By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER (Associated Press)

HONOLULU (AP) — A Hawaiian Airlines flight from Honolulu to Sydney hit severe turbulence, injuring seven people on board.

The plane was carrying 163 passengers and 12 crew members on Thursday when it “encountered unexpected severe turbulence approximately five hours into the flight,” said a statement from the airline.

“The plane just dropped,” passenger Sultan Baskonyali told ABC News. “We weren’t prepared.”

She described one man going upward, hitting his head on the ceiling and dropping back down.

Airport medics assessed and released three injured passengers when the flight landed in Sydney, the airline said. One passenger and three flight attendants were referred to hospitals for evaluation. The flights attendants have since been released, the airline said Monday, but added that it was waiting to hear from the passenger.

“I haven’t heard from the airline at all even though both my children who were on the flight sustained minor injuries,” another passenger, Tara Goodall, told The Associated Press Monday.

They were returning home to Sydney after visiting Hawaii — the first overseas trip for her two sons. It was difficult, she said in text messages, “seeing your kids being thrown around the plane cabin” and being unable to make them feel safe.

She said she wasn’t yet ready to discuss the turbulence in more detail because she was still upset and emotional about it.

“Our immediate priority is to continue to care for our passengers and crew affected by this turbulence event, and we thank Sydney airport first responders for their swift assistance,” the airline said.

Last year, severe turbulence injured 25 people on board a Hawaiian Airlines flight. Four passengers and two crew members were seriously hurt. The plane sustained minor damage.

The captain of the Dec. 18 flight from Phoenix to Honolulu told investigators that conditions were smooth with clear skies when a cloud shot up in front of the plane, and that there was no time to change course, according to a report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Hawaiian Airlines Chief Operating Officer Jon Snook said at the time that such turbulence is unusual, noting that the airline had not experienced anything like it in recent history. The sign to fasten seatbelts was on at the time, though some of the people injured were not wearing them, he said.

It happened about 40 minutes before landing in Honolulu, according to the NTSB report.

By JULIET LINDERMAN (Associated Press)

BALTIMORE (AP) — Authorities searched Monday for the suspects who opened fire during a holiday weekend block party in Baltimore that killed two people, wounded 28 others and prompted one resident to jump into action when she found a wounded teenage girl on her doorstep.

Police identified the deceased as 18-year-old Aaliyah Gonzalez and 20-year-old Kylis Fagbemi. The 28 injured victims ranged in age from 13 to 32, with more than half younger than 18, officials said.

Charlene Bowie, 66, who lives close to where the shooting took place, said she saw a huge crowd, largely made up of teenagers.

“They were having fun in the beginning, but you know kids … they started drinking and they was getting all out of order,” she said.

Bowie said she called the police and told her 15-year-old granddaughter to come inside. They heard gunshots a little while later, and a bullet struck her air conditioner, breaking off a piece of it and hitting her granddaughter in the back. The girl was unhurt, and they both laid on the floor, Bowie said.

“Then I heard some banging on the door — boom, boom, boom, real loud — so I come down and got the door. The little girl (was) laying on my steps, shot,” she said.

Bowie said she ran inside to get a rag, then tied a makeshift tourniquet around the girl’s leg.

“I just kept talking to her so she wouldn’t get panicky, you know,” she said.

Learning that young people were killed in the shooting was especially painful for Bowie because she lost her son, 19, and her grandson, 15, to gun violence in separate shootings years ago.

“It hurts so bad because they haven’t begun to live. They don’t even know what life is, they don’t. All they know is guns. That’s all they know, and it’s sad,” she said.

The circumstances leading up to the shooting early Sunday remained under investigation after police spent hours combing a massive crime scene in the Brooklyn Homes area in the southern part of the city.

No arrests had been made by early Monday. Richard Worley, Baltimore’s acting police commissioner, said it wasn’t clear if the shooting was targeted or random, but he said police believe there were multiple shooters.

“We don’t know exactly how many, but we do know more than one person was shooting,” Worley said.

The event has been held for decades, but no permit was issued this year and police didn’t find out about it ahead of time, as they have in past years, Worley said.

“Obviously, the conversation to deploy more resources was too late,” Worley said Monday. “By the time we got there, the incident already occurred.”

The shooting comes amid gatherings around the country leading up to the July Fourth holiday. A shooting in Kansas left seven people with gunshot wounds and two more victims hospitalized after being trampled as people rushed out of a nightclub early Sunday morning, police there said.

The violence in Baltimore occurred the same week federal prosecutors there touted efforts to reduce violent crime in the city. Police have reported nearly 130 homicides and close to 300 shootings so far this year, though that’s down from the same time last year.

James Townes was sitting in his car when he heard gunshots, and immediately began driving around looking for his two children, 16 and 11, who were both at the block party. Townes, whose 18-year-old son was fatally shot two years ago, said all he could think about was his other children hearing the gunfire and being in the middle of the violence. As he searched for them, he saw injured people being put on gurneys.

Townes eventually found his children safe. “I think I held them for like 10 minutes,” he said.

Gov. Wes Moore said his “heart breaks for these victims, their families, and the Baltimore community that is coping with the loss.”

Several residents said police had been stationed at the block party in past years. The event is held every July to celebrate the South Baltimore neighborhood, a mix of modest row houses and public housing.

Anthony Lewis, 64, said he was getting into the shower when a bullet ripped through a window in his house and into his bathroom wall. Another bullet came through a downstairs window.

Lewis said his girlfriend thought he had been shot and collapsed on the floor. He had been thinking about moving out of the city, and those plans are more urgent now.

“I gotta get away from it,” he said.

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This story corrects the spelling of Aaliyah Gonzalez’ last name throughout.

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This story corrects throughout the number of injured to 28, not 30.

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Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.

By JUAN A. LOZANO (Associated Press)

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas man who went missing as a teenager in 2015 after last being seen walking his dogs in Houston has been found alive, his family and police said Monday.

Police and firefighters found Rudolph “Rudy” Farias IV around 10 p.m. Thursday after getting a call of a person lying on the ground in front of a church in southeast Houston, police spokesman John Cannon said.

It was not immediately known where Farias had been the last eight years, Cannon said. Police investigators had not yet spoken with Farias, 25, who remained hospitalized.

“What we do know is at the time of his recovery, a good Samaritan located him unresponsive and immediately called police and 911. My son Rudy is receiving the care he needs to overcome his trauma, but at this time, he is nonverbal and not able to communicate with us,” Janie Santana, Farias’ mother, said in a statement.

In a tweet Monday afternoon, Houston police said it planned on speaking with Farias and his family on Wednesday.

The news that Farias had been found was first reported in a tweet on Saturday by the Texas Center for the Missing, which was handling public communications on behalf of Farias’ family.

“We do know when a loved one goes missing this is the day all families hope for and dream of – REUNIFICATION. We are thankful that Rudy has been found and receiving the care he needs,” the center said in a statement Monday.

Farias was 17 years old when he was reported missing on March 6, 2015, after taking his two dogs for a walk near his family’s home in northeast Houston. The dogs were later found.

Houston police, along with Texas Equusearch, a civilian search and recovery team, looked for Farias but found no signs of him.

When Farias first went missing, Texas Equusearch reported that he suffered from depression and anxiety, and he might have been disoriented because he wasn’t taking his medication. Farias also had asthma and walked with a slight limp because of an injured right leg.

“According to his mother he is very wary around strangers,” Texas Equusearch said in 2015.

Cannon said Farias’ family did report to police investigators that they had seen him in September 2018, staying behind the home of a relative.

Police investigators followed up on the 2018 sighting and went to the relative’s home. But “they could not observe him. They could not locate him,” Cannon said.

Since police were not able to find Farias after the 2018 sighting, the investigation remained open as a missing person case, Cannon said.

Possible sightings like the one Houston police followed up in 2018 were common in the case, said Martin Renteria, a private investigator with Checkmate Investigative Field Services in suburban Houston who had been hired by Farias’ mother a few months after Farias went missing.

Renteria recalled at least a dozen such reports that turned up nothing. Renteria, who worked the case with his wife, Barbara, also followed up on possible sightings in other cities.

“After a couple of years … we finally just had to give up on it,” Renteria said Monday. He added he also considered that Farias, who had become an adult in the time he was missing, might have run away and didn’t want to be found.

Santana and other family members were not available for comment Monday.

“We are asking for privacy during this difficult time but will share more details as Rudy continues to heal,” Santana said in her statement.

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Follow Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70

Improve roads

Many south Chesapeake residents are concerned about the planned Coastal Virginia Commerce Park sited in southwest Chesapeake because of the harm it will do to the watershed and rural nature of the area. But a question needs to be asked, “How will people get to work there?”

U.S. 17 has the capacity, but it is ill-suited as a route for many Chesapeake residents. The bulk of the traffic will come by Johnstown and Benefit roads, which are inadequate for the traffic they already carry. Benefit Road is a series of difficult turns with large trees only feet from the roadway. Johnstown Road has shoulders under a foot wide next to deep ditches broken by deadly culverts. They are dangerous as they are, but as major commuter access, they will be death traps.

Before any further development in southern Chesapeake is considered, Johnstown Road must be wider with paved shoulders and subsurface drainage. And Benefit Road must be straighter with adequate setback for trees and other obstacles.

We can’t bring in that kind of traffic and hope the roads will be brought up to standards later. Before another subdivision is opened or an industrial park considered, the roads have to be made safe for the anticipated traffic. To do less is to pay in lives for the delay.

William Donald Tabor, Chesapeake

Address vehicles

As I drive, I’m shocked at the numerous vehicles I observe with expired state inspections and registrations. State inspections are required annually in Virginia; however, police officers may not pull over a vehicle for an expired inspection until four months past its expiration. Vehicle registration is required annually or every two years.

If these are the facts, why do I continue to see vehicles on the road with easily identifiable expired state inspections and registrations. The cost of a state inspection is $20, but I saw a vehicle behind me with a state inspection that’s more than 2 years old. What’s wrong with the vehicle that that person could not pay $20 for a state inspection? The Hampton Roads police departments need to step up their enforcement of these violations and remove unsafe vehicles from our roads.

Pat Martin, Virginia Beach

Pipeline

Re “With pipeline deal, Biden tarnishes his climate legacy” (Other Views, June 24): The recent bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act included important energy reforms, chief among them a push to finally get the Mountain Valley Pipeline up and running. While some have questioned MVP’s merits, this project will have significant benefits for Virginia.

Some facts to keep in mind: MVP, first proposed in 2014, is 94% complete, but has been stalled by legal obstacles erected by pipeline opponents. The 303-mile pipeline would bring natural gas from West Virginia to southern Virginia. This will help increase the energy security of the region, help ensure local communities have abundant American energy and replace more carbon-intensive generation.

According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Virginia used about seven times more natural gas than it produced in 2021. The majority of that natural gas was used for the power sector, with natural gas use for electricity generation almost tripling in the commonwealth since 2010. This shows a growing need for natural gas in the Old Dominion, which MVP can help supply.

President Joe Biden, Sen. Joe Manchin and all the policymakers who worked with them to support MVP should be commended for helping to ensure the region’s energy future. MVP has been a long time coming, and Virginia will benefit from this new flow of affordable, reliable American energy for decades to come.

David McGowan; southeast region director at the American Petroleum Institute; Raleigh, North Carolina

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and COLLEEN SLEVIN (Associated Press)

A Christian graphic artist who the Supreme Court said can refuse to make wedding websites for gay couples pointed during her lawsuit to a request from a man named “Stewart” and his husband-to-be. The twist? Stewart says it never happened.

The revelation has raised questions about how Lorie Smith’s case was allowed to proceed all the way to the nation’s highest court with such an apparent misrepresentation and whether the state of Colorado, which lost the case, has any legal recourse.

It has served as another distraction at the end of a highly polarizing term for a Supreme Court marked by ethical questions and contentious rulings along ideological lines that rejected affirmative action in higher education and President Joe Biden’s $400 billion plan to cancel or reduce federal student loan debts.

Here’s a look at the legal questions surrounding the mysterious would-be customer, “Stewart:”

About a month after Smith filed the case in Colorado federal court in 2016, lawyers for the state said it should be dismissed partly because she hadn’t been harmed by the state’s anti-discrimination law. Smith — who did not plan to start creating wedding websites until her case was resolved — would first have to get a request from a gay couple and refuse, triggering a possible complaint against her, the state argued.

Smith’s lawyers maintained that she didn’t have to be punished for violating the law before challenging it. In a February 2017 filing, they revealed that though she did not need a request to pursue the case, she had, in fact, received one. An appendix to the filing included a website request form submitted by Stewart on Sept. 21, 2016, a few days after the lawsuit was filed. It also included a Feb. 1, 2017 affidavit from Smith stating that Stewart’s request had been received.

Two documents Smith filed with the Supreme Court briefly mention that she had received at least one request to create a website celebrating a same-sex wedding but do not elaborate.

The request stated that Stewart and his fiancé Mike were looking for design work on things like invitations and place setting cards for their upcoming wedding. “We might also stretch to a website,” the form said.

Lawyers for Colorado wrote in their brief to the Supreme Court in August that it did not amount to an actual request for a website and the company did not take any steps to verify that a “genuine prospective customer submitted the form.” It’s not clear whether the state took any steps to verify whether Stewart — whose contact information was included in court papers — was a real potential customer.

Stewart told The Associated Press last week that he didn’t even know his name had been invoked in the case until he was contacted by a reporter for The New Republic, which first reported his denial. Stewart, who declined to give his last name for fear of harassment and threats, said he was incredibly surprised, adding he has been married to a woman for 15 years.

It’s highly unlikely. The would-be customer’s request was not the basis for Smith’s original lawsuit, nor was it cited by the high court as the reason for ruling in her favor. Legal standing, or the right to bring a lawsuit, generally requires the person bringing the case to show that they have suffered some sort of harm. But pre-enforcement challenges — like the one Smith brought — are allowed in certain cases if the person can show they face a credible threat of prosecution or sanctions unless they conform to the law.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which reviewed the case before the Supreme Court, found that Smith had standing to sue. That appeals court noted that Colorado had a history of past enforcement “against nearly identical conduct” and that the state decline to promise that it wouldn’t go after Smith if she violated the law.

“If there are other places where you can get standing, then legally speaking I don’t think it actually does make a difference,” said Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School.

However, it could have affected the case by undermining the credibility of Smith’s legal team, potentially causing the judge to look more skeptically at everything else they filed, Levinson said. It could also result in potential sanctions against Smith’s legal team if it turns out they knew Stewart’s request was false, Levinson said.

Smith’s lawyer, Kristen Waggoner, said Friday that Smith doesn’t have a way of doing background checks on those requesting business nor is it her responsibility to do so. She also suggested it could have been a troll making the request.

While the revelation cannot change the decision, “it’s something that should’ve come up in the litigation,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, the dean of Berkeley Law, “because then what the court should have done is say we have doubts about this, we can’t resolve it, we send it back to the federal district court.”

An error like this — especially at the level of the Supreme Court — is highly unusual, legal experts say. But lawyers have had to walk back statements made to the court before.

The solicitor general, who represents the government before the Supreme Court, apologized in a court filing this year for an “inaccurate statement” made to the court during oral arguments over a 2017 patent case. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote that the lawyer was given wrong information by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, adding: “We regret any misimpression inadvertently created by the answer that was given.”

The court has also included errors in its own rulings. In 2017, ProPublica published a review of several dozen cases in which they found several “false or wholly unsupported factual claims.” Among them was an error in Shelby County v. Holder, which struck down part of the Voting Rights Act. The publication reported that Chief Justice John Roberts included incorrect data in a comparison of voter registration among Black people and white people in certain states.

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Associated Press reporter Jesse Bedayn contributed from Denver.

Anna Lee Iijima for the Chicago Tribune

The season of #yeswayrosé descends each summer onto Instagram feeds and retail stores in a dramatic wave of pink.

Rosé is, after all, more than just a tipple. In every shade of blush and salmon, rosé represents a rallying call for the beachy, aspirational laissez-faire of St. Tropez or the Hamptons (even if you’re just wading in a kiddie pool on the back lawn).

But if you’ve noticed a chill in rosé’s popularity these past few summers, you’re not alone. After nearly two decades of explosive growth, global consumption of rosé has slowed in the past few years.

Is this sudden sluggishness evidence of #lavieenrosé fatigue? Or more indelibly, has #roséallday simply jumped the shark?

With so much emphasis on the lifestyle of rosé, “things got a little chaotic out there with rosé culture,” says Alex Cuper, beverage director of El Che Steakhouse & Bar in the West Loop. Pale pink, summer-water styles of rosé have been enormously successful from a commercial perspective. But with an increasing glut of mediocre rosé — pretty in the glass but often watery and ubiquitous — it’s often difficult for consumers to find compelling expressions of rosé that will withstand the fad.

“Rosé is probably the least understood category of wines,” says Jelena Prodan, service and wine director at S.K.Y., Apolonia and Valhalla restaurants in Chicago. “People know what they like to drink when it comes to white and red wine,” she says, but whether grenache from Provence or zweigelt from Austria, there’s a lot less familiarity with the range of rosé available.

Much of rosé’s problems stem from public misconceptions. Rosé, unlike any other category of wine, is still marketed as a seasonal wine best enjoyed at picnics or poolside as an aperitif. Erroneous notions associating pale color with quality contribute to vast quantities of rosé stripped of their color — along with aroma, flavor and complexity — via fining and filtration to meet consumer expectations. Despite a wide spectrum of rosé produced in nearly every wine-producing region and from a variety of grapes, most Americans are only familiar with dry, pale-pink or orange-hued styles of rosé from Provence.

But the slowdown in growth suggests a certain revaluation might be underway, Cuper says. “People are starting to look for more than just those rosé-all-day, frozé styles of pink wine,” he says. “Rosé can be a lot more than that. It can offer bold, unique flavors: everything from summer-sweet strawberries and cherries to more herbal, savory complexities.”

Sampling rosé made from different grape varieties and in different regions can help identify distinctions in the category. Rosé made from blends of cinsault, Grenache, syrah or mourvèdre from Provence are popular for their delicate peach and blood-orange flavors and refreshingly mineral style. “Rosé made from pinot noir can offer beautifully floral aromatics and refreshingly high acidity in a similarly delicate style,” Cuper says.

The intensely concentrated, almost ruby-hued wines of Tavel or Bandol offer a depth of rich, ripe berry and cherry flavors accented with hints of smoke, earth and peppery spice. Meanwhile, “Austrian and German rosés,” Prodan suggests, “are definitely on the more savory, herbaceous side of the spectrum.”

“There’s also a surprising amount of rosé from places like South America made from grape varieties you don’t typically think of for rosé,” Cuper says. Rosé made from tannat, a black-fruited, spicy red grape from Uruguay, or malbec from Argentina can offer a little bit more weight than Provençal rosé, Cuper says. Beautifully fruit-driven but also textured and heftier on the palate, they drink well even in a steakhouse setting, he says.

Seasonal pressures to launch new vintages of rosé by early spring also contribute to thin, hollow rosé. Rosé is too often made from grapes that are “picked too early, bottled and shipped way earlier than it should and then sold and drunk way before it’s supposed to,” Prodan says.

Such seasonal pressure is a pity, particularly because many well-made rosé drink beautifully year round and often improve after six months or even a year or two of maturation in the bottle. Those intensely concentrated rosé from Tavel and Bandol are ideal candidates for aging a few years, but “rosé made from malbec also has great ageability,” Cuper says, “because malbec itself is a really ageworthy grape.”

“With a little bit of age, you’ll find the fruit stays very fresh,” he says. “But you start to get those classic herbal notes — savory characteristics that can make a rosé wine really special.”

A few expressions of rosé to seek out this summer:

“This is a beautifully bright pinot noir rosé from Uruguay with a coastal element — you get a lot of sunlight and ocean breeze from it,” says Cuper, “but it pairs well with steak and other meat too.” $20. Garfield’s Beverage, multiple locations, garfieldsbeverage.com

Pais grapes, known as Mission in California, were brought to the Americas by Spanish missionaries. The penetrating red-cherry flavor and firm tannins yield juicy but structured wines. Cuper recommends this bright pink, unfiltered rosé made with organically grown grapes fermented with indigenous yeast and no added sulfites. $16. 57th Street Wines, 1448 E. 57th St., 773-966-4883, wines57.com

“Tibouren was a nearly extinct grape that hundreds of years ago, was used almost exclusively to make rosé,” Prodan says. “The Clos Cibonne is an homage to that history.” Made with 90% organically grown tibouren augmented by 10% grenache, it’s a deeply mineral, savory rosé matured 12-18 months in centenarian casks under a layer of flor, a thin layer of yeast, that lends a hint of salty, tangy complexity. $42. wine.com

Made by one of the best pinot noir producers in Marsannay, Prodan says, this is a “deeper, darker rosé — almost purple in color — that has layers and layers of aroma and flavor that keep developing in the glass. “It’s a very fragrant, savory wine that pairs beautifully with even bigger dishes without overwhelming flavors in food.” $52. wine.com

This pick is a fantastic value for such a deeply concentrated, ageable rosé from the only appellation in France devoted entirely to rosé production. Nearly ruby-hued in the glass, it’s a gorgeously blackberried wine marked by veins of granite and dried rosemary, smoke and anise. It’s a wine that drinks as well in the autumn with duck or pork as it does in the summer alongside quiche or pasta. $20. Binny’s, multiple locations, binnys.com

Anna Lee Iijima is a freelance writer.

By NASSER NASSER and JOSEF FEDERMAN (Associated Press)

JENIN, West Bank (AP) — Israel on Monday launched its most intense military operation in the occupied West Bank in nearly two decades, carrying out a series of drone strikes and sending hundreds of troops on an open-ended mission into a militant stronghold. At least eight Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded.

The crackdown was reminiscent of Israeli military tactics during the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s and came at a time of growing domestic pressure for a tough response to recent attacks on Israeli settlers, including a shooting last month that killed four Israelis.

The operation took place in the Jenin refugee camp — an area in the northern West Bank that has long been known as a bastion of militants. The fighting, which began shortly after midnight, continued past nightfall.

Throughout the day, black smoke rose from the crowded streets of the camp, a densely populated neighborhood that is home to some 14,000 people, while exchanges of fire rang out and drones could be heard buzzing overhead. Military bulldozers plowed through narrow streets, damaging buildings as they cleared the way for Israeli forces.

“There are bulldozers destroying the streets, snipers are inside and on roofs of houses, drones are hitting houses and Palestinians are killed in the streets,” said Jamal Huweil, a political activist in the camp, predicting the operation would fail.

The military blocked traffic in and out of Jenin, and the city resembled a ghost town. Streets were empty as armored Israeli vehicles patrolled. Piles of burning tires and garbage containers littered traffic circles. Power and water supplies were knocked out in the camp.

Palestinian youths occasionally threw stones at army vehicles before darting away.

With the sound of shooting and explosions in the background, at least 10 ambulances rushed to the overwhelmed local hospital as relatives checked to see if loved ones were inside. One ambulance arrived with a bullet hole in front.

The Palestinians and three Arab countries with normalized ties with Israel – Jordan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates – condemned the incursion, as did the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Late Monday, the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank held an emergency meeting and said it was halting its already limited contacts with Israel. Leaders said a freeze on security coordination would remain in place, and they vowed to step up activity against Israel in the United Nations and international bodies. They also planned to minimize contacts with the United States.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, was unswayed.

“In recent months, Jenin has turned into a safe haven for terrorism. We are putting an end to this,” he said. He said the troops were destroying militant command centers and confiscating weapons supplies and factories. He claimed the operation was taking place with “minimum harm to civilians.”

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesman, said there were a total of about 10 airstrikes — most of them aimed at keeping gunmen away from ground troops. He accused militants of operating next to a United Nations building and storing weapons inside of a mosque.

He said Israel launched the operation because some 50 attacks over the past year had emanated from Jenin.

Neither the prime minister nor Hagari gave any indication when the operation would end.

Lynn Hastings, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in the Palestinian areas, said on Twitter that she was “alarmed by scale of Israeli forces operation” and noted the airstrikes in a densely populated refugee camp. She said the U.N. was mobilizing humanitarian aid.

UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said many camp residents were in need of food, drinking water and milk powder.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least eight Palestinians were killed and 50 people were wounded — 10 critically. The dead were identified as young men and Palestinian youths, including a 16-year-old boy and two 17-year-olds.

Separately, a 21-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire near the West Bank city of Ramallah, the ministry said.

The Jenin camp and an adjacent town of the same name have been a flashpoint since Israeli-Palestinian violence began escalating in spring 2022.

Israel says it has stepped up activity because the Palestinian Authority is too weak to maintain quiet. It also accuses its archenemy Iran of funding militant groups involved in the fighting.

Palestinians reject such claims, saying the violence is a natural response to 56 years of occupation, including stepped-up settlement construction by Israel’s government and increased violence by Jewish settlers.

Jenin was a major friction point in the last Palestinian uprising.

In 2002, days after a Palestinian suicide bombing during a large Passover gathering killed 30 people, Israeli troops launched a massive operation in the camp. For eight days and nights, they fought militants street by street, using armored bulldozers to destroy rows of homes, many of which had been booby-trapped.

Monday’s raid came two weeks after another violent confrontation in Jenin that included the shooting death of a 15-year-old girl and after the military said a pair of rockets were fired from the area last week.

But there also may have been political considerations at play. Leading members of Netanyahu’s far-right government, which is dominated by West Bank settlers and their supporters, have called for a broader military response to the ongoing violence in the area, particularly after the June 20 shooting that killed four people in the Jewish settlement of Eli.

“Proud of our heroes on all fronts and this morning especially of our soldiers operating in Jenin,” tweeted National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, an ultranationalist who recently called for Israel to kill thousands of militants if necessary. “Praying for their success.”

Israeli military experts said they expected the operation to wrap up within a day or two. Prolonged violence and heavy casualties would risk attracting increased international criticism and drawing militants from the Gaza Strip or even Lebanon into the fighting.

Islamic Jihad, a militant group with a large presence in Jenin, threatened to launch attacks from its Gaza Strip stronghold if the fighting dragged on. Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group also made threats, saying the Palestinians have “many alternatives and means that will make the enemy regret its acts.” Hezbollah fought a monthlong war against Israel in 2006.

More than 130 Palestinians have been killed this year in the West Bank, part of more than a yearlong spike in violence that has seen some of the worst bloodshed in the area in nearly two decades.

Israel says the raids are meant to beat back militants. The Palestinians say such violence is inevitable in the absence of any political process with Israel and increased West Bank settlement construction and violence by extremist settlers.

Israel says most of those killed have been militants, but stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions and people uninvolved in confrontations have also died.

Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state.

As summer beckons and children head outdoors to play, it’s important to protect them from too much sun and heat as well as air pollution, especially on days when the air quality is poor.

Families are encouraged to check the local daily Air Quality Index to identify when air pollution, wildfires and heat raise the risks of asthma and other health concerns.

It’s great to see children enjoying nature and reaping the benefits of outdoor activities. But as we encounter more intense weather events, including severe heat, families can use some layers of protection that families to help their kids stay healthy.

Sunburn and UV rays are one concern. Sun and heat can also worsen local air pollution by contributing to ozone and smog.

Here are some tips to ensure a safe and fun summer for everyone:

— Babies under 6 months of age should be kept out of direct sunlight. Move your baby to the shade under a tree, umbrella or stroller canopy. Dress babies in lightweight clothing that covers the arms and legs, and use brimmed hats that shade the neck to prevent sunburn.

— For older children, the first (and best) line of defense against harmful ultraviolet radiation exposure is covering up. Stay in the shade whenever possible, and limit sun exposure during the peak intensity hours: between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The sun’s damaging UV rays can bounce back from sand, water, snow or concrete, so be particularly careful of these areas.

— Select clothes made of tightly woven fabrics. Cotton clothing is both cool and protective. Try to find a wide-brimmed hat that can shade the cheeks, chin, ears and back of the neck. Sunglasses with ultraviolet (UV) protection are also a good idea for protecting your child’s eyes.

— Apply sunscreen with an SPF 15 or greater to areas of your child’s skin that aren’t covered by clothing. Put sunscreen on 15 to 30 minutes before going outdoors, as it needs time to absorb into the skin. Reapply every two hours after swimming, sweating or toweling off. The additional benefits of using sunscreen with SPF 50+ are limited. It’s OK to use sunscreen on young babies on small parts of their skin not protected by clothing or hats, but remember that babies touch their mouths a lot, and it’s best to prevent them from ingesting sunscreen in this way.

— When choosing a sunscreen, look for a water-resistant product and for the words “broad-spectrum” on the label — it means the sunscreen will protect against both ultraviolet B (UVB) and ultraviolet A (UVA) rays. Try to find products that contain the mineral ingredients zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. If possible, avoid the ingredient oxybenzone, a sunscreen chemical that may have hormonal properties.

Climate change is contributing to more intense summer heat. Extreme heat and air pollution affect everyone, but especially children. Children breathe faster and breathe more air compared to their body weight than adults. They breathe lower to the ground where some pollution settles. Children and adolescents are at increased risk of heat-related illness when they play, exercise or work outside, especially during summer months. Young children, especially, depend upon their parents and caregivers to protect them from extreme heat.

High levels of air pollution can cause asthma flare-ups, breathing trouble and other illnesses in children. For decades, some communities have lived with higher levels of pollution and heat. The effects of former laws and policies that discriminated against Black communities and communities of color are still felt by many children. Redlining is one example of a policy from the 1930s that resulted in more polluting and heat-trapping industry and infrastructure in predominantly Black neighborhoods. In the summer, children in communities that were redlined are exposed to more pollution, heat-trapping asphalt and higher temperatures. Many families may not have access to resources to cope with these intensified summer challenges.

To protect children against summer pollution, pollen and heat illnesses:

— Check your local Air Quality Index. Adjust your child’s outdoor activities when needed.

— If your child has asthma, ask your pediatrician how air pollution can be added to your child’s asthma action plan.

— Find out about your school’s guidelines for heat and outdoor play and make sure the school follows these guidelines.

— On hot days, make sure your child dresses appropriately, takes breaks, drinks plenty of water and takes time to get used to the temperature.

— If your child takes medication, ask your pediatrician if it increases your child’s risk for heat illness.

— Use MERV 13 rating or higher filters in your home’s central heating and cooling system, if possible.

— Use public transportation or choose walking and biking when it is safe to do so, consider a zero-emissions vehicle when you purchase your next car, or ask your school to switch to electric school buses.

— Advocate in your community for access to green space for all children and plant trees or participate in tree-planting service events to reduce urban heat effect and clean the air.

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ABOUT THE WRITERS

Rebecca Philipsborn, MD, MPA, FAAP, is a pediatrician at Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and serves on the Southeast Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Environmental Health and Climate Change and assistant editor of the upcoming fifth edition of Pediatric Environmental Health, the AAP handbook for pediatricians.

Sophie J. Balk, MD, FAAP, a general pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in Bronx, New York, is a member of the AAP Executive Committee of the Council on Environmental Health and Climate Change. Dr. Balk is associate editor of the fourth edition and upcoming fifth edition of Pediatric Environmental Health.

©2023 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

By NASSER NASSER and JOSEF FEDERMAN (Associated Press)

JENIN, West Bank (AP) — Israel used drones to strike targets in a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank early Monday and deployed hundreds of troops in an incursion that resembled the broad attacks carried out during the second Palestinian uprising two decades ago. Palestinian health officials said at least eight Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded.

Troops remained inside the Jenin refugee camp at midday Monday, pushing ahead with the largest operation in the area during more than a year of fighting. It came amid growing domestic pressure for a tough response to a series of attacks on Israeli settlers, including a shooting attack last month that killed four Israelis.

Black smoke rose from the crowded streets of the camp while exchanges of fire rang out and the buzzing of drones was heard overhead. Military bulldozers plowed through narrow streets, damaging buildings as they cleared the way for Israeli forces.

The Palestinians and neighboring Jordan and Egypt and the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned the violence.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the operation was “proceeding as planned,” but gave no indication when it would end. Fighting continued some 14 hours after Israel entered the camp.

Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an army spokesman, said a brigade-size force — roughly 2,000 soldiers — was taking part and that military drones had carried out a series of strikes.

Although Israel has carried out isolated airstrikes in the West Bank in recent weeks, Hecht said Monday’s strikes were an escalation unseen since 2006 — the end of the last Palestinian uprising.

Smoke billowed from within the crowded camp, with mosque minarets in the backdrop. Ambulances raced toward a hospital where the wounded were brought in on stretchers.

Lynn Hastings, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in the Palestinian areas, said on Twitter that she was “alarmed by scale of Israeli forces operation,” noting the airstrikes in a densely populated refugee camp. She said the U.N. was mobilizing humanitarian aid.

According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the military blocked roads within the camp, took over houses and buildings and put snipers on rooftops. The tactics signaled the operation could drag on for some time.

“There are bulldozers destroying the streets, snipers are inside and on roofs of houses, drones are hitting houses and Palestinians are killed in the streets,” said Jamal Huweil, a political activist in the camp, predicting the operation would fail.

“They can destroy the refugee camp but will fail again because the only solution is the political solution in which a Palestinian state is established and the occupation ends,” he said.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least eight Palestinians were killed and 50 people were wounded — 10 critically. The dead were identified as young men and Palestinian youths, including a 16-year-old boy and two 17-year-olds.

In a separate incident, a 21-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire near the West Bank city of Ramallah, the ministry said.

“Our Palestinian people will not kneel, will not surrender, will not raise the white flag, and will remain steadfast on their land in the face of this brutal aggression,” said Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh.

On Monday afternoon, the Israeli army said it had uncovered three weapons-making facilities, confiscated hundreds of explosives and shot two Palestinian gunmen during shootouts.

The army also reported exchanges of fire between Israeli security forces and Palestinian gunmen at a mosque where soldiers found explosive devices, weapons and military equipment.

The Jenin camp and an adjacent town of the same name have been a flashpoint since Israeli-Palestinian violence began escalating in spring 2022.

Israel’s foreign minister, Eli Cohen, accused archenemy Iran of being behind the violence by funding Palestinian militant groups.

“Due to the funds they receive from Iran, the Jenin camp has become a center for terrorist activity,” he told foreign journalists, adding that the operation would be conducted in a “targeted manner” to avoid civilian casualties.

Palestinians reject such claims, saying the violence is a natural response to 56 years of occupation since Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war.

Jenin has long been a bastion for armed struggle against Israel and was a major friction point in the last Palestinian uprising.

In 2002, days after a Palestinian suicide bombing during a large Passover gathering killed 30 people, Israeli troops launched a massive operation in the camp. For eight days and nights they fought militants street by street, using armored bulldozers to destroy rows of homes, many of which had been booby-trapped.

Monday’s raid came two weeks after another violent confrontation in Jenin and after the military said a pair of rockets were fired from the area last week. The rockets exploded shortly after launch, causing no damage in Israel, but marked an escalation that has raised concerns in Israel.

But there also may have been political considerations at play. Leading members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government, which is dominated by West Bank settlers and their supporters, have been calling for a broader military response to the ongoing violence in the area.

“Proud of our heroes on all fronts and this morning especially of our soldiers operating in Jenin,” tweeted National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, an ultranationalist who recently called for Israel to kill thousands of militants if necessary. “Praying for their success.”

Israeli military experts said they expected the operation to wrap up within hours or a day or two. Prolonged violence and heavy casualties would risk attracting increased international criticism and drawing militants from the Gaza Strip or even Lebanon into the fighting.

“From the Israeli point of view, the intent and interest are to end this very limited operation ASAP and to make sure it does not become a regional event,” said Giora Eiland, a retired Israeli general and former national security adviser.

Islamic Jihad, a militant group with a large presence in Jenin, threatened to launch attacks from its Gaza Strip stronghold if the fighting dragged on.

“If the Israeli aggression against Jenin does not stop, the Palestinian resistance will do what it has to do in a short time,” said Dawood Shehab, a spokesman for the group.

Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group also condemned the attacks, saying in a statement that the Palestinians have “many alternatives and means that will make the enemy regret its acts.” Hezbollah fought a monthlong war against Israel in 2006.

More than 130 Palestinians have been killed this year in the West Bank, part of more than a yearlong spike in violence that has seen some of the worst bloodshed in the area in nearly two decades.

Israel says the raids are meant to beat back militants. The Palestinians say such violence is inevitable in the absence of any political process with Israel and increased West Bank settlement construction and violence by extremist settlers.

Israel says most of those killed have been militants, but stone-throwing youths protesting the incursions and people uninvolved in confrontations have also been killed.

Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state.

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Federman reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Julia Frankel in Jerusalem and Omar Akour in Amman, Jordan, contributed to this report.