Coach Shane Steichen is playing it safe 鈥� for now.

So Indy’s starting quarterback has been relegated to a work as he continues to recover from a torn right Achilles tendon. No, it’s not a setback, it’s the plan.

鈥淚 asked, but yeah, I think right now it鈥檚 seven-on-seven,鈥� Jones said. 鈥淚 think I鈥檓 closer. I think there鈥檚 still work to be done. I wouldn鈥檛 say I鈥檓 all the way there at this point. So yeah, I mean I feel good about where I am, and kind of where the rehab is taking me to this point. I’ve still (got) work to do and still got to make some progress, but I feel like I鈥檓 in a good spot.鈥�

For now, that will have to suffice for Jones.

Yes, Steichen continues to say he expects Jones to be a full go sometime during training camp, which begins next month. The target remains having Jones cleared to start the Sept. 13 season opener against Baltimore.

It’s still a pretty speedy timeline for an injury that often requires nine to 12 months of rehab to be fully recovered. in a loss at Jacksonville, the second loss in a season-ending seven-game skid which kept the Colts out of the playoffs.

But as some athletes in recent years have returned on the earlier end of the timeframe, the Colts figure since it’s only June there’s no need to rush Jones or anyone else back.

鈥淰ery happy with his progress. I mean, he鈥檚 hitting all his landmarks each and every week, every day, putting in the work, but he鈥檚 feeling good,鈥� Steichen said. 鈥淚t was good to get him out there last week in seven-on-seven. Do it again this week. Then, I know he鈥檒l work tirelessly this summer to be ready for training camp.鈥�

Steichen said everyone made it to town for this week’s workouts, though some players such as receiver Alec Pierce and Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner are not practicing because of recent surgeries.

who is fighting to remain Jones’ backup, also was on the field and again split snaps with second-year quarterback Riley Leonard. The Colts also have signed free agent Easton Stick, who worked with Steichen when they were both with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Much has changed for Jones over the past 15 months.

After signing a one-year, $14 million contract in March 2014 and then beating out Richardson for the starting job last summer, Jones seemed poised to cash in after leading the Colts to a 7-2 mark behind a historic nine-game run for the offense. Jones was so good, he entered the MVP debate almost exactly one year after the New York Giants released their former starter who was drafted No. 6 overall in 2019.

But Jones wasn’t the same following Indy’s bye as he tried to play through a broken bone in his left leg. Then came the season-ending Achilles tendon injury, the long losing streak and a lengthy road back.

Still, the Colts went all-in, signing him to a two-year deal worth up to $100 million in March 鈥� a move that cemented his place ahead of Richardson on the depth chart. Richardson was the No. 4 overall pick in 2023.

The question now is the same as it was back in March when Jones returned to the Colts: How far along is his rehab?

鈥淚t鈥檚 slow to start, but then once you reach certain points, it ramps up pretty quickly,鈥� Jones said as he enters what he hopes are the last steps in rehab. “I feel good about a lot of movements, but really, hitting top, top speed I think that鈥檚 where your last step is, which I think makes sense.鈥�

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A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Gordie Howe International Bridge, jointly owned by Canada and the U.S. state of Michigan, is set to take place on Friday, while the bridge itself is expected to open to traffic later this month.

Invitations for a Friday afternoon event to 鈥渕ark the next step for the Gordie Howe International Bridge鈥� have been sent, according to an invitation obtained by The Associated Press.

The event follows a recent conversation between Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private talks.

In February, Trump demanded that Canada turn over at least of the bridge to the U.S. federal government and agree to other unspecified demands in one of his many salvos over .

The bridge, which would connect Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit and would be a vital economic artery between Canada and the United States, had been expected to open early this year, according to information on the project鈥檚 website.

The bridge is named after Howe, the late Canadian hockey great who spent 25 seasons with the Detroit Red Wings.

The project was negotiated by former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder 鈥� a Republican 鈥� and paid for by the Canadian government to help ease congestion over the existing Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor tunnel. Work has been underway since 2018.

鈥淥bviously the bridge will be open at the end of the week. A symbol of, but also a fact of, cooperation between our countries,鈥� Carney told reporters as he walked into Parliament.

鈥淕reat for Canadians going across the border, Americans coming across the border, and for commerce,鈥� he said, calling it 鈥減ositive news.鈥�

Trump threatened the bridge as the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement is up for review this year, and Trump has been taking a hard-line position before those talks, including by issuing .

Carney, meanwhile, has spoken out against economic coercion by the United States.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a Michigan Democrat, has said that the Canadian-funded project is a 鈥渉uge boon鈥� to her state and its economic future.

Michigan is a swing state that Trump carried in both 2016 and 2024, but lost to Biden in 2020.

Snyder wrote in an op-ed in The Detroit 海角社区app earlier this year that Trump was wrong in asserting that Canada owns both the U.S. and Canadian sides of the bridge.

鈥淐anada and the state of Michigan are 50/50 owners of the new bridge,鈥� Snyder wrote. 鈥淐anada was wonderful and financed the entire bridge. They will get repaid with interest from the tolls. Michigan and the United States got their half-ownership with no investment.鈥�

The Gordie Howe bridge will join the privately owned Ambassador Bridge as the second span connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.

The rival Ambassador Bridge was long the busiest U.S.-Canadian border crossing, carrying 25% of all trade between the two countries. It plays an especially important role in auto manufacturing.

Companies controlled by the Moroun family, owners of the rival Ambassador Bridge, previously sued to prevent the Howe bridge from being built.

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Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti in Washington contributed to this report.

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In a statement posted to social media, U.S. Central Command said the strikes would be 鈥渁 proportional response to unjustified Iranian aggression.鈥� It comes after President Donald Trump blamed Iran for downing the helicopter and vowed that the U.S. would respond.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP鈥檚 earlier story follows below.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) 鈥� President Donald Trump blamed on Tuesday for shooting down a U.S. Army helicopter close to and said the United States must respond. Iran’s top diplomat said foreign military forces near the country’s territory 鈥渁re at constant risk.鈥�

In the first known operation of its kind by the American military, a drone boat rescued the two aviators who were aboard the Apache attack helicopter when it went down near the critical shipping lane that Iran has effectively closed during its war with the U.S. and Israel.

Trump said in a social media post that military officials told him 鈥渢he Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters.鈥� Both service members 鈥渁re safe and uninjured,鈥� he added.

“Nevertheless, the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack,鈥� Trump wrote.

Soon after Trump made his accusation, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in a social media post that the strait is 鈥渢housands of miles away from U.S. shores.鈥�

鈥淔oreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire,鈥� Araghchi wrote. 鈥淭o reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave.鈥�

The downing of the helicopter further strained a two-month ceasefire a day after for the first time since the fragile truce took effect. Iranian state television said Tuesday that the Israeli attacks killed at least two members of the country鈥檚 air-defense units.

Since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran on Feb. 28, the war has , driven up energy prices around the world and made many basics, , more expensive.

Officials have been unable to turn into a deal to permanently end the conflict, particularly as Israel intensifies and expands its military campaign in Lebanon against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah.

Army crew members picked up by drone boat

The Army aviators were rescued at 3:30 a.m. local time Tuesday, about two hours after their helicopter went down during a patrol off the coast of Oman, U.S. Central Command said.

The U.S. service members were spotted and picked up by a drone boat that took them to another location on the water, where they were picked up by a helicopter, said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for U.S. Central Command. Hawkins initially said the drone took the two to shore, and he did not elaborate on the updated timeline.

It was the first known drone rescue at sea by the U.S. military, Hawkins said.

AH-64 Apache helicopters have been a key asset for the American military as it enforces a blockade on Iranian crude oil shipments and tankers, seeking to pressure Tehran into a deal. The helicopters have also been used by the United Arab Emirates to shoot down Iranian drones.

The drone used to perform the rescue was a 24-foot (7.3-meter) vessel called a Corsair, Hawkins said. It’s manufactured by Saronic Technologies.

The drone was assigned to the Navy鈥檚 Task Force 59, established in 2021 as the Navy鈥檚 first uncrewed and artificial intelligence unit that focuses on maritime security in the Middle East, including the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal.

Trump insists an Iran deal is coming

Before he accused Iran of downing the U.S. helicopter, Trump had expressed renewed optimism over negotiations with Iran.

鈥淲e have a good chance鈥� of signing a deal in 鈥渢wo or three days,” Trump said late Monday. But he did not provide any details on why there was reason for new optimism. In the two months since the U.S. and Iran agreed to an initial ceasefire, Trump has repeatedly predicted that a deal is near.

鈥淲e鈥檙e very close to having a very, very good, strong, powerful deal,鈥� the president said.

Mediators, led predominantly by Pakistan, have been trying for weeks to get a deal across the line. However, both Iran and the U.S. have taken hard-line positions.

The U.S. wants to see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which is believed to be entombed in the aftermath of American airstrikes that happened during the 12-day war in 2025. But Iran is refusing that and demanding relief from sanctions. It also wants the release of frozen assets even before a final agreement is in place, something rejected by Trump.

Before Trump鈥檚 comments on negotiations, Qalibaf said Monday that Trump鈥檚 remarks so far on a possible deal 鈥渃ontradicted the agreed-upon sections,” showing that the U.S. is 鈥渘either seeking a ceasefire nor dialogue.鈥�

The continued fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is still a top Iranian priority as well. Lebanon鈥檚 army chief, Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, traveled to Pakistan on Tuesday. There, he met Pakistan鈥檚 army chief, , who has been a key figure in the Iran-U.S. talks.

Haykal’s visit comes as Lebanon’s government takes an increasingly hard line on Hezbollah but remains unable to disarm the powerful militia. Hezbollah thanked Iran on Tuesday for attacking Israel 鈥渋n defense of our Lebanese people,鈥� suggesting that Lebanon’s government should take this opportunity to improve relations with Tehran.

Israel issues a warning for Tyre, Lebanon

Meanwhile, the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for Lebanon鈥檚 southern port city of Tyre, including the Christian quarter, which has so far been spared from airstrikes on the city.

Last week, Israel warned the Christian neighborhoods in Tyre that it believed Hezbollah members were among them. Many Lebanese Shiite Muslims fled to those areas as Israeli strikes hammered the Mediterranean coastal area over the past two weeks.

After last week鈥檚 warning, the Lebanese army deployed to the Christian district of Tyre in an effort to prevent Israeli attacks there and to show that Hezbollah has no armed presence in the area. But Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military鈥檚 , posted on X on Monday that the Israeli military 鈥渨ill have to act against their terrorist activities in the neighborhood soon.鈥�

___

This version corrects that the rescue of the two aviators, not the helicopter crash, occurred at 3:30 a.m.

___

Superville and Toropin reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price in New York, Will Weissert in Washington, Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia, contributed to this report.

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The stronger than expected performance was an improvement from year-on-year increase.

Imports in May jumped 27.4%, also at a faster pace compared with April鈥檚 25.3% year-on-year expansion.

Exports to the U.S. in May surged more than 35% from the year before 鈥� the strongest pace since early 2021 鈥� after an 11% increase in April.

shipments to the U.S. had fallen for most of the months since U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, as shipments to regions like Southeast Asia and Europe surged.

The strength in exports has been supported by shipments of autos and technology and products such as semiconductors and computing equipment.

Exports are a 鈥渟hock鈥慳bsorber鈥� for China, helping its economy weather a spike in global energy prices that have driven inflation worldwide, said Wei Li, Head of Multi-Asset Investments at BNP Paribas Securities (China).

The global AI boom and a rising worldwide are also helping.

鈥淪hips, chips, autos, and batteries continue to find strong demand amid the global tech boom, and higher prices along the tech supply chain have helped support the value growth for trade,鈥� said Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at Dutch bank ING.

By product categories, overall exports of semiconductors in May more than doubled year-on-year by value while autos were up almost 40%. China鈥檚 biggest electric vehicle maker BYD said it sold more than 160,600 vehicles abroad in May, up 80% from a year earlier.

Advanced semiconductors and EV shipments are likely to help power China’s export growth for the rest of this year, Li of BNP Paribas said.

Trump’s visit to Beijing and his meetings there with Chinese President Xi Jinping have raised hopes for improved relations between the world’s two largest economies after the two leaders agreed to set up boards of trade and investment.

But analysts said the recent year-on-year improvement in Chinese exports to the U.S. probably has more to do with the base effect, after Trump鈥檚 that came into effect in April 2025 caused a sharp drop in China’s shipments.

Chinese leaders have set a annual economic growth target for 2026, slightly below the 鈥渁round 5%鈥� goal for 2025, and the slowest expansion goal since 1991. ING’s Song said a should help China stay on track to meet its full-year growth target.

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Defensive lineman Gervon Dexter is already seeing results.

鈥淲ay different,鈥� Dexter said Tuesday on the first day of the team’s mandatory minicamp. 鈥淚t鈥檚 night and day, in my opinion.鈥�

Chicago went 11-6 last season and won the NFC North in coach Ben Johnson鈥檚 first year. The defense led the NFL with 23 interceptions and 33 takeaways overall, but it finished with just 35 sacks. The only player in double digits was Montez Sweat with 10, and no one else had more than six.

Despite their sagging pass rush, the Bears did not make any major additions to their defensive line in the offseason. They waited until the sixth round of the NFL draft before addressing the position, taking defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg out of Georgia Tech.

Dexter, 24, said he heard the conversation about the team needing to add more to its group of defensive linemen.

鈥淚 feel like we got the guys, though,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e got the guys in the room to do it. … Each person in our room knows what they are capable of, so we don鈥檛 look at it as, like, a bad thing. We鈥檙e taking it on and we鈥檙e ready to get after it together.鈥�

A year ago, the Bears were installing a new defensive scheme under coordinator Dennis Allen. That was a major part of their preparations for the season, and the coaching staff felt it affected the unit in other ways.

鈥淲e do have a high volume of things that we carry in the defense, and we focused so much on that that we lost sight of some of the fundamentals and techniques that it takes to function to do those things,鈥� Allen said last month. “I don鈥檛 think we were as fundamentally sound defensively as we need to be.

鈥淪o how do we have to coach it better? Well, let鈥檚 minimize how much we鈥檙e focused on the scheme and let鈥檚 focus on not what we鈥檙e going to do, but how we鈥檙e going to do it. I think that鈥檚 how we鈥檙e going to improve.鈥�

Allen and Johnson found a receptive audience in their defensive rooms.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 one thing I can definitely appreciate about just being here is because it鈥檚 going to make me a better player,鈥� defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said during organized team activities. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to make us all a better player.鈥�

When it comes to their defensive line, the Bears also are hoping for improved health for a couple of key players. Defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo is coming back from an Achilles tendon injury, and Jarrett was slowed by a knee injury in his first season with the team. Shemar Turner, a second-round pick in last year’s draft, played in five games as a rookie before he was sidelined by a torn ACL.

Dexter, a second-round selection in the 2023 draft, had a career-high six sacks last year. As part of the emphasis on fundamentals, he has been focusing on getting into a good stance and improving at the start of the play.

鈥淚鈥檓 looking at it as, it鈥檚 another year for me to grow as a player, to get better,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 here to help this team win. We didn鈥檛 have the end goal that we wanted last year so I鈥檓 here to help get to that goal.鈥�

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A jury rejected Karmelo Anthony鈥檚 claims of self-defense during a confrontation with Austin Metcalf in stadium bleachers last year. Most people who testified were students who described a heated exchange over Anthony’s refusal on a rainy spring day to leave a tent that belonged to Metcalf’s team.

Anthony, now 19, did not testify at trial and faces up to life in prison after a sentencing hearing in which his mother was the only witness. His lawyer had an arm around him when the guilty verdict was announced.

Notoriety about the case spread, in part, because of social media posts that amplified the killing in racial terms. Anthony is Black; Metcalf was white. Lawyers on both sides, however, told jurors that the tragedy had nothing to do with race.

Jurors, who deliberated for less than three hours, had the option of a lesser charge, manslaughter, but didn鈥檛 choose it. The same jury will determine the sentence.

鈥淗e鈥檚 very sorry for what he did. Please, have mercy on my son,鈥� Anthony’s mother, Kala Hayes, pleaded to jurors shortly after the guilty verdict.

Earlier Tuesday, jurors heard dueling narratives from prosecutor Bill Wirskye and defense attorney Mike Howard about what happened in April 2025.

Several schools were competing when Anthony sat under the Memorial High School tent that was perched in the bleachers. Metcalf and others had repeatedly told Anthony to leave, witnesses testified, leading to an escalating confrontation.

Howard told jurors during his closing argument that Metcalf had 鈥渘o legal right to put his hands on Karmelo.鈥�

鈥淭exas law does not require that you wait until you get hit,鈥� Howard said. 鈥淚n that split second of chaos, you must put yourself in his shoes.鈥�

During the nearly weeklong trial, prosecutors said that Anthony provoked Metcalf, and witnesses have testified that Anthony was the aggressor.

鈥淭his is not self-defense, folks. It鈥檚 murder plain and simple,鈥� Wirskye said.

Anthony at one point reached inside a bag and replied: 鈥淭ouch me and see what happens,鈥� according to a police report.

Metcalf pushed Anthony, according to witnesses, who said Anthony then pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the chest. The teens, both from Frisco, didn’t know each other.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 get to meet a shove with a stab, especially if you provoke the shove,鈥� Wirskye said.

The prosecutor also made a broader pitch to the jury: 鈥淯ltimately, this case is about accountability. What kind of community do you want to live in.鈥�

The trial drew lines of spectators hoping to find seats in the gallery and unfolded amid heavy security at the Collin County courthouse. As police officers watched Tuesday, dozens of people stood outside the courthouse in 90 degree Fahrenheit heat (32 degrees Celsius) to await the verdict. There were wails of grief from one woman 鈥� 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 real!鈥� 鈥� when the result became known.

Frisco is one of Texas鈥� fastest-growing cities that is dotted with dozens of modern school campuses and gleaming athletic facilities.

Several students testified that Metcalf, after ordering Anthony to leave his team鈥檚 tent, scoffed before Anthony reached into a bag and pulled out a knife.

One teen 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have anything in that backpack. It鈥檚 Frisco.鈥�

The parents of Anthony and Metcalf have said they were good students who planned to go to college.

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Associated Press writer Ed White in Detroit contributed to this report.

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WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� A bill to provide nearly $70 billion for narrowly passed the House on Tuesday and now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature, fueling the administration鈥檚 deportation agenda for the remainder of his time in the White House. Republicans used their majority to get the bill over the finish line, funding a pair of Homeland Security agencies through the next three years. The bill passed by a vote of 214-212, over the objections of Democrats.

The White House says the bill will provide $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $26 billion for the Border Patrol and another $5 billion to cover unforeseen costs. It frontloads routine annual funding, ensuring a virtually uninterrupted flow of money as the Trump administration some 1 million people per year.

needed near-perfect attendance and unity on his side to complete weeks of action. The legislation got sidetracked over $1 billion for White House security, including for Trump鈥檚 , and a $1.8 billion fund to compensate his allies who claim they have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted. Those proposals proved politically toxic and .

Now, the bill is focused entirely on immigration enforcement, a topic that Republicans have treated as a defining issue between the two major political parties and one they hope will carry them to victory in this year’s .

鈥淚t’s long overdue,鈥� said Johnson, R-La., of the bill. 鈥淲e have to fund border security and immigration enforcement, and it’s sad that Republicans have to do it on our own.鈥�

But Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas called it a 鈥渟lush fund for ICE.鈥�

Funding accelerates Trump’s deportation agenda

The funding comes on top of the nearly $140 billion that the Republican-controlled Congress gave ICE and Customs and Border Protection last year as part of .

Democrats objected to giving the agencies more money without significant changes in the way they operate after the deaths of and in Minneapolis. For example, Democrats insisted that agents remove masks and be required to display their ID badges during enforcement operations and that they get a judicial warrant before entering private property. Instead, the funding will come with virtually no strings attached.

Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Republicans weren’t focused on the top priorities of the American people and have cut access to Medicaid and nutrition assistance through Trump’s earlier tax and spending cut bill.

鈥淩epublicans have now come back for more, to give ICE and Donald Trump’s violent mass deportation machine another $70 billion blank check, with no oversight, no accountability and no guardrails,鈥� Jeffries said.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise countered that Democrats were not adequately supportive of law enforcement.

鈥淢ake no mistake, if you’re voting yes, you’re not only voting to secure America’s border, you’re voting to fund law enforcement,鈥� Scalise said. 鈥淎nd if you vote no, you are voting to defund the police.鈥�

Homeland Security faced longest shutdown in history

The package is the result of in Congress after Democrats refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of in Minneapolis and other American cities, leading to .

Negotiations had been underway with the White House to alter ICE operations as Democrats were demanding. When those negotiations failed, Republicans turned to to get around the filibuster and pass the immigration funding with no Democratic votes.

Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, the chairman of the Budget Committee, said the money would provide 鈥渞egular, normal funding鈥� that ICE and the Border Patrol would get through the annual budgeting process.

鈥淎nd we鈥檙e going to do it, not for one year, but for three years, so we don鈥檛 end up here again.鈥�

on the legislation last week during an overnight session. The final 52-47 vote on the bill was nearly party line, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska the only Republican to oppose it.

Money comes at pivotal time for Trump’s immigration agenda

The money will come at a pivotal time for the Department of Homeland Security, which is under new leadership after Trump replaced with new in March.

While to keep the department out of the headlines, the administration is under pressure from anti-immigration advocates to deliver on Trump鈥檚 campaign promise of in American history.

So far, the administration has not hit its goal of 1 million deportations a year, but Trump鈥檚 border czar, Tom Homan, has promised more to come, including hinting at immigration enforcement actions in New York, the nation’s biggest city, which is heavily Democratic.

At the same time, the administration is making it more difficult for legal immigrants to remain in the U.S. by working to end , changing the processes for and leaving some Dreamers 鈥� the young people who were brought illegally to the U.S. as children 鈥� reporting their status, which allows them to stay and work.

Lawmakers clash over DHS priorities

On the House side, Johnson had little margin for error. GOP leadership opted to avoid any hiccups and sent lawmakers home last week rather than take up the bill early Friday once the Senate had completed its all-nighter.

Leading up to the vote, Democrats portrayed DHS as an agency that has used its new resources to buy private jets for its leadership, warehouse immigrants in deplorable conditions and attack U.S. citizens.

“Republican leadership likes to talk a lot about common sense, but where is the common sense in giving this federal agency essentially unlimited funds without a single reform in place?鈥� asked Rep. Pete Aguilar, chair of the House Democratic Caucus.

Republicans countered that they were fulfilling their duty to safeguard the nation and support the men and women charged with enforcing the law.

鈥淒emocrats can say whatever they want, but what it鈥檚 about is public safety. What鈥檚 it about is keeping Americans safe,鈥� said Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn.

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Rising and government spending have contributed to a projected depletion date that is less than 10 years from now.

The looming challenge for the programs is a partial funding gap, not a collapse. Even after trust fund depletion, the system will continue issuing benefits, albeit at reduced amounts.

Last year, Medicare’s hospital insurance trust fund go-broke date the year before that, according to the report from the programs鈥� trustees.

Meanwhile, Social Security鈥檚 combined trust funds 鈥� which cover old age and disability recipients 鈥� will be unable to pay full benefits beginning in 2034, unchanged from the 2025 report. After that, incoming revenue would cover about 83% of scheduled benefits.

Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano said President Donald Trump’s administration is 鈥渃ommitted to protecting and strengthening Social Security鈥� and 鈥渆liminating waste, fraud, abuse and ensuring program integrity.鈥�

The new funding shortfall is mainly the result of lower projected birth rates, reduced immigration and reduced trust fund revenue due to the costs of Republicans鈥� massive tax and spending bill that Trump last summer, according to the report.

Nancy Altman, president of the Social Security Works advocacy group, said the latest report takes 鈥淒onald Trump鈥檚 second term policies into account: A tax bill that largely benefited the wealthy, economy-wrecking tariffs, a needless war with Iran, and hostility to immigrants. All of these have reduced the amount of money going into Social Security, weakening the system鈥檚 finances.鈥�

The trustees, who include the treasury secretary, labor secretary, health and human services secretary and the Social Security commissioner, say the latest findings show the urgency of needed changes to the programs, which have faced dire financial projections for decades. But making changes to the programs has long been politically unpopular, and lawmakers have repeatedly kicked Social Security and Medicare鈥檚 troubling math to the next generation.

AARP’s CEO Myechia Minter-Jordan said in a statement that the latest numbers 鈥渟hould be鈥痑 wake-up call. Congress needs to act.”

鈥淎mericans have worked hard and paid into Social Security their entire lives, and they deserve to count on it when they retire,鈥� she said. 鈥淣o鈥痜amily鈥痵hould鈥痵ee any鈥痗uts to what they鈥檝e earned in Social Security.鈥��

About 70.1 million people are enrolled in Medicare, the federal government鈥檚 health insurance that covers those 65 and older, as well as people with severe disabilities or illnesses.

Social Security benefits were last reformed roughly 40 years ago, when the federal government raised the eligibility age for the program from 65 to 67. The eligibility age of 65 has never changed for Medicare.

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The Associated Press obtained exclusively the list of hospitals that since April have either received letters of warning or, in more severe cases, requests to submit plans to provide transparent pricing. Failing to comply with the warnings comes with penalties as high as $2 million annually for each recipient that doesn’t create a plan to post clear pricing data.

The letters are meant to fix a fundamental problem that patients, employers and insurers might not know ahead of time the cost of blood work, an imaging test or another form of treatment, and as a result pay more than they should have. AP has that have received letters.

A senior administration official who requested anonymity to provide the list said that President plans to tighten enforcement of price transparency standards made possible by a . More hospitals are likely to receive letters regarding the absence of pricing data, the official said.

The warnings are the latest example of Trump leaning into the message that his administration is fixing the problem of . It’s a calculated pitch ahead of the at a time when affordability is a top concern for voters. But Trump is also vulnerable on this particular issue, as his administration allowed for people buying insurance through the 2010 , widely known as Obamacare.

Just 29% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s healthcare policies according to the by . The president fared slightly worse on that issue in the December survey than on the economy, immigration or his management of the federal government.

Gary Claxton, senior vice president and the director of the program on the healthcare marketplace at KFF, said that the pricing data is more useful for benefit consultants and others in the sector with access to additional information than it would be for consumers. But he said that the standards in reporting pricing data can still create difficulty in making accurate comparisons about the costs and quality of the services being provided.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a pretty widespread belief that prices are more divergent than they should be in a competitive market 鈥� and this is one way of trying to understand that more,” Claxton said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 moving in the right direction, but that doesn鈥檛 mean it has gotten to where it needs to be.鈥�

The American Hospital Association said in a statement that its members have long supported price transparency and the majority of hospitals are complying with the federal requirements that went into effect this year.

Still, Ashley Thompson, senior vice president for policy at the association, noted in the statement that 鈥渢he current system is not working as well as it could for patients鈥� and that hospitals would continue working with the administration to improve pricing information and transparency.

The push for price transparency could have a particular impact on Republican strongholds like Texas, Florida, Indiana, Alabama and Louisiana, which are among the states with the highest count of hospitals that have not provided adequate information on the costs of medical services.

Texas had 42 hospitals that received warnings, more than any other state. Baptist Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, among the state’s largest hospitals with 1,585 beds, received a letter, as did the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

Missouri-based Ascension, one of the country鈥檚 largest hospital systems, had 13 hospitals in multiple states that received letters. The Republican state of Indiana had 34 hospitals that received letters, nearly as many as the 38 in Democratic-led California, even though California has five times more people than Indiana.

Administration officials interviewed for this article noted that Christiana Hospital in former President Joe Biden’s home state of Delaware also received a warning letter.

The letters reflect two competing philosophies between Republicans and Democrats over how to handle the ballooning expense of healthcare, which is also a growing risk for the federal government’s own balance sheet.

Biden’s team put more emphasis on that increased the percentage of people with health insurance. Biden also signed a bill that allowed the government to begin negotiating prices for some Medicare drugs directly with pharmaceutical companies. That program, which has continued into Trump鈥檚 second administration, has helped knock down the list prices of some of Medicare鈥檚 costliest drugs.

The Trump administration, by contrast, has focused more on trying to find ways to provide details on pricing 鈥� such as promoting the 鈥� betting that doing so will lead to better and more efficient spending on healthcare as the data gets crunched.

Critics have said Trump’s might not produce genuine savings for many Americans with insurance, while the administration has estimated savings in excess of $500 billion over 10 years.

With the various lists of hospital prices, the administration wants providers to make it easier to access the files and to ensure the information in them is legitimate, instead of being based on estimates or omitting numbers for key procedures.

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has a hearing planned for Wednesday on price transparency.

鈥淭ransparency is the foundation of a healthcare system that rewards competition based on cost and quality,鈥� Shawn Gremminger, CEO of the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions, plans to say in his prepared remarks.

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You’ll usually be in the money 鈥� at least if recent history holds.

The New York Knicks, after two straight wins in the finals against the San Antonio Spurs, 115-111 on Monday night with Trump, a longtime fan of the Big Apple’s NBA team, in a luxury suite at Madison Square Garden.

He similarly may have had a jinxing role for MLB’s Washington Nationals during his first term, to the Houston Astros 7-1.

In November, the president was on hand when the NFL’s Washington Commanders hosted the Detroit Lions, and the visitors romped 44-22. And he was when Europe topped the U.S. golf team in last fall’s Ryder Cup.

It鈥檚 a glaring irony for a president fanatical about sports but also especially .

Trump frequently mentions his own , even boasting of a , and touts his record of . His love of sports also sometimes leads him into hostile territory, including heavily Democratic Manhattan, where his before Game 3’s tipoff.

To be fair, Trump’s attendance doesn’t guarantee the home team will lose.

Last September, the New York Yankees beat the visiting Detroit Tigers 9-3 as marked the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Trump was also there when Navy beat Army 17-16 in Baltimore last fall, when the Midshipmen were technically the home team 鈥� though Navy wasn’t playing in its home stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

He’s also been to plenty of sporting events where home field advantage isn’t a factor.

That was true for his in September and the 2025 in New Orleans, where the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs, as well as that year’s . Ditto for 2025s and the FIFA Club World Cup in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

It also won’t be an issue Sunday, when the will host a .

The White House didn鈥檛 respond to a message seeking comment on Trump鈥檚 attendance at key sporting events possibly being bad luck for the home team.

If the trend holds, however, it may not be great news for the U.S. national team in the , which opens Thursday.

The Americans have never made it past the semifinal stage in the tournament’s modern history anyway 鈥� and they’ll have to contend this time with Trump playing an in organizing the event. He has pledged to attend the final and award the trophy to the winning team.

Trump getting blamed for New York’s loss

Some Knicks fans have faulted the president for the Game 3 defeat, even though their team still leads the series. Game 4 will also be played in New York on Wednesday, though this time Trump isn’t expected to attend.

California Gov. , a likely 2028 Democratic presidential candidate and frequent foil for the president, playfully picked up on the theme of Trump as a jinx, reposting a past White House post on X declaring 鈥淐all it the Trump effect鈥� alongside discussion about the Knicks’ loss.

ESPN analyst 鈥� himself mentioned as a possible future presidential hopeful 鈥� suggested before Game 3 that it’d be Trump’s fault if the Knicks didn’t win. Afterward, he said, 鈥淲hat I feared would happen ended up happening.鈥�

鈥淭he president disrupted our mojo,鈥� said Smith, a longtime Knicks fan, before adding, 鈥淭he man messed things up.鈥�

Asked after the game about Smith potentially blaming him for a Knicks loss, Trump dismissed the commentator’s political aspirations and questioned his intelligence.

鈥淚 think he鈥檚 a nice guy. But you need a certain aptitude to run for president,鈥� Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One for his flight back to Washington early Tuesday

鈥淵ou need a high IQ. I鈥檓 not sure that Stephen has that,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think he does, actually.鈥�

Frequent booing hasn’t kept Trump away

Before he was a politician, Trump, a native of the New York City borough of Queens, Knicks games, sometimes sitting courtside. His return to the Garden nonetheless drew long and loud boos when his face was shown on the jumbotron during the national anthem.

In fact, he’s been roundly booed repeatedly, though it has more to do with his politics than any role he might have in jinxing the home team. Trump drew boos at the Nationals’ World Series game and during the Commanders game and the U.S. Open. At some events he’s cheered and the crowd reaction can also be mixed 鈥� though Trump just as likely to simply claim a more friendly reception than he actually gets.

After the Knicks game, the president tried to suggest that the boos were 鈥淚 think, mostly cheers.鈥� The White House similarly attempted to spin the incident into a political show of strength, posting a photo of Trump at the game with the caption 鈥淜ing of New York.鈥�

Offering a different assessment was New York’s Daily 海角社区app tabloid. It featured a cartoon of an exaggeratedly rotund Trump wearing a No. 38 Knicks jersey 鈥� with a bubble emerging from his mouth saying 鈥渁pproval rating.鈥�

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Some slept in sleeping bags, face masks over their eyes to block out the afternoon sun. Others sat on the sidewalk eating from cereal boxes. Shoes lay scattered alongside empty mini-liquor bottles. A boom box blasted a Jay-Z song: 鈥淭his can鈥檛 be right, there鈥檚 gotta be more.鈥�

Atlanta announced an ambitious plan last summer to end encampments and other street sleeping downtown ahead of the 39-day soccer spectacular that begins Thursday. Called Downtown Rising, the program said it has housed nearly 500 people. But the scene on a recent afternoon outside this shelter on Pryor Street was a visceral reminder that Atlanta has not reached everyone.

Atlanta is one of several of the cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico using the attention that comes with hosting the to address homelessness. Seattle announced a housing push and said it was using the World Cup to gauge its progress. Dallas said it was expanding a successful effort to house homeless people living downtown.

found, however, that most of the 16 venues, including , Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Houston, Toronto, and Vancouver, British Columbia, are relying on existing programs 鈥� most without any new funding tied to the World Cup 鈥� to address homelessness.

Growing tent encampments have bedeviled urban leaders for years. Federal data showed in homelessness nationwide from 2023 to 2024, when 770,000 people were counted as homeless 鈥� a number acknowledged as an undercount. That was followed by a slight decrease last year to 745,652.

In the past, many cities have treated the homeless as an eyesore to be removed ahead of big sporting and political events.

During last year’s Super Bowl, spent millions of dollars clearing away tent encampments near the Superdome and moving the homeless into a temporary warehouse. Ahead of the 2024 , migrants were bused out of the city until the Games ended. Chicago removed one of its biggest encampments ahead of the 2024 .

鈥淭hese events provide a choice for communities,鈥� said Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. 鈥淭hey can do the easy thing and sweep people out of encampments and into jails or other neighborhoods, or they can do the harder work that will benefit everyone in the community 鈥� housed or unhoused.鈥�

Atlanta seeks to house downtown homeless

As host of the 1996 Olympics, Atlanta removed to a newly built detention center. It gave others one-way bus tickets out of town and launched 鈥淥peration Olympus,鈥� detaining hundreds of people to reduce crime.

But this time around, the city was determined to do things differently.

It has raised $185 million in state and city funding, as well as corporate grants and other donations, toward a goal of $235 million, with the aim of housing 3,900 people citywide by next year. The latest city count last year showed there were some 2,900 homeless people citywide, about a third living in encampments or on the street.

鈥淭here will always be homeless people on our streets, more than likely, unfortunately,鈥� said Cathryn Vassell, the CEO of Partners for HOME, the organization tasked with creating and executing Atlanta鈥檚 homelessness strategy. The goal is 鈥渢o be able to identify them and quickly exit them into shelter, resources, services, and then ultimately housing.鈥�

Downtown Rising has helped Michael Sutton turn his life around. In foster care since he was an infant, he bounced from family to family. For most of the past decade, the 31-year-old slept in train stations, parks, abandoned buildings and homeless shelters.

Since September, Sutton has had a one-bedroom apartment in an Atlanta suburb and a case worker.

鈥淓veryone has rough days, and being able to go home or vent to yourself about it, relaxing in your own home 鈥� is priceless,鈥� Sutton said.

But not everyone can be helped.

Some homeless people recoil at shelter rules, lack the documents to quickly move into permanent housing or have complicated drug and mental health challenges, or nomadic lifestyles that make them difficult to reach.

Tommy Elam said he’s been on numerous housing lists, but nothing has happened 鈥� though he’s hard to find. His phone was stolen countless times and he doesn鈥檛 currently have one.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 know where I鈥檓 at,鈥� said Elam, who’s been homeless since early 2020 and spent the last three months sleeping on the sidewalk near the Pryor Street homeless shelter, his latest spot since a crackdown on the encampment where he lived near the Georgia State Capitol building.

Standing outside the downtown supportive housing center where he now lives, Willie Jackson, who spent years on the streets, said he knows people who鈥檝e been helped by the Downtown Rising initiative. But he’s skeptical it will lead to lasting change after the World Cup 鈥� or that it鈥檚 made a significant impact on downtown鈥檚 homelessness problem.

鈥淛ust look around,鈥� he said.

No more tents in Dallas

Two years ago, it was hard to miss the hundreds of tents around Dallas City Hall.

But ahead of the World Cup, there were no tent encampments downtown, where FIFA鈥檚 broadcast center is set up, or at the nearby fan zone. The matches will be played at Dallas’ stadium in suburban Arlington.

Sarah Kahn, president and CEO of Housing Forward, which leads the homelessness response for Dallas and nearby Collin counties, said a $30 million campaign since 2024 reduced the number of people sleeping on downtown streets by 87% and placed some 2,000 into permanent housing.

In March, an additional $28 million was allocated to expand countywide, with a goal of providing 1,100 people housing, the agency said. Outreach workers deploy daily within a quarter-mile of transit hubs, the fan zone and the FIFA broadcast center to find anyone sleeping outside and offer services, it said.

Elisabeth Jordan, founder of The Human Impact, which helps the chronically homeless, praised the initiative as 鈥渢he single greatest change … in homeless response in Dallas.鈥�

But she criticized Dallas police tactics that included zip-tying and removing people who remained after their encampments were cleared. Dozens of people from one encampment were housed in May, but about 20 who remained were detained, she said. In a statement, the Dallas police department called such detentions 鈥渟tandard practice鈥� for people 鈥渧iolating the prohibited camping law鈥� and who refuse housing.

Kacey Coker, who spent years on the streets or in jail, described a dramatic improvement in how the homeless are treated. Authorities used to 鈥渃ome through with a bulldozer and take our stuff and throw it away,鈥� said the 51-year-old, who lost her birth certificate and social security card in those sweeps.

In May, she was offered a subsidized one-bedroom apartment for a few hundred dollars a month. For the first time, Coker feels safe.

鈥淚 can actually build something,鈥� she said.

Tiny homes emerge in Seattle

At a vacant lot several miles from Seattle’s stadium, workers were putting the final touches last week on 75 tiny homes.

The 70-square-foot units with a bed, space heater and air conditioner are part of Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson’s ambitious plan to open 500 units of new shelter by the start of the World Cup.

It’s a goal she acknowledges she has missed 鈥� by 425 units.

鈥淭he World Cup …. provided just kind of a good goal post,鈥� Wilson told the AP in an interview, saying the city will open an additional 228 beds by the end of the summer.

鈥淲hen you put a number out there, that has the advantage of galvanizing people,鈥� but it can also be framed as a failure if you miss it, Wilson said. 鈥淪o, I really hope that the message … is look, we are making progress.鈥�

Homelessness advocates said they weren’t surprised Wilson didn’t meet such a lofty goal within six months of election. The World Cup isn’t what’s important; getting people housed is, they added.

鈥淚鈥檓 just happy that anything has happened so far,鈥� said Bruce Drager of Ballard Community Task Force on Homeless and Hunger near where the tiny homes were built.

Camped out with his wife between a sidewalk and train tracks just blocks from the stadium, Chris Moore said he hasn’t heard about the city’s housing plans.

A large encampment nearby has been cleared twice in the five months since he’s been there, said Moore, who’s been homeless for eight years. But dozens of tents were back again a week before the first game.

鈥淚 guess because the World Cup鈥檚 coming, you don鈥檛 want homeless people around,鈥� he said.

Inglewood spruces up the stadium area

In Inglewood, California, site of the Los Angeles area stadium, roads were squeaky clean and paved with fresh asphalt. Bright flowers filled planters downtown and near the stadium.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no homeless in Inglewood,鈥� Mayor James Butts told the AP when asked about the city’s plans for housing people living on the streets ahead of the World Cup. 鈥淛ust look at the numbers.鈥�

Indeed, Inglewood’s’ homeless count last year was small 鈥� just under 400, about a third of whom were living on the street in the city of 100,000 people 鈥� compared to LA, where 43,695 homeless were counted in the city of 3.8 million-plus.

But less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the stadium and just outside Inglewood city limits, the nonprofit St. Margaret鈥檚 Center was handing out dozens of sack lunches for the homeless on a recent morning.

Carter Hewgley, who oversees strategic partnerships at LA County鈥檚 Homeless Services and Housing Department, said it has secured three motel sites ahead of the World Cup 鈥� 鈥渘ot because there’s games, but because there’s homeless.鈥� The sites, including in Inglewood, range from 54 to 104 rooms. The agency also maintains tens of thousands of shelter beds, he said.

In Toronto and Vancouver, business as usual

In Canada, Toronto and Vancouver said they were relying on their already extensive services to provide thousands of shelter beds and temporary housing rooms, as well as outreach to those living on the streets. Vancouver has also set up centers where matches will be shown. Both said there were no plans to relocate homeless people ahead of the games.

Still, there were sporadic reports by advocates of crackdowns targeting homeless people.

In Toronto, where Canada’s largest shelter system supports more than 8,500 people each night, advocates held a rally last month denouncing what they said were transit police tactics aggressively targeting the homeless at the city鈥檚 main train station.

Toronto Underhoused and Homeless Union said its survey of dozens of homeless people found some forcibly removed from lavatories and elsewhere, and subjected to verbal abuse by transit police. In a statement to the AP, the city did not directly address the complaints but said it doesn’t 鈥渢olerate, ignore, or condone discrimination or harassment.鈥�

In Vancouver, hundreds of activists held a protest in April over increased security ahead of the World Cup. A 2025 count showed 2,715 homeless people, some in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side area near the stadium.

Last month, at a downtown park where homeless people are allowed to stay overnight, Harley Ransom was resting in his tent and said he’s seen aggressive tactics.

Nearby, Francesca Crane, who said the van she lived in with her pet rabbits had been towed away, accused the city of 鈥渟weeping the homeless people under the carpet for FIFA to make it look like a clean city, no homelessness.鈥�

鈥淭hey are catering to people from other countries but stepping on the people of their own city and province,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat they鈥檙e doing is wrong.鈥�

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Casey reported from Boston. Associated Press reporters Manuel Valdes in Seattle; Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon; Jim Morris in Vancouver, British Columbia; Robert Gillies in Toronto; Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri; Jamie Stengle in Dallas, and Jaimie Ding in Los Angeles contributed.

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The appeals court sent the lawsuit filed by death row inmate Jeffery Lee back to the lower court judge for additional consideration.

Monday’s ruling marks the latest potential shift in the United States’ ever-evolving use of capital punishment. States with the death penalty have a variety of execution methods on the books, including lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas and firing squad.

Here’s a look at the execution methods currently in use and the ones that have fallen out of favor:

Lethal injection remains the primary method in most states

Twenty-eight states and the federal government authorize the use of , in which an inmate has one or more deadly drugs injected into their bodies as they are strapped to a gurney, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit center.

But lethal injection has been . States often the necessary drugs, in part because pharmaceutical manufacturers have banned the use of the lethal injection components for executions.

Some execution teams have struggled or , needles have become clogged or disengaged and in some cases of the drugs have been needed to kill the condemned person.

Those problems have prompted some states to experiment with different execution methods. After a botched execution attempt in 2024, Idaho lawmakers made the state’s primary execution method.

Lethal injection was first proposed in New York in the late 1800s, though that state eventually opted to go with electrocution, said Fordham Law School Professor Deborah Denno. The very thing that made lethal injection appealing to death penalty proponents 鈥� its relatively sanitized appearance 鈥� appalled medical societies around the country, Denno said.

鈥淚t’s what people would expect when they walk into a hospital, what you would expect doctors to do who are really concerned that you don’t suffer,鈥� Denno said. 鈥淪o, you transplant that idea onto a method that’s designed to kill somebody, and that’s a really good marketing tool for the public.鈥�

Firing squads are rarely used, but that may be changing

Six people have been executed by since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The use of firing squads is rare, but support for the approach appears to be growing in some regions.

Five states 鈥� Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Utah and 鈥� have authorized the use of firing squads, and Florida and North Carolina both have laws allowing any constitutional method of execution to be used if necessary. Tennessee authorizes the use of methods like firing squads if its primary methods are found unconstitutional.

The U.S. Justice Department announced in April that it is as a permitted method of execution as President Donald Trump’s administration moves to cases.

鈥淣ot to get political, but there is a strand in our culture that is showing a greater acceptance of the use of violence in this particular context,鈥� said Denno. 鈥淚n this country’s history, we’ve never had that many states adopt firing squads ever.鈥�

In firing squad executions, a condemned person is usually bound to a chair and is shot through the heart by execution staffers standing up to 25 feet (7.6 meters) away. The method is meant to quickly stop a person’s heart, but it can be botched.

Attorneys for death row inmates in South Carolina say a man put to last year was conscious and for as long as a minute because the bullets struck Mikal Mahdi lower than expected.

Electrocution executions are declining

Nine states authorize the use of electrocution, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee. Since 1976, 163 electrocutions have been carried out. But only 19 have been done since 2000.

In this method, a person is strapped to a chair and has electrodes placed on their head and leg before between 500 and 2,000 volts run through their body. The took place in 2020 in Tennessee.

Texas killed 361 inmates by electrocution from 1924 to 1964, according to the state鈥檚 Department of Criminal Justice.

Since 1976, 163 people have been executed by electrocution, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

have been rife with problems, particularly in Florida, where in some executions the condemned person actually caught on fire or was left with deep burns, Denno said. Two states, Georgia and Nebraska, have rendered electrocution unconstitutional.

Still, at least some death row inmates have or firing squad when offered the choice between those methods and lethal injection. Those choices likely reflect more about the number of botched lethal injection executions in the U.S. than any endorsement of the other methods, said Denno.

A federal appeals court has raised questions about lethal gas executions

Nitrogen gas has been used in eight executions nationally. Seven of those were in Alabama and one in .

Other states that include lethal gas as an authorized method are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wyoming. In lethal gas executions, a condemned person is typically strapped to a chair or gurney in an airtight chamber before it is filled with a lethal gas. A mask is placed over the prisoner鈥檚 face and nitrogen gas is pumped in, depriving the person of oxygen and resulting in death. From 1979 to 1999, 11 inmates were executed using cyanide gas.

In 2024, Alabama revived the method, becoming the first state to use to execute .

Smith shook violently for several minutes during the execution, and a contends the process was tortuous and 鈥渁 human experiment that officials botched miserably.鈥�

In a separate case, a federal appellate panel on Monday reversed a lower court’s finding that does not violate the U.S. Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The panel sent the lawsuit filed by Lee, a death row inmate, back to the lower court judge for additional consideration.

Lee is still with nitrogen on Thursday, but the lower court judge is expected to weigh whether Lee’s proposed alternative of death by firing squad is feasible.

Lawsuits often lead states to switch execution methods

Hanging was the primary method of execution around the world for centuries, said Denno, and that didn’t change in the U.S. until lawmakers became concerned that it might be struck down in the courts.

Data collected by researchers of U.S. executions from 1608 to 2002 found 9,322 people were put to death by hanging. But in capital punishment鈥檚 modern era, only three individuals in the U.S. have been executed that way, one each in the years 1993, 1994 and 1996.

鈥淗angings are really gruesome, and they were also getting increasingly out of control with huge crowds,鈥� said Denno. 鈥淭hat raised a lot of public concern over what this was doing societally, and there was pressure to come up with something more humane. Parallel to all of that, there was concern among some politicians that this could lead to getting rid of the death penalty entirely, so we better come up with something else.鈥�

That same pattern continues today, said Denno.

鈥淪tates typically change for one of two reasons: One, there’s a series of botches in their particular state and they think the method is going to be constitutionally challenged or it is being constitutionally challenged,鈥� said Denno. 鈥淭he other reason is that they look at what other states are doing. If you have a bunch of states adopting a new method, and one particular state fears their method may come under challenge, then they’ll switch for that reason.鈥�

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Former Associated Press reporter Juan A. Lozano contributed.

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