Colin MacKnight, Director of Music at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Little Rock, Ark., rehearses, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, for his upcoming lunch-time concert series featuring the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. (AP Photo/Katie Adkins)2025-02-05T05:07:34Z LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) It was hushed inside a 140-year-old cathedral on the outskirts of Little Rocks downtown as about five dozen people sat in the pews during a recent lunch break in January.The nave filled with the sounds of the Gothic churchs pipe organ, and a screen showed a man performing the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Those gathered werent there for church, but for the third concert in a series Colin MacKnight is performing over the next year to commemorate the 275th anniversary of Bachs death. MacKnight, Trinity Episcopal Cathedrals music director, is performing all of Bachs organ works throughout 2025 one lunch break at a time. The ambitious plan entails performing 18 hours of music in half-hour increments nearly every Wednesday. Ive wanted to for a really long time because its, I think, the most thorough way of immersing myself in the brilliance of Johann Sebastian Bach, MacKnight said one morning as he rehearsed in the empty cathedral the day before a concert. The concerts in Little Rock are among several events around the world this year commemorating the German composers legacy and the anniversary of his death.MacKnight, who is from Bethesda, Maryland, has been music director at Trinity for three years. He said the first time he remembers hearing Bach was at a relatives funeral when he was about 12 years old.Something about hearing it that time just really mesmerized me and that was the beginning of my love of Bach, he said. The 31-year-olds hands move easily between the four keyboards of the organ console, flanked by knobs controlling different sounds that are assembled into various combinations.Underneath, his feet press on the pedalboards combining to create the notes of Bachs works. MacKnight, who has played the organ since he was 16, acknowledges how dizzying the sight of the instrument can be for newcomers. If you dont know what youre looking at, its a little overwhelming, like an airplane console, he said.MacKnights concerts which are free and open to the public are also mini-lessons for those who come, with a glossary of terms like concerto and fugue included in the program. In between pieces, MacKnight gives audience members some background on Bach and his organ works.These pieces are in the unfortunate category of being much, much harder than they sound, he says.Generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time, Bach is known in particular for his organ works and their heavy use of pedals and complex structures. Few organists perform the composers complete organ works, given the difficulty and quantity of the music. They include Grammy-winning organist Paul Jacobs, who taught MacKnight at the Juilliard School. Jacobs performed an 18-hour nonstop concert of Bachs organ works to mark the 250th anniversary of the composers death in 2000.The free concerts so far have drawn a mix of church members, classical music aficionados and newcomers who say they want a quiet break from the daily bustle. I like the complexity of the music and the power of the organ, which stirs me internally, said Barry Coplin, a member of the church who has attended two of MacKnights concerts.Ben Wiley, who lives about 30 minutes away, is a classical music fan who was attending his third of MacKnights shows and said he appreciates being able to hear Bachs works in half-hour increments.Its a good way to be able to get it done in short bursts, to be able to absorb it better and come back to get the next batch, he said.MacKnight is also performing a 100-minute concert of Bachs most extensive organ work the Clavier-Ubung III, sometimes referred to as the German Organ Mass on July 28, the day the German composer died in 1750 at 65.The Rev. Thomas Alexander, a priest at Trinity, said the concerts allow the public to enjoy MacKnights talents, come together and learn more about Bach in a way they normally wouldnt be able to.Its like reading someones complete collection of novels. You get to really get to know someone in a comprehensive way, Alexander said. But it also builds a sense of community. ANDREW DEMILLO DeMillo is a government and politics reporter for The Associated Press, based in Little Rock, Arkansas. He has worked for the AP since 2005. twitter mailto

A couple awaits the arrival of their first child in Carlsbad, Calif., in November 2005. (AP Photo/Julie Busch, File)2025-02-05T15:09:06Z NEW YORK (AP) Black women in the U.S. died at a rate nearly 3.5 times higher white women around the time of childbirth in 2023, as maternal mortality fell below prepandemic levels overall but racial gaps widened, according to federal health data released Wednesday.In 2021 and 2022, the maternal death rate for Black women was about 2.6 times higher than white women.The data suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic, at its peak, impacted all pregnant women. But once we went back to usual activities, then the impact of systemic racism and unequal access (to medical care) ... came right back into place, said Dr. Amanda Williams, interim medical director for the March of Dimes.The Centers for Disease Control and Preventions report Wednesday on the 2023 deaths was drawn from death certificates. The CDC counts women who died while pregnant, during childbirth and up to 42 days after birth. Accidental deaths are excluded.The report found: 1. The maternal death rate for white women dropped from 19 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2022 to 14.5 per 100,000 in 2023. 2. The rate for Black women went from 49.5 to a little above 50, though the report says that increase was not statistically significant. 3. The rate for Hispanic women dropped from about 17 to about 12.4. The rate for Asian Americans fell from about 13 to about 11. In total, 669 women died in 2023 during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth, the CDC reported. Thats down from 817 deaths in 2022 and 1,205 in 2021, when it was the highest in more than 50 years. Excessive bleeding, blood vessel blockages and infections are leading causes of maternal deaths.Among those infections is COVID-19. The coronavirus and its complications proved dangerous to pregnant women. And, in the worst days of the pandemic, burned out physicians may have added to the risk by ignoring pregnant womens worries, experts say. COVID-19s overall impact on pregnancies declined as the pandemic subsided and as hospitals and birthing centers returned to normal operations.Also, the federal Medicaid program expanded to cover postpartum care for up to 12 months, instead of just seven weeks. That helped more moms recover and made them healthier for the next time they tried to have a baby, Williams said. The number of maternal deaths is also tied to the number of pregnancies. U.S. births have been declining, and fewer pregnancies contributes to fewer pregnancy-related deaths, noted Eugene Declercq, a maternal deaths researcher at Boston University.CDC officials refused an Associated Press request to talk to a report author.The government is still receiving and processing death reports from last year. But Declercq said his analysis of available data suggests the number of 2024 maternal deaths may end up about the same as 2023. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, claps as Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk prepares to depart after speaking at a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, on Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)2025-02-05T13:01:48Z WASHINGTON (AP) When Elon Musk debuted the Department of Government Efficiency recently at the Capitol, House Speaker Mike Johnson enthusiastically predicted the coming Trump administration would bring a lot of change around here.Three weeks in, the change the Trump administration has brought is a disruption of the federal government on an unprecedented scale, dismantling longstanding programs, sparking widespread public outcry and challenging the very role of Congress to create the nations laws and pay its bills.Government workers are being pushed to resign. Entire agencies are being shuttered. Federal funding to states and nonprofits was temporarily frozen. And the most sensitive Treasury Department information of countless Americans was opened to Musks DOGE team in an unprecedented breach of privacy and protocol.This is an erosion of our democracy, said Brian Riedl, a longtime economic adviser to conservative Republicans, now at the Manhattan Institute think tank. President Donald Trump has tapped Musk, the worlds richest man, to take on inner workings of the worlds oldest democracy, and so far the results are stunning, if not alarming and unlawful, being challenged in dozens of court cases nationwide. Congress is proving little match for DOGE as wary lawmakers watch it march through the bureaucracy. Instead, a rush of lawsuits is demanding interventions to stop the Republican presidents team from unilaterally gutting government. And protests are erupting outside government agencies and clogging the congressional phone lines. Whatever DOGE is doing, it is certainly not not what democracy looks like or has ever looked like in the grand history of this country, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said.An unelected shadow government is conducting a hostile takeover of the federal government, Schumer posted on Musks social media site X. Musk responded on his platform: Hysterical reactions like this is how you know that DOGE is doing work that really matters.Congress has been here before, tested during Trumps first term by his willingness to break the norms and skirt the outer banks of legality, most notably when he steamrolled Congress and poached federal military housing and construction funds to build parts of his promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.But Trumps second-term partnership with Musk, who spent some $200 million on Trumps White House bid and employs the tech world ethos of moving fast and breaking things, is escalating the confrontation. On a stated quest to save money by rooting out waste, fraud and abuse, they are making moves to upend American institutions, decimate the civil service and leave a reformed or hollowed-out federal government in its place.Sharon Parrott, president of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said it would be catastrophic to our system of government if the effort succeeds.Many of the things they are doing are brazenly unlawful, and weve seen that the courts have been willing to intervene and intervene quickly, Parrott said. Theres a real readiness and understanding of the stakes. In many ways, Trump is pursuing by force what Republicans have long promised but have been unable to deliver by congressional action: shrinking the size and scope of the federal government. Anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist quipped more than a decade ago about the goal of making government small enough to drown in a bathtub. But facing pushback from within their ranks about cutting programs Americans rely upon, Republicans have repeatedly failed to accomplish their budget-slashing goals even when they fully control Congress and the White House, as they do now.While Congress has the power to pass legislation to fund government operations, the president can veto bills or sign them into law. Instead, Trump is testing an idea championed by his nominee for budget director, Russ Vought, that the executive has the ability to impound federal funds, clawing the money back. Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said DOGE provides cover for some Republicans who want to cut federal funds, when Congress has failed to do so.And other Republicans say they are comfortable with Trumps pause of certain federal operations, particularly the U.S. Agency for International Development, which sends aid around the world. Closing the Department of Education is next on deck. Weve got oversight, said Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina. If he goes too far, Ill be the first person to step up. Taken together the actions of the administration and DOGE have been swift, relentless and wide open to debate.Trumps Office of Management and Budgets move to abruptly freeze federal grants and loans drew outrage nationwide as states and nonprofit organizations feared being locked out of funds they need to provide housing, health care and other services. A day later, the White House reversed course. The shutdown of funds to USAID is largely seen as a test case for the Impoundment Control Act, which Vought has discussed using as a way to roll back congressionally approved funding. Voughts nomination is on track for Senate confirmation this week, despite all Senate Democrats saying they will oppose him.And DOGE dipped into the inner-workings of the Treasury Department to access its payment system and the private information of millions of Americans in what is widely viewed as a way for the White House to eventually stop federal funds to various entities.On Monday, U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan said the administrations actions with the federal funding potentially run roughshod over a bulwark of the Constitution by interfering with Congresss appropriation of federal funds.Defendants actions appear to suffer from infirmities of a constitutional magnitude, she wrote, extending an order issued last week that had paused OMBs sweeping funding freeze. The appropriation of the governments resources is reserved for Congress, not the Executive Branch. And a wealth of legal authority supports this fundamental separation of powers.Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said what gives her pause now is how Congress moves forward with legislation to fund the government by the upcoming March 14 deadline.What if we do all that and come to an agreement ... vote it in and this administration says, Thats bunk. We dont have to go by that, she said. So the level of trust is at the lowest I have ever seen it here.Asked if the administration could do what its doing, Johnson, the speaker, insisted, There will be an appropriate action for Congress to take, but we havent yet sorted out whats happening with it.Pressed if Trump had the authority to shut agencies, he said: I dont have all the answers.___Associated Press writer Kevin Freking and videojournalist Mike Pesoli contributed to this report.

The flag of the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, flies in front of the USAID office in Washington, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)2025-02-05T16:17:17Z WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. aid staffers around the world scrambled Wednesday for answers and started to pack up households or pull their children from school after a sudden Trump administration order that yanked almost all of them off the job and out of the field.In Washington, Democratic lawmakers and other supporters of the U.S. Agency for International Development planned rallies to protest the dismantling of the independent government agency established six decades ago. USAID has been one of the agencies hardest hit as the new administration and Elon Musks budget-cutting team target federal programs they say are wasteful or not aligned with a conservative agenda.U.S. embassies in many of the more than 100 countries where USAID operates convened emergency town halls for the thousands of agency staffers and contractors looking for answers. Embassy officials said they had been given no guidance on what to tell staffers, particularly local hires, about their employment status. A USAID contractor posted in an often violent region of the Middle East said the shutdown had placed the contractor and the contractors family in danger, unable to reach the U.S. government for help if needed. The contractor woke up one morning earlier this week blocked from access to government email and other systems, and an emergency panic button app was wiped off the contractors smartphone. You really do feel cut off from a lifeline, the contract staffer said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of a Trump administration ban forbidding USAID workers to speak to people outside their agency. Despite the administrations assurances that the U.S. government would bring the agencys workers safely home as ordered within 30 days, many feared being stranded in the field and left to make their own way home. Their colleagues in Washington described reactivating employee networks that had helped in the past to bring local staffers out of danger zones. The late-night order Tuesday to abandon USAID posts worldwide comes as many of the aid workers abroad are locked out of email and emergency communications with their own government. Most agency spending has been ordered frozen, and most workers at the Washington headquarters have been taken off the job, making it unclear how the administration will manage and pay for the abrupt relocation of thousands of staffers and their families.The mass removal of thousands of staffers would doom billions of dollars in projects in some 120 countries, including security assistance for Ukraine and elsewhere as well as development work for clean water, job training and education, including for schoolgirls under Taliban rule in Afghanistan.The online notification to USAID workers and contractors said they would be off the job, effective just before midnight Friday, unless deemed essential. Direct hires of the agency overseas got 30 days to return home, while contractors would be fired, the notice said.Thousands already had been laid off and programs worldwide shut down after Trump, a Republican, imposed a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance. Despite outcry from Democratic lawmakers, the aid agency has been a special target as the administration and Musks so-called Department of Government Efficiency look to shrink the government. They have ordered a spending stop that has paralyzed U.S.-funded aid and development work, gutted the agencys senior leadership and workforce with furloughs and firings, and closed the Washington headquarters to staffers Monday.Spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper, Musk boasted on X.The United States is the worlds largest humanitarian donor by far. It spends less than 1% of its budget on foreign assistance, a smaller share of its budget than some countries.Hundreds of millions of dollars of food and medication already delivered by U.S. companies are sitting in ports because of the shutdown.Health programs like those credited with helping end polio and smallpox epidemics and an acclaimed HIV/AIDS program that saved more than 20 million lives in Africa have stopped. So have programs for monitoring and deploying rapid-response teams for contagious diseases such as an Ebola outbreak in Uganda. South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi told Parliament on Wednesday that officials scrambled to meet with U.S. Embassy staff for information after receiving no warning the Trump administration would freeze crucial funding for the worlds biggest national HIV/AIDS program.South Africa has the worlds highest number of people living with HIV, at around 8 million, and the United States funds around 17% of its $2.3 billion-a-year program through the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. The health minister did not say whether U.S. exemptions for lifesaving care affect that work. Democrats and others say the USAID is enshrined in legislation as an independent agency and cannot be shut down without congressional approval. Supporters of USAID from both political parties say its work overseas is essential to countering the influence of Russia, China and other adversaries and rivals abroad, and to cementing alliances and partnerships.Half a dozen Democratic members of Congress were expected to speak Wednesday at a rally that gathered hundreds of demonstrators across the street from the U.S. Capitol.The decision to withdraw direct-hire staff and their families earlier than their planned departures will probably cost the government tens of millions of dollars in travel and relocation costs. Staff ordered on leave include both foreign and civil service officers who have legal protection against arbitrary dismissal and being placed on leave without reason.The American Foreign Service Association, the union which represents U.S. diplomats, sent a notice to its members denouncing the decision and saying it was preparing legal action to counter or halt it.Locally employed USAID staff, however, do not have much recourse and were excluded from the federal governments voluntary buyout offer.USAID staffers and families faced wrenching decisions as the rumored order loomed, including whether to pull children out of school midyear. Some gave away pet cats and dogs, fearing the administration would not give workers time to complete the paperwork to bring the animals with them.The announcement came as Secretary of State Marco Rubio was on a five-nation tour of Central America and met this week with embassy and USAID staff at two of the regions largest USAID missions: El Salvador and Guatemala.At a news conference Tuesday, Rubio said he has long supported foreign aid. I continue to support foreign aid. But foreign aid is not charity. He noted that every dollar the U.S. spends must advance its national interests.The online notice says those who will be exempted from leave include staffers responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs and would be informed by Thursday afternoon.Thank you for your service, the notice concluded.___Lee reported from Guatemala City. ELLEN KNICKMEYER Knickmeyer covers foreign policy and national security for The Associated Press. She is based in Washington, D.C. twitter FARNOUSH AMIRI Amiri covers Congress for The Associated Press, with a focus on foreign policy and congressional investigations. She previously covered politics for AP as a statehouse reporter based in Columbus, Ohio. twitter mailto

In this Sept. 16, 2015, photo, a woman in Sullivan City, Texas, who said she entered the country illegally, walks with her daughter who was born in the United States, but was denied a birth certificate. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)2025-02-05T06:11:38Z GREENBELT, Md. (AP) A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a second nationwide pause on President Donald Trumps executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for anyone born in the U.S. to someone in the country illegally, calling citizenship a most precious right. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman said no court in the country has endorsed the Trump administrations interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment.This court will not be the first, she said.She added: Citizenship is a most precious right, expressly granted by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution.Boardman said citizenship is a national concern that demands a uniform policy, adding that only a nationwide injunction will provide complete relief to the plaintiffs.After reading her ruling from the bench, the judge asked a government attorney if they would be appealing her decision. The attorney said he didnt have the authority to immediately take a position on that question. Trumps inauguration week order had already been on temporary hold nationally because of a separate suit brought by four states in Washington state, where a judge called the order blatantly unconstitutional. In total, 22 states, as well as other organizations, have sued to try to stop the executive action. Boardman, nominated by former President Joe Biden, agreed to the preliminary injunction after a hearing federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland. Immigrant-rights advocacy groups CASA and Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project, and a handful of expectant mothers brought the suit before Boardman. At the heart of the lawsuits is the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1868 after the Civil War and the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision that determined Scott, a slave, wasnt a citizen. The principle of birthright citizenship is a foundation of our national democracy, is woven throughout the laws of our nation, and has shaped a shared sense of national belonging for generation after generation of citizens, the plaintiffs argued in the suit. The Trump administration asserts that children of noncitizens are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and therefore not entitled to citizenship. The Constitution does not harbor a windfall clause granting American citizenship to, inter alia: the children of those who have circumvented (or outright defied) federal immigration laws, the government argued in reply to the Maryland plaintiffs suit. The 14th Amendment was added in the aftermath of the Civil War to ensure citizenship for former slaves and free African Americans. It states: All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.In addition to the 22 states with Democratic attorneys general seeking to stop the order, 18 Republican attorneys general announced this week that theyre seeking to defend the presidents order by joining one of the federal suits brought in New Hampshire. The U.S. is among about 30 countries where birthright citizenship the principle of jus soli or right of the soil is applied. Most are in the Americas, and Canada and Mexico are among them.During his first week in office, Trump signed 10 executive orders on immigration and issued edicts to carry out promises of mass deportations and border security.Some actions were felt immediately. Others face legal challenges. If they happen at all, other orders may take years to happen but have led to fear in immigrant communities.Whether Trump can enact his agenda could come down to money. Congress is expected to consider funding support soon. Trump may use emergency powers to tap the Defense Department, as he did for a border wall during his first term. MIKE CATALINI Catalini covers government, elections and news primarily in New Jersey for The Associated Press. He focuses on accountability and how policy affects people. twitter

Employees working for the agency now known as DOGE have been ordered to stop using Slack while government lawyers attempt to transition the agency to one that is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, 404 Media has learned.Good morning, everyone! As a reminder, please refrain from using Slack at the moment while our various general counsels figure out the best way to handle the records migration to our new EOP [Executive Office of the President] component, a message seen by 404 Media reads. Will update as soon as we have more information!Another message seen by 404 Media provides an update and asserts that the US Digital Service (which is now DOGE) will split from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).I spoke to the DOGE team about Slack. Because of the USDS split from OMB, OMB is asking us to stop generating new slack messages starting now, the message says. We expect this to be a temporary pause, and we expect to continue having access to historical Slack material. We may have intermittent access as we go through this system transition so continue to use good data hygiene and backup any critical material. We will keep you updated.Do you know more about DOGE or USDS? We would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can contact Jason on Signal at +1 202 505 1702. You can contact Joseph on Signal at +44 20 8133 5190. The messages indicate that, under Elon Musks leadership, DOGE is actively taking steps to make sure its communications and records are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, a records transparency law commonly used by journalists and lawyers to hold government accountable. Instead, DOGE is asserting that rather than reporting up through the Office of Management and Budget as the United States Digital Service did for years, it is reporting through the Executive Office of the President and to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. Under OMB, it was generally subject to FOIA. Under the White House Chief of Staff, records it creates are generally not subject to FOIA.This would make DOGE a Presidential Records Act entity, meaning records it creates are not FOIAble until years after a president leaves office rather than a Federal Records Act entity, which would make its records FOIAble now. This is a very notable, but unsurprising move that federal records experts have been worried about since the issuance of Donald Trumps executive order renaming the United States Digital Servicean agency of federal tech workers that was formed under the Obama administrationto the United States DOGE Service. That executive order specifically states that the renamed entity shall be established in the Executive Office of the President, and that the USDS administrator (Elon Musk) shall report to the White House Chief of Staff. The Dispatch, for example, wrote a very informative article about this could limit public scrutiny of DOGE and the clever executive order that did this.Government experts 404 Media spoke to said the directive to not use Slack and the assertion that DOGE is now under the Executive Office of the President rather than OMB is not surprising but that it is very concerning, and that this assertion can be, will be, and is being legally challenged."Just changing the name alone under the Executive Order doesn't affect DOGE's recordkeeping status, Jason R. Baron, professor at the University of Maryland and former director of litigation at the National Archives and Records Administration told 404 Media in a phone call. The administration apparently has made a determination that DOGE will be a presidential component subject to the Presidential Records Act. However, that will surely be challenged in the courts in connection with FOIA lawsuits. Under FOIA, it will be for the courts to decide whether under existing DOGE is acting more like a federal oversight agency or as a presidential component that solely advises the President.The Presidential Records Act was created in part to make it so that the president does not need to publish records about their decisions, advice, and considerations while they are president. But Barron said that the way DOGE is currently actinggoing into agencies across the federal government and gutting or threatening to gut themis not a presidential advice function, it is a cross-agency function. He suggested that a court will have to consider this in any lawsuit about DOGEs status.DOGE staff certainly do not appear to be solely advising and assisting the President, Baron said. They appear to have taken actions in the real world that affect Treasury Department and USAID operations involving electronic systems. Whether those activities are deemed illegal or not under other laws, they are certainly actions beyond what a group of people who are solely advising and the president would do.Lauren Harper, the Freedom of the Press Foundations Daniel Ellsberg Chair on Government Secrecy, wrote a blog post explaining that DOGEs move to EOP was almost definitely an attempt to hide records, but that journalists should challenge this. Does Musk think that placing DOGE within the government will make it easier to hide its records? If so, lets prove that troubling assumption wrong.Harper told 404 Media that beyond not being governed by FOIA, in the Presidential Records Act, there is a carveout for personal records that doesnt exist in the Federal Records Act.This means that the president and their staff get to decide if records are personal, which means, they can do whatever they want with them without consulting anybody, she said.Both Harper and Baron stressed that any distinction over DOGEs status matters only to records they themselves are creating, and that many of DOGEs actions will remain FOIAble via other agencies. For example when DOGE employees email people at the Treasury Department, those records should be able to be obtained directly via the Treasury Department even if they are not available from DOGE.Already, DOGE has been subject to several lawsuits about its status within the government and what transparency laws it must abide by. The Congressional Research Service, a segment of the Library of Congress that analyzes changes to government, meanwhile published a paper about DOGEs early implementation, which raised the question about what types of records would be available to the public: Certain transparency statutes might apply to USDS, depending on its membership and implementation, the paper says. These statutes include the Freedom of Information Act, where members of the public can request agency information, and the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which requires public reporting and meetings for advisory committees where at least one nonfederal member is providing advice to the federal government. Will USDS and the DOGE effort involve nonfederal persons in advisory roles? What level of public and congressional information access is anticipated?

If theres one thing Id hoped people had learned going into the next four years of Donald Trump as president, its that spending lots of time online posting about what people in power are saying and doing is not going to accomplish anything. If anything, its exactly what they want.Trumps second presidential term has arrived amidst a new golden age for internet grifters, propagandists, and bad-faith hucksters of all stripes. The contours of this era of untruth have been flashing like neon signs for the past decade, constantly enticing us to engage with its impenetrable nonsense. Whether its gaslighting everyone who saw Elon Musk give two Nazi salutes during the inauguration or blaming the Los Angeles wildfires on the racist dog whistle of DEI, lies and absurdities now regularly flood our senses, having long outpaced the medias capacity to filter them.Many of my journalist colleagues have attempted to beat back the tide under banners like fighting disinformation and accountability. While these efforts are admirable, the past few years have changed my own internal calculus. Thinkers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Hannah Arendt warned us that the point of this deluge is not to persuade, but to overwhelm and paralyze our capacity to act. More recently, researchers have found that the viral outrage disseminated on social media in response to these ridiculous claims actually reduces the effectiveness of collective action. The result is a media environment that keeps us in a state of debilitating fear and anger, endlessly reacting to our oppressors instead of organizing against them.To that end, the age of corporate social media has been a roaring success.The reality is you are oxygenating the things these people are saying even as you purport to debunk them, Katherine Cross, a sociologist and author of Log Off: Why Posting and Politics (Almost) Never Mix, told 404 Media. Whether its [New York Times columnist] Ross Douthat providing a sane-washing gloss on Trumps mania or people on social media vehemently disagreeing and dunking on it, theyre legitimizing it as part of the discourse.Cross book contains a meticulous catalog of social media sins which many people who follow and care about current events are probably guilty ofmyself very much included. She documents how tech platforms encourage us, through their design affordances, to post and seethe and doomscroll into the void, always reacting and never acting.But perhaps the greatest of these sins is convincing ourselves that posting is a form of political activism, when it is at best a coping mechanisman individualist solution to problems that can only be solved by collective action. This, says Cross, is the primary way tech platforms atomize and alienate us, creating a solipsism that says you are the main protagonist in a sea of NPCs.Everything on social media is designed to make you think like that, said Cross. Its all about youyour feed, your network, your friends.In the days since the inauguration, Ive watched people on Bluesky and Instagram fall into these same old traps. My timeline is full of reactive hot takes and gotchas by people who still seem to think they can quote-dunk their way out of fascismor who know they cant, but simply cant resist taking the bait. The media is more than willing to work up their appetites. Legacy news outlets cynically chase clicks (and ad dollars) by disseminating whatever sensational nonsense those in power are spewing."For most people, social media gives you this sense that unless you care about everything, you care about nothing. You must try to swallow the world while its on fire"This in turn fuels yet another round of online outrage, edgy takes, and screenshots exposing the hypocrisy of people who never cared about being seen as hypocrites, because thats not the point. Even violent fantasies about putting billionaires to the guillotine are rendered inept in these online spacesjust another pressure release valve to harmlessly dissipate our rage instead of compelling ourselves to organize and act.This is the opposite of what media, social or otherwise, is supposed to do. Of course its important to stay informed, and journalists can still provide the valuable information we need to take action. But this process has been short-circuited by tech platforms and a media environment built around seeking reaction for its own sake. Many Twitter refugees made a good choice in migrating from Musks X to Bluesky, carving out a new online space that is inhospitable to bigoted debate bros and time-wasting trolls. But in their enemies absence, many of these Left-leaning posters have just reverted to dunking on each other, preferring the catharsis of sectarian conflict over the hard work of organizing.Under this status quo, everything becomes a myopic contest of who can best exploit peoples anxieties to command their attention and energy. If we dont learn how to extract ourselves from this loop, none of the information we gain will manifest as tangible actionand the people in charge prefer it that way.Its no surprise that tech billionaires like Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg have rushed to kiss the ring of the twice-ascendent Trump. The marriage of big tech and Trumpworld should make clear that Silicon Valley and authoritarians share the same goal: to crush dissent by keeping their would-be opponents spinning on an endless hamster wheel of reactive anger. And just like in the classic 1983 thriller WarGames, the only winning move is not to play.That can be a tough pill to swallow when the internet is our main window into the world, and that world seems to be rapidly falling apart. We gaze into our phone-portals, paralyzed by the trance of the doomscroll, reacting and swiping from one news article and hot take to another. Authoritarians issue frightening proclamations that may or may not be legally enforceable, seizing our attention and energy and ensuring that the process will repeat, ad infinitum.So what is the alternative? If we log off, what exactly are we supposed to do instead? How are we supposed to get information without constantly raising our antennae into the noxious cumulonimbus cloud of social media?It isnt quite as simple as touch grass, but it also sort of is.Trusted information networks have existed since long before the internet and mass media. These networks are in every town and city, and at their core are real relationships between neighborsnot their online, parasocial simulacra.Here in New York City, in the week since the inauguration, Ive seen large groups mobilize to defend migrants from anticipated ICE raids and provide warm food and winter clothes for the unhoused after the city closed shelters and abandoned people in sub-freezing temperatures. Similar efforts are underway in Chicago, where ICE reportedly arrested more than 100 people, and in other cities where ICE has planned or attempted raids, with volunteers assigned to keep watch over key locations where migrants are most vulnerable.A few weeks earlier, residents created ad-hoc mutual aid distros in Los Angeles to provide food and essentials for those displaced by the wildfires. The coordinated efforts gave Angelenos a lifeline during the crisis, cutting through the false claims spreading on social media about looting and out-of-state fire trucks being stopped for emissions testing. Many mutual aid groups in Los Angeles have not just been helping people affected by the fires but have also focused on distributing information about how to learn about and resist ICE raids in Los Angeles. It is no surprise that some of the largest and most coordinated protests in the early days of Trumps term have happened in Los Angeles, where thousands of anti-ICE protesters shut down the 101 highway and several streets in downtown Los Angeles Sunday.Some of these efforts were coordinated online over Discord and secure messaging apps, but all of them arose from existing networks of neighbors and community organizers, some of whom have been organizing for decades.For most people, social media gives you this sense that unless you care about everything, you care about nothing. You must try to swallow the world while its on fire, said Cross. But we didnt evolve to be able to absorb this much info. It makes you devalue the work you can do in your community.Its not that social media is fundamentally evil or bereft of any good qualities. Some of my best post-Twitter moments have been spent goofing around with mutuals on Bluesky, or waxing romantic about the joys of human creativity and art-making in an increasingly AI-infested world. But when it comes to addressing the problems we face, no amount of posting or passive info consumption is going to substitute the hard, unsexy work of organizing.Its a lesson the Extremely Online Left still hasnt fully learned, failing where its political enemies succeed. Reactionary right-wing groups like the homophobic and transphobic Moms for Libertywhich seeks to ban books from LGBTQ and BIPOC authors under the guise of parental rightshave claimed political victories by seizing power one public school board and small town at a time. Other reactionaries have similarly managed to take their pet grievances about diversity and wokeness to the national level by moving from online outrage to on-the-ground community organizing.You can discourse and quote-dunk and fact-check until youre blue in the face, but at a certain point, you have to stop and decide what truth you believe in. The internet has conditioned us to constantly seek new information, as if becoming a sponge of bad news will eventually yield the final piece of a puzzle. But there is also such a thing as having enough information. As the internet continues to enshittify, maybe what we really need is to start trusting each other and our own collective sense of what is true and good.We dont need any more irony-poisoned hot takes or cathartic, irreverent snark. We need to collectively decide what kind of world we actually do want, and what were willing to do to achieve it.Janus Rose is New York City-based journalist, educator and artist whose work explores the impacts of A.I. and technology on activists and marginalized communities. Previously a senior editor at VICE, she has been published in digital and print outlets including e-Flux Journal, DAZED Magazine, The New Yorker, and Al Jazeera.

The logo for the Justice Department is seen before a news conference at the Department of Justice, Aug. 23, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)2025-02-05T17:08:34Z WASHINGTON (AP) FBI agents who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner while investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol are not at risk of being fired, a top Justice Department official said in a memo to the bureau workforce obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday.But the memo from acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove also provides no reassurances for any agents found to have acted with corrupt or partisan intent and suggests those employees, if there any, have reason to be concerned about a massive and highly unusual review process the Trump administration Justice Department is embarking upon to identify what it says is potential misconduct.The message from Bove, which also accuses acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll of insubordination, is aimed at providing a measure of clarity following days of turmoil and uncertainty inside the bureau as a result of an extraordinary Justice Department demand on Friday for the names of agents who participated in the investigations. Many within the FBI had seen that request as a precursor for mass firings. Let me be clear: No FBI employee who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner with respect to January 6 investigations is at risk of termination or other penalties, wrote Bove, who was previously part of Donald Trumps legal team in his criminal cases. The only individuals who should be concerned about the process initiated by my January 31, 2025 memo are those who acted with corrupt or partisan intent, who blatantly defied orders from Department leadership, or who exercised discretion in weaponizing the FBI. Thousands of FBI employees who participated in investigations related to the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of then-President Trumps supporters were subsequently asked to complete in-depth questionnaires about their involvement in the inquiries as the new Trump administration Justice Department weighs disciplinary actions. ERIC TUCKER Tucker covers national security in Washington for The Associated Press, with a focus on the FBI and Justice Department and the special counsel cases against former President Donald Trump. twitter mailto ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Richer is an Associated Press reporter covering the Justice Department and legal issues from Washington. twitter mailto

People gather at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a shooting on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)2025-02-05T13:38:38Z They scrambled for cover as quickly as they could as shots rang out, sheltering behind and under whatever they could find to escape the gunman and the gore. One survivor with children feared she might never see them again. Another used her friends shawl to staunch the bleeding of a man whod been shot in the shoulder. Witnesses of Swedens worst mass shooting described horror and panic that gripped an adult education center west of Stockholm as the gunman killed at least 10 people. He also died, although its not yet clear how.Here are witness accounts of the carnage that also seriously wounded at least five people and horrified the Scandinavian nation where gun violence at schools is very rare. Healthcare students worst hours of my lifeHellen Werme, 35, thought of her two children, ages two and three, as she heard the gunman pacing outside the classroom where she and five other people hid.Those were the worst hours of my life. I did not know if I would get shot there and then, or in ten minutes. You simply waited, the newspaper Expressen quoted her as saying.The report said Werme, three classmates and two teachers were about to start a lesson on how to install catheters on patients when they heard the first shots Tuesday at the Campus Risbergska adult training school in Orebro, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Stockholm. We thought it was a door slamming. Like, oh, sounds like someone is angry, Werme was quoted as saying. Then my teacher shouted, Lock the doors and get down on the floor.They crawled behind some hospital beds and lay there, making no noise. A womans pleas, followed by a shotStudent Mirna Essa described a bone-chilling moment to the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.We hear a woman saying, No, no, no, three times. After that we heard someone shooting, it quoted her as saying. I did not know what was happening, I simply ran. It was chaos within a few seconds. It was like a movie. All you can think of is, Why?Essa studies Swedish at the school. It offers educational classes for adults, Swedish-language classes for immigrants, vocational training and programs for people with intellectual disabilities.I dont want to go back. Not now, she told the newspaper as she returned Wednesday to light a candle for the victims. All I can think of are those who died, I cannot think of anything else.Barricades made with classroom furnitureStudent Andreas Sundling said the first loud bangs made him think people were fighting outside and maybe, I dont know, throwing chairs and tables. And then we heard people screaming.We locked the (classroom) doors and barricaded the doors with tables and chairs, he said. As more shots rang out, they hid under tables, too, he added.And then after maybe two hours, yeah, two and a half hours, the police came and they basically kicked down the door, Sundling said. Inside the school, it was blood everywhere on the floor. It was crazy.Student describes victims bleedingBroadcaster TV4 interviewed a student who said she performed first aid on a man who was shot in the shoulder. TV4 identified her only by her first name, Marwa.He was bleeding a lot. When I looked behind me I saw three people on the floor bleeding. Everyone was shocked. They said, Go out! Get out! she said.Me and my friend tried to save the life of this person. People were very shocked. The police were not on site and neither was the ambulance. So we had to help. I took my friends shawl and tied it tightly around his shoulder so that he wouldnt bleed so much. Teacher heard bangs and evacuated Teacher Mattias Jansson said that training hes received for dealing with emergencies kicked in when he heard shouts for people to evacuate. When we made it to the emergency exit we heard the bangs, he told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper. These are things that we have been taught, gathering and evacuating, try to get as many people out as possible. ___AP correspondent Mimmi Montgomery in London contributed.

A New York state senator is trying to introduce the same age verification legislation that has resulted in massive porn sitesincluding Pornhub and its network of sister sitesgoing dark across much of the U.S. south and midwest.The bill, introduced by Republicans Jake Ashby and Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh, is almost identical to every other law that has passed across the country in the last two years related to age verification: it would require porn sites to verify that visitors are at least 18 years old through digital identification, credit card transaction, government ID, or password-protected login.Like other laws in Texas, Kansas, North Carolina, Montana, and more than a dozen more states, it defines material harmful to minors as a laundry list of sex acts and body parts, including actual, simulated, or animated display or depiction of: (A) a person's pubic hair, anus, or genitals or the nipple of the female breast; (B) touching, caressing, or fondling of nipples, breasts, buttocks, anuses, or genitals; or (C) sexual intercourse, masturbation, sodomy, bestiality, oral copulation, flagellation, excretory functions, exhibitions, or any other sexual act that lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.The authors write in their justification for the bill: The internet is a dangerous place for children, rife with sexual material that is harmful to minors. The ease of access to this material is downright scary. This legislation seeks to prioritize the protection of children by requiring pornography websites to verify the age of its users. Upon verification that a user is 18 years of age or older, access to the site would be given.Sites that operate in the state and don't have age verification set up would face a $50,000 penalty per day.In 19 states, Republican and Democratic governors have signed these age verification bills into law. New York should be next, Ashby wrote in a Facebook post. In recent years, New York has made positive, bipartisan strides to protect our kids online. We believe this is another important step. Consuming this kind of content is wrong for our kids mental health and their emotional development. It can be toxic for their future relationships, Ashby said in a press release, the New York news outlet Troy Record reported.Podcast: Pornhub Exec Discusses Pulling Out of the South, Trad Wives, and Feet PicsIn this special interview episode of the 404 Media Podcast, Sam talks to Alexzandra Kekesi, VP of Brand and Community at Pornhub, about age verification laws and what shes hearing from adult performers.404 MediaSamantha ColeWhen age verification laws are enacted in states, searches for VPNs spike, people go to less-moderated non-compliant websites, and adults rights to privacy and speech are infringed upon. Adult industry and first amendment advocates have lobbied for device-based controls for children, instead.The bill was referred to the committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection on January 30.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) pose with the trophy during Super Bowl 59 Opening Night, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in New Orleans, ahead of the NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday. (AP Photo/Matt York)2025-02-05T18:01:56Z NEW ORLEANS (AP) Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs are pursuing history and a few of Taylor Swifts records.Saquon Barkley, Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles stand in their way.The Chiefs (17-2) will try to become the first team to win three straight Super Bowls when they face the Eagles (17-3) on Sunday in the Superdome.Its a rematch from two years ago when Hurts nearly led the Eagles to a championship only to watch Mahomes snatch it away by rallying Kansas City to a 38-35 win on Harrison Butkers 27-yard field goal with 8 seconds left.Mahomes lifted the Chiefs to an overtime win against San Francisco in another Super Bowl rematch last year. Now, theyre poised for a three-peat, a word coach Andy Reid doesnt use much.I think the only time Ive heard him say it is to the media whenever yall ask him about it, Mahomes said. Hes very locked in on just, How can we be great with our cadence today at practice? so thats just the stuff that Coach Reid focuses on. Reid won more games than any coach in franchise history during his 14 seasons in Philadelphia but couldnt win the big one, going 1-4 in NFC championship games and losing a Super Bowl to the Patriots. He went right to Kansas City after the Eagles fired him following the 2012 season and has built a dynasty thanks to Mahomes, Kelce, Chris Jones and others. You dont have time to think about all that, Reid said of the three-peat. Youre focused in on the job at hand here and thats playing against a great Eagles team. Jones, the three-time All-Pro defensive tackle, echoed his coachs viewpoint.We dont talk about no three-peat, Jones said. I think thats what were here for. We understand that. We understand theres one more game until the offseason and we can do whatever we want to do. Our main focus is making sure were prepared for the Eagles. No matter what the Chiefs say, everyone else is talking about it. No team has done it in the Super Bowl era, though the Green Bay Packers won an NFL championship in 1965 and followed by winning the first two Super Bowls. Kelce even started all the three-peat talk on stage last year when he said the teams goal was to win three.This is gonna be our biggest test yet, Kelce said. They got a lot of great players but the biggest thing is they play great together. You could see their communication. You could see the accountability they have, especially in the secondary. Its not gonna make my job any easier.These Eagles are different from the group that fell just short against Kansas City in Arizona two years ago.They have the NFLs most dynamic player in the backfield. Barkley rushed for 2,447 yards with seven touchdowns of 60-plus yards in the regular season and playoffs.The goal has always been to win it, not just to get here, Barkley said.Losing to the Chiefs two years ago only motivated Hurts even more. Hes determined to hoist a Lombardi trophy and even had a photo of him walking off the field with Kansas Citys red and yellow confetti falling around him as the background on his phone. Its had a great driving force, Hurts said of that loss. It lit a flame, lit a fire in me, and to have this opportunity again is exactly what you work for.Hurts, Barkley, A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and a dominant offensive line present a major challenge for Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.The Eagles also have the leagues No. 1-ranked defense, featuring eight new starters from 2022 and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun and rookie cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean plus the emergence of defensive tackle Jalen Carter and edge rusher Nolan Smith has transformed a defensive unit that fell apart last season.Were fortunate to have Steve Spagnuolo, but I tell you that Vic is one of those guys, Reid said. Hes just one of those really creative defensive minds that survived a long time in this league. Hes been time-tested, and, he has the trust of his players. If the Chiefs win, Reid and Mahomes will be one step closer to Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. Theyre halfway to the six Belichick and Brady won together in New England and Mahomes is still four away from Bradys seven rings. Im trying to be the greatest Patrick Mahomes that I can be. Thats obviously a goal of anyones to be the greatest at their profession but in order to do that, you have to be the greatest that you can be every single day, Mahomes said. Whenever Im done with football, if I leave everything out there the way that I feel like I have so far as far as effort and mentality, Ill be happy with the results.A win for Kansas City also would give Kelce his fourth ring, the same number of Grammy Awards his pop star girlfriend has won for best album. Overall, Kelce has 18 playoff wins and Swift has 14 Grammys. Shes up there being the superstar that she is and never taking no for an answer and always working her tail off. I better match that energy for sure, Kelce said.___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl ROB MAADDI Maaddi is senior NFL writer for The Associated Press. Hes covered the league for 24 years, including the first two decades as the Eagles beat writer. mailto

Louise Hamlin, left, and Chris Wilson, two neighbors who lost their homes in the Eaton Fire, stand for a photo with the remains of their homes in Altadena, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)2025-02-05T05:30:05Z Before a wildfire ravaged their street in northwest Altadena, Louise Hamlin and Chris Wilson lived next door to each other in nearly identical houses.I chose an old home in an old neighborhood because it has soul, said Hamlin, a 51-year-old single mom with a teenage boy, who bought her 1,500-square-foot home 10 years ago.Today, gone are their charming English-style cottages built in 1925 with the welcoming porches and Palladian windows. Amid the rubble and ash, little is left of their historic neighborhood.In the weeks since the Eaton wildfire took their homes, Hamlin and Wilson have been stumbling through the layers of business, bureaucracy and emotional trauma of surviving a natural disaster, with their sights firmly set on rebuilding. How theyll navigate rebuilding is a story of contrasting fortunes and unequal recovery that reveals the nations growing home insurance crisis. Her insurance has already paid out nearly a million dollars and she is searching for contractors. He is contemplating loans, lawsuits and moving his family out of California.It changes the whole trajectory to your life, said Wilson, 44, who bought his house five years ago with his wife, who is six months pregnant with their first child. The Unfair PlanHamlins home was privately covered by Mercury Insurance, but Wilson was forced onto the California Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan the states bare-bones insurance program when SafeCo declined to renew his policy last May. The FAIR Plan insures people who cant get private coverage but need insurance as a condition of their mortgage.As wildfires, hurricanes and other natural disasters become more frequent due to climate change, many property owners find themselves struggling to find or afford private insurance. The issue is particularly acute in California, where some major insurance companies have stopped writing new policies altogether or are refusing to renew existing ones. State officials recently started rolling out new regulations to entice insurers to stay in California, with the hope of getting as many homeowners as possible off the FAIR Plan. FAIR, with its high premiums and basic coverage, was designed as a temporary safety net until policyholders find a more permanent option. Yet the number of FAIR Plan residential policies more than doubled from 2020 to 2024, reaching nearly 452,000 policies last year. For Wilson and Hamlin, their parallel rebuilding journeys serve as a cautionary tale. Wilson paid nearly 60% more in premiums related to the fire than Hamlin, for less than half the coverage.Thats why a lot of people call it The Unfair Plan. said Amy Bach, executive director of the consumer advocacy group United Policyholders.SafeCos parent company Liberty Mutual said in a statement that it couldnt comment on any individual policies but acknowledged difficult but purposeful business decisions in California.Mercury didnt respond to requests for comment. Janet Ruiz, spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute, which represents many major insurance companies, said California is fortunate to have the FAIR Plan, which is required to accept everyone. Ruiz said outcomes would be even worse if homeowners had no coverage at all. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said California is working to make sure all claims are paid. He said in a statement that his office is working to get homeowners off the FAIR Plan and back to traditional more comprehensive insurance coverage. A FAIR Plan spokesperson declined to comment on Wilsons case, and noted that its difficult to compare policies and coverage. 31,000 wildfire claimsThousands of people lost their homes in the Eaton and nearby Palisades fires, which were among the most destructive in California history.The FAIR Plan said it expanded staffing to meet the surging demand and has a funding mechanism in place to pay all covered claims. State data shows more than 31,000 wildfire-related claims had been filed as of last week, including roughly 4,400 claims under the FAIR Plan. Hamlin had standard comprehensive home insurance, with an annual policy premium of $1,264 at the time of the fire. She can receive up to $1.5 million to replace her home, other structures and personal property, including up to $303,000 for living expenses while displaced. Her policy further entitles her to coverage that could add more than $200,000 to help her rebuild.Wilson, meanwhile, pays a $2,000 premium for the FAIR Plan that sets his maximum payout at $686,000, including $100,000 for living expenses while displaced.Wilson also had to buy wrap-around insurance for $1,500 a year for issues the FAIR Plan doesnt cover, such as burst pipes or falling objects. That supplemental plan doesnt cover fire damage.Hamlin said Mercurys support has been exceptional, immediately sending her money and helping with next steps such as finding housing and getting contractor quotes. Within days, the company wired her tens of thousands of dollars to get started while the process fell into place. Being able to rest at night and wake up and deal with everything else is really important, Hamlin said.Meanwhile, Wilson has struggled to even talk to a FAIR Plan representative. There was zero communication in the first two weeks, contact information was listed incorrectly, phone numbers had no voicemail and emails bounced back.Half the time, I feel like Im doing something wrong, Wilson said. After The Associated Press reached out for comment, Insurance Department spokesperson Michael Soller said a representative would contact Wilson directly.Its just luck, reallyWilson said he feels haunted by his choices. He thought he had bought property in a low-risk area, and had avoided looking for homes in another neighborhood further north after hearing that people there had been dropped by their insurers.Hamlin, too, was aware of the fire risks when she moved in. She previously lived in Pasadena and was surprised that State Farm, her then-insurance company, would not offer her coverage in Altadena. She chose Mercury because it was the cheapest option, and was considering pursuing even more robust coverage.I could have been dropped when Chris was dropped. Any of us could be at any time. Its just luck, really. Its nothing I did or didnt do, Hamlin said, stunned by the comparison. I had the same risk factors as everyone else.Stephen Collier, a professor of urban planning at University of California, Berkeley, said the seemingly random nature of who gets dropped and when has much to do with insurance companies complicated risk models. Theyre all trying to manage their exposure, Collier said. If you think about wildfires, you dont want concentrated exposure.Wilson said SafeCo requested an inspection of his property before deciding not to renew his policy. Panicked, he tried unsuccessfully to negotiate with them, offering to clear brushes, trim trees near the roof, and other wildfire mitigation efforts.Wilson shopped around aggressively with his insurance agent but to no avail, and resigned himself to the FAIR Plan, assuming he would eventually find private insurance again.There was another catch: Wilson said he couldnt get comprehensive replacement cost coverage on the FAIR Plan because his roof was too old. Instead, he ended up with what is known as actual cash value coverage, which greatly limits the payout based on the physical depreciation of what was lost.Were talking hundreds of thousands of dollars and thats very, very painful, said Bach of United Policyholders.An uninsurable futureCiting rising fire risks and other problems, seven of the top 12 insurance companies either paused or restricted new business in California in 2023. State regulations give insurers more latitude to raise premiums in exchange for issuing policies in high-risk areas, including consideration of climate change in premiums and passing the costs of reinsurance to consumers.But those are only short-term solutions, said Dave Jones, Californias insurance commissioner from 2011 to 2018. He pointed to Florida, where officials have done everything the insurers asked California to do but yielded little success.Were marching steadily towards an uninsurable future in the United States because were not doing enough fast enough to address the underlying cause, which is climate change, Jones said.Unless governments take on the financial burden of serious mitigation efforts, the price of Californias fire risk will remain unequal and left to the homeowners, Collier of UC Berkeley said. That could be the underinsured like Wilson swallowing their personal losses, or all California homeowners collectively saddled with increased premiums, or both. State Farm, Californias largest insurance company, this week urged the state to approve an emergency rate hike of 22% for homeowner policies starting in May after processing nearly 8,700 claims and paying out more than $1 billion to policyholders for the LA fires.Theres a huge amount of risk in the system and theres a big question of who is going to pay for this, Collier said.Wilson expects hell have to take out loans to rebuild. Hes considering joining a lawsuit against Southern California Edison that alleges the utilitys equipment sparked the blaze, in hopes of receiving settlement money.But with a baby on the way, Wilson said he cant fathom living in limbo on the FAIR Plan forever, and hes thinking about leaving California if private insurance remains out of reach. I dont want to have to be prepared to maybe lose everything again, Wilson said. Stuck paying for an insurance that doesnt cover anything. You dont want to live in a risky area. You dont have the safety net.___Associated Press data journalist Aaron Kessler in Washington, D.C., contributed. SALLY HO Ho is an investigative and business news reporter for The Associated Press. Shes filed public records requests in all 50 U.S. states and covered a range of major world events. twitter mailto TRN NGUYN Nguyn is an Associated Press reporter covering California government and politics. mailto

Laundry hangs on a destroyed building caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)2025-02-05T17:42:24Z DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) Saeed Abu Elaishs wife, two of his daughters and two dozen others from his extended family were killed by Israeli airstrikes over the past 15 months. His house in northern Gaza was destroyed. He and surviving family now live in a tent set up in the rubble of his home.But he says he will not be driven out, after President Donald Trump called for transferring all Palestinians from Gaza so the United States could take over the devastated territory and rebuild it for others. Rights groups said his comments were tantamount to a call for ethnic cleansing and forcible expulsion.We categorically reject and will resist any plans to deport and transfer us from our land, he said from the Jabaliya refugee camp.Trumps call for depopulating Gaza has stunned Palestinians. Hundreds of thousands in the territory rushed to return to their homes even if destroyed as soon as they could following the ceasefire reached last month between Israel and Hamas. Though some experts speculated that Trumps proposal might be a negotiating tactic, Palestinians across the region saw in it an effort to erase them completely from their homeland, a continuation of the expulsion and displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes in what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation. That event is known among Palestinians as the Nakba, Arabic for the Catastrophe. Trumps statement a wild swing away from years of U.S. policy meshed with calls from far-right politicians in Israel to push Palestinians out of Gaza, particularly into Egypt. We dont want a repeat of our ancestors tragedy, said Abu Elaish, a health care worker.Like many, Abu Elaish could point to his own familys experience. In May 1948, Israeli forces expelled his grandparents and other Palestinians and demolished their homes in the village of Hoj in whats now southern Israel just outside the Gaza Strip, he said. The family resettled in Gazas Jabaliya camp, which over the decades grew into a densely built urban neighborhood. Israeli troops leveled most of the district during fierce fighting with Hamas militants over recent months. Mustafa al-Gazzar was 5 years old, he said, when his family and other residents were forced to flee as Israeli forces in 1948 attacked their town of Yabneh in what is now central Israel.Now in his 80s, he sat outside his home in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, flattened by an airstrike, and said it was unthinkable to go after surviving 15 months of war.Are you crazy, you think I would leave? he said. You think youll expel me abroad and bring other people in my place? I would rather live in my tent, under rubble. I wont leave. Put that in your brain.Instead of being sent abroad, I should return to my original land where I was born and will die, he said, referring to Yabneh, located near what is now the central Israeli city of Yavneh. He said Trump should be seeking a two-state solution. This is the ideal, clear solution, peace for the Israelis and peace for the Palestinians, living side by side, he said. In his comments Tuesday alongside visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said Palestinians from Gaza should be resettled in lands in Egypt, Jordan or elsewhere, promising them a beautiful place. Egypt and Jordan have both rejected Trumps call to resettle Palestinians on their soil.Trump said the U.S. would take over Gaza and rebuild it into a Riviera of the Middle East for the worlds people, dismissing the idea that Palestinians would refuse to leave or want to return.Amna Omar, a 71-year-old from the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah, called Trump a madman.Omar was able to go to Egypt during the war after her husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In Cairo, doctors told them his cancer had gone untreated for too long and he died in October.She said she intends to go back home as soon as she can, as did other Palestinians in Egypt.Gaza is our land, our home. We as Gazans have the right to the land and want to rebuild it, she said. I dont want to die in Egypt like my husband. I want to die at home. Palestinians have shown a powerful determination to return to their homes after nearly the entire population was displaced by the war. Joyous crowds streamed back to northern Gaza and Rafah, both of which were devastated by Israeli bombardment and ground offensives.With their neighborhoods reduced to landscapes of rubble, many returnees are homeless, water is scarce and electricity is largely non-existent in most areas. Still, for most, the destruction has not diminished their will to stay.We remain here, even if it means living in the rubble of our homes better that than living in humiliation elsewhere, said Ibrahim Abu Rizk, who returned to Rafah to find his home in ruins. For a year and a half, we have been slaughtered, bombed, and destroyed, only to then leave just like that? The ceasefire deal brokered by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, calls for a return of Palestinians to their homes as well as a massive international reconstruction effort in its third phase assuming Israel and Hamas can reach a deal on who will govern the territory.International law forbids the forced removal of populations. The Israeli rights group Btselem said Trumps statement constitutes a call for ethnic cleansing through uprooting and forcibly transferring some 2 million people. This is Trump and Netanyahus roadmap for a second Nakba of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.Palestinian refugees have long demanded they be allowed to return to homes in what is now Israel, citing the right to return widely recognized for refugees under international law. Israel argues that right does not apply to the Palestinians and says a mass return would end the Jewish majority in the country.Throughout the 15-month war in Gaza, many Palestinians expressed fear that Israels goal was to drive the population into neighboring Egypt. The government denied that aim, though some hard-right members of the coalition called for encouraging Palestinians to leave Gaza and for restoring Jewish settlements there. The Israeli-occupied West Bank home to more than 500,000 settlers has also seen more than a year of escalated violence.The rejection of Trumps call was echoed by Palestinians in the West Bank and in surrounding Arab countries like Jordan and Lebanon that are also home to large refugee populations.If he wants to displace the population of Gaza, Mohammed al-Amiri, a resident in the West Bank city of Ramallah, said of Trump, then he should return them to their original homeland from which they were displaced in 1948, inside Israel, in the depopulated villages.___Magdy reported from Cairo and Frankel from Jerusalem. Associated Press journalists Mohammed Jahjouh in Rafah and Lee Keath in Cairo contributed to this report. JULIA FRANKEL Frankel is an Associated Press reporter in Jerusalem. twitter mailto

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio gives a joint news conference with Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo at the National Palace in Guatemala City, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)2025-02-05T18:07:08Z GUATEMALA CITY (AP) Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday delivered a robust defense of the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and praised President Donald Trumps widely panned proposal for the United States to take control of the Gaza Strip.Rubio said the administration was essentially forced to shut down USAID because of insubordination within its ranks by staffers who refused to comply with demands to justify its budget and its programs.He said Trumps suggestion that the U.S. take over Gaza was in fact a very generous offer to reconstruct and develop the war-ravaged Palestinian territory. President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday during a news conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled elsewhere and proposed the U.S. take ownership in redeveloping the area into the Riviera of the Middle East. It was not meant as a hostile move, Rubio said during a news conference in Guatemala City. It was meant as a, I think, a very generous move.He said Gaza is akin to a natural disaster and people cant live there because there are unexploded munitions, debris and rubble. In the interim, obviously people are going to have to live somewhere while youre rebuilding it, he said. At USAID, almost all the agencys workers overseas are being pulled off the job and out of the field under a sudden Trump administration order. Rubio said the original intention was to keep the agency running while reviewing how money was being spent. But he said the government received no cooperation and employees were acting in contravention and insubordination.It is not the direction I wanted it. Its not the way we wanted to do it initially, but it is the way we will have to do it now, Rubio said. What would be a gift to our geopolitical rivals is billions of dollars in foreign aid that is not aligned to the national interests in the foreign policy of the United States. Immigration, a Trump administration priority, has been the major focus of Rubios first foreign trip as Americas top diplomat, a five-country tour of Central America. During his visit to Guatemala, the countrys President Bernardo Arvalo said his country will accept migrants from other countries being deported from the United States. Under the safe third country agreement announced by Arvalo, the deportees would then be returned to their home countries at U.S. expense.We have agreed to increase by 40% the number of flights of deportees both of our nationality as well as deportees from other nationalities, Arvalo said, speaking during a news conference with Rubio. The Guatemalan presidents offer came days after El Salvador Monday announced a similar but broader agreement.Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said his country would accept U.S. deportees of any nationality, including American citizens and legal residents who are imprisoned for violent crimes.

Protesters demonstrate against Project 2025, in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)2025-02-05T06:12:23Z Follow todays live updates on the Trump administration Thousands of demonstrators gathered in cities across the U.S. on Wednesday to protest the Trump administrations early actions, decrying everything from the presidents immigration crackdown to his rollback of transgender rights and a proposal to forcibly transfer Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.Protesters in Philadelphia and at state capitols in Minnesota, Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin, Indiana and beyond waved signs denouncing President Donald Trump; billionaire Elon Musk, the leader of Trumps new Department of Government Efficiency; and Project 2025, a hard-right playbook for American government and society.Democracy is not a spectator sport! Do something, said a sign held aloft by one demonstrator in Philadelphia.The protests were a result of a movement that has organized online under the hashtags #buildtheresistance and #50501, which stands for 50 protests, 50 states, one day. Websites and accounts across social media issued calls for action, with messages such as reject fascism and defend our democracy. AP AUDIO: Thousands protest Trump administration policies in cities across the US AP correspondent Ed Donahue reports protests are expanding to President Trumps proposed changes. Outside the state Capitol in Lansing, Michigan, a crowd of about 1,000 people gathered in freezing temperatures. Catie Miglietti, from the Ann Arbor area, said Musks access to the Treasury Department data was especially concerning to her. She painted a sign depicting Musk puppeteering Trump from his outraised arm evoking Musks straight-arm gesture during a January speech that some have interpreted as a Nazi salute. If we dont stop it and get Congress to do something, its an attack on democracy, Miglietti said.In Columbus, Ohio, protesters outside the Statehouse shouted, Wake up USA! Stop the coup thats underway!Im appalled by democracys changes in the last, well, specifically two weeks but it started a long time ago, said Margaret Wilmeth, a self-described senior citizen from Columbus. So Im just trying to put a presence into resistance. Craig and Robin Schroeder drove nearly two hours from their home in Findlay for the demonstration. They described the appointment of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as a slap to Ohios military families. The Senate narrowly confirmed Hegseth after questions from members in both parties over his qualifications to lead the military, especially amid allegations of heavy alcohol use and aggressive behavior toward women.This is my first protest ever, but I cant imagine a more worthwhile one, said Robin Schroeder, 47.Demonstrations in several cities piled criticism on Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency.DOGE is not legit, read one poster on the state Capitol steps in Jefferson, Missouri, where dozens of protesters gathered. Why does Elon have your Social Security info???Members of Congress have expressed concern that DOGEs involvement with the U.S. government payment system could lead to security risks or missed payments for programs such as Social Security and Medicare. A Treasury Department official says a tech executive working with DOGE will have read-only access.The Missouri protesters chanted we will not bend down and we will not be silenced. Trump has signed a series of executive orders in the first couple of weeks of his new term on everything from trade and immigration to climate change. As Democrats begin to raise their voice in opposition to Trumps agenda, protests have also begun. In Alabama, several hundred people gathered outside the Statehouse to protest state and federal actions targeting LGBTQ people.On Tuesday, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey promised to sign legislation declaring that there are only two sexes, male and female echoing Trumps recent executive order for the federal government to define sex as only male or female.The President thinks he has a lot of power, the Rev. Julie Conrady, a Unitarian Universalist minister told the crowd. He does not have the power to determine your gender. He does not have the power to define your identity.___Associated Press journalists Joey Cappelletti and Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan; Julie Smyth in Columbus, Ohio; Summer Ballentine in Jefferson City, Missouri; Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; Michael Conroy in Indianapolis, Indiana; Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama; and Gabriel Sandoval in Phoenix contributed to this report. ___The attribution for a quote from the Alabama protest has been corrected to reflect that it was from The Rev. Julie Conrady, not Patricia Todd. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

This image provided by Pringles shows the Pringles 2025 Super Bowl NFL football spot. (Pringles via AP)2025-02-05T15:07:31Z NEW YORK (AP) Eugene Levys trademark eyebrows fly off for Little Caesars. A tongue dances to Shania Twain to promote Nestles Coffee Mate Cold Foam. And Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal reunite at Katzs Deli in an ad for Hellmanns. A frenzied mix of silliness and celebrities is hitting the airwaves and the internet, and that means one thing: it is Super Bowl ad time again.Veteran advertisers are using tried-and-true tactics like celebrity cameos, humor and cute animals to win over watchers. Meanwhile, first-time and newer advertisers are courting outrageousness and using stunts to try to stand out in the battle to capture the attention of the more than 120 million viewers expected to tune into Sundays game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs on Fox. Super Bowl viewers are a unique audience because theyre as primed to watch the ads as they are the game. This is a societal moment where we come together as a country, said Kimberly Whitler, marketing professor at the University of Virginias Darden School of Business. We may be on different sides, you know, of the gridiron or the field. But we come together. With 80-plus ad spots divvied up among the 50-something advertisers during the game, its tough to make sure viewers remember your brand message. And with a few ad spots going for a record $8 million for 30 seconds this year, the stakes have never been higher. But the price tag is worth it, advertisers say. Rachel Jaiven, head of Hagen-Dazs marketing, said the brand decided to make its first-ever appearance in the game due to the size of the viewership and its association with snacking.We know at the Super Bowl these days that everyone watches, its a wide audience, Jaiven said. The brands ad shows stars from the Fast & Furious franchise enjoying an ice cream bar. We thought it was time for us to tell our story, remind people what they love about Hagen-Dazs and of course, have them stock up on Hagen-Dazs in their freezer.In order to garner more publicity, many advertisers release their ads ahead of the game. Of the ads that have already been released, heres a sampling of the approaches advertisers are taking during the big game this year. CELEBRITY-PALOOZAHellmannsHellmanns ad made a splash ahead of the game by reuniting Meg Ryan and Billy Crystals When Harry Met Sally characters at Katzs Deli enjoying a sandwich with Hellmanns. Sydney Sweeney joins to utter the famous line Ill have what shes having.MetaChris Pratt and Chris Hemsworth wear Ray-Ban Meta AI-powered glasses while looking at art. Hemsworth accidently eats a banana in an art piece worth $6.2 million, and Kris Jenner appears to scold them.Michelob UltraActors Catherine OHara and Willem Dafoe star as pickleball players hustling younger players to win Michelob Ultras.Stella ArtoisSoccer star David Beckham learns he has a twin named Dave Beckham who turns out to be Matt Damon. They dont have much in common but both drink Stella Artois.Uber EatsMatthew McConaughey explains a conspiracy theory that football was invented to sell food, with cameos by Martha Stewart, Greta Gerwig, Charli XCX, Kevin Bacon and YouTuber Sean Evans. SILLY HUMORCoors LightAdorable sloths undergo mishaps because theyre slow, like a kitchen fire and running into a glass door; they have a Case of the Mondays, like many people sluggish at work the day after the Super Bowl.Little CaesarsActor Eugene Levys eyebrows fly off and fly around after he tries the pizza chains Crazy Puffs in what is strangely not the only ad with flying facial hair in it (see Pringles).Nestle Coffee MateThe first-time advertiser goes for silly humor in an ad that shows a mans tongue dancing, and even doing a flip, to a song sung by Shania Twain to represent how good Nestle Coffee Mate Cold Foam tastes.PringlesActor Nick Offerman, Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and L.A. Clippers James Harden watch their famous mustaches fly away to help deliver Pringles. SERIOUS MESSAGESDoveDove highlights the problem of low body confidence in young girls and depicts a young girl running down the sidewalk to H.E.R.s version of Born to Run.Foundation to Combat AntisemitismPatriot owner Robert Kraft has an ad in the game for the second year in a row. Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady voice reasons why people hate each other in an effort to combat hate speech. Hims and HersFirst-time advertiser Telehealth company Hims & Hers highlights the obesity epidemic and says weight loss drugs should be more affordable.NovartisFirst-time advertiser Novartis is focusing on breast cancer awareness in its ad featuring Wanda Sykes and Hailee Steinfeld. FIRST-TIME ADVERTISERSHagen-DazsThe ice-cream brand reunites Fast & Furious stars Michelle Rodriguez, Vin Diesel and Ludacris, except this time, theyre going slow. They cruise down the Pacific Coast Highway in a Chevrolet Chevelle slowly so they can enjoy eating an ice cream bar.InstacartFirst-timer Instacart joins DoorDash and Uber Eats and a battle between food delivery services during the game. Instacart loads up its ad with tons of brand characters it hopes viewers recognize: from Mountain Dews PuppyMonkeyBaby character from a 2016 Super Bowl ad to the Jolly Green Giant and the Pillsbury Doughboy. The characters represent all the things you can get delivered from the food delivery service.Totinos Pizza RollsIn one of several ads featuring aliens, comedian Tim Robinson and actor Sam Richardson say goodbye to an alien who was living in their neighborhood. Cookware brand Hexclad and Doritos ads also feature aliens.SURPRISESNot all advertisers release their ads early, so there are always plenty of surprises on game day. Only two auto brands, Stellantis Jeep and Ram, have announced Super Bowl ad plans, but they havent given any details on the ads.Dunkin has secured the first ad spot after kickoff but is staying mum on details other than teasing that it will star Ben and Casey Affleck and Jeremy Strong. Canned water company Liquid Death will advertise for the first time with an ad created in-house. Duracell has teased that its ad will feature a Duracell Scientist but hasnt given any other details.Ad experts think it is unlikely that an A.I.-generated ad will debut during advertisings biggest night after Coca-Colas holiday ad created with the help of A.I. technology drew some backlash. But if one did debut, it would be sure to make a splash. MAE ANDERSON Anderson reports for The Associated Press on a wide range of issues that small businesses face. She is based in New York. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order barring transgender female athletes from competing in women's or girls' sporting events, in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-02-05T05:07:21Z President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls and womens sports.The order, titled Keeping Men Out of Womens Sports, gives federal agencies, including the Justice and Education departments, wide latitude to ensure entities that receive federal funding abide by Title IX in alignment with the Trump administrations view, which interprets sex as the gender someone was assigned at birth.With this executive order, the war on womens sports is over, Trump said at a signing ceremony.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the order upholds the promise of Title IX and will require immediate action, including enforcement actions, against schools and athletic associations that deny women single-sex sports and single-sex locker rooms.The timing of the order coincided with National Girls and Women in Sports Day, and is the latest in a string of executive actions from Trump aimed at transgender people. Trump found during the campaign that his pledge to keep men out of womens sports resonated beyond the usual party lines. More than half the voters surveyed by AP VoteCast said support for transgender rights in government and society has gone too far. He leaned into the rhetoric before the election, pledging to get rid of the transgender insanity, though his campaign offered little in the way of details. The order offers some clarity. For example, it authorizes the Education Department to penalize schools that allow transgender athletes to compete, citing noncompliance with Title IX, which prohibits sexual discrimination in schools. Any school found in violation could potentially be ineligible for federal funding.The order also calls for private sporting bodies to meet at the White House so the president can hear in person the stories of female athletes who have suffered livelong injuries, who have been silenced and forced to shower with men and compete with men on athletic fields across the country. Follow todays live updates on the Trump administration The move is the latest by the Trump administration to limit the rights of the transgender population.Previous ones have sought to have the federal government reject the idea that people can transition to a gender other than the one assigned at birth. That has implications for areas including passports and prisons. Hes also opened the door to barring transgender service members from the military; called to end federal health insurance and other funding for gender-affirming care for transgender people under age 19 and restrict the way lessons on gender can be taught in schools.Already, transgender people have sued over several of the policies and are likely to challenge more of them in court.Civil rights lawyers who are handling the cases have asserted that in some instances, Trumps orders violate laws adopted by Congress and protections in the Constitution and that they overstep the authority of the president.There could be similar questions for this order, for instance: Can the president demand that the NCAA change its policies? NCAA President Charlie Baker told Republican senators in December that the organization would follow federal law. The NCAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.The order came a day after three former teammates of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas filed a lawsuit accusing the NCAA, Ivy League, Harvard and their own school, Penn, of conspiring to allow Thomas to compete at conference and national championships.The lawsuit, which makes similar allegations of that filed last year by Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines and others, alleges the defendants violated Title IX by allowing Thomas to swim and acted in bad faith. Gaines joined Trump for the signing ceremony.___Associated Press writers Darlene Superville, M.L. Price, Geoff Mulvihill and Eddie Pells contributed to this report.___AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports WILL GRAVES Graves is a national writer for The Associated Press, based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NFL, MLB, NHL, the Olympics and major college sports. twitter facebook mailto

Elon Musk arrives before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP, File)2025-02-05T21:30:18Z WASHINGTON (AP) Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee are demanding answers after they say President Donald Trump gave billionaire Elon Musk and his staff access to sensitive data and classified secrets as part of their work to overhaul the federal government.The lawmakers on Wednesday wrote to Susie Wiles, Trumps chief of staff, and asked what security precautions had been taken to prevent unauthorized leaks of information by staff at the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE. Trump tapped Musk to run the taskforce, which has quickly gotten to work dismantling whole agencies of the federal government.As part of that effort, Musk and his staff have gained access to computer systems that the senators say contain potentially sensitive medical and financial information about millions of Americans as well as federal payroll information, classified documents, information from foreign intelligence partners and the identities of undercover agents and intelligence sources. In the letter, the senators warned that national security and the personal privacy of Americans could be at risk if the information is mishandled intentionally or through negligence. They ask whether Musks team has met with U.S. intelligence officials to discuss how to reduce the chances of the data being misused and what steps to take to protect classified information, such as the identities of CIA informants or the actions of overseas intelligence operatives. Such information would be highly valuable to the spy agencies of Russia, China, Iran and other nations, and its loss could put lives at risk while undermining efforts to prevent terrorism and other threats to the U.S., the senators wrote. No information has been provided to Congress or the public as to who has been formally hired under DOGE, under what authority or regulations DOGE is operating, or how DOGE is vetting and monitoring its staff and representatives before providing them seemingly unfettered access to classified materials and Americans personal information, the Senators wrote. The letter was signed by seven Democrats serving on the Intelligence Committee as well as independent Sen. Angus King of Maine.The White House did not immediately respond to the senators questions. Musk has dismissed criticism of his government involvement, saying it just shows his effort is needed.

President Donald Trump speaks before Pam Bondi is sworn in as Attorney General by Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-02-05T22:12:36Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump promised voters an administration that wouldnt waste precious American lives and taxpayer treasure on far-off wars and nation building.But just weeks into his second go-around in the White House, the Republican leader laid out plans to use American might to take over and reconstruct Gaza, threatened to reclaim U.S. control of the Panama Canal and floated the idea that the U.S. could buy Greenland from Denmark, which has shown no interest in parting with the island.The rhetorical shift from America First to America Everywhere is leaving even some of his allies slack-jawed and wondering if hes really serious.The pursuit for peace should be that of the Israelis and the Palestinians, a flummoxed Sen. Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican and Trump ally, posted Wednesday on social media. I thought we voted for America First. We have no business contemplating yet another occupation to doom our treasure and spill our soldiers blood. The presidents shocking declaration Tuesday that he wants to remove roughly 1.8 million Palestinians from Gaza and redevelop the war-scarred territory into the Riviera of the Middle East with long-term American ownership raises anew questions about the direction of Trumps foreign policy during his norm-breaking second term. Is Trumps imperialist talk just meant to appear tough on the world stage? Is he merely trying to give Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cover with far-right members of his governing coalition who oppose moving forward with the second phase of the ceasefire deal with Hamas? Is the Gaza takeover proposal a land grab by a president who sees the world through the prism of a New York real estate developer? Or is it, possibly, a bit of all of above?Whatever the answer, Trumps play on Gaza has perplexed Washington and the world as they try to make sense of the presidents foreign policy doctrine. Trump advisers try to temper concernsThe presidents advisers sought Wednesday to temper concerns about his plans for the territory, just a day after Trump shocked the world with his call for a world-class American rehab of Gaza that would take place after relocating Palestinians to neighboring Arab nations.Both his top diplomat, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and his press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, edged away from Trumps suggestion that Gazans would be relocated permanently.Rubio said Trumps proposal to take ownership of Gaza and redevelop the area should be seen as a generous offer.It was not meant as a hostile move, Rubio said during his visit to Guatemala. It was meant as ... a very generous move.Rubio added that the moment was akin to a natural disaster. People wont be able to live Gaza for years to come because there are unexploded munitions, debris and rubble.In the interim, obviously people are going to have to live somewhere while youre rebuilding it, he said.Trump would not rule out the possibility of U.S. troops being deployed to carry out his plan.But Leavitt downplayed the prospects that Trumps plan would come with a cost to American taxpayers or that Trump would deploy U.S. forces. Its been made very clear to the president that the United States needs to be involved in this rebuilding effort, to ensure stability in the region for all people, Leavitt told reporters at the White House. But that does not mean boots on the ground in Gaza. It does not mean American taxpayers will be funding this effort.The White House has yet to explain under what authority Trump could carry his Gaza proposal. Nor has the administration clarified how Trump would get around stiff opposition to any relocation of Gazas population from Arab allies, including Egypt and Jordan, that he expects to take in Palestinians.Still, they insist that Trump is just looking for an answer to the generational strife between Israelis and Palestinians thats convulsed the region for decades and foiled many of his White House predecessors.Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, Leavitt said. President Trump is an outside-of-the-box thinker and a visionary leader who solves problems that many others, especially in this city, claim are unsolvable. Democrats criticize expansionist talkThe expansionist talk in Gaza is playing out as Trump has begun an effort to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, the federal agency that provides crucial aid that funds education and fights starvation, epidemics and poverty overseas. Trump sees it as a poster child of government waste and advancement of liberal social programs.That split screen has galled some of Trumps Democratic detractors.Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., called Trumps Gaza proposal offensive and insane and dangerous and foolish. Even worse, he said, it risks the rest of the world thinking that we are an unbalanced and unreliable partner because our president makes insane proposals. Coons added that it was particularly infuriating that Trump floated the idea at a moment when he is also insisting that USAID be dismantled in the name of fighting government waste.Why on earth would we abandon decades of well-established humanitarian programs around the world, and now launch into one of the worlds greatest humanitarian challenges? Coons said.Mideast allies reject moving displaced Palestinians in GazaTrumps push was roundly rejected Wednesday by European and Middle East allies, including those hes calling on to take in hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have been left homeless by the war. The Arab League, the 22-member regional grouping, said the proposal represents a recipe for instability. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said displaced Palestinians in Gaza must be allowed home. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said displacement of the Palestinian civilian population from Gaza would be unacceptable and against international law.Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, said the idea of Americans going in on the ground in Gaza is a nonstarter for every senator.So I would suggest we go back to what weve been trying to do, which is destroy Hamas and find a way for the Arab world to take over Gaza and the West Bank, in a fashion that would lead to a Palestinian state that Israel can live with, Graham said.But even as his Gaza proposal was panned, Trump continued to insist that it has widespread support.Everybody loves it, Trump said in a brief exchange with reporters.___Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London, Matthew Lee in Guatemala City, Guatemala, and Farnoush Amiri and Stephen Groves in Washington contributed to this report. AAMER MADHANI Aamer Madhani is a White House reporter. twitter mailto ZEKE MILLER Zeke is APs chief White House correspondent twitter mailto

This image provided by the New York State Attorney General office shows body camera footage of correction officers beating a handcuffed man, Robert Brooks, 43, at the Marcy Correctional Facility in Oneida County, N.Y., on Dec. 9, 2024. (New York State Attorney General office via AP, File)2025-02-05T16:25:11Z ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) The death of a handcuffed man who was pummeled by New York prison guards was ruled a homicide in an autopsy report, lawyers for his family said Wednesday.The report issued by the county medical examiners office last week concludes that the cause of Robert Brooks death in December was compression of the neck and multiple blunt impact injuries. The manner of death was determined to be homicide, according to the attorneys.Body camera video shows corrections officers assaulting Brooks for about 10 minutes while he was handcuffed on a medical examination table at Marcy Correctional Facility on Dec. 9. One officer uses a shoe to strike Brooks in the stomach, and another yanks him up by his neck and drops him back on the table.Brooks was pronounced dead the next morning.I think what this does is rule out any argument that there was some other cause of death other than what we saw on video, family attorney Stephen Schwarz said of the autopsy report. New Yorks attorney general last month appointed Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick as a special prosecutor to investigate Brooks death. A grand jury is expected to hear evidence in the case. More than a dozen correctional officers and two nurses were suspended without pay. One officer quit.Brooks son, Robert L. Brooks Jr., has sued the people implicated in the attack, as well as the head of the upstate facility at that time and the commissioner of the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

President Donald Trump gestures after signing an executive order barring transgender female athletes from competing in women's or girls' sporting events, in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-02-05T23:15:49Z WASHINGTON (AP) The federal office that enforces civil rights at schools across the U.S. has been ordered to prioritize complaints of antisemitism above all else as it molds to President Donald Trumps agenda, raising fears that other rights violations will go unpunished.Trumps new leader of the Education Departments Office for Civil Rights told staff this week they will be expected to aggressively pursue complaints involving antisemitism and hew closely to Trumps wishes, according to sources who were on the call with Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights.Already there are signs of a hard turn on civil rights enforcement, including new actions focused squarely on anti-Jewish bias and transgender issues.Responding to a White House order last week, the office launched new antisemitism investigations at five universities including Columbia and Northwestern. Days earlier, it opened an inquiry into Denver public schools over an all-gender bathroom that replaced a girls bathroom while leaving another one exclusive to boys. On Wednesday, Trump ordered schools that receive federal money to ban transgender girls from participating in womens sports, promising the Education Department would investigate schools and colleges that dont comply. The offices fleet of lawyers have mostly been sidelined while the new administration shifts priorities. Daily work has been frozen, which is typical when a new president takes office, but sources say theres a new blackout on communication with schools, colleges or those submitting complaints. Questions about how to enforce Title IX go unanswered, leaving schools in the dark as they navigate a new memo from the agency last week. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. In the staff call, Trainor said the office must be more aggressive and faster than it was under former President Joe Biden. He accused the previous administration of neglecting its duty to fight antisemitism, leaving more than 100 cases open. Trump has called for a review of all antisemitism cases opened since Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, including those resolved under Biden. With a rigid focus on antisemitism and gender identity, theres fear the office wont give adequate attention to racial discrimination, mistreatment based on disability, or Islamophobia. The office is required to process all complaints it fields, but politics can play a role in setting priorities and choosing which cases to pursue.Raymond Pierce, who led the office under Democratic President Bill Clinton, said focusing on antisemitism alone doesnt fulfill the mission of the office to enforce civil rights laws.Antisemitism is an issue, he said. But the Civil Rights Act is broader than just religion.In a statement, Trainor promised his office will vigorously investigate all alleged violations of civil rights laws within its purview. Trainor had also warned staff of a coming restructuring and acknowledged that Elon Musks so-called Department of Government Efficiency is examining the Education Department. It raised worries about staffing cuts in a civil rights office that has seen dwindling numbers even as it received a record 22,687 complaints last year. Additionally, theres concern Trump in his quest to shut down the Education Department will slash the offices budget and move it to the Justice Department, as suggested in the Project 2025 blueprint created by the conservative Heritage Foundation. The impact of Trumps changes are most likely to be felt by Black students and those who are disabled, according to lawyers and advocates. For decades, the Office for Civil Rights has worked to force equal access for marginalized students, said Derek W. Black, a law professor at the University of South Carolina.If the office finds merit in a complaint, it has the power to withhold federal funding until schools or states comply.Are there local and state officials who want to do right by kids? Of course, there are, Black said. But are there districts that dont think its a big deal or dont want to do right by poor kids? Unfortunately, there are. Historically, most complaints to the department have involved disability discrimination, but last year accusations of sex discrimination surged to account for more than half of all complaints, according to an annual report. Disability discrimination accounted for 37%, while discrimination over race or national origin accounted for 19%.In addition to its duty to investigate complaints, the office creates federal rules to interpret federal law for schools and colleges. That role has been at the center of a political tug-of-war over Title IX, with recent administrations repeatedly rewriting the rules governing investigations of campus sexual misconduct. The Biden administration issued new rules last year expanding Title IX to protect transgender and LGBTQ+ students, and boosting victims rights. A federal judge overturned the rules in January, reverting to a previous set of rules from Trumps first term.In a memo to schools and colleges last week, the Office for Civil Rights emphasized that the earlier Trump rules would be enforced, but it created confusion about how to handle cases that were opened when Bidens rules were in effect. With no communication from the department, there has been little clarity for schools.There are also questions about how antisemitism investigations will change. Trump has used heated rhetoric to push for more aggressive action against colleges found to have tolerated antisemitism, and Trainor blasted the Biden administration for signing toothless agreements to resolve cases. No new guidance has been issued to lawyers who investigate cases.As the office awaits orders to resume its work, it faces a growing backlog of complaints. Before Trump took office, there were more than 140 open investigations involving shared ancestry, many of them dealing with antisemitism or Islamophobia. The Biden administration opened more than 100 investigations after Oct. 7, 2023. A flurry of schools reached deals to settle the cases before Trump took office amid fears that he would issue heavier sanctions.___The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the 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 BIANCA VZQUEZ TONESS Vzquez Toness is an Associated Press reporter who writes about the continuing impact of the pandemic on young people and their education. twitter mailto

Eric and Lara Trump talks as President Donald Trump attends an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event at Capital One Arena, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-02-05T18:59:44Z NEW YORK (AP) Fox News Channel has hired the presidents daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, to be host of a new weekend show that will debut later this month.Trump was a contributor who made appearances on Fox in 2021 and 2022, after President Donald Trump lost his bid for a second term, then served as co-chair of the Republican National Committee.Her hourlong show, My View with Lara Trump, will air at 9 p.m. on Saturday nights, Fox announced on Wednesday. Shes scheduled to start her show on Feb. 22.Fox said in its announcement that Trumps show will focus on the return of common sense to all corners of American life as the country ushers in a new era of practicality.Political relatives are no stranger to television, although this is believed to be the first time someone so closely related to a U.S. president has been given such a prominent TV role while the politician is in office. Former President George W. Bushs daughter Jenna has been a longtime host on NBCs Today show. Chelsea Clinton also worked as a reporter for NBC News while her mother Hillary was secretary of state. Meghan McCain, daughter of the late U.S. Sen. John McCain, was a host on ABCs daytime talk show The View. Im thrilled to bring my voice back to Fox News, talk directly with the American people, and highlight what makes this country so great, Lara Trump said in a statement released by Fox. As I cover the success of the golden age of America, I look forward to where this time will lead our country and where this opportunity will lead me in the future. Her father-in-law has had a complicated relationship with Fox News, even as many of its personalities support his policies. Hes known to complain on social media if he sees something on the network that he considers disloyal.Meanwhile, the president has staffed his new administration with several former Fox employees 19, by a recent count in The New York Times headlined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Foxs prime-time lineup is largely filled with opinion shows. Sean Hannity spoke frequently with Trump during his first term and has interviewed the president since his return to office.It was unclear how Lara Trumps show came together. Married to Donald Trumps son Eric, she said in December that she would consider running for a Senate seat in Florida in 2026.Her new show will displace one hosted by Fox personality Brian Kilmeade, which is moving to Sunday nights.In a statement, Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott called Lara Trump a gifted communicator who knows how to connect to the viewers, successful entrepreneur and working mother.___David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social DAVID BAUDER Bauder is the APs national media writer, covering the intersection of news, politics and entertainment. He is based in New York. twitter mailto

Audience members gather at Made By Google for new product announcements at Google on Aug. 13, 2024, in Mountain View, Calif. (AP Photo/Juliana Yamada, File)2025-02-06T00:25:54Z SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Google is scrapping some of its diversity hiring targets, joining a lengthening list of U.S. companies that have abandoned or scaled back their diversity, equity and inclusion programs.The move, which was outlined in an email sent to Google employees on Wednesday, came in the wake of an executive order issued by President Donald Trump that was aimed in part at pressuring government contractors to scrap their DEI initiatives. Like several other major tech companies, Google sells some of its technology and services to the federal government, including its rapidly growing cloud division thats a key piece of its push into artificial technology.Googles parent company, Alphabet, also signaled the shift in its annual 10-K report it filed this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In it, Google removed a line included in previous annual reports saying that its committed to making diversity, equity, and inclusion part of everything we do and to growing a workforce that is representative of the users we serve. Google generates most of Alphabets annual revenue of $350 billion and accounts for almost all of its worldwide workforce of 183,000. Were committed to creating a workplace where all our employees can succeed and have equal opportunities, and over the last year weve been reviewing our programs designed to help us get there, Google said in a statement to The Associated Press. Weve updated our 10-K language to reflect this, and as a federal contractor, our teams are also evaluating changes required following recent court decisions and executive orders on this topic. The change in language also comes slightly more than two weeks after Google CEO Sundar Pichai and other prominent technology executives including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg stood behind Trump during his inauguration. Meta jettisoned its DEI program last month, shortly before the inauguration, while Amazon halted some of its DEI programs in December following Trumps election.Many companies outside of the technology industry also have backed away from DEI. Those include Walt Disney Co., McDonalds, Ford, Walmart, Target, Lowes and John Deere.Trumps recent executive order threatens to impose financial sanctions on federal contractors deemed to have illegal DEI programs. If the companies are found to be in violation, they could be subject to massive damages under the 1863 False Claims Act. That law states that contractors that make false claims to the government could be liable for three times the governments damages.The order also directed all federal agencies to choose the targets of up to nine investigations of publicly traded companies, large non-profits and other institutions with DEI policies that constitute Illegal discrimination or preference.The challenge for companies is knowing which DEI policies the Trump administration may decide are illegal. Trumps executive order seeks to terminate all discriminatory and illegal preferences, mandates, policies, programs and other activities of the federal government, and to compel federal agencies to , combat illegal private-sector DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities. In both the public and private sector, diversity initiatives have covered a range of practices, from anti-discrimination training and conducting pay equity studies to making efforts to recruit more members of minority groups and women as employees. Google, which is based in Mountain View, California, has tried to hire more people from underrepresented groups for more than a decade but stepped up those efforts in 2020 after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis triggered an outcry for more social justice. Shortly after Floyd died, Pichai set a goal to increase the representation of underrepresented groups in the Mountain View, California, companys largely Asian and white leadership ranks by 30% by 2025. Google has made some headway since then, but the makeup of its leadership has not changed dramatically. The representation of Black people in the companys leadership ranks rose from 2.6% in 2020 to 5.1% last year, according to Googles annual diversity report. For Hispanic people, the change was 3.7% to 4.3%. The share of women in leadership roles, meanwhile, increased from 26.7% in 2020 to 32.8% in 2024, according to the companys report.The numbers arent much different in Googles overall workforce, with Black employees comprising just 5.7% and Latino employees 7.5%. Two-thirds of Googles worldwide workforce is made up of men, according to the diversity report.Associated Press business reporter Alexandra Olson contributed to this report. MICHAEL LIEDTKE Liedtke has been covering technology and wide range of other business topics for The Associated Press since the turn of the century. twitter mailto

Dairy cows stand in a field outside of a milking barn at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Animal Disease Center research facility in Ames, Iowa, on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall,File)2025-02-06T00:29:59Z Dairy cattle in Nevada have been infected with a new type of bird flu thats different from the version that has spread in U.S. herds since last year, Agriculture Department officials said Wednesday. The detection indicates that distinct forms of the virus known as Type A H5N1 have spilled over from wild birds into cattle at least twice. Experts said it raises new questions about wider spread and the difficulty of controlling infections in animals and the people who work closely with them. I always thought one bird-to-cow transmission was a very rare event. Seems that may not be the case, said Richard Webby, an influenza expert at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital.A version of the H5N1 bird flu virus known as B3.13 was confirmed in March after being introduced to cattle in late 2023, scientists said. It has infected more than 950 herds in 16 states. The new version, known as D1.1, was confirmed in Nevada cattle on Friday, according to USDA. It was detected in milk collected as part of a surveillance program launched in December. Now we know why its really important to test and continue testing, said Angela Rasmussen, a virus expert at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, who helped identify the first spillover. The D1.1 version of the virus was the type linked to the first U.S. death tied to bird flu and a severe illness in Canada. A person in Louisiana died in January after developing severe respiratory symptoms following contact with wild and backyard birds. In British Columbia, a teen girl was hospitalized for months with a virus traced to poultry. At least 67 people in the U.S. have been infected with bird flu, mostly those who work closely with dairy or cattle, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. USDA officials said they would post genetic sequences and other information about the new form of the virus to a public repository later this week. Scientists said that would be key to understanding whether the spillover was a recent event or whether the virus has been circulating, perhaps widely, for longer. If this turns out to have been something that crossed into cattle a couple months ago, a couple months is a long time not to detect it, said Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona who has studied the H5N1 virus in cattle. He added that its important for federal officials to share promptly information about a virus that has the potential to trigger a pandemic that could make COVID seem like a walk in the park. Its a vital part of national security, global security, the well-being of people, of animals and of businesses in the U.S., Worobey added. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-02-05T16:59:23Z LANSING, Mich. (AP) A group that played a key role in Donald Trumps voter outreach to the Arab American community alongside his allies is rebranding itself after the president said that the U.S. would take over the Gaza Strip. Bishara Bahbah, chairman of the group formerly known as Arab Americans for Trump, said during a phone interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday that the group would now be called Arab Americans for Peace.The name change came after Trump held a Tuesday press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House and proposed the U.S. take ownership in redeveloping the area into the Riviera of the Middle East.The talk about what the president wants to do with Gaza, obviously were completely opposed to the idea of the transfer of Palestinians from anywhere in Historic Palestine, Bahbah said. And so we did not want to be behind the curve in terms of pushing for peace, because that has been our objective from the very beginning. Arab Americans for Trump helped lead voter outreach efforts for Trump ahead of the 2024 presidential election in swing states such as Michigan and Arizona. The residents of Dearborn, Michigan -- the heart of Arab America are going to take a deep breath following President Donald Trumps Gaza comments, a community leader said (AP video: Mike Householder) The group, independent from the Trump campaign, frequently facilitated meetings between Arab American community leaders and Trumps allies, including Richard Grenell, now serving as Trumps envoy for special missions, and Massad Boulos, the father-in-law of Trumps daughter Tiffany and now a senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs. In the 2024 election, Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate to win Dearborn, Michigan home to the nations largest concentration of Arab Americans since 2000 on his way to winning the state. Trump visited Dearborn on Nov. 1. Bahbah said the group had been thinking about changing its name for a while and ultimately made the decision Tuesday. But Bahbah had said during a phone interview just prior to Trumps Tuesday night press conference with Netanyahu that the groups name was Arab Americans for Trump. In a press release issued Wednesday by Arab Americans for Peace, the group said its members appreciate the presidents offer to clean and rebuild Gaza but take issue with the presidents suggestion of taking over Gaza and removing its Palestinian inhabitants. JOEY CAPPELLETTI Cappelletti covers politics and state government for The Associated Press in Michigan. He is based in Lansing. twitter mailto

Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy is greeted by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)2025-02-05T09:54:30Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Ukraine wants to collaborate with partner countries on postwar projects worth billions of dollars not just in mining rare earth elements, but also in energy and construction sectors to help rebuild the country, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Wednesday.Sybiha responded to comments by President Donald Trump who said Monday that he wanted to gain access to Ukraines valuable rare earth materials as a condition for continuing support for its war against Russia.Ukrainian officials have said Russia wants to get its hands on Ukraines vast natural resources.Kyiv intends to offer guarantees of the presence of major businesses in Ukraine and the vested interests of our closest allies the United States in developing these (rare earth) deposits and ensuring their protection, the foreign minister said. But cooperation should not be limited to rare earth materials, Sybiha said in a news conference alongside visiting U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy.Ukraine has huge potential to become a guarantor of energy security in Europe by buying liquefied natural gas from the United States and storing it in its massive underground tanks for later distribution, he said. Sybiha also said there was joint interest from Ukrainian and American businesses in the postwar reconstruction of Ukraine, estimated to cost more than $400 billion. This will be one of the largest projects of this century and, accordingly, one of the largest opportunities for our allies. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said in an interview broadcast Tuesday night that the war has killed 45,100 Ukrainian troops. The fighting also has injured close to 390,000 troops, he told Piers Morgan Uncensored on YouTube.On Dec. 8, he said Ukraine had lost some 43,000 soldiers on the battlefield and 370,000 wounded.Russia hasnt given its number of killed since September 2022, seven months after its all-out invasion. If the U.S. stops sending vital military aid, that could also jeopardize European support, Zelenskyy said in the interview. Without a doubt, we cannot do without this kind of (Western) support, he said.Zelenskyy said Wednesday that the United States must be part of any Western troop deployment to safeguard a peace deal with Russia and shield against another invasion. Sending only European troops would not be enough, he said.Because this is not just a matter of numbers, it is about sharing responsibility and ensuring security guarantees. This cannot be done without the United States of America, he said at a news conference with Lammy.Ukrainian forces are slowly losing ground, especially in eastern areas, where they are being pushed backward by their bigger foe.Russias Defense Ministry claimed Wednesday that Russian troops had captured the villages of Baranivka in the eastern Donetsk region and Novomlynsk in the northeastern Kharkiv region.Baranivkas capture is part of Russias effort to envelop Pokrovsk, a key road and rail hub whose loss would compromise a wider area of defense, while the seizure of Novomlynsk is part of Russias onslaught toward Kupiansk, another important train junction. Ukraine keeps hitting the Russian militarys rear areas and supply lines in an effort to disrupt the creeping advance.Ukraines Army General staff claimed Wednesday that Ukrainian forces struck an oil refinery in the Krasnodar region of Russia overnight, setting it on fire.According to the General Staff, the oil refinery and petroleum product manufacturing plant supplies gasoline and diesel to the Russian army.The governor of the Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratyev, claimed that fragments of a downed Ukrainian drone hit an oil tank at an oil depot in the village of Novominskaya early Wednesday, sparking a fire.The fire was put out shortly after and there were no injuries, emergency officials said.___Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Mexican National Guards arrive to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, to reinforce the country's border with the United States. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)2025-02-06T01:08:50Z CIUDAD JUREZ, Mexico (AP) A line of Mexican National Guard and Army trucks rumbled along the border separating Ciudad Jurez and El Paso, Texas Wednesday, among the first of 10,000 officers Mexico has sent to its northern frontier following tariff threats by President Donald Trump.Masked and armed National Guard members picked through brush running along the border barrier on the outskirts of Ciudad Jurez, pulling out makeshift ladders and ropes tucked away in the trenches, and pulling them onto trucks. Patrols were also seen on other parts of the border near Tijuana.It comes after a turbulent week along the border after Trump announced he would delay imposing crippling tariffs on Mexico for at least a month. In exchange, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum promised she would send the countrys National Guard to reinforce the border and crack down on fentanyl smuggling. Trump has declared an emergency on the border despite migration levels and fentanyl overdoses significantly dipping over the part year. The U.S. said it would, in turn, do more to stop American guns from being trafficked into Mexico to fuel cartel violence, which has rippled to other parts of the country as criminal groups fight to control the lucrative migrant smuggling industry. On Tuesday, the first of those forces arrived in border cities, climbing out of government planes. Guard members in the Wednesday patrol confirmed that they were part of the new force. At least 1,650 officers were expected to be sent to Ciudad Jurez, according to government figures, making it one of the biggest receivers of border reinforcements in the country, second only to Tijuana, where 1,949 personnel are slated to be sent.During Secretary of State Marco Rubios trip through Latin America where migration was at the top of the agenda - the top American diplomat thanked the Mexican government for the forces, according to a statement by the Mexican government. The negotiation by Sheinbaum was viewed by observers as a bit of shrewd political maneuvering by the newly elected Mexican leader. Many had previously cast doubt that shed be able to navigate Trumps presidency as effectively as her predecessor and ally, former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler, second from left, and center Bam Adebayo (13) watch with their teammates during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)2025-02-06T01:31:13Z Jimmy Butler has gotten his wish. Hes being traded out of Miami.The Heat and the Golden State Warriors have agreed on a deal that sends Butler to the Bay Area, a person with knowledge of the talks said Wednesday. The trade ends a Miami era for Butler that will be remembered first for two trips to the NBA Finals and then three suspensions toward the end of a hostile breakup.Golden State is making it happen by moving Andrew Wiggins, Dennis Schroder, Kyle Anderson and draft compensation out in the deal, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade has not gotten league approval.It wasnt immediately clear if all three of those players were ending up in Miami.Golden State becomes Butlers fifth team, after stints in Chicago, Minnesota, Philadelphia and Miami. His arrivals were celebrated in all four cities, and his departures werent exactly smooth in any of them. But with the Warriors, he joins Stephen Curry and Draymond Green the two players left who have been part of all four recent Golden State title teams, with hopes of getting back to title contention. Butlers breakup with the Heat brewed for months. The primary issue that caused the beginning of the end of his Miami stint was money; hes eligible for a two-year, $113 million extension and the Heat never offered such a deal, largely because hes missed about 25% of the teams games since he arrived in 2019. There were other factors as well. Neither side was particularly happy with the other at the end, and it became evident that the fracture couldnt be repaired. Butler can be difficult to deal with and the Heat culture is such where it works best when everyone is aligned with team ideals. When he said he didnt expect to find on-court joy with the Heat again in early January, he was suspended for seven games as the last straw on a list of what the team called detrimental conduct. That was the start of a wild ending: Butler was suspended three times in January alone, the second a two-game ban for missing a team flight, the last an indefinite one of at least five games that followed him leaving shootaround early after learning he wasnt going to start a Jan. 27 game against Orlando.There was a lot said by everybody, except for me, to tell you the truth, Butler said after his first game back following the first suspension. Well let people keep talking. ... The whole truth will come out.He never said he wanted a trade; at least, not openly, because its not allowed by league rule and would have subjected him to a fine of up to $150,000. The Heat said Butler asked for one and when that was revealed the team also changed course from team president Pat Rileys December vow not to trade him; when the suspension was announced, the Heat said they were trying to make a trade happen.But there were obvious signs; his hair color for some games just happened to be in the colors of Phoenix, Dallas, Golden State and Houston the four teams that were most prominently mentioned as possible trade partners for Miami. For at least one game, Butler also wore shoes that perfectly matched the Suns color scheme. Butler is averaging 17 points per game this season. He had one of the best statistical games in Heat history against Detroit on Dec. 16 35 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists.It was never the same again. In his six appearances following that Detroit game, including one where he departed in the first quarter with an illness, Butler averaged 9.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists.The Heat-Butler marriage wasnt always bad, of course. Butler arrived to fill Dwyane Wades spot as the star of the team, the face of the franchise. He even got Wades former locker space. He was an All-Star twice in Miami, helped the Heat to the NBA Finals in the bubble in 2020 and then as a No. 8 seed in 2023 and turned in some epic postseason performances. There have been 18 40-point games in Heat playoff history; Butler is responsible for eight of them, including a team-record 56 against Milwaukee in 2023. Butler leaves Miami in third place on the teams all-time playoff scoring list, behind only Wade and LeBron James.One of the last times Butler was seen as a member of the Heat was at a padel tournament on Jan. 25, which essentially became his farewell to Miami.I love this city with everything that I have, he said that day.Two days later, he was suspended by the Heat for the third and final time. And now, his Heat era is over.___AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba TIM REYNOLDS Reynolds is an Associated Press sports writer, based in South Florida. twitter mailto

A vendor sleeps on a hot afternoon at her shop at Market 4 in Asuncion, Paraguay, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz, File)2025-02-06T03:03:33Z WASHINGTON (AP) The world warmed to yet another monthly heat record in January, despite an abnormally chilly United States, a cooling La Nina and predictions of a slightly less hot 2025, according to the European climate service Copernicus.The surprising January heat record coincides with a new study by a climate science heavyweight, former top NASA scientist James Hansen, and others arguing that global warming is accelerating. Its a claim thats dividing the research community.January 2025 globally was 0.09 degrees Celsius (0.16 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than January 2024, the previous hottest January, and was 1.75 degrees Celsius (3.15 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than it was before industrial times, Copernicus calculated. It was the 18th month of the last 19 that the world hit or passed the internationally agreed upon warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times. Scientists wont regard the limit as breached unless and until global temperatures stay above it for 20 years. A vendor sleeps on a hot afternoon at her shop at Market 4 in Asuncion, Paraguay, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz, File) A vendor sleeps on a hot afternoon at her shop at Market 4 in Asuncion, Paraguay, Jan. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Copernicus records go back to 1940, but other U.S. and British records go back to 1850, and scientists using proxies such as tree rings say this era is the warmest in about 120,000 years or since the start of human civilization. By far the biggest driver of record heat is greenhouse gas build-up from the burning of coal, oil and natural gas, but the natural contributions to temperature change have not been acting quite as expected, said Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate for the European weather agency. The big natural factor in global temperatures is usually the natural cycle of changes in the equatorial Pacific Ocean waters that affect the worlds weather and global temperatures. When the central Pacific is especially warm, its an El Nino and global temperatures tend to spike. Last year was a substantial El Nino, though it ended last June and the year was even warmer than initially expected, the hottest on record. El Ninos cooler flip side, a La Nina, tends to dampen the effects of global warming a bit, making record temperatures far less likely. A La Nina started in January after brewing for months. Just last month, climate scientists were predicting that 2025 wouldnt be as hot as 2024 or 2023, with the La Nina a major reason.Even though the equatorial Pacific isnt creating conditions that are warming for our global climate, were still seeing record temperatures, Burgess said, adding much of that is because of record warm water temperatures in the rest of the worlds oceans. Usually after an El Nino like last year, temperatures come down rapidly, but weve not seen that, Burgess told The Associated Press. A snowdrop blooms at Zaryadye park in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 31, 2025, while the temperature has reached 5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, File) A snowdrop blooms at Zaryadye park in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 31, 2025, while the temperature has reached 5 degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit). (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Rose bushes stand in the snow on Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File) Rose bushes stand in the snow on Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More For Americans, news of a record warm January might seem odd given how cold it was. But the U.S. is just a tiny fraction of the planets surface, and a much larger area of the planets surface was much, much warmer than average, Burgess said.January was unseasonably mild in the Arctic. Parts of the Canadian Arctic had temperatures 30 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than average and temperatures got so warm sea ice started melting in places, Burgess said. Copernicus said the Arctic this month tied the January record for lowest sea ice. The U.S.-based National Snow and Ice Data Center had it as second-lowest, behind 2018. A person sits on the pier as ice floats on the Hudson River, Jan. 23, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File) A person sits on the pier as ice floats on the Hudson River, Jan. 23, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More February has already started cooler than last year, Burgess said.Dont count 2025 out in the race for hottest year, said Hansen, the former NASA scientist who has been called the godfather of climate science. Hes now at Columbia University. In a study in the journal Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, Hansen and colleagues said the last 15 years have warmed at about twice the rate of the previous 40 years.Im confident that this higher rate will continue for at least several years, Hansen told The Associated Press in an interview. Over the full year its going to be nip-and-tuck between 2024 and 2025.Theres been a noticeable temperature rise even when taking out El Nino variations and expected climate change, since 2020, Hansen said. He noted recent shipping regulations that have reduced sulfur pollution that reflects some sunlight away from Earth to effectively reduce warming. And that will continue, he said. A woman reads a book while sunbathing during a summer day in Montevideo, Uruguay, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico, File) A woman reads a book while sunbathing during a summer day in Montevideo, Uruguay, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The persistence of record warmth through 2023, 2024 and now into the first month of 2025 is jarring to say the least, said University of Michigan environment dean Jonathan Overpeck, who wasnt part of the Hansen study. There seems little doubt that global warming and the impacts of climate change are accelerating.But Princetons Gabe Vecchi and University of Pennsylvanias Michael Mann said they dont agree with Hansen on acceleration. Vecchi said theres not enough data to show that this isnt random chance. Mann said that temperature increases are still within what climate models forecast. ___Read more of APs climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment___Follow Seth Borenstein on X at @borenbears_____The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. SETH BORENSTEIN Borenstein is an Associated Press science writer, covering climate change, disasters, physics and other science topics. 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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., center, is joined by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., left, and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., right, during the Senate Republican policy luncheon press conference at the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)2025-02-05T21:23:59Z NEW YORK (AP) President Donald Trump is testing how far Republicans are willing to go in supporting his supercharged Make America Great Again agenda, tearing down government agencies and taking actions fundamentally at odds with once-traditional party principles. For now, Republicans are marching largely in lockstep. They are backing Cabinet nominees with troubling histories, turning a blind eye as he halts spending they appropriated and defending policies once anathema to mainstream GOP thinking policies that would have drawn alarm if Democrats had been responsible. Theyre pushing the envelope of what their power looks like. Its a normal part of a transition, said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.While there have been isolated voices of dissent, the Republican resistance that emerged when Trump first ran for office has largely been sidelined. That means the president, backed by Republican majorities in the House and Senate, is proceeding largely unchecked as he reimagines the federal government and greatly expands the power of the presidency. If there was any doubt about it, the Republican Partys complete acquiescence to Donald Trump, I think, was on full display this week, said Charlie Sykes, a longtime conservative commentator turned prominent Trump critic. Sykes described it as complete surrender.In his view, Republicans have just made the calculation that pretty much nothing is worth antagonizing Trump at this point. A new MAGA agendaThe defense has come as Trump has embraced a series of proposals that go far beyond anything he did during his first term or promised on the campaign trail. Last week, he threatened trade wars with Mexico and Canada, two of Americas top trading partners and closest allies. His tariffs are on hold for 30 days, but he has damaged the U.S. relationship with Canada, one of the nations with which the U.S. shares its most sensitive intelligence.On Tuesday, he suggested the U.S. seize control of Gaza, perhaps by force. He campaigned for the White House promising to end forever wars and the U.S. entanglement in the Middle East. He has proposed taking over Greenland, riffed on Canada becoming the 51st state and threatened to put the Panama Canal back under American control. He is pursuing state ownership of social media companies such as TikTok, perhaps through a government-owned U.S. sovereign wealth fund. That kind of intervention, if coming from Democrats, would almost certainly have been branded as a socialist move.After years of railing against unelected bureaucrats, Republicans are standing by as billionaire Elon Musk and his aides aim for the equivalent of a hostile takeover of government. That Trump-authorized team has seized taxpayer data, gained access to sensitive databases and government payment systems, and taken steps to close the U.S. Agency for International Development, which many Republicans long criticized but also saw as part of the U.S. efforts to counter China and Russia abroad. Whats wrong with a president who wants loyalty?The American people said we want a different direction, said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., when asked about the moves against USAID and other agencies. I dont find that outside the spirit of our system, and the courts will have to decide whether its outside the literal boundaries of the presidents authority.As for the trade taxes, he added, Most Republicans arent tariff fans, but they do understand why populism is the flavor of the day.A lot of people, they talk about Trump loyalty like theres something wrong with a president that wants loyalty. And quite honestly, I would submit that loyalty is a pretty big and pretty important part of running a country, he added. Polling finds shifts in publics views on tariffs and intervention overseasPolling has shown voters have grown more opposed to expanding tariffs over the past four years. About half of voters (49%) in the November election favored increasing taxes on goods imported to the United States from other countries, compared with 6 in 10 voters in the 2020 presidential election who supported higher tariffs. Republican voters still largely favor the policy.Theres also a shift against American intervention. Only about 2 in 10 (19%) voters in November said they wanted the U.S. to take a more active role in solving the worlds problems. Republican voters, in particular, have shifted toward advocating a less active role. About half (53%) wanted the U.S. less involved, compared with about one-third in 2020.Cabinet coming together and the White House sees a strong, united and thriving GOPEven Trumps most controversial nominees appear to be sailing through. This week, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a doctor who leads the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, voted to advance the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary despite Kennedys long history of anti-vaccine activism. Cassidy is up for reelection next year and has faced pressure from home-state Republicans to back Kennedy. Cassidy has made clear he had serious concerns about Kennedys record.Unlike the fractured and chaotic Democrat Party, the Republican Party stands strong, united and thriving, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said. There is nothing to resist - President Trump received a clear and overwhelming mandate from the American people to Make America Great Again. Cracks in support?There has been some limited pushback from key allies.Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Trump should reconsider stripping security protection from former government officials who are under threat from Iran due to their involvement in the strike on Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in January 2020. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., criticized Trump for pardoning Jan. 6 rioters who had been convicted of attacking police, and he said Trumps proposal for a U.S. takeover of Gaza was problematic.The idea of Americans going in on the ground in Gaza is a nonstarter for every senator, Graham told reporters Wednesday.On the tariffs, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, pleaded with Trump for an exemption for potash used in fertilizers to spare Iowa family farmers.And Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has been especially outspoken.Otherwise, Republican senators this week have played down the potential negative impact of Trumps actions and stressed the importance of uniting behind him.I hope my colleagues will be supportive of him when it comes to his tariffs, said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., warning of potential danger if foreign countries see Trump facing political backlash from members of Congress or state lawmakers.Tough sell for Democrats as they make their case for GOP help Democrats are scrambling to curtail Trumps power grabs and are appealing to Republicans to join their cause.Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., said Democrats are mounting an all hands on deck approach to fighting Trumps executive orders and they are contesting Musks access to sensitive payment systems at the Treasury Department. She wants GOP colleagues to help push back.In the Congress we have to stand up and speak out, she said. And if its only the Democrats doing that, we have a problem because the Republicans have the majority in both the House and the Senate. Some of them have got to stand with us and call this out.But Republicans deny that Trump is overstepping and say his team is within its authority to pause programs. The Constitution, in Article 1, gives Congress the power to collect taxes, pay debts and provide for the defense and general welfare of the country.We dont see this as a threat to Article 1 at all, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said. We see this as an active, engaged, committed executive branch authority doing what the executive branch should do.___Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Lisa Mascaro and Linley Sanders in Washington and Scott Bauer in Madison, Wis., contributed to this report. JILL COLVIN Colvin is an Associated Press national political reporter covering the 2024 presidential campaign. She is based in New York. mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Imad Hamad, executive Director of the American Human Rights Council (AHRC) speaks during a news conference outside the AMS Mosque in Dearborn, Mich., May 18, 2021. (Daniel Mears /Detroit News via AP, File)2025-02-05T22:59:59Z DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) Residents of the largest Arab American community in the U.S. had plenty to say during the 2024 presidential campaign about the roiling politics in the Middle East. But after President Donald Trumps stunning announcement on Tuesday that he wanted to remove Palestinians from Gaza and impose a U.S. takeover in the region, some leaders in Dearborn, Michigan, were treading far more cautiously.People are taking a deep breath. Its too early to render a judgment. But definitely the past two or three weeks feel unbelievable, said Imad Hamad, executive director of the Dearborn-based American Human Rights Council. Many people expressed that concern, that maybe it was a mistake to vote for President Trump, Hamad added. And now this is an eye-opener to take into consideration to the 2026 elections.So far, at least, no one has retreated from the blistering criticism of Democrats that some say cost Vice President Kamala Harris the crucial state of Michigan in November. But many are struggling to come to terms with the audacious plan Trump announced Tuesday to turn Gaza into what he described as the Riviera of the Middle East, possibly using U.S. troops. Trumps top diplomat and his main spokesperson on Wednesday walked back the idea that he wants the permanent relocation of Palestinians from Gaza, after American allies and even Republican lawmakers rebuffed his suggestion that the U.S. take ownership of the territory. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said he only sought to move roughly 1.8 million Gazans temporarily to allow for reconstruction. Even that proposal has drawn widespread criticism in the Arab world. While no mass protests were planned in the Detroit area as of yet following Trumps remarks, community leaders many of whom refrained from endorsing Harris bid but also did not back Trump were more forceful in their response. U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who represents Dearborn and is the only Palestinian American serving in Congress, called Trumps comments fanatical bullsh and said Palestinians arent going anywhere. Dearborns Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said Trumps comments were yet another chapter in the ongoing genocide.Trump became the first Republican presidential candidate in over two decades to win Dearborn, where Arab Americans make up close to half of the citys 110,000 residents. His success came after he became the only major presidential candidate to visit the Detroit suburb on Nov. 1, and vowed at a local restaurant to bring peace in the Middle East.Faye Nemer, founder of the Dearborn-based MENA (Middle Eastern North African) American Chamber of Commerce, was among those in the community that welcomed Trump to The Great Commoner on Nov. 1. Nemer said Wednesday that some of Trumps comments relating to the Middle East have been extremely, extremely concerning to the community. Hes been in office for two weeks, and in those two weeks, hes made some very extreme remarks, she said. Nemer added that she believes Trumps comments may be a negotiating tactic and urged the president to continue working toward a two-state solution.He was very vocal that if thats what the Palestinians want, that he would be in favor and supportive of those efforts. So, now we were just asking President Trump and his administration to remain committed to those ideals, Nemer said. Some have begun to distance themselves from Trump after his joint press conference Tuesday at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. During the event, Trump proposed that the U.S. take ownership in redeveloping the area into the Riviera of the Middle East.Lebanese American Rola Makki, the Muslim vice chair for outreach of the Michigan Republican Party, said in a statement sent to The Associated Press that although she supported Trump in the last election, I dont agree with his recent stance on Gaza.I believe the U.S. should take a more hands-off approach to the Middle East, focusing on diplomacy and avoiding further entanglement, Makki said. This was the approach President Trump took during his last presidency, and I think it was more effective. A group formerly known as Arab Americans for Trump, which played a key role in Trumps voter outreach to the Arab American community much of it in Dearborn has rebranded as Arab Americans for Peace following Trumps comments Tuesday. In a statement, the group said it takes issue with the presidents suggestion of taking over Gaza and criticized Trump for not meeting with key Arab leaders, including the Palestinian president, to hear their views.Yet, some of Trumps most vocal Arab American supporters on the campaign trail remained silent Wednesday.Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib and Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi both Democratic mayors of Michigan cities with large Arab and Muslim populations who endorsed Trump and appeared on stage with him did not respond to calls or text messages seeking comment.___ JOEY CAPPELLETTI Cappelletti covers politics and state government for The Associated Press in Michigan. He is based in Lansing. twitter mailto MIKE HOUSEHOLDER Householder is an Associated Press video journalist based in Detroit. He shoots and edits his own visual pieces for online and broadcast use, while writing the occasional text news story and book review. twitter mailto

A man walks past boxes of USAID humanitarian aid at a warehouse at the Tienditas International Bridge on the outskirts of Cucuta, Colombia, Feb. 21, 2019, on the border with Venezuela. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara, File)2025-02-05T18:27:29Z The Trump administrations decision to close the U.S. Agency for International Development has drawn widespread criticism from congressional Democrats and raised questions about the influence billionaire ally Elon Musk wields over the federal government.The United States is the worlds largest source of foreign assistance by far, although several European countries allocate a much bigger share of their budgets. While aid to Africa dwarfs the roughly $2 billion that Latin America receives annually, the Western Hemisphere has long been a spending priority of both Democratic and Republican administrations.Here is a look at USAIDs impact around the world: Protecting the Amazon rainforest and fighting cocaine in South AmericaUSAID has been critical in providing humanitarian assistance in Colombia, conservation efforts in the Brazilian Amazon and coca eradication in Peru. Recent USAID money has also supported emergency humanitarian aid to more than 2.8 million Venezuelans who fled economic crisis.In 2024 alone, the agency transferred some $45 million to the U.N. World Food Program, mostly to assist Venezuelans.In Brazil, USAIDs largest initiative is the Partnership for the Conservation of Amazon Biodiversity, which focuses on conservation and improving livelihoods for Indigenous peoples and other rainforest communities.Over in Peru, part of USAIDs $135 million funding in 2024 was dedicated to financing cocaine-production alternatives such as coffee and cacao. The humanitarian agency has been seeking to curb production of the drug since the early 1980s. Disease response, girls education and free school lunches in Africa Last year, the U.S. gave the sub-Saharan region more than $6.5 billion in humanitarian assistance. But since Trumps announcement, HIV patients in Africa found locked doors at clinics funded by an acclaimed U.S. program that helped rein in the global AIDS epidemic.Known as one of the worlds most successful foreign aid program, the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, has been credited with saving more than 25 million lives, largely in Africa.The world is baffled, said Aaron Motsoaledi, the health minister of South Africa, the country with the most people living with HIV, after the U.S. freeze on aid.Motsoaledi says the U.S. funds nearly 20% of the $2.3 billion needed each year to run South Africas HIV/AIDS program through PEPFAR, and now the biggest response to a single disease in history is under threat.Meanwhile, without U.S. aid, other groups cant give volunteers allowances for food and public transport as they do outreach to keep girls in school and out of early marriages.In civil-war-torn Sudan, which is grappling with cholera, malaria and measles, the aid freeze means 600,000 people will be at risk of catching and spreading those diseases, said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. A busy shelter left without a doctor in MexicoIn the southern Mexican city of Villahermosa, the Peace Oasis of the Holy Spirit Amparito shelter is one of several beneficiaries of U.S. humanitarian assistance to those fleeing persecution, crisis or violence.However, under the funding freeze, the charitable organization that runs the shelter had to cut its only doctor as well as a social worker and child psychologist. The shelter has since appealed to the Mexican government for alternate funding for programs managed by the United Nations to pay for flights and bus rides to Mexicos border with Guatemala for migrants who want to return home.The crisis is only going to worsen, the shelter said in a statement. The most affected will be the population we serve.Wartime help in UkraineU.S. funding in Ukraine has helped to pay for fuel for evacuation vehicles, salaries for aid workers, legal and psychological support, and tickets to help evacuees reach safer locations.That includes the cost of using a concert hall in eastern Ukraine as a temporary center for civilians fleeing the relentless Russian bombardment. That shelter is now in peril because 60% of the costs equivalent of $7,000 a month to run were being covered by the U.S.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his government expects $300 million to $400 million in aid to be cut. Most of that was for the energy sector that has been targeted by Russia.

Former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris stand as Christopher Macchio performs "The Star-Spangled Banner" after President Donald Trump was sworn in during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Saul Loeb/Pool photo via AP)2025-02-05T22:33:19Z NEW YORK (AP) CBS 60 Minutes posted online Wednesday the unedited transcripts of its October interview with Kamala Harris that sparked a lawsuit by Donald Trump, saying that they proved its broadcast was not doctored or deceitful.Thats what Trump contended in a $10 billion lawsuit he filed against the network in November, reportedly the subject of ongoing settlement talks.In a separate track, the Federal Communications Commission last week called for CBS to send transcripts and clips of the interview, which CBS did before making them public on Wednesday. The interview with the Democratic presidential candidate, portions of which were aired on 60 Minutes and Face the Nation, attracted attention because clips showed her giving different answers to a question about Israel that was posed by correspondent Bill Whitaker.In his lawsuit, filed before Trump won election to his second term, the Republican contended the editing was done to give advantage to Harris, his Democratic opponent. Yet CBS said that the material it was releasing on Wednesday show consistent with 60 Minutes repeated assurances to the public, that the 60 Minutes broadcast was not doctored or deceitful, CBS said in a statement. The network said that journalists regularly edit interviews for time, space and clarity.In making these edits, 60 Minutes is always guided by the truth and what we believe will be most informative to the viewing public, all while working within the constraints of broadcast television, the network said.Despite CBS News contention that it did nothing wrong in its editing, the news divisions parent company Paramount is reportedly engaged in settlement talks. Paramount executives are seeking the Trump administrations approval of a sale to another entertainment firm, Skydance. ___David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bs DAVID BAUDER Bauder is the APs national media writer, covering the intersection of news, politics and entertainment. He is based in New York. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-02-06T01:08:57Z WASHINGTON (AP) Top Trump administration voices on Wednesday contradicted some of the comments the president made a day earlier about the U.S. taking long-term control of war-shattered Gaza, the possibility of sending in American troops and the areas residents being permanently resettled.President Donald Trump s remarks Tuesday set off alarm in Arab countries and even among some of his Republican allies before Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tried to walk them back.Heres a look at what Trump, Rubio and Leavitt said, and the key areas in which they disagree: On refugee resettlement outside of GazaTrump: I hope we can do something where they wouldnt want to go back.If we can get a beautiful area to resettle people, permanently, in nice homes where they can be happy and not be shot and not be killed and not be knifed to death like whats happening in Gaza. Rubio: In the interim, obviously, people are going to have to live somewhere while youre rebuilding it. It is akin to a natural disaster. What he very generously has offered is the ability of the United States to go in and help with debris removal, help with munitions removal, help with reconstruction the rebuilding of homes and businesses and things of this nature, so that then people can move back in.Leavitt: The president has made it clear that they need to be temporarily relocated out of Gaza. On sending US troops to GazaTrump: We will do what is necessary. If its necessary, well do that.Leavitt: The president has not committed to putting boots on the ground in Gaza.Rubio: It was not meant as a hostile move. It was meant as, I think, a very generous move, the offer to rebuild and to be in charge of the rebuilding. On the US taking long-term control and overseeing reconstruction of GazaTrump: I do see a long-term ownership position, and I see it bringing great stability to that part of the Middle East, and maybe the entire Middle East.Were going to take over that piece and were going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs. And it will be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of.We have an opportunity to do something that could be phenomenal. And I dont want to be cute. I dont want to be a wise guy. But the Riviera of the Middle East.This could be so magnificent. But more importantly than that is the people that have been absolutely destroyed that live there now can live in peace in a much better situation because they are living in hell. And those people will now be able to live in peace. Well make sure that its done world class.Rubio: What President Trump announced yesterday is the offer, the willingness, of the United States to become responsible for the reconstruction of that area. Leavitt: Its been made very clear to the president that the United States needs to be involved in this rebuilding effort to ensure stability in the region for all people. It does not mean American taxpayers will be funding this effort. It means Donald Trump, who is the best dealmaker on the planet, is going to strike a deal with our partners in the region. WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers national politics and the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto

American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, 65, center left, waves as he is escorted by Hamas fighters to be handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza City, Saturday Feb.1, 2025.(AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar, File)2025-02-06T08:32:35Z TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) For the final two months of his captivity in Gaza, American-Israeli Keith Siegel was forced to lie down at all times in a cramped room. For most of his ordeal there was little electricity or running water, which made hygiene impossible, he said.When he returned to Israel last week, gaunt and pale, the first words to his family, according to his brother, Lee Siegel, were: Im back, Im home.Then, he asked, What can I do to help bring the other hostages home?Hostages are returning after 15 months in captivity as part of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, and with their freedom, the first details of their ordeals are emerging. Their accounts, told mostly through relatives, are shining a light on what the roughly 75 captives who remain in Gaza are facing, and are driving families of the released captives to keep up their public campaign until everyone is free. My family and I traveled the globe, knocking on every door, sharing our story with anyone who would listen, Siegels wife, Aviva, a former hostage, told reporters after the release of her husband. We must not rest. We must not turn away, she said, adding that the hostages remaining in Gaza deserve better.After 15 months of devastating war sparked by Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack, Hamas and Israel agreed to a ceasefire deal last month. Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages during the attack; around 75 remain in Gaza. About half are presumed by Israel to be dead. More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but says more than half the dead are women and children. The first stage of the ceasefire calls for a pause in fighting, the release of hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and an increase in humanitarian aid for Gaza. Another three hostages are expected to be released on Saturday. The families of the hostages and their supporters have waged a tireless campaign in Israel and abroad to keep public attention on their loved ones and secure their release. Their commitment to securing the release of all the remaining hostages is made all the more difficult because extension of the ceasefire is not guaranteed and relies on renewed negotiations between Israel and Hamas to carry the deal into a second phase, when more hostages are expected to be freed. Siegel, 65, originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was taken captive along with Aviva from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the communities hardest hit in Hamas attack. She was released in a brief ceasefire in November 2023.Lee Siegel, 73, said his brother told the family he was moved frequently and that for about six months he was kept alone, separate from other hostages. Beyond what his captors told him, he had very little exposure to the outside world, other than hearing rare snippets of radio or TV reports.For long periods he was required to stay silent, he told his family. Siegel drew on his meditation practice to help him stay grounded, his brother said. He would keep track of time by saying the date and the day of the week every day. Siegel would have imagined conversations with each family member, according to his brother. If his captors allowed him to speak aloud, he would whisper these; otherwise he would have the conversations silently in his head. He would say, Aviva, I love you, or to his daughter, Gal, I dreamed of you, I saw you.Even as he has started sharing some of his experiences with the family, Lee Siegel said they cant begin to comprehend his ordeal. His brother is also grappling with the challenges of catching up on everything he missed, the seismic changes in Israel as well as personal family news: the death of their mother, the birth of great nieces and nephews.Its a human being who was taken for 484 days, suffering the worst things we can appreciate, Lee Siegel said. Romi Gonen, 24, who was released on the first day of the ceasefire, will need a complex surgery and lengthy physical therapy for an untreated hand wound she suffered during the Hamas attack, according to her mother, Meirav Leshem Gonen. While doctors said Gonens condition was stable when she returned, her mother said her skin was gray after being kept out of sunlight for nearly her entire captivity.Leshem Gonen said her daughter lost 10 kilograms (22 pounds), a fifth of her body weight, and was often deprived of food by her captors, even when they had food to share. When she was freed, Gonen had lost the ability to recognize hunger, and didnt want to eat at all, her mother said, adding that it was more than two weeks before she finally asked for something specific to eat.Gonen has spoken very little to her family about what she went through, except to share humorous stories, trying to inject a bit of levity into a horrific situation because thats the kind of person she is, her mother said. I ask everybody to take action to make sure the ceasefire will continue for the hostages to get out, said Leshem Gonen, who has been a prominent voice for the hostages freedom and has continued the campaign for those still in captivity. Lee Siegel said his family is taking some time to themselves before returning to the demonstrations, overseas travel and media interviews for the remaining hostages release.For now, the family is concentrating on the small things: just being able to embrace Siegel.It will take time for him to regroup physically and emotionally, but hes strong, and hes resilient, Lee Siegel said.Actually, I think he provides us with more strength than we can provide for him. MELANIE LIDMAN Lidman is an Associated Press reporter based in Tel Aviv, Israel.

People gather at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a shooting on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)2025-02-06T08:44:48Z OREBRO, Sweden (AP) The shooter who killed 10 people in Swedens worst mass shooting earlier this week was connected to the adult education center where he opened fire with at least one rifle-like weapon, law enforcement officials said Thursday. Authorities said the gunman, who has not yet been officially identified, may have attended school there before Tuesdays violence on the school campus west of Stockholm. The shooter was later found dead with three guns and a large amount of unused ammunition next to his body, officials told a news conference. It was not clear how he died.The school, Campus Risbergska, offers primary and secondary educational classes for adults age 20 and older, Swedish-language classes for immigrants, vocational training, and programs for people with intellectual disabilities. It is on the outskirts of Orebro, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Stockholm. Police officers stand guard near the scene of a shooting at an adult education center on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Police officers stand guard near the scene of a shooting at an adult education center on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Some 130 officers arrived Tuesday after alarms summoned them to the school to find chaos across the campus. They described the scene as an inferno.Dead people, injured people, screams and smoke, local police chief Lars Wirn said during the news conference. Officers found at least five people, all over age 18 with serious gunshot wounds. Two of them remained in intensive care Thursday in serious but stable condition. The other three were in stable condition after surgery. A sixth person was treated for minor injuries.Police were forced to search the large school 17,000 square meters (182,986 square feet) to ensure that there were no other casualties. Authorities said the shooter had licenses for four weapons, three of which were found next to his body. Police have seized the fourth.Investigators had not uncovered a definitive motive behind the bloodshed by Thursday. Police said there were no warnings beforehand, and they believe the perpetrator acted alone. Authorities said there were no suspected connections to terrorism at this point. Days of shock and grief A man lights a candle at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a shooting at an adult education center on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) A man lights a candle at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a shooting at an adult education center on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More In Orebro, a town of 160,000 thats considered Swedens seventh-largest municipality, Thursday brought more sadness but still few answers.It has been two days of shock and grief, John Johansson, chairman of the towns municipal board, told The Associated Press. We are still asking questions of why, still wondering what has happened. The outpouring of grief and togetherness has been enormous.King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, as well as Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, visited Orebro on Wednesday and attended a memorial service.Mourners elsewhere in the the Scandinavian nation of roughly 10.5 million, where gun violence at schools is very rare, struggled to process the thought of mass violence in their own country."This is not a Swedish problem, its a problem that we have seen throughout the world, Johansson said.The shootings online presence has prompted friends of Orebro resident Petter Jorman, a 60-year-old father whose son previously attended the school, to call and text him asking how are you? Are you OK? I know you live close. The worst hours of my lifeThe shooting started Tuesday afternoon, after many students had gone home following a national exam. Survivors scrambled for cover as shots rang out, sheltering behind or under whatever they could find to escape the gunman and the gore. One woman with children feared she might never see them again, while another used her friends shawl to staunch the bleeding of a man whod been shot in the shoulder. Those were the worst hours of my life. I did not know if I would get shot there and then, or in 10 minutes. You simply waited, Hellen Werme, 35, told the Expressen newspaper. People light candles at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a shooting on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) People light candles at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a shooting on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More People gather at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a shooting on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) People gather at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a shooting on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More People gather at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a shooting on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) People gather at a makeshift memorial near the scene of a shooting on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Guns in SwedenPolice wouldnt say whether the shooter had multiple guns, nor would they say what kind of firearm was used in the shooting. While gun violence at schools is very rare in Sweden, people were wounded or killed with other weapons such as knives or axes in several incidents in recent years.In order to possess a firearm legally, applicants must obtain a weapon license and demonstrate that it will be used for an acceptable purpose, such as hunting or target shooting. Applicants must also submit previously obtained hunting or target shooting certificates. Hunting certificates require people to pass a training course, while target shooters must be certified as active and experienced members of clubs. All weapons must be stored in secure cabinets approved by the police. Applications for fully automatic weapons or one-handed weapons are only granted for exceptional reasons, and such permits are generally time-limited.Permits are revoked if the weapon is modified to be substantially different from its original function.___Dazio reported from Berlin. Mimmi Montgomery and Kwiyeon Ha in London, and John Leicester in Paris, contributed to this report. STEFANIE DAZIO Dazio covers Northern Europe from Berlin for The Associated Press. She previously covered crime and criminal justice from Los Angeles.

A Honeywell plant on April 4, 2020, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York, File)2025-02-06T11:31:25Z Honeywell, one of the last remaining U.S. industrial conglomerates, will split into three independent companies, following in the footsteps of manufacturing giants like General Electric and Alcoa.The company said Thursday that it will separate from its automation and aerospace technologies businesses. Including plans announced earlier to spin off its advanced materials business, Honeywell will consist of three smaller entities in hopes that they will each be more agile. The formation of three independent, industry-leading companies builds on the powerful foundation we have created, positioning each to pursue tailored growth strategies, and unlock significant value for shareholders and customers, Honeywell Chairman and CEO Vimal Kapur said in a statement.Honeywell had said in December that it was considering spinning off its aerospace division. The public announcement arrived about one month after Elliott Investment Management revealed a stake of more than $5 billion in the aerospace, automation and materials company. Elliott had been pushing for the Charlotte, North Carolina, company to separate its automation and aerospace businesses. The board of Honeywell International Inc. had been exploring strategic options for the company since earlier in 2024. The company, which makes everything from eye solution to barcode readers, has been seeking ways to make itself more nimble. Over the past year and a half, just after Kapur took over as CEO, Honeywell has announced plans for the advanced materials business spinoff, entered into an agreement to sell its personal protective equipment business, and made several acquisitions. The separation of the automation and aerospace technologies businesses is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026. The spinoff of the advanced materials business is anticipated to be completed by the end of this year or early next year. Like Honeywell, other U.S. conglomerates have been pressured by shareholders to simplify their structures, allowing each segment of the company to move more freely and adapt to changes in their respective markets. Iconic CEOs like Jack Welch of General Electric spent years building corporate American behemoths with the belief that with scale came power. Yet those massive companies were forced to compete with upstarts with a narrow focus and a more clearly defined set of goals. Investors also wanted a more clear view of the priorities within each division, which became more murky as the companies grew. In 2015 metals maker Alcoa said that it was splitting into two independent companies, separating its bauxite, aluminum and casting operations from its engineering, transportation and global rolled products businesses.GE announced in 2021 that it was dividing itself into three public companies focused on aviation, health care and energy. At the time, the move was viewed as a potential signal of the end of conglomerates as a whole thanks to the move toward a digital economy. Shares fell almost 3% before the market opened Thursday.

India's opposition lawmakers, some of them wearing shackles, stage a protest outside the Parliament in New Delhi, to condemn the reported mistreatment of Indian immigrants during their deportation from the United States, Thursday, Feb.6, 2025. The banners in Hindi language read "Indians in shackles, will not tolerate the insult." (AP Photo)2025-02-06T08:45:35Z NEW DELHI (AP) Indias Parliament was disrupted on Thursday as opposition lawmakers protested the alleged mistreatment of 104 Indian immigrants deported by the United States.A U.S. military plane on Wednesday carrying 104 deported Indian migrants arrived in a northern Indian city, the first such flight to the country as part of a crackdown ordered by the Trump administration.The lawmakers and media reports said the deportees arms and legs were shackled while on the aircraft.Parliaments proceedings were adjourned Thursday as the lawmakers chanted slogans and called to discuss the deportation.Renuka Chowdhury, a lawmaker in the Congress party, said the deportees were handcuffed, had their legs chained and even struggled to use the washroom. Her colleague, Gaurav Gogoi, called it degrading.Parliament speaker Om Birla tried to calm the lawmakers, saying the transportation of the deportees was a matter of U.S. foreign policy. The foreign country also has its own rules and regulations, he said.The Press Trust of India news agency quoted one of the deportees, Jaspal Singh, saying deportees handcuffs and leg chains were taken off only at the Amritsar airport in India. Singh, 36, said they initially thought they were being taken to another camp in the U.S. Then a police officer told us that we were being taken to India, he said.The U.S. government usually carries out deportations on commercial and chartered flights. The use of the U.S. military to return people to their home country is a relatively new method that started under the Trump administration. Opposition lawmakers, including Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, also protested outside the Parliament building as they demanded a response from the government. Some wore handcuffs and carried placards that read: Humans, not prisoners.The deportation came ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Washington, which is expected next week. U.S. President Donald Trump and Modi discussed immigration in a phone call last week and Trump stressed the importance of India buying more American-made security equipment and fair bilateral trade. A spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi said enforcing immigration laws was critical for the countrys national security and public safety. It is the policy of the United States to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens, he said.India has cooperated with the U.S. and said it is ready to accept the deported Indians after verification.New Delhi says it is against illegal immigration, mainly because it is linked to several forms of organized crime, and it has not objected to the U.S. deporting its citizens.U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this week the deportation flights were an effective way to stem the flow of illegal migration, which he said is destructive and destabilizing.The State Department said such deportations deter other people considering migrating illegally.Indias junior External Affairs Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh recently told Indias Parliament that 519 Indian nationals were deported to India between November 2023 and October 2024, citing U.S. government data.A Pew Research Center report said that as of 2022, India ranked third after Mexico and El Salvador on the list of countries with the largest number of unauthorized immigrants 725,000 living in the U.S.

Vice President JD Vance speaks before swearing in Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Vice Presidential Ceremonial Office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-02-06T13:02:01Z The sense of Catholic unity didnt last long. Less than a week after Vice President JD Vance shared the inauguration stage with a senior Catholic cardinal, Vance picked a fight with the top American leaders of his church.The new vice president, a Catholic convert, accused the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops of resettling illegal immigrants in order to get federal funding. New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who gave the invocation shortly before Vance took his oath of office, denounced the remarks as scurrilous and nasty.Vance has claimed that a concept from medieval Catholic theology ordo amoris in Latin justifies the Trump administrations America-first immigration crackdown. He contended that the concept delineates a hierarchy of care to family first, followed by neighbor, community, fellow citizens and lastly those elsewhere. Several scholars say Vance is promoting a simplistic misreading of the concept and that Catholic teaching requires the helping of strangers in urgent need.But Vance received support from others, particularly those in a largely Catholic movement he identifies with, known as postliberalism. It combines a social conservativism with a belief in using the power of the state to promote Christian values and build community. The movements leading thinkers have advocated for precisely the sort of sweeping regime change underway in the Trump administration, cheering its largescale cuts to the federal agencies and workforces deemed antithetical to these goals. The Catholic rift comes as leading bishops applauded some of the new Trump administration initiatives. Statements from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops welcomed executive orders supporting school choice, rolling back federal support for gender transitions and requiring foreign agencies receiving U.S. aid to certify that they dont provide or promote abortion. Catholic power shift in WashingtonThe change of administrations seems to mark a tectonic shift in Catholic power in Washington. Democrats Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi liberal, Mass-attending Catholics who supported abortion rights, prompting some bishops to oppose their receiving Communion are gone from the White House and House speakers chair, respectively. Trump has nominated a leading conservative Catholic activist, Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, as Vatican ambassador even as Pope Francis appointed a relatively progressive cardinal, Robert McElroy, as archbishop of Washington. But Vances blast at the bishops conference stung.Vance called himself a devout Catholic who was disappointed bishops have not been a good partner in common sense immigration enforcement. He claimed they took $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants. Dolan, on his SiriusXM show, called the statements harmful.Thats just scurrilous, its very nasty, and its not true, Dolan said. The bishops conference is one of 10 national U.S. organizations that resettle refugees, who have been legally brought to the country under decades-old policy until Trump paused the program. Dolan said government grants dont match expenses and are supplemented by private donations. You think we make money on it? Were losing it hand over fist, Dolan said, adding that he hoped better from Vance in the future.But Vance has stood by his ordo amoris justification for Trumps migration restrictions. You love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country, Vance said on Fox News. Then after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world. He claimed that the far left has inverted that.What the ordo amoris concept meansIn a follow-up social-media skirmish, Vance urged people to Google ordo amoris or order of love.On the concept, St. Augustine, an ancient theologian, said while everyone must love everyone equally, no finite person can help everybody and thus should particularly look after those with whom one has a closer connection.St. Thomas Aquinas, in the 13th century, agreed that people have a particular obligation to family and fellow citizens. But, he added, it also depends on circumstances: In certain cases one ought, for instance, to succor a stranger, in extreme necessity, rather than ones own father, if he is not in such urgent need. David Hollenbach, a Jesuit theologian and professor at Georgetown Universitys Walsh School of Foreign Service, said Vance seriously misinterprets Aquinas.Aquinas says we love most effectively those who are near us, said Hollenbach, who is also senior fellow of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs. But, he added, Aquinas goes on to say if there are people at a greater distance who are at great need, they take priority.Hollenbach cited the biblical parable of the Good Samaritan, in which an outcast took care of a badly beaten traveler neglected by others. If there are refugees out there and there are people who are fleeing for their lives, theyre in great need and we need to respond to their needs, Hollenbach said.He also cited Pope Francis exhortations to countries to receive immigrants. Francis, in a 2020 encyclical, warned against a xenophobic response that denies the inalienable dignity of migrants in need.Immigration, gender identity and other Catholic social issuesVance has received plenty of support from conservative Catholics who see the Trump administration as bringing many of their ideas to reality. You know youre in a postliberal order when high elected leaders explain their views in terms of political theology, and the main debate isnt over whether they are intolerant but whether the political theology is right or wrong, Harvard law professor Adrian Vermeule posted on the social media platform X. R.R. Reno, in an article for the online journal Compact, argued Vance was correct about ordo amoris. He cited the fictional Mrs. Jellyby in a Charles Dickens novel someone who is so busy with charitable work that she neglects her own family as an example of misplaced love.Christ-like love encourages concern for victims of fires in other states, regions, or countries, Reno wrote. But all the more so does Christ-like love compel us to come to the aid of neighbors whose houses down the street are burning.Other Catholic bishops have maintained their support for aid to immigrants. Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, defended the dignity of every immigrant, regardless of his or her status. He said immigrants have enriched the nation and the church. Catholic teaching, he said in a statement, does not allow for an open border but rather emphasizes a common sense approach where the duty to care for the stranger is practiced in harmony with the duty to care for the nation.Immigration is not the only issue that divides high-level Catholics in Washington and elsewhere there also are sharp divisions over LGBTQ+ inclusion.Trumps recent executive order mandating the federal government to define sex as only male or female a repudiation of transgender people was welcome by Washington-based Archbishop for the Military Services Timothy Broglio, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.Yet Cardinal McElroy has advocated for radical inclusion of LGBTQ+ Catholics in the church. And the outgoing archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Wilton Gregory, apologized at a recent prayer service for the churchs treatment of LGBTQ+ Catholics and his own lack of courage to bring healing and hope.Vance, meanwhile, continues citing Catholic names more often discussed in seminary than in politics. In a speech Wednesday on religious freedom, he quoted the ancient theologian Tertullian in support of freedom of conscience.It is, I think, a conceit of modern society that religious liberty is a liberal concept, he said at the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington. But we know that religious freedom flows from concepts central to the Christian faith, in particular the free will of human beings and the essential dignity of all peoples.___Associated Press writer David Crary contributed.___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

President Donald Trump speaks before Pam Bondi is sworn in as Attorney General by Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-02-06T11:34:59Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump will participate in the National Prayer Breakfast at the Capitol on Thursday, joining a more than 70-year-old Washington tradition that brings together a bipartisan group of lawmakers for fellowship. Trump will also speak at a separate prayer breakfast at a Washington hotel sponsored by a private group. The Republican president made waves at the final prayer breakfast during his first term. That year the gathering came the day after the Senate acquitted him in his first impeachment trial. Trump in his remarks threw not-so-subtle barbs at Democratic then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, who publicly said she prayed for Trump, and Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who had cited his faith in his decision to vote to convict Trump.I dont like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong, Trump said in his winding speech, in which he also held up two newspapers with banner headlines about his acquittal. Nor do I like people who say, I pray for you, when they know that thats not so. Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first president to attend the prayer breakfast, in February 1953, and every president since has spoken at the gathering. Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas are the honorary co-chairs of this years prayer breakfast. In 2023, the National Prayer Breakfast split into two dueling events, the one on Capitol Hill largely attended by lawmakers and government officials and a larger private event for thousands at a hotel ballroom. The split occurred when lawmakers sought to distance themselves from the private religious group that for decades had overseen the bigger event, due to questions about its organization and how it was funded.In 2023 and 2024, President Joe Biden, a Democrat, spoke at the Capitol Hill event, and his remarks were livestreamed to the other gathering.___Follow the APs coverage of Donald Trump at https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump. AAMER MADHANI Aamer Madhani is a White House reporter. twitter mailto

JD Vance is sworn in as vice president by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh as Usha Vance holds the Bible during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)2025-02-06T13:03:21Z Vice President JD Vance recently cited medieval Catholic theology in justifying the immigration crackdown under President Donald Trump.Just google ordo amoris, he posted Jan. 30 on the social media platform X.He posted this in reply to criticism over statements he made in a Fox News interview: You love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country. And then after that, you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world. He claimed that the far left has inverted that.Vance posted that the concept is basic common sense because ones moral duties to ones children outweigh those to a stranger who lives thousands of miles away. What is ordo amoris?Its been translated as order of love or order of charity. Its a concept discussed by St. Augustine, an ancient theologian, who said everyone and everything should be loved in its own proper way.Now he is a man of just and holy life who ... neither loves what he ought not to love, nor fails to love what he ought to love, nor loves that more which ought to be loved less, nor loves that equally which ought to be loved either less or more, nor loves that less or more which ought to be loved equally, Augustine wrote. Further, all men are to be loved equally, Augustine wrote. But since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special regard to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstance, are brought into closer connection with you. St. Thomas Aquinas, in the 13th century, expounded on this theme while also noting it depends on circumstances.We ought to be most beneficent towards those who are most closely connected with us, he wrote. And yet this may vary according to the various requirements of time, place, or matter in hand: because in certain cases one ought, for instance, to succor a stranger, in extreme necessity, rather than ones own father, if he is not in such urgent need.The modern catechism of the Catholic Church briefly refers to the order of charity where it cites obligations to honor ones parents and be good citizens. ___Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks after taking the oath of office at the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)2025-02-06T05:02:40Z WASHINGTON (AP) Thousands of miles from Elon Musks office in the White House complex, a federal worker based in the Pacific Northwest is wondering whether to quit.Musk, one of President Donald Trumps most powerful advisers, has orchestrated an unprecedented financial incentive for people to leave their government jobs, promising several months of pay in return for their resignation. The worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, wants to take the money and move overseas.But shes worried. What if the offer is too good to be true? What if this is really a covert effort to make a list of disloyal government employees?Her situation is a microcosm of the uncertainty sweeping through the federal government, which is the countrys single largest employer. More than 2 million workers analysts, nurses, scientists, accountants, food inspectors and loan processors face a deadline of 11:59 p.m. EST Thursday to decide if they should leave. Trump administration is urging workers to take the dealThe deferred resignation program is part of Trumps plan to remake the federal government, weakening what allies describe as the deep state that undermined the Republican president during his first term. Administration officials said they can save taxpayer money by presenting employees with a valuable, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stop working while still collecting a paycheck until Sept. 30. On Wednesday, the administration ramped up its pressure on employees to leave, sending a reminder that layoffs or furloughs could come next. The majority of federal agencies are likely to be downsized through restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force, said the message from the Office of Personnel Management, which has been a nexus of Musks efforts to downsize the government. The email said anyone who remains will be expected to be loyal and will be subject to enhanced standards of suitability and conduct as we move forward. Some employees could be reclassified to limit civil service protections as well. Employees who engage in unlawful behavior or other misconduct will be prioritized for appropriate investigation and discipline, including termination, the email said. Democrats and unions warn that workers could be stiffedDemocrats said workers shouldnt accept the deferred resignation program because it wasnt authorized by Congress, raising the risk they wont get paid. Unions have sued to stop Trumps plans, and a judge will consider whether to block the buyout offer at a hearing Thursday afternoon in Boston.Its a scam and not a buyout, said Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees.Kelley said he tells workers that if it was me, I wouldnt do it. An employee at the Department of Education, who also spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, said the administration appeared desperate to get people to sign the agreement. However, she said there were too many red flags, such as a clause waiving the right to sue if the government failed to honor its side of the deal. The deal is exactly what it looks like, says Trump officialTrump put Musk, the worlds richest man, in charge of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which is a sweeping initiative to reduce the size and scope of the federal government. The original email offering the deferred resignation program was titled Fork in the road, echoing a similar message that Musk sent Twitter employees two years ago after he bought the social media platform. Trump administration officials have organized question-and-answer sessions with employees as the deadline approaches. Rachel Oglesby, the chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Education who previously worked at the America First Policy Institute, said Trump is trying to reduce the federal workforce. I know theres been a lot of questions out there about whether its real and whether its a trick, she said, according to a recording obtained by The Associated Press. And its exactly what it looks like. Its one of the many tools that hes using to try to achieve the campaign promise to bring reform to the civil service and changes to D.C. The issue was also discussed during a meeting with Department of Agriculture employees, according to another recording obtained by the AP. Marlon Taubenheim, a human resources official, acknowledged that these are very trying times and theres a lot of stress.Unfortunately, we dont have all the answers, he said.Jacqueline Ponti-Lazaruk, another agency leader, said employees probably didnt have the runway of time that you might have liked to make a life-changing decision.For those who remain, she said, well just keep plugging along.Assurances from administration officials have not alleviated concerns across a range of agencies. Some federal workers said they did not trust the validity of the offers, doubting that Trump has the authority to disburse money. Others point to his record of stiffing contractors as a New York real estate mogul. Musks plans spark demonstrations in WashingtonScattered protests have sprung up outside federal buildings, including on Tuesday at the Office of Personnel Management.Im taking a risk and being bold and trying to get more federal workers to take a risk to speak out, said Dante OHara, who said he works for the government. Because if we dont, then were all going to lose our jobs and theyre going to put all these loyalists or people that will be their shock troops.Government jobs have often been considered secure positions, but OHara said theres fear in the workforce. The sense from his colleagues is I dont know if Im going to be here tomorrow because, like, we dont know whats going to happen.Dan Smith, a Maryland resident whose father was a research scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said federal workers are so underappreciated and so taken for granted.Its one thing to downsize the government. Its one thing to try to obliterate it, Smith said. And thats whats going on. And that is what is so frightening and disgusting and requires pushback.Mary-Jean Burke, a physical therapist for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Indianapolis, said shes worried that too many people will leave, jeopardizing health care services. Burke, who also serves as a union official, said doubts have also been growing over whether to take the offer.Originally, I think people were like, Im out of here, she said. But then they saw a social media post from DOGE, which said employees can take the vacation you always wanted, or just watch movies and chill, while receiving your full government pay and benefits.The message backfired because that kind of thing sounded a little bit too good to be true and people were hesitant, Burke said.Either way, she said, Trump has achieved his apparent goal of shaking up the federal workforce. Every day, its something, Burke said. If he signed up to be a disrupter, hes doing it.___Associated Press writers Nancy Benac, Nathan Ellgren, Gary Fields, Joshua Goodman and Brian Witte contributed to this report. CHRIS MEGERIAN Megerian covers the White House for The Associated Press. He previously wrote about the Russia investigation, climate change, law enforcement and politics in California and New Jersey. twitter mailto 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

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown departs a press availability after a federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship in a case brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)2025-02-06T05:17:48Z SEATTLE (AP) A federal judge who already questioned the constitutionality of President Donald Trumps birthright citizenship executive order is set to hear arguments Thursday over a longer-term pause of the directive, which aims to end citizenship for children born to parents not legally in the country. U.S. District Judge John Coughenour in Seattle has scheduled a hearing involving lawyers from the Trump administration, four states suing to stop the order, and an immigrant rights organization, which is challenging it on behalf of a proposed class of expectant parents.The latest proceeding comes just a day after a Maryland federal judge issued a nationwide pause in a separate but similar case involving immigrants rights groups and pregnant women whose soon-to-born children could be affected.Heres a closer look at where things stand on the presidents birthright citizenship order. Where do things stand on birthright citizenship?The presidents executive order seeks to end the automatic grant of citizenship to children born on U.S. soil to parents who are in the country illegally or who are here on a temporary, but lawful, basis such as those on student or tourist visas.For now, though, its on hold. Two weeks ago, Coughenour called the order blatantly unconstitutional and issued a 14-day temporary restraining order blocking its implementation. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman followed that up with an injunction keeping it on hold long-term, until the merits of the case are resolved, barring a successful appeal by the Trump administration.Asked by Boardman if the administration would appeal, an attorney for the administration said he didnt immediately have the authority to make that decision. Whats happening in the latest case?On Thursday, the birthright citizenship issue is back before Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee. During a hearing last month, he said the case stood out in his more than four decades as a federal judge. I cant remember another case where the question presented was as clear as this one is, he told a Justice Department attorney. His temporary order blocking the executive action was set to expire Thursday when hell hear arguments over whether he should issue an injunction similar to the one issued by the judge in Maryland. What about the other cases challenging the presidents order?In total, 22 states, as well as other organizations, have sued to try to stop the executive action. The matter before the Seattle judge Thursday involves four states: Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington. It also has been consolidated with a lawsuit brought by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project. Eighteen states, led by Iowa, have filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the Trump administrations position in the case.Yet another hearing is set for Friday in a Massachusetts court. That case involves a different group of 18 states challenging the order, including New Jersey, which is the lead plaintiff. Whats at issue here?At the heart of the lawsuits is the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1868 after the Civil War and the infamous Dred Scott Supreme Court decision, which held Scott, an enslaved man, wasnt a citizen despite having lived in a state where slavery was outlawed. The plaintiffs argue the amendment, which holds that all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside, are indisputably citizens. The Trump administration has asserted that children of noncitizens are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and therefore not entitled to citizenship. The Constitution does not harbor a windfall clause granting American citizenship to ... the children of those who have circumvented (or outright defied) federal immigration laws, the government argued in reply to the Maryland plaintiffs suit.Attorneys for the states have argued that it certainly does and that has been recognized since the amendments adoption, notably in an 1898 U.S. Supreme Court decision. That decision, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, held that the only children who did not automatically receive U.S. citizenship upon being born on U.S. soil were children of diplomats, who have allegiance to another government; enemies present in the U.S. during hostile occupation; those born on foreign ships; and those born to members of sovereign Native American tribes.The U.S. is among about 30 countries where birthright citizenship the principle of jus soli or right of the soil is applied. Most are in the Americas, and Canada and Mexico are among them. ____Catalini is based in Trenton, New Jersey. Associated Press writer Michael Kunzelman contributed from Greenbelt, Maryland. MIKE CATALINI Catalini covers government, elections and news primarily in New Jersey for The Associated Press. He focuses on accountability and how policy affects people. twitter

Employees work at a textile factory in Tlaxcala, Mexico, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)2025-02-06T05:13:10Z CIUDAD JUREZ, Mexico (AP) As soon as the sun glints over miles of border fence dividing the United States and Mexico, the engines of cargo trucks packed with auto and computer parts roar to life along border bridges and bleary-eyed workers file into factories to assemble a multitude of products geared toward the U.S. market. For more than half a century, this daily rhythm has helped fuel the heartbeat of a transnational machine that generated more than $800 billion in trade between the U.S. and Mexico in 2024 alone.Over the past year, however, President Donald Trumps threatened 25% tariffs against Mexico and Canada have plunged manufacturing hubs all along the northern Mexican border into limbo, a state that persists despite a one-month reprieve to which Trump agreed on Monday. Tariffs would cripple Mexican border economies that are reliant on factories churning out products for the U.S. auto parts, medical supplies, computer components, myriad electronics and likely thrust the country into a recession, economic forecasters have warned. Some workers wonder how much longer theyll have jobs, while business leaders say the uncertainty has already led many investors to start tightening their purse strings. Its a conflict between governments and were the ones most affected, said 58-year-old truck driver Carlos Ponce, leaning against his rig at the customs border crossing between Ciudad Jurez and El Paso, Texas. Tomorrow, who knows what will happen? Ponce, who was driving a truck full of car shock absorbers, said hes spent the past 35 years moving goods across the border, just as his father did before him. Now, hes unsure how much longer that will last. Manufacturing in export-oriented assembly plants known as maquiladoras are the heart of Ciudad Jurezs economy, with 97% of its goods going to the U.S., according to figures from Mexicos Economic Ministry. The factories were born in the 1960s in an attempt to boost economic development in northern Mexico and lower prices for U.S. consumers. The maquiladora program later took off after the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, was signed in 1994. The agreement was supplanted by a similar pact, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, negotiated between the three countries during Trumps first term.Today, neon signs with the dollar-to-peso exchange rate flash across the city, a reminder of the close ties binding both sides of the border.Everything that happens in the United States: its economic, social policy directly affects us because companies here in Mexico depend on what they sell in the United States, said Thor Salayandia, head of his familys auto-parts manufacturing facility in Ciudad Jurez. The United States also needs Mexico to keep manufacturing, but theyre not seeing things like that.This week, workers and business leaders alike breathed a sigh of relief when Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced she had negotiated with Trump to delay tariffs one month. Now, were buying time, Salayandia said.Workers here assemble everything from auto parts to computer panels to T-shirts emblazoned with the American flag, logos of popular U.S. football teams and slogans such as Proud to be a federal employee. Parts can cross the border multiple times before the final product is sold to U.S. consumers. That economic interdependence has left many in the city struggling to imagine a future without it. One U.S. company said it would likely have to move part of its manufacturing in the city to the U.S., but at a sharp cost. Antonio Ruiz, a compliance officer at Tecma, a U.S. firm that helps foreign companies set up shop along the border, said his was among a number of businesses to call emergency meetings over the weekend as economic forecasters warned that the tariffs could drive Mexico into a recession. Its very difficult to be prepared for something that has never happened before, Ruiz said. As much as you want to prepare for it, the best you can do is prepare to brace yourself in the short term. Salayandia and economists warn that any sort of tax could lead to cascading unemployment and rising prices on both sides of the border. In Mexico, they say, it could also spur a rise in violence in border areas by pushing the unemployed into the hands of drug cartels, as well as an increase in Mexican migration to the U.S.Manuel Sotelo, a leader of Mexicos National Chamber of Freight Transportation who owns a fleet of trucks that cross the border every day, sees the tariff threats as more of a political power move than a future economic reality. Both countries would be paralyzed, said Sotelo, who sat at a desk covered with local newspapers carrying bold headlines on the tariffs, a Trump bobblehead positioned behind him. Lets say he did slap a 25% tariff (on Mexico), what would they do during the Super Bowl without avocados? On the other hand, Sotelo acknowledges that the tariff talk has already inflicted some damage. He and other business leaders say that over the past year theyve watched investment dip in Ciudad Jurez because of political uncertainty, as investors hesitate to funnel their money into businesses that could collapse with the stroke of a pen in Washington.While Trumps election has been the primary driver of that uncertainty, June elections in Mexico and a controversial judicial reform carried out by Mexicos governing party have added to it. Sotelo said he saw a 7% drop in business last year, and only expects that to continue until lingering tariff threats are resolved. One collective of maquiladoras in the city says it has seen at least three factories halt production.Every time we hear this discourse from political leaders, the people running our governments, it sends shock waves through the border, Salayandia said. Because the border is a global thermometer. Our products go all over the world. Those companies will go look in other parts of the world where they offer conditions to keep competing.___Associated Press journalist Fernanda Pesce contributed to this report.

Wednesday night, ABC News reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been the acting archivist at the National Archives and Records Administration since shortly after President Trumps inauguration.The idea that Rubio might be their new bossand has been their boss, apparently, for weeksis news to National Archives employees and apparently to its current director Colleen Shogan. Shogan held an all-hands meeting with archives employees on Tuesday in which nothing was said about Rubio and in which Shogan still seemed to be in charge.The suggestion that hes been the archivist since the transition is a lie or misunderstanding, we just had a staff meeting with Shogan Tuesday, one NARA employee told 404 Media. Everyone is very confused. My coworkers seem to mostly assume its a bad news source.404 Media agreed to provide anonymity to sources in this article to discuss sensitive issues.404 Media obtained notes from that all-hands meeting, in which Shogan was introduced as the archivist of the United States and in which she spoke at length about working with the Trump administration in recent weeks. Shogan is still listed as the Archivist of the United States on NARAs website.We are required by law to follow the direction of the President, and we must implement the administrations guidance, Shogan said. I understand that many of you are experiencing uncertainty and pressure from these developments, and I acknowledge the times of change are not easy, but I also believe that change can be an opportunity for growth, innovation, and strategic thinking.Do you have any idea what the hell is going on here? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at +1 202 505 1702. Otherwise, send me an email at jason@404media.co.A NARA employee told 404 Media that Shogan has been working with the White House in recent days and that they are not aware of any changes to her role. A theme of Tuesdays all hands was the idea that much of the federal government is being surprised with a variety of executive orders and actions and that everyone is doing the best they can with limited information.Over the last two weeks, the President has released about 70 executive actions, Shogan said. We are often learning about these decisions at the same time you are. Many of these orders are complex and we are getting new guidance from OPM [Office of Personnel Management] and OMB [Office of Management and Budget] every day and have had to take specific actions under tight deadlines. Were doing everything that we can to make the best choices possible for the National Archives and deliver clear information to you.Jay Boskano, the deputy director of NARA, told employees in the meeting that weve not had any requests from DOGE and they have not contacted us and are not looking to gain access as far as we know to any of our systems. DOGE is the Department of Government Efficiency headed by Elon Musk and a small group of young engineers from Musks private companies who have seized control of Federal infrastructure, gaining access to the Treasury Departments payment system and classified information at USAID. DOGE has also removed several programs or mere mentions of DEI across a number of government agencies and websites.There may be unique opportunities to work with DOGE to position the archives but at this point, we havent had any contact from them, he added.404 Media spoke to four NARA employees and asked whether they had heard anything about Rubio apparently having run the agency for weeks. Lmao, no Shogan is still in place, one said. She addressed us this week. Also, why Marco Rubio? State Department and NARA have no overlap.NARA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Workers with Southern California Edison remove a utility pole damaged by the Eaton Fire in Altadena, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)2025-02-06T16:23:18Z LOS ANGELES (AP) A California utility said Thursday that its equipment likely sparked a wildfire in Los Angeles that broke out the same day as two massive blazes in the area killed at least 29 people and destroyed thousands of homes.The admission by Southern California Edison over its likely role in the Hurst Fire, which did not destroy any structures or result in any deaths, came in a required filing with state utility regulators.The utility acknowledged last month that fire agencies are investigating whether its equipment may have started the Hurst Fire, which scorched about 1.25 square miles (3.2 square km) around the Sylmar neighborhood of Los Angeles.Absent additional evidence, SCE believes its equipment may be associated with the ignition of the Hurst Fire, Thursdays filing said.In a second filing, the utility said it is looking into whether an idle transmission line became energized and possibly sparked the deadly Eaton Fire, which devastated Altadena. But it still maintains theres no evidence that its equipment was responsible for starting that blaze.The Eaton Fire, which killed at least 17 people, was fully contained last week. Full containment was also reached on the Palisades Fire, the largest of the blazes that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 12 people.

Elon Musk reacts as President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a rally ahead of the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Jan. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)2025-02-06T16:07:30Z WASHINGTON (AP) The emergence of X owner Elon Musk as the most influential figure around President Donald Trump has created an extraordinary dynamic a White House adviser whos using one of the worlds most powerful information platforms to sell the governments talking points while intimidating its detractors.In recent days, Musk has used X to promote Trumps positions to his 215 million followers, attack an agency hes trying to shut down as evil and claim a Treasury employee who resigned under pressure over payment system access committed a crime.His use of the social media platform he owns has become both a cudgel and a megaphone for the Republican administration at a time that his power to shape the electorates perspective is only growing, as more Americans turn to social media and influencers to get their news.Musk isnt bound to all the same ethics and financial disclosures as some other federal workers because he is classified as a special government employee. Trump earlier this week dismissed concerns about Musks conflicts of interest, saying, Where we think theres a conflict or theres a problem, we wont let him go near it. Yet for the worlds richest man to single-handedly control the levers of one of the most influential online communication channels while holding an office in the White House complex is unthinkable in our current system of government, said Steven Levitsky, a political scientist at Harvard University and the author of How Democracies Die. This is a combination of economic, media and political power that I believe has never been seen before in any democracy on Earth, he said.Requests for comment from Musks special commission, the Department of Government Efficiency, and X were not returned. A foot in two powerful worldsThe close link between Musks X account and Trumps administration has been criticized not only because it gives Trump an unusually large mouthpiece. Musks ownership of X also could give him financial incentive to use his own platform instead of other pathways to disseminate the most urgent and vital government information.In the first two weeks of Trumps term, Musk has used his long-held celebrity cachet to amplify the presidents talking points on Californias wildfires, federal spending, Cabinet picks and more to his enormous following. He used X to criticize and intimidate those who spoke out against his far-reaching takeover of government agencies as the head of DOGE.He also held a livestream on X featuring entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and two Republican senators to discuss DOGEs work, inviting users to listen in live. Twelve hours later, DOGE posted it to Facebook for non-X-users to hear the recording.Trumps stake in the much smaller social platform Truth Social which he transferred last year into a revocable trust of which he is the sole beneficiary is another example of such a consolidation of power.Musk insists his X postings about DOGE and other government business are to benefit the public, as a transparency measure. Supporters say he deserves credit for sharing his unfiltered thoughts and strategies, and they view his style as a breath of fresh air after years of government obfuscation.He has pledged that DOGE, tasked with slashing federal spending, will post all its actions online though its official government website is currently blank, with only the tagline, The people voted for major reform. A mouthpiece for Trumps narrativesSince it became clear Musk would join the administration, he has repeatedly amplified Trumps narratives on X, where the platforms owner is the most followed user and is reportedly often recommended as a new users first account to follow.Sometimes those narratives include misleading information. After wildfires blazed through Los Angeles last month, Musk shared another users post declaring that TRUMP UNLEASHES CALIFORNIAS WATER while BIDEN AND NEWSOM LET WILDFIRES BURN.The Army Corps of Engineers did start releasing large flows of water from two California reservoirs on Friday and continued to do so through the weekend, the Los Angeles Times reported. But that federally controlled water flows to farmland in Californias crop-rich Central Valley, not the Los Angeles County neighborhoods coping with the aftermath of last months deadly fires. It also was released at a time it was not needed by farmers. In December, before Trump took office, Musk helped him temporarily sink a government funding deal, whipping up outrage with a torrent of X posts attacking the legislation for what he described as excessive spending.More recently, Musk has taken to X to advance DOGEs efforts to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, posting Sunday to label the agency as evil and a criminal organization. Intimidation and a lack of transparencyMusk also has used the platform to insinuate that others may have committed crimes. Its finger-pointing that, from Musks office adjacent to the West Wing, could be seen as having the approval of the administration and thus the Justice Department.The day after the Treasury Departments acting deputy secretary, David Lebryk, resigned under pressure over payment system access, Musk posted that Lebryk had committed crime on a scale that makes the mafia look like preschoolers stealing cookies.At least one Trump-appointed prosecutor seems ready to listen to tips that come from Musks platform. Interim U.S. Attorney Ed Martin recently thanked an anonymous pro-Trump X account when it recommended he look into another user who posted criticizing DOGE.On Monday, Musk posted that he had deleted 18F, a government agency that worked on technology projects such as the IRS Direct File program. The news, which was not shared elsewhere, led to confusion about whether Direct File is still available to taxpayers, but the free filing program is still available, at least for the coming tax season.Critics say that instead of complete transparency, Musk is showing only what he wants to reveal about the commission he leads. The X owner has suspended the accounts of some X users who posted the names of his DOGE team members. And many details of the commissions work have been left vague as it has rapidly taken control of agency databases, slashed costs and gained access to the U.S. Treasury payment system without congressional approval.Blurring the line between government and personal interestsMusks influence in the Trump administration comes as other CEOs who run the worlds biggest social media companies have shown deference to the president and even changed policies to align with his worldview. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew all attended Trumps inauguration. Zuckerberg, whom Trump threatened to imprison last year, recently shifted his platforms policies to do away with fact-checking and echoed Trumps concerns that the government harassed social media companies to censor lawful speech.Meanwhile, TikToks future in the U.S. depends on the app finding new ownership. Trump has taken a lead role in brokering that deal and suggested the government might explore an ownership stake.Steven Livingston, the founding director of the Institute for Data, Democracy & Politics at George Washington University, said Musks role shows how American democracy is already faltering.Its bending to the will and the whim of a billionaire and not to Congress, he said. Where does X and Elon Musk end and the government begin? Im not sure where that line is anymore.___Swenson reported from New York.___The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about the APs democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. ALI SWENSON Swenson reports on election-related misinformation, disinformation and extremism for The Associated Press. twitter CHRIS MEGERIAN Megerian covers the White House for The Associated Press. He previously wrote about the Russia investigation, climate change, law enforcement and politics in California and New Jersey. twitter mailto

This photo provided by researchers in February 2025 shows two pots, one with boiling water, left, and the other with a basket of eggs in lukewarm water, in a new method of boiling eggs dubbed "periodic cooking." (Emilia Di Lorenzo, Ernesto Di Maio via AP)2025-02-06T16:01:05Z NEW YORK (AP) Scientists say theyve cracked the code for boiling the perfect egg.Its a recipe you can test for yourself though the timing isnt ideal with soaring egg prices in the United States from a bird flu outbreak. The perfect boiled egg has a velvety yolk paired with a soft, solid white. Achieving this balance can be a challenge because the yolk cooks at a lower temperature than the white. Hard boiling an egg can yield a chalky yolk, while cooking low and slow can produce jelly-like, undercooked whites.Researchers cooked hundreds of eggs and used math to tackle this runny conundrum. One equation dealt with how heat travels between a hot surface and an egg; another captured how the eggs contents morph from liquid to solid with a gel-like state in between.Their final recipe involves transferring eggs in a steamer basket every two minutes between two bowls of water one boiling and the other lukewarm at 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) for a total of 32 minutes before cooling under running water and peeling. You could definitely do this at home with half a dozen eggs or so, said Gregory Weiss, a chemist at the University of California, Irvine, who was not involved with the research. In the method proposed by the researchers, dubbed periodic cooking, the egg whites heated and cooled until fully set. The yolk, on the other hand, held firm at a constant temperature and cooked until creamy. You can almost spread it, like on bread, said study author Emilia Di Lorenzo from the University of Naples Federico II.To confirm they had cooked up something new, the researchers tested the chemical makeup of the prepared eggs and served them to a panel of eight tasters alongside traditional boiled eggs.The research was published Thursday in the journal Communications Engineering.This new technique could mean more time in the kitchen compared to a standard hard-boiled egg, said food scientist Joanne Slavin from the University of Minnesota. But the blend of textures on the tongue could be worth the extra time.This is a slower process to get a better outcome, said Slavin, who had no role in the study. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. ADITHI RAMAKRISHNAN Ramakrishnan is a science reporter for The Associated Press, based in New York. She covers research and new developments related to space, early human history and more. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump speaks during the National Prayer Breakfast at Washington Hilton, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-02-06T15:54:05Z President Donald Trump on Thursday blamed last weeks deadly collision of a passenger jet and Army helicopter on what he called an obsolete computer system used by U.S. air traffic controllers, and he vowed to replace it.Trump said during an event that a lot of mistakes happened on Jan. 29 when an American Airlines flight out of Wichita, Kansas, collided with an Army helicopter as the plane was about to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, killing all 67 people on board the two aircraft.In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, Trump blamed diversity hiring programs for the crash. But on Thursday, he blamed the computer system used by the countrys air traffic controllers.Its amazing that it happened, Trump said during a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast at the U.S. Capitol. And I think thats going to be used for good. I think what is going to happen is were all going to sit down and do a great computerized system for our control towers. Brand new not pieced together, obsolete. Trump said the U.S. spent billions of dollars trying to renovate an old, broken system instead of investing in a new one. He said in his own private jet, he uses a system from another country when he lands because his pilot says the existing system is obsolete. Federal officials have been raising concerns about an overtaxed and understaffed air traffic control system for years, especially after a series of close calls between planes at U.S. airports. Among the reasons theyve cited for staffing shortages are uncompetitive pay, long shifts, intensive training and mandatory retirements. Trump said that if the nation had a newer system, alarms would have sounded when the Black Hawk helicopter, which was on a training exercise, reached the same altitude as the plane.But an FAA report after the crash said that the controller did get an alert that the plane and helicopter were converging when they were still more than a mile (1.6 kilometers) apart. The controller responded by asking the helicopter if it had the plane in sight and directed the helicopter to pass behind the plane. The helicopter responded that it did have the plane in sight. An early focus of the investigation has been confirming the altitude of the plane and helicopter. The jets flight recorder showed its altitude as 325 feet (99 meters), plus or minus 25 feet (7.6 meters).Data from the airports air traffic control system suggests the helicopter was above its 200-foot (61-meter) flight ceiling. The screen the controller was looking at that night showed that based on radar and other data, the helicopter was at 300 feet (91 meters), the NTSB said, noting that the figure would have been rounded to the nearest 100 feet (30 meters).To get more precise information, investigators need to be able to examine the wreckage of the still-submerged Black Hawk to verify the data. The helicopter isnt expected to be recovered until later this week. This crash was the deadliest in the U.S. since Nov. 12, 2001, when a jet slammed into a New York City neighborhood just after takeoff, killing all 260 people on board and five on the ground.___Associated Press reporter Aamer Madhani contributed to this report. JOSH FUNK Funk is an Associated Press reporter who covers all the major freight railroads including Union Pacific, BNSF, Norfolk Southern, CSX, Canadian National and CPKC. Funk also covers Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway and has been attending Buffetts Woodstock for Capitalists annual meeting every spring in Omaha, Nebraska, for 19 years. twitter mailto

Siquoia Jackson, of Huntington, pulls a bike through the floodwater while trying to travel through the Enslow Park neighborhood on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Huntington, W.Va. (Ryan Fischer/The Herald-Dispatch via AP)2025-02-06T17:08:47Z CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) Storms sent creeks over their banks and caused flash flooding in portions of West Virginia and Kentucky on Thursday, while a wintry mix coated trees and roads in ice and even dropped thunder ice in several states.Residents and storm spotters in portions of Indiana, southern Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania reported the unusual thunder ice mix early Thursday freezing rain accompanied by flashes of lightning in the unstable air.You ever seen that? Brian Heffner of Spencerville, Ohio, said in a video he posted on Facebook. Ive never seen lightning and heard thunder during an ice storm. Its cool.In West Virginia, the thunder just kept coming and coming. A long line of thunderstorms kept residents awake overnight with hours of heavy rains, flooding neighborhoods and causing accidents where water ponded on some interstate highways. Schools in numerous counties delayed classes or closed Thursday. Several inches of rain in Charleston prompted county officials to activate an emergency operations center. Authorities responded to multiple rescue calls before the waters began to recede by late morning, officials said. Most of West Virginia and portions of eastern Kentucky and southeastern Ohio remained under flood warnings by midday. In south-central Kentucky, a National Weather Service team was surveying damage reports after high winds tore part some roofs and scattered debris. The storm left trees and roads in several mid-Atlantic states coated in ice before warmer temperatures moved in by midday Thursday. Most areas avoided significant power outages that can accompany accumulating ice on trees and power lines.Forecasts for several inches of snow prompted closures and delays for dozens of school systems in New England. In Maine, more than 200 schools and businesses were closed or shutting early. The Kennebunk area school district was one of many that chose to close fully rather than risk a messy commute for afternoon school buses.Road conditions are expected to rapidly deteriorate once the snow begins, potentially putting students and staff at risk if we were to implement an early release scenario, said district superintendent Terri Cooper. ___Associated Press writers Sarah Brumfield Cockeysville, Maryland, and Patrick Whittle in Scarborough, Maine, contributed to this report.