Khimberly Zavaleta was struck on Feb. 17 in a hallway at the campus ' which includes grades 6-12 ' as she stepped in to defend her sister, who was being bullied by other students, relatives said.

She was sent home after being treated at a hospital, but collapsed days later and was rushed to UCLA Children’s Hospital, where she was placed in an induced coma and underwent emergency brain surgery, the family said. But she died on Feb. 25.

“As the baby of our family, she brought a special light and joy into our lives,” relatives said on a GoFundMe site seeking $140,000 to help pay medical and burial expenses. “She loved her family, music, volleyball, walks with her two beloved dogs, and had many dreams for the future.

“Her passing has left our family in unimaginable pain. No parents should ever have to endure the loss of their youngest child.”

Los Angeles Unified School District officials expressed sorrow for Khimberly’s death and vowed to cooperate with the police investigation.

“The Los Angeles Unified School District is deeply saddened by the death of a Reseda High School student,” the statement said. “Our thoughts and condolences are with the student’s family, friends, and the entire school community. Out of respect for the family and to protect confidentiality, we cannot share details.

“The District remains committed to providing support to students, staff, and families affected by this loss, including counseling services and additional resources on campus. The District takes the safety and well-being of our students very seriously. We are currently cooperating with law enforcement in connection with this incident.”

As of 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, more than $90,000 had been donated to the GoFundMe account.

WASHINGTON (AP) ' Three American service members have been killed and five others seriously wounded during the U.S. attacks on Iran, the military said Sunday, marking the first American casualties in a major offensive that has sparked retaliation from the Islamic Republic.

U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, announced the deaths in a post on X but did not say when and where they occurred. The statement said 'several others sustained minor shrapnel injuries and concussions' and were going to return to duty.

Central Command described the situation 'as fluid' and said it would withhold the identities of the service members who were killed for 24 hours after their families were notified.

The U.S. military also denied Iranian claims that the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier was struck with ballistic missiles, saying on X that the 'missiles launched didnt even come close.'

President Donald Trump had warned that American troops could be killed or injured in the operation.

'The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties,' the Republican president said in a video address released early Saturday. 'That often happens in war. But were doing this not for now. Were doing this for the future.'

Following the U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other leaders, Irans counterattacks have struck U.S. bases in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has threatened to launch its 'most intense offensive operation' ever targeting Israeli and American military installations.

Before the strikes, Trump had built up the largest U.S. military presence in the Middle East in decades. The arrival of the Lincoln and three accompanying guided-missile destroyers at the end of January bolstered the number of warships in the region.

The worlds largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, and four accompanying destroyers later were dispatched from the Caribbean Sea to head to the Middle East.

The Ford was part of the U.S. raid in Venezuela that captured leader Nicolás Maduro, who was brought to New York to face drug trafficking charges. The operation in January claimed no American lives but left seven U.S. troops with gunshot wounds and shrapnel-related injuries.

One of those injured received the Medal of Honor during Trumps State of the Union address last week. Trump said Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover piloted the lead CH-47 Chinook helicopter that descended on the 'heavily protected military fortress' where Maduro was staying.

Trump has launched several military operations during his second term, including strikes on members of the Islamic State group in Syria in retaliation for an ambush attack that killed two U.S. troops and an American civilian interpreter in December.

The U.S. military has also struck IS forces in Nigeria, after Trump accused the West African countrys government of failing to rein in the targeting of Christians.

WASHINGTON (AP) ' A senior White House official said Sunday that Irans 'new potential leadership' has suggested it is open to talks with the United States after American and Israeli forces launched a major attack against Tehran, killing the countrys supreme leader and other high-ranking officials.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations, said President Donald Trump says he is 'eventually' willing to talk but that for now the military operation 'continues unabated.' The official did not say who the potential new Iranian leaders are or how they made their alleged willingness to talk known.

Trump told The Atlantic on Sunday that he planned to speak with Irans new leadership.

'They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them,' he said, declining comment on the timing.

The potential future diplomatic opening comes as new details are emerging about the detailed planning that went into the U.S.-Israeli strikes and some of the targets that were hit in Iran.

U.S. Central Command said that B-2 stealth bombers struck Irans ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs. That mirrors the approach that the military took in June, when Trump agreed to deploy B-2 bombers to attack three key Iranian nuclear sites.

Trump claimed in his State of the Union speech last week that Iran had been building ballistic missiles that could reach the U.S. homeland ' a justification he repeated again Saturday as he announced that the bombardment of Iran was underway.

Iran has not acknowledged that it is building or seeking to build intercontinental ballistic missiles. The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, however, said in an unclassified report last year that Iran could develop a militarily viable intercontinental ballistic missile by 2035 'should Tehran decide to pursue the capability.'

Before the attacks, the CIA had for months tracked the movements of senior Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a person familiar with the operation.

The intelligence was shared with Israeli officials, and the timing of the strikes was adjusted in part because of that information about the Iranian leaders location, according to the person, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The intelligence sharing between U.S. and Israel reflects the preparation that went into the strikes, which continued for a second day Sunday after Khameneis killing threw the future of the Islamic Republic into uncertainty and raised the risk of escalating regional conflict.

The New York Times earlier reported about the CIAs efforts before the Israeli-U.S. strikes.

Sen. Tom Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, declined to discuss details Sunday when asked on CBS 'Face the Nation' about intelligence sharing with Israel. But he said tracking the movements of the supreme leader and the heads of other adversarial nations 'is obviously one of the highest priorities of our intelligence community.'

'Clearly, this operation is driven by intelligence collected by Israel and the United States that has once again proven that our nations have capabilities that no other nation on Earth has,' said Cotton, R-Ark.

The U.S. regularly shares intelligence with allies including Israel. Those partnerships, and the accuracy of the intelligence they yield, is often critical not only to the success of a military operation but also to the publics support for it.

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the senior Democrat on the committee, told The Associated Press that historically, 'our working relationship with the Mossad and Israel is really strong.' Mossad is the Israeli spy agency.

Warner said he has serious concerns about the justification for the strikes, Trumps long-term plans for the conflict and the risks that U.S. service members will face. The military announced Sunday that three American troops had been killed and five were seriously wounded in the Iran operation.

'No tears will be shed over their leadership being eliminated but always the question is: OK, what next?' Warner said.

Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) ' Iran vowed revenge Sunday after the killing of its supreme leader and traded strikes with Israel as part of a widening war prompted by a surprise U.S. and Israeli bombardment. The U.S. military said three service members have been killed, the first known American casualties from the conflict.

Blasts in Tehran sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky in an area of government buildings. Iranian authorities say more than 200 people have been killed since the start of the strikes that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior leaders. Iran fired missiles at Israel and Gulf Arab states in retaliation while Israel pledged 'non-stop' strikes against Irans leaders and military.

In Israel, loud explosions caused by missile impacts or interceptions could be heard in Tel Aviv. Israels rescue services said nine people were killed and 28 wounded in a strike that hit a synagogue in the central town of Beit Shemesh, bringing the overall death toll in the country to 11. Eleven people were still missing after the strike, police said, as rescue crews combed the rubble.

The U.S. military, meanwhile, said B-2 stealth bombers have struck Irans ballistic missile facilities with 2,000-pound bombs. U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media that nine Iranian warships had been 'destroyed' and sunk, and that the Iranian navys headquarters had been 'largely destroyed.'

The strikes and counterattacks underscored how the killing of Khamenei, and Trumps calls for the overthrow of the decades-old Islamic Republic, carried the potential for a prolonged conflict that could envelop the Middle East. It also represents a startling show of military might for an American president who swept into office on an 'America First' platform and vowed to keep out of 'forever wars.'

Streets of Tehran are largely deserted

In Tehran, there was little sign that Iranians had heeded Trumps call for an uprising against the government.

The streets were largely deserted as people sheltered during heavy airstrikes, witnesses told The Associated Press, speaking anonymously for fear of retribution. The paramilitary Basij, which has played a central role in crushing protests, has set up checkpoints across the city, they said.

In southern Iran, at least 165 people were killed when a girls school was struck, and dozens more were wounded, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. The Israeli military said it was not aware of strikes in the area. The U.S. military said it was looking into the reports.

The U.S. military said three service members were killed and five others seriously wounded, without providing further details. It said several others suffered minor injuries and concussions.

In the 12-day war last June, Israeli and American strikes greatly weakened Irans air defenses, military leadership and nuclear program. But the killing of Khamenei, who had ruled Iran for more than three decades, creates a leadership vacuum, increasing the risk of regional instability.

Iran says new leadership is in place

The CIA had been tracking the movements of senior Iranian leaders, including Khamenei, for months, according to a person familiar with the operation who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The intelligence was shared with Israeli officials, and the timing of the strikes was adjusted in part because of that information, the person said.

The New York Times earlier reported about the CIAs efforts ahead of the Israeli-U.S. strikes.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a prerecorded message that a new leadership council had begun its work. The countrys foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said a new supreme leader would be chosen in 'one or two days.'

Trump told The Atlantic in an interview on Sunday that he planned to speak with Irans new leadership.

'They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them,' he said, declining comment on the timing.

Iran vows revenge for Khamenei killing

As word spread of Khameneis death, some in Tehran could be seen cheering from rooftops, witnesses said. Others mourned as a black flag was raised over the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad.

'You have crossed our red line and must pay the price,' Irans parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said in a televised address. 'We will deliver such devastating blows that you yourselves will be driven to beg.'

Trump warned against retaliation.

'THEY BETTER NOT DO THAT,' he said in a social media post. 'IF THEY DO, WE WILL HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE!'

As supreme leader, Khamenei had final say on all major policies since 1989. He led Irans clerical establishment and the Revolutionary Guard, the two main centers of power in the governing theocracy.

An Iranian medical professional in northern Iran said he and colleagues spent the early hours of Sunday celebrating Khameneis death indoors because armed security forces are still heavily deployed in his city.

There were forces stopping and interrogating people celebrating in their cars but there was no gunfire, said the doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

'It was one of the best nights, if not the best night of our lives,' the doctor said in a voice message from the city of Rasht. In fact, 'it was actually my first time ever smoking a cigarette. It was a very very nice time. We didnt sleep at all. And we dont even feel tired.'

Iran retaliates with missiles and drone attacks

As U.S. and Israeli strikes have pounded Iran, the Islamic Republic has retaliated with missiles and drone attacks on Israel and nearby Arab Gulf countries hosting U.S. forces.

The air war could rattle global markets, particularly if Iran makes the Strait of Hormuz unsafe for commercial traffic. Around 20% of the worlds traded oil passes through the vital waterway.

While Iran struck U.S. bases in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, the attacks have also hit outside of military installations, including a hotel in the Emirati city of Dubai, and Kuwaits international airport. At least four people have been killed in strikes on Gulf countries.

Araghchi, Irans foreign minister, blamed such strikes on the U.S. and Israel for starting the war. He said he had spoken to his counterparts in the Gulf countries and urged them to pressure the U.S. and Israel to end it.

Israels Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel will have 'a nonstop air train' of strikes against Iranian military and leadership targets.

Flights across the Middle East were disrupted, and air defense fire thudded over Dubai. The United Arab Emirates commercial capital has long drawn business and expatriates by billing itself as a safe haven in a volatile region.

Strikes were planned for months and feared for weeks

Tensions have escalated in recent weeks as the Trump administration built up the largest force of American warships and aircraft in the Middle East in decades. The president insisted he wanted a deal to constrain Irans nuclear program while the country struggled with growing dissent following nationwide protests.

Democrats decried that Trump had taken action without congressional authorization. The White House said it had briefed several Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress in advance.

Though Trump had pronounced the Iranian nuclear program obliterated in strikes last year, the country was rebuilding infrastructure that it had lost, according to a senior U.S. official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss Trumps decision-making process. The official said intelligence showed that Iran had developed the capability to produce its own high-quality centrifuges, an important step in developing the highly enriched uranium needed for weapons.

Iran has said it has not enriched since June, though it has maintained its right to do so while saying its nuclear program is entirely peaceful. It has also blocked international inspectors from visiting the sites the U.S. bombed. Satellite photos analyzed by AP have shown new activity at two of those sites.

Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel; Boak from West Palm Beach, Florida; and Tucker from Washington. Associated Press writers Joe Federman in Jerusalem, Sarah El Deeb in Beirut, Amir Radjy in Cairo, Aamer Madhani, Konstantin Toropin, David Klepper and Matthew Lee in Washington, and AP journalists around the world, contributed to this report.

Hundreds of thousands of stranded travelers scrambled to make new connections and get through to airlines on jammed phone lines on Sunday after the attack on Iran by the United States and Israel shut down much of the Middle East to air travel.

Tourists and business travelers crowded hotels and airports, with no word on when many airports would reopen or when flights to and through the Middle East would resume. Some governments advised their stranded citizens to shelter in place.

Shutdown airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha ' including Dubai International Airport, one of the busiest in the world ' are important hubs for travel between Europe, Africa and the West to Asia. All three were directly hit by strikes.

Mohammad Abdul Mannan, in the crowd at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka, Bangladesh, said he wasnt concerned about the war, but that he needs to get his flight to the Middle East to make a living.

'We have set out to go for work, and we must go,' he said. 'My only concern is how to go abroad and how to earn an income.'

Confusion reigned for many travelers as they tried to get answers on online portals or through phone lines.

In Dubai, stranded travelers could hear fighter jets overhead and an explosion when the Fairmont Palm Hotel was hit by a missile strike.

Many were unable to get updated flight information from tour operators or Dubai-based Emirates, which suspended all flights to and from Dubai until at least Monday afternoon.

Louise Herrle and her husband had their flight to Washington canceled on their way back to their Pittsburgh home after a tour of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with no word when they could reschedule.

'Were in the hotel room, we are not leaving it, so youre not going to give it up until we know we have a flight out of here,' Herrle said. 'Im sure everyone else is in the same situation.'

Flights canceled, airports and airspaces still closed

Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, said it is hard to calculate the number of travelers stranded worldwide.

However, it estimated that at least 90,000 people alone change flights daily in the airports in Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi on just three airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways.

Airspace or airports in Israel, Qatar, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates were closed, according to flight tracking sites and government agencies there.

More than 1,800 flights were canceled Sunday to airports across the Middle East, including those in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey and Egypt, according to Cirium. At least that number of flights were canceled Saturday.

Cancellations will extend beyond Sunday, at least.

Emirates suspended all flights to and from Dubai until at least Monday afternoon. Air India suspended all flights to and from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Qatar until Tuesday. Israeli airline EL AL said it was preparing to fly home Israelis stranded abroad once the airspace reopened and closed ticket sales for flights through March 21 to ensure customers whose flights were canceled get priority.

Two airports in the United Arab Emirates reported strikes as the government there condemned what it called a 'blatant attack involving Iranian ballistic missiles' on Saturday.

Officials at Dubai International Airport said four people were injured, while Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi said one person was killed and seven others were injured in a drone strike. Strikes were also reported at Kuwait International Airport.

Iran did not publicly claim responsibility.

Flight disruptions are likely to continue

Airlines urged passengers to check their flight status online before heading to the airport. Some airlines issued waivers to affected travelers that will allow them to rebook their flight plans without paying extra fees or higher fares. Others offered full refunds.

'For travelers, theres no way to sugarcoat this,' said Henry Harteveldt, an airline industry analyst and president of Atmosphere Research Group. 'You should prepare for delays or cancellations for the next few days as these attacks evolve and hopefully end.'

Mike McCormick, who used to oversee air traffic control for the Federal Aviation Administration, said countries might reopen their airspace once American and Israeli officials tell airlines where military flights are operating and how capable Iran remains at firing missiles.

‘No one really knows whats going on

The reverberations echoed far outside the Middle East ' for example, airport authorities in the resort island of Bali in Indonesia said more than 1,600 tourists were stranded at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on Sunday after five flights to the Middle East were canceled or postponed.

Airlines that are crossing the Middle East will have to reroute flights around the conflict with many flights headed south over Saudi Arabia. That will cause delays and higher costs.

Kristy Ellmer, an American who had been on business meetings in Dubai, said she was staying in a hotel and keeping multiple flights booked in case airports reopen.

She said she was gaining confidence in the governments ability to protect the city from missiles, but also keeping away from windows when she hears explosions.

'You hear a lot of explosions at times, theres hundreds of them,' Ellmer said. 'And so when we hear them we sort of just dont stay near the windows just in case the glass was to break or there was some impact.'

Levy reported from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Associated Press writers Julie Walker in New York, Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, Adam Schreck in Bangkok, Sam Metz in Ramallah, West Bank, Melanie Lidman in Jerusalem and Niniek Karmini in Jakarta contributed to this report.

Barely an hour after the first U.S. and Israeli missiles struck Iran, President Donald Trump made clear he hoped for regime change. 'Now is the time to seize control of your destiny,' he told the Iranian people in a video. 'This is the moment for action. Do not let it pass.'

Doesnt sound complicated. After all, with Irans fundamentally unpopular government weakened by fierce airstrikes, some of its top leaders dead or missing and Washington signaling support, how hard could it be to overthrow a repressive regime?

Possibly very hard. So says history.

Washington has a long, complicated past when it comes to regime change. There was Vietnam in the 1960s and 70s, and Panama in 1989. There was Nicaragua in the 1980s, Iraq and Afghanistan in the years after 9/11, and Venezuela just weeks ago.

There was also Iran. In 1953, the CIA helped engineer a coup that toppled Irans democratically elected leader and gave near-absolute power to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. But as with the shah, who was overthrown in Irans 1979 Islamic Revolution after decades of increasingly unpopular rule, regime change rarely goes as planned.

Attempts to usher in U.S.-friendly governments often start with clear intentions, whether hope for democracy in Iraq or backing an anti-Communist leader in Congo at the Cold Wars height. But often those intentions stumble into a political quagmire where democratic dreams turn into civil war, once-compliant dictators become embarrassments and American soldiers return home in body bags.

That history has long been a Trump talking point. 'We must abandon the failed policy of nation building and regime change,' he said in 2016.

'In the end, the so-called ‘nation-builders wrecked far more nations than they built,' he said in a 2025 speech in Saudi Arabia, deriding U.S. efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. The 'interventionists were intervening in complex societies that they did not even understand.'

Now, after Saturdays actions, a key question emerges: Does todays U.S. government understand what its getting into?

Its unclear what regime change would even mean

Irans economy is in shambles and dissent remains strong even after a brutal January crackdown on protests left thousands of people dead and tens of thousands under arrest. Many of the nations key military proxies and allies ' Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Assad government in Syria ' have been weakened or eliminated. And early Sunday, Iranian state media confirmed Israel and the United States had killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The United States hasnt laid out a postwar vision and doesnt necessarily even want a complete overthrow of the Iranian leadership. As in Venezuela, it may already have potential allies in the government willing to step into a power vacuum.

'But theres a lot that needs to happen between now and a possible scenario along these lines,' said Jonathan Schanzer, executive director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington think tank that is deeply critical of the Iranian government. 'There needs to be a sense that there is no salvation for the regime as such, and that they will need to work with the United States.'

In a country where the core leaders are deeply united by ideology and religion, that may be extremely difficult.

'The question to my mind right now is have we been able to penetrate the ranks of the regime that are not true believers that are more pragmatic,' Schanzer said. 'Because I dont believe that the true believers will flip.'

Its simply too early to know if ' or how much ' the political winds are shifting in Tehran. The leaders who come next could turn out to be equally repressive or seen domestically as an illegitimate U.S. stooge.

'Well see whether elements of the regime start moving against each other,' said Phillips OBrien, professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. 'Air power can damage a leadership,' he said. 'But it cant guarantee that youll bring in something new.'

US intervention in Latin America has a long history

In Latin America, Washingtons history of intervention in goes back a long way ' to when President James Monroe claimed the hemisphere as part of the U.S. sphere of influence more than 200 years ago.

If the Monroe Doctrine began as a way to keep European countries out of the region, by the 20th century it was justifying everything from coups in Central America to the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961. Very often, historians say, that intervention led to violence, bloodshed and mass human rights violations. Therein, they say, lies a lesson.

Direct U.S. involvement has rarely 'resulted in long-term democratic stability,' said Christopher Sabatini, a senior fellow for Latin America at the London think tank Chatham House. He points to Guatemala, where U.S. intervention in the 1950s led to a civil war that didnt end for 40 years and left more than 200,000 people dead.

Or theres Nicaragua, where backing of the Contra rebels against the Sandinista government in the 1980s contributed to a prolonged civil conflict that devastated the economy, caused tens of thousands of deaths and deepened political polarization.

While large-scale, overt U.S. involvement in the region mostly petered out after the Cold War, Trump has rekindled the legacy.

Since assuming office last year, Trump launched boat strikes against alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean, ordered a naval blockade on Venezuelan oil exports and got involved in electoral politics in Honduras and Argentina. Then, on Jan. 3, U.S. forces captured Venezuelan strongman leader Nicolás Maduro, flying him to the U.S. to face drug and weapons charges.

What followed in Caracas may signal what the White House hopes will happen in Tehran. Many observers thought the U.S. would back María Corina Machado, who has long been the face of political resistance in Venezuela. Instead, Washington effectively sidelined her and has repeatedly shown a willingness to work with President Delcy Rodríguez, who had been Maduros second-in-command.

'There are those who could claim that what we did in Venezuela is not regime change,' said Schanzer, at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. 'The regime is still in place. Theres just one person thats missing.'

Tim Sullivan has reported from more than 35 countries for The Associated Press since 1993. Danica Kirka in London and Eléonore Hughes in Rio de Janeiro contributed to this report.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) ' A gunman opened fire outside a bar in a popular entertainment district in the Texas capital of Austin, killing two people early Sunday in a shooting that the FBI said is being investigated as a potential act of terrorism.

The shooting left 14 others wounded, including three who were critically injured, before officers killed the shooter, police said.

The suspect, whose name was not immediately released, drove past the bar several times before stopping and shooting a pistol out the window of his SUV at people on a patio and in front of the bar, said Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis.

The gunman then parked the vehicle, got out with a rifle, and began shooting at people walking in the area before officers who rushed to the intersection shot him, Davis said.

There have been at least two other high-profile shootings in Austins Sixth Street entertainment district within the past five years, including one in the summer of 2021 that left 14 people wounded. Although this weekends shooting doesnt meet the definition of a mass killing, there have been five of those so far this year.

The FBI is investigating whether the shooting early Sunday was act of terrorism because of 'indicators' found on the gunman and in his vehicle, said Alex Doran, the acting agent in charge of the FBIs San Antonio office.

'Its still too early to make a determination on that,' Doran said.

The shooting happened outside Bufords Backyard Beer Garden just before 2 a.m. along Sixth Street, a nightlife destination filled with bars and music clubs and only a few miles from the University of Texas.

The schools president said on social media that some of those impacted included 'members of our Longhorn family.'

'Our prayers are with the victims and all those impacted,' said university President Jim Davis.

The entertainment district has a heavy police presence on weekends, and officers were able to confront the gunman within a minute of the first call for help, Davis said.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson praised the fast response by police and rescuers.

'They definitely saved lives,' he said.

One of the victims was found in the street between two parked cars. Inside the multi-story bar, there were overturned tables and drinks left behind by fleeing customers.

Another shooting early Sunday at a Cincinnati nightclub and concert venue wounded nine people, police in Ohio said.

All nine had gunshot wounds, but none were non-life threatening, said Adam Hennie, the citys interim police chief.

Diaz reported from Richmond, Virginia; and Seewer from Toledo, Ohio.

Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Consumer advocates have been pushing this idea for years, and the California Public Utility Commission went so far as to make wee tiny downward adjustments in December. But Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Irvine ' and most everyone we know who actually uses the outlets in their homes ' thinks that probably did not go quite far enough.

To that end, Petrie-Norris has introduced a bill that would poke the CPUC a bit harder in the ribs.

Assembly Bill 2463 would force regulators to re-evaluate how much money it allows electric and gas companies to pay their shareholders in exchange for shouldering the risk of funding infrastructure investments.

Vital background here: The big investor-owned utilities dont make money selling electricity. Thats pretty much a pass-through cost. Rather, the CPUC allows them a return on their infrastructure investments ' “return on equity” in finance-speak ' which critics say creates a perverse incentive to spend way more than necessary.

(The more expensive ' say, burying power lines rather than insulating the overhead lines ' the more money the utility gets!)

Electric rates have doubled in California over the past decade, far outpacing inflation. They’re about twice the national average; only Hawaii is worse. And some 15 cents of every dollar on our electric bills pays utility profits and taxes.

“Utility profits are soaring while many California families are struggling to make ends meet and pay their bills,” Petrie-Norris said (Edison has reported income of $1.6 billion; SDG&E, $891 million; PG&E, $2.4 billion). “We need to scrutinize those numbers and make sure that utility returns are fair and reasonable.”

AB 2463 is simple: It requires the CPUC to conduct a robust, independent analysis to determine the true risk utility shareholders face, and balance risk with the proper reward.

“I was shocked to learn that, in its current process, the CPUC doesn’t conduct an independent, objective analysis of what they think is the right answer for utility return on equity,” Petrie-Norris said.

“Every year, we get proposals to cut the ROE. Theyre never based on data or facts, but on feelings. We need to do the math to get this right.”

Consumer groups are inclined to agree.

“We think it’s a great bill,” said Mark Toney, executive director of the consumer advocacy group TURN, The Utility Reform Network.

“It’s asking for the CPUC to take a step back and look at the methodology. Should all capital costs be treated the same? Or should, say, wildfire-related capital costs receive a lower return on equity because of the circumstances ' safety related, a lot of it due to past neglect …?

“The bottom line is, we think it’s of great value for the CPUC to take up that ax and say, ‘Are there other, fairer ways for figuring out what the cost of capital is?’ ”

The utilities? So far, expressing empathy.

“Southern California Edison is committed to addressing affordability for our customers,” said spokesman Jeff Monford. “Weve taken significant actions to reduce our operational costs and keep rates as affordable and stable as possible. We look forward to working with the legislature on solutions to address affordability without jeopardizing the investments we need to maintain a safe, reliable and clean electric system.”

Ratepayer bill of rights

Last year, the investor-owned utilities asked CPUC for returns on equity ranging from 11% to 11.75%.

Consumer groups balked, saying those numbers were “unjustifiably higher than market conditions warrant.' Leading financial firms estimated long-term returns at some 6% for the general market ' which is considered riskier than utility investments, the consumer groups argued ' and they urged regulators to drop ROE that low. Other consumer groups were more generous, urging the CPUC to set the return at 8% or 9%.

In the end, the CPUC gave the utilities less than they asked for, but more than consumer groups thought they should have: 10.03% for Southern California Edison (down from 10.33% the prior year); 9.93% for SDG&E; 9.98% for PG&E; and 9.78% for SoCalGas.

Petrie-Norris’ bill aims to have the CPUC start the process to “conduct a systemwide review of the methodologies used to determine the cost of capital and authorized return on equity for each electrical corporation and gas corporation,” the Legislative Analyst’s bill summary says.

That would start with a baseline “capital-market risk framework” analysis (translation: a study to identify, assess, monitor and mitigate financial risks arising from capital investments, financing activities and market fluctuations), and then use that analysis to decide how much is reasonable for the investor-owned utilities to collect.

“The bill would require the commission to develop and adopt a strategy for adjusting authorized returns on equity for each electrical corporation and gas corporation, based on specified load growth or sales volume thresholds,” the summary said.

“The bill would require the commission to conduct a comprehensive review of the cost of capital adjustment mechanism applicable to each electrical corporation and gas corporation, evaluate the authorized return on equity applicable to each electrical corporations infrastructure that serves transmission-level customers, and to evaluate alternative, incentive-based return models that link a portion of shareholder earnings to performance outcomes.”

Once the baseline is established, anything above it must “be supported by express findings, based on substantial evidence, demonstrating that the electrical corporation or gas corporation faces materially greater risk than that reflected in the framework.”

The bill is slated for a hearing next month before the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Energy which, incidentally, Petrie-Norris chairs. That often, but not always, suggests a smooth maiden voyage. It will likely be helped by the bill’s language, which reads a bit like a Ratepayer Bill of Rights (insert imaginary exclamation points at the end of each sentence if you’re so inclined):

“Electrical corporations and gas corporations are entitled to a reasonable opportunity to earn a fair return on their invested capital, but ratepayers should not bear costs that exceed the level necessary to attract capital under prevailing market conditions,” it says.

“The cost of capital adjustment mechanism was designed to reflect changing capital market conditions but has not consistently produced downward adjustments when market conditions would support those reductions.

“Ratepayers should not pay full equity returns on infrastructure investments for which their utility did not provide initial capital or bear comparable financial risk.

“Aligning shareholder earnings with performance outcomes can better protect ratepayers while preserving safe and reliable utility service and can improve delivery of outcomes such as timely interconnections, cost containment and risk mitigation.”

No specific haircuts for utility ROEs. No numbers thrown out willy-nilly.

“The utilities argue that higher ROEs are warranted and necessary to attract capital,” Petrie-Norris said. “The ratepayer advocates argue that they’re wildly excessive. What I want to know is: Who’s right?

“We need to have an evidence-based, data-driven process to determine what’s the right answer,” she said. “AB 2463 creates that framework to protect ratepayers while also ensuring that the utilities are able to attract capital to deliver safe, reliable service.”

Its the rare policy question that unites Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and the Democratic-led Maryland government against President Donald Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom of California: How should health insurers use AI?

Regulating artificial intelligence, especially its use by health insurers, is becoming a politically divisive topic, and its scrambling traditional partisan lines.

Boosters, led by Trump, are not only pushing its integration into government, as in Medicares experiment using AI in prior authorization, but also trying to stop others from building curbs and guardrails. A December executive order seeks to preempt most state efforts to govern AI, describing 'a race with adversaries for supremacy' in a new 'technological revolution.'

'To win, United States AI companies must be free to innovate without cumbersome regulation,' Trumps order said. 'But excessive State regulation thwarts this imperative.'

Across the nation, states are in revolt. At least four ' Arizona, Maryland, Nebraska, and Texas ' enacted legislation last year reining in the use of AI in health insurance. Two others, Illinois and California, enacted bills the year before.

Legislators in Rhode Island plan to try again this year after a bill requiring regulators to collect data on technology use failed to clear both chambers last year. A bill in North Carolina requiring insurers not to use AI as the sole basis of a coverage decision attracted significant interest from Republican legislators last year.

DeSantis, a former GOP presidential candidate, has rolled out an 'AI Bill of Rights,' whose provisions include restrictions on its use in processing insurance claims and a requirement allowing a state regulatory body to inspect algorithms.

'We have a responsibility to ensure that new technologies develop in ways that are moral and ethical, in ways that reinforce our American values, not in ways that erode them,' DeSantis said during his State of the State address in January.

Ripe for Regulation

Polling shows Americans are skeptical of AI. A December poll from Fox News found 63% of voters describe themselves as 'very' or 'extremely' concerned about artificial intelligence, including majorities across the political spectrum. Nearly two-thirds of Democrats and just over 3 in 5 Republicans said they had qualms about AI.

Health insurers tactics to hold down costs also trouble the public; a January poll from KFF found widespread discontent over issues like prior authorization. (KFF is a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.) Reporting from ProPublica and other news outlets in recent years has highlighted the use of algorithms to rapidly deny insurance claims or prior authorization requests, apparently with little review by a doctor.

Last month, the House Ways and Means Committee hauled in executives from Cigna, UnitedHealth Group, and other major health insurers to address concerns about affordability. When pressed, the executives either denied or avoided talking about using the most advanced technology to reject authorization requests or toss out claims.

AI is 'never used for a denial,' Cigna CEO David Cordani told lawmakers. Like others in the health insurance industry, the company is being sued for its methods of denying claims, as spotlighted by ProPublica. Cigna spokesperson Justine Sessions said the companys claims-denial process 'is not powered by AI.'

Indeed, companies are at pains to frame AI as a loyal servant. Optum, part of health giant UnitedHealth Group, announced Feb. 4 that it was rolling out tech-powered prior authorization, with plenty of mentions of speedier approvals.

'Were transforming the prior authorization process to address the friction it causes,' John Kontor, a senior vice president at Optum, said in a press release.

Still, Alex Bores, a computer scientist and New York Assembly member prominent in the states legislative debate over AI, which culminated in a comprehensive bill governing the technology, said AI is a natural field to regulate.

'So many people already find the answers that theyre getting from their insurance companies to be inscrutable,' said Bores, a Democrat who is running for Congress. 'Adding in a layer that cannot by its nature explain itself doesnt seem like itll be helpful there.'

At least some people in medicine ' doctors, for example ' are cheering legislators and regulators on. The American Medical Association 'supports state regulations seeking greater accountability and transparency from commercial health insurers that use AI and machine learning tools to review prior authorization requests,' said John Whyte, the organizations CEO.

Whyte said insurers already use AI and 'doctors still face delayed patient care, opaque insurer decisions, inconsistent authorization rules, and crushing administrative work.'

Insurers Push Back

With legislation approved or pending in at least nine states, its unclear how much of an effect the state laws will have, said University of Minnesota law professor Daniel Schwarcz. States cant regulate 'self-insured' plans, which are used by many employers; only the federal government has that power.

But there are deeper issues, Schwarcz said: Most of the state legislation hes seen would require a human to sign off on any decision proposed by AI but doesnt specify what that means.

The laws dont offer a clear framework for understanding how much review is enough, and over time humans tend to become a little lazy and simply sign off on any suggestions by a computer, he said.

Still, insurers view the spate of bills as a problem. 'Broadly speaking, regulatory burden is real,' said Dan Jones, senior vice president for federal affairs at the Alliance of Community Health Plans, a trade group for some nonprofit health insurers. If insurers spend more time working through a patchwork of state and federal laws, he continued, that means 'less time that can be spent and invested into what were intended to be doing, which is focusing on making sure that patients are getting the right access to care.'

Linda Ujifusa, a Democratic state senator in Rhode Island, said insurers came out last year against the bill she sponsored to restrict AI use in coverage denials. It passed in one chamber, though not the other.

'Theres tremendous opposition' to anything that regulates tactics such as prior authorization, she said, and 'tremendous opposition' to identifying intermediaries such as private insurers or pharmacy benefit managers 'as a problem.'

In a letter criticizing the bill, AHIP, an insurer trade group, advocated for 'balanced policies that promote innovation while protecting patients.'

'Health plans recognize that AI has the potential to drive better health care outcomes ' enhancing patient experience, closing gaps in care, accelerating innovation, and reducing administrative burden and costs to improve the focus on patient care,' Chris Bond, an AHIP spokesperson, told KFF Health News. And, he continued, they need a 'consistent, national approach anchored in a comprehensive federal AI policy framework.'

Seeking Balance

In California, Newsom has signed some laws regulating AI, including one requiring health insurers to ensure their algorithms are fairly and equitably applied. But the Democratic governor has vetoed others with a broader approach, such as a bill including more mandates about how the technology must work and requirements to disclose its use to regulators, clinicians, and patients upon request.

Chris Micheli, a Sacramento-based lobbyist, said the governor likely wants to ensure the state budget ' consistently powered by outsize stock market gains, especially from tech companies ' stays flush. That necessitates balance.

Newsom is trying to 'ensure that financial spigot continues, and at the same time ensure that there are some protections for California consumers,' he said. He added insurers believe theyre subject to a welter of regulations already.

The Trump administration seems persuaded. The presidents recent executive order proposed to sue and restrict certain federal funding for any state that enacts what it characterized as 'excessive' state regulation ' with some exceptions, including for policies that protect children.

That order is possibly unconstitutional, said Carmel Shachar, a health policy scholar at Harvard Law School. The source of preemption authority is generally Congress, she said, and federal lawmakers twice took up, but ultimately declined to pass, a provision barring states from regulating AI.

'Based on our previous understanding of federalism and the balance of powers between Congress and the executive, a challenge here would be very likely to succeed,' Shachar said.

Some lawmakers view Trumps order skeptically at best, noting the administration has been removing guardrails, and preventing others from erecting them, to an extreme degree.

'There isnt really a question of, should it be federal or should it be state right now?' Bores said. 'The question is, should it be state or not at all?'

©2026 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The Board of State and Community Corrections, which oversees California’s jails and juvenile halls, filed a motion this week asking a judge to allow it to enter the fray as a “friend of the court,” so it can file briefs challenging witness testimony and provide direct information about its inspections of L.A. County’s facilities.

“The BSCC Board made the determination to provide the amicus briefing in the receivership case to urge the court to consider stronger judicial intervention,” said Jana Sanford-Miller, the BSCC’s spokesperson.

The California Department of Justice asked the court in July to transfer “full operational authority” over the county’s juvenile halls to a court-appointed receiver after finding that the county was still out of compliance with 75% of the terms of a 2021 settlement agreement. 

Judge Peter Hernandez preliminarily denied that request and has spent the last four months listening to expert testimony on the state of the facilities as he weighs the next step. Those hearings will continue through the end of March and do not currently have an end date.

Though the BSCC’s inspections of Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall and other facilities are at the heart of the case, it hasn’t participated in the hearings before now.

The BSCC’s “perspective is uniquely valuable to the Court in evaluating the evidence presented,” according to its motion.

“The States petition for receivership directly implicates the BSCCs statutory mandate,” wrote Le-Mai Lyons, the BSCC’s attorney. “A receivership would necessarily affect how facilities are operated, how standards are enforced, and how youth are treated within the system.”

Hernandez is expected to rule on the BSCC’s request in late March.

A proposed copy of the amicus curiae brief, included as an exhibit along with several inspection reports, outlines the BSCC’s concerns with L.A. County’s continued stewardship of the facilities, but stops short of directly supporting a receivership.

Emails indicate the DOJ consents to the BSCC’s involvement, while L.A. County objects.

“We strongly disagree with any suggestion that Probation is unwilling to improve conditions or operate in compliance with standards,” said Vicky Waters, the spokesperson for the L.A. County Probation Department, which operates juvenile facilities. “Since the appointment of new leadership, significant reforms have been implemented, including strengthened supervision structures, enhanced training standards, improved documentation protocols, and expanded program oversight.”

The department is focused on the safety, well-being and rehabilitation of youth in its care and will “continue to address all oversight matters directly with the Court and the appropriate regulatory bodies,” Waters said.

In the proposed brief, the BSCC details a series of failed inspections at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall and Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall over the past 2 1/2 years. It describes lackluster safety checks, limited access to restrooms at night, allegedly falsified records, excessive room confinements and the ripple effects of an ongoing staffing shortage driven by call-outs, medical leaves and a high vacancy rate.

“The BSCC continues to have concerns with the Countys ability to develop long-term, sustainable solutions to address deficiencies with staffing,” Lyons wrote. “The County continues to rely on deployed staff to backfill positions and has relied on this short-term solution since 2022. Reliance on temporarily deployed staff who are not fully trained and serve irregularly contributes to required services not being provided and a less safe facility.”

The BSCC’s proposed filing states that “any judicial intervention the Court decides is necessary should include guidance on long-term staffing solutions and training to supervisors on appropriate staffing policies.”

Inspectors reportedly found instances where the Probation Department staff at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar allegedly falsified documents to list activities, exercise and even fire drills that never occurred.

Among its accusations, the BSCC took issue with Chief Guillermo Viera Rosa’s testimony during earlier hearings in the case and indicated it is “inaccurate” to imply the BSCC had tacitly approved of the reopening of Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall, a facility forced to close by the BSCC nearly three years ago, or the repurposing of Campus Kilpatrick in the Santa Monica Mountains to house the county’s girls and gender-expansive youth.

Neither received the BSCC’s signoff before the county began moving youth into the facilities, according to the proposed brief.

“These most recent instances of Probation proceeding with activation of facilities that are either unsuitable or had not received proper clearances and approvals, coupled with the issues raised above, particularly representations by the County that conflict with other evidence, emphasize the need for judicial intervention in overseeing Los Angeles Countys operation of its juvenile facilities,” Lyons wrote.