Videos on the social media app, filmed at factories in China, urge viewers to buy luxury goods directly, as tariffs drive up prices. Americans are receptive.

Freed Israeli hostage Tal Shoham, who was held by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, poses for a portrait in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)2025-04-24T05:03:48Z TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) Whether the threat was abusive Hamas guards, hunger, illness or Israeli strikes, there were moments during Tal Shohams 505 days of captivity in Gaza when he didnt think hed be alive the next morning. There were many times that I separated from life and ... tried to accept death, the 40-year-old Israeli who also holds Austrian citizenship told The Associated Press. There are so many ways to die there.Shoham was one of dozens of hostages released from Gaza in February as part of a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel that has since been broken. His wife, two children and three other family members were also kidnapped on Oct. 7, 2023, and were freed a month later.Shoham said he spent half his captivity in apartments and the rest in underground tunnels. He was sometimes bound, starved, beaten and threatened with death, and initially didnt know if his family was alive. After his wife was released, Shoham said, someone identifying himself as a member of Hamas called to warn her not to talk about what shed been through or theyd kill her husband. So as he recounted his own experience, Shoham said there were details he wouldnt discuss, fearful of endangering remaining hostages. With ceasefire talks at a standstill, Israel is vowing to advance deeper into Gaza until Hamas releases the 59 hostages still there, more than half of whom are believed dead. The resumption of fighting has inflamed debate in Israel over the course of the war and the hostages fate. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under mounting domestic pressure for his handling of the hostage crisis. But he also faces demands from his hard-line allies not to accept any deal that falls short of Hamas destruction. The abductionShoham was kidnapped while visiting relatives in Kibbutz Beeri. When Hamas attacked, he and his family hid in a safe room. But as militants pried open a window and used explosives to try to break in, the family surrendered, a decision Shoham credits with saving their lives. Shoham was thrown into the back of a vehicle and taken into Gaza, not knowing what happened to his wife or children. Beeri was among the hardest hit communities that day.Before being separated, Shoham recalled telling his now 9-year-old son that he didnt know if they were going to die. I didnt want him to hear a lie from me, if its the last minutes of our life, he said.Upon entering Gaza, a militant jumped on the cars roof, pointed his gun at Shoham and told him to kneel. But Shoham refused, not wanting to be killed on their terms, he said.He said the militant had murder in his eyes. The apartmentsShoham was first taken to an apartment that his captors said was in northern Gaza. He spent weeks there, handcuffed and confined to a room.About a month later, he was moved to another apartment and joined by Evyatar David and Guy Gilboa-Dalal, hostages he would spend most of his captivity with.The two men were abducted from a music festival in southern Israel where at least 364 people were killed and dozens more taken hostage. Hearing about the conditions of their captivity made Shoham feel lucky about his own. Theyd been kept in more uncomfortable zip-tie handcuffs, with plastic bags on their heads, he said, and fed one pita per day. The three lived in that apartment for months, where they endured daily beatings. Guards would taunt and humiliate them, asking how the music festival was and making shooting noises, Shoham said.Forbidden by their captors from speaking, they got to know each other through furtive whispers. To humanize himself in the eyes of his captors, and hopefully make them less likely to kill him, Shoham learned Arabic and talked with them about his life in Israel. One of their guards liked massages, Shoham said, so the captives provided daily back rubs in exchange for more variety in their diet, like tuna, sardines and even eggs. Shoham learned his wife and children were alive about 50 days into his captivity. In what he considered an act of kindness, his captors gave him a letter written by his wife that said she and their children were OK and would be released soon.He credits that gesture by the guards with giving him more mental strength to focus on his own survival. The tunnelLast June, Shoham, David and Gilboa-Dalal were relocated to a tunnel that they estimated to be about 30 meters (98 feet) underground.Shoham said they were moved after Israel rescued four hostages from apartments in Gaza earlier that month, an operation that killed more than 270 Palestinians. They were transported in an ambulance, Shoham said, cleanly shaved, dressed in Palestinian clothes and blindfolded. Israel has accused Hamas militants of hiding in ambulances and other emergency vehicles, as well as in hospitals and other civilian infrastructure.The tunnels were dark and damp, and it was hard to breathe, Shoham said. The three men were kept with another hostage, Omer Wenkert, who had been in the tunnels for much longer. They shared a 12-meter-long cell and slept on mattresses on the ground, a meter away from a hole that was their toilet. They showered roughly every 21 days.Shoham lost about 60 pounds (28 kilograms) while in captivity. He developed a leg infection that was so bad he couldnt walk for weeks. After a doctor visited and provided vitamins, he said his health improved.What also helped Shoham survive, he said, was focusing on what he could control. He started doing mindfulness activities he had learned from his wife, a psychologist, and discussed his feelings with the other hostages. The only thing that I have power upon is my inner life, he said. He told himself each day that hed eventually be free.Back home & healingShoham and Wenkert were freed together in the last release of living hostages before the ceasefire ended. The last thing Shoham told David and Gilboa-Dalal was to be strong and not lose hope.Hamas later released a video showing the two men, sitting in a nearby vehicle, distressed as they were forced to watch the handover for released hostages that day. A group representing hostages families called the video sickening.Shoham worries theyre running out of time and is urging the government and the international community not to tie the hostages fate to a ceasefire or a peace agreement. I really fear that if they wont be released soon, they probably will die there, he said. Shoham says his own healing process has been made easier by knowing his family can relate to what he endured. And his freedom has helped the family properly mourn those killed on Oct. 7, including his wifes father. While he was in captivity, theyd been so focused on his release, he said.Since returning home, Shoham has gained 35 pounds (16 kilograms), saying he wanted to eat everything and never felt full. Lately hes been trying to get back to his pre-captivity routine of intermittent fasting.While his leg is still not fully healed, Shoham says hes one of the lucky ones, in that hes not suffering from nightmares. He credits his children with helping him keep moving forward. When I can hear my children addressing us, like mother and father, mom and dad, saying both names, its like music to the ears, he said. As a family, were all in the process of recovery now. But we are doing it together. SAM MEDNICK Mednick is the AP correspondent for Israel and the Palestinian Territories. She focuses on conflict, humanitarian crises and human rights abuses. Mednick formerly covered West & Central Africa and South Sudan. twitter

Truth and Reconciliation Commission Chairperson Park Sun Young, right, comforts adoptee Yooree Kim during a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)2025-04-24T05:54:25Z SEOUL, South Korea (AP) The South Korean governments fact-finding commission suspended its groundbreaking investigation into the extensive fraud and abuse that tainted the nations historic foreign adoption program, a decision stemming from internal disputes among commissioners regarding which cases warranted recognition as problematic.The Truth and Reconciliation Commission confirmed human rights violations in just 56 of the 367 complaints filed by adoptees before suspending its investigation Wednesday night, just one month before its May 26 deadline.The fate of the remaining 311 cases, either deferred or incompletely reviewed, now hinges on whether lawmakers will establish a new truth commission through legislation during Seouls next government, which takes office after the presidential by-election on June 3.After a nearly three-year investigation into adoption cases across Europe, the United States, and Australia, the commission concluded in a March interim report that the government bears responsibility for facilitating a foreign adoption program riddled with fraud and abuse, driven by efforts to cut welfare costs and carried out by private agencies that often manipulated childrens backgrounds and origins. However, some adoptees, and even members of the commission, criticized the cautiously-worded report, arguing that it should have more forcefully established the governments complicity. Disputes also arose after the commissions nine-member decision-making panel, dominated by conservative-leaning members appointed by recently ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol and his party, voted on March 25 to defer the assessments of 42 adoptee cases, citing insufficient documentation to conclusively prove the adoptions were problematic. Commission officials havent disclosed which documents were central to the discussions. However, they suggested that some commissioners were hesitant to recognize cases where adoptees couldnt definitively prove falsification of biological details in their adoption papers, either through meeting their birth parents or verifying information about them. On Wednesday, the panel resolved the standoff by unanimously agreeing to suspend, rather than completely drop, the investigation into the 42 cases. The approach leaves open the door for the cases to be reconsidered if a future truth commission is established. The panel also agreed to suspend investigations into the remaining 269 cases, citing insufficient time to complete the reviews before the deadline, according to three commission sources who described the discussions to the Associated Press. No further investigations into adoptions for now It was unclear if and when another commission will be established . Political attention is now focused on the early presidential election. South Koreas constitutional Court formally removed Yoon from office on April 4, months after the opposition-controlled legislature impeached him over his brief imposition of martial law in December. The ruling triggered a snap presidential election set for June 3. Park Geon Tae, a senior investigator who led the probe into adoptions, said the truth commission would be unable to produce any further investigation reports on adoptions before the end of its mandate, after the terms of five of the nine commissioners ended following Wednesdays meeting. This potentially paralyzes the decision-making process, which requires the support of at least five members. Most Korean adoptees were registered by agencies as abandoned orphans, even though many had relatives who could have been easily identified or located. This practice has often made it difficultor even impossiblefor them to trace their roots. The reluctance of some commissioners to accept cases in which adoptees have been unable to find information about their birth parents reflects a lack of understanding of the systemic problems in adoption and contradicts the commissions broader findings, which acknowledged the manipulation of childrens origins, said Philsik Shin, a scholar at South Koreas Anyang University. Shins analysis of government, law enforcement, and adoption records concludes that more than 90% of Korean children sent to the West between 1980 and 1987, when adoptions peaked, almost certainly had known relatives. The commissions findings released in March broadly aligned with previous reporting by The Associated Press. The AP investigations, which were also documented by Frontline (PBS), detailed how South Koreas government, Western countries and adoption agencies worked in tandem to supply some 200,000 Korean children to parents overseas, despite years of evidence that many were being procured through questionable or outright unscrupulous means.Military governments implemented special laws aimed at promoting foreign adoptions, removing judicial oversight and granting vast powers to private agencies, which bypassed proper child relinquishment practices while shipping thousands of children to the West every year. Western nations ignored these problems and sometimes pressured South Korea to keep the kids coming as they focused on satisfying their huge domestic demands for babies.South Koreas government has never acknowledged direct responsibility for issues related to past adoptions and has so far not responded to the commissions recommendation to issue an official apology. Korean efforts to investigate past human rights violations Modeled after the South African commission established in the 1990s to expose apartheid-era injustices, South Korea originally launched the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2006 to investigate past human rights violations. That ended its work in 2010. Following the passing of a law that allowed for more investigations, the commission was relaunched in December 2020 under South Koreas former liberal government, with a focus on cases that occurred during the countrys military dictatorships from the 1960s to 1980s. Foreign adoptions were a major subject of the second commission, along with the atrocities at Brothers Home, a government-funded facility in Busan that kidnapped, abused and enslaved thousands of children and adults deemed as vagrants for decades until the 1980s. In January, the commission confirmed at least 31 cases in which children from Brothers Home were adopted abroad, which came years after The AP exposed adoptions from the facility as part of a vast, profit-driven operation. KIM TONG-HYUNG Kim has been covering the Koreas for the AP since 2014. He has published widely read stories on North Koreas nuclear ambitions, the dark side of South Koreas economic rise and international adoptions of Korean children. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Nature, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08938-8ADP-heptose binds to ALPK1, triggering transcriptional reprogramming and NF-B activation, endowing pre-leukaemic cells with a competitive advantage due to excessive clonal proliferation.

Nature, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01150-8Vaccine scepticism could undermine important progress in cancer research.

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Nature, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08851-0A versatile origami-inspired modular chiral mechanical metamaterial structure facilitates dual-mode actuation, converting compression into rotational motion and torsion into extension or compression.

Nature, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01085-0A protein pair that influences how damage to cardiac muscle fluctuates with circadian rhythm could be the key to optimizing heart-attack recovery.

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A woman sits in a school basement being used as a shelter after a Russian airstrike on a residential neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)2025-04-24T04:29:41Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday he is cutting short his official trip to South Africa and returning home after a major Russian strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with missiles and drones killed at least nine people and injured more than 70.The Russian attack on Kyiv came as weeks of peace negotiations appeared to be coming to a head without an agreement in sight and hours after U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at Zelenskyy, accusing him of prolonging the killing field by refusing to surrender the Russia-occupied Crimea Peninsula as part of a possible deal.Zelenskyy has repeated many times during the more than three-year war that recognizing occupied territory as Russian is a red line for his country. He noted Thursday that Ukraine had agreed to a U.S. ceasefire proposal 44 days ago, as a first step to a negotiated peace, but that Russias attacks had continued. While talks have been going on in recent weeks, Russia has hit the city of Sumy, killing more than 30 civilians gathered to celebrate Palm Sunday, battered Odesa with drones and blasted Zaporizhzhia with powerful glide bombs. Rescue workers clear the rubble of a house destroyed by a Russian airstrike in a residential neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) Rescue workers clear the rubble of a house destroyed by a Russian airstrike in a residential neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Senior U.S. officials have warned that the Trump administration could soon give up its efforts to stop the war if the two sides dont compromise.Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the attack showed Russian President Vladimir Putin is determined to press his bigger armys advantage on the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where it currently holds the momentum. Putin demonstrates through his actions, not words, that he does not respect any peace efforts and only wants to continue the war, Sybiha said on X. Weakness and concessions will not stop his terror and aggression. Only strength and pressure will.Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal noted that since Russias February 2022 full-scale invasion of its neighbor, Russian attacks haves killed some 13,000 civilians, including 618 children. Kyiv residents spent the night in shelters At least 42 people were hospitalized following the attack on residential suburbs of Kyiv, Ukraines State Emergency Service said.The Ukrainian air force said Russia fired 66 ballistic and cruise missiles, four plane-launched air-to-surface missiles, and 145 Shahed and decoy drones at Kyiv and four other regions of Ukraine.Rescue workers with flashlights scoured the charred rubble of partly collapsed homes as the blue lights of emergency vehicles lit up the dark city streets.At a Kyiv residential building that was almost entirely destroyed, emergency workers removed rubble with their hands, rescuing a trapped woman who emerged from the wreckage covered in white dust and moaning in pain. Police officers guide an injured woman out of her house, which was damaged by a Russian airstrike, in a residential neighbourhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) Police officers guide an injured woman out of her house, which was damaged by a Russian airstrike, in a residential neighbourhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More An elderly woman sat against a brick wall, face smeared with blood, her eyes fixed to the ground in shock as medics tended to her wounds.Fires were reported in several residential buildings said Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the city military administration. Ukrainian searchers clear the rubble after a Russian ballistic missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) Ukrainian searchers clear the rubble after a Russian ballistic missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, early Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The attack, which began around 1 a.m., hit at least five neighborhoods in Kyiv. Oksana Bilozir, a student, suffered a head injury in the attack. With blood seeping from her bandaged head, she said that she heard a loud explosion after the air alarm blared and began to grab her things to flee to a shelter when another blast caused her homes walls to crumble and the lights to go off. In this photo released by South African Government Communications and Information Services (GCIS), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives in Pretoria, South Africa, for a state visit where he will meet South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/GCIS via AP) In this photo released by South African Government Communications and Information Services (GCIS), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives in Pretoria, South Africa, for a state visit where he will meet South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/GCIS via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A woman sits in a school basement being used as a shelter after a Russian airstrike on a residential neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) A woman sits in a school basement being used as a shelter after a Russian airstrike on a residential neighborhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More I honestly dont even know how this will all end, its very scary, said Bilozir, referring to the war against Russias invasion. I only believe that if we can stop them on the battlefield, then thats it. No diplomacy works here. The attack kept many people awake all night long as multiple loud explosions reverberated around the city and flashes of light punctuated the sky. Families gathered in public air raid shelters, some of them bringing their pet cat and dog. Zelenskyy returning from South AfricaZelenskyy said in a Telegram post that he would fly back to Kyiv after meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.The Ukrainian leader had hoped to recruit further South African support in efforts to end his countrys war with Russia, now in its fourth year. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the Kyiv attack was yet another appalling violation of international humanitarian law.Civilians must never be targets. This senseless use of force must stop, it said in a statement.Anastasiia Zhuravlova, 33, a mother of two, was sheltering in a basement after multiple blasts damaged her home. Her family was sleeping when the first explosion shattered their windows and sent kitchen appliances flying in the air. Shards of glass rained down on them as they rushed to take cover in the corridor. After that we came to the shelter because it was scary and dangerous at home, she said.___Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine SAMYA KULLAB Kullab is an Associated Press reporter covering Ukraine since June 2023. Before that, she covered Iraq and the wider Middle East from her base in Baghdad since joining the AP in 2019. twitter instagram mailto

Two women ride horses in a path full of bluebells, also known as wild hyacinth, in the Hallerbos forest, south of Brussels, Belgium, on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)2025-04-24T05:02:07Z HALLE, Belgium (AP) Gilles Gui was looking for the magical purple bluebells that raise their heads each spring under the budding beech leaves of the Hallerbos forest, an annual explosion of color that draws crowds from around the world. And in these times full of stress and anxiety about wars, economic threats and other tensions, he found something else too: a sense of tranquility.I notice that theres a lot of silence in my head when Im done, Gui said. Yeah, it helps me keep some peace in my mind, really just take my mind away from everything thats going on.Spending time in nature, experts have long said, can be a balm in troubled times.From a stroll through a city park to a day spent hiking in the wilderness, exposure to nature has been linked to a host of benefits, including improved attention, lower stress, better mood, reduced risk of psychiatric disorders, and even upticks in empathy and cooperation, a 2020 article of the American Psychological Association said.These are extraordinary times, said Ignace Glorieux, a sociology professor at Brussels University, adding that the under-30 generation in particular is under pressure. This is also the generation maybe that suffered most from the COVID crisis, Glorieux said. And now they come into a situation where theres a lot of international uncertainty. So especially this group, maybe more than (the older) generation, is suffering from that and feels very uncertain about their future. Gui, 26, knows what Glorieux is talking about. I do know of people my age who are worried and also with financial situations going on, who try to keep level heads, but its very hard for them, he said. The bluebell woods offer a big green hugDuring the pandemic, the bluebell woods were closed off for fear that throngs of people would make it a hive of transmission instead of a haven of peace. Restrictions kept some parks under seal and mandated masks in some others.It was a difficult period for everyone, said Mark Demesmaeker, a former member of the European Parliament, gardening enthusiast and city councilor in Halle, where he has walked the woods for decades. Now, at least, nature is there to welcome those with anxious minds.These bluebells but in other times of year as well, walking here, the forest valleys, the wildlife, the forest streams you know, they work into your mind all year round. And its really a big green hug that you get here, Demesmaeker said.That hug from nature is just about everywhere right now. Japan is awash in a sea of cherry blossoms, which mesmerize people around the world. Bluebell season also coincides with the prime tulip season in the Netherlands. The renowned Keukenhof garden there has become a playground for influencers and those seeking that ultimate selfie.Put down the phone?The Keukenhof and the Dutch tourism board suggest good spots to make your image come alive.To Glorieux, thats where 21st-century humans push it too far.We have to be busy all the time, even in our leisure time, he said. We have to perform.Instead, he advised, Focus! If you go out walking, focus on walking. If you go out jogging, focus only on jogging.Such advice was not wasted on Philippe Thiry, 64, a southern Belgian recently retired and ready to embrace the rest of his life. He had no phone as he set off in the sunshine to look for bluebells.I dont want to use it here because Im here just to relax, he said. I mean, just to see the flowers and to see, to listen to the birds.I want to be disconnected. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Nature, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08865-83D seismic reflection images of the lithosphereasthenosphere boundary beneath Axial volcano show a magma assimilation front that focuses magmatism towards the centre of the volcano, controlling both eruption and hydrothermal processes.

Nature, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08917-zA study of human and mouse models of pancreatic cancer finds that inhibiting the lipid kinase PIKfyve interferes with the cancers lipid homeostasis, making it a potential target for drug development.

As we approach the end of the season, it's time for big clubs to make big decisions. Let's begin with Arsenal: What should the Gunners do with their squad this offseason?

The way forward for Pep Guardiola will be to find multi-purpose midfielders with the quality to fill several positions.

by Jeremy Kohler and Andy Kroll ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as theyre published. The attacks on Judge John Barberis in the fall of 2016 appeared on his personal Facebook page. They impugned his ethics, criticized a recent ruling and branded him as a politician with the LOWEST rating for a judge in Illinois.Barberis, a state court judge in an Illinois county across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, was presiding over a nasty legal battle for control over the Eagle Forum, the vaunted grassroots group founded by Phyllis Schlafly, matriarch of the anti-feminist movement. The case pitted Schlaflys youngest daughter against three of her sons, almost like a Midwest version of the HBO program Succession (without the obscenities).At the heart of the dispute and the lead defendant in the case was Ed Martin, a lawyer by training and a political operative by trade. In Missouri, where he was based, Martin was widely known as an irrepressible gadfly who trafficked in incendiary claims and trailed controversy wherever he went. Today, hes the interim U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., and one of the most prominent members of the Trump Justice Department.In early 2015, Schlafly had selected Martin to succeed her as head of the Eagle Forum, a crowning moment in Martins career. Yet after just a year in charge, the groups board fired Martin. Schlaflys youngest daughter, Anne Schlafly Cori, and a majority of the Eagle Forum board filed a lawsuit to bar Martin from any association with the organization. After Barberis dealt Martin a major setback in the case in October 2016, the attacks began. The Facebook user who posted them, Priscilla Gray, had worked in several roles for Schlafly but was not a party to the case, and her comments read like those of an aggrieved outsider.Almost two years later, the truth emerged as Coris lawyers gathered evidence for her lawsuit: Behind the posts about the judge was none other than Martin. ProPublica obtained previously unreported documents filed in the case that show Martin had bought a laptop for Gray and that she subsequently offered to happily write something to attack this judge. And when she did, Martin ghostwrote more posts for her to use and coached her on how to make her comments look more organic. Ed Martin exchanged emails with Priscilla Gray, who had worked in various roles for Phyllis Schlafly, about how to attack Judge John Barberis. (Documents obtained, formatted and highlighted by ProPublica) That is not justice but a rigged system, he urged her to write. Shame on you and this broken legal system.Call what he did unfair and rigged over and over, Martin continued.Martin even urged Gray to message the judge privately. Go slow and steady, he advised. Make it organic.Gray appeared to take Martins advice. Private messaging him that sweet line, she wrote. It was not clear from the court record what, if anything, she wrote at that juncture. Gray told Martin she would direct message Barberis after she was blocked from commenting on his Facebook page. (Documents obtained, formatted and highlighted by ProPublica) Legal experts told ProPublica that Martins conduct in the Eagle Forum case was a clear violation of ethical norms and professional rules. Martins behavior, they said, was especially egregious because he was both a defendant in the case and a licensed attorney. Martin appeared to be deliberately interfering with a judicial proceeding with the intent to undermine the integrity of the outcome, said Scott Cummings, a professor of legal ethics at UCLA School of Law. Thats not OK.Martin did not respond to multiple requests for comment.Martins legal and political career is dotted with questions about his professional and ethical conduct. But for all his years in the spotlight, some of the most serious concerns about his conduct have remained in the shadows buried in court filings, overlooked by the press or never reported at all. His actions have led to more than $600,000 in legal settlements or judgments against Martin or his employers in a handful of cases. In the Eagle Forum lawsuit, another judge found him in civil contempt, citing his willful disregard of a court order, and a jury found him liable for defamation and false light against Cori. Cori also tried to have Martin charged with criminal contempt for his role in orchestrating the posts about Barberis, but a judge declined to take up the request and said she could take the case to the county prosecutor. Cori said her attorney met with a detective; Martin was never charged. Nonetheless, the emails unearthed by ProPublica were evidence that he had violated Missouri rules for lawyers, according to Kathleen Clark, a legal ethics expert and law professor at Washington University in St. Louis. She said lawyers are prohibited from trying to contact a judge outside of court in a case they are involved in, and they are barred from using a proxy to do something they are barred from doing themselves.Such a track record might have derailed another lawyers career. Not so for Martin.As a presidential candidate, Donald Trump vowed to use the Justice Department to reward his allies and seek retribution against his perceived enemies. Since taking office, Trump and his appointees have made good on those pledges, pardoning Jan. 6 rioters while targeting Democratic politicians, media critics and private law firms. As one of its first personnel picks, the Trump administration chose Martin to be interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, one of the premier jobs for a federal prosecutor. A wide array of former prosecutors, legal observers and others have raised questions about his qualifications for an office known for handling high-profile cases. Martin has no experience as a prosecutor. He has never taken a case to trial, according to his public disclosures. As the acting leader of the largest U.S. attorneys office in the country, he directs the work of hundreds of lawyers who appear in court on a vast array of subjects, including legal disputes arising out of Congress, national security matters, public corruption and civil rights, as well as homicides, drug trafficking and many other local crimes. Over the last four years, the office prosecuted more than 1,500 people as part of the massive investigation into the violence at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. While Trump has pardoned the Jan. 6 defendants, Martin has taken action against the prosecutors who brought those cases. In just three months, he has overseen the dismissal of outstanding Jan. 6-related cases, fired more than a dozen prosecutors and opened an investigation into the charging decisions made in those riot cases. Martin has also investigated Democratic lawmakers and members of the Biden family; forced out the chief of the criminal division after she refused to initiate an investigation desired by Trump appointees citing a lack of evidence, according to her resignation letter; threatened Georgetown Universitys law school over its diversity, equity and inclusion policies; and vowed to investigate threats against Department of Government Efficiency employees or chase people in the federal government "discovered to have broken the law or even acted simply unethically.Martin has butchered the position, effectively destroying it as a vehicle by which to pursue justice and turning it into a political arm of the current administration, says an open letter signed by more than 100 former prosecutors who worked in the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia under Democratic and Republican presidents. Already, Martin has been the subject of at least four disciplinary complaints with the D.C. and Missouri bars, of which one was dismissed and the other three appear to be pending. Two of the complaints came after he moved to dismiss charges against a Jan. 6 rioter whom he had previously represented and for whom he was still listed as counsel of record. (The first complaint was dismissed after the D.C. bars disciplinary panel concluded that Martin had dismissed the case as a result of Trumps pardons and so did not violate any rules.) The third was filed in March by a group of Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. Senate. The fourth was submitted last week by a group of former Jan. 6 prosecutors and members of the conservative-leaning Society for the Rule of Law. It argues that Martins actions so far threaten to undermine the integrity of the U.S. Attorneys Office and the legal profession in the District of Columbia. If Martin has responded to any of the complaints, those responses have not been made public.Trump has nominated Martin to run the office permanently. Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have vowed to drag out Martins confirmation, demanding a hearing and setting up a fight over one of Trumps most controversial nominees. Ed Martin pats his son, Edward, at an election watch party in St. Louis for his failed congressional bid in 2010. (J. B. Forbes/AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Martin stepped off the elevator into the newsroom of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper. He was angry at a reporter named Jo Mannies, one of the citys top political journalists. At a conference table with Mannies and her senior editors, he accused Mannies of being unethical and pressed the papers leadership to spike her stories about him, according to interviews. Mannies said later she believed he was trying to get her fired. He was attacking her, said Pam Maples, who was managing editor at the time. He was implying she had an ax to grind, that she wanted to get some big story and that she was not being ethical. And when that didnt get traction, it was more like this isnt a story. It wasnt that he said anything about a fact being inaccurate, or he wanted to retract a story; he wanted the reporting to stop.Mannies had been covering a scandal dubbed Memogate that started to unfold in 2007 while Martin was chief of staff to Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt. In that role, Martin was using his government email to undermine Democratic rivals and rally anti-abortion groups. But when reporters requested emails from Blunts staff, the governors office denied they existed. Media organizations joined a lawsuit to preserve the messages and recover them from backup tapes.An attorney for the governor, Scott Eckersley, later said in a deposition that Martin tried to block the release of government emails and told employees to delete their messages. After Eckersley warned that doing so might violate state law, he was fired. He sued the state for wrongful termination and defamation and settled for $500,000. Martin resigned as chief of staff in 2007 after just over a year on the job, and Blunts office would eventually hand over 22 boxes of internal emails. Mike Meiners, director of news administration, center, and Teak Phillips, metro photo editor, right, wheel 22 boxes of emails from Gov. Matt Blunts staff into the St. Louis Post-Dispatch office on Nov. 14, 2008. (Emily Rasinski/Post-Dispatch/Polaris) In a 2008 email to the Associated Press, Martin dismissed Eckersleys lawsuit as a desperate attempt to revise his story after he was fired, citing Eckersleys own testimony that not all emails are public records.The Memogate incident was telling and Martins efforts to have Mannies fired were never reported. His claim was we were misrepresenting what the law was and what he was doing, she told ProPublica. I mean, he can get very hyper. He can get very emotional.When Martin launched a bid for Congress in 2010, he acted as if Memogate was ancient history. He made himself available to Mannies, she recalled, always taking her calls. Years later, he even appeared, lighthearted and bantering, on a St. Louis Public Radio podcast Mannies co-hosted. She said Martin could be outlandish and aggressive, but he could also be disarmingly passionate about whatever cause he was pursuing at the moment, often speaking in a frenetic rush. He just wore people down with his enthusiasm, she said. Martin allowed a different St. Louis reporter to shadow him during his 2010 run for Congress. The reporter asked about the St. Louis election board, a dysfunctional organization that, by all accounts, Martin had helped turn around in the mid-2000s. Martin had fired an employee there named Jeanne Bergfeld, and she later sued for wrongful termination. The board settled the lawsuit.As part of the settlement, Martin agreed not to talk about the case and the board paid Bergfeld $55,000. Martin and two others issued a letter saying she had been a conscientious and dedicated professional.But talking to the reporter covering his campaign, Martin said Bergfeld enjoyed not having to do anything and wasnt interested in changing. The day after the story was published, Bergfeld sued Martin again, this time for violating the settlement agreement. Martin denied making the comments, but the Riverfront Times released audio that proved he had. Martin agreed to pay Bergfeld another $15,000 but delayed signing the settlement for a few months. The judge then ordered Martin to pay some of her legal costs, citing his obstinacy. Phyllis Schlafly, center, is escorted onstage by Martin, right, during a March 2016 campaign rally in St. Louis for Donald Trump. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/Polaris) Martin lost his 2010 congressional bid. He ran for Missouri attorney general two years later and lost again. After his stint as chair of the Missouri Republican Party, he went to work as Schlaflys right-hand man. Martin grew so attached to Schlafly that a lawyer for the Eagle Forum jokingly called him Ed Martin Schlafly.As the 2016 presidential campaign ramped up, Martin supported Trump even though Eagle Forum board members, including Cori, supported Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. At the time, Cori described Trump at the time as an egomaniacal dictator. (Today, she said she supports him.) Cori and other board members were stunned when Schlafly endorsed Trump, with Martin standing by her side. A few weeks later, a majority of the Eagle Forums board voted to oust Martin as president; a lawsuit filed by the board cited mismanagement and poor leadership and described his tenure as deplorable. Martin has maintained that he was Schlaflys hand-picked successor and has characterized his removal as a hostile takeover. Every day, they are diminishing the reputation and value of Phyllis, he said in a 2017 statement. She died in September 2016.Cori and the boards lawsuit sought to enforce Martins removal and demand an accounting of the forums assets. Thats the case that wound up before Barberis.On top of his efforts to direct Grays posts on Barberis Facebook page, Martin prepared a separate statement, according to previously unreported records from the case. The statement called Barberis ruling to remove him as Eagle Forum president judicial activism at its worst that shows what happens when the law is undermined by judges who think they can do whatever they want.Martin emailed the statement, which said it was from Bruce Schlafly, M.D. the name of one of Schlaflys sons to himself, then sent it to two of her other sons, John and Andy, court filings show. Martin said the statement was a declaration of war and urged the Schlaflys to put something like this out to our biggest list. (Its unclear if the message was ever sent.) Bruce Schlafly did not respond to requests for comment.In a 2019 sworn deposition, Coris lawyer asked Martin questions about the posts on Barberis Facebook page and the letter he drafted for Bruce Schlafly. Because of the possibility that he could be charged with criminal contempt of court, Martin declined to comment, on the advice of his own lawyer, though he acknowledged that lawyers are barred from communicating with judges outside of court or engaging in conduct meant to disrupt proceedings. First image: Anne Schlafly Cori won a defamation claim against Martin in 2022. Second image: Eagle Forums office in Alton, Illinois. (Bryan Birks for ProPublica) Andy Schlafly, a lawyer and former Eagle Forum board member who supported Martin in the leadership fight, said no court has ever sanctioned Ed for his engagement of First Amendment advocacy and likened the controversy to liberal attacks on conservative judges. He dismissed concerns about Martin directing Gray to contact the judge, saying she speaks for herself and had every right to voice her outrage. He compared Martins style then and now to Trumps. He said he did not believe the email Martin drafted for his brother Bruce had ever been sent, but if it had been, it would have been no different from Trump posting on Truth Social, which he considered normal behavior in political battles.What would Trump do in that position? Andy Schlafly said of Martins current role in Washington. I would say Trump would be doing just what Eds doing. Elections do have consequences.Gray declined to comment. She was not part of the lawsuit.When Coris lawyers uncovered the emails, they asked a new judge, David Dugan who had taken over the case after Barberis was elected to a higher court why Martin should not be held in criminal contempt for an underhanded scheme to attack the integrity and authority of the court with the Facebook comments about Barberis, according to court records. Dugan declined to take up the criminal contempt motion. But he later found Martin and John Schlafly in civil contempt of court for having interfered with Eagle Forum after Barberis had removed them from the group. John Schlafly appealed the contempt finding and mostly lost. He did not respond to requests for comment. Its unclear if Martin appealed.Cori told ProPublica she also filed an ethics complaint against Martin with the Missouri Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel, which investigates ethics complaints against lawyers. She said she was told her complaint would have to wait until her lawsuit concluded. The office said it could neither confirm nor deny it had received a complaint.In 2022, when part of Coris lawsuit went to trial, a jury found Martin liable for defaming her and casting her in a false light including by sharing a Facebook post suggesting that she should be charged with manslaughter for her mothers death. It awarded her $57,000 in damages and also found Martin liable for $25,500 against another Eagle Forum board member.Martin argued that the statute of limitations had expired on the defamation claims and that many of his statements were either true or vague hyperbole not subject to proof. He also claimed he could not be held liable because he didnt write the offending post he had merely shared something written by someone else.In a post-trial motion, he also leaned into protections that make it harder for public figures to win defamation cases. Under that higher legal standard, its not enough for a plaintiff to show that a statement was false. Cori also had to prove that Martin knew it was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth, and he said she didnt prove it.But while hes wrapped himself in First Amendment protections when defending his own speech, hes taken the opposite stance since being named interim U.S. attorney by Trump, threatening legal action against people when they criticize the administration.For instance, after Rep. Robert Garcia called DOGE leader Elon Musk a dick and urged Democrats to bring weapons to a political fight, Martin sent Garcia a letter warning his comments could be seen as threats and demanding an explanation. Martin, center, speaks at a rally outside the Republican National Committee headquarters on Capitol Hill on Nov. 5, 2020. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo) With the start of Trumps first presidency, Martin and his family moved to the Northern Virginia suburbs near Washington, D.C. Martin had no formal role in the new administration, but he turned himself into one of the presidents most prolific and unfiltered surrogates. CNN hired him in September 2017 to be a pro-Trump on-air commentator, only to fire him five months later after a string of controversial on-air remarks. He attacked a woman who had accused Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore of molesting her as a child, praised Trump for denigrating Sen. Elizabeth Warren as Pocahontas, and described some of his CNN co-panelists as rabid feminists and Black racists.Unbowed, Martin went on to make more than 150 appearances on the Russia Today TV channel and Sputnik radio, both Russian state-owned media outlets, first reported by The Washington Post. On RT and Sputnik, Martin railed against the Russia hoax, criticized the DOJ investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller and questioned American support for Ukraine after Russias invasion by saying the U.S. was wasting money in Kiev for Zelensky and his corrupt guys. The State Department would later say RT and Sputnik were critical elements in Russias disinformation and propaganda ecosystem. The Treasury Department sanctioned RT employees in 2024. The DOJ indicted two RT employees for conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to fail to register as foreign agents. Martins flair for fealty set him apart even from fellow Trump supporters. He cheered the Maine Republican Party for considering whether to censure Sen. Susan Collins for her vote to convict Trump during the second impeachment trial. He singled out Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska in a radio segment titled America Needs to Go on a RINO Hunt. He accused Sen. John Cornyn of going soft on gun rights after Cornyn endorsed a bipartisan gun-safety law after the Uvalde, Texas, mass shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead.On Jan. 6, 2021, Martin joined the throngs of Trump supporters who marched in protest of the 2020 election outcome. He compared the scene that day to a Mardi Gras celebration and later said the prosecution of Jan. 6 defendants was an op orchestrated by former Rep. Liz Cheney and law enforcement agencies to damage Trump and Trumpism.During an appearance on Russia Today, Martin said then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi weaponized Congress response to the Jan. 6 riots by ramping up security on Capitol Hill, comparing her to the Nazis. Not since the Reichstag fire that was engineered by the Nazis have we seen behavior like what Nancy Pelosi did, he said. As an attorney, he represented Jan. 6 defendants, helped raise money for their families and championed their cause. Last summer, Martin gave an award to a convicted Jan. 6 rioter named Timothy Hale-Cusanelli. According to court records, Hale-Cusanelli held long-standing white supremacist and Nazi beliefs, wore a Hitler mustache and allegedly told his co-workers that Hitler should have finished the job. (In court, Hales attorney said his client makes no excuses for his derogatory language, but the governments description of him was simply misleading.)After hugging and thanking Hale-Cusanelli at the ceremony, Martin told the audience that one of his goals was to make sure that the world and especially America hears more from Tim Hale, because hes extraordinary. Martin speaks during a 2023 hearing on the prosecutions of Jan. 6 rioters. (Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images) In his three months as interim U.S. attorney for D.C., Martin has used his position to issue a series of threats. Hes vowed not to hire anyone affiliated with Georgetown Law unless the school drops any DEI policies. He vowed to Musk that he would pursue any and all legal action against anyone who impedes your work or threatens your people. He publicly told former special counsel Jack Smith and Smiths lawyers to [s]ave your receipts. And in another open letter addressed to Musk and Musks deputy, Martin wrote that if people are discovered to have broken the law or even acted simply unethically, we will investigate them and we will chase them to the end of the Earth to hold them accountable. More often than not, Martins threats have gone nowhere.A month into the job, he announced Operation Whirlwind, an initiative to hold accountable those who threaten public officials, whether theyre DOGE workers or judges. One of the most abhorrent examples of such threats, he said, were Sen. Chuck Schumers 2020 remarks that conservative Supreme Court justices had released the whirlwind and would pay the price if they weakened abortion rights. Even though Schumer walked back his incendiary comments the next day, Martin said he was investigating Schumers nearly 5-year-old remarks as part of Operation Whirlwind. Despite Martins bravado, the investigation went nowhere. No grand jury investigation was opened. No charges were filed. That the probe fizzled out came as little surprise. Legal experts said Schumers remarks, while ill advised, fell well short of criminal conduct.In another instance, when one of Martins top deputies refused to open a criminal investigation into clean-energy grants issued by the Biden administration, Martin demanded the deputys resignation and advanced the investigation himself. When a subpoena arrived at one of the targeted environmental groups, Martins was the only name on it, according to documents obtained by ProPublica.Kevin Flynn, a former federal prosecutor who served in the D.C. U.S. attorneys office for 35 years, told ProPublica that he did not know of a single case in which the U.S. attorney was the sole authorizing official on a grand jury subpoena. Flynn said he could think of only two reasons why this could happen: The matter was of such extraordinary sensitivity that the offices leader took exclusive control over it, or no other supervisor or line prosecutor was willing to sign off on the subpoena out of concern that it wasnt legally or ethically appropriate.And when the dispute between the environmental groups and the Justice Department reached a courtroom, federal Judge Tanya Chutkan asked a DOJ lawyer defending the administrations actions for any evidence of possible crimes or violations evidence, in other words, that could have justified the probe initiated by Martin. The DOJ lawyer said he had none. You cant even tell me what the evidence of malfeasance is, Chutkan said. There are still rules that even the government has to follow, last I checked.Martins tenure has caused so much consternation that in early April, Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., put a hold on Martins nomination. Typically, the Senate Judiciary Committee approves U.S. attorney picks by voice vote without a hearing. But in Martins case, all 10 Democrats on the committee have asked for a public hearing to debate the nomination, calling Martin a nominee whose objectionable record merits heightened scrutiny by this Committee.Even the process of submitting the requisite paperwork for Senate confirmation has tripped him up. According to documents obtained by ProPublica, he has sent the Judiciary Committee three supplemental letters that correct omissions about his background. In an earlier submission, Martin did not disclose any of his appearances on Russian state-owned media. But just before The Washington Post reported that Martin had, in fact, made more than 150 such appearances, he sent yet another letter correcting his previous statements.I regret the errors and apologize for any inconvenience, he wrote. Sharon Lerner contributed reporting.

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Supporters of the Pakistan Murkazi Muslim League party chant slogans during a demonstration against the suspension of water-sharing treaty by India with Pakistan, in Lahore, Pakistan Thursday, April 24, 2025.(AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)2025-04-24T06:05:46Z SRINAGAR, India (AP) Tensions between India and Pakistan were high on Thursday as New Delhi mounted a diplomatic offensive against Islamabad, blaming it for a deadly attack that killed 26 people in Kashmir and shattered Indias claims of calm in a disputed region where a bloody rebellion against Indian rule has been ongoing for decades.A rare attack on civilians mostly tourists who were visiting a popular scenic meadow shocked and outraged India and prompted calls for action against their countrys archenemy, Pakistan. The Indian government did not publicly produce any evidence connecting the attack to its neighbor, but said it had cross-border links to Pakistan. Pakistan denied any connection to the attack, which was claimed by a previously unknown militant group that called itself the Kashmir Resistance.India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. New Delhi describes all militancy in Kashmir as Pakistan-backed terrorism. Pakistan denies this, and many Muslim Kashmiris consider the militants to be part of a home-grown freedom struggle. Domestic pressures on both sidesThe killings also put pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist government to respond aggressively. His government announced a series of diplomatic actions against Islamabad while hinting at plans for more punishment. Pakistan has responded angrily that it has nothing to do with the attack and said it would formulate a response to Indias actions on Thursday in the National Security Committee meeting, the countrys highest decision-making forum of senior civil and military officials. Dozens of demonstrators in Islamabad and other cities in Pakistan rallied against Indias suspension of a water sharing treaty, demanding their government retaliate.India has taken irresponsible steps and leveled allegations, Pakistans Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told local Dunya News TV channel. Dar added that any kinetic step by India will see a tit-to-tat kinetic response from Pakistan, rekindling memories of February 2019 when a car suicide bombing in Kashmir brought the two countries to the verge of war.Modi overturned the status quo in Kashmir in August 2019, when his government revoked the regions semi-autonomous status and brought it under direct federal control.That deepened tensions in the region, but things with Pakistan held stable as the two countries in 2021 renewed a previous ceasefire agreement along their border, which has largely held despite attacks on Indian forces by insurgents in Kashmir.Fears of escalationThe latest incident could once again raise the specter of conflict between two nuclear-armed neighbors that have long accused each other of backing forces to destabilize the other.At a public rally Thursday, Modi said India will identify, track and punish every terrorist, their handlers and their backers.We will pursue them to the ends of the earth, said Modi, who was later in the day scheduled to head an all-party meeting with opposition parties to brief them on the governments response to the attack. Indias foreign secretary, Vikram Misri, announced Wednesday night that a number of Pakistani diplomats were asked to leave New Delhi and Indian diplomats were recalled from Pakistan. Diplomatic missions in both countries will reduce their staff from 55 to 30 as of May 1, and the only functional land border crossing between the countries would be closed.India also suspended a landmark water-sharing treaty that has survived two wars between the countries, in 1965 and 1971, and a major border skirmish in 1999.The Indus Water Treaty, brokered by the World Bank in 1960, allows for sharing the waters of a river system that is a lifeline for both countries, particularly for Pakistans agriculture. Some experts say India may move beyond diplomatic sanctions as the countrys media and leaders from Modis ruling party call for military action.Earlier Wednesday, defense minister, Rajnath Singh, pledged to not only trace those who perpetrated the attack but also trace those who conspired to commit this nefarious act on our soil and hinted at the possibility of military strikes. Ashok Malik, a former policy advisor in Indias foreign ministry, said New Delhis response reflected a high degree of anger within the administration and Indias move on the Indus Water treaty will impose costs on Pakistans economy.Islamabad will have to deal with the consequences, Malik said, adding that Indian leaders view military options as viable.Its (Indias) military strategists believe there is a space for kinetic conventional action under the nuclear umbrella. The space isnt infinite, but it isnt insignificant either, he said.Praveen Donthi, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, said framing the Kashmir conflict as a security crisis of Pakistans creation, which can be resolved only through harsh talk and actions, brings political dividends to Modis government but could also leave it with few options in times of crises.The immense public pressure on the Modi government to retaliate strongly and militarily is self-created. Soon, there will be no options left unless New Delhi starts looking to address the roots of political unrest in Kashmir, Donthi said. Dismay in KashmirThe killings shocked residents of Kashmir, where militants fighting against Indian rule have rarely targeted tourists and have mainly mounted their attacks against Indian forces.In a rare show of public outrage, Kashmiris many of whom have roiled under an intense crackdown by Indian forces and New Delhis highhanded rule took part in street protests and candle light marches in protest against the killings. Markets, private schools and businesses were also shut Wednesday amidst an uneasy calm as people worried that the attacks could drive away tourists and hurt the regions economy.Funerals of several of those killed were also held across some Indian cities.___Associated Press journalists Rajesh Roy in New Delhi and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed to this report. AIJAZ HUSSAIN Hussain is a senior reporter for The Associated Press covering the Kashmir conflict, Indian politics and strategic affairs, and climate. He has worked for the AP for nearly two decades. twitter mailto SHEIKH SAALIQ Saaliq covers news across India and the South Asia region for The Associated Press, often focusing on politics, democracy, conflict and religion. He is based in New Delhi. twitter mailto

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by Abrahm Lustgarten ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as theyre published. Over the past two months, the Trump administration has taken steps to eliminate regulations addressing climate change, pull back funding for climate programs and cancel methods used to evaluate how climate change is affecting American society and its economy. Now it is directly undermining the science and research of climate change itself, in ways that some of the nations most distinguished scientists say will have dangerous consequences.Proposed cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency whose weather and climate research touches almost every facet of American life, are targeting a 57-year-old partnership between Princeton University and the U.S. government that produces what many consider the worlds most advanced climate modeling and forecasting systems. NOAAs work extends deep into the heart of the American economy businesses use it to navigate risk and find opportunity and it undergirds both American defense and geopolitical planning. The possible elimination of the lab, called the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, in concert with potential cuts to other NOAA operations, threatens irreparable harm not only to global understanding of climate change and long-range scenarios for the planet but to the countrys safety, competitiveness and national security.The gutting of NOAA was outlined earlier this month in a leaked memo from the Office of Management and Budget that detailed steep reductions at the Department of Commerce, which houses the science agency. The memo, which was viewed by ProPublica, has been previously reported. But the full implications of those cuts for the nations ability to accurately interpret dynamic changes in the planets weather and to predict long-term warming scenarios through its modeling arm in Princeton have not.According to the document, NOAAs overall funding would be slashed by 27%, eliminating functions of the Department that are misaligned with the Presidents agenda and the expressed will of the American people including almost all of those related to the study of climate change. The proposal would break up and significantly defund the agency across programs, curtailing everything from ocean research to coastal management while shifting one of NOAAs robust satellite programs out of the agency and putting another up for commercial bidding. But its most significant target is the office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research a nerve center of global climate science, data collection and modeling, including the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory which would be cut by 74%. At this funding level, OAR is eliminated as a line office, the memo stated.The total loss of OAR and its crown jewel in Princeton represents a setback for climate preparedness that experts warn the nation may never recover from.If we dont understand whats happening and why its happening, you cant be adapting, you cant be resilient. Youre just going to suffer, Don Wuebbles, an atmospheric scientist who sits on NOAAs scientific advisory board, told ProPublica. Were going to see huge impacts on infrastructure and lives lost in the U.S.There are other national climate models, but they also appear to be in jeopardy of losing funding. The National Science Foundation supports the National Center for Atmospheric Research, but the foundation announced it was freezing all research grants on April 18. NASAs Goddard Institute for Space Studies has a model, but the institute could see cuts of up to 47%. And the Department of Energy, home to a fourth climate modeling system, is also under budget pressure.Without the models, and all the sensor networks and supporting NOAA research programs that feed them, Well go back to the technical and proficiency levels we had in the 1950s, said Craig McLean, a 40-year veteran of NOAA who, until 2022, was the agencys top administrator for research and its acting chief scientist. We wont have the tools we have today because we cant populate them by people or by data.Neither the Department of Commerce nor NOAA responded to lists of emailed questions, including whether the agencies had appealed the OMBs proposal before the April 12 deadline to do so or whether NOAA has prepared a plan to implement the changes, which is due by April 24. OMB also did not respond to a request for comment. Princeton and NOAA together built Americas global supremacy in weather and climate science over generations. After World War II, the United States refocused its scientific superiority and its early computing capabilities on understanding how the weather and the planet works. The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory was established in 1955 and moved to Princeton in 1968. Under NOAA, which was established by President Richard Nixon in 1970, the lab advanced early forecasting, using sensors in the oceans and the sky. It developed theories for how fluids and gases interact and came to understand that the oceans and the atmosphere drive weather what today has become known as climate science.The GFDLs models, including the first hurricane model, became the basis for both short-term weather outlooks and longer-range forecasts, or climate prediction, which soon became one and the same. Those models now form the underlying modeling architecture of many of NOAAs other departments, including the forecasts from the National Weather Service. The GFDL has trained many of the worlds best climate scientists, who are leading the most prestigious research in Japan, the U.K. and Germany, and in 2021 an alumnus of its staff won the Nobel Prize in physics. The U.S. agencies periodically run their models in competition, and last time they did, the GFDLs models came out ahead. The lab is the best that there is, McLean said. Its really a stunningly impressive and accomplished place. It is a gem. It is the gem.Today the GFDL works in partnership with Princeton researchers to produce a series of models that have proven extraordinarily accurate in forecasting how the planet is changing when their past predictions are tested against past events. The GFDL models formed the basis of NOAAs Hurricane Weather Research Forecast model that almost exactly foretold the extraordinary and unprecedented rainfall near Houston during Hurricane Harvey in 2017 the model predicted 45 inches of rain, the final total was 48 inches. The GFDL models are working to incorporate once-elusive factors, like large-scale methane emissions from melting permafrost, and are increasingly understanding the role of changing currents and warming ocean temperatures in driving rapid storm intensification of hurricanes like Milton and Helene. Every May the lab delivers an updated model to the National Hurricane Center, which uses it to produce the centers annual forecast for the following season of storms.It is not yet clear what the potential loss of the GFDL and the databases and sensors that support it might mean. Funding cuts could merely hobble the labs staff and prevent the model from ever being advanced, or its operations could be shut down entirely, the responsibility perhaps passed on to another agencys models. What is clear, McLean and others point out, is that even the degradation of American climate prediction capabilities poses significant risks to the U.S. economy, to national security and to the countrys leverage in the world.NOAA makes its data from ocean buoy and satellite readings to the outputs from the GFDL models free to the public, where it constitutes a certified base layer of information that is picked up not only by American policymakers, regulators and planners but also by scientists around the world and by industries, which use it to gain a competitive advantage. A 2024 study by the American Meteorological Society found that NOAAs weather forecasts alone which use parts of the GFDL models and represent just a tiny fraction of the agencys data production generate more than $73 in savings for every dollar invested in them.The data that drives those forecasts informs the calculations for an untold number of property insurance policies in the country, helping to channel billions of dollars in aid to home and business owners in the aftermath of natural disasters. All three of the major U.S. insurance catastrophe modelers build their assessments at least in part using NOAA data. Munich Re, the global reinsurance giant backing many American property insurers, depends on it, and Swiss Re, a second reinsurance powerhouse, also routinely cites NOAA in its reports.The shipping industry charts its courses, plans its fuel use and avoids disaster using NOAA climate and weather forecasts, while NOAA data on water levels and currents is relied on to manage the channels and ports used by those ships, which carry a sizeable portion of global trade, generating trillions of dollars in economic activity each year. The trucking industry, too, saves upward of $3 billion in fuel costs based on idling guidelines that apply NOAA temperature data. It is equally important for farmers and large agricultural corporations, which rely on NOAAs seasonal and long-range precipitation forecasts to make strategic planting decisions. NOAAs chief economists estimate that the agencys El Nino outlooks alone boost the U.S. agricultural economy by $300 million a year, and that corn growers save as much as $4 billion in fertilizer and cleanup costs based on optimizing to NOAA forecasts.Developers and homebuilders rely on NOAA data to determine coastal flooding risk and to schedule work. The Federal Aviation Administration is using new NOAA models to develop its next-generation air traffic management system. And the banks and financial corporations that depend on the healthy functioning of these other industries know this. Morgan Stanley uses NOAA climate data to assess risk to the economy across multiple sectors. As does J.P. Morgan, whose top science adviser is a former NOAA scientist who once worked directly with the climate modeling program at the GFDL.The secretary of commerce himself, Howard Lutnick, endorsed the importance of climate science when he was the CEO and chair of the global Wall Street investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, which characterized climate change as the defining issue of our time. In the same report, the company wrote that Scientific evidence indicates that if left unchecked, climate change will be disastrous and life threatening. The report went on to state that those changes could offer a unique investment opportunity but also presents a challenge to our investments.A spokesperson for Cantor Fitzgerald did not respond to a question about whether the firms assessment was based on NOAA data, but McLean asserts that it likely was because NOAA and the GFDLs data represents the roots of every climate model in the world.Perhaps this is why Lutnick, when asked by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., during his confirmation hearing in January whether he believed in keeping NOAA and its core scientific responsibilities together, declared that he did. I have no interest in separating it. That is not on my agenda, Lutnick told her. When asked again, 30 minutes later, by Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, whether he agreed with the Project 2025 goal that NOAA should be dismantled and many of its functions eliminated, Lutnick was again explicit: NoYet after the NOAA budget documents were leaked and the threats to GFDL became clear, Lutnicks office targeted even more climate-related programs, announcing the suspension of $4 million in grants to a separate but related program at Princeton that includes its Cooperative Institute for Modeling the Earth System, a research effort run in conjunction with the GFDL, and that provides some of the core staffing and research for the lab. This cooperative agreement promotes exaggerated and implausible climate threats, contributing to a phenomenon known as climate anxiety, his office wrote in an April 8 press release from the Department of Commerce. Its focus on alarming climate scenarios fosters fear rather than rational, balanced discussion.Princeton University did not respond to emailed questions.The potential loss of the worlds greatest climate forecasting tool has other ramifications for long-term safety and security. NOAAs climate modeling systems in combination with other national climate models at the National Science Foundation, NASA and elsewhere help the Defense Department to run its operations and to anticipate and prepare for emerging threats.NOAA models and data generate the actionable weather forecasts for operational planning in conflict theaters like the Middle East. Its measurements of ocean salinity and temperatures inform Navy operations, according to the Council on Strategic Risks, a nonpartisan security policy institute in Washington. It contributes to the forecast data for Air Force strike planning and Army troop movement. Its long-range climate forecasts are core to the Defense Departments five-year planning for each of its global Geographic Combatant Commands that divide jurisdiction for U.S. forces around the world, according to a Rand report.Without this information, warned Rod Schoonover, a former State Department analyst and director of environment and natural resources within the office of the director of national intelligence, the U.S. surrenders its superiority in projecting all kinds of security concerns, including not only threats to its own facilities and operations but also cascading power failures or extreme heatwaves and sudden food price spikes that can lead to destabilization and conflict around the world. This is a foundational degradation in our intelligence capabilities, said Schoonover, the founder and CEO of the Ecological Futures Group. There is a profoundly changed and heightened threat if the U.S. can no longer rely on its own premier, homegrown climate forecasts for strategic and operational decisions.Why would any U.S. administration choose to forfeit this vital strategic edge?

The assault was the deadliest on Ukraines capital in nearly a year. It came just hours after the Trump administration again threatened to walk away from the peace process.

The air in the city is unhealthy for some groups because of a fire that has been burning in the Pine Barrens since Tuesday.

In this image taken from aerial video shows smoke rising from wildfires in Ocean County, N.J., Wednesday, April 23, 2025. (WPVI via AP)2025-04-24T11:34:39Z CHATSWORTH, N.J. (AP) A fast-moving wildfire engulfing part of New Jerseys Pine Barrens was expected grow Thursday, with smoke affecting the air quality in the New York City area before rain arrives this week, authorities said.Higher-than-normal pollution levels were expected Thursday in New York City, Rockland and Westchester counties, and in Long Islands Nassau and Suffolk counties, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation advised Wednesday.It said going indoors may reduce exposure to problems such as eye, nose and throat irritation, coughing, sneezing and shortness of breath. The fire in the southern part of New Jersey has grown to more than 20 square miles (52 square kilometers) and could continue to burn for days, officials said. No one has been injured so far in the blaze, and 5,000 residents were evacuated but have been permitted to return home. A single commercial building and some vehicles were destroyed in the fire, while 12 structures remained threatened Wednesday evening. This is still a very active fire, said New Jerseys Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette. As we continue to get this under full control the expectation is that the number of acres will grow and will grow in a place that is unpopulated. The Ocean County Sheriffs Office in New Jersey also cautioned early Thursday about air quality, saying smoke will continue to permeate the area. It said emergency personnel will be on site for the next few days. In New York, dry conditions across the state are resulting in a high fire danger rating in several regions including New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley, Capital Region, and portions of the North Country, the state air quality advisory said. The rest of the state is at a moderate or low level of fire danger.Officials said the fire is believed to be the second-worst in the last two decades, smaller only than a 2007 blaze that burned 26 square miles (67 square kilometers). Acting New Jersey Gov. Tahesha Way declared a state of emergency Wednesday and officials said theyve contained about 50% of the wildfire.Video released by the state agency overseeing the fire service showed billowing white and black clouds of smoke, intense flames engulfing pines and firefighters dousing a charred structure.The cause of the fire is still under investigation, authorities said.Forest fires are a common occurrence in the Pine Barrens, a 1.1 million-acre (445,000-hectare) state and federally protected reserve about the size of the Grand Canyon lying halfway between Philadelphia to the west and the Atlantic coast to the east. The region, with its quick-draining sandy soil, is in peak forest fire season. The trees are still developing leaves, humidity remains low and winds can kick up, drying out the forest floor.The area had been under a severe drought until recently.___Associated Press writers Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, Hallie Golden in Seattle and Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.

Miami quarterback Cam Ward watches a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/George Walker IV,File)2025-04-24T10:00:06Z GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) Cam Ward, Travis Hunter, Abdul Carter and 12 other prospects will walk the red carpet at Lambeau Field before going backstage at the NFL draft theater to wait for their name to be called Thursday night.All their hard work paid off. Its time to enjoy the moment before joining their new teams to work even harder.I think a lot us prospects had a big dream and were accomplishing it right now, Ward said. Not a lot of people get this opportunity and Im going to make the most of mine.Ward shouldnt wait long. The Tennessee Titans are poised to select the Miami quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick. Hunter, the two-way star and Heisman Trophy winner from Colorado, is likely heading to the Cleveland Browns with the second pick. Carter, a premier edge rusher out of Penn State, is a favorite to go third to the New York Giants but thats not guaranteed. Definitely got a good feeling with them, Carter said about New York. Well see what happens tomorrow.Theres a lot of uncertainty entering this draft, especially surrounding the quarterbacks and Shedeur Sanders. Ward, Sanders, Jaxson Dart and Jalen Milroe could make it four QBs in the first round, though the consensus is fewer will go. Running back Ashton Jeanty is making a push to sneak into the top five, tight end Tyler Warren is a potential top-10 pick and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan has a chance to be in the top 15. Itll be a draft loaded with players in the trenches. Its possible more than half the first-round picks will be offensive linemen and defensive linemen.Carter, Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham and Texas A& M edge Shemar Stewart are attending the draft so theyll get a chance to hug NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on stage.LSU tackle Will Campbell and Alabama guard Tyler Booker are the offensive linemen wholl hear their name called in person.The Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl by dominating the Kansas City Chiefs in the trenches. They also had elite skiller players Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. ___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl ROB MAADDI Maaddi is senior NFL writer for The Associated Press. Hes covered the league for 24 years, including the first two decades as the Eagles beat writer. mailto

Nature, Published online: 24 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01297-4Scientists must push back against the threat of rising white nationalism and the dangerous and pseudoscientific ideas of eugenics.

Nature, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01156-2A description of the terminology and methodology used in this supplement, and a guide to the functionality that is available free online at natureindex.com.

A retired welterweight and betting expert make their picks for UFC Fight Night from Kansas City.

There's another change at the top, and an NL-heavy top 10 dominate our rankings.

Europeans see Ukraines security as vital to their own and want to defend the principle of no border changes by force, even if President Trump does not.

Two decades had passed since Nascimento Blair was last in Jamaica, his homeland. Much had changed, including Mr. Blair himself.

Ben Hovland, Commissioner of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, speaks at the National Association of Secretaries of State winter meeting, Feb. 16, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)2025-04-24T12:05:55Z CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) State and local election officials from across the country are meeting Thursday to consider President Donald Trumps executive order that seeks major changes to how elections are run, the first time those in charge of the nations voting will formally gather to weigh in on its implications.The U.S. Election Assistance Commissions Standards Board, which is holding a public hearing in North Carolina, is a bipartisan advisory group of election officials from every state that meets annually.The commission, an independent federal agency, is at the center of Trumps executive order. The March 25 order directs the commission to update the national voter registration form to include a proof-of-citizenship requirement, revise guidelines for voting systems and withhold federal money from any state that continues to accept ballots after Election Day. Voting rights groups, the Democratic Party and Democratic officials in 21 states have sued, arguing that the Republican president is exceeding his authority under the Constitution and interfering with states power to set election rules. They want to block the commission from taking action to implement the executive order. The Constitution says its up to states to determine the times, places and manner of how elections are run, while Congress has the power to make or alter regulations for presidential and congressional elections. It does not grant the president any authority over how elections are administered. Congress created the Election Assistance Commission after the 2000 presidential election, which included a contested outcome in Florida, to help states update their voting equipment.Under the 2002 law, the commission was charged with distributing federal money for new voting equipment, creating voluntary guidelines for voting systems, establishing a federal testing and certification program for them, and overseeing the national voter registration form. It also has worked closely with the states to gather an array of data and share ideas on how to run elections more efficiently. Trump, who continues to make false claims about the 2020 presidential election, instructed the commission to take appropriate action within 30 days to require documentary proof of citizenship on the national voter registration form. The order outlines acceptable documents as a U.S. passport, a REAL ID-compliant drivers license or official military ID that indicates the applicant is a citizen, or a government-issued photo ID accompanied by proof of citizenship.The requirement has caused widespread concern that it will disenfranchise millions of voters who dont have a passport or ready access to their birth certificate or other documents that will prove their citizenship. Similar laws at the state level have caused disruptions, including during town elections last month in New Hampshire and in Kansas, where a since overturned law ended up blocking the voter registrations of 31,000 people who were citizens and otherwise eligible to vote. Trumps order also directed the Election Assistance Commission to take all appropriate action to cease federal money for any state that fails to use the form that includes the proof-of-citizenship requirement, though a handful of states are exempt under federal law from using the national form.Some states would have to halt their practice of counting late-arriving mail ballots that are postmarked by Election Day. If they dont, Trumps executive order directs the commission to withhold election-related funding. Oregon and Washington have filed a separate lawsuit against the executive order, saying it would upend their elections because they rely entirely on mail voting.

Javid Moghaddasnia, Director of Customer Engagement, discusses American Giant clothing while being interviewed at the company's showroom in San Francisco, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)2025-04-24T11:02:49Z WASHINGTON (AP) Americans trust in President Donald Trump to bolster the U.S. economy appears to be faltering, with a new poll showing that many people fear the country is being steered into a recession and that the presidents broad and haphazardly enforced tariffs will cause prices to rise.Roughly half of U.S. adults say that Trumps trade policies will increase prices a lot and another 3 in 10 think prices could go up somewhat, according to the poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. About half of Americans are extremely or very concerned about the possibility of the U.S. economy going into a recession in the next few months.While skepticism about tariffs is increasing modestly, that doesnt mean the public is automatically rejecting Trump or his approach to trade. However, the wariness could cause problems for a president who promised voters he could quickly fix inflation. Trump shows vulnerability on the economyThree months into his second term, Trumps handling of the economy and tariffs is showing up as a potential weakness. About 4 in 10 Americans approve of the way the Republican president is handling the economy and trade negotiations. Thats roughly in line with an AP-NORC poll conducted in March.Matthew Wood, 41, said hes waiting to see how the tariffs play out, but hes feeling anxious.Im not a huge fan of it, especially considering China and going back and forth with adjustments on both ends, said Wood, who lives in West Liberty, Kentucky, and is unemployed. Personally, it hasnt affected me as of yet. But, generally, I dont know how this is going to come to an end, especially with the big countries involved. Still, Wood said he changed his registration from Republican to independent, having been turned off by Trumps attitude and deference to billionaire adviser Elon Musk. Wood voted for Trump last year and said hes willing to give the president until the end of the year to deliver positive results on tariffs. About half of U.S. adults, 52%, are against imposing tariffs on all goods brought into the U.S. from other countries. Thats up slightly from January, when a poll found that 46% were against tariffs. Driving that small shift largely appears to be adults under age 30 who didnt previously have an opinion on tariffs.Trump supporter Janice Manis, 63, said her only criticism of Trump on tariffs is that he put in a partial 90-day pause for trade negotiations with other countries.Actually, I think he shouldnt have suspended it, said Manis, a retired sheriffs deputy from Del Rio, Texas. Because now China is trying to manipulate all of these other countries to go against us, whereas if he would have left all the tariffs in play then these countries would be hit hard. But, oh, well, things happen. Skepticism remains about Trumps tariff approachNot quite 100 days into Trumps second term in the White House, people around the country are bracing for possible disruptions in how they spend, work and live. The U.S. economy remains solid for the moment with moderating inflation and a healthy 4.2% unemployment rate, yet measures such as consumer confidence have dropped sharply.Trump has used executive actions to remold the global economy. Hes imposed hundreds of billions of dollars a year in new import taxes albeit partially suspending some of them launching a full-scale trade war against China and pledging to wrap up deals with dozen of other countries that are temporarily facing tariffs of 10%. Financial markets are swinging with every twist and turn from Trumps tariff pronouncements.Many Americans are not convinced this is the right approach. About 6 in 10 say Trump has gone too far when it comes to imposing new tariffs, according to the poll.Stocks are down this year, while interest charges on U.S. government bonds have climbed in ways that could make it more costly to repay mortgages, auto loans and student debt. CEOs are scrapping their earnings guidance for investors and seeking exemptions from Trumps tariffs, which hit allies such as Canada and even penguin-inhabited islands.Trump seemed to recognize the drag from tariffs as he highlighted this week the possibility of a deal with China. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had also said in a closed-door speech that the situation with China is not sustainable. Widespread concern about rising grocery pricesAbout 6 in 10 U.S. adults are extremely or very concerned about the cost of groceries in the next few months, while about half are highly concerned about the cost of big purchases, such as a car, cellphone or appliance. Less than half are highly concerned about their ability to purchase the goods they want a sign of the economys resilience so far. Retirement savings are a source of anxiety about 4 in 10 Americans say their retirement savings are a major source of stress in their lives. But fewer only about 2 in 10 identify the stock market as a major source of anxiety.This whole tariff war is just a losing situation not only for the American people but everybody worldwide, said Nicole Jones, 32. Its revenge and everybodys losing on it.The Englewood, Florida, resident voted last year for then-Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced the incumbent president, Joe Biden, as the Democratic nominee. Jones hadnt given much thought to tariffs until recently, and now, as an occupational therapy student, she also worries about losing her financial aid and facing high amounts of educational debt.Things are more expensive for us, she said.And most Americans still think the national economy is in a weak state.The difference is that Republicans who largely thought the economy was in bad shape when Biden was president now feel more optimistic. But Democrats have become much more bleak about the countrys financial future.It wasnt all sunshine and rainbows, but we were doing fine, Jones, a Democratic voter, said about the economy before Trumps policies went into effect.___The AP-NORC poll of 1,260 adults was conducted April 17-21, using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. JOSH BOAK Boak covers the White House and economic policy for The Associated Press. He joined the AP in 2013. twitter mailto AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX Thomson-DeVeaux is the APs editor for polling and surveys.

Generative AI is a power and water hungry beast. While its advocates swear itll change the world for the better, the tangible benefits today are less clear and the long term costs to both society and the environment may be enormous. Even the federal U.S. government knows this, according to a new report published Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a nonpartisan watchdog group that answers to Congress.The GAOs AI reports goal is to succinctly explain to legislators what media outlets and researchers have been explaining for years: the infrastructure necessary to produce generative AI presents a massive strain on the planet.The GAO investigators wanted to know what the real world effects of generative AI were on humans and the environment.To answer these questions, we interviewed agency officials and other stakeholders, including industry and academic researchers; held an expert meeting; attended AI conferences; and reviewed agency documents and other literature, the report said. The final 47 page document amounts to a meta-analysis of existing data.One immediate obstacle to the investigators was AI companies lack of transparency around their water usage. Generative AI uses significant energy and water resources, but companies are generally not reporting details of these uses, the GAO said. Things also vary greatly depending on where in the U.S. an AI model is trained. It doesnt cost the same amount to cool a datacenter in Texas as it does in Oregon.But what the GAO could figure out was startling.It is not unusual to see new data centers being built with energy needs of 100 to 1000 megawatts, roughly equivalent to powering 80,000 to 800,000 households, the GAO said. It added that 40 percent of that cost is just cooling the data center, a cost thats expected to increase as the planet heats up.Geography mattered a lot. If a model is trained in the northwestern U.S. where 44 percent of electricity generation comes from hydropower, the carbon emissions are lower than if the model is trained in the Midwest, where 38 percent of the electricity is generated from coal, the report said.The report also estimated the carbon costs of specific models. Googles Gemma2 topped the list with 1,247.61 metric tons of carbon. OpenAIs GPT3 came in at 552 metric tons. Training Metas Llama 3.1 405B model has spewed 8,930 metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere, according to the report.The GAO report also noted that using generative AI as a search engine was far more costly than traditional search methods. One estimate indicates using generative AI could cost 10 times more than a standard keyword search, it said. According to the GAOs estimates, AIs doing 250,000,000 queries a day would use as much electricity as 26,071 U.S. households use in a day and 1,100,836 gallons of water.OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joked on X earlier this month that the company was spending tens of millions of dollars paying the electricity costs to generate responses to people saying please and thank you to ChatGPT. Every time that happens, a little more water is burned and a little more carbon is released.When it came time to assess human harms, the GAO report also cited a lack of data. Assessing the safety of a generative AI system is inherently challenging, it said. These systems largely remain black boxes, meaning even the designers do not fully understand how the systems generate outputs. Without a deeper understanding, developers and users have a limited ability to anticipate safety concerns and can only mitigate problems as they arise.We have, of course, seen the harms firsthand. People have used generative AI to make non-consensual porn of classmates, coworkers, celebrities, and strangers. People have killed themselves after long conversations with AI companions. AI slop is filling up the internet like an invasive species of plant strangling an estuary.The GAO report touched on some of these issues, but brought it all back to an underlying issue: a lack of transparency from the companies making AI. If harms were to occur because of the above risks or other issues, they would likely be compounded by the challenge of identifying the accountable party, the GAO said. This challenge is rooted in some of the core attributes of generative AI systems, which largely remain black boxes.

Nature, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01170-4Reconstructions of the evolutionary relationships among blood-cell clones from individuals with the blood cancer chronic myeloid leukaemia reveal that the cancer clone grows exceptionally quickly, reaching rates of between 10,000% and 1,000,000% per year. This variability in growth rate could explain differences in responses to cancer treatments.

Nature, Published online: 23 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-08922-2Analysis of more than 95% of each diploid human genome of a four-generation, twenty-eight-member family using five complementary short-read and long-read sequencing technologies provides a truth set to understand the most fundamental processes underlying human genetic variation.

Bayern Munich will secure the Bundesliga title on Saturday with a win over top-four hopefuls Mainz if rivals and reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen fail to beat Augsburg.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has scolded Endrick after his missed goal-scoring opportunity in Wednesday's 1-0 LaLiga win at Getafe.

The conclave to select the next pontiff has not started yet, but meetings to set the agenda and to decide on the logistics of mourning for Francis were gathering pace.

Catholics and Protestants who saw Pope Francis as a guiding moral figure are losing their voice.

Pope Francis, the first pope from the Americas, died Easter Monday at age 88. The Onion honors the late pontiff by looking back on his life and legacy.1936: Jorge Mario Bergoglio is born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Italian immigrants Regina Mara Svori and God.1953: First ponders priesthood after whiffing on seven different prom invites.1969: Ordained as a priest despite failing the parallel parking portion of the exam.1983: Briefly considered throwing it all away for a woman named Rosa who told him she liked his shirt.19901998: Legendary run with the Chicago Bulls.2013: Named Pope of the Year by Time magazine.2014: Modernizes Catholic Church by allowing jean robes on casual Fridays.2015: Discovers he can hide extra dessert under his hat without anybody noticing.2024: Concerns for his health grow as Pope Francis is increasingly seen standing in an open grave.2025: Dies without telling anyone the password for the Vaticans Hulu account.The post Timeline Of Pope Francis Life appeared first on The Onion.