FILE -A street money exchanger poses for a photo without showing his face as he counts Iranian banknotes at a commercial district in downtown Tehran, Iran, Dec. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi, File)2025-04-05T10:14:14Z TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Irans rial currency traded Saturday at a record low against the U.S. dollar as the country returned to work after a long holiday. The rial had plunged to over 1 million rials during the Persian New Year, Nowruz, as currency shops closed and only informal trading took place on the streets, creating additional pressure on the market. But as traders resumed work Saturday, the rate fell even further to 1,043,000 to the dollar, signaling the new low appeared here to stay. On Ferdowsi Street in Irans capital, Tehran, the heart of the countrys money exchanges, some traders even switched off their electronic signs showing the going rate as uncertainty loomed over how much further the rial could drop.

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President Donald Trump departs after signing an executive order at an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden of the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-04-05T11:58:02Z WASHINGTON (AP) Not even 24 hours after his party lost a key Wisconsin race and underperformed in Florida, President Donald Trump followed the playbook that has defined his political career: He doubled down.Trumps move on Wednesday to place stiff new tariffs on imports from nearly all U.S. trading partners marks an all-in bet by the Republican that his once-fringe economic vision will pay off for Americans. It was the realization of his four decades of advocacy for a protectionist foreign policy and the belief that free trade was forcing the United States into decline as its economy shifted from manufacturing to services.The tariff announcement was the latest and perhaps boldest manifestation of Trumps second-term freedom to lead with his instincts after feeling his first turn in the Oval Office was restrained by aides who did not share his worldview. How it shakes out will be a defining judgment on his presidency. The early reviews have been worrisome. Financial markets had their worst week since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign trade partners retaliated and economists warned that the import taxes may boost inflation and potentially send the U.S. into a recession. Its now Republican lawmakers who are fretting about their partys future while Democrats feel newly buoyant over what they see as Trumps overreach. Democratic activists planned to participate in rallies across the country Saturday in what was shaping up as the largest demonstrations since Trump returned to office in January. The winds are changing, said Rahna Epting, who leads MoveOn, one of many organizing groups. Trump is unbowed. He has promised that the taxes on imports will bring about a domestic manufacturing renaissance and help fund an extension of his 2017 tax cuts. He insisted on Thursday as the Dow Jones fell by 1,600 points that things were going very well and the economy would boom, then spent Friday at the golf course as the index plunged 2,200 more points. In his first term, Trumps tariff threats brought world leaders to his door to cut deals. This time, his actions so far have led to steep retaliation from China and promises from European allies to push back.Even some Trump supporters are having their doubts. Frank Amoroso, a 78-year-old resident of Dewitt, Michigan, said he is concerned about short-term rising interest rates and inflation, although he believes the tariffs will be good for the country in the long run.Amoroso, a retired automotive engineer who voted for Trump, said he would give the presidents second-term performance a C-plus or B-minus. I think hes doing things too fast, he said. But hopefully things will get done in a prudent way, and the economy will survive a little downfall.Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., in a telephone town hall with constituents on Thursday night, expressed reservations about the broad nature of the tariffs.Hill, who represents a district that includes Little Rock, said he does not back tariffs on Canada and Mexico. He said the administration should instead focus on renegotiating a U.S. trade agreement with its two neighbors. I dont support across-the-board tariffs as a general matter, and so I dont support those, and I will be urging changes there because I dont think they will end up raising a bunch of revenue thats been asserted, Hill said. I wish I thought they did, but personally I dont think they will. But I do support trade diplomacy.Still, much of Trumps Make America Great Again coalition remains publicly supportive.Doug Deason, a prominent Texas-based Republican donor, said he loves the presidents tariff plan, even if it causes some economic disruption. He told us during the election there would be pain for every American to get this ship turned around, Deason said. It is hard to watch our portfolios deteriorate so much, but we get it. We hope he holds course.As Trump struggles with the economy, Democrats are beginning to emerge from the cloud of doom that has consumed their party ever since their election drubbing in November. They scored a decisive victory in Wisconsins high-profile state Supreme Court election on Tuesday, even after Elon Musk and his affiliated groups poured more than $20 million into the contest. New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker then breathed new life into the Democratic resistance by delivering a record 25-hour-long speech on the Senate floor that centered on a call for his party to find its resolve.Booker told The Associated Press afterward that a significant political shift has begun even as his party tries to learn from its mistakes in the 2024 presidential election.I think youre seeing a lot more energy, a lot more determination, a lot more feeling like weve got to fight, Booker said. You cant sit back any more. You cant sit on the sidelines. Theres a larger, growing movement. Booker, a 2020 presidential candidate, acknowledged he is not ruling out a 2028 run, although he said he is focused on his 2026 Senate reelection for now.There is broad agreement among Democrats and even some Republicans, privately at least that what Trump has unleashed on the global economy could help accelerate the Democratic comeback.Ezra Levin, co-founder of the progressive resistance group known as Indivisible, has been critical of Democratic officials response in recent weeks to Trumps leadership. But on Friday, he was somewhat giddy about the political consequences for Trumps GOP after the tariffs announcement.Raising prices across the board for your constituents is not popular, Levin said. Its the kind of thing that can lead to a 1932-style total generational wipe out of a party.___Peoples reported from New York. Associated Press writers Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Isabella Volmert in Dewitt, Michigan, contributed to this report. ZEKE MILLER Miller leads coverage of the president and the presidency for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

In this Sept. 11, 2001 photo, firefighters work beneath destroyed mullions, the vertical struts which once faced the outer walls of the World Trade Center towers, after a terrorist attack on the twin towers in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)2025-04-05T12:00:06Z NEW YORK (AP) Government staffing cuts have gutted a small U.S. health agency that aims to protect workers drawing rebukes from firefighters, coal miners, medical equipment manufacturers and a range of others.The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a Cincinnati-based agency that is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is losing about 850 of its approximately 1,000 employees, according to estimates from a union and affected employees. Among those ousted were its director, Dr. John Howard, who had been in the job through three previous presidential administrations.The layoffs are stalling and perhaps ending many programs, including a firefighter cancer registry and a lab that is key to certifying respirators for many industries. The cuts are a very pointed attack on workers in this country, said Micah Niemeier-Walsh, vice president of the union local representing NIOSH employees in Cincinnati. Unions that represent miners, nurses, flight attendants and other professions have criticized the cuts, saying it will slow the identification and prevention of workplace dangers. Rallies in Cincinnati and other cities drew not only fired CDC employees but also members of unions representing teachers, postal workers and bricklayers, Niemeier-Walsh said. NIOSH doctors review and certify that 9/11 first responders who developed chronic illnesses could qualify for care under the federal governments World Trade Center Health Program, noted Andrew Ansbro, president of a union that represents New York City firefighters.Dismantling NIOSH dishonors the memory of our fallen brothers and sisters and abandons those still battling 9/11-related illnesses, Ansbro said in a statement. Agency investigates workplace hazardsNIOSH was created under a 1970 law signed by President Richard Nixon. It started operations the following year and grew to have offices and labs in eight cities, including Cincinnati; Pittsburgh; Spokane, Washington; and Morgantown, West Virginia.In the more than 50 years since, it has done pioneering research on indoor air quality in office buildings, workplace violence and occupational exposures to bloodborne infections. NIOSH investigators identified a new lung disease in workers at factories that made microwave popcorn, and helped assess what went wrong during the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster. It was recently involved in the CDCs response to measles, advising on measures to stop spread within hospitals. Some of its best-known work is related to mining. It trains and certifies doctors in how to test for black lung disease, and the agency conducts its own mobile screenings of miners. For years, NIOSH owned an experimental mine in Pennsylvania and two years ago announced it was developing a replacement research facility near Mace, West Virginia, that would feature tunnels and other mine structures.Its research and recommendations have served as the foundation for Department of Labor rules for worker protection, including one issued last year for coal miners that cuts by half the permissible exposures to poisonous silica dust. Studies have concluded NIOSH research helps the nation save millions of dollars each year in avoided workers compensation and other costs.Any stoppage to this type of research and recommendations can impact all segments of the workforce, said Tessa Bonney, who teaches about occupational health at the University of Illinois at Chicago.Impact of deep staff cuts are unclear NIOSH was swept up in the massive upheaval at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that includes about 10,000 layoffs, an anticipated reorganization and proposed budget cuts.Nonunionized NIOSH workers mainly supervisors were told to clean out their desks immediately. Bargaining unit employees got layoff notices, and were told their terminations would happen later this year.Right now we are trying to figure out chain of command, Niemeier-Walsh said.An HHS spokesman, Andrew Nixon, said whats left of NIOSH will be moved into a newly created agency to be called the Administration for a Healthy America. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said that 20% of the people laid off from federal health agencies might be reinstated as the agency tries to correct mistakes, but the department has not detailed which parts of NIOSH were reduced or eliminated, and which will remain open.Whats known about the cuts made so far was pieced together by employees affected by the layoffs and the union that represents them. They say almost every NIOSH program faced steep cuts or outright elimination. A firefighter cancer registry website went down Tuesday because there were no IT people left to staff the system, Niemeier-Walsh said. And at least some of the hundreds of mice and rats at a NIOSH lab in Morgantown likely will have to be destroyed because the layoffs put an abrupt, mid-experiment end to inhalation research there, said Cathy Tinney-Zara, a public health analyst who is president of the union local representing employees there.Million of dollars of research, decades of research, is going down the drain, Tinney-Zara said. Industry concerned about certification labSome of the outcry from unions and industry has centered on the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, a NIOSH office that tests and certifies fitted masks that protect workers from inhaling airborne dangers. (The N95 masks that became popular during the COVID-19 outbreak are named for a NIOSH standard.)Closing the lab gives a competitive advantage to companies in China and other countries that send products to the U.S. without meeting the stringent quality standards that come with certification, said Eric Axel, executive director of the American Medical Manufacturers Association.This decision effectively rewards foreign manufacturers who have not made the same investments in quality and safety while punishing American companies that have built their reputations on producing reliable, high-quality protective equipment, Axel said in a statement.The cuts are really devastating, said Rebecca Shelton, director of policy for the Appalachian Citizens Law Center, a Kentucky-based organization that provides legal help to ill coal miners.Here in central Appalachia, everybody knows somebody with black lung disease, she said.It appears NIOSH programs for coal miners are being eliminated, raising questions about who will monitor for new cases and spot trends, Shelton said.NIOSH staff routinely visited mines and rural communities to offer free screenings and speak at public meetings about black lung disease and other workplace health issues.These are not out-of-touch federal workers. They are very well connected with their communities, she said.Many NIOSH workers come from families that have worked in occupational health for generations. Niemeier-Walshs grandfather was an agency toxicologist for 30 years.It was normal dinnertime conversation in our family to talk about how you can use the power of science to protect workers, she said.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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2025-04-05T13:05:59Z BANGKOK (AP) The death toll from last weeks massive earthquake in Myanmar has risen to 3,354, state media said on Saturday, as U.N. agencies and foreign aid donors continued to ramp up their emergency relief efforts.The 7.7 magnitude quake hit a wide swath of the country, causing significant damage to six regions and states including the capital Naypyitaw. The earthquake left many areas without power, telephone or cell connections and damaged roads and bridges, making the full extent of the devastation hard to assess.It also worsened an already dire humanitarian crisis triggered by the countrys civil war that has internally displaced more than 3 million people and left nearly 20 million in need, according to the United Nations.Myanmars second most powerful quake in historyThe military governments leader, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, has said the earthquake was the second most powerful in the countrys recorded history after a magnitude 8 quake east of Mandalay in May 1912.A report in the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper on Saturday said that the death toll from the March 28 disaster has reached 3,354, with 4,850 injured and 220 missing. It also said rescuers had saved 653 survivors trapped under the debris. A country torn by warMyanmars military seized power in 2021 from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking armed resistance that is now believed by analysts to control more territory than the army.Members of the U.N. Security Council recognized the need to strengthen rescue, relief and recovery efforts and to scale up immediate and rapid humanitarian assistance in response to the requests to help the people of Myanmar, supported by the international community, its president, Jrme Bonnafont of France, said in a press statement on Friday.In an apparent reference to the fighting in Myanmar and concerns its military government would block or delay aid to areas under the control of resistance forces, the statement said the councils members affirmed the importance of a safe and conducive environment to ensure the timely and effective delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance to all those in need, without disruption or discrimination. Aid sparks an unusual diplomatic flurryMaj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson for the military government, told media on Saturday, as he arrived back from a regional summit held in Bangkok, that prime ministers and officials from attending countries, including India and Thailand, pledged to provide necessary assistance for relief efforts and rehabilitation in quake-hit areas.Everyone helped Myanmar that suffered from the earthquake. Everyone sympathized. Everyone understood. Everyone was willing to help. It can be seen everyone working together practically, Zaw Min Tun said.He said that 18 countries were providing assistance to affected areas, and more than 60 aircraft had flown in to transport rescuers and relief supplies.The U.K. allocated a further 10 million (about $12.8 million) to the ongoing humanitarian response, its embassy in Yangon said in a statement Saturday, bringing its total to up to 25 million (about $32 million) in aid. There has been an unusual flurry of diplomatic activity in the past few days around Myanmar, usually reluctant to engage with much of the world community.Min Aung Hlaing and senior members of his government are shunned and sanctioned by many Western countries for their 2021 takeover and human rights abuses. His visit to the meeting in the Thai capital Bangkok was his first to a country other than his governments main backers China, Russia and Russian ally Belarus since he attended another regional meeting in Indonesia in 2021. Back in Myanmar on Saturday, Min Aung Hlaing received Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan, and Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa for discussions about relief assistance from fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and cooperation in health care in quake-affected areas.Although reports of diplomatic activity focus on earthquake relief, there is awareness that the crisis in Myanmar cannot end until the war there stops, and the countrys neighbors have been leading efforts to find a path for peace, even though neither the military nor its foes have shown any serious effort to negotiate. A fragile temporary ceasefire However, the military and several key armed resistance groups have all declared temporary ceasefires on Wednesday in the wake of the earthquake to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid.The U.N.s Human Rights Office on Friday accused the military of continuing attacks, claiming there were more than 60 attacks after the earthquake, including 16 since the ceasefire. The oppositions shadow National Unity Government, which leads resistance to army rule, accused Saturday the military of carrying out 63 airstrikes and artillery attacks since the earthquake, resulting in the deaths of 68 civilians, including one child and 15 women. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One after speaking with reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, April 3, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-04-05T12:47:30Z WASHINGTON (AP) The political battle lines are drawn for a debate in Washington and beyond over a Republican budget plan thats a cornerstone of President Donald Trumps domestic agenda.With the plans approval by the GOP-controlled Senate in a vote that ended early Saturday, Republicans hope to leverage their position of power in Washington to enact as much as $7 trillion in tax breaks, boost border security for mass deportations and cut government funding and do so without one single Democratic vote, said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the Senate Budget Committee chairman.Democrats, as the minority party, were unable to halt the budget plan. But during the late-night session, they offered a preview of the political attacks likely coming not just during the lead-up to the final vote this summer, but through the 2026 campaign. We may not have the votes to stop them all by ourselves, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told The Associated Press, but we can use what the Republicans are trying to do with this tax bill to ignite a fire all across this country.Heres a look at what happened and what comes next: Tariffs shadow the debateTrumps tariffs hung over the budget debate, interjecting economic uncertainty in ways unimaginable just days before senators prepared to vote.Seizing on the moment, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York put forward an amendment to showcase that unease: He called for an end to those recently announced import taxes, which could result in higher prices for household goods, while keeping tariffs on China, Russia, Iran and other U.S. adversaries. President Trumps tariff tax is one of the dumbest things hes ever done as president, and thats saying something, Schumer said.He repeatedly pointed out that remote islands, including one inhabited by penguins, were hit with tariffs, but not President Vladimir Putins Russia. Penguins not Putin, Schumer said.The amendment failed. The slogan lives on.Votes to preserve Medicaid, Social Security draw some Republican supportDemocrats say Republicans pose grave threats to the nations safety net programs as they hunt for cost-savings to help offset the lost revenues from the tax breaks, and as Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency slashes through the federal government.Among the more than two dozen amendments offered during the debate were several to protect Medicaid, Social Security, food stamps, Head Start child care, Meals on Wheels for older adults, and others. Several Republicans joined Democrats in voting to preserve those programs, including Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, opposed the entire package in a warning against steep Medicaid cuts. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., who offered an amendment to save Social Securitys phone service, said Musk and DOGE are revving up their chainsaw to come after it.They say, Get online, Grandma, Markey said, scoffing at the notion of older people not being able to pick up the telephone. Democrats assail tax cuts as helping the wealthyCentral to the Republican budget and Trumps domestic policy agenda is the effort to preserve the tax breaks approved in 2017 during his first term.While many of the income tax breaks are popular, including the child tax credit or bolstered standard deduction, Democrats argue that much of the benefit flows to the well-off.Democrats piled on a series of amendments trying to prohibit tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy, only to be denied by Republicans.Its a standoff thats expected to carry on through the debate, and the campaign season ahead.Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-La., shifted the conversation to what Republicans see for them as a more politically favorable direction, focused on federal spending.Weve heard a lot about, you know, massive tax cuts for billionaires, he said as the evening dragged on. But the one thing you dont hear a lot about is the run up in federal spending. Debt worries linger and pose challenges for GOP leadersThe nations debt load, now $36 trillion, continues to climb.At least one Republican deficit hawk, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, said no more. What is it: Are we cutting spending or are we adding to the debt? Paul said during debate, before ultimately voting against the bill.He argued the budget plan would add $5 trillion to the debt over 10 years, echoing an assessment from the bipartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. You scratch your head and say, whats up here?But for Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., the impact of the tariffs was a factor in his decision to vote for the budget resolution, despite his concerns that the tax breaks would add to the federal deficit.Cassidy said he did not want to cast a vote that could increase uncertainty in the economy.This vote isnt taking place in a vacuum, he said. LEAH ASKARINAM Askarinam covers U.S. elections for The Associated Press, working alongside the Decision Desk and explanatory team. mailto

Welcome back to the Abstract!This week has been a lot. This year has been a lot. THIS MILLENIUM HAS BEEN A LOT. Thats why theres only good news in the column this week. We deserve it.Normally, Im not a big fan of putting artificial stuff in our brains (see: plastic spoons). But Ill make an exception for a new neural implant that has allowed a woman to regain the ability to speak nearly 20 years after suffering a debilitating stroke. Its an encouraging story about the profound human triumphs that scientists can deliver, assuming you dont fire them all for no discernible reason.Then, bats! Were back on the bat beat, baby. Its not my fault, they just keep doing interesting things. Then, these sunflowers dont need sperm to reproduce. Will this create a male sunflower loneliness epidemic? Last, time to retire to the fjords. See you there.After 18 Years of Silence, a Woman SpeaksLittlejohn, Kaylo and Cho, Cheol Jun et al. A streaming brain-to-voice neuroprosthesis to restore naturalistic communication. Nature Neuroscience.In 2005, a 30-year-old woman who was otherwise in good health suddenly reeled from dizziness and found herself unable to speak. She had suffered a pontine stroke, which obstructs blood flow to the pons region of the brainstem, leaving her unable to verbally communicate beyond a few sounds.But over the past several years, this woman, now in her late 40s, has been able to speak again with the help of a neuroprosthesis device that can translate thoughts into speech in real time, similar to transcription software.An implant in the womans brain records neural activity and streams it into a synthesized audio unit that is based on a recording of her voice before her stroke. This brain-computer interface is an improvement over past iterations because there is no appreciable delay between thoughts and speech for the woman, who is identified by her first name Ann.Natural spoken communication happens instantaneously, said researchers led by Kaylo Littlejohn and Cheol Jun Cho of the University of California, Berkeley. Speech delays longer than a few seconds can disrupt the natural flow of conversation. This makes it difficult for individuals with paralysis to participate in meaningful dialogue, potentially leading to feelings of isolation and frustration.We developed a streaming speech neuroprosthesis that seamlessly converts short windows of neural activity to audible sound without waiting for an entire sentence to be attempted, the team continued. Speaking seamlessly with real-time, low-latency communication at will is integral to our sense of identity and belonging, which is severely decreased in individuals with anarthria.The study includes a few videos of Ann reading sentences on a screen, which are then converted into speech through the neuroprosthesis. The speech is still slow and halting, and the authors outline future improvements in the study, but the device is nonetheless a major step toward technologies that can restore speech.In addition to the ingenious work from the team, Ann deserves mad props for devoting so much of her time and mental energy to refining the device.Welcome to the Cocktail Party NightmareGoldshtein, Aya and Mazar, Omer et al. Onboard recordings reveal how bats maneuver under severe acoustic interference. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Speaking of speech, time to check in with the ultimate chatterers: Bats. This week, were all invited to the Cocktail Party Nightmare, which is the actual term for the tremendous nightly challenge bats face as they careen from their cave roosts while maneuvering under severe acoustic interference and trying to avoid collisions, according to a new study.Basically, as thousands of bats fly together into the night, they produce a cacophony of echolocating chatter that should, in theory, overload their sensory acoustic band. Yet bats seem to be able to seamlessly navigate through this acoustic maelstrom with very few collisions. How to solve this riddle? Mic the bats, of course!Wefitted some of the bats with onboard microphones, enabling us to record the auditory scene from the individual bats point of view, said scientists co-led by Aya Goldshtein of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and Omer Mazar of Tel Aviv University. These unique dataenabled us to examine how bats move collectively at such high densities while relying on echolocation.The experiment, which was conducted on greater mouse-tailed bats in Israels Hula Valley, revealed that bats adjust their echolocation frequencies as they leave the cave, when they are most closely clustered, so that they can focus on avoiding crashes with their near-neighbors. Once they are out in the open, they quickly disperse to more peaceful sonic environments.We found that the bats gradually increased their spread as they flew farther from their cave while still maintaining a group structure over several kilometers, the team said. This movement strategy allowed the bats to rapidly reduce group density and, consequently, to decrease conspecific sensory masking and almost nullify collision risk.In other words, the next time youre at a Cocktail Party Nightmare, mind your echo etiquette.Sisters are Doing it for Themselves (Sunflower Edition)Lv, Jian and Liang, Dawei et al. Haploid facultative parthenogenesis in sunflower sexual reproduction. Nature.Step aside, Jesus Christ: Theres a new virgin birth in town. Scientists this week reported the surprise discovery that sunflower seeds can be developed without fertilization, a process known as parthenogenesis.Many animals and plantsand perhaps, Mothers of Godreproduce through this ladies-only form of reproduction, in which females asexually produce viable embryos from only their eggs.But scientists who were tinkering with emasculated sunflowerswhich is, yes, a great band name, but also a common form of pollination controlhave now reported that they just kind of accidentally did an immaculate conception.We serendipitously discovered that emasculated sunflowers spontaneously form parthenogenic haploid seed, said researchers co-led by Jian Lv and Dawei Liang of the State Key Laboratory of Crop Germplasm Innovation and Molecular Breeding in China. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a crop species exhibiting facultative parthenogenesis as a rare and likely unselected back-up pathway to failed fertilization.The discovery could have big implications for this important crop. Sexual reproduction is pretty time intensive (relatable!) so the unexpected discovery that sunflowers can pop out seeds without pollination could optimize the growing multi-billion dollar industry for sunflowers.You Can Afjord to Miss ThisGehman, Alyssa-Lois Madden et al. Fjord oceanographic dynamics provide refuge for critically endangered Pycnopodia helianthoides. Proceedings of the Royal Society B.Time to end on a moment of zen. And what better place to find serenity than the fjords of coastal British Columbia?You dont have to take my word for it; just ask the sunflower sea star (Pycnopodia helianthoides), a species that has been so stressed in recent years that it has literally been tearing itself to pieces. This grotesque affliction, known as sea star wasting disease, has devastated many sea star populations around the world, but P. helianthoides is among the hardest hit, losing more than 90 percent of its Pacific Coast population.I know, I know, I promised some zen! There may be some light at the end of the tunnel for this species, as scientists have observed populations recovering in fjord refuges along the BC coast. Sea stars in these havens are not necessarily less exposed to the disease, but the conditions in fjords, which are regularly fed with freshwater flows, may give the animals a better chance to recover from infection.P. helianthoides in fjord habitats appear to be responding differently to SSWD than those in other habitats and regions, said researchers led by Alyssa-Lois Madden Gehman of the Hakai Institute. The contrast between the interaction between salinity and temperature on biomass density within the fjords and outer islands suggests that these habitats could be a refuge from disease.We suggest that the unique oceanographic conditions within the fjords, specifically through the increase in freshwater input during snowmelt, known as the freshet, could be keeping P. helianthoides in conditions that optimize host health and/or limit disease progression and transmission, the team said.Honestly, the compulsion to tear ones own body limb-from-limb due to environmental stress seems dangerously relatable. But if sea stars can find some sanctuary from their hellish plight, maybe theres hope for the rest of us.Thanks for reading! See you next week.

Screenshot via Idaho In Session / Photo provided by Adam Polaski / Screenshot via First Alert 6 / Screenshot via Emerging Issues Committee Hearing on HJR 53. Design by Sam Donndelinger. Subscribe nowOn March 6, Montana State Representatives Zooey Zephyr and SJ Howell stood up to speak against two of the 527 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in U.S. state legislatures this year. One bill would ban drag performances and pride marches as hypersexualized shows, and the other would require the emergency removal of a child who is transitioning gender with the support of a parent by state Child Protective Services.When I go to walk [my son] to school, that is not a lascivious display, that is not a fetish, that is my family. This is what these bills are trying to come after, Zephyr, a Democratic representative and trans woman, said to the room full of Montana lawmakers, many of whom previously voted in favor of other anti-trans legislation.To the surprise of many, Rep. Sherry Essmann, a Republican who proudly touts her 100% Conservative rating from the Conservative Political Action Committee, joined Zephyr and Howell in their opposition.Stop these crazy bills that are a waste of time, Essmann told her colleagues.In response to the representatives speeches, both bills were defeated, with 13 Republicans voting no to the drag ban and 29 voting against the child removal bill.This moment in Montana may seem unusual, but its not. Last year, only 49less than 10%of the 533 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in state legislatures passed into law. None of the 46 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in Virginia since 2022 have passed into law. And advocates in Georgia and Missouri defeated all 54 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced last year despite Republican majorities in both states.While advocates emphasize that the 49 bills passed are unprecedented and dangerous, there are still many success stories, and reasons for hope, in the fight for trans rights.Every single time that any piece of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is introduced, it causes harm, says Vivian Topping, director of advocacy and civic engagement at Equality Federation. When were able to focus on the fact that our opposition actually loses most of the time, it helps us work with our community and gives us a path forward.So what strategies helped defeat roughly 91% of the bills last year? Uncloseted Media spoke to advocates from red and purple states about their tactics.Subscribe nowWhere the Work Begins: Out in the CommunityAccording to a 2022 survey, less than half of U.S. adults know a trans person. Because of this, advocates say amplifying trans stories is central to pushing back against the bills.Helping people meet us on our own terms and in our own language and not in the disinformation thats being distributed by extremists on the other side, helping them really see our lives and understand who we are, and then to understand the real material harm that would be coming from a lot of these bills, has been successful, says Logan Casey, director of policy research at the pro-LGBTQ think tank Movement Advancement Project.This work begins with community-level education about trans people and starting conversations between neighbors.Last year, Missouri-based LGBTQ advocacy group PROMO launched a program for deep canvassing, an effective tactic developed in 2012 by organizers at the Los Angeles LGBT Center that focuses on having nuanced, personal conversations with community members.[Its] shifting people in a place to where now theyre not just thinking about their own stakes when theyre going to cast a ballotpeople are thinking about that neighbor two doors down, the loved one they havent spoken to in years, says Atem Richardson, St. Louis equality organizer at PROMO.Subscribe for LGBTQ-focused, accountability journalism. In 2024, PROMO organizers knocked on 995 Missouri doors and had 216 conversations, 35 of which showed a marked shift in perspective.Canvassers start the conversation by asking, Do you think the government should control trans Missourians access to healthcare, on a scale of zero to ten?Then, over the course of a 30-minute conversation, the canvasser asks the person about their life experiences and their knowledge about trans healthcare in order to connect the issue to their life and dispel any mis- or disinformation. At the end, they ask the same question, and if the persons score improves, they may invite them to a community meeting to educate them about trans rights.Photo from PROMOs volunteer sign-up page for deep canvassing.Richardson says healthcare is an effective topic because most Americans can relate to having a negative experience in this arena. For example, they remember speaking to an elderly minister at a local church who was sympathetic to access for gender-affirming healthcare because she related the topic to her daughter, who was treated with disdain by nurses before passing away due to complications from HIV.That moment let me know that regardless of what people believe when life experiences happen to them primarily because of people putting barriers in place to real resources that people need, [their beliefs] no longer mattered, Richardson says. [The minister] realized, I dont want anyone else to have to bury their child because they were shamed or they were unable to access healthcare.Courtney Cook, field director at PROMO, remembers knocking on the door of a supportive gay man who brought out his transphobic mother to try to get through to her. The man later contacted Cook and told her that, after she left, his whole family sat down for an in-depth conversation about trans rights for the first time ever.Initiating that conversation, even if the person doesnt want to finish the conversation, even if they dont agree with us, that opens the doors, says Cook.Activating New AlliesOnce allies are identified, advocacy organizations direct them to resources where they can learn about anti-trans legislation and how to fight it.Chris Berg, a father of two trans kids and a board member at Equality Virginia, says that when one of his kids came out, advocacy training helped him learn how to fight trans-exclusionary school board policies in his district. This included practicing public speaking and talking points and learning about how school board and other government meetings work.Share this Uncloseted Media article. ShareIts really dauntingyou go to these meetings and the rooms absolutely packed, there are people standing around the walls, theres very angry people in the room, Berg told Uncloseted Media. So it was really nice to have that support from our local organizations to provide some extra background from people for whom this has been their entire career.PROMO recognizes that engaging in this advocacy is intense and may require support. So they started a care team of mental health professionals and social work students to help those speaking out get through their testimony. This includes providing somatic therapy and giving people ice packs, snacks and fidget toys.Hanover County, VA School Board meeting on trans bathroom policies (November 2021) (screenshot from WTVR CBS 6).Bringing the Fight to the LegislatureOnce inside the halls of government, advocates say putting trans faces front and center and introducing lawmakers to who and what theyre legislating against is critical.This helped turn the tide in Montana. Republican representative Sherry Essmann opposed the drag ban in part because of Zephyrs testimony about how bills like this could impact her ability to raise her kids and be seen with them in public, saying, Im very emotional because I know that [Rep. Zephyr] is also a parent. No matter what you think of that, she is doing her best to raise a child.These kind of votes are born out of trans representation in government, Zephyr wrote following the vote. Rep. Howell & I have built solid relationships with Republicans and those relationships change hearts, minds, and (eventually) votes. It is painful, grueling work. But it makes a difference.Humanizing trans people and developing a rapport with lawmakers also led Republican governors in Arkansas, Utah and Indiana to join advocates to veto anti-trans legislation in their states. In Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine vetoed restrictions on both gender-affirming healthcare and trans girls in sports following multiple trips to childrens hospitals where he had conversations with families of trans kids.Im trying to learn as much as I can to make a good decision, DeWine said after the visits.Advocates Rally Against Gender-Affirming Care Restrictions in South Carolina (Photo provided by Adam Polaski).Packing the rooms with pro-trans constituents can also affect the outcome of these bills. Adam Polaski, communications and political director at the Campaign for Southern Equality, remembers packing a South Carolina legislative hearing in January 2024 on a proposed gender-affirming care ban. So many people turned out to testify against the billincluding parents of trans kids, doctors and mental health workersthat the committee ran out of time and delayed the vote.It does weigh on [lawmakers] when they hear stories about the ways that an anti-trans bill would hurt a constituent of theirs, a neighbor of theirs. Its the kind of thing that you think about when you vote, Polaski told Uncloseted Media.And its not just lawmakers who can be swayed by these stories. Earlier in March, a man who showed up to testify in Wisconsin in favor of a ban on gender-affirming care for minors told the legislature that he changed his mind after hearing the stories of everyone who testified against it.I have very little knowledge of gay people and things like that there, the man said in his testimony. So, when I came here, my eyes were opened.Harm ReductionWith Republicans making big gains in state legislatures in 2024 alongside newfound federal support from the Trump administration, 2025 is shaping up to be one of the most aggressively anti-trans legislative sessions in American history.Polaski says that the anti-trans movement strategically introduces more bills than it actually expects to pass to flood the zone and destabilize the movement. With defeating bills outright becoming more difficult, his group is focusing more on delaying.It can be discouraging that a delay can be a big win, but its true when youre talking about peoples ability to really do thingsit is helpful to have the bill pass a month later or six months later, because each day that trans kids are able to access their healthcare is a win, he says.In 2023, Nebraska state senator Machaela Cavanaugh used the states filibuster tactic to block the senate from passing any bills, filibustering every day of session for hours in protest of a proposed ban on gender-affirming care for minors. She ultimately delayed the passage of the bill for three months.Nebraska state senator Machaela Cavanaugh filibustering (screenshot from First Alert 6).Even when bills do pass, all is not lost. In 2023, when it became clear that Missouri advocates wouldnt be able to stop a bill restricting trans healthcare, they added a provision that will automatically take it off the books in 2027. And lawsuits by organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union have stopped anti-trans laws from being enforced in Arkansas, Montana and Ohio.Advocates say its critical for blue and purple states to do their part as well. Washington, D.C. and 14 states have passed shield laws that protect access to gender-affirming healthcare.And in states like Virginia that havent, Narissa Rahaman, executive director at Equality Virginia, says its doubly important for advocates to keep fighting bans for people coming from out of state.We hope to ensure that folks coming to Virginia from other states where care may be banned dont face criminal penalties [from] other states in the South, the Oklahomas, the North Carolinas, the Tennessees, that have enshrined this hatred via law, she says.Uncloseted Media is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Balancing Hope and DespairIn hard times for the trans community, Atem Richardson from PROMO says its important to remind people of their history and how far theyve comea sentiment they sayas a Black queer personrings especially true.I come from a people who was once considered property, and once you have that history in you, you know you can survive almost anything, Richardson told Uncloseted Media. [The far right] are now making the chess moves to really attempt to place us back in a time where we had no rights. But I think the key point in that is that we were in a place where we had no rights, and we came out of it.Photo from Equality Virginias Lobby Day event in January (courtesy of Narissa Rahaman).When Uncloseted Media asked Equality Virginia what it needs to keep fighting, Rahamans answer was clear: Dont give up, dont resign yourself to a lost cause, but stand up for trans people even in places where it seems hopeless. Rahaman, Casey, and Richardson, all Southerners, share the same message: Dont write us off.We need folks to join the fight, Rahaman says. Its going to take all of us. We need to create an unstoppable army of advocates who can push back.Editors note: For youth in Southern states struggling to access gender-affirming care, consider visiting the Campaign for Southern Equalitys Trans Youth Emergency Project.If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:Donate to Uncloseted Media

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Prisoners look out of their cell as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tours the Terrorist Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-04-05T11:13:58Z It was just a few sentences in a meandering, hourlong presidential speech on a Friday afternoon.Along with talk about falling egg prices and a vow to expel corrupt forces from the U.S. government, President Donald Trump noted that hundreds of members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had been arrested.Youll be reading a lot of stories tomorrow about what weve done with them, he said at the Justice Department on March 14. These are tough people and bad people and were getting them out of our country.Youll be very impressed, he added.Trump was previewing drama to come that would involve clandestine flights to another continent, a notorious prison, innocents among criminals and a dramatic confrontation between his assertions of presidential power and a federal judge who Trump said had overreached.The presidents invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to justify deporting more than 130 Venezuelan men, some of them gang members and others who claim to have been in the United States legally and were seemingly expelled because of their ordinary tattoos, played out over a frenetic 24 hours. By the time Trump had spoken, hundreds of detained immigrants had been quietly shuttled from across the U.S. to South Texas. Planes had been chartered to take them to their ultimate destination, El Salvador, under a deal with President Nayib Bukele, who proudly calls himself worlds coolest dictator. The men were herded into a maximum security mega prison in El Salvador, where officials quickly made a show of the new inmates having their heads shaved, then standing shoulder to shoulder in cells so crowded that some prisoners do not have beds. But soon, stories began to surface that the scene was not quite as it appeared. Some of them men had long insisted they had no gang ties, and their families had produced documents showing they had no criminal records. Ive been doing this for a long time, and Ive seen some pretty weird stuff, said Texas attorney John Dutton, who represented a man who disappeared into the Salvadoran prison. But to do this in the middle of the night, to send people to another country, and straight to a prison when they havent been convicted of a crime?It makes no sense.Trump fulfilled a long-standing pledge on migrantsIt made sense in the White House.Trump has been promising for years that he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act to combat illegal immigration. He repeatedly insisted, falsely, that the U.S. was facing an invasion of criminal immigrants.Tren de Aragua became the face of that threat, and the first target of that law in decades.Crafted during the presidency of John Adams, the law gives the president broad powers to imprison and deport noncitizens in times of war. It has been used just three times: during the War of 1812 and the two world wars.The Trump administration had begun edging closer to calling the criminal migrant issue a war, most notably by designating eight Latin American criminal groups, including Tren de Aragua, as foreign terrorist organizations.The administration was telegraphing its logical next move. Immigration lawyers prepared to fight back. Government flights signal deportations to El SalvadorThe flights began arriving in the small South Texas city on March 12. Using jets chartered by a branch of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the ICE Air flights landed in Harlingen from Dallas, Phoenix, El Paso, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee. At least three came from Alexandria, Louisiana, a hub for that states network of immigration detention centers.But it wasnt until Saturday, March 15, that it became clear to a retired financial executive in Ohio that something unusual was happening. Two flights, Tom Cartwright noticed, were scheduled from Harlingen to El Salvador.Deportations are fairly rare on Saturdays, as are deportation flights from Harlingen to El Salvador, said Cartwright, a flight data analyst for the advocacy group Witness at the Border, whose social media feeds are closely watched in immigration circles.All that came together and said to me: Theres something weird here.Court documents later showed that for at least the previous week, Venezuelan men in immigration detention centers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida and elsewhere were being moved by bus and plane toward ICEs El Valle Detention Facility, a 40-minute drive from the Harlingen airport. A makeup artist is caught up in the mass deportationsOne of those men was a makeup artist who said he fled Venezuela last summer after his boss at a state-run news channel publicly slapped him.In a country where political repression and open homophobia are both part of life, its hard to be a gay man who does not support President Nicols Maduro. Walking and traveling by bus and taxi through Central America and Mexico, Andry Jos Hernndez Romero hoped to find a new life in the U.S. He used a U.S. Customs and Border Protection phone app to arrange an appointment at a U.S. border crossing in San Diego. Thats where he was asked about his tattoos, and where his trouble started. U.S. immigration authorities use a series of gang identifiers to help them spot members of Tren de Aragua. Some are obvious, such as trafficking drugs with known Tren members.Some identifiers are more surprising: Chicago Bulls jerseys, high-end urban street wear, and tattoos of clocks, stars or crowns, according to government instructional material filed in court by the American Civil Liberties Union.Tattoos were key to marking many deported men as Tren members, according to documents and lawyers.Romero, who is in his early 20s, has a crown tattooed on each wrist. One is next to the word Mom. The other next to Dad. The crowns, according to his lawyer, also pay homage to his hometowns Christmastime Three Kings festival, and to his work in beauty pageants, where crowns are common.Romero, who insists he has no ties to Tren, was taken into ICE custody and transferred to a California detention center.And then, around March 7, he was suddenly moved to a facility in Laredo, Texas, a three-hour bus ride from the Harlingen airport.The order from the president is to deport them allFriday, March 14, was supposed to be quiet for Javier Maldonado.I had come in to work late, like 10 in the morning, said Maldonado, a Texas immigration lawyer based in San Antonio. I was having my coffee, and thought I was going to do admin work and catch up on emails and phone calls.He was wrong.The Alien Enemies Act was hours away from being invoked, and more than a day from being announced, but word was starting to filter out from a group of Venezuelan men held at El Valle Detention Center, near Harlingen. Around 3 a.m., roughly 100 had been roused from sleep by guards and told they were being deported. Some were told they would be flown to Mexico, some to Venezuela. Many were told nothing.Ten hours later, the men were back in their bunks. The flight had been canceled, they were told, and they would leave soon.But a few men contacted relatives or lawyers.Within hours, an informal legal network was frantically at work, from a lawyer in Brooklyn to a law school professor in Los Angeles to a University of Florida law student interning with an El Paso immigrant advocacy firm. All were working with Texas lawyers like Maldonado who would file petitions in federal court.Its a small circle, relatively, of lawyers that do this sort of work, he said.Even people who cross illegally into the U.S. have rights. Some of the men the lawyers were defending have Temporary Protected Status, a legal classification that shields roughly 350,000 Venezuelans from deportation. Communication between lawyers and detainees was often chaotic. Messages sometimes were relayed through relatives in Venezuela.But guards, said one man, had made something clear.The order from the president is to deport them all.Trump invokes the Alien Enemies ActTrump was aboard Air Force One that Friday when he invoked the Alien Enemies Act en route to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. Tren de Aragua, his proclamation said, was attempting an invasion or predatory incursion of the United States.Publicly, though, the administration said nothing.Still, word was spreading about the planned flights to El Salvador. A Texas lawyer had filmed a bus leaving the El Valle facility under police escort, apparently heading to the airport.While Trumps use of the law had not yet been announced, two legal advocacy groups, the ACLU and Democracy Forward, felt they had to file preemptively.We couldnt take a chance that nothing was going to happen, said Lee Gelernt of the ACLU, the lead attorney.They spent hours drafting a petition on behalf of five detained Venezuelans who feared being falsely labeled members of Tren and deported. They crafted legal arguments until they felt time was running out.Finally, they filed the petition with the U.S. District Court in Washington, seeking to halt all deportations under the Alien Enemies Act.It was 2:16 a.m. Saturday.Prisoners moved to airport as judge issues temporary restraining order? Later that day, after Judge James E. Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order in response to the ACLU lawsuit and scheduled a 5 p.m. hearing, things in Texas began to move faster.Guards gathered prisoners at the El Valle detention center, ordering them onto buses for the airport at about 3:30 p.m.The flights carried a total of 261 deportees, the White House later said, including 137 Venezuelans deported under the Alien Enemies Act, 101 under other immigration regulations, and 23 El Salvadoran members of the gang MS-13.About 4 p.m. the White House posted Trumps proclamation.Trump administration ignores judges order to turn planes backRoughly an hour later Boasberg opened his hearing over Zoom.First, apologies for my attire, he began, dressed in a blue sweater. I went away for the weekend and brought with me neither a robe nor tie nor appropriate shirt.Things quickly grew more serious. Boasberg asked whether the government planned to deport anyone under the new proclamation in the next 24 or 48 hours. The ACLU warned that deportation planes were about to take off. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Drew Ensign said he was unsure of the flight details.Boasberg called a recess so Ensign could get more information. When Ensign came back empty-handed, the judge issued a new order to stop the deportations being carried out under the centuries-old law.He noted specifically that any planes in the air needed to come back.This is something that you need to make sure is complied with immediately, he told Ensign.It was about 6:45 p.m.By then, two ICE Air planes were heading across the Gulf of Mexico and toward Central America. Neither turned around.The airliners stopped in Honduras before making the short final flight to El Salvador.Fear swept the plane when the doors opened and the prisoners realized where they were. Many knew the reputation of El Salvadors prisons.Everyone was scared, a Nicaraguan woman accidently put on a flight said in a legal declaration after returning to the U.S. Some people had to forcibly be removed from the plane.What followed was soon set to music by the El Salvadoran government, which released videos of shackled men struggling to walk as officers forced down their heads and marched them to the immense Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT prison. The next morning, Bukele, El Salvadors president, tweeted a New York Post headline saying Boasberg had ordered the planes turned around.Oopsie Too late, Bukele wrote, adding a laughing/crying emoji.The Trump administration is now urging the Supreme Court for permission to resume deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act. Boasberg soon could rule on whether there are grounds to find anyone in contempt of court for defying his court order.As for Romero, the makeup artist, hes somewhere in CECOT.

A woman checks social media on her phone in Barcelona Spain on March 25, 2025. (Albert Stumm via AP)2025-04-05T04:03:37Z Liking a co-workers photo on social media. Sending them direct messages. Checking in on Slack more often than before.Progressively interacting in this way with someone outside your relationship may be no big deal to you. To your significant other, however, it may be microcheating, which some people consider a form of infidelity because it can involve building a bond one heart emoji at a time.Although pushing the boundaries of whats allowed in a relationship is not a new concept, the issue has become even more common with the rise of remote work, said William Schroeder, a therapist and owner of Just Mind Counseling centers in Austin, Texas.People are having more digital relationships so it kind of creates more space for that, Schroeder said. In this work-from-home environment, it can happen even easier because its real low risk. What is microcheating?Microcheating, a term popularized by Australian psychologist Melanie Schilling, could be anything short of a physical or emotional relationship if it involves a behavior you cant talk about openly with a partner.Besides furtive social media chatting, it also could mean lingering too long at the water cooler to talk to a co-worker, sharing personal details of your own relationship, or dressing up if you know youll see someone.Weve just put a newer label on it, said Abby Medcalf, a psychologist in Berkeley, California, and host of the Relationships Made Easy podcast.But Medcalf noted that with most of her patients in recent years, microcheating involves texting or messages on social media. And it can be a slippery slope. Whats the big deal? As relationship norms evolve and terms like polyamory come out of the shadows, liking or commenting on a photo may seem fairly innocuous. Many couples dont care, Medcalf said, but people who do shouldnt feel bad for it.There isnt a right and wrong in relationships, she said. It comes down to preferences.Even if a specific action has not been discussed and forbidden, trouble arises when it takes away energy from your primary relationship, she said.Its cheating if your partner doesnt like it, or doesnt know about it, or wouldnt like it if they knew about it, she said.She advised resisting the urge to snoop, which is a sign there is a lack of trust in the relationship. All you want to know is, how is your partner treating you? she said. Do you feel No. 1?How should couples handle it?Schroeder said every relationship has boundaries, some of which may have been discussed and others that are implied. These days, the gray area is bigger than ever.Particularly if a couple met on a dating app, its important to discuss whether to disable it and be exclusive, he said. Then define what exclusive means, such as not dating other people, continuing conversations through an app or pursuing others on social media.The best time to bring it up is long before a problem arises, even if its difficult to know when or how, he said. He equated having this talk with driving.If you think that you have a full tank of gas, youre not going to start thinking, When should we stop to get gas? he said. A change in behavior if your significant other seems to be more secretive with their phone, for instance, or checks social media more often could a sign of an issue, he said. But try not to be accusatory. Rather, mention you have noticed they are more engaged with their phone and that it worries you because youre not sure what it means.Having that kind of curiosity is a much better place to have a conversation, Schroeder said.He said microcheating happens for many reasons, but often its because people are simply looking for that spark they feel from a new relationship. Some patients who engage in secretive behavior never cross further lines, but Schroeder said noticing if you yourself are doing it can be instructive.Also, it doesnt necessarily mean the end of a relationship. It can be this crisis to rebuild, he said. Sometimes when these little microcheating examples come up, it can be really helpful to understand, Alright, why is this coming up for me?EDITORS NOTE: Albert Stumm writes about wellness, food and travel. Find his work at https://www.albertstumm.com RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

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Former NHL player Wayne Gretzky, left, shaking hands with Washington Capitals Alex Ovechkin, right, during a press conference after an NHL hockey game in which Ovechkin tied Gretzky's NHL career goals record of 894th goals, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)2025-04-05T10:00:08Z WASHINGTON (AP) Alex Ovechkin cracked a Bud Light and casually took a sip as nearby fans chanted, Ovi! Ovi! He was soon joined by Wayne Gretzky to put the two greatest goal-scorers in NHL history side by side.At this moment, they are tied at 894 goals apiece after Ovechkin scored twice Friday night to match Gretzkys total that many thought no one would ever approach. When Ovechkin was asked his feeling about breaking the record, the Great One had a great retort.Well hold on a second he hasnt done it yet, Gretzky said. Can you give me 24 more hours?Gretzky gets at least that. Ovechkins next chance to pass Gretzky comes Sunday in a matinee at the New York Islanders. All eyes will be on the 39-year-old Russian superstar, who soaked in the moment of celebrating No. 894 in front of Washington Capitals fans who have cheered him on for his two decades in the league and with Gretzky, his mother, wife and children in attendance. As reflective as Ovechkin was about getting there, he instantly went back to his standard answer when asked about when he might break the record. Its game by game; its shift by shift, Ovechkin said. You never know whats gonna happen. We just gonna to continue to enjoy it and continue to do our best because we still have six games left before playoffs and our mind right now is get ready for the playoffs and play the right way in the playoffs. The playoffs are six games away, but the Capitals first want to make sure Ovechkin gets the record all to himself. Theres a reason we try to get it to him: The guys got 41 goals, said center Dylan Strome, who set up Ovechkins 893rd goal four minutes into the game against Chicago. Its incredible.If Ovechkin is unable to score Sunday at the Islanders, the Capitals next play back at home Thursday night against division-rival Carolina. But everyone around the team would like to get this over with as soon as possible, something Gretzky knows from his own pursuit of Gordie Howes then-record of 801 in the spring of 1994. People dont realize this because I went through what Alex is going through its hard on your teammates, too, Gretzky said. Its joyful and its exciting, but they feel the pressure and the stress and they have to answer all the questions, also.After Ovechkin tied Gretzky, they were more than happy to answer the questions. They could feel the anticipation building toward Ovechkin the 2018 playoff MVP in leading the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup championship doing something else special.I think the last few games you could sense it a little bit, but obviously on home ice within something extremely doable for the guy, it felt different the whole night, said longtime teammate John Carlson, who passed the puck to Ovechkin for No. 894. From warmups, from the drop of the puck, some guys are larger than life in that regard and it just seems like only a few people are capable of it. It seemed inevitable.Inevitable until he breaks it, as well. As Gretzky got up to leave the postgame festivities, he hugged Ovechkin and waved and said, See you guys on Sunday.___AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl STEPHEN WHYNO Whyno has covered the NHL, Washington Capitals, the NFLs Washington Commanders and horse racing for The Associated Press since 2016. twitter facebook

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has said there is "no way" Everton should have been awarded a penalty in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Goodison Park.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks after he took over the certificate of Honorary Citizen of the University (Civis Universitatis Honoris Causa) from Rector of the Ludovika University of Public Service at the university in Budapest, Hungary, Friday, April 4, 2025. (Tibor Illyes/MTI via AP)2025-04-05T16:12:04Z JERUSALEM (AP) Israel says troops have deployed to a newly established security corridor across southern Gaza.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday announced the new Morag Corridor to pressure the Hamas militant group and suggested it would cut off the southern city of Rafah, which Israel has ordered evacuated, from the rest of Gaza.A military statement Saturday said troops with the 36th Division had been deployed in the corridor. It was not immediately clear how many had deployed or where exactly the corridor was located. Morag is the name of a Jewish settlement that once stood between Rafah and Khan Younis, and Netanyahu suggested it would run between the cities.Maps published by Israeli media showed the new corridor running the width of the narrow coastal strip from east to west.Netanyahu said it would be a second Philadelphi corridor, referring to the Gaza side of the border with Egypt further south, which has been under Israeli control since last May. Israel has also reasserted control over the Netzarim corridor that cuts off the northern third of Gaza, including Gaza City, from the rest of the strip. The Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors run from the Israeli border to the Mediterranean Sea.We are cutting up the strip, and we are increasing the pressure step by step, so that they will give us our hostages, Netanyahu said Wednesday.

President Donald Trump meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)2025-04-05T15:57:44Z PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) President Donald Trump plans to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday in what would be their second White House sit-down since Trumps return to office.The visit, confirmed by a White House official Saturday, comes as Israel is setting up a new security corridor across Gaza to pressure Hamas and Netanyahus defense minister has said Israel would seize large areas of the territory and add them to its so-called security zones. Israeli strikes killed more than a dozen people in Gaza on Friday, a day after attacks killed at least 100 Palestinians. Hundreds more have died in the past two weeks as Israel has stepped up operations intended to pressure Hamas to release remaining hostages it took during its attack on Israel in October 2023. Israel has pledged to escalate the war with Hamas until the militant group returns the hostages, disarms and leaves the territory. Israel ended a ceasefire in March and has imposed a halt on all imports of food, fuel and humanitarian aid. The leaders are expected to focus on the latest Israeli bombardment of Gaza and new U.S. tariffs announced by Trump against Israel and other countries. Trumps first invitation of his second term to a foreign leader went to Netanyahu, and their Feb. 4 meeting was meant to focus on Israels war with Hamas and the next steps as a ceasefire deal took hold. At a joint news conference, Trump made the surprise proposal that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the territory and he suggested that the United States take ownership in redeveloping the area into the Riviera of the Middle East. Palestinians objected to leaving their homeland, and Arab nations and rights groups sharply criticized the idea.Last month, Israel shattered the ceasefire with a surprise bombardment in Gaza after trying to pressure Hamas to accept proposed new terms for the ceasefire. The White House supported the move. Israel also again cut off all supplies to the territory. That February meeting gave Netanyahu a chance to remind the world of the Trump administrations support for Israel, defend the conduct of the war and distract from political pressures back home.Those pressures have only grown as Israelis protest both the lack of a deal to bring remaining hostages home from Gaza and Netanyahus moves to fire the head of the countrys domestic security agency and its attorney general. He also faces calls to accept responsibility for his role in failing to prevent the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack that sparked the war.In a statement, relatives of hostages held in Gaza pleaded with Trump to please use all your power to pressure Netanyahu to end this war and bring our hostages back now.Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza. The U.S. is not a member of the court.Trump, meanwhile, says the first foreign trip of his second administration will include stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and possibly the United Arab Emirates and other places. The trip could come as soon as May. Trump has said he wants to reward Saudi Arabia for its investment in the U.S. and that all three Gulf countries would be making commitments to creating jobs in the U.S. during his trip. ___Associated Press writers Natalie Melzer in Jerusalem and Cara Anna contributed to this report. FATIMA HUSSEIN Hussein reports on the U.S. Treasury Department for The Associated Press. She covers tax policy, sanctions and any issue that relates to money. twitter mailto

Pitt guard Jaland Lowe, who entered the transfer portal after averaging over 16 points and five assists per game this season for the Panthers, has committed to Kentucky, sources told ESPN.

Professional basketball stars Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard are among those selected for enshrinement into Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Professional basketball stars Sue Bird, Maya Moore, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard are among those selected for enshrinement into Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

If the Premier League title battle has been a one-horse race for some time, this was the day Arsenal surrendered any hope of pipping Liverpool at the finishing post.

New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony reacts after hitting a three-point shot during the first half of the NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016 in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)2025-04-05T16:19:54Z Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard are going into the Basketball Hall of Fame later this year, not once but twice. And LeBron James and Chris Paul are part of the group thats headed to the Hall as well, even before their playing careers end.Anthony and Howard were announced Saturday as members of the Class of 2025, as was the 2008 U.S. Olympic mens basketball team that they played on dubbed the Redeem Team, the one that captured gold at the Beijing Games and started a still-going run of five consecutive Olympic titles and counting for USA Basketballs mens program.Also selected for enshrinement: WNBA greats Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles, Chicago Bulls coach and two-time NCAA champion Billy Donovan, Miami Heat managing general partner Micky Arison and longtime NBA referee Danny Crawford.___AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports TIM REYNOLDS Reynolds is an Associated Press sports writer, based in South Florida. twitter mailto

Sue Bird, Sylvia Fowles and Maya Moore were first-ballot selections who make up an unprecedented Hall of Fame class.

This year marks just the second time since the dawn of men's NCAA tournament seeding that all Final Four teams will be top seeds.

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Paris Saint-Germain remained unbeaten as they won their fourth straight Ligue 1 title on Saturday after a 1-0 win over Angers.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley questioned the narrative that has surrounded UConn guard Paige Bueckers and her quest to win a national championship, saying it has overshadowed any discussion about what her players have done.

Paris Saint-Germain beat Angers 1-0 and won a record-extending 13th Ligue 1 title without losing a game and with six matches to spare on Saturday.

Nashville Predators head coach Andrew Brunette is away from the team while addressing personal matters.

Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho has been banned for three matches and handed a fine of around 6,000 pounds ($7,734.00) after grabbing the nose of Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk in the Istanbul derby.

Paris Saint-Germain beat Angers 1-0 and won a record-extending 13th Ligue 1 title without losing a game and with six matches to spare on Saturday.

Nebraska receiver Hardley Gilmore IV, who transferred from Kentucky in January, has been dismissed from the team, coach Matt Rhule announced Saturday.

Containers are stacked at the Port of Los Angeles ,Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)2025-04-05T10:45:13Z U.S. President Donald Trumps big raise in tariffs has triggered an escalating trade war and sent global markets plummeting.The S&P 500 fell 6% Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 5.5% and the Nasdaq composite dropped 5.8%.China announced Friday that it will impose a 34% tax on all U.S. imports next week, part of a flurry of retaliatory measures to Trumps new tariffs. Trump has doubled down on his commitment to tariffs, maintaining that his new levies will bring trillions of dollars of investment to the U.S. while also criticizing other countries retaliatory measures.Heres the latest: Elon Musk says he hopes for zero tariffs with Europe somedayBillionaire Elon Musk told Italy League leader Matteo Salvini on Saturday that he hoped in the future the U.S. and Europe could create a very close, stronger partnership and reach a zero-tariff zone.Musk spoke to Salvini in a video conference during the Leagues congress in Florence. Salvini is the leader of the far-right, anti-migrant League party and vice premier of the Italian conservative government led by Premier Giorgia Meloni.He said that, ideally, there will be a zero-tariff zone in the future with a free trade zone between Europe and North America.Musk, an adviser to President Donald Trump who owns Tesla, SpaceX and the social media platform X, has played a key role in government downsizing as the head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. British and French leaders discuss fallout from Trumps tariffsPrime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed Saturday that a trade war was in no ones interest as they discussed the fallout from the sweeping tariffs announced earlier this week by President Donald Trump.Starmer and Macron discussed the global economic and security impact of the tariffs, particularly in Southeast Asia, Starmers office said in a statement released after a phone call between the two leaders.They agreed that a trade war was in nobodys interests, but nothing should be off the table and that it was important to keep business updated on developments, the statement said. The leaders also discussed efforts to build a coalition of countries willing to support Ukraine in its war against Russia and provide peacekeeping forces in the event a ceasefire is reached.Following discussions between military planners in Ukraine this week, they discussed the good progress that has been made on the Coalition of the Willing, the statement said.Some of Trumps new tariffs have taken effectThe baseline 10% levy announced by Trump this week kicked in at 12:01 a.m. Saturday ET (0401 GMT), triggering customs agents collections at ports of entry across the U.S.Countries targeted by Trump for higher tariffs are due to go in effect on Wednesday. Those include assessments as high as 50% for Lesotho, 49% for Cambodia and 47% for Madagascar.In an all-caps social media post Saturday, Trump insisted: THIS IS AN ECONOMIC REVOLUTION, AND WE WILL WIN.Public reaction hasnt been so confident, with stock markets slumping since the tariff announcement.China spokesman takes a jab at Trump administration Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun posted on his Facebook page a screen saving showing the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all declining by more than 5% on Friday, with the commentary, The market has spoken.The trade and tariff war started by the U.S. against the world is unprovoked and unjustified, Guo wrote. Now is the time for the U.S. to stop doing the wrong things and resolve the differences with trading partners through equal-footed consultation. China lashes out at US over tariffs, calling it a weapon to seek private interestsChina on Saturday night heaped more criticism on the U.S. tariffs, saying they had seriously infringed upon the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, seriously violated the rules of the World Trade Organization, seriously damaged the rules-based multilateral trading system, and severely impacted the stability of the global economic order.The U.S. uses tariffs as a weapon to exert extreme pressure and seek private interests. This is a typical act of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying, said the statement, attributed to the Chinese government and carried by the official Xinhua News Agency.The Chinese people believe in treating others with sincerity and taking trust as the basis. We do not provoke trouble, but we are not afraid of trouble. Pressure and threats are not the right way to deal with China. China has and will continue to take firm measures to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests, the statement said.It said China would continue to promote high-level opening-up rather than closing its economy with even higher tariffs.Economic globalization is the inevitable path for the development of human society, it said. The world needs justice, not tyranny! Jaguar and Land Rover pause shipments to USThe British maker of Jaguar and Land Rover cars is pausing shipments to the U.S. as it works to mitigate the impact of a 25% tax on vehicle imports imposed by the Trump administration.Jaguar Land Rover Automotive, one of Britains biggest carmakers, said Saturday that the pause would take place this month.The USA is an important market for JLRs luxury brands, the company said in a statement. As we work to address the new trading terms with out business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid-to-longer term plans.The U.K. automotive industry is expected to be hard hit by the new tariffs, which come at a time when British carmakers are struggling with declining demand at home and the need to retool their plants for the transition to electric vehicles.Trump says China has been hit harder by tariffsPresident Donald Trump on Saturday morning posted on his Truth Social media site that China has been negatively impacted by tariffs much harder than the USA, not even close.Newly announced U.S. tariffs on nations around the world, including 34% tariffs on China, have sent stock markets reeling for days. China has vowed to match the rate that Trump imposed.On Saturday Trump was at his golf course in Jupiter, Florida. Its his first time visiting the club since his second term started. Spotted in his motorcade, in his signature red MAGA hat and white polo shirt, Trump was reading a tabloid article about Chinas response to U.S. tariffs.They, and many other nations, have treated us unsustainably badly, Trump said on Truth Social. We have been the dumb and helpless whipping post, but not any longer.Italys economy minister cautions against retaliatory tariffsItalian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti warned that imposing retaliatory tariffs on the United States would be damaging for both Italy and Europe.Speaking at a business forum in Cernobbio, near Milan, Giorgetti said Saturday that Italy is working for a de-escalation with the U.S. following Trumps announcement of a general tariff of 20% on European Union countries.We should avoid launching a policy of counter-tariffs that could be damaging for everyone and especially for us, Giorgetti said. Our message is that we need to avoid pushing the panic button. We are following a pragmatic and rational approach.Giorgetti proposed the EU allow member states to raise spending by relaxing the blocs fiscal rules. Italy has a very limited budget leeway, as the government forecast its giant debt rising through 2026 to almost 138% of GDP. The Italian public debt means reduced budget room for our country, a constraint that must be taken into account in any decisions we make, Giorgetti said, also referring to EU plans to increase defense spending.Taiwan will provide support for industries hit by tariffs Taiwans says it will provide a $2.65 billion fund to aid industries most affected by U.S. tariffs. Taiwan has a trade surplus with the U.S., but much of it comes from Taiwanese industries trying to fulfill the U.S. demand for Taiwans information technology products. Officials say Taiwan plans to negotiate with the U.S. on how the new tariff rate of 32% was determined and try to get a better deal.Premier Cho Jung-tai has been charged with working closely with industries that are impacted and to communicate the public about their plans to stabilize the economy. Cho said Friday that electronics and information technology, steel and metal, machinery, auto parts, construction materials and home appliances will feel significant impacts.In the agricultural field, moth orchids, edamame and such fish as tilapia, common dolphinfish and bass will be hit the hardest, he said. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site