By LARRY NEUMEISTER and JENNIFER PELTZ (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s company and his former longtime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen have settled a lawsuit over Cohen’s claims that he was unfairly stuck with big legal bills after getting entangled in investigations into the former president.

Lawyers for the two sides disclosed the settlement during a video conference with the judge Friday, three days before Cohen’s 2019 lawsuit was slated to go to trial in a Manhattan state court. Details of the agreement were not made public.

Cohen said Friday the matter “has been resolved in a manner satisfactory to all parties,” and his attorney, Lauren Handelsman, said the terms were confidential. Messages seeking comment were left with lawyers for Trump’s company, the Trump Organization.

The legal fees lawsuit was one of the more obscure branches of the thicket of legal troubles surrounding Trump and his company. Still, the trial stood to give a platform to Cohen — an ardent Trump loyalist who became an outspoken antagonist — and to put the ex-president’s son Donald Trump Jr. on the witness stand.

Cohen claimed in his lawsuit that the Trump Organization had promised to pay his legal expenses and did so for a time, footing more than $1.7 million in legal fees.

But, Cohen said, the company reneged after he began cooperating with federal prosecutors in their investigations related to Trump’s business dealings in Russia and attempts to silence women with embarrassing stories about his personal life.

Cohen’s then-lawyers stopped representing him after the company stopped paying. His lawsuit said that harmed his ability to respond to the federal investigations.

In court papers, the Trump Organization has disputed that it made certain promises and has said it satisfied any obligations it did have. The company also has argued that Cohen’s involvement in the federal investigations wasn’t an outgrowth of his former job but rather a personal decision to try to reduce his own criminal legal exposure as an indictment loomed.

Jury selection in the case had begun Monday. Among the prospective jurors, more than half said they had strong opinions about Trump, the front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Several said their feelings toward him were intense enough that they would not be able to fairly evaluate evidence.

While the former president would not have been a witness in the trial, Donald Trump Jr., who is a leader in the family business, was expected to testify.

Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to multiple charges, admitting that he lied to Congress, violated campaign finance laws through excessive political contributions, lied to multiple banks to obtain financing and evaded income taxes by failing to report more than $4 million in income. He was sentenced to three years in prison, although he served nearly two-thirds of it at home, released after the COVID-19 outbreak overwhelmed the nation’s prisons.

He then became a key witness in the New York grand jury proceeding that led to Trump’s April indictment on charges of falsifying Trump Organization records to protect his 2016 candidacy by suppressing claims that he had had extramarital sexual encounters.

Trump denied those encounters, and he pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges. He cast the case as a Democratic district attorney’s attempt to blunt his ongoing campaign to return to the White House.

Trump has now sued Cohen, accusing him of violating a company confidentiality agreement, breaching ethical standards for lawyers and maliciously “spreading falsehoods” about Trump. A Cohen spokesman, attorney Lanny Davis, has responded that Trump was abusing the legal system to harass Cohen.

While Friday’s settlement resolves the suit over Cohen’s legal expenses, a trial is set for October in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ business fraud lawsuit against Trump’s company and the businessman-turned-president himself.

Trump also faces a March trial date in the New York hush-money indictment; a trial set for May in Florida in the federal criminal case surrounding his handling of classified documents; and the second federal civil trial involving writer E. Jean Carroll’s claim that he defamed her in denying her sexual assault allegation.

He also disclosed this week that the Justice Department had told him he was a target of an investigation into efforts to unravel his loss in the 2020 presidential election — a notification that could signal forthcoming charges. Separately, prosecutors in Georgia plan to announce charging decisions within weeks in their inquiry into attempts by Trump and his allies to reverse the vote outcome there.

Trump has denied wrongdoing in all the matters and says prosecutors are ginning up charges to damage his ongoing presidential campaign.

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Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak, Jake Offenhartz and Jill Colvin in New York and contributed to this report.

By FELIPE DANA (Associated Press)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia followed its withdrawal from a grain export deal by expanding its attacks from port infrastructure to farm storage buildings in Ukraine’s Odesa region Friday, while also practicing a Black Sea blockade.

Other Russian missiles damaged what officials described only as an “important infrastructure facility” southwest of the port city of Odesa, in what appeared to be an effort to cripple Ukraine’s food exports.

Attacks in recent days have put Odesa in Russia’s crosshairs after Moscow abandoned a wartime deal that allowed Ukraine to send grain through the key Black Sea port.

In the attack on the storage site, two low-flying cruise missiles started a blaze, then another struck during firefighting efforts, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said. The barrage injured two people, damaged equipment and destroyed 100 metric tons (110 tons) of peas and 20 metric tons (22 tons) of barley, Kiper said.

Russia targeted Ukrainian critical grain export infrastructure after vowing to retaliate for what it said was a Ukrainian attack that damaged a crucial bridge between Russia and the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.

“The enemy is continuing terror, and it’s undoubtedly related to the grain deal,” said Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military’s Operational Command South.

Both Russia and Ukraine have announced they will treat ships traveling to each other’s Black Sea ports as potential military targets.

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin clarified the Defense Ministry’s announcement earlier this week that Moscow has declared wide areas in the Black Sea dangerous for shipping. The ministry said it would consider incoming vessels as laden with weapons and treat the country of its flag a participant in the conflict on the Ukrainian side.

Vershinin said the Russian navy will inspect the vessels to make sure they aren’t carrying military cargo before taking any other action.

“There is no longer a sea humanitarian corridor, there is a zone of increased military danger,” he told a news briefing.

Vershinin added that Russia will fulfill the needs of African countries despite the deal’s termination. President Vladimir Putin has promised to provide poor countries in Africa with free grain.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, said the recent strikes against port and grain infrastructure and threats of escalation at sea “are likely a part of a Kremlin effort to leverage Russia’s exit from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and exact extensive concessions from the West.”

In Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Western countries should address Russia’s demands to restore the Black Sea grain corridor.

“Russia has some expectations. If these are overcome, Russia is in favor of the active work of this grain corridor,” said Erdogan, who helped negotiate the deal. “We know that (Putin) has some expectations from Western countries. Western countries need to take action on this issue.”

He reiterated he would talk to Putin by phone and hoped to meet him in Turkey next month.

In comments reported by state-run news agency Anadolu and other media, Erdogan warned that the end of the grain initiative would raise global food prices, increase famine and unleash new waves of migration.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with Erdogan by phone Friday, and they “coordinated efforts to restore the operation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative.”

“Unlocking the grain corridor is an absolute priority,” Zelenskyy said on the Telegram messaging app.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the navy conducted drills that simulated action to seal off a section of the Black Sea. In the maneuvers, a missile boat fired anti-ship cruise missiles at a mock target.

The ministry also said it fired long-range sea-launched weapons on facilities “used for preparation of terror attacks against the Russian Federation involving drones,” adding that “all the designated targets have been hit.” It didn’t elaborate.

Putin, meantime, repeated his claim that Ukraine’s much-anticipated counteroffensive is failing, although he offered no evidence.

Putin, whose authority was shaken last month by a short-lived rebellion from a Russian mercenary force, told his Security Council that the Ukrainian military has suffered massive losses and the West is struggling to maintain supplies of weapons and ammunition.

Putin also spoke provocatively about Poland, alleging that Warsaw has formed a special military unit to ensure security in western Ukraine and plans to meddle in Kyiv’s affairs.

In other developments, Zelenskyy announced the resignation of the country’s culture minister, suggesting the ministry’s spending was misguided during wartime.

“Paving stones, city decorations, and fountains can wait till after the victory,” he said.

Recent scandals have involved local authorities, such as the repair of a cobblestone road in central Kyiv and renovation of a fountain in a western Ukraine city.

Zelenskyy also fired the Ukrainian ambassador to the United Kingdom, Vadym Prystaiko, who was also ambassador to the International Maritime Organization. He gave no reason, but Prystaiko had publicly criticized the president.

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Andrew Wilks in Istanbul, Turkey, contributed.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

By BEN FINLEY and HANNAH SCHOENBAUM (Associated Press)

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A tornado heavily damaged a major Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina on Wednesday, while torrential rain flooded communities in Kentucky and an area from California to South Florida endured more scorching heat.

Pfizer confirmed that the large manufacturing complex was damaged by a twister that touched down shortly after midday near Rocky Mount, but said in an email that it had no reports of serious injuries. A later company statement said all employees were safely evacuated and accounted for.

Parts of roofs were ripped open atop its massive buildings. The Pfizer plant stores large quantities of medicine that were tossed about, said Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone.

“I’ve got reports of 50,000 pallets of medicine that are strewn across the facility and damaged through the rain and the wind,” Stone said.

The plant produces anesthesia and other drugs as well as nearly 25% of the sterile injectable medications Pfizer supplies to U.S. hospitals, the company said on its website. Erin Fox, senior pharmacy director at University of Utah Health, said the damage “will likely lead to long-term shortages while Pfizer works to either move production to other sites or rebuilds.”

The National Weather Service said in a tweet that the damage was consistent with an EF3 tornado with wind speeds up to 150 mph (240 kph).

The Edgecombe County Sheriff’s Office, where part of Rocky Mount is located, said on Facebook that they had reports of three people injured in the tornado, and that two of them had life-threatening injuries.

A preliminary report from neighboring Nash County said 13 people were injured and 89 structures were damaged, WRAL-TV reported.

Three homes owned by Brian Varnell and his family members in the nearby Dortches area were damaged. He told the news outlet he is thankful they are all alive. His sister and her children hid in their home’s laundry room.

“They got where they needed to be within the house and it all worked out for the best,” Varnell said near a home that was missing exterior walls and a large chunk of the roof.

Elsewhere in the U.S., an onslaught of searing temperatures and rising floodwaters continued, with Phoenix breaking an all-time temperature record and rescuers pulling people from rain-swamped homes and vehicles in Kentucky.

Forecasters said little relief appears in sight from the heat and storms. For example, Miami has endured a heat index of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius) or more for weeks, with temperatures expected to rise this weekend.

In Kentucky, meteorologists warned of a “life-threatening situation” in the communities of Mayfield and Wingo, which were inundated by flash flooding this week from thunderstorms. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency there Wednesday as more storms threatened.

Forecasters expect up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain could yet fall on parts of Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri near where the Ohio and Mississippi rivers converge.

The storm system is forecast to move Thursday and Friday over New England, where the ground remains saturated after recent floods. In Connecticut, a mother and her 5-year-old daughter died after being swept down a swollen river Tuesday. In southeastern Pennsylvania, a search continued for two children caught in flash flooding Saturday night.

Meanwhile, Phoenix broke an all-time record Wednesday morning for a warm low temperature of 97 F (36.1 C), raising the threat of heat-related illness for residents unable to cool off adequately overnight. The previous record was 96 F (35.6 C) in 2003, the weather service reported.

Lindsay LaMont, who works at the Sweet Republic ice cream shop Phoenix, said business had been slow during the day with people sheltering inside to escape the heat. “But I’m definitely seeing a lot more people come in the evening to get their ice cream when things start cooling off,” LaMont said.

Heat-related deaths continue to rise in Maricopa County, where Phoenix is located. Public health officials Wednesday reported that six more heat-associated fatalities were confirmed last week, bringing the year’s total so far to 18. All six deaths didn’t necessarily occur last week as some may have happened weeks earlier but were confirmed as heat-related only after a thorough investigation.

By this time last year, there had been 29 confirmed heat-associated deaths in the county and another 193 under investigation.

Phoenix, a desert city of more than 1.6 million people, had set a separate record Tuesday among U.S. cities by marking 19 straight days of temperatures of 110 F (43.3 C) or more. It topped 110 again Wednesday.

National Weather Service meteorologist Matthew Hirsh said Phoenix’s 119 F (48.3 C) high Wednesday tied the fourth highest temperature recorded in the city ever. The highest temperature of all time was 122 F (50 C), set in 1990.

Across the country, Miami marked its 16th straight day of heat indexes in excess of 105 F (40.6 C). The previous record was five days in June 2019.

“And it’s only looking to increase as we head into the later part of the week and the weekend,” said Cameron Pine, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

The region has also seen 38 consecutive days with a heat index threshold of 100 F (37.8 C), and sea surface temperatures are reported to be several degrees warmer than normal.

“There really is no immediate relief in sight,” Pine said.

A 71-year-old Los Angeles-area man died at a trailhead in Death Valley National Park in eastern California on Tuesday afternoon as temperatures reached 121 F (49.4 C) or higher and rangers suspect heat was a factor, the National Park Service said in a statement Wednesday.

It is possibly the second heat-related fatality in Death Valley this summer. A 65-year-old man was found dead in a car on July 3.

Human-caused climate change and a newly formed El Nino are combining to shatter heat records worldwide, scientists say.

The entire globe has simmered to record heat both in June and July. Nearly every day this month, the global average temperature has been warmer than the unofficial hottest day recorded before 2023, according to University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer.

Atmospheric scientists say the global warming responsible for unrelenting heat in the Southwest also is making extreme rainfall a more frequent reality.

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Finley reported from Norfolk, Virginia. Associated Press reporters Anita Snow in Phoenix, Freida Frisaro in Miami, JoNel Aleccia in Temecula, California, and Rebecca Reynolds in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this report.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A former Republican legislative candidate who traveled to Washington for former President Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally was arrested Friday and charged with federal crimes for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot, officials said.

Matthew Brackley, 39, of Waldoboro, Maine, entered the the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and asked for the location of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office before shouting, “Let’s go,” according to prosecutors.

He was arrested on felony charges including assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers and civil disorder, along with several misdemeanors. He made his initial court appearance on Friday.

It was not clear if Brackley had a lawyer, and he did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.

Brackley tried unsuccessfully to unseat Democratic state Sen. Eloise Vitelli of Arrowsic last year. His campaign website described him as a Maine Maritime Academy graduate whose approach would be to have “respectful, thoughtful conversations on the issues.”

At the Capitol, prosecutors said, Brackley led a group that pushed through police officers several times before ultimately being dispersed by chemical spray and exiting.

More than 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack.

Approximately 100 of them have been convicted by juries or judges after trials, and more than 600 have pleaded guilty.

Over 570 riot defendants have been sentenced, with more than half receiving prison terms ranging from three days to 18 years.

By KRYSTA FAURIA and JILL LAWLESS (Associated Press)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The combined strike by Hollywood actors and screenwriters entered its second week with no swift end in sight, and union leaders and star strikers, including a bevy of comedians attempted to boost morale Friday as the novelty of picket lines wears off.

“The momentum is still building,” said stand-up comic, writer and actor Marc Maron outside Netflix headquarters. “I got some of my comedy buddies — we’re like, let’s go, let’s make sure we’re there and we show up for our union. There’s a lot of people here and look, eventually they have to, they have to negotiate, right?”

Maron starred on the series “GLOW” for Netflix, whose headquarters in an increasingly hip section of Hollywood has been a bustling hub during the strike, with music blasting and food trucks serving ice cream, shaved ice and churros.

His fellow comedians and comic actors abounded on the picket line, including “Saturday Night Live” and “Portlandia” alum Fred Armisen, “Hacks” star Hannah Einbinder, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” actor Chelsea Peretti, “What We Do in the Shadows” vampire Mark Proksch, and longtime comedy team Eric Wareheim and Tim Heidecker, who said they were not optimistic about a quick end to the strike.

“I think it’s going to be a long struggle, a long fight,” Heidecker said. “We’re going to have to be out here until we get what we need to get.”

But they were confident about finding sustenance to get them through it.

“There’s an Arby’s here and Eric hasn’t eaten Arby’s in a year,” Heidecker said.

“It’s been 364 days since I had a big roast beef and we’re doing it today,” Wareheim said.

It has been harder for picketers to keep the energy up at more sprawling corporate campuses like Warner Bros. Studios and Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, where a Southern California heat wave hit hard all week.

But as the strike has begun to stretch on, the regular appearance of star writers and actors has given a jolt to picket lines in both LA and New York, and provided high-profile voices on issues that are key to both writers and actors — better pay and preserving established practices like residual payments, as well as protection from the use of artificial intelligence. Roughly 65,000 actors — the vast majority of whom make less than $27,000 a year from their screen work — along with 11,500 screenwriters, are on strike.

On Friday, actors in London rallied in solidarity with their Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists brethren. Stars including Brian Cox, Andy Serkis, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg and Imelda Staunton gathered with other performers and production crew in Leicester Square for the demonstration organized by British actors’ union Equity.

They chanted “One struggle, one fight, we support SAG-AFTRA fight” and “The luvvies, united, will never be defeated,” using a British slang term for actors.

Cox, who played media mogul Logan Roy in “Succession,” said, “I think we are at the thin end of a horrible wedge,” with artificial intelligence shaking the foundations of actors’ work.

“The wages are one thing, but the worst aspect is the whole idea of AI and what AI can do to us,” he said. “AI is the really, really serious thing. And it’s the thing where we’re most vulnerable.”

The British actors’ union is not on strike, though many members are also part of the U.S. union.

Cox said it was important actors showed solidarity with striking screenwriters in the Writers Guild of America.

“We’re just like pieces of furniture without writers,” he said.

Serkis, who has become a specialist in playing digitally created characters since he first played Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings” saga two decades ago, said “I’m probably one of the most scanned actors on the planet.”

“I know that my image can be used, or my library of movements, can be used or my voice,” he said, adding that it “is wrong that that is easily accessed and used without remunerating the artist.”

In the U.S., Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago were among the the major cities with strike events Wednesday and Thursday, demonstrating that film production doesn’t just happen in New York and Los Angeles.

There’s no indication when negotiations with studios and streaming companies, which are represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, will resume. The group has said they’ve offered both writers and actors substantial pay increases and have tried to meet other demands.

“Please come back to the table, please be realistic, please have a little bit more socialism in your heart and think of the people who make the money for you,” “Mission Impossible” star Pegg urged studios and streaming services.

Many on the picket lines in the U.S. have seized upon comments by their corporate bosses like Disney CEO Bob Iger, who last week called the unions’ demands “not realistic.”

During an earnings event Wednesday, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said grew up in a union household and knew the strike was painful on workers and their families.

“We’re super committed to getting to an agreement as soon as possible. One that’s equitable and one that enables the unions, the industry and everybody in it to move forward into the future,” he said.

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Lawless reported from London. Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton contributed to this report.

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For more on the writers and actors strike, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/hollywood-strikes/

LANDOVER, Md. — Josh Harris kept his remarks brief when he took the stage at a pep rally at FedEx Field. He didn’t have to say much.

Eventually, the crowd of Washington Commanders fans began chanting: “Thank you Josh! Thank you Josh!”

They used to have parades around here for Super Bowl titles, but for now this cathartic scene Friday will suffice. After a quarter-century of ineptitude on the field and embarrassment off it under owner Dan Snyder, Harris and his group offer Washington a chance at a fresh start. Few football towns have ever needed one more.

“We’re going to draw you guys back in,” Harris told the crowd. “We look forward to meeting you in the community, we look forward to being a part of this community. I’m so glad I’m back.”

NFL owners approved the sale of the Commanders on Thursday to a group led by Harris, who grew up in the Washington area as a fan of the team. Back then, home games were a famously tough ticket at RFK Stadium, but empty seats became common at FedEx Field as the franchise become one of the most dysfunctional in sports.

Washington hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2005 season, when Hall of Famer Joe Gibbs was in his second stint as the team’s coach. If Gibbs was hyperbolically treated as a savior when he returned, Harris is being greeted as a liberator. Some fans wore shirts Friday that said: “I Survived The Snyder Era.”

Harris, who also co-owns the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, has plenty of work to do with the Commanders. Will he change the team’s name again? And what direction will he take the team’s effort to secure a new stadium?

He didn’t offer many specifics Friday. Before speaking to the crowd outside, he and his ownership group — which includes Magic Johnson — were introduced at an indoor event. Harris briefly took questions from reporters, saying his immediate priority is improving the fan experience at the team’s current venue.

“Right now, that’s going to be things like ingress and egress and food,” he said. “There’s not that much we can do, and so our three priorities are those.”

FedEx Field, which sits right next to the Capital Beltway, has been plagued by traffic issues, and there was even a railing collapse last year after a game against Philadelphia in which fans fell onto the field.

“We’re going to throw a party every other Sunday, and when you have guests in your house, you treat them well,” Harris said. “You don’t have couches that are broken, you don’t have TVs that aren’t working. So we’ve got to get after all that, and that’s what we’re focused on right now.

“As far as the stadium experience, long run, we would love to have a stadium where the opposing players fear to come, and our fans love to come, and our players love to come and feel welcome. That’s what I experienced at RFK.”

There were plenty of familiar faces at the stadium, including current standouts like receiver Terry McLaurin and defensive lineman Jonathan Allen.

“I can honestly say I’ve waited seven years to see the fan base like this,” Allen said. “I don’t think people understand how serious this community and this fan base is about football.”

Stars of the past like Darrell Green and Doug Williams — and Gibbs, who coached them — were also seated up front at the news conference.

“I think this group is focused on winning — putting together an organization and then a team that everybody can get behind,” Gibbs said.

The team was known as the Redskins until 2020, when it dropped the name, which is considered a slur against Native Americans. It went by the Washington Football Team for two seasons, and fans have been slow to embrace the Commanders name. Asked about a name change, Harris said it depended on “how the city feels,” but he did not include it among his immediate priorities.

Johnson pointed out that he has an interesting connection to Washington football. Jack Kent Cooke owned the Los Angeles Lakers before selling them in 1979, the year Johnson was drafted. Cooke was Washington’s owner when the team had its three Super Bowl-winning seasons in 1982, 1987 and 1991.

“I don’t invest in sports teams for ego, I invest to win,” Johnson said. “We want to change everything that has happened to this franchise. We see the winners in the front row. Not only did they win Super Bowls, they also made the community great, and we want to invite the community to be a part of what we’re building here.”

By The Associated Press

Reaction to the death of Tony Bennett at age 96:

“So sad to hear of Tony’s passing. Without doubt the classiest singer, man, and performer you will ever see. He’s irreplaceable. I loved and adored him. Condolences to Susan, Danny and the family.” — Sir Elton John, via Instagram.

“I love being able to take lessons from someone like Tony. And one of the great lessons, I think, is to be strong in the conviction of who you are and strong enough to stay true to that because tastes change, times change. But if you know what you’re doing and you have confidence in that and integrity, the world will find you. — Michael Bublé in an interview.

“Goodnight, #TonyBennett. Thank you for your commitment to love, civil rights, and a better world.” And: “ #TonyBennett was a national and global treasure who utilized his platform as a legendary performer to stand for Civil Rights. In 2002, @ TheKingCenter, under my mother’s leadership, awarded him our Salute to Greatness Award. It was our honor to honor Mr. Bennett.” — Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., via Twitter.

“His was a unique voice that made the transition from the era of Jazz into the age of Pop. I will always be grateful for his outstanding contribution to the art of contemporary music. He was a joy to work with. His energy and enthusiasm for the material he was performing was infectious. He was also one of the nicest human beings I’ve ever known.” — Billy Joel, in a statement.’

“Tony Bennett’s life was legendary. And his contributions to the arts in America will endure. Jill and I have been fans of Tony’s music for a long time — not only because of his beautiful voice, but also the joy that he brought to everything he did.” — President Joe Biden, in a statement.

“Tony Bennett was an iconic songwriter and entertainer who charmed generations of fans. He was also a good man—Michelle and I will always be honored that he performed at my inauguration. We’re thinking of his wife Susan, his kids, and everyone who is missing him today.” — Former president Barack Obama, via Twitter.

“Tony Bennett was a consummate artist. All you have to do is listen to any one of his hundreds of recordings to recognize that. Very early on, his music quietly wove itself into the fabric of our lives. His voice felt as familiar and as close as the voices of our loved ones. I know that this was true for millions of people around the world. For Italian-Americans who were growing up in the middle of the twentieth century, that familiarity ran even deeper. At a certain point, we started to imagine that Tony would live forever. Of course he didn’t. Nobody does. But the music? That’s another story.” — Martin Scorsese, in a statement.

“Tony was one of the most splendid people who ever lived. Kind, loving, talented and generous, he never let us down. Sending my love to Susan, Danny and their family and friends. Tony was a true champion.” — Nancy Sinatra, via Twitter.

“Rest in peace, Tony. You were the epitome of a gentleman with a God given one-of-a-kind voice. It was truly a great honor of my career and of my life to get to share the stage with you…” — Carrie Underwood, duet partner on “It Had to Be You,” via Instagram.

“Tony Bennett was one of the true greats — an icon, legend, and masterful interpreter of the great American Songbook. For over 70 years, his artistry and ‘cool’ wove himself into our hearts and culture. We loved him at Motown, and in 1967 when he recorded one of our songs, ‘For Once In My Life,’ we were thrilled and honored. His music and legacy will live on forever.” — Motown founder Berry Gordy, in a statement.

“RIP Tony Bennett. The best of the best. The last of the legends. A man whose heart was as big as his voice. The world’s foremost practitioner of the ‘Art of Excellence.’ Deepest love and condolences to my friend Danny and the family.” — Stevie Van Zandt, via Twitter.

“Sending my prayers for and condolences to the family of #TonyBennett whose legendary career spanned seven decades. He marched with us in 1964. He was dedicated to civil and human rights and to the arts. He will lives as long as we remember him. #IleftmyheartinSanFrancisco.” — Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., via Twitter.

“We loved and admired Tony Bennett and marveled at the breadth of his talent and depth of his commitment to creating a better world. … We will always be personally grateful to Tony for performing at the 1993 Inaugural and for lending his talents, time and again, to support the work of the Clinton Foundation. With his singular voice and generous spirit, he lived his remarkable life with perfect pitch.” — former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, in a statement.

“This one shouldn’t sting so much because any of us would take 96 years, but man is it hard to imagine a world without the great Tony Bennett.” — actor Josh Gad, via Twitter.

“The world was a better place with Tony Bennett at the microphone in a tuxedo, singing. To one of the kindest, most loving people I’ve ever known… Rest in peace, dear Tony.” — actor and comedian Ruth Buzzi, via Twitter.

“There’s no greater champion of the American songbook. If it’s Gershwin, if it’s Cole Porter, if it’s Rodgers and Hammerstein – that’s Tony Bennett. And the wonderful thing about what he did is connected people so powerfully through what I think is the greatest connector, music, and something that will endure. Those recordings are forever.” — Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking to an event Friday at the Aspen Security Forum.

“Sesame Workshop mourns the passing of Tony Bennett, who brought joy and music to millions of people around the world. Mr. Bennett joined us on Sesame Street in 1998 to turn a classic of his into a new favorite of ours.” — Sesame Street, via Twitter.

“RIP Tony Bennett. Such a big loss. Deepest sympathy to his family and the world.” — Carole King, via Instagram.

“Rest in Peace to one of the best to ever grace the stage. I was just saying that the greatest gig I had ever witnessed was Tony Bennett at North Sea Jazz in 2012. It was like dropping a needle on a record. He was the last of the greatest generation of singers and musicians.” — guitarist Joe Bonamassa, via Twitter.

“My most heartfelt condolences go out to Tony Bennett’s family and friends. They’re also my emotional family and friends.” — producer Nile Rodgers, via Twitter.

“Ahhh, RIP Tony Bennett, truly one of the greats. The first album I had was Tony Bennett sings 10 Rodgers and Hart songs, from when my record company in 1976 let me do a ‘bank raid’ of their vinyl stock and I was a fan from there on in. An incredible singer live, saw him many times.” — musician, singer and songwriter Paul Young, via Twitter.

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and BRENDAN FARRINGTON (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris said extremists want to “replace history with lies” as she traveled to Florida on Friday to assail Republican efforts to overhaul educational standards, plunging into a battle over schooling that has rippled through classrooms around the country.

“They dare to push propaganda to our children,” she said in Jacksonville. “This is the United States of America. We’re not supposed to do that.”

Her trip came two days after the Florida Board of Education approved a revised Black history curriculum to satisfy legislation signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate who has accused public schools of liberal indoctrination. The new standards include instruction that enslaved people benefited from skills that they learned.

“How is it that anyone could suggest that in the midst of these atrocities that there was any benefit to being subjected to this level of dehumanization?” Harris asked.

She did not mention DeSantis by name, instead referring to “so-called leaders.” However, the speech was another example of how Harris has been the White House point person for addressing cultural issues such as race, schooling and abortion that DeSantis has taken on in the governor’s office and on the campaign trail.

In Salt Lake City on Friday, DeSantis doubled down on earlier arguments that the new curriculum was needed to prevent liberal indoctrination and accused Harris of attempting “to demagogue” and politicize history.

He said he wasn’t involved in devising the Board of Education’s standards but defended the components concerning how enslaved people benefited.

“They’re probably going to show is some of the folks that eventually parlayed being a blacksmith into doing things later, later in life. But the reality is: All of that is rooted in whatever is factual,” he said.

Earlier, DeSantis accused the Biden administration of being “obsessed” with his state as it ignores other problems, like border security and crime.

Harris, the first Black person to serve as vice president, spoke from the Ritz Theater and Museum, located in a historically African American neighborhood of Jacksonville.

She described “true patriotism” as “fighting for a nation that will be better for each generation to come,” and she said schools would better prepare students for the world if they don’t gloss over historical crimes.

“Let us not be seduced into believing that somehow we will be better if we forget,” she said. “We will be better if we remember. We will be stronger if we remember.”

Christian Ziegler, chairman of the Florida Republican Party, said Harris was out to “lecture Floridian parents that their children belong to the government and the government has a right to indoctrinate and sexualize our children.”

He said “the government overreach on parental rights has already been overwhelmingly rejected in Florida.”

President Joe Biden and Harris have pitched their reelection campaign around preserving freedoms, and they view education issues as one way to highlight Republican extremism.

In a video announcing his bid for a second term, Biden warned about Republicans “dictating what health care decisions women can make, banning books, and telling people who they can love, all while making it more difficult for you to be able to vote.”

Jacksonville is a rare bright spot for Democrats in Florida, a longtime swing state that has become increasingly safe for Republicans. Donna Deegan, a Democrat, was elected as the city’s mayor in May, and Harris tried to boost morale among the party faithful on Friday.

“We gotta remind the folks of Florida that you’re not fighting out here by yourself,” Harris said. “We believe in you.”

Florida has shifted to the right under DeSantis’ leadership. As governor, he’s signed legislation on a number of education issues, such as banning drag shows at schools and imposing new requirements for transgender bathroom use.

In 2022, he signed what he called the Stop WOKE Act, which limits how race can be taught in school and which the governor used to attack critical race theory — a subject he has described as “crap.” The law essentially says students can’t be made to feel guilty about their race because of injustices of the past.

Critics said the law was DeSantis’ attempt to suppress an accurate account of Black history. The law is being challenged in court.

“The full measure of African American history is not a hand-picked Rosa Parks here and a Martin Luther King Jr. there,” said Democratic state Sen. Bobby Powell, who is Black. “It is the sweeping collection of stories spanning several centuries, the lessons of cruelty and inhumanity interwoven in the determination of a people to live and breathe free. It is as much Florida’s story as the nation’s story and it needs to be fully told.”

Earlier this year, the DeSantis administration rejected a College Board Advanced Placement course on African American history, which DeSantis said was “indoctrination.”

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Farrington reported from Tallahassee, Florida.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Some Florida Keys coral reefs are losing their color weeks earlier than normal this summer because of record-high water temperatures, meaning they are under stress and their health is potentially endangered, federal scientists said.

The corals should be vibrant and colorful this time of year, but are swiftly going white, said Katey Lesneski, research and monitoring coordinator for Mission: Iconic Reefs, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration launched to protect Florida coral reefs.

“The corals are pale, it looks like the color’s draining out,” said Lesneski, who has spent several days on the reefs over the last two weeks. “And some individuals are stark white. And we still have more to come.”

Scientists with NOAA this week raised their coral bleaching warning system to Alert Level 2 for the Keys, their highest heat stress level out of five. That level is reached when the average water surface temperature is about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) above the normal maximum for eight straight weeks.

Surface temperatures around the Keys have been averaging about 91 degrees (33 Celsius), well above the normal mid-July average of 85 degrees (29.5 Celsius), said Jacqueline De La Cour, operations manager for NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch program. Previous Alert Level 2s were reached in August, she said.

Coral reefs are made up of tiny organisms that link together. The reefs get their color from the algae that live inside them and are the corals’ food. When temperatures get too high, the coral expels the algae, making the reefs appear white or bleached. That doesn’t mean they are dead, but the corals can starve and are more susceptible to disease.

Andrew Bruckner, research coordinator at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, said some coral reefs began showing the first signs of bleaching two weeks ago. Then in the last few days, some reefs lost all their color. That had never been recorded before Aug. 1. The peak for bleaching typically happens in late August or September.

“We are at least a month ahead of time, if not two months,” Bruckner said. “We’re not yet at the point where we are seeing any mortality … from bleaching. It is still a minor number that are completely white, certain species, but it is much sooner than we expected.”

Still, forecasting what will happen the rest of the summer is hard, De La Cour and Bruckner said. While water temperatures could continue to spike — which could be devastating — a tropical storm or hurricane could churn the water and cool it down. Dusty air from the Sahara Desert moving across the Atlantic and settling over Florida could dampen the sun’s rays, lowering temperatures.

Because of climate change and other factors, the Keys waters have lost 80% to 90% of their coral over the last 50 years, Bruckner said. That affects not only marine life that depends on the reefs for survival, but also people — coral reefs are a natural buffer against storm surge from hurricanes and other storms. There is also an economic impact because tourism from fishing, scuba diving and snorkeling is heavily dependent on coral reefs.

“People get in the water, let’s fish, let’s dive — that’s why protecting Florida’s coral reef is so critical,” De La Cour said.

Both scientists said it is not “all doom and gloom.” A 20-year, large-scale effort is underway to rebuild Florida’s coral back to about 90% of where it was 50 years ago. Bruckner said scientists are breeding corals that can better withstand the heat and are using simple things like shade covers and underwater fans to cool the water to help them survive.

“We are looking for answers and we are trying to do something, rather than just looking away,” Bruckner said.

Breeding corals can encourage heat resistance in future generations of the animals, said Jason Spadaro, coral reef restoration program manager for Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in Sarasota, Florida. That could be vital to saving them, he said.

Spadaro and others who have visited the corals said they have noticed the coral bleaching is worse in the lower Keys than in the more northern parts of the area. The Keys have experienced bad bleaching years in the past, but this year it is “really aggressive and it’s really persistent,” he said.

“It’s going to be a rough year for the reef. It hammers home the need to continue this important work,” he said.

The early bleaching is happening during a year when water temperatures are spiking earlier than normal, said Ross Cunning, a research biologist at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. The Keys are experiencing water temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius), which would normally not occur until August or September, he said.

The hot water could lead to a “disastrous bleaching event” if it does not wane, Cunning said.

“We’re seeing temperatures now that are even higher than what we normally see at peak, which is what makes this particularly scary,” Cunning said.

De La Cour said she has no doubt that the warming waters are caused by human-made global warming and that needs to be fixed for coral to survive.

“If we do not reduce the greenhouse gas emissions we are emitting and don’t reduce the greenhouse gases that are already in the atmosphere, we are creating a world where coral reefs cannot exist, no matter what we do,” she said.

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Whittle reported from Portland, Maine.

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