By DAVID BAUDER (AP Media Writer)

NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News Channel’s two-hour Republican presidential debate was halfway through when moderator Bret Baier said he wanted to take a brief moment to talk about “the elephant not in the room” — Donald Trump and his four criminal indictments.

Up until that point the former president, who skipped the debate and has a large lead in polls for the 2024 GOP nomination, had hardly been mentioned by his eight rivals on the Milwaukee stage on Wednesday.

The reluctance to talk about the topic was evident, but the 10 minutes when it was discussed included some of the debate’s more electric moments.

When asked for a show of hands on how many would support Trump as the GOP nominee if he were convicted of a crime, six indicated they would. Two former governors, New Jersey’s Chris Christie and Arkansas’ Asa Hutchinson, were the exceptions.

The audience booed Christie for saying that Trump’s conduct should not be normalized. “Booing is allowed,” he said. “But it doesn’t change the truth.”

Baier and Fox colleague Martha MacCallum told Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis three times that he had ducked the question when, after being asked whether then-Vice President Mike Pence acted properly in resisting Trump’s request not to certify Joe Biden’s presidential election victory, he said he wanted to talk about the future instead of the past.

So did Pence, until DeSantis said, “Mike did his duty. I’ve got no beef with him.”

“We spent an hour talking about policy,” Baier said to DeSantis. “Former President Trump is beating you by 30, 40 points in many polls. So it is a factor in the GOP primaries.”

After saying they had fulfilled a promise to spend a few questions on the topic, MacCallum sought to move on to another subject before being stopped by Pence.

“Can I speak on this issue?” he said.

The time spent on the topic and the audience’s booing of Christie spoke to the issue’s delicacy for both the candidates and Fox. A poll taken by The New York Times and Siena College last month found that 80% of people who cited Fox News as their top news source said the GOP needs to stand behind Trump in his criminal cases, including one in Georgia, where he is expected to surrender on Thursday.

About 12.8 million people watched the debate, according to numbers released Thursday by Nielsen.

MacCallum had telegraphed how Fox would handle it in an interview with The Associated Press last week, when she said it would be brought up, but, with so many other issues to talk about, “it’s certainly not going to be the lion’s share of the night.”

The Fox moderators struggled at times to keep control of the proceedings, chaotic by nature. After MacCallum asked, in the wake of the deadly Hawaiian wildfires, for a show of hands on which candidates believed human behavior is causing climate change, she was scolded by DeSantis.

“Look, we’re not schoolchildren,” DeSantis said, immediately hijacking the question. The moderators never succeeded in getting the candidates to fulfill her request.

There were a handful of adept follow-up questions: After South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott criticized government spending during the Biden administration, MacCallum pointed to his approvals of trillions of dollars in spending when Trump was president.

During a “lightning round” of queries, Christie was chagrined when MacCallum asked him about government investigations of UFOs.

“I get the UFO question?” he asked. “Come on, man.”

A past and potential future ace for the Baltimore Orioles will start on the mound Friday night for the Norfolk Tides.

Left-hander John Means, a 2019 AL All-Star who once threw a no-hitter, is set to make his next appearance for Norfolk as he attempts to return to the major leagues after having Tommy John surgery in May 2022.

Means, who pitched for the Tides in 2018 and ’21, has made three rehab starts for Double-A Bowie this season, going 0-1 with a 6.14 ERA in 7 1/3 innings. He is expected to pitch five innings for Norfolk, with his next appearance possibly coming for the first-place Orioles.

An 11th-round pick in the 2014 draft out of West Virginia, Means retired all 27 batters he faced in a 2021 game against the Seattle Mariners. The lone hitter to reach base did so when Means threw a wild pitch on a swinging third strike. The runner was then caught stealing.

Means, 30, has a 20-24 career record and a 3.81 ERA in parts of five major league seasons. He last made a start in the big leagues on April 13, 2022.

David Hall, [email protected]. Twitter @DavidHallVP.

By MEG KINNARD (Associated Press)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The first Republican presidential debate provided an opportunity for candidates to make their cases directly to a national audience, and some of that attention is translating into fundraising boosts.

Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has taken in $450,000 since Wednesday night’s debate, with an average donation of $38, campaign spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told The Associated Press on Thursday.

Ramaswamy, a political newcomer who occupied center stage in the absence of current GOP front-runner Donald Trump, scored several memorable moments during the debate, criticizing some rivals as “super PAC puppets” who were using “ready-made, preprepared slogans” to attack him.

Ramaswamy, has largely been self-funding his campaign and raised more than $7.7 million in the second quarter, finishing with more than $9 million on hand.

At least one candidate, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, made a direct fundraising appeal onstage Milwaukee, asking viewers in his closing remarks to go to his campaign website “for more information or to make a contribution.”

Other campaigns didn’t immediately respond to messages Thursday about their post-debate fundraising, but some donors are talking.

After being briefed in Milwaukee by representatives of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, donor Hal Lambert said he was pleased with his chosen candidate’s performance.

“Everyone’s extremely happy,” Lambert said in an interview. “I think he did extremely well. I think he stayed out of the bickering on stage.”

A handful of candidates had gotten creative in their fundraising appeals in order to meet the Republican National Committee’s 40,000 minimum unique donor requirement for debate participants. Some of the ploys worked, such as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s giveaway of $20 “Biden Relief Cards” in exchange for donations as low as $1.

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Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in New York contributed to this report.

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP

By ASHOK SHARMA (Associated Press)

NEW DELHI (AP) — A lunar rover slid down a ramp from the lander of India’s spacecraft within hours of its historic touch-down near the moon’s south pole, Indian space officials said Thursday, as the country celebrated its new scientific accomplishment.

“India took a walk on the moon,” the state-run Indian Space Research Organization said, adding that the Chandrayan-3 Rover would conduct experiments over 14 days, including an analysis of the mineral composition of the lunar surface.

Residents of the world’s most populous country had crowded around televisions in offices, shops, and restaurants on Wednesday and erupted into clapping, dancing, and exchanging of sweets when they saw the lander’s smooth touchdown. It landed on uncharted territory that scientists believe could hold vital reserves of frozen water.

“India Goes Where No Nation’s Gone Before,’ read Thursday’s headline in The Times of India daily, while the Indian Express newspaper exclaimed, “The moon is Indian.”

Ajay Bhargava, a New Delhi-based architect, said it was a great experience watching broadcasts of the landing, and that he felt it was the culmination of hard work by India’s scientists over the years.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi or any other politician should not take credit for this achievement,” Bhargava said in a telephone interview.

Indian Space Research Organization Chairman S. Somnath said the lander had touched down close to the center of the 4.5-kilometer-wide (2.8-mile-wide) area that had been targeted for the landing. “It landed within 300 meters (985 feet) of that point,” the Press Trust of India cited him as saying.

The rover was on the move, and working “very well,” Somnath said.

Somnath said there are two scientific instruments in the rover and three instruments on board the lander, and all of them have been switched on sequentially.

“They will study basically the mineral composition of the moon, as well as the atmosphere of the moon and the seismic activities there,” he added.

After a failed attempt to land on the moon in 2019, India on Wednesday joined the United States, the Soviet Union and China as only the fourth country to achieve this milestone.

The successful mission showcases India’s rising standing as a technology and space powerhouse and dovetails with the image that Modi is trying to project: an ascendant country asserting its place among the global elite.

The mission began more than a month ago at an estimated cost of $75 million. Somnath said that India would next attempt a manned lunar mission.

Many countries and private companies are interested in the South Pole region because its permanently shadowed craters may hold frozen water that could help future astronaut missions, as a potential source of drinking water or to make rocket fuel.

India’s success comes just days after Russia’s Luna-25, which was aiming for the same lunar region, spun into an uncontrolled orbit and crashed. It would have been the first successful Russian lunar landing after a gap of 47 years. Russia’s head of the state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos attributed the failure to the lack of expertise due to the long break in lunar research that followed the last Soviet mission to the moon in 1976.

Active since the 1960s, India has launched satellites for itself and other countries, and successfully put one in orbit around Mars in 2014. India is planning its first mission to the International Space Station next year, in collaboration with the United States.

VIRGINIA BEACH — Loggerhead sea turtle eggs inside a nest discovered at Virginia Beach’s North End earlier this summer are on the verge of hatching, and volunteers and staff from the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center are standing by to ensure the tiny creatures make it to the sea.

“We’re expecting a hatch any day now,” said Chelsea Witherup, aquarium stranding and research technician.

A sea turtle nest hasn’t been found at the North End since 2019, but others have been seen on more remote beaches in Virginia Beach, including False Cape State Park.

The North End beach is adjacent to houses and is less busy than the resort area to the south, making it an attractive spot for female turtles to build a nest.

“The mother is going to come up and is basically looking for a quiet dark beach, no people running around and talking, no dogs,” said Witherup.

Dan Reis, a volunteer who was patrolling the beach at sunrise June 23, found tracks that led to the nest site near the high tide line. Aquarium staff confirmed it contained 129 eggs, which they relocated closer to the dune line for protection, Witherup said.

A loggerhead nest is about two-and-half feet deep and shaped like an upside down light bulb with a funnel to the top. When the hatchlings begin to emerge from ping-pong ball-sized eggs, it’s called a boil because the sand looks like it’s bubbling up. They emerge after dark.

The aquarium’s team has smoothed out a path to the ocean to help the hatchlings, which are typically about 3 inches long, crawl to the water’s edge.

Aquarium volunteers are monitoring the North End nest every night. If the hatchlings head the wrong way or if predators, such as ghost crabs, approach, the team will intervene.

“Our priority is letting these guys do their thing,” said Witherup.

Adult loggerheads can weigh up to 400 pounds and live between 60 and 80 years. The species gets its name from having a very large head.

The aquarium has documented 10 turtle nests along Virginia’s coastline this year. All have been loggerheads except for one, a green turtle nest.

The public should not handle hatchlings or other marine life. The discovery of hatchlings or nests can be reported to the aquarium’s stranding hotline at 757-385-7575.

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, [email protected]

Stihl, the biggest chainsaw manufacturing company in the world, has implemented temporary furloughs at its U.S. headquarters in Virginia Beach.

The furlough affects 30% of the company’s workforce, said company spokesperson Stephanie Friess, an executive vice president with Earned Communications.

The company made a difficult decision because of softening market conditions on select manufacturing areas in the Virginia Beach facility, Friess said.

The duration of the furloughs will be dependent on anticipated improvements within the market, she said.

“We are committed to supporting our affected employees during this time and will work tirelessly to return all employees to normal work status as soon as possible,” Friess said.

In November, Stihl had employed more than 2,500 workers in Hampton Roads, based on the announcement of the company’s $49 million expansion. Its factory on over 180 acres in Virginia Beach manufactures and exports millions of gas- and battery-powered handheld outdoor equipment products annually to more than 90 countries.

Sandra J. Pennecke, 757-652-5836, [email protected]

TRABUCO CANYON, Calif. (AP) — Gunfire at a popular Southern California biker bar killed three people and wounded several others, and the gunman — believed to be a retired law enforcement officer — was fatally shot by deputies, authorities said.

Hours after the shooting Wednesday evening at Cook’s Corner, in Orange County’s rural Trabuco Canyon, authorities said at a news conference that they were still gathering information and interviewing witnesses.

Authorities arrived within two minutes of the first report of a shooting, and the gunman was also soon dead, Orange County Sheriff’s Sgt. Frank Gonzalez said.

Dozens of patrol cars and ambulances swarmed the bar. Three other people and the gunman were pronounced dead at the scene.

Six others were taken to the hospital, five of them with gunshot wounds, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department posted on social media. Two were in critical condition, according to a statement from Providence Mission Hospital in nearby Mission Viejo.

At the news conference, Orange County Undersheriff Jeff Hallock did not provide details about the gunman or how the shooting unfolded.

The gunman was a retired officer with the Ventura Police Department, Cmdr. Mike Brown said the department was told by Orange County authorities, according to the Ventura County Star newspaper. He worked at the agency from 1986 to 2014, Brown said.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was monitoring the shooting “and coordinating with local officials as more details become available,” his office tweeted.

Cook’s Corner has long been a place for motorcyclists to gather for live music, open-mic nights or just a cold beer after a long ride. It calls itself the oldest motorcycle bar in Southern California and hosts a regular Wednesday spaghetti night, with a band.

Hours before the shooting, rows of motorcycles and bikes framed the gravel entrance where plaques describe the bar’s history. It has become known as a community gathering spot for a wide range of people.

“We’ve experienced major earthquakes, forest fires, floods, recessions and other disasters. We’ve gotten through all of them and came out stronger. Ride down and check us out,” the bar says on its website.

When Wes Brown sought out children’s books for his two young sons, he made sure to seek titles that reflected the family he and his husband were building.

He found that in one called “The Family Book,” a 2003 picture book by Todd Parr. It depicts families of all kinds: the traditional nuclear family, but also families with one parent or step-parents, as well as adoptive families and same-sex parents like Brown and his husband.

But across the country, books and lessons that represent different families and identities are increasingly the target of conservative pushback — even when they’re for the youngest of learners. Parr’s book for preschoolers and early readers is often among those challenged by parents and activists.

“It is important my kids are definitely exposed to that,” Brown said. “What these parents are really doing is demonstrating how fragile their worldview is, that a children’s book is enough to shatter it.”

Efforts to ban books have been surging at school and public libraries. Of the bans targeting picture books, about three-quarters are books that address LGBTQ+ themes and roughly half are stories that mention race, said Kasey Meehan, Freedom to Read program director at PEN America.

“There’s legislation out there that could lead to felony offenses and criminalization, (teacher) decertification,” Meehan said. “When you see this threatening environment, more and more we see educators responding in an overly cautious approach, and that shows up in how they think about their classroom libraries.”

Objections to the titles often involve arguments that they are not age-appropriate. In some of the many challenges Parr’s book has faced over the years, opponents have taken issue with a line that reads, “Some families have two moms or two dads,” saying it was not suitable for young children.

Educators and free-speech advocates said the books often simply acknowledge the existence of different identities. That’s crucial, they say, to help young children develop empathy and an understanding of themselves — especially for children whose families include people of color or LGBTQ+ relatives.

The disputes have spilled over into classrooms. In Wake County, North Carolina, a preschool teacher resigned last year after an uproar over flashcards that depicted LGBTQ+ families, to teach colors based on the characters’ clothing.

In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, replaced the state’s early childhood learning director in April over the use of a guide for preschool teachers. The governor denounced the guide as teaching “woke concepts” because of language about inclusion and structural racism.

The book comes from the National Association for the Education of Young Children — the nonprofit professional association for early childhood education, which accredits day cares and preschools. The fourth edition of the group’s “Developmentally Appropriate Practice Book” says in part that children “begin to see how they are represented in society” in preschool and that the classroom should be a place of “affirmation and healing.”

The Alabama official’s ouster was the most prevalent example of how censorship and restrictions on teaching are extending beyond the K-12 sphere into early learning, said Leah Austin, president and CEO of the National Black Child Development Institute.

Research has found that children as young as 6 months old can perceive race-based differences. Limiting content denies children opportunities to learn about themselves, and to relate to other people, Austin said.

For young children, having access to books that interest them is also a crucial factor in becoming strong readers and battling disparities in literacy rates, said Michelle Martin, a youth and children’s services professor at the University of Washington. Although the diversity of children’s books has grown in recent years, representation is still lagging.

Martin recalled growing up in South Carolina, where her parents had to drink from segregated water fountains. As a child, she had little choice but to read books that depicted stories far removed from her experiences.

“There were really limited books that my generation had that reflected who we are,” she said. “Those books are beginning to be much more widely published, and those are the ones that are being targeted.”

In Florida, where Brown and his family live, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has pushed through legislation that bans mentions of gender identity and sexuality in classrooms for all grades, including public pre-K programs. Supporters of the law say parents, not teachers, should be broaching those subjects with their children.

For gay people of his generation, Brown recalled, building a family often felt like a remote possibility. When he and his husband first started dating in 2002, it was illegal in the state of Florida for gay couples to adopt a child.

“It was like a dream, but it’s a dream that’s so far off,” he said. “It’s like, ‘I want to fly like Superman.’ You don’t even really think it’s something you can have.”

The couple revisited the question in their 30s and decided to pursue adoption. Brown said he and his husband know it is inevitable for their sons, now ages 5 and 7, to encounter questions about having two dads.

“These laws are actually not meant to keep people from talking about sexuality,” he said “It is to prevent queer families from being talked about, the queer experience from being talked about. It is very much aimed at us.”

This year, 21 companies in Hampton Roads made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing independent businesses.

The number of regional businesses on the list grew from 17 last year. The list, released in August, names 275 companies in Virginia, an increase from 258 last year.

Private companies apply to be on the list and are ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2019 to 2022. Inc. magazine required minimum revenues of $100,000 in 2019 and $2 million in 2022.

Virginia Beach-based Groundworks, a foundation and water management solutions company, appeared for the seventh consecutive year after expanding in California. It’s grown to one of the largest companies on the list with more than 4,400 employees, founder and CEO Matt Malone said.

Hampton-based Threat Tec, which contracts with the federal government to provide military training, appeared for the second consecutive time and noted how it was able to grow revenue while navigating challenges, including inflationary pressures, escalating capital expenditures and workforce constraints.

TechArk Solutions, a digital marketing and software development firm in Norfolk, made the list for the third consecutive year, rising in the ranks. CEO Pratik Kothari credits the business’s culture and people for the growth.

“I believe TechArk is an example of how companies can grow and thrive with a fully remote workforce,” Kothari said.

Melone Hatley ranked second fastest-growing in Hampton Roads. The woman-owned law firm recently opened a 10,000-square-foot corporate office off Lynnhaven Parkway in Virginia Beach and is bringing 50 more jobs to the area, owner Rebecca Melone said.

Here’s how the Hampton Roads companies ranked:

• 252: VA Wholesale Mortgage in Virginia Beach
• 575: Melone Hatley in Virginia Beach
• 1,290: Vectrona in Virginia Beach
• 1,452: 1st Class Real Estate in Virginia Beach
• 1,459: Groundworks in Virginia Beach
• 1,511: Matbock in Virginia Beach
• 1,696: Choice Financial Group in Virginia Beach
• 1,759: Threat Tec in Hampton
• 1,790: Markesman in Newport News
• 1,931: Born Primitive in Virginia Beach
• 2,438: LionHeart Alliance in Virginia Beach
• 2,631: The Breeden Co. in Virginia Beach
• 2,844: TechArk Solutions in Norfolk
• 2,883: Hutton Electric Heating & Air in Norfolk
• 2,900: Greenbrier Management Co. in Williamsburg
• 3,092: G2 Ops in Virginia Beach
• 3,101: College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving in Norfolk
• 4,163: Global Planning Initiatives in Virginia Beach
• 4,204: Priority Title & Escrow in Virginia Beach
• 4,402: Parks Zeigler in Virginia Beach
• 4,674: Bayside Ventures in Norfolk

View the full list of 5000 companies at inc.com/inc5000.