FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (PNS) — An initiative in United Methodist churches across rural North Carolina aimed at strengthening students’ reading skills has reached two congregations in Cumberland County.

The Summer Literacy Initiative by the Duke Endowment is working to combat academic backsliding in reading among first, second and third graders in the Tar Heel State.

Experts said while students have a steady flow of academic resources during the school year, children in low-income and under-resourced areas often find the flow slows to a trickle over the summer.

Kathy Newton-Dunton, pastor of John Wesley United Methodist Church in Fayetteville, hopes when kids become stronger readers, it will prepare them to be stronger leaders.

“The whole idea is to help children to face the future in a more positive way because children are our future, but they are also our leaders, not just in the future, but they are our leaders even now,” Newton-Dunton explained.

The initiatives take place for four to six weeks during the summer, Monday through Friday, with professional teachers leading groups of students. More than 2,000 children have been served by more than 20 churches participating in the initiative.

David Woodhouse, pastor of Hay Street United Methodist Church in Fayetteville, where many of his congregants are current or former educators and university faculty, said many of them are aware of the connections between third grade literacy scores and high school graduation and later economic mobility.

“We want to do our part as a congregation to help ensure that the children in our community are able to understand what they’re reading, and they not only understand it, but that they actually develop a love for reading, and that they see school as something that can be fun and engaging,” Woodhouse emphasized.

According to Literacy Mid-South, nearly 75% of third graders who read poorly will then read poorly in the ninth grade and are four times more likely to leave high school without a diploma.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military on Saturday announced its first troop deaths due to direct Iranian fire since the opening days of the war, with two killed and another missing in an attack on a base in Jordan after days of intensifying exchanges of fire.

Friday’s drone and missile attack sent four other service members to hospitals, the military said. The dead were not identified. Since the war began, 16 U.S. service members have been killed and over 430 wounded.

Minutes before the announcement, Iran’s supreme leader warned of “unforgettable lessons” if the U.S. keeps attacking the Islamic Republic.

The remarks read out on state TV and attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei, still unseen since the war began, also called President Donald Trump’s signature “worthless and invalid.” An Iranian negotiator said Tehran was suspending its commitments to the interim deal signed about a month ago and aimed at permanently ending the fighting.

Tehran’s declarations snapped another fragile thread as the war shows no end in sight. Now Khamenei warns of “lessons” not only from Iran but also its armed proxies in the region, calling them the “Axis of Resistance.” The U.S. issued a global travel alert over the rising tensions.

The battle has focused on control of the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway that previously carried a fifth of the world’s crude oil. The widening strikes now threaten civilians and infrastructure, including desalination plants for drinking water, while the global economy again is on alert.

The U.S. has violated its commitments under the deal and now Iran is “no longer implementing them,” Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, told state TV.

There was no new word on mediation efforts.

US soldiers face growing risks

The previous recorded death of a U.S. service member was that of a helicopter pilot who crashed in the Arabian Sea earlier this month. Early in the war, an Iranian drone strike on a command center in Kuwait killed six soldiers. One soldier died after an attack on a base in Saudi Arabia. Six were killed when a refueling aircraft crashed in Iraq.

On Saturday, the most significant damage from Iranian strikes occurred in Kuwait, where a water desalination plant and an oil facility were hit, according to the Kuwait authorities and the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation. Both declined to provide locations.

It was the second attack against a desalination plant in two days in the tiny desert nation that depends on desalination for 90% of its drinking water. The strikes injured several people at the oil facility and caused a fire at the desalination plant, forcing several power generation units offline.

Several firefighters and a worker were injured while battling two other blazes sparked by Iranian strikes, according to the Kuwait Fire Force. Kuwait briefly closed its airspace due to missile threats, and Kuwait Airways said it was rescheduling most flights to and from the capital.

Meanwhile, Iraq said it shot down attack drones over the city of Irbil. Jordan’s state-run Petra news agency said the kingdom’s air defense systems had downed Iranian missiles, while air sirens sounded multiple times in Bahrain throughout the day and in Saudi Arabia in the morning, according to their governments.

The secretary general of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, Jasem Mohamed al-Budaiwi, accused Iran of war crimes for strikes on infrastructure and civilian facilities.

US strikes hit infrastructure in Iran

The U.S. Central Command said early Saturday that its seventh straight night of strikes hit “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities.”

U.S. airstrikes hit an electricity and desalination plant in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, Iranian state TV reported. State-run news agency IRNA said the Bonji desalination plant was destroyed, cutting off water supplies to about 10,000 people, and a desalination plant on strategic Qeshm Island inside the strait was damaged.

Overnight strikes damaged two tunnels and a bridge, disrupting a main highway toward Bandar Abbas, Iran’s main port that sits near the narrowest part of the strait, according to IRNA. It said three bridges were hit Saturday, including one on a route to Bandar Abbas.

Iran acknowledged “attacks on power infrastructure” during the U.S. airstrikes for the first time Friday when its Energy Ministry urged people to use less power in southern provinces “experiencing extreme heat.” It did not specify what was hit.

Iranian authorities said at least 50 people have been killed and more than 500 wounded in U.S. strikes in the past three weeks, including eight killed in a strike on a bridge Friday.

Iran and US vie for Strait of Hormuz

Iran effectively closed the strait to shipping traffic after the war started with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28. That has given Tehran significant leverage in negotiations.

Iran has said the strait must be under its sole control and that vessels should pay fees to Tehran, even though the world for decades has considered it an international waterway. Iran fired on ships on recent days and transits fell to a three-week low, according to an international shipping tracker.

Trump has resumed threats to target Iran’s power stations and bridges to try to compel Tehran to loosen its hold. The U.S. in the past week reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports to halt its shipments of crude oil, and the military on Saturday said it had redirected five ships and disabled one since then.

Before the war began, the U.S. had been in talks with Iran over its nuclear program. Trump now faces political pressure to end the war and avoid the kind of prolonged Middle East conflict he had campaigned against.

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Ezzidin reported from Cairo and Toropin from Washington. Associated Press writers Amir Vahdat in Tehran; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Stella Martany in Irbil, Iraq and Matt Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that Darline Graham, the sister of the late Lindsey Graham, has his support to run for a full term to replace her brother in the U.S. Senate.

He wrote on social media that she “has been a WINNER all of her life and, should she accept, has my Complete and Total Endorsement.”

“RUN, DARLINE, RUN!” Trump added.

The president said he had discussed a potential campaign with Darline Graham at the White House. Four people familiar with the deliberations, none of whom were authorized to speak publicly, had previously said that she privately expressed interest in running.

Trump’s endorsement dramatically reshapes the scramble to fill Lindsey Graham’s seat after he died last weekend. The president had previously suggested he could back a potential candidacy from Rep. Russell Fry. Several other noteworthy politicians — including Fry, Rep. Nancy Mace, Rep. Ralph Norman and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette — have been eyeing a run.

The filing period for a special primary runs from July 21 to July 28, and the primary is scheduled for Aug. 11.

Plans for Lindsey Graham’s funeral were also announced Friday. There will be a service in Washington on July 28 and more in South Carolina on July 29.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham to serve the remainder of her brother’s term, which ends in January.

The first woman to represent the state in the Senate, Darline Graham called it “such an honor,” as dozens of her brother’s staffers and campaign advisers stood behind her, some with eyes glassy from welling tears.

“Lindsey has always been there for me. And now, I will be there for him,” she said.

Lindsey Graham died Saturday at age 71. A preliminary report from the medical examiner said he suffered a tear in his aorta.

He never married or had a family of his own, but his sister was often by his side for the political touch points of his career, speaking at events and appearing in some of his campaign ads. After both of their parents died when Darline Graham was only 13, her older brother became her legal guardian and later adopted her, to ensure his military benefits would flow to her.

In forging a relationship with Darline Graham — who is new to politics but was a constant in her brother’s political career — Trump could be angling to develop another ally to help steer his agenda through the Senate.

Although they had at times a tumultuous relationship, Lindsey Graham had been one of Trump’s top Senate confidants, and the day after his death, the president said he was “like a member of the family.”

In his announcement Monday, McMaster made no reference to Darline Graham as a placeholder or symbolic appointment.

However, a person familiar with McMaster’s thinking but unauthorized to speak publicly said the governor, in selecting Darline Graham, had never contemplated that she would run for the seat herself.

Sen. Tim Scott, another South Carolina Republican, said he would not endorse any candidate in the primary because he also serves as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

But, he said, “as Tim Scott, the voter of South Carolina, I might indeed wade into the water at some point.”

“I think the truth of the matter is that Darline has so far been off to a remarkable start,” Scott told reporters, asking about her as a possible special primary contender. “‘Why not her?’ would be my question.”

When he died, Lindsey Graham had millions in his campaign account and was expected to raise much more heading into the general election. But those aren’t funds that Darline Graham could directly access, if she were to run, according to Bradley A. Smith, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.

Under federal rules, Lindsey Graham’s campaign would be limited to transferring just $2,000 to a potential Darline Graham candidacy. However, Smith said there is no limit on how much it could transfer to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which could — thanks to a Supreme Court decision last month — “spend an unlimited amount in coordination with Darline’s campaign.”

“It can’t be earmarked for Darline’s campaign, but in those circumstances I’m sure that the party will make sure she’s not short of cash,” said Smith, now serving as a professor at Capital University Law School in Ohio.

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Kim reported from Washington. Associated Press reporter Thomas Beaumont contributed from Des Moines, Iowa.

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NEW YORK (AP) — The sell-off for winners of the artificial-intelligence boom deepened Friday and yanked stock markets lower worldwide. Oil prices, meanwhile, continued to jump because of the war with Iran.

The S&P 500 fell 1% to finish its first losing week in the last three and only its third since the end of March. Just a couple days earlier, it had climbed within 0.5% of its all-time high.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 406 points, or 0.8%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.4%.

Chip stocks and other AI darlings once again were at the center of the shaky trading. They’ve been under pressure for weeks on worries that their prices shot too high and that voracious demand for computer memory and processors may be unsustainable if AI ends up producing less profit and productivity than promised.

Nvidia was the heaviest weight on the S&P 500 after dropping 2.2%. Its recent losses forced it to briefly cede the No. 1 ranking as the most valuable company on Wall Street Friday, but it finished the day back above Apple.

Applied Materials sank 5.6% to trim its surge for the year to 106%. Micron Technology swung between a loss of 5.8% and a gain of 3.2% before slipping 0.5%.

Earlier in the morning, tech sold off worldwide. Indexes tumbled 6.5% in Taipei, 4% in Tokyo and 3% in Shanghai as stocks like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. dropped 7.3%.

South Korea’s stock market was closed for a holiday, offering some respite, if only temporary. It’s been at the center of the AI swings because it’s dominated by two huge tech companies, Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. This past week alone, Seoul’s Kospi stock index had one day where it surged 6.2% and two others where it sank 6.4% and 8.9%.

News of a powerful Chinese AI model by startup Moonshot, Kimi K3, further shook markets. Similar to when China’s DeepSeek announced its AI model in early 2025, another low-cost rival to big Western AI models like ChatGPT and OpenAI could potentially hurt demand for computer chips and other components.

European stock indexes, which have less of an emphasis on AI and tech, had milder moves.

Adding to the pressure on Wall Street were drops for several stocks following their latest earnings reports. Companies are under pressure to deliver big growth for the spring to justify the big moves upward their stock prices have already made.

Netflix sank 7.3% after its revenue for the latest quarter fell just short of analysts’ expectations, even though its profit was bigger than expected. Its forecasts for upcoming revenue and profit in the summer also fell below expectations.

Intuitive Surgical, a maker of robotic surgical systems, dropped 14.1% despite topping expectations for the latest quarter. Analysts pointed to worries about slowing procedure growth because of the expiration of enhanced tax credits that helped lower the cost of health insurance for many Affordable Care Act enrollees.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX fell 5.4% and touched its lowest level since its stock began trading on the Nasdaq just over a month ago. The owner of the xAI business has been swept up in the swings for AI stocks, and it also had to abort a test flight of its mega Starship rocket Thursday within a second or so from blasting off.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 76.08 points to 7,457.69. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 406.55 to 52,146.42, and the Nasdaq composite sank 361.70 to 25,520.24.

More climbs for oil prices also pressured the stock market.

The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, jumped 4.6% to settle at $88.10, up from roughly $76 a week ago.

The United States expanded its airstrike campaign against Iran early Friday by hitting more bridges and collapsing a tower at a key Iranian port. That raised further worries about whether oil tankers will be able to use the Strait of Hormuz to carry crude from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.

High oil prices have sent Treasury yields upward in the bond market, which threaten to slow the economy and undercut prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments. Higher yields have already sent the average 30-year mortgage rate to its highest level in nearly a year.

But longer-term Treasury yields eased Friday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.55% from 4.57% late Thursday.

A report suggested sentiment among U.S. consumers is improving more than economists expected, while expectations for upcoming inflation eased. That’s important for the Federal Reserve, which is considering hikes to interest rates to keep a lid on inflation.

If expectations for inflation remain anchored, it could prevent a vicious cycle where people make moves in anticipation of higher inflation, which only worsen it.

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AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed to this report.

It was a learning experience even for someone with a résumé featuring six Super Bowl titles as a head coach and ranking as one of the NFL’s all-time leaders in coaching wins.

“Look, I learn every year, I learn things every day,” Belichick said Friday morning during the Atlantic Coast Conference’s preseason football media days.

“Every week is a learning experience for me. Try to listen to the people that are around me that work for us, that do various things, whether it’s academics, training, nutrition, offense, defense, special teams, so forth. Try to do the best I can to help put it all together.

“Recruiting, fundraising — you name it. There are a lot of different things and I can improve in all of them.”

It was a rough debut for the 74-year-old Belichick, best known for his time hoisting trophies and winning with relentless precision alongside star quarterback Tom Brady with the New England Patriots.

His arrival at the college level was a spectacle, one that put a national spotlight on a school with a football program that had long been an ACC also-ran compared to its tradition-rich men’s basketball program being among the nation’s blueblood elite.

There’s less buzz this time around. There’s no curiosity to imagining what it will look like for Belichick to roam a college sideline sporting his trademark hoodie garb. And the Tar Heels’ poor on-field performance offers little reason to expect a big leap in Year 2.

Yet similar to what he was known for in his Patriots tenure, Belichick is focused on his internal evaluation. And he sees cause for optimism.

“Last year when we started, we were literally starting from scratch,” he said. “We’re above that now for sure.”

Belichick is hoping there’s more continuity from spring drills

Belichick has pointed numerous times to the Tar Heels getting a late run into recruiting after his December hiring, starting with jumping into the transfer portal and then pulling from the high school ranks. That meant pulling together a roster to get started with spring drills, then going through more waves of roster changes leading into preseason camp.

“The biggest thing last year was just how behind we were,” Belichick said of his December 2024 arrival.

By the time the Tar Heels started last season, they had 70 new players.

“This time a year ago, we didn’t have a quarterback who had taken a snap even in spring ball for us,” Belichick said.

“Last year we didn’t have any player-run practices. We couldn’t actually line up a team and run against another team without the coaches being out there because we didn’t have anybody that knew enough on either side of the ball to do that. Whereas this year these guys have done it all spring and all summer.”

To that point, the Tar Heels have plenty of newness on the roster with 40 true freshmen and 17 redshirt freshmen. But UNC also had 35 of the first-year freshmen arrive in time to go through spring practices while there’s enough returnees to offer continuity and better stability.

“Culture’s a lot different, work ethic’s different,” Belichick said. “I’m not taking anything away from the guys that were here. But compared to a year ago, we just know a lot more about what we’re doing and how to do it and our culture’s a lot different.”

UNC knows what to expect for Belichick’s second season

Belichick’s appearance at this ACC Kickoff event last year was the center of attention. So too was his nationally televised Labor Day debut in front of a sellout home crowd against TCU.

Yet the Tar Heels lost that game in a blowout in what turned out to be a harbinger of frustration to come. And Belichick’s mere presence on the sideline only magnified the pressure that arose from on-field troubles and unwanted off-field headlines, from an assistant coach’s suspension to tabloid-like interest in Belichick’s relationship with 25-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson.

“Seeing a guy like Coach Belichick, who’s constantly in the spotlight — I mean, the guy could cure cancer and people would still write negative pieces about him,” offensive lineman Christo Kelly said.

“But seeing how he handles himself through everything, seeing how he’s continued to block out the noise, it really sets the standard for what we should be doing.”

By the end of the year, Belichick had fielded a team that had more losses by double-digit margins (five) than total wins, with two home losses ending in an empty stadium with Tar Heels fans having fled early for the exits. UNC’s three wins against Bowl Subdivision opponents came against teams with a combined 8-28 record (Charlotte, Syracuse and Stanford), while the Tar Heels failed to make a bowl for the first time since 2018.

At least nothing should surprise the Tar Heels this year about playing under the Belichick microscope.

“We really felt like it was all Carolina — Carolina for Carolina, nobody else was really rooting for us, everybody wanted to see Coach Belichick fail,” receiver Jordan Shipp said.

“It was just like we knew that we were in this by ourselves. And everybody that was here last year, we know that feeling. So now we know what to expect.”

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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Thursday warned consumers not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. A record number of cyclospora cases have been reported in more than 30 states, and experts have said not every recent U.S. illness might be caused by a single source.

A Food and Drug Administration investigation identified a single supplier of the lettuce. The federal warnings to consumers did not identify the company, but a federal official who was briefed on the investigation and not authorized to discuss it told The Associated Press it was Taylor Farms of Salinas, California.

Taylor Farms, which has been tied to foodborne outbreaks in the past, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“FDA is working with the supplier of iceberg lettuce to determine if potentially contaminated shredded iceberg lettuce remains on the market,” including in other states, the CDC said. “Taco Bell has committed to stop using any lettuce from the supplier identified by FDA’s traceback investigation.”

In a statement, federal health officials stressed that other “brands, restaurants, retailers, or distribution channels” could be identified as the investigation continues.

Taco Bell says it will use a different supplier

CDC, FDA and public health officials in several states have been investigating a multistate outbreak of cyclospora infections.

The illness is not usually life threatening and is typically treated with antibiotics.

On Thursday, ahead of the federal government’s confirmation, Taco Bell issued a statement saying that it had taken “immediate action to voluntarily remove potentially impacted lettuce from a supplier in select states. The affected ingredient from our supplier is being indefinitely removed from our supply chain nationwide and will be replaced within 24 hours in select states.”

Cyclospora cases have been rising for years

Cyclospora is a microscopic, spherical parasite that commonly causes watery diarrhea “with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the CDC. Outbreaks tend to occur most often in the late spring and summer.

The heat-loving parasite infects the bowels and spreads through feces. In the past, people have been infected by consuming fruits or vegetables that were exposed to feces-contaminated irrigation water.

The illness, called cyclosporiasis, is less common than foodborne illnesses caused by other germs, including salmonella and E. coli. Many cases are never linked to a specific food or other source and, for years, few U.S. cyclospora outbreaks were reported. But the number started rising about a decade ago, with a particularly notable spike in 2018 and 2019.

Previously, 2019 saw the most reported U.S. cyclosporiasis cases, with about 4,700. The current surge has far surpassed that. Michigan — the apparent epicenter of the current outbreak — is reporting more than 5,000 cases, and more than 2,000 additional probable and suspected cases have been reported in other states.

No deaths have been reported. But Michigan officials say more than 100 people in that state have been hospitalized, and federal health officials say dozens more have been hospitalized in other states.

Experts attribute the increasing trend in cases to climate change and better detection. They also say it’s likely that cyclospora cases historically were underreported, for several reasons.

Some common tests used to check for food poisoning have not been geared to detect cyclospora. Technicians aren’t able to grow the parasite in labs, making it hard to draw evidence from contaminated produce. And it can be hard to figure out what food sick people had in common because sometimes it’s a single ingredient that might be common in multiple recipes — like basil or cilantro.

Taco Bell and Taylor Farms have been tied to past outbreaks

The FDA’s traceback investigation identified a single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexico used by the Taco Bell locations where people who got sick ate, federal officials said.

The Mexican food chain is among the restaurants linked to foodborne illness outbreaks in the past.

Taylor Farms also was tied to a 2013 cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to salad mix and a 2024 E. coli outbreak tied to onions served at McDonald’s.

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Stobbe reported from New York.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — It’s been six months since Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney called out Ole Miss for engaging in what he called “blatant” tampering to lure away transfer linebacker Luke Ferrelli.

He has heard nothing back despite providing an alleged timeline, evidence and receipts to the NCAA.

Swinney said Thursday he doesn’t regret pointing the finger at Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding and general manager Austin Thomas. And he again pushed for change and accountability on Thursday for what he called “rampant” tampering in college football.

“We’re probably gonna need some congressional help for that,” Swinney said during the Atlantic Coast Conference’s preseason football media days. “There has to be some type of order put in place. The tampering is a problem. So there needs to be consequences or you just say to heck with it, don’t worry about it, and let’s just call it like it is — the wild, wild West.”

Swinney suggested fines, suspensions and even firings should be considered to discourage tampering, which has been a frequent topic of concern in multiple sports.

“There is lots of things that can be put in place,” Swinney said. ”(Tampering) is rampant because there hasn’t been consequences and I don’t know there has been much fear of consequences. So you’ve got to get some order.”

Golding defended Ole Miss in April, explaining there are “two sides to every story” referring to Ferrelli, who abruptly transferred to Ole Miss 20 days after beginning classes and team meetings at Clemson in January.

Ferrelli played last season at Cal before originally transferring to Clemson.

In March, Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey called NCAA language covering tampering rules “archaic,” but stopped short of urging the oversight body to halt tampering investigations.

Sankey said the new landscape in college sports calls for the rules language to be changed.

ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips on Wednesday urged coaches and administrators to go public with information if they see potential tampering.

Other ACC coaches have expressed support for Swinney for speaking out.

“I agree with Dabo,” Louisville coach Jeff Brohm said. “He should have been upset. To me that type of tampering shouldn’t happen. It goes back to there needs to be more guardrails. There needs to be a system in place where there’s consequences for doing things you’re not supposed to do, and that’s not in college football right now.”

Brohm said it’s one of the reasons he wants to see the Protect College Sports Act passed in Congress.

The bill that top lawmakers and athletic leaders have described as the best hope to stabilize college sports cleared a key vote in the Senate Commerce Committee in June following weeks of input from schools, conferences and athletes.

It is currently in the Senate for a vote.

The bill would address many areas, including tampering.

“It may not be perfect for everyone, but I’m all for it,” Brohm said. ”I think it’s important that we do something to try to help the game overall and then make adjustments along the way. Until there’s consequences for cheating and tampering, people will continue to skirt the edges.”

Syracuse coach Fran Brown said he’s not sure any rules will change how some teams conduct business behind the scenes.

“Some people just gonna be certain ways,” Brown said. “There’s still crime in America, right? It’s just certain things that you’re not gonna ever be able to stop.”

Swinney said that despite not receiving an update from the NCAA, he doesn’t regret going public with the allegations against Ole Miss — despite receiving some public criticism.

“They don’t owe me an update,” Swinney added. “I did my part. The NCAA, ask them for an update. No idea.”

TAPACHULA, México (AP) — A strong earthquake struck the southern Mexican Pacific coast on Friday, right on the border with Guatemala, and was felt from Mexico City to El Salvador. Authorities have not immediately reported any severe damage or casualties in any country.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) reported that the earthquake had a magnitude of 7.3 with the epicenter 48 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of Aquiles Serdan, near the coast of Chiapas and at a depth of 15 kilometers (9 miles). It was preceded by a smaller quake with an epicenter a bit farther out in the ocean.

There were at least five aftershocks between magnitude 5.1 and 6, according to USGS.

In Tapachula, the main city on Mexico’s southern border, the tremor began mildly but gradually intensified.

“We were upstairs on the second floor when it started shaking; we thought it would pass, but then it got stronger, so we all went downstairs and evacuated in an orderly manner to the front courtyard,” Alejandra Mendoza, an administrative employee at a public hospital in the city, explained to The Associated Press.

In Guatemala City, the earthquake frightened residents because of how long it lasted. Many people poured into the streets in the middle of rush hour as the workday was beginning and several buildings were evacuated.

Guatemala’s National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED) reported no immediate damage. Social media users posted videos of some landslides, especially on roads heading west.

The Ministry of Education suspended in-person classes in the departments of San Marcos, Quetzaltenango, Suchitepéquez and Retalhuleu, near the quake’s epicenter.

In the Mexican capital, where buildings in certain areas creaked and shook, the earthquake alert did not sound because, the government said, “the energy radiated by the earthquake during the first few seconds did not exceed the activation thresholds.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that preliminary reports showed no damage. The navy recommended staying away from beaches for six hours because of tsunami risk.

The Meteorological Service of Chiapas alerted that there could be tsunami waves up to 1 meter (3.3 feet) off the coast of Mexico and Guatemala.

In the town of Suchiate, located along the river that separates Mexico from Guatemala, coastal areas are being monitored for tsunami risk, according to Mayor Elmer Vázquez Gallardo.

The region is prone to earthquakes, many that can be deadly. Earlier this year, a strong earthquake rattled southern and central Mexico, killing two. Hundreds in Mexico City were killed in a 7.1 magnitude earthquake in 2017.

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Sonia Pérez D. contributed from Guatemala City. María Verza contributed from Mexico City.

Allan Guerrero (photo courtesy Raleigh Police Department)

According to a press release, just after 2:30 a.m., Raleigh Police Department officers responded to a motor vehicle crash at the intersection of Capital Boulevard and Trawick Road.

The preliminary investigation indicates that Allan Guerrero, 39, the driver of a tow truck traveling south on Capital Boulevard, ran a red light while making a left turn onto Trawick Road, entering the path of oncoming traffic. The tow truck collided with two motorcycles and a sedan.

One of the motorcycle operators, Chandler Hodge, 35, died at the scene. Guerrero, the second motorcycle operator and two occupants of the sedan sustained injuries and were transported to a local hospital for treatment.

Allan Guerrero was arrested at the scene and charged with:

• Aggravated Felony Death by Vehicle
• Felony Serious Injury by Vehicle (3 counts)
• Driving While Impaired (DWI)
• Driving While License Revoked (Impaired Revocation)
• Fail to Stop for a Steady Red Light
• Unsafe Movement Causing a Motor Vehicle Crash with Injury
• Unsafe Movement

Following the crash and during the investigation, Guerrero was also charged with:

• Drunk and Disorderly Conduct

• Resist, Delay, and Obstruct

Ingredients

• 3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Optional Toppings

• Flaky sea salt
• Mini chocolate chips
• Crushed peppermint candies
• Sprinkles

Instructions

1. Prepare the Pan

Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides for easy removal. Lightly grease the parchment if desired.

2. Melt the Chocolate

In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and butter. Stir constantly until everything is completely melted and smooth.

3. Add the Flavoring

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, salt, and chopped nuts, if using. Mix until evenly combined.

4. Spread the Fudge

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer using a spatula. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt or other toppings if desired.

5. Chill Until Firm

Refrigerate for at least 2–3 hours, or until the fudge is completely firm.

6. Slice and Serve

Lift the fudge from the pan using the parchment paper. Cut into 1-inch squares with a sharp knife, wiping the blade clean between cuts for neat edges.