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HIROSHIMA, Japan — Almost eight decades after an atomic bomb devastated her hometown of Hiroshima, Teruko Yahata carries the scar on her forehead from when she was knocked over by the force of the blast. The U.S. bombs that laid waste to Hiroshima on the morning of August 6, 1945, and to Nagasaki three days later, changed the course of history and left Yahata and other survivors with deep scars and a sense of responsibility toward disarmament. The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday to the Nihon Hidankyo group of atomic bomb survivors, for its work warning of the dangers of nuclear arms, has given survivors hope and highlighted their work still ahead, Yahata and others said. "It felt as if a light suddenly shone through. I felt like I could see the light," the 87-year-old said on Saturday, describing her reaction to hearing about the award. "This feels like the first step, the beginning of a movement toward nuclear abolition," she told Reuters at the site of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum. She was just 8 years old and in the back garden of her home when the bomb hit. Although her house was 2.5 kilometers from the hypocenter, the blast was strong enough to throw her several meters back into her house, she said. Seventy-nine years later, and a day after the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the survivors the prize, a long line formed outside the museum, with dozens of foreign and Japanese visitors queuing up to get in. A bridge leading into the memorial park was decorated with a yellow sheet and other handmade signs against nuclear weapons. Campaigners gathered signatures for nuclear abolition from those passing by. Nihon Hidankyo, formed in 1956, has provided thousands of witness accounts, issued resolutions and public appeals, sent delegations to the U.N. and peace conferences, and collected signatures advocating nuclear disarmament. Yahata, who is not a Nihon Hidankyo member, said it was that drive to gather signatures that finally paid off after bearing little fruit for most of a century. "It's this amount of sadness and joy that led them to this peace prize. I think it's something very meaningful," she said. Nihon Hidankyo's co-chair, Toshiyuki Mimaki, said he felt the award meant more responsibility, adding that most atomic bomb survivors were more than 85 years old. "Rather than feeling purely happy, I feel like I have more responsibility now," he told Reuters, sitting in a Hidankyo office in Hiroshima in front of a map showing the impact of the bomb on the city. In rural areas the group is on the verge of falling apart, the 82-year-old said. "The big challenge now is what to do going forward."

MACAO — Macao's former top judge, Sam Hou Fai, was chosen as the Chinese casino hub's next leader in a largely ceremonial election on Sunday, setting him up to become the city's first chief executive born in mainland China. Almost the entire election committee stacked with Beijing loyalists — 394 of 398 — voted for Sam, the sole candidate, in a departure from the long-standing custom of having chief executives who were born in the former Portuguese colony, typically from influential business families. The remaining four were blank votes. The shift in the city's leadership to someone from the legal profession is likely to create expectations of a declining influence from business circles, which critics have often accused of colluding with officials, analysts say. They anticipate Beijing's policy agenda for the city will take priority. Sam, 62, is widely seen to have Beijing's blessings. During the nomination period, he had already secured endorsements from 386 election committee members who voted in batches in a conference hall on Sunday. Influential figures among the 400-strong committee were Shun Tak Holdings' group executive chairperson Pansy Ho, daughter of late casino tycoon Stanley Ho, lawmaker Angela Leong, one of Ho's widows, and former chief executives Edmund Ho and Fernando Chui. Sam is expected to meet reporters later Sunday. Most of the territory's 687,000 residents lack voting rights, leading to mixed sentiments about the election. Some hope Sam will heed public opinion and avoid prioritizing business interests, while others feel disconnected from an election process they can't participate in. Still, political observers said many residents are comfortable with Sam's nonlocal origin in a city that has been home to migrants for decades. With Sam's victory guaranteed, the real challenges await in the governance hurdles that lie ahead. Macao is the only place in China where casino gambling is legal. Beijing has called for the city to diversify its gambling-reliant economy. Sam has promised to accelerate the current government's plan to boost tourism and other sectors such as traditional Chinese medicine, finance, exhibitions and commerce. However, the city will still need to rely on the gambling industry for government revenues to support the city's welfare and accomplish other goals laid out by Beijing, analysts say. China wants Macao to develop into a world-class tourism and leisure center and play a bigger role as a bridge for trade between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. Small local businesses have been hurt by residents who spend money in the neighboring mainland city of Zhuhai, which offers a wider selection of items with good value for money. Chinese tourists are also now spending less than before. It remains to be seen whether Sam, with a lack of government leadership experience, can form a capable cabinet to tackle these pressing issues. Sam was born in neighboring Guangdong province in 1962. He graduated from the prestigious law school of Peking University in Beijing. He also studied the Portuguese language, culture and law at the University of Coimbra in Portugal, and once practiced law in mainland China. When Macao returned to Chinese rule in 1999, Sam was appointed the city's top judge, a role in which he served for nearly 25 years before resigning in August to participate in the election. He handled some politically sensitive cases, including rejecting an appeal of a police ban on a vigil commemorating China's bloody 1989 military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests. His court also upheld a decision to bar pro-democracy figures from running in the 2021 legislative elections. 

washington — Russia and China blocked a proposed consensus statement for the East Asia Summit drafted by Southeast Asian countries, mainly over objections to language on the contested South China Sea, a U.S. official told Reuters on Saturday. A draft statement arrived at by consensus by the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations was put to the 18-nation East Asia Summit meeting in Laos on Thursday evening, the official said. "ASEAN presented this final draft and said that, essentially, this was a take-it-or-leave-it draft," the official said on condition of anonymity. The United States, Japan, Australia, South Korea and India all said they could support it, the official said, adding: "The Russians and the Chinese said that they could not and would not proceed with a statement." Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news conference in Vientiane on Friday the final declaration had not been adopted because of "persistent attempts by the United States, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand to turn it into a purely political statement." China's Washington embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. official said there were a couple of issues of contention, but the key one was how it referred to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), going further than in the previous 2023 EAS statement. However, the official said, "there was certainly no language that was getting into the nitty gritty of any particular standoff, no language that was favoring any claimant over any other." China claims nearly all of the South China Sea and has stepped up pressure on rival claimants, including several ASEAN countries, notably the Philippines. ASEAN has spent years negotiating a Code of Conduct with Beijing for the strategic waterway, with some ASEAN states insisting it be based on UNCLOS. China says it backs a code but does not recognize a 2016 arbitral ruling that said its claim to most of the South China Sea had no basis under UNCLOS, to which Beijing is a signatory. According to a draft seen by Reuters, the proposed EAS statement contained an extra sub-clause over the 2023 approved statement, and this was not agreed to. It noted a 2023 U.N. resolution saying that UNCLOS "sets out the legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out." Another sub-clause not agreed said the international environment, including "in the South China Sea, the Korean Peninsula, Myanmar, Ukraine and the Middle East ... present challenges for the region." Chinese Premier Li Qiang told the summit Beijing was committed to UNCLOS and striving for an early conclusion of a Code of Conduct, while stressing its claims have solid historical and legal grounds. "Relevant countries outside the region should respect and support the joint efforts of China and regional countries to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea, and truly play a constructive role for peace and stability in the region," he said.

paris — A 22-year-old Afghan was indicted and imprisoned in France on Saturday, accused of supporting the ideology of the Islamic State (IS) and of having "fomented" a "plan for violent action" in a football stadium or a shopping center. His arrest, which took place Tuesday in Haute-Garonne, has "links" with the arrest of an Afghan living in the United States and charged Wednesday with planning an attack on the day of the U.S. elections, the national anti-terrorist prosecutor's office (PNAT) said, confirming a source close to the case questioned by AFP. This 27-year-old Afghan, living in the southern U.S. state of Oklahoma, was in contact on the Telegram messaging service with a person identified by the FBI as an IS recruiter, according to American judicial authorities. According to the source close to the case, during their investigations, the American authorities transmitted information to the French authorities, triggering the opening of an investigation in Paris and leading to three arrests. On Tuesday morning in the southwest of France, three men, aged 20 to 31, two of whom are brothers, were arrested in Toulouse and Fronton by investigators from the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), supported by the RAID, the police intervention unit, as part of a preliminary investigation opened on September 27 for "terrorist criminal association with a view to preparing one or more crimes against persons." "The investigations carried out have highlighted the existence of a plan for violent action targeting people in a football stadium or a shopping center fomented by one of them, aged 22, of Afghan nationality and holder of a resident card, several elements of which also establish radicalization and adherence to the ideology of the Islamic State," the PNAT told AFP on Saturday. His lawyer, Emanuel de Dinechin, did not wish to comment at this stage. In accordance with the PNAT requisitions, he was charged with terrorist criminal association by an investigating judge, then placed in provisional detention. According to a source close to the case, this young man comes from the Tajik community in Afghanistan and his project, which he reportedly spoke about on Telegram, remained rather vague and unfinished. According to another source close to the investigation, he has been living in France for around three years. The other two men were released after their police custody. Reconfiguration The last arrests for a plan for violent action in France date back to the end of July. Two young men, aged 18 and originally from Gironde in the southwest, were indicted on July 27, suspected of having created a group on social networks "intended to recruit" people "motivated (to) perpetrate a violent action" during the Paris Olympic Games. Three attacks were foiled during the Olympic period, according to the authorities. In addition to the two young people from Gironde, one of the plans targeted establishments, including bars, around the Geoffroy-Guichard stadium in Saint-Etienne (southeast), and the other came from a group that had planned attacks against institutions and representatives of Israel in Paris. Five people have been charged, including a minor teenager, in these cases. The "jihadist threat represents 80% of the procedures" initiated by the PNAT, anti-terrorism prosecutor Olivier Christen recalled in mid-September. "In the first half of 2024, there were approximately three times more procedures" of this type than in the same period in 2023, he added. According to him, this increase is explained by the "geopolitical context," but also by "the reconfiguration, particularly in Afghanistan" of the Islamic State group. In September, two attacks by the Islamic State in Khorasan (IS-K) group, the regional branch of IS in Afghanistan, killed around 20 people in that country. The deadliest attack by ISIS left 145 dead in March at a concert hall in Moscow.

VILNIUS, Lithuania — Lithuanians elect a new parliament Sunday in a vote dominated by concerns over the cost of living and potential threats from neighboring Russia, with the opposition Social Democrats tipped to emerge as the largest party but well short of a majority. The outgoing center-right coalition of Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte has seen its popularity eroded by high inflation that topped 20% two years ago, by deteriorating public services and a widening gap between rich and poor. Polling stations open at 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) and close at 8 p.m. (1700 GMT). Results are expected after midnight local time. Opinion polls suggest Simonyte's Homeland Union will win just 9%, behind the Social Democrats at 18% and the anti-establishment Nemunas Dawn at 12%, though the eventual shape of a future coalition will depend on how smaller parties perform. The Baltic state of 2.9 million people has a hybrid voting system in which half of the parliament is elected by popular vote, with a 5% threshold needed to win seats. The other half is chosen on a district basis, a process which favors the larger parties. If no candidate gets over 50% of the vote in a district, its top two candidates face each other in a run-off on October 27. Domestic issues have loomed large in the election campaign, with the Social Democrats vowing to tackle increased inequality by raising taxes on wealthier Lithuanians to help fund more spending on healthcare and social spending. But national security is also a major concern in Lithuania, which is part of the eastern flank of NATO and the European Union and shares a border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad as well as with Belarus, a close Moscow ally. Three quarters of Lithuanians believe that Russia could attack their country in the near future, a Baltijos Tyrimai/ELTA poll found in May. The main parties strongly support Ukraine in its war with invading Russian forces and back increased defense spending.

KILIFI, Kenya — Dozens rallied against a proposal to build Kenya's first nuclear power plant in one of the country's top coastal tourist hubs which also houses a forest on the tentative list of the UNESCO World Heritage site.  Kilifi County is renowned for its pristine sandy beaches where hotels and beach bars line the 165-mile-long coast and visitors boat and snorkel around coral reefs or bird watch in Arabuko Sokoke Forest Reserve, a significant natural habitat for the conservation of rare and endangered species, according to the United Nations organization.  The project, proposed last year, is set to be built in the town of Kilifi — about 522 kilometers (324 miles) southeast of the capital, Nairobi. Many residents have openly opposed the proposal, worried about what they say are the negative effects of the project on people and the environment, leading to a string of protesters which at times turned violent.  Muslim for Human Rights (MUHURI) led the march Friday in Kilifi to the county governor's office where they handed him a petition opposing the construction of the plant.  Some chanted anti-nuclear slogans while others carried placards with "Sitaki nuclear," Swahili for "I don't want nuclear."  The construction of the 1,000MW nuclear plant is set to begin in 2027 and be operational by 2034, with a cost of 500 billion Kenyan shillings ($3.8 billion).  Francis Auma, a MUHURI activist, told the Associated Press that the negative effects of the nuclear plant outweigh its benefits.  "We say that this project has a lot of negative effects; there will be malformed children born out of this place, fish will die, and our forest Arabuko Sokoke, known to harbor the birds from abroad, will be lost," Auma said during Friday's protests.  Juma Sulubu, a resident who was beaten by the police during a previous demonstration, attended Friday's march and said: "Even if you kill us, just kill us, but we do not want a nuclear power plant in our Uyombo community."  Timothy Nyawa, a fisherman, participated in the rally out of fear that a nuclear power plant would kill fish and, in turn, his source of income. "If they set up a nuclear plant here, the fish breeding sites will all be destroyed."  Phyllis Omido, the executive director at the Center for Justice Governance and Environmental Action, who also attended the march, said Kenya's eastern coastal towns depended on eco-tourism as the main source of income and a nuclear plant would threaten their livelihoods.  "We host the only East African coastal forest, we host the Watamu marine park, we host the largest mangrove plantation in Kenya. We do not want nuclear (energy) to mess up our ecosystem," she said.  Her center filed a petition in Nov. 2023 in parliament calling for an inquiry and claiming that locals had limited information on the proposed plant and the criteria for selecting preferred sites. It also raised concerns over the risks to health, the environment and tourism in the event of a nuclear spill, saying the country was undertaking a "high-risk venture" without proper legal and disaster response measures in place. The petition also expressed unease over security and the handling of radioactive waste in a country prone to floods and drought.  The Senate suspended the inquiry until a lawsuit two lawyers filed in July seeking to stop the plant's construction, claiming public participation meetings were rushed and urging the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (Nupea) not to start the project, was heard.  Nupea said construction would not begin for years and environmental laws were under consideration, adding that adequate public participation was carried out.  The nuclear agency also published an impact assessment report last year that recommended policies be put in place to ensure environmental protections, including detailed plans for the handling of radioactive waste, measures to mitigate environmental harm, such as setting up a nuclear unit in the national environment management authority, and emergency response teams. 

hanoi, vietnam — Vietnam and China agreed on Saturday to boost defense and security cooperation despite their years-long maritime dispute in the South China Sea, said the Vietnamese government. China is Vietnam's largest trading partner and a vital source of imports for its manufacturing sector.  The two countries on Saturday also agreed to boost economic ties, with China pledging to further open its market for Vietnamese farm produce while Vietnam would facilitate Chinese investment, the government added in a statement.  It said the two countries will prioritize cooperation in developing railway links.    The statement came after Chinese premier Li Qiang met Vietnamese President To Lam in Hanoi late on Saturday, as Li began his three-day state visit to Vietnam.  Sources told Reuters on Friday that China and Vietnam are expected to sign new agreements — including pacts to boost railway links and agricultural trade — during the visit.  Li is expected to meet Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and attend a business forum in Hanoi on Sunday.  Early this month, Vietnam protested to China over what it said was an attack on a Vietnamese fishing boat in contested South China Sea waters that injured several fishermen. 

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Thirteen pregnant Philippine women accused of illegally acting as surrogate mothers in Cambodia after being recruited online could face prison terms after giving birth, a senior Interior Ministry official said Saturday.  Interior Ministry Secretary of State Chou Bun Eng, who leads the country's fight against human trafficking and sexual exploitation, said police found 24 foreign women, 20 Philippine and four Vietnamese, when they raided a villa in Kandal province, near the capital of Phnom Penh, on September 23.  Thirteen of the Philippine women were found to be pregnant and were charged in court on October 1 under a provision in the law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation, she said.  The law was updated in 2016 to ban commercial surrogacy after Cambodia became a popular destination for foreigners seeking women to give birth to their children.  Developing countries have been popular for surrogacy because costs are much lower than in countries such as the United States and Australia, where surrogate services could cost around $150,000.  The surrogacy business boomed in Cambodia after it was put under tight restrictions in neighboring Thailand, as well as in India and Nepal.  In July 2017, a Cambodian court sentenced an Australian woman and two Cambodian associates to 1 1/2 years in prison for providing commercial surrogacy services.  The new case is unusual because surrogates normally are employed in their own countries, not transported elsewhere.  Cambodia already has a bad reputation for human trafficking, especially in connection with online scams in which foreigners recruited for work under false pretenses are kept in conditions of virtual slavery and help perpetrate criminal fraud online against targets in many countries.  Details of the new surrogacy case remain murky, and officials have not made clear whether the women were arrested or whether anyone involved in organizing the scheme has been identified.  Chou Bun Eng told The Associated Press that the business that recruited the surrogates was based in Thailand, and their food and accommodation in Cambodia were arranged from there. She said the authorities had not yet identified the business.  She said the seven Philippine women and four Vietnamese women who were caught in the raid but who were not pregnant would be deported soon.  The 13 pregnant women have been placed under care at a hospital in Phnom Penh, said Chou Bun Eng. She added that after they give birth, they could be prosecuted on charges that could land them in prison for two to five years.  She said that Cambodia considered the women not to have been victimized but rather offenders who conspired with the organizers to act as surrogates and then sell the babies for money. Her assertion could not be verified, as the women could not be contacted, and it is not known if they have lawyers.  The Philippine Embassy in Cambodia, in response to a local news account of the affair, issued a statement Wednesday confirming most of the details related to what it called the "rescue of 20 Filipino women."  "The Philippine Embassy ensured that all 20 Filipinos were interviewed in the presence of an Embassy representative and an interpreter in every step of the investigation process," it said. 

washington — The Federal Aviation Administration approved a license Saturday for the launch of SpaceX's Starship 5 on Sunday after earlier saying it did not expect to make a decision until late November. Reuters first reported this week the faster than expected timetable after the FAA in September had suggested a much longer review.  SpaceX is targeting Sunday for the launch and said a 30-minute launch window opens at 7 a.m. CT (1200 GMT)  The FAA said Saturday that SpaceX had "met all safety, environmental and other licensing requirements for the suborbital test flight" for the fifth test of the Starship and has also approved the Starship 6 mission profile.  The Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket are fully reusable systems designed to carry crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon and beyond.  The fifth test flight of the Starship/Super Heavy from Boca Chica, Texas, includes a return to the launch site of the Super Heavy booster rocket for a catch attempt by the launch tower, and a water landing of the Starship vehicle in the Indian Ocean west of Australia.  The FAA said if SpaceX chooses an uncontrolled entry "it must communicate that decision to the FAA prior to launch, the loss of the Starship vehicle will be considered a planned event, and a mishap investigation will not be required."  On Friday, the FAA approved the return to flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle after it reviewed and accepted the SpaceX-led investigation findings and corrective actions for the mishap that occurred September 28.  SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has harshly criticized the FAA, including for proposing a $633,000 fine against SpaceX over launch issues and for the delay in approving the license for Starship 5, which the company said has been ready to launch since August. Musk has called for the resignation of FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker and threatened to sue the agency. 

taipei, taiwan — Taiwan's China Airlines is not facing any political pressure on its decision about whether to buy Boeing or Airbus aircraft for a refreshment of its long-haul fleet, the company's chairman said Saturday.  Taiwan's largest carrier has been weighing Boeing's 777X and the Airbus A350-1000 as replacements for its fleet of 10 Boeing 777-300ERs, mostly used on U.S. and some high-density regional routes, according to industry sources.  China Airlines Chairman Hsieh Shih-chien told reporters the company was still in the process of evaluating which aircraft to purchase and, asked if there was any political pressure on the decision, replied "no."  "When it comes to buying aircraft, it is only China Airlines ourselves who makes the assessment. I want to clarify this," Hsieh said. Multibillion-dollar deals for new aircraft often must take political as well as business considerations into account — especially in the case of Taiwan, given its international situation and the pressure it faces to give in to China's sovereignty claims, which are rejected by the democratically elected government in Taipei.  The United States is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties, and China Airlines' majority owner is the Taiwan government.  A senior industry source told Reuters, speaking on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter, that on the China Airlines deal the timing was a complicating factor given November's U.S. election.  In 2022, shortly after then-U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei — which set off Chinese war games — China Airlines announced a $4.6 billion order for Boeing's 787 to replace its aging fleet of Airbus A330s.  China Airlines already operates 15 of the smaller Airbus A350-900s, as well as nine of the freighter versions of the 777.  Hsieh said the 787s would start arriving from next year, while a further 11 Airbus A321s, which are replacing its older Boeing 737-800s, would all come before 2026. 

london — The National Football League's aggressive international growth plan could include holding a Super Bowl outside the United States for the first time, Commissioner Roger Goodell said on Saturday.  Goodell has shot down the idea in the past, but he told a fan forum in London that it's a possibility.  "We've always traditionally tried to play a Super Bowl in an NFL city — that was always sort of a reward for the cities that have NFL franchises," he said in response to a question about moving the neutral-site game internationally. "But things change. It wouldn't surprise me at all if that happens one day."  Goodell floated the idea as he outlined a plan that could include playing 16 international games every year if the regular season expands to 18 games.  He added that he has "no doubt" that Ireland will host a game soon. He named Rio de Janeiro as a likely new host and said the Jacksonville Jaguars are considering increasing the number of games they play in London during their stadium renovations at home.  This season's Super Bowl — the 59th edition — will be played in New Orleans. In 2026, Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, will host, followed by SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, in 2027. Kansas City's 25-22 overtime victory over San Francisco in the last Super Bowl was the most-watched program in U.S. television history.  Team owners already have authorized up to eight international games, but Goodell said they could double that number — creating a scenario where all 32 teams could play an international game each year.  The key is expanding the regular season by one game and reducing the number of preseason games to two.  "If we do expand our season — our regular season — to an 18-and-two structure, I see us going to 16 of those games being in international markets," Goodell said.  He added that the plan could include a second bye week in the schedule.  "A lot of that depends on — can we continue to make the game safer, can we continue to modify the way we conduct the offseason as well as the training camp and as well as the season, so that these guys feel comfortable being able to play that period of time," Goodell said.  Under that scenario, he said, the season would start around Labor Day and conclude around Presidents Day — the third Monday of February.  Moving to an 18th game is seen as inevitable. The players union has indicated it is open to an agreement before the current labor deal expires after the 2030 season.  There are five international games this season, and Goodell said the league wants to increase to eight "quickly."  Dublin has been seen as the next likely host — after Madrid gets its first game in 2025.  "I have no doubt that we're going to be playing in Ireland. I don't know if it will be next year, but it's coming soon," Goodell said at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.  He cited Rio de Janeiro as the possible host of the next Brazil game — Sao Paulo staged one this season.  London, which could get a night game at some point, has hosted regular-season games since 2007 and Germany since 2022.  "We're looking at other markets in the other direction, toward Asia," he said. "There's probably more interest than we can handle."  Kickoff update  Goodell expects some offseason tweaks to the new kickoff rules but on the whole said "it's working."  The new rules have made kickoffs relevant again, he said, and the early data on injuries is promising.  Just over 30% of kickoffs have been returned this season compared with 20% last season, he said.  "With that increase in returns, it's giving us more data to determine whether we can do it more safely. It actually is incredibly promising. We're seeing lower impacts that have led to less severe injuries and less number of injuries. So, I think it's working," Goodell said.  On average, kickoffs drives are starting just past the 29-yard line, compared with just past the 24 previously, he said.  "I think what we'll see ultimately is a change in the offseason," Goodell said. "Once we know it's a safer play, it will encourage more kickoffs. That could happen in a couple of ways. You could move the kickoff line back, so that they can't kick it out as easily. You could also say the penalty for kicking it out is going to go to the 35 instead of where we're at, the 30."  He said the "great thing" about the new system is "one little crease develops and that guy is gone. That's what I'm looking for is that long kickoff return to return to the game. I think we had four or five last year. We're already at that number at Week 6. That's pretty good." 

BRANDON, FLORIDA — Florida residents who fled hundreds of miles to escape Hurricane Milton made slow trips home on crowded highways, weary from their long journeys and the cleanup work awaiting them but also grateful to be coming back alive. “I love my house, but I’m not dying in it,” Fred Neuman said Friday while walking his dog outside a rest stop off Interstate 75 north of Tampa. Neuman and his wife live in Siesta Key, where Milton made landfall Wednesday night as a powerful Category 3 hurricane. Heeding local evacuation orders ahead of the storm, they drove nearly 800 kilometers to Destin on the Florida Panhandle. Neighbors told the couple the hurricane destroyed their carport and inflicted other damage, but Neuman shrugged, saying their insurance should cover it. Nearby, Lee and Pamela Essenburm made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at a picnic table as cars pulling off the slow-moving interstate waited for parking spaces outside the crowded rest stop. Their home in Palmetto, on the south end of Tampa Bay, had a tree fall in the backyard. They evacuated, fearing the damage would be more severe and worrying Milton might hit as a catastrophic Category 4 or 5 storm. “I wasn't going to take a chance on it,” Lee Essenbaum said. “It’s not worth it.” Milton killed at least 10 people when it tore across central Florida, flooding barrier islands, ripping the roof off the Tampa Bay Rays′ baseball stadium and spawning deadly tornadoes. Officials say the toll could have been worse if not for the widespread evacuations. The still-fresh devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene just two weeks earlier probably helped compel many people to flee. “Helene likely provided a stark reminder of how vulnerable certain areas are to storms, particularly coastal regions,” said Craig Fugate, who served as the Federal Emergency Management Agency's administrator under President Barack Obama. “When people see firsthand what can happen, especially in neighboring areas, it can drive behavior change in future storms.” In the seaside town of Punta Gorda, Mayor Lynne Matthews said rescuers had to save three people from floodwaters after Milton passed, compared with 121 rescues from Helene's flooding. “So, people listened to the evacuation order,” Matthews told a news conference Friday, noting that local authorities ensured residents heard them. “We had teams out with the megaphones going through all of our mobile home communities and other places to let people know that they needed to evacuate.” As of Saturday morning, the number of Floridians still without power had dropped to less than 1.6 million, according to poweroutage.us. St. Petersburg's 260,000 residents were told to boil water before drinking, cooking or brushing their teeth, until at least Monday. Traffic crawled along stretches of I-75 as evacuees’ vehicles crowded alongside a steady stream of utility trucks heading south toward Tampa. While the densely populated city and surrounding Hillsborough County accounted for nearly one-fourth of the remaining power outages, Milton spared Tampa a direct hit, and the lethal storm surge that scientists feared never materialized. On Sunday, President Joe Biden will survey the devastation inflicted on Florida’s Gulf Coast by the hurricane. He said he hopes to connect with Governor Ron DeSantis during the visit. The trip to Florida offers Biden another opportunity to press Republican Speaker Mike Johnson to call lawmakers back to Washington to approve further funding during their pre-election recess. It’s something the top House lawmaker says he won’t do. Biden is making the case that Congress needs to act now to ensure the Small Business Administration and FEMA have the money they need to get through hurricane season, which stretches through the end of November in the Atlantic. The president said Friday that Hurricane Milton caused $50 billion in estimated damages. As the recovery continues, DeSantis has warned people to be cautious, citing ongoing safety threats, including downed power lines and standing water that could hide dangerous objects. “We’re now in the period where you have fatalities that are preventable,” DeSantis said Friday. “You have to make the proper decisions and know that there are hazards out there.” National Weather Service Meteorologist Paul Close said rivers will “keep rising" for the next four or five days resulting in river flooding, mostly around Tampa Bay and northward. Those areas were hit by the most rain, which comes on top of a wet summer that included earlier hurricanes. “You can't do much but wait,” Close said of the rivers cresting. “At least there is no rain in the forecast, no substantial rain. So, we have a break here from all our wet weather.” In coastal Pinellas County, the sheriff's office used high-water vehicles to shuttle people back and forth to their homes in a flooded Palm Harbor neighborhood where waters continued to rise.