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Chris Rocheleau, acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, left, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, right, speak about a new air traffic control infrastructure plan, Thursday, May 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)2025-05-11T13:01:33Z Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy plans to reduce the number of flights in and out of the Newark Liberty International Airport for the next several weeks, as New Jerseys largest airport struggles with radar outages and other issues, including one Sunday, and flight delays and cancellations due to a shortage of air traffic controllers.Speaking on NBCs Meet the Press, Duffy said he will convene a meeting with all the airlines flying out of Newark this week to determine the reduction, adding that it will fluctuate, with a larger reduction coming in the afternoons when international flight arrivals make the airport busier.We want to have a number of flights that if you book your flight, you know its going to fly, right? he said. That is the priority. So you dont get to the airport, wait four hours, and then get delayed. The Federal Aviation Administration reported a telecommunications issue on Sunday at the facility in Philadelphia that directs planes in and out of Newark airport. The agency said in a statement that it briefly slowed aircraft in and out of the airport, while ensuring that redundancies were working as designed. Operations then returned to normal. That issue emerged two days after radar at the facility in Philadelphia went black for 90 seconds at 3:55 a.m. Friday, an episode that was similar to an incident on April 28. The FAA said in a statement last week that it slows the rate of arrivals into Newark to ensure safety when staffing or equipment issues occur. The agency noted that frequent equipment and telecommunications outages can be stressful, prompting some air traffic controllers to take time off to recover from the stress. While we cannot quickly replace them due to this highly specialized profession, we continue to train controllers who will eventually be assigned to this busy airspace, the FAA said in a May 5 statement. There has been an average of 34 arrival cancellations per day since mid-April at Newark, according to the FAA, with the number of delays increasing throughout the day from an average of five in the mornings to 16 by the evening. They tend to last 85 to 137 minutes on average.The Trump administration proposed a multibillion-dollar overhaul of the U.S. air traffic control system Thursday that includes six new air traffic control centers and technology and communications upgrades at all of the nations air traffic facilities over the next three or four years.Duffy said Sunday that he also plans to raise the mandatory retirement age for air traffic controllers from 56 to 61, as he tries to navigate a shortage of about 3,000 people in that specialized position.He plans to give those air traffic controllers a 20% upfront bonus to stay on the job. However, he says many air traffic controllers choose to retire after 25 years of service, which means many retire around the age of 50.These are not overnight fixes, Duffy said. But as we go up one, two years, older guys on the job, younger guys coming in, men and women we can make up that 3,000-person difference. Adding more air traffic controllers is in contrast to a top priority of the Trump administration slashing jobs in nearly all other federal agencies. However, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said on CBS Face the Nation that Duffy deserves credit for putting caution tape around FAA safety functions and separating those personnel from DOGE cost-cutting.Kirby said United has already reduced its schedule at Newark, and will meet with Duffy later this week. He expects a deeper cut in capacity to last until June 15 when construction to one of Newarks runways is expected to be complete, though he thinks some reductions will last throughout the summer.We have fewer flights, but we keep everything safe, and we get the airplane safely on the ground, Kirby said. Safety is number one, and so Im not worried about safety. I am worried about customer delays and impacts.

Hikers look up at a fast moving storm as it makes its way through Zion National Park outside of Springdale, Utah, July 22, 2013. (AP Photo/Sandy Huffaker, File)2025-05-11T16:41:17Z BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) Congressional Republicans say their plan to sell potentially hundreds of thousands of acres of federal land will generate revenue and ease growth pressures in booming Western cities. Yet without clear details on how it will work, skeptics worry it could be a giveaway for developers and mining companies and do little to ease the regions housing crisis.Legislation passed by the House Natural Resources Committee last week includes about 460,000 acres (186,155 hectares) in Nevada and Utah to be sold or transferred to local governments or private entities.The provision is part of a sweeping tax cut package and mirrors the Trump administrations view of most public lands as an asset to be used, not set aside for preservation.Who should control such sites has long been a burning source of disagreement in the West, where about half the acreage is under federal control and cities that sprawl across open landscapes face rising demand for housing, water and other necessities. The GOP plan is rekindling the fight and generating strong blowback from Democrats and conservationists. They see the measure as a precedent-setting move that would open the door to sales in other states. We have grave concerns that this is the camels nose under the tent, said Steve Bloch with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. If it can happen in Utah, if it can happen in Nevada, its not going to stay here. Its going to spread.Some Republicans also signaled opposition, setting up a political clash as the budget process moves forward. Good news for fast-growing Nevada cityThe majority of land in the House provision is in Nevada, including the counties that encompass Reno, Las Vegas and the fast-growing city of Fernley, according to maps released by the measures sponsors, Republican Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada and Celeste Maloy of Utah. Fernley City Manager Benjamin Marchant said the opportunity to buy 12,000 acres (4850 hectares) of federal land at the edge of the community was good news. The city size tripled since its incorporation in 2001 and is expected to double again over the next decade, he said. There is hope to emerge as a technology hub, but Fernley needs space to grow.We cant even talk about projects when its federal land, Marchant said. We cant sell what we dont own, and this is the first step.Other parcels to be sold are farther from developed areas. They include sites bordering Zion National Park and tribal lands such as the Paiute Indian Tribe reservation in Utah and the Pyramid Lake Paiute reservation in Nevada.That means the tribe cant grow, said Mathilda Miller with Native Voters Alliance Nevada, an advocacy group for the states tribes that opposes the sales. They cant reclaim the land that was stolen from their tribe, and it brings development right up to their doorstep.Roughly 100,000 acres (40,500 hectares) in western Nevadas rural Pershing County could be sold to private companies with mining claims or mining infrastructure, according to Amodeis office. The legislation also requires federal parcels in that area to be exchanged for an equal amount of nonfederal land. Landlocked by federal holdingsMany of the communities near sale locations share a common theme: Their expansion is hemmed in by federal property, which makes up 80% of the land in Nevada and 63% in Utah. Some states in the Midwest and East have 1% or less federal land by comparison.Public parcels often are interspersed with private holdings in a checkerboard fashion that further complicates development efforts.Housing advocates caution that federal land is not universally suitable for affordable housing. Generally, the farther away the land is from cities and towns the more infrastructure is required roads, sewage, public transportation.Its a costly way to go because of the infrastructure needs, because of the time it will take, said Vicki Been of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University. Im not saying that theres no place on federal lands that would make sense, but one has to really look carefully. The Republican proposal seeks to identify suitable lands in coordination with local municipalities. That has left some concerned there arent enough assurances that the land, or enough land, will end up going to affordable housing.The devils in the details, said Tara Rollins, executive director of the Utah Housing Coalition. It could just be a land grab. There just needs to be a lot of checks and balances.A failed lawsuit to wrest controlThe wholesale transfer of federal lands to local or private entities is something many western conservatives have long sought. Republican officials in Utah last year filed a lawsuit last seeking to take over huge swathes of federal land in the state, but they were rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. Twelve other states backed Utahs bid.There also are strong voices within the GOP against public land sales, notably Montana lawmakers Rep. Ryan Zinke, who was interior secretary in Trumps first term, and Sen. Steve Daines. Colorado Rep. Jeff Hurd was the lone Republican on the Natural Resources Committee to vote against the lands provision. The legislation would sell about 10,000 acres (4050 hectares) of land in two Utah counties. Maloy said it avoids areas that should be conserved and would help ease demand for housing and water, by creating space to build new homes and expand reservoir capacity.Smaller land sales are a common practice for the Interior Departments Bureau of Land Management.Not all federal lands have the same value, Maloy said. In both Democratic and Republican administrations, for decades, weve been disposing of appropriate lands in a manner thats consistent with what I propose to do here.___Bedayn reported from Denver and Daly from Washington, D.C. JESSE BEDAYN Bedayn is a statehouse reporter for The Associated Press based in Denver. He is a Report for America corps member. mailto MATTHEW DALY Daly covers climate, environment and energy policy for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington, D.C. twitter mailto

Lisa Brakel poses at the Bedford Branch Library in Temperance, Mich., Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)2025-05-11T11:39:47Z CHICAGO (AP) Growing up in the former Soviet Union, Pedro Spivakovsky-Gonzalezs father and grandparents would listen to Voice of America with their ears pressed to the radio, trying to catch words through the governments radio jamming.The U.S.-funded news service was instrumental in helping them understand what was happening on the other side of the Iron Curtain, before they moved to the United States in the 1970s.It was a window into another world, Spivakovsky-Gonzalez said. They looked to it as a sort of a beacon of freedom. They were able to imagine a different world from the one they were living in.When Spivakovsky-Gonzalez and his family heard of President Donald Trumps attempts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for Global Media the agency that oversees VOA, Radio Free Europe and Radio Free Asia - he said it was a gut punch. The first months of the second Trump administration have delivered blow after blow to American efforts to promote democracy abroad and pierce the information wall of authoritarian governments through programs that had been sustained over decades by presidents of both political parties. The new administration has decimated the Agency for Global Media, restructured the State Department to eliminate a global democracy office and gutted the U.S. Agency for International Development, which just last year launched an initiative to try to halt democratic backsliding across the globe. In all, the moves represent a retrenchment from the U.S. role in spreading democracy beyond its borders. Experts say the moves will create a vacuum for promoting freedom and representative government, and could accelerate what many see as anti-democratic trends around the world.The United States has historically been the leading power in spreading democracy globally. Despite different administrations, that has remained the case - until now, said Staffan Lindberg, a political science professor at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. Targeting a broad swath of democracy and civil society initiativesDavid Salvo, managing director for the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund, said promoting democracy abroad has been a pillar of American foreign policy in the last 50 years as a means of ensuring more stable, peaceful relationships with other countries, reducing the threat of conflict and war, and fostering economic cooperation.Yet among Trumps early actions was targeting democracy programs through the State Department and USAID, which had launched a new global democracy initiative at the tail end of Democrat Joe Bidens presidency. The Treasury Department halted funding to the National Endowment for Democracy, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in April he would shutter a State Department office that had a mission to build more democratic, secure, stable, and just societies.Funding cuts have hit the National Democratic Institute, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems and U.S. nonprofits that have worked for decades to inject resources into environments so that civil society and democratic actors can try to effect change for the better, including through bolstering unstable democracies against autocrats, Salvo said. Whether global democracy programs are worth funding was central to a hearing Thursday held by a U.S. House Foreign Affairs subcommittee as Rep. Maria Salazar, R-Fla., repeatedly asked how to ensure our return on investment is really high.About 1.2% of the federal budget went to foreign aid in the 2023 fiscal year, according to the Pew Research Center.I understand the committee is interested in how we can improve ... and get back to basics, Tom Malinowski, a former Democratic congressman from New Jersey and assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor under President Barack Obama, told lawmakers. The problem is the administration is eliminating the basics right now.Uzra Zeya, who leads the international nonprofit Human Rights First after serving in the Biden State Department, said it was heartbreaking and alarming to watch the U.S. essentially dismantle its democracy and human rights programs.The potential long-term impacts are devastating for U.S. national security and prosperity, she said. Diminishing the messaging pipelines for freedomFor more than 80 years, VOA and its related outlets have delivered news across the world, including to more than 427 million people every week in 49 languages, according to a 2024 internal report. The broadcaster began during World War II to provide Germans with news, even as Nazi officials attempted to jam its signals. The Soviet Union and China attempted to silence its broadcasts during the Cold War. Iranian and North Korean governments have also tried to block access to VOA for decades.But the most successful attempt to silence VOA has been through its own government. It was effectively shut down in March through an executive order.Lisa Brakel, a 66-year-old retired librarian in Temperance, Michigan, said VOA was a mainstay when she was a music teacher in Kuwait in the 1980s. She and her colleagues would listen together in the apartment complex where the American teachers were housed, using it as a way to stay up-to-date with U.S. news.When I saw the news, I thought, No, they cant shut this down. Too many people depend on that, Brakel said. As a librarian, any cuts to free access to information deeply concern me.Cuts will likely embolden US competitorsThe broadcasters future remains in flux after a federal appellate court paused a ruling that would have reversed its dismantling. This was just a day after journalists were told they would soon return to work after being off the air for almost two months. Even if they are allowed back, its not clear the mission would be the same. This past week, the Trump administration agreed to use the conservative and heavily pro-Trump media network OANs feed on VOA and other services.In Asia, dismantling Radio Free Asia would mean losing the worlds only independent Uyghur language news service, closing the Asia Fact Check Lab as it reports on misinformation from the Chinese Community Party, and curbing access to information in countries such as China, North Korea and Myanmar that lack free and independent media, the broadcasters president, Bay Fang, said in a statement.Their invaluable work is part of RFAs responsibility to uphold the truth so that dictators and despots dont have the last word, Fang wrote in May in The New York Times.Experts who monitor global democracy said the information gap created by the administration will embolden U.S. competitors such as Russia and China, which already are at work trying to shape public opinion.Barbara Wejnert, a political sociologist at the University at Buffalo, who studies global democracies, said diplomatic efforts through U.S. broadcasters and democracy nonprofits helped precipitate a rapid increase in democratizing countries in the late 20th century.Especially today when the truth is distorted and people dont trust governments, spreading the notion of freedom and democracy through media is even more vital, she said.___The Associated Pressreceives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about APs democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. CHRISTINE FERNANDO Fernando is a democracy reporter covering misinformation, reproductive rights and state supreme courts for The Associated Press. twitter mailto

A 13-year-old private Boeing aircraft that President Donald Trump toured on Saturday to check out new hardware and technology features, and highlight the aircraft maker's delay in delivering updated versions of the Air Force One presidential aircraft, takes off from Palm Beach International Airport, Feb. 16, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)2025-05-11T15:35:18Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump reportedly is set to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet as a gift from the ruling family of Qatar during his trip to the Middle East this coming week, and U.S. officials could convert the plane into a potential presidential aircraft.ABC News reported that Trump will use the plane as a new version of Air Force One until shortly before he leaves office in January 2029, when ownership will be transferred to the foundation overseeing his yet-to-be-built presidential library. The gift is expected to be announced when Trump visits Qatar as part of a trip that also includes stops in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the first extended foreign travel of his second term. The Qatari government did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday night. Administration officials, anticipating questions about the president accepting such a large gift from a foreign government, have prepared an analysis arguing that doing so would be legal, according to ABC. The Constitutions Emoluments Clause, Article I, Section 9, Clause 8, bars anyone holding government office from accepting any present, emolument, office or title from any King, Prince, or foreign State, without congressional consent. Trump intends to convert the Qatari aircraft into a plane he can fly on as president, with the Air Force planning to add secure communications and other classified elements to it. But it will still have more limited capabilities than the existing planes that were built to serve as Air Force One, as well as two other aircraft currently under construction, according to a former U.S. official who was briefed about the plane and spoke Sunday on the condition of anonymity to discuss plans that have not yet been made public. The existing planes used as Air Force One are heavily modified with survivability capabilities for the president for a range of contingencies, including radiation shielding and antimissile technology. They also include a variety of communications systems to allow the president to remain in contact with the military and issue orders from anywhere in the world. The official told The Associated Press that it would be possible to quickly add some countermeasures and communications systems to the Qatari plane, but that it would be less capable than the existing Air Force One aircraft or long-delayed replacements.Neither the Qatari plane nor the upcoming VC-25B aircraft will have the air-to-air refueling capabilities of the current VC-25A aircraft, which is the one the president currently flies on, the official said.Air Force One is a modified Boeing 747. Two exist and the president flies on both, which are more than 30 years old. Boeing Inc. has the contract to produce updated versions, but delivery has been delayed while the company has lost billions of dollars on the project.Delivery has been pushed to some time in 2027 for the first plane and in 2028 Trumps final full year in office for the second.ABC said the new plane is similar to a 13-year-old Boeing aircraft Trump toured in February, while it was parked at Palm Beach International Airport and he was spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago club. Trumps family business, the Trump Organization, which is now largely run by his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, has vast and growing interests in the Middle East. That includes a new deal to build a luxury golf resort in Qatar, partnering with Qatari Diar, a real estate company backed by that countrys sovereign wealth fund. Qatar, which is ruled by the Al Thani family, is home to the state-owned airline Qatar Airways. The country also has worked to have a close relationship to Trump after he apparently backed a boycott of Doha by four Arab nations in his first term. Trump later in his term applauded Qatar.Administration officials have brushed off concerns about the presidents policy interests blurring with familys business profits. They note that Trumps assets are in a trust managed by his children and that a voluntary ethics agreement released by the Trump Organization in January bars the company from striking deals directly with foreign governments. But that same agreement allows deals with private companies abroad. That is a departure from Trumps first term, when the organization released an ethics pact prohibiting both foreign government and foreign company deals.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, when asked Friday if the president during his upcoming trip might meet with people ties to his familys business, said it was ridiculous to suggest Trump is doing anything for his own benefit.___Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report. ZEKE MILLER Miller leads coverage of the president and the presidency for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto

The revelation that Leo XIV has roots among New Orleans Creoles has stirred curiosity and joy about the first pope from the United States.

The Trump administrations public descriptions of its role in the mediation seemed to touch some sensitive spots politically in India.

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After a series of problems at Newark Liberty International Airport, the secretary, Sean Duffy, said that he would meet with airline leaders to plan a scaling back of Newark flights.

The bus crashed into a disabled S.U.V. on a highway in Los Angeles County around 5 a.m. Sunday, officials said.

Forecasters warn of flash flooding from Florida to Virginia amid a slow-moving system that is expected to bring heavy rainfall through Wednesday.

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Four other people were critically injured, and 30 others were rescued after the fire broke out on Sunday morning, the authorities said.

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Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., speaks with an officer demanding she be let into the ICE Detention office after the arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Friday, May 9, 2025, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)2025-05-11T20:09:41Z NEWARK, N.J. (AP) An immigration detention center in New Jersey is at the center of tensions between three congressional Democrats and the Trump administration after the arrest of Newarks mayor set off a scrum outside the complex. Federal prosecutors charged Newark Mayor Ras Baraka with trespassing after agents arrested him outside the fence of the Delaney Hall detention center on Friday. The interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey says Baraka, a Democrat who is running for governor, ignored warnings to leave while he was there with three members of New Jerseys congressional delegation at the 1,000-bed Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. The arrest escalated into a brief but tense confrontation in the parking lot that included the members of Congress and federal agents, some of whom wore masks. Department of Homeland spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin has accused Baraka of playing political games and said over the weekend that an investigation is ongoing and that more actions could be taken. The three members of Congress Reps. LaMonica McIver, Bonnie Watson Coleman and Robert Menendez Jr. have accused federal agents of escalating the situation by arresting the mayor.Heres what to know: Why were members of Congress at the facility?The representatives have said they went to the facility to inspect it as a matter of congressional oversight. We were able to get in, speak to detainees, check out the facilities, and make sure everything was OK there, Rep. Watson Coleman told CNN in an interview Sunday that also included her two New Jersey colleagues. We were there almost two hours before the confrontation took place, but ICE kept giving us the run-around and kept saying that they needed to talk to someone else. Department of Homeland Security officials have said that lawmakers had not asked for a tour of Delaney Hall and that the agency would have facilitated one. Watson Coleman spokesperson Ned Cooper has said the three lawmakers went there unannounced because they planned to inspect it, not take a scheduled tour. Why was the mayor of Newark arrested?Alina Habba, interim U.S. attorney for New Jersey, said on the social media platform X that Baraka was arrested after the mayor allegedly trespassed at the detention facility. She accused him of ignoring warnings to leave the facility, which he has denied. Baraka was arrested, booked and released the same day. He said he has a court appearance scheduled for Thursday. In video reviewed by The Associated Press, a federal official in a jacket with the logo of the Homeland Security Investigations can be heard telling Baraka he could not enter the facility because you are not a congress member. He was arrested after returning to the public side of the gate at the facility where protesters were gathered, video shows.Baraka, who is running to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy, has argued against the opening of the center, citing building permit issues. The facility, located along an industrial stretch of Newark Bay, opened on May 1. What is this Newark detention center, and why has it been in the news?Delaney Hall is a two-story building next to a county prison in Newark Bay that operated as a halfway house in previous years. In February, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that it and the GEO Group reached a $1 billion, 15-year deal for the detention center. The deal is significant for its size and duration, and GEO officials cited it in messages to investors as a big revenue generatorThe 1,000-bed capacity is also significant in advancing President Donald Trumps goals of expanding detention capacity in the U.S. beyond the previous 41,000 beds, in New Jersey, Michigan, and other states to 100,000 beds.Democrats, including Baraka, have opposed the opening of the facility. As mayor, Baraka sued to block the opening of the detention center, saying it hadnt completed all building requirements.DHS has said that the facility has the proper permits and completed the proper inspections.

The letter comes as the commerce secretary plans to accompany President Trump to Saudi Arabia this week as part of a weeklong trip to the Middle East.

Dozens of Afrikaners who claim discrimination in their home country left Johannesburg on Sunday. Their departure for the U.S. came as the Trump administration was halting virtually all refugee admissions.

The Harry S. Truman Building, headquarters for the State Department, is seen in Washington, March 9, 2009. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)2025-05-11T22:09:55Z CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) A group of 49 white South Africans departed their homeland Sunday for the United States on a private charter plane having been offered refugee status by the Trump administration under a new program announced in February.The group, which included families and small children, was due to arrive at Dulles International Airport outside Washington on Monday morning local time, according to Collen Msibi, a spokesperson for South Africas transport ministry.They are the first Afrikaners a white minority group in South Africa to be relocated after U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Feb. 7 accusing South Africas Black-led government of racial discrimination against them and announcing a program to offer them relocation to America. The South African government said it is completely false that Afrikaners are being persecuted. The Trump administration has fast-tracked their applications while pausing other refugee programs, halting arrivals from Afghanistan, Iraq, most of sub-Saharan Africa and other countries in a move being challenged in court. Refugee groups have questioned why the white South Africans are being prioritized ahead of people from countries wracked by war and natural disasters. Vetting for refugee status in the U.S. often takes years.The Trump administration says the South African government is pursuing racist, anti-white policies through affirmative action laws and a new land expropriation law it says targets Afrikaners land. The government says those claims are based on misinformation and there is no racism against Afrikaners and no land has been expropriated, although the contentious law has been passed and is the focus of criticism in South Africa. South Africa also denies U.S. claims that Afrikaners are being targeted in racially motivated attacks in some rural communities. Instead, the South African government said Afrikaners who are the descendants of Dutch and French colonial settlers are amongst the most economically privileged in the country. The first Afrikaner refugees were traveling on a flight operated by the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based charter company Omni Air International, Msibi said. They would fly to Dakar, Senegal and stop there to refuel before heading for Dulles. White South Africans demonstrate in support of U.S. President Donald Trump in front of the U.S. embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File) White South Africans demonstrate in support of U.S. President Donald Trump in front of the U.S. embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More They departed from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, where they were accompanied by police officers and airport officials when they checked in. Msibi said they would have to be vetted by police to ensure there were no criminal cases or outstanding warrants against them before being allowed to leave.The South African government said there was no justification for them being relocated but said it wouldnt stop them and respected their freedom of choice.They are expected to be greeted at Dulles by a U.S. government delegation, including the deputy secretary of state and officials from the Department of Health and Human Services, whose refugee office has organized their resettlement. The flight will be the first in a much larger-scale relocation effort, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller told reporters on Friday. Miller said that what was happening to Afrikaners in South Africa fits the textbook definition of why the refugee program was created.This is persecution based on a protected characteristic in this case, race. This is race-based persecution, he said.The HHS Office for Refugee Resettlement was ready to offer them support, including with housing, furniture and other household items, and expenses like groceries, clothing, diapers and more, a document obtained by The Associated Press said. The document said the relocation of Afrikaners was a stated priority of the Administration.There are around 2.7 million Afrikaners among South Africas population of 62 million, which is more than 80% Black. They are only one part of the countrys white minority.Many in South Africa are puzzled by claims that Afrikaners are persecuted and meet the requirements to be relocated as refugees. They are part of South Africas everyday multi-racial life, with many successful business leaders and some serving in government as Cabinet ministers and deputy ministers. Their language is widely spoken and recognized as an official language, and churches and other institutions reflecting Afrikaner culture hold prominence in almost every city and town.The Trump administration has criticized South Africa on several fronts. Trumps February executive order cut all U.S. funding to South Africa over what it said was its anti-white stance and also accused it of pursuing an anti-American foreign policy. It cited South Africas ties with Iran and its move to lodge a genocide case against U.S. ally Israel over the war in Gaza as examples of it taking aggressive positions towards the United States. ___More AP news on the Trump administration: https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump

Boxes for the medications Wegovy and Zepbound are arranged for a photograph in California on Thursday, May 8, 2025. (AP Photo/JoNel Aleccia)2025-05-11T22:01:47Z People taking Eli Lillys obesity drug, Zepbound, lost nearly 50% more weight than those using rival Novo Nordisks Wegovy in the first head-to-head study of the blockbuster medications.Clinical trial participants who took tirzepatide, the drug sold as Zepbound, lost an average of 50 pounds (22.8 kilograms) over 72 weeks, while those who took semaglutide, or Wegovy, lost about 33 pounds (15 kilograms). Thats according to the study funded by Lilly, which was published Sunday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Both drugs are part of a new class of medications that work by mimicking hormones in the gut and brain that regulate appetite and feelings of fullness. But tirzepatide targets two such hormones, known as GLP-1 and GIP, while semaglutide targets GLP-1 alone, said Dr. Louis Aronne, director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center at Weill Cornell Medicine. Two drugs together can produce better weight loss, said Aronne, who led the study and presented the findings Sunday at the European Congress on Obesity in Spain.While tirzepatide won out in what Aronne said many view as a drag race of efficacy, both are important tools for treating obesity, which affects about 40% of American adults. The point of these medications is to improve health, he said. The majority of people wont need the most effective medication. The trial included 751 people from across the U.S. who were overweight or had obesity and at least one other weight-related health problem, but not diabetes. Participants received weekly injections of the highest tolerated doses of Zepbound, either 10 milligrams or 15 milligrams, or Wegovy, 1.7 milligrams or 2.4 milligrams. By the end of the trial, those who took Zepbound lost about 20% of their body weight on average, compared with a nearly 14% loss for those who took Wegovy. The tirzepatide group trimmed about 7 inches (17.8 centimeters) from their waist circumference, compared to about 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) with semaglutide. In addition, nearly 32% of people taking Zepbound lost at least a quarter of their body weight, compared to about 16% of those taking Wegovy, the study found. Weight loss was about 6% lower in men than in women in both groups, the authors noted. As participants in both groups lost more weight, they saw improvements in health markers such as blood pressure, blood fat and blood sugar levels. More than three-quarters of patients taking both drugs reported at least one side effect, mostly mild to moderate gastrointestinal issues such as nausea, constipation, diarrhea and vomiting. About 6% of participants taking Zepbound left the trial because of adverse events, compared with 8% of those taking semaglutide. The GLP-1 drugs have become increasingly popular, with at least 1 in 8 U.S. adults reporting their use, according to a 2024 survey by KFF, a independent health policy research organization. Zepbound generated $4.9 billion in global sales last year. Wegovy brought in nearly $8.8 billion (58.2 billlion Danish kroner). Access and affordability have limited wider use of the drugs. Tirzepatide and semaglutide were removed recently from a list of drug shortages by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Both manufacturers recently released programs that cut costs to about $500 per month or less, depending on the dose.Other factors can affect access. This week, CVS Health said Wegovy will become the preferred option on its standard formulary, or list of covered drugs, as of July 1. Zepbound will be excluded. Its important to have a range of drugs to treat a disease as widespread as obesity in the U.S., said Dr. Angela Fitch, chief medical officer of knownwell, an obesity care company. Wegovy has been found to cut the risk of serious heart problems by 20%, she noted. A drug may work well for one patient, but not for others. Were going to need to use them all just because we have so many patients who need treatment, she added. ___AP Health Writer Tom Murphy in Indianapolis contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. JONEL ALECCIA Aleccia covers food and nutrition at The Associated Press. She is based in Southern California. twitter mailto

CVS Caremark decided to stop offering Zepbound in favor of Wegovy for weight loss. Its the latest example of limits imposed by insurance that disrupt treatments for patients.

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The plan raises substantial ethical issues, given the immense value of the lavishly appointed plane and that Mr. Trump intends to take ownership of it after he leaves office.

The president announced an executive order aimed at lowering U.S. drug costs, revisiting an idea that was blocked in court during his first term.

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President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-05-11T23:17:19Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump says hell sign an executive order on Monday that, if implemented, could bring down the costs of some medications reviving a failed effort from his first term on an issue hes talked up since even before becoming president.The order Trump is promising will direct the Department of Health and Human Services to tie what Medicare pays for medications administrated in a doctors office to the lowest price paid by other countries. I will be instituting a MOST FAVORED NATIONS POLICY whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World, the president posted Sunday on his social media site, pledging to sign the order on Monday morning at the White House. Our Country will finally be treated fairly, and our citizens Healthcare Costs will be reduced by numbers never even thought of before, Trump added. His proposal would likely only impact certain drugs covered by Medicare and given in an office think infusions that treat cancer, and other injectables. But it could potentially bring significant savings to the government, although the TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS Trump boasted about in his post may be an exaggeration. Medicare provides health insurance for roughly 70 million older Americans. Complaints about U.S. drug prices being notoriously high, even when compared with other large and wealthy countries, have long drawn the ire of both parties, but a lasting fix has never cleared Congress. Under the planned order, the federal government would tie what it pays pharmaceutical companies for those drugs to the price paid by a group of other, economically advanced countries the so-called most favored nation approach. The proposal will face fierce opposition from the pharmaceutical industry. It was a rule that Trump tried to adopt during his first term, but could never get through. He signed a similar executive order in the final weeks of his presidency, but a court order later blocked the rule from going into effect under the Biden administration. The pharmaceutical industry argued that Trumps 2020 attempt would give foreign governments the upper hand in deciding the value of medicines in the U.S.. The industry has long argued that forcing lower prices will hurt profits, and ultimately affect innovation and its efforts to develop new medicines. Only drugs on Medicare Part B the insurance for doctors office visits are likely to be covered under the plan. Medicare beneficiaries are responsible for picking up some of the costs to get those medications during doctors visits, and for traditional Medicare enrollees there is no annual out-of-pocket cap on what they pay. A report by the Trump administration during its first term found that the U.S. spends twice as much as some other countries in covering those drugs. Medicare Part B drug spending topped $33 billion in 2021. More common prescription drugs filled at a pharmacy would probably not be covered by the new order. Trumps post formally previewing the action came after he teased a very big announcement last week. He gave no details, except to note that it wasnt related to trade or the tariffs he has announced imposing on much of the world. Were going to have a very, very big announcement to make like as big as it gets, Trump said last week.He came into his first term accusing pharmaceutical companies of getting away with murder and complaining that other countries whose governments set drug prices were taking advantage of Americans.On Sunday, Trump took aim at the industry again, writing that the Pharmaceutical/Drug Companies would say, for years, that it was Research and Development Costs, and that all of these costs were, and would be, for no reason whatsoever, borne by the suckers of America, ALONE. Referring to drug companies powerful lobbying efforts, he said that campaign contributions can do wonders, but not with me, and not with the Republican Party. We are going to do the right thing, he wrote. WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto AMANDA SEITZ Seitz is an Associated Press reporter covering federal health care policy. She is based in Washington, D.C. twitter mailto

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is seen on a screen in the courtroom of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, Pool, file)2025-05-11T23:07:14Z MANILA, Philippines (AP) Even though he is detained in The Hague, former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is among the candidates vying for some 18,000 national and local seats in Mondays midterm elections that analysts say will decide if he and his family continue to hold political power. Duterte has been in custody of the International Criminal Court since March, awaiting trial for crimes against humanity over a brutal war on illegal drugs that has left thousands of suspects dead during his presidency 2016-2022. It hasnt stopped him from running for mayor of his southern Davao city stronghold.Under Philippine law, candidates facing criminal charges, including those in detention, can run for office unless they have been convicted and have exhausted all appeals.Duterte is widely expected to win as Davao mayor, a position he held for over two decades before becoming president. Its less clear how he can practically serve as mayor from behind bars. Over 68 million Filipinos have registered to vote Monday for half of the 24-member Senate, all the 317 seats in the House of Representatives and various positions in provinces, cities and municipalities. The spotlight is on the race for the Senate that could determine the political future of Dutertes daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte. She faces an impeachment trial in the Senate in July over accusations of plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and corruption involving her offices intelligence funds. She has denied the allegations, saying they were spread by her political opponents to destroy her. Stay up to date with similar stories by signing up to our WhatsApp channel. Sara Duterte is considered a strong contender for the 2028 presidential race. But if convicted by the Senate, she will be removed as vice president and disqualified from holding public office. To be acquitted, she needs at least nine of 24 senators to vote in her favor. The 2025 midterm elections will be crucial, because the results will set the pace for what will happen next, which family or faction will dominate the elections in 2028, said Maria Ela Atienza, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines. If Sara Duterte is convicted in the impeachment trial, it could signal the end of the Duterte family holding key positions in the country, she said. Other family members running in the election include Rodrigo Dutertes youngest son, Sebastian, the incumbent mayor of Davao who is now running for vice mayor. His eldest son Paolo is seeking reelection as a member of the House of Representatives. Two grandsons are also running in local races.The impeachment and Rodrigo Dutertes arrest and transfer to the tribunal in The Hague came after Marcos and Sara Dutertes ties unraveled over political differences and their competing ambitions.This election will decide the future of our country, Sara Duterte said in a rally in Manila last week, where she campaigned for the family-backed senatorial candidates and criticized the Marcos administration. Your vote will decide if we can continue reforms or continue to slide to our doom. Her fathers spiritual adviser and close political ally, televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, is also running for a Senate seat despite being detained on charges of sexual abuse and human trafficking. He is also wanted in the U.S. on similar charges.The vote will last until 7 p.m. Monday. Some voters complained their names were missing from the list of voters in their precinct, while others grumbled about the long queue amid the stifling heat. Voter Reymark Marquez said the Marcos-Duterte team that won in 2022 failed to deliver on promises. He said the midterm elections are beyond Duterte versus Marcos but about choosing the right leaders.I think what is at stake in this election is the future of the next generation, Diana Joy Acosta, a 32-year-old new mother, said after casting her vote in a school in metropolitan Manilas Mandaluyong City. For her babys future, she hopes for an end to corruption and the election of politicians with integrity.

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President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva of Brazil is visiting Beijing this week, and Chinas Xi Jinping will also meet top officials from other Latin American and Caribbean nations to emphasize their ties.

The proposal, which is to be considered this week by a key House panel, omits some of the furthest-reaching reductions to the health program but would leave millions without coverage or facing higher costs.

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House, Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file)2025-05-12T05:13:10Z DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) On his trip this week to the Middle East, U.S. President Donald Trump will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, though his most pressing regional challenges concern two other countries: Israel and Iran.After ending a ceasefire two months ago, Israel is intensifying the war in the Gaza Strip, where a blockade on food, medicine and other supplies is worsening a humanitarian crisis. And Iran, an enemy of Israel and a rival of Saudi Arabia, stands on the cusp of being able to develop nuclear weapons.Yet Trump will focus his attention on three energy-rich nations home to existing or planned Trump-branded real estate projects places where he aims to leverage American economic interests to do what he personally revels in: making business deals.This is his happy place, said Jon B. Alterman, a senior vice president at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. His hosts will be generous and hospitable. Theyll be keen to make deals. Theyll flatter him and not criticize him. And theyll treat his family members as past and future business partners. But Trump wont be able to avoid altogether diplomacy on Gaza or Iran: The Gulf countries hosting him are also interested in easing the regional tensions that emanate from these two places.Trump can easily score a win by reassuring them of Americas strategic commitment to the region, demonstrating consistent messaging and generally rising above the fray, analysts Elizabeth Dent and Simon Henderson of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy wrote Friday. Trump doesnt plan to visit IsraelBy not scheduling a trip to Israel during his first trip to the region during his second term as president, Trump is reinforcing a feeling in Israel that its interests may not be top of mind for him.That sense intensified last week, when Trump announced that the U.S. would halt its strikes on the Houthis, an Iran-backed rebel group in Yemen that agreed to stop its attacks on American vessels in the Red Sea. The Houthis attacks on Israel did not appear to be covered by that deal, which came as a surprise to Israel, according to an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive diplomatic issue. Days after the deal between the U.S. and the Houthis and despite a two-day Israeli assault on Houthi targets a missile from Yemen again set off air raid sirens in Israel. Then Israels military warned Sunday that Houthi-controlled ports in Yemen could be targeted again.Trumps move to launch negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program also jarred Israel, which fears a deal that would not be strict enough to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon or rein in its support for regional militant groups.Israel had hoped that Trump might provide military assistance in any strike it carried out on the countrys nuclear facilities an action that is unrealistic so long as there are negotiations, or if they reach a deal.That has raised questions in Israel over Trumps reliability on other major issues, like a long-sought normalization deal with Saudi Arabia as part of any defense pact the administration may reach with the kingdom. Saudi Arabia has said it would only normalize ties with Israel in exchange for significant concessions for the Palestinians toward statehood, something the current Israeli government is unlikely to agree to. Israel has said it will hold off on expanding the war in Gaza until after Trumps visit, leaving the window open for a new ceasefire deal to materialize. And while Hamas and Trump announced that the last living American hostage in Gaza, Edan Alexander, will be freed as part of efforts to establish a ceasefire, it is not clear what involvement Israel had in that deal. Still, Trump has given Israel free rein in Gaza and, like Israel, blames Hamas for any civilian casualties.U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee played down any significance to Trumps decision not to visit the country, saying in interviews with Israeli media that his visit to the region was focused on economic issues. No major breakthrough in Iran nuclear talksFor Iran, much depends on the talks it is having with the U.S. over its rapidly advancing nuclear program. A reported two-month deadline to reach a deal likely has passed as U.S. officials signal America may push for Iran to give up enrichment entirely something Tehran has insisted is a red line.Although four rounds of talks mediated by Oman have not led to a major breakthrough, they have gone into the so-called expert level meaning specifics about any possible accord likely have been discussed.Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled over the weekend to both Saudi Arabia and Qatar ahead of Trumps trip. Iran likely is trying to pass messages to the U.S. while signaling its interest in continuing the talks. Iranian officials increasingly threaten to pursue a nuclear weapon, while Trump and Israel have both threatened to strike Iranian nuclear sites if a deal isnt reached. The Islamic Republic is running out of options. Its economy has cratered since Trump in 2018 unilaterally pulled America out of their initial nuclear deal with world powers. And Irans self-described Axis of Resistance a group of aligned nations and militant groups, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon has been mauled since the Israel-Hamas war began.Iran also faces internal political pressure, including from women increasingly refusing to wear the state-mandated headscarf, or hijab.There is one thing that unites most Iranians, however pride over the Persian Gulf. Trumps consideration of having America uniformly call the body of water the Arabian Gulf instead drew fierce criticism from across the country.This gulf has always been the Persian Gulf and it will forever remain the Persian Gulf, Tehrans Friday prayer leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami saidTrumps 2017 trip still haunts the GulfAfter starting his trip in Saudi Arabia, Trump will then go to Qatar, which recently announced plans for a Trump-branded development there.This tight embrace of the president comes after his first trip to the Middle East in 2017 apparently sparked what became known as the Qatar crisis. That is when Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE boycotted Qatar over its support of Islamists in the region and its ties to Iran, with which it shares a massive offshore natural gas field.The dispute grew so serious that Kuwaits ruling emir at the time, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, suggested on a visit to the White House there could have been military action.Trump initially criticized Qatar as having historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level at the start of the boycott. Less than a year later, he praised Qatar and rolled that back. The four nations ended their boycott just before Biden took office.Then on Sunday, President Donald Trump said he was ready to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet as a gift from the ruling family of Qatar during his trip to the Middle East. U.S. officials say it could be converted into a potential presidential aircraft which would amount to the president accepting an astonishingly valuable gift from a foreign government With crude oil prices trading just over $60 a barrel lows not seen since 2021 one major criticism Trump has for the Gulf states isnt there. The question is how Trump will deal with the regions multitude of crises and still-tender wounds.To avoid a repeat of the 2017 diplomatic crisis, Trump should reemphasize efforts to unite the Gulf said Dent and Henderson, of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.___Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. 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 TIA GOLDENBERG Goldenberg is an Associated Press reporter and producer covering Israel and the Palestinian territories. She previously reported on East and West Africa from Nairobi. twitter mailto

Youngsters hold a photograph of the jailed leader of the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, Abdullah Ocalan as they gather to watch live on a tv screen a Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, delegation members releasing an statement from Ocalan, in Diyarbakir, Turkey, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Metin Yoksu, File)2025-05-12T06:17:25Z ANKARA, Turkey (AP) A Kurdish militant group announced a historic decision Monday to disband and disarm as part of a new peace initiative with Turkey, after four decades of armed conflict.The decision by the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, was announced by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the group. It comes days after it convened a party congress in northern Iraq.In February, PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on an island near Istanbul since 1999, urged his group to convene a congress and formally decide to disband, marking a pivotal step toward ending the decadeslong conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1980s. On March 1, the PKK announced a unilateral ceasefire, but attached conditions, including the creation of a legal framework for peace negotiations.The group has led an armed insurgency since 1984 that has left claimed tens of thousands of lives. It is listed as a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies. Firat news said the congress decided to dissolve the PKKs organizational structure and the end armed struggle, with the practical implementation of this process to be led and overseen by (Ocalan.) As a result, activities carried out under the name PKK were formally terminated.Congress assessed that the PKKs struggle had brought the Kurdish issue to the point of resolution through democratic politics, thus completing its historical mission.

A villager cleans the roof of his house damaged by Pakistani artillery shelling at RS Pura, along the International Border, India, Monday, May 12, 2025, after the two countries reported no incidents of firing overnight. (AP Photo/Channi Anand)2025-05-12T05:23:04Z NEW DELHI (AP) Indian and Pakistani authorities said on Monday that there were no reported incidents of firing overnight along the heavily militarized region between their countries, the first time in recent days that the two nations were not shooting at each other.India and Pakistan on Saturday reached an understanding to stop all military actions on land, in the air and at the sea, in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire to stop escalating hostilities between the two nuclear-armed rivals that threatened regional peace. The night remained largely peaceful across Jammu and Kashmir, and other areas along the international border, the Indian army said in a statement, adding that no incidents had been reported.Senior military officials from India and Pakistan are scheduled to speak later Monday to assess if ceasefire was holding. There were fears it would not hold after they accused each other of violations just hours after it was announced. Local government officials in Pakistan-administered Kashmir reported no incidents of cross-border firing along the Line of Control and said that civilians displaced by recent skirmishes between Pakistani and Indian forces were returning to their homes. There were celebrations in the Pakistani city of Lahore on Sunday as India and Pakistan reached a ceasefire deal after they fired volleys of missiles across their borders on Saturday. (AP Video: Jahanzaib Aurangzaib) Pakistans military spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Sharif, said late Sunday that Pakistan remains committed to upholding the ceasefire and will not be the first to violate it.He also confirmed that senior military officials from both nations would speak on by phone on Monday. The militaries of the two countries have been engaged in one of their most serious confrontations in decades since last Wednesday, when India struck targets inside Pakistan it said were affiliated with militants responsible for the massacre of 26 tourists in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The tourists, mostly Indian Hindu men, were brutally killed in front of their families in the meadow town of Pahalgam last month. India accused Pakistan of backing the militants who carried out the massacre, a charge Islamabad denied. The incident first led to a spat of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures by both the nations, sending their bilateral ties to a near historic low.The two expelled each others diplomats, shut their airspace, land borders, and suspended a crucial water treaty.After Wednesdays strikes in Pakistan, both sides exchanged heavy fires along their de facto border in the restive Kashmir region followed by missile and drone strikes into each others territories, mainly targeting military installations and airbases. Dozens of civilians were killed on both the sides in heavy shelling, the two countries said.The Indian military on Sunday for the first time claimed its strikes into Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and Pakistan last week killed more than 100 militants, including prominent leaders.Lt. Gen. Rajiv Ghai, the director general of Indias military operations, who will be talking to his Pakistani counterpart on Monday, said Indias armed forces struck nine militant infrastructure and training facilities, including sites of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group that India blames for carrying out major militant strikes in India and the disputed region of Kashmir. Ghai said at least 35 to 40 Pakistani soldiers were killed in clashes along the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan. Five Indian soldiers were also killed, he said.Pakistans Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Thursday said his countrys armed forces had killed 40 to 50 Indian soldiers along the Line of Control. Pakistani military also claimed to have shot down five Indian fighter jets and inflected heavy losses on Indian military installations by targeting 26 locations in India.The Associated Press couldnt independently verify the claims made by India and Pakistan.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)2025-05-12T04:36:35Z WASHINGTON (AP) House Republicans unveiled the cost-saving centerpiece of President Donald Trumps big, beautiful bill late Sunday, at least $880 billion in cuts largely to Medicaid to help cover the cost of $4.5 trillion in tax breaks.Tallying hundreds of pages, the legislation is touching off the biggest political fight over health care since Republicans tried to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, during Trumps first term in 2017 which ended in failure. While Republicans insist they are simply rooting out waste, fraud and abuse to generate savings with new work and eligibility requirements, Democrats warn that millions of Americans will lose coverage. A preliminary estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the proposals would reduce the number of people with health care by 8.6 million over the decade. Savings like these allow us to use this bill to renew the Trump tax cuts and keep Republicans promise to hardworking middle-class families, said Rep. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky, the GOP chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which handles health care spending. But Democrats said the cuts are shameful and essentially amount to another attempt to repeal Obamacare. In no uncertain terms, millions of Americans will lose their health care coverage, said Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, the top Democrat on the panel. He said hospitals will close, seniors will not be able to access the care they need, and premiums will rise for millions of people if this bill passes. As Republicans race toward House Speaker Mike Johnsons Memorial Day deadline to pass Trumps big bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, they are preparing to flood the zone with round-the-clock public hearings this week on various sections before they are stitched together in what will become a massive package. The politics ahead are uncertain. More than a dozen House Republicans have told Johnson and GOP leaders they will not support cuts to the health care safety net programs that residents back home depend on. Trump himself has shied away from a repeat of his first term, vowing there will be no cuts to Medicaid.All told, 11 committees in the House have been compiling their sections of the package as Republicans seek at least $1.5 trillion in savings to help cover the cost of preserving the 2017 tax breaks, which were approved during Trumps first term and are expiring at the end of the year. But the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee has been among the most watched. The committee was instructed to come up with $880 billion in savings and reached that goal, primarily with the health care cuts, but also by rolling back Biden-era green energy programs. The preliminary CBO analysis said the committees proposals would reduce the deficit by $912 billion over the decade with at least $715 billion coming from the health provisions.Central to the savings are changes to Medicaid, which provides almost free health care to more than 70 million Americans, and the Affordable Care Act, which has expanded in the 15 years since it was first approved to cover millions more. To be eligible for Medicaid, there would be new community engagement requirements of at least 80 hours per month of work, education or service for able-bodied adults without dependents. People would also have to verify their eligibility to be in the program twice a year, rather than just once.This is likely to lead to more churn in the program and present hurdles for people to stay covered, especially if they have to drive far to a local benefits office to verify their income in person. But Republicans say itll ensure that the program is administered to those who qualify for it.Many states have expanded their Medicaid rosters thanks to federal incentives, but the legislation would cut a 5% boost that was put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal funding to the states for immigrants who have not shown proof of citizenship would be prohibited. There would be a freeze on the so-called provider tax that some states use to help pay for large portions of their Medicaid programs. The extra tax often leads to higher payments from the federal government, which critics say is a loophole that creates abuse in the system.The energy portions of the legislation run far fewer pages, but include rollbacks of climate-change strategies President Joe Biden signed into law in the Inflation Reduction Act.It proposes rescinding funds for a range of energy loans and investment programs while providing expedited permitting for natural gas development and oil pipelines.__ Associated Press writer Amanda Seitz contributed to this report.

Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traore attends the Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia, Friday, May 9, 2025, during celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during the World War II. (Sergei Bobylev/Photo host agency RIA Novosti via AP)2025-05-12T04:22:08Z DAKAR, Senegal (AP) At least 100 civilians were killed by Burkina Faso government forces in March near the western town of Solenzo, Human Rights Watch said Monday.According to victim testimony and videos shared on social media gathered by the rights group, the attackers were Burkina Faso special forces and members of a pro-government militia, the Volunteers for the Defense of the Homeland. The victims were all ethnic Fulani, a pastoralist community that is widespread across the region, which the government has long accused of supporting Muslim militants.An earlier report from Human Rights Watch stated that the governments involvement was likely, because of video evidence on social media, although the findings were not definitive. The government issued a sharp denial when first reports surfaced, saying in a statement it condemned the propagation, on social media, of images inducing hate and community violence, and fake information aimed at undermining social cohesion in the country. The viral videos of the atrocities by pro-government militias near Solenzo sent shock waves through Africas Sahel region, but they told only part of the story, said Ilaria Allegrozzi, senior Sahel researcher at Human Rights Watch. Further research uncovered that Burkina Fasos military was responsible for these mass killings of Fulani civilians, which were followed by deadly reprisals by an Islamist armed group. The government needs to impartially investigate these deaths and prosecute all those responsible. Burkina Faso authorities did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the groups new report. The landlocked nation of 23 million people has symbolized the security crisis in the arid Sahel region south of the Sahara in recent years. It has been shaken by violence from extremist groups linked to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group, and the governments fighting them. The military junta, which took power in 2022, failed to provide the stability it promised. According to conservative estimates, more than 60% of the country is now outside of government control, more than 2.1 million people have lost their homes and almost 6.5 million need humanitarian aid to survive.The attack in the western Boucle du Mouhoun region, including Solenzo and other towns, began on Feb. 27 and lasted until April 2, involving hundreds of government troops and drones, according to eyewitnesses quoted in the report.The VDPs shot at us like animals, while drones were flying over our heads. Many women and children died because they could not run, said a Fulani herder, 44, from Solenzo, referring to the pro-government militias.After the attack, hundreds of Fulani residents fled across the border into neighboring Mali, the report said.Today, in the whole province, there are no more Fulani they all fled or were killed or taken hostage, said a 53-year-old man from Solenzo. But the other (ethnic) communities remain.After the government forces left, the report said that jihadist fighters from a group known as JNIM reentered the towns and carried out reprisal killings against residents, targeting the men whom it considered to be military collaborators. All the men had been executed in front of the health center, said a 60-year-old woman who witnessed JNIM abuses in Tiao village, a town to the northeast of Solenzo on April 5. I counted up to 70 bodies.According to analysts, the juntas strategy of military escalation, including mass recruitment of civilians for poorly trained militia units, has exacerbated tensions between ethnic groups. It it impossible to get an accurate picture of the situation in the country since the military leadership has installed a system of de facto censorship, rights groups said, and those daring to speak up can be openly abducted, imprisoned or forcefully drafted into the army.

The Kurdistan Workers Party, or P.K.K., said on Monday that it would lay down its arms, a decision that could reverberate across neighboring countries.

Palestinians struggle to obtain donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Friday, May 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)2025-05-12T06:07:48Z An Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter in the Gaza Strip killed at least 16 people early on Monday, mostly women and children, according to local health officials.At least five children and four women were among those killed in the strike on a school in the Jabaliya area, the Gaza Health Ministrys emergency service said. It also said that a number of people were wounded.The Israeli military says it only targets militants and blames civilian deaths on Hamas because its fighters operate in densely populated areas. There was no immediate comment on the latest strike.The attack came as U.S. President Donald Trump is heading to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week. After ending a ceasefire two months ago, Israel is intensifying the war in the Gaza Strip, where its 10-week blockade on food, medicine and other supplies is worsening a humanitarian crisis. Here is the latest: Some families of hostages uneasy over the planned release of American-Israeli hostageThe relatives of Israeli hostages have welcomed the announcement that an American-Israeli hostage would be freed by Hamas as a gesture to President Trump but there is also unease.Some said Alexander was singled out for freedom because of his American citizenship and said they were worried about the fate of the other 23 living and roughly 35 dead captives who remain in Gaza.Trump is rescuing him. Who will rescue Gali and Ziv?, Maccabit Mayer, the aunt of sibling hostages Gali and Ziv Berman, told Israeli Army Radio on Monday. She said she was sorry the twin brothers dont have the right citizenship.Also, some of the relatives accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of not doing enough to free their loved ones, saying his insistence on continuing the war in Gaza is politically motivated. Hamas says it will release last living American hostage in Gaza in a ceasefire effort Hamas says the last living American hostage in Gaza will be released as part of efforts to establish a ceasefire, reopen crossings into the Israeli-blockaded territory and resume aid delivery to the battered enclave. Two Hamas officials have told The Associated Press they expect the release of Edan Alexander in the next 48 hours. Trumps envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed in a message to the AP that Hamas has agreed to release Alexander as a good will gesture toward Trump.The announcement of the first hostage release since Israel shattered a ceasefire in March comes shortly before Trump visits the Middle East this week. Alexander is an Israeli-American soldier who grew up in the United States. Famine looms as Israel presses its blockade of GazaHospital patients are among the most vulnerable as Palestinians across Gaza struggle to feed themselves. Israels blockade on food and other supplies entering the territory is now in its third month and hospitals are unable to provide food. Families must bring whatever they can find to help loved ones recover and doctors say patients have lost weight in recent weeks.Aid groups say malnutrition is on the rise across Gaza. Food distributions have ended and charity kitchens are rapidly closing. Markets are empty of almost everything but canned goods and small amounts of vegetables, and prices have been rising. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site