A chant at the end of the sound bath, he said, means: “Seek refuge in the true spirit of who you are.”

“The goal is not to become a Buddhist, but a Buddha — the best version of who we are,” he said.

Rabbi Jonathan Aaron, who leads Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills, a Reform synagogue, performs a sound bath the first Saturday of each month at the end of the Shabbat service, during a ceremony called the Havdalah. As part of this ritual, blessings are offered over wine, sweet spices and a multi-wicked candle while participants reflect on the difference between the sacred and the ordinary.

Aaron says a rejuvenating sound bath fits perfectly with the sensory nature of the Havdalah, preparing attendees for the week ahead. The rabbi works with a practitioner who uses crystal bowls, gongs, rain sticks and an ocean drum, which mimics the sound of waves, to create a relaxing, meditative atmosphere.

He believes that while a sound bath might not be inherently Jewish, it lends itself well to Jewish heritage, thought and prayer. Aaron points out that the first chapter of Genesis describes God creating the world through sound by speaking the words: “Let there be light.” Hearing, listening, and sacred sounds, including the call of the shofar that heralds the Jewish new year, are all important aspects of the faith, he said.

“I’m not trying to make the sound bath Jewish,” he said. “But I’m trying to bring Jewish energy and an experience by creating this environment that has a sound bath as part of it.”

Anna Reyner, a member who attended the sound bath, said the synagogue is a perfect space for it because it builds community — often a main purpose of a house of worship.

“When you are in this intricate sound wave experience with others, you feel a sense of community and a connection to the source of holiness,” she said.

Connecting with neighbors through sound baths

The Rev. Paul Capetz, pastor of Christ Church by the Sea, a United Methodist congregation in Newport Beach, California, said their monthly sound bath sessions, performed by a local practitioner, are drawing people “who would never otherwise darken the door of a church.”

“I find the sound bath brings you to another level of existence,” Capetz said. “It’s almost hypnotic, but it’s not a drug. You’re experiencing it in real time that leaves you with a feeling of such serenity.”

The goal of having practices like sound bath and meditation in the church is not to convert, but to relate to others in the community who may be spiritual but not religious, the pastor said.

Churches are naturally conducive to sound baths because of their sense of history, sanctity, reverence and, often, pristine acoustics, said Lynda Arnold, a longtime sound healer who has performed at Episcopal churches in Los Angeles.

“We talk about wanting to bring people into a state of deep listening, contemplation, prayer and intention,” she said. “In this church environment, there is an endless amount of creativity that can happen with sound and music.”

While sound baths are a more recent phenomenon, the power of sound has been harnessed for healing and spirituality for millennia. Alexandre Tannous, a New York-based sound researcher and sound therapist who has done these sessions around the U.S. and abroad, said many religions and cultures believe in the primordial nature of sound.

In Eastern religions, “aum” is believed to be the primordial sound or vibration from which the entire universe was created and is sustained. In Egyptian mythology and the Hermetic tradition, the universe is believed to have been created through the power of the spoken word, also known as Logos. The concept of the universe being “sung” into existence or created by sound is a common motif found in several ancient and Indigenous traditions and mythologies.

“In Western science, how do we believe the universe started?” Tannous said. “With a Big Bang, right?”

The instruments used in a sound bath — such as gongs, singing bowls, bells, chimes, didgeridoos — all provide vibrations and grounding harmony that help a person quiet the mind and become focused, he said.

“Those notes between the notes have the power to quiet the multitasking monkey mind,” said Tannous, referring to the unadulterated harmonics produced by these instruments.

The science of sound

Ramesh Balasubramaniam, professor of cognitive science at the University of California, Merced, has looked into how the brain resonates with and responds to sounds — particularly in some frequencies that could induce a deep, meditative state. A sound bath, he says, is one of the routes to get there.

“When you hear a sound wave that oscillates four times a second, you’re going to facilitate brain waves in the same frequency range by a process known as entrainment,” Balasubramaniam said. “We have 100 billion neurons and they all sing in concert in the same frequency, producing this collective effect like a crowd chanting in a football game.”

Jazmin Morales, who lives near the Rissho Kosei Kai Buddhist Center, has been attending Mikawa’s weekly sound baths for several weeks. She doesn’t know the science behind it. She just knows it works for her.

“I’ve always had trouble focusing when I meditate,” she said. “But a sound bath helps me focus. It’s helped me sleep when I was unable to sleep. It’s helped me let go of emotion. It’s even sparked my creativity.”

For Ridge Gonzalez, who practices yoga and meditation, it was her first time in a sound bath.

“It was amazing,” she said. “I could visualize the sound as if it were being sprinkled. I could see and feel it. When you’re meditating, you feel a sense of clarity. The sound bath feels like just another way of extending that practice.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

By JOSH FUNK and MARK VANCLEAVE, Associated Press

RANDOLPH, Minn. (AP) — When Donald Trump promised new tariffs while running for president, Gene Stehly worried that trade disputes would jeopardize his international sales of corn, soybeans and wheat.

A little more than a year later, Stehly said his fears have become a reality, and Trump’s latest promise of federal assistance is insufficient to cover farmers’ losses.

“Maybe this will all come out to be better at the end, but I can tell you right now, it certainly isn’t the case at the moment,” Stehly said.

Trump announced Monday that his Republican administration would distribute $12 billion in one-time payments to farmers, who have suffered from persistently low commodity prices, rising costs and declining sales after China cut off all agricultural purchases from America during the trade war.

While rural areas remain conservative bastions, farmers’ patience with Washington is wearing thin. Several of them described the government bailout, an echo of similar policies during Trump’s first term, as a welcome stopgap but one that won’t solve the agricultural industry’s problems.

“It’s a bridge. It’s not the ultimate solution we’re looking for,” said Charlie Radman, a fourth-generation farmer who grows corn and soybeans on the land his family has owned near Randolph, Minnesota, since 1899. “What we really want to have is a little more certainty and not have to rely on these ad hoc payments.”

Farmers caught up in trade war

American soybean and sorghum farmers typically export at least half of their crops. They were hit the hardest by Trump’s trade dispute with China, the world’s largest buyer of soybeans that has increasingly relied on harvests from Brazil and other South American nations.

Trump and his Cabinet have boasted about the deal he struck with Chinese President Xi Jinping in October. But Liu Pengyu, the spokesperson for the Chinese embassy, said this week that “agriculture trade cooperation between China and the United States is proceeding in an orderly manner” without giving specifics.

So far, China has bought only about a quarter of the 12 million metric tons of soybeans that U.S. officials said would be purchased before the end of February, raising doubts on whether Beijing would follow through on that pledge or commitments to buy 25 million metric tons annually in the next three years. China hasn’t confirmed those numbers.

“In general, I don’t trust their motives and integrity of their promises,” said Bryant Kagay, who farms in northwest Missouri.

Even if China does buy the agreed amount of American soybeans, that would only bring U.S. farmers near to the amount they were selling every year before Trump took office.

That’s a big part of why Minnesota farmer Glen Groth said he’d “like to see the administration focus more on opening up markets outside of China.” In addition to finding other international buyers, agriculture groups are pushing to expand domestic uses like biodiesel, ethanol, aviation fuel and animal feed.

Dan Keitzer, a soybean and corn farmer in southeast Iowa, said recent bumper crops and technological advancements that produce bigger harvests means that the industry needs more customers.

“I think most farmers would tell you that they don’t want to go to the mailbox and get a check from the government. That’s not why we farm,” he said. “We need more demand for our product.”

Aid is considered a Band-Aid

Trump has placated farmers with money before. During his first term, he provided $22 billion in 2019 to help cushion them from trade disputes with China. There was $46 billion in 2020, an expanded number that reflected financial challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $12 billion that he announced this week won’t quell farmers’ fears about the future. They’re already ordering supplies for next year’s crops and meeting with their bankers to discuss the loans they will need. But they’re trying to stay optimistic that crop prices will improve if they find more buyers.

The aid payments will be capped at $155,000 per farmer or entity, and only farms that make less than $900,000 in adjusted gross income will be eligible. But during the first Trump administration a number of large farms found ways around the payment limits and collected millions.

Farmers would like to see Trump aggressively tackle concerns about higher costs that are eating into their bottom line.

Trump signed an executive order over the weekend directing the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to investigate anti-competitive practices anywhere in the food supply chain, starting with the fertilizer, seed and equipment that farmers rely on and continuing to deal with meat packing companies and grocers who help determine what price consumers pay.

Tregg Cronin, who farms and ranches with his family in central South Dakota, said he’s grateful for the president’s acknowledgment that farmers are “caught in the middle” of the trade war.

But he said that any checks that farmers receive from the government will likely “get turned around and sent right out the door.”

Funk reported from Omaha, Neb. Associated Press writers Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, Sarah Raza in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Didi Tang in Washington contributed to this report.

By DAVID KLEPPER, BEN FINLEY and STEPHEN GROVES, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators for the first time are questioning military leaders over President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard in American cities, an extraordinary move by the White House that has led to legal challenges as well as questions about states’ rights and the use of the military on U.S. soil.

Thursday’s hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee was expected to feature tough questioning of Pentagon officials over the legality of the deployments, which in some places were done over the objections of mayors and governors, and a robust defense of the policy by Trump’s Republican allies.

It was the highest level of scrutiny, outside a courtroom, of Trump’s use of the National Guard since the deployments began and came one day after the president faced another legal setback over his use of troops to support federal law enforcement, protect federal facilities and combat crime.

For Republicans, the hearing was a chance to defend Trump’s move to take on crime that they say Democratic mayors and governors have done too little to address.

“In recent years, violent crime, rioting, drug trafficking and heinous gang activity have steadily escalated,” said Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker, the committee chairman. The deployments, he said, are “not only appropriate, but essential.”

Military leaders highlighted the duties that National Guard units have carried out. The personnel are trained in community policing, they said, and are prohibited from using force unless in self-defense. Since the deployments began, only one civilian has been detained by National Guard personnel, according to Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of the U.S. Northern Command.

“They can very quickly be trained to conduct any mission that we task of them,” Guillot said.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., said Wednesday she had threatened to hold up the annual defense bill if the Republican leadership continued to block the hearing, which she said was long overdue.

“Donald Trump is illegally deploying our nation’s service members under misleading if not false pretexts,” Duckworth told The Associated Press.

Duckworth, a combat veteran who served in the Illinois National Guard, said domestic deployments traditionally have involved responding to major floods and tornadoes, not assisting immigration agents who are detaining people in aggressive raids.

Duckworth said she had questions for the military about how Trump’s deployments are affecting readiness, training and costs. She also wanted to know whether Guard members would have legal protections if an immigration agent wrongfully harmed a civilian.

The hearing comes two weeks after two West Virginia National Guard members deployed to Washington were shot just blocks from the White House in what the city’s mayor described as a targeted attack. Spc. Sarah Beckstrom died a day after the Nov. 26 shooting, and her funeral took place Tuesday. Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe is hospitalized in Washington.

Meanwhile, a federal judge in California on Wednesday ruled that the administration must stop deploying the California National Guard in Los Angeles and return control of the troops to the state.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer granted a preliminary injunction sought by California officials, but also put the decision on hold until Monday. The White House said it plans to appeal.

Trump called up more than 4,000 California National Guard troops in June without Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approval to further the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.

The move was the first time in decades that a state’s National Guard was activated without a request from its governor and marked a significant escalation in the administration’s efforts to carry out its mass deportation policy. The troops were stationed outside a federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles where protesters gathered and were later sent on the streets to protect immigration officers as they made arrests.

The number had dropped to several hundred by late October. The 100 or so California troops that remain in Los Angeles are guarding federal buildings or staying at a nearby base and are not on the streets with immigration enforcement officers, according to U.S. Northern Command.

Trump also had announced National Guard members would be sent to Illinois, Oregon, Louisiana and Tennessee. Other judges have blocked or limited the deployment of troops to Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, while Guard members have not yet been sent to New Orleans.

Associated Press writer Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report.

By JESSICA DAMIANO

I’ve planted the potted mums in the garden and packed away the scarecrows — now it’s time to deck the halls.

That means filling vacant pots with evergreen branches foraged from my trees and shrubs, hanging cedar swags on the porch and placing a wreath on the door.

They’ll look great at first, of course, but that threatens to change as December marches on. And since nothing says “The Addams Family” like a house adorned with crispy spruce boughs, my challenge will be to keep them fresh for as long as possible.

The best way to do that would be to treat them like produce. After all, both evergreen stems and vegetables are clipped from a plant, at which time their countdown clocks start ticking.

The secret to longevity for both is moisture. Just as supermarkets use misters to keep produce fresh, we can keep holiday greenery fresh longer with water.

How to cut them

If harvesting stems from your garden, cut them in the morning, when they are the most hydrated and the least stressed. Make cuts at a 45-degree angle, which will provide a larger surface through which water can enter.

If bringing them home from the store, clip the end of each stem in the same manner. The fresh cut will remove the dried-out layer of tissue that would otherwise block water absorption.

How and where to soak them

Whether purchased or harvested, immediately place the cut ends of your branches into a bucket of room-temperature water and set it outdoors in a shady spot. Allow them to soak for at least 2 hours (24 would be ideal) until you are ready to use them.

How to arrange them indoors and out

When arranging branches in vacated plant containers outdoors, moisten the soil first, then insert the freshly cut ends. Check moisture levels between freeze-thaw cycles and amend, if needed.

Wreaths and garland used outdoors are exposed to drying winter winds, which hasten dehydration. Combat that with a light misting two or three times a week. But be careful not to overdo it, as that would encourage mold.

In the South, heat and sunlight can quickly turn greenery brown, so place wreaths, garlands and pots in the shadiest available spot. When making container arrangements, push stems deeply into moistened soil and water every day or two in the morning or evening, when the sun is at its weakest.

Keeping indoor greenery fresh is even more of a challenge. Inserting branches into moistened floral foam helps. Water as needed to keep the foam moist. And display all evergreen decorations away from radiators, forced-air heating vents, fireplaces and drafts.

Will these tips guarantee fresh greenery on New Year’s Day?

Not exactly. Even with the best care, two important factors remain out of our control: the weather and the age of the branches at the time of purchase. But keeping them moist and shaded will ensure they stay fresh for as long as possible.

Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.

For more AP gardening stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/gardening.

By GISELA SALOMON, Associated Press

MIAMI (AP) — President Donald Trump’s zero-tolerance immigration policy split more than 5,000 children from their families at the Mexico border during his first term.

Border crossings sit at a record low nearly a year into his second administration and a new wave of immigration enforcement is dividing families inside the U.S.

Federal officials and their local law enforcement partners are detaining tens of thousands of asylum-seekers and migrants. Detainees are moved repeatedly, then deported, or held in poor conditions for weeks or months before asking to go home.

The federal government was holding an average of more than 66,000 people in November, the highest on record.

During the first Trump administration, families were forcibly separated at the border and authorities struggled to find children in a vast shelter system because government computer systems weren’t linked. Now parents inside the United States are being arrested by immigration authorities and separated from their families during prolonged detention. Or, they choose to have their children remain in the U.S. after an adult is deported, many after years or decades here.

The Trump administration and its anti-immigration backers see “unprecedented success” and Trump’s top border adviser Tom Homan told reporters in April that “we’re going to keep doing it, full speed ahead.”

Three families separated by migration enforcement in recent months told The Associated Press that their dreams of better, freer lives had clashed with Washington’s new immigration policy and their existence is anguished without knowing if they will see their loved ones again.

For them, migration marked the possible start of permanent separation between parents and children, the source of deep pain and uncertainty.

A family divided between Florida and Venezuela

Antonio Laverde left Venezuela for the U.S. in 2022 and crossed the border illegally, then requested asylum.

He got a work permit and a driver’s license and worked as an Uber driver in Miami, sharing homes with other immigrants so he could send money to relatives in Venezuela and Florida.

Laverde’s wife Jakelin Pasedo and their sons followed him from Venezuela to Miami in December 2024. Pasedo focused on caring for her sons while her husband earned enough to support the family. Pasedo and the kids got refugee status but Laverde, 39, never obtained it and as he left for work one early June morning, he was arrested by federal agents.

Pasedo says it was a case of mistaken identity by agents hunting for a suspect in their shared housing. In the end, she and her children, then 3 and 5, remember the agents cuffing Laverde at gunpoint.

“They got sick with fever, crying for their father, asking for him,” Pasedo said.

Laverde was held at Broward Transitional Center, a detention facility in Pompano Beach, Florida. In September, after three months detention, he asked to return to Venezuela.

Pasedo, 39, however, has no plans to go back. She fears she could be arrested or kidnapped for criticizing the socialist government and belonging to the political opposition.

She works cleaning offices and, despite all the obstacles, hopes to reunify with her husband someday in the U.S.

They followed the law

Yaoska’s husband was a political activist in Nicaragua, a country tight in the grasp of autocratic married co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.

She remembers her husband getting death threats and being beaten by police when he refused to participate in a pro-government march. Yaoska spoke on condition of anonymity and requested the same for her husband to protect him from the Nicaraguan government.

The couple fled Nicaragua for the U.S. with their 10-year-old son in 2022, crossing the border and getting immigration parole. Settling down in Miami, they applied for asylum and had a second son, who has U.S. citizenship. Yaoska is now five months pregnant with their third child.

In late August, Yaoska, 32, went to an appointment at the South Florida office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Her family accompanied her. Her husband, 35, was detained and failed his credible fear interview, according to a court document.

Yaoska was released under 24-hour supervision by a GPS watch that she cannot remove. Her husband was deported to Nicaragua after three months at the Krome Detention Center, the United States’ oldest immigration detention facility and one with a long history of abuse.

Yaoska now shares family news with her husband by phone. The children are struggling without their father, she said.

“It’s so hard to see my children like this. They arrested him right in front of them,” Yaoska said, her voice trembling.

They don’t want to eat and are often sick. The youngest wakes up at night asking for him.

“I’m afraid in Nicaragua,” she said. “But I’m scared here too.”

Yaoska said her work authorization is valid until 2028 but the future is frightening and uncertain.

“I’ve applied to several job agencies, but nobody calls me back,” she said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen to me.”

He was detained by local police, then deported

Edgar left Guatemala more than two decades ago. Working construction, he started a family in South Florida with Amavilia, a fellow undocumented Guatemalan migrant.

The arrival of their son brought them joy.

“He was so happy with the baby — he loved him,” said Amavilia, 31. “He told me he was going to see him grow up and walk.”

But within a few days, Edgar was detained on a 2016 warrant for driving without a license in Homestead, the small agricultural city where he lived in South Florida.

She and her husband declined to provide their last names because they are worried about repercussion from U.S. immigration officials.

Amavilia expected his release within 48 hours. Instead, Edgar, who declined to be interviewed, was turned over to immigration officials and moved to Krome.

“I fell into despair. I didn’t know what to do,” Amavilia said. “I can’t go.”

Edgar, 45, was deported to Guatemala on June 8.

After Edgar’s detention, Amavilia couldn’t pay the $950 rent for the two-bedroom apartment she shares with another immigrant. For the first three months, she received donations from immigration advocates.

Today, breastfeeding and caring for two children, she wakes up at 3 a.m. to cook lunches she sells for $10 each.

She walks with her son in a stroller to take her daughter to school, then spends afternoons selling homemade ice cream and chocolate-covered bananas door to door with her two children.

Amavilia crossed the border in September 2023 and did not seek asylum or any type of legal status. She said her daughter grows anxious around police. She urges her to stay calm, smile and walk with confidence.

“I’m afraid to go out, but I always go out entrusting myself to God,” she said. “Every time I return home, I feel happy and grateful.”

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A parent of a Kentucky State University student has been charged with murder in an on campus shooting that killed one student and critically injured another.

Jacob Lee Bard was at the school’s campus in Frankfort on Tuesday and fired shots at the victims at a residence hall, police said in a statement.

Investigators said the shooting was isolated, but they have not publicly shared details of the circumstances or a possible motive. The shooting killed 19-year-old De’Jon Fox of Indianapolis. A second student who was shot remains in critical condition, but his name has not been released, police said.

Bard, 48, was booked into jail on murder and first-degree assault charges. Police said Bard is from Evansville, Indiana, which is about 150 miles west of Frankfort.

Bard is being represented by a public defender at the Franklin County Department of Public Advocacy, which declined to talk about his case Wednesday.

University police officers were near the scene of the altercation that ended with the shooting and immediately arrested Bard, police said.

Investigators have watched video taken by others at the scene and surveillance footage.

Asked by reporters about alleged videos showing a fight involving Bard’s sons preceded the shooting or whether Bard might have come to campus to talk to administrators about his sons’ safety, Frankfort Assistant Police Chief Scott Tracy refused to say what may have led to the shooting.

“It’s really too early in the investigation right now to really give any details that led up to it. A lot of it would be speculation,” Tracy said Wednesday.

The shooting happened at Whitney M. Young Jr. Hall. It was the second shooting in four months near the student residence.

Someone fired multiple shots from a vehicle on Aug. 17, striking two people that the university said weren’t students. Frankfort police said one victim was treated for minor injuries and a second sustained serious injuries. The dorm and at least one vehicle were damaged by gunfire.

University President Koffi C. Akakpo said the school brought in more police officers after the first shooting and will evaluate whether more needs to be done to keep students safe once the investigation into the latest shooting is complete,

“The campus is a safe place,” Akakpo said at the news conference.

Kentucky State is a public historically Black university with about 2,200 students. Lawmakers authorized the school’s creation in 1886.

The school sits about 2 miles east of the Capitol building in Frankfort.

By REBECCA SANTANA, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Foreigners who are allowed to come to the United States without a visa could soon be required to submit information about their social media, email accounts and extensive family history to the Department of Homeland Security before being approved for travel.

The notice published Wednesday in the Federal Register said Customs and Border Protection is proposing collecting five years worth of social media information from travelers from select countries who do not have to get visas to come to the U.S. The Trump administration has been stepping up monitoring of international travelers and immigrants.

The announcement refers to travelers from more than three dozen countries who take part in the Visa Waiver Program and submit their information to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, which automatically screens them and then approves them for travel to the U.S. Unlike visa applicants, they generally do not have to go into an embassy or consulate for an interview.

DHS administers the program, which currently allows citizens of roughly 40 mostly European and Asian countries to travel to the U.S. for tourism or business for three months without visas.

The announcement also said that CBP would start requesting a list of other information, including telephone numbers the person has used over the past five years or email addresses used over the past decade. Also sought would be metadata from electronically submitted photos, as well as extensive information from the applicant’s family members, including their places of birth and their telephone numbers.

The application that people are now required to fill out to take part in ESTA asks for a more limited set of questions such as parents’ names and current email address.

The public has 60 days to comment on the proposed changes before they go into effect, the notice said.

CBP officials did not immediately respond to questions about the new rules.

The announcement did not say what the administration was looking for in the social media accounts or why it was asking for more information.

But the agency said it was complying with an executive order that Republican President Donald Trump signed in January that called for more screening of people coming to the U.S. to prevent the entry of possible national security threats.

Travelers from countries that are not part of the Visa Waiver Program system are already required to submit their social media information, a policy that dates back to the first Trump administration. The policy remained during Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration.

But citizens from visa waiver countries were not obligated to do so.

Since January, the Trump administration has stepped up checks of immigrants and travelers, both those trying to enter the U.S. as well as those already in the country. Officials have tightened visa rules by requiring that applicants set all of their social media accounts to public so that they can be more easily scrutinized and checked for what authorities view as potential derogatory information. Refusing to set an account to public can be considered grounds for visa denial, according to guidelines provided by the State Department.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services now considers whether an applicant for benefits, such as a green card, “endorsed, promoted, supported, or otherwise espoused” anti-American, terrorist or antisemitic views.

The heightened interest in social media screening has drawn concern from immigration and free speech advocates about what the Trump administration is looking for and whether the measures target people critical of the administration in an infringement of free speech rights.

By LEANNE ITALIE, Associated Press Lifestyles Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — In her early 20s, Kaci LaFon lived in Branson, Missouri, a tourist town known for its older population. She wanted to date but found it a challenge, so — like many her age — she headed to the apps.

Over five years, she’d get a date here and there, but they always petered out. “I tried and I failed,” she said. “There wasn’t really much I could do about it.”

The issue, in her eyes? LaFon, now 28, is chronically ill. She has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a connective tissue disorder, as well as a range of other health issues. Her matches had no idea how to navigate her challenges, or they had a god complex and wanted to treat her as an invalid. That, she said, was a hard no.

That all changed when LaFon went on Dateability, an app designed for both disabled and chronically ill people. LaFon’s mom spotted a news story about it and urged her to try it. Soon after joining, she found her forever person, Collin LaFon, who has cerebral palsy and endured a similar dating experience.

They married in September.

“We all have the fairy tale of falling in love and meeting our person in our head,” said Collin LaFon from their home near Birmingham, Alabama. “But at the end of the day, I don’t have full function in all four of my limbs. There’s an extra piece that goes along with everything.”

Dating while disabled made easier

What the LaFons describe is exactly why two sisters in Denver, Colorado, launched Dateability three years ago. One, 31-year-old Jacqueline Child, had become disabled due to Ehlers-Danlos, Lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and a plethora of other conditions that impact her health from head to toe. She must use a feeding tube to stay alive.

Child recalls months of being ghosted or rejected on mainstream dating apps.

“Any mention of disability was completely negative,” she said. “They wouldn’t even give it a chance, had no idea what my life looked like, but they just assumed it would be miserable.”

She and her older sibling, Alexa Child, now have about 40,000 registered users and recently updated Dateability to improve the look and functionality. They’ve expanded their user base to include Canada, Mexico and the U.K.

“I just wanted an equal playing field of people that I would be interested in, and that other young people would be interested in, too,” Jacqueline said.

Millions of people report disabilities

More than 70 million U.S. adults, or one in four, reported having a disability in 2022, according to the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s the year the Child sisters founded Dateability.

They had 1,000 people sign up in the first month. Their user base has increased 10-fold in the last year, the founders said.

The service has both free and paid options. Among the differences in tiers: Users who don’t pay must like or pass on a profile before seeing another. Paid users can see all profiles that have sent them a “like” at once.

Dateability also welcomes nondisabled users, screening as best it can to avoid those who fetishize chronically ill or disabled people. The sisters have found that most nondisabled people using it have some connection to the disability or chronically ill communities through a loved one or their own advocacy work.

“We wanted to make it truly inclusive,” Alexa said.

Finding long-term partners online

In Pikesville, Maryland, 23-year-old Sophie Brisker found her boyfriend on Dateability. She joined the app in 2022 after developing debilitating symptoms just before her 18th birthday from chronic fatigue syndrome and other long-term conditions. She has been housebound for months at a time, attending college online, and uses a wheelchair for long distances.

“It’s really exhausting trying to explain to someone all of your limitations and the illnesses you have,” Brisker said. At the time, she was looking for companionship, unsure whether a romantic relationship was doable.

“Knowing that someone would be OK with not necessarily doing many of the things that most normal couples do was important to me,” she said.

Her partner suffers from long COVID-19 and other chronic illnesses. Now, the two plan to move together to Louisville, Kentucky. “We hit it off on everything,” Brisker said. “We understood each other in ways that other people just couldn’t.”

Matthew Shapiro, 34, is a disability advocate in Richmond, Virginia. He works with businesses, organizations, state lawmakers and others who want to learn how to be more inclusive. He was born with cerebral palsy and uses a power chair to get around.

Shapiro has dabbled in online dating on the mainstream apps and another service for the disabled.

“People’s intentions on those apps weren’t always pure,” Shapiro said. “I was looking for a space where it felt like community.”

He’s had relationships over the years with people he’s met online and in person, including a relationship with a nondisabled woman who questioned her ability to cope with Shapiro’s personal care needs.

It was a woman he met on Dateability that changed his life. The older mom of two was born without fingers on her left hand and didn’t flinch at his challenges. The two have shifted to be close friends after several months of dating.

“It was the first time I ever felt fully seen and accepted and sort of loved in a relationship,” Shapiro said. “With traditional apps, you sort of have to hope that people are cool with who you are, but with Dateability, it’s all right there.”

App leads to friendlier dates for disabled

In addition to stigma and misconceptions about their abilities and challenges, people with chronic illnesses and disabilities face other obstacles in dating.

Not all social venues like bars and restaurants are fully accessible. That could mean no ramps, poor lighting or a noisy environment. Online, some dating apps have limited assistive technology, such as sign language support or screen reader compliance with common software for the visually impaired.

Opening up about their personal needs can also be daunting, Shapiro said. Some have given up on dating altogether, or never tried.

“People with disabilities deserve love and deserve relationships, just like anyone else,” he said. “Love without worry. Love without hesitation and question. There are a lot of people with disabilities who don’t know what that feels like.”

By MARK SHERMAN and KIM CHANDLER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday struggled over how courts should decide borderline cases of whether convicted murderers are intellectually disabled and should be shielded from execution.

There was no clear outcome apparent after the justices heard two hours of arguments in an appeal from Alabama, which wants to put to death a man who lower federal courts found is intellectually disabled.

Joseph Clifton Smith, 55, has been on death row roughly half his life after his conviction for beating a man to death in 1997.

The Supreme Court prohibited execution of intellectually disabled people in a landmark ruling in 2002. The justices, in cases in 2014 and 2017, held that states should consider other evidence of disability in borderline cases because of the margin of error in IQ tests.

The issue in Smith’s case is what happens when a person has multiple IQ scores that are slightly above 70, which has been widely accepted as a marker of intellectual disability. Smith’s five IQ tests produced scores ranging from 72 to 78. Smith had been placed in learning-disabled classes and dropped out of school after seventh grade, his lawyers said. At the time of the crime, he performed math at a kindergarten level, spelled at a third-grade level and read at a fourth-grade level.

Seth Waxman, representing Smith, told the justices his client received a “diagnosis of mental retardation” — then the commonly accepted term for mental disability — in the seventh grade.

Alabama, 20 other states and the Trump administration all are asking the high court, which is more conservative than it was a decade ago, to cut back on those earlier decisions.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented in both cases, and Alito and Thomas sounded as if they would side with Alabama.

A ruling for Smith would lead to messy court fights for other death row inmates “where everything is up for grabs in every case,” Alito said.

Alabama lawyer Robert M. Overing said Smith’s case should be an easy win for the state because Smith never scored below 70 on any IQ test.

“There is no way that he can prove an IQ below 70,” Overing said.

Alabama appealed to the Supreme Court after lower courts ruled that Smith is intellectually disabled, looking beyond the test scores. The justices had previously sent his case back to the federal appeals court in Atlanta, where the judges affirmed that they had taken a “holistic” approach to Smith’s case, seemingly in line with high court decisions.

But the justices said in June they would take a new look at the case.

Waxman urged the justices to affirm the lower courts rather than issue a decision that would effectively rely exclusively on test scores and rule out additional evidence in cases with borderline IQ scores.

Justice Elena Kagan said courts have to consider the additional evidence, but “that’s not to say you have to accept it.”

Rights groups focused on disabilities wrote in a brief supporting Smith that “intellectual disability diagnoses based solely on IQ test scores are faulty and invalid.”

Smith was convicted and sentenced to death for the beating death of Durk Van Dam in Mobile County. Van Dam was found dead in his pickup truck. Prosecutors said he had been beaten to death with a hammer and robbed of $150, his boots and tools.

A federal judge in 2021 vacated Smith’s death sentence, though she acknowledged “this is a close case.”

Alabama law defines intellectual disability as an IQ of 70 or below, along with significant or substantial deficits in adaptive behavior and the onset of those issues before the age of 18.

A decision in Hamm v. Smith, 24-872, is expected by early summer.

Chandler reported from Montgomery, Ala.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI and THOMAS BEAUMONT, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Dallas congresswoman opened her Senate campaign by telling voters that she “has gone toe to toe with Donald Trump.” Her Democratic primary opponent insisted that Americans are tired of “politics as a blood sport.”

The divergent approach highlights how U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico are navigating a race where Democrats hope to break a three-decade losing streak in Texas. It also reflects a broader divide within the party, with some candidates continuing to focus on Trump while others barely mention his name.

Figuring out the best approach will be critical for Democrats who are grasping for a path back to power in the 2026 midterm elections that will determine control of Congress and are already maneuvering for the 2028 presidential race.

Republicans, by contrast, have been crystal clear.

Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, said in a recent podcast interview that the Republican president will campaign aggressively next year and the party will “put him on the ballot.”

“He is the greatest vote energizer in the history of politics,” said Neil Newhouse, a veteran Republican pollster. “But the challenge is that he does it as much for Democrats as he does for Republicans.”

Crockett takes on Trump

In her campaign launch video, Crockett was silent as audio of Trump’s insults played, including multiple times that he has called her a “very low-IQ person.” At the end of the video, she breaks out into a smile.

On Monday, she addressed the president more directly.

“Trump, I know you’re watching, so let me tell you directly,” Crockett said. “You’re not entitled to a damn thing in Texas. You better get to work because I’m coming for you.”

Trump responded the next day, telling reporters aboard Air Force One that her candidacy is “a gift to Republicans” and “I can’t even believe she’s a politician, actually.”

For nearly a decade, Democrats have used their criticism of Trump to draw attention and fuel fundraising. Governors who are considered potential 2028 presidential contenders, including California’s Gavin Newsom and Illinois’ JB Pritzker, saw their profiles rise as they positioned themselves as staunch Trump opponents.

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., recently participated in a video telling service members that they should not follow “illegal orders.” Trump responded by accusing him of “seditious behavior” that’s “punishable by death.”

Kelly started a national media tour and sent out a flurry of fundraising emails, both for himself and other Democrats. He said Trump has bullied everyone in his career, “but not now, because I won’t let it happen.”

When it comes to running for office, “Trump is the red meat that drives donors,” said John Anzalone, a longtime Democratic pollster.

“There are clearly some candidates that are playing towards the donor world that don’t actually make a great argument for winning races. But it’s great for clicks and making money. And money is the first primary that you need to win.”

Talarico charts a different course

Talarico has built a following with a less combative style. The former schoolteacher who is working toward a master’s degree in divinity at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary gained attention by posting viral social media content challenging Republicans’ claims to Christian values. He has focused less on Trump or other politicians.

“The biggest divide in our country is not left versus right. It’s top versus bottom,” Talarico said in the video launching his campaign.

There are echoes of other Democratic successes this year, such as when candidates for governor won in New Jersey and Virginia by focusing on affordability concerns.

Voters in those states were much likelier to say they were voting to oppose Trump than to support him, according to the AP Voter Poll. For example, 71% of voters for Democrat Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey said their decision in the governor’s race was motivated at least partially by opposition to Trump.

But Sherrill recently said that it is not enough for Democrats to rely solely on anti-Trump fervor.

“Trump makes a difference. He’s a forcing mechanism to coalesce the party,” Sherrill said. “But to really turn out the vote in a really strong manner, you have got to run a really sharp campaign.”

When Democrats talk about Trump, they have to connect his actions to voters’ everyday lives, she said.

“You can’t just say, oh, I’m so upset that Trump demolished the East Wing of the White House,” she said. “You have to say, look, there’s a tariff regime that is being run that is enriching the president to the tune of $3 billion, and you’re paying more for everything from your cup of coffee in the morning to the groceries that you’re buying to cook your family dinner at night.”

It is an approach that could have more staying power in the coming years.

“In the not-too-distant future, Trump will not be on the ballot and that will be a challenge for both parties,” said Austin Cook, a senior aide for Democrat Elissa Slotkin’s successful U.S. Senate campaign in Michigan last year. “He is a starting gun for Democratic enthusiasm. But soon we won’t have him as a foil.”

Republicans need Trump to turn out voters

Republicans have little choice but to enlist Trump’s help, considering his enduring support among voters who are less likely to turn out during the midterms.

“They need to energize Republican voters and the only real way to energize Republican voters and get them out to vote is by enlisting Trump in the campaign,” said Newhouse, who is advising some of the party’s U.S. Senate candidates.

He warned that Trump’s popularity does not necessarily transfer to candidates he supports, “but there isn’t an alternative.”

“What they are trying to do here is basically wrap themselves up in him, hope that his approval and the economic numbers improve and get their voters out to the polls to match the Democrats’ intensity,” Newhouse said.

The White House has said that Trump will be on the road more in the coming months. He hosted his first rally in a while in Pennsylvania on Tuesday evening, where he blamed Democrats for inflation.

“They gave you high prices,” he said, adding that “we’re bringing those prices down rapidly.”

Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press writer Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix and AP Polling Editor Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux contributed to this report.

By MATTHEW LEE, AP Diplomatic Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered diplomatic correspondence to stop using the Calibri font and return to the more traditional Times New Roman effective Wednesday, reversing a Biden administration shift to the less formal typeface that he called wasteful, confusing and unbefitting the dignity of U.S. government documents.

“Typography shapes how official documents are perceived in terms of cohesion, professionalism and formality,” Rubio said in a cable sent to all U.S. embassies and consulates abroad Tuesday.

In it, he said the 2023 shift to the sans serif Calibri font emerged from misguided diversity, equity and inclusion policies pursued by his predecessor, Antony Blinken. Rubio ordered an immediate return to Times New Roman, which had been among the standard fonts mandated by previous administrations.

“The switch was promised to mitigate accessibility issues for individuals with disabilities,” the cable said, asserting that it did not achieve that goal and had cost the department $145,000 but did not offer any evidence.

Since taking over the State Department in January, Rubio has systematically dismantled DEI programs in line with President Donald Trump’s broader instructions to all federal agencies. The Trump administration says the goal is to return to purely merit-based standards.

Rubio has abolished offices and initiatives that had been created to promote and foster diversity and inclusion, including in Washington and at overseas embassies and consulates, and also ended foreign assistance funding for DEI projects abroad.

“Although switching to Calibri was not among the department’s most illegal, immoral, radical or wasteful instances of DEI it was nonetheless cosmetic,” according to Rubio’s cable obtained by The Associated Press and first reported by The New York Times.

“Switching to Calibri achieved nothing except the degradation of the department’s correspondence,” he said, adding that it also clashed with the typeface in the State Department letterhead.

According to a separate memo sent to department employees, the return to Times New Roman takes effect Wednesday and all templates for official documents are to be updated to remove the offending Calibri font.

The only exceptions are documents prepared for international treaties and for presidential appointments, which are required to use Courier New 12-point font, the memo said.

By JEFF AMY and KATE BRUMBACK

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s State Election Board on Wednesday rejected a proposal defining when hand-marked paper ballots could be used in place of the state’s touchscreen voting machines.

Opponents said the rule would have overstepped the board’s legal authority and could have created an escape hatch for widespread use of paper ballots when state lawmakers mandated the use of the ballot-marking devices.

Janice Johnston, the board’s vice chair, seemed to agree, saying, “This really is the duty and the job of the legislators.”

The proposed rule failed on a 2-2 vote after a debate in which proponents contended that use of the current machines at least sometimes violates the law because voters can’t read their ballots’ QR code to ensure it matches the paper ballot, and because machines don’t afford enough privacy to voters.

“You have both the duty and the responsibility for the conduct of legal elections in Georgia,” said Jeanne Dufort, a county Democratic official and a co-author of the bipartisan proposal.

Hand-marked paper ballots are Georgia’s backup when the machines can’t be used because of an “emergency.” The proposed rule would have listed qualifying circumstances that define when the use of machines is “impossible or impracticable.”

Struggle over Georgia voting machines

Proponents of the change included longtime opponents of Georgia’s voting machines, as well as those who rallied to the cause after the 2020 election, when wild conspiracy theories about the machines proliferated as President Donald Trump’s allies alleged they were used to steal victory from him.

Georgia’s election system was implemented statewide ahead of the 2020 primary elections. Manufactured by Dominion Voting Systems, which was bought earlier this year by Liberty Vote, it includes touchscreen voting machines that print paper ballots featuring a human-readable list of voters’ selections and a QR code that a scanner reads to count votes.

Even before 2020, some election integrity activists had argued voters can’t be sure their votes are accurately recorded because they can’t read the QR code and that the voting machines’ large, upright screens violate the right to ballot secrecy. They also assert that the system has major security flaws that the state hasn’t addressed.

The secretary of state’s office maintains that the system is secure and Georgia’s election results are accurate and reliable.

Salleigh Grubbs, first vice chair of the Georgia Republican Party was the other co-author of the rule. She argued that although lawmakers passed a law to eliminate use of QR codes from ballots after July 1, 2026, the board needs to act because lawmakers and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger have not yet moved ahead with plans to remove the codes.

“We are already voting on an illegal system,” Grubbs said, a sentiment that Johnston said she agreed with despite voting against the rule.

Dufort argued legal reasons for not using the machines are much broader than just operational emergencies like power outages at polling place.

“There are variety of reasons why the primary method of marking your ballot isn’t usable” Dufort said.

Limits of the board’s power

But critics, including key legislators and the state attorney general’s office, opposed the measure. They said the board was in danger of again trying to usurp the power of legislators. A Georgia Supreme Court ruling earlier this year that said the State Election Board can pass rules to “implement and enforce” election laws, but cannot “go beyond, change or contradict” the laws. That ruling stemmed from a challenge to board’s adoption of a number of new rules before last year’s election.

“We are putting ourselves at risk of getting swatted back under the very precedent that was created to constrain and orient this board,” said Sara Tindall Ghazal, the lone Democrat and only lawyer on the board. She voted against the rule.

State Rep. Victor Anderson, vice chair of a special study committee on elections, told The Associated Press earlier that legislators are working to address concerns about the voting machines.

“I feel like the proposed rule is trying to get ahead of that before we handle it through the proper sources,” he said.

Some opponents of the rule worried it could have forced a switch to hand-marked paper ballots in an end-run around the state’s requirement that in-person voters use touchscreen voting machines. Many Republican activists have been demanding such a move since 2020.

“These definitions appear to be a backdoor attempt to move Georgia to the routine use of hand-marked paper ballots,” said Janet Green, a DeKalb County poll worker who commented Wednesday.

State Election Board members said they would instead lobby lawmakers to adopt a version of the rule into law.

“We will be in communication with the General Assembly to address the problem they created,” Johnston said.

By JEFF AMY

ATLANTA (AP) — Democrat Eric Gisler claimed an upset victory Tuesday in a special election in a historically Republican Georgia state House district.

Gisler said he was the winner of the contest, in which he was leading Republican Mack “Dutch” Guest by about 200 votes out of more than 11,000 in final unofficial returns.

Robert Sinners, a spokesperson with the secretary of state’s office, said there could be a few provisional ballots left before the tally is finalized.

“I think we had the right message for the time,” Gisler told The Associated Press in a phone interview. He credited his win to Democratic enthusiasm but also said some Republicans were looking for a change.

“A lot of what I would call traditional conservatives held their nose and voted Republican last year on the promise of low prices and whatever else they were selling,” Gisler said. “But they hadn’t received that.”

Guest did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment late Tuesday.

Democrats have seen a number of electoral successes in 2025 as the party’s voters have been eager to express dissatisfaction with Republican President Donald Trump.

In Georgia in November, they romped to two blowouts in statewide special elections for the Public Service Commission, unseating two incumbent Republicans in campaigns driven by discontent over rising electricity costs.

Nationwide, Democrats won governor’s races by broad margins in Virginia and New Jersey. On Tuesday a Democrat defeated a Trump-endorsed Republican in the officially nonpartisan race for Miami mayor, becoming the first from his party to win the post in nearly 30 years.

Democrats have also performed strongly in some races they lost, such as a Tennessee U.S. House race last week and a Georgia state Senate race in September.

Republicans remain firmly in control of the Georgia House, but their majority is likely fall to 99-81 when lawmakers return in January. Also Tuesday, voters in a second, heavily Republican district in Atlanta’s northwest suburbs sent Republican Bill Fincher and Democrat Scott Sanders to a Jan. 6 runoff to fill a vacancy created when Rep. Mandi Ballinger died.

The GOP majority is down from 119 Republicans in 2015. It would be the first time the GOP holds fewer than 100 seats in the lower chamber since 2005, when they won control for the first time since Reconstruction.

The race between Gisler and Guest in House District 121 in the Athens area northeast of Atlanta was held to replace Republican Marcus Wiedower, who was in the seat since 2018 but resigned in the middle of this term to focus on business interests.

Most of the district is in Oconee County, a Republican suburb of Athens, reaching into heavily Democratic Athens-Clarke County. Republicans gerrymandered Athens-Clarke to include one strongly Democratic district, parceling out the rest of the county into three seats intended to be Republican.

Gisler ran against Wiedower in 2024, losing 61% to 39%. This year was Guest’s first time running for office.

A Democrat briefly won control of the district in a 2017 special election but lost to Wiedower in 2018.

Gisler, a 49-year-old Watkinsville resident, works for an insurance technology company and owns a gourmet olive oil store. He campaigned on improving health care, increasing affordability and reinvesting Georgia’s surplus funds

Guest is the president of a trucking company and touted his community ties, promising to improve public safety and cut taxes. He was endorsed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, an Athens native, and raised far more in campaign contributions than Gisler.

By JOSH BOAK and MARC LEVY, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will road-test his claims that he’s tackling Americans’ affordability woes at a Tuesday rally in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania — shifting an argument made in Oval Office appearances and social media posts to a campaign-style event.

The trip comes as polling consistently shows that public trust in Trump’s economic leadership has faltered. Following dismal results for Republicans in last month’s off-cycle elections, the White House has sought to convince voters that the economy will emerge stronger next year and that any anxieties over inflation have nothing to do with Trump.

The president has consistently blamed his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, for inflation even as his own aggressive implementation of policies has pushed up prices that had been settling down after spiking in 2022 to a four-decade high. Inflation began to accelerate after Trump announced his sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs in April. Companies warned that the import taxes could be passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices and reduced hiring, yet Trump continues to insist that inflation has faded.

“We’re bringing prices way down,” Trump said at the White House on Monday. “You can call it ‘affordability’ or anything you want — but the Democrats caused the affordability problem and we’re the ones that are fixing it.”

The president’s reception in the county hosting his Tuesday rally could give a signal of just how much voters trust his claims. Monroe County flipped to Trump in the 2024 election after having backed Biden in 2020, helping the Republican to win the swing state of Pennsylvania and return to the White House after a four-year hiatus.

As home to the Pocono Mountains, the county has largely relied on tourism for skiing, hiking, hunting and other activities as a source of jobs. Its proximity to New York City — under two hours by car — has also attracted people seeking more affordable housing.

It’s also an area that could help decide control of the House in next year’s midterm elections.

Trump is holding his rally in a congressional district held by freshman Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan, who is a top target of Democrats and won his 2024 race by about 1.5 percentage points, among the nation’s closest. Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, a Democrat, is running for the nomination to challenge him.

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles said on the online conservative talk show “The Mom View” that Trump would be on the “campaign trail” next year to engage supporters who otherwise might sit out a congressional race.

Wiles, who helped manage Trump’s 2024 campaign, said most administrations try to localize midterm elections and keep the president out of the race, but she intends to do the opposite of that.

“We’re actually going to turn that on its head,” Wiles said, “and put him on the ballot because so many of those low-propensity voters are Trump voters.”

Wiles added, “So I haven’t quite broken it to him yet, but he’s going to campaign like it’s 2024 again.”

Trump has said he’s giving consumers relief by relaxing fuel efficiency standards for autos and signing agreements to reduce list prices on prescription drugs.

Trump has also advocated for cuts to the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest rate — which influences the supply of money in the U.S. economy. He argues that would reduce the cost of mortgages and auto loans, although critics warn that cuts of the scale sought by Trump could instead worsen inflation.

The U.S. economy has shown signs of resilience with the stock market up this year and overall growth looking solid for the third quarter. But many Americans see the prices of housing, groceries, education, electricity and other basic needs as swallowing up their incomes, a dynamic that the Trump administration has said it expects to fade next year with more investments in artificial intelligence and manufacturing.

Since the November elections where Democrats won key races with a focus on kitchen-table issues, Trump has often dismissed the concerns about prices as a “hoax” and “con job” to suggest that he bears no responsibility for inflation, even though he campaigned on his ability to quickly bring down prices. Just 33% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, according to a November survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Today is Tuesday, Dec. 9, the 343rd day of 2025. There are 22 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Dec. 9, 1965, “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” the first animated TV special featuring characters from the “Peanuts” comic strip by Charles M. Schulz, premiered on CBS.

Also on this date:

In 1979, scientists certified the global eradication of smallpox, a disease which killed an estimated 300 million people in the 20th century.

In 1990, Solidarity founder Lech Wałęsa (lek vah-WEN’-sah) won Poland’s first free presidential election since 1926.

In 1992, the first U.S. Marines made a predawn beach landing in Somalia in support of Operation Restore Hope; they were met by hundreds of reporters awaiting their arrival.

In 2006, the space shuttle Discovery launched on a mission to add to and rewire the International Space Station.

In 2013, scientists revealed that NASA’s Curiosity rover had uncovered signs of an ancient freshwater lake on Mars.

In 2019, an island volcano off New Zealand’s coast called Whakaari, or White Island, erupted, killing 22 tourists and guides and seriously injuring several others. Most of the 47 people on the island were U.S. and Australian cruise ship passengers on a walking tour with the guides.

In 2021, a cargo truck jammed with migrants crashed in southern Mexico, killing at least 53 people and injuring dozens more.

Today’s Birthdays:

• Actor Judi Dench is 91.
• Actor Beau Bridges is 84.
• World Golf Hall of Famer Tom Kite is 76.
• Actor John Malkovich is 72.
• Singer Donny Osmond is 68.
• Actor Felicity Huffman is 63.
• Empress Masako of Japan is 62.
• Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is 59.
• Rock singer-musician Jakob Dylan (Wallflowers) is 56.
• Actor Simon Helberg is 45.
• Olympic gymnastics gold medalist McKayla Maroney is 30.
• Actor Nico Parker is 21.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — John Gibson made 39 saves for his first NHL shutout in nearly three years, and the Detroit Red Wings beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 on Monday night.

James van Riemsdyk, Andrew Copp, Nate Danielson and Dylan Larkin scored for the Red Wings (16-11-3), who moved from just outside the crowded Eastern Conference playoff picture into first place in the Atlantic Division.

Detroit has earned at least one point in five consecutive games and is 3-0-1 since an 0-3-1 slide.

The 32-year-old Gibson improved to 7-7-1 in his first season with the Red Wings after 12 with Anaheim. It was his 25th career shutout and first since a 2-0 win for the Ducks over Dallas on Jan. 4, 2023. He is 13-5-2 against Vancouver with four shutouts.

Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen was removed after making 10 saves on 13 shots over two periods. Nikita Tolopilo stopped all six shots he faced in the third.

Vancouver (11-16-3) went 0 for 3 with the man advantage and has gone six games without a power-play goal. Detroit was 0 for 2.

In a fast-moving first period, the Canucks outshot the Red Wings 11-6. But the visitors opened the scoring when van Riemsdyk tapped a loose puck at the net front past Lankinen for his fourth goal in four games.

Late in the second, Copp and Danielson scored 37 seconds apart. Copp’s third of the season was a backdoor tap-in off a pass from defenseman Axel Sandin-Pellikka. Danielson’s second career goal was a net-front tip off Sandin-Pellikka’s point shot.

Sandin-Pellikka’s two primary assists gave him his first multipoint night in 30 NHL games.

Larkin added an empty-net goal in the third.

Canucks captain Quinn Hughes was held without a point for the sixth straight game, tying the longest drought of his career in April 2023.

Vancouver center Elias Pettersson missed his second game in a row with an upper-body injury.

Detroit has won consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 16 and 18.

Up next

Red Wings: Visit the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night in the fourth of a six-game trip.

Canucks: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night to finish a four-game homestand.

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON

MIAMI (AP) — A candidate backed by President Donald Trump and one supported by national Democratic figures face off Tuesday to be the next Miami mayor, in this sun-kissed city shaped by immigrants where both major political parties are watching for a glimpse into their standing ahead of next year’s midterms, particularly among Hispanic voters.

If elected, Eileen Higgins would become the first Democrat to lead the city of 487,000 in nearly three decades. A win by Emilio Gonzalez could help calm Republicans as they seek to maintain a grip in Miami and show their strength in a Hispanic-majority place.

The Miami mayoral runoff — one of the final electoral battles before the 2026 midterms — comes on the heels of Trump’s influence in shifting the city’s political landscape markedly to the right. That has made Higgins’ candidacy a test for Democratic prospects in Florida and among Latinos in other places.

To be sure, the local race is not predictive of what may happen at the polls next year. Tuesday’s election is a runoff between the two highest vote-getters in the Nov. 4 election, and it is expected to see a small fraction of the turnout of a midterm contest. But that has not stopped national parties and their leaders from getting involved, and some of the big issues animating national politics also have surfaced in the contest.

Big-name Florida Republicans such as Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott have weighed in for Gonzalez, the former city manager, in the otherwise nonpartisan race. Well-known Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, have joined the campaign trail to help Higgins, who served on the county commission before winning a runoff spot last month.

A Democratic victory would add to the party’s momentum heading into a midterm election following successes in November’s elections and a closer-than-expected loss in a special election last week for a Tennessee congressional district that Trump won by double digits last year. The Miami contest is in an area that has increasingly shifted toward Republicans and the site where Trump intends to build his presidential library.

Higgins has proudly identified as La Gringa, a term Spanish speakers use for white Americans, but she also speaks Spanish and has represented the Cuban enclave of Little Havana as part of a district that leans conservative. Higgins has focused her campaign on local issues such as the cost of housing, but she has also mentioned national ones, including the arrest of immigrants under the Trump administration in a city with sizable Hispanic and foreign-born populations.

Meanwhile, Gonzalez has campaigned on repealing Miami’s homestead property tax and streamlining permits for businesses. A former director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under Republican President George W. Bush, he said during a debate that he supported immigration arrests against those who committed crimes. When pressed that most of those arrested had not committed violent offenses, he said it was “a federal issue.”

Miami is Florida’s second-most populous city, behind Jacksonville, and is considered the epicenter of the state’s diverse culture. It’s part of Miami-Dade County, which Trump flipped last year, handily defeating Democrat Kamala Harris after losing the county to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020. He had lost by 30 percentage points here to Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.