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The FBI's top two leaders said in interviews on Fox News that the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide, and they promised to release a surveillance video from the federal jail in New York City where Epstein was found dead. Officials in the first Trump administration ruled that Epstein's death in 2019 was a suicide. But it has remained the subject of conspiracy theories suggesting he was murdered because of his connections to high-profile celebrities and politicians. Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, a former pro-Trump podcaster, said Thursday morning on Fox News that the video showed that no one entered or approached Epstein's cell at the time of his suicide. Bongino also said no forensic evidence had been found suggesting that another person was present. "There's no DNA, there's no audio, there's no fingerprints, there's no suspects, there's no accomplices, there's no tips, there is nothing," said Bongino, who asked members of the public to share any evidence of wrongdoing in the case. "If you have it, I'm happy to see it." "There's video clear as day," he added. "He's the only person in there and the only person coming out. You can see it." In a separate interview Wednesday night on Fox News, FBI Director Kash Patel also said Epstein had died by suicide, and he promised to release additional information about the case. "We are diligently working on that," Patel said. "It takes time to go through years of investigations." Before Bongino became deputy FBI director, herepeatedly promoted conspiracy theoriesabout Epstein's death. In a Jan. 4, 2024, podcast, Bongino played a clip in which a journalist said she was "100%" convinced that Epstein was killed "because he made his whole living blackmailing people." Bongino told his listeners that he'd heard the same claims from another reporter and that they were "super important." "This is where I get really upset at the media," Bongino said later in the podcast, contending that reporters had "done almost like no — maybe because I was an investigator before, it's like, I'm amazed at how few people are putting two and two together." Roughly two weeks before Trump named Bongino FBI deputy director, Bongino spokeagain aboutEpstein. He said again that a reporter had told him about the existence of tapes that Epstein used to blackmail powerful people and then mentioned an allegation he'd heard involving Bill Clinton. "I'm not ever gonna let this story go," Bongino promised on Feb. 10. "I'm not letting it go ever." For years before they took office, Patel and Bongino also claimed that the Biden administration and corrupt "deep state" actors had "weaponized" the FBI against Donald Trump. They accused the bureau of covering up what it knew about pipe bombs placed outside the offices of the Republican and Democratic national committees in Washington before the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S Capitol. They suggested that FBI operatives helped ignite the Capitol riot. And they said FBI agents committed crimes and tried to "overthrow" Trump. But large numbers of Trump supporters who believe those claims are publicly asking: Why aren't Patel and Bongino arresting and prosecuting the people Patel labeled "government gangsters"? An FBI spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In his interview on "Fox & Friends," Bongino also said the job was taking a toll on his family. "The biggest lifestyle change is family-wise," he said. "It was a lot, and it's been tough on the family. People ask all the time, do you like it? No. I don't," Bongino said. "But the president didn't ask me to do this to like it — nobody likes going into an organization like that and having to make big changes." Last weekend, Bongino announced on X that the FBI is re-examining multiple cases from the Biden era, including the 2021 pipe bombs at the DNC and the RNC, the 2022 leak of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade and a small bag of cocaine that was found in the White House in 2023. On Thursday, Bongino said the FBI is close to solving one of the three cases, without saying which one. "We got a fascinating tip on one of these cases, one of the three," he said. "We're going to run it out. We're not going to be able to make that public, obviously, right away, because we have to make sure." Three weeks before the Trump administration took office,the FBI releasedwhat it said was new video of the masked person planting bombs outside the Republican and Democratic headquarters in Washington. But FBI officials said they hadn't identified a suspect or even determined for certain whether the figure was a man or a woman. Before he was named deputy FBI director, Bongino accused the FBI of lying about that person on one of his podcasts. "I believe the FBI knows the identity of this pipe bomber on Jan. 6th, four years ago, and just doesn't want to tell us because it was an inside job,"he said. In an interview with conspiracy theorist and political commentator Julie Kelly, Bongino said, "I'm convinced the person who planted that pipe bomb at the DNC on Jan. 6th was there to create a fake assassination attempt because they needed to stop Republicans from questioning in front of a national TV audience what happened in the 2020 election." Patel also said in his Fox News interview Wednesday that the FBI has new leads in the pipe bomb case. He accused the Biden administration of having "slow-rolled" the investigation but offered no specific examples. Bongino defended reopening the investigation into who left a small bag of cocaine in the White House during the Biden administration. Bongino, a former Secret Service agent, argued that the probe was relaunched for safety reasons, not to score political points. "I was a Secret Service agent. A potentially hazardous material made its way into the White House," he said on Fox News. "Nobody seems to know how it got there, and nobody seemed to get to investigate it fully. ... What planet do we live on where that's not of public interest?" If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988, or go to988lifeline.org, to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at800-273-8255, or visitSpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.

Summer's first month could feature hotter-than-average conditions in the nation's northern tier and parts of the West, while a wet month in the South might help keep big heat at bay in that region. Here's a look at what to expect in June, according to the latest outlook issued Friday by Atmospheric G2 and The Weather Company. -Most Persistent June Heat:Areas from the Northeast to the Great Lakes, upper Mississippi Valley and West are favored to have the best shot at above-average temperatures, so those heading to beaches and pools will be in luck if you enjoy the feel of summer. That could include New York City and Boston to Chicago, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and Seattle. -A Large Area Can Expect A Typical June:Most other locations from the Plains to the South, Ohio Valley and southern mid-Atlantic are favored to be near to slightly above average. For context, you can see what June's usual average highs are like at the bottom of this article. -Upside-Down Pattern A Harbinger Of Summer:"The expected mid-June transition to a warm-north, cooler-south pattern aligns with the general summer forecast, and we expect this pattern to be the dominant one through August," said Todd Crawford, Vice President of Meteorology at Atmospheric G2 -Keep In Mind This Is An Overall Monthly Trend:For example, a chunk of the West will see near to cooler-than-average temperatures as June begins, but the 30 combined days in the month are expected to finish above average as a whole. -Wet End To Spring Carries Into June: Much of the Southeast has been soaked by above-average rainfall in May, including Atlanta, Jackson, Mississippi, and Columbia, South Carolina. This is the same general region where rainfall in June has the best shot at winding up above average. It also explains why temperatures in the region could be held in check to near average, although it will still be plenty humid. -Pacific Northwest Dryness Continues:Moderate drought conditionsare ongoing in western parts of Washington and northwest Oregon, including Seattle and Portland. While the Northwest region kicks off its usual drier summer months in June, the outlook calls for it to be even drier than usual, which could worsen or expand drought. -Northeast, Midwest:Average highs are in the 70s and 80s for much of these regions. The expectation of a hotter-than-average June might mean a few more 80s and 90s this year for areas from Minnesota to the Great Lakes and New England. -South:80s and 90s are commonplace in summer's first month, as well as plenty of humidity. Locations, where a wet June is forecast, might skew pretty close to these averages through the month. -West:Geography plays a big role here, with average highs ranging from the 60s and 70s in higher elevations and the Pacific Northwest to the 90s and 100s in the Desert Southwest. Chris Dolcehas been a senior digital meteorologist with weather.com for nearly 15 years after beginning his career with The Weather Channel in the early 2000s.

Haribo is recalling packs of sweets in the Netherlands after some were found to contain traces of cannabis. The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Agency (NVWA) warned any potential customers of the 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) bags of Happy Cola F!ZZ not to eat the sweets because they may cause dizziness. NVWA spokesperson Saida Ahyad told French news agency AFP that, "Cannabis was found in the cola bottles in question." The NVWA also said the issue only concerns three bags so far but all stock has been recalled as a precaution, adding that it is working with authorities to investigate the cause of the contamination. Local Dutch mediareported that a family in Twente became "quite ill" after eating the candy and reported the incident to police. After a forensic investigation, police discovered traces of cannabis and alerted the NVWA, according to the media reports. A Haribo spokesperson told CBS News sister network BBC News it was working with police to "establish the facts around the contamination." Haribo Vice-President of Marketing told AFP the incident is "a live issue and we are working closely with the Dutch authorities to support their investigation and establish the facts." The recall applies to the items under the production code L341-4002307906, with a best before date of January 2026. Exclusive discounts from CBS Mornings Deals How a "reverse bucket list" can boost your mental health David Pogue details his "very surreal" Elon Musk interview before his White House exit

LONDON (AP) — A man charged with multiple counts of intentionally causing grievous bodily harm forramming a vehicle into a crowdof Liverpool soccer fans celebrating their team's Premier League championship was ordered held in custody Friday at his first court appearance. Paul Doyle, wearing a black suit, white shirt and gray tie, looked emotional as he arrived in court. He only spoke only to confirm his name, address and birth date in a hearing in Liverpool Magistrates' Court. He did not enter a plea. Doyle, 53, is accused of dangerous driving and six serious offenses alleging he caused or tried to cause grievous bodily harm. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison if he is convicted. The father of three bowed his head as the charges were read. The counts are related to two boys, two women and two men who were among the 79 people injured Monday. The victims ranged in age from 9 to 78, police said. Seven people remained hospitalized Thursday. District Judge Paul Healey ordered that the victims' names not be published. Doyle's case was transferred to Liverpool Crown Court, where a different judge scheduled an Aug. 14 hearing for him to enter pleas to the charges. His trial date was tentatively scheduled for Nov. 24 and was expected to last three to four weeks. Doyle's defense lawyer did not ask for bail. The city had been celebrating Liverpool's record-tying 20th title when Doyle turned down a street full of fans and joy quickly turned to tragedy. Police said they believed Doyle got past a road block by following an ambulance that was trying to reach a possible heart attack victim. Videos showed the car hit and toss a person wrapped in a red Liverpool flag into the air and then swerve into a sea of people packed on the side of the road. At least four people, including a child, had to be freed from beneath the vehicle when it came to a halt. The driver was believed to have acted alone and terrorism was not suspected, Merseyside Police said. They have not disclosed an alleged motive for the act.

President Trump on Friday said that China is violating a trade agreement with the U.S., just weeks after the two countries agreed to atemporary but significant easingof tariffs imposed on each other's imports earlier in the year. Mr. Trump didn't specify in what way he believes China is violating the agreement. On May 12, the two nations committed to a 90-day suspension of most of the levies imposed since early April. Under the agreement, the U.S. reduced tariffs on Chinese goods to about 30% from 145%, while China reduced its levies on American imports to 10%. "I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation, and I didn't want to see that happen. Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual," Mr. Trump wrote on Friday morning on his Truth Social app. He added, "The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!" —This is breaking news and will be updated. How Karen Read's retrial had differed as the prosecution rests its case FBI offers reward for information leading to arrest of ex-police chief who escaped prison Alleged crypto kidnappers had two NYPD detectives working as security, sources say

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. trade deficit in goods narrowed sharply in April as the boost from the front-running of imports ahead of tariffs faded. The goods trade gap contracted 46.0% to $87.6 billion last month, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau said on Friday. Goods imports decreased $68.4 billion to $276.1 billion. Exports of goods increased $6.3 billion to $188.5 billion. A rush to beat import duties pushed the goods trade deficit to a record high in March. The front-running of imports is probably not over. Higher duties for most countries have been postponed until July, while those for Chinese goods have been delayed until mid-August amid negotiations between President Donald Trump's administration and trade partners. Economists said that could see some businesses trying to bring in more imports given the lack of clarity about what happens after the 90-day pauses. Adding to the uncertainty, a U.S. trade court on Wednesday blocked most of Trump's tariffs from going into effect in a sweeping ruling that the president overstepped his authority. They were temporarily reinstated by a federal appeals court on Thursday. A record trade gap accounted for a large part of the 0.2% annualized rate of decline in gross domestic product in the first quarter. (Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Testimony is expected to resume Friday inKaren Read's second murder trial,as the Massachusetts woman's defense team prepares to present its case to the jury. On Thursday, prosecutors finishedhighlighting evidencethey believe showed that Read, 45, struck her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe, with her SUV and left him for dead in the snow outside another cop's home after a night of heavy drinking with friends in 2022. The former finance professor has been charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crime. Like true crime? Check out Witness: A library of true crime stories But her defense team alleges the car crash at the center of the prosecutor's case never even happened. More:Karen Read claims police bungled the investigation. What did they supposedly do wrong? They say Read was framed for O'Keefe's murder ina conspiracy theorydeveloped by Massachusetts police officers, who they say beat O'Keefe, set a ravenous dog on him and then dropped his battered body on a pile of snow during a burgeoning blizzard. So far, Read's lawyers have built their case by fiercely questioning the prosecution's witnesses, often sewing doubt into the reliability of evidence they've presented. Now, they will begin trying to convince jurors of their own version of the events that led up to O'Keefe's death on January 29, 2022. The strategy is nearly identical to that used by the defense team in Read's first trial, whichended in a hung juryin 2024. CourtTV has been covering the case against Read and the criminal investigation since early 2022, when O'Keefe's body was found outside a Massachusetts home. You can watchCourtTV's live feed of the Read trialproceedings from Norfolk Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts. Proceedings began at 10 a.m. ET. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Karen Read trial live updates: Defense team ready to present its case

NEW YORK (AP) — Bernard Kerik, who served as New York City's police commissioner on 9/11 and later pleaded guilty to tax fraud before being pardoned, has died. He was 69. FBI Director Kash Patel said that Kerik's death Thursday came after an unspecified "private battle with illness." Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who tapped Kerik as a bodyguard for his 1993 mayoral campaign and later appointed him to lead the NYPD, reflected on their long history onhis show Thursday. "We've been together since the beginning. He's like my brother," Giuliani said through tears. "I was a better man for having known Bernie. I certainly was a braver and stronger man." New York City Mayor Eric Adams, also a former NYPD officer, said he'd visited Kerik, his "friend of nearly 30 years," at a hospital earlier in the day. Kerik, an Army veteran, was hailed as a hero after the 9/11 attack and eventually nominated to head the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, before a dramatic fall from grace that ended with him behind bars. He served nearly four years in prison after pleading guilty in 2009 to tax fraud, making false statements and other charges. The charges stemmed partially from apartment renovations he received from a construction firm that authorities say wanted Kerik to convince New York officials it had no links to organized crime. During Kerik's sentencing, the judge noted that he committed some of the crimes while serving as "the chief law enforcement officer for the biggest and grandest city this nation has." President Donald Trump pardoned Kerikduring a 2020 clemency blitz. Kerik was one of the guests feting Trump after his first federal court appearance in Florida in a case related to his handling of classified documents. Kerik grew up in Paterson, New Jersey, where he dropped out of the troubled Eastside High School later depicted in the 1989 film "Lean on Me." He joined the Army, where he became a military policeman stationed in South Korea. He went on to work private security in Saudi Arabia before returning stateside to supervise a jail in New Jersey. He joined the NYPD in the late 1980s and was appointed in the 1990s to run New York's long-troubled jail system, including the city's notorious Riker's Island complex. Kerik was appointed by Giuliani to serve as police commissioner in 2000 and was often by the mayor's side in the period after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. "He was at my side within 20 minutes of the attack and never left," Giuliani recalled in a statement following Kerik's death. In Kerik's 2015 book, "From Jailer to Jailed," he described becoming "America's Top Cop" after the attacks. "But I'd give anything for that day not to have happened. I wish it hadn't. But it did," he wrote. "And I happened to be there at the time. I was there, and I did the best I could do under the circumstances. It's all any of us did." He was tapped by President George W. Bush to help organize Iraq's police force in 2003, then nominated to head the U.S. Department of Homeland Security the following year. But Kerik caught the administration off guard when he abruptly withdrew his nomination, saying he had uncovered information that led him to question the immigration status of a person he employed as a housekeeper and nanny. More serious legal troubles followed, culminating in his conviction. In 2005, Kerik founded the Kerik Group, a crisis and risk management consulting firm. More recently,he workedfor Giuliani again, surrounding the efforts to overturn Trump's 2020 loss. ___ This story has been corrected to show that Kerik pleaded guilty in 2009, not 2010.

Thinking of shopping in June?  Think dads, and grads, and the great outdoors. June is a great month to shop for gifts and outdoor equipment, with retailers offering deals on items for Father's Day, graduations and summer adventures.At Benchmark Outdoor Outfitters, the shelves are stocked with summer outdoor gear, from backpacks to camping chairs and popular coolers. "We have the Yeti Tundra, their most classic cooler," Max Artbauer, a salesman at Benchmark, said. For shoppers on a budget -- who wince at the cost of anything Yeti or Stanley -- Artbauer recommends water bottles like Hydroflasks or inexpensive Nalgenes. "It's just basic. $16, the hiker classic," he said of a green Nalgene water bottle.Consumer Reports' deals editor Samantha Gordon says June will bring numerous promotions on gifts for Father's Day and graduations, particularly on tech products, power tools, lawn care equipment and stereotypical "dad" gifts. RELATED STORY |Woman loses $500 on gift card when tour company shuts down CLICK HEREfor Consumer Reports' list of the best June deals."We're looking at smart speakers, wireless and Bluetooth speakers, smartwatches tend to be a big one, fitness trackers, headphones," Gordon said. "There are special offers there because people are looking for those standard 'gift for dad' items. The more stereotypical the item is, the more likely you're able to find a discount on it," she said. Watch as we tour a store offering great deals in June: What to buy in June, and some things to wait on Some things to wait onGordon advises waiting a few weeks for bigger purchases. "Amazon has already teased that they will be holding another Prime Day in July, and with that, a lot of other retailers have big sales as well," she said. In addition, laptops typically see big markdowns in July for back-to-school. RELATED STORY |Simple changes that can slash your summer electric billsAt Benchmark Outfitters, Artbauer emphasized that June offers the best selection of outdoor gear for the year, with shelves stocked and a wide range of sizes available for clothing, shoes, and boots. "There is no better time than this month, for sure," he said. That way you don't waste your money._______________________________ "Don't Waste Your Money" is a registered trademark of Scripps Media, Inc. ("Scripps"). Follow John: Facebook:John Matarese Money Instagram:@johnmataresemoney X/Twitter:@JohnMatarese For more consumer news and money saving advice, go towww.dontwasteyourmoney.com More Don't Waste Your Money news: What to buy in June... and some things to wait onDuke raising Ohio electric rates on June 1: How much more you'll have to payCincinnati seniors can save on water bills with this not-well-known program

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump's administration is investigating the Green Bay Area Public School District over a complaint of racial discrimination against a dyslexic student. The investigation will also look into whether or not the school district delayed the student's special education evaluation. The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty filed the complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights on behalf of the complainant Colbey Decker, a mom from Green Bay whose dyslexic son was denied reading resources because he is white, according to OCR'snoticeof investigation. "It is heartbreaking to think that, in America, a school would consider whether to provide services to a disabled student based not on that student's needs, but on the color of his skin," WILL education counsel Cory Brewer said in a statement. "This is not only unlawful, it is an affront to the character of the American people. We appreciate the Department of Education taking this important step today." The statement by WILL said the school district admitted practices of racial preferences through its "School Success Plan" in a message conveyed directly to Decker by a school principal during an in-person meeting. King Elementary'sSchool Success Plan, which has been since removed from the school's website, shows policies prioritizing access to support and resources to certain groups, including First Nations, Black and Hispanic students. According to WILL, Decker's son was diagnosed with dyslexia in 2022 and she has been seeking support from the school since he enrolled in January 2024. Throughout 2024, Decker "repeatedly" provided documentation and made formal requests for one-on-one reading interventions. Even in April 2024 when he was placed on a waitlist for reading intervention in a less intensive program, his needs required more support. After WILL sent a Dec. 9 letter to district Superintendent Vicki Bayer, the school requested a meeting with Decker and WILL attorneys. According to WILL's statement, in the meeting a school official asked her to identify specific students who were treated more favorably than her son based on race. WILL argues the questioning was unfair because she only had access to documentation for her son and information about his experience, but not district data. "This isn't the first time in our nation where we have seen liberal ideology prevent students from receiving the services they need," Rep. Joy Goeben, R-Hobart, the vice-chair of the Assembly Committee on Education, told The Center Square. "I am grateful for organizations such as WILL who stand up for students and their families in the face of injustice." Goeben stated she will continue to monitor the investigation as it moves through the judicial process.

Rounds of storms and heavy rainthat killed a person in heavy Texas flooding earlier this week are shifting their focus to states in the Mid-Atlantic and South on May 30. The person who died was swept away in floodwaters on May 28 after a "brief but very powerful storm" that caused downed trees, damage from hail and winds, power outages and flash flooding, Austin City Manager TC Broadnax said at a news conference the next day. The storm dumped 2-3 inches of rain within half an hour, officials said. Forecasters said states including Georgia, the Carolinas and parts of the Mid-Atlantic were in the path of "a rather strong system for late May" that will reach New England by the weekend. The storm will bring heavy rain across the Ohio Valley during the day and the northern Mid-Atlantic by night on May 30. The thunderstorms and rain are increasing chances of dangerous flash flooding in the region, according to the National Weather Service. Impacts from the storms could include wind damage, large hail and a few tornadoes, the Storm Prediction Center said. More than 21 million people were under flood watches in the region the morning of May 30, in states including Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. The storms that hit in central Texas on May 28 rolled through Austin quickly. Between 6 and 7 p.m., the storm peaked and winds reached up to 77 mph, officials said. During that time, calls for help to 911 also surged. "This was a fast-moving, destructive storm with whole trees ripped down, extensive damage to homes, property and electrical equipment," Austin Energy Interim General Manager Stuart Riley said. Austin's emergency responders responded to nine water rescue calls, said Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Robert Luckritz. One of the calls was for an adult patient who had reportedly been submerged in floodwaters for over 20 minutes and was pronounced dead on the scene, Luckritz said. The storm caused a river gauge to raise from 3 to 13 feet in 30 minutes,AccuWeatherreported. It also blew out windows at the state Capitol building, the outlet reported. "Within about 20 minutes, some areas of Austin saw a blanket of hail carpet the ground, flood waters quickly pour into low water crossings, whole trees ripped from the ground and expansive damage to homes, property and electric equipment," Austin Energy said in a post to social media. Within about 20 minutes, some areas of Austin saw a blanket of hail carpet the ground, flood waters quickly pour into low water crossings, whole trees ripped from the ground and expansive damage to homes, property and electric equipment.pic.twitter.com/D50BQQMGa3 — Austin Energy (@austinenergy)May 29, 2025 This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Deadly storms that flooded Texas shift focus to South, Mid-Atlantic

SINGAPORE (AP) —French President Emmanuel Macronand U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are among the world leaders, diplomats and top defense officials in Singapore this weekend for a security forum that will focus on China's growing assertiveness, the global impact ofRussia's war on Ukraineand the flare-up of conflicts in Asia. Macron opens the conference with a keynote address Friday night that is expected to touch on all of those issues, as well as the pressure thehefty tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump's administrationis putting on Asian allies. It's Hegseth's first time to the Shangri-La Dialogue, hosted by the International Institute for Security Studies, which is taking place against the backdrop of heightened rhetoric between Beijing and Washington. The Trump administration has threatened China with triple-digittariffs, and there's some uncertainty in the region over how committed the U.S. is to the defense of Taiwan, which also faces possible32% American tariffs. China claims the self-governing democracy as its own, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has not ruled out taking it by force. China sends military aircraft, ships and spy balloons near Taiwan as part of a campaign of daily harassment, and currently has an aircraft carrier in the waters southeast of the island. Hegseth told reporters before he boarded his plane for Singapore that Washington's policies were meant to deter a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. "We seek no conflict with anybody, including the Communist Chinese," he said. "We will stay strong for our interests. And that's a big part of what this trip is all about." China, which usually sends its defense minister to the Shangri-La forum, sent a much lower level delegation instead, represented by Maj. Gen. Hu Gangfeng, the vice president of the People's Liberation Army National Defense University. The delegation was expected to speak Saturday on a panel on "cooperative maritime security" alongside representatives from Japan, Vietnam, Chile and the U.K. — notable in that China's aggressive global fisheries tactics have been a regular topic of concern not only in the Indo-Pacific but as far away as Latin America and the Arctic. Defense officials traveling with Hegseth, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media, called the absence of a higher-level Chinese delegation an opportunity for the U.S. to make inroads. "We can't account for whether China engages or not. All we know is that we're here. And we will be here," Hegseth said as he met with Philippine Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro. Allies are worried about US commitment to their defense Hegseth's trip to Singapore is his second to the region since becoming defense secretary, following aMarch visit to the Philippines, which has seen escalating confrontations with China over competing territorial claims in the South China Sea. That trip, which also included a stop in Japan, brought a degree of relief over growing concerns from the Philippines and others in the region about U.S. support from a president who has taken more of a transactional approach to diplomacy and seems wary of foreign engagements. The U.S. has been pursuing a "free and open Indo-Pacific" policy, which includes regularly sailing warships through the Taiwan Strait and in the South China Sea, which isclaimed almost in its entirety by China. The European Union has adopted a more economics-driven approach, but several European nations have also regularly taken part in the freedom of navigation exercises, including France, which sent a carrier strike group on a five-month mission through the Indo-Pacific that concluded in April. France steps up its presence in Indo-Pacific In its publishedIndo-Pacific strategy, France has underscored the need to "preserve a rules-based international order" in the face of "China's increasing power and territorial claims" and its global competition with the United States. France's own ties to the Indo-Pacific are strong, with more than 1.6 million of its citizens living in the region in French overseas territories. Following a meeting Friday with Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Macron told reporters there was room in the region for more than just the two superpowers. "We are neither China nor the U.S., we don't want to depend on any of them," he said. "We want to cooperate with both as far as we can, and we can cooperate for growth and prosperity and stability for our people and the world order, and I think this is exactly the same view of a lot of countries and a lot of people of this region." Wong underscored Macron's point, saying that Singapore and the greater region were not looking for exclusive arrangements with any single power. "We want to embrace comprehensive engagement with all parties and embrace win-win arrangements rather than zero-sum competition," he said. In his speech later, Macron is expected also to stress that the war in Ukraine is having a worldwide impact and that Russia seeks to destabilize Asia, the French president's office said. While democracies from the region, including Australia, South Korea and Japan, have been aiding Ukraine, China has been growingly supportive of Russia and North Korea has sent troops to fight for Moscow. The conference comes ascivil war continues to ragein Myanmar, creating a massive humanitarian crisis that has only been compounded by the effects of adevastating earthquakethat hit in March. It also follows the outbreak of violence this week on the Thai-Cambodian border, in which a Cambodian soldier was killed in a brief exchange of fire between the two sides. Thailand and Cambodia have a long history of land disputes, though Thailand said after the short skirmish that the situation had been resolved. Of greater concern, nuclear-armed neighborsIndia and Pakistan came to the brink of warearlier this month in their most serious military confrontation in decades. The two armies exchanged gunfire, artillery strikes, missiles and drones that killed dozens of people, andPakistan shot down several Indian planesbefore a truce was declared. _____ Associated Press writer Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.

LONDON (AP) — Former Sinn Fein leaderGerry Adamswon his libel suit against the BBC on Friday over a claim he authorized the killing of an informant. A jury at the High Court in Dublin ruled in Adams' favor and he was awarded 100,000 euros ($113,000) in damages. Adams sued Britain's public broadcaster over a claim in a documentary and online article that he sanctioned the killing of Denis Donaldson, a long-serving Sinn Fein official who acknowledged in 2005 that he had worked for British intelligence. He was shot dead at his cottage in rural Ireland four months later. In the BBC program broadcast in September 2016, an anonymous source claimed the shooting was sanctioned by the political and military leadership of the IRA and that Adams gave "the final say." Adams denies involvement and called the allegation a "grievous smear." Adams, 76, is one of the most influential figures of Northern Ireland's decades of conflict, and its peace process. He led the IRA-linked party Sinn Fein between 1983 and 2018. He has always denied being an IRA member, though former colleagues have said he was one of its leaders. In 2009, a splinter group opposed to Northern Ireland's peace agreement, the Real IRA, claimed responsibility for killing Donaldson. An Irish police investigation remains ongoing.

NEW DELHI (AP) — New Zealand's deputy prime minister said on Friday that talks over afree trade agreementbetween his country and India were ongoing, but he didn't provide a timeline for when the two nations could eventually sign a deal. Winston Peters, who is on a two-day visit to India, said that the negotiations were "going with real meaning now," calling them "a breakthrough in our economic relationship." India and New Zealand began negotiations in March for a trade pact, and had aimed to sign a deal in 60 days. The deal will significantly bolster economic ties between the two countries, but it has faced delays because of differences over tariffs on dairy products. Bilateral trade between India and New Zealand stood at $1.7 billion in the 2023-24 financial year. Talks between India and New Zealand were taking place amid global trade tensions, after U.S.President Donald Trump's decision to impose now-paused reciprocal tariffs on imported goods from several countries, including India. Earlier this month, India and the United Kingdomclinched a trade deal. India is also engaged in trade talks with Washington. Peters, who met with India's Group of 20 emissary, Amitabh Kant, in New Delhi, said that India was New Zealand's 12th-largest partner in trade and "we are determined that we're going to work to change that." "Our strengths, from food and beverage products to agriculture, forestry, horticulture, education and tourism are world class. And our innovation in areas like outer space and renewable energy will find a welcoming partner in India," he said. Peters said that the relationship between the two countries extended to defense and security, calling it a "priority for New Zealand in the Indo-Pacific." "During a time of great uncertainty, instability and disorder, we have taken steps to work more closely on matters of defense and security with India," he said.

There's been a break in 30-year-old cold case mystery at the Jersey Shore after experts confirmed skeletal remains found on three beachesbelonged to a 19th-century boat captain. The bones from a leg, arm and fragments of a cranium discovered on the beaches of Ocean City, Margate and Longport between 1995 and 2013 had yielded no answers until now. Authorities said the remains belong to 29-year-old Captain Henry Goodsell, who died at sea 181 years ago. Advances in DNA technology first tied the bones to the same person after cold case detectives with the state police turned tothe Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center at Ramapo College of New Jerseylast year. "Our job was to figure out who that individual was that the bones belonged to," Cairenn Binder of the college's IGG Center said. Initially, experts weren't even sure how old the bones were. "We kind of kept going back and forth between, are they historic? Are they not historic?" New Jersey State Police Forensic Anthropologist Dr. Anna Delaney said. "This is absolutely amazing because after all of this time, Henry has his name." Students at the school launched a search for genetic relatives and built out family trees that revealed ancestral ties to Connecticut. They also started looking into records of shipwrecks. It was that creative step that really helped them narrow in on the person's identity. "Delving into those they identified this ship, which then led to the ship captain," Ramapo's IGG Center Director David Gurney explained. Goodsell was the captain of the Oriental which was a schooner that was transporting marble from Connecticut to Philadelphia for Girard College in 1844. But, on that voyage, the Oriental went down just off of the coast of Brigantine and the entire crew was killed. Investigators were able to track down Goodsell's great-great-granddaughter in Maryland. She provided a DNA sample that did confirm the captain's identity. "To our knowledge, this is the oldest case that's ever been solved with investigative genetic genealogy," Binder said. As of this writing, Goodsell's family does not want his bones so they will stay at a state repository indefinitely.

NEW YORK (AP) — As he crisscrossed the country in 2024,Donald Trumppledged to supporters that voting him back into the presidency would be "our final battle." "With you at my side, we willdemolish the deep state," he said repeatedly on the campaign trail. "We will liberate our country from these tyrants and villains once and for all." Four months into his second term, Trump has continued to stoke dark theories involving his predecessors and other powerful politicians and attorneys — most recently raising the specter of nefarious intent behind former President Joe Biden's use of an autopen to sign papers. The administration has pledged to reopen investigations and has taken steps to declassify certain documents, including releasingmore than 63,000 pages of recordsrelated to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Yet many of Trump's supporters say it's not enough. Some who take him at his word are beginning to get restless as they ask why his administration, which holds the keys to chasing down these alleged government secrets, is denying them the evidence and retribution they expected. His Justice Department has not yet arrested hordes of "deep state" actors as some of his supporters had hoped it would, even as the president has been posting cryptic videos and memes about Democratic politicians. "People are tired of not knowing," conservative commentator Damani Felder said on podcaster Tim Pool's show last week. "We actually demand answers and real transparency. It's not that hard to deliver." A promise to reveal and dismantle the 'deep state' Trump has long promised to dismantle the "deep state" — a supposed secret network of powerful people manipulating government decisions behind the scenes — to build his base of support, said Yotam Ophir, a communications professor at the University at Buffalo. "He built part of this universe, which at the end of the day is a fictional universe," he said. Now that Trump is in power and has stocked loyalists throughout his administration, his supporters expect all to be revealed. Delivering on that is difficult when many of the conspiracies he alleged aren't real, said Joseph Uscinski, a political scientist who studies conspiracy theories at the University of Miami. To be sure, the president has prioritized retribution in his second administration. He has fired federal workers, installed loyalists in key positions and targetedlaw firms he disfavorsin executive orders. He has ordered therevocation of government security clearancesfor political rivals andformer employees who dissentedduring his first term. His Justice Department hasfired prosecutorswho investigated him andscrutinized career FBI agentswho investigated theJan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Even so, Trump's administration hasn't gone as far as many of his supporters would like. They want to see steps taken against people he has long claimed were involved in sinister plots against him, such as former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and formerFBI Director James Comey. The administration also hasn't offered proof of the "egregious crimes" that Trump claims have corrupted the federal government for years. Conspiracy theorists focus on Epstein and Trump's assassination attempt Tensions erupted this month when FBI DirectorKash Pateland his deputy, Dan Bongino, dismissed two of the unsubstantiated conspiracy theories that have animated Trump's base the most — that financier and sexual abuserJeffrey Epsteinwas murdered in a cover-up, and that Trump'sattempted assassinationin Butler, Pennsylvania, was a government plot. "You know a suicide when you see one, and that's what that was," Patel said about Epstein's death in a Fox News interview. "I have seen the whole file," Bongino added. "He killed himself." Conservatives online demanded to see the evidence, pointing to Bongino's past statements as apodcast host, when he suggested the government was hiding information about Epstein. "No matter who gets elected, you get the same foreign policy, you get the same economic policy, and the Epstein videos remain secret," right-wing podcaster and former Fox News hostTucker Carlsonsaid on his show. "They told us for months leading up to the Election that it wasn't suicide," Newsmax host Todd Starnes wrote on X.. "But now they tell us it was suicide." He added: "Pardon me, but what the heck is going on at DOJ?" Attorney General Pam Bondi said this month that FBI officials were poring through "tens of thousands" of videos related to Epstein and would make more materials public once they took steps to protect the victims. In the same Fox News interview, Bongino and Patel said they had been briefed on the attempted assassination of Trump during a rally in July and there was no explosive conspiracy to be revealed. "In some of these cases, the 'there' you're looking for is not there," Bongino said. Skepticism among 'deep state' believers Bongino appeared to try to throw a bone to Trump's base this week when he announced the agency would reopen some prominent cases that have attracted public interest. He said the FBI would investigate theplanting of pipe bombsfound near the Democratic and Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington the day of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, the leak of the Supreme Court'sDobbs v. Jackson draft opinionin 2022 that overturned the constitutional right to abortion and the discovery ofcocaine in the White Housein 2023. But it wasn't enough for everyone who weighed in on his X account. "Anything to detract from the Epstein files," one user replied to his announcement. "No results," wrote another. In an interview Thursday on "Fox & Friends," Bongino teased that the FBI would soon release video captured outside Epstein's jail cell and materials related to Trump's attempted assassination. He said he understands the public's demands for transparency but called for patience and noted not all information is the FBI's to declassify. That didn't satisfy everyone who wants answers to the conspiracy theories. "I am convinced that the deep state can only be defeated by God at this point," Philip Anderson, a right-wing influencer who participated in the riot at the Capitol, wrote Thursday on X. "Kash Patel, Dan Bongino, and Pam Bondi are completely useless." Promoting conspiracy theories as a tactic to distract All the while, Trump has continued promoting conspiracy theories on his Truth Social platform and elsewhere. He shared a video this month about mysterious deaths allegedly being linked to the Clinton family and an image of himself with former President Barack Obama with the text, "ALL ROADS LEAD TO OBAMA, RETRUTH IF YOU WANT MILITARY TRIBUNALS." Ophir, the University at Buffalo professor, said it's a tactic that distracts Trump's base and helps inoculate him from criticism. "When something good happens, it's because Trump is great and his agenda is brilliant," Ophir said. "When something bad happens, it's because of the Obamas or the Clintons or whatever forces are undermining him from within Washington." Trump this week fueled newer theories, without sharing evidence, that Biden's use of a mechanical device called an autopen during his presidency meant he didn't sign his executive orders willingly or that aides profited from controlling it. He has called for people who operated it to be charged with "TREASON." The narrative has gained momentum on the right because of allegations that Biden's aidescovered up his mental and physical decline. Presidentshave used autopensfor years to sign certain documents. "Whoever used it was usurping the power of the Presidency, and it should be very easy to find out who that person (or persons) is," Trump wrote on Truth Social. At least one user of his platform was unimpressed and questioned why Trump and his allies, holding all the power, still didn't have any answers. "IF IT'S EASY," the commenter posted. "WHY HASN'T YOUR ADMINISTRATION FOUND THESE CRIMINAL'S ALREADY." ___ The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about the AP's democracy initiativehere. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said he's demanding answers about reports that the Trump administration is prioritizing separating families instead of focusing on threats to public safety when it comes to immigration enforcement. Ina letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noemon Thursday, Ossoff cited the cases of two immigrant mothers who were recently deported and separated from their children. The first woman,Heidy Sánchez, was detained duringa routine immigration check-in appointmentin April and deported to Cuba without her U.S.-citizen baby daughter, who has a history of seizures and was still being breastfed. Sánchez's attorney, Claudia Cañizares,told NBC Miamithat the woman "had no criminal records." Immigration authoritiesdidn't comment on the case. The Trump administrationhas said in previous commentsthat deported parents have been given the choice to take their children or not. The second woman, Yorely Bernal, was deported to Venezuela in April without her 2-year-old despite having authorized her removal alongside her daughter's. The toddler was instead taken into U.S. custody andbounced around three foster familiesbeforebeing reunited with her mother in Venezuela. The Trump administrationjustified the separation at the timeby alleging the girl's parents were affiliated with the Tren de Aragua gang, though it didn't give specific evidence. "I write with grave concerns about reports of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) separating families," reads the letter, which was first obtained by NBC News. "I urge you to reprioritize threats to public safety in immigration enforcement and use your discretion to grant humanitarian parole to keep infants and young children in their parents' care." Both cases illustrate thestepped-up pace of deportations of immigrantswho don't have criminal charges or convictions, even though President Donald Trump said during his election campaign that the focus would be on deporting violent criminals. In a caseNBC News first reportedin March, a 17-year-old U.S. citizen in a mixed immigration status family was left behind in the United States when his siblings, one of whom is an11-year-old U.S. citizen girl recovering from a rare brain tumor, wereremoved to Mexicowhen immigration authoritiesdeported their undocumented parents. Two mothers deported to Honduras in Aprilwere removed with their U.S. citizen children, including a 4-year-old boy with Stage 4 cancer. The children's fathers were residing in the United States and were unable to make decisions about their children before they were flown to Honduras,according to Gracie Willis, their attorney. "DHS seems to prioritize those in closest reach, including individuals appearing at immigration check-ins, on monitoring programs, or in the wrong place at the wrong time, regardless of their criminal history and sometimes even regardless of their citizenship status," Ossoff wrote. "DHS has deployed significant enforcement resources to cruelly separate young children from primary caregivers who pose no threat to public safety." Ossoff cited the American Academy of Pediatrics, which has said family separation "can cause irreparable harm, disrupting a child's brain architecture and affecting his or her short- and long-term health." He also asked Noem's office to provide information by June 6 about the impact Trump's immigration crackdown is having on children who are deported, left behind in the United States or sent abroad with their deported parents. In April, the latest month for which data is available, federal immigration authoritiesdeported over 17,200 people, an increase of about 29%compared with April 2024, when over 13,300 were deported. There are 48,674 people in immigration detention last week,according to NBC News' tracker. Only a third have criminal convictions, and about a quarter have pending charges that may or may not be sustained in court. Deporting more than 17,200 people in a single month still doesn't put Trump on track to make good on his Inauguration Day promise to deport "millions and millions." It is still less than half the pace it would take to reach the record number of 430,000 deportations in a single year, set during the Obama administration in 2013.

After Blake Pfeifer, a veteran plumber in Colorado Springs, Colorado, underwent emergency stomach surgery at a nearby nonprofit hospital in 2022, he struggled to understand the bills flooding in for his weeklong stay. The initial charge for the procedure at the University of Colorado Health Memorial Hospital Central was $104,000, his records show. Because Pfeifer had no insurance and would be paying out of pocket, he was quoted a discounted price of $58,124. He said he called the hospital to get clarity on the bills but got nowhere. He began paying some of them and was pursued by a collection agency on others. Then he sought the help of a patient advocacy group. "I've always paid my bills," Pfeifer, 63, said. "I wanted a little better explanation." The group he worked with,Patient Rights Advocate.org, found that some of his charges were far higher than the amounts UCHealth reported under a federal price transparencyrulethat went into effect in 2021. And that wasn't the only notable finding: Only 25% of Pfeifer's charges showed up on the hospital's required price list and therefore could not be compared at all. Pfeifer's experience is not uncommon, according to patient advocates, public interest lawyers and Medicare data. The burden of medical debt, a problem faced by 100 million Americans, has pushed many to delay medical care and even file for bankruptcy, research shows. Making these obligations even more ruinous, patient advocates say, is that many may be based on inaccurate health care bills. These discrepancies occur even as hospitals must list prices for care on their websites. The price transparency rule,initiated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, requires facilities to "establish, update, and make public a list of all standard charges for all items and services." Implemented under the first Trump administration, it aims to help consumers shop for care and compare prices before they go to the hospital. Now, four years after the rule went into effect, hospital billing seems "intentionally complex," said Cynthia Fisher, founder ofPatient Rights Advocate.org. "Hospitals and insurance companies alike have even hired many middle-player firms to be able to maximize their margins and profits at every single patient encounter," she added. "Sometimes what we're finding is the charges like Blake's that are billed are far beyond even the highest rate that they have within their hospital pricing file." It adds up to an increasingly costly health care experience for Americans. A West Health-Gallupsurveypublished April 2 found that 35% of respondents said they could not access high-quality, affordable health care — a new high since 2021. UCHealth is a nonprofit hospital system with 14 hospitals in Colorado, southern Wyoming and western Nebraska. In its financial filings, UCHealth says its discount program for self-pay patients like Pfeifer "reduces uninsured patients' liabilities to a level more equivalent of insured patients." Some of Pfeifer's records conflict with this description. Pfeifer received 10 common blood tests, known as a metabolic panel, and was billed $104 for each. By comparison, UCHealth's public price data shows it charged insured patients between $6.52 and $52.89 for each test in 2022. In another case, Pfeifer was charged $99 for a blood culture to measure bacteria, the records show, while UCHealth's pricing data listed a range of charges for insured patients of between $8 and $61. For a phosphate level blood test, Pfeifer was billed $30, while insured patients at UCHealth were charged between $3.72 and $22.02. Under Coloradolaw, violations of hospital price transparency requirements are a deceptive trade practice. Dan Weaver, a UCHealth spokesman, said in a statement that the health system "does everything possible to share prices and estimates with our patients, encourage insurance coverage, assist patients in applying for Medicaid and other programs that may offer coverage." Regarding Pfeifer's case, Weaver said he could not comment because the hospital had received notice from a lawyer representing Pfeifer that he may file a claim against it. He said the hospital disputes what is in the lawyer's notice, but he declined to specify what exactly it disputes. Weaver pointed to thestate of Colorado's 2024 report stating that UCHealth hospitals "are fully compliant with transparency requirements." For 2022, when Pfeifer received care at UCHealth, the document showed the hospital providing his care received a "fair" transparency rating by the state, above "poor" but below "good." Weaver added that CMS, which determines hospital compliance with transparency requirements, "has not cited UCHealth or our hospitals for noncompliance." Enforcement actions are exceedingly rare. CMS' website listsmonetary penaltiesagainst only 27 hospitals in the four years since the requirements began. (There are 6,000 hospitals nationwide, according to theAmerican Hospital Association.) A December 2024reportfrom the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General found that nearly 40% of the 100 hospitals it studied were not complying with the price transparency requirements. Coloradolawallows patients to sue a hospital bringing a debt collection proceeding against them when they believe the facilities have violated price transparency requirements. Steve Woodrow, a Democratic member of the Colorado House of Representatives and a lawyer at the firm Edelson in Denver, represents Pfeifer. "What happened to Mr. Pfeifer unfortunately repeats itself and plays out across the country thousands of times every year," Woodrow told NBC News in an interview. "We now have a situation where people are afraid to get medical care because of the financial ramifications." Last November, the Justice Departmentallegedthat UCHealth had overbilled Medicare and TRICARE, the health insurer for U.S. service members and their families. Between November 2017 and March 31, 2021, the government alleged, providers at UCHealth hospitals submitted inflated Medicare and TRICARE claims for "frequent monitoring of vital signs" among patients in the emergency department. UCHealth agreed to pay $23 million to settle the allegations without an admission of liability. Weaver, the UCHealth spokesperson, said the hospital system settled to prevent a lengthy and costly legal dispute. "UCHealth firmly denies these allegations," he added, "and maintains that its billing practices align with the guidelines set forth by the American College of Emergency Physicians." While UCHealth is a nonprofit, it has generated rising revenues and earnings recently. Net patient revenues at UCHealth, itssecuritiesfilings show, totaled $8 billion in fiscal 2024, 17% higher than the previous year. Operating income was $523 million, an increase of 58% over 2023. UCHealth's charges for care are higher than most other nonprofits', Medicaredatashows. In fiscal 2022, the most recent figures available, UCHealth charged patients 6.6 times the hospital system's costs for care. That is far higher than the 4 times, on average, that U.S. nonprofit health systems charged for care that year, according to Ge Bai, a professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Weaver, of UCHealth, said the hospital system's charges are competitive with others. "Last year alone, UCHealth provided $1.3 billion in total community benefits including about $570 million in uncompensated care," his statement said. It's problem enough for patients who are overcharged or billed incorrectly for health care. But when hospitals sue to receive payment for those bills, such lawsuits often result in default judgments, legal experts say, issued to patients who don't appear in court or respond. Default judgments can have dire consequences, including wage garnishments. UCHealth has sued thousands of patients using third parties or debt collection middlemen in recent years, a practice that is examined in new research by academics at theGeorge Washington University Law School, Stanford University'sCenter for Clinical Researchand Fisher's group. The study, "Hospitals Suing Patients:The Rise of Stealth Intermediaries," found UCHealth and one debt collection firm brought 12,722 lawsuits against patients from 2019 to 2023. Legal records analyzed by the authors suggested "many of the collection efforts were based on unsubstantiated and inaccurate billing records." The use of legal middlemen is a national trend and allows hospitals to hide their involvement, avoiding the bad publicity these lawsuits can bring, the research contends. Last year, Colorado lawmakers enactedlegislationbarring hospitals from suing patients under debt collectors' names, after aninvestigationinto the practice by 9News, an NBC affiliate, and The Colorado Sun. Barak Richmanis the Alexander Hamilton professor of business law at George Washington Law School and a co-author of the study. "What this research shows is people are being pulled into court where a power imbalance takes advantage of them," he said. "There needs to be a lot of deliberative thought into what to do about courts as it relates to medical debt." In a statement about the study, UCHealth's Weaver said those suits make up a "tiny fraction of our patient care — in fact, more than 99.93% of all patient accounts are resolved without a lawsuit." He added: "This study, based on older data, does not reflect the changes put in place in recent years to minimize billing errors, ensure patients are aware of our financial assistance options, and are well informed of their medical bills." Damon Carson, a small-business owner in Longmont, Colorado, was sued by a collection company after he received an outpatient endoscopy at a UCHealth hospital in his town. The suit came while he was disputing the hospital's charges as excessive. A self-pay patient along with his wife, Traci, Carson tried to be a savvy shopper before he went in for the procedure in 2021. He asked for price estimates from several providers, and the nearby UCHealth facility provided one totaling $1,448, according to a court document. Carson paid upfront. "I had the procedure and everything was fine," Carson told NBC News. "Then the bills started rolling in." Additional charges of $4,742 drove the total cost for the procedure to around $6,200, a court document shows. Carson said that when he questioned the bills, noting the far lower original estimate, the hospital told him the add-on costs reflected the removal of growths found inside him during surgery. A UCHealth spokesman said the original estimate for Carson's care was accurate and that he was told there might be additional charges and signed an acknowledgement of that, which the hospital provided to NBC News. (Carson says he recalls no discussion of the potential for additional charges.) When Carson refused to pay, he was sued by Collection Center Inc., a debt collection firm that has often filed lawsuits against patients on behalf of the hospital, the academic study shows. In 2023, Carson and the collection firm conducted a mediation, according to court documents. Carson wound up paying only one-third of the additional charges to settle the case. "I was surprised they caved that fast," Carson told NBC News. "Traci and I could easily have paid the $4,000 and our lives gone on. But this was a principle thing." Fisher, the patient advocate, said the outcome of Carson's case is revealing. "No one should ever pay that first bill," she said. "The onus of proof needs to be on the hospital and the insurance company to prove that they have not overcharged us."

Pull up theNational Hurricane Center's daily mapthis week and you'll see that no tropical cyclone activity is expected within the next seven days as the 2025Atlantic hurricane season kicks off on June 1. Twenty years ago, this 7-day outlook might have been unthinkable, but withimprovements in satellites and forecasttechnology, meteorologists now know more than ever about when and where storms form and move. Thanks to higher resolution satellites, hurricane researchers also know more about the weather patterns that move westward across the Atlantic and Caribbean that could eventually become tropical storms or cyclones. Known as tropical waves,these patterns – found in the atmosphere above the surface and not in the ocean – have always moved across the Atlantic and around the globe. These waves are found in areas of low pressure above the surface in the atmosphere. Forecasters are watching these waves more closely than ever and understand more about how some of them become the seeds of tropical storms and hurricanes, saidKelly Núñez Ocasio, assistant professorin the atmospheric sciences department at Texas A&M University. As a result, the waves also catch the attention of casual observers who find their way to the page where the hurricane center's highly trained specialistspresent their discussionof what's happening across the Atlantic basin. When a tropical wave gets mentioned, there's no immediate cause for alarm or concern. Most of the waves "aren't very noteworthy, and about half of them are almost imperceptible," said Chris Landsea, chief of the National Hurricane Center's tropical analysis and forecast branch. They're mostly found in the lower latitudes, along a band across the Caribbean south of the Florida Keys. By themselves, the waves have little impact on states outside Florida to the north, he said. For example, 'the (waves) we're watching right now (on May 29, 2025) aren't going to be impacting the U.S. at all." Still, it's "very important" for the hurricane center to track tropical waves, Landsea said. Even without further development, tropical waves can impact local weather in Florida and the Caribbean by influencing thunderstorms and bringing gustier winds as they approach. The other reason to keep an eye on tropical waves is that some of the strongest that come off the African Coast tend to create the most dangerous hurricanes. Roughly 80 tropical waves are found across the Atlantic basin in a given year, said Landsea, who has studied tropical waves for decades. Between 40 and 60 of those emerge off the African Coast during the hurricane season that begins June 1 and ends December 1, saidNúñez Ocasio. Fewer than two dozen of these waves become named tropical storms. Even fewer become hurricanes. However, the waves are particularly important for forecasters to observe because "most of the hurricanes that get strongest originate from tropical waves," Landsea said. An estimated 85% of the most intense hurricanes – the Category 3's, 4's and 5's, with winds of 111 mph or more – get their start in the tropical waves that move off the African coast, he said. To become a depression or storm, a tropical wave must encounter a perfect set of conditions in the surrounding ocean and atmosphere that include very warm ocean water, relatively moist air, and a potentially unstable atmosphere. How do you study a hurricane?Meet the fancy tech behind the science Researchers such asNúñez Ocasioare working to answer riddles such as what makes some hurricanes larger in size than others andwhy some waves form hurricanes and others do not. The more they learn, the more the information can be used to improve hurricane forecast models. The stronger waves often begin over the high mountains of Ethiopia in eastern Africa, gathering strength, size and moisture from the monsoon as they move west, saidNúñez Ocasio. A lot of "very warm air" rises over the mountains in an area where the African easterly jet stream enters the region, she said. The resulting convection produces waves that interact with the West African monsoon and the wind energy in the jet, and by the time they reach the western coast, their structure is already more suitable to become a tropical depression, she said. It's only been within the last few years, that researchers have been able to correlatethe intensity of a wave coming off Africawith the intensity of any tropical depression it forms, she said. "Those waves that originate over the Ethiopian highlands are actually the ones more likely to become hurricanes." Her research proved timely last summer, when an expected busy season kind of stalled out at one point in mid-summer. A very active monsoon ranged over Africa, so intense that it was flooding areas of the Sahara Desert where flooding hadn't been previously seen, she said. The tropical waves and the African jet were pushing farther north and not coming off the coast along the typical Atlantic hurricane track, she said. That pattern may suggest a shift in the peak of Atlantic hurricane season in response to climate change, with waves forming and moving more slowly, and gathering more moisture, she said. "All the entire tropical atmosphere is changing .... Tropical waves are getting more intense with the changing climate." Learning about potential tropical systems earlier than in the past is not a reason to worry, but it can be a reason to prepare early, she said. "It's about thinking twice, decision-making to safeguard life and property." Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, writes about hurricanes, violent weather and other environmental issues. Reach her at dpulver@usatoday.com or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Why hurricane forecasters closely watch 'tropical waves'

Itir Cole tried to take some time off after quitting her job with the federal government early in the Trump administration. "I tried to read books, I tried to watch Netflix. But a day or two of that, and I was like, okay, I'm good. Now, what?" Cole, 40, told USA TODAY. Then her husband mentioned offhand that there was an open seat on her New Jersey town's governing body. No one her age or with her life experience was planning to make a bid for the nonpartisan Haddonfield Borough Commission. So she did. Cole won her mid-May race by 49 votes, about four months after resigning from the U.S. Digital Service ‒ the federal agency PresidentDonald Trumpand entrepreneurElon Muskrebranded asthe United States DOGE Service. A ceremonial swearing in was held May 27. Her victory places her at the forefront ofa flood of federal workers looking to run for public office.Many say they want to continue serving Americans after leaving the government either voluntarily or through mass layoffs, as Trump dramatically downsizes the federal workforce. Cole said her year-and-a-half in the federal government was a pivot point in her life. She had spent most of her career working in product management and building health care software for private companies. "The federal government felt like it hit all my check boxes," she said. "I can make a living. I feel good about what I'm doing every day. I'm contributing to the wellness of my community, my nation, and it's something when I look back on, I'm going to feel really proud of having contributed to even as a small part of it." U.S. Digital Service employees were detailed to other agencies tohelp fix or monitor high priority tech projects. Cole worked with the Centers for Disease Control to improve a cross state infectious disease surveillance system after the COVID-19 pandemic. But the arrival of DOGE employees on Inauguration Day transformed the nonpartisan tech agency, Cole said. "The job changed pretty much overnight," she said. All employees were interviewed with questions she said felt like were asking about loyalty to the new administration. She had been hired as a remote employee, but there was talk of requiring a return to the office. The"fork in the road" emailthat told federal employees to either get on board with the sweeping changes or leave was the last straw, she said. The White House press office did not respond to a request for comment. Cole quickly chose to resign, as did others. On Feb. 14, her last day, the remaining 40 or so members of her team were fired, she said. When she first looked at the Haddonfield Borough Commission race, Cole said she was alarmed that none of the candidates represented the so-called sandwich generation: people with both young kids at home and elderly parents to take care of. She implored friends to run, offering to act as their campaign manager and organize their campaign events, but no one had the time. "I couldn't let go of the fact that … there's no woman with a young family juggling responsibilities of professional life and family life. No one from our phase is going to be there, and there are going to be decisions made that are not in the best interest of the entire community," Cole said. "So I thought, Okay, I will do it." Cole had to move quickly to get on the ballot in her suburban town of 12,500, not far from Philadelphia. She pulled together 100 signed petitions in 3 days ‒ twice the number she needed. There was no time to build a coalition of supporters or get backing from candidate recruitment groups that mentor new candidates and that aregetting inundated with requests for helpfrom former federal employees. She had to just wing it. Cole said she started with a handful of regulars she knew at her local coffee shop, then a dozen or so moms she knew from school drop off. The former head of the local soccer leagues sat down with her and made introductions to the Lions Club, the Rotary Club and various nonprofits. Soon people offered to host house parties to introduce her to their neighborhood. "I accepted every invite, and I put myself out there as much as I could," she said. Campaigning as an introvert was painful, Cole said. It helped that the position is non-partisan and she could focus on local issues like affordable housing, crowded schools and new soccer fields. The part-time commissioner job pays $6,000 a year, which Cole said she expects to mostly go toward expenses related to the role. She's still looking for a full time job. Cole said she hasn't given much thought to a political future. She doesn't intend to hold the position past a single four-year term, saying she thinks the post should rotate among community members. "What I'm going to spend the next four years doing is making sure that people see this as a very doable job, that it hopefully encourages others to be like, Oh, she can do it. I can probably do it too," she said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Former federal worker elected to New Jersey local office