CONCORD, N.H. (AP) ' Authorities are investigating a shooting near the countrys northern border in New Hampshire in which a person is accused of firing a gun at a border patrol agent, who returned fire and struck the subject.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation said the incident occurred at about 1 a.m. Sunday morning in Pittsburg, a town of about 800 people at the border with Canada. The FBI did not provide a name of the accused shooter, but said the person was receiving medical attention at a hospital.

The border patrol agent, who the FBI also did not name, was unharmed in the incident, an agency spokesperson said. The shooting happened in a rural community that is home to the states sole border crossing with the Canadian province of Quebec.

The incident took place near the port of entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott said. The FBIs Boston field office will be investigating the shooting along with the U.S. Attorneys Office in the District of New Hampshire, authorities said.

'Initial reports indicate that the subject opened fire on the agent at which time the agent returned fire,' Scott said in a statement. 'CBP is cooperating fully with investigators.'

Officials with the FBI, CBP and U.S. Attorneys Office declined to provide more detail on the accused shooter or the circumstances that led to the exchange of gunfire. The U.S. Attorneys Office said in a statement that information would be released if charges are brought against the person.

Pittsburg is about 150 miles north of the state capital of Concord. The town also borders Maine and Vermont as well as Canada. The shooting took place near a usually quiet crossing in the only town in New Hampshire that borders Canada. That international border stretches for close to 60 miles.

Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine.

CAIRO (AP) ' Students held anti-government protests at universities across Irans capital on Monday, according to witnesses and videos circulating online, in a new sign of unrest as U.S. forces gather in the region for possible strikes.

The protests, in which many students expressed support for the exiled crown prince of Irans long-deposed monarchy, began over the weekend. Demonstrations erupted on at least three university campuses on Monday, in one instance leading to scuffles with the paramilitary Basij.

Iran launched a fierce crackdown in January on mass protests, killing thousands of people and detaining tens of thousands. U.S. President Donald Trump threatened military action in response before shifting his focus to Irans disputed nuclear program and warning it to make a deal.

American and Iranian negotiators are set to hold another round of indirect talks in Geneva this week, where Iran is expected to make a detailed proposal on reining in its nuclear program. The USS Gerald R. Ford, the worlds largest aircraft carrier, is meanwhile heading toward the Middle East to join another carrier.

Iran says its nuclear program is entirely peaceful and that it hasnt enriched uranium since 12 days of Israeli and U.S. strikes last June. The U.S. and others have long suspected Iran of seeking nuclear weapons. Iran has not allowed inspections of its nuclear sites since they were heavily bombed last year.

Clapping and chants

Nationwide protests erupted late last year after Irans currency collapsed in the face of longstanding U.S. sanctions over the nuclear program. Demonstrators have called for the overthrow of the Shiite theocracy that has ruled the country since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Protests broke out Monday at Sharif University, an elite college in the capital, according to a student. The student said he and his classmates gathered outside a cafeteria midday before donning face masks and clapping and chanting during the Muslim call to prayer over loudspeakers.

As the crowd swelled, one student held up a printed flag emblazoned with the lion-and-sun of the monarchy, as dozens chanted slogans supporting exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi.

The student said scuffles broke out between protesters and members of the Basij, which has played a key role in quashing dissent over the years, as university security guards tried to separate the two.

At the University of Tehran, a protest broke out during a memorial for a student killed in the earlier demonstrations, a student said. Students chanted 'women, life, freedom' ' the slogan of an earlier wave of protests in 2022 ' and called for the overthrow of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The student said university guards did not interfere. Both students spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns.

Videos seen and verified by The Associated Press showed other protests at Al Zahra University, where female students gathered and chanted pro-Pahlavi slogans.

Thousands killed

Its difficult to gauge support for Pahlavi inside Iran, but some of the biggest protests in years broke out in early January after he called people into the streets. Trump threatened military action over the killing of protesters and possible mass executions as authorities moved to stamp out those demonstrations.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says at least 7,015 people were killed in the protests and crackdown in recent months, including 214 government forces. The group has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran and relies on a network of activists there to verify deaths. The death toll continues to rise as the group cross-checks information.

Irans government offered its only death toll from the previous protests on Jan. 21, saying 3,117 people were killed. Irans theocracy has undercounted or not reported fatalities from past unrest.

The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll, in part because of major disruptions to communication networks in Iran.

Chehayeb reported from Beirut.

A Pennsylvania man has been arrested and charged after allegedly coercing a 13-year-old Northridge girl to send him sexually explicit material of herself and images of self-harm over the internet.

Matthew Edward Pysher, 18, of Bangor, Pennsylvania was arrested late Friday, Feb. 20, in a Castaic motel where he was holed up with the girl, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said.

Pysher is charged with travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, a felony punishable by up to 30 years in federal prison.

The case represents a “growing threat to American families,” Essayli said.

Court papers detail the nature of NVEs ' nihilistic violent extremists ' a new FBI category linked to suspects who allegedly engage in criminal conduct in furtherance of political, social or religious ideology deriving from a hatred of society and a desire to bring about chaos and social instability.

Based on contents of the victim’s smartphone and Pysher’s online activities, law enforcement officials say they believe the defendant is associated with NVE ideology.

“It is evil and it is sadistic,” Essayli told reporters at a downtown Los Angeles press conference on Monday, Feb. 23. “They look for kids who are depressed and vulnerable. … It is a very sick and twisted ideology.”

According to an affidavit filed in Los Angeles federal court, Pysher allegedly groomed and encouraged the teen to send him material of herself engaging in sexually explicit acts. He also encouraged her to cut herself and engage in other acts of self-harm, prosecutors contend.

On Feb. 10, the victim’s mother contacted the FBI because she was concerned her daughter was being encouraged to harm herself by a person named “Matthew,” who the victim met on the Discord online platform, court papers say.

Federal prosecutors said Pysher traveled to Los Angeles Friday, Feb. 20, to meet the victim near her San Fernando Valley home and took her to a motel in Castaic, prosecutors allege.

French authorities had summoned Kushner to the Quai dOrsay, which houses the Foreign Affairs Ministry, on Monday evening but he did not show up, according to diplomatic sources.

Jean-Noel Barrot, the foreign affairs minister, moved to restrict Kushners access 'in light of this apparent misunderstanding of the basic expectations of the mission of an ambassador, who has the honor of representing his country.'

The ministry, however, left the door open for reconciliation.

'It remains, of course, possible for Ambassador Charles Kushner to carry out his duties and present himself at the Quai dOrsay, so that we may hold the diplomatic discussions needed to smooth over the irritants that can inevitably arise in a friendship spanning 250 years,' it said.

Kushner had been summoned following a statement by the State Departments Counterterrorism Bureau, which posted on X that 'reports, corroborated by the French Minister of the Interior, that Quentin Deranque was killed by left-wing militants, should concern us all.' The U.S. Embassy had posted that statement on social media.

Deranque, a far-right activist, died of brain injuries this month from a beating in the French city of Lyon. He was attacked during a fight on the margins of a student meeting where a far-left lawmaker was a keynote speaker.

His killing highlighted a climate of deep political tension ahead of next years presidential vote.

'We reject any instrumentalization of this tragedy, which has plunged a French family into mourning, for political ends,' Barrot said over the weekend. 'We have no lessons to learn, particularly on the issue of violence, from the international reactionary movement.'

The State Department said in its post that 'violent radical leftism is on the rise and its role in Quentin Deranques death demonstrates the threat it poses to public safety. We will continue to monitor the situation and expect to see the perpetrators of violence brought to justice.'

Kushner was summoned in August over his letter to French President Emmanuel Macron alleging the country did not do enough to combat antisemitism. Frances foreign officials met with a representative of the U.S. ambassador since the diplomat did not show up.

As of 4:30 a.m. Monday, more than 111 flights into and out of LAX were cancelled. At least 30 of those were flights to John F. Kennedy International in New York City, Newark Liberty International in New Jersey and Boston Logan International, according to FlightAware.

Nearly 40 flights destined for LAX were cancelled from the same airports.

The FlightAware Misery Map showed the greatest number of “Misery” flights were from the New York City area, followed by Boston and the District of Columbia. In total FlightAware reported that 119 LAX flights had been cancelled in a 24 hour period.

In a statement, the union said its members are going back to work while “final negotiations are completed.”

The likely end of the protracted walkout comes after last week saw more than 40% of union workers cross picket lines and go back to work.

With town hall and video conferencing meetings scheduled Monday, the union posted a message via Facebook directing its workers with Kaiser to return to work at 7 a.m. Tuesday, according to a Los Angeles affiliate of the United Nurses Association of California/Union of Health Care Professionals.

“Our bargaining teams will continue working to wrap up outstanding issues and work to close the remaining gaps. We are much closer than we were,” acording to the UNAC/UHCP.

Also see: Nurses dig into rainy day funds to keep Kaiser strike going

The union said it stopped all picket lines in California and Hawaii on Monday while it navigates the “return-to-work agreements.”

Shortly after the Facebook post, union spokeswoman Meghan Murphy confirmed that workers were returning in the largest “open-ended nurses strike in U.S. history.”

A Kaiser representative was not immediately available for comment Monday morning.

“Our four-week strike ' the largest open-ended registered nurses and health care professionals strike in the United States ' has been very powerful and has prompted significant movement at the table in the past 48 hours,” UNAC/UHCP said. “Returning our members to patient care and their livelihoods is the clearest path to success as we capitalize on the progress you made possible.”

An alliance of some 31,000 workers with UNAC/UHCP walked off the job Jan. 26.

The two sides are negotiating to replace a four-year contract that expired Sept. 30. The union is seeking higher wages and benefits, plus more hiring to fill staffing shortages. It initially sought a 38% pay hike over four years and is now seeking a 25% raise.

It’s unclear how the latest development affects two other UNAC/UHCP union groups that have threatened to strike.

About 500 UNAC/UHCP optometrists recently voted to authorize a strike if a deal is not reached before their contract expires Feb. 28. The optometrists have not yet issued a10-day notice to strike.

On Monday, Feb. 23, the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 501 previously stated that it would begin a three-day strike against Kaiser due to an unfair labor practice complaint it filed against Kaiser for refusing to bargain in good faith. The 500 facilities maintenance workers across 17 Kaiser locations in Southern California recently delivered a 10-day notice to Kaiser executives.

A Kaiser spokesman said that the union withdrew its strike notice.

The IUOE Local 501 agreement with Kaiser began Oct. 1, 2021, and expires June 30. The union represents operating engineers at Kaiser facilities, fire system operators, field service engineers, repair technicians, biomedical equipment technicians and maintenance assistants and 'tool crib' attendants who watch over inventory of tools and equipment.

Two-time WNBA champion Kara Braxton died after being in a car crash in Atlanta on Saturday. She was 43.

The athletic department at Georgia, where Braxton played in college, texted The Associated Press confirmation of her death on Monday and posted on social media. Her son, Jelani Thurman, posted a photo of his younger self in his mothers jersey on social media and wrote that he we will miss his 'queen.'

Braxton last played in the WNBA in 2014 while finishing up a four-year stint with New York. She won two titles with the Detroit Shock in 2006 and 2008.

She celebrated her birthday last week.

'It is with profound sadness that we mourn the passing of 2x WNBA Champion Kara Braxton,' the league said on social media on Sunday night. 'A 10-season veteran, Kara played with the Detroit Shock, Tulsa Shock, Phoenix Mercury, and New York Liberty. Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and former teammates at this time.'

The 6-foot-6 Braxton was drafted by Detroit with the seventh pick in 2005. She earned All-Rookie honors that season after averaging 6.9 points and 3.0 rebounds.

She played half of a season with the franchise when it moved to Tulsa in 2010 before getting traded to Phoenix for the second half of the year.

Braxton then played the first 18 games in Phoenix in 2011 before being acquired by New York. She played with the Liberty until 2014 when she was waived after playing four games.

'We mourn the loss of Kara Braxton, a former Liberty player whose presence and passion left a lasting impact on our organization and the womens game,' the Liberty posted on social media.

Braxton was SEC Freshman of the Year for Georgia in 2002.

Thurman played football for Ohio State and won a national championship with the Buckeyes in 2024. He has since transferred to North Carolina.

Braxton is also survived by her husband Jarvis Jackson and their young son Jream.

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

After he lost by a landslide to Neysa Fligor in the Dec. 30 runoff election, Kumar turned that pledge into a statewide ballot initiative campaign. But a new state analysis sheds a sobering reality on his idea, noting it could cause 'major fiscal effects' for local governments ' with revenue losses in the billions.

The proposed measure, which was cleared for signature-gathering earlier this month, would exempt homeowners 60 years of age and older from paying property taxes if they have occupied their home as their principal residence for at least five years or lived in California for 10 years. Kumar will need 874,641 signatures by Aug. 4 to qualify the measure for the November ballot.

Property taxes currently raise about $100 billion annually statewide and are split among schools and local governments that use the money for services like police, parks, libraries and roads. A new estimate from the nonpartisan Legislative Analysts Office found that Kumars exemption would trigger the loss of $12 billion to $20 billion annually in these key revenues across the state.

'Over time, these revenue losses would grow by 5 to 10% per year,' the offices memo said. 'About half of the revenue losses would go to cities, counties and special districts. The other half would go to schools. In some years, the state could face additional cost pressures to provide money to schools to offset their revenue losses.'

Kumar, who has called himself a 'proven tax fighter' in the past, did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

He acknowledged to ABC-10 in Sacramento that there will need to be a 'little bit of adjustment' and 'belt tightening' at the onset to account for lost revenues. However, he said the loss will ultimately be justified.

'When you look at money going back into the pockets of seniors, theyre going to spend it on the local economy,' he said.

Californias property tax landscape was massively reshaped in 1978 when voters passed Proposition 13 ' a landmark initiative that capped the property tax rate at 1% of assessed value at the time of purchase. The measure has largely been considered the 'third rail' of California politics.

Michael Coleman, a fiscal policy advisor and creator of the California Local Government Finance Almanac, said Prop. 13 was a 'substantial hit' to both local governments and the states coffers. After the initiative passed, he said the state 'had to shoulder more of the burden' in funding schools and help offset the impact that landed on cities and counties.

A similar scenario could play out if Kumars proposal is successful. If the state cant backfill lost revenue, Coleman said there will be 'greater pressure on other forms of taxes.'

'In California, any kind of a tax increase has to be approved by the people,' he said. 'So would people want to increase some other kind of tax because they want to give a break to seniors? Hard to know.'

The California State Association of Counties, which represents the interests of the states 58 counties, said they only take positions on measures that have qualified for the ballot. But in a statement, CEO Graham Knaus expressed concern while also calling it 'not a serious proposal.'

'You cant cut billions and expect no consequences,' he said. 'This ballot measure would obliterate county funding for emergency response, public safety, homelessness and elections.'

Kumar, however, has found some initial support for the measure, earning endorsements from former state Assemblymember Kansen Chu, former Milpitas Mayor Jose Esteves, former Monte Sereno mayors Liz Lawler and Rowena Turner and Milpitas Councilmember William Lam.

But getting the initiative on the ballot could still be an uphill battle if Kumar doesnt have access to deep pockets.

Between 2016 and 2024, California saw the most spending on signature drives in the nation, according to Ballotpedia. During the 2024 election, the least expensive signature drive in the state that successfully qualified a measure on the ballot cost $7.4 million. The most expensive was nearly $10 million.

Kumar has yet to report any fundraising to his Property Tax Exemption committee.

New Utah voting districts that give Democrats an improved shot at winning a U.S. House seat can be used in this years election, a federal court ruled Monday while turning aside a Republican request to block the new map.

The ruling marked the second setback in recent days for Republicans, who also lost an appeal at Utah’s state Supreme Court.

A Utah judge imposed the new districts last November after striking down the congressional districts that the Republican-led Legislature had adopted after the 2020 census. The judge ruled that the Legislature had circumvented anti-gerrymandering standards passed by voters.

The ruling thrust Utah into a national redistricting battle being waged among states ahead of the midterm elections. President Donald Trump has pressed Republican-led states such as Texas, Missouri and North Carolina to redraw their districts to give the GOP an advantage in the November elections, prompting Democratic-led states such as California and Virginia to respond with their own redistricting plans.

Republicans currently hold all four of Utahs U.S. House seats. The new map imposed last fall by Judge Dianna Gibson keeps Salt Lake County almost entirely within one district, instead of dividing the heavily Democratic population center among all four districts, as was previously the case. It was submitted by the lawsuits plaintiffs, the League of Women Voters of Utah and Mormon Women for Ethical Government.

Republicans have argued the judge did not have legal authority to enact a map that wasnt approved by the Legislature.

But a panel of three district court judges denied the Republicans request for a preliminary injunction against using the new map in this years election. The federal court said Republicans werent likely to prevail in their argument, and said it was too late for judges to intervene in the election.

The filing period for Utahs congressional candidates opens March 9, party caucus are scheduled for March 17, and state party conventions are to be held April 25. Some candidates already are campaigning, the court noted.

'An active primary is ongoing, and the election has drawn too close for the court to get involved,' the court wrote while adding: 'The possibility of voter confusion is a considerable risk were the panel to enjoin the current election map.'

Lahainas iconic Indian banyan tree has been off limits to visitors since the August 2023 wildfire tore through the historic community, but some Maui County officials are hopeful that they might soon be able to restore public access.

Arborists from all over Maui ' as well as a few from Oʻahu ' will be organizing an extensive assessment of the trees health, the results of which will help determine when Lahaina Banyan Court Park might reopen, said Duane Sparkman, the chair of the Maui County Arborist Committee and the co-founder of the nonprofit Treecovery Hawaiʻi.

While many people hailed the famous trees survival as a symbol of hope and resilience, that initial optimism did not reflect the burn damage festering beneath the trees scorched bark, Sparkman said. Arborists discovered fungus inside a branch that snapped earlier this month and want to be sure the tree is not sicker than it appears.

'We really dont know whats under the skin,' he said. 'Its still trying to survive the fire, and its still trying to heal.'

The assessment is expected to be extensive and fairly invasive, Sparkman said. Arborists will tug on and throw ropes with weighted attachments over individual branches to see how much tension they can withstand, he said, and they will drive stainless steel spikes into the trees flesh to make sure it still produces sap and that there is a functioning cambium, a layer of tissue inside trees that is essential for growth and regeneration.

If the tree is healthy enough, Sparkman said Lahaina Banyan Court Park could reopen before the end of the year, but he did not want to make any predictions about what the arborists will find.

'We have to watch how any damage has healed over and what areas are safe,' he said, explaining that unhealthy branches could be at risk of falling on people and causing injuries. 'Then we have to actually remove whats not safe.'

Before arborists and officials determine when to reopen the park, they will also discuss whether to implement precautions to protect the tree and educate the public on how to behave so they do not further threaten it, Maui County Arborist Timothy Griffith Jr. said.

A fence currently prevents passersby headed to the recently reopened Lahaina Small Boat Harbor from getting too close to the famous tree, with signs warning against trespassing.

‘Its In The ICU

Lahaina Banyan Court Park is surrounded by reminders of the fire ' the charred shell of the Old Lahaina Courthouse, melted lamp posts, vacant lots where restaurants and shops once stood ' but the tree itself and the wooden benches around its trunk appear remarkably normal.

The fast-moving blaze skipped right over the park, Griffith said. Still, a large section of the famous tree was 'superheated' near the intersection of Front and Hotel Streets, he said.

'The heat just dried out everything inside, almost like putting it in a kiln,' he said.

The upcoming assessment, which was authorized last week by the Maui County Arborist Committee but has not been scheduled, will help experts better understand how deep the damage runs, he said.

In the months after the fire, arborists went through the trees many trunks and branches and removed everything that had been dessicated by the fire, Sparkman said. Griffith said about 40% of the tree was removed in the year after the fire.

Treecovery ' which cares for trees that survived the 2023 Lahaina and Kula wildfires and grows new trees to replace those that were destroyed ' has worked alongside county officials and other volunteer arborists to water the banyan tree, inject hundreds of gallons of compost tea into nearby soil and prune dead or unhelpful roots and branches. So far, 22 trunks have already been removed, Sparkman said.

In some areas, aerial roots had begun to grow between the bark and the core ' or heartwood ' and allowed tiny beetles called twig borers to infest the tree, he said.

The tree has been treated for the bugs and no longer has any sign of beetles, but it is still very vulnerable, Sparkman said. During the islandwide rainstorm earlier this month, an 18-inch-diameter branch fell and revealed that there was fungus growing inside the tree.

'Its a natural reaction for fungus to show up when its time for trees to break down, and in some cases, fungus spores can be on the bore beetles and the bugs that are in the tree itself,' Sparkman said. 'We have concerns that it could be in other places in the tree, so thats where the assessment has to come in.'

If fungus spreads enough, 'its kind of over for a tree,' he added, and there is a much higher risk of branches falling on people and causing injuries.

The fire put a lot of stress on the banyan tree, Sparkman and Griffith said, so arborists are working hard to give it everything it needs to bounce back.

'Its in the ICU. Its like its been in a car crash and its injured, but its on its way to recovery,' Griffith said. 'Its still in recovery, so well keep an eye on it. When it needs some TLC, well be there.'

An Important Gathering Place

William Owen Smith planted a banyan tree sapling in the heart of Lahainatown in 1873. A century and a half later, it stood roughly 60 feet tall, had dozens of trunks and boasted an impressive network of limbs that stretched over two-thirds of an acre.

The shade created by the trees sprawling canopy made Lahaina Banyan Court Park a natural gathering place for generations of locals and tourists alike, said Theo Morrison, the Executive Director of the Lahaina Restoration Foundation.

'Shade is really, really important in Lahaina, and the tree gave that to people in a central location,' she said.

For years, the community kicked off the holiday season with the lighting of the banyan tree, and the park was the site of annual events like the International Festival of Canoes and Kamehameha Day celebrations.

Though the banyan tree is one of Lahainas most recognizable landmarks, many people also see it as a representation of the ways colonialism shaped the community and erased Native Hawaiian history. Smith, who planted the tree, came from a family of missionaries and played a role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

The Lahaina Restoration Foundation, which for decades cared for the surrounding park using grant funding from the county, cares about the trees survival, but it does not celebrate its controversial history, Morrison said.

'Its a beautiful tree, and it produces all that shade. Thats the value to the community,' she said.

The shadow cast by the banyan tree has become even more valuable since the fire, Morrison added. Lahaina once had about 25,000 trees ' monkeypod, ʻulu, plumeria, kukui nut and more ' lining the streets, but only about 1,000 to 4,000 survived the fire.

When Lahaina Banyan Court Park finally reopens, the tree will undoubtedly look different because so much had to be removed, Griffith said. Arborists hope that they can one day restore it to something close to its pre-fire shape by strategically pruning and planting propagated cuttings from the tree.

'Its something that you have to plan in terms of decades, not just years,' he said. 'Youve got to let the tree do its own thing.'

Civil Beats coverage of environmental issues on Hawaiʻi island is supported in part by a grant from the Dorrance Family Foundation.

This story was originally published by Honolulu Civil Beat and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.