By JIM VERTUNO

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The parents of the only girl still missing from the catastrophic July 4 flood that tore through Camp Mystic in Texas are demanding that the camp halt its plans to reopen.

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Officials announced this week that they plan to reopen part of the camp next year and build a memorial to the 25 campers and two teenage counselors who died. The body of 8-year-old camper Cili Steward, wasn’t recovered.

The reopening plan has drawn fierce complaints from some of the victims’ families, who said they weren’t consulted.

“To promote reopening less than three months after the tragedy — while one camper remains missing — is unthinkable,” CiCi and Will Steward wrote to Camp Mystic officials in a letter released Thursday.

“We call on Camp Mystic to halt all discussions of reopening and memorials,” they wrote. “Instead, Cile must be recovered, and you must fully confront and account for your role in the events and failures that caused the deaths of our daughters.”

Camp Mystic’s owners include the wife and other family members of Dick Eastland, who also died in the flooding.

Camp officials did not respond to an emailed request for comment. The camp’s account generated an automatic response that said its staff was still grieving for those who were killed.

The children and counselors who died have become known as “Heaven’s 27.” The letter was signed by CiCi and Will Steward “on behalf of ourselves and other families of the Heaven’s 27.”

It wasn’t immediately clear if other victims’ families participated in the letter. A spokesperson for the group said the letter speaks for itself.

The camp’s planned reopening would not include the area along the Guadalupe River from where the victims were swept away. That area, which was destroyed, would remain closed. An undamaged area called Camp Mystic Cypress Lake on higher ground would reopen.

In a letter to camp families this week, officials said they were working to comply with new camp safety laws that were recently passed.

The families of the campers and counselors killed at Camp Mystic came together to urge the Legislature to pass a series of bills aimed at preventing similar tragedies in the future. They delivered powerful testimony before legislative committees, often accusing Camp Mystic operators of not being adequately prepared.

The measures prohibit cabins in dangerous parts of flood zones and require camp operators to develop detailed emergency plans, to train workers, and to install and maintain emergency warning systems. One bill would allocate $240 million from the state’s rainy day fund for disaster relief, along with money for warning sirens and improved weather forecasting.

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve looked stunned after Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals. Not in the fact that Minnesota lost, but rather the manner of defeat.

Minnesota coughed up a 20-point lead partially due to Phoenix’s upped physicality, but also via unusual errors on Minnesota’s end.

Forward Napheesa Collier noted the Lynx “beat ourselves.”

“Our response to it was very uncharacteristic. Some of the body language in terms of players that we’re not used to seeing certain looks from,” Reeve said. “I think the lack of execution led us to the uncertainty. We’re looking around and all of a sudden had a bunch of ‘oh, (crap)’ looks. Execution, simple things – pass and catch, just be able to dribble the ball up the court. We’re throwing it out of bounds. … I can show you four turnovers right now in a minute and a half that had nothing to do with Phoenix. That made us out of sorts. That’s what led to that.”

Unforced errors, a lack of composure. It’s the opposite of what has defined Minnesota for the better part of the last 15 years. Sunday’s second half certainly didn’t resemble the product this current collection has put on the floor over the past two years.

That such a performance arrived at a key moment, Collier noted, is “definitely frustrating.”

“But it’s a series, it’s a long series,” she said. “It’s tied, now, so we need to go to Phoenix and take care of business.”

Game 3 is Friday night in Phoenix. Minnesota has to win one of the next two game in Arizona, or its championship hopes will come crashing down in disappointment. The Game 2 collapse is the type of failure that can break a team. But don’t expect that to happen to the Lynx.

This is the same group – for all intents and purposes – that had its heart ripped out and stomped on in a controversial ending to Game 5 of last year’s WNBA Finals that left the Liberty with the trophy and the Lynx feeling as though a championship was “stolen” from their grasp.

The response was to return even better this season, waltzing to the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage throughout the season. The Lynx often joke they’re fueled by the “power of friendship.”

“I know we laugh about it, and it’s kind of a running joke. But I actually truly believe that a group of people that like each other and enjoy being around each other translates so well to on court,” Lynx forward Alanna Smith said. “And we’re able to hold each other accountable. … When you have so much joy in what you’re doing with the people around you, you can only be successful in that.”

They derive not only joy from one another, but hope and motivation, even in the most dire of moments. What doesn’t kill these Lynx has, traditionally, made them stronger. Friday provides another opportunity to get back up off the might and fight out of the corner.

“It’s a resilient team. It’s a team that responds … they’re problem solvers,” Reeve said. “Nobody said this stuff was going to be easy. This is all part of the journey. Now we’ve just got to see if we can go beat a really good team at their place. That’s, obviously, we know a tall order, but we’ll do everything we can to do it.”

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By WILL WEISSERT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank.

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“There’s been enough,” Trump, apparently referring to Israel, told reporters in the Oval Office while signing executive orders unrelated to Middle East policy. He added, “It’s time to stop now.”

Trump has long bragged about his close relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but the president has faced pressure from Arab leaders, who have publicly expressed concerns about the Israeli military acting to annex more territory.

Unlike Gaza, where Israel’s war with Hamas continues, the West Bank is governed by the Palestinian Authority.

By BARBARA ORTUTAY, Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday approved a $1.5 billion settlement between artificial intelligence company Anthropic and authors who allege nearly half a million books had been illegally pirated to train chatbots.

U.S. District Judge William Alsup issued the approval in San Francisco federal court Thursday after the two sides worked to address his concerns about the settlement, which will pay authors and publishers about $3,000 for each of the books covered by the agreement. It does not apply to future works.

A Monday filing sought to convince the judge that the parties have set up a system designed to get out robust notice to all authors and publishers covered by the agreement, ensuring they get their cut of the pot if they want to sign off on the settlement or opt out to protect their legal rights moving forward.

They also tried to assure him that the author and publishers group that cobbled the deal together are not doing any “back room” dealings that would hurt lesser-known authors.

Alsup’s main concern centered on how the claims process will be handled in an effort to ensure everyone eligible knows about it so the authors don’t “get the shaft.” He had set a September 22 deadline for submitting a claims form for him to review before Thursday’s hearing to review the settlement again.

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The judge had raised worries about two big groups connected to the case — the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers — working “behind the scenes” in ways that could pressure some authors to accept the settlement without fully understanding it.

Attorneys for the authors said in Monday’s filing they believe the settlement will result in a high claims rate, respects existing contracts and is “consistent with due process” and the court’s guidance.

Alsup had dealt the case a mixed ruling in June, finding that training AI chatbots on copyrighted books wasn’t illegal but that Anthropic wrongfully acquired millions of books through pirate websites to help improve its Claude chatbot.

Bestselling thriller novelist Andrea Bartz, who sued Anthropic with two other authors last year, said in a court declaration ahead of the hearing that she strongly supports the settlement and will work to explain its significance to fellow writers.

“Together, authors and publishers are sending a message to AI companies: You are not above the law, and our intellectual property isn’t yours for the taking,” she wrote.

Alsup also said in the courtroom Thursday that he plans to step down from the bench by the end of the year.

AP Technology Writer Matt O’Brien contributed to this story from Providence, Rhode Island.