By ISABEL DEBRE

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A passerby could hear the cacophony from miles away in the Argentine capital, the unmistakable sound of 2,397 dogs barking — and breaking the unofficial world record for the largest-ever gathering of golden retrievers.

Excitement pulsed through Bosques de Palermo, a sprawling park in Buenos Aires, as golden retriever-owners from all over Argentina transformed the park’s grassy expanse into a sea of bright yellow fur.

Dog owners of all ages, their clothes covered in dog hair and stained with slobber, plopped down on picnic blankets with their beloved goldens to take in the surreal sight of so many other, exceptionally similar-looking ones. Children squealed with delight and giddily petted every dog that pranced about.

Families posed for pet selfies under the blazing Southern Hemisphere’s summer sun.

Sipping Argentina’s traditional yerba mate drink, attendees swapped fun facts about their favorite breed — such as goldens’ famed ability to sniff out low blood sugar and cancer — and shared stories of their retrievers comforting them throughout all of life’s ups and downs.

“Since we were children, she’s been a constant presence in our family. We’ve had vacations with her. We’ve done everything together,” said Nicolás Orellana, a 26-year-old wearing a T-shirt with a photo of a golden retriever on it. His family said they drove an hour and a half from their hometown in Buenos Aires province for the event.

“It’s a type of dog that’s known to create a special bond,” he said, kneeling to pet his contented-looking 13-year-old dog Luna.

Around them, fellow golden retrievers sniffed each other furiously, some decked out in costumes ranging from Argentine soccer jerseys and national flags to tutus and Star Wars bandanas.

Through the tsunami of tail-wagging and treat-giving, 10 dog-loving volunteers clad in yellow vests roved with clipboards to register each golden retriever in attendance.

After hours of meticulous counting, the final number came in late Monday. With 2,397 golden retrievers recorded, the event’s organizer, Fausto Duperre, announced that Argentina had broken the informal world record set last year when an event in Vancouver drew 1,685 goldens.

“This is a historic event,” gushed Duperre, a 28-year-old Argentine actor who has become something of a golden retriever influencer on social media, where he regularly posts content about his 10-year-old golden named Oli.

“I’m truly grateful and happy, proud, excited and overjoyed all at once,” he added.

High hopes for a big group photo of the dogs alone on the field quickly faded as it became clear that no owner — nor dog — would withstand even a few moments of separation. Plus, there was the all-too-real fear of dogs getting lost among their thousands of furry counterparts. Owners yanked at leashes and wrangled with the most restive dogs to keep them close.

Some said they were expecting total chaos from Monday’s event but were surprised to report that it turned out to be easy and delightful — like the dogs themselves.

“I was afraid I would lose her, I was afraid she would fight, I was afraid another dog would attack her,” said Elena Deleo, 64, stroking her golden retriever Angie. “But no, they’re all affectionate, all gentle. … It’s just a very lovely experience.”

The reopening of a fire station in St. Paul marks the first time in 67 years a station has been added in the city.

Station 3, previously called Station 1, on West Seventh Street and Grand Avenue closed in 2010. Its return to work will mean faster response times in the area, Fire Chief Butch Inks said Tuesday at a ribbon cutting.

The station has “been part of this community for generations,” Inks said. “Fifteen years ago, Station 3 closed its doors as an active firehouse, and since then, this building has never stopped serving. … This firehouse strengthens one of the busiest business and entertainment corridors in the city.”

Built in 1965, overhauling the station cost $3 million. It brings the number of stations in St. Paul to 16 again after 15 years with 15 stations.

“This whole system has to work together, so to have a better service like we just planted right now on West Seventh means better service city wide,” said Mayor Melvin Carter.

Station for increased demand downtown

Mayor Melvin Carter, right, presents Fire Chief Butch Inks with a proclamation marking “Chief Barton ‘Butch’ Inks Day.” (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Inks is retiring at the end of this month. Carter honored him Tuesday with a proclamation designating Dec. 9, 2025, as Chief Barton “Butch” Inks Day.

Inks took his first call as a St. Paul firefighter 31 years ago from what is now Station 3.

“Since then, I’ve seen a great deal of change,” he said. “The most significant is the tremendous increase in demand placed on our first responders. Our firefighters, EMTs, paramedics and our administrative support staff are shouldering more than they ever have before, and still, this organization answers every call.”

The challenge is not only adding resources, but where to place them “because we were literally out of space” at stations, Inks said.

The reopened station will help address the need for fire services downtown, where Inks said the department’s data showed there has been the biggest increase in demand. There wasn’t room at the downtown station to house more emergency vehicles.

The fire department responds to all medical emergencies in St. Paul, which is 84 percent of their work, according to Assistant Fire Chief Jeramiah Melquist.

Station 3 officially opened last week and crews have been responding to about 20 calls a day, Inks said.

“The day we put them in service, they became one of the busiest companies in the city,” he added.

The station houses a fire engine and three ambulances: one for basic life-support and two for advanced life-support.

The department’s CARES team, which stands for Community Alternative Response Emergency Services, is a two-person EMT team that responds to nonviolent mental health crises and behavioral emergencies. They worked out of the department’s headquarters and now are located at Station 3.

Other uses since 2010 closure

St. Paul Fire Station 3 on West Seventh Street closed 15 years ago, but has been renovated and reopened. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

Station 3, then called Station 1, closed in 2010. It and Station 10 on Randolph Avenue consolidated into a newly built Station 1, situated with the department’s headquarters, at Randolph Avenue and West Seventh Street.

Since then, the old Station 1 became Freedom House Station 51 — home to the EMS Academy, where people receive training to become EMTs. The EMS Academy is still in existence and is held in various locations.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the building was a drop-in shelter for the homeless.

Renovations to the fire station started in 2023 and it was supposed to open in November 2024 with a projected cost of $1.7 million, but the project was on hold for several reasons, including increased construction costs, Melquist said.

‘Home away from home’

Most St. Paul firefighters work 24-hour shifts and they’re encouraged to rest when they can between calls. Old stations, including Station 3 before the renovation, have communal sleeping areas with beds separated by curtains.

The remodeled Station 3 now has small, individual bedrooms and private showers. It’s more comfortable for everyone and better suited to a co-ed workforce as fire departments aim to recruit more women firefighters.

The station is “a home away from home,” said Deputy Fire Chief Jamie Smith.

St. Paul firefighters eat meals together in the stations, which all have kitchens, and they’re expected to work out in their station’s gym for at least an hour during each shift, as time allows. They need “to stay in shape because of the physical demands of the job, and it also has mental benefits,” Smith said.

Tuesday was the second ribbon cutting for the St. Paul Fire Department this year. They opened a new station in April in the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood. It replaced Station 7, which was across the way on Ross Avenue, and dated to 1930.

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As with Station 7, changes to Station 3 were made with firefighter safety in mind. Firefighters have a 9 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer than the general U.S. population, the Firefighter Cancer Support Network says of national information.

Both stations now have “hot, warm and cold zones,” with designated places for firefighters to get out of their sooty turn-out gear, special washing machines, and places to store their gear away from the rest of the building.

The original Station 3 is where Hope Breakfast Bar is now, at Leech Street and Grand Avenue. A painting with photos of the faces of the original firefighters from Station 3, which opened in 1873, was digitally restored by Dave Thune, a former St. Paul City Council member who owns the St. Paul Gallery. It will hang inside the renovated Station 3.

An collage of St. Paul firefighters in front of the old Fire Station 3 building is on display at the newly renovated St. Paul Fire Station 3 on West Seventh Street. The collage, which features hand-painted cutouts of photos of firefighters, was retrieved from a dumpster. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)

By JEFF AMY

ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge has permanently ordered Georgia’s prison system to keep providing some kinds of gender-affirming care for transgender prisoners, although the state plans to appeal.

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U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert last week ruled that a new state law denying hormone therapy to inmates violated their protection against cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. She ordered the state to keep providing hormones to inmates who had been receiving therapy and to allow others medically diagnosed as needing hormone therapy to begin receiving treatment.

“The court finds that there is no genuine dispute of fact that gender dysphoria is a serious medical need,” Calvert wrote in her order. “Plaintiffs, through their experts, have presented evidence that a blanket ban on hormone therapy constitutes grossly inadequate care for gender dysphoria and risks imminent injury.”

Calvert had already issued a preliminary order in September blocking the law before finalizing it.

It is the latest turn in legal battles over federal and state efforts to regulate the lives of transgender people, including which sports competitions they can join and which bathrooms they can use. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors. President Donald Trump’s administration in April sued Maine for not complying with the government’s push to ban transgender athletes in girls sports.

The Republican president also has sought to block federal spending on gender-affirming medical care for those under age 19 — instead promoting talk therapy only to treat young transgender people. And the Supreme Court has allowed him to kick transgender service members out of the military, even as court fights continue.

The Georgia case was brought on behalf of transgender inmates by the Center for Constitutional Rights after Georgia enacted a law in May banning the use of state money to pay for hormone therapy, gender-transition surgery or other methods to change the appearance of sexual characteristics.

“It is not a health care issue that should be the responsibility of the taxpayers,” said Sen. Randy Robertson, a Cataula Republican who sponsored Senate Bill 185.

Lawyers for the state have already filed a notice of appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Attorney General Chris Carr, an elected Republican running for governor, has vowed to fight the lawsuit “all the way to the Supreme Court,” calling it ”absurd.”

The measure roiled the 2025 Georgia legislative session, with most House Democrats walking out of their chamber to boycott the final vote on the bill. But Gov. Brian Kemp signed it into law in May, and prison medical officials began making plans to gradually reduce and then end hormone therapy to inmates who were receiving it by October.

Georgia had begun providing hormone therapy in 2016 after a lawsuit by another inmate represented by the Center for Constitutional Rights. Prison officials counted more than 340 inmates who had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria in custody in mid-August, and said 107 inmates were receiving hormone therapy as of June 30.

The state presented studies to argue that denying or removing people from hormone therapy doesn’t meet the legal standard of “deliberate indifference,” but Calvert rejected their consideration. Calvert also rejected testimony from physicians in the prison system, saying they weren’t deciding that inmates had no medical need for hormone therapy but instead were just following the law’s directives. She said the counseling and monitoring promised by the state was inadequate.

“Defendants cannot deny medical care and then defeat an injunction by saying nothing bad has happened yet,” Calvert wrote.

Lawyers for the state argued Calvert was ignoring recent court decisions, including the Tennessee ban, as well as a recent 11th Circuit decision deciding that a Georgia county didn’t have to pay for a sheriff deputy’s gender-transition surgery.

“It is crystal clear the state legislatures have wide deference to enact laws regulating sex-change procedures like the cross-sex hormonal interventions at issue in this case,” lawyers for the state wrote in November.

By MARK VANCLEAVE and STEVE KARNOWSKI

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents used pepper spray to push through an angry crowd that blocked their vehicles as they checked identifications in a heavily Somali neighborhood of Minneapolis on Tuesday, amid the Trump administration’s ongoing crackdown targeting the community.

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City Council Member Jamal Osman, a Somali American who represents the neighborhood, witnessed the confrontation, as did an Associated Press videographer.

Minnesota’s Somali community — the largest in the U.S. — has been on edge the past couple of weeks since President Donald Trump said in a social media post Thanksgiving night that he was terminating Temporary Protected Status for them.

It is not clear how many Somali community members have been arrested, temporarily detained or asked to show documents as part of the crackdown, which has also netted people of other nationalities. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said via email that they made no arrests in the neighborhood Tuesday, but provided no further details.

Osman said armed ICE agents went to East African restaurants in the neighborhood Tuesday, closed the doors and demanded people’s IDs. They found only U.S. citizens and made no arrests, Osman said.

“Luckily everyone had their passport, because I’ve been telling them to have their passport with them,” Osman said.

After checking the IDs of some people stopped at random on the street and temporarily detaining at least one U.S. citizen, Osman said, the agents went in seven to 10 vehicles to a nearby city-owned senior housing complex. There, he said, a group of mostly white young people he called “heroes” blew whistles to sound the alarm and confronted the agents, who responded with pepper spray.

“Thank God so many people showed up there,” Osman said. “(The agents) couldn’t get out of there because people showed up with their cars and whistles.”

Osman said he saw people suffering from the effects of pepper spray. He also said he spoke with one young Somali American who was dragged to a vehicle, detained and taken to an ICE detention center. There, officials finally looked at his U.S. passport, fingerprinted him, and released him but told him to find his own way home, about 6 miles away in snowy weather.

Activists confronted a group of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in the largely Somali neighborhood of Cedar-Riverside in Minneapolis, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)

“I just don’t know what they accomplished today other than the chaos,” Osman said.

Trump further stoked tensions last week when he called Somalis “garbage” and said he does not want them in the country. At the same time, federal agents launched the crackdown targeting Minnesota Somalis.

The president’s moves have drawn denunciations from leaders of the Somali community and Democrats including Gov. Tim Walz, amid relative silence from top state Republicans.

About 84,000 of the 260,000 Somalis in the country live in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, the overwhelming majority of them U.S. citizens. Almost 58% were born in the U.S., and 87% of those born elsewhere are naturalized citizens.

A new website launched by the Department of Homeland Security lists at least six Somalis arrested in Minnesota in recent weeks. The site says it is “highlighting the worst of worst criminal aliens” arrested by ICE to show how agents are “fulfilling President Trump’s promise and carrying out mass deportations.”

ICE released a statement Friday listing three other arrested Somalis who did not appear on the website, along with people of other nationalities who it said were arrested in Minneapolis as part of Operation Metro Surge. ICE said they had all been convicted of crimes including sexual abuse minors, robbery and domestic assault.

“Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey protected these criminals at the expense of the safety of Americans,” the statement said. “President Trump and Secretary (Kristi) Noem have a clear message for criminal illegal aliens: LEAVE NOW. If you don’t, we will find you, arrest you, and deport you.”