By MATTHEW LEE and NOMAAN MERCHANT (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department failed to do enough planning before the collapse of the U.S.-backed government in Afghanistan, according to a Biden administration review of the department’s performance during the chaotic evacuation of Americans and Afghan allies.

The review repeatedly blames the administrations of both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden for their efforts before and after the August 2021 departure of U.S. forces from Kabul. The U.S. evacuated an estimated 124,000 Afghans from the country.

Republicans have in turn accused Biden of not taking responsibility for intelligence failures leading up to the Taliban’s seizure of the country and for the scenes of chaos at Kabul’s airport, where 13 Marines died in a suicide bombing.

The Biden administration released sections of the long-awaited State report, which was completed in March 2022, on the Friday before the July 4 holiday weekend, though it withheld most of the report from public release. It had released a National Security Council review of the withdrawal on the day before Good Friday and the Easter weekend but declined to issue internal Pentagon and State Department assessments.

A State Department task force helped bring out nearly 2,000 Afghan citizens in July and early August 2021, weeks before the Aug. 31, 2021, deadline the U.S. set for withdrawal. They were eligible for processing under a special U.S. visa program for Afghans.

But State “failed to establish a broader task force as the situation in Afghanistan deteriorated,” the report says.

And as the military planned for an evacuation of American civilians and Afghan allies, “it was unclear who in the Department had the lead,” it says.

“The decisions of both President Trump and President Biden to end the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan had serious consequences for the viability of the Afghan government and its security,” the report says. “Those decisions are beyond the scope of this review, but the (review) team found that during both administrations there was insufficient senior-level consideration of worst-case scenarios and how quickly those might follow.”

As the Taliban took key cities far faster than most U.S. officials expected and the fate of Kabul became unclear, the report says, State Department personnel began receiving an “overwhelming volume of incoming calls and messages” from lawmakers, other government agencies, and the public pleading for help saving people trapped in the country.

Staff working to facilitate the evacuation also faced confusing guidance that wasn’t attuned to real-world conditions at the time, according to the report.

State has taken lessons from the failures of Afghanistan into account when evacuating people before and during the subsequent war in Ukraine and as a crisis developed in Sudan, according to a senior State Department official who briefed reporters Friday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the department.

Officials declined to say why they had released the report just before a holiday weekend.

By MAURICIO SAVARESE and DIANE JEANTET (Associated Press)

SAO PAULO (AP) — A panel of judges voted Friday to render far-right former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro ineligible to run for office again after concluding that he abused his power and cast unfounded doubts on the country’s electronic voting system.

The decision forbids Bolsonaro from running until 2030, upending the 68-year-old’s political future and likely erasing any chance for him to regain power.

Five judges on the nation’s highest electoral court agreed that Bolsonaro abused his authority by using government communication channels to promote his campaign and sowing doubts about the vote. Two judges voted against.

“This decision will end Bolsonaro’s chances of being president again, and he knows it,” said Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo. “After this, he will try to stay out of jail, elect some of his allies to keep his political capital, but it is very unlikely he will ever return to the presidency.”

The case focused on a July 18, 2022, meeting where Bolsonaro used government staffers, the state television channel and the presidential palace in Brasilia to tell foreign ambassadors that the country’s electronic voting system was rigged.

In her decisive vote that formed a majority, Judge Carmen Lucia — who is also a Supreme Court justice — said “the facts are incontrovertible.”

“The meeting did take place. It was convened by the then-president. Its content is available. It was examined by everyone, and there was never a denial that it did happen,” she said.

Alexandre de Moraes, also a Supreme Court justice, said the decision represents rejection of “populism reborn from the flames of hateful, antidemocratic speech that promotes heinous disinformation.”

Speaking to reporters in Minas Gerais, Bolsonaro lamented that the trial was unfair and vowed to appeal the court’s decision, according to online news site G1.

Melo said the decision is “very unlikely” to be overturned. It removes Bolsonaro from the 2024 and 2028 municipal elections as well as the 2026 general elections. The former president also faces other legal troubles, including criminal investigations. Future criminal convictions could extend his ban by years and subject him to imprisonment.

Former President Fernando Collor de Mello and current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva were declared ineligible in the past, but Bolsonaro’s case marks the first time a president has been suspended for election violations rather than a criminal offense. Brazilian law forbids candidates with criminal sentences from running for office.

Lula’s eligibility was reinstated by Brazil’s top court following rulings that then-judge and now Sen. Sergio Moro was biased when he sentenced the leftist leader to almost 10 years in prison for corruption and money laundering.

Maria Maris, a 58-year-old engineer in Rio de Janeiro, celebrated the ruling, though said she suspects it may have been politically motivated.

“My fear is that Bolsonaro appeals and runs in the next presidential election, even though he was made ineligible today,” Maris said.

Bolsonaro holds a ceremonial leadership role within his Liberal Party and has traveled around Brazil criticizing Lula, who won last October’s election with the narrowest margin in over three decades.

Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings on Jan. 8 — one week after Lula took power — in an attempt to oust the leftist from power. Swift jailing and prosecution of hundreds of those who participated had a chilling effect on their rejection of the election’s results. Federal police are investigating Bolsonaro’s role in inciting the uprising; he has denied any wrongdoing.

The chairwoman of Lula’s Workers’ Party, Gleisi Hoffmann, said on her social media channels that Bolsonaro’s ineligibility offers a teachable moment.

“The far-right needs to know that the political struggle takes place within the democratic process, and not with violence and threatening a coup,” she said. Bolsonaro “will be out of the game because he doesn’t respect the rules. Not only him, his whole gang of coup mongers has to follow the same path.”

The trial has reenergized Bolsonaro’s base online, with supporters claiming he is a victim of an unfair judicial system and comparing his fate to that of former U.S. President Donald Trump, according to Marie Santini, coordinator of NetLab, a research group at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro that monitors social media.

However, that engagement pales in comparison to the levels seen ahead of last year’s polarizing election.

The expression of Katia Caminha, a 67 year-old retiree in Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana neighborhood, crumbled upon hearing the news that a majority of judges had voted against Bolsonaro. She told The Associated Press that she thought the whole trial had been a “clown show.”

“Everything that has to do with the electoral court is biased and against” Bolsonaro. “This is terrible news for Brazil,” Caminha said.

This week, his supporters showed their continued support with contributions to help him pay 1.1 million reais (about $230,000) in fines levied by Sao Paulo state’s government for Bolsonaro’s repeated violations of health protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Bolsonaro aims to be the right’s kingmaker, and his endorsement will carry significant heft, his decision to decamp to Florida for several months at the start of Lula’s term weakened him, said Thomas Traumann, a political analyst. That is reflected by the limited right-wing outrage on social media throughout the eligibility trial, and no sign of protests.

“There won’t be a mass movement, because he diminished in size. The fact that he went to Florida and didn’t lead the opposition caused him to diminish in size,” Traumann said. “The leader of the opposition is clearly not Bolsonaro.”

As the trial drew to a close, a trumpeter standing outside the electoral court played the song that became a sensation during last year’s presidential race: “It is Time for Jair to Go Away.”

___

Jeantet reported from Rio. Associated Press Writer Carla Bridi contributed to this report.

By The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alan Arkin, the wry character actor who demonstrated his versatility in everything from farcical comedy to chilling drama as he received four Academy Award nominations and won an Oscar in 2007 for “Little Miss Sunshine,” has died. He was 89.

His sons Adam, Matthew and Anthony confirmed their father’s death through the actor’s publicist on Friday. “Our father was a uniquely talented force of nature, both as an artist and a man,” they said in a statement.

Hollywood was in mourning, with Paul Reiser, Michael Rapaport and Patton Oswalt among those praising Arkin. “Such a wonderful, original voice for comedy. And on the few occasions I was in his presence, a kind and generous soul. I learned so much from watching him. And the laughs I got from his glorious work seem endless,” tweeted Jason Alexander.

A member of Chicago’s famed Second City comedy troupe, Arkin was an immediate success in movies with the Cold War spoof “The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming” and peaked late in life with his win as best supporting actor for the surprise 2006 hit “Little Miss Sunshine.” More than 40 years separated his first Oscar nomination, for “The Russians are Coming,” from his nomination for playing a conniving Hollywood producer in the Oscar-winning “Argo.”

In recent years he starred opposite Michael Douglas in the Netflix comedy series “The Kominsky Method,” a role that earned him two Emmy nominations.

“When I was a young actor people wanted to know if I wanted to be a serious actor or a funny one,” Michael McKean tweeted Friday. ‘I’d answer ‘Which kind is Alan Arkin?’ and that shut them up.”

Arkin once joked to The Associated Press that the beauty of being a character actor was not having to take his clothes off for a role. He wasn’t a sex symbol or superstar, but was rarely out of work, appearing in more than 100 TV and feature films. His trademarks were likability, relatability and complete immersion in his roles, no matter how unusual, whether playing a Russian submarine officer in “The Russians are Coming” who struggles to communicate with the equally jittery Americans, or standing out as the foul-mouthed, drug-addicted grandfather in “Little Miss Sunshine.”

“Alan’s never had an identifiable screen personality because he just disappears into his characters,” director Norman Jewison of “The Russians are Coming” once observed. “His accents are impeccable, and he’s even able to change his looks. … He’s always been underestimated, partly because he’s never been in service of his own success.”

While still with Second City, Arkin was chosen by Carl Reiner to play the young protagonist in the 1963 Broadway play “Enter Laughing,” based on Reiner’s semi-autobiographical novel.

He attracted strong reviews and the notice of Jewison, who was preparing to direct a 1966 comedy about a Russian sub that creates a panic when it ventures too close to a small New England town. In Arkin’s next major film, he proved he could also play a villain, however reluctantly. Arkin starred in “Wait Until Dark” as a vicious drug dealer who holds a blind woman (Audrey Hepburn) captive in her own apartment, believing a drug shipment is hidden there.

He recalled in a 1998 interview how difficult it was to terrorize Hepburn’s character.

“Just awful,” he said. “She was an exquisite lady, so being mean to her was hard.”

Arkin’s rise continued in 1968 with “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter,” in which he played a sensitive man who could not hear or speak. He starred as the bumbling French detective in “Inspector Clouseau” that same year, but the film would become overlooked in favor of Peter Sellers’ Clouseau in the “Pink Panther” movies.

Arkin’s career as a character actor continued to blossom when Mike Nichols, a fellow Second City alumnus, cast him in the starring role as Yossarian, the victim of wartime red tape in 1970’s “Catch-22,” based on Joseph Heller’s million-selling novel. Through the years, Arkin turned up in such favorites as “Edward Scissorhands,” playing Johnny Depp’s neighbor; and in the film version of David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross” as a dogged real estate salesman. He and Reiner played brothers, one successful (Reiner), one struggling (Arkin), in the 1998 film “The Slums of Beverly Hills.”

“I used to think that my stuff had a lot of variety. But I realized that for the first twenty years or so, most of the characters I played were outsiders, strangers to their environment, foreigners in one way or another,” he told The Associated Press in 2007.

“As I started to get more and more comfortable with myself, that started to shift. I got one of the nicest compliments I’ve ever gotten from someone a few days ago. They said that they thought my characters were very often the heart, the moral center of a film. I didn’t particularly understand it, but I liked it; it made me happy.”

Other recent credits included “Going in Style,” a 2017 remake featuring fellow Oscar winners Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, and “The Kominsky Method.” He played a Hollywood talent agent and friend of Douglas’ character, a once-promising actor who ran an acting school after his career sputtered.

He also was the voice of Wild Knuckles in the 2022 animated film “Minions: The Rise of Gru.”

Arkin also directed the film version of Jules Feiffer’s 1971 dark comedy “Little Murders” and Neil Simon’s 1972 play about bickering old vaudeville partners, “The Sunshine Boys.” On television, Arkin appeared in the short-lived series “Fay” and “Harry” and played a night court judge in Sidney Lumet’s drama series “100 Centre Street” on A&E. He also wrote several books for children.

Born in New York City’s borough of Brooklyn, he and his family, which included two younger brothers, moved to Los Angeles when he was 11. His parents found jobs as teachers, but were fired during the post-World War II Red Scare because they were Communists.

“We were dirt poor so I couldn’t afford to go to the movies often,” he told the AP in 1998. “But I went whenever I could and focused in on movies, as they were more important than anything in my life.”

He studied acting at Los Angeles City College; California State University, Los Angeles; and Bennington College in Vermont, where he earned a scholarship to the formerly all-girls school.

He married a fellow student, Jeremy Yaffe, and they had two sons, Adam and Matthew.

After he and Yaffe divorced in 1961, Arkin married actress-writer Barbara Dana, and they had a son, Anthony. All three sons became actors: Adam starred in the TV series “Chicago Hope.”

“It was certainly nothing that I pushed them into,” Arkin said in 1998. “It made absolutely no difference to me what they did, as long as it allowed them to grow.”

Arkin began his entertainment career as an organizer and singer with The Tarriers, a group that briefly rode the folk musical revival wave of the late 1950s. Later, he turned to stage acting, off-Broadway and always in dramatic roles.

At Second City, he worked with Nichols, Elaine May, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara and others in creating intellectual, high-speed impromptu riffs the fads and follies of the day.

“I never knew that I could be funny until I joined Second City,” he said.

___

The late AP Entertainment writer Bob Thomas provided biographical material for this story.

By JESSICA GRESKO (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a defeat for gay rights, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority ruled on Friday that a Christian graphic artist who wants to design wedding websites can refuse to work with same-sex couples. One of the court’s liberal justices wrote in a dissent that the decision’s effect is to “mark gays and lesbians for second-class status” and that it opens the door to other discrimination.

The court ruled 6-3 for designer Lorie Smith despite a Colorado law that bars discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender and other characteristics. Smith had argued that the law violates her free speech rights.

Smith’s opponents warned that a win for her would allow a range of businesses to discriminate, refusing to serve Black, Jewish or Muslim customers, interracial or interfaith couples or immigrants. But Smith and her supporters had said that a ruling against her would force artists — from painters and photographers to writers and musicians — to do work that is against their beliefs.

Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the court’s six conservative justices that the First Amendment “envisions the United States as a rich and complex place where all persons are free to think and speak as they wish, not as the government demands.” Gorsuch said that the court has long held that “the opportunity to think for ourselves and to express those thoughts freely is among our most cherished liberties and part of what keeps our Republic strong.”

In a dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote: “Today, the Court, for the first time in its history, grants a business open to the public a constitutional right to refuse to serve members of a protected class.” She was joined by the court’s two other liberals, Justice Elena Kagan and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Sotomayor said that the decision’s logic “cannot be limited to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.” A website designer could refuse to create a wedding website for an interracial couple, a stationer could refuse to sell a birth announcement for a disabled couple, and a large retail store could limit its portrait services to “traditional” families, she wrote.

The decision is a win for religious rights and one in a series of cases in recent years in which the justices have sided with religious plaintiffs. Last year, for example, the court ruled along ideological lines for a football coach who prayed on the field at his public high school after games.

The decision is also a retreat on gay rights for the court. For nearly three decades, the court has expanded the rights of LGBTQ people, most notably giving same-sex couples the right to marry in 2015 and announcing five years later in a decision written by Gorsuch that a landmark civil rights law also protects gay, lesbian and transgender people from employment discrimination.

Even as it has expanded gay rights, however, the court has been careful to say those with differing religious views needed to be respected. The belief that marriage can only be between one man and one woman is an idea that “long has been held — and continues to be held — in good faith by reasonable and sincere people here and throughout the world,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the court’s gay marriage decision.

The court returned to that idea five years ago when it was confronted with the case of a Christian baker who objected to designing a cake for a same-sex wedding. The court issued a limited ruling in favor of the baker, Jack Phillips, saying there had been impermissible hostility toward his religious views in the consideration of his case. Phillips’ lawyer, Kristen Waggoner, of the Alliance Defending Freedom, also brought the most recent case to the court. On Friday, she said the Supreme Court was right to reaffirm that the government cannot compel people to say things they do not believe.

“Disagreement isn’t discrimination, and the government can’t mislabel speech as discrimination to censor it,” she said in a statement.

Smith, who owns a Colorado design business called 303 Creative, does not currently create wedding websites. She has said that she wants to but that her Christian faith would prevent her from creating websites celebrating same-sex marriages. And that’s where she runs into conflict with state law.

Colorado, like most other states, has a law forbidding businesses open to the public from discriminating against customers. Colorado said that under its so-called public accommodations law, if Smith offers wedding websites to the public, she must provide them to all customers, regardless of sexual orientation. Businesses that violate the law can be fined, among other things. Smith argued that applying the law to her violates her First Amendment rights. The state disagreed.

The case is 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis, 21-476.

___

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

Police in Norfolk are investigating a shooting that killed a man Thursday night in Ocean View.

Officers were dispatched to the 9600 block of 1st Bay Street just after 10:30 p.m. Upon arrival, police say they found Ali K. Muhammad, 33, dead with gunshot wounds.

Police have not released information about a potential suspect or what may have led to the shooting, and the investigation is ongoing.

It’s the summer of Barbie. The movie release date is set for July 21, but the celebration of the iconic doll is going all season with pop-up exhibitions and hotel promotions.

If you want to travel to your own Barbie dream world, here are the best Barbie-inspired trips you can take this summer:

1. World of Barbie: Santa Monica, California

(Photo by Meghan Coyle)

The World of Barbie in Santa Monica, California, is a temporary exhibition that takes people into Barbie’s world, including a real-life version of her Dreamhouse, camper van, space shuttle and TV studio. There’s also a gallery portion with vintage Barbie dolls and cars on display.

The exhibit is mainly a giant photo opportunity, with some interactive activities for kids, like a ball pit, and even a salon with real stylists on certain days. If you want a unique souvenir, consider building your own custom Barbie set from scratch for an additional fee.

Ticket prices run from $35 to $50 per adult and $25 to $32 per child. The exhibit is open through early September.

2. Malibu Barbie Cafe: Chicago and New York

(Photo courtesy of Bucket Listers)

Barbie apparently eats rainbow pancakes, beach burgers and candied bacon at the Malibu Barbie Cafe. The Barbie-inspired restaurant is operating in Chicago and New York with a menu by Chef Becky Brown, who was a semifinalist on MasterChef.

And there’s more to do at the Barbie restaurant than just eat. At the Chicago location, there’s a roller skating rink. Both sites have a gift shop, plus plenty of Instagram-worthy sets designed for you to have your own Barbie-inspired photo shoot.

Both restaurant locations are temporary, with tickets available through mid-September.

3. The Barbie room at The Curtis Hotel: Denver

(Photo courtesy of Hilton)

You can book a Barbie-themed hotel room at The Curtis Hotel in downtown Denver. Though the hotel has a boutique feel, it’s actually part of the DoubleTree by Hilton brand.

This hotel has standard rooms as well as themed rooms, including one dedicated to Barbie. The themed rooms typically cost about $50 to $60 more per night than standard rooms, according to hotel spokesperson Tamara Atkin.

The Barbie room is decorated with images of the iconic dolls and has a salon chair inside. And unlike the other temporary offerings, The Curtis Hotel’s Barbie room is a permanent fixture. Though, for a limited time, guests also receive a complimentary makeup case and a voucher for a martini from the hotel bar when they book.

4. The Don CeSar: St. Pete Beach, Florida

(Photo courtesy of The Don CeSar)

This beachfront resort isn’t officially considered a Barbie hotel, but the Don CeSar is known as the “Pink Palace.” It exudes historical charm with a famous pink exterior.

Ron Sandel, general manager of HotelTonight, said in an email that the hotel has seen a 30% increase in bookings this year versus last.

“With Barbie mania in full effect this summer, we’re not surprised to see HotelTonight users book the pink-walled hotel,” he said. “In addition to being steps away from one of the best beaches in the country, we love Don CeSar for its 1950s-style ice cream parlor.”

5. The Ken Dreamhouse on Airbnb: Malibu, California

(Image courtesy of Airbnb)

Only a handful of lucky people will get a chance to stay in what might be the ultimate Airbnb: Barbie’s Malibu Dreamhouse. The oceanfront mansion includes a disco dance floor and infinity pool.

Airbnb has run promotions for the glitzy house before, and this time, the vacation rental is decked out in honor of Barbie’s beau, Ken. It’s available to book for just two nights this summer, July 21 and July 22.

Anyone can request to book the Malibu Dreamhouse for a one-night stay for up to two guests each. While Airbnb says the bookings aren’t a contest, stays are free of charge, aside from taxes and fees. The booking window opens Monday, July 17, at 10 a.m. PT, so be ready to click.

(Top photo courtesy of World of Barbie)

The article 5 Ideas for a Barbie Dream Vacation This Summer originally appeared on NerdWallet.

By RIO YAMAT (The Associated Press)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Scorching heat across the U.S. already has caused more than a dozen deaths in Texas alone and led to mounting misery for millions of people from the Pacific Northwest to the South.

And the official end of summer is still months away.

Here’s a guide on how to keep cool and stay safe in the punishing temperatures as the latest heat wave ravaging the country spreads east.

Heat kills more Americans than any other weather event, including tornadoes and flooding, even though most heat-related deaths are preventable through outreach and intervention, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

“Heat is the silent killer. No one thinks about it,” said Ben Zaitchik, a professor and climate scientist at Johns Hopkins University whose research includes heat waves. “It’s getting hotter just about everywhere. That means even without a particular weather phenomenon, like what we’re seeing in Texas right now, we’re seeing temperatures we aren’t used to, and that in its own right is a risk.”

The body normally cools itself by sweating, but extreme heat can interrupt your ability to do that, potentially leading to heat exhaustion or heat stroke, organ failure or death.

Older adults, young children and people with chronic illnesses like diabetes are most at risk. But that doesn’t mean healthy people are immune, said Ashley Ward, director of Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions.

The heat can have adverse effects on people who work or exercise outdoors, for example, and also homeless people or those without efficient air conditioning or any at all.

You might be experiencing a heat stroke if your body temperature reaches or surpasses 103 degrees. Other symptoms include nausea, headaches, thirst and a fast and strong heart rate.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says heat stroke is a medical emergency and recommends that people with symptoms call 911.

Symptoms of heat exhaustion include heavy sweating, muscle cramps, dizziness, vomiting and cold, pale or clammy skin. The CDC says you should seek treatment if such symptoms worsen or last more an hour.

Spending just a few hours in an air-conditioned space can help your body stay cooler when you go back into the heat, according to the CDC. So take advantage of public spaces with air conditioning, like libraries and shopping malls.

During the day, cover your windows, turn off the lights and avoid using the stove or oven. If you live in a dry area, hang wet towels to cool the room.

At night, if temperatures drop, keep your windows and shutters open.

Ward, the Duke researcher, said it’s also important to think outside the box if you don’t have air conditioning. After taking a cool bath or shower, for example, sit in front of a fan while your skin is still damp.

She also recommends soaking your feet above the ankles and arms above the elbows in cool water for 10-15 minutes.

If you only have one fan, Ward said, prioritize creating a cool sleeping space rather than common areas.

“This is when your body really recovers from heat exposure during the day,” she said.

Stay hydrated, and don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink fluids.

Limit your sun exposure by staying in the shade or using an umbrella. Wear sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat or cap.

If you work outside and have access to cool water, consider soaking your shirt and repeating the process every hour or whenever it dries out, Ward said.

Homeless people should reach out to shelters for information on local resources, including temporary cooling centers.

Doctors at Arizona and Nevada burn centers have warned of injuries from contact with superheated roads and other surfaces.

This can happen, for example, if you collapse from dehydration or heat stroke and can’t get up off the hot ground.

But burns can also come from touching hot surfaces like leather seats or poolside concrete, so be careful when reaching for a metal door handle or a seat belt buckle and when getting out of a pool.

Schedule your outdoor walks for when it’s coolest, like the early morning or evening, and protect your furry friends’ paws with breathable shoes.

Keep pets inside if you can, and if they must go out, make sure they have access to shade.

“A doghouse by itself is not shade,” Ward said. “That’s an oven.”

Never leave a pet in a hot car.

HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL

Cox baseball coach Matt Ittner has been selected as the VHSL Class 5 Coach of the Year, and four of his players made the all-state first team.

Ittner guided the Falcons to a 23-3 record and the Class 5 state championship after a surprising 8-0 victory in the final over Independence, which was ranked 28th nationally by Baseball America. Cox has reached the state playoffs in four straight seasons and has won two state titles since Ittner became head coach in July of 2017.

Pitcher Michael Irby, catcher Macaddin Dye, third baseman Austin Irby and at-large player Riley DeCandido represented Cox on the all-state first team.

Other Hampton Roads players to make the first team included Nansemond River shortstop Darnell Parker and outfielder Sly Clarke and Hickory outfielder Brayden Bachman.

Independence first baseman/pitcher Ryan Fetterman was the Class 5 Player of the Year.

Nansemond River first baseman Drew Barbosa was the lone 757 representative on the all-state second team.

COLLEGE BASEBALL

UVA’s Teel picks up more awards

The honors continue to come in for Virginia catcher Kyle Teel.

The junior from Mahwah, New Jersey, has been named the winner of the Johnny Bench Award, which is given annually to the top college catcher in the country. He’s also a consensus first-team All-American, earning the honor from D1Baseball on Thursday.

He’s also been named a first-team All-American by Baseball America, NCBWA, Collegiate Baseball, Perfect Game and ABCA.

Teel hit .407 with 25 doubles, 13 home runs and 69 RBIs this season, was the ACC Player of the Year and helped lead the Cavaliers to the College World Series.

UVA duo make national team

Virginia’s Griff O’Ferrall and Jay Woolfolk have been selected to the 31-man Collegiate National Team roster after the team’s training camp, which featured a four-game intrasquad series in Cary, North Carolina.

The Cavaliers have been represented on the past six Collegiate National Teams.

O’Ferrall hit .357 with a double, two runs and an RBI, while Woolfolk appeared in three games and tossed three scoreless innings with five strikeouts.

Team USA will face Chinese Taipei and Japan in a pair of five-game series from June 30-July 12. The games will be played in Durham, Kannapolis and Fayetteville, North Carolina.

COLLEGE WOMEN’S TENNIS

ODU earns several all-state honors

Old Dominion women’s tennis coach Dominic Manilla has been named State Coach of the Year and Monarchs senior Tatsiana Sasnouskaya is State Player of the Year as part of the Virginia Sports Information Directors University Division women’s tennis all-state team.

Sasnouskaya made the first team in singles, while the doubles tandem of Sasnouskaya and Sofia Johnson also was on the first team. Johnson made the second team in singles.

Manilla, who has won the top coach honor three times, guided ODU to a 19-5 record and the Sun Belt Conference title this season. The Monarchs reached the NCAA Tournament and finished ranked No. 29 in the country.

Virginia Tech’s Özlem Uslu was the State Rookie of the Year.

William & Mary’s Hedda Gurholt, Virginia’s Natasha Subhash, Liberty’s Maria Juliana Parra Romero and James Madison’s Daniela Voloh joined Sasnouskaya and Uslu on the all-state singles first team.

Virginia’s Mélodie Collard and Julia Adam and JMU’s Daniela Voloh and Daria Munteanu joined Sasnouskaya and Johnson on the all-state doubles first team.

William & Mary’s Elisa Van Meeteren made the all-state singles second team, while the Tribe’s Ine Stange and Sofiya Kuzina were on the doubles second team.

* Christopher Newport women’s tennis players Tessa Trate and Raine Weis made the VaSID College Division all-state team. Trate earned first-team honors in both singles and doubles, while Weis joined her on the first team in doubles and was on the second team in singles.

COLLEGE TENNIS

Two CNU players pick up state awards

Christopher Newport men’s tennis players Alec Strause and Nesh Kumaresan have been named to the all-state first team by the Virginia Sports Information Directors.

Strause was on the first team in both singles and doubles, while Kumaresan joined him on the doubles team.

COLLEGE LACROSSE

Seven CNU players earn scholar honors

Seven Christopher Newport men’s lacrosse players have been named Scholar All-Americans by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association.

The honorees were Coby Auslander, Alex Brendes, Andrew Cook, Zac Hanway, Drew Miller, Aidan Wheeler and Ryan Young.

Also, the Captains earned the National Academic Team Award for the third straight year.

SOCCER

Va. Beach United beats SML United

Matthew Fitzer scored twice Wednesday night as Virginia Beach United beat the Southside Men’s League United 5-1 in non-conference play.

VBU started the scoring on Matthew Brucker’s goal in the fifth minute, though SML answered in the 10th minute.Franco Tradatti netted a penalty kick for a 2-1 lead in the 34th minute, and Fitzer, a former Menchville High star, scored just before halftime for a 3-1 edge.

Fitzer’s goal in the 89th minute and Cameron Lambert’s in the 90th closed the scoring.

Briefly

* University of Virginia President James E. Ryan will serve a two-year term as the ACC’s Chair of the Board of Directors, the league announced Thursday. University of North Carolina Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz will be the Vice-Chair and ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips will be the league’s Chief Executive Officer.

* Christopher Newport track and field star Adrianna DeSantis has picked up Academic All-America accolades for the second straight year from the College Sports Communicators. Her third-team selection made her just the fifth athlete in school history to earn multiple Academic All-America honors.

* Former James Madison quarterback Todd Centeio has signed with the Orlando Guardians of the XFL. He joins former Dukes defensive lineman Jamare Edwards, who was a draft pick of the Vegas Vipers.

By JUAN LOZANO (Associated Press)

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas grand jury declined to indict rap superstar Travis Scott in a criminal investigation of a deadly crowd surge at the 2021 Astroworld festival, where some spectators were packed so tightly they could not move their arms or even breathe, his attorney and prosecutors said Thursday.

Lawyer Kent Schaffer confirmed that the Harris County grand jury had met and decided not to indict his client on any criminal charges stemming from the concert.

“He never encouraged people to do anything that resulted in other people being hurt,” Schaffer said, adding that the decision is “a great relief.”

Circumstances of the deaths limited what charges prosecutors were able to present before the grand jury, eliminating potential counts such as murder, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, said Alycia Harvey, an assistant district attorney with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

That left prosecutors to focus on possible counts of endangering a child in connection with the deaths of the two youngest concertgoers, ages 9 and 14, she added.

“”The grand jury … found that no crime did occur, that no single individual was criminally responsible,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said.

The Nov. 5, 2021, crowd surge in Houston killed 10 young festivalgoers who ranged in age from 9 to 27. The official cause of death was compression asphyxia, which an expert likened to being crushed by a car.

Roughly 300 people were injured and treated at the scene, and 25 were taken to hospitals.

Houston police and federal officials have been investigating whether Scott, concert promoter Live Nation and others had sufficient safety measures in place.

During a news conference Thursday afternoon after the grand jury’s decision, police presented various details from their investigation including a timeline of events during Scott’s performance, the location at the concert site where the deaths occurred and video showing areas where crowds of people collapsed on each other.

But Police Chief Troy Finner declined to say what the overall conclusion of his agency’s investigation was or whether police should have stopped the concert sooner. Finner said police plan to make the more than 1,000-page report in the case public so people can read all the information investigators reviewed.

“The chief of police is not going to get up here and point fingers at anybody. I respect the grand jury’s decision. I simply want people to read (the offense report), read the entire investigation and everybody will see, very, very complicated,” Finner said.

Schaffer said he feels sympathy for those who were killed at the festival and their families.

“But Travis is not responsible,” Schaffer said. “Bringing criminal charges against him will not ease their pain.”

The grand jury declined to indict five other people, including festival manager Brent Silberstein. An attorney for Silberstein did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

More than 500 lawsuits were filed over the deaths and injuries at the concert, including many against Live Nation and Scott. Some have since been settled.

Kevin Haynes, a Houston attorney whose firm is representing hundreds of people injured at the concert, said he was disappointed by the grand jury’s decision but the civil cases will continue “to ensure responsible parties are held accountable in the ongoing pursuit of justice.”

About 50,000 people attended the festival.

A 56-page event operations plan for the event had detailed protocols for various dangerous scenarios including a shooting, bomb or terrorist threats and severe weather. But it did not include information on what to do in the event of a crowd surge.

In November, a task force unveiled a new agreement that local officials, public safety agencies and promoters said will clearly outline the responsibilities of all parties involved in such events to ensure they are safe.

Finner said Thursday that elevated platforms are now mandatory at such shows and they will be staffed by Houston police, firefighters and others who will all have authority to halt an event if they see problems.

Similar crushes have happened all over the world, from a soccer stadium in England to the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia to Halloween festivities in the South Korean capital. Most people who who die in crowd surges suffocate.

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Find the AP’s coverage of the Astroworld festival: https://apnews.com/hub/astroworld-festival-deaths