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One of Chicagos newest police sergeants had been deemed unfit to serve after an investigation uncovered evidence that he created a fake Facebook account and spread a nude photo of a woman he was sexually involved with, then lied to investigators about it.Another new sergeant had been found to have engaged in conduct that seriously undermines public faith, credibility, and trust in the Department after he was accused of sexual assault and domestic violence.The conclusions were made by independent investigators from the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. COPA recommended firing both. The first officer ultimately negotiated a one-year suspension and was assigned to supervise officers downtown and in the West Loop. The second officers case is still pending; he was assigned to supervise officers patrolling neighborhoods on the citys South Side.The officers promotions this spring were not due to an oversight. Department officials knew about their disciplinary records, but those records could not be considered as the department evaluated their fitness for promotion.The main qualifying factor was their test scores from a two-part exam.That Chicago police officers can rise in the ranks in spite of significant problems in their records reflects a decadeslong failing that the Chicago Police Department has been repeatedly called on to fix, an investigation by the Invisible Institute and ProPublica found.Chicagos system of promotions remains out of step with other big cities. Police departments in New York City and Los Angeles consider disciplinary records before promoting officers, seeing their past actions as a critical factor in determining if theyre fit to supervise others. A survey conducted for the CPD of more than a dozen major departments found that only one did not consider discipline in promotions.In New Orleans, the police department created a promotions policy that considers an officers disciplinary history after it fell under a federal consent decree stemming from decades of corruption and misconduct. The department took nearly four years to create and launch its new policy.Chicago is nearly seven years into a state consent decree that is intended in part to address issues with the departments promotions system. Between November 2023 and this April, the city has paid a consulting firm at least $430,000 to study personnel policies, including making recommendations on how to incorporate disciplinary histories into the process.The problem, however, remains unaddressed by the department.That means officers like Sgt. Ernesto Guzman-Sanchez, accused of distributing a nude photo of a woman he knew, and Sgt. Christopher Lockhart, whom oversight investigators found responsible for acts of domestic violence and sexual assault, can continue to move up the ranks despite their disciplinary records.In 2020, COPA ruled that Guzman-Sanchez went to great lengths to conceal his actions regarding the photo. The officer challenged the proposed firing, and during a Chicago Police Board hearing, his brother claimed responsibility. Department officials said the evidence was inconclusive and negotiated a suspension. Guzman-Sanchez, who has denied the allegations, declined to comment.Sgt. Christopher Lockhart was promoted this year despite the Civilian Office of Police Accountabilitys findings last year that his conduct seriously undermines public faith, credibility, and trust in the Department. Obtained by Invisible Institute. Highlighted by ProPublica. Redactions original.COPA recommended in January 2024 that Lockhart be fired following its investigation into allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault. Investigators found evidence of violent incidents, including one in which Lockhart allegedly grabbed his then-girlfriend by the neck and slammed her to the floor, COPA records show.Lockhart denied the allegations and blamed one incident in which his accuser was bruised on rough consensual sex. The case is still ongoing. Lockhart did not respond to inquiries for this story.The Chicago Police Department declined to comment for this story. But during an August hearing, CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling said discipline should be considered during the promotions process.In a statement, Mayor Brandon Johnson said he plans to work with Snelling and prioritize reforming policies.We must take a close look at the current promotion policies and make the necessary reforms so that we are promoting the best of our officers to set a strong example, the mayor said.Joe Ferguson, who was the citys inspector general for 12 years, questioned whether there was the political will to enact reform.To me, the question really is, why isnt this elevated as a priority? said Ferguson, who now heads the Civic Federation, a civic accountability and research organization.Ferguson, who described sergeants as crucial to modeling good behavior for younger officers, said the competing interests of the city and the Fraternal Order of Police, the union representing rank-and-file officers, may be partly to blame for a lack of progress. The union doesnt want discipline to derail an officers career and for years has made that a central point in its labor negotiations with the city. The union did not respond to questions from the Invisible Institute and ProPublica.CPD has struggled to identify troubled officers. In May, the two news organizations identified 14 officers who faced multiple sexual misconduct allegations in the last decade.Elizabeth Payne, the legal director at the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, said she would like to see the department adopt stricter criteria for promoting officers. Elevating officers like Guzman-Sanchez and Lockhart to supervisory roles, she said, sends the wrong message to the public and to other officers.When you make a decision to promote somebody who has disciplinary history like this, you are consciously deciding to signal something about your priorities, Payne said. Thats really unfortunate.Chicago police officers can receive promotions based on their test scores from a two-day exam even if they have problematic records. Jamie Kelter Davis for ProPublicaIgnoring Promotion ReformIllinois Assistant Attorney General Abigail Durkin didnt mince words during a hearing in August before U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer. Durkins office brought the lawsuit that prompted Chicagos police consent decree, and she expressed concern that the department had again failed to make changes to its promotions process.As I explained to this court almost exactly one year ago today, the vast majority of candidates promoted, CPD does not consider their prior discipline in deciding whether to promote them, she told Pallmeyer.She added: But now where are we? We stressed that action needed to be taken and discipline must be considered prior to an individuals promotion. This court agreed.In 2019, the consent decree prompted by the 2014 police killing of Laquan McDonald and its aftermath required wide-ranging reforms that included new use-of-force policies, more robust police oversight and changes to training. The decree also required the department to develop a policy to review and consider an officers disciplinary history as part of promotions.About 70% of promotions are achieved from what is known as a rank-order system, where top candidates are chosen solely by how they score on an exam, according to a report by the consulting firm the city hired.The other way to get a promotion is merit-based, which relies on supervisor recommendations and a review by a Merit Board made up of top department officials. The system was created in the 1990s following two decades of litigation to force the department to increase representation of women and officers of color in management.Under merit-based promotions, candidates disciplinary histories can become a factor, but only complaints that are labeled sustained or lead to suspensions can be considered, according to a 2020 report from DCI Consulting Group.Over the years, officers with a range of disciplinary findings have been able to rise in the ranks. Among them was an officer whom internal investigators recommended be fired after a 2007 off-duty incident in which he was found to have driven his motorcycle while drunk and crashed into another vehicle, killing his passenger, according to media reports.The officer, according to Police Board data, was given a lengthy suspension but ultimately not fired. He was promoted to sergeant in 2017, according to Chicago police data. Its unclear whether the promotion was rank-order or merit-based.In 2020, the city hired DCI, a Washington, D.C., firm that helps organizations with human resources and personnel matters, to examine the departments promotion policies. In its first report that year, DCI said updating the promotions policy to consider discipline was a high priority. Three years later, DCI made the same recommendations and noted the lack of progress.CPDs non-consideration of discipline is not aligned with most other departments; only one other jurisdiction reported not considering discipline prior to promotions, the 2023 DCI report said.Ongoing tension between the city and the police union over how to handle discipline is never far from the discussion about promotions even though promotions are not part of the union contract and instead are governed by the departments general orders, policies that everyone must follow.DCI said in one report that officers did not want discipline to be reviewed as part of promotions because of issues with the discipline process. Officers and the union have long argued that the disciplinary process is unfair and arbitrary.Snelling did not respond to requests for comment. But he acknowledged at the August hearing that reforming the promotion policy to include discipline has been slow and said the department needed time to ensure the changes stand up to legal scrutiny.We want to make sure that if these things go to litigation, that we are airtight on what were doing to make sure that we have our policies in place, Snelling said.Alexandra Block of the ACLU of Illinois, which is part of a coalition of 14 community and civil rights groups that forced the consent decree, said she would like to see changes in the promotions policies. But the coalition has been focused on issues primarily concerned with how people are experiencing policing on the streets of Chicago, she said.Block said reviewing an officers disciplinary record before promotion has lost priority to other pressing reforms and added that there is not the political will to accomplish it.Police Superintendent Larry Snelling, center, has acknowledged that the department has been slow to reform its promotion policy. Jamie Kelter DavisFlawed System, Flawed ResultsIn the Spring of 2023, Sgt. Isagany Peralta was promoted to oversee officers in Chicagos 3rd Police District, which covers large sections of the Woodlawn, South Shore and Greater Grand Crossing neighborhoods on the citys South Side.Six and a half years earlier, internal investigators found that Peralta had sexually harassed a female colleague over six months. Shortly after they started working in the same tactical unit, Peralta told her he would bend her over the desk and sexually assault her, investigative reports show. Three officers told investigators they heard the explicit comment. Peralta also was accused of harassing the colleague over her sexual orientation.Investigators described his conduct as the very definition of sexual harassment and unbecoming of a police officer, according to investigative files obtained by the Invisible Institute and ProPublica. He was suspended for 20 days. Peralta challenged the suspension, but an independent arbitrator upheld it, stating that Peralta was clearly guilty. It is unclear whether Peralta was promoted through the rank-order or merit-based system in 2023. Either way, his punishment wouldnt have been considered, according to the departments policy.Under the merit-based process, discipline history matters only when an officer has three or more sustained suspensions in the last five years or was suspended more than seven days in the year prior to the promotion, according to DCIs 2020 report. Peraltas suspension for sexual harassment wouldnt have been enough on its own to count against him.The female colleague also reported that their supervisor, Sgt. Robert Belczak, was made aware of Peraltas troubling behavior but did not intervene, according to investigative files.Belczak told investigators he spoke with Peralta about his behavior. Still, investigators ruled that Belczak failed to take supervisory action to stop Peralta. Belczak received a 25-day suspension. He resigned in 2015 before completing the suspension.Records from the Chicago Police Departments Bureau of Internal Affairs about a sexual harassment investigation lodged against Isagany Peralta. He received a 20-day suspension. Then in 2023, he was promoted to sergeant. Obtained by Invisible Institute. Highlights added by ProPublica. Additional redactions by ProPublica.Peralta and Belczak did not respond to requests for comment.Belczak is one of at least three CPD supervisors punished for failing to report sexual misconduct. Among them was an officer promoted to sergeant while under investigation for declining to cooperate with a Chicago Public Schools inquiry into a fellow officer who was arrested on charges of having a sexual relationship with a high school student. Both officers worked at the students school. At the end of the investigation, the sergeant was suspended for 10 days.These sorts of cases highlight the crucial role supervisors play in shaping department culture and maintaining discipline.Theres probably nothing that impacts the handling of sexual misconduct complaints more than culture, said Christy Lopez, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center who previously worked with the U.S. Department of Justice leading investigations into police departments, including Chicago beginning in 2015.Justin Frake, an assistant professor at the University of Michigans Ross School of Business who has studied CPD misconduct, said young officers learn how to police from their supervisors. I think we model our superiors, Frake said.Even as the CPD continues to fall short of consent-decree expectations and reforming its promotions system to include discipline, Snelling has acknowledged the need for change and the reason why its necessary.I do believe that disciplinary history should be taken into consideration when were making promotions, because these are people who are going to be leading other people, Snelling said at the August hearing over the consent decree. And just scoring well on a test is I dont believe that its enough to just lead other officers.The post Chicago Promoted Two Police Officers After Investigators Found They Engaged in Sexual Misconduct appeared first on ProPublica.

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The militant group took more than 250 hostages from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, including 31 from Thailand. The remains of all but one other hostage, an Israeli, have been recovered.

This undated photo provided by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum shows hostage Sudthisak Rinthalak, an agricultural worker from Thailand who was abducted and brought to Gaza in the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. (Hostages and Missing Families Forum via AP)2025-12-04T05:02:07Z JERUSALEM (AP) Remains that militants in Gaza handed to Israel as part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal were those of a Thai agricultural worker, Israeli and Thai officials said Thursday. The return of Sudthisak Rinthalaks remains leaves just one more hostage to be returned under the agreement. Sudthisak was an agricultural worker who had been employed at Kibbutz Beeri, one of the hardest-hit communities in the attack. Israeli officials said the 42-year-old was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, during the Hamas-led attack in Israel that triggered the Israel-Hamas war and that his body was taken by the militant group Islamic Jihad. He was officially declared dead on May 16, 2024. Sudthisaks remains were returned Wednesday, a day after militants handed over remains that didnt match either of the last two hostages.Thai Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura said Sudthisaks family has been notified and thanked the Israeli government for assistance that led to the release of all 31 Thai hostages taken at the start of the war. Of them, 28 were returned alive and three dead. Thais were the largest group of foreigners to be held in captivity. The Thai Foreign Ministry has said in addition to the hostages, 46 Thais have been killed during the war. Israeli Ran Gvili is now the last hostage whose remains have yet to be returned. Gvili was an Israeli police officer who helped people escape from the Nova music festival during the Oct. 7 attack and was killed fighting at another location. Since the Oct. 10 start of the ceasefire, 20 living hostages and the remains of 27 others have been returned to Israel. In exchange, Israel has released the bodies of hundreds Palestinians to Gaza. Most remain unidentified.The return of all the hostages is an essential element of the first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire that began in October, which both Hamas and Israel have accused the other of breaking. In exchange, Israel has been releasing Palestinian prisoners. The plan is still in the early stages and many questions linger over its implementation. The plan to secure and govern the territory authorizes an international stabilization force to provide security, approves a transitional authority to be overseen by U.S. President Donald Trump and envisions a possible future path to an independent Palestinian state.More violence in GazaIn Gaza, the Kuwait Specialty Hospital in Rafah said Thursday it had received the bodies of five people, including two children, following an Israeli airstrike in the south of the strip late Wednesday.Another 32 people were treated for wounds sustained in the strike on the town of Muwasi, the hospital said.Israel said it launched an airstrike targeting a Hamas militant in retaliation for an attack earlier in the day that wounded five Israeli soldiers.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas violated the ceasefire when, according to the army, militants emerged from a tunnel and attacked Israeli soldiers in an area under their control. Grieving relatives angry at deaths during ceasefireRelatives of the dead Palestinians wept and wailed over their loved ones bodies being transported in white body bags through the city of Khan Younis on Thursday.All five of the dead belong to the same family. Blood stains still marked the mattresses on the floor of a tent encampment that was struck. Some relatives voiced their outrage that people are still being killed during whats supposed to be a cessation of fighting. Aisha Abu Jazar, a woman living near where the Palestinians were killed, said she was shocked to hear unusually intense fire by Israelis overnight.They fired a missile at a tent made of cloth, plastic, and wood. The children were asleep. What did the children do to deserve being torn apart in their sleep? What did they do to deserve this? she said.We were supposed to be in a ceasefire, she added. The wars grim tollMore than 360 Palestinians have been killed across Gaza since start of the ceasefire, according to Gazas Health Ministry. Israel still carries out strikes in response to what it has called violations of the truce, and bodies from earlier in the war are being recovered from the rubble.The war began with a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 others were taken hostage. Almost all of the hostages or their remains have been returned in ceasefires or other deals.The Palestinian death toll has surpassed 70,100 since the war began, according to Gazas Health Ministry which operates under the Hamas-run government. It is staffed by medical professionals and maintains detailed records viewed as generally reliable by the international community.___Associated Press writers Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok, Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, and Megan Janetsky in Jerusalem contributed to this report.___This story has been edited to correct the spelling of Sudthisak Rinthalaks name.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, third right, Russian Presidential foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, fourth right, and Russian Direct Investment Fund CEO Special Presidential Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries Kirill Dmitriev, right, attend talks with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, second left, and Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, third, at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)2025-12-04T08:12:18Z Russian President Vladimir Putin said his five-hour talks with U.S. envoys on ending the war in Ukraine were necessary and useful but also difficult work, with some of the proposals unacceptable to the Kremlin.Putin spoke to the India Today TV channel ahead of his visit to New Delhi on Thursday, and while the full interview is yet to be broadcast, Russian state news agencies Tass and RIA Novosti quoted some of Putins remarks. The Russian leaders comments come as U.S. President Donald Trumps special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are set to meet with Ukraines lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, on Thursday in Miami for further talks, according to a senior Trump administration official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.The high-stakes talks are part of Trumps renewed push to end the nearly four-year war. The peace effort has recently gathered steam, even though reconciling Russias and Ukraines red lines still appears to be an uphill battle. Trump said Wednesday that Witkoff and Kushner came away from their marathon session with Putin in the Kremlin confident that he wants to find an end to the war. Their impression was very strongly that hed like to make a deal, Trump said.Tass quoted Putin as saying in the interview that at the talks in the Kremlin, the sides had to go through each point of the U.S. peace proposal, which is why it took so long. This was a necessary conversation, a very concrete one, the Russian president said. There were provisions that Moscow said it was ready to discuss, while others we cant agree to, Putin said. There were these provisions, we discussed them, its difficult work, he added.Tass reported that Putin was asked whether the 28-point peace plan drafted by the U.S. is still relevant, to which the Russian president replied that those provisions were indeed discussed. They just divided these 28, I think 27, points into four packages, Putin was quoted as saying. And they proposed that we discuss these four packages. But essentially, they are the same (provisions).It is unclear whether Putin meant that the Kremlin talks covered the version of the plan before it was amended following U.S.-Ukraine talks in Geneva last weekend.His aide Yuri Ushakov said earlier this week that several documents were being discussed at the talks. At first there was one version, then this version was revised, and instead of one document, a few more appeared, Ushakov said.Putin refused to go into details as to what Russia could agree to and what it finds unacceptable. None of the officials involved in the negotiations has offered details of the talks.I think it is premature. Because it could simply disrupt the working regime of the peace effort, Tass quoted Putin as saying.The Russian leader added that Washington is engaged in shuttle diplomacy.They spoke to the Europeans, then came to us, then they have another meeting with the Ukrainians and the Europeans, he said. Russian barrages of civilian areas of Ukraine continued overnight into Thursday. A ballistic missile struck Kryvyi Rih on Wednesday night, injuring six people, including a 3-year-old girl, according to city administration head Oleksandr Vilkul.He said the strike damaged over 40 residential buildings, a school and domestic gas pipes in the city, which is Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys home town.A 6-year-old girl died in Kherson, a southern port city, after Russian artillery shelling injured her the previous day. Doctors fought until the very end to save her life, but her injuries were too severe, regional military administration chief Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on Telegram.Russia also struck Odesa with drones, injuring six people, while civilian and energy infrastructure was damaged, said the head of the regional military administration, Oleh Kiper.Overall, Russia fired two ballistic missiles and 138 drones of various types at Ukraine overnight, officials said.___Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed.___Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine DASHA LITVINOVA Litvinova is an Associated Press correspondent covering Russia, Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus. She is part of the team that covers the Russia-Ukraine war. She has covered Russia and the region for over a decade. twitter mailto

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This image shows part of a "Seeking Information" notice released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding pipe bombs planted outside offices of the Democratic and Republican national committees in Washington on Jan. 5, 2021, on the eve of the attack on the Capitol. (FBI via AP, File)2025-12-04T13:28:14Z WASHINGTON (AP) The FBI made an arrest on Thursday in its nearly 5-year-old investigation into who placed pipe bombs in Washington on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.The arrest marks the first time investigators have settled on a suspect in an act that had long vexed law enforcement, spawned a multitude of conspiracy theories and remained an enduring mystery in the shadow of the dark chapter of American history that is the violent Capitol siege.The official who described the arrest was not authorized to publicly discuss a case that has not yet been made public and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The arrest took place Thursday morning, and the suspect is a man, the official said. No other details were immediately available, including the charges the man might face. The pipe bombs were placed on the evening of Jan. 5, 2021, near the offices of the Democratic and Republican national committees in the District of Columbia. Nobody was hurt before the bombs were rendered safe, but the FBI has said both devices could have been lethal. In the years since, investigators have sought the publics help in identifying a shadowy subject seen on surveillance camera even as they struggled to determine answers to basic questions, including the persons gender and motive and whether the act had a clear connection to the riot at the Capitol a day later when supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the building in a bid to halt the certification of the Republicans 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Seeking a breakthrough, the FBI last January publicized additional information about the investigation, including an estimate that the suspect was about 5-foot-7, as well as previously unreleased video of the suspect placing one of the bombs.The bureau had for years struggled to pinpoint a suspect despite hundreds of tips, a review of tens of thousands of video files and a significant number of interviews. In the absence of harder evidence, Republican lawmakers and right-wing media outlets promoted conspiracy theories about the pipe bombs. House Republicans also criticized security lapses, questioning how law enforcement failed to detect the bombs for 17 hours. Dan Bongino, the current FBI deputy director, floated the possibility last year before being tapped for his job that the act was an inside job and involved a massive cover-up.But since arriving at the FBI in March, he has sought to deliver action to a restive base on the far right by promising that the pipe bombs investigation would be a top priority and defending the bureaus work.We brought in new personnel to take a look at the case, we flew in police officers and detectives working as TFOs (task force officers) to review FBI work, we conducted multiple internal reviews, held countless in person and SVTC meetings with investigative team members, we dramatically increased investigative resources, and we increased the public award for information in the case to utilize crowd-sourcing leads, he wrote in a long post on X last month. 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 RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

As Congress faces a year-end deadline on Affordable Care Act subsidies, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., left, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., meet with reporters about health care affordability, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)2025-12-04T10:01:20Z WASHINGTON (AP) Fifty-two-year-old Dinam Bigny sank into debt and had to get a roommate this year, in part because of health insurance premiums that cost him nearly $900 per month.Next year, those monthly fees will rise by $200 a significant enough increase that the program manager in Aldie, Virginia, has resigned himself to finding cheaper coverage.I wont be able to pay it, because I really drained out any savings that I have right now, he said. Emergency fund is still draining out thats the scary part.Bigny is among the many Americans dependent on Affordable Care Act marketplace health insurance plans who are already struggling with the high cost of health care, according to a new survey from the health care research nonprofit KFF.Most of the more than 1,300 enrollees surveyed in early November say they anticipate that their health costs will be impacted next year if Congress doesnt extend expiring COVID-era tax credits that help more than 90% of enrollees pay for health insurance premiums, per KFF. The possibility of an extension looks increasingly unlikely. The enhanced premium tax credits set to expire at the end of this year have been at the center of recent tensions in Congress, with Democrats calling for a straight extension and several Republican lawmakers vehemently opposed to the idea. Their inability to agree on a path forward fueled a record 43-day government shutdown earlier this fall. President Donald Trump and some Republicans in Congress have circulated proposals in recent weeks to offer a short-term extension or reform the Affordable Care Act, but no plan has emerged as a clear winner. Meanwhile, the window for Americans to shop for next years plans is well underway with less than a month to go until the subsidies expire. KFFs poll reveals that marketplace enrollees most of whom say they would be directly impacted by the subsidies expiring overwhelmingly support an extension. The survey found this group is more likely to blame Trump and Republicans in Congress than Democrats if the tax credits are left to expire. Enrollees already find it challenging to afford health expensesThe expiration of the tax credits which a separate KFF analysis found will more than double monthly payments for the average subsidized enrollee comes as Americans are already overwhelmed by high health expenses, the poll shows.About 6 in 10 Affordable Care Act enrollees find it somewhat or very difficult to afford out-of-pocket costs for medical care, such as deductibles and copays. That exceeds the roughly half of enrollees who find it challenging to afford health insurance premiums. Most also say they could not afford a $300 per year increase in their health insurance costs without significantly disrupting their household finances.Cynthia Cox, a vice president of KFF who leads the organizations ACA research, said the population of Americans on Affordable Care Act health insurance includes some high-earning entrepreneurs and small business owners, but the bulk of enrollees are lower-income and therefore vulnerable to even small increases in health costs.These are often going to be people who are living paycheck to paycheck, who have volatile or unpredictable incomes as well, she said. Increases that many of them are facing are going to be some sort of financial hardship for them. Most enrollees see cost increases on the horizonSlightly more than half of Affordable Care Act marketplace enrollees believe their health insurance costs will increase a lot more than usual next year, according to the poll. About another 4 in 10 anticipate increases that will be a little more than usual or about the same as usual.Larry Griffin, a 56-year-old investment banker and financial adviser in Paso Robles, California, already pays $920 a month for his gold-level health plan through the states insurance marketplace. He says that price will go up to about $1,400 a month next year alongside jumps in copays and his annual out-of-pocket maximum.Hes concerned the increases will affect his ability to save money for his upcoming retirement, but with the recent amputation of his left leg below the knee, as well as other health issues, he said he cant risk going off health insurance or downgrading his plan. Griffin is among the roughly three-quarters of marketplace enrollees who say health insurance is very important for their ability to access the health care they need.Im not going to say that I cant manage it, I can, but its just another one of those things, he said. Heres, you know, knock number 5,000 against me after all of the other things Ive had to deal with.Patricia Roberts, 52, a full-time caregiver for her daughter in Auburn, Alabama, expects her monthly health insurance premiums to rise from around $800 a month to $1,100 a month next year costs she can manage. But her friends across the border in Georgia are staring down doubling monthly fees next year. I dont know how people are going to live, with it already being a struggle just to pay for food and all the other things, Roberts said. Support for an extension stretches across political partiesThe poll shows allowing the enhanced tax credits to expire would be overwhelmingly unpopular with current marketplace enrollees.Support for continuing the tax credits extends across party lines. Nearly all Democrats and about 8 in 10 independents who are enrolled in marketplace plans say the credits should be extended, as do about 7 in 10 Republicans. Support is similarly high among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who support the MAGA movement, and those who dont.Yvette Laugier, 56, a Republican in Chicago, said while her income is too high to qualify her for the enhanced premium tax credits, she supports extending them temporarily with additional fraud protections to give lower-income enrollees more time to consider their options.Among those who think Congress should extend the credits, about 4 in 10 say Trump would deserve most of the blame if they were allowed to expire and roughly one-third say that about Republicans in Congress. Democrats in Congress are much less likely to receive blame: only 23% of enrollees say they would deserve the bulk of responsibility.Bigny, in Virginia, said the blame should be split between both Democrats and Republicans. But he has hope they can come to a compromise and potentially a temporary extension in the coming weeks.They should just sit and really look for whats best for American people overall, he said.___Swenson reported from New York. ALI SWENSON Swenson covers politics and the information landscape for The Associated Press. She is based in New York. twitter LINLEY SANDERS Sanders is a polls and surveys reporter for The Associated Press. She develops and writes about polls conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, and works on AP VoteCast. twitter AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX Thomson-DeVeaux is the APs editor for polling and surveys.

John Sarcone, acting U.S. attorney for northern New York, speaks at a news conference after an immigration raid in Albany, NY, Sept. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Hill)2025-12-04T05:02:15Z ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) President Donald Trumps effort to install political loyalists as top federal prosecutors has run into a legal buzz saw lately, with judges ruling that his handpicked U.S. attorneys for New Jersey, eastern Virginia, Nevada and Los Angeles were all serving unlawfully.Now, another federal judge is poised to consider an argument by New York Attorney General Letitia James that the administration also twisted the law in order to make John Sarcone the acting U.S. attorney for northern New York.A court hearing is scheduled to be held Thursday as James challenges Sarcones authority to oversee a Justice Department investigation into regulatory lawsuits she filed against Trump and the National Rifle Association.James, a Democrat is disputing the legitimacy of subpoenas issued as part of Sarcones probe, which her lawyers say is part of a campaign of baseless investigations and prosecutions of Trumps perceived enemies. They argued in court papers that since Sarcone has no legitimate authority to act as U.S. attorney, any legal steps taken by him in that capacity are unlawful. The subpoenas must be quashed, and Sarcone must be disqualified from this investigation, they wrote. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on Justice Department lawyers say Sarcone was appointed properly and the motion to block the subpoenas should be denied.The fight in New York, and in the other states, is largely over the legality of unorthodox strategies the Trump administration has adopted to appoint prosecutors seen as unlikely to get confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The New York hearing before U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield comes a week after a federal judge in Virginia dismissed indictments brought there against James and former FBI Director James Comey. That judge concluded that the interim U.S. attorney who brought the charges, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed. The Justice Department is expected to appeal. On Monday, a federal appeals court ruled that Alina Habba, Trumps former personal lawyer, is disqualified from serving as New Jerseys top federal prosecutor.Under federal law, the presidents nominees for U.S. attorney need to be confirmed by the Senate. If a position is vacant, the U.S. attorney general can appoint someone to serve temporarily, but that appointment then expires after 120 days. If that time period elapses, judges in the district can either keep the interim U.S. attorney in the post or appoint someone of their own choosing. Sarcones appointment didnt follow that path. Trump hasnt nominated anyone to serve as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed Sarcone to serve as the interim U.S. attorney in March. When his 120-day term elapsed, judges in the district declined to keep him in the post.Bondi then took the unusual step of appointing Sarcone as a special attorney, then designated him first assistant U.S. attorney for the district, a maneuver federal officials say allows him to serve as an acting U.S. attorney. James lawyers have called the move an end-run around the federal law for filling vacant executive branch positions.The New York subpoenas seek records related to a civil case James filed against Trump over alleged fraud in his personal business dealings. and records from a lawsuit involving the National Rifle Association and two senior executives.Justice Department lawyers argued in court papers that the U.S. attorney general has unquestioned authority to appoint attorneys within her department and to delegate her functions to those attorneys. And they argue that even if Sarcone is not properly holding the office of acting U.S. attorney, he can still conduct grand jury investigations as a special attorney.Sarcone was part of Trumps legal team during the 2016 presidential campaign and worked for the U.S. General Services Administration as the regional administrator for the Northeast and Caribbean during Trumps first term.Habba had also served as an interim U.S. attorney. When her appointment expired, New Jersey judges replaced her with a career prosecutor who had served as her second-in-command. Bondi then fired the prosecutor installed by the judges and renamed Habba as acting U.S. attorney. A similar dynamic is playing out in Nevada, where a federal judge disqualified the Trump administrations pick to be U.S. attorney there. And a federal judge in Los Angeles disqualified the acting U.S. attorney in Southern California from several cases after concluding he had stayed in the temporary job longer than allowed by law.

Luigi Mangione appears in Manhattan Criminal Court for an evidence hearing, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, in New York. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)2025-12-04T05:03:34Z NEW YORK (AP) A high-stakes hearing in the New York murder case against Luigi Mangione continues Thursday, a year to the day after prosecutors say he gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.Mangione, 27, has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges. Before any trials get scheduled, his lawyers are trying to preclude the eventual jurors from hearing about his alleged statements to law enforcement officers and items including a gun and a notebook allegedly seized from his backpack.The evidence is key to prosecutors case. They have said that the 9 mm handgun matches the firearm used in the killing, that writings in the notebook laid out Mangiones disdain for health insurers and ideas about killing a CEO at an investor conference, and that he gave Pennsylvania police the same fake name that the alleged gunman used at a New York hostel days before the shooting. Thompson, 50, was shot from behind as he walked to an investor conference on Dec. 4, 2024. He became UnitedHealthcares CEO in 2021 and had worked within parent UnitedHealth Group Inc. for 20 years.The hearing, which started Monday and could extend to next week, applies only to the state case. But it is giving the public an extensive preview of some testimony, video, 911 audio and other records relevant to both cases. Its not immediately clear what witnesses or evidence are expected Thursday. Stay up to date with the news and the best of AP by following our WhatsApp channel. Follow on Tuesdays court session displayed police body-camera video of officers confronting Mangione at a McDonalds in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and concluding to their amazement that he was the much-publicized suspect in Thompsons killing five days earlier. They interacted with Mangione for roughly 20 minutes before telling him he had the right to remain silent. The officers asked his name, whether hed been in New York recently and other questions, including: Why are you nervous? Officers tried to play it cool and buy time by intimating that they were simply responding to a loitering complaint and chatting about his steak sandwich. Still, they patted Mangione down and pushed his backpack away from him. About 15 minutes in, they warned him that he was being investigated and would be arrested if he repeated what theyd determined was a fake name.After he gave his real one, he was read his rights, handcuffed, frisked again and ultimately arrested on a forgery charge related to his fake ID.The video also provided glimpses of officers searching his backpack, a matter that will likely be explored further as the hearing goes on.Mangiones lawyers argue that his statements shouldnt be allowed as trial evidence because officers started questioning him before reading his rights. The defense contends the backpack items should be excluded because police didnt get a warrant before searching his bag.Manhattan prosecutors havent yet detailed their arguments for allowing the disputed evidence. Federal prosecutors have maintained that police were justified in searching the backpack to ensure there was nothing dangerous inside and that Mangiones statements to officers were voluntary and made before he was under arrest.Many criminal cases see disputes over evidence and the complicated legal standards governing police searches and interactions with potential suspects.

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)2025-12-04T04:39:35Z Wall Street was holding steady early Thursday ahead of the governments latest data release on the labor market, a day after a private survey showed that the U.S. economy lost jobs last month. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average each ticked up 0.1% before the opening bell. Nasdaq futures were unchanged.On Wednesday, markets rose to near record levels after the private payroll data firm ADP estimated U.S. job losses of 32,000 in November. The surprisingly weak report from ADP may be discouraging for people looking for jobs, but it bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate next week. If the Fed does, it would be the third cut of the year in hopes of supporting a slowing job market.While the governments weekly jobless claims report due later Thursday doesnt generally move markets, it may carry more heft this week. Thats because the more comprehensive November jobs report wont come out until after the Federal Reserve decides on interest rates next week. That report was delayed due to the government shutdown. Investors love lower interest rates because they boost prices for investments and can boost the economy. The downside is that they can fuel inflation, which remains above the Feds 2% target. On Friday, the government will release the Feds favored inflation measure, which central bank officials will also consider when making their decision on interest rates. In equities trading, Dollar General rose 6% after it hit Wall Streets third-quarter sales projections and profits came in ahead of expectations. Dollar Generals top line was lifted by solid sales at new stores as well as growth in same-store sales.Five Below jumped 4.5% after the discount gift store chain trounced analysts third-quarter profit expectations and raised its full-year guidance.Elsewhere, at midday in Europe, Germanys DAX rose 0.8%, Britains FTSE 100 inched up 0.1% and Frances CAC-40 added 0.3%. Japans Nikkei 225 index climbed 2.3% to 51,028.42, nearing its all-time high, on expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate next week, even while traders speculate over whether the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates this month.Technology and telecoms giant SoftBank Group Corp.'s shares jumped 9.2% after the companys founder reaffirmed the companys strategic shift to focus on OpenAI and other investments in artificial intelligence. SoftBanks shares are still down nearly 28% from a month ago, when it announced it had sold its stake in chip maker Nvidia for $5.8 billion to be able to invest more in AI. The Japanese governments 10-year bond yield rose above 1.9%, its highest since 2007.Hong Kongs Hang Seng index reversed early trading losses, adding 0.7% to 25,935.90, led by gains for tech and consumer stocks. The Shanghai Composite index shed 0.1% to 3,875.79. South Koreas Kospi fell 0.2% to 4,028.51, with weakness in tech and automotive stocks weighing on the benchmark.Australias S&P/ASX 200 index recovered from a slump earlier in the day, adding 0.3% to 8,618.40.Taiwans Taiex index and Indias BSE Sensex were nearly unchanged. In energy markets early Thursday, U.S. benchmark crude oil picked up 31 cents to $59.26 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained 26 cents to $62.93 per barrel. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Nature, Published online: 04 December 2025; doi:10.1038/d41586-025-03955-zRFK Jrs vaccine advisory panel will be discussing the inclusion of adjuvants in childhood vaccinations this week. Heres whats at stake.

Nature, Published online: 04 December 2025; doi:10.1038/s41586-025-09980-2Author Correction: Activity of caspase-8 determines plasticity between cell death pathways

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SALT LAKE CITYWith top lawmakers championing the measure as a restoration of Christian values currently under attack in mainstream America, the Utah State Legislature passed a bill Monday that bans all eye contact during sex.Looking directly into another persons eyes while being physically intimate is a sick and unholy act, said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who criticized the perversion of locking eyes during sex and argued that it had led directly to rising rates of crime and drug abuse. This is a Christian state, and emotionless sex is a part of our heritage worth preserving. The only eyes you should be staring into during sex are Christs. Maintaining a deep, mutual gaze with a lover is an immoral and repulsive practice that corrupts our traditional method of procreation. They may accept this kind of degeneracy in California, but in Utah, we close our eyes and get it over with as the Lord intended. If your spouse tries to run their hands through your hair and look you in the eye while having sex, we recommend averting your gaze, saying a silent prayer, and contacting the authorities immediately. Addressing the concerns of Utah residents worried they might, in a moment of weakness, succumb to the temptation of intimate eye contact, Gov. Cox recommended hitting it from the back.The post Utah Bans Eye Contact During Sex appeared first on The Onion.

COLUMBIA, MOIn a display of enthusiasm that revealed a deep familiarity with the subject, local man Luke Price was said to be totally nerding out Thursday about the idea of white supremacy.According to sources, the 26-year-old sales associate and self-described bermensch rattled off a dozen esoteric theories of racial hierarchy and eagerly asserted the biological superiority of white people, admitting he was a bit of a geek when it came to the topic of purging Caucasian blood of its impurities. In an exchange that began as a casual conversation about dogs, Price reportedly went on a tangent about falling white birth rates for 15 minutes straight.Its amazing to see how passionate Luke becomes when the topic of white power comes uphe gets completely absorbed, said girlfriend Sarah Hovey, 20, who explained that while she considered herself more of a casual racist, she didnt mind Prices frequent monologues about IQ scores and genetics, or his lengthy quotations from Arthur de Gobineaus mid-19th-century Essay On The Inequality Of The Human Races. If someone mentions immigration, for instance, his whole face lights up as he starts in about shifting demographics, great replacement theory, and how this country rightfully belongs to whites.Hovey told reporters there was something kind of adorable about how excited her boyfriend becomes when he recaps the latest white supremacist diatribe from a Stew Peters podcast or Nick Fuentes live stream. She acknowledged her mind often wanders when Price goes into nerdy detail about scientific racismrambling on about brow ridges and skull measurements, or the difference between Australoids and Mongoloidsbut said shes just glad he has something that makes him happy.Everyone has their thing, Hovey said. Luke has white supremacy. I like to watch Friends.Price spoke at length about how, as a teenager, the internet allowed him to connect with a community of people who shared his intense conviction that inferior people were diluting the blood of the country. Though his parents anticipated he would grow out of his youthful obsession, he said his love of all things Aryan has only deepened with age. He chuckled when confessing he sometimes goes on eBay and spends way too much on pricey collectibles like authentic Nazi paraphernalia or a rare first edition of The Turner Diaries.In high school, I was really into the Proud Boys, Bronze Age Pervert, and that whole alt-right scene that was coming out back then, said Price, describing himself as the kid who wore a Pepe the Frog T-shirt to class and scribbled the 14 words on the front of all his notebooks. But pretty soon I got into edgier stuff, like Mike Enochs blog, and older stuff, tooinfluential guys like Madison Grant, who was writing a century ago about racial hygiene and the superior Nordic stock of Americas founders.Yep, Im a big ol dork when it comes to the idea of establishing a white ethnostate, he continued, throwing up his hands in a gesture of mock helplessness. What can I say?While he reportedly has very few friends in the town where he lives, Price said his Discord server is home to dozens of likeminded individuals of pure European heritage whom he chats with basically 24/7. In typical nerd fashion, he added, they sometimes attend in-person meet-ups where they dress up in vintage David Dukeera Ku Klux Klan robes. Price showed off a photo from a white nationalist con he attended, Fuentes America First Political Action Conference, where he got his photo taken with real-life superhero Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.Price confirmed his passion for preserving the white race has alienated him from people with more mainstream hobbies, remarking that no matter how popular white supremacy becomes, there will always be those who look down on him just because hes part of the fandom.Some people think its lame, he said. Theyd probably call me a weirdo or a loser for devoting so much of my time to this. I dont let it get me down, though. Its 2025, for Gods sake! Were cool now! There are even people like me in the White House.The haters out there are probably just insecure, he added. Or secret Jews.The post Man Totally Nerding Out About Superiority Of White Race appeared first on The Onion.