The Caesar Act was imposed in 2019 in response to widespread and systematic violations of human rights by the regime of former dictator Bashar al-Assad.

John Koch, a radio reporter, witnesses every execution in Florida to keep close tabs on what he considers one of the most consequential actions the state takes.

The New York City university has embarked on an overhaul that some professors and students say imperils its standing as a bastion of the liberal arts.

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Taiwan police cordoned off the scene after a knife attack in Taipei, Taiwan, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)2025-12-19T12:12:46Z TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) At least nine people were injured in an indiscriminate smoke grenade and knife attack in Taiwans capital on Friday, and the suspect appeared to have jumped from a building to avoid arrest, Taipeis mayor said. Police said the suspect was certified dead after being sent to the hospital, Taiwans Central News Agency reported. The suspect threw smoke grenades at the Taipei Main subway station near the citys main train station, sending pedestrians running, according to local media reports.He then rode the subway one stop, exited the station and threw more smoke grenades on the street, according to footage carried by broadcaster EBC. He was holding a knife and wielding it at pedestrians before running into a shop, causing people to scream, the video showed. Mayor Chiang Wan-an said four of the wounded were seriously hurt. Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai said that one of the wounded was a pedestrian who fell to the ground after being attacked, and that person was already in cardiac arrest before being sent to a hospital. The smoke caused respiratory injuries to another person.Cho said that authorities were still investigating the background of the suspect. They have requested police to increase security in train and subway stations across the island.

A 17-year-old worker died at a pork producer in Nebraska run by the governors family. Two investigations later, the boys mother is still searching for answers.

Many of President Trumps supporters love his professional-wrestling style of leadership. But some of his recent attacks have sickened even some of his own political allies.

An unusual object orbiting a rapidly spinning star might be a new phenomenon in the universe.

The post Blue Drew Barrymore Couldve Sworn She Saw James Cameron On Schedule appeared first on The Onion.

WAYNE, NEAfter coming together and pooling resources to save Christmas for the towns most impoverished family, a tight-knit Nebraska community reportedly did jack shit this week to make the holiday better for its second-poorest family. Getting to see the smiles on the Turner kids faces when they realized they were going to have a merry Christmas after all was a heartwarming moment that made me feel proud to live in a small town like ours, said elementary school teacher Linda Clark, who sure as fuck didnt bake a Christmas ham for the Hoffman family two blocks away, who are functionally just as poor. The holidays are a time when we make sure were looking out for the least fortunate members of our community. As for the second-least, well, its a slippery slope. I mean, if you spend all day decorating a Christmas tree for the second-poorest family, then the third-poorest is going to want help buying presents, and pretty soon youre on the hook for everybody, which, come on, sounds like a total nightmare. Of course, we wanted to help the Hoffmans out, but after all the charitable acts we just did for the Turners in order to emulate Christ during this season of giving, we were pretty wiped out. But if theres one thing I know about our little town, its that if youre down on your luck enough to be clearly the worst one off, well be there to lift you up. At press time, reports confirmed the Hoffman family was looking through a window at the town Christmas party being thrown for the Turners, which they had not been invited to attend.The post Community Does Jack Shit To Make Christmas Better For Towns Second-Poorest Family appeared first on The Onion.

MACKINSHAW, NEEmphasizing that he didnt want to seem paranoid but it was the only way he could make sense of it all, high school senior Geoffrey Lesseder stated Monday that he was starting to suspect the three school shootings he had been in might be about him. At first I thought it was due to a lack of universal background checks, but now it feels personal, said Lesseder, adding that despite attending multiple high schools in states with vastly different gun laws, high-caliber rifle bullets always seemed to fly in classrooms when he was present. I dont want to be too self-centered, but what is the common thread that connects all these shootings, if not me? God, do all these shooters just think Im annoying? I especially got weird vibes from that last onethe way he glared at me as I was clamoring past my dying classmates toward the supply closet it was like he hated me or something. At press time, Lesseder had reportedly decided he would know for sure if there was a fourth school shooting in his vicinity.The post Student Whos Been In 3 School Shootings Starting To Think This Might Be About Him appeared first on The Onion.

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Nature, Published online: 19 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-04065-6From astrophysics to genetics, climate change to materials science the News & Views team talk about some of their science highlights of 2025.

The early backing of Ms. Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, is notable because she now leads the influential conservative group he founded, Turning Point USA.

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President Donald Trump speaks during an executive order signing regarding marijuana in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-12-19T15:09:53Z JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) To tax tips or not? That is a question that will confront lawmakers in states across the U.S. as they convene for work next year.President Donald Trumps administration is urging states to follow its lead by enacting a slew of new tax breaks for individuals and businesses, including deductions for tips and overtime wages, automobile loans and business equipment.In some states, the new federal tax breaks will automatically apply to state income taxes unless legislatures opt out. But in many other states, where tax laws are written differently, the new tax breaks wont appear on state tax forms unless legislatures opt in.In states that dont conform to the federal tax changes, workers who receive tips or overtime for example will pay no federal tax on those earnings but could still owe state taxes on them. States that embrace all of Trumps tax cuts could provide hundreds of millions of dollars of annual savings to certain residents and businesses. But that could financially strain states, which are being hit with higher costs because of new Medicaid and SNAP food aid requirements that also are included in the big bill Trump signed. Most states begin their annual legislative sessions in January. To retroactively change tax breaks for 2025, lawmakers would need to act quickly so tax forms could updated before people begin filing them. States also could apply the changes to their 2026 taxes, a decision requiring less haste. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on So far, only a few states have taken votes on whether to adopt the tax breaks.States in general are approaching this skeptically, said Carl Davis, research director at the nonprofit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Trumps treasury presses states to `immediately conformA bill Trump signed on July 4 contains about $4.5 trillion of federal tax cuts over 10 years.It creates temporary tax deductions for tips, overtime and loan interest on new vehicles assembled in the U.S. It boosts a tax deduction for older adults. And it temporarily raises cap on state and local tax deductions from $10,000 to $40,000, among other things. The law also provides numerous tax breaks to businesses, including the ability to immediately write off 100% of the cost of equipment and research. Forty-one states levy individual income taxes on wages and salaries. Forty-four states charge corporate income taxes.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent this month called on those states to immediately conform to the federal tax cuts and accused some Democratic-led states that havent done so of engaging in political obstructionism. Though Bessent didnt mention it, many Republican-led states also have not decided whether to implement the tax deductions.By denying their residents access to these important tax cuts, these governors and legislators are forcing hardworking Americans to shoulder higher state tax burdens, robbing them of the relief they deserve and exacerbating the financial squeeze on low- and middle-income households, Bessent said.But some tax analysts contend theres more for states to consider. The tax break on tips, for example, could apply to nearly 70 occupation fields under a proposed rule from the Internal Revenue Service. But that would still exclude numerous low-wage workers, said Jared Walczak, vice president of state projects at the nonprofit Tax Foundation.Lawmakers need to consider whether these are worth the cost, Walczak said. Only a few states offer tax breaks for tips and overtimeBecause of the way state tax laws are written, the federal tax breaks for tips and overtime wages would have carried over to just seven states Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon and South Carolina. But Colorado opted out of the state tax break for overtime shortly before the federal law was enacted.Michigan this fall became first and, so far, only state to opt into the tax breaks for tips and overtime wages, effective in 2026. The overtime tax exemption is projected to cost the state nearly $113 million and the tips tax break about $45 million during its current budget year, according to the state treasury department. Michigan lawmakers offset that by decoupling from five federal corporate tax changes the states treasury estimated would have reduced Michigan tax revenues by $540 million this budget year.Republican state Rep. Ann Bollin, chair of the Michigan House Appropriations Committee, said the state could not afford to embrace all the tax cuts while still investing in better roads, public safety and education.The best path forward is to have more money in peoples pockets and have less regulation and this kind of moved in that direction, she said.Arizona could be among the next states to act. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has called upon lawmakers to adopt the tax breaks for tips, overtime, seniors and vehicle loans, and follow the federal government by also increasing the states standard deduction for individual income taxpayers. Republican state House leaders said they stand ready to pass the tax cuts when their session begins Jan. 12. Several states have rejected corporate tax breaksIn addition to Michigan, lawmakers in Delaware, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island have passed measures to block some or all of the corporate tax cuts from taking effect in their states.A new Illinois law decoupling from a portion of the corporate tax changes could save the state nearly $250 million, said Democratic state Sen. Elgie Sims, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He said that could help ensure continued funding for schools, health care and vital services.Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, an outspoken Democratic opponent of Trump, also cited budget concerns for rejecting the corporate tax cut provision. He said states already stand to lose money because of other provisions in Trumps big bill, such as a requirement to cover more of the costs of running the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.The decoupling is an effort to try to hold back the onslaught from the federal government to make sure that we can support programs like the one were announcing today, Pritzker told reporters at a December event publicizing a grant to address homelessness in central Illinois.___Associated Press writer John OConnor in Springfield, Illinois, contributed to this report. DAVID A. LIEB Lieb covers issues and trends in state governments across the U.S. Hes reported about government and politics for The Associated Press for 30 years. twitter mailto

The gates of Harvard Yard at Harvard University, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)2025-12-19T14:52:16Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Trump administration will appeal a federal judges order reversing billions of dollars in funding cuts to Harvard University, extending a standoff over the White Houses demands for reforms at the Ivy League school.The Justice Department filed a notice of appeal late on Thursday in a pair of consolidated lawsuits brought by Harvard and the American Association of University Professors. The case has tested the governments power to sway the nations oldest and wealthiest university, which has resisted a pressure campaign targeting elite colleges around the country.U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs ruled in September that the Trump administrations sweeping funding cuts violated Harvards First Amendment rights. The judge said the government put unconstitutional conditions on Harvards federal funding and failed to follow federal procedures allowing the government to sanction universities for civil rights violations. The Trump administration cut more than $2.6 billion from Harvard over allegations that it had been slow to deal with anti-Jewish bias on campus. Burroughs rejected that notion, saying the government was using antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this countrys premier universities. The notice of appeal is a first step in the governments effort to have the ruling overturned. It does not provide legal arguments behind the appeal. A statement from Harvard said university officials remain confident in our legal position.The federal district court ruled in Harvards favor in September, reinstating critical research funding that advances science and life-saving medical breakthroughs, strengthens national security, and enhances our nations competitiveness and economic priorities, Harvard said.The White House and the AAUP did not immediately comment. Harvard has been Trumps top target in a campaign to leverage federal control of research funding to push for reforms at elite colleges he has decried as overrun by woke ideology. Harvard has put up a fight against the governments wide-reaching demands, even as others like Columbia, Brown and Cornell universities reach deals with the government.Harvard and the White House have continued negotiations amid the legal battle, and Trump has multiple times indicated a resolution was imminent. In September, he said officials were close to a deal that would require a $500 million payment from Harvard to create a giant trade school to produce workers for American plants.The deal never materialized and Trump has been quiet on the issue since then.___The Associated Press education 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. COLLIN BINKLEY Binkley covers the U.S. Education Department and federal education policy for The Associated Press, along with a wide range of issues from K-12 through higher education. twitter mailto

This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss history repeating itself and Meta's relationship with links.JOSEPH: I wanted to add a little bit from behind the scenes of this piece: Man Charged for Wiping Phone Before CBP Could Search It. As I said on the podcast this week, there are and continue to be many questions around the case. Especially why CBP stopped Samuel Tunick in the first place.In the piece I did not focus on Tunicks activism because frankly we dont know yet how big a role it played in CBP stopping him. I mentioned it but didnt focus on it. I think regardless, someone being charged for allegedly wiping a phone is interesting essentially no matter who they are.Yes, it absolutely may turn out that he was stopped specifically because of his activism. Maybe lots of people think its very likely thats the reason. But I cant frame a story because it feels like thats maybe the case. I have to go on what actual evidence I have at the moment.

Nature, Published online: 19 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-04032-1Tools fail to identify most AI-generated peer-review reports, say researchers, who warn that the issue is only getting worse.

The police named Sajid Akram, 50, and his son, Naveed Akram, 24, as the suspects in the shooting that claimed 15 lives on Dec. 14.

The authorities are vowing to crack down after a mass shooting at a Jewish holiday celebration. Experts say that what the country needs might not be new laws.

The distinction for the Lumbee Tribe in North Carolina, signed into law on Thursday, opens access to federal support and defies challenges from other tribes over their legitimacy.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered diplomatic correspondences to cease the use of Calibri font and revert to Times New Roman, attributing the previous change by the Biden Administration to misguided diversity initiatives. What do you think?The people of Calibria wont be happy with this.Rosemary Stern, Truffle GarnisherAnd after all that time I spent learning how to read in Calibri.Danny Bodjanac, Timpani TunerWhile were at it, I dont like Garamond. Its condescending.Alberto Esposito, Essay ReviewerThe post State Department Reinstates Times New Roman Font Over DEI Concerns appeared first on The Onion.

TORONTOAccusing the HBO drama of egregiously misrepresenting their experiences off the ice, the National Hockey League Players Association blasted Heated Rivalry Friday for what it described as incredibly unrealistic depictions of anal sex between players. The shows portrayals of hockey players having sex with each other are wildly misinformed, and we are disappointed by the producers utter failure to accurately represent what we do to each other behind locker room doors on a daily basis, read a statement cosigned by each of the NHLPAs more than 750 active players, adding that the series glitzy, overwrought lovemaking scenes miss the mark on even the most basic details regarding the day-in, day-out sexual encounters that define their lives between games. Yes, its true that we as professional hockey players spend the majority of our free time cramming our cocks into each others hot, hungry assholesthe show gets that right. But beyond that, every instance of anal sex you see on screen is pure fiction. Its clear they didnt bother consulting any actual hockey players, as the butt-fucking on the show could not be further from what really occurs. The statement went on to say that while the shows anal sex scenes are ludicrous, its depictions of oral sex between hockey players are pretty much spot-on.The post Hockey Players Blast Heated Rivalry For Unrealistic Depiction Of Anal Sex appeared first on The Onion.

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Attendees stand during Turning Point USA's AmericaFest 2025, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry)2025-12-19T05:44:43Z PHOENIX (AP) Camdyn Glover used to be a quiet conservative. She worried what her teachers would think or if she would lose friends over her convictions. But she said something changed when Charlie Kirk was assassinated in September, and she started crying in her classroom at Indiana University while other students cheered and clapped.We cant be silenced, Glover decided.Now shes visiting Phoenix with her parents and brothers for this years Turning Point USA conference, the first to take place since Kirks death. Although the organization became a political phenomenon with its masculine appeals to college men, its also been expanding outreach to young women like Glover. The shift is poised to accelerate now that Turning Point is led by Erika Kirk, Charlies widow, who has embraced her new role at the helm of a conservative juggernaut with chapters across the country. If successful, the organization that helped return President Donald Trump to the White House could narrow a gender divide that has been a persistent challenge for Republicans. Turning Point offers a blend of traditional values, such as encouraging women to prioritize marriage over careers, and health trends pushed by online influencers. Glover, 18, said discovering Turning Point in high school gave her an appreciation for dialogue when she felt like an outcast for her beliefs, such as being anti-abortion. At her first conference, she feels like shes found a political and cultural home for herself. They want to promote a strong independent woman who does hold these values and can go stand up for herself, she said. But its also OK to do it in heels, put some makeup on, wear a dress. If Erika can do it, I can do itOne of Glovers classmates, Stella Ross, said she stumbled upon Charlie Kirk on TikTok in the months before the last presidential election.She already felt like her perspectives were being treated differently on campus and thought she was receiving unfairly low grades in her political science classes. A devout Catholic, Ross said she was inspired by how Charlie Kirk wasnt afraid to weave his evangelical faith into his political arguments. She also noticed how many women posted comments of appreciation on Erika Kirks videos, and she joined Indiana Universitys Turning Point chapter in the same month that Trump won his comeback campaign.I was like, wow, if Erika can do it, I can do it, Ross said. Ross has career aspirations of her own she interns with Indianas Republican Party and aspires to be a press secretary for a governor or president. But she hopes to have flexibility in her job to be fully present with her children and believes that a traditional nuclear structure man, woman and their children is Gods plan.When she thinks of Erika Kirk, its really cool to see that she can live out that balance and it makes me feel like that could be a more realistic future for me because Im seeing it firsthand. A new messenger Erika Kirk often appeared alongside with her husband at Turning Point events. A former beauty pageant winner who has worked as a model, actress and casting director, she also founded a Christian clothing line and a ministry that teaches about the Bible.In a recent interview with The New York Times, she said she had fully bought into boss babe culture before Charlie showed her a healthier perspective on life. Now she leads the multimillion-dollar organization, which she said at a memorial for her husband would be made 10 times greater through the power of his memory.The political gap between young men and women has been growing for years, according to a recent Gallup analysis. Not only have women under 30 become more likely to identify as ideologically liberal, theyve also embraced liberal views on issues such as abortion, the environment and gun laws.The schism was clearly apparent in the last presidential election, where 57% of male voters under 30 supported Trump, compared to only 41% of women under 30, according to AP VoteCast. Turning Point has been working to change that, hosting events like the Young Womens Leadership Summit and urging attendees to embrace traditional family values and gender roles. Charlie Kirk said earlier this year that if a young womans priority is to find a husband, she should go to college for a MRS degree. Matthew Boedy, a professor of rhetoric at University of North Georgia, said Erika Kirk could be a more effective messenger because she was focused on her career before meeting her husband.I do think her story resonates more because she tried it out and can tell them it is not for them, he said.Some conservative women are turned off by this approach. Raquel Debono, an influencer who lives in New York City, described the event as a Stepford wives conference, featuring women in pink floral dresses.She said Turning Points emphasis on being traditional wives leaves out a lot of women who work, she said, and I think theyre going to lose all those voters, honestly, in the next election cycle if they keep it up.Debono founded her own organization, Make America Hot Again, where she throws parties intended to make voters feel welcomed into the conservative movement and allow them to get to know people who share their politics. Big time growth for some chapters Aubree Hudson had been president of Turning Points chapter at Brigham Young University for only two weeks when she visited nearby Utah Valley University for an event with Charlie Kirk.She said she was standing only about six feet away when he was fatally shot. She ran to find her husband, who was at the back of the crowd, and they fled to her car. Hudson, 22, is from a rural farm town in southwestern Colorado. Her conservative convictions are rooted in her familys faith and patriotism. A copy of the U.S. Constitution hangs in her parents home, and her father taught her to value God, family and country, in that order. Her mother stayed at home, telling her children that you guys are my career.Since Kirks assassination, Hudson said the number of people particularly women getting involved with the organization jumped big time. Emma Paskett, 18, is one of them. She was planning to attend the Utah Valley University event after one of her classes, but Kirk was shot before she made it there.Although she wasnt very familiar with Turning Point before that point, Paskett said she started watching videos of Kirk later that night.Paskett considers Erika Kirk to be a one in a million role model, and her role as a leader was a driving factor in signing up. Thats exactly what I want to be like, she said._____ Associated Press writer Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux contributed to this report from Washington. SEJAL GOVINDARAO Govindarao covers Arizona government and politics for The Associated Press, with a focus on women in state government. She is based in Phoenix. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Adults need to set up rules for students so that its not on them to self-regulate when it comes to going tech-free.

The couple are gearing up for the Broadway opening of Bug, about a descent into paranoia and psychosis in a squalid motel room.

The European Union came up with an 11th-hour compromise to help Ukraine, but the solution raised questions about the blocs decisiveness.

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A man holds his immigration paperwork while handcuffed after being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents outside an immigration courtroom, June 17, 2025, at the Jacob K. Javits federal building in New York. (AP Photo/Olga Fedorova, File)2025-12-19T17:16:57Z MIAMI (AP) A U.S. Army Reserve lawyer detailed as a federal immigration judge has been fired barely a month into the job after granting asylum at a high rate out of step with the Trump administrations mass deportation goals, The Associated Press has learned.Christopher Day began hearing cases in late October as a temporary judge at the immigration court in Annandale, Virginia. He was fired around Dec. 2, the National Association of Immigration Judges confirmed.Its unclear why Day was fired. Day did not comment when contacted by the AP, and a Justice Department spokeswoman declined to discuss personnel matters. But federal data from November shows he ruled on asylum cases in ways at odds with the Trump administrations stated goals.Of the 11 cases he concluded in November, he granted asylum or some other type of relief allowing the migrant to remain in the United States a total of six times, according to federal data analyzed by Mobile Pathways, a San Francisco-based non profit. Such favorable outcomes for migrants have become increasingly rare as the Trump administration seeks to slash a massive backlog of 3.8 million asylum cases by radically overhauling the nations 75 immigration courts. As part of that drive, the Trump administration has fired almost 100 judges viewed as too liberal and over the summer eased rules allowing any attorney, regardless of their legal background, to apply to become what recent recruitment ads refer to as a Deportation Judge. In response, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in September approved sending up to 600 military lawyers to hear asylum cases. The goal, migrant advocacy groups say, is to redefine a judges traditional duties as a fair, independent arbiter of asylum claims into something akin to a rubber stamp in a robe for the White Houses mass deportation goals.The American Immigration Lawyers Association has decried the influx of military officers lacking expertise in immigration law, likening them to cardiologists attempting to do a hip replacement. But Pentagon and White House officials have defended the move, saying that a campaign to rule on pending asylum claims was something that all federal workers as well as migrants sometimes in limbo for years should rally behind. So far, only 30 members of the military have been detailed to the immigration courts and for the most part appear to have lived up to the administrations expectations. Nine out of every 10 migrants whose asylum cases were heard by such judges in November were either ordered removed or requested to self-deport, according to federal data. Overall, the military judges ordered removal 78% of the time compared to 63% for all other judges.But those like Day, whose rulings countered that trend, are especially vulnerable if it is determined they violated their military duties, said Dana Leigh Marks, a retired immigration judge.It is hard to imagine someone being fired so quickly, after five weeks on the bench, unless it was for ideological reasons, said Marks, the former head of the National Association of Immigration Judges. Its especially unfair to military judges because they dont have the same civil service protections and could face severe consequences for failing in their assignment. The Uniform Command of Military Justice, which governs service members, forbids senior military leaders from interfering or retaliating against military attorneys for their actions in a military tribunal. Army regulations also require JAG attorneys to proceed with candor and honesty much like all licensed lawyers are expected to do in civil courts.But whether those standards apply to military lawyers working outside of the normal confines of a military tribunal is untested.Brenner Fissell, a Villanova University law professor, said that there are a number of personnel actions that can be taken letters of counseling or reprimand that, even if found to be baseless later, would affect ones potential for promotion and impact their discharge. Appealing such decisions, he said, is a byzantine process that can take years and require hiring a costly lawyer. The process can be the punishment, said Fissell, who helps run the Orders Project, which helps provide counsel to military personnel who believe they are being asked to carry out illegal orders.A graduate of American University law school, Day has held multiple jobs in the federal government over the past two decades while simultaneously serving as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves Judge Advocate Generals Corps. His last job was as an attorney for the Federal Communications Commission during the Biden administration.Unlike federal judges, who have lifetime tenure, immigration judges are employees of the Justice Department, which runs immigration courts, and can be fired by the attorney general with fewer restraints. That message was driven home during a two-week training course in October held for new judges, including those assigned by the Pentagon, according to someone who attended the training on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private sessions.The Pentagon has offered extra incentives to military officers signing up for temporary detail on immigration courts. Those volunteering were promised their choice of assignments, according to an email sent by the JAG Corps leadership in the fall, a copy of which was shared with the AP. But if enough officers didnt come forward, officers might be required to relocate up to six months away from home to fulfill the mandate, according to the email.Associated Press writer Michael Biesecker in Washington contributed to this report. JOSHUA GOODMAN Goodman is a Miami-based investigative reporter who writes about the intersection of crime, corruption, drug trafficking and politics in Latin America. He previously spent two decades reporting from South America. twitter mailto

Nature, Published online: 19 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-04108-yThe US administration is banking on public-private partnerships and an expanded workforce to deliver progress, but critics say that this strategy could be offset by other US policies.

The immigration agency had barred elected officials from the holding facilities. A federal judge this week said they must be given access.

Thousands of people were without power in Colorado early Friday, and forecasters said some of the most extreme conditions were expected later in the day.

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This image provided by Providence Police Dept. shows surveillance images of Claudio Neves Valente, a suspect in the mass shooting at Brown University. (Providence Police Dept. via AP)2025-12-19T18:26:20Z PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) The man suspected in a mass shooting at Brown University and the killing of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor was in the same academic program as the professor in Portugal before attending Brown on a student visa.Claudio Neves Valente was once a promising high school physics student but was let go from Portugals premier engineering school, Instituto Superior Tcnico, in 2000 and withdrew from a Brown University graduate program three years later without a degree.On Thursday, Neves Valente, who immigrated to the U.S. from Portugal, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at a New Hampshire storage facility, said Col. Oscar Perez, the Providence police chief.Investigators believe the 48-year-old is responsible for fatally shooting two students and wounding nine other people in a Brown lecture hall on Dec. 13, wearing the kinds of pants and shoes that one witness said are typical of restaurant workers. Investigators believe that two days later, he killed former classmate Nuno F.G. Loureiro at his home in the Boston suburbs, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Providence. Authorities have offered no motive, but what is clear is that life hadnt gone the way that Neves Valente envisioned. Neves Valente was born in Torres Novas, Portugal, about 75 miles (121 kilometers) north of Lisbon. As a high school student, he competed in a national physics competition in 1994, coming in third place, according to a Portuguese physics magazine. Five of the top finishers got to compete in an international competition the following year in Australia. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on From 1995 to 2000, he was in the same physics program in Lisbon with Loureiro, federal prosecutor Leah B. Foley said. Loureiro graduated from Instituto Superior Tcnico in 2000, according to his MIT faculty page. A termination notice from the Lisbon universitys then president, shows that Neves Valente was let go from a position at Instituto Superior Tcnico that same year. Neves Valente came to Brown that fall as a graduate student on a student visa. Brown University President Christina Paxson said he took a leave in 2001 and formally withdrew effective July 31, 2003. During his time at Brown, he enrolled only in physics classes. Paxson said it is likely that he would have taken courses and spent time at the building where this months shooting took place because thats where the vast majority of physics courses take place. However, detailed records indicating where classes were held dont extend back to 2001.Paxson said Brown found no indication of any public safety interactions or other concerns while Neves Valente was a student. As of yet, we have not identified any employee who recalls Neves Valente nor is there any Brown record of recent contact between this individual and Brown, Paxson said.After leaving Brown, he eventually obtained legal permanent residence status in September 2017, Foley said. It was not immediately clear where he was between taking a leave of absence from the school in 2001 and getting the visa in 2017. His last known address was about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Miami. The yellow house with a red roof is in a working-class neighborhood that features large houses, mostly with fenced backyards and basements. Some neighbors who talked with The Associated Press on Friday said they had never seen Neves Valente. No police were in sight.Edward Pol, a race car mechanic who lives across the street from the home, said the owner rents some rooms to people. He said he never talked to Neves Valente but had seen him several times, most recently two or three months ago. He said the Portuguese man was always busy, standing outside and on phone calls. He realized the man was the suspect when he saw his pictures on the news Friday morning.A man who answered the door through an intercom at the home said he was the homeowner but declined to identify himself or make any comment.While Neves Valentes life remained a mystery, Loureiro, the slain MIT physicist and fusion scientist, was excelling. Loureiro joined MIT in 2016 and was named last year to lead the schools Plasma Science and Fusion Center, one of its largest laboratories. The 47-year-old scientist from Viseu, Portugal, had been working to explain the physics behind astronomical phenomena such as solar flares. Portugals top diplomat said Friday that the government was taken aback by revelations that a Portuguese man is the main suspect. Police in Portugal said they were contacted by U.S. authorities Thursday.There are still a lot of unknowns in regard to motive, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said. We dont know why now, why Brown, why these students and why this classroom, he said.___Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kansas. Associated Press journalists Barry Hatton and Helena Alves in Portugal, Mark Scolforo in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu, Hallie Golden in Seattle and Matt OBrien in Providence contributed. HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Hollingsworth has worked for The AP for 25 years, covering stories of interest in the Midwest and beyond. She is based in Kansas City, Missouri. twitter mailto

This undated redacted photo released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, shows Jeffrey Epstein. (House Oversight Committee via AP)2025-12-19T05:21:26Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Justice Department faces a Friday deadline to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender and wealthy financier known for his connections to some of the worlds most influential people, including Donald Trump, who as president had tried to keep the files sealed.The Justice Department hasnt said when during the day it intends to make the records public. The total volume is also unclear, though Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a Fox News Channel interview that he expected the department to release several hundred thousand records Friday and then several hundred thousand more in the coming weeks. The records could contain the most detailed look yet at nearly two decades worth of government investigations into Epsteins sexual abuse of young women and underage girls.Their release has long been demanded by a public hungry to learn whether any of Epsteins rich and powerful associates knew about or participated in the abuse. Epsteins accusers have also long sought answers about why federal authorities shut down their initial investigation into the allegations in 2008. Bowing to political pressure from fellow Republicans, Trump on Nov. 19 signed a bill giving the Justice Department 30 days to release most of its files and communications related to Epstein, including information about the investigation into Epsteins death in a federal jail.The laws passage was a remarkable display of bipartisanship that overcame months of opposition from Trump and Republican leadership. What the law allowsThat law allows for redactions about the victims or ongoing investigations but makes clear no records shall be withheld or redacted due to embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity. Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Nov. 14 that she had ordered a top federal prosecutor to investigate Epsteins ties to Trumps political foes, including former President Bill Clinton. Bondi acted after Trump pressed for such an inquiry, though he did not explain what supposed crimes he wanted the Justice Department to investigate. None of the men Trump mentioned in a social media post demanding the investigation has been accused of sexual misconduct by any of Epsteins victims. In July, Trump dismissed some of his own supporters as weaklings for falling for the Jeffrey Epstein hoax. But both Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., failed to prevent the legislation from coming to a vote.Trump did a U-turn on the files once it became clear that congressional action was inevitable. He insisted that the Epstein matter had become a distraction to the Republican agenda and that releasing the records was the best way to move on. The Epstein investigationsPolice in Palm Beach, Florida, began investigating Epstein in 2005 after the family of a 14-year-old girl reported she had been molested at his mansion. The FBI joined the investigation, and authorities gathered testimony from multiple underage girls who said they had been hired to give Epstein sexual massages.Ultimately, though, prosecutors gave Epstein a deal that allowed him to avoid federal prosecution. He pleaded guilty to state prostitution charges involving someone under age 18 and was sentenced to 18 months in jail.Epsteins accusers then spent years in civil litigation trying to get that plea deal set aside. One of those women, Virginia Giuffre, accused Epstein of arranging for her to have sexual encounters, starting at age 17, with numerous other men, including billionaires, famous academics, U.S. politicians and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then known as Britains Prince Andrew.All of those men denied the allegations. Prosecutors never brought charges in connection with Giuffres claims, but her account fueled conspiracy theories about supposed government plots to protect the powerful. Giuffre died by suicide at her farm in Western Australia in April at age 41.Federal prosecutors in New York brought new sex trafficking charges against Epstein in 2019, but he killed himself in jail a month after his arrest. Prosecutors then charged Epsteins longtime confidant, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, with recruiting underage girls for Epstein to abuse. Maxwell was convicted in late 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison sentence, though she was moved from a low-security federal prison in Florida to a minimum-security prison camp in Texas after she was interviewed over the summer by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Her lawyers argued that she never should have been tried or convicted.The Justice Department in July said it had not found any information that could support prosecuting anyone else. Lots of Epstein records were already publicAfter nearly two decades of court action and prying by reporters, a voluminous number of records related to Epstein is already public, including flight logs, address books, email correspondence, police reports, grand jury records, courtroom testimony and transcripts of depositions of his accusers, his staffers and others.Yet the publics appetite for more records has been insatiable, particularly for anything related to Epsteins associations with famous people including Trump, Mountbatten-Windsor and Clinton.Trump was friends with Epstein for years before the two had a falling-out. Neither he nor Clinton has ever been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, and the mere inclusion of someones name in files from the investigation does not imply otherwise.Mountbatten-Windsor denied ever having sex with Giuffre, but King Charles III stripped him of his royal titles this year after Giuffres memoir was published after she died.___Sisak reported from New York.___Follow the APs coverage of Jeffrey Epstein at https://apnews.com/hub/jeffrey-epstein. MICHAEL R. SISAK Sisak is an Associated Press reporter covering law enforcement, courts and prisons. He is based in New York. twitter mailto ERIC TUCKER Tucker covers national security in Washington for The Associated Press, with a focus on the FBI and Justice Department. twitter mailto ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Richer covers the Justice Department and federal courts. She joined The AP in 2013 and is based in Washington. twitter

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Andrew Farkas, a New York City real estate mogul, had assured investors that his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was for business only.

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The Supreme Court Building is seen in Washington on March 28, 2017. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)2025-12-19T19:07:58Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court sided with immigration judges on Friday, rebuffing the Trump administration for now in a case with possible implications for federal workers as the justices weigh expanding presidential firing power. The decision is a technical step in a long-running case, but it touches on the effects of a series of high-profile firings under President Donald Trump. The justices let stand a ruling that raised questions about the Trump administrations handling of the federal workforce, though they also signaled that lower courts should move cautiously.Immigration judges are federal employees, and the question at the center of the case is about whether they can sue to challenge a policy restricting their public speeches or if they are required to use a separate complaint system for the federal workforce. Trumps Republican administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene after an appeals court found that Trumps firings of top complaint system officials had raised questions about whether its still working as intended. The Justice Department said the firings are within the presidents power and the lower court had no grounds to raise questions. The solicitor general asked the Supreme Court to quickly freeze the ruling as he pushes to have the immigration judges case removed from federal court. The justices declined, though they also said the Trump administration could return if the lower courts moved too fast. The justices have allowed most of Trumps firings for now and are weighing whether to formally expand his legal power to fire independent agency officials by overturning job protections enshrined in a 90-year-old decision. A union formerly representing immigration judges, who work for the Justice Department, first sued in 2020 to challenge a policy restricting what the judges can speak about in public. They say the case is a free-speech issue that belongs in federal court. In recent months, Trumps administration has fired dozens of immigration judges seen by his allies as too lenient. While the order is not a final decision, the case could eventually have implications for other federal workers who want to challenge firings in court rather than the employee complaint system now largely overseen by Trump appointees. The decision comes after a series of wins for the Justice Department on the high courts emergency docket. The court has sided with the Trump administration about two dozen times on issues ranging from immigration to federal funding.___Follow the APs coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court. LINDSAY WHITEHURST Whitehurst covers the Supreme Court and legal affairs for The Associated Press. Shes won multiple journalism awards in a career thats spanned two decades. twitter mailto