NEW ORLEANS (AP) — As President Joe Biden tries to revive his embattled reelection bid, Vice President Kamala Harris led a parade of Black Democrats who warned Saturday that the threat of another Donald Trump presidency remains the most important calculation ahead of November.

Yet in more than 20 minutes on stage at the Essence Festival of Culture, Harris did not acknowledge Biden’s dismal debate performance or calls for the 81-year-old president to end his reelection bid. In fact, she barely mentioned Biden at all – a stark contrast to the Congressional Black Caucus members who forcefully and repeatedly defended the president by name.

“This is probably the most significant election of our lifetime,” Harris said, before riffing on Trump musing about being a dictator, pushing the Supreme Court rightward and promising retribution on political enemies. “In 122 days, we each have the power to decide what kind of country we want to live in.”

Harris’s appearance at the nation’s largest annual celebration of Black culture underscores what a difficult task it is for the White House and campaign to navigate questions about the president’s aptitude. The dynamics are especially fraught for Harris, the first Black woman and person of south Asian descent to be elected vice president, and for the Black Democrats who were so instrumental in electing Biden and her in 2020.

On one hand, Harris fills the traditional role of loyal lieutenant, a job she did enthusiastically — and on the fly — in television appearances immediately after Biden’s lackluster debate ended. Yet should Biden ultimately decide to step aside as presumptive nominee, she would be among the favorites, if not the favorite, to carry the Democratic banner against Trump.

Black leaders and voters who gathered in New Orleans, meanwhile, walked the line Saturday between backing Biden and insisting that, if he does end his campaign, the party should elevate the barrier-breaking vice president rather than consider governors like Gavin Newsom of California or Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, both of whom are white.

“The purpose of a vice president is to be a No. 2, to be able to step in,” said Glynda Carr, who leads the Higher Heights political action organization that works to elect more Black women. “If this was an all-white male ticket, would we be talking about other people who have less experience, less qualifications?”

Antjuan Seawright, a Black Democratic consultant who is close to House Rep. Jim Clyburn, a Biden ally, put it more plainly. “Joe Biden isn’t going anywhere,” he said. But if he does, “anyone other than Kamala would be malpractice — and it would tear the party apart.”

Seawright argued that the pressure on Biden to step aside is coming only from white Democrats so far, at least publicly. He said that divide is mostly about Black voters’ trust in Biden and their recognition of his record. But he said it’s also about what’s good for the party as a whole, including Black politicians. Risking a contested convention, even one that nominates Harris, could ensure widespread losses, and in turn, make it less likely than ever to see Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries become Speaker or Harris or another Black woman sit in the Oval Office.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and her colleagues echoed some of those sentiments.

“People say Joe Biden’s too old. Hell, I’m older than Biden!” said the 85-year-old congresswoman. “It ain’t gonna be no other Democratic candidate, and we better know it.”

Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, played up the power Harris already holds.

“We got a Black vice president of the United States of America, a sister who came here to be with us today,” she said. “So, let’s not get it twisted. I know who I’m voting for. I’m with the Biden-Harris team, because we’re still going to have a sister in the White House fighting for us and making a difference.”

Waters said Biden’s support of Black communities and the contrast with Trump should be enough. She called the former president “a no-good, lying, despicable human being” with a white nationalist agenda. “Who the hell do you think he’s going to come after?” Waters asked, noting Trump’s support from groups like the Proud Boys. “You know he means business.”

In more than a dozen interviews with Essence attendees, opinions varied on Biden’s strength as a candidate and his abilities to serve another four years. But there was a clear consensus on several points: Only Biden can decide his fate; if he does step away, he should back Harris; and defeating Trump is the top priority.

“I’m with him, absolutely,” said Erica Peterson of New Orleans. “He’s delivered, and one debate is not going to change my mind. … And if it’s not Joe Biden, I’m with her.”

Star Robert, a 37-year-old nurse in New York City, said if there’s a shift, then Biden and Democrats could not credibly choose anyone other than Harris, given that the president, party and voters already chose her as second-in-line. Still, she was skeptical about Harris’s prospects.

“I’m not sure that she’s done enough to generate the trust of enough voters,” Robert said. “I don’t know if that’s all her fault, I just haven’t seen enough of her, we haven’t. I don’t know what her angle is.”

Regardless, Robert added, “I’m not sure the country is ready for another Black president, and if we were ready for a woman, Hillary Clinton would have beaten the clown (Trump) the first time he ran.”

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Harris, for her part, answered that kind of skepticism even as she studiously avoided the immediate campaign drama.

“Ambition is a good thing. We do not need to step quietly,” she said of being a woman of color in powerful circles. “People in your life will tell you it’s not your time. It’s not your turn. Nobody like you has done it before. … I like to say that I eat ‘no’ for breakfast.”

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Roughly 130 million people were under threat Saturday and into next week from a long-running heat wave that already has broken records with dangerously high temperatures — and is expected to shatter more from East Coast to West Coast, forecasters said.

Oppressive heat and humidity could team up to spike temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (about 38 degrees Celsius) in parts of the Pacific Northwest, the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, said Jacob Asherman, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

In Oregon, records could be broken in cities including Eugene, Portland and Salem, Asherman said. Dozens of other records throughout the U.S. could fall, Asherman added, causing millions to seek relief from the blanket of heat in cooling centers from Bullhead City, Arizona, to Norfolk, Virginia.

The National Weather Service said Saturday it was extending the excessive heat warning for much of the Southwest into Friday.

“A dangerous and historic heatwave is just getting started across the area, with temperatures expected to peak during the Sunday-Wednesday timeframe,” the National Weather Service in Las Vegas said in an updated forecast.

Excessive heat will likely continue through Friday, the service said.

In sweltering Las Vegas, where the temperature hit 100 degrees (37.7 C) by 10:30 a.m., Marko Boscovich said the best way to beat the heat is in a seat at a slot machine with a cold beer inside an air-conditioned casino.

“But you know, after it hits triple digits it’s about all the same to me,” said Boscovich, who was visiting from Sparks, Nevada to see a Dead & Company concert later Saturday night at the Sphere. “Maybe they’ll play one of my favorites — `Cold Rain and Snow.’”

Heat records being shattered across the southwest

By 10:30 a.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service said the temperature already had risen to 100 degrees (36.6 C) in Phoenix, which saw a record high of 118 F (47.7 C) for the date on Friday.

Meteorologists predict temperatures will be near daily records region-wide through most, if not all, of the coming week with lower desert highs reaching 115 to 120 degrees (46.1 to 48.8 C) .

Rare heat advisories had been extended even into the upper elevations, including around Lake Tahoe, with the National Weather Service in Reno warning of “major heat risk impacts, even in the mountains.”

“How hot are we talking? Well, high temperatures across (western Nevada and northeastern California) won’t get below 100 degrees (37.8 C) until next weekend,” the service posted online. “And unfortunately, there won’t be much relief overnight either.”

A new heat record for the day was set on Friday in California’s Death Valley — one of the hottest places on Earth — with the mercury climbing to 127 F (52.8 C). The old mark of 122 F (50 C) was last tied in 2013.

Palm Springs, California, hit 124 degrees (51.1 C) Friday, breaking the city’s all-time record high of 123 degrees (50.5 C).

More extreme highs are in the near forecast, including 129 F (53.8 degrees C) for Sunday at Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park, and then around 130 (54.4 C) through Wednesday. The hottest temperature ever officially recorded on Earth was 134 degrees (56.67 C) in Death Valley in July 1913, though some experts dispute that measurement and say the real record was 130 F (54.4 C) recorded there in July 2021.

The worst is yet to come across much of the West and Mid-Atlantic

The worst was yet to come across much of the West, with triple-digit temperatures likely — between 15 and 30 degrees (8 and 16 degrees Celsius) higher than average into next week, the National Weather Service said.

The Eastern U.S. also was bracing for more hot temperatures. Baltimore and others parts of Maryland were under an excessive heat warning, as heat index values could climb to 110 F (43 C), forecasters said.

“Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors,” said a National Weather Service advisory for the Baltimore area. “Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances.”

Heat-related deaths are starting to mount

In Arizona’s Maricopa County, which encompasses Phoenix, there have been at least 13 confirmed heat-related deaths this year, along with more than 160 other suspected heat deaths are still under investigation, according to the county’s most recent report.

That does not include the death of a 10-year-old boy earlier this week in Phoenix who suffered a “heat-related medical event” while hiking with family at South Mountain Park and Preserve, according to police.

California firefighters battle string of smoky wildfires fanned by low humidity, triple-digit heat

In California, firefighters were dispatching aircraft and helicopters to drop water or retardant on a series of wildfires around the state. In Santa Barbara County, northwest of Los Angeles, the so-called Lake Fire scorched over 19 square miles (49 square kilometers) of grass, brush and timber. Firefighters said the blaze was displaying “extreme fire behavior” and had the “potential for large growth” with high temperatures and low humidity.

Revelers at a music festival cope with the heat with cold water and shade

At the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Oregon, music fans dealt with heat by drinking cold water, seeking refuge in the shade or freshening up under water misters. Organizers of the weekend revelries also advertised free access to air conditioning in a nearby hotel.

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Angela Quiroz, 31, kept her scarf and hat wet and applied sunscreen at she protected herself from the heat at the music festival.

“Definitely a difference between the shade and the sun,” Quiroz said Friday. “But when you’re in the sun, it feels like you’re cooking.”

Associated Press reporter Julie Walker contributed from New York. Boone reported from Boise, Idaho, and Sonner reported from Reno, Nevada. Associated Press journalists Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee; Jonathan Drew in Raleigh, North Carolina; John Antczak in Los Angeles; Rio Yamat in Las Vegas; Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia; and Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia, contributed.

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas officials Saturday were urging coastal residents to brace for a potential hit by Beryl as the storm is expected to regain hurricane strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

“We’re expecting the storm to make landfall somewhere on the Texas coast sometime Monday, if the current forecast is correct,” said Jack Beven, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami. “Should that happen, it’ll most likely be a Category 1 hurricane.”

The earliest storm to develop into a Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic, Beryl caused at least 11 deaths as it passed through the Caribbean islands earlier in the week. It then battered Mexico as a Category 2 hurricane, toppling trees but causing no injuries or deaths before weakening to a tropical storm as it moved across the Yucatan Peninsula.

Texas officials warned the state’s entire coastline to brace for possible flooding, heavy rain and wind as they wait for a more defined path of the storm. The hurricane center has issued hurricane and storm surge warnings from Baffin Bay south of Corpus Christi to San Luis Pass, less than 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Houston.

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, the acting governor while Gov. Greg Abbott is traveling in Taiwan, issued a pre-emptive disaster declaration for 121 counties.

“Beryl is a determined storm, and incoming winds and potential flooding will pose a serious threat to Texans who are in Beryl’s path at landfall and as it makes its way across the state for the following 24 hours,” Patrick said in a statement Saturday,

Some Texas coastal cities called for voluntary evacuations in low-lying areas prone to flooding, banned beach camping and urged tourists traveling on the July 4 holiday weekend to move recreational vehicles from coastal parks.

Mitch Thames, a spokesman for Matagorda County, said Saturday that officials issued a voluntary evacuation request for the coastal areas of the county about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Houston to inform the large number of visitors in the area for the holiday weekend.

“I certainly don’t want to ruin the holiday weekend for our visitors. But at the same time, our No. 1 goal is the health and safety of all our visitors and of course our residents. I’m not so much worried about our residents. Those folks that live down there, they’re used to this, they get it,” Thames said.

In Corpus Christi, officials asked visitors to cut their trips short and return home early if possible. Officials asked residents to secure their homes by boarding up windows if necessary and using sandbags to guard against possible flooding.

“We’re taking the storm very serious and we’re asking the community to take the storm very serious as well,” Corpus Christi Fire Chief Brandon Wade said during a Friday evening news conference.

Traffic has been nonstop for the past three days at an Ace Hardware in Corpus Christi as customers buy up tarps, rope, duct tape, sandbags and generators, employee Elizabeth Landry said Saturday.

“They’re just worried about the wind, the rain,” she said. “They’re wanting to prepare just in case.”

Ben Koutsoumbaris, general manager of Island Market on Corpus Christi’s Padre Island, said there’s “definitely a lot of buzz about the incoming storm,” with customers stocking up on food and drinks — particularly meat and beer.

“I heard there’s been some talk about people having like hurricane parties,” he said by telephone Saturday.

In Refugio County, north of Corpus Christi along Texas’ Gulf Coast, officials issued a mandatory evacuation order for its 6,700 residents Saturday.

Refugio County Judge Jhiela “Gigi” Poynter, the county’s top elected official, said that based on the growing confidence of Beryl’s track and the uncertainty regarding the storm’s intensity and holiday weekend traffic that is already backing up roads, she made the decision to call for the mandatory evacuation.

“I would rather be cautious and let Tropical Storm Beryl come crawling in with a little bit of rain and a little bit of wind to an empty Refugio County than the alternative if it were to strengthen more than the predictions, which we know has happened with several storms in the past,” Poynter said in a video posted on Facebook.

On Saturday, Beryl was about 385 miles (615 kilometers) southeast of Corpus Christi and had top sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center. It was moving west-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).

Before hitting Mexico and moving into the Gulf, Beryl had already spread destruction in Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Barbados this week. Three people have been reported dead in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela and two in Jamaica, officials said.

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Mexican authorities had moved some tourists and residents out of low-lying areas around the Yucatan Peninsula before landfall, but tens of thousands remained to tough out the strong winds and storm surge. Much of the area around Tulum is just a few yards (meters) above sea level.

The city was plunged into darkness when the storm knocked out power as it came ashore. Screeching winds set off car alarms across the town. Wind and rain continued to whip the seaside city and surrounding areas Friday morning. Army brigades roved the streets of the tourist city, clearing fallen trees and power lines. No deaths or injuries have been reported.

Vertuno reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press writers Mark Thiessen in Anchorage, Alaska, and Martín Silva in Tulum, Mexico, contributed to this report.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza (AP) — Hamas has given its initial approval of a U.S.-backed proposal for a phased cease-fire deal in Gaza, dropping a key demand that Israel commit up front to a complete end to the war, a Hamas official and an Egyptian official said Saturday.

The apparent compromise by the militant group, which controlled Gaza before triggering the war with an Oct. 7 attack on Israel, could deliver the first pause in fighting since November and set the stage for further talks on ending a devastating nine months of fighting. But all sides cautioned that a deal is still not guaranteed.

Inside Gaza, the Health Ministry said an Israeli airstrike on a school-turned-shelter killed at least 16 people and wounded at least 50 others in the Nuseirat refugee camp. Children were among the dead and wounded. Israel’s military said it struck several “terrorists” operating in the area of the school and had tried to lessen the risk to civilians.

The two officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations, said Washington’s phased deal would start with a “full and complete” six-week cease-fire during which older, sick and female hostages would be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. During those 42 days, Israeli forces would withdraw from densely populated areas of Gaza and allow the return of displaced people to their homes in northern Gaza, the officials said.

Over that period, Hamas, Israel and mediators would negotiate the terms of the second phase that could see the release of the remaining male hostages, both civilians and soldiers, the officials said. In return, Israel would free additional Palestinian prisoners and detainees. The third phase would include the return of any remaining hostages, including bodies of the dead, and the start of a yearslong reconstruction project.

Hamas still wants written guarantees from mediators that Israel will continue to negotiate a permanent cease-fire deal once the first phase goes into effect, the officials said.

The Hamas representative told The Associated Press the group’s approval came after it received “verbal commitments and guarantees” from the mediators that the war won’t be resumed and that negotiations will continue until a permanent cease-fire is reached.

“Now we want these guarantees on paper,” the representative said.

Months of on-again off-again cease-fire talks have stumbled over Hamas’ demand that any deal include a complete end to the war. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered to pause the fighting but not end it until Israel reaches its goals of destroying Hamas’ military and governing capabilities and returning all hostages held by the militant group.

Hamas has expressed concern that Israel will restart the war after the hostages are released. Israeli officials have said they are worried Hamas will draw out the talks and the initial cease-fire indefinitely without releasing all the hostages.

Netanyahu’s office did not respond to requests for comment, and there was no immediate comment from Washington. On Friday, the Israeli prime minister confirmed that the Mossad spy agency’s chief had paid a lightning visit to Qatar, a key mediator, but his office said “gaps between the parties” remained.

“For the first time in many months, we feel hopeful,” a statement by many families of hostages said. “Netanyahu, we have seen how you repeatedly thwart deals in real time. Don’t you dare break our hearts again.” Anti-government protesters gathered again Saturday night.

Israel launched the war in Gaza after Hamas’ October attack in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250. Israel says Hamas is still holding about 120 hostages — about a third of them now thought to be dead.

Since then, the Israeli air and ground offensive has killed more than 38,000 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. The offensive has caused widespread devastation and a humanitarian crisis that has left hundreds of thousands of people on the brink of famine, according to international officials.

The cease-fire deal would see around 600 trucks of humanitarian aid entering Gaza daily, with half of them bound for the enclave’s hard-hit north, the two officials said. Since Israel’s assault on the southernmost city of Rafah, aid supplies entering Gaza have been reduced to a trickle.

“We want to eat, but from where we can eat? The country is exhausted. The country is destitute. It is not suitable for living,” said Walid Hegazi, a resident of the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. “We’re sorry for the donkeys because we ate their wheat and barley.”

Also Saturday, the Hamas-run Interior Ministry said four police officers were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah. The ministry, which oversees civilian police, said the officers were killed during foot patrols. It said eight other officers were wounded. Israel’s military did not immediately respond to questions.

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The low-level conflict between Israeli forces and Hezbollah continued. An Israeli airstrike on a car in the area of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon killed an engineer in Hezbollah’s air defense unit, the Israeli military said in a statement, describing Meitham Mustafa al-Attar as a “key operative.” Hezbollah confirmed al-Attar’s death in a statement but did not give information on his position.

In recent weeks, fears have risen that the conflict with its near-daily clashes could escalate to a full-scale war.

Magdy reported from Cairo, Egypt. AP writers Abby Sewell in Beirut and Natalie Melzer in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer has appointed a Cabinet of Labour Party lawmakers and a few outside experts as he tries to tackle priorities including boosting a sluggish economy, building more homes, and fixing the creaking state-funded health service. Labour has spent 14 years in opposition, so few have held government office before.

Here’s who is in the new government:

Prime Minister: Keir Starmer

Deputy Prime Minister and Levelling Up Secretary: Angela Rayner

Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance Minister): Rachel Reeves

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (a senior minister with broad responsibilities): Pat McFadden

Foreign Secretary: David Lammy

Home Secretary: Yvette Cooper

Defense Secretary: John Healey

Justice Secretary: Shabana Mahmood

Health Secretary: Wes Streeting

Education Secretary: Bridget Phillipson

Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary: Ed Miliband

Work and Pensions Secretary: Liz Kendall

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds

Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary: Peter Kyle

Transport Secretary: Louise Haigh

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary: Steve Reed

Culture, Media and Sport Secretary: Lisa Nandy

Northern Ireland Secretary: Hilary Benn

Scottish Secretary: Ian Murray

Welsh Secretary: Jo Stevens

Leader of the House of Commons: Lucy Powell

Leader of the House of Lords: Angela Smith

Chief Whip: Alan Campbell

Chief Secretary to the Treasury: Darren Jones

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Attorney General: Richard Hermer

More junior appointments include Science Minister Patrick Vallance, who was the government’s chief scientific officer during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Prisons Minister James Timpson, a businessman whose chain of key-cutting and shoe-repair businesses works with ex-offenders.

TANGIERS, Morocco (AP) — After the United States passed new subsidies designed to boost domestic electric vehicle production and cut into Beijing’s supply chain dominance, Chinese manufacturers began investing in an unlikely place: Morocco.

In the rolling hills near Tangiers and in industrial parks near the Atlantic Ocean, they have announced plans for new factories to make parts for EVs that may qualify for $7,500 credits to car buyers in the United States.

Similar investments have been announced in other countries that share free trade agreements with the United States, including South Korea and Mexico.

But few countries have seen the kind of boom that Morocco has.

At least eight Chinese battery makers have announced new investments in the North African kingdom since President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the $430 billion U.S. law designed to fight climate change, according to an Associated Press tally.

By moving operations to U.S. trading partners like Morocco, Chinese players that have long dominated the battery supply chain are seeking a pathway to cash in on increasing demand from American carmakers like Tesla and General Motors, said Kevin Shang, a senior battery analyst at the consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.

“Chinese companies definitely don’t want to miss this big party,” he said.

The United States and European Union have both imposed major new tariffs on Chinese vehicle imports since May. The United States also finalized eligibility rules governing the tax credits in May. The latter limit companies with ties to U.S. adversaries, but give carmakers time to reduce their reliance on China. To qualify for the subsidies, carmakers cannot source critical minerals or battery parts from manufacturers in which China and other “foreign entities of concern” control more than 25% of the company or its board.

Critics say the rules are a giveaway to China and will extend its EV dominance. The Biden administration says the rules pave the way for billions in investment in EV manufacturing in the United States.

Between East and West

In Morocco, a largely agrarian economy where the median income is $2,150 a month, giant industrial parks full of American, European and Chinese component makers have sprung up in the rural outskirts of Tangiers, Kenitra and El Jadida.

Expanding on infrastructure that has made Morocco a car manufacturing hub, they hope to meet growing demand and overcome rules designed to exclude them from the incentives the Inflation Reduction Act is injecting into the U.S. car market, the world’s second-largest.

The rules “have led Chinese producers to increase investment in countries with whom the US has free trade agreements, namely South Korea and Morocco, to get past some IRA barriers,” the policy research firm Rhodium Group said in a report earlier this year.

Some of the new China investments in Morocco explicitly cite the new U.S. subsidies as a reason.

Many are joint ventures that have cited their ability to tinker with board seats and governance to comply with U.S. rules.

That includes CNGR, one of China’s largest battery cathode producers, which in September announced a $2 billion plan to build what it called a “base in the world and pan-Atlantic region” in a joint venture with the Moroccan royal family’s investment group, Al Mada.

Though CNGR owns slightly more than a 50% stake in the project, Thorsten Lahrs, CEO of its Europe division, said he’s confident its cathodes can qualify for the tax credits and change its board composition if necessary. If not, the company would pivot to other markets, including Europe, which just hiked tariffs on electric vehicles imported from China.

“To ride the wave of the IRA, you have to execute fast and comply with its regulations,” he said in an interview before the U.S. finalized its rules. “We have flexibility to be able to comply with all the changes in interpretation or rules.”

The Chinese battery projects include at least three joint ventures and several that reference Morocco’s trade ties with the United States.

The largest among them is Chinese-German battery-maker Gotion High-Tech, which signed a deal with Morocco last year for $6.4 billion investment to construct Africa’s first electric vehicle battery factory.

Investments also include Youshan, a joint venture backed by Korean giant LG Chem and China’s Huayou Cobalt. It declined to provide details about the size of their investment but said the Morocco base means their cathodes “will be supplied to the North American market and subsidized by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act as Morocco is a signatory to the U.S. Free Trade Agreement.”

LG Chem said the venture would adjust ownership shares as necessary to comply with U.S. rules.

China’s BTR Group’s announcement of a cathode factory in April noted that Morocco’s trade status with the United States and Europe would ensure “a seamless entry for the majority of its manufactured products into these regions.”

Abdelmonim Amachraa, a supply chain expert who previously worked in Morocco’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, said Morocco was profiting from its “ability to coexist when a link can’t be found between China and the United States.”

Officials in Morocco have publicly and privately worked to foster ties up and down the automotive supply chain in both the East and the West. The country hosts more than 250 companies that manufacture cars or their components, including Stellantis and Renault as well as Chinese, Japanese, American and Korean factories that make seats, engines, shock absorbers and wheels. The industry exports almost $14 billion in cars and parts annually.

As the world transitions to electric vehicles, Morocco may appear to be a surprising beneficiary as China, the United States and Europe compete for market share. But its officials worry that anti-competitive policies like tariffs and subsidies could ultimately make it more difficult to lure investment.

Ryad Mezzour, the country’s minister of industry and trade, said in an interview that all the new investment doesn’t tell the full story. Morocco has also lost out on some projects due to what he called “a new age of protectionism.”

A giant loophole

The investment has been a boon to countries like Morocco. But in Washington, Chinese firms have raised alarm by angling to access the American subsidies.

“Under the Biden administration’s electric vehicle regulations, America’s working families will have to watch their hard-earned tax dollars go to line the pockets of Chinese billionaires and businesses with links to the Chinese Communist Party,” U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican, said of the new guidelines.

But at issue are the complexities of both the electric vehicle supply chain and the Inflation Reduction Act, which seeks to grow adoption of EVs and boost domestic manufacturing, too.

The U.S. Energy and Treasury departments have tried to strike a delicate balance, working to reduce reliance on Chinese manufacturers while also ensuring enough vehicles qualify for the credits. The Department of Energy did not respond to questions about what its rules meant for Chinese investments in countries that share free trade agreements with the United States. But in a statement, a spokesperson called the transition to electric vehicles “an industry-wide, global trend” and said new policies “help the US strengthen its energy security and competitiveness — including outcompeting China.”

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China has spent years subsidizing companies that extract critical battery minerals, manufacturers of cathodes, anodes and electrolyzers and carmakers like BYD. Those companies’ eagerness to invest in Morocco to cash in on the Inflation Reduction Act shows how decoupling Chinese manufacturers from the supply chain will take years, if not decades, said Chris Berry, an adviser to battery companies and investors.

“There is not going to be a lithium ion battery supply chain that does not have Chinese influence for a long time,” Berry said.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Beryl is forecast to strengthen into a powerful Category 4 storm as it approaches the southeast Caribbean, which began shutting down Sunday amid urgent pleads from government officials for people to take shelter.

Hurricane warnings were in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

“This is a very serious situation developing for the Windward Islands,” warned the National Hurricane Center in Miami, which said that Beryl was “forecast to bring life-threatening winds and storm surge … as an extremely dangerous hurricane.”

Beryl strengthened into a Category 3 hurricane on Sunday morning, becoming the first major hurricane east of the Lesser Antilles on record for June, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher.

Beryl is now only the third Category 3 hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic in June, following Audrey in 1957 and Alma in 1966, according to hurricane expert Michael Lowry.

Beryl was located about 465 miles (750 kilometers) east-southeast of Barbados. It was a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph (155 kph) and was moving west at 21 mph (33 kph).

Two hurricane hunters were en route to the storm to gather more details about its intensity, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Beryl is expect to pass just south of Barbados early Monday and then head into the Caribbean Sea as a major hurricane on a path toward Jamaica. It is expected to weaken by mid-week but still remain a hurricane as it heads toward Mexico.

Forecasters warned of life-threatening storm surge of up to 9 feet (3 meters) in areas where Beryl will make landfall, with up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain for Barbados and nearby islands.

Long lines formed at gas stations and grocery stores in Barbados and other islands as people rushed to prepare for a storm that has broken records and rapidly intensified from a tropical storm with 35 mph winds on Friday to a Category 1 hurricane on Saturday.

Warm waters were fueling Beryl, with ocean heat content in the deep Atlantic the highest on record for this time of year, according to Brian McNoldy, University of Miami tropical meteorology researcher.

Beryl marks the farthest east that a hurricane has formed in the tropical Atlantic in June, breaking a record set in 1933, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher. If Beryl’s winds reach 125 mph, it would be the second earliest such storm in the Atlantic on record, surpassing Audrey in 1957, he said.

In addition, if Beryl reaches a Category 3, it would only be the third storm to do so in the Caribbean prior to August; Dennis and Emily both did so in July of 2005, according to Klotzbach.

“We have to remain vigilant,” Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley said in a public address late Saturday. “We do not want to put anybody’s life at risk.”

Thousands of people were in Barbados for Saturday’s Twenty20 World Cup final, cricket’s biggest event, with Mottley noting that not all fans were able to leave Sunday despite many rushing to change their flights.

“Some of them have never gone through a storm before,” she said. “We have plans to take care of them.”

Mottley said all businesses should close by Sunday evening and warned the airport would close by nighttime.

Kemar Saffrey, president of a Barbadian group that aims to end homelessness, said in a video posted on social media Saturday night that those without homes tend to think they can ride out storms because they’ve done it before.

“I don’t want that to be the approach that they take,” he said, warning that Beryl is a dangerous storm and urging Barbadians to direct homeless people to a shelter.

Echoing his comments was Wilfred Abrahams, minister of home affairs and information.

“I need Barbadians at this point to be their brother’s keeper,” he said. “Some people are vulnerable.”

Meanwhile, St. Lucia Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre announced a national shutdown for Sunday evening and said schools and businesses would remain closed on Monday.

“Preservation and protection of life is a priority,” he said.

Caribbean leaders were preparing not only for Beryl, but for a cluster of thunderstorms trailing the hurricane that have a 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression.

“Do not let your guard down,” Mottley said.

Beryl is the second named storm in what is forecast to be an above-average hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 in the Atlantic. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto came ashore in northeastern Mexico with heavy rains that resulted in four deaths.

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the 2024 hurricane season is likely to be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast calls for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

RED BANK, N.J. (AP) — President Joe Biden looked to recapture his mojo and reassured donors at a Saturday fundraiser that he is fully up to the challenge of beating Donald Trump.

“I didn’t have a great night, but I’m going to be fighting harder,” Biden told attendees at the home of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. “Donald Trump is a genuine threat to the nation,” he emphasized, saying that his predecessor would undermine democracy if returned to the White House and his economic ideas would worsen inflation.

The 81-year-old’s troubling performance at the first presidential debate Thursday rattled many Democrats, who see Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection as an existential threat to U.S. democracy. Biden’s meandering answers and struggles to respond to Trump prompted The New York Times editorial board to declare Friday that he should exit the race and that staying in would be a “reckless gamble.”

Biden and his wife, Jill, attended an afternoon campaign event in East Hampton, New York, the Long Island beach town where the real estate firm Zillow prices the median home at $1.9 million. Based on public records, the event that was closed to the news media was at the home of Avram Glazer, an owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team.

The couple then went to a second event in East Hampton at the home of investor Barry Rosenstein, whose wife, Lizanne, said the president was “a role model for what it is to get knocked down over and over and over again and get up.”

“We can waste time comparing debate nights,” she continued. “But you know what? It’s more meaningful to compare presidencies.”

Addressing the gathering, Biden tore into Trump over his presidential record including his treatment of veterans and said of Thursday night’s debate, “I didn’t have a great night, but neither did Trump.”

Biden contended that the polling he’s seen shows that Democrats moved up after the debate “The big takeaway was his lies,” he said.

In the aftermath of Thursday night’s debate, Biden flashed more vigor in speeches in North Carolina and New York on Friday, saying he believes with “all my heart and soul” that he can do the job of the presidency.

The Biden campaign said it has raised more than $27 million on Thursday and Friday, including $3 million at a New York City fundraiser focused on the LGBTQ+ community.

Jill Biden told supporters Friday that he said to her after the debate, “You know, Jill, I don’t know what happened. I didn’t feel that great.” The first lady then said she responded to him, “Look, Joe, we are not going to let 90 minutes define the four years that you’ve been president.”

The Democratic president still needs to allay the fears stirred by the debate as it seeped into the public conscience with clips and memes spreading on the internet and public pressure for him to bow out of the race.

Democratic donors across New York, Southern California and Silicon Valley privately expressed deep concerns about the viability of Biden’s campaign in the wake of his debate performance.

In a series of text message chains and private conversations, they discussed the short list of possible replacements, a group that included Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris.

But on Friday, there was no formal push to pressure Biden to step aside and some suspected there never would be given the logistical challenges associated with replacing the presumptive nominee just four months before Election Day.

Some donors noted they were going to pause their personal giving. They said receipts from Biden’s weekend fundraiser would almost certainly be strong because the tickets were sold and paid for before the debate.

Peoples reported from New York.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Beryl strengthened into a hurricane Saturday as it churned toward the southeastern Caribbean, with forecasters warning it was expected to become a dangerous major storm before reaching Barbados late Sunday or early Monday.

A major hurricane is considered Category 3 or higher, with winds of at least 111 mph (178 kph). At midafternoon Saturday, Beryl was a Category 1 hurricane, marking the farthest east that a hurricane formed in the tropical Atlantic in June, breaking a record set in 1933, according to Philip Klotzbach, Colorado State University hurricane researcher.

A hurricane warning was issued for Barbados, and a hurricane watch was in effect for St. Lucia, Grenada, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. A tropical storm watch was issued for Martinique, Dominica and Tobago.

“It’s astonishing to see a forecast for a major (Category 3+) hurricane in June anywhere in the Atlantic, let alone this far east in the deep tropics. #Beryl organizing in a hurry over the warmest waters ever recorded for late June,” Florida-based hurricane expert Michael Lowry posted on X.

Beryl’s center was forecast to pass about 26 miles (45 kilometers) south of Barbados, said Sabu Best, director of the island’s meteorological service. Forecasters then expected the storm to cross the Caribbean on a path toward Jamaica and eventually Mexico.

Late Saturday afternoon, Beryl was centered about 720 miles (1,160 kilometers) east-southeast of Barbados, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph). It was moving west at 22 mph (35 kph).

“Rapid strengthening is now forecast,” the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Atmospheric science researcher Tomer Burg noted that Beryl was just a tropical depression with 35 mph winds Friday.

“This means that according to preliminary data, Beryl already met rapid intensification criteria before even becoming a hurricane,” he wrote on the social media platform X.

Warm waters were fueling Beryl, with ocean heat content in the deep Atlantic the highest on record for this time of year, according to Brian McNoldy, University of Miami tropical meteorology researcher.

Beryl also is the strongest June tropical storm on record that far east in the tropical Atlantic, according to Klotzbach.

“We need to be ready,” Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley said in a public address late Friday. “You and I know when these things happen, it is better to plan for the worst and pray for the best.”

She noted that thousands of people are in Barbados for the Twenty20 World Cup cricket final, with India beating South Africa on Saturday in the capital of Bridgetown. It is considered cricket’s biggest event.

Some fans, like Shashank Musku, a 33-year-old physician who lives in Pittsburgh, were rushing to change their flights to leave before the storm.

Musku said by phone that he has never experienced a hurricane: “I don’t plan on being in one, either.”

He and his wife, who were rooting for India, found out about Beryl thanks to a taxi driver who mentioned the storm.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said in a public address Saturday that shelters would open Sunday evening and he urged people to prepare. He ordered officials to refuel government vehicles and asked grocery stores and gas stations to stay open later before the storm.

“There will be such a rush … if you keep limited hours,” he said as he apologized ahead of time for government interruptions on radio stations with storm updates. “Cricket lovers have to bear with us that we’ll have to give information … this is life and death.”

Beryl is the second named storm in what is predicted to be a busy hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30 in the Atlantic. Earlier this month, Tropical Storm Alberto came ashore in northeastern Mexico with heavy rains that resulted in four deaths.

Lowry noted that in records dating back to 1851 only five named storms had ever formed in June in the tropical Atlantic east of the Caribbean, and only one of those was a hurricane. He said that one was the first hurricane of 1933, which was the most active hurricane season on record.

Mark Spence, manager of a hostel in Barbados, said by phone that he was calm about the approaching storm.

“It’s the season. You can get a storm any time,” he said. “I’m always prepared. I always have enough food in my house.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts the 2024 hurricane season is likely to be well above average, with between 17 and 25 named storms. The forecast calls for as many as 13 hurricanes and four major hurricanes.

An average Atlantic hurricane season produces 14 named storms, seven of them hurricanes and three major hurricanes.

Beryl was expected to drop up to six inches (15 centimeters) of rain in Barbados and nearby islands, and a high surf warning of waves up to 13 feet (4 meters) was in effect. A storm surge of up to seven feet (2 meters) was also forecast.

The storm is approaching the southeastern Caribbean just days after the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago had major flooding in the capital, Port-of-Spain, as a result of an unrelated weather event.

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Caribbean leaders are not only worried about Beryl, but also about a cluster of thunderstorms closely following Beryl’s path that had a 70% chance of becoming a tropical depression by the middle of next week.

Meanwhile, a no-name storm earlier this June dumped more than 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain on parts of South Florida, stranding numerous motorists on flooded streets and pushing water into some homes in low-lying areas.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A court ruling on Friday put an involuntary manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin on track for trial in early July as a judge denied a request to dismiss the case on complaints that key evidence was damaged by the FBI during forensic testing.

Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer sided with prosecutors in rejecting a motion to dismiss the case.

Defense attorneys had argued that the gun in the fatal shooting was heavily damaged during FBI forensic testing before it could be examined for possible modifications or problems that might exonerate the actor-producer.

The ruling removes one of the last hurdles before prosecutors can bring the case to trial with jury selection scheduled for July 9 in Santa Fe.

At trial, attorneys plan to call on witnesses from a court-approved list of more than 60 people. They include film director Joel Souza, who was wounded in the shooting as well as assistant director Dave Halls, who earlier pleaded no contest to negligent use of a deadly weapon, and an array of first responders, investigators, firearms experts and close-range witnesses to the shooting.

Baldwin isn’t listed but has the right to testify at his own trial.

During a rehearsal on the set of the Western film Rust in 2021, Baldwin pointed a gun at cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when the revolver went off, killing her and injuring director Souza as the bullet became lodged in his shoulder. Baldwin has maintained that he pulled back the gun’s hammer but not the trigger and has pleaded not guilty.

The FBI conducted an accidental discharge test on the gun by striking it from several angles with a rawhide mallet, eventually breaking the gun. Prosecutors plan to present evidence at trial that they say shows the firearm “could not have fired absent a pull of the trigger” and was working properly before the shooting.

Baldwin has twice been charged in Hutchins’ death. Prosecutors dismissed an earlier charge, then refiled it after receiving a new analysis of the revolver that Baldwin pointed at Hutchins.

Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is serving an 18-month sentence on a conviction for involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting as she appeals the jury verdict. It’s likely the prosecutors will call her to testify at Baldwin’s trial, despite her refusal to answer questions at a pretrial interview and instead invoke her constitutional rights against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment. A judge refused a request to compel her testimony by providing immunity.

Marlowe Sommer said that destruction of internal components of the firearm “is not highly prejudicial” to a fair trial and that Baldwin’s legal team failed to demonstrate bad faith by investigators.

While Baldwin “contends that an unaltered firearm is critical to his case, other evidence concerning the functionality of the firearm on Oct. 21, 2021, weighs against the defendant’s assertions,” the judge wrote.

Sheriff’s investigators initially sent the revolver to the FBI for routine testing, but when an FBI analyst heard Baldwin say in an ABC TV interview that he never pulled the trigger, the agency told local authorities they could conduct an accidental discharge test, though it might damage the gun.

The FBI was told by a team of investigators to go ahead, and tested the revolver by striking it from several angles with a rawhide mallet. One of those strikes fractured the gun’s firing and safety mechanisms.

Defense attorneys say that the “outrageous” decision to move forward with testing may have destroyed exculpatory evidence.

Prosecutors said it was “unfortunate” the gun broke, but it wasn’t destroyed and the parts are still available. They say Baldwin’s attorneys still have the ability to defend their client and question the evidence against him.

In Friday’s ruling, the judge said prosecutors will have to fully disclose at trial the destructive nature of the FBI forensic testing on the gun, including what was lost in the process and its relevance in reaching a verdict.

Several hours of testimony about the gun and forensic testing during online hearings in recent days provided a dress rehearsal for the possible trial against Baldwin. Attorneys for Baldwin gave long and probing cross-examinations of the lead detective, an FBI forensic firearm investigator and the prosecution’s independent gun expert, Lucien Haag.

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Prosecutors plan to present evidence that they say shows the firearm “could not have fired absent a pull of the trigger” and was working properly before the shooting.

Since the 2021 shooting, the filming of Rust resumed but moved to Montana under an agreement with Hutchins’ husband, Matthew Hutchins, which made him an executive producer. The completed movie has not yet been released for public viewing.