Myrtle Felton, from left, Sharon Lavigne, Gail LeBoeuf and Rita Cooper, members of RISE St. James, conduct a live stream video on property owned by Formosa on March 11, 2020, in St. James Parish, La. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)2025-01-26T14:30:06Z For four years, the Environmental Protection Agency made environmental justice one of its biggest priorities, working to improve health conditions in heavily-polluted communities often made up largely of Black, Latino and low-income Americans. Now that short-lived era is over.President Donald Trump in his first week eliminated a team of White House advisors whose job it was to ensure the entire federal government helped communities located near heavy industry, ports and roadways. Trump eliminated the Justice40 initiative the Biden administraton had created. It required 40% of the benefits from certain environmental programs go to hard-hit communities.When the government reviews new facilities now, experts say officials are likely to ignore how any pollution they create may exacerbate what communities already experience. Trumps actions will likely halt funds from Biden administrations signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, for climate programs and environmental justice. President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More In making the decision this week, Trump eliminated federal policy dating back to the Clinton-era, which had established a government priority of addressing environmental health problems for low-income and minority groups. He also withdrew the nation from the Paris Agreement aimed at combatting climate change. The new administrations moves combine two goals: clawing back what Trump officials say are onerous environmental policies that constrain development and fighting diversity, equity and inclusion, according to Joe Luppino-Esposito, federal policy chief with the free-market law firm Pacific Legal Foundation. Weve had this discussion at the Supreme Court and otherwise for many years, past discrimination is not an excuse for future discrimination, he said, adding that Trumps executive orders allow the law to be enforced without a specific racial tinge to it. Many experts say Biden accomplished more than any previous administration in this area.An EPA-funded study found, for example, that Black people at all income levels are more likely to breathe pollution that causes heart and lung problems. Under Biden, regulators wrote public health rules, tighter air pollution standards and proposed mandates for harmful lead pipes. The EPA issued the largest-ever fine under the federal Clean Air Act and said it slashed more than 225 million pounds of pollution in overburdened communities. Federal grants went to communities to clean up Superfund sites or buy low-emissions school buses. The EPA set up an office to facilitate its substantial environmental justice work.What Im grappling right now with is both the grief of these losses, and the fact that we were on an upward swing, if you will, just weeks ago, said Jade Begay, an Indigenous rights and climate organizer in New Mexico.For years, government support for grassroots environmental justice efforts rose and fell depending who occupied the White House. Scrappy, local groups found ways, sometimes with help from foundations, to get their work done regardless. The Biden administration spent time, attention and resources on the issue, making it higher profile and a bigger target, according to Christophe Courchesne, a law professor and interim director of the Environmental Law Center at the Vermont Law and Graduate School. Environmental justice got swept up into this pitched battle over diversity, equity and inclusion, Courchesne said. This developed over time into a target of conservative activism.Daniel Gall, an EPA spokesman, said the agency under Trump will work for clean air, land and water.EPA is working to diligently implement President Trumps executive orders, he said. The Fifth Ward Elementary School and residential neighborhoods sit near the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant, back left, in Reserve, La., Sept. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File) The Fifth Ward Elementary School and residential neighborhoods sit near the Denka Performance Elastomer Plant, back left, in Reserve, La., Sept. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The policy changes diverge from the last time Trump was president. Scott Pruitt, who headed the EPA for part of Trumps first term, once called environmental justice conversations critical to improving environmental and public health outcomes. Trumps new orders are more sweeping; moves that Rena Payan, chief program officer at the Oakland, California nonprofit Justice Outside, called rolling back decades of progress in addressing environmental discrimination. The Trump administration is not only ditching long-standing policies, it is directing agencies to eliminate jobs dedicated to environmental justice and diversity, equity and inclusion issues, according to a recent memo.They are not limited to the public sphere. The new administration is also looking to remove diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the private sector a step that goes further than some anticipated, according to Julius Redd, an environmental attorney at Beveridge & Diamond P.C.Anne Rolfes, director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, which helps communities in the heart of the petrochemical industry, echoed other advocates and said the Biden administration did some great things, but didnt do nearly enough to enforce the law, allowing polluters too much free reign in heavily industrialized Louisiana. Now itll get worse and an already industry-friendly state is likely to let polluters build even more quickly. We just have to buckle up and get ready, she said.That change feels disheartening to Ash LaMont, national campaigns director for Honor The Earth, a non-profit focused on raising awareness and support for environmental issues in Native American communities. Weve been spending a lot of time really figuring out what is our next step, what are the things that we can do that will last, despite the administration, and what are the very apparent needs of our community members, she said.Trumps decision to cut off support will hurt, but many of these local organizations will return to operating without federal support, said Peggy Shepard, co-founder and executive director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice in New York. Advocacy will shift to the state and local level. That might work in some places, but itll be an uphill battle in Republican-controlled states like Louisiana and Texas where theres little receptivity to that advocacy, she said.They were finally beginning to get support at the EPA and at the White House, she said, and this is a big step back for the communities who are front line to some of these issues.___St. John reported from Detroit.___Associated Press writer Matthew Daly contributed reporting from Washington.___The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. MICHAEL PHILLIS Phillis is an Associated Press reporter covering the environment with a focus on water. He is based in St. Louis. mailto ALEXA ST. JOHN St. John is a climate solutions reporter for The Associated Press, based in Detroit. She covers the ways people and communities create viable and scalable solutions to the planets warming. twitter mailto

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs for a touchdown against the Washington Commanders during the first half of the NFC Championship NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)2025-01-26T22:23:03Z PHILADELPHIA (AP) Saquon Barkley sprinted 60 yards for a touchdown on his first carry of the NFC championship game and the Eagles running back had a 4-yard scoring run on his second carry to roaring MVP! MVP! chants each time.Barkley ran for 85 yards in the first half Sunday and helped the Eagles lead the Washington Commanders 27-15 at halftime.His 2,005 yards rushing in the regular season left him only 101 shy of breaking Eric Dickersons record of 2,105 in 1984 with the Los Angeles Rams. Including the playoffs, Barkley extended an NFL record Sunday with his seventh rushing touchdown of 60-plus yards in a season. Again, postseason included, Barkley had 2,414 total yards rushing by halftime, just 63 yards away of breaking Terrell Davis mark of 2,476 yards set in the 1998 season when the Denver Broncos won the Super Bowl.The Commanders got a field goal on the opening drive of the NFC title game to take some of the air out of the frenzied crowd at Lincoln Financial Field. Barkley had them going wild on the Eagles first offensive play from scrimmage when he cut left, spun around a pair of defenders and took off on the touchdown run. The Eagles recovered a fumble on the next drive and Barkley added the 4-yard run making him 2 for 2 on carries and touchdowns for a 14-3 lead.Stuck at just two career playoff games in six seasons with the New York Giants, Barkley rushed for 324 yards combined against Green Bay and the Los Angeles Rams in his first two playoff games with the Eagles. ___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL DAN GELSTON Gelston is an an Associated Press sports writer covering major college and pro sports in Philadelphia, including the 76ers, Flyers, Eagles, Phillies and Villanova. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Senate Budget Committee Chair Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., arrives for a hearing on the nomination of Russell Vought, President Donald Trump's choice for Director of the Office of Management and Budget, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)2025-01-26T17:40:39Z DORAL, Fla. (AP) A key ally of President Donald Trump said the White House pardoning rioters who fought with police while storming the U.S. Capitol in 2021 is sending the wrong signal and expressed concern about the future ramifications of issuing sweeping clemencies. I have always said that, I think, when you pardon people who attack police officers, youre sending the wrong signal to the public at large, Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who is close to Trump, told CNN on Sunday. Its not what you want to do to protect cops. Within hours of taking office last week, Trump issued a sweeping clemency order covering around 1,500 rioters for their role on the Capitol attack that attempted to block congressional certification of Joe Biden s 2020 election victory on Jan. 6, 2021. Among those released from prison was Stewart Rhodes, founder of the far-right extremist group the Oath Keepers, who orchestrated the plot that resulted in the attack. Rhodes was among a large group of supporters who were standing and cheering behind Trump on stage when the president delivered a speech at the Circa resort and Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday, before flying to Florida to spend the rest of the weekend at his resort in Doral. Asked about Rhodes attending the rally, Graham said, I dont think theres a restriction on him being there. The senator also noted that Biden had used his own string of pardons, including using his final hours in office to issue blanket clemencies for his relatives and leading government officials. I dont like this. I dont like it on either side. And I think the public doesnt like it either, Graham said. So, if this continues, if this is the norm, there may be an effort to rein in the pardon power of the president as an institution. He said he saw what occurred with blanket clemencies as a bigger precedent and that he was worried about the future consequences. I have said clearly I do not like it when President Trump pardoned people who beat up cops. But I didnt like it when Biden pardoned all of his family going out the door, he said. The senator made similar comments Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press, saying that though Trump had the legal authority to issue such pardons, I fear that you will get more violence.Pardoning the people who went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently I think was a mistake, he said.Graham isnt the only Trump ally who has struggled with Trumps pardons for the Jan. 6 rioters. Vice President JD Vance said more than a week before Trump issued the clemencies, Obviously, if you committed violence on that day, you shouldnt be pardoned. But, in an interview on CBS Face the Nation that aired on Sunday, Vance said Trump and his team carefully reviewed the individual cases of Capitol rioters and made the right decision with the pardons. WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers national politics and the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto

Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Lane Johnson (65) celebrates a touchdown by quarterback Jalen Hurts during the second half of the NFC Championship NFL football game against the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)2025-01-26T23:33:24Z PHILADELPHIA (AP) The Washington Commanders jumped offsides four times in a sequence of five plays while trying to stop Philadelphias vaunted tush push earning them a warning from a referee that he could award the Eagles a touchdown if the Commanders did it again.The Eagles had a first-and-goal in the fourth quarter as they tried to stretch their lead in Sundays NFC championship game.The Commanders Jonathan Allen was whistled for lining up in the neutral zone. That was the first penalty. After Washington stopped Jalen Hurts once, linebacker Frankie Luvu jumped over the Eagles offensive line on second down and was penalized for encroachment. Second-and-goal again. Luvu leaped over the line and was flagged again. Repeat second-and-goal. This time, Allen was flagged for encroachment.At that point, referee Shaun Hochuli had seen enough.Washington has been advised that referees can award a score if this type of behavior happens again, he told the crowd.The Commanders stayed onside on the next play, and Hurts rewarded the Eagles with a 1-yard touchdown for a 41-23 lead.___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley runs against the Washington Commanders during the second half of the NFC Championship NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)2025-01-26T23:31:43Z PHILADELPHIA (AP) Saquon Barkley dashed 60 yards for a touchdown on Philadelphias first play and finished with 118 yards and three scores, Jalen Hurts rushed for three TDs and the Eagles soared into the Super Bowl with a 55-23 win over the Washington Commanders on Sunday.Hurts and the Eagles are in the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons, and this time Barkley is along for the ride. The Eagles will play either the Buffalo Bills or former Eagles coach Andy Reids Kansas City Chiefs.The 55 points are the most any team has scored in a conference championship game since the 1970 merger. Hurts, wearing a brace on his left knee, also threw for 246 yards and a touchdown pass and the Eagles had a towel-waving crowd in a frenzy for the NFC championship game at Lincoln Financial Field. A.J. Brown caught six passes for 96 yards and a touchdown and the Eagles scored a season high in points to usher the franchise into their fifth Super Bowl. The Commanders played a role in getting the NFC title game to Philly with two straight road wins including last weeks stunner at No. 1 seed Detroit that set the stage for the second-seeded Eagles to host. Jayden Daniels threw for 255 yards with one touchdown, one interception and fell short in his bid to become the first rookie quarterback to lead his team to the Super Bowl. The Commanders were doomed by four turnovers, including a lost fumble by Austin Ekeler in the third quarter and the Commanders down 34-23. The Eagles won their only Super Bowl in the 2017 season and Nick Foles, the QB in that game against New England, was the honorary captain. The Eagles cut to other stars from that game in attendance on the big screen and now two years after coach Nick Siriannis Eagles lost to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl the franchise has a chance at winning their second one.Much as he has all season, Barkley led the way for the Eagles. After the Commanders opened the game with an 18-play drive and a field goal that quieted a raucous crowd, Barkley whipped the fans that included actor Bradley Cooper into a frenzy on the Eagles first offensive play from scrimmage. Only the ninth running back to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, Barkley took the pitch from Hurts and cut left, spun around a pair of defenders and took off on the touchdown run.The Eagles recovered a fumble on the next drive and Barkley added a 4-yard run making him 2 for 2 on carries and touchdowns for a 14-3 lead.Including the playoffs, Barkley extended an NFL record Sunday with his seventh rushing touchdown of 60-plus yards in a season.Daniels, who led the Commanders to six consecutive victories, made his share of big plays that included a 36-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin that pulled them to 14-12.Hurts, who hurt his knee when he was sacked last week by the Rams, had his best game yet in a postseason where the Eagles played all three games at home. He closed the first half with a tush push 1-yard touchdown and threw a 4-yard scoring pass to Brown to send the Eagles into halftime with a 27-15 lead. Hurts secured the Super Bowl berth with a tush push touchdown in the fourth quarter after a humorous moment when an official said hed award the Eagles a touchdown if Washington didnt stop jumping offside and his ninth career postseason rushing score gave them a 41-23 lead.Small amounts of green confetti started to fly from the upper deck at that point at the countdown was officially on for the Super Bowl.The Commanders desperate gasp at another late comeback win ended with a thud when Nolan Smith sacked Daniels on fourth down in the fourth quarter. Will Shipley gave Barkley a needed breather in the blowout and punched in a 2-yard touchdown run for a 55-23 lead. The E-A-G-L-E-S! Eagles! chants began in earnest and its sure to ring loud in New Orleans.InjuriesEagles: Pro Bowl center Cam Jurgens was active but did not start because of a back injury. Landon Dickerson moved from left guard to center and Tyler Steen started at left guard. ... Dickerson suffered a knee injury. ... RB Kenneth Gainwell was evaluated for a concussion suffered in the third quarter.Up nextThe Eagles head to New Orleans for a Feb. 9 matchup against the AFC champion.___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl DAN GELSTON Gelston is an an Associated Press sports writer covering major college and pro sports in Philadelphia, including the 76ers, Flyers, Eagles, Phillies and Villanova. twitter mailto

Buffalo Bills cornerback Christian Benford (47) leaves the field after injury against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first half of the AFC Championship NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)2025-01-27T00:18:37Z KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Buffalo Bills cornerback Christian Benford was ruled out of the AFC title game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night with a concussion.Benford was carted from the field after a helmet-to-helmet hit with teammate Damar Hamlin while trying to make a tackle in the first quarter.Benford, who spent the week in the concussion protocol before getting cleared in time for the game, was ruled out just moments after he was driven up the tunnel in the corner of Arrowhead Stadium.Benford was chasing Chiefs wide receiver Xavier Worthy near the Bills sideline when he clashed helmets with Hamlin, who wears a Guardian Cap on his own. Benford was shaky while standing up and tried to return to the field, but Bills cornerback Rasul Douglas stopped him in his tracks and made sure Buffalo trainers checked on him.The loss was a big one for Buffalo, which was counting on Benford to help cover the Chiefs fleet of wide receivers. He made a nice play earlier in the game to break up a pass deep downfield intended for Marquise Brown.The Bills already were thin in the secondary without safety Taylor Rapp, who was inactive with back and hip injuries. He would have played a significant role in covering Chiefs tight ends Travis Kelce and Noah Gray.___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL DAVE SKRETTA Skretta is a Kansas City-based sports writer for The Associated Press. He covers the Royals, the Chiefs and college sports along with auto racing, the Olympics and other sports. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

El logotipo de TikTok en un telfono en San Francisco, el viernes 17 de enero de 2025. (AP Foto/Jeff Chiu)2025-01-26T20:42:30Z WASHINGTON (AP) Perplexity AI has presented a new proposal to TikToks parent company that would allow the U.S. government to own up to 50% of a new entity that merges Perplexity with TikToks U.S. business, according to a person familiar with the matter.The proposal, submitted last week, is a revision of a prior plan the artificial intelligence startup had presented to TikToks parent ByteDance on Jan. 18, a day before the law that bans TikTok went into effect.The first proposal, which ByteDance hasnt responded to, sought to create a new structure that would merge San Francisco-based Perplexity with TikToks U.S. business and include investments from other investors.The new proposal would allow the U.S. government to own up to half of that new structure once it makes an initial public offering of at least $300 billion, said the person, who was not authorized to speak about the proposal. The person said Perplexitys proposal was revised based off of feedback from the Trump administration. If the plan is successful, the shares owned by the government would not have voting power, the person said. The government also would not get a seat on the new companys board. ByteDance and TikTok did not immediately responded to a request for comment.Under the plan, ByteDance would not have to completely cut ties with TikTok, a favorable outcome for its investors. But it would have to allow a full U.S. board control, the person said. Under the proposal, the China-based tech company would contribute TikToks U.S. business without the proprietary algorithm that fuels what users see on the app, according to a document seen by the Associated Press.The proposal seems to mirror a strategy Steven Mnuchin, treasury secretary during Trumps first term, discussed Sunday on Fox News Sunday Morning Futures that a new investor in TikTok could simply dilute down the Chinese ownership and satisfy the law. Mnuchin has previously expressed interest in investing in the company. But the technology needs to be disconnected from China, he added. It needs to be disconnected from ByteDance. Theres absolutely no way that China would ever let us have something like that in China.The Perplexity proposal comes as several investors are expressing interest in TikTok. President Donald Trump said late Saturday that he expects a deal will be made in as soon as 30 days. On a flight from Las Vegas to Miami on Air Force One, Trump also said he hadnt discussed a deal with Larry Ellison, CEO of software maker Oracle, despite a report that Oracle, along with outside investors, was considering taking over TikToks global operation. Numerous people are talking to me. Very substantial people, Trump said. We have a lot of interest in it, and the United States will be a big beneficiary. ... Id only do it if the United States benefits.Under a bipartisan law passed last year, TikTok was to be banned in the United States by Jan. 19 if it did not cut ties with ByteDance. The Supreme Court upheld the law, but Trump then issued an executive order to halt enforcement of the law for 75 days. Trump, on Air Force One, noted that Ellison lives right down the road from his Mar-a-Lago estate, but added, I never spoke to Larry about TikTok. Ive spoken to many people about TikTok and theres great interest in TikTok.TikTok briefly shut down in the U.S. a week ago, but went back online after Trump said he would postpone the ban. TikTok CEO Shou Chew attended Trumps inauguration Jan. 20, along with some other tech leaders whove been forging friendlier ties with the new administration. Congress voted to ban TikTok in the U.S. out of concern that TikToks ownership structure represented a security risk. The Biden administration argued in court for months that it was too much of a risk to allow a Chinese company to control the algorithm that fuels what people see on the app. Officials also raised concerns about user data collected on the platform. However, to date, the U.S. hasnt provided public evidence of TikTok handing user data to Chinese authorities or allowing them to tinker with its algorithm. ___Hadero reported from South Bend, Indiana. HALELUYA HADERO Haleluya covers Amazon, retail and technology. twitter mailto CHRISTOPHER RUGABER Rugaber has covered the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for the AP for 16 years. He is a two-time finalist for the Gerald Loeb award for business reporting. twitter mailto

This combination photo shows National Intelligence Director nominee Tulsi Gabbard, left, Oct. 27, 2024, in New York and FBI Director nominee Kash Patel, in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo)2025-01-27T05:04:07Z LONDON (AP) As Russia moved closer to invading Ukraine nearly three years ago, the United States and its allies took the extraordinary step of declassifying and sharing intelligence to expose Moscows plans. Information flew across the Atlantic from U.S. spy agencies to NATO and Western partners showing that Russia was poised to launch the biggest attack on a European country since World War II. It was designed to muster support for Kyiv, and on the strength of the U.S. warning, some nations sent weapons to Ukraine, which moved some equipment out of the range of Russian strikes.Now, officials are bracing for a potentially changed security landscape under President Donald Trump. He has criticized Americas allies and lambasted its intelligence agencies. Hes been accused of disregarding secrecy rules and hoarding classified documents. Tulsi Gabbard, Trumps pick for director of national intelligence, has parroted Russian propaganda while his nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, has promised changes that could significantly curtail the flow of intelligence to Americas friends. Both are expected to face sharp questioning from lawmakers during confirmation hearings Thursday. The Associated Press spoke with 18 current and former senior European and U.S. officials who worked in NATO, defense, diplomacy or intelligence. Many raised questions and concerns about Trumps past relationship with Americas spies and their ability to share information at a time of heightened terror threats and signs of greater cooperation between U.S. adversaries. The importance of trustThe U.S. and its allies routinely share top-secret information, be it about potential terror threats, Chinese cyberattacks or Russian troop movements. Americas closest intelligence partners are New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Britain, and it often shares with other nations or sometimes even adversaries when lives are at stake.In July, the U.S. helped foil a Russian plot to assassinate the head of a German arms manufacturer that produced weapons for Ukraine. In August, the CIA said it provided intelligence to Austrian authorities that allowed them to disrupt a plan, allegedly inspired by the Islamic State group, to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna.Cooperation particularly between the U.S. and the U.K. is strong and robust enough to withstand some turbulence at the political level, said Lord Peter Ricketts, former U.K. national security adviser and current chair of the European Affairs Committee of the upper chamber of the British Parliament. However, any strong intelligence relationship is underpinned by trust, and what if trust isnt there? Ricketts said.There was some skepticism about U.S. intelligence ahead of the invasion of Ukraine due to the faulty American information that led to the invasion of Iraq in 2001, said Oana Lungescu, a fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London and formerly NATOs longest-serving spokesperson. But when combined with information from its security partners, Americas remarkable intelligence enabled the NATO alliance to raise the alert about Russia, Lungescu said. European leaders are working to convince Trumps administration that threats on the continent also are relevant for the United States.There shouldnt be much debate, said former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, Mike McFaul, who said theres a direct relationship between U.S. intelligence sharing and national security. He noted that U.S. authorities have warned of escalating terror threats.One of our great advantages is that we have incredible intelligence capabilities and we have allies that we share that with its a force multiplier for us, said McFaul, who now teaches at Stanford University. Well lose that if were no longer considered trustworthy.The Trump team has an open mind and is in a listening mode, Norways Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre said, adding that was a good sign because when you come in with a new administration in a very eventful, rapidly changing environment, getting on the same footing is a challenge. Predicting Trumps moves, however, is difficult. He has criticized NATO allies for not spending enough on defense. He even suggested he would encourage Russia to invade countries that didnt pay what he thought they should. But he didnt follow through on the threat. Last time it didnt turn out so badly: He was going to throw NATO under the bus, but he didnt do that, former U.S. Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte said. The rhetoric turned out to be transactional.Spokespeople for the White House and Gabbard did not respond to questions about Trump and his nominees or how they planned to handle intelligence sharing with Americas allies.NATO members have hiked their defense spending as Trump has demanded and the alliance is now bigger than before, with Sweden and Finland joining after Russia invaded Ukraine. There is a big risk of continuing to take American support for European, NATO countries ... and defense of Ukraine for granted, said Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.But it would also be risky to assume the U.S. is simply leaving. On that question, Kristersson said, the jury is very much out.Concerns about Trumps intel picks Trumps choice of Gabbard to oversee more than a dozen intelligence agencies has alarmed lawmakers from both parties and many current and former intelligence officials. Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who later became a Trump ally, met since-deposed Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2017 in Damascus and has promoted Russian propaganda about its invasion of Ukraine.If confirmed, Gabbard would have the power to declassify information and direct some intelligence sharing with allies.A European intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said that while there is concern around some of Trumps nominations, there is no reason to think we cant trust them because of who is in power. The official suggested nominees like Gabbard and Patel havent heard all the facts yet and could grow and learn when presented with the full picture.With thousands of professionals working in a multitude of agencies, the day-to-day operations of Americas spy services may look very similar under the Trump administration. And there are safeguards, current and former officials told the AP, that include agencies sharing intelligence but not sources. But those in top positions will have a huge impact if they lead to staff departures, curtail longstanding surveillance programs as Patel has suggested or politicize their offices in ways that can be exploited by Moscow and other adversaries.The task for Europe is to convince everybody to focus on Russia, the real troublemaker, the intelligence official said.Alongside Gabbard, Patel has rattled intelligence insiders in the U.S. and elsewhere because hes criticized surveillance programs like the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which U.S. authorities use to keep tabs on suspected spies and terrorists overseas. The United States shared intelligence gathered through that law with Russia when public safety was at stake, passing along a warning before a deadly concert attack in Moscow in March that killed 145 people. It is not clear if Moscow tried to act on the warning. Allies heavily depend on US intelligenceThe European Union must be realistic that if the U.S. is reducing its participation in Europe, European members have to be ready to fill any gap, said former Finnish President Sauli Niinist, who has called for the 27-nation bloc to create its own intelligence agency.Many global tech and communication firms such as Google, Apple and Microsoft as well as Elon Musks X are based in the U.S., giving American law enforcement and spy agencies an advantage over their foreign counterparts, which may lack the political or legal means to obtain information.Niinist hosted a summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018, in which Trump openly questioned his own intelligence agencies finding that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. election to his benefit, restating Putins claim that Moscow was not involved.Niinist, whose country borders Russia, described his discussions with Trump while in office as clear, open and frank.I tried to tell him: We need you, but you need us, too, Niinist said. ___Klepper reported from Washington. EMMA BURROWS Burrows is an Associated Press reporter covering Russia, Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus. She is based in London. twitter

Vehicles ply at a slow pace through a street with Dubai's iconic skyline in the background, United Arab Emirates, on Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)2025-01-27T05:58:31Z DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Skyscraper-studded Dubai has been on a hot streak for the last five years and some residents are starting to feel burned.The city-state has seen record-breaking real estate transactions and as more and more people come to live there, and its state-owned airline Emirates is booking record earnings. But all that growth comes with strains for the citys population.Traffic feels worse than ever on Dubais roads. The price of housing continues to spike even with new real estate projects being announced almost daily. Caught in the middle are both its Emirati citizens and the vast population of foreigners who power its economy sparking rare public expressions of concern. Dubai is on steroids but affordability risks are increasing, warned Hasnain Malik in a starkly titled report he wrote for the global data firm Tellimer, where hes a managing director. Skyrocketing housing pricesUnder Dubais current plans, the city aims to have 5.8 million residents by 2040, adding more than half its current estimated population in just 15 years. Since 1980, its population has already soared from around 255,000 to around 3.8 million.Real estate lit the fire in Dubais growth in 2002, when the desert sheikdom began allowing foreigners to own property. After sharp falls during both the 2008-2009 financial crisis and Dubais brief coronavirus lockdown, prices have been soaring. Today, average prices per square foot are at all-time highs, according to Property Monitor. Rental prices increased as much as 20% in key neighborhoods last year, with further rises likely this year, with some residents moving to communities further out in the desert, the real estate firm Engel & Vlkers said. Jammed roadsEven before the boom, some people who worked in Dubai chose to live in the neighboring emirate of Sharjah, some 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of the citys downtown, or further away. Some 1 million commuters from other emirates jam the 12-lane Sheikh Zayed Road that runs through the center of the city and other highways every day, as studies suggest that as many as four out of five employees drive to work alone. That traffic has only intensified with Dubais new arrivals. While the rest of the world saw as much as a 4% increase in the number of registered vehicles in the last two years, the citys Road and Transportation Authority says theres been a 10% increase in the number of vehicles. So many vehicles have been registered that the city has had to make license plates longer. And while the city keeps building new flyovers and other road improvements, more cars are coming from more directions than ever before. Dubai is very attractive, more and more people are coming, said Thomas Edelmann, the founder and managing director of RoadSafetyUAE, which advocates about traffic issues. I think its easier to get people quickly to come to Dubai and to convince them about Dubai, then to build a new intersection or a new highway. Boom concerns also raised by EmiratisCongestion has got so bad that its driving even prominent Emiratis to break their customary silence on public affairs.Habib Al Mulla, a prominent Emirati lawyer, wrote on the social platform X in December that while authorities were working on congestion, the problem demanded a set of immediate and long-term mechanisms. He followed up by publishing an opinion piece twice mentioning congestion as being among pressing issues for global cities like Dubai.While phrased in mild language, Al Mullas comments represented rare public criticism in the United Arab Emirates, where speech is tightly controlled by criminal law and social norms favor raising issues at a majlis a semiprivate setting convened by a traditional ruler. The concentration of wealth and opportunities created in global cities may cause income inequality that pushes out lower-income residents, Al Mulla warned in the English-language Khaleej Times newspaper on Jan. 15. The problem becomes acute when the wealth and opportunities remain inaccessible to segments of the national population who witness the citys allure being seized by outsiders. This may carry significant social risks, if not mitigated. Then theres demographic concerns as the Emirati share of the population dwindles. While the number of citizens isnt public, a back-of-the-envelope, informal calculation shared for years by experts suggests Emirati citizens represent around 10% of the countrys overall population of more than 9 million people, a number thats likely falling as foreigners rush in.In December, sermon scripts issued for the Dec. 13 Fridays prayers directly touched on the duty of having more children. Increasing offspring is both a religious obligation and a national responsibility, as it contributes to the protection and sustainability of nations, the sermon read, according to a transcript issued by the federal governments General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments. A search for high-tech solutionsFor Dubais autocratic government, overseen by ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, possible solutions to the grinding traffic have ranged from the practical to the fanciful. The government in recent months has repeatedly encouraged companies to allow more remote work options, including in a report released in November that also suggested staggered and flexible working hours. Adding as many as five remote workdays a month, along with the other steps, can reduce morning peak travel time across Dubai by 30%, the study stated. Dubais road toll system, known as Salik, has added gates to charge drivers more and will institute surge pricing at the end of the month. Dubais Metro, which boasts the worlds longest self-driving rail line, will also grow beyond its broadly north-south routes in a nearly $5 billion expansion.Then theres the flying taxi project. Since 2017, Dubai has been announcing plans for airborne cabs in the city. A first vertiport is being built by Dubai International Airport with the aim of offering the service from next year.Dubai also plans 3,300 kilometers (2,050 miles) of new pedestrian paths, although during Dubais summer months pedestrians have to contend with high humidity and heat of around 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). In the coming years, residents of Dubai will be able to move around by walking, cycling, its extensive network of roads and bridges, the Metro and its new lines, water taxis, or flying taxis on specific air routes, Sheikh Mohammed said on X in December. But for now, Dubai keeps attracting more people and more cars and the traffic jams only get longer. 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

The wreckage of a Boeing 737-800 plane operated by South Korean budget airline Jeju Air lies at Muan International Airport in Muan, South Korea, on Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)2025-01-27T06:40:22Z SEOUL, South Korea (AP) The first report on last months Jeju Air crash in South Korea confirmed bird strikes in the planes engines, though officials havent determined the cause of the accident that killed all but two of the 181 people on board.The preliminary accident report released Monday said feathers and bird blood stains were found in both engines.The samples were sent to specialized organizations for DNA analysis, and a domestic organization identified them as belonging to Baikal Teals, the report said, referring to a migratory duck. The report also said the planes black box stopped recording about 4 minutes before the crash.South Korea earlier announced that it will remove a concrete structure at the end of the airports runway that was involved in the crash.Some experts have said that Muan International Airports localizer a set of antennas in a concrete structure that guide aircraft during landings likely made the crash of the Jeju Air plane worse. The Boeing 737-800 skidded off the airports runaway on Dec. 29 after its landing gear failed to deploy, slamming into the concrete structure and bursting into flames. Many observers said the structure should have been made with lighter materials that could break more easily upon impact.Investigators have said that air traffic controllers warned the pilot about possible bird strikes two minutes before the aircraft issued a distress signal confirming that a bird strike had occurred, after which the pilot attempted an emergency landing.

An Estonian naval ship sails in the Baltic Sea on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, as part of stepped-up NATO patrols in the region following suspected sabotage of undersea cables. (AP Photo/Hendrik Osula)2025-01-26T17:57:02Z RIGA, Latvia (AP) Swedish prosecutors announced Sunday night that they have opened a preliminary investigation into suspected aggravated sabotage and ordered the detention of a vessel in the Baltic Sea suspected of damaging an underwater fiber optic cable connecting Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland earlier that day.Several authorities, including the National Police Operations Department, the Coast Guard and the Armed Forces, are involved in the investigation, said Mats Ljungqvist, senior prosecutor at the National Security Unit, according to a press release.The Swedish Coast Guard confirmed to the newspaper Expressen that they were on site near the vessel which the paper identified as the Malta-flagged Vezhen, at anchor near the port of Karlskrona.We are directly on site with the seized ship and are taking measures as decided by the prosecutor, said Mattias Lindholm, spokesperson for the Coast Guard. According to data from Vesselfinder, the vessel departed from the Russian port of Ust-Luga several days earlier and was navigating between Gotland and Latvia at the time the damage was suspected of having occurred. Latvias state-run radio and TV center said Sunday that it recorded disruptions in data transmission on the cable running from the town of Ventspils to the Swedish island of Gotland, and concluded there was a rupture.The media organization said it was able to operate using other data transmission routes, while it was taking steps to have the cable repaired. At the moment, there is reason to believe that the cable is significantly damaged and that the damage is caused by external influences, Vineta Sprugaine, head of corporate communications at LVRTC, was quoted as saying by the LSM state broadcaster.Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silia wrote on X that her government was working together with our Swedish Allies and NATO on investigating the incident, including to patrolling the area, as well as inspecting the vessels that were in the area. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson wrote on X that at least one cable belonging to a Latvian entity was believed to have been damaged and that he has been in close contact with Silia during the day Sunday.Sundays rupture follows a string of incidents that have heightened fears of Russian sabotage and spying in the strategic region. There have been previous incidents reported of ruptures of data cables running on the Baltic sea bed, allegedly linked to Russias shadow fleet hundreds of aging tankers of uncertain ownership that are dodging sanctions and keeping oil revenue coming into the country. Earlier this month, NATO began a new mission dubbed Baltic Sentry which included frigates, maritime patrol aircraft and a fleet of naval drones to provide enhanced surveillance and deterrence in the Baltic Sea which the transatlantic alliance says is to protect undersea cables and pipelines. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Trees and bushes growing around the old railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, in Oswiecim, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 23. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)2025-01-27T05:01:32Z OSWIECIM, Poland (AP) During World War II, men, women and children were transported from across Europe to Auschwitz-Birkenau, horrendous journeys in which they were packed into cramped cattle cars.They arrived onto an unloading platform, known as the ramp, where Nazi doctors made selections, deciding who would be murdered immediately and who would be used for slave labor.Many of those rail tracks are abandoned but still exist within the site of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, stark reminders of the industrial nature of the killing. But they also extend beyond the memorial site, cutting through fields and running along family homes and a bus station, aging testaments of the horrors making their mark on life today. Snow blankets railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, in Oswiecim, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 23. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Snow blankets railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, in Oswiecim, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 23. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, are seen next to the former camps parking in Oswiecim, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 23. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, are seen next to the former camps parking in Oswiecim, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 23. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More In all, 1.1 million people perished at Auschwitz in gas chambers or from disease, starvation and exhaustion. About 90% of the victims were Jewish, while Poles, Roma and Sinti, and Soviet prisoners of war were also among the victims. The camp was liberated by Soviet troops on Jan. 27, 1945. Snow blankets railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, cuts through a field in Oswiecim, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 23. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Snow blankets railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, cuts through a field in Oswiecim, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 23. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Nazi Germany established its largest extermination camp in Oswiecim the name of the Polish town that was called Auschwitz under German occupation because it was centrally located in Europe, with the railway infrastructure making it possible to transport Jews there from all across Europe from Belgium, France and the Netherlands, from Italy and from Hungary. Railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, runs along stores in Oswiecim, Poland, Saturday, Jan. 25. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, runs along stores in Oswiecim, Poland, Saturday, Jan. 25. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More On the grounds of Birkenau there is a memorial in the form of a rail carriage dedicated to the memory of the 420,000 Hungarian Jews who were deported to Auschwitz from May to July 1944. On Monday, the world will mark the 80th anniversary of the camps liberation, with elderly survivors of Nazi atrocities gathering with state leaders and royalty. Old railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, runs next to a bus station in Oswiecim, Poland, Saturday, Jan. 25. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Old railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, runs next to a bus station in Oswiecim, Poland, Saturday, Jan. 25. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Old railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, runs along a road in the town of Oswiecim, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 23. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Old railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, runs along a road in the town of Oswiecim, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 23. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Snow blankets railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, cuts through a field in Oswiecim, Poland, Saturday, Jan. 25. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Snow blankets railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, cuts through a field in Oswiecim, Poland, Saturday, Jan. 25. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Old railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, cuts through a field in Oswiecim, Poland, Friday, Jan. 24. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Old railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, cuts through a field in Oswiecim, Poland, Friday, Jan. 24. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Old railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, cut through the town of Oswiecim, Poland, Friday, Jan. 24. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Old railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, cut through the town of Oswiecim, Poland, Friday, Jan. 24. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Old railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, cut through the town of Oswiecim, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 23. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Old railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, cut through the town of Oswiecim, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 23. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More People visit the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 23. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) People visit the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 23. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Old railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, cut through the town of Oswiecim, Poland, Saturday, Jan. 25. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Old railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, cut through the town of Oswiecim, Poland, Saturday, Jan. 25. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Flowers lie on the old railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, at the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 23. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Flowers lie on the old railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, at the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 23. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More People visit railroad tracks and a carriage used for prisoner transports in WWII, just outside the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland, Saturday, Jan. 25. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) People visit railroad tracks and a carriage used for prisoner transports in WWII, just outside the former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland, Saturday, Jan. 25. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Old railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, run outside the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 23. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Old railroad tracks once used to transport Jews and others from across Europe to Auschwitz, the Nazi German extermination and labor camp, run outside the Memorial and Museum Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 23. 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, attends the fourth hearing of his impeachment trial over his short-lived imposition of martial law at the Constitutional Court in Seoul, South Korea, Jan.23, 2025. (Jeon Heon Kyun/Pool Photo via AP)2025-01-27T07:13:41Z SEOUL, South Korea (AP) South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has become the countrys first leader to be indicted, less than two weeks after he was the first to be detained. The impeached, jailed president, who had been holed up in his presidential compound for weeks after issuing a shocking martial law decree last month, now faces rebellion charges that are punishable by the death penalty or life in prison. Its part of a tortuous saga that has plunged South Korea into political turmoil and further riven an already divided society. And its not the only legal headache Yoon faces. A separate proceeding will determine whether to formally dismiss Yoon as president or reinstate him.As Seoul prepares for double court hearings, continuing chaotic protests and increasingly harsh rhetoric from pro-and anti-Yoon forces, heres what to expect next: What happens now? Yoon will stay in jail. He will be brought from a detention facility to a Seoul court for hearings in the rebellion trial, which is expected to last about six months.Prosecutors say that Yoon directed a rebellion when he briefly imposed martial law on Dec. 3. Yoon has presidential immunity from most criminal prosecutions, but not on charges of rebellion or treason. Yoons defense minister, police chief and several other military commanders have already been arrested and indicted on alleged rebellion, abuse of power and other charges related to the martial law decree. Meanwhile, rival protests look likely to continue in downtown Seoul.After a local court on Jan. 19 approved a formal arrest warrant to extend Yoons detention, dozens of his supporters stormed the court building, destroying windows, doors and other property. They also attacked police officers with bricks, steel pipes and other objects. The violence left 17 police officers injured, and police detained 46 protesters. What about his other court case? Yoon also has to worry about the Constitutional Court, which has until June to determine whether to formally dismiss or reinstate him as president. Observers expect a ruling to come sooner than the deadline. In the cases of two past impeached presidents, Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 and Park Geun-hye in 2016, the court spent 63 days and 91 days respectively before determining to reinstate Roh and dismiss Park. If the Constitutional Court removes Yoon from office, an election to choose his successor must be held within two months. Recent public surveys show that governing and opposition party candidates are running neck-and-neck in a possible presidential by-election race.How are the two camps taking the indictment?Both are promising that this is just the beginning. Shin Dong-wook, a spokesperson for the governing conservative People Power Party, is warning that prosecutors will face unspecified legal and political consequences for their wrong indictment of Yoon. Yoons defense team says the prosecutors who indicted the president are trying to curry favor with political forces who want Yoon gone. They called the indictment a shame in the history of South Korean prosecutors.The main opposition liberal Democratic Party, which led Yoons Dec. 14 impeachment, called his indictment and arrest the beginning of the punishment of the ringleader of a rebellion. Party spokesperson Han Min-soo warned Yoon to stop what he called his attempt to incite far-right supporters based on groundless delusion. Yoon has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing and says his declaration of martial law was a legitimate act of governance meant to raise public awareness of the danger of the liberal-controlled National Assembly, which obstructed his agenda. After declaring martial law on Dec. 3, Yoon sent troops and police officers to the assembly, but enough lawmakers still managed to enter an assembly chamber to unanimously vote down Yoons decree, forcing his Cabinet to lift it. The martial law imposition, the first of its kind in South Korea in more than four decades, lasted only six hours. But it evoked painful memories of the military-backed rulers who used martial law and emergency decrees to suppress opponents in the 1960s through the 80s.___Klug reported from Tokyo. HYUNG-JIN KIM Hyung-jin is an Associated Press reporter in Seoul, South Korea. He reports on security, political and other general news on the Korean Peninsula. twitter mailto FOSTER KLUG Klug is the APs news director for the Koreas, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. Hes covered Asia since 2005 and has reported from across the region, including multiple trips to North Korea. twitter

Survivors and relatives attend a ceremony at the Auschwitz-Birkenau former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp, in Oswiecim, Poland, Monday, Jan. 27. 2025.(AP Photo/Oded Balilty)2025-01-27T08:13:30Z OSWIECIM, Poland (AP) The 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet troops is being marked on Monday at the site of the former death camp, a ceremony that is widely being treated as the last major observance that any notable number of survivors will be able to attend.Nazi German forces murdered some 1.1 million people at the site in southern Poland, which was under German occupation during World War II. Most of the victims were Jews killed on an industrial scale in gas chambers, but the Germans also murdered many Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, gay people and others who were targeted for elimination in the Nazi racial ideology.Elderly camp survivors, some wearing blue-and-white striped scarves that recall their prison uniforms, walked together to the the Death Wall, where prisoners were executed, including many Poles who resisted the occupation of their country. They were joined by Polish President Andrzej Duda, whose nation lost 6 million citizens during the war. He carried a candle and walked with Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum director Piotr Cywinski. At the wall, the two men bowed their heads, murmured prayers and crossed themselves. We Poles, on whose land occupied by Nazi Germans at that time the Germans built this extermination industry and this concentration camp, are today the guardians of memory, Duda said to reporters afterward. He spoke of the unimaginable pain inflicted on so many people, especially the Jewish people, and described the dozens of survivors attending the observances Monday as the last survivors coming to this site.May the memory of all the dead live on, may they rest in peace, he said.In all, the Germans murdered 6 million Jews from all over Europe, annihilating two-thirds of Europes Jews and one-third of all Jews worldwide. In 2005, the United Nations designated Jan. 27 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Across Europe, officials and others were pausing to remember.The Holocaust was a collective endeavor by thousands of ordinary people utterly consumed by the hatred of difference, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement. That is the hatred we stand against today and it is a collective endeavor for all of us to defeat it.Later in the day, world leaders and royalty will join with elderly camp survivors, the youngest of whom are in their 80s. Politicians, however, have not been asked to speak this year. Due to the advanced age of the survivors, about 50 of whom are expected, organizers are choosing to make them the center of the observances. Among the leaders expected to attend are Germanys Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Germany has never sent both of its highest state representatives to the observances before, according to German news agency dpa.It is a sign of Germanys continued commitment to take responsibility for the nations crimes, even amid a growing far-right movement that would like to forget.French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will also attend, while Britains King Charles III will also be there, along with kings and queens from Spain, Denmark and Norway. Russian representatives were in the past central guests at the anniversary observances in recognition of the Soviet liberation of the camp on Jan. 27, 1945, and the huge losses suffered by Soviet forces in the Allied defeat of Nazi Germany. But they have not been welcome since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.Associated Press writers Jill Lawless and Danica Kirka in London contributed.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, days after the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas came into effect. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)2025-01-27T05:17:24Z DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) Israel on Monday began allowing thousands of Palestinians to return to the heavily destroyed north of the Gaza Strip for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, in accordance with a fragile ceasefire.The opening was delayed for two days over a dispute between Hamas and Israel, which said the militant group had changed the order of the hostages it released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Mediators resolved the dispute overnight.Palestinians who have been sheltering in squalid tent camps and schools-turned-shelters for over a year are eager to return to their homes -- even knowing that they have likely been damaged or destroyed. Many had feared Israel would make their exodus permanent, and expressed similar concerns about an idea floated by President Donald Trump to resettle large numbers of Palestinians in Egypt and Jordan. Ismail Abu Matter, a father of four who had waited for three days before crossing with his family, described scenes of jubilation on the other side, with people singing, praying and crying as they were reunited with relatives. Its the joy of return, said Abu Matter, whose family was among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation. We had thought we wouldnt return, like our ancestors. Hamas said the return was a victory for our people, and a declaration of failure and defeat for the (Israeli) occupation and transfer plans.The ceasefire is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas and securing the release of dozens of hostages captured in the militants Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which triggered the fighting.Israel ordered the wholescale evacuation of the north in the opening days of the war and sealed it off shortly after ground troops moved in. Around a million people fled to the south in October 2023, while hundreds of thousands remained in the north, which had some of the heaviest fighting and the worst destruction of the war. Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israel would continue to enforce the ceasefire, and that anyone violating it or threatening Israeli forces will bear the full cost.We will not allow a return to the reality of Oct. 7, he wrote on the platform X.Hostage dispute rattled week-old ceasefireIsrael had delayed the opening of the crossing, which was supposed to happen over the weekend, saying it would not allow Palestinians north until a female civilian hostage, Arbel Yehoud, was released. It also accused Hamas of failing to provide information on whether the remaining hostages set to be freed in the first phase are alive or dead.Hamas in turn accused Israel of violating the agreement by not opening the crossing.The Gulf nation of Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, announced early Monday that an agreement had been reached to release Yehoud along with two other hostages before Friday.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the hostage release which will include female soldier Agam Berger will take place on Thursday. That release will be in addition to the one already set for next Saturday, when three hostages should be released. Hamas also handed over a list of required information about the hostages to be released in the ceasefires six-week first phase.Starting at 7 a.m., Palestinians were allowed to cross on foot without inspection through part of the so-called Netzarim corridor, a military zone bisecting the territory just south of Gaza City that Israel carved out early in the war. A checkpoint for vehicles was to open later with an inspection mechanism, the details of which were not immediately known. A second and more difficult phase awaitsUnder the first phase of the ceasefire, which runs until early March, Hamas is to free a total of 33 hostages in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. The militants have released seven hostages, including four female soldiers, in the current ceasefire, in exchange for more than 300 prisoners, including many serving life sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis.The second and far more difficult phase of the agreement has not yet been negotiated. Hamas says it will not release the remaining 60 or so hostages unless Israel ends the war, while Netanyahu says he is still committed to destroying the militant group and ending its nearly 18-year rule over Gaza.Hamas started the war when thousands of its fighters stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Around 90 hostages are still inside Gaza, and Israel believes around a third are dead.Israels air and ground war has killed over 47,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gazas Health Ministry. It does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.Israeli bombardment and ground operations have displaced around 90% of Gazas 2.3 million people, often multiple times, and flattened entire neighborhoods. ___Magdy reported from Cairo and Krauss from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

People displaced by the fighting with M23 rebels make their way to the center of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)2025-01-27T09:02:10Z GOMA, Congo (AP) Residents in eastern Congos largest city, Goma, were fleeing on Monday after Rwanda-backed rebels claimed to have captured the regional hub from Congolese forces as fighting escalated in recent days despite calls from the U.N. Security Council for the insurgents to withdraw. Gunshots rang out across Goma overnight before dozens of rebels in military uniform early Monday morning marched into the capital of North Kivu province, which sits on the border with Rwanda. The Congolese government has not confirmed the fall of Goma, 1,500 kilometers (930 miles) east of capital Kinshasa, after severing ties with Rwanda on Saturday. The Rwanda-backed M23 rebels are one of about 100 armed groups vying for a foothold in the mineral-rich region in the decades-long conflict, one of Africas largest. The rebels temporarily took over Goma in 2012, before they were forced to pull out under international pressure, and resurfaced in late 2021, with increasing support from Rwanda, according to Congos government and United Nations experts. Rwanda has denied such support. Analysts have warned the latest escalation of hostilities could further destabilize the region, which is already home to one of the worlds largest humanitarian crises with more than 6 million people displaced. More than a third of North Kivus population are among the displaced, according to a U.N. report. UN calls on the rebels to withdrawIn a statement late Sunday, the U.N. Security Council called on the M23 to immediately reverse its advances.The members of the Security Council condemned the ongoing flagrant disregard for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DRC and that the M23 put an end to the establishment of parallel administrations in the DRC territory, the statement added, referring to Congos formal name, the Democratic Republic of Congo. The rebels announced early Monday they had captured the city just as a deadline they gave to Congolese security forces to surrender was about to expire. The rebels asked the Congolese military to assemble at the central stadium and urged residents to remain calm. Congolese government officials have said the country is in a war situation and accused Rwanda of committing a frontal aggression (and) a declaration of war. Congo cut ties with Rwanda over the weekend as re cent attempts at diplomatic talks between the two countries failed. The advance into Goma is the culmination of a prolonged battle between the rebels and the Congolese security forces that saw several towns along the Rwandan border falling to the insurgents.Residents seek safety across the border in RwandaOn Sunday, hundreds of residents marched in the heat and through the night along roads with heavy traffic as they tried to flee Goma into Rwanda, carrying their babies, clothes and other belongings on their backs and heads. Many were still on the run on Monday morning.We are fleeing because we saw soldiers on the border with Rwanda throwing bombs and shooting, said Safi Shangwe, who was among those on the move.The U.N. special representative for Congo Bintou Keita told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council late Sunday that we are trapped, with the airport shut down and roads blocked. At least 13 U.N. peacekeepers have been killed in the hostilities in the past week. The U.N. peacekeeping force, also known as MONUSCO, entered Congo more than two decades ago and has around 14,000 peacekeepers on the ground.The Uruguayan army, in Goma serving with the U.N. peacekeeping mission, said in a statement on the social platform X late Sunday that more than 100 Congolese soldiers were laying down their weapons.___Asadu reported from Abuja, Nigeria; and Mednick, from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Monika Pronczuk and Wilson McMakin in Dakar, Senegal and Edith M. Lederer in New York contributed to this report. SAM MEDNICK Mednick is the West and Central Africa reporter for the Associated Press. She focuses on conflict, humanitarian crises and human rights abuses. twitter

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One as he travels from Las Vegas to Miami on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)2025-01-26T20:34:41Z DORAL, Fla. (AP) President Donald Trumps push to have Egypt and Jordan take in large numbers of Palestinian refugees from besieged Gaza fell flat with those countries governments and left a key congressional ally in Washington perplexed on Sunday. Fighting that broke out in the territory after ruling Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023 is paused due to a fragile ceasefire, but much of Gazas population has been left largely homeless by an Israeli military campaign. Trump told reporters Saturday aboard Air Force One that moving some 1.5 million people away from Gaza might mean that we just clean out that whole thing. Trump relayed what he told Jordans King Abdullah when the two held a call earlier Saturday: I said to him, Id love for you to take on more because Im looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and its a mess. He said he was making a similar appeal to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi during a conversation they were having while Trump was at his Doral resort in Florida on Sunday. Trump said he would like Egypt to take people and Id like Jordan to take people. Egypt and Jordan, along with the Palestinians, worry that Israel would never allow them to return to Gaza once they have left. Both Egypt and Jordan also have perpetually struggling economies and their governments, as well as those of other Arab states, fear massive destabilization of their own countries and the region from any such influx of refugees. Jordan already is home to more than 2 million Palestinian refugees. Egypt has warned of the security implications of transferring large numbers of Palestinians to Egypts Sinai Peninsula, bordering Gaza.Trump suggested that resettling most of Gazas population of 2.3 million could be temporary or long term.Jordans foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, said Sunday that his countrys opposition to what Trump floated was firm and unwavering. Some Israel officials had raised the idea early in the war. Egypts foreign minister issued a statement saying that the temporary or long-term transfer of Palestinians risks expanding the conflict in the region. Trump does have leverage to wield over Jordan, which is a debt-strapped, but strategically important, U.S. ally and is heavily dependent on foreign aid. The U.S. is historically the single-largest provider of that aid, including more than $1.6 billion through the State Department in 2023. Much of that comes as support for Jordans security forces and direct budget support.Jordan in return has been a vital regional partner to the U.S. in trying to help keep the region stable. Jordan hosts some 3,000 U.S. troops. Yet, on Friday, new Secretary of State Marco Rubio exempted security assistance to Israel and Egypt but not to Jordan, when he laid out the details of a freeze on foreign assistance that Trump ordered on his first day in office.Meantime, in the United States, even Trump loyalists tried to make sense of his words.I really dont know,' said Sen. Lindsey Graham, when asked on CNNs State of the Union about what Trump meant by the clean out remark. Graham, who is close to Trump, said the suggestion was not feasible. The idea that all the Palestinians are going to leave and go somewhere else, I dont see that to be overly practical, said Graham, R-S.C. He said Trump should keep talking to Mideast leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and officials in the United Arab Emirates.I dont know what hes talking about. But go talk to MBS, go talk to UAE, go talk to Egypt, Graham said. What is their plan for the Palestinians? Do they want them all to leave?Trump, a staunch supporter of Israel, also announced Saturday that he had directed the U.S. to release a supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. Former President Joe Biden had imposed a hold due to concerns about their effects on Gazas civilian population.Egypt and Jordan have made peace with Israel but support the creation of a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, territories that Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War. They fear that the permanent displacement of Gazas population could make that impossible. In making his case for such a massive population shift, Trump said Gaza is literally a demolition site right now. Id rather get involved with some of the Arab nations, and build housing in a different location, he said of people displaced in Gaza. Where they can maybe live in peace for a change. ___Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Ellen Knickmeyer in Washington contributed to this report. WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers national politics and the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto

Jean-Michel Gisnel cries out while praying with other congregants at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)2025-01-26T21:43:28Z SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) At the end of his Sunday service, the pastor of the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Ohio, asked ushers and musicians to form a circle around him as he knelt in prayer, flanked by the flags of Haiti and the United States.Many had come to receive his blessing and hear his guidance on how to deal with federal agents in case of raids stemming from President Donald Trumps crackdown on immigration. Other congregants stayed home out of fear and growing uncertainty.I asked God to protect my people, the Rev. Reginald Silencieux said after the service, reflecting on his final prayer. I prayed especially for the Haitian community, and I prayed for U.S.A. too, because Trump is our president. As a church, we have an obligation to pray for him because hes our political leader right now. Some of Springfields estimated 15,000 Haitians are seeking solace and divine intervention in their churches or at shops that sell spiritual products. Community leaders say many are overwhelmed by fears Trump will end or let expire the Temporary Protected Status program that allows them to remain in the U.S. legally. Congregants worship at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Congregants worship at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Ushers at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield hold hands during Sunday service, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Ushers at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield hold hands during Sunday service, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The community is panicking. said Viles Dorsainvil, the leader of Springfields Haitian Community Help and Support Center. They see the arrests on TV in other parts of the country and they dont know whats going to happen.The majority of immigrants in the U.S.A. are not criminals, and theyre hard-working people, he added. Any administration with common sense would rather work with those kinds of immigrants than deport them.Last year, Trump falsely accused Haitians in Springfield of eating their neighbors cats and dogs. The false rumors exacerbated fears about division and anti-immigrant sentiment in the mostly white, blue-collar city of about 59,000.In the weeks after his comments, schools, government buildings and the homes of elected officials were targeted with dozens of bomb threats.Before, we had a different type of fear it was a fear of retaliation, whether it was the far right, the Proud Boys, said Jacob Payen, a Haitian community leader and owner of Milokan Botanica, a religious shop that sells Haitian spiritual and natural healing products.Now, theres a fear of deportation. That keeps a lot of people from going out and has caused a lot of people to have left, he said, pointing to the usually busy commercial plaza where his business is located and that was now more quiet than usual. Jacob Payton talks to customers at the entrance of Milokan Botanica, his religious supply shop that sells Haitian spiritual and natural healing products, in Springfield, Ohio, Saturday, January 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Jacob Payton talks to customers at the entrance of Milokan Botanica, his religious supply shop that sells Haitian spiritual and natural healing products, in Springfield, Ohio, Saturday, January 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Dieutela Charles comforts her 6-month-old daughter while getting guidance on her U.S. residency from Haitian community leader Jacob Payton at his store in Springfield, Ohio, on Saturday, January 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Dieutela Charles comforts her 6-month-old daughter while getting guidance on her U.S. residency from Haitian community leader Jacob Payton at his store in Springfield, Ohio, on Saturday, January 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Cards with information on the Temporary Protected Status, which allows thousands of Haitian immigrants to reside legally in the United States, sit on display at Milokan Botanica, a religious supply shop that sells Haitian spiritual and natural healing products, in Springfield, Ohio, Saturday, January 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Cards with information on the Temporary Protected Status, which allows thousands of Haitian immigrants to reside legally in the United States, sit on display at Milokan Botanica, a religious supply shop that sells Haitian spiritual and natural healing products, in Springfield, Ohio, Saturday, January 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Between selling religious candles and spiritual ointments, Payne guided customers with immigration forms, employment authorization cards and questions on their TPS applications.Brutus Joseph, 50, who works installing solar panels, said he came to the botanica to find spiritual relief. But he also wanted to speak his mind.I dont feel right at all. I have a lot in my chest, Joseph said in Creole through an interpreter. My wife and I cant even sleep because were so worried. Were law-abiding citizens all we did is to be Haitian. We didnt think wed be treated like this by the (Trump) administration. Im praying to God that the president changes his mind.Joseph especially worries about the future for his five children, including one who is a senior in high school in Springfield and plans to attend college this year.If I leave here, theres no future for my children. My children can get raped and killed if I go back, so I have everything to lose, he said, making an appeal to Trump as a fellow family man who is married to an immigrant.The Rev. Philomene Philostin, one of the pastors at the First Haitian Evangelical Church, bemoaned the lower-than-usual attendance at Sundays service.They dont have to be scared. They have to be alert, she said. They shouldnt be scared to the point where they dont come to church. The Rev. Reginald Silencieux kneels to pray, surrounded by the choir and worship team at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) The Rev. Reginald Silencieux kneels to pray, surrounded by the choir and worship team at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Suzette Cleophat worships with fellow congregants at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Suzette Cleophat worships with fellow congregants at the First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield, Sunday, January 26, 2025, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The migration concerns of clergy and other community members in Springfield are shared by many faith leaders nationwide. In several cities, including New York, Philadelphia and Portland, Oregon, interfaith groups are discussing how to provide security and support to migrants in their communities, including those who are undocumented.During his first administration, Trump used bluntly vulgar language to question why the U.S. would accept immigrants from Haiti and shithole countries in Africa. His 2024 campaign focused heavily on illegal immigration, often referring in his speeches to crimes committed by migrants.Thousands of temporary Haitian migrants have legally landed in Springfield in recent years under the TPS program, as longstanding unrest in their home country has given way to violent gangs ruling the streets.Everything changed because Trump is president. People are scared right now. Most are staying in their homes they dont want to go outside, said Romane Pierre, 41, who settled in Springfield in 2020 under the TPS program after fleeing violence in his native Haiti.I love my country, but you cant live there; its terrible right now, said Pierre, who works at the Rose Gaute, a popular Haitian restaurant in Springfield. So where do you go back to?Last year, his 8-year-old daughter got ill in the middle of the night. Gunshots rang in their neighborhood in the capital of Port-Au-Prince, and her mother felt it was too dangerous to take her to the hospital. She died in the morning in front of the hospital entrance. Pierre couldnt get a permit on time to return for her funeral.Sometimes, life is difficult, he said pensively on a break from work.The TPS, which allows him and thousands of others to remain legally in Springfield, expires on February 2026. He still hopes Trump will keep in mind the violence in Haiti and renew it.Think about Haitians because Haiti is not a place to return to right now, he said. God, talk to Mr. Trump and do something for Haitians.The migrants fears were echoed by the president of Haitis transitional presidential council, who said the Trump administrations decisions to freeze aid programs, deport migrants and block refugees will be catastrophic for Haiti. Congregants leave First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield after Sunday service in Springfield, Ohio, January 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski) Congregants leave First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield after Sunday service in Springfield, Ohio, January 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Leslie Voltaire made the comment in an interview with The Associated Press in Rome on Saturday following a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican.The pontiff and Voltaire discussed the dire situation in Haiti where gangs have killed civilians and operate across the Caribbean nation with impunity. Half of Haitis 11.4 million people are already hungry, according to Voltaire, and losing humanitarian assistance will make the situation dramatically worse.This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the Rev. Philomene Philostins last name from Philo.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. LUIS ANDRES HENAO Henao is a multimedia reporter on the APs Global Religion team. He focuses on features and has reported for the AP from Alaska, Antarctica and the Amazon. twitter instagram mailto

Igor Abramovich surveys heavy damage to a house from the 14-month war between Hezbollah and Israel in Kibbutz Manara, on the border with Lebanon, northern Israel, Jan. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)2025-01-27T06:02:56Z KIBBUTZ MANARA, Israel (AP) Kibbutz Manara in northern Israel is so close to the Lebanese border that patrons of a local pub joke, with gallows humor, that the militant group Hezbollah could see if they were eating sunflower seeds or potato chips with their beers.The proximity made Manara so vulnerable in the war between Israel and Hezbollah that rockets and explosive drones damaged the majority of homes, turning the tiny community into a symbol of the heavy price of fighting. The kibbutzs 300 residents were among the 60,000 Israelis evacuated by the government from communities along the Lebanese border during the 14-month war.A tenuous ceasefire has largely held, though it was tested on Sunday as a 60-day deadline passed for Israel and Hezbollah to withdraw their forces from southern Lebanon. Health officials in Lebanon said at least 22 people were killed by Israeli fire when demonstrators attempted to enter villages still under Israeli control. Israel says it is committed to withdrawing but says the process will take additional time. For now, residents of Israels north are taking their time returning, uncertain when or if they will go back to shattered communities. Many wonder what future they can have in a place so exposed to violence. The vast majority of displaced families still havent returned home. In hard-hit places like Manara, some who have ventured back have found unlivable, blackened homes. It will take years to rebuild. We are trying to understand what we can fix, what we can do better, how we can prepare for the next round (of fighting), said Igor Abramovich, who remained in Manara during the war and believes its just a matter of time before fighting erupts.All homes on the ridge facing Lebanon are destroyed, with gaping holes left by missile strikes or fires that burned so hot that cars partly melted. Because the kibbutz is so exposed, 70 meters (yards) from the border in some places, firefighters sometimes couldnt respond to the blazes. Instead, the emergency squad was forced to watch on security cameras as fires burned. Hezbollah began launching rockets and missiles toward Israeli border communities on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after the deadly Hamas attack that sparked the war in Gaza. Soon after, Israel evacuated dozens of towns, villages and kibbutzim along the border, including Manara.In Lebanon, at the height of the war, more than 1 million people were displaced, and reconstruction will take years there as well. Piles of rubble that were once homes can be seen in towns across the border.Hezbollah rockets killed 77 people in Israel, more than half of them civilians. No one was killed in Manara. Israeli air and ground assaults killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians.Israel made returning the displaced residents to their homes an aim in its war against Hezbollah and has promised incentives to entice them back. The return has been slow, in part because many residents are skeptical of the governments pledges to ensure their safety and because much work remains to rehabilitate communities. Remote kibbutzim on the bordersManara is prone to howling winds and snow usually once a winter, attracting a hardy, close-knit group of people. Such remote kibbutzim were an integral element of the Israeli pioneer ethos, and Israel as a fledgling state once relied on them to protect its borders in the face of threats from neighboring Arab countries. Those threats appeared to have waned until Hamas attacked into southern Israel and Israeli authorities assessed that Hezbollah was planning a similar cross-border raid in the north.The war was a clear reminder for Israelis that the country still depends on the border communities and needs to ensure their viability so that the country doesnt collapse toward its center.Many in Manara are determined to return and restore their homes.Its really a physical thing. They miss the air here, said Orna Weinberg, 58, who has lived on the kibbutz her entire life.Weinberg was displaced to a town about 45 minutes south, but she coordinated with the army and returned to Manara almost every day during the war, helping other evacuated residents who asked her to save photo albums, transfer the kibbutzs archives or carry out other tasks to keep the community from falling apart. Now shes involved in coordinating Manaras rehabilitation, both physical and emotional. She and Abramovich spend hours walking through the kibbutz with appraisers for different government agencies to determine the financial losses and compensation. They also need to check the kibbutzs infrastructure, including gas, water and electricity lines. All suffered damage. The question no one asksOut of 157 homes or apartments in the kibbutz, 110 were damaged, including 38 that were completely destroyed. In the part of Manara that faces Lebanon, all houses were destroyed. The ones facing the valley and the city of Kiryat Shmona are damaged but likely salvageable.Abramovich said an initial estimate of rebuilding costs is at least NIS 150 million ($40 million).Were having this weird discussion now, who has it better, someone whose house is partially destroyed or totally destroyed, said Hagar Erlich, 72, whose father was one of Manaras founders and is living in a hotel in the city of Tiberias with other kibbutz members. It may be cheaper and faster to demolish and rebuild rather than renovate, she said.The kibbutz is committed to reopening the nursery school by Sept. 1, convinced that if young families dont return as soon as possible, the communitys future is in danger, Abramovich said.So far, none of Manaras residents have announced they are leaving. The Ambramovich family Igor, his wife and two daughters will return in February, the first family to do so.Its hard for people to say, Im not coming back, Erlich said. We decided that we are not asking that question, not as an organization, and not as individuals.The community even wants to continue an expansion of 92 housing units that was planned before the war started.Signs of life are reemerging.In late December, 50 Manara residents gathered to work in the community garden, the hub of the kibbutz where they mark important celebrations and gatherings. The older members cooked a feast as children ran through the weeds and removed rocks from the garden beds to get them ready for new plants.It was the first time since the war began where I heard voices of people talking and chatting around here, Weinberg said. Whenever I think about that, thats home. MELANIE LIDMAN Lidman is an Associated Press reporter based in Tel Aviv, Israel.

The cargo ship Vezhen is anchored outside Karlskrona, Sweden, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, for examination by Swedish authorities. (Johan Nilsson/TT News Agency via AP)2025-01-27T11:42:03Z SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) A Bulgarian shipping company on Monday denied that one of its ships had intentionally damaged an underwater fiber optic cable connecting Latvia and the Swedish island of Gotland.In a statement, Navibulgar CEO Alexander Kalchev said it was possible that the Vezhen ship had caused a cable to break but dismissed any possibility of sabotage or any other action on the part of the crew.He cited information obtained from the crew that the ship was sailing late on Sunday in extremely bad weather. Eventually, the crew discovered that the left anchor was apparently being dragged along the seabed.Kalchevs statement followed the announcement that Swedish prosecutors had launched a preliminary investigation on suspicion of sabotage, after the ship was detained in the Baltic Sea.He added that the automatic ship identification system clearly showed that the Vezhen passed over the cable, and that it was not clear when exactly it was cut. I hope that the investigators will quickly establish that this is not a matter of any intentional action, but a technical incident due to bad weather, and that the ship will be released, Kalchev said.The Maltese-flagged Vezhen was sailing to South America, loaded with fertilizer. The 32,000-ton vessel was launched in 2022, Kalchev said.

Workers secure a net to prevent mudslides over the burned side of a mansion in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)2025-01-27T11:31:19Z LOS ANGELES (AP) More rain fell Monday on parts of Southern California after causing mudflows over the weekend, helping firefighters but boosting the risk of toxic ash runoff in areas scorched by Los Angeles-area wildfires.Flood watches were in effect for burn areas from recent fires that broke out around the Pacific Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles, Altadena and Castaic Lake, said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Oxnard.All these fresh burns are very susceptible to rapid runoff, Sirard said, warning of even small amounts of rain in a few minutes time. What that means is we have a fairly high danger of mud and debris flows once we get above those thresholds.A portion of the Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles County was closed as of Sunday afternoon due to mudflows in Topanga Canyon, the California Department of Transportation said. Snow fell in the mountains. One benefit that could come from the rain: It may help firefighters who are reining in multiple wildfires after weeks of windy and dry weather.Los Angeles County crews spent much of last week removing vegetation, shoring up slopes and reinforcing roads in devastated areas of the Palisades and Eaton fires, which reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble and ash after breaking out during powerful winds on Jan. 7. The Palisades Fire, the largest of the blazes that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 11 people, reached 90% containment Sunday. The Eaton Fire, which broke out near Altadena and has killed at least 16 people, was 98% contained. The Hughes Fire, which ignited last week north of Los Angeles and caused evacuation orders or warnings for more than 50,000 people, was 95% contained as of Sunday evening.In San Diego County, firefighters made progress to contain the smaller Border 2 Fire as it burned through a remote area of the Otay Mountain Wilderness near the U.S.-Mexico border. Most of the region was forecast to get about an inch (about 2.5 centimeters) of precipitation over several days, but the weather service warned of a risk of localized cloudbursts causing mud and debris to flow down hills. So the problem would be if one of those showers happens to park itself over a burn area, weather service meteorologist Carol Smith said on social media. That could be enough to create debris flows. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order last week to expedite cleanup efforts and mitigate the environmental impacts of fire-related pollutants. LA County supervisors also approved an emergency motion to install flood-control infrastructure and expedite and remove sediment in fire-impacted areas.Fire crews filled sandbags for communities, while county workers installed barriers and cleared drainage pipes and basins.Officials cautioned that ash in recent burn zones was a toxic mix of incinerated cars, electronics, batteries, building materials, paints, furniture and other household items. It contains pesticides, asbestos, plastics and lead. Residents were urged to wear protective gear while cleaning up. Concerns about post-fire debris flows have been especially high since 2018, when the town of Montecito, up the coast from Los Angeles, was ravaged by mudslides after a downpour hit mountain slopes burned bare by a huge blaze. Hundreds of homes were damaged and 23 people died. The rain snapped a near-record streak of dry weather for Southern California. Most of Southern California is currently in extreme drought or severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Vaccines are prepared for students during a pop-up immunization clinic at the Newcomer Academy in Louisville, Ky., on Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mary Conlon, File)2025-01-27T12:01:37Z HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Vaccination bills are popping up in more than 15 states as lawmakers aim to potentially resurrect or create new religious exemptions from immunization mandates, establish state-level vaccine injury databases or dictate what providers must tell patients about the shots.Many see a political opportunity to rewrite policies in their states after President Donald Trumps return to the White House and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. s nomination as the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency oversees virtually every aspect of vaccination efforts in the U.S., from funding their development to establishing recommendations for medical providers to distributing vaccines and covering them through federal programs.Childhood vaccination rates against dangerous infections like measles and polio continue to fall nationwide, and the number of parents claiming non-medical exemptions so their kids dont get required shots is rising. In 2024, whooping cough cases reached a decade-high and 16 measles outbreaks, the largest among them in Chicago and Minnesota, put health officials on edge. Most states are below the 95% vaccination threshold for kindergartners the level needed to protect communities against measles outbreaks. About half of Americans are very or extremely concerned that those declining childhood vaccination rates will lead to more outbreaks, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Yet only about 4 in 10 Americans oppose reconsidering the governments recommendations for widely used vaccines, while roughly 3 in 10 are in favor. The rest about 3 in 10 are neutral. Scott Burris, director of Temple Universitys Center for Public Health Law Research, has tracked public health legislation for years, and watched backlash against COVID-19 vaccines grow to include more routine vaccines as anti-vaccine activists take hold of powerful political pulpits. I think COVID and the politics gave standard vaccine denialists a lot of wind in their sails, he said.Its hard to predict what will pass into law in the states, Burris said, considering the vast majority of proposed bills in any state go nowhere. But the proposed legislation offers a glimpse into lawmakers thoughts, and what else might follow.Religious exemptions lead the packReligious exemptions for school vaccine requirements are among the most popular proposals so far. Lawmakers in New York, Virginia, Connecticut and Mississippi have introduced bills that would allow more people to waive routine shots. Indiana lawmakers will weigh religious exemptions for medical students. Earlier this month, West Virginia Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued an executive order on his first day in office that enabled families to receive religious exemptions from required school vaccinations. Thats a huge step, said Brian Festa, co-founder of the law firm We The Patriots USA, which works on vaccination-related cases throughout the country. Thats a state that never had a religious exemption. Now, only four states allow just a medical exemption from childcare and K-12 immunization requirements: Connecticut, California, New York and Maine.Festa credited West Virginias new religious exemption to Trumps nomination of Kennedy, as well as a 2023 federal court ruling that required Mississippi to allow residents to cite religious beliefs when seeking exemptions from state-mandated vaccinations for children.I think the writings on the wall and they did feel the pressure, Festa said of West Virginia.In Connecticut, at least four Republican bills will try to revive the states religious exemption for schools, colleges and daycares something a contentious 2021 state law eliminated for students without an existing exemption. Connecticut health experts said at the time there was a slow but steady increase in the number of religious exemptions and declining vaccination rates in some schools. The state has historically maintained some of the highest childhood vaccination rates in the county, and in the 2023-2024 school year, more than 97% of kindergarteners protected against chickenpox, measles, tetanus, diphtheria, polio and more. Given that the U.S. Supreme Court last year rejected a challenge to the Connecticut law and the statehouse is controlled by Democrats, GOP state Sen. Eric Berthel said hes not optimistic legislative leaders will allow debate on his exemption bill, but does believe the broader cultural shift means maybe there is a bit of an appetite to look at things like this again.I think that were not being fair to families who have a true faith-based reason to not vaccinate their child, he said.Theres one outlier so far among statehouse trends on exemptions. Hawaii, where legislators are looking to move in the opposite direction with a bill to eliminate all non-medical waivers after struggling for years with high exemption rates. Vaccine injuries and consent lawsOther vaccine-related bills touch on some of the opposition thats been growing since the pandemic.Oklahoma and Alabama have proposals that would require parental consent for any vaccine given to minors. Bills in Wyoming, Oregon and Oklahoma would prohibit discrimination against people who arent vaccinated against COVID-19 or other diseases. New York and Oklahoma have bills that would require providers to give people getting shots a full ingredient list, and Florida legislation would ban edible vaccines, though none are approved for use in the U.S. and research is still in early stages.Vaccine injury is also a popular topic, and bills in Indiana and North Dakota propose creating state versions of the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System a federal database that drew the attention of vaccine skeptics during the pandemic. Anyone can file a report about a potential issue after a vaccine, though the CDCs website notes a report doesnt prove the shot caused a health issue.North Dakota Republican state Sen. Dick Anderson said hes not against people getting vaccines he got one COVID-19 shot himself but proposed the bill because many people dont trust the CDC. We have to do something to restore trust in the system, Anderson said. But experts note state databases are unnecessarily duplicative. A lot of these proposals, theyre trying to fix something thats not broken and really working to counter the goal of preventing the spread of communicable disease, said Andy Baker-White, senior director of state health policy for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.Policy should be focused on getting rid of barriers to vaccination, not adding to them, said Dr. Susan Kressly, a pediatrician and president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Many families miss vaccinations not because of ideology, she said, but because of lack of transportation or not having primary care doctors or clinics nearby, among other things. But because most Americans are vaccinated, they havent seen the effects of dangerous infections like bacterial meningitis that Kressly fielded calls about from fearful parents early in her career. Vaccines are really an American success story, she said.___Shastri reported from Milwaukee.___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. SUSAN HAIGH Haigh covers the Connecticut General Assembly, state government, politics, public policy matters and more for The Associated Press. She has worked for The AP since 2002. twitter mailto DEVI SHASTRI Shastri is a public health reporter for The Associated Press, based in Milwaukee. She covers housing access, the social safety net, medical misinformation and other topics that influence the health of communities broadly. twitter mailto

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) celebrates his touchdown with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) during the second half of the AFC Championship NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)2025-01-26T23:39:02Z Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs are going for a three-peat in a Super Bowl rematch.This time, Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles have Saquon Barkley.The Eagles and Chiefs will face off for the Lombardi Trophy for the second time in three years on Feb. 9 in New Orleans. Kansas City aims to become the first team to win three Super Bowls in a row. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce celebrate victory against the Buffalo Bills after the AFC Championship NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo.(AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann) Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce celebrate victory against the Buffalo Bills after the AFC Championship NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo.(AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Each one of these is special, Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said after being handed the Lamar Hunt Trophy, which is named after his father. Now, we get to do something thats never been done before. Chiefs kingdom, were heading to New Orleans to make history.Mahomes rallied the Chiefs to a 38-35 victory over the Eagles two years ago in Arizona and a 25-22 overtime win over San Francisco in Las Vegas last season.The two-time Super Bowl and NFL MVP led Kansas City to a 32-29 win over Josh Allen and the Bills in the AFC championship game on Sunday, eliminating Buffalo for the fourth time in five years. Its not about one guy, its not about a couple guys, its about the whole team, Mahomes said. Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) reacts to a win over Buffalo Bills, Jan. 26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann) Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) reacts to a win over Buffalo Bills, Jan. 26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More With girlfriend Taylor Swift watching on the field, smiling and nodding in approval, Kelce shouted: Never satisfied, baby! and then sang a line from Get Down Tonight by KC and The Sunshine Band.Earlier, the Eagles ran past the Washington Commanders 55-23 in the NFC title game behind seven rushing touchdowns, including three apiece from Barkley and Hurts. It will be the 10th Super Bowl rematch and fifth within a five-year span. The winners of the four rematches within five years were the teams that won the first meeting, including the Chiefs over the 49ers last season. Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs for a touchdown against the Washington Commanders, Jan. 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton) Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs for a touchdown against the Washington Commanders, Jan. 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts celebrates after scoring against the Washington Commanders, Jan. 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola) Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts celebrates after scoring against the Washington Commanders, Jan. 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Barkley had another 60-yard touchdown run plus two other rushing scores, finishing with 118 yards. His third TD from 60 yards or more in two weeks came on Philadelphias first play from scrimmage. No other player has three TDs of at least 60 yards in a playoff career. I always dreamed about it but the dream wasnt about just getting there, it was to win it, Barkley said of the Super Bowl.Playing with an injured knee, Hurts threw for 246 yards and one touchdown to go with his three rushing scores. How about our quarterback, coach Nick Sirianni shouted from the stage after the presentation of the George Halas Trophy. Hes a stud. I knew he would play that way. I knew it. Dont doubt him. All he does is win.The 55 points Philadelphia scored are the most by any team in a conference championship game since the 1970 merger. The Eagles (17-3) are aiming for their second Super Bowl title in five tries. Backup quarterback Nick Foles led them to a 41-33 victory over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots seven years ago. Foles presented owner Jeffrey Lurie with the Halas trophy.Were there to win it, Lurie said about going back to the Super Bowl. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) runs against the Buffalo Bills, Jan. 26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann) Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) runs against the Buffalo Bills, Jan. 26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The Chiefs (17-2) are 4-2 in the Super Bowl and making their fifth appearance in six years with coach Andy Reid, who will be facing his former team again.Reid spent his first 14 seasons in Philadelphia and won more games than any coach in franchise history. But the Eagles couldnt win it all with Reid. They were 1-4 in the NFC championship game and lost to the Patriots in the Super Bowl.___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl ROB MAADDI Maaddi is senior NFL writer for The Associated Press. Hes covered the league for 24 years, including the first two decades as the Eagles beat writer. mailto

On this special guest episode of the 404 Media Podcast, I talked to Alexzandra Kekesi, VP of Brand and Community at Pornhub. Kekesi started in her current role in August 2023, after working for Pornhub and its parent company for more than a decade. She joined us from Montreal, where Pornhub is headquartered. We discuss the stigma facing the adult industry, Luigi Mangione porn, the trad wife to feet pics pipeline, and algorithms that shut you down for showing side boob. Kekesi also breaks down Pornhubs choice to pull out of states in more than a third of the U.S., following regressive age verification laws.Listen to the weekly podcast onApple Podcasts,Spotify, orYouTube. Become a paid subscriber for access to this episode's bonus content and to power our journalism.If you become a paid subscriber, check your inbox for an email from our podcast host Transistor for a link to the subscribers-only version! You can also add that subscribers feed to your podcast app of choice and never miss an episode that way. The email should also contain the subscribers-only unlisted YouTube link for the extended video version too. It will also be in the show notes in your podcast player. Pornhub Sees Surge of Interest in Tradwife Content, Modesty, and MindfulnessPornhub Is Now Blocked In Almost All of the U.S. SouthAge Verification Laws Drag Us Back to the Dark Ages of the Internet

A person walks past a Nippon Steel Corporation sign at the company headquarters Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)2025-01-27T12:46:05Z An asset manager is seeking to quash Nippon Steels takeover of U.S. Steel and oust the leadership of the U.S. steelmaker after taking a stake in the company. Ancora Holdings Group reported acquiring a 0.18% stake in the Pittsburgh company and said Monday that the board of U.S. Steel and its CEO David Burritt have prioritized the sale to Nippon because they stand to receive more than $100 million if it goes forward. Earlier this month Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Biden administration decision to block Nippons proposed $15 billion acquisition citing national security. Ancora is seeking an independent slate of directors at U.S. Steel and new CEO that are committed to walking away from the Nippon deal. In an open letter on Monday, the firm said it has nominated nine independent directors for election at U.S. Steels annual shareholders meeting this year. Those directors have a plan that includes making Alan Kestenbaum, former Chairman and CEO of Stelco, the new CEO of U.S. Steel. Ancora wants new board members to focus on U.S. Steels turnaround, not trying to find alternative bidders or selling the company. It also wants them to pursue the $565 million breakup fee. U.S. Steel is now in a dire state due its excessive capital spending, high debt, soft earnings and nonexistent contingency plan, Ancora wrote. There are consequences associated with having out-of-touch leadership with weak involvement in local communities. Absent a miracle, Ancora believes a substantial and urgent reconstitution of the companys leadership is necessary, it continued. Ancora also said that President Donald Trump has opposed U.S. Steels deal with Nippon and is unlikely to waver. Last month Trump vowed to block the transaction, pledging to use tax incentives and tariffs to strengthen the American steelmaker.U.S. Steel, based in Pittsburgh, said early Monday that it remains committed to pursuing a deal with Nippon, believing it is the best deal for the U.S. steel industry, supply chains and job market. It expressed concern over Ancoras plans.Ancoras interests are not aligned with all U.S. Steel stockholders, U.S. Steel said. Our stockholders will not be well served by turning over control of the company to Ancora. We are also concerned about the motivations behind these nominations, given Ancoras and Alan Kestenbaums recent dealings with failed bidder Cleveland-Cliffs.U.S. Steel rejected a bid from rival U.S. steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs in favor of the offer from Nippon in 2023. Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves said this month that he wanted to make a new bid for U.S. Steel. Ancora is also based in Cleveland. U.S. Steel has filed a lawsuit in the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, accusing Cleveland-Cliffs and Goncalves, in coordination with David McCall, the head of the U.S. Steelworkers union, of engaging in a coordinated series of anticompetitive and racketeering activities to block its deal with Nippon.

Judy Sandler, who was diagnosed in her 50s with ADHD, poses at her home, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Lincolnville, Maine.(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)2025-01-27T14:27:59Z NEW YORK (AP) Allison Burks teenage daughter struggled with uncontrolled emotions, a shrinking attention span and a growing tendency to procrastinate. A family doctor suggested ADHD testing, which led to an unexpected discovery: The teen had ADHD, and Burk did too.During her daughters evaluation, Burk thought, Wait a minute. This sounds familiar, she recalled.I was able to piece together that this might be something I was experiencing, said Burk, of Columbus, Ohio. She subsequently underwent her own testing and was diagnosed with ADHD at age 42.More adults are being diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Diagnoses have been rising for decades but seem to have accelerated in the last few years. A recent study suggested that more than 15 million U.S. adults roughly 1 in 17 have been diagnosed with ADHD. The condition always starts in childhood, but about half of adults with it are diagnosed when they are 18 or older. Some doctors say the number of people coming in for evaluation is skyrocketing. Just in our clinic, requests for assessments have doubled in the last two years, said Justin Barterian, a psychologist based at Ohio State University.Heres a look at the phenomenon, and how to know if you might have the condition. ADHD symptoms in adultsADHD makes it hard for people to pay attention and control impulsive behaviors. It can be inherited, and is often treated with drugs, behavioral therapy, or both. Its like theres an engine in you and you feel like its always running, and you cant turn it off except with medication, said Judy Sandler, a 62-year-old Maine woman who was diagnosed in her 50s. ADHD has been called the most commonly diagnosed mental health disorder in U.S. children, with more than 7 million kids diagnosed. Historically, it was thought to mainly affect boys (perhaps because boys with ADHD were seen as more disruptive in school) and to be something that kids grew out of. But experts believe many people arent diagnosed as kids and live with symptoms into adulthood. Adults with the condition talk about having trouble focusing on tasks, juggling responsibilities, and planning and managing their time. Some talk about not putting things away, and straining personal relationships with their restlessness, mood swings and impulsiveness.Burk said she was grouped with talented and gifted students in grade school but didnt complete college until her 30s because, when I was 19, I hitchhiked across the country on a whim and ended up a single mother in her early 20s. She now works in marketing and media relations for Ohio State Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine.Diagnoses have been risingDiagnoses have been climbing in both kids and adults, and the recent government report found adult ADHD was more common than earlier estimates.We havent had (federal) adult ADHD data in a long time, said one of the studys authors, Angelika Claussen of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There were indicators of the rise, she added. Increasing demand for ADHD medication led to widespread shortages after the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. A 2023 study showed the rise in prescriptions was particularly notable in adults especially women. ADHD diagnoses and prescriptions were increasing before the pandemic, due partly to a change in general diagnostic criteria in 2013 that broadened the definition of ADHD and reduced the number of symptoms a patient needed to have. But case counts really seemed to jump in 2020, when schools were closed and many adults were forced to work from home. Its very difficult to focus when you are home and you have kids, Claussen said. That may have exacerbated the symptoms for people whod had mild ADHD but were able to cope before the pandemic. How ADHD is diagnosed in adultsThe last few years have seen growing cultural acceptance and curiosity about the condition, fueled by a proliferation of I have ADHD social media videos and online medical start-up companies offering 5-minute diagnostic quizzes.Indeed, the long-held belief that ADHD was underdiagnosed in adults has given way to recent debates about whether its become overdiagnosed.Theres no blood test or brain scan for ADHD. Experts say it is diagnosed when symptoms are severe enough to cause ongoing problems in more than one area of life, and when those symptoms can be traced to pre-adolescent childhood.Ideally, a psychologist or psychiatrist diagnoses it by taking careful histories from patients and from people who know them, experts say. They also might ask patients to take tests designed to check their memory and ability to concentrate. Doctors also must rule out anxiety, depression and other conditions that can have similar symptoms. But getting an appointment with a mental health professional can take months, and intensive ADHD evaluations can cost thousands of dollars. Many patients turn to family doctors or even online diagnostic quizzes, some of them connected to telehealth companies that prescribe medications. There is wide variability in this country in how people diagnose, how strict they are, and who they diagnose, said Margaret Sibley, a University of Washington psychologist.The American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders is drafting a first national set of diagnosis and treatment guidelines for health professionals who treat adults, and expects to release them later this year. The goal is to improve the accuracy of diagnoses in this country, said Sibley, who is leading the work on the guidelines.___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. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)2025-01-27T14:30:07Z President Trumps first week in office included a flurry of executive orders with implications for Earths climate and environment.While former President Joe Biden made climate change a hallmark of his administration and some of his policies remain, at least for now, Trump is quickly unraveling that, even as many of his moves are likely to be challenged in court.Experts say Trumps moves to step away from global climate action, ramp up domestic oil and gas production and remove incentives for electric vehicles are worrisome as the planet continues to heat up. 2024 was Earths hottest year on record, and climate scientists say the rising heat is contributing to extreme weather affecting millions.These orders will make our air dirtier, make people sicker, make energy more expensive, and make our communities less prepared for extreme weather, wrote Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist, policy expert and author who co-founded the non-profit think tank Urban Ocean Lab. Pumpjacks operate in the foreground as the Buckeye Wind Energy wind farm rises in the distance, Sept. 30, 2024, near Hays, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) Pumpjacks operate in the foreground as the Buckeye Wind Energy wind farm rises in the distance, Sept. 30, 2024, near Hays, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Here are some of Trumps most notable moves affecting climate and environmental issues in his first week: Pulling the U.S. out of the Paris AgreementPresident Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday directing the United States to again withdraw from the landmark Paris climate agreement aimed at global cooperation on climate change.The agreement requires participating countries to come up with nationally determined contributions to the effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions that are heating the planet. Trumps move means the federal government wont be trying to meet emissions reductions goals, nor any financial commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Walking away from the Paris Agreement wont protect Americans from climate impacts, but it will hand China and the European Union a competitive edge in the booming clean energy economy and lead to fewer opportunities for American workers, said Ani Dasgupta, president and CEO of the World Resources Institute. Declaring a national energy emergency, doubling down on oil and gasTrump declared an energy emergency via executive order earlier this week amid a promise to drill, baby, drill. The order urges oil and gas expansion including through federal use of eminent domain and the Defense Production Act, which allow the government to use private land and resources to produce goods deemed to be a national necessity.Experts dispute his description of an inadequate energy supply as part of the basis for the order.The reality is that the United States is well-supplied with energy in all of its forms, said Gary Dirks, senior director of the Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University. Dirks said he thinks the move is actually more targeted at bringing down prices at the pump.Its important to note that the United States right now is the largest producer of oil of any nation in history. And we got to that point under the Biden administration, not because of the Biden administrations policies necessarily, but because of policies that have been ongoing for four decades, he said.Faster permitting for energy; harsh words for Endangered Species Act and Arctic protections One section of the order declaring an energy emergency states that the Endangered Species Act cannot be an obstacle to energy development.The Endangered Species Act has been a hurdle for the development of fossil fuels in the U.S. for decades, and weakening it would accelerate the decline and potential extinction of numerous endangered species, including whales and sea turtles, said Gib Brogan, a campaign director with conservation group Oceana.Trump also opened up areas in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling. Biden had previously both restricted and approved drilling in other parts of the Arctic, part of a long process mired in litigation and complicated by political battles.I would begin by pointing out that there was an attempt to lease for oil drilling recently and nobody bid, Dirks said. I dont actually think that the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge is an exciting place for oil and gas exploration.But he expressed concern about preserving biodiversity, something other scientists and environmental groups have highlighted. The Arctic is a very fragile system, said Peter Schlosser, vice president and vice provost of global futures at Arizona State. Schlosser added that drilling there would disrupt the land and sea, and that potential contamination or oil spills are more difficult to clean up there due to low temperatures. A sign is displayed at an electric vehicle charging station, March 8, 2024, in London, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel, File) A sign is displayed at an electric vehicle charging station, March 8, 2024, in London, Ohio. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Revoke Bidens goals on electric vehiclesTrump promised to eliminate what he incorrectly calls Bidens electric vehicle mandate.What that means in practice is that the order will revoke a non-binding goal set by Biden to have EVs make up half of new cars sold by 2030. He will also likely seek repeal of a $7,500 tax credit for new EV purchases approved by Congress as part of Bidens landmark 2022 climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act.All of that is likely frustrating for automakers, who have to make long-term decisions, said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at auto-buying research firm Edmunds. As the rest of the world moves to electric cars, automakers have to decide how to factor in the global direction the industry is headed alongside the sudden lack of federal support.We do think that the long-term end goal here is going to be electrification. Its just the timeline it seems is uncertain right now, she said. Eliminate a push for environmental justiceWhen the government reviews new facilities that emit pollution, officials are no longer likely to consider a concept known as environmental justice, or how that new pollution will add to the emissions that have tended to fall more heavily on poor and minority communities.Those are sweeping moves that Rena Payan, chief program officer at nonprofit Justice Outside, called rolling back decades of progress in addressing environmental discrimination.That means more of a burden for state and local groups to fight to protect those communities. Trumps decision to cut off support will hurt, but many of these organizations are used to operating without federal support they have done so for years, according to Peggy Shepard, co-founder and executive director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice. What Im grappling right now with is both the grief of these losses, and the fact that we were on an upward swing, if you will, just weeks ago, said Jade Begay, an Indigenous rights and climate organizer.___Associated Press reporters Seth Borenstein, Patrick Whittle, Jennifer McDermott, Michael Phillis, Alexa St. John and Matthew Daly contributed to this report.___Follow Melina Walling on X @MelinaWalling and Bluesky @melinawalling.bsky.social.___The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. MELINA WALLING Walling covers the intersections of climate change and agriculture in the Midwest and beyond for The Associated Press. She is based in Chicago. twitter instagram facebook mailto

DeepSeek, a relatively unknown Chinese-developed AI model, is now the most popular app in the US Apple App Store based on hype associated with it releasing an an AI model that outpaces OpenAIs and other companies models on some benchmarks while being trained on older chips at a much lower cost. It has caused Nvidia stock, which has become one of the most valuable companies in history thanks to the AI boom, to tumble and is causing more widespread panic in the U.S. market. Marc Andreessen has called this AIs Sputnik moment, referring to the first Russian satellite which got ahead of and accelerated the US space program.People in the AI space and those who follow it closely started freaking out when DeepSeeks newest model, DeepSeek R1, was released last week, and that freakout has now seemingly captured the entire world, impacting the stock market, causing people to wonder if American companies like OpenAI and Nvidia can really dominate the AI industry, if the AI bubble is finally popping, and if this is a sign of imminent Chinese world domination and censorship. DeepSeek is particularly notable because it is free, modifiable, and less expensive to run, which has experts worried about the viability of OpenAIs already unprofitable subscription products.Im going to be upfront with you here and say that 404 Media does not provide any financial advice and that if I had definitive answers to any of these questions Id be playing the stock market instead of blogging, but in a day when the takes are going to come fast and furious my take is this: The AI industry continues to develop very fast, its hard to extrapolate how its all going to unfold based on single event, even if its monumental, and the fact that DeepSeek comes from China, a perceived adversary to the United States/the West is making hawks and xenophobes, and tankies foam at the mouth.Lets take a deep breath and start with the biggest headline, which is that Nvidia stock dropped over 12 percent early this morning, its worst performance since 2020. GPU maker Nvidia became a trillion dollar company because it is largely making the chips that power the generative AI boom. These are not only the chips that people need to generate text, images, audio etc locally on their machines, but the massive training clusters of thousands of chips that these foundational models are trained on. In July, for example, Elon Musk proudly announced that xAI started training the most powerful AI training cluster in the world, composed of 100,000 Nvidia H100s.For the most part, AI companies in the US have competed on the general idea that more data and more compute creates more advanced and more intelligent AI models and tools. One of the general strategies, therefore, has been for companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta to feed more and more data into their models and to compete to build incredibly expensive and resource intensive data centers. But last year, we started to see some doubts about the existing consensus on AI scaling laws, which up until recently showed that the performance of AI models improved as the size of the model, data, and compute increased, with some people, including Open AI co-founder Ilya Sutskever and Andreessen saying that AI companies are starting to see diminishing returns. Despite these doubts bubbling up, AI companies were still competing for compute, which largely means access to Nvidias chips. Musk wants to grow xAIs cluster to one million GPUs eventually, and the CEO of Broadcom recently said he predicts other companies will attempt to build similarly gigantic clusters.This demand for highly specialized and hard to produce hardware has made Nvidia incredibly valuable and critically important to building AI. Because the US government believes that the United States, not China, must be the world leader in AI, its also why it has introduced export restrictions that forbid Nvidia from selling its most advanced chips to Chinese companies. This is part of why you see OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank proposing to throw $500 billion into projects like Stargate, a massive AI data infrastructure project that they may or may not have the money for.The main reason people are excited/scared/throwing up right now is that DeepSeek was developed and released under Americas export restrictions that prevent Chinese companies from getting the latest and most powerful Nvidia chips. As Wired explained, DeepSeek was spun out from Fire-Flyer, a Chinese hedge fund that originally acquired GPUs to analyze financial data, before it invested its money and resources in developing AI. That a new player in this space was able to build an AI model without access to the latest and greatest Nvidia chips (though people in China have found ways to obtain them despite restriction), using new, more efficient reinforcement learning strategies, has undermined the idea that companies like Nvidia or OpenAI have built a moat around their companies that will secure their lead in the AI race forever, and, by extension, has undermined the notion of American AI world supremacy. It also at least raises the possibility that a Chinese company has found a better, more efficient, and cheaper way to train AI models than any American company has discovered thus far.As others have pointed out, its hard to say exactly what DeepSeek actually spent to make its model without trusting it blindly. The true cost may be hidden in ways we dont understand, and is definitely benefiting by building on top of the very expensive research (primarily from American companies) that came before it. But if AI companies can build competitive models at a fraction of the cost on a comparatively tiny number of lesser GPUs, then much of Nvidias value and the billions of dollars AI companies are burning on training suddenly seems excessive and wasteful (even to AI boosters), hence the stock tumbling.Does this mean Nvidia, OpenAI, and other AI companies are doomed? Again, this is not financial advice but the market appears to be spasming based on vibes, and definitely before we have a great understanding of DeepSeeks impact. The most obvious rebuttal from Nvidia bag holders in this situation is that DeepSeeks newfound efficiencies will only benefit AI incumbents. If these new methods give DeepSeek great results with limited compute, the same methods will give OpenAI and other, more well-resourced AI companies even greater results on their huge training clusters, and it is possible that American companies will adapt to these new methods very quickly. Even if scaling laws really have hit the ceiling and giant training clusters dont need to be that giant, theres no reason I can see why other companies cant be competitive under this new paradigm. We should also probably hope that this is the case since it could lower the environmental impact of AI.I dont have a dog in this fight, but the argument I would add here is that this type of leapfrogging seems totally normal, and we have seem variations of it over the last couple of years. People love to prematurely dance on OpenAIs grave whenever a new and shiny model is released. Metas Llama, Frances Mistral, and Anthropics Claude have all seemed like theyre getting ahead at one point or another and are favored by different users for different uses, only for another model to be released by OpenAI or another company that leapfrogs the hot new technology and makes them seem old.The difference is that DeepSeek is from China and that a lot of people including the US government dont like the idea of China being dominant in any arena, let alone one as supposedly consequential as AI. This is obvious given the hysteria on social media right now, the markets, and the way people are talking about DeepSeeks censorship and the possibility that it could be tied to Chinese surveillance or the Chinese government in some way. Steven Heidel, who works at OpenAI, tweeted Sunday americans sure love giving their data away to the CCP in exchange for free stuff, which has gone viral and served as the basis for discussion about DeepSeek as possible surveillance software, the new TikTok, etc. Whats particularly notable here is that DeepSeek has been released in a way that can be run locally without an internet connection.On various AI subreddits, where DeepSeek is all people have been talking about for days, some users are now suggesting that the conversation is being manipulated by propaganda from a few accounts. People have repeatedly shared screenshots on social media of DeepSeek refusing to engage with questions about Tiananmen Square and other topics subject to censorship in China, with the implication that this is the information ecosystem wed live under if China was to dominate the AI race.Fair enough, I suppose, but as the developers of uncensored AI models have been shouting from the rooftops since the beginning: any AI model that the user cant control entirely is subject to censorship. OpenAI is a prude, and will refuse to engage users on a lot of topics, sometimes for reasons stated in OpenAIs policy, and sometimes for reasons well never understand because OpenAI is a black box.Why should the open-source AI running on my computer, get to decide for itself when it wants to answer my question? This is about ownership and control. If I ask my model a question, I want an answer, I do not want it arguing with me, Eric Hartford, a developer of uncensored AI models, told me last year.If anything, DeepSeek maps a better AI future for those concerned about censorship because it was released as an open weights model, meaning people could modify it to talk about Tiananmen Square and whatever else they want.We do not know how this will all shake out, but the release of DeepSeek does seem to be a seismic moment for the AI industry. And it will certainly be used, rightly or wrongly, as a political cudgel to highlight the urgency of the competition for AI supremacy between the United States and China.

The New York Stock Exchange is shown in New York's Financial District on Dec. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)2025-01-27T03:50:40Z NEW YORK (AP) Wall Streets superstars are tumbling Monday as a competitor from China threatens to upend the artificial-intelligence frenzy theyve been feasting on.The S&P 500 was down 1.9% in midday trading and heading for its worst day in more than a month. Big Tech stocks took some of the heaviest losses, with Nvidia down 17.6%, and they dragged the Nasdaq composite down 3.3%. Stocks outside of AI-related industries held up much better, though, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down just 58 points, or 0.1%, as of 11:40 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow, which has much less of an emphasis on tech than the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, had briefly been on track for a small gain earlier in the morning. The shock to financial markets came from China, where a company called DeepSeek said it had developed a large language model that can compete with U.S. giants but at a fraction of the cost. DeepSeeks app had already hit the top of Apples App Store chart by Monday morning, and analysts said such a feat would be particularly impressive given how the U.S. government has restricted Chinese access to top AI chips. Skepticism, though, remains about how much DeepSeeks announcement will ultimately shake the AI supply chain, from the chip makers making semiconductors to the utilities hoping to electrify vast data centers gobbling up computing power. It remains to be seen if DeepSeek found a way to work around these chip restrictions rules and what chips they ultimately used as there will be many skeptics around this issue given the information is coming from China, according to Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities. DeepSeeks disruption nevertheless rocked AI-related stocks worldwide. In Amsterdam, Dutch chip supplier ASML slid 7.4%. In Tokyo, Japans Softbank Group Corp. lost 8.3% to pull closer to where it was before leaping on an announcement trumpeted by the White House that it was joining a partnership to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure. And on Wall Street, shares of Constellation Energy lost nearly a fifth of its value, 19.5%. The company has said it would restart the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant to supply power for data centers for Microsoft.All the worries sent investors toward bonds, which can be safer investments than any stock. The rush pushed the yield of the 10-year Treasury down to 4.54% from 4.62% late Friday.Its a sharp turnaround for the AI winners, which had soared in recent years on hopes that all the investment pouring in would remake the global economy and deliver gargantuan profits along the way. Such stellar performances also raised criticism that their stock prices had gone too far, too fast. Before Mondays drop, Nvidias stock had soared from less than $20 to more than $140 in less than two years, for example. Other Big Tech companies had also joined in the frenzy, and their stock prices had benefited too. It was just on Friday that Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg was saying he expects his company to invest up to $65 billion this year and grow its AI teams significantly, while talking up a datacenter in Louisiana that will be so large it would cover a significant part of Manhattan. A small group of such companies has become so dominant that theyve come to be known as the Magnificent Seven. These companies Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla alone accounted for more than half the S&P 500s total return last year, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.Their immense sizes in turn have also given them huge sway over the S&P 500 and other indexes that give more weight to bigger companies. It shows the risk of betting too much on just a few winning stocks, something that market experts call concentration risk.That can feel good when those few names or ideas are on the ascent, but it is even more dangerous when disruptions take place, said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.Still, he suggested not overreacting to Mondays sharp swings. It is possible that the news out of China could be overstated and then we could see a reversal of the recent market moves, Jacobsen said. It is also possible that the news is true, but then that would present new investment opportunities. More big swings may be ahead. Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft and Tesla are all on the schedule this upcoming week to report how much profit they made at the end of 2024.The pressure is on companies to keep delivering strong profits, particularly after a recent jump in Treasury yields, even with Mondays decline. When bonds are paying more in interest, they put downward pressure on stock prices. So far, big U.S. companies have been reporting better results than analysts expected. AT&T became the latest on Monday, and its stock rose 6%. In stock markets abroad, movements for broad indexes across Europe and Asia werent as forceful as for the big U.S. tech stocks. Frances CAC 40 fell 0.2%, and Germanys DAX lost 0.5%. In Asia, stocks edged 0.1% lower in Shanghai after a survey of manufacturers showed export orders in China dropping to a five-month low. The Federal Reserve holds its latest policy meeting later this week. Traders dont expect recent weak data to push the Fed to cut its main interest rate. Theyre virtually certain the central bank will hold steady, according to data from CME Group. ___AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed. ___This story has been corrected. Meta is planning to build a data center in Louisiana, not Manhattan.

A U.S. consular official explains to people with scheduled visa document submissions that their appointments were canceled due to Colombian President Gustavo Petro's refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian citizens from the U.S., at a U.S. Embassy Applicant Service Center in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)2025-01-27T16:44:20Z BOGOT, Colombia (AP) Visa appointments at the U.S. Embassy in Colombia were canceled Monday following a dispute over deportation flights from the U.S. that nearly turned into a costly trade war between the two countries.Dozens of Colombians showed up outside the U.S. Embassy in Bogota and were handed letters by local staff that said their appointments had been canceled due to the Colombian governments refusal to accept repatriation flights of Colombian nationals. Others with visa appointments for Monday received similar email messages.Obtaining an appointment can take up to two years.Tensions between Colombia and the United States escalated Sunday after President Gustavo Petro wrote an early morning message on X saying he would not allow two U.S. air force planes carrying Colombian deportees to land in the country. He had previously authorized the flights. Petro also shared a video that showed another group of deportees reportedly arriving in Brazil with shackles on their legs. He said Colombia would only accept deportation flights when the United States had established protocols that ensured the dignified treatment of expelled migrants. President Donald Trump responded with a post of his own on Truth Social, in which he called for 25% emergency tariffs on Colombian exports to the United States, and also said that the U.S. visas of Colombian government officials would be revoked, while goods coming from the South American country would face enhanced customs inspections. Meanwhile, the State Department said Sunday it would stop issuing visas to Colombian nationals until deportation flights resumed.Tensions decreased Sunday night following negotiations between the countries, with the White House saying in a statement that Colombia had allowed the resumption of deportation flights and agreed to all of President Trumps terms, including the arrival of deportees on military flights. In the past, most Colombians removed from the United States had been arriving on charter flights organized by U.S. government contractors.The White House said tariffs on Colombian exports would be put on hold, but added that visa restrictions on Colombian officials and enhanced custom inspections would remain until the first planeload of Colombian deportees is successfully returned. The State Department has not responded to requests for comment on the resumption of visa appointments.Last year, more than 1.6 million Colombians traveled to the U.S. legally, according to a report by the Ministry of Commerce. The report said the United States was the top destination for Colombians traveling abroad.

Dusty Deevers, a Baptist preacher turned Republican Senator in Oklahoma, introduced eight legislative measures aimed at restoring moral sanity that include making pornography a crime punishable by a year in jail.As spotted by Mike Stabile, director of public policy at the Free Speech Coalition, Deevers said in a press release that the bills set a course for pushing back against the moral decay foisted upon Oklahoma by the far-lefts march through our institutions to destroy the moral foundations upon which the United States and Christian Civilization had long rested.Oklahoma Senator Dusty Deevers has just introduced SB593, a bill that would criminalize p**rnography in the state of Oklahoma, establishing a 10 year prison term for anyone who makes, distributes or even possesses adult content. https://t.co/DvqmM6Aku9 pic.twitter.com/I0ZwMzFlvM Mike Stabile (@mikestabile) January 23, 2025Deevers seeks the total abolition of porn by imposing criminal penalties of up to 10 years in prison for production, distribution, or possession of porn and 10-to-30-year criminal penalties for organized pornography trafficking. The bill states:No person shall knowingly photograph, act in, pose for, model for, print, sell, offer for sale, give away, exhibit, publish, offer to publish, or otherwise distribute, display, or exhibit any book, magazine, story, pamphlet, paper, writing, card, advertisement, circular, print, picture, photograph, motion picture film, electronic video game or recording, image, cast, slide, figure, instrument, statue, drawing, presentation, or other article which is obscene material, unlawful pornography, or child sexual abuse material, as defined in Section 1024.1 of this title.Unlawful pornography is defined by the bill, in ironically pornographic detail, as any visual depiction or individual image stored or contained in any format on any medium including, but not limited to, film, motion picture, videotape, photograph, negative, undeveloped film, slide, photographic product, reproduction of a photographic product, play, or performance in which a person is engaged in any of the following acts with a person: a. sexual intercourse which is normal or perverted, b. anal sodomy, c. sexual activity with an animal, d. sadomasochistic abuse, e. flagellation or torture, f. physical restraint such as binding or fettering in the context of sexual conduct, g. fellatio or cunnilingus, h. excretion in the context of sexual conduct, i. lewd exhibition of the uncovered genitals in the context of masturbation or other sexual conduct, and j. lewd exhibition of the uncovered genitals, buttocks, or, if such person is female, the breast, for the purpose of sexual stimulation of the viewer.Violating this law would be a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail or a fine of at least $2,000, or both.We can and should imagine and move toward a society that celebrates virtue in the public square rather than vice, Deevers said in the press release. We can restore normalcy, decency, and morality; we can protect the most vulnerable, restore a high view of marriage, and shield children from explicit material that can warp their innocent minds. We simply must have the courage to stand against the most radical and degenerate elements of the far-left.Along with porn (or any kind of sexual expression even outside of the adult industry) those radical and degenerate elements, according to Deevers, include:No-fault divorce: a concept thats been around since the 1700s but was first written into law in the U.S. in 1969, resulting in drastically reduced suicide rates among women. Vice President JD Vance has spoken publicly about divorce being too easily accessible, and said during a Christian high school assembly that people shouldnt be able to shift spouses like they change their underwear. In the last few years, Republican politicians in Texas, Nebraska, Louisiana, South Carolina, Oklahoma, and South Dakota have tried, with varying degrees of extremity, to curb their constituents rights to no-fault divorce.Reproductive rights: Deevers wants to end access to abortion medications by mail in the state. The bill declares that life begins at conception, an unscientific sentiment emboldened by Trumps executive order Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government which normalizes the extreme religious belief that fetal tissue has rights.Drag performances: Under Deevers bill, performers would be subject to a prison sentence of one-to-five years and organizers would face up to one year in prison.This isnt the first time Deevers has tried to push his Christofascist beliefs onto constituents through legislation. Last year, he introduced a bill that would have charged Oklahoma women who get an abortion with murder, and within weeks of being in office, he tried to criminalize pornography and was widely mocked for it. At the time, many pointed out that this would make sexting illegal, toowhich seems to be the case again, according to the bills text.

People reflected in a window with a slogan about AI at a representation of a company ahead of the World Economy Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)2025-01-27T19:25:46Z A frenzy over an artificial intelligence chatbot made by Chinese tech startup DeepSeek was upending stock markets Monday and fueling debates over the economic and geopolitical competition between the U.S. and China in developing AI technology.DeepSeeks AI assistant became the No. 1 downloaded free app on Apples iPhone store Monday, propelled by curiosity about the ChatGPT competitor. Part of whats worrying some U.S. tech industry observers is the idea that the Chinese startup has caught up with the American companies at the forefront of generative AI at a fraction of the cost. That, if true, calls into question the huge amounts of money U.S. tech companies say they plan to spend on the data centers and computer chips needed to power further AI advancements. But hype and misconceptions about DeepSeeks technological advancements also sowed confusion. The models they built are fantastic, but they arent miracles either, said Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon, who follows the semiconductor industry and was one of several stock analysts describing Wall Streets reaction as overblown. Theyre not using any innovations that are unknown or secret or anything like that, Rasgon said. These are things that everybodys experimenting with. What is DeepSeek?The startup DeepSeek was founded in 2023 in Hangzhou, China and released its first AI large language model later that year. Its CEO Liang Wenfeng previously co-founded one of Chinas top hedge funds, High-Flyer, which focuses on AI-driven quantitative trading.DeepSeek began attracting more attention in the AI industry last month when it released a new AI model that it boasted was on par with similar models from U.S. companies such as ChatGPT maker OpenAI, and was more cost-effective in its use of expensive Nvidia chips to train the system on huge troves of data. The chatbot became more widely accessible when it appeared on Apple and Google app stores early this year. But it was a follow-up research paper published last week on the same day as President Donald Trumps inauguration that set in motion the panic that followed. That paper was about another DeepSeek AI model called R1 that showed advanced reasoning skills such as the ability to rethink its approach to a math problem and was significantly cheaper than a similar model sold by OpenAI called o1. What their economics look like, I have no idea, Rasgon said. But I think the price points freaked people out.The Sputnik backdropBehind the drama over DeepSeeks technical capabilities is a debate within the U.S. over how best to compete with China on AI. Deepseek R1 is AIs Sputnik moment, said venture capitalist Marc Andreessen in a Sunday post on social platform X, referencing the 1957 satellite launch that set off a Cold War space exploration race between the Soviet Union and the U.S. Andreessen, who has advised Trump on tech policy, has warned that over regulation of the AI industry by the U.S. government will hinder American companies and enable China to get ahead.But the attention on DeepSeek also threatens to undermine a key strategy of U.S. foreign policy in recent years to restrict the sale of American-designed AI semiconductors to China. Some experts on U.S.-China relations dont think that is an accident. The technology innovation is real, but the timing of the release is political in nature, said Gregory Allen, director of the Wadhwani AI Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Allen compared DeepSeeks announcement last week to U.S.-sanctioned Chinese company Huaweis release of a new phone during diplomatic discussions over Biden administration export controls in 2023. Trying to show that the export controls are futile or counterproductive is a really important goal of Chinese foreign policy right now, Allen said.Trump signed an order on his first day in office last week that said his administration would identify and eliminate loopholes in existing export controls, signaling that he is likely to continue and harden Bidens approach. MATT OBRIEN OBrien covers the business of technology and artificial intelligence for The Associated Press. mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

President Donald Trump signs an executive order withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-01-27T20:19:49Z NEW YORK (AP) U.S. public health officials have been told to stop working with the World Health Organization, effective immediately.A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official, John Nkengasong, sent a memo to senior leaders at the agency on Sunday night telling them that all agency staff who work with the WHO must immediately stop their collaborations and await further guidance. Experts said the sudden stoppage was a surprise and would set back work on investigating and trying to stop outbreaks of Marburg virus and mpox in Africa, as well as brewing threats from around the world. It also comes as health authorities around the world are monitoring bird flu outbreaks among U.S. livestock.The Associated Press viewed a copy of Nkengasongs memo, which said the stop-work policy applied to all CDC staff engaging with WHO through technical working groups, coordinating centers, advisory boards, cooperative agreements or other means in person or virtual. It also says CDC staff are not allowed to visit WHO offices. President Trump last week issued an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing the U.S. from WHO, but that did not take immediate effect. Leaving WHO requires the approval of Congress and that the U.S. meets its financial obligations for the current fiscal year. The U.S. also must provide a one-year notice. His administration also told federal health agencies to stop most communications with the public through at least the end of the month. Stopping communications and meetings with WHO is a big problem, said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a University of Southern California public health expert who collaborates with WHO on work against sexually transmitted infections.People thought there would be a slow withdrawal. This has really caught everyone with their pants down, said Klausner, who said he learned of it from someone at CDC. Talking to WHO is a two-way street, he added, noting that WHO and U.S. health officials benefit from each others expertise. The collaboration allows the U.S. to learn about new tests and treatments as well as about emerging outbreaks information which can help us protect Americans abroad and at home.A U.S. health official, who was not authorized to talk about the memo and spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the stoppage.A WHO spokesperson referred questions about the withdrawal to U.S. officials.Officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services didnt immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.___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.

The hackers behind the massive breach of AT&T data last year hunted through the data for phone numbers and records associated with top officials and their families, including members of the Trump family such as Melania and Ivanka Trump; Kamala Harris; and Marco Rubios wife, people familiar with the matter told 404 Media.The news further stresses the catastrophic nature of the breach, which impacted nearly all of AT&Ts customers call and text metadata during a certain timeframe. The breach not only impacted the general U.S. public, but also presented a significant national security risk. People familiar with the incident told 404 Media the hackers also planned to release a lookup tool that would have let anyone search the records for a fee, and said that the number of breached records is larger than previously reported. 404 Media granted multiple sources in this story anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.The news of lawmakers and top officials families being targeted also comes as the FCC, the agency which would potentially fine AT&T for the breach, is now being led by Brendan Carr, who has historically been very friendly to the countrys telecommunications giants.It is clearer than ever that AT&T's lax cybersecurity and Trump's ineffective, corrupt FCC pose a serious threat to U.S. national security, Senator Ron Wyden told 404 Media in a statement. Instead of throwing the book at AT&T for failing to secure Americans' sensitive data, FCC Chairman Carr is coddling Trump's corporate donors and raising the white flag to hackers. It's time for the public and the U.S. government to stop relying on the insecure voice and text message services provided by phone companies, which are beyond salvaging, and embrace secure, end-to-end encrypted voice, video and text communications.Do you know anything else about the AT&T breach? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at +44 20 8133 5190. Otherwise, send me an email at joseph@404media.co.In April 2024, hackers broke into an AT&T instance of Snowflake, a data warehousing tool that companies often use to store massive amounts of information, which contained the sensitive data. The stolen AT&T data itself did not contain namesit showed what phone numbers AT&T customers had called or texted between May 2022 and October 2022but the hackers enriched the data with publicly available tools or data that appended the phone number owners name to the list.Around this time, the hackers sent AT&T the phone number of Rubios wife as part of their extortion campaign, two of the people familiar with the incident said.Later, one of the hackers sent AT&T phone records associated with members of the Trump family and Kamala Harris, three of the people familiar said. One of the people said that the Harris number was one on her account, and not one she was using. One person said the hackers specifically targeted Melania Trump, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, and Tiffany Trump. A second source corroborated that the hackers targeted Trumps wife and children.The Department of State, where Rubio is now the head, did not respond to a request for comment. The White House acknowledged a request for comment but did not provide a statement in time for publication. Harris office did not respond.The two hackers responsible for the AT&T breach are allegedly Connor Riley Moucka from Canada, and John Binns, an American hacker living in Turkey. Both associate with the Com, an overarching term for a community that includes hackers, fraudsters, gamers, violent criminals, and girls who are groomed by other participants. Participants often use physical violence against one another or members of the public, such as shootings, brickings, and robberies. Moucka, who allegedly used the handles Judische and Waifu, for example, regularly posted in Com-associated Telegram groups. The indictment against the pair says they stole 50 billion customer call and text records. Two people familiar with the incident said the number is actually at least 60 billion.That stolen data also included records related to FirstNet, the AT&T-powered first responder communications network, two of the people said.Binns was arrested in Turkey in May 2024. Moucka is currently in the process of being extradited to the United States after he was arrested in November.After Mouckas arrest, another hacker called Cyberphantom (or Kiberphant0m) who had advertised stolen telecommunications data, posted what they claimed were AT&T records for Trump and Harris on a hacking forum. 404 Media did not report on that disclosure at the time because the phone numbers were not verified. Now the people familiar with the incident say that the hackers did have phone records associated with U.S. officials and their families, and sent them to AT&T earlier than that public posting. Authorities arrested Cameron John Wagenius in December for allegedly attempting to sell phone records of a covered entity, Krebs on Security reported.The breach continues to raise serious questions for AT&T, including why such a significant mountain of data was left essentially unprotected. The hackers originally gained access by using compromised credentials, likely purchased from one of the many feeds of stolen logins available online. The Snowflake instance did not have multi-factor authentication enabled.It's time for the public and the U.S. government to stop relying on the insecure voice and text message services provided by phone companies.AT&T acknowledged a request for comment but did not provide a statement in time for publication.Bloomberg previously reported the FBI has warned agents the data could impact the security of their confidential sources.On its website, the FCC has a page called Items on Circulation, which lists the proposals FCC Commissioners vote on. As recently as Thursday these included items about wireless emergency alerts; improving competitive broadband access; and implementing federal floodplain policy changes. They also included an Enforcement Bureau Action. The FCCs Enforcement Bureau investigates companies and issues fines. As of Friday, all of the items on circulation had been wiped from the website. There are no Items on Circulation (01/24/25) the website says.It is public knowledge that the FCC had been investigating the AT&T breach. The FCC did not respond to a request for comment asking if it has dropped its investigation into the AT&T incident.Last week Carrs FCC reinstated complaints against ABC, CBS, and NBC, which the previous FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said seek to weaponize the licensing authority of the FCC in a way that is fundamentally at odds with the First Amendment.

A Palestinian woman holds a baby as they return to their home in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israel's decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)2025-01-27T15:10:26Z WADI GAZA, Gaza Strip (AP) They walked for hours loaded with whatever clothes, food and blankets they could carry. Many smiled, some hugged loved ones they hadnt seen for months. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians filled Gazas main coastal road as they streamed back to homes in the north.The mood was joyous, even though many knew their homes had been destroyed in Israeli offensives against Hamas that leveled large parts of Gaza City and the surrounding north.The important thing was to go back, they said, to prevent what many had feared would be a permanent expulsion from their homes. A Palestinian woman holds a baby as they return to their home in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) A Palestinian woman holds a baby as they return to their home in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More By returning, we are victorious, said Rania Miqdad, who was heading back to Gaza City with her family.Ismail Abu Mattar returned with his wife and four children to the ruins of their Gaza City home, which was partially destroyed by Israeli bombardment early in the war. Like many others whose houses are damaged, he planned to set up a tent nearby and start clearing the rubble. A tent here is better than a tent there, he said, referring to the vast, squalid tent camps that arose in central and southern Gaza where he and much of the territorys population have lived for months.We had thought we wouldnt return, like our ancestors, said Abu Mattar. His grandparents were among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians driven from what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation. Displaced Palestinians celebrate as they return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas in accordance with a fragile ceasefire, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Displaced Palestinians celebrate as they return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas in accordance with a fragile ceasefire, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar) Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More A mass return on foot and by carUnder the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, Palestinians were allowed starting Monday to return north. U.N. officials estimated that some 200,000 people made their way back over the course of the day. The scenes of celebration were a sharp contrast to the misery and fear during the war as more than 1 million people fled south on the same routes to escape Israels assaults.Associated Press photos, videos and drone footage showed huge crowds heading north on foot along Gazas main coastal road. On one side was the Mediterranean Sea; on the other stretched a landscape of destroyed buildings and bulldozed land left behind by withdrawing Israeli forces. Armed Hamas fighters were visible in some spots, a sign of the militant groups continued power in Gaza despite Israels vows to eliminate it. Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Hamas fighters flash the victory sign as displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Hamas fighters flash the victory sign as displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Families carried bags of belongings and rolled up blankets. On their shoulders, men carried young children or sacks of food and metal cannisters of cooking gas. Women balanced infants in their arms with satchels of clothes and jugs of water. A little girl dressed in teddy-bear pajamas held her younger sisters hand as they trailed their mother. A teenager strapped a pet carrier to his chest with his cat inside. Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar) Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Others returned in cars and trucks piled high with mattresses and other belongings via a second route, Salah al-Din Road. Many were smiling. A child waved a V-for-victory sign. People tearfully hugged relatives and friends theyd been separated from for months.One old woman being pushed in a wheelchair sang a traditional Palestinian song of perseverance dating back to 1948.Stand by each other, people of Palestine, stand by each other. Palestine is gone, but it has not bid you a final farewell, she sang with a smile on her face. Then she added, Thank God, were returning to our homes, after suffering so much ruin and hunger and disease.The joy was tempered by wars cost and futures uncertaintyThose returning crossed through the Netzarim corridor, a swath of land bisecting the Gaza Strip that Israeli forces turned into a military zone to seal off the north. The north saw some of the most intense Israeli offensives, aimed at eliminating Hamas fighters operating in densely populated areas.Throughout the war, Israel repeatedly ordered civilians to evacuate the north for their safety, it said but barred their return. Under the ceasefires terms, Israeli troops pulled back from the main routes to allow returns and are eventually to pull out completely from the corridor.For some, the joy of return was blemished by the deaths of loved ones.Kamal Hamadah was returning to Gaza City, where his eldest son, his daughter and her children were killed by bombardment early in the war. Their bodies were left buried under rubble in the streets, even as the rest of the family fled south, he said.Then just over a month ago, another of his sons who fled with him was killed.When his mother learned we were going back home, she was struck by a great sadness that she was returning without the boy, he said. Returning home, Yasmin Abu Amshah had a happy reunion with her younger sister, Amany, who had stayed in Gaza City throughout the war. I thought it wouldnt happen, and we wouldnt see each other again, the 34-year-old mother of three said.Her four-story building was damaged but not destroyed, so she and other members of her extended family will stay there.Those returning face an uncertain future. If the ceasefire collapses, they could face new Israeli offensives. If peace lasts, its not clear when Palestinians will be able to rebuild homes, leaving much of the population in temporary housing. Ibrahim Hammad, his wife and five children walked five hours back to their neighborhood in Gaza City knowing their house there had been destroyed by an airstrike in December 2023. His family will stay at his brothers house until he can clear a space in the ruins of his house to set up a tent.We had to return, even to the rubble, the 48-year-old told the AP. Here we dont have a house, but our family is here, and we will help each other.___Magdy reported from Cairo. AP video journalist Mohammed Jahjouh in Wadi Gaza contributed to this report.Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

A display about AI is illuminated ahead of the Annual Meeting of the World Economy Form in the center of Davos, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)2025-01-27T21:36:14Z LOS ANGELES (AP) Chinese tech startup DeepSeek said it was hit by a cyber attack on Monday that disrupted users ability to register on the site. The company, whose artificial intelligence chatbot has sent the tech world into a frenzy, said that it had suffered large-scale malicious attacks on its services. Registered users could log in normally, DeepSeek said. DeepSeek began attracting more attention in the AI industry last month when it released a new AI model that it boasted was on par with similar models from U.S. companies such as ChatGPT maker OpenAI, and was more cost-effective in its use of expensive Nvidia chips to train the system on huge troves of data. The chatbot became more widely accessible when it appeared on Apple and Google app stores early this year. By Monday, DeepSeeks AI assistant had become the No. 1 downloaded free app on Apples iPhone store. The jump in popularity fueled debates over competition between the U.S. and China in developing AI technology. But some U.S. tech industry observers said they were worried about the idea that the Chinese startup has caught up with the American companies at the forefront of generative AI at a fraction of the cost.DeepSeek was founded in Hangzhou, China in 2023. The company released its first AI large language model later that year. SARAH PARVINI Parvini covers artificial intelligence for The Associated Press. She is based in Los Angeles. mailto

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, right, pats Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., on his shoulder as he answers questions from reporters after arriving at the Pentagon, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025 in Washington. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)2025-01-27T15:08:49Z Follow live updates on President Donald Trumps return to Washington WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump was expected to sign a flurry of executive orders focused on the military Monday, including to reinstate troops booted for refusing COVID-19 vaccines, assess transgender forces and further outline rollbacks in diversity programs, just as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth began his first day on the job.The orders could further clarify initial directives Trump issued shortly after his inauguration last week, when he removed protections for transgender troops put in place by former President Joe Biden and banned DEI initiatives at federal agencies. Trump had tried to impose a ban on transgender troops during his first term, but it was tangled up in the courts for years before being overturned by Biden shortly after he took office.The new order on transgender troops does not impose an immediate ban, but directs the Pentagon to come up with a policy on their service in the armed forces based on military readiness, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. AP AUDIO: New Trump orders on transgender troops, COVID and more expected on Hegseths first day AP Washington correspondent Sagar Meghani reports President Trump is set to take more executive action at the Pentagon as new defense chief Pete Hegseth starts work. Hegseth told reporters as he arrived at the Pentagon that his first official day would be busy, with additional executive orders expected on removing DEI inside the Pentagon, reinstating troops who were pushed out because of COVID mandates, Iron Dome for America this is happening quickly. Trump promised during the campaign to build an Iron Dome, the advanced air defense system used by Israel. It was not immediately clear what the additional order on DEI diversity, equity and inclusion would be, but Trumps initial action ending those programs across the U.S. government already has had far-reaching consequences. Without clearer direction, agencies have been taking a broad approach at removing any content that seemed to run afoul of Trumps ban. That temporarily included videos of the storied Tuskegee Airmen and World War II Womens Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs, which were part of DEI training courses for the Air Forces basic military training. Videos on both the Tuskegee Airmen and WASPs were removed as the courses were taken down last week, causing an uproar. WASPs were vital in ferrying warplanes for the military. The Tuskegee Airmen were the nations first Black military pilots, who served in a segregated WWII unit, and their all-Black 332nd Fighter Group had one of the lowest loss records of all the bomber escorts in the war.On Sunday, the Air Force clarified that the DEI courses had been removed to be edited but that the Tuskegee Airmen and WASP content would continue to be taught.The revised training which focuses on the documented historic legacy and decorated valor with which these units and Airmen fought for our Nation in World War II and beyond will continue on 27 January, the Air Force said in a statement. Hegseth said in a post on X on Sunday that any move to cut the Tuskegee Airmen content was immediately reversed. But the swirl of confusion reflects an ongoing struggle as leaders across the Defense Department try to purge diversity mentions from their websites and training. Hegseth didnt mention the issue as he walked into the building on Monday morning accompanied by Gen. CQ Brown Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. But in other comments, Hegseth said that military training will be focused on the readiness of what our troops in the field need to deter our enemies.Hegseth is also continuing to focus on the border, and told reporters gathered on the steps of the Pentagon that whatever is needed at the border will be provided, using active duty, National Guard and state-activated Guard troops. Hegseth was approved by the Senate on Friday night in a tie vote that had to be broken by Vice President JD Vance.___Follow the APs coverage of the U.S. Department of Defense at https://apnews.com/hub/us-department-of-defense. TARA COPP Copp covers the Pentagon and national security for the Associated Press. She has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia. twitter mailto LOLITA C. BALDOR Baldor has covered the Pentagon and national security issues for The Associated Press since 2005. She has reported from all over the world including warzones in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. twitter mailto ZEKE MILLER Zeke is APs chief White House correspondent twitter mailto

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce celebrate victory against the Buffalo Bills after the AFC Championship NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in Kansas City, Mo.(AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)2025-01-27T20:45:59Z Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs accomplished a feat that had never been done before: Getting back to the NFLs championship game following back-to-back Super Bowl wins.Next up is the rare championship three-peat that hasnt been accomplished in the NFL, NBA, NHL or Major League Baseball in more than 20 years.The most recent team in those four leagues to win three straight championships was the Los Angeles Lakers with Shaquille ONeal and Kobe Bryant in the 2000-02 NBA Finals.Only two NFL teams have ever won three straight championships with Green Bay doing it from 1929-31 when the champion was determined by regular-season record and then again in the 1965-67 seasons. Vince Lombardis Packers won the final NFL championship before the start of the Super Bowl era in 1966 and then won the first two games between the AFL and NFL champions that determined the true of kings of pro football.Since the end of that Green Bay run, there have been seven three-peats in the four biggest North American pro sports leagues. Heres a look at those dynastic teams: Oakland Athletics, 1972-74Charlie Finleys Swingin As dominated baseball in the early 1970s with a roster filled with big characters. Led by slugger Reggie Jackson, dominant starters Catfish Hunter and Vida Blue, the As knocked off the Reds, Mets and Dodgers in successive seasons to join the Yankees as the only baseball franchises to win three straight titles. Montreal Canadiens, 1976-79Montreal dominated the NHL for decades with 23 Stanley Cups. The majority of those came in the pre-expansion Original Six era, but the Canadiens put together an impressive run in the late 1970s under coach Scotty Bowman. Led by dynamic scorer Guy LaFleur, two Cup clinching goals by Jacque Lemaire, Hall of Fame defenseman Larry Robinson and goalie Ken Dryden, Montreal raced to four straight titles with a 48-10 record in the four postseason runs. New York Islanders, 1980-83 As soon as the Canadiens dynastic run ended, the Islanders started one of their own as the last hockey team to win at least three straight titles. Al Arbours squad was led by high-scoring wing Mike Bossy, defenseman Denis Potvin and goalie Billy Smith. The run started with an overtime clincher by Bobby Nystrom against Philadelphia in the 1980 Stanley Cup Final and then lost only once in three other trips to the Final. Chicago Bulls, 1991-93 and 1996-98After coming up short in back-to-back seasons against the Detroit Pistons, Michael Jordan and the Bulls broke through in the 1991 NBA Finals by beating Magic Johnson and the Lakers in five games. Chicago then dominated for most of the decade, repeating as champs in 1992 and 1993 for the NBAs first three-peat since Boston won eight straight titles from 1959-66. After a brief step back in the 1994-95 seasons after Jordan stepped away to play baseball, the Bulls were even more dominant in their second run. Chicago won a then-record 72 regular games on the way to the title in 1996 and then won again the next two years before Jordan temporarily retired and the team broke up. New York Yankees, 1998-2000The Yankees had several dynastic runs in their history, winning four straight World Series from 1936-39 and then five in a row from 1949-53. But they are the only team to win three straight World Series in the free agency era. Led by homegrown stars Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Bernie Williams, Joe Torres squad won the franchises first title in 18 years in 1996. After a playoff loss to Cleveland the next season, New York won three in a row starting with a then-record 114 wins in 1998. The Yankees dominated in the postseason with a 33-8 record. Los Angeles Lakers 2000-02After helping the Bulls to both of their three-peats in the 1990s, coach Phil Jackson did the same when he joined a talented Lakers team led by ONeal and Bryant that had underperformed before his arrival. The Lakers needed an epic Game 7 comeback against Portland in the Western Conference Finals in 2000 on the way to the first title, went 15-1 in the postseason to repeat the following year and then had to pull out another Game 7 conference final win in 2002 against Sacramento on the way to the three-peat. ___AP NFL coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL JOSH DUBOW Dubow is an NFL writer for The Associated Press who covers the San Francisco 49ers and provides weekly analysis of NFL statistics. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump gestures as he boards Air Force One en route to Florida at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)2025-01-27T22:50:50Z WASHINGTON (AP) Donald Trump in his first week back in the White House has offered an early preview to his second-term foreign policy approach: Talk loudly and wield a big stick.Over the weekend, Trump threatened to levy massive tariffs on Colombia after the countrys leftist president refused to allow a U.S. military plane returning deported migrants from the South American nation to land in the country. Hes needled the Ukrainian president for talking so brave instead of negotiating with Russia. Hes flummoxed even Republican allies with his calls on Mideast nations to take in Palestinian refugees from Gaza, potentially moving out enough of the population to just clean out the war-torn area to create a virtual clean slate.Through economic coercion and sharp rhetoric, Trump is signaling that he intends to be a bull in the China shop in hopes of extracting what he wants from allies and adversaries alike. In the Colombia episode, President Gustavo Petro quickly relented in the face of Trumps threatened tariffs 25% on all Colombian goods coming into the country and doubling to 50% in a week. The moment may be just a taste of what is to come. As you saw yesterday, weve made it clear to every country that they will be taking back ... people that were sending out, Trump said in a Monday speech before House Republicans at their annual policy retreat. The criminals and illegal aliens coming from their countries were taking them back, and theyre going to take them back fast. And if they dont, theyll pay a very high economic price. The hard-nosed approach from Trump in the showdown with Colombia was hardly unexpected. He vowed to quickly reverse the approach of his Democratic predecessor, President Joe Biden, whom he frequently criticized as demonstrating weakness on the international stage when the world was looking for stronger leadership from the worlds foremost power. Big stick diplomacyDuring planning for their return to power, Trumps team decided on an aggressive course of action to respond to any nation that moved to block his agenda, hoping to make an example of them right out of the gate, according to a senior official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. And with the heavy reliance on sticks rather than carrots in the opening days of Trump 2.0, the administration has sought to send a clear message that U.S. foreign policy will be driven by an unrelenting commitment to the America First worldview.Soon after the Colombia matter was resolved, Trump posted on social media a photo of himself in a pinstripe suit and Trilby fedora favored by American gangsters in the 1920s as well as a crass acronym that warns not to test him. The posting was a decidedly modern, and Trumpian, turn on President Theodore Roosevelts use of the West African aphorism to speak softly and carry a big stick.It seems to me that from the Trump administrations perspective, theyve met their goal, right? said Kevin Whitaker, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Colombia from 2014 to 2019. Its not just that they got what they wanted. The approval for the flights was secured. But they sent a message about their commitment to use all of the tools in their toolkit in order to achieve them. Its not just on immigration where Trump is trying to rattle his international counterparts to get in line with blunt talk.The president said that he used a phone call last week with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to press for OPEC+ to slash oil prices, a move that he believes is the most effective way to force Russia to negotiate an end to its war against Ukraine. The kingdom is the most prominent member of OPEC+, a group of major oil exporting nations.Trump, a critic of the Biden administrations spending to back Ukraines war effort, pledged during the campaign to bring a quick end to the nearly three-year war.One way to stop it quickly is for OPEC to stop making so much money, Trump told reporters, in what could be interpreted as a blunt critique of the Saudis, a key ally. So, OPEC ought to get on the ball and drop the price of oil. And that war will stop right away. On Saturday evening, Trump also grabbed the attention of Middle East partners, Egypt and Jordan, when he said that the two countries should take hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from war-ravaged Gaza. Officials from both countries flatly rejected the idea, and even a prominent Republican Trump backer, Sen. Lindsey Graham of North Carolina, said he was puzzled by Trumps comments.The idea that all the Palestinians are going to leave and go somewhere else, I dont see that to be overly practical, Graham said in a Sunday morning appearance on CNNs State of the Union. Rubio heads to Central AmericaThe dispute with Colombias Petro comes as Trump is dispatching Secretary of State Marco Rubio this week to Central America for his first international travel as Americas top diplomat. The trip will take him to Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.The decision to put an early focus on Central America including nations that are central to the success of Trumps mass deportation effort and his bid to clamp down on illegal immigration speaks to how big a priority immigration is for Trump out of the gate.Rubios stop in Panama also comes as Trump in recent weeks has said he wants the Panama Canal back under U.S. control, claiming that American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form, and that China is operating the Panama Canal.Some Panamanians have interpreted Trumps remarks as a way of applying pressure on Panama for something else he wants: better control of migration through the Darien Gap. Others have recalled the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama with concern.To be certain, Chinas growing commercial interest in the Western Hemisphere, including its operation of a port at the canal, have long fueled U.S. concerns about Beijings broader role in global shipping and port operations. The Biden administration shared similar worries, but sought to counter China by rallying wealthy economies to band together against Chinas trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, which has launched a network of infrastructure projects and maritime lanes that snake around large portions of the world.Colombia firestorm a preview of whats to come?The Biden administration also sought to make the case to developing nations that the U.S. offered a better partner than Beijing, which it accused of exploiting poorer nations with coercive and unsustainable lending to build infrastructure.But Trump in his approach to Panama has taken a wholly different approach, jostling and threatening an ally to get in line.Colombia, which was at the center of Sundays diplomatic hullabaloo, has a strategic partnership with China, but thus far has resisted joining the belt and road project as many of its Latin American and Caribbean neighbors have. Geoff Ramsey, a senior fellow at the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center at the Atlantic Council, said that he expects Petro to aggressively pursue infrastructure deals with China moving forward.I think thats going to be a source of tensions with Washington, Ramsey said. For better or for worse, Sundays firestorm may be just a preview of whats to come. AAMER MADHANI Aamer Madhani is a White House reporter. twitter mailto ZEKE MILLER Zeke is APs chief White House correspondent twitter mailto

Canada's former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland speaks at a press conference in Toronto on Sunday Jan. 19, 2025, as she kicks off her campaign to become the next Liberal party leader. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)2025-01-27T21:46:04Z VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Chrystia Freeland, the former finance minister who is running to replace Justin Trudeau as Canadas prime minister, said Monday Canada needs to release a retaliation list of goods the country would target if U.S. President Donald Trump makes good on his threat to slap 25% tariffs on Canadian goods.A list of products worth $200 billion Canadian dollars (US$139 billion) would send a message to U.S. exporters about the harm tariffs would cause them, Freeland said in a statement.Being smart means retaliating where it hurts, she said. Our counterpunch must be dollar-for-dollar and it must be precisely and painfully targeted: Florida orange growers, Wisconsin dairy farmers, Michigan dishwasher manufacturers, and much more.Now is the moment when Canada must make clear to Americans the specific costs that will accompany any tariff measures by the Trump administration. Trump has said he will use economic coercion to pressure Canada to become the nations 51st state. He continues to erroneously cast the U.S. trade deficit with Canada a natural resource-rich nation that provides the U.S. with commodities like oil as a subsidy. Canada is the top export destination for 36 U.S. states. Nearly $3.6 billion Canadian (US$2.7 billion) worth of goods and services cross the border each day.John Ries, senior associate dean at the University of British Columbia Sauder School of Business, said Canada should retaliate against any tariffs but warned against publicizing a list in advance, citing the risk of antagonizing Trump and making it harder for him to back off on his threats. He always wants to win, said Ries. He doesnt want to show any weakness.Freeland said Monday that if she wins the leadership race and become prime minister she would also prohibit American companies from bidding on Canadian federal procurement (excluding defense). She also said she would convene an international summit with the leaders of Mexico, Denmark, Panama, and the president of the European Union to coordinate a joint response to challenges to our sovereignty and our economies.Some lawmakers have suggested Canada could stop energy shipments to the United States, a move opposed by Daniele Smith, the premier of Canadas oil-rich province of Alberta.Former central banker Mark Carney, who is also running for the Liberal leadership, said over the weekend that cutting off Quebecs hydro exports to the U.S. should remain an option on the table in a trade fight with Trump.It was Freelands abrupt resignation as finance minister last month that forced Trudeau to say he is resigning as prime minister and party leader.Trudeau is to remain prime minister until a new Liberal Party leader is chosen on March 9.The next Liberal leader could be the shortest-tenured prime minister in the countrys history. All three opposition parties have vowed to bring down the Liberals minority government in a no-confidence vote after parliament resumes on March 24. An election is expected this spring.

Some of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) memos sent to federal workers about firing, hiring freezes, and mandatory return to office demands were seemingly written by people who were previously employed by the Heritage Foundation and other conservative think tanks with longstanding loyalties to President Donald Trump, according to metadata on the memos posted by the government online. We know this because the senders of the memos failed to scrub the metadata from those documents, making it easy for anyone to reveal the listed authors of the memos.The 2025 Presidential Transition Project, better known as Project 2025, is a right-wing agenda from the Heritage Foundation that lays out the blueprint for remaking the federal government by firing government workers to install conservative, right-wing figures. The priorities of its authors include restricting access to reproductive care, mass deportations, and firing civil servants to replace them with Trump loyalists.Memos to federal Chief Human Capital Officers, HR Directors and Heads of Agencies are available publicly on the CHCO website. The memo author metadata was spotted by someone on Reddits r/fednews community, in response to a federal workers post.Whomever is posting the memos to the public OPM website doesnt know how to scrub meta data from the documents, they wrote. If you download them and view the document properties, you can see the author. Several are authored by lobbyists and lawyers individuals outside of the OPM.A memo with the subject line Guidance on Presidential Memorandum Return to In-Person Work sent from Charles Ezell, acting director at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and dated January 24, was authored by a Peters, Noah, according to the files metadata. Peters is an attorney who represented white nationalist Jared Taylor who sued Twitter in 2018 for banning him (and lost). In 2021, Peters wrote about Kyle Rittenhouse (who brought an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle to a Black Lives Matter protest and killed two people), saying Rittenhouse should be able to reap some measure of restitution now that hes been acquitted from the journalists who covered his case.Peters LinkedIn now says hes a senior advisor at the OPM. In Trumps first term, he was announced by Trump appointee Colleen Duffy Kiko to be Solicitor for the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA).A memo titled Federal Civilian Hiring Freeze Guidance and sent on Monday from Ezell and Matthew J. Vaeth, acting director at the Office of Management and Budget, was authored by a James Sherk, according to the metadata.Sherks specialty is firing federal workers. He was a special assistant on domestic policy during Trumps first term, according to Politico, and he worked at both the Heritage Foundation and the conservative think tank and Trump transition project America First Policy Institute before Trump brought him back to serve in the White House Domestic Policy Council. Hes credited as coming up with a classification for federal workers called Schedule F to remove their employment protections, which is recommended several times in Project 2025s playbook.On Friday, a memo sent from the OPM told federal agencies to terminate to the maximum extent allowed by law, all federal diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility and environmental justice offices and positions within 60 days. Sherk has said that the federal government needs more people who basically share the President's policy agenda to carry it out effectively, and firing workers acts as a threat to anyone who wants [to] be a political activist on the job.Trump denied being involved with Project 2025 throughout his run for office, calling it ridiculous and abysmal. When he was elected president, he tapped several authors and contributors to the agenda to join his administration. In July, an investigation by CNN found at least 140 people who worked for Trump were involved in Project 2025.

Scott Bessent, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to be Secretary of the Treasury, appears before the Senate Finance Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)2025-01-27T23:08:59Z WASHINGTON (AP) The U.S. Senate confirmed billionaire investor Scott Bessent on Monday to serve as President Donald Trumps treasury secretary, giving him the delicate balancing act of cutting taxes and curbing deficits while putting forward a plan on tariffs that doesnt jeopardize growth.He cleared the Senate roll call with bipartisan support, in a 68 to 29 vote with 16 Democrats voting in favor of the Republican nominee. The South Carolina resident will be the first openly gay individual in the role, a historic first as Trump seeks novel ways to implement a policy agenda driven by both billionaire business leaders with concerns over regulations and a populist base that wants government leaders to fight for them. He will serve as the nations 79th treasury secretary. Bessent, a past supporter of Democrats who once worked for George Soros, has become an enthusiastic supporter of Trump. He has said the U.S. faces economic calamity if Congress does not renew key provisions of Trumps Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that are set to expire Dec. 31, 2025. Negotiating the extension of those tax cuts will be one of his major responsibilities even as he has also pushed for 3% annual growth, significant trims to deficits and increasing domestic oil production by 3 million barrels a day. Bessent cleared the Senate Finance committee on a 16-11 bipartisan vote. After Bessent was confirmed, Senate Finance Committee Chair Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Id.) said voting for Bessent was one of the easiest votes we could ever take. However, he faced pushback from Democrats on unpaid tax liabilities. Democrats say Bessent has engaged in tax avoidance by failing to pay nearly $1 million in Medicare taxes related to his limited partnership in his hedge fund. Bessent, meanwhile, takes issue with his tax liability to the IRS and is in litigation over the tax bill. He committed during his confirmation hearing that he would pay the tax bill if a court rules against him. Other Democrats have voiced support for Bessent, including Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.While I disagree with many of his policy positions, particularly his support for extending tax cuts for the wealthy and President Trumps tariff threats, I hope that he will focus the Treasury Department on bringing down costs for middle-class Americans, Coons said in a statement, adding that he supports Bessents commitment to continue U.S. investment in international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Trump took his time before settling on Bessent as his nominee. He also mulled over billionaire investor John Paulson and Howard Lutnick, whom Trump tapped for commerce secretary.The treasury secretary is responsible for serving as the presidents fiscal policy adviser and managing the public debt. He is also a member of the presidents National Economic Council.Among his responsibilities will be investigating the feasibility of creating an External Revenue Service to collect tariff revenue from other nations. Trump announced the creation of the agency which requires an act of Congress on his social media site, Truth Social earlier this month. Tariffs, with the threat of a potential 25% levy on all goods from allies like Canada and Mexico and 60% on goods from China, have become a benchmark of Trumps economic agenda.In addition, Bessent faces a mounting and record U.S. debt load. Before leaving office, former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned congressional leaders this month that Treasury would start taking extraordinary measures, or special accounting maneuvers intended to prevent the nation from hitting the debt ceiling. And on Thursday, Treasury deployed new measures to stop the U.S. from breaching the debt ceiling.With Trumps return to the White House and his Republican Party controlling majorities in Congress, his outsider Cabinet choices are getting confirmed despite initial skepticism and opposition from both sides of the aisle.In his testimony, Bessent committed to maintaining the IRS Direct File program which allows taxpayers to file their returns directly to the IRS for free at least for the 2025 tax season, which begins Jan. 27. Republican lawmakers say the program is a waste of money because free filing programs already exist, although they are not popular.He also said during his confirmation hearing that the Federal Reserve should remain independent from the presidents influence and that U.S. sanctions on Russian oil should be more aggressive. FATIMA HUSSEIN Hussein reports on the U.S. Treasury Department for The Associated Press. She covers tax policy, sanctions and any issue that relates to money. twitter mailto

Denali is visible from Pt. Woronzof, Oct. 9, 2024, as a person rides a bicycle on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. (Bill Roth/Anchorage Daily News via AP)2025-01-27T05:02:39Z Within hours of taking office, President Donald Trump outlined in one of his many executive orders a mission to celebrate American greatness and to recognize those who have made contributions throughout history.He jumpstarted the effort by ordering the name of North Americas tallest peak to be changed from Denali back to Mount McKinley in honor of the nations 25th president, William McKinley. He also called on the U.S. Interior Department to work with Alaska Natives and others to adopt names for other landmarks that would honor their history and culture.The U.S. Board on Geographic Names will play a role. The little known panel made up of officials from several federal agencies has been in existence since 1890. How did the board get its start?As more settlers and prospectors headed west following the American Civil War, it became apparent the federal government needed some kind of consistency for referencing landmarks on maps and in official documents. In comes President Benjamin Harrison. He issued an executive order establishing the board in hopes of resolving some of the confusion.President Theodore Roosevelt took it further in 1906, making the board responsible for standardizing geographic names for use across the federal government. That included changing names for some spots and identifying unnamed features. It was President Franklin Roosevelt who dissolved the board in 1934, opting instead to transfer duties to the Interior Department. After World War II, Congress changed course and reestablished the panel. The board under the Trump administration will have new members, but the makeup will be the same with representatives from several agencies ranging from the Interior and Commerce departments to the Post Office and the Library of Congress. Even the CIA plays a role when the board considers place names beyond U.S. borders.The members are appointed for two-year terms by the respective heads of the agencies they represent. The committee that deals with names on U.S. soil meets monthly. Whats in a name?The board is quite aware of the importance of a name, noting in its guiding principles, policies and procedures that the names of geographic features throughout the U.S. reflect the nations history and its changing face. The board points out that names of Native American origin are found sprinkled throughout the land and there are traces of the languages spoken by early explorers. It is in these ways and many others that geographic naming gives us a clear, exciting profile of the United States that is unmatched in any other medium, the board states.In the case of Mount McKinley, original inhabitants had unique names for the mountain long before prospectors showed up. For the Koyukon Athabaskans, its always been deenaalee, roughly translated as the high one.Despite never having visited Alaska, McKinleys name became attached to the mountain in 1896, labeled by a gold prospector after the Republican was nominated as a presidential candidate. McKinley, who signed legislation in 1900 making gold the sole standard for U.S. currency, was assassinated just six months into his second term and the name Mount McKinley stuck. Alaska wasnt a state then and it would take decades before elected officials there would petition the Board on Geographic Names to return to what locals knew best. But their efforts were repeatedly blocked. Then in 2015, after years of pressure from Alaska Natives and other advocates, President Barack Obama issued an order making Denali official for federal purposes.Like so many sites across the U.S., the peak is more than a tourist attraction. Its woven into the cultural fabric of those who call the area home, said Valerie Grussing, executive director of the National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers. Its a sacred place, she told The Associated Press, adding, the name we use for it should reflect that sacred relationship between the people and the land. Have name-changing campaigns made a difference?In the 1960s and 1970s, the Board on Geographic Names took action to eliminate the use of derogatory terms related to Japanese and Black people.More recently, former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland initiated a campaign to eliminate offensive names at hundreds of places around the nation. She highlighted the work during her farewell address to department employees just weeks ago, saying the effort to address derogatory words would continue.In 2023, the board voted to change Mount Evans southwest of Denver to Mount Blue Sky at the request of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. Two years earlier, more than a dozen sites with racist and offensive names in Texas were renamed. In 2008, the board approved a proposal to change the name of a prominent Phoenix mountain to Piestewa Peak to honor Army Spc. Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman to die in combat while serving in the U.S. military. And now theres a campaign brewing in Alaska to have Denali restored. Its too early to say whether that will result in a new proposal before the board. The Interior Department on Friday took steps to update the peaks name in the federal Geographic Names Information System. Since the boards decisions are binding only for the federal government, its possible Denali will live on through Google and Apple map applications and other private mapping services.Who can propose a name change?Any person, government agency, Native American tribe or organization can submit a proposal to the board, as long as there is a compelling reason and evidence to support it. The support of local communities and historical or genealogical societies helps.Because a name will affect many people for a long time, it should be acceptable to the community in which the feature is located and to federal departments and agencies, tribal, state and local governments, and other interested parties that have an interest in the feature, board policy states. While its role over the years has grown, the board says its principles for deciding whose name may be applied to a natural feature for U.S. official maps and publications have stood the test of time. In some cases, the board may be able to suggest alternatives to geographic naming that might better commemorate an individual.The board prohibits consideration of any derogatory names and it wont consider proposals involving the names of living people or anyone who has been dead less than five years.Once settled on, the names are listed in the official repository of geographic names used by the federal government. The system includes more than 2.5 million name records.

The logo for the Justice Department is seen before a news conference at the Department of Justice, Aug. 23, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)2025-01-27T21:53:32Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Justice Department said Monday that it had fired more than a dozen employees who worked on criminal prosecutions of President Donald Trump, moving rapidly to pursue retribution against lawyers involved in the investigations.The abrupt action targeting career prosecutors who worked on special counsel Jack Smiths team is the latest sign of upheaval inside the Justice Department and reflects the administrations determination to purge the government of workers it perceives as disloyal to the president. The norm-shattering move, which follows the reassignment of multiple senior career officials across divisions, was made even though rank-and-file prosecutors by tradition remain with the department across presidential administrations and are not punished by virtue of their involvement in sensitive investigations. The firings are effective immediately. Today, Acting Attorney General James McHenry terminated the employment of a number of DOJ officials who played a significant role in prosecuting President Trump, said a statement from a Justice Department official. In light of their actions, the Acting Attorney General does not trust these officials to assist in faithfully implementing the Presidents agenda. This action is consistent with the mission of ending the weaponization of government. It was not immediately clear which prosecutors were affected by the order, or how many who worked on the investigations into Trump remained with the department. It was also not immediately known how many of the fired prosecutors intended to challenge the terminations by arguing that the department had ignored civil service protections afforded to federal employees. Smith himself resigned from the department earlier this month after submitting a two-volume report on the twin investigations into Trumps efforts to undo the 2020 presidential election and his hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. At least one other key member of the team, Jay Bratt, also retired from the department this month after serving as a lead prosecutor in the classified documents case.The firings were first reported by Fox News. ERIC TUCKER Tucker covers national security in Washington for The Associated Press, with a focus on the FBI and Justice Department and the special counsel cases against former President Donald Trump. twitter mailto ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Richer is an Associated Press reporter covering the Justice Department and legal issues from Washington. twitter mailto

CAPTION CORRECTS YEAR A UN armoured personnel carrier burns during clashes with M23 rebels outside Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)2025-01-24T21:46:48Z DAKAR, Senegal (AP) Rwanda-backed rebels claimed on Monday they captured eastern Congos strategic city of Goma, the hub of a region containing trillions of dollars in mineral wealth that remains largely untapped.Analysts said the M23 fighters aimed to control the city of about 2 million people and perhaps other areas in the region nearly 1,000 miles from the Congolese capital.It marks a sharp escalation in one of Africas longest wars, threatening to dramatically worsen a dire humanitarian crisis.The rebels offensive has sent thousands fleeing their homes, in addition to 1 million displaced who are already in Goma, and stretched hospitals to the limit, with hundreds of wounded coming in every day as civilians get caught in the crossfire.Here is what to know about the conflict:Who are the rebels and what do they want?The M23 group is one of about 100 armed factions vying for a foothold in eastern Congo, where a decades-long conflict has raged. The group, made up primarily of ethnic Tutsis who failed to integrate into the Congolese army, led a failed insurgency against the Congolese government in 2012. It was then dormant for a decade, until its resurgence in 2022.Between 1996 and 2003, the region was at the heart of a protracted conflict dubbed Africas world war, as armed groups fought over access to metals and rare earth minerals such as copper, cobalt, lithium and gold. Up to 6 million people died.The conflict can be traced to the aftermath of the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda, where Hutu militias killed between 500,000 and 1 million ethnic Tutsi, as well as moderate Hutus and Twa, Indigenous people.When Tutsi-led forces fought back, nearly 2 million Hutus crossed into Congo, fearing reprisals. Tensions between Hutus and Tutsis have repeatedly flared in Congo since then.Rwandan authorities have accused the Hutus who fled of participating in the genocide and alleged that elements of the Congolese army protected them. They have argued that the militias formed by a small fraction of the Hutus are a threat to Rwandas Tutsi population.M23 claims to defend Tutsi and Congolese of Rwandan origin from discrimination. Critics say its a pretext for Rwanda to obtain economic and political influence over eastern Congo.Why is control of eastern Congo so important?As the world relies more than ever on Congos metals and rare earth minerals to produce electronics, the stakes have risen. Neighboring Rwanda and Uganda have financial interests in Congolese mines, as well as China and the United States.Most of Congos mineral resources, estimated to be worth $24 trillion, remain untapped, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce last year, which called the country the worlds leading producer of cobalt, key to making batteries.Little of the regions wealth has trickled down to Congolese citizens, with 60% out of its 100 million residents living below the poverty line. Instead, fighting over natural resources has destabilized the country.Whats the role of neighboring Rwanda?Congo, the United States and U.N. experts accuse Rwanda of backing the M23, which had hundreds of members in 2021. Now, according to the United Nations, the group has around 6,500 fighters.While Rwanda denies that claim, it acknowledged last year that it has troops and missile systems in eastern Congo, allegedly to safeguard its security. U.N. experts estimate there are up to 4,000 Rwandan forces in Congo.Analysts say that Rwandan troops in eastern Congo have been increasingly active in recent weeks.Why is Goma important for the rebels?The city is a regional hub for trade, security and humanitarian efforts, and its airport is key for transporting supplies.Since 2021, Congos government and allied forces, including Burundian troops and U.N. troops, have been keeping the rebels away from Goma.The capture of such a large city will be a huge boost for the rebels and a major defeat for government forces.Gomas fall would also have a catastrophic impact on hundreds of thousands of civilians, putting them at risk of heightened exposure to human rights violations and abuses, said Ravina Shamdasani of the U.N. human rights office.Is this likely to resolve like the last time?In 2012, the rebels seized Goma and controlled it for about a week but surrendered the city after mounting international pressure on Rwanda including suspension of aid from the United States and Britain.But analysts say this time around, it will be more difficult.Previously, they (M23) had clear demands to be integrated into the DRC army and have greater participation in the political process, said Darren Davids, an analyst with the Economist Intelligence Unit. But now, he said, it seems like M23, with the help of Rwanda, are intent on holding control of Goma and, more specifically, the supply chain routes in North Kivu.The rebels could use Goma as a bargaining chip, strengthening their position in possible negotiations with Congo.What is the situation for civilians?There are 4 million displaced people in eastern Congo. The U.N. refugee agency says more than 400,000 have been displaced already this year, exacerbating desperate conditions in severely overcrowded displacement centers in and around Goma and triggering an increase in cholera cases.As rebels closed in on Goma, many more fled from surrounding villages and displacement camps into the city. Others fled from Goma into Rwanda.Some of the staff at Gomas main hospital were sheltering in a bunker, treating the wounded while coming under gunfire and artillery fire.___Associated Press writers Justin Kabumba in Goma, Congo; Christina Malkia in Kinshasa, Congo; Ignatius Ssuuna in Kigali, Rwanda; Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda; and Edith M. Lederer in New York contributed to this report. MONIKA PRONCZUK Pronczuk covers 22 countries across Central and West Africa for The Associated Press. She is based in Dakar, Senegal. twitter mailto

USAID humanitarian aid destined for Venezuela is displayed for the media at a warehouse next to the Tienditas International Bridge on the outskirts of Cucuta, Colombia, Feb. 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)2025-01-28T02:19:47Z WASHINGTON (AP) At least 56 senior officials in the top U.S. aid and development agency were placed on leave Monday amid an investigation into an alleged effort to thwart President Donald Trumps orders.A current official and a former official at the U.S. Agency for International Development confirmed the reason given for the move Monday. Both spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.Several hundred contractors based in Washington and elsewhere also were laid off, the officials said.It follows Trumps executive order last week that directed a sweeping 90-day pause on most U.S. foreign assistance disbursed through the State Department.As a result of the freeze, thousands of U.S.-funded humanitarian, development and security programs worldwide had stopped work or were preparing to do so. Without funds to pay staff, aid organizations were laying off hundreds of employees. An internal USAID notice sent late Monday and obtained by The Associated Press said new acting administrator Jason Gray had identified several actions within USAID that appear to be designed to circumvent the Presidents Executive Orders and the mandate from the American people. As a result, we have placed a number of USAID employees on administrative leave with full pay and benefits until further notice while we complete our analysis of these actions, Gray wrote.Trump has signed many executive orders since taking office a week ago, but the notice did not say which orders the employees were suspected of violating. The senior agency officials put on leave were experienced employees who had served in multiple administrations, including Trumps, the former USAID official said.Before those officials were removed from the job Monday, they were scrambling to help U.S.-funded aid organizations cope with the new funding freeze and seek waivers to continue life-saving activities, from getting clean water to war-displaced people in Sudan to continuing to monitor for bird flu globally, the former official said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has specifically exempted only emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt from the freeze on foreign assistance.The Trump administration and GOP lawmakers, many of them skeptical of the need for foreign aid and eager to see other countries pay more, say they will review each foreign assistance program to determine whether it is directly in U.S. interests and eliminate those that are deemed wasteful or liberal social engineering.Politico first reported the USAID officials being put on leave. ELLEN KNICKMEYER Foreign policy, national security, foreign policy & climate twitter RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Two boys watch a crowd of Palestinians returning to northern Gaza, amid destroyed buildings, following Israel's decision to allow thousands of them to return for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)2025-01-27T19:26:01Z Hospitals and clinics destroyed. Millions of tons of debris contaminated with toxic substances, unexploded ordnance and human remains. Tens of thousands of people with injuries that will require a lifetime of care.As Gazas residents return to what is left of their homes, they face new risks on top of monumental health challenges. Fifteen months of war has killed more than 47,000 people, according to local health officials, displaced 90% of Gazans and reduced many areas to rubble. Clean water is in short supply and sewers, so important for protecting public health, are badly damaged spurring worries about the spread of infectious disease.Aid groups are rushing to provide food and supplies amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as they plan the best way forward. You have a population with just every health need imaginable ... (who have) been unable to get access to care ... for more than a year, said Yara Asi, an expert in global health management and visiting scholar at the FXB Center of Health and Human Rights at Harvard. What is that going to look like in the near future and the long term ? Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas. (AP Photo/Mohammad Abu Samra) Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas. (AP Photo/Mohammad Abu Samra) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Heres a look at some of the urgent health issues. Healthcare in shamblesMost of Gazas 36 hospitals were damaged or partly destroyed by Israeli bombs, with only half still partially operational, according to the World Health Organization. Almost two-thirds of health clinics arent open. That makes it impossible to treat everyone who needs urgent and long-term care including an estimated 30,000 people who need ongoing rehabilitation for life-changing injuries, such as amputations.The WHO said that when its safe, itll team up with other organizations to prioritize critical services such as trauma and emergency care, primary health care and mental health support. That includes increasing hospital-bed capacity in northern and southern Gaza, and bringing in prefabricated containers to help treat patients at damaged hospitals and clinics, the WHO said. International workers also are needed to ease staffing shortages, the organization said.Asi and other experts said most hospital equipment has been destroyed, and is expensive and difficult to import. How are Palestinians going to import the advanced, expensive medical equipment that actually makes the hospital more than a building? Asi said. Thats going to take years.Israel says Hamas is responsible for damage to the health system because the group often used hospitals to hide or gather its men. Under the current six-week ceasefire, Israel has allowed sharp increases of humanitarian supplies. But the sides have not agreed on a permanent end to the war, and Israel has not publicly laid out a postwar vision that would include plans for reconstruction and cleanup of the territory. Displaced Palestinians arrive in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar) Displaced Palestinians arrive in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Life-changing injuriesThe WHO said one-fourth of the estimated 110,000 people injured in the fighting suffered life-changing injuries, including over 12,000 who need to be evacuated as soon as possible for specialized care.Among the injured are thousands of children who lost limbs and will need prosthetics and long-term care, said Marc Sinclair, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon from Dubai who has volunteered in Gaza for over a decade.He said the charity he helped start, Little Wings Foundation, will partner with the Palestinian Childrens Relief Fund and a German prosthetics company that will supply containers that can be turned into workshops.They hope to begin training doctors and manufacturing prosthetics in the West Bank and move the operation to Gaza when they are able.The volume of injured is so huge that its going to be an enormous task to fulfill the needs, Sinclair said. Were talking about children that have not just single amputations, but ... multiple amputations.Asi, from Harvard, said thousands of people also suffered traumatic injuries, including brain damage, that will require lifelong care. And then you have those people that have regular health ailments, she said. Theyve been unable to get access to care or medications in some cases for more than a year. Displaced Palestinians arrive in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar) Displaced Palestinians arrive in the northern Gaza Strip, following Israels decision to allow thousands of them to go back for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Abed Hajjar) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Threat of infectious disease A shortage of clean water, destroyed sanitation systems, overcrowding and missed childhood vaccinations have created ideal circumstances for spread of infectious disease, said Asi, also co-director of the Palestine Program for Health and Human Rights.She said children many of whom experienced malnutrition and mental trauma are a special concern. Gaza experienced a polio outbreak for the first time in decades, so it is clear that both children and adults are at risk of other infectious diseases, Asi said.She said people have described crowded living conditions, a lack of hygiene supplies and garbage and sewage in the streets.Its really a health catastrophe from every potential facet, she said, adding that there have been outbreaks of respiratory infections in tent camps and shelters, and many people are living with undiagnosed skin rashes and infections. Dangerous debrisExperts say Palestinians returning to their homes in Gaza will be at risk from breathing dust or touching debris contaminated with toxic chemicals, asbestos and human remains, as well as munitions that never exploded. On Monday, tens of thousands of people began returning to northern Gaza as part of the ceasefire, finding piles of rubble where their homes once stood.Its critical to move quickly to identify and contain environmental hazards to prevent returning residents from inadvertently coming into contact with harmful pollutants and to keep it from spreading, a United Nations Environment Programme spokesperson said.The agency plans to begin an on-the-ground assessment within two to three months, as security allows.The first priority should be for specialized teams to search for and clear unexploded ordnance, then to test air, water and soil for toxic substances, said Paul Walker, chair of the Chemical Weapons Convention Coalition and a former staff member of the House Armed Services Committee. People are anxious, I know, to rebuild, he said, but returning home right now could be very dangerous ... I think weve got to expect as people work through the rubble there will inevitably be injuries and deaths. But it might be difficult to convince residents to delay their return, said Asi. She said shes seen videos showing caravans of people walking in some cases knowing that theres nothing waiting for them but just wanting to go back to the land to recover the bodies of loved ones or to see if their house survived or what survives from their home.___The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Elon Musk reacts as President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a rally ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-01-28T05:11:48Z ATLANTA (AP) President Donald Trumps brash populism has always involved incongruence: the billionaire businessman-politician stirring the passions of millions who, regardless of the U.S. economys trajectory, could never afford to live in his Manhattan skyscraper or visit his club in south Florida.His second White House is looking a lot like the inside of Mar-a-Lago, with extremely wealthy Americans taking key roles in his administration. The worlds richest man, Elon Musk, is overseeing a new Department of Government Efficiency. Billionaires or mega-millionaires are lined up to run the treasury, commerce, interior and education departments, NASA and the Small Business Administration, and fill key foreign posts. Hes bringing in folks who have had great success in the private sector, said Debbie Dooley, an early 2015 Trump supporter and onetime national organizer in the anti-establishment Tea Party movement. If you need to have brain surgery, you want the proven brain surgeons. Others raise concerns about conflicts of interest at odds with Trumps pledge to fight for forgotten men and women in a country where the median household net worth is about $193,000 and median annual household income is about $81,000. Its hard to conceive how the wealthiest set of Cabinet nominees and White House appointments in history will understand what average working people are going through, said former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who served under President Bill Clinton and has warned for decades about the nations widening wealth and wage gaps. Countered Dooley: Trump sets the agenda. If they wont enact his policies, then they will hear him say what we hear on The Apprentice all the time: Youre fired!Here is a closer look at some of Trumps picks, their net worth according to Forbes, and what the choices could mean:Elon MuskMusk (net worth estimated above $400 billion) is chairing the new Department of Government Efficiency, which is a special commission charged with slashing federal spending. The extensive ties his businesses have to the government have raised questions about Musks potential conflicts in the role. Linda McMahonMcMahon was picked to be Trumps secretary of education. She is the wife of Vince McMahon, who is worth at least $3 billion.The former WWE wrestling executive will lead an agency that many conservatives have called for abolishing altogether. While thats a heavy lift politically, McMahon and Trump have endorsed an expansion of school choice, programs that steer taxpayer money to private school tuition. She also could be in charge of implementing Trumps proposals to withhold federal money from public schools K-12 and higher education that do not meet White House demands to modify or scrap diversity programs.Doug BurgumThe North Dakota governor (estimated net worth $1.1 billion) made his money as a software entrepreneur. Burgum impressed Trump during his own failed bid for the GOPs 2024 presidential nomination. As interior secretary, Burgum would be charged with implementing Trumps Drill, baby, drill promise making it even easier for energy companies to tap fossil fuel resources, including from public lands. Scott BessentForbes has not yet identified Bessent as a billionaire, but the veteran hedge fund manager confirmed Monday as treasury secretary certainly is worth many hundreds of millions. At Treasury, he will play key roles in selling and implementing a number of Trumps signature policies: reinstating the 2017 tax cuts tilted to corporations and wealthy individuals, imposing tariffs on many imports and cutting taxes on overtime wages, Social Security benefits and tip income.Reich, the former labor secretary, noted that Bessent and his fellow wealthy Cabinet designees stand to benefit personally from Trumps tax ideas. Trump tax policies, which helped widen the deficit in Trumps first term, are juxtaposed with Bessents warnings about the dangers of rising U.S. debt and the cost of annual interest payments to the governments bond holders. Howard LutnickAn apparent runner-up to head Treasury, Lutnick (estimated net worth $1.5 billion) has been nominated to be secretary of commerce. Lutnick, who made his fortune as a financial services executive, is still slated for a high-profile post that will put him at the center of Trumps promised trade wars with China and other nations, including Mexico and Canada. Commerce also oversees several agencies, including the Census Bureau, whose calculations are key to determining the funding distributions of programs across the federal government. Kelly LoefflerThe Georgia businesswoman named to lead the Small Business Administration was the wealthiest member of the Senate during her brief stay on Capitol Hill. Loeffler is married to Jeffrey Sprecher, CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, the publicly traded firm that owns the New York Stock Exchange. Thats not the center of commerce for the SBAs usual clientele. The agency was founded in 1953 and describes itself as the only cabinet-level federal agency fully dedicated to small business by providing counseling, capital, and contracting expertise as the nations only go-to resource and voice for small businesses.As a senator, Loeffler faced ethics complaints over alleged insider trading tied to stock trades she and her husband made as members of Congress first started receiving briefings related to the coronavirus pandemic. The trades occurred weeks before the pandemic caused markets to plummet. Justice Department and Senate inquiries later found no wrongdoing on Loefflers part.Jared IsaacmanIsaacman, another financial services billionaire, was the first wealthy individual to take a space walk through Musks company, SpaceX. This choice, as much as any, illustrates Trumps lean to the wealthy private sector, given that billionaires like Musk and Amazon chief Jeff Bezos are now competing in a space sector that was once the province of the federal government and the agency that Isaacman would lead as NASA administrator. BILL BARROW Bill Barrow covers U.S. politics. He is based in Atlanta. twitter mailto

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's pick to be the director of the FBI, arrives to speak at an Inauguration parade in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)2025-01-28T05:03:33Z WASHINGTON (AP) TheFBI agents who searched Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate found boxes of classified documents in his office and storage room and retrieved sensitive government secrets about nuclear systems and weapons capabilities.One person unmoved by the gravity of the allegations: Kash Patel.Days after Trumps June 2023 indictment on charges of hoarding the documents, Patel insisted to listeners of his Kashs Corner podcast that Trump was permitted under a law known as the Presidential Records Act to take classified records with him when he left the White House. When youre president and you leave, you can take whatever you want, Patel said, advancing an argument later adopted by Trumps lawyers but dismissed as meritless by the Justice Department. And when you take it, whether its classified or not, its yours. AP video/Marshall Ritzel Its but one example of how Patel positioned himself as a steadfast Trump loyalist well before the president picked him to run the FBI. An Associated Press review of more than 100 podcasts that Patel hosted or on which he was interviewed over the last four years reveals how Patel has habitually denigrated the investigations into Trump, sowed doubt in the criminal justice system, criticized the decision-making of the institution hes been asked to lead and professed sympathy for jailed Jan 6. rioters. The vast catalog of provocative public statements, sometimes made in the company of like-minded FBI antagonists, provides an unusually extensive record of a nominees unvarnished and controversial worldviews. At his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday, Democrats are likely to seize on Patels often explosive and conspiracy-riddled commentary, which is unprecedented in volume, tone and substance for a potential FBI leader. While those critics say his views make him unfit for the job, his supporters argue the FBI needs someone as brash as Patel to shake up the agency. Asked to respond to his comments, Patel spokeswoman Erica Knight said the nominee looks forward to his upcoming hearing as an opportunity to highlight his extensive experience and present the truth to the American people in a comprehensive and meaningful way.The APs review found that Patel frequently expressed the same views or iterations of them on various podcasts: GangstersThose same criminal gangsters at the FBI and DOJ are running this Mar-a-Lago raid investigation, Patel said in August 2022 on his show, Kashs Corner, for The Epoch Times, a pro-Trump media company that has been a key online supporter of the president and spreader of conspiracy theories.Gangsters is a favored Patel term for federal investigators he perceives as tainted by anti-Trump bias. Its even part of the title of his 2023 book, Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth and the Battle for Our Democracy.Patel has sought to distinguish his dim view of the FBIs leadership, direction and decision-making from what he says is his support for the rank-and-file. But his harsh rhetoric about the bureau could nonetheless create an awkward dynamic if hes confirmed to lead the 38,000-person premier federal law enforcement agency. The name-calling in this instance hes also called intelligence officials bozos and Muppets is consistent with Patels scathingly critical perspective of the investigations into Trumps interference in the 2020 election and his retention of classified documents at his Florida resort after he left office. Trump faced felony charges in the two cases, but the indictments were abandoned by prosecutors after he won the November election because of Justice Department policy prohibiting the federal prosecution of a sitting president.Patels reference to investigators as the same criminal gangsters is part of a persistent effort to draw a straight line between the documents probe and a 2016 investigation into Trump and Russian election interference, notwithstanding significant differences in FBI and Justice Department personnel in the two inquiries. Patel rocketed to prominence as a House staffer through his criticism of the Russia investigation, which hes dubbed one of the biggest conspiracies ever perpetuated against a presidential candidate and then president. Hes made a name for himself in MAGA circles by seeking to expose what he has described as misconduct in how the probe was pursued. Later reviews by the Justice Department inspector general and a specially appointed prosecutor identified significant flaws with that investigation, though neither presented evidence that partisan bias had guided specific decisions. Baseless prosecutionsWe need to really educate the world on the weaponization of justice that occurred on January 6th, Patel said in January 2024 on The Alec Lace Show, as he called the prosecutions of U.S. Capitol rioters baseless.The FBI arrested more than 1,500 people arising from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and many of them pleaded guilty to serious crimes. The recently departed FBI director, Christopher Wray, bluntly labeled the violence as domestic terrorism and has called the attack emblematic of a rapidly growing threat of homegrown extremism.Patel, like Trump, has taken a different view, saying the rioters have been mistreated by the criminal justice system. A former federal public defender and prosecutor, he has called them political prisoners and offered on at least one occasion to represent them for free.Patel will almost certainly be asked if he supports Trumps sweeping grant of clemency to all Jan. 6 defendants. The pardons, sentence commutations and indictment dismissals upended the largest investigation in Justice Department history, benefiting even those found guilty of violent attacks on police, along with leaders of far-right extremist groups who plotted to keep Trump in power.Patels support for the defendants has included more than just rhetoric. Hes boasted about having helped produce a song, Justice for All, that was recorded over a prison phone line, sung by a group of Jan. 6 defendants and overlaid with Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.The powerful thing about it, he said in a 2023 podcast, is the people who have been impacted most are the ones raising awareness.Hes also talked up a right-wing conspiracy theory that Ray Epps, an Arizona man arrested in connection with Jan. 6, was actually an undercover operative for the FBI something Epps has adamantly denied and prosecutors have described as false.And hes been openly skeptical about the FBIs use of confidential informants related to Jan. 6 at a time when conspiracy theorists have suggested, inaccurately, that the bureau helped instigate the violence.The departments internal watchdog said in a report last month that no undercover FBI agents were in the crowd on Jan. 6, and that though more than two dozen FBI informants were in Washington that day, none was tasked by the FBI with entering the building or breaking the law. Hold him in contempt in a jail cellIts up to Congress, who has law enforcement capabilities, to go out there, arrest Chris Wray and hold him in contempt in a jail cell until the documents produced, Patel said on Kashs Corner in June 2023.Patel in recent years has mused about the idea of Wray, who stepped down as FBI director on Jan. 19, being arrested for the FBIs failure to promptly turn over records subpoenaed by Congress an outcome hes acknowledged as extreme but one he contends would befall less prominent people who ignored lawmaker demands for documents.That position could come back to haunt Patel, particularly if Democrats take back a chamber of Congress in 2026. Hes also suggested that Congress could withhold or restrict pockets of money to induce cooperation with its document demands.You ground Chris Wrays private jet that he pays for with taxpayer dollars to hop around the country. You take away the fancy new fleet of cars from DOJ that theyre going to use to shuffle around executives, he said in 2023 on Kashs Corner. You stop the construction of new buildings.What will a Director Patel say if Democrats push to limit funding for his flights on FBI jets? Therell be an investigation into members of CongressOnce President Trump hopefully gets back in power, therell be an investigation into members of Congress who destroyed and withheld evidence from law enforcement agencies, Patel said in March 2024 on In the Litter Box w/ Jewels and Catturd.Patels stated desire to rid the government of conspirators has raised alarms he could direct the FBI to target Trumps adversaries, even though long-established FBI guidelines are meant to protect against investigative abuses and require that criminal inquiries be rooted in a legitimate purpose.Like Trump, Patel has channeled particular ire toward the House committee that investigated the attack on the Capitol. He told Catturd, a right-wing social media personality whose real name is Phillip Buchanan, that a Trump victory could result in investigations of lawmakers who have committed federal felonies and covered up the truth from the American people. That rhetoric wasnt lost on former President Joe Biden, who on his final day in office preemptively pardoned members of that committee, as well as Dr. Anthony Fauci and retired Gen. Mark Milley. Fauci and House lawmakers are just some of the targets Patel has excoriated. His book includes a list of people he identifies as members of the Executive Branch Deep State, including former Attorney General William Barr who disputed Trumps false claims that the 2020 election was stolen and Andrew McCabe, the former FBI acting director and a top figure in the Russia investigation.Ahead of Thursdays hearing, Senate Judiciary Democrats circulated a social media post that they said Patel shared in 2022 in which he was depicted as taking a chainsaw to news organizations and high-profile members of Congress.Democrats will make the prospect of reprisal center stage at Patels confirmation hearing, something they foreshadowed with pointed questions about him directed at Trumps attorney general pick, Pam Bondi, during her own hearing this month.When Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, asked Bondi if she would have hired someone who had an enemies list into her office when she was Florida attorney general, she replied: Senator, to cut to the chase, youre clearly talking about Kash Patel. I dont believe he has an enemies list.Toilet rag disinformation animalA toilet rag is how Patel described Vice Media on a podcast when it declared bankruptcy two years ago. He has frequently attacked media organizations and reporters, accusing them of publishing fake news. He has also threatened reporters with serious consequences for crossing Trump.Were going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections, Patel told Steve Bannon, a Trump ally who served four months in prison for defying a congressional subpoena and who has also warned about retribution against Trump adversaries, in December 2023.Patel later backed off some of his statements about the media, telling NBC News last February that reporters are invaluable and that his threat referred only to those who have broken the law. But hell face pressure from his party to go after journalists, as well as election officials and activists that Republicans have accused of crimes.___Associated Press Artificial Intelligence Product Manager Ernest Kung contributed to this report.___The Associated Press receives 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. ERIC TUCKER Tucker covers national security in Washington for The Associated Press, with a focus on the FBI and Justice Department and the special counsel cases against former President Donald Trump. twitter mailto ALI SWENSON Swenson reports on election-related misinformation, disinformation and extremism for The Associated Press. twitter

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers use a chain to more comfortably restrain a detained person using handcuffs positioned in front, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-01-28T05:06:53Z SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) A week into Donald Trumps second presidency and his efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, federal officers are operating with a new sense of mission, knowing that nobody gets a free pass anymore.A dozen officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement gathered before dawn Monday in a Maryland parking lot, then fanned out to the Washington suburbs to find their targets: someone wanted in El Salvador for homicide, a person convicted of armed robbery, a migrant found guilty of possessing child sexual abuse material and another with drug and gun convictions. All were in the country illegally.The worst go first, Matt Elliston, director of ICEs Baltimore field office, said of the agencys enforcement priorities.The Associated Press accompanied the officers, who offered a glimpse of how their work has changed under a White House intent on deporting large numbers of immigrants living in the U.S. without permission. People considered public safety and national security threats are still the top priority, Elliston said.That is no different from the Biden administration, but a big change has already taken hold: Under Trump, officers can now arrest people without legal status if they run across them while looking for migrants targeted for removal. Under Joe Biden, such collateral arrests were banned. Were looking for those public safety, national security cases. The big difference being, nobody has a free pass anymore, Elliston said. The number of collateral arrests has fluctuated, he said. By the end of Monday across Maryland, ICE had arrested 13 people. Of those, nine were targets and the other four were people ICE came across during the course of the morning.Of those collaterals, one had an aggravated theft conviction. Another had already been deported once, and two others had final orders of removal. Changes to immigration enforcement under TrumpThe administration highlighted the participation of other agencies in immigration operations over the weekend, including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which are part of the Justice Department.Emile Bove, the acting deputy attorney general, observed arrests Sunday in Chicago, a sign of the Justice Departments growing involvement.ICEs daily arrests, which averaged 311 in the year ending Sept. 30, stayed fairly steady in the first days after Trump took office, then spiked dramatically Sunday to 956 and Monday to 1,179. If sustained, those numbers would mark the highest daily average since ICE began keeping records.Trump also has lifted longtime guidelines that restricted ICE from operating at sensitive locations such as schools, churches or hospitals. That decision has worried many migrants and advocates who fear children will be traumatized by seeing their parents arrested in the drop-off line at school or that migrants needing medical care wont go to the hospital for fear of arrest.Elliston pushed back on those fears, saying its been exceedingly rare for ICE to enter one of those locations. In his 17 years on the job, he said hes gone into a school only once and that was to help stop an active shooter. He said the removal of other guidelines that had restricted ICE operations at courthouses makes a bigger difference in the agencys work.But getting rid of the sensitive locations policy does affect ICE in more subtle ways.For example, at one point Monday, the team stopped at a parking lot in hopes of catching a Venezuelan gang member who was believed to be working as a delivery driver at a nearby business. Across the street was a church, and one street over was an elementary school, which under the previous guidance would have made it off limits to park to do surveillance. Some enforcement policies have not changedWhat has not changed, Elliston said, is that these are targeted operations. ICE has a list of people theyre going after as opposed to indiscriminately going to a workplace or apartment building looking for people in the country illegally.I really hate the word raids because it gives people the wrong impression, as if were just arbitrarily going door to door and saying, Show us your papers, he said. Nothing could be further from the truth.In the week since Trump returned to office, Elliston said hes constantly been on the phone, trying to dispel rumors about what ICE is doing and who is getting arrested.Since starting his job in 2022, Elliston said hes worked to build relations with elected officials and law enforcement agencies across Maryland, a state where many communities have sanctuary policies limiting their cooperation with federal immigration authorities.Elliston has reached out to cities to educate them about what ICE does and whom officers pursue. He also tries to build relationships with city officials so they feel more comfortable letting authorities know when migrants who have been detained are going to be released. That way ICE can get them. Another thing that hasnt changed? Sometimes when looking for someone, they come up empty.In one apartment building in Takoma Park, just outside Washington, three ICE officers pounded on the door of an apartment, asking whoever was inside to come to the door.Miss, can you open up? the officer said. Can you come to the door and well talk to you? ... Were going to have to keep coming back until we clear this address.Eventually a man who lived at the apartment came home and talked with the ICE officers. It turned out that the person they were looking for likely gave police the wrong address when he was arrested and he didnt live there.If they cannot find a person, Elliston said, they keep looking.Looking for these guys will never stop, he said. REBECCA SANTANA Santana covers the Department of Homeland Security for The Associated Press. She has extensive experience reporting in such places as Russia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. twitter mailto