Houthi supporters chant slogans during a weekly, anti-U.S. and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, Friday, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)2025-04-24T22:53:24Z WASHINGTON (AP) Houthi rebels in Yemen have shot down seven U.S. Reaper drones in less than six weeks, a loss of aircraft worth more than $200 million in what is becoming the most dramatic cost to the Pentagon of the military campaign against the Iran-backed militants.According to defense officials, three of the drones were shot down in the past week suggesting the militants targeting of the unmanned aircraft flying over Yemen has improved. The drones were doing attack runs or conducting surveillance, and they crashed both into the water and onto land, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations.The U.S. has increased its attacks on the Houthis, launching daily strikes since March 15, when President Donald Trump ordered a new, expanded campaign. He promised to use overwhelming lethal force until the Houthis cease their attacks on shipping along a vital maritime corridor. Central Command spokesman Dave Eastburn said Thursday night that the U.S. has struck more than 800 Houthi targets. These strikes have destroyed multiple command-and-control facilities, air defense systems, advanced weapons manufacturing facilities, advanced weapons storage locations, and killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders, Eastburn said. Another defense official said that although hostile fire is likely the cause of the drone losses, the incidents are still under investigation. The official noted that the increase in U.S. strikes can add to the risk to aircraft, but said the U.S. will take every measure possible to protect troops, equipment and interests in the region. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to comment on sensitive military issues. The sophisticated drones, built by General Atomics, cost about $30 million each, and generally fly at altitudes of more than 40,000 feet (12,100 meters). Houthis leaders have consistently touted the strikes in public statements. One of the defense officials said the U.S. lost Reaper drones on March 31 and on April 3, 9, 13, 18, 19 and 22. U.S. senators, meanwhile, are raising concerns about civilian casualties caused by the American strikes in Yemen. Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Tim Kaine of Virginia wrote to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday questioning whether the Trump administration is abandoning the measures necessary to meet its obligations to reducing civilian harm.Specifically, they questioned reports that U.S. strikes at the Ras Isa fuel terminal in Yemen last week potentially killed more than 70 civilians.Military leaders agree that ingraining civilian harm mitigation practices within U.S operations leads to better outcomes and that civilian casualties actually undermine the mission that the military has been sent in to do, their letter said.In addition to downing the drones, the Houthis have been persistently firing missiles and one-way attack drones at U.S. military ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. They havent hit any. The U.S. has been using an array of warships, fighter jets, bombers and drones to strike the Houthis, and aircraft can now launch from two Navy carriers in the region.Hegseth decided in March to beef up the Navy warship presence in the Middle East, ordering the USS Harry S. Truman to extend its deployment there, as the USS Carl Vinson steamed toward the area.The Truman, along with two of the destroyers and a cruiser in its strike group, is now in the Red Sea. And the Vinson, along with two destroyers and a cruiser, is in the Gulf of Aden.The third destroyer assigned to the Truman is in the Mediterranean Sea. And two other U.S. Navy destroyers are in the Red Sea, but arent part of the Trumans group.Hegseth is weighing whether to grant a request by U.S. Central Command to once again extend the Trumans deployment. A decision to do that could keep the Truman and at least some of its strike group in the region for several more weeks.It has been rare in recent years for the U.S. to have two aircraft carriers in the Middle East at the same time. Navy leaders have generally been opposed to the idea because it disrupts ship maintenance schedules and delays time at home for sailors strained by the unusually high combat tempo. Last year, the Biden administration ordered the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier to remain in the Red Sea for an extended time, as U.S. warships waged the most intense running sea battle since World War II.Prior to that it had been years since the U.S. had committed that much warship power to the Middle East. The Houthis have been waging persistent missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the groups leadership has described as an effort to end the Israeli war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. From November 2023 until this January, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. That has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically sees $1 trillion of goods move through it annually. LOLITA C. BALDOR Baldor has covered the Pentagon and national security issues for The Associated Press since 2005. She has reported from all over the world including warzones in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. twitter mailto

Visitors look at a bare-bones version of Tesla's Cybertruck with devices from AOD Technology, which makes domain control units that process various commands such as opening doors and controlling running boards on SUVs, displayed at the Shanghai auto show on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)2025-04-25T02:05:38Z SHANGHAI (AP) Booths of big Chinese, German and Japanese automakers were bustling at Shanghais auto show this week as the industry kept its focus on a wider global market not subject to steep U.S. tariffs on imports of cars and auto parts. Signs are that U.S. President Donald Trumps 25% tariffs on auto imports is causing companies to recalibrate their strategies, and in some cases find new opportunities. When governments up above are at odds, its going to impact the businesses down below, Ma Lihua, general manager at Soling, a Chinese maker of domain control units and other electronics used in such things as rearview camera displays. Soling, headquartered in Shanghai, counts Ford Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and many other top tier global and Chinese automakers among its customers. Its also setting up a manufacturing base in Vietnam, whose local EV maker VinFast has ambitions to become Southeast Asias leading automaker. Many of the dozens of auto parts and components companies exhibiting at the Shanghai auto show have operations spanning both the Chinese and world markets.Metal components maker Gestamp, a supplier of chassis, battery boxes and other key auto parts, has suffered from a slowdown in the U.S. and western European markets but is expanding in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. The tariffs are now an added complication, as automakers watch to see what comes. In the past, supply chains usually would run like Swiss clockwork, but now its the opposite, said Ernesto Barcelo, chief ESG officer for metal components maker Gestamp, said of the uncertainty now dominating the market. The lack of stability now, its something very ... fluffy, Barcelo said. A fundamental criteria for investing in any market is political stability, Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motor Co., told reporters when asked about his companys plans to expand manufacturing overseas. That applies to countries like Hungary, where the company has not yet decided on whether to build a factory, he said, but also to the United States under Trump. If a country is not politically stable, its very risky, said Wei, who also goes by the name Jack Wey.With U.S. tariffs so high, Great Wall can focus elsewhere, such as on trade between China and Europe, which is bound to grow, he said. He didnt address the issue of the tariffs of up 45.3% that the EU has imposed on electric vehicles made in China. Tianshu Xin, CEO of Leapmotor International, a joint venture of Stellantis and Chinas Leapmotor, said the U.S. market wasnt its first focus.Now, we want to monitor the regulatory environment, and also customer preferences are slightly different compared with other markets, Xin said.Japans Nissan plans to launch 10 new EVs in China by 2027, nine of them its own brand, and to spend an extra $1.4 billion by the end of 2026 on its expansion there. In the U.S. it has the option to ramp up its spare capacity to make up for reduced imports due to the tariffs. Some doors have been shut, but others have been opened, Ma said. But any plan you make you will change it very quickly. The market changes very quickly. Apart from higher tariffs, automakers and suppliers also must contend with national security restrictions that are an increasingly important factor in auto electronics. Wuhan Kotei Informatics, which provides software for autonomous driving, adapted its business model to cope with sanctions. Now the company based in central Chinas Wuhan acts as a consultant and allows foreign customers to adapt software to local requirements, said Ye Xiongfei, general manager for the companys autonomous driving division. Its like I teach you how to walk if you dont know how to walk, and I will help you walk if you arent able to walk, Ye said.Some restrictions on technology are understandable, but too many will hurt the innovation of the U.S. itself, hindering the speed of the development of their supply chains if it tries to only use local companies, he said. Some attending the show said they believe that ultimately Trump will end up softening his stance. Trump is a businessman and he hopes to boost the U.S. economy by imposing tariffs on other countries, but I do believe those measures are temporary, said Yang Jingdi, assistant to the CEO of LvXiang Automobile Parts Co., which makes electronics including rearview mirrors and pumps. Well wait and see, he said. China has full and abundant supply chains and it is the U.S. that wont hold on if the tariff measures from both sides remain unchanged.AOD Technology, which makes domain control units that process various commands such as opening doors and controlling running boards on SUVs, was displaying a bare-bones version of Teslas Cybertruck equipped with its devices evidence of its ambition to eventually sell to the EV maker. It might not be the best time to be planning on selling such components to a U.S. automaker for production in America, Claire Deng, a senior sales manager, conceded.But she said AOD, based in south Chinas Zhongshan, had bought the Cybertruck as part of a process that can take years, developing whats needed to become a supplier. Who knows what will happen, she said. We want to be ready. ___Associated Press researcher Yu Bing contributed. ELAINE KURTENBACH Based in Bangkok, Kurtenbach is the APs business editor for Asia, helping to improve and expand our coverage of regional economies, climate change and the transition toward carbon-free energy. She has been covering economic, social, environmental and political trends in China, Japan and Southeast Asia throughout her career. twitter mailto

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People pay their respect to the late Pope Francis who will lie in state inside St. Peter's Basilica until Friday, at the Vatican, Thursday April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)2025-04-25T04:07:48Z VATICAN CITY (AP) Heads of state and royalty will start converging on Rome on Friday for the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vaticans St. Peters Square, but the group of poor people who will meet his casket in a small crosstown basilica are more in keeping with Francis humble persona and disdain for pomp.U.S. President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei are among the leaders arriving Friday, the last day Argentine pope will lie in state in St. Peters Basilica before his coffin is sealed in the evening in preparation for his funeral Saturday. The Vatican said 130 delegations are confirmed, including 50 heads of state and 10 reigning sovereigns. Paying respectsTens of thousands of mourners have waited hours in line to bid farewell to Francis, who died Monday after suffering a stroke at the age of 88. A higher-than-expected turnout prompted the Vatican to extend the basilicas opening hours overnight.By Thursday evening, more than 90,000 mourners had filed past Francis open coffin placed in front of the basilicas main altar at times praying, at times holding smart phones aloft for a photo of the late pontiff laid out in red robes, a bishops pointed miter and a rosary entwined in his hands. St. Peters Basilica remained open until around 3 a.m. Friday and closed for just a few hours before reopening for mourners who started arriving before dawn. The public viewing is scheduled to end at 7 p.m., after which Francis simple wooden coffin will be sealed. Emanuela Bisco took the day off work to pay her last respects to Francis, as she had 20 years ago for St. John Paul II.Francis was the pope of the forgotten, who was close to the simplest people, the homeless who were not pushed away, Bisco said. I hope that the next pope will be at his level, and continue his struggles, his openness, everything that he did. Cardinals meetThe work of the conclave to choose a new pope wont start until at least May 5, after nine days of public mourning. Cardinals have been also been arriving in Rome, with 113 meeting Thursday morning to discuss church business. They will meet again Friday before taking a break for the weekend.We are getting ready, but we still have not entered into the more intense phase. We are in the organizational phase,' Italian Cardinal Fernando Filoni said Thursday. Papal burialIn keeping with Francis embrace of the marginalized, the Vatican said a group of poor and needy people will meet the popes coffin to pay homage to him when it arrives at St. Mary Major basilica for burial on Saturday.The tomb is being prepared behind a wooden barrier within the basilica that he chose to be near an icon of the Madonna that he revered and often prayed before. Photos released by the Vatican on Friday show the marble tombstone flat against the pavement, with the simple engraving in Latin that he requested in his last testament: Franciscus DelegationsTrump, who is traveling with first lady Melania Trump, is scheduled to arrive Friday, after Francis coffin has been sealed.Among the other foreign dignitaries confirmed for the papal funeral are: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and first lady Olena Zelenska French President Emmanuel Macron British Prime Minister Keir Starmer Prince William Spains King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia Hungarian President Viktor Orbn Brazilian President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva COLLEEN BARRY Barry covers all things Italy for The Associated Press. Her focus includes fashion and design, overtourism and the environment, politics and sometimes the Vatican. twitter instagram mailto

Pope Francis meets with President Donald Trump, left, on the occasion of their private audience, at the Vatican, May 24, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, Pool, File)2025-04-25T04:06:55Z WASHINGTON (AP) The day before he died, in his final public address, Pope Francis expressed an Easter Sunday message of unity and an appeal for the marginalized and migrants. All of us, he proclaimed, are children of God!In a dramatically different message Sunday, President Donald Trump issued an insult-laced post wishing a happy Easter to his opponents, including Radical Left Lunatics, WEAK and INEFFECTIVE Judges and Law Enforcement Officials, and former President Joe Biden, our WORST and most Incompetent President.Some of the fundamental differences between the U.S. president and the late pope not only their divergent styles but their positions on migration, the environment and poverty will come into sharper focus as Trump travels to Rome on Friday for Francis funeral, to be held Saturday morning in St. Peters Square.David Gibson, director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University in New York, put it this way: Obviously, its been a fraught relationship. The relationship erodedThings werent great between Trump and the pope during Trumps first term, from 2017 to 2021. But, says Gibson, Trump II was even worse with the Vatican because of how much more aggressive it has been on every level, against migrants, against international aid.The Argentine pontiff and the American president sparred early on over immigration. In 2016, Francis, alluding to then-candidate Trump, called anyone who builds a wall to keep out migrants not Christian. Trump called the comment disgraceful.Despite the billionaire former reality stars divergences over the years with Francis, who was known for a humble style, Trumps support has gradually risen among American Catholics. He courted them in his last presidential campaign, and many influential bishops are among his supporters.Trump, who has identified himself as a non-denominational Christian, has long counted Christians, especially evangelical Christians, among his key blocs of support. His policies on abortion, including his role in appointing three of the five U.S. Supreme Court justices who overturned national abortion rights, deepened his support among Christians, including many conservative Catholics. His politics are also closely aligned with many conservative U.S. Catholic bishops, who were often at odds with Francis more progressive approach to leading the church.The Republican president implored Catholics last year to vote for him. In October, when he addressed the Al Smith charity dinner in New York, which raises millions of dollars for Catholic charities, Trump said: You gotta get out and vote. And Catholics, you gotta vote for me.Many Catholics did. In the 2024 election, Trump won the Catholic vote, according to AP VoteCast, a survey of more than 120,000 voters. In 2020, the Catholic vote was evenly split between Joe Biden, but in 2024, 54% of Catholic voters supported Trump and 44% supported Kamala Harris.For Trump, Catholics support didnt earn FrancisBut while Trump may have won the Catholic vote, he never won over Francis.Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic who met briefly with Francis the day before he died, dismissed the pontiffs disagreements with the administration, telling reporters this week that the pope was a much broader figure than American politics a man who led a church with 1.4 billion members worldwide. Im aware that he had some disagreements with some of the policies of our administration, Vance said. He also had a lot of agreements with some of the policies of our administration. Im not going to soil the mans legacy by talking about politics.Trump, too, met once with Francis, in a largely cordial meeting at the Vatican in 2017. But their differences persisted.In February of this year, Francis sent a letter to U.S. bishops that was similar in tone to his comments on immigration almost a decade earlier. He denounced the Trump administrations embarking on plans for mass deportations and noted that in the Bible, the infant Jesus and his family were themselves refugees in Egypt, fleeing a threat to their lives. Some leading bishops did applaud some of the new Trump administration initiatives on school choice and policies defining gender as determined at birth. Francis, while upholding church teachings on sexuality, took a more tolerant stance toward LGBTQ+ people.Other prominent bishops, appointed by Francis, are more sympathetic with his priorities. They include the new archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Robert McElroy. Catholics are a diverse group and act accordinglyBut the Catholic vote is not monolithic. John Fea, a professor of history at Messiah University in Pennsylvania, said many conservative Catholics, even if they respect the office of the pope, dont like his progressive views on immigrants and his authorizing of blessings for same-sex couples.The views of many conservative American Catholics line-up with Trumps brand of populism: strong borders, pro-life on abortion, concern about critical race theory in schools, etc., Fea, author of Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump, said via email.In contrast, he speculated that many progressive Catholics who do share Pope Francis social justice concerns probably did not vote for Trump.In addition to migration, Francis also differed with Trump on the environment, writing an encyclical calling for climate action, in contrast to the presidents push to bring back fossil fuels. Francis also staunchly opposed the death penalty, something Trump supports.Stylistically, Trumps big personality also contrasted with Francis more self-deprecating and welcoming tone, immortalized by his Who am I to judge? response to a question about gay priests.Trump and Francis did share some policy goals on issues such as abortion and religious freedom, and U.S.-Vatican relations involve more than two people, said Steven Millies, director of the Bernadin Center at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.But the alignments were at the diplomatic level more than at the personal or political level, of course, said Millies, a professor of public theology. They were profoundly different people one whod been formed by Jesuit spirituality and lived his life in deepening faith that he shared with the world, the other who mangles Scripture quotations, sells Bibles for personal profit, and uses Christian faith like a brand identity in a market competition.___Smith, a religion writer for The Associated Press, reported from Pittsburgh. MICHELLE L. PRICE Price covers the White House. She previously covered the 2024 presidential campaign and politics, government and other news in New York, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. She is based in Washington. twitter mailto

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Pope Francis shakes hands with Associated Press correspondent Nicole Winfield aboard his plane bound for Fatima, Portugal, on May 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)2025-04-25T04:11:43Z VATICAN CITY (AP) He called me la prima della classe, or the first in class. It wasnt necessarily a compliment.I had earned the nickname from Pope Francis in 2018, a year that marked a low point in his papacy, and a turning point in how he handled cases of priests who sexually abused children.The pope had just bungled a big abuse case in Chile and I, like many in the Vatican press corps, reported the scandal during Francis problematic trip to the South American country. Francis had discredited abuse victims, defended a bishop implicated in covering up their case and showed himself to be insensitive to their trauma.A turbulent news conference Pope Francis sits next to Greg Burke, right, with journalists after turbulence interrupted his news conference, during a flight from Lima, Peru, to Rome, Jan. 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Pope Francis sits next to Greg Burke, right, with journalists after turbulence interrupted his news conference, during a flight from Lima, Peru, to Rome, Jan. 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Returning to Rome, Francis was inundated with questions about the Chile scandal during the traditional in-flight news conference. Turbulence temporarily halted the session, but when it resumed, I picked up where others had left off, pressing the issue and incredulous that he seemed so unaware of the victims pain.Francis insisted no victims had come forward to accuse Bishop Juan Barros of protecting the abuser priest, Fernando Karadima. I knew otherwise, and told Francis as much in a tone of voice that still shocks me today. (AP Audio) Its the victims who are saying this, I told him.I havent heard from any victim of Barros, Francis responded. There are! There are! I insisted. The pope interrupted, but I cut him off, my voice rising. No! There are victims of Karadima who say that Barros was there! But they didnt come forward, Francis replied. They didnt give evidence for a judgment. You, with good intentions, tell me that there are victims, but I havent seen them because they didnt present themselves.By the genteel standards of Vatican protocol, it was a stunningly sharp exchange. Francis could have dug in or retaliated against me and other journalists who challenged him so publicly. But he didnt. His response commissioning an investigation and, once finished, apologizing to the victims for discrediting them underscored what friends and foes alike saw as one of Francis most remarkable attributes: a willingness to admit mistakes and change course. In a 2023 interview with The Associated Press, Francis acknowledged the 2018 airborne news conference was a turning point the moment he understood the depths of the abuse scandal. I couldnt believe it. You were the one on the plane who told me, No, thats not the way it is, Father, Francis told me.Thats when the bomb went off, when I saw the corruption of many bishops in this, he said, making a gesture indicating his head had exploded. There you witnessed that I myself had to wake up to cases that were all covered up, didnt I? Pope Francis during an interview with APs Nicole Winfield in 2023. Associated Press correspondent Nicole Winfield shows Pope Francis an Associated Press book at the Vatican, on Jan. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Associated Press correspondent Nicole Winfield shows Pope Francis an Associated Press book at the Vatican, on Jan. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A nickname emergesBy then, Francis already had bestowed the nickname on me, coming up with it in August 2018, while the Chilean scandal was still fresh.AP colleague Eva Vergara and I had followed up with a story that Francis had indeed received a letter from a Chilean victim detailing the abuse and cover-up he endured.Again aboard Air Pope One heading to Ireland, Francis came back to greet journalists. When he got to my row, Francis smiled, shook my hand and said, Ahh, la prima della classe. La prima della classe. I wondered what he meant. In Italian it can be translated as the first in class. But it can also carry a negative connotation: a know-it-all, goody-goody or teachers pet.I saw the nickname as Francis grudging acknowledgement that AP and I had accurately called him out and corrected him.As reporters, we had to keep a professional distance, covering him in the tough but fair way that met our standards and which was perhaps behind his respect for our work. Pope Francis jokes with Associated Press correspondent Nicole Winfield aboard a flight to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday, July 23, 2013. (LOsservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP, File) Pope Francis jokes with Associated Press correspondent Nicole Winfield aboard a flight to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Tuesday, July 23, 2013. (LOsservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More An evolving relationship with the pressThe nickname stuck, and Francis used it whenever we met. In many ways, it showed how his relationship with the press evolved over time.When he was elected, Francis made clear his discomfort with journalists. He had had negative experiences in Argentina, where his record as head of the Jesuits in the 1970s during the military dictatorship and his tenure as Buenos Aires archbishop had put him in the media crosshairs.Truly, I dont give interviews. Why, I dont know, its just that way, Francis told reporters traveling to Brazil in 2013 for his first foreign trip as pope. Over time, Francis loosened up and his airborne news conferences became a new chapter in papal communication. His comments sometimes required official clarifications, but they pushed the envelope in ways he couldnt in speeches or documents on issues like LGBTQ+ outreach or the role of women in the church.Francis granted more interviews than his two predecessors combined, using the media to speak to his flock in the informal, personal style that characterized his papacy. Associated Press correspondent Nicole Winfield works in the Vaticans press room, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Associated Press correspondent Nicole Winfield works in the Vaticans press room, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A work-life dilemma arisesOur last substantive encounter came in January 2024, when reporters met with him in the Apostolic Palace. At the time, I was concerned with an impending work-life conflict: My daughter would be starting college in late August and our family was planning to be in New England to attend orientation and move her into her dorm.At the same time, rumors were circulating that Francis would embark on his longest, most ambitious trip: a four-nation tour of Asia that, in all likelihood, would occur in late August. I couldnt miss either.At the end of the audience, Francis greeted the journalists individually. To this day, I cannot believe what I said, but I laid out my dilemma, summoning both maternal desperation and nothing-to-lose chutzpah. Ever polite, Francis listened intently he often asked about my children as I suggested, somewhat cheekily, that delaying the Asia trip would enable me to cover it.Francis didnt dismiss it outright, and I figured I could at least tell my daughter I had tried, knowing Id inevitably have to tell her the Asia trip would take precedence. In this photo provided by Jean-Marie Guenois, Associated Press correspondent Nicole Winfield speaks with Pope Francis on his plane en route to Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sept. 2, 2024. (Jean-Marie Guenois via AP) In this photo provided by Jean-Marie Guenois, Associated Press correspondent Nicole Winfield speaks with Pope Francis on his plane en route to Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sept. 2, 2024. (Jean-Marie Guenois via AP) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More A final surpriseMonths later, to my astonishment, the date of the trip was announced: Sept. 2-13. I could do both.I didnt dare think my impromptu conversation as Francis met scores of journalists could have entered into the complicated calculations of organizing a papal trip. But I later received a breathless voicemail from someone close to Francis who had just met with him. You will not believe what he told me, he said. The pope said he changed the dates of the trip to ensure I could come, he said.I still dont know if other factors affected what became the last major foreign journey of Francis life. Pope Francis meets people after giving an address in the Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker, File) Pope Francis meets people after giving an address in the Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Im grateful I was able to go. I was a witness as Francis, hobbled and in a wheelchair, ministered to his flock in Indonesia and Singapore, the jungles of Papua New Guinea and steamy East Timor, where half the population attended his final Mass in Dili.On the long plane ride home, I wrote about his resilience.There was Francis, defying the doubters who had questioned if he could, would or should make such an arduous trip to Asia given everything that could go wrong, my story said. The moment seemed to serve as proof that, despite his age, ailments and seven hours of jet lag, Pope Francis still could pope, still likes to pope and has it in him to pope like he used to at the start of his pontificate.Id like to think he might have read it, knowing it came from la prima della classe.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. NICOLE WINFIELD Winfield has been on the Vatican beat since 2001, covering the papacies of St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and the Francis pontificate and traveling the world with them.

Residents of the West Bank refugee camp of Nur Shams, Tulkarem, evacuate their homes as the Israeli military continues its operation in the area on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)2025-04-25T05:02:46.198Z After the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023 ignited the devastating war in Gaza, a deadly new reality also took hold for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.With the worlds attention focused on Gaza, Israeli military operations in the West Bank grew in size, frequency and intensity. The army launched the stepped-up campaign to counter what it says is a growing militant threat.Heres a look at where things stand, with data collected by the U.N.s humanitarian office and Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement tracking group.Palestinian deaths by Israeli fire have surgedSince the war in Gaza erupted, the majority of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank have been shot during military raids in villages and towns. Israel says the operations are needed to stamp out militancy. Many of the dead were militants killed in clashes, or youths throwing stones or firebombs.But Palestinians and rights groups say scores of uninvolved civilians have been caught in the crossfire. Of those killed since the Hamas attack, at least 182 have been children under 18, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, some of whom Israel says were involved in stone-throwing and militancy. Rights groups accuse Israel of using excessive force.Israeli offensives evicted 40,000 from refugee camps Israel is staging a massive offensive across four major refugee camps in the north of the West Bank. The raids, at their height, pushed 40,000 people from their homes. Many are now sheltering with relatives in neighboring villages, others racking up debt renting apartments while they wait to return.Israeli officials, meanwhile, have said those displaced will not be allowed to go back for at least a year. Forces have ripped up roads, destroyed infrastructure and demolished hundreds of homes. Israel says it is dismantling terrorist infrastructure. But civilian homes have also been destroyed.In another escalation, the military has resumed previously rare tactics, like drone strikes, in these densely populated areas. Settler attacks on Palestinians occur almost daily Settler attacks causing injury or death to Palestinians surged in the wake of the Hamas attack. For Palestinians living in small Bedouin villages in areas under full Israeli control, the attacks have become a near-daily occurrence as settlers emboldened by Israels pro-settler government build new unauthorized outposts on nearby hilltops.Israel says it opposes settler violence and blames it all on a small, extremist fringe. Palestinians say that the Israeli army does little to protect them, and that the attacks are part of a systematic attempt to expel them from their land.Israeli outposts spring up across territorySettlers have established about 80 new outposts since the war began. Rights groups say the outposts, often populated by extremist activists, are the main drivers of violence against Palestinians. The tiny unauthorized land grabs are tolerated and even encouraged by Israel, which over the years has converted many outposts into authorized settlements as it cements its hold on the territory and moves to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. Israels government, dominated by settler leaders and supporters, has established 13 new settlements since the war began, at least five of which originally sprung up as outposts. That brings the total number of settlements to 140.Most of the international community considers settlements illegal, though U.S. President Donald Trump has supported them. Checkpoints choke Palestinian movementMeanwhile, movement between Palestinian towns and cities has only grown more difficult. New checkpoints have further divided the territory and created choke points the Israeli army can shut off on a whim. Crossings that had been open 24/7 started closing during morning and evening rush hours, disrupting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and turning once-routine commutes into hours-long journeys.As the war in Gaza continues and the West Bank seethes, Palestinians say life is only growing more difficult. Residents of the West Bank refugee camp of Nur Shams, Tulkarem, evacuate their homes as the Israeli military continues its operation in the area on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed) Residents of the West Bank refugee camp of Nur Shams, Tulkarem, evacuate their homes as the Israeli military continues its operation in the area on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More JULIA FRANKEL Frankel is an Associated Press reporter in Jerusalem. twitter mailto

Carlo Ancelotti is once again the front-runner for Brazil's vacant coaching job, sources told ESPN Brasil.

The Giants selected Penn State star Abdul Carter and QB Jaxson Dart in the first round of the NFL draft.

Smooth floors. Public restrooms. A built-in audience: The lower level of Moynihan Hall doubles as a rehearsal space for a variety of dance groups, including K-pop, salsa and Brazilian Zouk.

The virus leads to an estimated 36,000 deaths in the United States each season many of them so sudden that families are left reeling.

Pakistan's paramilitary soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint near Wahag, a joint border crossing point between the Pakistan and India border, Thursday, April 24, 2025.(AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)2025-04-24T12:43:36Z NEW DELHI (AP) A deadly attack on tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir has again moved India and Pakistan closer to war as the two rivals downgraded diplomatic and trade ties, closed the main border crossing and revoked visas for each others nationals. Pakistan has denied it was behind Tuesdays attack that killed 26 mostly Indian tourists at a scenic spot in the Himalayan region, where India claimed it restored a sense of calm despite a decadeslong rebellion. A previously unknown militant group calling itself Kashmir Resistance has claimed responsibility for the attack. India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, which is split between them and claimed by both in its entirety. Heres what to know about an escalation in tensions between the two nuclear-armed rivals. Supporters of the Pakistan Murkazi Muslim League party chants slogans during a demonstration against the suspension of water-sharing treaty by India with Pakistan, in Karachi, Pakistan Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan) Supporters of the Pakistan Murkazi Muslim League party chants slogans during a demonstration against the suspension of water-sharing treaty by India with Pakistan, in Karachi, Pakistan Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Whats at the heart of the dispute? Ties between India and Pakistan have been shaped by conflict, aggressive diplomacy and mutual suspicion, most notably in their competing claims over the stunning Himalayan region of Kashmir. Armed insurgents in Kashmir have resisted New Delhi for decades, with many Muslim Kashmiris supporting the rebels goal of uniting the territory either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country. India accuses Pakistan of fomenting violence, a charge denied by Islamabad. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict over the years. How has Pakistan responded to Indias reprisals? On Tuesday, gunmen fatally shot 26 people, mostly Indian tourists, in an attack near the picturesque town of Pahalgam. New Delhi immediately linked Pakistan to the attack, although it did not publicly produce any evidence. India announced a string of punitive measures. It downgraded diplomatic ties, suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty and revoked all visas issued to Pakistani nationals. India also said it will reduce its staff in its high commission in Pakistan and bring down the number of Pakistani diplomats in New Delhi to 30 from 55 from May 1. Pakistan called Indias actions irresponsible and canceled visas for Indian nationals, suspended all trade with India including via third countries and closed its airspace to Indian aircraft. Supporters of the Pakistan Murkazi Muslim League party chants slogans during a demonstration against the suspension of water-sharing treaty by India with Pakistan, in Karachi, Pakistan Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan) Supporters of the Pakistan Murkazi Muslim League party chants slogans during a demonstration against the suspension of water-sharing treaty by India with Pakistan, in Karachi, Pakistan Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Islamabad warns dispute over water could lead to war Indias decision to suspend the water treaty could potentially mark a major turning point in how the two neighbors manage an essential shared resource between them. Pakistan warned Thursday that any Indian attempt to stop or divert the flow of water between them would be considered an act of war. 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. The treaty has survived two wars between the countries, in 1965 and 1971, and a major border skirmish in 1999. It governs sharing of the water supply from the Indus River system and its distributaries. Under the treaty, India has control over the eastern rivers of Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas, and Pakistan controls the western rivers of Jhelum, Chenab, and Indus that follow through Kashmir region. Pakistan said the treaty was binding and contained no provision for unilateral suspension. Pakistan described it as a vital national interest. The treaty is essential for supporting agriculture and hydropower in the country with 240 million people. Suspending it could lead to water shortages at a time when parts of Pakistan are already struggling with drought and declining rainfall.Pakistan warns it could suspend a peace treaty A supporter of the Pakistan Murkazi Muslim League party holds a crossed poster of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the words Modi butcher during a demonstration against the suspension of water-sharing treaty by India with Pakistan, in Karachi, Pakistan Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan) A supporter of the Pakistan Murkazi Muslim League party holds a crossed poster of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the words Modi butcher during a demonstration against the suspension of water-sharing treaty by India with Pakistan, in Karachi, Pakistan Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Islamabad, meanwhile, has warned it could suspend the Simla Agreement, a significant peace treaty signed after the 1971 India-Pakistan war that ended in Bangladesh splitting from Pakistan.Under the agreement, India and Pakistan established the Line of Control, previously called the Ceasefire Line, a highly militarized de facto border that divides disputed Kashmir between the countries. They also committed to settle their differences through bilateral negotiations.Militant attacks scale back peace efforts Despite largely strained relations, the neighbors have intermittently made efforts for peace. However, regular border flare-ups and multiple militant attacks in Kashmir and India have marred peace overtures as New Delhi has taken tough position on Islamabad, accusing it of terrorism.In 1999, Pakistan-backed rebels and Pakistani soldiers seized Indian military posts in the icy heights of Kargil region. Indian troops responded and a 10-week conflict killed at least 1,000 combatants on both sides. The fighting stopped after a U.S. intervention.In 2008, a group of heavily armed assailants of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group went on a rampage in Indias financial capital Mumbai, killing 166 people. New Delhi blamed Pakistans intelligence service for the assault, an accusation denied by Islamabad. In 2019, a suicide car bombing killed 40 Indian soldiers in Kashmir and brought the countries closer to war. In response, India said its air force struck a militant training camp inside Pakistan. Pakistan responded by aerial raids, downed an Indian military aircraft and captured an Indian pilot, who was later released.Months later, Prime Minister Narendra Modis government revoked Kashmirs semi-autonomous status and imposed sweeping security measures. Since then, India has kept order in the region with a huge security presence and drastically curbed dissent, civil liberties and media freedoms.Worries of nuclear confrontationIndia and Pakistan have built up their armies and nuclear arsenals over the years. India was the first to conduct a nuclear test in 1974, followed by another in 1998. Pakistan followed with its own nuclear tests just a few weeks later. The sides have since armed themselves with hundreds of nuclear warheads, missile delivery systems, advanced fighter jets and modern weapons to take on each other.

The Krome Detention Center, Wednesday, April 16, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)2025-04-25T04:07:45Z MIAMI (AP) As hundreds of migrants crowded into the Krome Detention Center in Miami on the edge of the Florida Everglades, a palpable fear of an uprising set in among its staff.As President Donald J. Trump sought to make good on his campaign pledge of mass arrests and removals of migrants, Krome, the United States oldest immigration detention facility and one with a long history of abuse, saw its prisoner population recently swell to nearly three times its capacity of 600.There are 1700 people here at Krome!!!!, one U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employee texted a co-worker last month, adding that even though it felt unsafe to walk around the facility nobody was willing to speak out. That tension fearing reprisal for trying to ensure more humane conditions comes amid a battle in federal courts and the halls of Congress over whether the presidents immigration crackdown has gone too far, too fast at the expense of fundamental rights. At Krome, reports have poured in about a lack of water and food, unsanitary confinement and medical neglect. With the surge of complaints, the Trump administration shut down three Department of Homeland Security oversight offices charged with investigating such claims. A copy of the text exchange and several other documents were shared with The Associated Press by a federal employee on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. Other documents include detainee complaints as well as an account of the arrival of 40 women at Krome, an all-male facility, in possible violation of a federal law to reduce the risk of prison rape. There is a critical shortage of beds in detention facilitiesKrome is hardly alone in a core challenge faced by other facilities: a lack of bed space. Nationwide, detentions have surged to nearly 48,000 as of March 23, a 21% increase from the already elevated levels at the end of the Biden administration. In recent weeks, they have mostly flatlined as efforts to deport many of those same migrants have been blocked by several lawsuits. To address the shortage, ICE this month published a request for bids to operate detention centers for up to $45 billion as it seeks to expand to 100,000 beds from its current budget for about 41,000. As part of the build out, the federal government for the first time is looking to hold migrants on U.S. Army bases testing the limits of a more than century-old ban on military involvement in civilian law enforcement.By some measures, Trumps controversial approach is working. Barely 11,000 migrants were encountered at the U.S.-Mexican border in March, their lowest level in at least a decade and down from 96,035 in December 2024, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Other facilities have caps on the number of detaineesKrome is just one of five facilities that ICE directly runs the others are in Buffalo, Arizona and two in Texas and can house detainees for more than 16 hours. After Trump took office, ICE had orders to round up migrants with few options on where to send them. The vast majority of bed space is leased from local prisons, jails or privately run facilities that have strict limits on how many detainees they are contractually obligated to accept.As its concrete cellblocks began filling up, federal workers started documenting the worsening conditions in weekly reports for the Department of Homeland Securitys leadership. They worked their way up the chain through DHS Office of Immigration & Detention Ombudsman, an independent watchdog established by Congress during the first Trump administration to blunt the fallout from a string of scandals about treatment at detention facilities.The office went through four ombudsmen in two months as Trump officials surged arrests with no apparent plan on where to send them. The situation worsened in mid-March, when the offices 100 staffers including a case manager at Krome were placed on administrative leave in what officials described as an effort to remove roadblocks to enforcement.Rather than supporting law enforcement efforts, they often function as internal adversaries that slow down operations, DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said. Around the same time, Kromes chaos spilled into public view. Images secretly shot on a cellphone and posted on TikTok showed a group of men sleeping on concrete floors and under tables with little more than their shoes as pillows.We are practically kidnapped, Osiris Vzquez, his eyes bloodshot due to a lack of sleep, said in the grainy video, which garnered 4.4 million views. We dont want likes. We want help. Please!Vzquez, who was detained while driving home from a construction job near Miami, said he shared for two weeks a small room with some 80 men. Showers and phone calls werent allowed, the fetid-smelling bathrooms wre left unattended and food was restricted to peanut butter sandwiches.There was no clock, no window, no natural light, recalled Vzquez in an interview. You lost all notion of time, whether its day or night. Eventually, Vzquez decided to self-deport. But his nightmare didnt end. Once back in his hometown of Morelia, Mexico, where he hadnt set foot in almost a decade, he had to be hospitalized twice for a respiratory infection he says he caught at Krome.Everyone I know got sick. We were so close together, said Vzquez. It couldve been worse. Since Trump returned to the White House, three detainees have died while in ICE custody two of them at Krome. The latest, Maksym Chernyak, died after complaining to his wife about overcrowding and freezing conditions. The 44-year-old Ukrainian entered the U.S. legally with his wife in August under a humanitarian program for people fleeing the countrys war with Russia.He was sent to Krome after an arrest in south Florida for domestic violence and immediately got sick with a chest cold. After being monitored for a week with high blood pressure, on Feb. 18, at 2:33 a.m., he was taken to a hospital for seizure-like vomiting and shaking. An ICE report said he appeared intoxicated and unresponsive at times. Two days later, he died. Other than acetaminophen, he received no medication to treat the blood pressure, according to a two-page ICE report about Chernyaks death. An autopsy listed the cause of death as complications from a stroke aggravated by obesity. Chernyaks widow said that before her husbands detention he was a strong, healthy man. Without a translator, she said, her husband struggled to communicate with guards about his deteriorating health. They saw his condition, but they ignored him, said Oksana Tarasiuk in an interview. If he wasnt put in Krome, Im sure that he would still be alive.ICE, in a statement, didnt comment on specific allegations of mistreatment but said it adjusts its operations as needed to uphold its duty to treat individuals with dignity and respect.These allegations are not in keeping with ICE policies, practices and standards of care, the agency said. ICE takes its commitment to promoting safe, secure, humane environments for those in our custody very seriously.Attorneys said that in recent days, Krome has transferred out a number of detainees and conditions have improved. But that could just be shifting problems elsewhere in the migration detention system, immigration attorneys and advocates say. Some 20 miles east of Krome, at the Federal Detention Center in downtown Miami, correctional officers last week had to deploy flash bang grenades, pepper spray paint balls and stun rounds to quell an uprising by detainees, two people familiar with the matter told the AP. The incident occurred as a group of some 40 detainees waited almost eight hours to be admitted into the facility as jail officers miscounted the number of individuals handed over by ICE, according to the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly. As confusion reigned, the arriving detainees, some from Jamaica, ripped a fire sprinkler from a ceiling, flooding a holding cell, and took correctional officers batons, according to the people. The federal Bureau of Prisons, which runs the facility, would not confirm details of the incident but said that at no time was the public at risk.That has put a massive strain over our staff, said Kenny X. Castillo, the president of the union representing workers at FDC Miami. We are doing the job of two agencies in one building.Detentions drive profitsTrumps administration has yet to reveal his plans for mass deportations even as he seeks to eliminate legal status for 1 million migrants previously granted humanitarian parole or some other form of temporary protection. The latest ICE data suggests so-called removal of migrants is actually below levels at the end of the Biden administration. That means detentions are likely to rise and, with facilities at capacity, the need to house all the detainees will get more urgent. Spending on new facilities is a boon for federal contractors, whose stock prices have surged since Trumps election. But finding workers willing to carry out Trumps policy remains a major challenge.Only a handful of applicants showed up at a recent hiring fair in Miami organized by Akima Global Services, a $2 billion federal contractor that staffs several immigrant detention centers, including Krome.Many of these facilities have been chronically understaffed for years, said Michelle Bran, an immigration attorney and the last ombudsman during the Biden administration. These are not easy jobs and they arent pleasant places to work.On Thursday, advocates led by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization filed a lawsuit against DHS seeking to challenge the Trump administrations decision to shutter the oversight offices.Krome has a history of substandard conditionsAllegations of substandard conditions are nothing new at Krome. The facility was set up as essentially the nations first migrant detention center in the 1970s to process the large number of boat refugees fleeing Haiti. Before that, almost no migrants were detained for more than a few days.In the early 2000s, the facility was wracked by harrowing accounts of guards sexually assaulting or coercing sexual favors from female prisoners. Several guards were criminally charged.But more recently, the facility appeared to have turned a corner, with ICE even inviting the media to tour a first-of-its-kind mental health facility. Then it changed abruptly.The facility housed 740 men and one woman on March 31, according to the latest ICE data, which reflects only the midnight count on the last day of the month. Thats up 31% from just before Trump took office. ICE refused to disclose Kromes current capacity because of security concerns.So far this year, the ombudsmans office has received more than 2,000 inmate complaints, according to the federal employee.Bran said she worries that detainee deaths, which started to rise during the Biden administration as arrests surged, could spike without anyone on the ground to investigate complaints of mistreatment. To my knowledge, everything was just frozen and people were told to go home, said Bran. If youre ramping up, youre taking away the oversight and youre increasing the number of people youre detaining, its a recipe for disaster.Following Chernyaks death, a grassroots coalition of immigration activists and far-left groups organized a demonstration on the highway leading to Kromes entrance calling for the closure of the center. A few hundred protesters showed up, some holding pictures of migrants kidnapped by ICE and signs that read American Gulag, American Shame and Immigrants Make America Great.This month, Miami Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, a Democrat, wrote Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem requesting a tour of the facility. The DHS media office didnt reply to an email asking whether Noem had granted her request. In addition, 49 Democrats in Congress have also written Noem demanding to know how the agency intends to ease overcrowding at ICE facilities. Huber Argueta-Perez said he saw many of those same conditions during his detention at Krome last month. The 35-year-old Guatemalan, who has lived in the U.S. for almost two decades, was detained March 10 after dropping off his two American daughters at school in Miami. He spent nine days sleeping on the concrete floor of a small, overcrowded room. He said he got feverishly sick from the cold but was repeatedly denied a sweater and medicines. We didnt fit, Argueta-Perez, who was deported March 19, said in an interview from Guatemala. But the more we complained, the worse was the punishment.___AP writers Michael Sisak in New York and Rebecca Santana in Washington contributed to this report. JOSHUA GOODMAN Goodman is a Miami-based investigative reporter who writes about the intersection of crime, corruption, drug trafficking and politics in Latin America. He previously spent two decades reporting from South America. twitter mailto GISELA SALOMON Salomon is a Miami-based reporter who covers Latin America and immigration affairs for The Associated Press.Salomon es una periodista que desde Miami cubre asuntos latinoamericanos y de inmigracion. twitter mailto

The Raiders selected Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty with the No. 6 pick in the NFL draft Thursday night.

The Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to acquire the No. 2 pick Thursday and selected wide receiver and cornerback Travis Hunter.

People burn Pakistani flags during a protest against the killing of tourists by militants near Pahalgam in Indian controlled Kashmir, in Guwahati, India, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)2025-04-25T06:21:50Z SRINAGAR, India (AP) Indian officials said the army had a brief exchange of fire with Pakistani soldiers along their highly militarized frontier in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, as the nuclear-armed rivals ramped up tit-for-tat diplomatic offensive following a deadly attack on tourists. A supporter of the Pakistan Murkazi Muslim League party holds a crossed poster of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the words Modi butcher during a demonstration against the suspension of water-sharing treaty by India with Pakistan, in Karachi, Pakistan Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan) A supporter of the Pakistan Murkazi Muslim League party holds a crossed poster of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the words Modi butcher during a demonstration against the suspension of water-sharing treaty by India with Pakistan, in Karachi, Pakistan Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The report of a gunfight comes amid soaring tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad after gunmen killed 26 people near the resort town of Pahalgam in Kashmir on Tuesday. India immediately described the massacre a terror attack and said it had cross border links, blaming Pakistan for backing it.Pakistan denied any connection to the attack, which was claimed by a previously unknown militant group calling itself the Kashmir Resistance.Three Indian army officials said that Pakistani soldiers used small arms to fire at an Indian position in Kashmir late Thursday. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with departmental policy, said Indian soldiers retaliated and no casualties were reported.In Pakistan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday decline to confirm or deny the report. Ministry spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan told a news conference that I will wait for a formal confirmation from the military before I make any comment. He added there had been no effort yet from any other country to mediate. People burn Pakistani flags during a protest against the killing of tourists by militants near Pahalgam in Indian controlled Kashmir, in Guwahati, India, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath) People burn Pakistani flags during a protest against the killing of tourists by militants near Pahalgam in Indian controlled Kashmir, in Guwahati, India, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Members of airlines and tourism facility providers walk with posters during a protest against the killing of tourists by militants near Pahalgam in Indian controlled Kashmir, in Kolkata, India, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bikas Das) Members of airlines and tourism facility providers walk with posters during a protest against the killing of tourists by militants near Pahalgam in Indian controlled Kashmir, in Kolkata, India, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bikas Das) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More In the past, each side has accused the other of starting border skirmishes in Kashmir, which both claim in its entirety.The United Nations has urged India and Pakistan to exercise maximum restraint and to ensure that the situation and the developments weve seen do not deteriorate any further. Any issues between Pakistan and India, we believe can be and should be resolved peacefully, through meaningful, mutual engagement, the statement said Friday.Following the attack, India announced a series of diplomatic actions against Pakistan. New Delhi on Wednesday suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty that has withstood two wars between the two countries and closed the only functional land border crossing between the countries while also cutting the number of diplomatic staff. A day later, India revoked all visas issued to Pakistani nationals with effect from Sunday. Members of airlines and tourism facility providers walk in a procession with posters during a protest against the killing of tourists by militants near Pahalgam in Indian controlled Kashmir, in Kolkata, India, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bikas Das) Members of airlines and tourism facility providers walk in a procession with posters during a protest against the killing of tourists by militants near Pahalgam in Indian controlled Kashmir, in Kolkata, India, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Bikas Das) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Supporters of the Pakistan Murkazi Muslim League party stand over the crossed posters of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian Minister of Home Affairs Amir Shah during a demonstration against the suspension of water-sharing treaty by India with Pakistan, in Karachi, Pakistan Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan) Supporters of the Pakistan Murkazi Muslim League party stand over the crossed posters of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian Minister of Home Affairs Amir Shah during a demonstration against the suspension of water-sharing treaty by India with Pakistan, in Karachi, Pakistan Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More In retaliation, Pakistan on Thursday responded angrily that it has nothing to do with the attack, and canceled visas issued to Indian nationals, closed its airspace for all Indian-owned or Indian-operated airlines and suspended all trade with India, including to and from any third country.It also warned that any Indian attempt to stop or divert flow of water would be considered an act of war and met with full force across the complete spectrum of Pakistans national power.Tuesdays attack in Kashmir was the worst assault in years, targeting civilians in the restive region that has seen an anti-India rebellion for more than three decades.India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir. 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. People place candles after a march against the killing of tourists by militants near Pahalgam in Indian controlled Kashmir, in Ahmedabad, India, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki) People place candles after a march against the killing of tourists by militants near Pahalgam in Indian controlled Kashmir, in Ahmedabad, India, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More ___Roy reported from New Delhi. 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

Tourists take photos at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat, Oman, Saturday, April 12, 2025. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)2025-04-25T05:28:58Z MUSCAT, Oman (AP) Negotiations between Iran and the United States over Tehrans rapidly advancing nuclear program will return Saturday to the secluded sultanate of Oman, where experts on both sides will start hammering the technical details of any possible deal. The talks seek to limit Irans nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the crushing economic sanctions the U.S. has imposed on the Islamic Republic closing in on half a century of enmity. Trump repeatedly has threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Irans program if a deal isnt reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.Neither Iran nor the U.S. have offered any explanation on why the talks will return to the Omani capital of Muscat, nestled in the Hajar Mountains. Oman has been a mediator between the countries. Last weekends talks in Rome offered a more-equal flight distance between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff, who are leading the negotiations. But Rome remains in mourning after the death of Pope Francis, whose funeral will be Saturday. And Iranian state television, in covering last weekends talks, complained at length on air about the paparazzi gathered across the street from the Omani Embassy in Romes Camilluccia neighborhood. As you can see, unlike the first round of talks where the presence of journalists was limited and the Omanis had special management in place to prevent a large and chaotic media presence from disrupting the negotiations, this time in Rome, Italy, that kind of control hasnt been applied, said Hosnieh Sadat Shobeiri, an Iranian state TV journalist in gray, all-encompassing chador. Because of the crowd were seeing here, with media outlets from various countries including some that are anti-Iran its possible that well hear more conflicting reports and news aimed at disrupting the talks coming out of Rome compared to Oman. Expert talks come as Iran lines up Chinese and Russian supportThe Muscat talks come as Iran appears to have lined up Chinese and Russian support. Araghchi traveled to Moscow last week and this week visited Beijing. On Thursday, Chinese, Iran and Russian representatives met the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog that likely will verify compliance with any accord like it did with Tehrans 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. That deal included China and Russia, as well as France, Germany and the United Kingdom. However, Iran has greatly restricted the IAEAs inspections leading to fears internationally that centrifuges and other nuclear material could be diverted. The IAEA offered no readout from the talks, but Chinas state-run Xinhua news agency on Friday described the three nations as saying the agency has the necessary potential and expertise to contribute constructively to this process. China, Russia and Iran emphasized that political and diplomatic engagement based on mutual respect remains the only viable and practical path for resolving the Iran nuclear issue, the report said. It added that China respects Irans right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The Trump administration has kept France, Germany and the U.K. out of its direct negotiations with Iran, something similarly reflected in Witkoffs negotiations with Russia over ending its war on Ukraine.Araghchi meanwhile has said hes open to visiting Berlin, London and Paris to discuss the negotiations. The ball is now in the E3s court, Araghchi wrote on the social platform X on Thursday, using an acronym for the countries. They have an opportunity to do away with the grip of Special Interest groups and forge a different path. How we act at this critical junction is likely to define the foreseeable future. U.S. hardens its stance on enrichmentThe U.S. technical team was expected to arrive in Oman on Friday ahead of the talks Saturday. Theyll be led by Michael Anton, the director of U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubios policy planning staff. Anton does not have the nuclear policy experience of those who led Americas efforts in the 2015 talks. However, he was an early supporter of Trump, describing the 2016 election as a charge the cockpit or you die vote. A Hillary Clinton presidency is Russian Roulette with a semi-auto, Anton wrote. With Trump, at least you can spin the cylinder and take your chances.He also criticized Iran sycophancy in the same essay. Rubio, speaking on a podcast released this week, also kept up a Trump line that Iran needed to stop its enrichment of uranium entirely.If Iran wants a civil nuclear program, they can have one just like many other countries can have one, and that is they import enriched material, Rubio said.But Iran has insisted that keeping its enrichment is key. Witkoff also has muddied the issue by first suggesting in a television interview that Iran could enrich uranium at 3.67%, then later saying that all enrichment must stop. Meanwhile, one more wildcard is Israel, whose devastating war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip grinds on. Trump initially announced the Iran talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his side. But Israel, which for years has targeted Irans nuclear program with attacks on its facilities and scientists, has kept open the possibility of airstrikes to destroy Tehrans enrichment sites. On Monday, Israels military conducted drills preparing for possible new Iranian missile attacks, the countrys public broadcaster KAN reported.Our security services are on high alert given past instances of attempted sabotage and assassination operations designed to provoke a legitimate response, Araghchi wrote Wednesday on X. ___The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.___Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/ JON GAMBRELL Gambrell is the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press. He has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006. twitter instagram mailto

Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant sustained a hip injury in a hard fall during Thursday's Game 3 loss to the Thunder.

Both clubs were unhappy after a pair of odd plays that were or weren't whistled in the closing seconds of New York's win in Detroit on Thursday night.

Stocks were pointing toward a fourth straight positive trading session.

Mexican corridos singer Vivir Quintana performs her new album, about violence against women, in Mexico City, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurea Del Rosario)2025-04-25T04:17:08Z MEXICO CITY (AP) Two days before her new album was launched, musical icon Vivir Quintana was behind barbed wire at a womens prison in Mexico. The singer had spent the past 10 years visiting women incarcerated after defending themselves and, in doing so, killing their abusers. Their stories became part of Cosas que Sorprenden a la Audiencia (Things that Surprise the Audience), Quintanas latest album, released Thursday. It tells the story of 10 such women but in a first, Quintana does it through corridos, a typically male-dominated and controversial Mexican music genre thats soared into the spotlight in recent years. The album, Quintana explained, was born out of her desire to dive into the more complicated aspects of gender-based violence. This album has a different heart, Quintana, 40, said in an interview, donning bright red boots, her signature streak of gray slicing through her black hair. This album wasnt made to sell, its to change minds. So many times I didnt defend myselfThe songs are meant to raise awareness about soaring levels of violence against women across Latin America human rights groups estimate that an average of 10 women are killed in Mexico every day and a justice system that many believe protects abusers and silences womens voices. In many cases, women like the ones in Quintanas corridos are charged with excessive legitimate self-defense, charges that have fueled outrage among many in Mexico. So many times I feared for my life. So many times I didnt defend myself, Quintana crooned, cradling her guitar as her booming voice echoed through the halls of her record label building on Wednesday. Now I live locked up in a prison, and I feel more free than I did in my own home.Amplifying womens voices has been a hallmark of Quintanas career, and rocketed her to fame in Mexico and beyond. In 2020, her Cancin Sin Miedo (Song Without Fear) became an anthem for Mexicos Womens Day march and the feminist movement in Latin America.In 2022, she co-wrote a melancholy hymn about healing and freedom for the album of the Black Panther sequel. And last year, she was recognized at the Latin Grammys as one of four Leading Ladies of Entertainment. A cultural reckoningQuintanas new music goes further. She uses corridos, a type of northern Mexican ballads that has seen both an international renaissance and a backlash, with critics claiming that narco corridos songs that glorify cartel violence and use misogynistic lyrics have dominated the form.The topic has grown so heated that the United States even revoked the visas of members of one band who projected the face of a drug cartel boss onto a large screen during a performance.Instead of banning the corridos as a growing number of Mexican states have done, the countrys first woman president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has proposed that the government promote a new style of corridos that avoid glorifying violence and discrimination against women.Were not banning a musical genre; that would be absurd, Sheinbaum said recently. What were proposing is that the lyrics not glorify drugs, violence, violence against women or viewing women as a sexual object. I didnt want to die by his handsQuintanas corridos turn the genre on its head, paying tribute not to violence or criminals, but to women who have been criminalized for defending themselves.The first song on her album, Era l o Era Yo (It Was Either Him or Me) tells the story of Roxana Ruiz, a Mexican woman sentenced to six years for killing a man who was raping her and threatened to kill her in 2021. This isnt justice, Ruiz said after the court ruling. Remember, I am the one who was sexually assaulted by that man, and after he died because I defended myself because I didnt want to die by his hands.Mexican prosecutors later withdrew the case against her after a countrywide outcry.One song tells of a 14-year-old girl in the southern state of Tabasco who killed her father when he was abusing her mother. Another tells of Yakiri Rubio, who was kidnapped by two men, taken to a hotel and raped. After killing one of the men, she was taken to prison and charged with homicide by excessive legitimate self-defense. With each song, Quintana would follow local news reports, interview the women in prisons and spend time with their families, hoping to capture their personalities and not just the violent act that transformed their lives.Its something painful that the state tells you that if you defend yourself, were going to punish you, Quintana said. Its like up until what point do we care about womens life? Shifting the conversationQuintanas inspiration stemmed from a childhood memory of a classic corrido she first heard at the age of 5, played at parties and on the radio in her native northern Mexican state of Coahuila. The ballad is about a woman named Rosita Alvrez, violently killed when she tried to go out to dance. Later, when she was 15, Quintanas best friend was murdered in a femicide, the slaying of women because of their gender. It was then that the brutality of the lyrics sank in.Quintanas album seeks to shift the tone of the corridos to capture the harsh realities Mexican women face, she said, and explore ongoing violence against women and other kinds of machismo with nuance.Her purpose, she added, is to lift up survivors of gender violence and to provide a point of connection for incarcerated women like those in her ballads.They tell these women, you defended yourself, you killed someone and youre in prison, you dont have the right to feel joy, enjoy life, you dont have the right to anything, Quintana said. But its important to dance to these things, no? she added. Because people have to understand that they have the right to music, the right to art, and more than anything, the right to beauty. MEGAN JANETSKY Megan Janetsky covers migration, conflict, human rights and politics in Mexico and Central America for The AP based in Mexico City. Previously, she covered Cuba and the Caribbean for The AP and worked as freelance journalist in Colombia, reporting across South America. twitter instagram facebook mailto FERNANDA PESCE Pesce covers Mexico and Central America for The Associated Press. twitter instagram mailto

Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar play a game on a cell phone as they share a bed at the trauma center of Bir Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, July 6, 2015. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)2025-04-25T01:03:15Z KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) The devastating 2015 Nepal earthquake that killed thousands changed the lives of many in the Himalayan nation. But it was the beginning of a friendship for two girls who each lost a leg in the tremor.Nirmala Pariyar and Khendo Tamang were 7 and 8 years old when they met at the hospital in Kathmandu after they were brought there for treatment. Both were injured during the April 25, 2015, earthquake, which damaged more than 1 million houses and buildings in Nepal. Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar try out their prosthetic legs for the first time at a rehabilitation center in Kathmandu, Nepal, Aug. 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar try out their prosthetic legs for the first time at a rehabilitation center in Kathmandu, Nepal, Aug. 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar share a light moment at the trauma center of Bir Hospital during their treatment in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sept. 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar share a light moment at the trauma center of Bir Hospital during their treatment in Kathmandu, Nepal, Sept. 8, 2015. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Khendo Tamang, right, and Nirmala Pariyar play in the courtyard of Bir Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, Aug. 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Khendo Tamang, right, and Nirmala Pariyar play in the courtyard of Bir Hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal, Aug. 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Khendo Tamang, right, is dropped off at her home while Nirmala Pariyar, center, waits in the car to be taken to her home after both spent six months at the trauma center of Bir Hospital for treatment in Kathmandu, Nepal, Aug. 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Khendo Tamang, right, is dropped off at her home while Nirmala Pariyar, center, waits in the car to be taken to her home after both spent six months at the trauma center of Bir Hospital for treatment in Kathmandu, Nepal, Aug. 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More They shared the same hospital bed and supported each other. They went on to attend the same boarding school.Our friendship is still strong and she has been my biggest support even during the times when I am away from family, Pariyar told The Associated Press. The 2015 Nepal earthquake that killed thousands changed the lives of many in the Himalayan nation. But it was the beginning of a friendship for two girls who each lost their legs in the tremor. Nirmala Pariyar and Khendo Tamang were 7 and 8 years old when they met at the hospital in Kathmandu after they were brought there for treatment. Both were injured during the April 25, 2015, earthquake, which damaged more than 1 million houses and buildings in Nepal. (AP video by Mansingh Upendra) When I sometime miss my family and cry she is always there for me, she added. She has been not just a friend but like my own sister to me.Pariyar was pinned under a fallen metal gate and concrete wall after the quake. She was pulled out when people passing by saw her hair, and was transported to the hospital. Nirmala Pariyar waits for a doctor at a rehabilitation center to get the height of her prosthetic leg altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Dec. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Nirmala Pariyar waits for a doctor at a rehabilitation center to get the height of her prosthetic leg altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Dec. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More I was unconscious but I was told that one of my legs was barely attached to my body. They put the leg in a cardboard box and took me to hospital, she said.She regained consciousness at the hospital a week after the earthquake. A few days later she met Tamang, who was brought in from her village east of the capital, Kathmandu. Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar walk out of a restaurant in Kathmandu, Nepal, May 8, 2017. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar walk out of a restaurant in Kathmandu, Nepal, May 8, 2017. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More It has taken months of surgery and rehabilitation to get them walking and performing everyday tasks. Both girls have been fitted with prosthetic legs, and often have to visit the disability rehabilitation center to get readjustments.Both girls, now in their teenage years, have just finished the national high school exams and are planning their future. Khendo Tamang, right, and Nirmala Pariyar visit a rehabilitation center get the heights of their prosthetic legs altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Khendo Tamang, right, and Nirmala Pariyar visit a rehabilitation center get the heights of their prosthetic legs altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Khendo Tamang, right, and Nirmala Pariyar share a desk in their classroom, in Lalitpur, Nepal, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Khendo Tamang, right, and Nirmala Pariyar share a desk in their classroom, in Lalitpur, Nepal, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Khendo Tamang, left, writes a message on Nirmala Pariyars shirt as they part ways after being together for ten years, in Lalitpur, Nepal, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Khendo Tamang, left, writes a message on Nirmala Pariyars shirt as they part ways after being together for ten years, in Lalitpur, Nepal, Friday, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar wait at their school for a bus to arrive, in Lalitpur, Nepal, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar wait at their school for a bus to arrive, in Lalitpur, Nepal, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Nirmala Pariyar, left, watches her friend Khendo Tamang, right, leave as they part ways after being together for ten years, in Lalitpur, Nepal, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Nirmala Pariyar, left, watches her friend Khendo Tamang, right, leave as they part ways after being together for ten years, in Lalitpur, Nepal, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Pariyar is considering majoring in science in junior college because that promises better prospects but in her heart she wants to be a singer.Ten years after the devastating earthquake, most of the buildings and houses that were damaged have been rebuilt. Schools and public buildings have been built to better safety standards.Earthquakes are common in Nepal, which is covered mostly by mountain terrain and home to most of the highest peaks in the world. Khendo Tamang, back, waits to board a school bus in Lalitpur, Nepal, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Khendo Tamang, back, waits to board a school bus in Lalitpur, Nepal, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Nirmala Pariyar, left, helps her mother at a workshop for handmade bags where her parents work, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Nirmala Pariyar, left, helps her mother at a workshop for handmade bags where her parents work, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Nirmala Pariyars younger sister points to Nirmalas picture on a certificate hanging on the wall of their home in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Nirmala Pariyars younger sister points to Nirmalas picture on a certificate hanging on the wall of their home in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Nirmala Pariyars younger sister braids her hair at their home in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Nirmala Pariyars younger sister braids her hair at their home in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Kendo Tamang looks at a framed photo of her late grandmother, who died in the 2015 Nepal earthquake, at a relatives rented apartment in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Kendo Tamang looks at a framed photo of her late grandmother, who died in the 2015 Nepal earthquake, at a relatives rented apartment in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, April 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar, right, visit a rehabilitation center to to get the heights of their prosthetic legs altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar, right, visit a rehabilitation center to to get the heights of their prosthetic legs altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Khendo Tamang stands on a platform as she gets the height of her prosthetic leg altered at a rehabilitation center in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Khendo Tamang stands on a platform as she gets the height of her prosthetic leg altered at a rehabilitation center in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar, right, register at a rehabilitation center to get the heights of their prosthetic legs altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Khendo Tamang, left, and Nirmala Pariyar, right, register at a rehabilitation center to get the heights of their prosthetic legs altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Khendo Tamang, right, and Nirmala Pariyar visit a rehabilitation center to get the heights of their prosthetic legs altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Khendo Tamang, right, and Nirmala Pariyar visit a rehabilitation center to get the heights of their prosthetic legs altered, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More

Much to the delight of the Packers-heavy crowd jammed between Lambeau Field and the draft stage, Green Bay selected receiver Matthew Golden of Texas with the 23rd pick in the draft.

Hunter has been tabbed as a 'generational' talent. Did the Jags overspend? Breaking down the deal.

by McKenzie Funk ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as theyre published. Connecticuts attorney general has sent his second warning in a month to the low-cost carrier Avelo Airlines, telling the startup it has jeopardized tax breaks and other local support by agreeing to conduct deportation flights for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Democrats in the Connecticut legislature, meanwhile, are working to expand the states sanctuary law to penalize companies like Avelo for working with federal immigration authorities.The backlash comes after Texas-based Avelo signed an agreement early this month to dedicate three of its 20 planes to carrying out deportation flights as part of the charter network known as ICE Air. It also follows a report by ProPublica, which Connecticut Attorney General William Tong cited in an April 8 letter to Avelo, revealing flight attendants unease over the treatment and safety of detainees on such flights. The concerns airline staffers raised included how difficult it could be to evacuate people wearing wrist and ankle shackles.Can Avelo confirm that it will never operate flights while non-violent passengers are in shackles, handcuffs, waist chains and/or leg irons? Tongs April 8 letter asks. Can Avelo confirm that it will never operate a flight without a safe and timely evacuation strategy for all passengers?Tong then issued a public statement on April 15 reiterating his concerns. In 2022, before its current ICE Air contract, Avelo flew a series of charters for the immigration agency. A flight attendant captured photos of detainees in wrist and ankle shackles. (Obtained by ProPublica) In an April 3 email to Avelo employees obtained by ProPublica and other publications, CEO Andrew Levy called the deportation contract too valuable not to pursue at a time when his startup was losing money and consumer confidence was declining, leading Americans to take fewer trips. Avelo would close one of its bases, in Sonoma County, California, and move certain flight routes to off-peak days as resources shifted to ICE Air. Deportation flights would be based out of Mesa, Arizona, and would begin in May.Avelo has a major hub in New Haven, Connecticut, and it recently expanded to Bradley International Airport near Hartford. In 2023, the airline won a two-year fuel-tax moratorium from state lawmakers after extensive lobbying.Last Thursday, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal was among the nearly 300 attendees at a rally outside the New Haven airport. Avelo has to change its course, he said. To the president of Avelo: You really stepped in it.Members of the public are raising objections as well. An online petition calling for a boycott of Avelo unless it drops its new ICE contract has collected almost 35,000 signatures since April 6. And protests are spreading from Connecticut to cities the airline serves across the country, including Eugene, Oregon; Rochester, New York; Burbank, California; and Wilmington, Delaware. Tongs letter to Avelo demanded that the airline produce a copy of its ICE Air contract. The attorney general also asked if Avelo would deport people in defiance of court orders, pointing to March flights to El Salvador carried out by another charter airline, GlobalX, after a federal judge ordered that the planes be turned back. Neither ICE nor GlobalX responded to ProPublicas requests for comment.Levy answered Tong with a one-page letter. In it, Levy suggested that if Connecticut wanted more information about Avelos ICE Air contract, it should file a public records request. (Federal statistics show that such requests to ICE typically take months or years to be answered.)If the attorney general wanted to know more about the use of shackles on deportation flights, Levy continued, he should ask the Department of Homeland Security. If Tong wanted to know more about evacuation requirements, he should address questions to the Federal Aviation Administration. For Avelos part, Levy assured Tong, the airline remains committed to public safety and the rule of law.Regardless of the administration or party affiliation, an Avelo spokesperson told ProPublica in an emailed statement, when our country calls our practice is to say yes. We follow all protocols from DHS and FAA.A Democrat-sponsored bill to expand Connecticuts sanctuary law has now cleared its House Judiciary Committee in a 29-12, party-line vote, over the strong objections of Republicans, and awaits a full vote on the floor. If it passes, any companies including airlines proposing to do business with the state must pledge not to cooperate or contract with any federal immigration authority for purposes of the detention, holding or transportation of an individual.Meanwhile, Avelos fuel-tax moratorium expires on June 30. So far, no legislation has been introduced to extend it, and activists are urging Connecticut lawmakers to let the tax break die.

Plus, the fight over pop hits that celebrate cartels.

The phone number used in the Signal chat could also be found in a variety of places, including on social media and a fantasy sports site.

Medics tend to an injured woman in an ambulance near a house destroyed by a Russian airstrike in a residential neighbourhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)2025-04-25T08:23:52Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) A Russian drone struck an apartment building in a southeastern Ukraine city, killing three people and injuring 10 others, officials said Friday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump rebuked Russias leader for a deadly missile and drone attack on Kyiv while Washington endeavors to stop the more than three-year war.Among the civilians killed in the nighttime drone strike in Pavlohrad, in Ukraines Dnipropetrovsk region, were a child and a 76-year-old woman, the head of the regional administration, Serhii Lysak, wrote on Telegram.Russian forces fired 103 Shahed and decoy drones at five Ukrainian regions overnight, Ukraines air force reported. Authorities in the northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions reported damage to civilian infrastructure but no casualties.Russia pounded Kyiv in an hourslong barrage Thursday, killing at least 12 people and injuring 87 in its deadliest assault on the Ukrainian capital since July. The attack drew a rare rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin from Trump, who has said that efforts to end the war are coming to a head.I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. Lets get the Peace Deal DONE! Trumps frustration is growing as his effort to get a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia has failed to make a breakthrough. Senior U.S. officials have warned that the administration could soon give up attempts to stop the war if the two sides do not come to an agreement. Trump envoy Steve Witkoff was expected to meet with Putin in Moscow on Friday, their second meeting this month and the fourth since February.Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plan to arrive in Rome on Friday for the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vaticans St. Peters Square on Saturday. It wasnt immediately clear if they would meet separately. An explosion in Moscow targets a senior officerMeanwhile, a senior Russian military officer was killed by a car bomb near Moscow on Friday, Russias top criminal investigation agency said.The attack follows the killing of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov on Dec. 17, 2024, when a bomb hidden on an electric scooter parked outside his apartment building exploded as he left for his office. Russian authorities blamed Ukraine for the killing of Kirillov.Since Russia invaded, several prominent figures have been killed in targeted attacks believed to have been carried out by Ukraine.Russian forces used Thursdays attack on Kyiv as cover to launch almost 150 assaults on Ukrainian positions along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, Zelenskyy said late Thursday.When the maximum of our forces was focused on defense against missiles and drones, the Russians went on to significantly intensify their ground attacks, he wrote on Telegram.Western European leaders have accused Putin of dragging his feet in the negotiations and seeking to grab more Ukrainian land while his army has battlefield momentum. Trump accused Zelenskyy of prolonging the killing field by refusing to surrender the Russia-occupied Crimea Peninsula as part of a possible deal. Russia illegally annexed that area in 2014. Zelenskyy has repeated many times during the war that recognizing occupied territory as Russian is a red line for his country.Zelenskyy noted Thursday that Ukraine agreed to a U.S. ceasefire proposal 44 days ago, as a first step to a negotiated peace, but that Russian attacks continued. During recent talks, Russia 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.___Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Medics tend to an injured woman in an ambulance near a house destroyed by a Russian airstrike in a residential neighbourhood in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)2025-04-25T10:15:52Z MOSCOW (AP) A senior Russian military officer was killed by a car bomb on Friday, Russias top criminal investigation agency said.The Investigative Committee said that Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, was killed by an explosive device placed in his car in Balashikha, just outside Moscow. The committees spokesperson, Svetlana Petrenko, said the explosive device was rigged with shrapnel. She said that investigators were at the scene.Russian media ran videos of a vehicle burning in the courtyard of an apartment building. The committee didnt mention possible suspects. The attack follows the killing of Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who died on Dec. 17 when a bomb hidden on an electric scooter parked outside his apartment building exploded as he left for his office. The Russian authorities blamed Ukraine for the killing of Kirillov. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Nature, Published online: 24 April 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01315-5People from Mediterranean outposts of Phoenician culture shared no ancestry with ancient Middle Easterners. Plus, Mendels last pea plant mysteries have finally been solved and an origami-inspired material can make dancing robots.

Chicago has scored more runs than any team in the majors so far -- with the help of some unexpected sluggers.

After stumbling out of the gate last season, the star shortstop and his team are lighting up Citi Field.

by Rob Davis, photography by Sarahbeth Maney This article was produced by ProPublica in partnership with The Oregonian/OregonLive. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. They are lines in the payroll ledger of a Cambodian baby clothing factory, invisible lives near the bottom of the global economy.There is Phan Oem, 53, who says she clocked up to 76 hours a week producing clothing for Nike and other American brands, sometimes forced to work seven days a week. She says she feared being fired if she didnt work through lunch breaks, on holidays and occasionally overnight. After 12 years spent packaging clothes, her base pay was the minimum wage: $204 a month.There is Vat Vannak, 40, who at six months pregnant traveled by bus to join hundreds of workers who protested in the streets last year after Nike pulled out and the factory went bankrupt, leaving them unpaid. The authoritarian Cambodian government warned them to stop.And there is the medical worker who said she saw one or two factory employees a month being sent to the hospital after falling unconscious. She said they were among eight to 10 workers a month who became too weak to work. Three other former employees said they sometimes saw two to three people go to the clinic for these issues in a single day. The reason, the medical worker said, was that they didnt sleep much, didnt eat enough and worked long hours.Nikes manufacturing apparatus in Southeast Asia has been shaken in recent weeks by news about President Donald Trumps tariffs. Cambodia and Vietnam, mainstays of Nikes supply chain, have faced import taxes of 49% and 46%, among the highest of any nation. Nike shares have been hammered.The stories of workers at Cambodias Y&W Garment illuminate the longer-term legacy of Nikes push into the region more than two decades ago, when labor abuses led co-founder Phil Knight to acknowledge that Nike products had become synonymous with slave wages, forced overtime and arbitrary abuse. The former employees recent experiences cast doubt on the companys commitment to reform.Unless tariffs force Nike to return manufacturing to the United States, labor advocates say, the company will have to offset the higher import taxes either by raising prices on its apparel or by pressuring its foreign factories for greater productivity, squeezing workers and their wages. Vat Vannak, mother of 7-month-old Bun Kakada, said that the $250 a month she earned at Y&W Garment, including overtime, left her no money for savings. Phan Oem, 53, cuts mangos to prepare a dish for her mother. Phan said she struggled to find work after Y&W Garment closed because she was considered too old. Nike has prided itself on the story of its reinvention since the 1990s sweatshop scandal. Weve gone from a target of reformers to a dominant player in the factory reform movement, Knight wrote in his 2016 memoir, Shoe Dog.The company has worked to convince consumers that it is improving the lives of its factory workers, not exploiting them. It became the first major apparel brand to disclose the names and locations of its suppliers. It established a written code that requires its suppliers to create a safe, healthy workplace, prohibit forced overtime and honor workers right to form unions. The company reports annually about its progress. In Nikes marketing materials, contract factory workers are often smiling.A key tentpole of Nikes claims is that its suppliers pay competitive wages. Nike says contract factory workers for whom it has data now earn an average of 1.9 times their local minimum wage, without counting overtime.Scrutinizing that claim is extraordinarily difficult. Nike acknowledges that the analysis omits more than a third of the 1.1 million people who make its sneakers and apparel worldwide. Nike says its focus in collecting wage data has been on its biggest suppliers. It hasnt said which of its 37 producing countries are included.ProPublica obtained a rare view of wages paid to the factory workers who produce Nike clothing: a highly detailed payroll list for 3,720 employees at Cambodias Y&W Garment. Covering earnings from longtime managers down to freshly hired 18-year-old sewing machine operators, the spreadsheet shows the workforce falling far short of the amount Nike says its factory workers typically earn. While Nike says contract factory workers for which it has data earn 1.9 times their local minimum wage, a Y&W Garment factory payroll ledger shows many workers earning a base pay of $204 a month, Cambodias minimum wage last year. Even including bonuses and incentives, more than three-quarters of the factorys employees earned close to the minimum wage. (Obtained by ProPublica. Highlights and redactions by ProPublica.) Just 41 people, or 1% of the Y&W workforce, earned 1.9 times the local minimum wage of about $1 per hour even when counting bonuses and incentives. These higher-paid employees included accountants, supervisors and a human resources manager. Nike didnt answer specific questions about ProPublicas findings, including whether it dropped Y&W as a supplier because of any violations of its code of conduct. In a statement, Nike said its code sets clear expectations for suppliers and that it is committed to ethical and responsible manufacturing.We build long-term relationships with our contract manufacturing suppliers, the statement said, because we know having trust and mutual respect supports our ability to create product more responsibly, accelerate innovation and better serve consumers.Nike added that it expects its suppliers to continue making progress on fair compensation for a regular work week.Representatives of Y&W Garment and its Hong-Kong-based parent, Wing Luen Knitting Factory Ltd., did not respond to emails, text messages or phone calls seeking comment, and Wing Luens website is defunct. New York-based Haddad Brands, which Y&W workers said was an intermediary for Nike at the factory, did not respond to emailed questions about conditions at the factory and hung up on a reporter who called. Its website says it makes childrens clothing for Nike and that it enforces Nikes code of conduct. ProPublica interviewed 13 former Y&W workers in the Cambodian capital and surrounding villages, plus another one by phone, during two weeks in January.In spare concrete homes and earthen courtyards that smelled of burbling fish sauce, they described workplace abuses that Nike promised to eradicate long ago. In addition to low wages, fainting workers and forced overtime, they spoke of bosses who mocked them if they underperformed and a life of debts that kept piling up.They told ProPublica that what they made in Cambodias standard 48-hour, six-day week wasnt enough to make ends meet. Some feared being fired or angering their supervisors if they refused extra hours. Others said they needed to work overtime simply to keep up. Still, many said they wished the factory hadnt shut down.Khun Tharo, program manager at the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights, a Cambodian legal aid group also known as CENTRAL, said his countrys garment workers including those at Y&W do what circumstances require.When you ask them, Do you want to have the weekend off with your family, your kids? yes, they do, he said. But how can they afford that? Theyre stuck. Theres no choice. Khun Tharo, program manager for a Cambodian legal aid group, says workers feel compelled to work long hours to get by. Nikes arrival inside the corrugated metal walls at Y&W Garment was a big deal.It was December 2021, workers said, when the company began trial production runs inside the expansive factory complex in southern Phnom Penh, about two miles from one of the notorious killing fields of the Khmer Rouges 1970s genocide.Supervisors told ProPublica that the owner, a man they called thaw kae the big boss gave them a message to deliver to line workers: Nike was coming. Money and benefits would follow. And they wouldnt have to work extra hours.Workers were happy. Earning more would let them save, pay off debts and stop borrowing from friends to make it to the next month. They said they felt secure knowing that it was Nike, a company they had heard respected labor laws.But the promise of the big American brand was never realized, according to the workers who spoke to ProPublica. After Nike came, nothing has changed, one worker said. A former Y&W Garment worker who asked not to be identified provided this photo taken inside the factory that produced baby clothing for Nike and other brands. The former Y&W employees said neither their working conditions nor their pay improved while Nike goods were made at the factory. They instead described problems that would violate Nikes code of conduct, which prohibits forced overtime and verbal abuse.Three workers said they faced intense pressure to meet production targets. Two said workers were blamed if they missed their goals. Managers would yell at team leaders when that happened, one of them said; If you cant do it, just go back home, the former worker recalled employees being told. If workers hit their targets, he said, managers set higher ones. If employees refused to work the extra hours needed to get there, two workers said, then managers would tell them their contracts wouldnt be renewed or that they should resign.Y&Ws payroll sheet covers March 2024, when the factorys total employment was down from a previous high of about 4,500 people. The spreadsheet shows that even with bonuses and incentives, more than three-quarters of workers made close to Cambodias minimum wage at most, 15% above it. Workers with seniority earned only a little more. Of the 183 workers whod been at Y&W a decade or longer, more than three-quarters had base pay, bonuses and incentives that put them, at most, 25% ahead of minimum wage. Its hard to know if wages at Y&W are an outlier or emblematic of Nikes Southeast Asia supply chain; comprehensive pay records arent readily available for other factories. But 18 paystubs ProPublica collected at three of Nikes other 25 Cambodian suppliers also show workers at or slightly above the minimum wage. Separately, a 2023 survey by labor advocates found similar results at two factories that supplied Nike. The average pay at Y&W, without overtime but with bonuses and incentives included, is slightly below the $250 to $260 a month that Ken Loo, secretary general of the Textile, Apparel, Footwear and Travel Goods Association in Cambodia, estimated is standard for the industry. Loo said wage increases must be balanced against productivity because it will impact our competitiveness with other garment-producing countries.In December 2023, two years after Nike arrived at Y&W, workers said Nike pulled out. They said they were told to destroy any remaining Nike labels, a standard demand to prevent counterfeit or unauthorized products from being created. Hundreds of workers were let go.In early 2024, around the time of the Lunar New Year, workers said, the factory owner left Phnom Penh for what many thought was a new years trip home to China. He didnt return. Factory suppliers began calling in their debts, hauling away hundreds of rented sewing machines. The factory fell silent.Workers slept in front of the factorys locked gates to prevent the buildings from being cleared out. Hundreds marched in the streets, hoping to get the attention of the government and the brands for whom theyd produced. Nike, in its statement, did not explain why it left Y&W. It said its suppliers have an obligation to pay severance, social security or other separation benefits. In the event of any closure or divest, Nike works closely with the supplier to conduct a responsible exit, the statement said. A section of the former Y&W Garment factory now bears a for-rent sign. A California-based brand that shipping records show also did business with Y&W before its closure, True Classic, did not respond to written questions.Workers said they never heard from the brands. They said they did hear from the government, which was unhappy about their protests. Labor ministry officials called and told them to stop inciting their co-workers, threatening arrest. In March 2024, Cambodian news reports said the government seized the factorys assets and distributed the proceeds to workers. But workers told ProPublica they received far less than they were owed.The garment workers said they took what they could get. It might be hard to understand how far a dollar stretches in Cambodias economy. The countrys current $208 monthly minimum wage a $4 increase from last year doesnt sound like much to Americans. ProPublica heard from workers about why it isnt enough for Cambodians, either.Two women who worked at Y&W Garment and recently gave birth said they each spend $120 a month on powdered infant formula four cans a month at $30 apiece. Sar Kunthea, 34, who packaged clothing at Y&W, pays $282.70 a month on $12,000 she borrowed to make drainage improvements that would keep out floodwaters, which rose halfway up her homes doors during the rainy season. Sar Kunthea said she commonly worked two Sundays a month but still had to borrow money from friends a few times a year to stay afloat.Sar pulls leftovers out of her refrigerator for dinner. She buys the familys groceries daily, she says, because she doesnt have enough money to keep the refrigerator full. Sar pulls leftovers out of her refrigerator for dinner. She buys the familys groceries daily, she says, because she doesnt have enough money to keep the refrigerator full. Vat Vannak, who added metal buttons to clothing, said she typically earned about $250 a month by tacking on two hours at the end of her regular, six-day-a-week 7 a.m.-to-4 p.m. shifts. The overtime pushed her workweek close to 60 hours. Her husband also brings home a paycheck from construction. But their monthly household costs included $109 for a motorbike, $50 for a room near the factory, $60 for food and about $40 for school expenses. She said shed saved nothing.Labor advocates have long pushed brands like Nike to pay whats known as a living wage, calling it a basic human right. Although methods for estimating it vary, a living wage usually includes enough for food, water, housing, education, transportation, health care, energy, clothing, a phone and unforeseen expenses. Vat puts her nephew's hair in a ponytail (first image) and hangs laundry to dry. Vat and her husband, Bun Sokha, dry off their son after a bath. Nike does not explicitly require its factories to pay a living wage, but it says that every worker has a right to compensation for a regular work week that is sufficient to meet workers basic needs and provide some discretionary income. Nike reports that two-thirds of its key suppliers for which it was able to collect data paid above living wage benchmarks for their countries.Estimates from the Asia Floor Wage Alliance, which represents labor unions based in Asia, put that benchmark for Cambodia at $659 a month. The WageIndicator Foundation, an independent Dutch nonprofit, puts it at $276 to $360 a month.But Nikes preferred estimate is just $232, based on research by the Anker Research Institute, which is part of the Global Living Wage Coalition. Nike has sponsored the institutes work.In a statement, the institutes founders and one member of the wage coalition told ProPublica: Our estimates are always fully independent. Companies have no influence over the methodology or estimates.Regardless of what researchers say, Ngin Nearadei says what she earned at Y&W was not enough. Ngin feeds her son rice porridge. Ngin, 26, worked in quality control and found herself with hefty debt payments because, like other workers, recent flooding required her to raise the floor of her house. How much would she need to earn monthly to forgo overtime? About $400, she said, maybe $500. Thats up to 30% more than what Nike says its contract workforce earns, on average, compared to the minimum wage.Speaking in her home, Ngin disappeared for a moment and returned with two creased paystubs. One, covering roughly two weeks, showed just how much she had to work to get close to what she said she needs.She was scheduled to work 104 hours as part of a regular schedule that runs eight hours a day, Monday through Saturday. On top of that, she added 64 hours of overtime, including eight hours on Sunday, the paystub shows.Her total work time for the period was 168 hours, an average of roughly 11 to 12 hours a day if she worked every day. (Paychecks came twice a month; the exact pay period covered was not printed on Ngins document.)When combined with her other paycheck for the month, she earned $341.65. One of Ngins paystubs shows she worked 56 overtime hours and 8 additional hours on Sunday in a roughly two-week period. (Obtained and highlighted by ProPublica.) The workers who make Nikes products have helped Knight, the cofounder, become one of the richest people on earth. Nikes market capitalization was $13 billion in 1998, when Knight delivered his mea culpa about slave wages. Although its stock has been trading far below its 2021 peak, Nike was still worth about $80 billion as of April 21, 2025.The company has been a cash machine. In just its last two fiscal years, Nike has returned $13.9 billion to shareholders through stock buybacks and dividends.According to Dennis Arnold, an associate professor of human geography at the University of Amsterdam whos studied the Cambodian garment industry, unless Nike and others choose lower profit margins for the sake of higher pay, little is likely to change for factory workers. Governments like Cambodias fear that raising the minimum wage dramatically will drive away manufacturing, he said, because companies that benefit from Cambodias low wages must also wait longer and pay more to get garments to Western markets due to shipping costs and the countrys poor infrastructure.All said, its not the most appealing place in the world, and the government is not taking much initiative to try to change the situation for the better, Arnold said. So far, no brand has guaranteed its factory workers a living wage, according to the Clean Clothes Campaign, a Dutch advocacy group. H&M, the Swedish retailer, was quoted by numerous news outlets in 2013 promising that its top suppliers would pay a fair living wage by 2018. An analysis by the Clean Clothes Campaign in 2019 concluded that the promise was not fulfilled. (H&M did not respond to questions from ProPublica.) Recently, H&M and 11 other brands made a smaller commitment in an agreement with a global labor union, IndustriALL: to guarantee production volumes when Cambodian unions sign bargaining agreements that include higher wages, and to pay for the resulting higher labor costs.Nike is not a signatory.European and U.S. regulators could take measures to increase accountability for wages. Jason Judd, executive director of the Global Labor Institute at Cornell University, said they could require publicly traded companies like Nike to consistently disclose what factory workers earn when producing their goods. H&M currently reports what its foreign suppliers pay workers on a country-by-country basis, for example. Puma did too, until stopping this year. Nike did it once in 2001.Companies have enormous leeway in what they report, Judd said. Its enormously difficult to compare within firms across years. Between firms, impossible. Companies are able to pick and choose how they tell their story.Knight, who did not respond to requests for comment, wrote in his 2016 memoir that the question of wages for Nikes factory workers would always remain. The salary of a Third World factory worker seems impossibly low to Americans, and I understand, wrote Knight, whose net worth Forbes put at $28.5 billion as of April 21. Still, we have to operate within the limits and structures of each country, each economy; we cant simply pay whatever we wish to pay.Knight recounted a story, one thats hard to verify. When Nike tried to raise wages in an unnamed country, we found ourselves called on the carpet, summoned to the office of a top government official and ordered to stop. We were disrupting the nations entire economic system, he said. Its simply not right, he insisted, or feasible, that a shoe worker makes more than a medical doctor.At Y&W Garment, payroll data shows, line workers were nowhere close to making that much. On average, they earned $236.25 a month with incentives.The factory doctor made $581. About the NumbersThe Y&W Garment payroll ledger that ProPublica obtained was for March 2024, around the time the factory shut down. The data shows workers monthly base pay and how much they earned from bonuses and incentives, which are also paid on a monthly basis. More than a dozen former workers verified details about their own pay shown in the spreadsheet. To estimate total earnings for each worker, we included base salary, incentives and bonuses for transportation, seniority and attendance, but we excluded overtime pay as Nike does in its calculations of average wages and a meal incentive related to overtime. We assumed every worker got a $10 attendance bonus that Cambodian law requires. Although the spreadsheet did not indicate that $10 transportation bonuses were universal, we assigned this amount to every worker.

It meant a lot to me to see him, he gave us so much, said one woman who waited in line to file past the pontiffs casket.

We explain the administrations cuts to research.