SAO PAULO (AP) — More than 1.3 million Sao Paulo residents remained without electricity late Thursday after strong winds caused trees to fall onto the Brazilian metropolis' grid the day before. Authorities said almost 400 flights were canceled.
Utility Enel said in a statement it had returned services to 1.2 million of its 2.2 million clients in and around Sao Paulo, but that another 300,000 lost electricity throughout Thursday.
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Gustavo Stancial lights a candle in his home during a blackout in Sao Paulo, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
Workers attempt to restore power to Sao Paulo during a blackout on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
People wait to board at Congonhas Airport after the cancellation of several flights during a blackout in Sao Paulo, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
Gustavo Stancial holds a candle in his home during a blackout in Sao Paulo, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
Enel claims the issue was caused by winds of about 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles) started hitting the metropolis since Wednesday. It did not provide a deadline to finish all the fixes.
“In some parts (of the city) work is taking longer because it includes the complete reconstruction of the grid,” Enel said. The company added it is offering generators to hospitals and clients who depend on essential electric devices.
Sao Paulo city hall said 231 trees have fallen due to what it calls effects of an extratropical cyclone formed in the south of Brazil. Aviation authorities say most of the canceled flights were at the local Congonhas airport, but added that Guarulhos International Airport, outside the city, was also affected.
Mayor Ricardo Nunes, whose administration is responsible for trimming the trees that were pushed against the grid, told journalists Wednesday night he had told the company that it was not putting all of its efforts to fix the problems.
“Every time something happens, we are left behind without electricity,” said Nunes, who called the Italian utility company “irresponsible.” The grid's status on Wednesday was even worse, with more than 2 million Sao Paulo residents without electricity.
On Thursday, several cars with the Enel logo were filmed in the company’s parking lot in downtown Sao Paulo, which further enraged residents and authorities.
Water utility Sabesp said in a statement on Thursday that the lack of electricity is already affecting their services too, as pumps are not working adequately.
Many paulistanos — as Sao Paulo residents are known — went to shopping malls and coffee shops to be able to work. Psychologist Thaisa Fernandes, 45, had no electricity at her home in the upscale region of Vila Madalena and chose to speak to her online patients at a snack bar.
“They sent several estimates as to when services would be returned, all failed. It is the third time this year alone. Neither the company nor these local authorities are to be trusted,” Fernandes said.
Many passengers still queued at Congonhas airport as of Thursday evening without any clarity on whether their flights would take off, which is already affecting other airports in Brazil, passengers and airline staffers say.
Gustavo Stancial lights a candle in his home during a blackout in Sao Paulo, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
Workers attempt to restore power to Sao Paulo during a blackout on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
People wait to board at Congonhas Airport after the cancellation of several flights during a blackout in Sao Paulo, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
Gustavo Stancial holds a candle in his home during a blackout in Sao Paulo, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ettore Chiereguini)
PROVO, Utah (AP) — The Utah man charged with killing Charlie Kirk made his first in-person court appearance Thursday as his attorneys pushed to further limit media access in the high-profile criminal case.
Prosecutors have charged Tyler Robinson with aggravated murder in the Sept. 10 shooting of the conservative activist on the Utah Valley University campus in Orem, just a few miles north of the Provo courthouse. They plan to seek the death penalty.
Robinson, 22, arrived amid heavy security, shackled at the waist, wrists and ankles and wearing a dress shirt, tie and slacks.
He smiled at his parents and brother sitting in the front row. His mother teared up after he walked in and clutched a tissue throughout the hearing while his father took notes. Robinson had previously appeared before the court via video or audio feed from jail.
Early in the proceedings, state District Court Judge Tony Graf briefly stopped a media livestream of the hearing and ordered the camera be moved after Robinson's attorneys said the stream showed the defendant's shackles in violation of a courtroom order.
Graf said he would terminate future broadcasts if there were further violations of the order issued in October, which bars media from showing images of Robinson in restraints or anywhere in the courtroom except sitting at the defense table.
“This court takes this very seriously," Graf said. “While the court believes in openness and transparency, it needs to be balanced with the constitutional rights of all parties in this case.”
The warning comes as Graf has been weighing the public’s right to know details about the case against concerns by Robinson's attorneys that the swarm of media attention could interfere with a fair trial.
Robinson’s legal team and the Utah County Sheriff’s Office have asked to ban cameras in the courtroom, but Graf has not yet ruled on the request.
Coalitions of national and local news organizations, including The Associated Press, are fighting to preserve media access in the case.
Graf held a closed hearing on Oct. 24 in which attorneys discussed Robinson's courtroom attire and security protocols. Under a subsequent ruling by the judge, Robinson is allowed to wear street clothes during pretrial hearings but must be physically restrained due to security concerns. Graf also prohibited filming or photographing Robinson's restraints after his attorneys argued widespread images of him shackled and in jail clothing could prejudice potential jurors.
Media attorney David Reymann urged Graf on Thursday to let the news organizations weigh in on any future requests for closed hearings or other limitations. He said media organizations want “limited party status” in the case.
Staci Visser, one of Robinson's lawyers, pushed back: “We don’t want the chaos that is out in the media in this courtroom."
Several college students who said they witnessed Kirk’s assassination attended Thursday's hearing.
Zack Reese, a Utah Valley University student and “big Charlie Kirk fan,” said he had skepticism about Robinson’s arrest and was seeking answers. Reese has family in southwestern Utah, where the Robinsons are from, and said he believes they're a good family.
Brigham Young University student William Brown, who said he was about 10 feet from Kirk when he was shot, said he felt overwhelmed seeing Robinson walk into the courtroom.
“I witnessed a huge event, and my brain is still trying to make sense of it,” Brown said. “I feel like being here helps it feel more real than surreal.”
Lawyers for the media wrote in recent filings that an open court “safeguards the integrity of the fact-finding process” while fostering public confidence in judicial proceedings. Criminal cases in the U.S. have long been open to the public, which the attorneys argued is proof that trials can be conducted fairly without restricting reporters.
Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, has called for full transparency, saying, “We deserve to have cameras in there.” Her husband was an ally of President Donald Trump who worked to steer young voters toward conservatism.
Robinson's legal team says pretrial publicity reaches as far as the White House, with Trump announcing soon after Robinson’s arrest, “With a high degree of certainty, we have him,” and “I hope he gets the death penalty.”
Defense attorney Kathy Nester has raised concerns that digitally altered versions of Robinson's initial court photo have spread widely, creating misinformation. Some altered images show Robinson crying or having an outburst in court, which did not happen.
Robinson is due in court again in January. A preliminary hearing, where prosecutors will lay out their case against him, is tentatively scheduled for the week of May 18.
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Associated Press reporter Matthew Brown contributed from Billings, Montana.
Tyler Robinson, accused of the murder of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, accused of the murder of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, accused of the murder of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, accused of the murder of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
Tyler Robinson, accused of the murder of Charlie Kirk, appears during a hearing in Fourth District Court in Provo, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, Pool)
FILE - Defense attorney Greg Skordas, left, speaks before Judge Tony Graf, background, in Provo, Utah, as Tyler Robinson, in monitor at right, accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, attends the court hearing virtually from prison on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (Scott G Winterton/The Deseret News via AP, Pool, File)
FILE - A national flag hangs over the site where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed, at Utah Valley University, Sept. 17, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (AP Photo/Jesse Bedayn, File)
