By SOPHIE AUSTIN, Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — More than 20 mostly Democratic-led states sued the Trump administration Tuesday over its efforts to cut Medicaid payments to the nation’s largest abortion provider — Planned Parenthood.

The move comes in response to the package of tax breaks and spending cuts Trump signed earlier this month. The new cuts are focused on services such as cancer screenings and tests, birth control and treatment for sexually transmitted infections — by ending Medicaid reimbursements for a year for major providers of family planning services.

The cuts apply to groups that received more than $800,000 from Medicaid in 2023. The goal was to target Planned Parenthood, but the legislation also affected a major medical provider in Maine.

California, New York, Washington, D.C., Connecticut and other states argue in a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts that the provision’s language is unclear about which groups it applies to. They also say it retaliates against Planned Parenthood for advocating for abortion access, violating the free speech clause of the First Amendment.

The states are asking that the portion of the law be blocked and deemed unconstitutional.

The cuts threaten health care access for many low-income Americans, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said at a news conference.

“This attack isn’t just about abortion,” the Democrat said. “It’s about denying vulnerable communities access to care they rely on every day.”

But the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, named a defendant in the suit, defended the provision.

“States should not be forced to fund organizations that have chosen political advocacy over patient care,” spokesperson Andrew G. Nixon said in an email. “It is a shame that these democrat attorney generals seek to undermine state flexibility and disregard longstanding concerns about accountability.”

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Maine Family Planning, which operates 18 clinics offering a range of services across the state, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America filed separate lawsuits earlier this year challenging the cuts. Planned Parenthood said although it is not specifically named in the law, the provision was meant to affect its nearly 600 centers in 48 states. About a third of those clinics risk closure because of the legislation, which would strip care from more than 1 million patients, the group argues.

A federal judge on Monday ruled Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide must continue to receive Medicaid reimbursements.

Maine Family Planning said it had enough in its reserves to keep seeing patients covered by Medicaid without reimbursements only through October. About half of the group’s patients not seeking abortions are enrolled in Medicaid.

The states’ suit filed Tuesday argues that by pushing Planned Parenthood clinics to close or cut services, it could increase the states’ medical care costs in the long term. Otherwise the cuts will make states use their own funds to keep health centers open.

“Either we have to comply and violate Planned Parenthood’s constitutional rights and then push people to alternative providers that don’t exist, who don’t have the capacity to pick up the slack, or we have to spend upwards of $6 million or more to cover (those services),” said William Tong, Connecticut’s Democratic attorney general.

Federal law already bars taxpayer money from covering most abortions, but some conservatives argue abortion providers use Medicaid money for other health services to subsidize abortion.

Associated Press writer Susan Haigh in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

Austin 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. Follow Austin on X: @sophieadanna

By DEE-ANN DURBIN, Associated Press

Starbucks said Tuesday it’s confident that new products coming next year — including a cold foam protein drink, coconut water-based beverages and improved baked goods — will help turn around the company’s lagging U.S. sales.

In the meantime, slow U.S. demand continues to be a drag on the company’s results.

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Starbucks reported that its revenue rose 4% to $9.5 billion in its fiscal third quarter. That was better than the $9.3 billion Wall Street expected, according to analysts polled by FactSet.

But same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, fell 2% in the April-June period. That was a bigger decline than Wall Street expected, and it was the sixth straight quarter that the Seattle-based company reported lower same-store sales.

Same-store sales were up in China, Starbucks’ second-largest market, but they fell 2% in the U.S.

Starbucks is spending heavily to turn that around. One big expense in the third quarter was a two-day meeting in Las Vegas, where the company hosted 14,000 store managers and regional leaders.

The company said its net income fell 47% to $558 million in the April-June period. Adjusted for one-time items, its earnings fell 46% to 50 cents per share for the quarter. That was lower than the 65 cents analysts had forecast.

Starbucks shares rose 1.8% in after-hours trading.

By DAVE COLLINS, Associated Press

An off-duty New York City police officer and an executive at an investment firm were among the four people killed by a gunman at a Manhattan office tower.

The officer, Didarul Islam, was working a corporate security detail Monday at the midtown skyscraper that is home to the headquarters of both the NFL and Blackstone, one of the world’s largest investment firms. Blackstone confirmed that Wesley LePatner, a senior managing director specializing in real estate, was fatally shot. Security officer Aland Etienne was also killed, his labor union said.

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The Rudin family, which owns the building and Rudin Management, said in a statement that one of their employees was a victim of the shootings but did not disclose the person’s name at the request of relatives. Police officials said a woman was found dead on the building’s 33rd floor in Rudin’s offices.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a memo to staff that an employee at the league’s headquarters was seriously wounded and in stable condition at a hospital but all other workers were safe. He did not name the person.

Authorities identified the shooter as Shane Tamura of Las Vegas and believe he was trying to get to the NFL offices but took the wrong elevator. Mayor Eric Adams said police found a note suggesting he had a grievance against the NFL over a claim that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease that has been linked to concussions in contact sports but can’t be diagnosed until death. He had played football in high school in California nearly two decades ago.

Police officer had been on the job for three years

This undated image provided by the New York Police Department shows Officer Didarul Islam, who was shot and killed at a Manhattan office building on Monday, July 28, 2025, in New York. (New York Police Department via AP)

Islam, who had been a New York City police officer for 3 1/2 years, worked out of a precinct in the Bronx, where he lived with his family, officials said. The 36-year-old immigrant from Bangladesh was married with two young sons and a third child on the way, police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a news conference.

Tisch said the gunman immediately opened fire on Islam in the building’s lobby.

“He was doing the job that we asked him to do. He put himself in harm’s way. He made the ultimate sacrifice,” she said. “He died as he lived: a hero.”

Well-wishers visited Islam’s home Tuesday, many carrying takeout food for relatives gathered inside. Across the street, a public school where one or more of Islam’s children attended displayed a poster praising him as a loving parent and NYPD hero. Acquaintances from his mosque also stopped by to pay their respects.

“He was a very friendly guy and a hardworking guy,” said Tanjim Talukdar, who knew him best from Friday prayers, but would always get a greeting when they met on the street. “Whenever I see him or he sees me he says, ‘How are you, my brother?’”

“I was really shocked to see the news,” he said.

Blackstone executive was Yale graduate who specialized in real estate

This photo shows Wesley LePatner, an executive at Blackstone Inc., who was shot and killed by a gunman on Monday, July 28, 2025, at the company’s headquarters in New York. (Courtesy of Blackstone Inc. via AP)

LePatner, 43, was Blackstone’s global head of core plus real estate and chief executive officer of Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, the firm said. She joined the company in 2014 after working for more than a decade at Goldman Sachs, where she also handled real estate.

She graduated summa cum laude from Yale University in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in history and served on the boards of several organizations, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the firm said. A company statement said executives and other employees were devastated by her death and described her as “brilliant, passionate, warm, generous and deeply respected.”

LePatner’s family said their hearts were broken and asked that their privacy be respected as they mourn. They also offered condolences to other families who lost loved ones in the shooting.

“We cannot properly express the grief we feel upon the sudden and tragic loss of Wesley,” they said in a statement. “She was the most loving wife, mother, daughter, sister and relative, who enriched our lives in every way imaginable. To so many others, she was a beloved, fiercely loyal and caring friend, and a driven and extraordinarily talented professional and colleague. ”

Author Bruce Feiler said in a Facebook post that he was shocked, saddened and furious over LePatner’s death. He said they served together on a board at Yale.

“At 43, she was the most effortless and impressive person — you wanted to follow her wherever she went,” he wrote. “A mentor to young women and generous friend to everyone who knew her, she was on the board of her children’s Jewish day school, recently joined the board of The Met, and just felt in every way like the kind of leader we all want and need in these unsettling times.”

Union calls security guard ‘a New York hero’

NYPD officers stand in line during the dignified transfer of Didarul Islam, who was shot and killed by a gunman Monday evening, out of NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Hospital to the medical examiner’s office, early Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)

Manny Pastreich, president of Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, said in a statement Tuesday that Etienne’s death “speaks to the sacrifice of security officers who risk their lives every day to keep New Yorkers and our buildings safe.”

“Every time a security officer puts on their uniform, they put their lives on the line. Their contributions to our city are essential, though often unappreciated. Aland Etienne is a New York hero. We will remember him as such,” Pastreich said.

Etienne had worked at the building since 2019 and also had a stint there in 2017, the union said. State records show Etienne was licensed as an unarmed security guard since 2017.

Pastreich said the union was helping police and building management with the investigation and offering union members free counseling and support services. He said other security officers and commercial cleaners in the union were working in the building at the time.

Associated Press writers Cedar Attanasio and David Martin contributed to this report.

By JEFFREY COLLINS

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A 12-year-old boy died from a brain-eating amoeba two weeks after a holiday weekend on a popular South Carolina lake.

The brain-eating amoeba enters the body when water is forced up the nose, like when someone jumps or dives in the water.

It causes an infection that swells the brain and destroys tissue. Fewer than 10 cases are reported each year in the U.S., but almost all are fatal.

Here are some things to know about the amoeba, its latest victim and other dangers on freshwater lakes:

What is the brain-eating amoeba?

The amoeba’s scientific name is Naegleria fowleri and it is most dangerous in water that stays for a while over 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius), including in lakes and rivers in the southern part of the U.S. and other places with hot, sometimes dry summers like Pakistan and Australia.

The amoeba enters the brain through the olfactory nerve in the nose. Once inside, it causes an infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis.

Symptoms start as a fairly standard headache and nausea. By the time the pain becomes severe, it is almost always too late to save the infected person. Of the 167 cases reported in the U.S. between 1962 and 2024, only four people have survived, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most of the deaths happened within five days of getting sick, according to the CDC.

One infection in a body of water doesn’t increase the chances of another infection in the same body of water, the agency said. The amoeba cannot move from one person to another.

It was the first death from the amoeba in South Carolina since 2016, the CDC said.

What happened?

Jaysen Carr went swimming at Lake Murray about 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of Columbia over the July Fourth weekend.

He got sick several days later and died on July 18.

This family photo shows Clarence Carr and his son Jaysen at his middle school football game in Columbia, S.C. (Carr Family via AP)

His father and mother had never heard of the amoeba before a doctor in tears told them what tests of his spinal fluid had found.

Clarence Carr said he was shocked to learn South Carolina, like most other U.S. states, has no law requiring public reporting of deaths or infections from the amoeba. The lake wasn’t closed and no water testing was performed.

“My son was a very smart individual. If he had one warning, he would have thought swimming in the lake was a bad idea,” Carr said.

The amoeba is fairly common and is most dangerous when the water is warm.

Researchers are trying to figure out why the infections are so rare. Some people have been found to have had antibodies, signalling they may have survived exposure. Others may die from brain swelling and other problems without the amoeba ever being detected.

“My son lost his life swimming. We assumed it was safe,” Carr said.

The amoeba can show up in hot springs, rivers and, on rare occasions, in tap water. That’s why doctors recommend using sterile water for cleaning nasal passages with a neti pot.

The only way to be completely safe is to not swim in lakes or rivers and, if you do, keep your head above water. Pinching your nose or using nose clips when diving or swimming can keep water out of your nose.

Lake Murray in South Carolina is seen in this photo on July 29, 2025, in Chapin, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)

Other dangers lurking in lakes and rivers

There are other dangers in swimming in lakes and rivers instead of pools, where chemicals can kill off dangerous bacteria and other organisms.

A mouthful of water could contain E.coli bacteria. And while the bacteria normally live in the intestines of healthy people and animals, some strains can cause a range of conditions, including urinary tract infection, cystitis, intestinal infection and vomiting, with the worst cases leading to life-threatening blood poisoning, according to the Mayo Clinic.

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Algae can also cause illnesses. Cyanobacteria — also referred to as blue-green algae — are plant-like organisms that live in water.

The algae can look like foam, scum, mats, or paint on the surface of the water and can grow underneath it.

The organisms can quickly grow out of control, or “bloom,” in warm weather, helped along by excessive nutrients in fertilizers and pet waste carried along by stormwater.

Some of the algae produce toxins that can cause symptoms including skin irritation, stomach cramps, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, fever, sore throat, headache, muscle and joint pain, mouth blisters, seizures, and acute liver damage, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.