UR MAG

HAVANA (AP) — After a day spent selling books, Solanda Oña typically boards a bus from a wealthy seaside district inHavanato her home in the city's working-class center.

APTOPIX Cuba Daily Life

But on Thursday night, the bus never came. The 64-year-old bookseller spent the night sleeping in a nearby restaurant instead, worried that this could be the new normal if the gas that fuels the island runs out.

Anxieties simmered in Havana on Friday, a day after CubanPresident Miguel Díaz-Canelwarned that U.S. efforts to block oil supplies would take a heavy toll on the Caribbean nation and asked Cubans to endure further sacrifices to weather the impending hardship.

Many Cubans, already reeling from years of deepening economic crisis, were left asking: What more can we sacrifice?

"I'm very worried," Oña said. "Before, things were always difficult. But there was always one bus. One way to get home. Now, there are none."

By Friday morning, working class residents like Oña were already seeing an inkling of what the future might hold.

Already unreliable public buses stopped running altogether, leaving many stranded for hours. Others were left walking large distances or hitchhiking.Long gas lines and black outs, a constant on the island, have grown even worse as U.S. President Donald Trump presses down on Cuba with an increasingly heavy hand.

Last week, Trumpsigned an executive orderthreatening to impose tariffs on countries providing oil to Cuba, a move that couldfurther cripple an islandplagued by a deepening energy crisis.

On Friday, the national transportation company also said it was cutting routes in the east of the island while the University of Havana said it would cancel some events and push for more remote learning, citing "energy deficits."

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Meanwhile, much of the city of 2 million – schools, banks, bakeries and shops – continued to operate as usual, underscoring how normal the crisis has become on the Caribbean island. Taxis, shared electric motorcycles and other transportation organized by some employers were still working in Havana's capital. However, taxi fares remain far out of reach for the many Cubans living on a state salary of less than $20 a month.

While the U.S. announced$6 million in aid to Cubans Thursday night, severing the island from its primary energy sources has dealt a blow to the nation, especially to civilians who often bear the brunt of the economic crisis. Cuba only produces 40% of the oil it consumes.

The island's communist government says U.S. sanctions cost the country more than $7.5 billion between March 2024 and February 2025, substantially more than the year before.

The crisis deepened after Venezuela — once Cuba's primary oil-rich ally — ceased shipments in January, following aU.S. military operation that captured then-President Nicolás Maduro. Then, in late January Mexico, a long vocal ally of Cuba,halted its oil exports to the island.

Left with few alternatives, many Cubans now say the current economic turmoil U.S. policies have wrought on their daily lives is comparable to the severe economic depression in the 1990s known as theSpecial Period, following cuts in Soviet aid.

"What does it mean to not allow a single drop of fuel to reach a country?" Díaz-Canel said. "It affects the transportation of food, food production, public transportation, the functioning of hospitals, institutions of all kinds, schools, economic production, tourism. How do our vital systems function without fuel?"

For Cristina Díaz, a 51-year-old mother of two, the answer was to walk to her work as a house cleaner. She was joined by packs of others in the capital that strolled along the side of the road on Friday, once again adapting to a new reality.

"We're living as best we can," Díaz said. "What can I do? I live here, I was born here and this is my lot. I have to walk to get to work and to be able to feed my children."

Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean athttps://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

WASHINGTON (AP) — Repairs on a pipe rupture that hassent sewage flowinginto the Potomac River northwest of Washington, D.C., will take weeks more to repair because of an unexpected blockage, according to the local water authority.

In a release posted on its website Thursday, DC Water, which operates the sewer system, said a video inspection of the pipeline revealed the blockage inside the collapsed sewer line "is far more significant" than originally thought. It said it discovered a large rock dam about 30 feet (9 meters) fromthe breach in the sewage line,which requires treatment before the current spill can be addressed.

It will take an estimated 4 to 6 weeks longer than initially anticipated to get a system in place, including bringing in bigger equipment, to address the problem and begin removing the large rocks and boulders inside the sewer line, DC Water said.

The 72-inch (183-centimeter) pipeline, called the Potomac Interceptor, collapsed Jan. 19, shooting sewage out of the ground and into the river just north of Washington in Montgomery County, Maryland. In its initial announcement, DC Water said the leak was causing an estimated 40 million gallons (about 150 million liters) a day of wastewater — enough to fill about 66 Olympic-size swimming pools— to escape into the Potomac River.

DC Water said it knew the pipe, first installed in the 1960s, was deteriorating, and rehabilitation work on a section about a quarter-mile (400 meters) from the break began in September and was recently completed.

The agency has been assessing water quality for bacteria contamination and said that while E. Coli levels are well beyond safe levels at the site of the leak, the levels are within safe levels at other sampling sites downstream into Washington.

The Washington Department of Energy and Environment said in an emailed statement that it was continuing to advise that the public and their pets avoid contact with the water until the situation is fully resolved and bacteria levels are reported as safe. "DC drinking water remains safe for everyone to drink and use."

Sherri Lewis, a spokesperson for DC Water, said the overflow was initially 40 million gallons a day and stayed at that level for five days. Since then there have been limited overflows when pumps are taken out of service because of clogs caused by items such as wipes and grease that reduce pumping capacity.

"Most days we have had none," Lewis said. "However, until we have full functionality restored to the Potomac Interceptor, there remains a risk of limited overflow, but the risk and amount are minimal."

Lewis said the drinking water supply was never impacted. The primary intakes for the water system are upstream of the collapse and that system is completely separate from the sewer system.

The notice came the same day that the Potomac Riverkeeper Network and researchers at the University of Maryland announced they had found high levels of fecal-related bacteria and disease-causing pathogens in the Potomac River and were calling for public health advisories in Washington and Maryland on recreational use of the river.

Dean Naujoks, the Potomac Riverkeeper and part of an environmental nonprofit, said he was concerned about the additional bacterial and pathogenic dangers and criticized DC Water for what he said was misleading information and changing versions of what had transpired.

A journalist couple from Peru who crossed the border into the U.S. claim the death threats they received in their home country because of their work are proof their lives were in danger.

But their most recent asylum petition was denied, and their attorney and several legal advocates say this shows how much tougher it's gotten to be granted asylum amid a steep decline in the rate of approvals.

Deyvi Soria, a former producer at a Peruvian television channel, said that in late 2022 his doorbell rang at his home in Lima and, when he opened the door, he found an envelope at his doorstep and, in the distance, he saw a man running.

"The note they left at our house said directly that we should stop speaking ill of the party and the leader (then former President Pedro Castillo), because that could cost us our lives and the lives of our families," said Soria. "And the note had no return address, and then we received a second one with three bullets," he added.

Soria produced a program on UCI TV, a Lima-based channel where he worked alongside his wife, E.M., who requested only her initials be used for fear of reprisals. E.M. was one of the program's hosts, reporting on Castillo's administration. Though the show wasn't focused on politics, it covered the corruption and conspiracy chargesthat ultimately led to an 11-year sentence for the former president.

Soria said they started seeing people come by their house and they felt very threatened, so they quit their jobs and reported the threats to the police. When they didn't receive protection from the Peruvian authorities, Soria and his wife decided to leave with their two daughters for Mexico, and from there they crossed the border into the U.S., where they were placed in removal proceedings. The couple then applied for asylum and protection under the Convention against Torture.

Last month, the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), the highest administrative body for the review of immigration cases in the U.S.,analyzed the case of Soria and his wifeand dismissed their appeal for asylum, concluding that "a death threat that is vague, anonymous, or used merely to intimidate, by itself, does not rise to the level of severity required to establish persecution."

Denise Gilman,director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Texasat Austin, disagreed with the BIA's ruling. "What that decision says is that having a very well-founded fear through death threats is not enough to win an asylum case," she said. "So, basically what this means is that a person has to wait to be seriously injured or even killed to qualify for asylum."

International organizations have warned that Latin America remains the deadliest region for the press outside of war zones. In itsmost recent report, Reporters Without Borders counted the murder of 17 reporters in 2025 alone.

In Peru, theNational Association of Journalistsrecorded 458 attacks against the press last year, including the murder of three reporters, something that had not happened since 2016 and that was common in the '90s during the armed conflict against the Shining Path terrorist group.

"Our fear is that something might happen to us if we return, because right now Peru is one of the most unsafe countries in Latin America. If you felt somewhat safe before, you don't anymore, because before they threatened you, but now they're killing you," Soria said, "and now the court here tells us that death threats aren't enough."

A denial and an appeal

When Soria and his family first sought asylum, their case was heard in an immigration court in Miami in 2024. The judge acknowledged that the threats were linked to Soria's political opinion as a journalist critical of the government, the family's attorney, Bradley Westerhold, said.

However, the immigration judge concluded that the threats did not reach the level of past persecution and denied the family's asylum application.

Westerhold then appealed the couple's case to the BIA, asking the board to adopt a more protective line, like that of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit,which has recognized that death threats, on their own, can constitute stalkingin certain circumstances.

The board, however, took a more restrictive interpretation, in line with other courts, and held that threats "rarely" constitute stalking if there is no evidence that the aggressor had an "immediate capacity" to carry them out.

Westerhold thinks the ruling sends a dangerous signal. "It doesn't mean that threat cases can never be approved," he says. "But now the threats have to be connected to more serious physical harm, or there has to be something more than just the threat itself."

Noticias Telemundo requested comments on the decision from the Department of Homeland Security and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, which referred the request to the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), an agency of the Department of Justice.

In response, EOIR spokesperson Kathryn Mattingly stated in an email that the agency does not comment on decisions, but added that immigration judges "consider all evidence and arguments presented by both parties and decide each case in a timely, impartial, and lawful manner."

Soria's attorney is filing a request to review the case with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

TheTRAC data centerat Syracuse University estimates that the monthly asylum approval rate in courts fell to 19.2% in August 2025 — a drop of nearly half compared to a 38.2% approval rate in August 2024. Areport by the Congressional Research Service,also based on official data, goes further and estimates that the annual asylum approval rate in immigration courts in fiscal year 2025 is only 12%.

The backlog in U.S. immigration courts has reached record highs, withmore than 3.7 million cases pending.Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,announced last Novemberthat he had decided to suspend "all asylum decisions until we can ensure that all foreign nationals are investigated and vetted to the fullest extent possible."

Jennifer Bade, an immigration lawyer based in Boston, Massachusetts, often represents cases like that of the Soria family. She said people who receive threats don't usually wait to see what will happen to them in their countries, but rather go to the authorities and in many cases, when they see that they don't receive answers or protection, they decide to go into exile.

"My main problem with this case is that who in their right mind would wait to see if the threat is credible, when there are already people who have received similar threats and then died ... Everyone would be in survival mode and would want to leave. So, I think this decision is quite harsh," Bade said.

The lawyer said the decision "is going to make cases like this or similar situations much more difficult, especially for those people for whom it is not safe to return to their countries of origin."

An earlier version of this story was first published in Noticias Telemundo.

Glenn James/NBAE via Getty

NEED TO KNOW

• Cooper Flagg is breaking records and winning accolades just five months into joining the NBA

• The Dallas Mavericks star became the first rookie since Michael Jordan to have four consecutive games with at least 30 points and five rebounds

• Flagg has won Western Conference Rookie of the Month every month since the start of the season

Cooper Flaggis on a rookie tear!

In only his fifth month in the league, the Dallas Mavericks star — who just turned 19 years old — is raking in the awards and breaking records as he runs away for NBA Rookie of the Year.

On Thursday, Feb. 6, after accepting the Western Conference Rookie of the Month award for January — which he won in December and in October/November — Flagg led the Mavs against the San Antonio Spurs and former rookie of the yearVictor Wembanyama.

The No. 1 pick out of Duke went for 32 points, making him the youngest player in league history to score 30 points in four straight games,according to the NBA.

The "Maine Event" also became the first rookie to have four consecutive games with at least 30 points and five rebounds sinceMichael Jordanin 1985.

And with 151 total points, Flagg also became the first rookie sinceAllen Iversonin 1997 to record at least 150 points over a four-game span.

But Flagg would rather take a W than break any record, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said after the 135-123 loss.

"It's not about his stats, it's about his teammates and about winning," Kiddtold reporters. "He's a winner, he wants to win, he wants to help his team win and then he also likes to see his teammates have success."

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Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty

He added, "He's born to win."

Currently on a six-game skid, the Mavs last won on Jan. 22 against the Golden State Warriors.

One week later, Flagg's frustration was evident after a loss following another standout performance — in which he broke retired Mavs star Mark Aguirre's rookie points record, with the legend in attendance for his jersey retirement.

After scoring 49 points in the game against the Charlotte Hornets and another rookie of the year contender inKon Knueppel(who was Flagg's Duke roommate last year), Flagg clenched his jersey and gritted his teeth.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE'sfree daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE in December, Flagg shared that he wants to win, and that he is thankful to try to do so for a franchise that has been home to legends like Dirk Nowitzki andLuka Dončić.

"I mean, I think that it's cool to think about being able to play at a place like this," Flagg told PEOPLE. "But for me it's about just staying present, being in the moment and just being excited, day by day and handling business."

Read the original article onPeople

NEW YORK (AP) — WNBA players' union president Nneka Ogwumike said significant work remains for the season to start on time but said she remains confident games will be played in 2026.

"I know our players 100% want to play this year," she said in a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press on Friday. "We want a season."

Ogwumike said the league and union are not close on key issues like revenue sharing in their effort to strike a new collective bargaining agreement. The clock is ticking. The season is supposed tobegin May 8, but an expansion draft, free agency and a rookie draft also need to happen before the league tips off.

Ogwumike said once revenue sharing is solved, the rest hopefully will fall into place quickly.

"We made the point that once we nail this, we can get everything else done," Ogwumike said.

The players want around 30% of the gross revenue — money generated before expenses — for the first year in their latest proposal. Under the league's last proposal, players would receive in excess of 70% of net revenue, though that would be their take of the profits after expenses are paid. Those expenses would include upgraded facilities, charter flights, five-star hotels, medical services, security and arenas.

Ogwumike re-iterated several times that the union is still waiting for a response from the league to a proposal that it sent more than six weeks ago.

"I think that's really what the players are considering now is that the lack of movement from the league side is truly disappointing," she said.

According to a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke to the AP last month, the league previously didn't feel that proposal was much different than an earlier one the union had sent and didn't warrant a new response. That person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations. After athree-hour meetingMonday at the NBA offices, the union left with the understanding it would have a new proposal soon.

The league's most recent offer last month would guarantee a maximum base salary of $1 million in 2026 that could reach $1.3 million through revenue sharing. That's up from the current $249,000 and could grow to nearly $2 million over the life of the agreement.

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That was on slides that were presented to players at Monday's meeting and obtained by the AP.

The slides also outlined 37 areas where the league was willing to make concessions players wanted. Some of those proposals included adding two developmental player slots to teams, giving pregnant players the right to refuse trades, increasing the guaranteed contracts on a team and codifying charter flights as well as other first-class travel considerations.

If a new CBA isn't agreed upon soon, it could delay the start of the 2026 season. It's already delayed the expansion draft for Toronto and Portland.

The last CBA was announced in the middle of January 2020, a month after it had been agreed to. It could easily take two months from when a new CBA is reached to get to the start of free agency, which was supposed to begin last month. With a massive salary raise expected in a new CBA, 80% of players in the league are free agents this offseason, which makes this the biggest opportunity for player movement in the history of the WNBA.

A delay would hurt both sides as every game that is missed, revenue would be lost, as would be sponsorships, television money and fan support.

Ogwumike, who is in her third term as union president, said that the long wait for a response hasn't been all bad, as she and union leadership have had a chance to talk with WNBA players. She was in Nashville on Thursday with union leadership at Athletes Unlimited. It was a chance to take a pulse of the players.

"I actually like the fact that we've had these six weeks now, still waiting for a proposal. It's given us the gift of time," she said. "And so, you know, in December, after the strike authorization vote, we were able to meet in Miami and talk to players."

Players voted to give union leadership the right to strike in December. Ogwumike said despite that, a strike is not imminent, although the union did post on social media a video about the 1964 NBA All-Star Game strike. The NBA All-Star Game is next weekend in Los Angeles.

"Having the strike on the table is something that we're very much aware of, but there's so many more conversations that have to happen," Ogwumike said. "You know, we're not just going to say, `Hey, today's the day (we'll strike).' You know, I think that's what what we're demonstrating right now is negotiating in good faith."

AP WNBA:https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball