By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON

MIAMI (AP) — Democrat Eileen Higgins’ victory in the Miami mayoral race marks a setback for Republican President Donald Trump, who endorsed her rival and has touted his 2024 win in the area as a testament to his appeal in Florida and particularly among Hispanic voters.

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Higgins, who will become the city’s first female mayor, secured a decisive win of approximately 19 points over Trump’s pick, Emilio Gonzalez, signaling a potential shift in voter sentiment.

In becoming the first Democrat to lead the city of 487,000 in nearly 30 years, Higgins said she will explore legal ways to unwind an agreement between the city and the federal government that empowers police officers to conduct immigration enforcement.

“We need to look at all our legal options to ensure that our city police work for our neighborhoods and not on checking residents’ papers,” Higgins said in Spanish at a press conference Wednesday.

While harshly criticizing Trump’s immigration crackdown, Higgins has been more measured than her counterpart in New York City, Zohran Mamdani, in her approach.

Higgins’ message for Trump

Higgins’ victory occurred on the same night that Trump delivered a speech in Pennsylvania meant to emphasize his focus on combating inflation. But the president appeared dismissive on an issue that has damaged his popularity, saying inflation was no longer a problem and that Democrats were using the term “affordability” as a “hoax” to hurt his reputation.

The Associated Press asked Higgins after her win what she would tell Trump.

“When I hear what the residents have to say about affordability, it’s real. They’re facing expensive rent, expensive property insurance, costs of all sorts of things, especially even now the things they’re buying in the stores due to the tariffs,” she said. “I think every leader in America needs to think deeply about what they can do to help get the affordability crisis under control for the American people.”

At the press conference on Wednesday, Higgins, however said that sometimes she and Trump have been in agreement, praising the president for maintaining funding for a new local transit project.

Voters face ‘frustration’ and ‘fear’

Higgins, a former county commissioner, commented on a shift among voters she noticed compared to when she ran in previous years, when people wanted the government to be run more efficiently and to finish projects from housing to transportation.

Miami mayor-elect Eileen Higgins speaks to her staff before a news conference at her campaign headquarters Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

“This is the first election where when I speak to our residents, it’s not just about frustration, it’s also about fear,” Higgins said at the press briefing. “They’ve never been afraid of their government before. And now they are.”

Higgins said she heard from a medical clinic that had to immediately fire 27 employees who lost work authorization when the Trump administration stripped legal protections from more than 300,000 Venezuelan migrants.

“That’s 27 families without a breadwinner. And a health clinic that’s short 27 employees to take care of people,” she said. “We want a strong border, we want a path to citizenship. We don’t want law-abiding people to be ejected from our country, impoverishing their family and driving our economy into ruin.”

Turnout was high for a mayoral race

Both major national political parties took an interest in the race, which was a runoff between the two top finishers in the Nov. 4 general election. Trump talked up Gonzalez on his social media site, and national Democratic figures weighed in for Higgins.

Turnout in Tuesday’s runoff was huge for a mayoral election in Miami. At a little more than 37,000 votes, it nearly matched turnout in the Nov. 4 general election, which was 36% higher than the turnout four years ago.

However, the number of votes was still much lower than in a typical midterm election, like the one that will be held in 2026. For example, 92,500 voters in the city of Miami cast ballots in the 2022 election for governor.

Miami may become home of the Trump presidential library

Higgins could join the growing local opposition to Trump’s presidential library, which Republicans have pushed to build in downtown Miami. Earlier this month, the Miami-Dade College board voted to donate a nearly 3-acre undeveloped lot, valued at over $67 million, located on the iconic Biscayne Boulevard. However, a judge had temporarily blocked the transfer while a lawsuit plays out.

At a debate aired last month on Miami television station CBS 4, Higgins said that while it is “an honor” to be home to a presidential library, she felt this was a “land giveaway.” She said the state could have sold the land and paid for things that have been cut such as food aid and money for transit.

Miami mayor- elect Eileen Higgins speaks at her campaign headquarters Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

“We gave away very valuable land to a billionaire for free,” she said. “That doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Miami will host next year’s G20 summit

Earlier this year, Trump was accompanied by Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who Higgins will succeed, at the White House in announcing Miami will host next year’s Group of 20 summit at his golf club in Doral, Florida, a suburb of greater Miami. He argued it was “the best location” for the international gathering.

Suarez said such gathering put the city “on the global map.”

Trump has been known for his public feuds with Democratic mayors and governors. The mayor of Washington, D.C., Muriel Bowser, had to confront a federal law enforcement intervention into her city launched by Trump. She announced last month that she would not seek reelection.

At the press conference, Higgins was asked if she was scared Trump could retaliate in any way against her.

“No tengo ningún miedo de él,” she said, Spanish for “I am not scared of him, at all.”

Associated Press journalist Stephen Ohlemacher in Washington contributed in this report.

By VESELIN TOSHKOV

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Tens of thousands joined the latest massive protests across Bulgaria on Wednesday, accusing the government of widespread corruption and underscoring political rifts just weeks before the country is to join European nations that use the euro as the official currency at the start of next year.

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The demonstrations came after last week’s protests that were sparked by the government’s budget plans for higher taxes, increased social security contributions and spending increases. The government later withdrew the controversial 2026 budget plan.

The protesters’ demands have since expanded to include calls for the center-right government of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov to resign.

In the capital, Sofia, protesters gathered on a central square where the parliament, the government and the presidency buildings are located. Chanting “Resignation” and “Mafia,” they called on Zhelyazkov’s minority coalition Cabinet to step down.

Students from Sofia’s universities joined the protests, which organizers said outnumbered last week’s rallies that drew over 50,000 people. Media estimates based on drone visuals put the number of protesters at over 100,000.

At the core of the protesters’ frustrations is the role of Bulgarian politician and oligarch Delyan Peevski, who has been sanctioned by both the United States and Britain, and whose MRF New Beginning party backs the government. Peevski has been accused by opponents of helping shaping government policy in line with oligarchic interests.

No violence was reported and the protests ended peacefully.

Also on Wednesday, the opposition coalition We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria called for a no-confidence vote in the government. The vote, the sixth such motion by the opposition, will take place on Thursday.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev wrote on Facebook that Wednesday’s demonstrations were in effect a vote of “no confidence in the Cabinet.”

Radev, an opponent of the government who hails from the political left, urged the lawmakers to listen to the people and to “choose between the dignity of free voting and the shame of dependence” when they vote on Thursday.

Bulgaria is soon to become the 21st member of the eurozone, a euro currency union that is a key EU project aimed at deepening ties between member countries. The Balkan country of 6.4 million people is to make the switch from its national currency, the lev, to the euro on Jan. 1.

A new Metro Transit bus route will connect Washington and Dakota county riders to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and Mall of America while restoring service to the Newport Transit Station.

“It’s a big day for the community and for the east metro to be able to have this expansion of transit,” Washington County District 4 Commissioner Karla Bigham said.

Service for the new Route 345 began Sunday, with the goal of providing “faster and more reliable service to the southeast metro,” according to Metro Transit. Route 345 connects to other routes including the Gold Line, Blue Line and Red Line. Buses will run every hour and service is available between 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

The new route is said to reduce commute time between Woodbury and the Mall of America by close to 30 minutes, according to Metro Transit.

“Two weeks ago, if someone was trying to make this trip between Woodbury and the Mall of America, they would take Gold Line to the 54, and that would be about an hour and a half total transit travel time,” Metro Transit senior service planner Steve Baisden said. “Now, with Route 345, that travel time is cut almost in half.”

Route 345 was established as part of Network Now, a project designed by the Metropolitan Council to strengthen the regional transit network in response to the impacts of the pandemic, according to Baisden. Along with Route 345, Metro Transit introduced two additional new routes, 725 and 837, and added a few new stops to existing routes. These new routes were funded through the council’s Regional Transportation Sales and Use Tax, according to Metro Transit.

“It’s a new route, so it will inevitably expand network access and improve regional accessibility, mainly along the Highway 62 and I-494 corridor,” Baisden said. “Route 345 will also restore service at Newport Transit Station, as well as serving the various communities along the route.”

More than a year ago, the Metropolitan Council and the Red Rock Corridor Commission, which Bigham chairs, re-envisioned what the Red Rock Corridor transit line would look like, Bigham said. The idea for Route 345 came from transit and ridership data, as well as conversations with residents and stakeholders about the need for a route traveling from east to west, Bigham said.

“We didn’t have public transportation in the east metro, like Washington County, to the airport or to the Mall of America, which is pretty important,” Bigham said.

Bigham said Route 345, which connects with the Gold Line in Woodbury, will be an even greater resource when the Gold Line extends into Minneapolis.

“I think it’s going to serve multiple residents in their needs to access transit,” Bigham said. “Folks that either don’t have a vehicle or are in a one-car household, it allows people to have access to our communities, and I think it’s a long time coming.”

In Woodbury, Route 345 stops at Woodlane Station, which also serves routes 323, 355, and Metro Micro along with the Gold Line.

The new route also serves the newly reopened Newport Transit Station, which had experienced low ridership numbers before it temporarily closed in the spring of 2020, according to Baisden.

Bigham said she expects Newport ridership to increase with the new route.

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“This is a route that’s providing new connections that were not possible prior to the pandemic,” Baisden said. “It’s trying to respond to the changing travel patterns of riders. Trying to get riders from a certain area or certain areas within the southeast metro to either jobs or services in the south metro.”

In West St. Paul, the new route connects with Route 68 at Robert Street and Marie Avenue and Route 75 on Livingston Avenue.

Baisden said Route 345 in the future will also connect to the G Line along South Robert Street, which is scheduled to open in 2028.

Route 345 has three Park & Ride lots at Woodlane Station in Woodbury, the Newport Transit Center and at 30th Avenue Station in Bloomington.

For more information on the bus map and schedule, visit metrotransit.org.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The Trump administration is adding another militarized zone to the southern U.S. border to support border security operations — this time in California.

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The Department of Interior on Wednesday said it would transfer jurisdiction along most of California’s international border with Mexico to the Navy to reinforce “the historic role public lands have played in safeguarding national sovereignty.”

The newly designated militarized zone extends nearly from the Arizona state line to the Otay Mountain Wilderness, traversing the Imperial Valley and border communities including Tecate.

Since April, large swaths of border have been designated militarized zones, empowering U.S. troops to apprehend immigrants and others accused of trespassing on Army, Air Force or Navy bases, and authorizing additional criminal charges that can mean prison time. More than 7,000 troops have been deployed to the border, along with an assortment of helicopters, drones and surveillance equipment.

The military strategy was pioneered in April along a 170-mile stretch of the border in New Mexico and later expanded to portions of the border in Texas and Arizona.

The Interior Department described the newest national defense area in California as a high-traffic zone for unlawful crossings by immigrants. But Border Patrol arrests along the southern U.S. border this year have dropped to the slowest pace since the 1960s, amid President Donald Trump’s push for mass deportations.

“By working with the Navy to close long-standing security gaps, we are strengthening national defense, protecting our public lands from unlawful use, and advancing the President’s agenda,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a news release.

An emergency declaration by Trump has thrust the military into a central role in deterring migrant crossings between U.S. ports of entry. Legal experts say the strategy flouts a ban on law enforcement by the military on U.S. soil and thrusts the armed forces into a potentially politicized mission.

The new militarized zone was announced Wednesday as a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to stop deploying the California National Guard in Los Angeles and return control of those troops to the state.

Trump called up more than 4,000 California National Guard troops in June without Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approval to further the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.