Less than a decade after their merger, Keurig and Dr Pepper plan to become separate companies again.

Keurig Dr Pepper said Monday it is buying the owner of Peet's Coffee for $18 billion (15.7 billion euro). Then it will break itself in two, with one company selling coffee and the other selling cold beverages like Snapple, Dr Pepper, 7UP and energy drinks.

The agreement unwinds the 2018 merger of Keurig and Dr Pepper. Shares of Keurig Dr Pepper fell 11% in afternoon trading Monday.

Investors were concerned about the company's plan to finance the acquisition with a mix of cash and debt. S&P Global placed Keurig Dr Pepper on a credit watch with negative implications Monday, saying it was concerned about the increase in debt and the complexity of the two-step transaction.

Keurig Dr Pepper CEO Timothy Cofer said the separate coffee and beverage businesses would be more nimble and better able to focus on growth opportunities in their own markets.

Following the separation, each stand-alone entity will lead its industry with a sharp strategic focus and with operating models that are finely calibrated to their unique categories and markets, Cofer said Monday during a conference call with investors.

The combination with Peets parent JDE Peets, which is based in Amsterdam, significantly expands Keurig's presence beyond North America, where it's known for its single-serve coffee machines. JDE Peet's owns the brands LOR, Jacobs, Douwe Egberts, Kenco, Pilao, OldTown, Super and Moccona.

RELATED STORY | Dr Pepper is now the second biggest soda brand, surpassing Pepsi

Cofer said the combined coffee business will generate $16 billion in annual net sales. The combined buying power will help Keurig and Peet's compete with other large coffee players like Nestle and Starbucks, especially as rising demand and poor weather conditions push coffee prices near record highs.

Cofer said the coffee company will also be able to focus on meeting demand, especially in developing markets. Around 40% of the company's sales will come from North America, 40% from Europe and 20% from emerging markets.

We like, and I like, the coffee category. Why? Its huge. Its ubiquitous, Cofer said. Obviously, weve up to this point focused on North America. But the global data shows coffee is consistently growing on a volume basis above population.

The merger could also help the company cushion the impact of U.S. tariffs. President Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff this summer on most imports from Brazil the worlds leading coffee producer for an investigation of its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally.

In a conference call with investors in July, Cofer said the impact of tariffs would be more prominent in the second half of this year.

Meanwhile, sales of Dr Pepper's traditional soft drinks have been slowing as health-conscious consumers look for new alternatives. The newly formed beverage company, with $11 billion in annual sales in the U.S. and Mexico, can continue to pivot to its faster-growing beverages, like the energy drinks Ghost and C4 and the hydration drink Electrolit.

The companies said they expect to save around $400 million over three years because of the merger, which is expected to close in the first half of 2026.

Once the two companies are separated, Cofer will become CEO of the cold beverage business, which will be based in Frisco, Texas. Keurig Dr Pepper's chief financial officer, Sudhanshu Priyadarshi, will lead the coffee business, which will be located in Burlington, Mass. Its international headquarters will be in Amsterdam.

The deal is the latest big maneuver in the food and beverage industry, which has been trying to keep up with changing consumer tastes.

In 2023, Kellogg Co. split into two companies. Mars bought Kellanova, the owner of snack brands like Pringles, last year. Italian confectioner Ferrero announced in July that it planned to buy WK Kellogg, the cereal company.

Struggling Kraft Heinz has also been considering a split.

Companies have also been snapping up fast-growing brands. Keurig Dr Pepper's rival PepsiCo acquired the prebiotic soda brand Poppi in March to gain a foothold in the fast-growing functional beverage space. And in July, Keurig Dr Pepper acquired Dyla, a maker of powdered drink mixes and water enhancers.

Lil Nas X was charged Monday with four felonies after police say he charged at them when they confronted him for walking naked down a Los Angeles street last week.

The musician, whose legal name is Montero Lamar Hill, pleaded not guilty in a court appearance to three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one count of resisting an executive officer, the district attorneys office said.

The charges were far more serious than initial reports that he was being investigated for a misdemeanor, and, with convictions, the counts could collectively bring a sentence of more than 10 years in prison for the singer and rapper whose Old Town Road was one of the biggest hit singles in history.

Police said officers found the 26-year-old walking naked on Ventura Boulevard, a major thoroughfare in the Studio City neighborhood, shortly before 6 a.m. Friday. They say he charged at the officers when confronted and was arrested.

The criminal complaint filed in court Monday includes few details, but says that for each of the three officers he did unlawfully use force and violence and inflict an injury on a person he reasonably should have known was a peace officer engaged in the performance of a duty.

Police, suspecting a possible overdose, took him to a hospital where he spent several hours before being taken to jail, where he has remained since.

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After spending three days in jail, he was released on $75,000 bail, conditional on attending drug treatment.

A message to his attorneys was not immediately answered.

But one of them, Christy O'Connor, told a judge Lil Nas X has led a remarkable life that has included winning two Grammy awards.

Assuming the allegations here are true, this is an absolute aberration in this persons life, OConnor said in court, according to NBC. Nothing like this has ever happened to him.

The charges were first reported by TMZ.

Lil Nas X is set to return to court on Sept. 15 for his next pre-trial hearing.

The rapper and singer from Atlanta is best known for 2018's country and hip-hop merging Old Town Road, which spent a record 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won him his Grammys.

Known for his genre-bending, innovating sounds and style, his first full studio album, 2021s Montero, went to No. 2 on the Billboard album chart and was nominated for a Grammy for album of the year.

Former Mexican cartel kingpin Ismael El Mayo Zambada pleaded guilty Monday to U.S. drug trafficking charges, saying he was sorry for helping to flood the U.S. with cocaine, heroin and other illicit substances and for fueling deadly violence in Mexico.

I recognize the great harm illegal drugs have done to the people in the United States and Mexico, he said through a Spanish-language interpreter. I apologize for all of it, and I take responsibility for my actions.

Under the leadership of Zambada and Joaqun El Chapo Guzmn, prosecutors say the Sinaloa cartel evolved from a regional player into the largest drug trafficking organization in the world.

In pleading guilty, Zambada acknowledged the extent of the Sinaloa operation, including underlings who built relationships with cocaine producers in Colombia, oversaw the importation of cocaine to Mexico by boat and plane and the smuggling of the drug across the U.S.-Mexico border. He acknowledged that people working for him paid bribes to Mexican police and military commanders so they could operate freely, going all the way back to when the cartel was just starting out.

He traced his involvement in the illegal drug business to his teenage years, when he said he planted marijuana for the first time in 1969. He said he went on to sell heroin and other drugs, but especially cocaine and that from 1980 until last year, he and his cartel were responsible for transporting at least 1.5 million kilograms of cocaine, most of which went to the United States.

Zambada entered his plea in a Brooklyn federal court, two weeks after prosecutors said they wouldnt seek the death penalty against him. Instead, he's expecting to be sentenced Jan. 13 to life in prison.

The 77-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of running a continuing criminal enterprise. He was arrested in Texas last year.

Prosecutors say Zambada presided over a violent, highly militarized cartel with a private security force armed with powerful weapons and a cadre of sicarios, or hitmen, that carried out assassinations, kidnappings and torture.

Lawyers for Zambada didnt immediately respond to an email seeking comment Friday.

Guzmn was sentenced to life behind bars following his conviction in the same federal court in Brooklyn in 2019. His two sons, who ran a cartel faction, also face federal charges.

The Sinaloa cartel is Mexicos oldest criminal group, with various incarnations dating to the 1970s. It is a drug trafficking power player: A former Mexican cabinet member was convicted of taking bribes to help the cartel.

Considered a good negotiator, Zambada was seen as the cartels strategist and dealmaker, thought to be more involved in its day-to-day doings than the more flamboyant Guzmn. Nevertheless, prosecutors have said Zambada also was enmeshed in the groups violence, at one point ordering the murder of his own nephew.

In court Monday, he acknowledged the grave human toll of his drug trade, including lethal fighting between his armed guards and cartel rivals.

These confrontations led to many deaths both of our enemies and of fighters on our side, Zambada said. Many innocent people were also killed.

As he concluded his eight-minute remarks, he apologized "to everyone who has suffered from my actions.

U.S. law enforcement sought Zambada for more than two decades, but he was never arrested in any country until he was taken into custody in Texas last year. He had arrived in a private plane with one of Guzmns sons, Joaqun Guzmn Lpez. Guzmn Lpez has pleaded not guilty to federal drug trafficking charges in Chicago; his brother, Ovidio Guzmn Lpez, pleaded guilty last month.

Zambada has said he was kidnapped in Mexico and taken against his will to the U.S. He had often been at odds with Guzmns sons, dubbed the Chapitos, a term that translates to little Chapos.

Zambadas arrest touched off deadly fighting in Mexico between rival Sinaloa cartel factions, apparently pitting his loyalists against backers of Guzmns sons.

Ten structures including four homes have been destroyed by a wildfire sweeping through central Oregon, where thousands of residents remained under evacuation orders on Monday, while a blaze in Northern California wine country has so far spared some of the state's most famous vineyards.

Officials said Oregon firefighters working in rugged terrain amid dry, hot weather saved hundreds of other buildings from the 34-square-mile Flat Fire spanning Deschutes and Jefferson counties. It was 15% contained.

We are deeply saddened by the loss of homes and personal property and extend our sympathy to those affected, Deschutes County Sheriff Ty Rupert said in a statement.

Flames still threatened nearly 4,000 homes, fire spokesperson Gert Zoutendijk said Monday. He said crews were taking advantage of slightly cooler temperatures that dipped into the high 80s, and even some scattered rain.

A little bit of rain does some good right now, but later, if the sun comes out, it doesnt take long to dry everything out again, Zoutendijk said.

A heat advisory was in place through Wednesday, and forecasters warned that potential thunderstorms could create erratic winds that would challenge firefighters.

Flames in California's wine country

Meanwhile, the Pickett Fire in Northern California has charred about 10 square miles (26 square kilometers) of remote Napa County, known for its hundreds of wineries. It was 13% contained on Monday.

Flames spared the home and adjacent vineyards of Jayson Woodbridge of Hundred Acre wines, but he said it was a close call on Thursday when the fire broke out and raced along nearby slopes.

He and his son grabbed hoses and futilely began spraying down the steep hillsides. The water was evaporating as fast as we were spraying it out there, Woodbridge recalled Monday. It was just a hot funnel of air. Fire was just engulfing everything.

Before long, crews with bulldozers and air support arrived to protect the property. Water-dropping helicopters continued their flights on Monday, keeping the flames contained to canyons about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of San Francisco.

With about a month to go before harvest, Woodbridge said his grapes won't be damaged because of the pure luck of wind direction.

The smoke wont affect the fruit because the winds coming in from the west, thankfully, Woodbridge said. That wasn't the case in 2020 when toxic smoke from the Glass Fire caused Woodbridge and other wineries to scrap much of that year's crop.

There have been no reports of damage to any vineyards from the Pickett Fire, said Michelle Novi with Napa Valley Vintners, a nonprofit trade association.

Firefighting resources have been put in place to protect wineries, especially as winds pick up later in the day, according to the California Department of Forestry & Fire Protection, or Cal Fire.

With the weather over the last 48 hours, we're seeing high temperatures, low humidity paired with some increasing wind in the late afternoon, which was giving our troops some additional work on the eastern side of this incident," Cal Fire spokesperson Curtis Rhodes told The Associated Press on Monday.

RELATED STORY | How Smoke From Wildfires Affects Your Health

A firefighter dies in Montana

In southwest Montana, a 60-year-old conrtract firefighter from Oregon died Sunday afternoon, after suffering a cardiac emergency while battling the Bivens Creek fire.

Ruben Gonzeles Romero was among more than 700 firefighters working on the lightning-caused fire in the Tobacco Root Mountains about 15 miles north of Virginia City, Montana.

The Bivens Creek fire has burned approximately 3 1/2 square miles since Aug. 13 in a remote area with thick timber and numerous dead trees.

Heat wave complicates the firefighting efforts

Residents of the western United States have been sweltering in a heat wave that hospitalized some people, with temperatures hitting dangerous levels throughout the weekend in Washington, Oregon, Southern California, Nevada and Arizona.

After a weekend of triple-digit temperatures, authorities in Multnomah County, Oregon, said they were investigating the death of a 56-year-old man as possibly heat-related.

The area of the Oregon fire is in a high desert climate, where dried grasses and juniper trees are burning and fire is racing through tinder-dry canyon areas where its challenging to create containment lines, said Deschutes County sheriffs spokesperson Jason Carr.

In central California, the states largest blaze this year, the Gifford Fire, was at 95% containment Monday after charring nearly 206 square miles. The cause is under investigation.

Although its difficult to directly tie a single fire or weather event directly to climate change, scientists say human-caused warming from burning fossil fuels like coal and gas is causing more intense heat waves and droughts, which in turn set the stage for more destructive wildfires.

A posthumous and "unsparing" memoir by one of Jeffrey Epstein's most prominent accusers, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, will be published this fall, publishing house Alfred A. Knopf said Sunday.

"Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice" is scheduled for release Oct. 21, the publisher confirmed to The Associated Press. Giuffre, who died by suicide in April at age 41, had been working on "Nobody's Girl" with author-journalist Amy Wallace and had completed the manuscript for the 400-page book, according to Knopf. The publisher's statement includes an email from Giuffre to Wallace a few weeks before her death, saying that it was her "heartfelt wish" the memoir be released "regardless" of her circumstances.

"The content of this book is crucial, as it aims to shed light on the systemic failures that allow the trafficking of vulnerable individuals across borders," the email reads. "It is imperative that the truth is understood and that the issues surrounding this topic are addressed, both for the sake of justice and awareness."

Giuffre had been hospitalized following a serious accident March 24, Knopf said, and sent the email April 1. She died April 25.

"In the event of my passing, I would like to ensure that NOBODY'S GIRL is still released. I believe it has the potential to impact many lives and foster necessary discussions about these grave injustices," she wrote to Wallace.

RELATED STORY | Giuffre family outraged over DOJ interview with Ghislaine Maxwell

In 2023, the New York Post had reported that Giuffre had reached a deal "believed to be worth millions" with an undisclosed publisher. Knopf spokesperson Todd Doughty said that she initially agreed to a seven-figure contract with Penguin Press, but moved with acquiring editor Emily Cunningham after Knopf hired Cunningham as executive editor last year.

Giuffre had often stated that, in the early 2000s, when she was a teenager, she was caught up in Epstein's sex-trafficking ring and exploited by Britain's Prince Andrew and other influential men. Epstein was found dead in a New York City jail cell in 2019 in what investigators described as a suicide. His former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, was convicted in late 2021 on sex trafficking and other charges.

Andrew had denied Giuffre's allegations. In 2022, Giuffre and Andrew reached an out-of-court settlement after she had sued him for sexual assault. A representative for Andrew did not immediately return the AP's request for comment.

"Nobody's Girl" is distinct from Giuffre's unpublished memoir, "The Billionaire's Playboy Club," referenced in previous court filings and initially unsealed in 2019. Through Doughty, Wallace says she began working with Giuffre on a new memoir in spring 2021.

Giuffre's name has continued to appear in headlines, even after her death. In July, President Donald Trump told reporters that Epstein had "stolen" Giuffre from Mar-a-Lago, his private club in Florida where she once worked. She had alleged being approached by Maxwell and hired as a masseuse for Epstein. Maxwell has denied Giuffre's allegations.

Doughty declined to provide details about the Epstein associates featured in "Nobody's Girl," but confirmed that Giuffre made "no allegations of abuse against Trump," who continues to face questions about Epstein, the disgraced financier and his former friend.

Knopf's statement says the book contains "intimate, disturbing, and heartbreaking new details about her time with Epstein, Maxwell and their many well-known friends, including Prince Andrew, about whom she speaks publicly for the first time since their out-of-court settlement in 2022." Knopf Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Jordan Pavlin, in a statement, called "Nobody's Girl" a "raw and shocking" journey and "the story of a fierce spirit struggling to break free."

Giuffre's time with Epstein is well documented, although her accounts have been challenged. She had acknowledged getting details wrong, errors she attributed to trying to recall events from years ago. In 2022, she dropped allegations against Alan Dershowitz, saying in a statement at the time that she may "have made a mistake in identifying" the famed attorney as an abuser.

"'Nobody's Girl' was both vigorously fact-checked and legally vetted," a Knopf statement reads.

Giuffre's co-author on her memoir, Wallace, is an award-winning magazine and newspaper reporter whose work has appeared in The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, among other publications. She has also collaborated on two previous books, Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull's "Creativity, Inc." and former General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt's "Hot Seat."

Israeli forces killed four aid seekers traveling on Sunday through a military zone south of Gaza City an area regularly used by Palestinians trying to reach a food distribution point, a hospital and witnesses said.

The deaths add to the growing toll of Palestinians killed while seeking food, as parts of the Gaza Strip plunge into famine and Israels military ramps up activity in northern Gaza ahead of a planned offensive to seize its largest city.

Al-Awda Hospital and two eyewitnesses told The Associated Press that the four Palestinians were killed when troops opened fire on a crowd heading to a site run by the Israeli-backed American contractor Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, in the Netzarim corridor area. It occurred hundreds of meters (yards) away from the site, the eyewitnesses said.

The gunfire was indiscriminate, Mohamed Abed, a father of two from the Bureij refugee camp, said, adding that while many fled some people fell to the ground after being shot.

RELATED STORY | Famine declared in Gaza City as Israel escalates fighting

Abed and Aymed Sayyad, another aid seeker among the crowd, said troops opened fire when a group near the front of the crowd pushed forward toward a distribution site before its scheduled opening.

Sayyad said he and others helped two people who were wounded by gunshots, one in his shoulder and the leg in his leg.

The Israeli military and GHF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Malnutrition-related deaths

The four deaths are the latest in areas where U.N. convoys have been overwhelmed by looters and desperate crowds, and where people have been shot and killed while heading to sites run by the GHF.

More than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 13,500 wounded while seeking aid at distribution points or along convoy routes used by the United Nations and other aid groups, according to Gazas Health Ministry.

The ministry said on Sunday that at least 62,686 Palestinians have been killed in the war, including missing people now confirmed dead by a special ministry judicial committee.

It said the number of malnutrition-related deaths rose by eight to 289 on Sunday. The deaths include a child, bringing the death toll among children to 115 since the war between Israel and Hamas began in 2023.

The health ministry does not say how many of those killed have been fighters or civilians but says around half have been women and children. It is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification the worlds leading authority on food crises said Friday that famine is happening in Gaza City, home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and could spread south to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of next month.

Aid groups have long warned that the war and months of Israeli restrictions on food and medical supplies entering Gaza are causing starvation. Israel has denied the existence of widespread hunger in Gaza, calling reports of starvation lies promoted by Hamas.

Non-stop explosions

In Jabaliya, the densely populated refugee camp just north of Gaza City, residents said they endured heavy explosions overnight. Days after Israels military announced it was intensifying its operations in the area and mobilizing tens of thousands of reservists to take the city, they said they were living in constant fear.

In the part of Gaza City where he and his family have sheltered since being displaced from a neighborhood on the citys southern edge, Ossama Matter said he had seen houses reduced to rubble and neighborhoods razed beyond recognition.

They want it like Rafah, he said, referring to a town in southern Gaza destroyed earlier in the war. There have been non-stop explosions and strikes in the past days.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Israel calls up 60,000 reserve troops, prepares for expanded Gaza City assault

While fleeing westward from Jabaliya, schoolteacher Salim Dhaher said he saw weaponized robots planting explosives as troops advanced from the opposite direction. As they set the stage for Israels push to seize the city, Dhaher said he feared it was part of a larger effort to forcibly remove Palestinians from the north.

The aim is clear, he said: To destroy everything above the ground, and force the transfer.

There has been little sign of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians evacuating south ahead of Israels invasion of Gaza City, which Israel says is still a Hamas stronghold. Many are exhausted by repeated displacements and unconvinced that any area including so-called humanitarian zones offers safety.

The military operation could begin within days in a region that threatens the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians, who are sheltering above an area Israel has invaded multiple times but still believes harbors a network of militant tunnels underground.

Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals but 50 remain inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive.

Russia accused Ukraine Sunday of launching drone attacks that sparked a fire at a nuclear power plant in its western Kursk region overnight, as Ukraine celebrated 34 years since its independence.

Russian officials said several power and energy facilities were targeted in the overnight strikes. The fire at the nuclear facility was quickly extinguished with no injuries reported, according to the plants press service on Telegram. While the attack damaged a transformer, radiation levels remained within normal ranges.

The United Nations nuclear watchdog said it was aware of media reports that a transformer at the plants had caught fire due to military activity, but hadnt received independent confirmation. It said its director-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said that every nuclear facility must be protected at all times.

Ukraine did not immediately comment on the alleged attack.

RELATED STORY | American company in Ukraine hit as Russia escalates attacks

Firefighters also responded to a blaze at the port of Ust-Luga in Russias Leningrad region, home to a major fuel export terminal. The regional governor said approximately 10 Ukrainian drones were shot down, with debris igniting the fire.

Russias Defense Ministry claimed its air defenses intercepted 95 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight into Sunday.

Russia fired 72 drones and decoys, along with a cruise missile, into Ukraine overnight into Sunday, Ukraines air force said. Of these, 48 drones were shot down or jammed.

The incidents occurred as Ukraine marked independence day, commemorating its 1991 declaration of independence from the Soviet Union. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered remarks in a video address from Kyivs Independence Square, emphasizing the nations resolve.

We are building a Ukraine that will have enough strength and power to live in security and peace, Zelenskyy said, calling for a just peace.

What our future will be is up to us alone, he said, in a nod to the U.S.Russia summit in Alaska earlier in August, which many feared would leave Ukrainian and European interests sidelined.

And the world knows this. And the world respects this. It respects Ukraine. It perceives Ukraine as an equal, he said.

U.S. special envoy Keith Kellogg was in attendance at independence day celebrations in Kyiv, during which Zelenskyy awarded him the Ukrainian Order of Merit, of the 1st degree.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Kyiv on Sunday morning for meetings with Zelenskyy.

On this special day Ukraines Independence Day it is especially important for us to feel the support of our friends. And Canada has always stood by our side, wrote Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyys chief of staff.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | Russia's largest drone strike since July targets Ukraine hours after Trump/Zelenskyy meeting

Norway announced significant new military aid Sunday, pledging about 7 billion kroner ($695 million) for air defense systems. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Norway and Germany are jointly funding two Patriot systems, including missiles, with Norway also helping procure air defense radar.

Pope Leo XIV prayed Sunday for peace in Ukraine as he marked the countrys independence day with a special appeal during his weekly noon blessing. He said the faithful were joining Ukrainians asking that the Lord give peace to their martyred country.

Leo also sent a telegram to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to mark independence day, which the Ukrainian leader posted on X along with similar notes from other world leaders.

In the letter, Leo assured his prayers for all Ukrainians who are suffering, and wrote: I implore the Lord to move the hearts of people of good will, that the clamor of arms may fall silent and give way to dialogue, opening the path to peace for the good of all.

Meanwhile, fighting continued on the front line in eastern Ukraine, where Russia claimed Saturday that its forces had seized two villages in the Donetsk region.

A bus carrying a junior high football team to a game crashed Saturday north of Pittsburgh, sending 21 of the 28 people on board to the hospital, officials said.

Twenty-five Aliquippa Junior High students and three adults were headed to a game in nearby Gibsonia. The crash occurred in Economy Borough, about 20 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Economy Borough Police Chief Michael OBrien said he didnt have information on the medical status of those taken to hospitals.

OBrien said he understood the bus turned on its side during the crash but came back upright as the students were evacuating the vehicle.

The police chief said the crash occurred in a tough spot in the road. Its on a bad bend, OBrien said. Its being investigated now to determine what happened.

A Facebook page for the Aliquippa Junior High football team said each player was being evaluated and asked for a thought or prayer for each player or coach that was traveling this morning.

The end of an exemption on tariff duties for low-value packages coming into the United States is causing multiple international postal services to pause shipping as they await more clarity on the rule.

The exemption, known as the de minimis" exemption, allows packages worth less than $800 to come into the U.S. duty free. A total of 1.36 billion packages were sent in 2024 under this exemption, for goods worth $64.6 billion, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Agency.

It is set to expire Friday. On Saturday, postal services around Europe announced that they are suspending the shipment of many packages to the United States amid confusion over new import duties.

Postal services in Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Italy said they will stop shipping most merchandise to the U.S. effective immediately. France and Austria will follow Monday.

The U.K.'s Royal Mail said it would halt shipments to the U.S. on Tuesday to allow time for those packages to arrive before duties kick in. Items originating in the U.K. worth over $100 including gifts to friends and family will incur a 10% duty, it said.

Key questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding how and by whom customs duties will be collected in the future, what additional data will be required, and how the data transmission to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be carried out, DHL, the largest shipping provider in Europe, said in a statement.

The company said starting Saturday it will no longer be able to accept and transport parcels and postal items containing goods from business customers destined for the US.

A trade framework agreed on by the U.S. and the European Union last month set a 15% tariff on the vast majority of products shipped from the EU. Packages under $800 will now also be subject to the tariff.

The U.S. duty-free exemption for goods originating from China ended in May as part of the Trump administration's efforts to curb American shoppers from ordering low-value Chinese goods. The exemption is being extended to shipments from around the world.

Many European postal services say they are pausing deliveries now because they cannot guarantee the goods will enter the U.S. before Aug. 29. They cite ambiguity about what kind of goods are covered by the new rules, and the lack of time to process their implications.

RELATED STORY | US and EU lock in tariff rates on autos, industrial goods

Postnord, the Nordic logistics company, and Italy's postal service announced similar suspensions effective Saturday.

In the absence of different instructions from US authorities ... Poste Italiane will be forced, like other European postal operators, to temporarily suspend acceptance of all shipments containing goods destined for the United States, starting August 23. Mail shipments not containing merchandise will continue to be accepted, Poste Italiane said Friday.

Shipping by services such as DHL Express remains possible, it added.

Bjrn Bergman, head of PostNords Group Brand and Communication, said the pause was unfortunate but necessary to ensure full compliance of the newly implemented rules.

In the Netherlands, PostNL spokesperson Wout Witteveen said the Trump administration is pressing ahead with the new duties despite U.S. authorities lacking a system to collect them. He said that PostNL is working closely with its U.S. counterparts to find a solution.

"If you have something to send to America, you should do it today, Witteveen told The Associated Press.

Austrian Post, Austrias leading logistics and postal service provider, stated that the last acceptance of commercial shipments to the U.S., including Puerto Rico, will take place Tuesday.

France's national postal service, La Poste, said the U.S. did not provide full details or allow enough time for the French postal service to prepare for new customs procedures.

Despite discussions with U.S. customs services, no time was provided to postal operators to re-organize and assure the necessary computer updates to conform to the new rules, it said in a statement.

PostEurop, an association of 51 European public postal operators, said that if no solution can be found by Aug. 29 all its members will likely follow suit.

The NFL joined the WNBA in having a sex toy thrown onto the field when someone tossed one during the Tennessee Titans' preseason finale on Friday night.

The neon green sex toy landed near the 6-yard line with about five minutes left in the Titans' win over the Minnesota Vikings. The teams were on the field with the Titans on offense near midfield when the object hit the field close to the Tennessee sideline.

It was picked up and given to a security guard.

RELATED STORY | Another sex toy gets thrown onto the court during a WNBA game

The Titans said they captured images of those responsible and reported the incident to the Metro Nashville Police Department.

Its the latest in a string of disturbances where similar toys were tossed at WNBA games, resulting in at least three arrests.

The Texas Senate gave final approval to a new, Republican-leaning congressional voting map early Saturday, sending it to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature.

President Donald Trump has pushed for the map to help the GOP maintain its slim majority in Congress in the 2026 midterm elections. It has five new districts that would favor Republicans.

Abbott, a Republican, is expected to quickly sign it into law, though Democrats have vowed to challenge it in court.

The effort by Trump and Texas Republican-majority Legislature prompted state Democrats to hold a two-week walkout and kicked off a wave of redistricting efforts across the country.

Democrats had prepared for a final show of resistance, with plans to push the Senate vote into the early morning hours in a last-ditch attempt to delay passage.

State Sen. Carol Alvarado, leader of the Senate Democratic caucus, announced on social media that she planned to filibuster the bill with a long speech and intended to speak for several hours. But just when she expected to start, the Senate broke for a long dinner break.

When members returned, Alvarado never had a chance to filibuster because Republicans accused her of breaking Senate rules by attempting to fundraise off the coming filibuster.

Sen. Charles Perry said it appears to be potentially unlawful, at least unethical, using state resources for a campaign purpose.

A spokesperson for Alvarado did not immediately respond to an email and phone call from The Associated Press.

Shutting down a filibuster over a fundraising email is unprecedented, Democratic Sen. Sarah Eckhardt said in a post on social media platform X. It exposes the hypocrisy of Republicans, who will turn around and raise millions off stealing Texans votes while silencing their voices.

The weekslong showdown has roiled the Texas Legislature, marked by a Democratic walkout and threats of arrest from Republicans. Much of the drama unfolded in the House, where the map ultimately passed on Wednesday.

RELATED STORY | Texas House votes to approve controversial redistricting maps following Democratic standoff

Democrats had already delayed the bill's passage during hours of debate, pressing Republican Sen. Phil King, the measures sponsor, on the proposal's legality, with many alleging that the redrawn districts violate the Voting Rights Act by diluting voters influence based on race.

King vehemently denied that accusation, saying, I had two goals in mind: That all maps would be legal and would be better for Republican congressional candidates in Texas.

There is extreme risk the Republican majority will be lost in the House if the map does not pass, King said.

The showdown has also inflamed a broader, state-by-state redistricting battle, with governors from both parties pledging to redraw congressional maps.

California Democrats approved legislation Thursday calling for a special election in November for residents to vote on a redrawn congressional map designed to help Democrats win five more House seats next year. Gov. Gavin Newsom quickly signed it.

This is not something six weeks ago that I ever imagined that Id be doing, Newsom said. This is a reaction to an assault on our democracy in Texas.

Californias map needs voter approval because, unlike in Texas, a nonpartisan commission normally draws the map to avoid the sort of political battle that is playing out.

On Friday, Abbott called Californias redistricting a joke and asserted that Texas new map is constitutional but Californias would be overturned.

Battle for the House waged via redistricting

On a national level, the partisan makeup of existing districts puts Democrats within three seats of a majority. The incumbent presidents party usually loses seats in the midterms.

The Texas redraw is already reshaping the 2026 race, with Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the dean of the state's congressional delegation, announcing Thursday that he will not seek reelection to his Austin-based seat if the new map takes effect. Under the proposed map, Doggett's district would overlap with that of another Democratic incumbent, Rep. Greg Casar.

RELATED STORY | Newsom signs Election Rigging Response Act in retaliation to Texas moves

The president has pushed other Republican-controlled states including Indiana and Missouri, to also revise their maps to add more winnable GOP seats. Ohio Republicans were also already scheduled to revise their maps to make them more partisan.

Republicans are not finished in the United States, Abbott said.

Redistricting typically occurs once a decade, immediately after a census. While some states have their own limitations, there is no national impediment to a state trying to redraw districts in the middle of the decade.

The U.S. Supreme Court has said the Constitution does not outlaw partisan gerrymandering, only using race to redraw district lines.

Fight fire with fire

More Democratic-run states have commission systems like Californias or other redistricting limits than Republican ones do, leaving the GOP with a freer hand to swiftly redraw maps. New York, for example, cannot draw new maps until 2028, and even then only with voter approval.

Republicans and some Democrats championed a 2008 ballot measure that established Californias nonpartisan redistricting commission, along with a 2010 one that extended its role to drawing congressional maps.

Both sides have shown concern over what the redistricting war could lead to.

California Assemblyman James Gallagher, the Republican minority leader, said Trump was wrong to push for new Republican seats elsewhere. But he warned that Newsoms approach, which the governor has dubbed fight fire with fire, is dangerous.

You move forward fighting fire with fire, and what happens? Gallagher asked. You burn it all down.

Lyle Menendez received the same recommendation as his brother Erik when he was denied parole Friday after serving decades in prison for the murder of their parents in 1989.

A panel of two commissioners denied Menendez parole for three years, after which he will be eligible again, in a case that continues to fascinate the public.

The brothers were sentenced to life in prison in 1996 for fatally shooting their father, Jose Menendez, and mother, Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills mansion almost exactly 36 years ago on Aug. 20, 1989. While defense attorneys argued that the brothers acted out of self-defense after years of sexual abuse by their father, prosecutors said the brothers sought a multimillion-dollar inheritance.

A judge reduced their sentences in May, and they became immediately eligible for parole. The parole hearings marked the closest they have come to winning freedom since their convictions almost 30 years ago.

Erik Menendez, who is being held at the same prison in San Diego, was denied parole Thursday after commissioners determined his misbehavior in prison made him still a risk to public safety.

A day later, Lyle Menendez told the parole board details about the abuse he suffered under his parents. He cried, face reddened, while delivering his closing statement. He seemed to still want to protect his baby brother, telling commissioners he took sole responsibility for the murders.

I will never be able to make up for the harm and grief I caused everyone in my family," he said. I am so sorry to everyone, and I will be forever sorry.

The state corrections department chose a single reporter to watch the videoconference and share details with the rest of the press.

Lyle Menendez describes abuse

The panel began by asking how abuse impacted decision-making in his life.

The older brother described how his father physically abused him by choking, punching and hurting him using a belt.

I was the special son in my family. My brother was the castaway," he said. "The physical abuse was focused on me because I was more important to him, I felt.

He also said his mother also sexually abused him. He appeared uncomfortable discussing this with the panel, who asked why he didn't disclose his mother's abuse in a risk assessment conducted earlier this year.

Commissioners asked if one death made him more sorrowful than the other.

My mother. Because I loved her and couldnt imagine harming her in any way," he said. I think also I learned a lot after about her life, her childhood, reflecting on how much fear maybe she felt.

Later, he broke down in tears when recounting how they confronted their mother about Jose Menendez's abuse of his younger brother.

I couldnt wrap my mind around the fact that she knew," he said.

RELATED STORY | Board denies parole for Erik Menendez despite reduced sentence for his parents 1989 murders

Hearing focuses on crime, over achievements in prison

Lyle Menendez's parole lawyer, Heidi Rummel, was more outspoken during the hearing than the one for Erik Menendez on Thursday.

She quarreled with the commissioners over several lines of questioning and whether the panel had access to trial evidence in the case.

The panel asked Lyle Menendez whether the murders were planned, and about the brothers buying guns.

There was zero planning. There was no way to know it was going to happen Sunday, he said, referring to buying the guns as the biggest mistake."

I no longer believe that they were going to kill us in that moment, he said. "At the time, I had that honest belief.

Garland asked him about the sophistication of the web of lies and manipulation you demonstrated afterward," referring to having witnesses lie for them in court and attempts to destroy his father's will.

Menendez maintained that there was no plan, only that he was flailing in what was happening and didn't want to go to prison and be separated from his brother.

In closing, Rummel expressed frustration that the hearing spent almost no time on Menendez's achievements in prison or his efforts to build positive relationships with correctional staff. She noted he never touched drugs or alcohol inside.

How many people with an LWOP sentence come in front of this board with zero violence, despite getting attacked, getting bullied, and choose to do something different? she said.

More than a dozen of their relatives attended Fridays hearing via videoconference, but many did not testify citing privacy concerns after learning audio from Erik Menendez's hearing Thursday was published online.

I want my nephew to hear how much I love him, and believe in him," said his aunt, Teresita Menendez-Baralt. :Im very proud of him and I want him to come home."

Cellphones in prison

Similar to his brother's hearing the day before, the panel zeroed in on Menendez's use of cellphones in prison as recent as March 2025.

I had convinced myself that this wasnt a means that was harming anyone but myself in a rule violation," Menendez said.

He said correctional staff were monitoring his communications with his wife and family and selling them to tabloids, so he saw cellphones as a way to protect his privacy. There was a lot of stress in his marriage around the time he transferred to the prison in San Diego, and he wanted to stay in close touch with his wife, he said.

Commissioner Patrick Reardon applauded him for starting a prison beautification project and mentorship programs. However, he questioned if the cellphone violations tainted those accomplishments.

I would never call myself a model incarcerated person," Menendez said. I would say that Im a good person, that I spent my time helping people. ... Im the guy that officers will come to to resolve conflicts.

The panel noted that a psychologist found that Menendez is at very low risk for violence upon release.

According to previous court documents, Menendez has not gotten into any fights in his time in prison. He said nonviolence was a promise he made to his grandmother.

My life has been defined by extreme violence," he said. I wanted to be defined by something else.

The brothers still have a pending habeas corpus petition filed in May 2023 seeking a review of their convictions based on new evidence supporting their claims of sexual abuse by their father.

An explosion and fire Friday at an automotive supply company in southeast Louisiana sent flames into the air and a tower of thick black smoke billowed above rural communities, forcing nearby residents and an elementary school to evacuate.

Officials said no injuries have been reported in the fire at Smitty's Supply just north of the town of Roseland, but that everyone living within a one-mile radius must evacuate. Roseland, which is home to around 1,100 people, is about 50 miles northeast of Baton Rouge.

Tangipahoa Parish President Robby Miller said it's godsend that no one has been injured.

We are doing our best to protect people, structures and the environment, Miller told reporters during a news conference Friday afternoon, as crews reached their third hour of trying to extinguish the inferno.

Little information was available about the fire. Miller said that officials weren't yet sure what caused the fire, if there was a significant chemical risk or how long it may take fire crews to get the situation under control.

We are monitoring this situation closely. Please follow the guidance of your local officials, Gov. Jeff Landry posted on X. We are praying for everyones safety.

Video from WBRZ-TV shows vibrant orange flames leaping into the air beneath a cloud of smoke, and engulfing parts of Smittys Supply in Arcola, a small unincorporated community. Firefighters could be seen spraying arcs of water into the blaze.

Per the companys website, Smittys Supply delivers high performance lubricants and automotive parts, including oils, brake fluid, power steering fluid and antifreeze. Miller said approximately 400 people are employed at the property.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

RELATED STORY | Explosion at US Steel plant in Pennsylvania leaves 1 dead, dozens hurt

In addition to fire crews and law enforcement, the Department of Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency were also on the scene. Miller said the federal agencies are monitoring the situation "to determine and guide us on what to do."

The Tangipahoa Parish School System posted on its Facebook page that the Office of Homeland Security recommended the evacuation of a nearby elementary school.

Buses were sent to shuttle students to the school board office in a nearby town.

President Donald Trump said that Intel has agreed to give the U.S. government a 10% stake in its business.

Speaking with reporters on Friday, Trump said the deal came out of a meeting last week with Intel CEO Lip Bu Tan which came days after the president called for Tan to resign over his past ties to China.

I said, I think it would be good having the United States as your partner, Trump said. He agreed, and theyve agreed to do it.

Intel did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the agreement.

The struggling Silicon Valley chipmaker has a market cap of just over $100 billion. The agreement comes just after Japanese technology giant SoftBank Group disclosed Monday that it is accumulating its 2% stake in Intel.

The official announcement is expected to come later Friday, according to a White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of an announcement and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Whats happening?

The Trump administration has been in talks to secure a 10% stake in Intel in exchange for converting government grants that were pledged to Intel under President Joe Biden. If the deal is completed, the U.S. government would become one of Intels largest shareholders and blur the traditional lines separating the public sector and private sector in a country that remains the worlds largest economy.

Why would Trump do this?

In his second term, Trump has been leveraging his power to reprogram the operations of major computer chip companies. The administration is requiring Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, two companies whose chips are helping to power the craze around artificial intelligence, to pay a 15% commission on their sales of chips in China in exchange for export licenses.

Trumps interest in Intel is also being driven by his desire to boost chip production in the U.S., which has been a focal point of the trade war that he has been waging throughout the world. By lessening the countrys dependence on chips manufactured overseas, the president believes the U.S. will be better positioned to maintain its technological lead on China in the race to create artificial intelligence.

Didnt Trump want Intels CEO to quit?

Thats what the president said August 7 in an unequivocal post calling for Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to resign less than five months after the Santa Clara, California, company hired him. The demand was triggered by reports raising national security concerns about Tans past investments in Chinese tech companies while he was a venture capitalist. But Trump backed off after Tan professed his allegiance to the U.S. in a public letter to Intel employees and went to the White House to meet with the president, who applauded the Intel CEO for having an amazing story.

RELATED STORY | Trump plans 100% tariff on computer chips, likely increasing electronics costs

Why would Intel do a deal?

The company isnt commenting about the possibility of the U.S. government becoming a major shareholder, but Intel may have little choice because it is currently dealing from a position of weakness. After enjoying decades of growth while its processors powered the personal computer boom, the company fell into a slump after missing the shift to the mobile computing era unleashed by the iPhones 2007 debut.

Intel has fallen even farther behind in recent years during an artificial intelligence craze that has been a boon for Nvidia and AMD. The company lost nearly $19 billion last year and another $3.7 billion in the first six months of this year, prompting Tan to undertake a cost-cutting spree. By the end of this year, Tan expects Intel to have about 75,000 workers, a 25% reduction from the end of last year.

Would this deal be unusual?

Although rare, its not unprecedented for the U.S. government to become a significant shareholder in a prominent company. One of the most notable instances occurred during the Great Recession in 2008 when the government injected nearly $50 billion into General Motors in return for a roughly 60% stake in the automaker at a time it was on the verge of bankruptcy. The government ended up with a roughly $10 billion loss after it sold its stock in GM.

Would the government run Intel?

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC during a Tuesday interview that the government has no intention of meddling in Intels business, and will have its hands tied by holding non-voting shares in the company. But some analysts wonder if the Trump administrations financial ties to Intel might prod more companies looking to curry favor with the president to increase their orders for the companys chips.

Canada is dropping retaliatory tariffs to match U.S. tariff exemptions for goods covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada trade pact, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Friday.

Carney said Canada will include the carve-out that the U.S. has on Canadian goods under the 2020 free trade deal that shields the vast majority of goods from the punishing duties.

Canada currently has the best trade deal with the United States. And while its different from what we had before, it's still better than that of any other country, Carney said.

Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on the phone Thursday, and Carney met with his Cabinet on Friday before making the announcement.

We had a very good call, Trump said Friday in the Oval Office. We are working on something. We want to be very good to Canada. I like Carney a lot. I think hes a very good person."

RELATED STORY | Tariffs put Walmart, Target and others in tough spot over pricing decisions

I am fighting for the United States, and Canada and Mexico have taken a lot of our business over the years, Trump said.

The move is designed to reset trade talks between the two countries. The USMCA is up for review in 2026, and Carney called the trade pact a unique advantage for Canada at a time when it is clear that the U.S. is charging for access to its market.

Carney said the commitment of the U.S. to the core of USMCA means the U.S. average tariff rate on Canadian goods remains one of its lowest, and that over 85% of Canada-U.S. trade continues to be free of tariffs.

Canadian and Mexican companies can claim preferential treatment under the USMCA.

Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau initially put on retaliatory tariffs in response to U.S. tariffs, but before the U.S. tariffs were applied the Trump administration exempted goods covered by the free trade deal.

Most imports from Canada and Mexico are still protected by the USMCA, but U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said, I think the president is absolutely going to renegotiate USMCA.

Preserving the free trade pact will be critical for Canada and Mexico. More than 75% of Canadas exports go to the U.S. while more than 80% of Mexicos exports go there.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING | New economic indicators show the costs of Trump's tariffs are creeping into Americans' budgets

Trump has announced some sector-specific tariffs that do apply for Canada despite the USMCA known as 232 tariffs which are having an impact on the Canadian economy. There is a 50% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, for example.

Canada and the United States have reestablished free trade for the vast majority of our goods," Carney said. Canada will retain our tariffs on steel, aluminum and autos as we work intensively to resolve the issues there.

Carney previously rescinded Canada's plan to tax U.S. technology firms after Trump said he was suspending trade talks with Canada over those plans, which he called a direct and blatant attack on our country.

The prime minister disputed any notion that Canada is appeasing Trump, noting that Canada is matching what the U.S. is doing.

The president and I had a long conversation, Carney said. There is a review of the free trade agreement in the spring. We're starting our preparations.

Lana Payne, president of Unifor, Canadas largest private sector union, characterized Carney's announcement as Canada backing down, and said the country shouldn't back down unless the U.S. drops all punitive tariffs.

Trumps attacks on auto, steel, aluminum, and forestry sectors are hurting Canadian workers in real time, she posted on social media. Walking back counter-tariffs isnt an olive branch. It only enables more U.S. aggression.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered that National Guard troops patrolling the streets of Washington for President Donald Trump's law enforcement crackdown will be armed, the Pentagon said Friday.

The Defense Department didn't immediately offer any other details about the new development or why it was needed.

The step is an escalation in Trump's intervention into policing in the nation's capital and comes as nearly 2,000 National Guard members are stationed in the city, with the arrival this week of hundreds of troops from several Republican-led states.

RELATED STORY | Top White House officials turn to public appearances with troops as a tense Washington watches

The Pentagon and Army said last week that troops would not carry weapons.

The city had been informed about the intent for the National Guard to be armed, a person familiar with the conversations said earlier this week. The person was not authorized to disclose the plans and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

RELATED STORY | Trump thanks police and troops as DC crackdown on crime and immigration intensifies

Federal auto safety regulators are investigating why Tesla has repeatedly broken rules requiring it to quickly tell them about crashes involving its self-driving technology, a potentially significant development given the company's plans to put hundreds of thousands of driverless cars on U.S. roads over the next year.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a filing on Thursday that Tesla's reports on "numerous" incidents involving its driver assistance and self-driving features were submitted far too late several months after the crashes instead of within five days as required.

The probe comes two months after the electric vehicle maker run by Elon Musk started a self-driving taxi service in Austin, Texas, with hopes of soon offering it nationwide. The company also hopes to send over-the-air software updates to millions of Teslas already on the road that will allow them to drive themselves.

RELATED STORY | Jury awards $329 million in case that blamed Tesla's Autopilot for deadly crash

Investors enthusiastic about such plans have kept Tesla stock aloft despite plunging sales and profits due to boycotts over Musk's support for U.S. President Donald Trump and far-right politicians in Europe.

The safety agency said the probe will focus on why Tesla took so long to report the crashes, whether the reports included all the necessary data and details and if there are crashes that the agency still doesn't know about.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment, but the agency noted that the company has told it the delays were "due to an issue with Tesla's data collection," which Tesla says has now been fixed.

The new investigation follows another probe that began in October into potential problems with Tesla's self-driving technology in foggy weather and other low visibility conditions, which has been linked to several accidents, including one death. That probe involves 2.4 million Tesla vehicles.

The crash reporting rule for vehicles using Level 2 driver-assistance software, or those that require drivers to pay full attention to the road, was implemented in 2021. Since then, Tesla has reported 2,308 crashes when the software was used, the vast majority of the more than 2,600 reported by all automakers, according to agency data. The numbers are skewed by the fact that Tesla is by far the dominant maker of partial self-driving vehicles in the U.S.

RELATED STORY | Lawsuit against Tesla includes claim the automaker hid data after fatal crash

The company has been offering robotaxi rides in Austin to only a select group of riders, but said it will allow any paying customer to hail its cabs starting sometime in September, according to a Musk post on X earlier this month. Tesla has also begun allowing limited robotaxi service in San Francisco with a driver behind the wheel as a safety check to conform with California rules.

Investors in Tesla were initially cheered after Trump won the presidency in hopes he would reward his biggest financial backer, Musk, by getting safety regulators to go easier on the company. Now that isn't so certain given Musk's falling out with the president in recent months after Musk called Trump's budget bill an "abomination" that would add to U.S. debt and threatened to form a new political party.

Tesla stock fell less than 1% in afternoon trading on Thursday to $321.

The world's leading authority on food crises said Friday the Gaza Strip's largest city is gripped by famine, and that it is likely to spread across the territory without a ceasefire and an end to restrictions on humanitarian aid.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, said famine is occurring in Gaza City, home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and that it could spread south to Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of next month.

The IPC determination comes after months of warnings by aid groups that Israel's restrictions of food and other aid into Gaza, and its military offensive, were causing high levels of starvation among Palestinian civilians, particularly children.

Gaza City offensive could exacerbate hunger

The grim milestone the first time the IPC has confirmed a famine in the Middle East is sure to ramp up international pressure on Israel, which has been in a brutal war with Hamas since the militant group's Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Israel says it plans to escalate the war soon by seizing Gaza City and other Hamas strongholds, which experts say will exacerbate the hunger crisis.

The IPC said hunger has been driven by fighting and the blockade of aid, and magnified by widespread displacement and the collapse of food production in Gaza, pushing hunger to life-threatening levels across the entire territory after 22 months of war.

More than half a million people in Gaza, about a quarter of the population, face catastrophic levels of hunger, and many are at risk of dying from malnutrition-related causes, the IPC report said. Last month, the IPC said the worst-case scenario of famine was unfolding in Gaza, but stopped short of an official determination.

Israel disputes report of famine

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied there is hunger in Gaza, calling reports of starvation lies promoted by Hamas. After the publication of images of emaciated children in Gaza and reports of hunger-related deaths, Israel announced measures to let more humanitarian aid in. Yet the U.N. and Palestinians in Gaza say what's entering is far below what's needed.

The Israeli military agency in charge of transferring aid to the territory rejected the report Friday, calling it false and biased. The agency, known as COGAT, rejected the claim that there was famine in Gaza and said that significant steps had been taken to expand the amount of aid entering the strip in recent weeks.

In a post on social media, Israel's ministry of foreign affairs also rejected the findings, saying the IPC report was based on Hamas lies." It said that more than 100,000 trucks of aid have entered Gaza since the start of the war, including a massive influx in recent weeks with staple foods.

A rapidly increasing number of people, especially young children, are dying preventable deaths from starvation and disease because Israel made starvation a core part of its campaign to control the strip, said Chris Newton, an analyst for the International Crisis Group.

Israels plan to escalate the war in Gaza City weeks after a warning that famine was beginning there demonstrates how intentional the famine is and how Israel wields starvation, he said.

Netanyahu says more military pressure is needed to achieve Israels goals of freeing the hostages held by Hamas and eliminating the militant group altogether.

How a famine is determined

Formal famine determinations are rare. The IPC has previously determined famines in Somalia in 2011, South Sudan in 2017 and 2020, and parts of Sudans western Darfur region last year.

The IPC says a famine exists in an area when all three of the following conditions are confirmed:

At least 20% of households have an extreme lack of food, or are essentially starving. At least 30% of children 6 months to 5 years old suffer from acute malnutrition or wasting, based on a weight-to-height measurement; or 15% of that age group suffer from acute malnutrition based on the circumference of their upper arm. And at least two people, or four children under 5, per 10,000 are dying daily due to starvation or the interaction of malnutrition and disease.

Israels offensive and its restrictions on access to Gaza have made collecting data difficult.

The data analyzed between July 1 and Aug. 15 showed clear evidence that thresholds for starvation and acute malnutrition have been reached. Gathering data for mortality has been harder, but the IPC said it is reasonable to conclude from the evidence that the necessary threshold has likely been reached.

The IPC warned that a third of Gazas population could face catastrophic levels of hunger by the end of September, and that this is probably an undercount.

Alex de Waal, author of Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine and executive director of the World Peace Foundation, said that had Israel allowed the IPC better access to collect data, a famine might have been determined months ago, which would have raised global awareness sooner.

Sadly, it seems that its necessary for experts to shout famine! before the world takes notice, by which time it is too late, he said.

Israel has restricted aid to varying degrees throughout the war. In March, it cut off the entry of all goods, including fuel, food and medicine, to pressure Hamas to free hostages.

Israel eased those restrictions in May and says theres currently no limit on how many aid trucks can enter Gaza. But it also pushed ahead with a new U.S.-backed aid delivery system that requires Palestinians to travel long distances and pass through Israeli military lines to get aid.

The traditional, U.N.-led aid providers say deliveries have been hampered by Israeli military restrictions and incidents of looting, while criminals and hungry crowds overwhelm entering convoys.

Witnesses, health officials and the U.N. rights office say hundreds of people have been killed by Israeli forces while seeking aid from both providers, while Israel says it has only fired warning shots and that the toll is exaggerated.

A parent in Gaza City watches his children waste away

On the eve of the war, Gaza City was home to some 700,000 people, about the population of Washington.

Throughout the conflict, it has been the focus of regular Israeli bombardment and ground operations. Several neighborhoods have been almost completely destroyed. Hundreds of thousands fled under Israeli evacuation orders at the start of the war but many returned during a ceasefire earlier this year.

Doctors and nurses in Gaza in recent weeks have seen rising numbers of visibly malnourished patients.

Kirsty Blacka, an Australian emergency nurse who worked in Gaza City's Al-Quds hospital through June, said emaciated men with no preexisting conditions were coming in looking like teenagers because they were starving.

She said the lack of food has been compounded by contaminated water causing diarrhea and infections, and that diseases are harder to recover from when people are malnourished.

If Israel evacuates people from the city ahead of its new offensive, thousands will be too weak to leave, said Blacka. Because of the starvation it will put extra strain on already depleted bodies and will lead to the death of many of the Palestinians, she said.

Families in Gaza City say they're watching their loved ones waste away.

Yousef Sbeteh's two teenage children were injured by shrapnel during an Israeli airstrike in June and have spent the last two months in the hospital. While there, they've both lost weight because there hasn't been enough food, he said, adding that he can't afford to buy more because prices at markets have soared. Doctors say the teenagers had no preexisting conditions.

His 15-year-old daughter Aya lost nearly 20 kilograms (44 pounds), or about 30% of her body weight, according to her doctors. Her 17-year-old brother Ahmad has lost about 15 kilograms (33 pounds). The lack of nutritional supplements and healthy food is slowing their recovery, doctors say.

Doctors say she needs protein, meat and fish, Sbeteh said while sitting beside his frail daughter. But I can't provide that now.

President Donald Trump took a field trip Thursday to the U.S. Park Police operations facility in Washington, where he addressed about 300 National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officials and praised his military crackdown on crime and immigration in the city.

WATCH | Pres. Trump expected to patrol DC streets with federal agents

Pres. Trump expected to patrol DC streets with federal agents

The White House said there have been 630 arrests, including 251 people who are in the country illegally, since Aug. 7, when Trump began ordering federal agents into the city. Trump has been ratcheting up the intensity since then, seizing control of the D.C. police department on Aug. 11 and deploying more National Guard troops, mostly from Republican-led states.

Trump suggested that operations in Washington could be drawn out and serve as a model for others around the country.

Were going to make it safe, and were going to go on to other places, but were going to stay here for a while, he said.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | DC police chief boosts cooperation with ICE as part of Trump's federal takeover

Soldiers have been largely stationed in downtown areas, such as monuments on the National Mall and transit stations. However, federal agents are operating more widely through the city. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser acknowledged the proliferation of traffic checkpoints Thursday.

The surge of federal officers is allowing for different types of deployments, more frequent types of deployments, like checkpoints, Bowser said.

A crowd of people gathered outside a municipal office building to protest Trump's crackdown, waving signs and cheering speakers who denounced the president's plans. Their numbers swelled into the hundreds until police closed off nearby streets. When the rally ended, many remained to dance and listen to music.

In other neighborhoods Thursday evening, residents banged pots and pans on rooftops, front steps and street corners.