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Trump signs order renaming Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' in the United States

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Thursday he is renaming Lake Ontario to be known as "Lake America" in the United States as he escalates his trade war with Canada.

The Republican president signed an executive order directing the Interior Department to update the lake's name in the U.S. geographic naming service. Trump cannot force Canada to follow along, however.

Trump has been floating the idea of the name change in recent days as the U.S. announced it was imposing 50% tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods over the weekend after talks between the countries broke down. Trump has been needling America's northern neighbor since he returned to the White House last year, suggesting the ally with whom the U.S. once had warm relations should instead be absorbed as the 51st state.

Canada responded to Trump's import taxes this week by imposing retaliatory tariffs on $20 billion worth of American goods, including steel, dairy products, appliances and farm equipment.

Trump, who signed the order as he was sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, had a large sign behind him propped on a stand with a map of the Great Lakes. Over Lake Ontario, in big red letters, the map read "Lake America."

On the other side of the president was another map with the words, "MAKING THE GREAT LAKES EVEN GREATER."

Trump said as he was signing the order that he'd "notified all of the various people that we have to notify. So, we've done everything that you have to do."

"And this is official, effective immediately," he added.

But the executive order Trump signed shows that the changes are supposed to be made within 30 days.

Canadian officials dismissed Trump's move.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the move, invoking the lake's Indigenous roots and noting that the name predates both Canadian Confederation and the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

"Canadians also know that naming reality means calling it Lake Ontario -- then, now and always," he wrote.

Judge questions why Kennedy Center is moving so quickly to return Trump's name to building

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A judge on Thursday expressed skepticism about the Kennedy Center's intention to return President Donald Trump's name to the historic performing arts venue by early next month, challenging the board's insistence on moving forward even in the face of a court ruling that blocked and reversed a previous effort.

Just seconds after the Trump administration's lawyer, Brantley Mayers, began making his case at a nearly two-hour hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper interrupted to ask why the center needed to begin inscribing the president's name on the institution's facade as soon as Sept. 8.

"What's magic about that date?" Cooper asked, quipping that sometimes judges travel over the Labor Day holiday.

Mayers responded that the timeline was in accordance with a vote earlier this month by the Trump-aligned board. As he returned to his arguments that renovations at the Kennedy Center require energy and talent, Cooper interjected again.

"That's all fine and good," the judge said. "What does that have to do with what Congress intended in these statutes? That's really what's before me."

Trump has spent much of his second term reshaping Washington to his liking, demolishing the East Wing of the White House to make way for a ballroom, planning a triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery and a renovated golf course along the Potomac River. The Kennedy Center is a rare stumbling block in that effort after Cooper ruled in May that Trump's name was added to the building illegally, ordering it to be removed.

Trump and his allies, however, have refused to let that be the final word.

The Trump-aligned board at the Kennedy Center voted earlier this month to inscribe his name on the venue's facade so it would read "The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Restored and Renovated By President Donald J. Trump." If the Trump Kennedy Center Fund reached $100 million, another inscription would be added reading: "Endowed by the Trump Kennedy Center Fund."

The plaza in front of the Kennedy Center would also be renamed in Trump's honor.

Peter Cullen, prolific voice actor who gave Optimus Prime his authoritative baritone, has died

NEW YORK (AP) -- Peter Cullen, a prolific voice actor who enlivened scores of TV series, specials and movies, including Optimus Prime in the syndicated 1984 series "Transformers" and Eeyore in the Winnie the Pooh cartoon franchise, has died. He was 85.

His agent, Kevin Motley, said Cullen died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles. "His family asks that you honor his remarkable legacy by serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity, and loyalty and always remember 'be strong enough to be gentle,'" said a family statement.

Cullen's career spanned from being an announcer at the groundbreaking late-1960s comedy and variety series "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour" and joining comedy sketches for Sonny & Cher to voice acting in "The Smurfs" and multiple G.I. Joe iterations. But he struck a nerve as Optimus Prime.

While the original cartoon ran just a few years, it left an indelible mark on pop culture, with a toy line, spinoff cartoon series and comics produced over the next two decades. That culminated in the launch of a multibillion-dollar, live-action film franchise in 2007 by Michael Bay.

Before his audition, Cullen only knew that he would be reading for the part of a truck, though giving voice to a vehicle didn't seem that crazy. "You're always auditioning for something in animation that's a little off of the norm," Cullen told the AP in 2019.

When Cullen read about the heroic Autobot leader that turned into a red cabover semitrailer, he thought about his older brother, who had served as a U.S. Marine in the Vietnam War.

"He was my hero, and he certainly was the mainstay behind the character," Cullen said. "I just did an impression of Larry, and he's still alive in my mind today because every time I do Prime, there's my brother Larry."

Other highlights from Cullen's prolific career include voicing Eeyore across various "Winnie-the-Pooh" projects, including Disney's "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" TV series that aired from 1988-91, as well as voicing the villainous KARR opposite KITT in the 1980s NBC series "Knight Rider," and lending his pipes to King Kong in the Jeff Bridges-led "King Kong" remake in 1976.

"Optimus is my favorite character because it's been so well received and it's had such an effect on so many people," Cullen told The New York Times in 2008. "Because of that, I hold it closer than any other character I've done -- outside of maybe Eeyore, who's had a considerable effect on younger children too."

About 90 Americans unaccounted for after catastrophic floods hit Nepal and Tibet

U.S. officials said about 90 U.S. citizens remained unaccounted for Thursday, a day after catastrophic flash floods engulfed a border area of China and Nepal, killing hundreds of people.

In a statement, the U.S. State Department said it is not aware of any U.S. deaths, but three Americans have been rescued.

Many of the missing were on a pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet, a sacred site for Hindus, Buddhists and others.

Social media posts were surfacing Thursday from loved ones pleading for people to provide updates or circulate information about Americans they had lost contact with -- a Virginia woman traveling with a tour group, a Texas couple on a birthday trip, and a mother accompanying her 14-year-old daughter.

Among those on a guided tour was Venus Rajnikant Patel, a 45-year-old Indian-born U.S. citizen who recently moved from St. Louis to Cincinnati to help his family.

Patel's brother, Dennis, said Venus called him and their parents a few hours before the floods, showing them his hotel room on the Nepalese side of the border and talking about how excited he was to cross into Tibet. He had been planning the pilgrimage for two years, his brother said.

Patel's friend Jolene Gosha said she and her friends knew Patel was in Nepal and were devastated when they realized his hotel was right along the border where the floods swept through.

"We're just hoping, hoping that by some chance he was able to climb his way out of it," Gosha said. "I don't want to give myself false hope because I know the reality is that he's probably not with us."

ICE officer's release from Texas jail opens a new front in the escalating fight over extradition

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- Thursday's release of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer from a Texas jail despite Minnesota's request for his return could set a dangerous precedent, increasing friction between states and helping criminal defendants avoid justice, legal experts said.

Christian Castro was released from a detention center in Brownsville after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declined to immediately sign his extradition warrant. A federal judge also declined to block Castro's release or order Abbott to sign the warrant.

Minnesota officials say they believe Castro could flee to Mexico to avoid prosecution on charges he shot a man and lied about it during the January immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. Extradition from Mexico would require action by the Trump administration, which opened an investigation into Castro's actions but also has argued ICE agents have "absolute immunity" for their actions on duty.

The standoff between the two states is highly unusual. Under federal law, states have little discretion to reject extradition requests from fellow states. Thousands of fugitives are sent to other states each year as a matter of routine.

But Abbott, a Republican, said last week he would not respond to Minnesota's extradition request, citing the ongoing investigation into fraud in government social service programs in the state, which President Donald Trump used to justify his immigration crackdown there.

The decision is alarming because it injects politics into the extradition process, said Marsh Halberg, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor in Minnesota.

"Something that's been a routine process may now turn into a political card," he said in a phone interview.

In recent months, California and New York have rejected extradition requests from Louisiana for doctors accused of mailing abortion pills.

But legal scholars say those cases are different because the doctors weren't in Louisiana and never fled the state and became fugitives.

Under federal law, the New York and California governors had no duty to turn over the doctors, Georgetown University law professor Stephen Vladeck wrote on Substack.

"Abbot is just refusing to perform his," he said.

Tropical Storms Karina and Lowell form in the Pacific Ocean as Dolly churns in the Atlantic

MIAMI (AP) -- Tropical Storms Karina and Lowell formed Thursday in the Pacific Ocean, both of which were expected to become hurricanes in the next few days, the National Hurricane Center said.

Tropical Storm Karina was located about 825 miles south of the southern tip of Baja California, with maximum sustained winds of around 45 mph, according to an advisory from the Miami-based hurricane center. Tropical Storm Lowell was about 1,765 miles west-southwest of the tip of Baja California, with maximum sustained winds of around 40 mph.

There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect for either storm, though the hurricane center warned swells from Karina could bring life-threatening surf and rip currents to portions of southwest Mexico and the Baja California Peninsula over the weekend.

Earlier Thursday, Tropical Storm Dolly formed in the Atlantic Ocean far from land, and forecasters said it could bring heavy rain to portions of the Caribbean.

The storm was about 1,555 miles east of the Leeward Islands and had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Dolly was moving west.

The storm and its name had no connection to Dolly Parton's death Tuesday.

Storm systems are named by procedures set by the World Meteorological Organization, and the lists of names are reused every six years. For the Atlantic region, the lists are alphabetical and alternate male and female names.

Dolly was the fourth named storm for the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season.

There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect, but the center said the Leeward Islands could get heavy rain Saturday and Sunday. The Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Hispaniola could see heavy rain Sunday and Monday.

Little change in strength is forecast during the coming days, the center said, but flash flooding could occur.

The Atlantic hurricane season started with Tropical Storm Arthur coming ashore on the U.S. Gulf Coast in June, and Tropical Storm Bertha dumped rain in Louisiana and Texas in July. Tropical Storm Cristobal formed and quickly dissipated in the Atlantic earlier in August.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has forecast a below-average Atlantic hurricane season due to El Nino. It forecast eight to 14 named storms, with three to six of them reaching hurricane strength and one to three of those intensifying to major hurricanes.

The NHC and other weather agencies name storms to easily communicate warnings about them to people and to avoid confusion. The WMO says names are chosen to be short, easy to pronounce and familiar to the regions of the world where the storm names are used. It meets regularly to evaluate potential names, and some names are retired for reasons of sensitivity, particularly for deadly or destructive storms.

One name from the 2025 season was retired, Melissa, which was a Category 5 hurricane that brought devastation to the Caribbean.