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President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he and first lady Melania Trump depart on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, April 25, 2025, in Washington. The President and first lady will be traveling to Rome and the Vatican to attend the funeral for Pope Francis. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-04-25T17:47:09Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump cant stop contradicting himself on his own tariff plans. He says hes on a path to cut several new trade deals in a few weeks but has also suggested its physically impossible to hold all the needed meetings. Trump has said he will simply set new tariff rates negotiated internally within the U.S. government over the next few weeks although he already did that on his April 2 Liberation Day, which caused the world economy to shudder.The Republican president says hes actively negotiating with the Chinese government on tariffs while the Chinese and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have said talks have yet to start.What should one believe? The sure bet is that uncertainty will persist in ways that employers and consumers alike expect to damage the economy and that leave foreign leaders scratching their heads in bewilderment. And the consequences of all this tariffs turmoil are enormous. Trump placed tariffs totaling 145% on China, leading China to retaliate with tariffs of 125% on the U.S. essentially triggering a trade war between the worlds two largest economies with the potential to bring on a recession. Trumps negotiating trade deals with himselfThe president told Time magazine in an interview released Friday that 20%, 30% or 50% tariffs a year from now would be a total victory, even though a financial market panic led him to temporarily reduce his baseline import taxes to 10% for 90 days while talks take place.The deal is a deal that I choose, Trump said in the interview. What Im doing is I will, at a certain point in the not too distant future, I will set a fair price of tariffs for different countries.If that is confusing for the nations trading partners, its also sowing anxiety at home. The Federal Reserves beige book, a compilation of anecdotes from U.S. businesses prepared eight times a year, on Wednesday reported a huge spike in uncertainty among American companies that has caused them to pull back on hiring and investment in new projects. The word uncertainty cropped up 80 times, compared with 45 in early March and just 14 in January. Beyond the idea that Trump plans to keep some level of tariffs in place, the world finance ministers and corporate executives who gathered this past week in Washington for the International Monetary Fund conference said in private discussions that the Trump administration was providing no real clarity on its goals for substantive talks.Theres not a coherent strategy at the moment on what the tariffs are supposed to achieve, said Josh Lipsky, senior director of the GeoEconomics Center at The Atlantic Council. My conversations with the ministers and governors this week at the IMF meetings have been they dont understand completely what the White House wants, nor who they should be negotiating with. Other countries trying to get talks goingSwiss President Karin Keller-Sutter, in an interview with broadcaster SRF released Friday, said after a meeting with Bessent that Switzerland would be one of 15 countries with which the United States plans to conduct privileged negotiations. But she said a memorandum of understanding would have to be reached for talks to formally begin.She was happy to at least know whom to talk to, saying that we have also been assigned a specific contact person. This is not easy in the U.S. administration.Nations are deploying various negotiating tactics.The South Korean officials who met with their U.S. counterparts this week say they specifically asked for the tariffs to be lifted with the goal of working toward an agreement by July. The European Union has pushed for cutting tariffs to zero for both parties, though Trump objects to European countries charging a value-added tax, which is akin to a sales tax that he says hurts U.S. goods.Trump continues to radiate optimism that negotiated deals with other countries will occur despite his claims that he will set his own deals and a lack of clarity about how the process goes forward.Im getting along very well with Japan, Trump told reporters on Friday. Were very close to a deal. As part of a deal with Japan, the Trump administration has publicly called on the Japanese government to change its auto safety standards that put a greater focus on pedestrian safety. But the steering wheels on autos sold in Japan are on the right-hand side, while U.S. automakers put their steering wheels on the left.I dont think left-hand drive cars sell in Japan, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told a parliamentary session this week.We want to make sure we arent seen as being unfair, Ishiba said, suggesting a possibility of reviewing Japanese car safety standards. Higher prices and shortages are likelyAs Trump continues to make conflicting statements about tariffs, companies are actively looking at higher prices, lower sales and possibly bare shelves in stores due to fewer shipments from China.Ryan Petersen, CEO of Flexport, a supply chain company, said on the social media site X: In the 3 weeks since the tariffs took effect, ocean container bookings from China to the United States are down over 60% industry wide.Consumers are getting notices via email and social media from retailers that lamps, furniture and other housewares will now include tariff-related charges.The showerhead company Afina on Wednesday reported on a test to see if people would buy an American-made product that cost more than an import. Their Chinese-made filtered showerhead retails for $129, but to manufacture the same product domestically would take the price up to $239. When customers on the companys website were given a choice between a showerhead made in the USA or a cheaper one made in Asia, there were 584 purchases of the $129 model made abroad and not one sale of the domestically produced showerhead.Ramon van Meer, Afinas founder, concluded in his written analysis: If policymakers and pundits want to rebuild American industry, they need to grapple with this truth: idealism doesnt always survive contact with a price tag.___AP economics writer Christopher Rugaber in Washington and AP writers Jamey Keaten in Geneva and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report. JOSH BOAK Boak covers the White House and economic policy for The Associated Press. He joined the AP in 2013. twitter mailto

A view of the UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s campus is shown Oct. 16, 2012, in Minnetonka, Minn. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File)2025-04-25T17:29:36Z NEW YORK (AP) Luigi Mangione pleaded not guilty Friday to a federal murder charge in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as prosecutors formally declared their intent to seek the death penalty against him.Mangione, 26, stood with his lawyers as he entered the plea, leaning forward toward a microphone as U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett asked him if understood the indictment and the charges against him.Mangione said, yes. Asked how he wished to plead, Mangione said simply, not guilty and sat down.Mangiones arraignment for the killing last December attracted several dozen people to the federal courthouse in Manhattan, including former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who served about seven years in prison for stealing classified diplomatic cables.Mangione, who has been held in a federal jail in Brooklyn since his arrest, arrived to court in a mustard-colored jail suit. He chatted with one of his lawyers, death penalty counsel Avi Moskowitz, as they wanted for the arraignment to begin. Late Thursday night, federal prosecutors filed a required notice of their intent to seek the death penalty. That came weeks after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that she would be directing federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty for what she called an act of political violence and a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America. It was the first time the Justice Department said it was pursuing capital punishment since President Donald Trump returned to office Jan. 20 with a vow to resume federal executions after they were halted under the previous administration.Mangiones lawyers have argued that Bondis announcement was a political stunt that corrupted the grand jury process and deprived him of his constitutional right to due process. They had sought to block prosecutors from seeking the death penalty. Mangiones federal indictment includes a charge of murder through use of a firearm, which carries the possibility of the death penalty. The indictment, which mirrors a criminal complaint brought after Mangiones arrest also charges him with stalking and a gun offense.Mangione, an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, faces separate federal and state murder charges after authorities say he gunned down Thompson, 50, outside a Manhattan hotel on Dec. 4 as the executive arrived for UnitedHealthcares annual investor conference. The state murder charges carry a maximum punishment of life in prison.Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting Thompson from behind. Police say the words delay, deny and depose were scrawled on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase commonly used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.The killing and ensuing five-day search leading to Mangiones arrest rattled the business community, with some health insurers deleting photos of executives from their websites and switching to online shareholder meetings. At the same time, some health insurance critics have rallied around Mangione as a stand-in for frustrations over coverage denials and hefty medical bills. Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state case expected to go to trial first, but Mangione lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo said his defense team would seek to have the federal case take precedent because it involves the death penalty.Mangione was arrested Dec. 9 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of New York City and whisked to Manhattan by plane and helicopter.Police said Mangione had a 9mm handgun that matched the one used in the shooting and other items including a notebook in which they say he expressed hostility toward the health insurance industry and wealthy executives.Among the entries, prosecutors said, was one from August 2024 that said the target is insurance because it checks every box and one from October that describes an intent to wack an insurance company CEO. UnitedHealthcare, the largest U.S. health insurer, has said Mangione was never a client. MICHAEL R. SISAK Sisak is an Associated Press reporter covering law enforcement and courts in New York City, including former President Donald Trumps criminal and civil cases and problems plaguing the federal prison system. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss cheating in job interviews, "scary good" surveillance tech, and prudes in payment processing. EMANUEL: First I want to say that the response to our piece about economic headwinds has been really positive and energizing. Like we said in that post, we are doing just fine either way, but its nice to see that people continue to respond very well to us being transparent about how were thinking about and running 404 Media, so well continue to do that. That post also originated as a Behind the Blog, which we always wanted to be a weekly behind-the-scenes look at the site for anyone who was interested, but its also become a place for us to test out some ideas with our most loyal readers before we make them public and that is also working out nicely, so thank you!The other thing I wanted to talk about was this great story from Matthew Gault about Cluely, the AI app that helps you cheat on everything.

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President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he and first lady Melania Trump depart on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, April 25, 2025, in Washington. The President and first lady will be traveling to Rome and the Vatican to attend the funeral for Pope Francis. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-04-25T15:32:42Z WASHINGTON (AP) Why not tax the millionaires?As Congress begins drafting a massive package for President Donald Trumps big, beautiful bill with trillions of dollars in tax breaks and federal program cuts, its a question that wont seem to go away.Trump himself has mused hed love to tax wealthier Americans a little bit more, but the Republican president has also repeatedly walked it back. This week, the president dismissed a tax hike as disruptive when asked about it at the White House.But still it swirls.And its setting up a potential showdown between the old guard of the Republican Party, which sees almost any tax hike as contrary to the GOP goal of slashing government, and its rising populist-nationalists, who view a millionaires tax as championing working-class voters who helped deliver the White House.Bring it, baby, said former Trump strategist Stephen Bannon on his podcast. Think of it as Bannon on the one side, versus Newt Gingrich, anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist and others on the other a debate that once seemed unfathomable for Republicans who have spent generations working to lower taxes and reduce the scope of the federal government. I dont think were raising taxes on anybody, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said this week on Fox News Channel.Johnson said there have been lots of ideas thrown out but the Republicans are working against the idea of a tax on millionaires. Im not in favor of raising the tax rates because our party is the group that stands against that, traditionally, he said. This spring and summer, the Republican-led Congress is determined to make progress on the package, which is central to the partys domestic policy agenda. It revolves around extending many of the GOP tax cuts that Congress approved in 2017, during Trumps first term, but are expiring later this year. As it stands, the top individual tax rate is now 37%, on annual incomes above $611,000 for single filers and $767,000 for married couples. If Congress fails to act, that rate is set to revert to what it was before the 2017 tax law, 39.6%, on top filers.It seems impossible that Republicans in Congress will purposefully wade into the debate. They are striving to keep all the existing tax brackets in place, while adding new tax breaks the president campaigned on during the 2024 election including no taxes on tips, Social Security income, overtime pay and others. Its a potentially $5 trillion-plus package.But the Bannon wing is working to force the issue, saying its time to raise that top rate on the wealthier households, at least $1 million and above. Sounding at times more like progressive Democrats, Bannons flank sees a tax hike as a way not only to ensure wealthy Americans pay their fair share but to generate federal revenue. With federal debt at $36 trillion, they say it can help counter annual deficits that cannot be offset by budget cuts alone.The current system we have is not sustainable, Bannon said at Semafors World Economy Summit on Wednesday in Washington. You have to go to an alternative. I think the alternative is budget cuts. And it has to be tax increases on the wealthy. Thats drawing fierce blowback from the traditional tax-cutters, who have gone into overdrive, warning of nothing short of a political shattering of GOP orthodoxy, and the party itself, if Republicans entertain the idea.Madness, Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker, told Fox News Larry Kudlow. Gingrich warns of a George Bush-style political implosion similar to his Read my lips: No new taxes pledge, which contributed to his failed 1992 presidential reelection bid. It would be a disaster, Gingrich said.Trump appears to be weighing the arguments, sending mixed messages about what he prefers.Newt is quite possibly right on this, the president said in a note Gingrich said he received from the president and reposted Tuesday on social media.While I love the idea of a small increase, Trump said in the note, the Democrats would probably use it against us, and we would be, like Bush, helpless to do anything about it. Trump went on to counsel that if they can do without it, theyre probably better off. We dont need to be the READ MY LIPS gang who lost an election, he posted.Asked about a tax hike on millionaires Wednesday in the Oval Office, Trump was more definitive.I think it would be very disruptive, he said, suggesting wealthy Americans would simply leave the country, rather than pay the higher tax, and end up costing in lost revenues. Yet in a Time magazine interview posted Friday, Trump said of a millionaires tax: I actually love the concept, but I dont want it to be used against me politically. As Republicans in Congress work behind the scenes crafting the tax bill and at least $1.5 trillion in government spending cuts to help cover the lost revenues it seems highly unlikely enough of them would agree to a tax hike. Most of the congressional Republicans have signed a no-taxes pledge from Norquists Americans for Tax Reform group, even as others signal some interest.With Democrats prepared to oppose the package altogether because of its expected steep cuts to federal programs, the Republicans will need to keep all their lawmakers in line if they hope to pass the bill through the House and the Senate with their narrow majorities.Yet, as Republicans are scrounging for ways to pay for their tax bill, they face potential resistance within their own ranks to reductions in Medicaid, food stamps or other federal programs. Even an accounting measure preferred by the Senate Republicans, which would count the 2017 tax breaks as current policy rather than a new one requiring an offset, still comes up short for covering the full price tag of the new package, which could swell beyond $5 trillion over 10 years. Setting the new top rate at about 40% for those earning $1 million or above would bring in some $300 billion in revenue over the decade, analysts have said. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

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by William Turton, Avi Asher-Schapiro, Christopher Bing and Andy Kroll ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as theyre published. A Treasury Department inspector general is probing efforts by President Donald Trump and Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency to obtain private taxpayer data and other sensitive information, internal communications reviewed by ProPublica show.The office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has sought a wide swath of information from IRS employees. In particular, the office is seeking any requests for taxpayer data from the president, the Executive Office of the President, DOGE or the presidents Office of Management and Budget.The request, spelled out in a mid-April email obtained by ProPublica, comes as watchdogs and leading Democrats question whether DOGE has overstepped its bounds in seeking information about taxpayers, public employees or federal agencies that is typically highly restricted.The review appears to be in its early stages one document describes staffers as beginning preplanning but the email directs the IRS to turn over specific documents by Thursday, April 24. Its not clear if that happened.The inspector general is seeking, for instance, All requests for taxpayer or other protected information from the President or Executive Office of the President, OMB, or DOGE. Include any information on how the requestor plans to use the information requested, the IRSs response to the request, and the legal basis for the IRSs response, the email says.The inquiry also asks for information about requests for access to IRS systems from any agency in the executive branch, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Social Security Administration and DOGE.The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration office, known as TIGTA, is led by acting Inspector General Heather M. Hill. When Trump fired 17 inspectors general across a range of federal agencies in January, those working for the Treasury Department were not among the ones axed.The White House, DOGE, OMB and Musk did not respond to requests for comment Friday. Previously, the administration has said, Those leading this mission with Elon Musk are doing so in full compliance with federal law, appropriate security clearances, and as employees of the relevant agencies, not as outside advisors or entities.A TIGTA spokesperson, Becky DAmbrosio, said the agency does not disclose specific details of ongoing work or timelines. She said the office has received multiple requests from Congress. When possible, we are incorporating these requests into our ongoing work providing independent oversight of IRS activities.The April 15 request follows concerns expressed by some within the IRS that DOGE employees under Musks direction have improperly accessed taxpayer information or shared it with other government agencies, said multiple people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.Earlier this month, a group of Democratic senators urged the Treasury inspector general to investigate whether the Trump administration was violating strict taxpayer privacy laws by giving DOGE personnel wide access inside the agency. Taxpayer data held by the IRS is, by design, subject to some of the strongest privacy protections under federal law, the violation of which can trigger civil and criminal sanctions, the lawmakers wrote in their request.In March, three senators said they were troubled by reports the IRS had entered into a sharing agreement to help the Department of Homeland Security locate suspected undocumented immigrants. Trump has promised deportations on a massive scale.A spokesperson for Sen. Ron Wyden, one of the signees of both requests, declined to comment. DHS referred a request for comment from ProPublica to the Treasury Department, which did not respond.The inspector general examination comes amid major upheaval at the Treasury Department and the IRS, as the administration moves to fire thousands of agency workers and DOGE digs deeper into IRS databases. Melanie Krause resigned as the acting commissioner of the IRS after the agency reached an agreement to share taxpayer data with the DHS.A former senior official at TIGTA told ProPublica the review could lead to a criminal investigation if reviewers find evidence of lawbreaking. The same official said its possible those leading the review could face political repercussions, as have scores of prosecutors, FBI agents, law firms and others who have questioned Trumps actions.Emails from the inspector general to IRS employees earlier this month asked them to provide copies of any written agreements to share taxpayer data with entities including the Department of Homeland Security, the Social Security Administration, DOGE, the Office of Personnel Management or other agencies.It also seeks a full list of non-IRS employees who are part of DOGE or its affiliates. This year, ProPublica has been profiling the figures working for DOGE. Danielle Citron, a leading privacy legal scholar at the University of Virginia, said the email suggests that the inspector general may be probing for violations of the Privacy Act, which requires agencies to safeguard citizens information and only share it across the government in specific cases. The kind of blanket data-sharing agreement the Trump administration is seeking with the IRS, she said, is exactly what the Privacy Act is designed to avoid.CNN and Wired have reported that DOGE is attempting to build a master database that combines information from the IRS, DHS, Social Security Administration and other agencies. The database would be used for immigration enforcement, the outlets reported.This is not the first time Trump administration decisions at the IRS have prompted an inspector general inquiry.As ProPublica reported, a senior IRS lawyer warned the agencys leaders in late February that its plan to terminate nearly 7,000 probationary employees based on poor performance was untrue and a fraud. The IRS proceeded with the firings, which have since been challenged in federal court.After the firings, the IRS inspector general began scrutinizing the mass terminations, said a person familiar with the effort who wasnt authorized to speak with reporters. The status of the probe is not known.

by Richard A. Webster, Verite News This article was produced for ProPublicas Local Reporting Network in partnership with Verite News. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. A Louisiana judge this week set aside the first-degree murder conviction and death sentence of Jimmie Chris Duncan, whose 1998 conviction for killing his girlfriends 23-month-old daughter was based in part on bite mark evidence that experts now say is junk science.The decision comes after a Verite News and ProPublica investigation in March examined the questions surrounding Duncans conviction as Gov. Jeff Landry, a staunch death penalty advocate, made moves to expedite executions after a 15-year pause.Judge Alvin Sharp, of the 4th Judicial District in Ouachita Parish, pointed to new testimony during a September appeals hearing that such bite mark analysis presented by a once-heralded forensics team is no longer valid and not scientifically defensible. The original analysis came from forensic dentist Michael West and pathologist Dr. Steven Hayne, whose longtime partnership as state experts fell under legal scrutiny after questions emerged about the validity of their techniques.Over the past 27 years, nine prisoners have been set free after being convicted in part on inaccurate evidence given by West and Hayne. Three of those men were on death row.Duncan was the last person awaiting an execution based on the pairs work, which Sharp said in his ruling appeared questionable at best.Other expert witnesses said that Haynes autopsy and his findings were sloppy in practice and inadequate overall.It is worth noting that the qualifications of Dr. Hayne were lacking in certain ways to an extent that called into serious question the pathologists expert designation, Sharp wrote in his ruling.Sharp also stated in his ruling that he found very compelling the September testimony of an expert medical witness who said that the childs death was not the result of a homicide but of an accidental drowning.It remains unclear when or if Duncan will walk free.Robert S. Tew, district attorney for the 4th Judicial District, can choose to appeal the decision, retry Duncan on the murder charge or a lesser offense or accept the courts ruling and set him free. Tew did not respond to requests for comment. Duncans legal team declined to comment.Louisiana has a long record of convicting and sentencing to death people later found to be innocent. In the past three decades, the state has exonerated 11 people facing execution, among the highest such numbers in the country, according to The National Registry of Exonerations.Duncan, 56, has maintained his innocence for more than three decades, while prosecutors continued to insist that Duncan committed the murder and should be executed without delay.Duncan was babysitting Haley Oliveaux, his girlfriends daughter, at the house they shared in West Monroe, Louisiana, on Dec. 18, 1993. He said he had left her alone in the bathtub while he washed dishes. At some point, he said he heard a loud noise from the bathroom. When he went to check on Haley, he found her floating face down in the water. She was pronounced dead a few hours later.While Duncan claimed it was a tragic accident, authorities charged him with first-degree murder after Hayne and West examined the girls body and determined there was evidence she was sexually assaulted and intentionally drowned. After about two weeks of testimony in 1998, the jury found Duncan guilty and sentenced him to death.Years later, Duncans post-conviction attorneys uncovered evidence that was not presented at trial that, they said, proves his innocence. This includes a jailhouse informant who wrote to prosecutors offering to share Duncans confession to the crime in what the defense claims was an exchange for leniency (the informant later recanted his trial testimony); past head injuries Haley suffered that might explain her death; and a video in which West can be seen grinding a cast of Duncans teeth into Haleys body. West later claimed those bite marks, which the defense says the forensic dentist manufactured, were a match for Duncans teeth. Dr. Lowell Levine, a defense expert, testified in a September hearing as part of Duncans post-conviction appeal over the death of his girlfriends daughter. He is quoted in a brief summarizing Duncans case following his appeal hearing. (Obtained by Verite News and ProPublica. Highlighted by ProPublica.) Hayne died in 2020. West did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling.West has previously said he was simply using what he called a direct comparison technique, in which he presses a mold of a persons teeth directly onto the location of suspected bite marks because it provides the most accurate results, according to a 2020 interview with Oxygen.com.West said he no longer believed in bite mark analysis in a 2011 deposition in a different post-conviction appeal, saying, I dont believe its a system thats reliable enough to be used in court and admitted to making mistakes in previous cases. But he told The New Republic in a 2023 interview that his methods are valid because other people have used them.In this weeks ruling, Sharp also noted the September testimony of Detective Chris Sasser, who investigated Haleys death. Sasser said there was no blood, no signs of struggle, no cleaning rags and no cleaning agents in the bathroom or house where the alleged crime occurred. This undermined the states assertion that there was massive blood loss, the ruling said.In addition, Sharp found that Duncans trial attorney, Louis Scott, provided ineffective counsel. Sharp pointed to a witness who testified that Scott failed to investigate or present evidence that was available at the time of the trial, that he did not develop a coherent theory of defense, and that he failed to disclose a conflict of interest.Scotts wife told Verite News and ProPublica that he has suffered significant health problems including memory and speech impairment and declined to comment on the judges ruling.Duncan is among 55 people on death row in Louisiana, though until very recently he and the others were not in imminent danger of being executed as the state hadnt put anyone to death since 2010 due to the unavailability of execution drugs. That changed with Landrys 2023 election.Landry has made clear his intention to carry out these death sentences as soon as possible, having recently approved the use of nitrogen gas, a controversial method allowed in only three other states.This cleared the way for the states first execution in more than 15 years, as Jessie Hoffman was put to death on March 18 using nitrogen gas.

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President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he and first lady Melania Trump depart on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, April 25, 2025, in Washington. The President and first lady will be traveling to Rome and the Vatican to attend the funeral for Pope Francis. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-04-25T21:08:24Z WASHINGTON (AP) A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from implementing an executive order that a labor union says would cancel collective bargaining rights for hundreds of thousands of federal employees.U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman ruled that a key part of President Donald Trumps March 27 order cant be enforced at roughly three dozen agencies and departments where employees are represented by the National Treasury Employees Union.The union, which represents nearly 160,000 federal government employees workers, sued to challenge Trumps order. The union said it would lose more than half of its revenue and over two-thirds of its membership if the judge denied its request for a preliminary injunction.Friedman said he would issue an opinion in several days to explain his two-page order. The ruling isnt the final word in the lawsuit. He gave the attorneys until May 2 to submit a proposal for how the case should proceed. Some agencies, including the FBI, are exempt from a law requiring federal agencies to bargain with labor organizations over employment matters. Presidents can apply the exemption to agencies that have a primary function of performing intelligence, counterintelligence, investigative or national security work. But no president before Trump tried to use the national security exemption to exclude an entire cabinet-level agency from the laws requirements, according to the employees union. It said Trumps order is designed to facilitate mass firings and exact political vengeance against federal unions opposed to his agenda. The Presidents use of the Statutes narrow national security exemption to undo the bulk of the Statutes coverage is plainly at odds with Congresss expressed intent, union attorneys wrote.Government lawyers argued that the court order requested by the union would interfere with the presidents duty to ensure federal workers are prepared to help protect national security. It is vital that agencies with a primary purpose of national security are responsive and accountable to the American people. Justice Department attorneys wrote.The IRS is the largest bargaining unit represented by the National Treasury Employees Union. A day after Trump signed his order, the administration sued a union chapter in Kentucky to seek a ruling that it can terminate the collective bargaining agreement for the IRS.The union says the administration has effectively conceded that its members dont do national security work. The union members affected by the executive order also include employees of the Health and Human Services Department, the Energy Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Communications Commission.The union said it will lose approximately $25 million in dues revenue over the next year. Some agencies, it says, already have stopped deducting union dues from employees pay.In the absence of preliminary injunctive relief, NTEU may no longer be able to exist in a manner that is meaningful to the federal workers for whom it fights, union lawyers wrote. Government attorneys argued that the courts typically defer to the presidents judgment on national security matters.Executive actions that are facially valid that is, within the lawful authority of the executive are entitled to a presumption of regularity, they wrote.

The grand entry of hundreds of Native American and Indigenous dancers begins with the staff procession during the annual Gathering of Nations powwow in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Friday, May 25, 2025 (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan)2025-04-25T04:02:28Z ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) Thousands of people are gathering in New Mexico for a celebration showcasing Native American and Indigenous dancers, musicians and artisans from around the world.Billed by organizers as the largest powwow in North America, the annual Gathering of Nations festival kicks off Friday with a colorful procession of dancers spiraling into the center of an arena at the New Mexico state fairgrounds. Participants wear elaborate regalia adorned with jingling bells and dance to the tempo of rhythmic drumming.The event also features the crowning of Miss Indian World, as well as horse parades in which riders are judged on the craftsmanship of their intricately beaded adornments or feathered headdresses and how well they work with their horses. Powwow rootsPowwows are a relatively modern phenomenon that emerged in the 1800s as the U.S. government seized land from tribes throughout the Northern and Southern Plains. Forced migrations and upheaval during this period resulted in intertribal solidarity among Plains people and those from the southern prairies of Canada.Alliances were formed, giving way to the exchange of songs and dances during gatherings between different tribes. In the decades that followed, powwows were advertised to pioneers heading westward as authentic Native American dance shows. For some, it was an exploitation of their cultures.The word powwow was derived from pau wau, an Algonquian Narrtick word for medicine man, according to the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. Scholars say English settlers misused the word to refer to the meetings of medicine men and later to any kind of Native American gathering.Today, some of the large powwows like the Gathering of Nations have become more commercialized events that use dancing and drumming competitions with big prize money to provide a glimpse into Indigenous cultures. Reconnecting with cultureAt ceremonial dances, participants wear traditional regalia specific to their tribe, whereas powwow attire often is more contemporary and flashy with sequins and sparkles. Its about dressing to impress the judges, said Warren Queton, a Kiowa Tribe legislator and adjunct instructor at the University of Oklahoma who has participated in community dancing and cultural events since he was a boy.Queton, who served as the head gourd dancer at the universitys recent spring powwow, said ceremonial dances are deeply rooted in community, identity and cultural values. Its a struggle to keep traditional cultural practices and commercial powwows from being lumped into the same category, he said. They have very different meanings in Native American and Indigenous cultures.There has been a focus on promoting smaller powwows held in tribal communities. Queton said these gatherings serve as a way for people who live elsewhere to return home and reconnect with their families and the land, and to share traditions with younger generations.Knowing where you come from, your land, your oral traditions, your language, but also values and traits that can only be learned from a community, he said. Thats why those smaller dances are so important because people learn those community values. Theyre all a part of our identity. Capturing good energyThere still are elements of tradition woven in to modern powwows. Competitors wear feathered bustles, buckskin dresses, fringed shawls and beaded head and hair pieces. Some of the elaborate outfits are hand-stitched designs that can take months to complete.The sounds, movements and emotions that radiate from the dancing are challenging to capture on canvas. But Cochiti Pueblo painter Mateo Romero did just that when he partnered with the U.S. Postal Service to create a series of powwow stamps to be unveiled Friday during Gathering of Nations.Powerfully hypnotic, atavistic and somatic is how the artist describes the dancing. One of his pieces depicts what is known as a fancy shawl dance with its dips, pivots, hops and twirls. Each tassel on the shawl flows and flips, accentuating the dancers movements. Romero said he used color, thick and thin paint and soft and hard edges along with photographic elements to create something that feels alive, embedded with feeling and bright pops of color.Romero called it a huge honor to transform powwow culture into a postage stamp filled with good energy.I look at it as a sort of vehicle to express this sentiment, the energy, the celebration, the vibration, the beauty of it, he said. Its the power of it.

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The Kennedy Center is seen Aug. 13, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)2025-04-25T21:53:24Z WASHINGTON (AP) Organizers and the Kennedy Center have canceled a weeks worth of events celebrating LGBTQ+ rights for this summers World Pride festival in Washington, D.C., amid a shift in priorities and the ousting of leadership at one of the nations premier cultural institutions. Multiple artists and producers involved in the centers Tapestry of Pride schedule, which had been planned for June 5 to 8, told The Associated Press that their events had been quietly canceled or moved to other venues. And in the wake of the cancellations, Washingtons Capital Pride Alliance has disassociated itself from the Kennedy Center. We are a resilient community, and we have found other avenues to celebrate, said June Crenshaw, deputy director of the alliance. We are finding another path to the celebration but the fact that we have to maneuver in this way is disappointing. The Kennedy Centers website still lists Tapestry of Pride on its website with a general description and a link to the World Pride site. There are no other details. The Kennedy Center did not respond to a request from the AP for comment. The move comes on the heels of massive changes at the Kennedy Center, with President Donald Trump firing both the president and chairman in early February. Trump replaced most of the board with loyalists, who then elected him the new Kennedy Center chairman. The World Pride event, held every two years, starts in just under a month running from May 17 through June 8 with performances and celebrations planned across the capital city. But Trump administration policies on transgender rights and comments about Kennedy Center drag performances have sparked concern about what kind of reception attendees will receive. I know that D.C. as a community will be very excited to be hosting World Pride, but I know the community is a little bit different than the government, said Michael Roest, founder and director of the International Pride Orchestra, which had its June 5 performance at the Kennedy Center abruptly canceled within days of Trumps takeover. Roest told the AP he was in the final stages of planning the Kennedy Center performance after months of emails and Zoom calls. He was waiting on a final contract when Trump posted on social media Feb. 7 of the leadership changes and his intention to transform the Kennedy Centers programming. Immediately the Kennedy Center became nonresponsive, Roest said. On Feb. 12, he said, he received a one-sentence email from a Kennedy Center staffer stating, We are no longer able to advance your contract at this time. They went from very eager to host to nothing, he said. We have not since heard a word from anybody at the Kennedy Center, but thats not going to stop us.In the wake of the cancellation, Roest said he managed to move the International Pride Orchestra performance to the Strathmore theater in nearby Bethesda, Maryland. Crenshaw said some other events, including a drag story time and a display of parts of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, would be moved to the World Pride welcome center in Chinatown. Monica Alford, a veteran event planner with a long history of working with the Kennedy Center, was scheduled to organize an event June 8 as part of Tapestry of Pride, but said she also saw communication abruptly end within days of Trumps takeover. Alford organized the first ever drag brunch on the Kennedy Center rooftop in 2024, and said she regarded the institution and its recent expansion known as The Reach as my home base and a safe space for the queer communityShe said she was still finalizing the details of her event, which she described as meant to be family-friendly, just like the drag brunch was family-friendly and classy and sophisticated.She said she mourns the loss of the partnership she nurtured with the Kennedy Center. Were doing our community a disservice not just the queer community but the entire community, she said.Roest said he never received an explanation as to why the performance was canceled so late in the planning stages. He said his orchestra would no longer consider performing at the Kennedy Center, and he believes most queer artists would make the same choice.There would need to be a very, very public statement of inclusivity from the administration, from that board, for us to consider that, he said. Otherwise it is a hostile performance space. ASHRAF KHALIL Khalil writes about local issues in Washington, D.C., for The Associated Press and covers the social safety net around the country. twitter instagram mailto