Trump tours Texas flood sites and defends officials as questions mount about response

Trump tours Texas flood sites and defends officials as questions mount about response

By SEAN MURPHY and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday toured the devastation from catastrophic flooding in Texas and lauded state and local officials, even amid mounting criticism that they may have failed to warn residents quickly enough that a deadly wall of water was coming their way.

Trump has repeatedly promised to do away with the Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of his larger pledges to dramatically shrink the size of government, and he’s fond of decrying officials in Democrat-run states hit by past natural disasters and tragedy.

President Donald Trump lashed out at a reporter Friday, suggesting she is “evil,” after she asked a question about whether the warning alert system for the devastating floods worked as well as it could have. (AP Video)

But the president struck a far more somber and sympathetic tone while visiting America’s most populous Republican state — highlighting the heartbreak of what happened while effusively praising elected officials and first responders alike.

“The search for the missing continues. The people that are doing it are unbelievable,” Trump, seated with officials around a table with emblazoned with a black-and-white “Texas Strong” banner, said at a makeshift emergency operations center inside an expo hall in Kerrville.

He later added, “You couldn’t get better people, and they’re doing the job like I don’t think anybody else could, frankly.”

Since the July 4 disaster, which killed at least 129 people and left more than 170 missing, the president has been conspicuously silent on his past promises to shutter FEMA and return disaster response to the states. Instead, he’s focused on the once-in-a-lifetime nature of what occurred in central Texas’ Hill Country and its human toll.

“We just visited with incredible families. They’ve been devastated,” the president said of a closed-door meeting he and first lady Melania Trump had with the relatives of some of those killed or missing.

Honoring the victims

Trump’s shift in focus underscores how tragedy can complicate political calculations, even though he has made slashing the federal workforce a centerpiece of his administration’s opening months. He spent a lot of time Friday discussing the victims from Camp Mystic, the century-old all-girls Christian summer camp where at least 27 people were killed.

“They were there because they loved God. And, as we grieve this unthinkable tragedy, we take comfort in the knowledge that God has welcomed those little beautiful girls into his comforting arms in heaven,” Trump said.

The first lady described meeting “beautiful young ladies” from the area who she said gave her a “special bracelet from the camp in honor of all the little girls that lost their lives.” She promised to return to support the camp in the future.

Trump approved Texas’ request to extend the major disaster declaration beyond Kerr County to eight additional counties, making them eligible for direct financial assistance to recover and rebuild.

“All across the country Americans’ hearts are shattered,” he said. “I had to be here as president.”

Despite saying that he didn’t want to talk politics, Trump couldn’t help himself. During the roundtable, he bragged briefly about his administration reducing the cost of eggs around the country and, in a response to a question about Democratic criticisms of the flood response, said, “All they want to do is criticize.”

“They’re getting just absolutely clobbered ’cause everyone sees what an incredible job the governor did,” Trump said of Democrats. “Everybody in this room, everybody at this table in particular.”

In praise of FEMA

He also still insisted “we’ve got some good people” running FEMA. That is nonetheless a far cry from his call mere weeks ago to begin “phasing out” FEMA.

At the White House, Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, similarly dodged questions Friday about FEMA’s future. He said that the agency has billions of dollars in reserves “to continue to pay for necessary expenses.”

“We also want FEMA to be reformed,” Vought said. “The president is going to continue to be asking tough questions of all of us agencies, no different than any other opportunity to have better government.”

On the ground in devastated communities, meanwhile, some state and local officials have faced questions about how well they were prepared and how quickly they acted — including if warning systems might have given more people time to evacuate.

Asked about such concerns during his appearance at the operations center in Kerrville, Trump called a reporter “evil” and said he thought “everyone did an incredible job under the circumstances.”

“I admire you, and I consider you heroes,” Trump said of the officials around him.

He also praised a long list of Texas Republicans and had especially kind words for Rep. Chip Roy, who represents some of the hardest-hit areas. A staunch conservative, Roy initially opposed Trump’s sweeping tax-cut and spending package but ultimately supported it.

“He’s not easy, but he’s good,” Trump said of Roy. The congressman, for his part, bristled at questions about authorities’ flood response, calling the queries about inadequate flood warnings “ridiculous.”

Seeing the damage close-up

Prior to the roundtable, Air Force One landed in San Antonio and Trump deplaned in a suit while the first lady wore more casual clothing — though both wore ball caps against the heat. The Trumps then boarded a helicopter to Kerrville and saw the flooding aftermath from the air. They later walked close to the Guadalupe River to receive a briefing from officials near an overturned tractor trailer, numerous downed trees and other debris.

Roads in the center of town were shut down, and people lined the streets, some wearing Trump hats and T-shirts and waving American flags. Green ribbons recognizing the lives lost at Camp Mystic were tied around trees, poles and along bridges, and marquees featured slogans such as “Hill Country Strong” and “Thank you first responders.”

Harris Currie, a rancher from Utopia, Texas, near Kerrville, said the flood devastation can be fully understood only by seeing it firsthand.

“Pictures do not do it justice,” Currie said.

Asked what officials on the ground needed most urgently from federal sources, Kerr County Commissioner Jeff Holt, who also is a volunteer firefighter, stressed the need for repairs to nonworking phone towers and “maybe a little better early warning system.”

Trump himself has suggested that a major warning system should be established, though few details have been offered on what that might eventually entail.

Friday’s visit was far different from the other times the first couple visited natural disaster sites, during Trump’s first weekend back in the White House in January. They toured North Carolina to scope out damage from Hurricane Helene and saw the aftermath of wildfires in Los Angeles, and the president sharply criticized the administration of his predecessor, President Joe Biden, and officials from deep-blue California.

“The state of Texas, No. 1 they do it right and they’ve done it right for a long time,” Trump said. “And it’s a very special place to me.”

___

Weissert reported from Washington.

S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite pull back from their all-time highs

S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite pull back from their all-time highs

Stocks closed lower on Wall Street, pulling the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite below the records they set a day earlier. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave back 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2%. Levi Strauss jumped 11% after the jeans maker easily beat Wall Street’s sales and profit targets and raised its full-year forecast, despite expecting higher costs from tariffs. European markets closed broadly lower, and Asian markets closed mixed. Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 4.42%.

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

U.S. stocks are lower in afternoon trading Friday, pulling the market back from all-time highs, as the Trump administration escalates its tariff threats against Canada.

The S&P 500 was down 0.2% a day after setting a record high. The benchmark index is on pace to post its first weekly loss in three weeks.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 243 points, or 0.6%, as of 3:26 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow is also on track for a weekly loss. The Nasdaq composite was down 0.1% after drifting between small gains and losses. The tech-heavy index climbed to an all-time high on Thursday.

Bond yields rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.43%, from 4.34% late Thursday.

President Donald Trump said in a letter Thursday that he will raise taxes on many imported goods from Canada to 35%, deepening the rift between the longtime North American allies. The letter to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is an aggressive increase to the top 25% tariff rates that Trump first imposed in March.

The move is the latest bid by the White House to use threats of higher tariffs on goods imported into the U.S. in hopes of securing new trade agreements with countries around the globe, even historically close trading partners like Canada.

The administration had initially set Wednesday as a deadline for countries to make deals with the U.S. or face heavy increases in tariffs. But with just two trade deals announced since April, one with the United Kingdom and one with Vietnam, the window for negotiations has been now been extended to Aug. 1.

Trump also floated this week that he would impose tariffs of as much as 200% on pharmaceutical drugs and place a 50% tariff on copper imports, matching the rates charged on steel and aluminum.

The initial rollout of Trump’s tariff policies in the spring roiled financial markets. But Wall Street has been relatively stable in recent weeks, with stocks steadily rising to record levels That suggests the market has mostly adjusted to the unpredictability of Trump’s rapidly shifting tariffs. Some market watchers, however, aren’t so sure.

The market’s response to Trump’s tariff escalation this week “has been surprisingly muted. Markets appear to believe that Trump will again back down,” Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics, wrote Friday. “We are not so sure.”

Trade policy aside, the market is now set to shift at least some of its focus on companies due to report quarterly earnings over the next few weeks.

On Friday, Levi Strauss jumped 11.3% after the jeans maker easily beat Wall Street’s sales and profit targets and raised its full-year forecast, despite expecting higher costs from tariffs.

PriceSmart climbed 6.5% a day after the warehouse club operator delivered solid third-quarter results and said it’s looking into expanding into Chile.

Earnings season shifts into high gear next week with JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup among the big banks due to report their results on Tuesday.

Shares in financial and health care sector companies were the biggest weights on the market Friday.

Visa fell 2.5% and Gilead Sciences dropped 3.5%.

Several airline stocks were down a day after encouraging quarterly results from Delta Air Lines set off a rally in the sector. Delta slipped 0.4%, United fell 4.5% and American gave up 5.2%.

Elsewhere in the market, shares of T-Mobile were little changed after the Justice Department announced Thursday that it would not prevent the company from closing on its proposed $4.4 billion acquisition of U.S. Cellular. That deal, announced more than a year ago, had come under antitrust scrutiny from the Justice Department under President Joe Biden’s administration.

U.S. Cellular shares rose 4%.

Shares in aviation company Red Cat Holdings jumped 23.7% after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued orders aimed at ramping up production and deployment of drones.

European stock indexes closed broadly lower following a mostly lower finish in Asian markets.

Meanwhile, bitcoin climbed to another all-time high Friday, briefly eclipsing $118,000 before easing back to around $117,893, according to Coindesk.

Bitcoin’s price jump came amid bullish momentum across risk assets and coincides with Nvidia’s surge to a $4 trillion valuation. It also comes days before the U.S. Congress’ Crypto Week on July 14, where lawmakers will debate a series of bills that could define the regulatory framework for the industry.

Justin Bieber releases ‘Swag,’ his long-awaited seventh album: Hear the best songs

Justin Bieber releases ‘Swag,’ his long-awaited seventh album: Hear the best songs

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Never say never! Justin Bieber surprised fans Friday by releasing “Swag,” his seventh studio album, hours after he teased it on billboards and social media posts.

It is his first album since 2021’s “Justice” and his first since becoming a father last year.

“Inspired by his devotion as a husband and father, this new era of music has fueled a deeper perspective and more reflective sound, resulting in some of his most personal music yet,” Def Jam Recordings said of the 21-track album.

Billboards depicting Bieber were found by fans Thursday in Reykjavik, Iceland, and Los Angeles. The singer also shared images of billboards on his official Instagram account along with a tracklist that included song names like “All I Can Take,” “Walking Away,” “Dadz Love” and “Forgiveness.”

Recommendations for an intimate new album

There’s a lot to love across the 21-tracks of the intimate “Swag.” Here are a few choice cuts.

1. “Daises” — The second track on the album may very well be its strongest; an exemplar in Bieber’s slow-burn brand of alternative R&B-pop, now anchored with lo-fi guitar. Here, his sweet voice is pronounced — exactly what his most dedicated fans want to hear.

2. “Devotion” ft. Dijon — Dijon is a rising R&B voice; some fans might be familiar with his 2021 debut album “Absolutely” or his contribution to Bon Iver’s“SABLE, fABLE” from earlier this year. He makes for a standout collaboration on “Swag,” a sweet song about deepening affection.

3. “Go Baby” – Bieber married the model Hailey Bieber (nee Baldwin) in 2018; she’s long been source material for his most loving tracks. “Go Baby” is a standout for that reason. “That’s my baby, she’s iconic,” he opens the track, “iPhone case, lip gloss on it,” referencing her Rhode skincare and beauty brand, which sold to Elf Beauty in a $1 billion deal.

4. “Walking Away” – Marriage isn’t easy; that’s clear on “Walking Away,” a slightly-more-uptempo track where Bieber makes his dedication evident. It’s the perfect song for dancing in the kitchen with your partner.

5. “All I Can Take” – The throwback opener “All I Can Take” has a vintage groove — echoes of Beiber’s early work, now matured to reflect his current adult reality. He sounds as sweet as ever in the pre-chorus, his declaration of “Ooh, baby, don’t it feel good? Baby, don’t it feel nice? / Ooh, baby, don’t it feel good? You don’t have to think twice.”

Bieber before “Swag”

Bieber, the two-time Grammy Award winning singer and Canadian pop idol who revolutionized teen pop and social media fame, is best known for his silky R&B pop lyric tenor, demonstrated on the diamond-selling “Baby,” “Sorry,” and “Stay” with the Kid Laroi. At the beginning of his career, and as a tween, Bieber began working with Usher and the influential music manager Scooter Braun.

In 2023, Bieber sold the rights to his music — all six of his albums, including hits like “Sorry” and “Baby” — to Hipgnosis, a U.K-based music investment company. The deal’s financial details were not disclosed, but Billboard Magazine reports that the sale was worth an estimated $200 million.

In August 2024, Justin and Hailey Bieber announced the birth of their first child, Jack Blues Bieber.

Southern-Style Sweet Potato Pie

Southern-Style Sweet Potato Pie

This pie is creamy, lightly spiced, and just a touch sweet. It’s a Southern classic that makes holidays or cozy dinners feel extra special.

Ingredients

  • 1 refrigerated pie crust (9-inch)
  • 1 to 2/3 cups sugar
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 cups mashed sweet potatoes (about 2 large potatoes)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup butter, softened

Instructions

1. Prepare the crust
Unroll the pie crust and fit it into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim the edges and set aside.

2. Mix the filling
In a large bowl, stir together the mashed sweet potatoes, sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Add the milk, eggs, vanilla, and softened butter. Mix until smooth and well blended.

3. Fill the pie
Pour the filling into the prepared pie crust and smooth the top with a spatula.

4. Bake
Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the center is set and a knife inserted near the middle comes out clean.

5. Cool and serve
Let the pie cool completely before slicing. Serve at room temperature or chilled, with a dollop of whipped cream if you like.

Mourning begins in Texas where more than 170 are still missing from flash floods

Mourning begins in Texas where more than 170 are still missing from flash floods

By NADIA LATHAN, SEAN MURPHY, and JOSHUA A. BICKEL Associated Press

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) — Shock has turned into grief across Texas where at least 120 people died from flash floods and more were missing as the search for victims moved methodically along endless miles of rivers and rubble Thursday.

Photos of those who have died along with a colorful array of flowers and candles now decorate a fence in Hill Country — a growing tribute that reflects the enormity of the disaster in the region.

Several hundred people gathered for a worship ceremony at a high school stadium in Texas on Wednesday evening to remember the at least 120 people who died in the catastrophic flash floods over the July Fourth holiday, as well the many still missing. (AP Video: Stephen Smith)

The victims include three friends who had gathered for the July Fourth weekend, 8-year-old sisters who were at summer camp and a 91-year-old grandmother known for her sharp wit.

More than 170 people have been reported missing, most in Kerr County, where nearly 100 victims have been recovered. The death toll remained at 120 Thursday, nearly a week since the floods first hit.

Authorities say they have carefully gone over the list of those unaccounted for, but those numbers are often tough to pin down in the immediate aftermath of a disaster.

The unrelenting power of the floods forced families to make unnerving escapes with little time to spare in the middle of the night. One woman recounted how she and others, including a toddler, first climbed into an attic and then onto a roof where they heard screams and watched vehicles float past. Photos and videos captured their ordeal.

The aftermath

More than 2,000 local, state and federal workers were involved in the search for victims. Stifling heat and mounds of trees, hunks of lumber and trash made the task more difficult.

At a small shopping center damaged in the floods, people piled debris gathered from the rivers. Officials hope to eventually set aside personal items so residents find their possessions.

A disaster recovery center managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the state of Texas and the Small Business Administration opened Thursday at the First Baptist Church in Kerrville, offering survivors a hub to register for federal assistance and other services. Only a few people passed through the quiet church gymnasium in the late afternoon.

“The word’s not out yet, the first few days are always slow,” said Laurie Fried, long term recovery specialist for The Salvation Army in Texas.

A row of brooms and buckets filled with cleaning supplies stood behind the nonprofit Community Council of South Central Texas’ table, where staff were distributing grocery store gift cards for income-qualified households and offering financial assistance for hotel stays and utility bills.

The cleaning kits were for those mucking out flooded homes, but the council’s community service coordinator, Nina Ruiz, said they had only passed out about seven of them that day. “A lot of the people don’t have homes to clean up,” she said.

On Wednesday, hundreds prayed, wept and held one another at a prayer service, among the first of many somber gatherings to come in the weeks ahead.

“Our communities were struck with tragedy literally in the darkness,” said Wyatt Wentrcek, a youth minister.

David Garza drove more than an hour to support his loved ones.

“I’m from here, and I was here in the ’78 flood and the ’87 flood,” Garza said. “I just wanted to be a part of this.”

Some at the service wore green ribbons for the girls from Camp Mystic, the century-old Christian summer camp where at least 27 campers and counselors died.

Parents of children who were at the many summer camps in Hill Country have credited the teenage counselors with ushering campers to safety and helping keep them calm during the chaos.

Calls for better flood preparation in the future

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called on state lawmakers to approve funding for new warning systems and emergency communications in flood prone areas when the Legislature meets later this month. Abbott also asked for financial relief for the response and recovery efforts.

“We must ensure better preparation for such events in the future,” he said in a statement Wednesday.

Public officials in the area have come under repeated criticism amid questions about the timeline of what happened and why widespread warnings were not sounded and more preparations were not made.

Kerr County Sheriff Larry Leitha has said those questions will be answered after the victims are recovered.

Local leaders have talked for years about the need for a flood warning system, but concerns about costs and noise led to missed opportunities to put up sirens.

President Donald Trump has pledged to provide whatever relief Texas needs to recover and is planning to visit the state Friday.

Polls taken before the floods show Americans largely believe the federal government should play a major role in preparing for and responding to natural disasters, which are becoming a growing worry. On Tuesday, a deluge in New Mexico triggered flash floods that killed three people.

The devastation in Texas stretched from Hill Country all the way to just outside the state’s capital. At least 15 people died in the Austin area and adjacent counties.

Just north of Austin, floodwaters from the San Gabriel River swamped two RV parks in Georgetown.

Teri Hoffman watched the water lift up her camper with her two dogs inside.

“The camper just kind of goes over on its side and starts floating. And then all the other campers just started crashing into it,” she said.

Rescuers were able to save the dogs and she managed to dig out the last picture she has of her late mother. Everything else from the RV where she lived with her husband and children is gone, she said.

“I couldn’t look at it,” Hoffman said. “I had to walk away.”

___

Associated Press writers Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas; Hallie Golden in Seattle; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; contributed to this report.

Stocks close higher, nudging the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to more highs

Stocks close higher, nudging the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to more highs

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer

Wall Street added to its recent milestones Thursday as the market closed at an all-time high after Delta Air Lines kicked off earnings season with a solid outlook for the rest of 2025, spurring an airline stock rally.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3%, inching past the record it set last week after a better-than-expected June jobs report.

The Nasdaq composite edged up 0.1%, enough of a gain to notch a new high for the second day in a row. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 0.4% higher.

Delta surged 12%, bringing other airlines along with it, after beating Wall Street’s revenue and profit targets. The Atlanta airline also gave a more optimistic view for the remaining summer travel season than it had just a couple months ago.

The airline and other major U.S. carriers had pulled or slashed their forecasts in the spring, citing macroeconomic uncertainty amid President Donald Trump’s tariff rollouts, which have consumers feeling uneasy about spending on travel.

“Companies are becoming more confident in the range of outcomes for tariffs,” said Michael Antonelli, market strategist at Baird. “Companies are starting to understand what the playing field looks like a little bit better, even though we continue to have these kind of tariff announcements that get bounced back and forth.”

Delta’s encouraging report boosted the entire airline sector. United jumped 14.3%, American climbed 12.7%, JetBlue gained 7.8% and Southwest finished 8.1% higher.

The market has been steadying following a downbeat start to the week as the Trump administration renewed its push to use threats of higher tariffs on goods imported into the U.S. in hopes of securing new trade agreements with countries around the globe.

Wednesday had been initially set as a deadline by Trump for countries to make deals with the U.S. or face heavy increases in tariffs. But with just two trade deals announced since April, one with the United Kingdom and one with Vietnam, the window for negotiations has now been extended to Aug. 1. That’s given Wall Street a breather just in time for the start of corporate earnings season.

Wall Street analysts predict that companies in the S&P 500 will deliver 5% growth in second-quarter earnings, according to FactSet. That would mark the lowest rate since the fourth quarter of 2023.

Conagra Brands fell 4.4% Thursday after the maker of Slim Jim, Swiss Miss and other food products reported earnings and revenue that fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. The company also lowered its earnings outlook, saying it expects continued cost increases due to tariffs.

Helen of Troy, the company behind Hydro Flask water bottles and OXO kitchen tools, sank 22.7% after its latest quarterly results came in below Wall Street’s forecasts. The company said it would not be providing a fiscal year 2026 outlook, citing uncertainty over tariff policy and the economy.

Shares in AZZ rose 5.5% after the electrical equipment maker’s latest quarterly earnings topped analysts’ forecasts.

Earnings season shifts into high gear next week with JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup among the big banks due to report their results on Tuesday.

Beyond airlines, most of the sectors in the S&P 500 notched gains Thursday, led by banks and consumer-focused companies. JPMorgan and McDonald’s each rose 1.8%.

Technology and communication services stocks were the only laggards. Autodesk fell 6.9% and Netflix ended 2.9% lower.

Shares of WK Kellogg vaulted 30.6% after Italian candy maker Ferrero agreed to acquire the cereal company in a deal valued at roughly $3.1 billion. The transaction includes the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of WK Kellogg Co.’s portfolio of breakfast cereals across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.

Shares in mining company Freeport-McMoRan rose 3.6% after Trump said a 50% tariff on copper imports would take effect on Aug. 1. The price of copper rose 1.9% to $5.59 per pound.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 17.20 points to 6,280.46. The Dow added 192.34 points to 44,650.64. The Nasdaq gained 19.33 points to 20,630.66.

In economic news, the Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for unemployment benefits, a proxy for layoffs, fell last week, remaining in the historically healthy range they’ve been in the past couple of years.

Bond yields mostly rose, although the yield on the 10-year Treasury held steady at 4.34%.

European stock indexes closed mixed Thursday following an uneven finish in Asian markets.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.4%, weighed down by selling of exporters’ shares amid the yen’s appreciation, which cuts profits from exports, and dampened sentiment because of the lack of progress in the Japan-U.S. trade talks.

North Carolina’s first standalone children’s hospital set to bring 8,000 jobs to Apex

North Carolina’s first standalone children’s hospital set to bring 8,000 jobs to Apex

APEX, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s first standalone children’s hospital will be built in a bedroom community near the state capital, the project’s health systems announced Thursday, creating a campus estimated to bring 8,000 jobs to the area.

UNC Health and Duke Health announced in January an agreement to jointly build the proposed 500-bed pediatric hospital and linked facilities in the state’s Research Triangle region, which includes Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill.

At that time, the specific location wasn’t finalized. But leaders of the health systems said hwThursday that the “North Carolina Children’s” project will be constructed about 20 miles (32.19 kilometers) southwest of downtown Raleigh in the Wake County town of Apex. Apex has a population of 77,000, which is already surging in population thanks to the region’s strong technology economy.

More than 15 potential sites in several counties were considered, Duke Health CEO Dr. Craig Albanese said at an Apex news conference.20

The 230-acre (93.1-hectare) campus, located near a regional transportation interchange, will also include a children’s outpatient care center, over 100 behavioral health beds and a research and education center operated by Duke University and University of North Carolina medical schools.

The campus is poised to be integrated into a long-discussed mixed-use development location called Veridea that will include thousands of new homes, retail, dining, office and research space, as well as a new Wake Technical Community College campus.

“This campus will create a brighter, healthier future for generations of children and adolescents across North Carolina and the Southeast, and we’re thrilled to have Apex as our home and partner,” UNC Heatlh CEO Dr. Wesley Burks said in a news release.

A groundbreaking for the hospital campus is now expected in 2027, with construction anticipated to take six years. North Carolina Children’s Health also issued on Thursday a request for information from potential design and construction contractors for the project.

There are children’s hospitals already in North Carolina, including those operated by the University of North Carolina and Duke University health systems that are attached to their main campuses in the Triangle.

The Apex location “will ensure that the Triangle remains a hub and a destination for the best pediatric scientists, teachers and clinicians — convenient to both medical school campuses,” said Dr. Mary Klotman, dean of the Duke University medical school and a Duke Health executive.

The new children’s hospital agreed to acquire a portion of the Veridea land, which is owned by a business partnership between the North Carolina state retirement system and the land developers, according to the State Treasurer’s Office, which administers the system.

State Treasurer Brad Briner said at the news conference that the land sale is a win for everyone involved, including government retirees and the pension system, “making a modest profit and unlocking more value in the land that is adjacent.”

“Above all, it’s a win for the 11 million North Carolinians who deserve world-class pediatric care right here at home,” he added.

The health systems have said the hospital campus project could cost from $2 billion to $3 billion, with a massive private fundraising effort ahead.

The project has already received $320 million from state legislators. The next state budget, still being negotiated by House and Senate Republicans that ultimately would head to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s desk, also could contain more project funds.

Stein said in an interview Thursday that beyond the economic opportunity the project will spark, “I’m really excited about what the children’s hospital means for children of North Carolina who are sick and in need of the best, most sophisticated, advanced medical interventions to live long, healthy lives.”

Joe Coleman, No. 3 pick in the first MLB draft who pitched for Senators and Tigers, dies at 78

Joe Coleman, No. 3 pick in the first MLB draft who pitched for Senators and Tigers, dies at 78

Joe Coleman, a lanky right-hander who won 142 games in 15 major league seasons and was an All-Star in 1972 with Detroit, died Wednesday morning, his son said. He was 78.

Casey Coleman said his father died in his sleep in Jamestown, Tennessee.

The son and father of major leaguers, Coleman became the No. 3 pick in baseball’s inaugural amateur draft in 1965 when he was selected by the Washington Senators. His father, also named Joe — who pitched in the majors from 1942-55 — negotiated a club-record $75,000 signing bonus.

The 6-foot-3, 175-pound Coleman became the first player to reach the majors after being drafted when he debuted for the Senators on Sept. 28, 1965. He threw a four-hitter to beat the Kansas City Athletics 6-1.

After the 1970 season, Coleman was traded to Detroit in a deal that sent Denny McLain to Washington. He enjoyed his greatest individual success with the Tigers, going 88-73 with a 3.82 ERA from 1971-76.

In 1971, he went 20-9 with a 3.15 ERA after recovering from a skull fracture that hospitalized him for two weeks. He was an All-Star the following season and made his only postseason appearance, striking out a then-playoff-record 14 batters to shut out the Oakland Athletics in Game 3 of the five-game American League championship series. The Tigers lost the series 3-2 and Oakland went on to beat Cincinnati in the World Series.

Coleman’s strikeout record stood for 25 years. Baltimore’s Mike Mussina fanned 15 in the 1997 ALCS against Cleveland.

Coleman also pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates. In his final season, he made 10 relief appearance for the 1979 Pirates, who went on to win the World Series.

For his career, he was 142-135 with a 3.70 ERA and 1,728 strikeouts in 484 appearances (340 starts).

After retiring as a player, Coleman worked as a pitching and bullpen coach for the California and Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals and Seattle Mariners along with several minor-league clubs.

“He was a good man with a really good heart,” Casey Coleman said. “Everywhere I went in professional baseball, I met pitchers he coached. Many gave him credit for making it to the big leagues.”

Casey Coleman pitched in 58 major league games for the Cubs and Kansas City from 2010-14.

Born in Boston, Joe Coleman graduated from Natick High. He attended Ted Williams’ baseball camps, where he learned how to throw a curveball and slider.

In addition to Casey, Coleman is survived by his wife, Donna, daughter, Kristen, and three grandchildren.

Former Olympic wrestler and MMA star Ben Askren recovering from double lung transplant

Former Olympic wrestler and MMA star Ben Askren recovering from double lung transplant

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Former Olympic wrestler and MMA star Ben Askren, who has been hospitalized in Wisconsin after a severe case of pneumonia, said in a post on social media Wednesday that he had undergone a double lung transplant and is in recovery.

Askren said during the Instagram video that he recalls very little of what happened over a monthlong stretch from late May through the first two days of July. His wife, Amy, had said in a series of social media posts that Askren was put on a ventilator in June and placed on the donor list for a lung transplant on June 24.

“No recollection, zero idea, no idea what happened,” Askren said of most of the past six weeks. “I just read through my wife’s journal. It’s like a movie. It’s ridiculous. I only died four times, where the ticker stopped for about 20 seconds.”

Askren said he lost about 50 pounds during the 45-day stretch.

“The thing that was most impeccable to me was all the love I felt,” Askren said. “It was almost like I got to have my own funeral.”

The 40-year-old Askren was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, but has lived primarily in Wisconsin, where he runs a youth wrestling academy. He won back-to-back NCAA titles at Missouri and competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics for the U.S. before moving into MMA, where he fought for Bellator and ONE Championship before moving into the UFC.

Askren retired from MMA after a loss to Demian Maia in October 2019. He had a record of 19-2 with one no contest.

Askren made a brief return to combat sports in April 2021, when he fought social media star Jake Paul in a boxing match. Paul won by technical knockout in the first round of a fight that sold about 500,000 on pay-per-view.

Flamingos are stirring up trouble and ravaging rice for risotto in Italy’s northeast

Flamingos are stirring up trouble and ravaging rice for risotto in Italy’s northeast

By NICCOLÒ LUPONE Associated Press

JOLANDA DI SAVOIA, Italy (AP) — An unusual pest is ravaging crops and irking farmers in northeastern Italy: the flamingo.

Flocks of these relatively recent immigrants have set their hungry sights on the flooded fields that produce rice for risotto in Ferrara province, between Venice and Ravenna. The long-legged birds aren’t interested in the seedlings; rather, flamingos use their webbed feet to stir up the soil and snatch mollusks, algae or insects from the shallow water.

Rice is collateral damage.

Farmers have started patroling day and night in a bid to scare the birds away. They honk their trucks’ horns, bang barrels and even fire small gas cannons that make thunderous booms. Mostly, the noise just sends them flying to another nearby rice paddy to be trampled underfoot.

Enrico Fabbri, a local grower, said he is discouraged after seeing production losses of as much as 90% in some of his planted areas.

“These are new things that have never happened before. You invest so much time and care into preparing everything,” Fabbri, 63, said beside one of his paddies on the outskirts of Jolanda di Savoia. “Then, just as the crop begins to grow, it’s like having a newborn child taken away. That’s what it feels like.”

The flamingos appear to have come from their prior nesting grounds in the nearby Comacchio Valleys within a reserve on the coast, just south of where the Po River, Italy’s longest, flows into the Adriatic Sea.

The birds have been there since 2000, after drought in southern Spain sent them searching for nesting grounds further east, according to Roberto Tinarelli, ornithologist and president of the Emilia-Romagna Ornithologists Association.

Previously, they had been confined to lakes in North Africa, parts of Spain and a bit of France’s Camargue region, Tinarelli, 61, said beside a pond in Bentivolgio, a town near Bologna.

There have been no studies yet to determine why these flamingos started seeking food further inland, where farmers flood their fields from late spring to early summer as a means of germinating newly planted rice seeds. Until the paddies are drained after a few weeks, the flamingos are a threat.

“Obviously, we are looking for answers from those who have to deal with the problem. From an environmental point of view, all this is beautiful, but we must keep in mind that rice cultivation is among the most expensive, extensive crops,” said Massimo Piva, a 57-year-old rice grower and vice-president of the local farmers’ confederation.

“They are beautiful animals, it’s their way of moving and behaving, but the problem is trying to limit their presence as much as possible,” Piva said.

Tinarelli, the ornithologist, suggested several solutions to fend off flamingos that are more humane and effective than the clamorous efforts currently employed: surrounding paddies with tall trees or hedges and, even better, reducing water levels of freshly planted paddies to between 2 and 4 inches (5 and 10 centimeters), instead of 12 inches (30 centimeters).

“This is sufficient for the rice to grow, but decidedly less attractive to flamingos, which must splash around in the water,” he said.

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