By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON and ERIC TUCKER (Associated Press)

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge signaled Tuesday that December may be too soon to begin former President Donald Trump’s landmark criminal trial concerning the mishandling of classified documents, but did not say whether she would agree to Trump’s request to put the trial off until after the 2024 election.

Judge Aileen Cannon said she would issue a written order “promptly” after the nearly two-hour hearing in federal court in Fort Pierce, Florida, where lawyers for Trump pressed for an indefinite delay of a trial date.

Trump’s lawyers say they need more time to prepare for what they describe as a complex case with a huge amount of evidence to review. They also argue the former president can’t get a fair trial ahead of the 2024 election, in which he is seeking to reclaim the White House.

Prosecutors have proposed that the trial begin in December, saying the case is not complex and there’s no need for a lengthy delay. Prosecutor David Harbach told the judge that Trump’s legal team has repeatedly suggested he should be treated differently because he’s running for president.

“He should be treated like anybody else,” Harbach said. “He is not different than any other busy, important person.”

It was the first time arguments were held in front of Cannon in the unprecedented federal prosecution of the former president, who is also facing charges in a separate case in New York. Cannon has been under increased scrutiny since a court ruling last year that critics said was unduly favorable to Trump.

Trump’s co-defendant, Walt Nauta, attended the hearing, but Trump did not. He was traveling Tuesday to Iowa, where he was taping a town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity.

Todd Blanche, one of Trump’s lawyers, said he disagreed with the prosecution’s view that this case should be treated like any other because of his position as the leading candidate looking to run against President Joe Biden. His team asked the judge to wait until after the election, arguing they believe the circumstances to guarantee a fair trial would improve by then.

“It is intellectually dishonest to say this case is like any other case,” Blanche said. “It is not.”

Harbach rejected insinuations by the defense team that the Biden administration was pursuing cases against Trump because he is a leading opposition candidate, saying there was “no political influence.” “No one in our team is a political appointee,” he said, noting that they are all career prosecutors.

The judge kept pressing Trump’s layers to set some dates and a more concrete timetable, acknowledging she did understand they needed more time to review documents and footage.

“We need to set a timetable,” Cannon said. “Some deadlines can be established now.”

But she also questioned prosecutors on whether there were other similar cases involving classified documents tried in such a short time frame.

The court date unfolded hours after Trump disclosed that he had received a target letter from the Justice Department in a separate investigation into efforts by him and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Such letters often precede an indictment.

Trump and Nauta have pleaded not guilty to a 38-count indictment that accuses them of conspiring to hide classified documents from Justice Department investigators that were taken from the White House to Mar-a-Lago at the end of Trump’s time in office in January 2021.

Cannon also presided over a lawsuit that the Trump team filed last year over the August 2022 FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. Cannon drew criticism and second-guessing from legal experts for granting Trump’s request for a special master to conduct an independent review of the classified documents removed by the FBI from Mar-a-Lago.

A three-judge federal appeals court later overruled that order and said she had lacked the authority for such a ruling.

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Tucker reported from Washington.

MEDIA

Scott Jackson was named the host for the weekday afternoon show on WVSP-94.1FM, starting July 31. He replaces Tim Donnelly, who took a similar job with a station in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Jackson, an Old Dominion alum with more than 30 years of experience in broadcasting, is a frequent play-by-play commentator on ODU basketball on ESPN+. He has worked on broadcasts with the Washington Commanders and Wizards, D.C.-area radio stations, St. John’s basketball and VCU basketball, among many other things.

“I am so excited to come back to where it all started,” Jackson said in a release Monday by Max Media Hampton Roads, which owns several stations, including 94.1. “The 757 area has always meant a lot to me. I look forward to the opportunity of informing and entertaining the passionate sports fans in Hampton Roads once again.”

Mike “Moose” Smith, the operations manager for Max Media Hampton Roads, said in the release, “We were fortunate to find Scott. He has major-market experience, already has roles with sports franchises we are associated with, works with the NFL team that many of our listeners support, and has local ties within the community. He truly is a perfect fit for us.”

Tiki Barber to call NFL games on CBS

Former Virginia and New York Giants star running back Tiki Barber will broadcast NFL games for CBS Sports this season as part of a three-man booth with play-by-play announcer Andrew Catalon and longtime NFL quarterback Matt Ryan.

Barber, 48, called two games with Tom McCarthy and one with Catalon for CBS last season. Barber is a host on WFAN radio in New York. With 10,449 yards in 10 seasons, he is the Giants’ all-time leading rusher.

PRO BASKETBALL

HBCU United to compete Wednesday in Texas

HBCUnited, guided by Norfolk State’s Robert Jones, will open play at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the second game of The Basketball Tournament, which annually offers $1 million to the winning team in a 64-team bracket.

ESPN+ will carry HBCUnited’s game from Lubbock, Texas, against a team called In the Lab. HBCUnited, which won two games in last year’s tournament, is seeded third and TBT newcomer In the Lab sixth among the eight teams competing in Texas Tech’s arena.

Wednesday’s winner will advance to the second round against the victor of the 2 p.m. game between second-seeded Bleed Green, a North Texas alumni team, and seventh-seeded Rise & Grind.

Thetournament.com, TBT’s website, says the bracket has 34 college alumni teams and 75 players with NBA experience, which are both records. Current NBA players are ineligible.

One of those ex-NBA players is NSU legend Kyle O’Quinn of HBCUnited. Other former Spartans on the roster are two-time MEAC MVP Joe Bryant Jr., Dana Tate, Devante Carter and Steven Whitley, as well as former Norcom High and Hampton University player Malique Trent.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

UVA, Virginia Tech reveal Kickoff participants

Virginia and Virginia Tech announced their representatives to speak at next week’s ACC Football Kickoff (media days) from July 25-27 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Cavaliers and Hokies both will be among the teams featured July 26. UVA will send coach Tony Elliott, quarterback Tony Muskett, defensive lineman Chico Bennett and running back Perris Jones. Tech will send coach Brent Pry, wide receiver Ali Jennings, who transferred from Old Dominion after last season, tight end Nick Gallo and defensive lineman Josh Fuga.

On July 27, former UVA quarterback Brennan Armstrong will be among North Carolina State’s representatives.

CAA lines up virtual media day

The Colonial Athletic Association’s virtual media day is set for July 25, and the three schools from Virginia will appear consecutively.

At 11:30 a.m., Hampton will have coach Robert Prunty, wide receiver Romon Copeland and linebacker Qwahsin Townsel available.

At 11:45 a.m., Richmond coach Russ Huesman will be joined by Spiders offensive lineman Ryan Coll and linebacker Tristan Wheeler.

At noon, William & Mary coach Mike London will be accompanied by defensive lineman Nate Lynn and running back Bronson Yoder.

By SETH BORENSTEIN and ANITA SNOW (Associated Press)

PHOENIX (AP) — A dangerous 19th straight day of scorching heat in Phoenix set a record for U.S. cities Tuesday, confined many residents to air-conditioned safety and turned the usually vibrant metropolis into a ghost town.

The city’s record streak of 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 Celsius) or more stood out even amid sweltering temperatures across the globe. It reached 117 degrees (47.2 Celsius) by 3 p.m.

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

No other major city – defined as the 25 most populous in the United States – has had any stretch of 110-degree days or 90-degree nights longer than Phoenix, said weather historian Christopher Burt of the Weather Company.

“When you have several million people subjected to that sort of thermal abuse, there are impacts,” said NOAA Climate Analysis Group Director Russell Vose, who chairs a committee on national records.

For Phoenix, it’s not only the brutal daytime highs that are deadly. The lack of a nighttime cooldown can rob people without access to air conditioning of the break their bodies need to function properly.

With Tuesday’s low of 94, the city has had nine straight days of temperatures that didn’t go below 90 at night, breaking another record there, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Salerno, who called it “pretty miserable when you don’t have any recovery overnight.”

On Monday, the city also set a record for the hottest overnight low temperature: 95 (35 Celsius). During the day, the heat built up so early that the city hit the 110 mark a couple minutes before noon.

Dog parks emptied out by the mid morning and evening concerts and other outdoor events were cancelled to protect performers and attendees. The city’s Desert Botanical Garden, a vast outdoor collection of cactus and other desert plants, over the weekend began shutting down at 2 p.m. before the hottest part of the day.

In the hours before the new record was set, rivers of sweat streamed down the sunburned face of Lori Miccichi, 38, as she pushed a shopping cart filled with her belongings through downtown Phoenix, looking for a place to get out of the heat.

“I’ve been out here a long time and homeless for about three years,” said Miccichi. “When it’s like this, you just have to get into the shade. This last week has been the hottest I ever remember.”

Some 200 cooling and hydration centers have been set up across the metro area, but most shut down between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. due to staffing and funding issues.

The entire globe has simmered to record heat both in June and July. Nearly every day of 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. U.S. weather stations have broken more than 860 heat records in the past seven days, according to NOAA.

Rome reached an all-time high of 109 (42.9 degrees Celsius), with record heat reported throughout Italy, France, Spain and parts of China. Catalonia smashed records reaching 113 (45 Celsius), according to global weather record keeper Maximiliano Herrera.

And if that’s not enough, smoke from wildfires, floods and droughts have caused problems globally.

In addition to Phoenix, Vose and others found less populous places such as Death Valley and Needles, California; and Casa Grande, Arizona, with longer hot streaks, but none in locations where many people live. Death Valley has had an 84-day streak of 110-degree temperatures.

The last time Phoenix didn’t reach 110 F (43.3 C) was June 29, when it hit 108 (42.2 C). The record of 18 days above 110 that was tied Monday was first set in 1974.

“This will likely be one of the most notable periods in our health record in terms of deaths and illness,” said David Hondula, chief heat officer for the city. “Our goal is for that not to be the case.”

Phoenix City Parks and Recreation workers Joseph Garcia, 48, and Roy Galindo, 28, tried to stay cool as they trimmed shrubs. They work from 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. to avoid the hottest time of the day.

“It gets super hot out here and sometimes we have to take care of the public,” said Galindo, adding he sometimes find people passed out on the grass. “A lot of these people aren’t drinking water.”

Retired Phoenix firefighter Mark Bracy, who has lived in the city most of his 68 years, went on a two-hour morning climb Tuesday, up and down Piestewa Peak, which is 2,610 feet high.

“I’ve been going up there regularly since I was in the Cub Scouts, but it was never this hot back then,” said Bracy. “We’ve had hot spells before, but never anything like this.”

Dr. Erik Mattison, director of the emergency department at Dignity Health Chandler Regional Medical Center in metro Phoenix, recalled a hiker in his 60s who was brought in last week with a core body temperature of 110 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Heat makes people sick. Heat makes people die,” Mattison said.

“And it’s not just older people,” he added. “We’ve seen professional athletes fall ill in the heat during training camp.”

Phoenix’s heat wave has both long and short-term causes, said Arizona State University’s Randy Cerveny, who coordinates weather record verification for the World Meteorological Organization.

Long-term high temperatures over recent decades are due to human activity, he said, while the short-term cause is high pressure over the western United States.

That high pressure, also known as a heat dome, has been around the Southwest cooking it for weeks. When it moved, it moved to be even more centered on Phoenix, said National Weather Service meteorologist Isaac Smith.

The Southwest high pressure not only brings the heat, it prevents cooling rain and clouds from bringing relief, Smith said. Normally, the Southwest’s monsoon season kicks in around June 15 with rain and clouds. But Phoenix has not had measurable rain since mid-March.

“This heat wave is intense and unrelenting,” said Katharine Jacobs, director of the Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions at the University of Arizona. “Unfortunately, it is a harbinger of things to come.”

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Follow AP’s climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

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Borenstein reported from Washington. Follow Seth Borenstein and Anita Snow on Twitter at @borenbears and @asnowreports

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Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

When change for the better is coming, wouldn’t you rather be on the leading edge than lagging behind, trying in vain to stop progress? Isn’t it smarter to help shape the change and benefit from it, rather than to cling to ways of doing things that are no longer working?

Offshore wind development is set to play a key role in the shift away from the carbon-based fuels to renewable, greener energy sources. That change is necessary if we have any hope of slowing the climate change that’s causing devastating storms, fires, droughts, sea-level rise, floods and other disasters that threaten the way of life, especially in our coastal communities.

Partly because of location but also because enough key players have been looking toward the future, Hampton Roads is poised to be on the leading edge of that coming shift to cleaner, more sustainable energy — and will benefit economically as a result.

Dominion Energy already has two pilot wind turbines that have been performing reliably in the nearly three years they have been off the shore of Virginia Beach. Dominion is moving ahead with work on what will become the largest offshore wind farm in the United State. The project, with 176 wind turbines, is expected to be complete by the end of 2026.

Avangrid Renewables, an energy company based in Oregon, has proposals for wind farms in our region off both Virginia and North Carolina. It is in the permitting process for a large wind energy project about 36 miles from Virginia Beach, off the upper Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Building and operating these wind farms will take lots of workers, materials, transportation and support services. Hampton Roads has a great opportunity to take advantage of its position and become a leading East Coast hub for offshore wind energy.

Already, Siemens Gamesa, a European wind-engineering firm, is building a turbine blade finishing company — the first in the U.S. — at Portsmouth Marine Terminal.

The Port of Virginia is making good progress in its move to shift to cleaner energy and become the first carbon-neutral port on the East Coast by 2040.

The climate crisis means we must make major changes as quickly as possible. That necessity, and the work already under way, also mean that this moment can be transformational for our region. We can be out in front, building the new, clean energy industry — and a sustainable economy for the future.

Solar energy, too, has great potential, and it also offers possibilities in this region.

Taking the lead in developing more effective ways to make vulnerable coastal areas resilient to flooding can also provide more lasting jobs, even as it protects our communities.

Economic development studies say building an offshore wind hub in Hampton Roads could create more than 5,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Virginia’s leaders took an important initial step toward a better future in 2020, when Gov. Ralph Northam signed the Virginia Clean Economy Law, clearing the way for building offshore wind farms. The law requires that 40% of the electricity in the commonwealth come from renewable energy sources by 2030 and 100% from carbon-free sources by 2050.

With the continued progress in wind energy, and bright prospects for related businesses, the future looks promising. The opportunity is here, and much groundwork has been laid.

Now the task is to keep our eyes focused on the future. We need to find solutions and make them work. We can help shape the change that must come in a way that will better control the climate crisis and all the harm it can bring to this vulnerable coastal region. At the same time, we can create jobs and help the area’s economy grow, diversify and be strong for decades to come.

One thing is certain: If we don’t seize this opportunity, if we don’t take the lead at this crossroads moment, other regions, other states and other countries will.

A James City County woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony child neglect after the death of an infant in her care last year.

Kimberly Henretty, 59, was operating an unlicensed daycare out of her home in the 5000 block of Thomas Court on Aug. 9 when a 4-month-old baby in her care went into cardiac arrest. The baby, identified in court as Coleman Young, was pronounced dead by paramedics who responded to the scene.

The infant’s mother was present in the courtroom on Tuesday as Henretty pleaded guilty in Williamsburg-James City County Circuit Court to a reduced charge, which amended the original Class 4 felony — punishable by up to 10 years in prison — to a Class 6 felony, which carries a 5-year maximum, for “showing a reckless disregard for human life.”

She also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of operating a daycare program without a license. Prosecutors decided not to pursue a third charge of child endangerment.

Henretty was indicted by a grand jury on March 15. On April 17, she turned herself into the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail, where she is still being held.

During the hearing, Henrico County special prosecutor Alison Martin told the court that 4-month-old Coleman had already been dead for a number of hours when emergency personnel arrived at the scene.

According to Martin, the daycare had been in violation of a number of state standards at the time of the incident. Henretty was found to be caring for 10 children, all under the age of 5, and the baby had been sleeping on a different floor without a baby monitor. A child abuse expert determined that the child had not been appropriately fed and had low blood sugar, Martin said.

Additionally, there were no AEDs — automated external defibrillators — in the home and some of the smoke alarms were not in working order.

The medical examiner’s office in Norfolk later determined the cause of death to be Sudden Unexplained Infant Death, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes as a term used to describe the sudden and unexpected death of a baby less than 1 year old in which the cause was not obvious before investigation.

Police previously said the daycare was not registered as a business and people learned about it via word-of-mouth.

Henretty is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 18.

Sian Wilkerson, 757-342-6616, [email protected]

By JOSEF FEDERMAN (Associated Press)

JERUSALEM (AP) — Tens of thousands of protesters on Tuesday blocked highways and train stations and massed in central Tel Aviv during a day of countrywide demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious judicial overhaul plan.

The protests, now in their seventh month, have taken on a sense of urgency in recent days as Netanyahu and his allies in parliament march ahead with the program. The first bill in the package – a measure that seeks to limit the Supreme Court’s oversight powers – could become law as soon as next week.

The unrest also cast a shadow over a visit to the White House by Israel’s figurehead president, Isaac Herzog, who was invited to Washington to celebrate Israel’s 75th anniversary.

Herzog, a political centrist, has been involved in behind-the-scenes efforts to broker a compromise on the judicial overhaul, which has strained relations between Netanyahu and President Joe Biden. It was unclear whether Herzog, a former rival of Netanyahu’s who has shown little enthusiasm for the overhaul plan, would try to patch things up between the two leaders.

Netanyahu and his allies say the overhaul is needed to rein in the powers of an unelected judiciary – particularly the Supreme Court – that they believe is overly interventionist in government decisions.

Their opponents, representing a wide cross section of Israeli society, say the plan is a power grab by Netanyahu and his ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox allies that will destroy the country’s fragile system of checks and balances. They also say the prime minister, who is on trial for corruption charges, and his allies are motivated by various grievances against the justice system.

During Tuesday’s “day of disruption,” protesters blocked major highways and gathered outside Israel’s stock exchange and military headquarters. Business leaders have repeatedly warned that a weakened legal system will deter foreign investors. Reservists in key military units, including fighter pilots and cyber warfare agents, have threatened to stop reporting for duty.

“This government is totally insane. We are afraid for our democracy, for everything we’ve built — that’s why we are all here fighting,” said Itai Bar Natan, 48, a high-tech executive who waved a flag that read “Brothers in Arms,” a slogan used by military reservists in the protest movement.

Demonstrators, many of them reservists, created human chains and blocked one of the entrances to Israel’s military headquarters in central Tel Aviv.

Protesters flooded train stations during afternoon rush hour. Police closed a central train station in Tel Aviv to prevent the protesters from entering. Many blew horns or held up blue and white Israeli flags. Later Tuesday, a mass protest in central Tel Aviv was planned.

Outside the Tel Aviv stock exchange, demonstrators ignited smoke bombs, drummed and chanted, and held up signs reading “save our startup nation.”

“We came to the stock exchange because this is the symbol of what this craziness of dictatorship is doing to Israel’s economy,” said protester Tzvia Bader. “We’ve become a third world country. There is no chance for our economy.”

Others demonstrated outside the headquarters of the Histadrut, Israel’s largest labor union, demanding that the organization call for a general strike — a move that could paralyze the country’s economy. A strike by the union in March helped push Netanyahu to suspend the overhaul at the time.

The Israel Medical Association also announced that doctors would hold a two-hour strike in protest of the legislation on Wednesday. Emergency operations will proceed as normal, said Dr. Hagai Levine, a former head of Israel’s association of public health doctors.

Police said at least 37 people were arrested on public disturbance charges.

Netanyahu heads the most ultranationalist and religiously conservative government in Israel’s 75-year history.

His overhaul plan has exposed wide rifts in Israeli society – largely based on religious and economic differences.

Netanyahu’s allies are motivated by an array of grievances against the court system.

His ultra-Orthodox allies, for instance, fear the courts will strip away exemptions that allow young religious men to skip otherwise compulsory military service in order to pursue seminary studies. Others have spoken out against rights for LGBTQ+ people, while several Cabinet ministers are hard-line settler leaders who remain furious about Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 and accuse the courts of siding with Palestinians.

The protesters, on the other hand, are largely members of Israel’s secular, middle class who believe the government is planning to clamp down on their way of life and on the country’s liberal traditions.

The coalition took office in December after winning the country’s fifth election in under four years. That election, like the previous four that ended in deadlock, were referendums on Netanyahu’s fitness to serve as prime minister while on trial.

The weekly mass protests led Netanyahu to suspend the overhaul in March but he revived the plan last month after compromise talks with the political opposition collapsed.

The Israeli parliament gave initial approval last week to a key portion of the overhaul that would prevent the Supreme Court from striking down decisions it finds “unreasonable.” Netanyahu’s coalition spent Tuesday rejecting 26,000 objections to the bill filed by opposition lawmakers.

The law is meant to serve as a safeguard against corruption and improper appointments of unqualified political cronies to key positions. But Netanyahu’s allies look at it as an infringement on the powers of elected officials. The judges invoked the clause earlier this year when they said the appointment of a veteran politician to the Cabinet was unreasonable because of his past conviction for accepting bribes and plea bargain over tax offenses.

The bill has already received preliminary approval in parliament and is scheduled to receive formal approval next week unless Netanyahu decides to freeze the legislation.

Other proposed laws in the overhaul would grant lawmakers greater control over the appointment of judges and give parliament the power to overturn high court decisions and pass laws impervious to judicial review.

The protests continued as Herzog landed in Washington. He was scheduled to meet with Biden on Tuesday and to address Congress on Wednesday.

The visit has drawn attention to Biden’s refusal so far to invite Netanyahu to the White House. Such visits are standard protocol for Israeli prime ministers. But Biden has said he is unhappy with Netanyahu’s new government – both because of the overhaul and because of rapid expansion of West Bank settlements, built on occupied lands claimed by the Palestinians.

Biden spoke with Netanyahu by phone on Monday and invited him to meet in the U.S. this fall. But he did not say whether the meeting would take place at the White House or a neutral location, such as the United Nations General Assembly.

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AP correspondents Julia Frankel in Jerusalem and Sam McNeil in Tel Aviv contributed reporting.

By HYUNG-JIN KIM, KIM TONG-HYUNG AND TARA COPP (Associated Press)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An American soldier crossed the heavily armed border from South Korea into North Korea, U.S. officials said Tuesday. He went “willfully and without authorization,” the U.S. military said, becoming the first American detained in the North in nearly five years at a time of heightened tensions over its nuclear program.

There were no immediate details about why or how the soldier crossed the border or whether he was on duty. The five U.S. officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter ahead of a public announcement.

The American-led U.N. Command overseeing the area tweeted earlier Tuesday that the detained soldier was on a tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom. The soldier purposefully separated himself and ran away from the rest of the group, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment. The official added that it’s “not normal” for active duty service members to go on such tours.

The U.S. military in South Korea also said in a statement that he “willfully and without authorization” crossed the military demarcation line into North Korea.

It said that he is believed to be in North Korean custody and that the U.N. Command is working with its North Korean counterparts to resolve the incident. North Korea’s state media didn’t immediately report on the border crossing.

Cases of Americans or South Koreans defecting to North Korea are rare, though more than 30,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea to avoid political oppression and economic difficulties since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Panmunjom, located inside the 248-kilometer-long (154-mile-long) Demilitarized Zone, has been jointly overseen by the U.N. Command and North Korea since its creation at the close of the Korean War. Bloodshed and gunfire have occasionally occurred there, but it has also been a venue for numerous talks and is a popular tourist spot.

Known for its blue huts straddling concrete slabs that form the demarcation line, Panmunjom draws visitors from both sides who want to see the Cold War’s last frontier. No civilians live at Panmunjom. In the past, North and South Korean soldiers faced off within meters (yards) of each other.

Tours to the southern side of the village reportedly drew around 100,000 visitors a year before the coronavirus pandemic, when South Korea restricted gatherings to slow the spread of COVID-19. The tours resumed fully last year. During a short-lived period of inter-Korean engagement in 2018, Panmunjom was one of the border sites that underwent mine-clearing operations by North and South Korean army engineers as the Koreas vowed to turn the village into a “peace zone” where tourists from both sides could move around with more freedom.

In November 2017, North Korean soldiers fired 40 rounds as one of their colleagues raced toward the South. That soldier was hit five times before he was found beneath a pile of leaves on the southern side of Panmunjom. He survived and is now in South Korea.

The most famous incident at Panmunjom happened in August 1976, when two American army officers were killed by ax-wielding North Korean soldiers. The U.S. officers had been sent to trim a 40-foot-tall (12-meter-tall) tree that obstructed the view from a checkpoint. The attack prompted Washington to fly nuclear-capable B-52 bombers toward the DMZ to intimidate North Korea.

Panmunjom also is where the armistice that ended the Korean War was signed. That armistice has yet to be replaced with a peace treaty, leaving the Korean Peninsula technically in a state of war. The United States still stations about 28,000 troops in South Korea.

There have been a small number of U.S. soldiers who went to North Korea during the Cold War, including Charles Jenkins, who deserted his army post in South Korea in 1965 and fled across the DMZ. He appeared in North Korean propaganda films and married a Japanese nursing student who had been abducted from Japan by North Korean agents. He died in Japan in 2017.

But in recent years, some American civilians have been arrested in North Korea after allegedly entering the country from China. They were later convicted of espionage, subversion and other anti-state acts but were often released after the U.S. sent high-profile missions to secure their freedom.

In May 2018, North Korea released three American detainees — Kim Dong Chul, Tony Kim and Kim Hak Song — who returned to the United States on a plane with then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a short-lived period of warm relations between the longtime adversaries. Later in 2018, North Korea said it expelled American Bruce Byron Lowrance. Since his ouster, there have been no reports of other Americans detained in North Korea before Tuesday’s incident.

The 2018 releases came as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was engaged in nuclear diplomacy with then-President Donald Trump. The high-stakes diplomacy collapsed in 2019 amid wrangling over U.S.-led sanctions on North Korea.

Their freedoms were a striking contrast to the fate of Otto Warmbier, an American university student who died in 2017 days after he was released by North Korea in a coma after 17 months in captivity. Warmbier and other previous American detainees in North Korea were imprisoned over a variety of alleged crimes, including subversion, anti-state activities and spying.

The United States, South Korea and others have accused North Korea of using foreign detainees to wrest diplomatic concessions. Some foreigners have said after their release that their declarations of guilt were coerced while in North Korean custody.

Tuesday’s border crossing happened during tensions over North Korea’s barrage of missile tests since the start of last year. A U.S. nuclear-armed submarine visited South Korea on Tuesday for the first time in four decades in deterrence against North Korea.

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Copp reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee, Zeke Miller and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.

Cate Deventer | Bankrate.com (TNS)

While established trees may be a draw when house shopping, they can also cause damage to your property. Regular tree maintenance isn’t typically covered by home insurance, but damage from trees that occurs during a storm or other covered peril may be eligible for coverage. Our insurance editorial team breaks down the ins and outs of tree removal coverage to help you manage your property’s green space.

How can trees damage my property?

While having trees on your property can be aesthetically pleasing, trees do come with maintenance costs and can even cause damage to the home in a number of ways, including:

— Damage to roofs: Tree limbs that overhang your home can be knocked down during storms, damaging your roof and even falling into your house.

— Damage to siding: Limbs can also blow into your siding or repeatedly rub against your home and cause scratching or deeper damage.

— Interior water damage: If a tree limb or an entire tree has fallen onto or against your house during a storm, you may have rain coming inside, which can cause interior water damage.

— Damage to service lines: The roots of your trees can grow into service lines, like your water or gas lines, and cause damage.

— Blocked driveways: If a tree falls across your driveway, you may need to have it removed to get your vehicles out.

When does homeowners insurance cover tree removal?

Home insurance covers tree damage and tree removal in certain scenarios. Generally, if a tree or limb falls onto your home, onto a detached structure like a garage or shed, or is blocking your driveway, your policy could cover the removal, up to your limit. However, the reason that the tree falls is important. Removal may be covered if a tree falls under the following scenarios, but only if it falls on your home, an outbuilding or your driveway:

— Windstorm

— Hail storms

— Under the weight of ice or snow

— Lightning and the resulting fire

— Other covered perils listed in your policy

Keep in mind, though, that all policies are different. You may want to talk to your agent about the specifics of your policy to better understand what’s covered.

When does homeowners insurance not cover tree removal?

Not all tree removal scenarios are covered by standard home insurance. Your home insurance company could deny removal coverage if a tree falls in the following situations:

— During a flood

— During an earthquake

— If the tree is dead

— If the tree is rotted

— If the tree is not well maintained

You may be wondering if homeowners insurance covers dead trees or preventative tree removal. Most often, the answer is no. These scenarios are considered maintenance and are part of the cost of having trees on your property. If a tree is dead or needs to be removed as a preventative measure, your home insurance is not likely to pay.

Will my home policy cover tree damage that occurs to my neighbor’s house?

Not usually. If a tree on your lot falls onto your neighbor’s home due to a covered peril, your neighbor’s home insurance policy is generally going to pay for the damages. Your home policy doesn’t cover damage to your neighbor’s house, regardless of whose tree falls.

The only way that your policy may kick in is if you are found liable for the damages. If you know that a tree is dead, rotted or otherwise compromised, and poses a threat to your neighbor’s home, but you do not act to remove the tree, you may be found negligent. Your neighbor could sue you to prove your negligence and ask for the damage to be paid for.

How can I protect my home from tree damage?

When it comes to trees already established on your property, regularly inspecting and maintaining them may be your best course of action for preventing damage or injury. This may include:

— Removing dead or overgrown limbs and trees

— Hiring a professional to help trim around power lines on a routine basis.

— Monitoring and addressing root systems that could interfere with underground pipes or wiring.

When planting new trees on your property, you may want to choose a species that is weather-tolerant for your area and position new trees strategically so they are less likely to interfere with structures or systems already established on the property.

Frequently asked questions

— Will my homeowners insurance cover preventative tree removal? Generally speaking, no. While tree-related debris or damage after a storm may be covered, your insurance policy is not likely to cover preventative tree removal. If a specific tree is posing a threat — say to a utility line or structure on your property — you may look into hiring a tree removal professional before any damage is incurred. In many cases, the cost of removal may be less expensive than your homeowners insurance deductible.

— Why won’t my home insurance cover the removal of a dead tree? Home insurance is designed to cover sudden and accidental damages. If you have a dead tree on your property, the damage caused by the tree is not necessarily sudden. You know that the tree could fall and cause damage, and it is your responsibility as a homeowner to protect your property. Maintaining the health of the trees on your property, which includes removing any trees that pose a threat to your home, is part of home maintenance.

— How do I know if my tree could fall on my house? In general, there are a few signs that a tree could fall on your house and damage it. For starters, if there are trees in your yard that overhang your roof or if there are trees that have branches that hang near to your home, you could be at risk of trees or limbs falling onto your house. Furthermore, any large trees that sit near your home and are large enough to collide with your home if toppled by wind could also pose a risk. The general rule is that you want your yard to be free from trees that sit too close to your home, and the area around your house should be relatively clear from trees to mitigate the risks. If you’re unsure about the health of a tree in your yard, you can talk to a landscaper or tree professional in order to get an evaluation.

— How much does my home policy pay for if I need to remove fallen trees? It depends on your policy. Many standard policies include $500 to $1,000 in debris removal coverage, although some companies may consider debris removal coverage to be a percentage of your overall loss. For example, if a tree falls and causes $5,000 in damage to your home and you only have five percent debris removal coverage, your policy may pay up to $250 to remove the tree.You may be able to increase this amount depending on your policy type and carrier. If you have several trees or particularly large trees on your lot, you may want to consider increasing your coverage.

©2023 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Lake Taylor High grad Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey hoped to hear his name called at the 2023 NFL draft last April.

But if he didn’t, it was fine with him.

That’s because he had other plans. He had aspirations that he controlled and ones that weren’t controlled by others.

After his Texas Longhorns lost to Washington in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29, Tucker-Dorsey — who had a season-high 10 tackles with five solo — was invited to the Tropical Bowl, which is one of the senior bowls for the NFL. That event was Jan. 21.

One day earlier, Tucker-Dorsey, who dabbled in real estate in college, had a meeting with Austin native Gary Keller, the world’s largest real estate franchise by agent count. It has more than 1,100 offices and 191,000 agents.

He decided to start his new career.

“I had a choice. It (an NFL career) didn’t have to be over,” said Tucker-Dorsey, who didn’t get drafted. “I just decided that once I looked at the situation, you always want to start with the end in mind and put yourself in position to where you are in control of your life.”

Tucker-Dorsey is dictating his own life.

He wants to bring that message to other student-athletes.

Last year, he held a football camp, but on Friday, he will partner with Kevin Holloman to host a career fair for student-athletes ages 9-17 at Lake Taylor from noon to 3 p.m. Holloman is the founder of the United Youth Foundation Leaders. All kids must register to attend.

“I wanted to provide something that they could go home and think about and actually gain something from it and put into use right now,” he said. “I just want them to understand that there’s more out there. I’m not trying to discourage anybody from chasing their dream and trying to go pro. That’s not what I’m trying to do. What I want them to understand is that there’s more out there for you, and there’s a way to get it. I don’t want them to limit themselves. That’s the message that I’m trying to get out.”

Tucker-Dorsey, 24, understands the numbers.

There are more than a million players at the high school level. Of those, only 73,712 make it to the NCAA level, representing just 7.3% of the talent pool. At any one time, just over 16,000 are draft-eligible, which is only 1.6% of that college player pool. And then only 259 players will be drafted.

But even if you are drafted, only 30% will ever make it onto an NFL roster. And those numbers are skewed because most players drafted in the first or second round will make the team. Those drafted in the later rounds have less than a 15% chance.

“It didn’t make sense anymore just given the circumstances that I would be under and the position that I was in as an undrafted or late-round guy,” he said about an NFL career. “It wasn’t hard for me because I didn’t want to go through that. I actually created other opportunities for myself. I knew I could do something else.”

He also understood that even if he got an NFL opportunity, he knew his time would probably be short.

“The shelf life of an NFL player is three years,” he said. “I looked at it as three years I could be in real estate. I can control it. Whereas if you’re in the NFL, you could be playing in Arizona this year and be playing in Philadelphia the next year. I didn’t want to go through that. I thought about my purpose and what I wanted out of life versus doing something because everyone else wanted me to do it.”

But Tucker-Dorsey has always prepared for the future.

While at Lake Taylor, he learned a trade as a welder.

He was the No. 12 senior in South Hampton Roads for the Class of 2017. He helped lead the Titans to the Class 4 state title game as a junior and state quarterfinals as a senior. He earned All-Tidewater, all-state, all-region and all-conference honors.

He wasn’t highly recruited coming out of high school and went to James Madison, where he became an FCS All-American linebacker. In four seasons, he recorded 204 tackles (73 solo), 14.5 for loss, nine pass breakups, four sacks and four interceptions.

With one year of eligibility left, he entered the transfer portal and became one of the highest-recruited players in the portal. He went to Texas, where he played in 13 games, including one start. He finished with 44 tackles (22 solo), three tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble, one quarterback hurry and one pass breakup.

“I think for me personally, I maximized it. I really think I did,” he said about his playing career. “It gave me everything I needed. It was a tool for me. I got money, I got the experience, I got to make connections and I have no regrets. I’m very proud of what I was able to accomplish.”

Tucker-Dorsey, who majored in public policy administration with a concentration in management, wrote about his experience for Sports Illustrated. He wrote if for student-athletes, but it could apply to anyone’s life.

He works as an agent partner on the Livian Texas team located in Austin.

“I love it. I like it because it’s a grind,” he said. “It takes a lot of work. You get out what you put in. And your actions give you your result.”

If you have a child you want to attend this career fair, call 757-577-4429 to register.

Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, [email protected]. Twitter @LHRubama

WILLIAMSBURG — Local representatives, elected officials and tourism industry leaders met Monday for a roundtable discussion hosted by U.S. Sen. Mark Warner to talk about planning for the U.S. semiquincentennial commemoration throughout Virginia.

The semiquincentennial will mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026.

“Help me help you,” Warner told the group in attendance, which included Colonial Williamsburg Foundation President and CEO Cliff Fleet, William & Mary President Katherine Rowe and Williamsburg Mayor Doug Pons.

Throughout the hour-long discussion at the Williamsburg Lodge, the most common request was for additional funding to help support the plans and projects happening in the area. Several people also mentioned the continued construction on Interstate 64 as something they hope to see wrapped up in time for the 250th to help make movement easier with the expected influx of visitors.

“By hook or by crook, we will fix I-64,” Warner said.

Pons reaffirmed the city’s commitment to the ongoing commemoration efforts, while Rowe pointed out the unparalleled “pace of primary discovery” happening in the area, much of which has been driven by local communities, such as with the Historic First Baptist Church.

Visit Williamsburg CEO Vicki Cimino mentioned workforce problems as an ongoing issue in the area, asking Warner for anything that might help promote workforce development. She also emphasized the importance of the spotlight surrounding the 250th commemorations in helping to promote Williamsburg overseas.

State Del. A.C. Cordoza, R-Hampton, mentioned Juneteenth as an example of an event that should be included in the official lineup, helping to tell a more complete story about the nation’s founding. Juneteenth marks the final emancipation of enslaved people in the U.S. and in 2021 was established as a federal holiday.

A full list of events happening in the lead up of the commemoration on July 4, 2026, is available on the VA250 website at va250.org/localevents.

During the discussion, Warner floated some of his own ideas, including inviting representatives from NATO member states to come and participate in some of the commemorative events as well as reaching out to places around the country which have been named for Virginia locations and inviting them to take part in some way.

“I think there are a host of other people here who are smarter than me in terms of what the particular marketing ideas are, but coming out of the COVID world, getting people back into history tourism is really important,” Warner said in an interview after the roundtable. “It sounds like we’ve got our act together here in the Historic Triangle and Virginia … starting with things like Colonial Williamsburg and Monticello and Mount Vernon.”

With presumably a huge influx of people traveling to Virginia for the ongoing commemoration events, it’s an opportunity to bring tourists in, which will go far to pay “many, many years of dividends,” he said.

Sian Wilkerson, 757-342-6616, [email protected]