President Donald Trump stands with Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House, June 25, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)2025-02-11T05:01:44Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump will host Jordans King Abdullah II at the White House on Tuesday as he escalates pressure on the Arab nation to take in refugees from Gaza perhaps permanently as part of his audacious plan to remake the Middle East.The visit is happening at a perilous moment for the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza as Hamas, accusing Israel of violating the truce, has said it is pausing future releases of hostages and as Trump has called for Israel to resume fighting if all those remaining in captivity are not freed by this weekend. Trump has proposed the U.S. take control of Gaza and turn it into the Riviera of the Middle East, with Palestinians in the war-torn territory pushed into neighboring nations with no right of return.He suggested on Monday that, if necessary, he would withhold U.S. funding from Jordan and Egypt, longtime U.S. allies and among the top recipients of its foreign aid, as a means of persuading them to accept additional Palestinians from Gaza. Yeah, maybe. Sure, why not? Trump told reporters. If they dont, I would conceivably withhold aid, yes. Jordan is home to more than 2 million Palestinians and, along with other Arab states, has flatly rejected Trumps plan to relocate civilians from Gaza.Jordans foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, said last week that his countrys opposition to Trumps idea was firm and unwavering. In addition to concerns about jeopardizing the long-held goals of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Egypt and Jordan have privately raised security concerns about welcoming large numbers of additional refugees into their countries even temporarily.When asked how hed persuade Abdullah to take in Palestinians, Trump told reporters, I do think hell take, and I think other countries will take also. They have good hearts.The king is also meeting with top Trump administration officials during his visit, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He is the third foreign leader to hold an in-person meeting with Trump since his Jan. 20 inauguration. Trump announced his ideas for resettling Palestinians from Gaza and taking ownership of the territory for the U.S. during a press conference last week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump initially didnt rule out deploying U.S. troops to help secure Gaza but at the same time insisted no U.S. funds would go to pay for the reconstruction of the territory, raising fundamental questions about the nature of his plan.After Trumps initial comments, Rubio and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted that Trump only wanted Palestinians relocated from Gaza temporarily and sought an interim period to allow for debris removal, the disposal of unexploded ordnance and reconstruction.But asked in an interview with Fox News Bret Baier that aired Monday if Palestinians in Gaza would have a right to return to the territory under his plan, he replied, No, they wouldnt. ZEKE MILLER Zeke is APs chief White House correspondent twitter mailto

President Donald Trump meets with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Trump Tower, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)2025-02-11T05:17:40Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Ukraine has offered to strike a deal with U.S. President Donald Trump for continued American military aid in exchange for developing Ukraines mineral industry, which could provide a valuable source of the rare earth elements that are essential for many kinds of technology.Trump said he wanted such a deal earlier this month, and it was initially proposed last fall by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as part of his plan to strengthen Kyivs hand in future negotiations with Moscow.We really have this big potential in the territory which we control, Andrii Yermak, chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press. We are interested to work, to develop, with our partners, first of all, with the United States.Here is a look at Ukraines rare earth industry and how a deal might come together: What are rare earth elements? Rare earth elements are a set of 17 elements that are essential in many kinds of consumer technology, including cellphones, hard drives and electric and hybrid vehicles.It is unclear if Trump is seeking specific elements in Ukraine, which also has other minerals to offer.It can be lithium. It can be titanium, uranium, many others, Yerkmak said. Its a lot.China, Trumps chief geopolitical adversary, is the worlds largest producer of rare earth elements. Both the U.S and Europe have sought to reduce their dependence on Beijing. For Ukraine, such a deal would ensure that its biggest and most consequential ally does not freeze military support, which would be devastating for the country that will soon enter its fourth year of war against Russias full-scale invasion.The idea also comes at a time when reliable and uninterrupted access to critical minerals is increasingly hard to come by globally. What is the state of the Ukrainian minerals industry?Ukraines rare earth elements are largely untapped because of the war and because of state policies regulating the mineral industry. The country also lacks good information to guide the development of rare earth mining.Geological data is thin because mineral reserves are scattered across Ukraine, and existing studies are considered largely inadequate. The industrys true potential is clouded by insufficient research, according to businessmen and analysts.In general, the outlook for Ukrainian natural resources is promising. The countrys reserves of titanium, a key component for the aerospace, medical and automotive industries, are believed to be among Europes largest. Ukraine also holds some of Europes largest known reserves of lithium, which is required to produce batteries, ceramics and glass.In 2021, the Ukrainian mineral industry accounted for 6.1% of the countrys gross domestic product and 30% of exports.An estimated 40% of Ukraines metallic mineral resources are inaccessible because of Russian occupation, according to data from We Build Ukraine, a Kyiv-based think tank. Ukraine has argued that it is in Trumps interest to develop the remainder before Russian advances capture more.The European Commission identified Ukraine as a potential supplier for over 20 critical raw materials and concluded that the countrys accession to the EU could strengthen the European economy. What happens next?Details of any deal will likely develop in meetings between U.S. and Ukrainian officials. Zelenskyy and Trump will probably discuss the subject when they meet.U.S. companies have expressed interest, according to Ukrainian business officials. But striking a formal deal would likely require legislation, geological surveys and negotiation of specific terms.It is unclear what kind of security guarantees companies would require to risk working in Ukraine, even in the event of a ceasefire. And no one knows for sure what kind of financing agreements would underpin contracts between Ukraine and U.S companies.___Associated Press journalist Susie Blann contributed to this report. SAMYA KULLAB Kullab is an Associated Press reporter covering Ukraine since June 2023. Before that, she covered Iraq and the wider Middle East from her base in Baghdad since joining the AP in 2019. twitter instagram mailto

Elon Musk speaks as part of a campaign town hall in support of Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump in Folsom, Pa., Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)2025-02-11T05:07:40Z WASHINGTON (AP) Elon Musk has long railed against the U.S. government, saying a crushing number of federal investigations and safety programs have stymied Tesla, his electric car company, and its efforts to create fleets of robotaxis and other self-driving automobiles.Now, Musks close relationship with President Donald Trump means many of those federal headaches could vanish within weeks or months.On the potential chopping block: crash investigations into Teslas partially automated vehicles; a Justice Department criminal probe examining whether Musk and Tesla have overstated their cars self-driving capabilities; and a government mandate to report crash data on vehicles using technology like Teslas Autopilot.The consequences of such actions could prove dire, say safety advocates who credit the federal investigations and recalls with saving lives. Musk wants to run the Department of Transportation, said Missy Cummings, a former senior safety adviser at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Ive lost count of the number of investigations that are underway with Tesla. They will all be gone. Within days of Trump taking office, the White House and Musk began waging an unbridled war against the federal government freezing spending and programs while sacking a host of career employees, including prosecutors and government watchdogs typically shielded from such brazen dismissals without cause. The actions have sparked outcries from legal scholars who say the Trump administrations actions are without modern-day precedent and are already upending the balance of power in Washington.The Trump administration has not yet declared any actions that could benefit Tesla or Musks other companies. However, snuffing out federal investigations or jettisoning safety initiatives would be an easier task than their assault on regulators and the bureaucracy. Investigations into companies like Tesla can be shut down overnight by the new leaders of agencies. And safety programs created through an agency order or initiative not by laws passed by Congress or adopted through a formal regulatory process can also be quickly dissolved by new leaders. Unlike many of the dismantling efforts that Trump and Musk have launched in recent weeks, stalling or killing such probes and programs would not be subject to legal challenges.As such, the temporal and fragile nature of the federal probes and safety programs make them easy targets for those seeking to weaken government oversight and upend long-established norms.Trumps election, and the bromance between Trump and Musk, will essentially lead to the defanging of a regulatory environment thats been stifling Tesla, said Daniel Ives, a veteran Wall Street technology and automobile industry analyst. Musks empireAmong Musks businesses, the federal governments power over Tesla to investigate, order recalls, and mandate crash data reporting is perhaps the most wide-ranging. However, the ways the Trump administration could quickly ease up on Tesla also apply in some measure to other companies in Musks sprawling business empire.A host of Musks other businesses such as his aerospace company SpaceX and his social media company X are subjects of federal investigations. Musks businesses are also intertwined with the federal government, pocketing hundreds of millions of dollars each year in contracts. SpaceX, for example, has secured nearly $20 billion in federal funds since 2008 to ferry astronauts and satellites into space. Tesla, meanwhile, has received $41.9 million from the U.S. government, including payment for vehicles provided to some U.S. embassies.Musk, Teslas billionaire CEO, has found himself in his newly influential position by enthusiastically backing Trumps third bid for the White House. He was the largest donor to the campaign, plunging more than $270 million of his vast fortune into Trumps political apparatus, most of it during the final months of the heated presidential race.Those donations and his efforts during the campaign including the transformation of his social media platform X into a firehose of pro-Trump commentary have been rewarded by Trump, who has tapped the entrepreneur to oversee efforts to slash government regulations and spending. As the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, Musk operates out of an office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, where most White House staff work and from where he has launched his assault on the federal government. Musks power under DOGE is being challenged in the courts. Even before Trump took office, there were signs that Musks vast influence with the new administration was registering with the public and paying dividends for Tesla.Teslas stock surged more than 60% by December. Since then, its stock price has dropped, but still remains 40% higher than it was before Trumps election.For Musk, said Ives, the technology analyst, betting on Trump is a poker move for the ages. Proposed actions will help TeslaThe White House did not respond to questions about how it would handle investigations and government oversight involving Tesla or other Musk companies. A spokesman for the transition team said last month that the White House would ensure that DOGE and those involved with it are compliant with all legal guidelines and conflicts of interest.In the weeks before Trump took office on Jan. 20, the president-elects transition team recommended changes that would benefit the billionaire and his car company, including scrapping the federal order requiring carmakers to report crash data involving self-driving and partially automated technology.The action would be a boon for Tesla, which has reported a vast majority of the crashes that triggered a series of investigations and recalls.The transition team also recommended shelving a $7,500 consumer tax credit for electric vehicle purchases, something Musk has publicly called for. Take away the subsidies. It will only help Tesla, Musk wrote in a post on X as he campaigned and raised money for Trump in July.Auto industry experts say the move would have a nominal impact on Tesla by far the largest electric vehicle maker in the U.S. but have a potentially devastating impact on its competitors in the EV sector since they are still struggling to secure a foothold in the market.Musk did not respond to requests for comment. Before the election, he posted a message on X, saying he had never asked Trump for any favors, nor has he offered me any.Although most of the changes that Musk might seek for Tesla could unfold quickly, there is one long-term goal that could impact the autonomous vehicle industry for decades to come.Though nearly 30 states have rules that specifically govern self-driving cars, the federal government has yet to craft such regulations.During a late October call with Tesla investors, as Musk was pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into Trumps campaign, he signaled support for having the federal government create these rules.There should be a federal approval process for autonomous vehicles, Musk said on the call. If theres a department of government efficiency, Ill try to help make that happen.Musk leads that very organization. Those affected by Tesla crashes worry about lax oversightPeople whose lives have been forever changed by Tesla crashes fear that dangerous and fatal accidents may increase if the federal governments investigative and recall powers are restricted. They say they worry that the company may otherwise never be held accountable for its failures, like the one that took the life of 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon.The college student was on a date with her boyfriend, gazing at the stars on the side of a rural Florida road, when they were struck by an out-of-control Tesla driving on Autopilot a system that allows Tesla cars to operate without driver input. The car had blown through a stop sign, a flashing light and five yellow warning signs, according to dashcam video and a police report. Benavides Leon died at the scene; her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, suffered injuries but survived. A federal investigation determined that Autopilot in Teslas at this time was faulty and needed repairs. We, as a family, have never been the same, said Benavides Leons sister, Neima. Im an engineer, and everything that we design and we build has to be by important codes and regulations. This technology cannot be an exception.It has to be investigated when it fails, she added. Because it does fail.Teslas lawyers did not respond to requests for comment. In a statement on Twitter in December 2023, Tesla pointed to an earlier lawsuit the Benavides Leons family had brought against the driver who struck the college student. He testified that despite using Autopilot, I was highly aware that it was still my responsibility to operate the vehicle safely.Tesla also said the driver was pressing the accelerator to maintain 60 mph, an action that effectively overrode Autopilot, which would have otherwise restricted the speed to 45 mph on the rural route, something Benavides Leons attorney disputes.Federal probes into TeslaThe federal agency that has the most power over Tesla and the entire automobile industry is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is part of the Department of Transportation.NHTSA sets automobile safety standards that must be met before vehicles can enter the marketplace. It also has a quasi-law enforcement arm, the Office of Defects Investigation, which has the power to launch probes into crashes and seek recalls for safety defects.The agency has six pending investigations into Teslas self-driving technology, prompted by dozens of crashes that took place when the computerized systems were in use.Other federal agencies are also investigating Musk and Tesla, and all of those probes could be sidelined by Musk-friendly officials:The Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department are separately investigating whether Musk and Tesla overstated the autonomous capabilities of their vehicles, creating dangerous situations in which drivers may over rely on the cars technology.The Justice Department is also probing whether Tesla misled customers about how far its electric vehicles can travel before needing a charge.The National Labor Relations Board is weighing 12 unfair labor practice allegations leveled by workers at Tesla plants. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is asking a federal judge to force Tesla to enact reforms and pay compensatory and punitive damages and backpay to Black employees who say they were subjected to racist attacks. In a federal lawsuit, the agency has alleged that supervisors and other employees at Teslas plant in Fremont, California, routinely hurled racist insults at Black employees.Experts said most, if not all, of those investigations could be shut down, especially at the Justice Department where Trump has long shown a willingness to meddle in the departments affairs. The Trump administration has already ordered the firing of dozens of prosecutors who handled the criminal cases from the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.DOJ is not going to be prosecuting Elon Musk, said Peter Zeidenberg, a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Justice Departments public integrity section who served during the Clinton and George H.W. Bush administrations. Id expect that any investigations that were ongoing will be ground to an abrupt end.Trump has also taken steps to gain control of the NLRB and EEOC. Last month, he fired Democratic members of the board and commission, breaking with decades of precedent. One member has sued, and two others are exploring legal options.Tesla and Musk have denied wrongdoing in all those investigations and are fighting the probes.The small safety agency in Musks crosshairsThe federal agency that appears to have enjoyed the most success in changing Teslas behavior is NHTSA, an organization of about 750 staffers that has forced the company to hand over crash data and cooperate in its investigations and requested recalls.NHTSA has been a thorn in Musks side for over the last decade, and hes grappled with almost every three-letter agency in the Beltway, said Ives, the Wall Street analyst who covers the technology sector and automobile industry. Thats all created what looks to be a really big soap opera in 2025.Musk has repeatedly blamed the federal government for impeding Teslas progress and creating negative publicity with recalls of his cars after its self-driving technology malfunctions or crashes.The word recall should be recalled, Musk posted on Twitter (now X) in 2014. Two years ago, he posted, The word recall for an over-the-air software update is anachronistic and just flat wrong! Michael Brooks, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, a non-profit consumer advocacy group, said some investigations might continue under Trump, but a recall is less likely to happen if a defect is found.As with most car companies, Teslas recalls have so far been voluntary. The threat of public hearings about a defect that precedes a NHTSA-ordered recall has generally prompted car companies to act on their own.That threat could be easily stripped away by the new NHTSA administrator, who will be a Trump appointee.If there isnt a threat of recall, will Tesla do them? Brooks said. Unfortunately, this is where politics seeps in.NHTSA conducting several probes of TeslaAmong the active NHTSA investigations, several are examining fundamental aspects of Teslas partially automated driving systems that were in use when dozens of crashes occurred. An investigation of Teslas Full Self-Driving system started in October after Tesla reported four crashes to NHTSA in which the vehicles had trouble navigating through sun glare, fog and airborne dust. In one of the accidents, an Arizona woman was killed after stopping on a freeway to help someone involved in another crash. Under pressure from NHTSA, Tesla has twice recalled the Full Self-Driving feature for software updates. The technology the most advanced of Teslas Autopilot systems is supposed to allow drivers to travel from point to point with little human intervention. But repeated malfunctions led NHTSA to recently launch a new inquiry that includes a crash in July that killed a motorcyclist near Seattle.NHTSA announced its latest investigation in January into Actually Smart Summon, a Tesla technology that allows drivers to remotely move a car, after the agency learned of four incidents from a driver and several media reports.The agency said that in each collision, the vehicles were using the system that Tesla pushed out in a September software update that was failing to detect posts or parked vehicles, resulting in a crash. NHTSA also criticized Tesla for failing to notify the agency of those accidents.NHTSA is also conducting a probe into whether a 2023 recall of Autopilot, the most basic of Teslas partially automated driver assistance systems, was effective.That recall was supposed to boost the number of controls and alerts to keep drivers engaged; it had been prompted by an earlier NHTSA investigation that identified hundreds of crashes involving Autopilot that resulted in scores of injuries and more than a dozen deaths.In a letter to Tesla in April, agency investigators noted that crashes involving Autopilot continue and that they could not observe a difference between warnings issued to drivers before or after the new software had been installed.Critics have said that Teslas dont have proper sensors to be fully self-driving. Nearly all other companies working on autonomous vehicles use radar and laser sensors in addition to cameras to see better in the dark or in poor visibility conditions. Tesla, on the other hand, relies only on cameras to spot hazards.Musk has said that human drivers rely on their eyesight, so autonomous cars should be able to also get by with just cameras. He has called technology that relies on radar and light detection to discern objects a fools errand.Bryant Walker Smith, a Stanford Law School scholar and a leading automated driving expert, said Musks contention that the federal government is holding him back is not accurate. The problem, Smith said, is that Teslas autonomous vehicles cannot perform as advertised. Blaming the federal government for holding them back, it provides a convenient, if dubious, scapegoat for the lack of an actual automated driving system that works, Smith said.Smith and other autonomous vehicle experts say Musk has felt pressure to provide Tesla shareholders with excuses for repeated delays in rolling out its futuristic cars. The financial stake is enormous, which Musk acknowledged during a 2022 interview. He said the development of a fully self-driving vehicle was really the difference between Tesla being worth a lot of money and being worth basically zero.The collisions from Teslas malfunctioning technology on its vehicles have led not only to deaths but also catastrophic injuries that have forever altered peoples lives.Attorneys representing people injured in Tesla crashes or who represent surviving family members of those who died say without NHTSA, the only other way to hold the car company accountable is through civil lawsuits.When government cant do it, then the civil justice system is left to pick up the slack, said Brett Schreiber, whose law firm is handling four Tesla cases. However, Schreiber and other lawyers say if the federal governments investigative powers dont remain intact, Tesla may also not be held accountable in court.In the pending wrongful death lawsuit that Neima Benavides Leon filed against Tesla after her sisters death, her attorney told a Miami district judge the lawsuit would have likely been dropped if NHTSA hadnt investigated and found defects with the Autopilot system. All along we were hoping that the NHTSA investigation would produce what it did, in fact, end up producing, which is a finding of product defect and a recall, attorney Doug Eaton said during a March court hearing. And we had told you very early on in the case if NHTSA had not found that, we may very well drop the case. But they did, in fact, find this.___Contact APs global investigative team at [emailprotected] or https://www.ap.org/tips/ BRIAN SLODYSKO Slodysko is an investigative reporter for the Associated Press based in Washington. mailto

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrives for a dinner at the Elysee Palace, during an event on the sidelines of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)2025-02-11T08:33:15Z BRUSSELS (AP) European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen vowed on Tuesday that U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum will not go unanswered, adding that they will trigger tough countermeasures from the 27-nation bloc.The EU will act to safeguard its economic interests, von der Leyen said in a statement in reaction to U.S. President Donald Trumps imposition of tariffs on steel and aluminum the previous day. Tariffs are taxes bad for business, worse for consumers, von der Leyen said. Unjustified tariffs on the EU will not go unanswered they will trigger firm and proportionate countermeasures. In Germany, home to the EUs largest economy, Chancellor Olaf Scholz told parliament that if the U.S. leaves us no other choice, then the European Union will react united, adding that ultimately, trade wars always cost both sides prosperity. Trump is hitting foreign steel and aluminum with a 25% tax in the hope that they will give local producers relief from intense global competition, allowing them to charge higher prices. He imposed similar tariffs during his first presidency but the move damaged relations with key U.S. allies and drove up costs for downstream manufacturers that buy steel and aluminum. EU Commission vice-president Maro efovi said Tuesday that the tariffs are economically counterproductive, especially given the deeply integrated production chains established through our extensive transatlantic trade and investment ties. We will protect our workers, businesses and consumers, efovi said, but added that it is not our preferred scenario. We remain committed to constructive dialog. We stand ready for negotiations and to find mutually beneficial solutions where possible. There is a lot at stake for both sides, he told the EU legislature. ___Geir Moulson contributed from Berlin

Haitians deported from the Dominican Republic get out of trucks in Carrizal, Dominican Republic, on the border with Haiti, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Adames)2025-02-11T05:14:30Z BELLADERE, Haiti (AP) A crowd of 500 descended from dusty trucks on a recent morning and shuffled through a tiny gap in a border gate separating Haiti from the Dominican Republic.They were the first deportees of the day, some still clad in work clothes and others barefoot as they lined up for food, water and medical care in the Haitian border city of Belladre before mulling their next move.Under a broiling sun, the migrants recounted what they said were mounting abuses by Dominican officials after President Luis Abinader ordered them in October to start deporting at least 10,000 immigrants a week under a harsh new policy widely criticized by civil organizations.They broke down my door at 4 in the morning, said Odelyn St. Fleur, who had worked as a mason in the Dominican Republic for two decades. He had been sleeping next to his wife and 7-year-old son. The number of alleged human rights violations ranging from unauthorized home raids to racial profiling to deporting breastfeeding mothers and unaccompanied minors is surging as officials ramp up deportations to Haiti, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. More than a quarter million people were deported last year, and more than 31,200 in January alone.The situation has reached a critical point, said Roudy Joseph, an activist who accused officials of ignoring due process during arrests. Every day, children are left abandoned at schools. Ill wait for you on the other sideOn a recent afternoon, dozens of vendors lined up on either side of the men, women and unaccompanied children who marched single file into Belladre after being deported, their feet sinking into a muddy, garbage-strewn trail that smelled of urine.The men tried to sell them jeans, water, SIM cards and illegal trips back to the Dominican Republic: Would you like to pass through? Ill wait for you on the other side, they whispered in Creole.Despite the crackdown, many re-enter the Dominican Republic, exposing a broken system.That afternoon marked the second time Jimmy Milien, a 32-year-old floor installer, was deported. He was arrested in the capital, Santo Domingo, in 2024 and again in mid-January when authorities boarded a public bus and pointed at him.Damn devil Haitian, get off, he recalled them saying before they even asked for documents.He left behind his wife and two children, ages 3 and 12, and doesnt know when hell see them again.He was planning to travel to Haitis capital, but like thousands of others dropped off in Belladre, he would have to cross through gang territory where gunmen open fire on public transport.Theres no food, theres nothing, only criminals, he said of Haiti, where more than 5,600 people were reported killed last year, the majority by gangs that control 85% of the capital, Port-au-Prince.If Milien were to return a third time to the Dominican Republic, dozens of smugglers await.Mack, a Haitian who only gave his first name to speak freely about smuggling, said he ferries migrants across the border up to six times a week. He charges $3 per person, and then offers $8 to Dominican border guards: If you pay them, they will let you through, he said.He lived almost three years in Santo Domingo, installing drywall until he got deported. He then joined a thriving smuggling operation and said he doesnt plan on returning to the capital until the crackdown eases.Here, everyone knows me, he said. They dont bother me.Young and alone at the borderMilitary checkpoints dot the road leading out of the dusty border to the Dominican capital. Authorities board buses, stick their heads into car windows and detain suspected undocumented migrants, but many jump out before a checkpoint and hop on again further down the road.The influx of Haitian migrants and their attempts to re-enter illegally is something that vexes Vice Admiral Luis Rafael Lee Ballester, Dominican migration director.The Dominican Republichas taken too much responsibility for the situation in Haiti, he said. We are willing to provide support, but its important that Haitis leaders instill order in their country, that they look after their people. Dominican officials argue that Haitian immigrants have overburdened the countrys public services, with more than 80,000 new Haitian students enrolled in public schools in the past four years. Health officials say Haitian women account for up to 70% of births in the country, costing the government millions of dollars.Ballester said he will deploy additional migration officials across the country to tackle what he described as a surge in undocumented immigrants, saying theyre a burden and a danger to his country.While he denied abuse allegations, he acknowledged officials are allowed to enter homes during a hot pursuit and that personnel are being retrained because our commitment to respecting human rights is unquestionable. Ballester said the Dominican Republic does not deport unaccompanied minors and that officials now separate women and children from men during deportations.But in late January, five teenagers without their parents were deported. Among them was Jovenson Morette, 15, who said he was detained while working in a field.He and the four others were interviewed by Haitian officials in Belladre who were trying to track down their parents.Further north, in the Haitian border town of Ouanaminthe, a 10-year-old unaccompanied girl was deported in late January, said Geeta Narayan, UNICEFs representative in Haiti.These children are amongst the most vulnerable, she said, noting that gangs along the border prey on them.Last year, the Dominican Republic deported 1,099 unaccompanied children; 786 of them were reunited with their families, according to UNICEF.Josette Jean, 45, feared for her 16-year-old son, who was born in the Dominican Republic, when he was recently deported alone to Haiti.Clutching a picture of him, she said she rushed to the Dominican detention center where he was being held but was told the government doesnt deport unaccompanied minors. He was deported anyway.Jean paid a smuggler to bring her son back to the Dominican Republic days later.Children who are born here have no idea where to go, she said of those deported to Haiti, a country her son had never visited.A significant number of those deported, like Jeans son, were born in the Dominican Republic but lack birth certificates or other official documentation proving their legal status, with activists accusing the government of allowing work permits to expire or refusing to process their paperwork. The Dominican Republic does not automatically bestow citizenship to everyone born there.As mass deportations continue, Dominican employers in the agriculture and construction industries are complaining.Ballesters response? Hire Dominican workers.Haiti is drowningAt least one cell phone was recording when Mikelson Germain, 25, tried to evade Dominican authorities late last year. He was running on a roof when an official caught him and pushed him off it. The woman recording shrieked and started crying, thinking he was dead.By the grace of god, I fell on an electrical wire first, Germain said in a video taped by a nonprofit organization.With his leg injured and his cousins children holding on to him, Germain said authorities left the scene.Activists accused the official of attempted murder, but despite the widespread outcry, they say abuses persist.Last year, a group of Dominican men, outraged at what they said was the treatment and arrests of their Haitian neighbors, threw rocks, bottles and other objects at authorities. One man tried to disarm a migration official before shots were fired and everyone scattered.As mass deportations continue, President Abinader warned Haitis situation is a danger to the region and that there could be an uncontrollable wave of migration as he called for more support for a U.N.-backed mission in Haiti struggling to fight gangs.There is no Dominican solution to the Haitian crisis, he said. Haiti is drowning while an important part of the international community watches passively from the shore.___Associated Press reporter Martn Adames Alcntara in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, contributed.

Displaced Palestinians make their way from central Gaza to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)2025-02-11T09:02:51Z Hamas has brushed off President Donald Trumps threat that all hell will break out if it does not release the remaining Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Saturday.Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Tuesday that the dozens of hostages would only be returned if all parties remain committed to a ceasefire deal reached last month.Trump must remember there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties, he said, adding that threatening language only complicates matters.Hamas has threatened to delay the next release of three Israeli hostages, due Saturday, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement, including by not allowing a surge of tents and shelters into the devastated territory.While Trump said the ceasefire should be canceled if Hamas doesnt release all the remaining hostages Saturday, he also said such a decision would be up to Israel. During the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas has committed to freeing a total of 33 hostages captured in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack in exchange for Israel releasing nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.The sides have carried out five swaps since Jan. 19, freeing 21 hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners so far. The war could resume in early March if no agreement is reached on the more complicated second phase of the ceasefire, which calls for the return of all remaining hostages and an indefinite extension of the truce. Heres the latest: Hamas brushes off Trumps words CAIRO Hamas has brushed off President Donald Trumps threat that all hell will break out if it does not release the remaining Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip by Saturday.Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Tuesday that the dozens of hostages would only be returned if all parties remain committed to a ceasefire deal reached last month.Trump must remember there is an agreement that must be respected by both parties. This is the only way to bring back prisoners, he said. The language of threats has no value; it only complicates matters, he added.Hamas has threatened to delay the next release of three Israeli hostages planned for Saturday, accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement, including by not allowing a surge of tents and shelters into the devastated territory.Trump said Monday that the ceasefire should be canceled if Hamas doesnt release all the remaining hostages it is holding in Gaza by midday on Saturday though he also said that such a decision would be up to Israel.The agreement calls for the gradual release of dozens of hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.Israeli man thought to be the oldest hostage was killed in 2023 attack, military saysTEL AVIV, Israel An Israeli man who was thought to be alive and in Hamas captivity was killed during the 2023 attack and his body taken to Gaza, the military said Tuesday.Shlomo Mantzur was thought to be the oldest hostage held by the militant group in Gaza and because of his age became a symbol in Israel of the brutality of Hamas hostage-taking tactic.He was 85 at the time of the attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. The military said the determination of Mantzurs death was based on intelligence gathered in recent months. News of Mantzurs death comes as Israelis have been outraged over the poor condition of hostages who are being freed under the ceasefire with Hamas. On Tuesday, protesters briefly blocked a main highway calling for more hostages to be freed.That anger is putting heavy pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to extend the ceasefire, what would allow for more hostages to be freed. More than 70 hostages, nearly half of them said by Israel to be dead, are still held captive in Gaza.Kibbutz Kissufim, where Mantzur was from, said he was a father, a grandfather, a true friend and the beating heart of the community. Malaysias Anwar criticizes Israels actionsKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim criticized Israels actions in the Gaza Strip as colonization as the ceasefire with Hamas seemed to falter.This is a colonization, a project of colonization, he said at a news conference Tuesday with visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. How much negotiations can you have when the colonizer has not withdrawn?Israel and Hamas are halfway through the six-week first phase of their ceasefire, but Hamas has threatened to delay the next release of hostages because it accused Israel of continuing airstrikes and hindering humanitarian aid and the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza. Predominantly Muslim Malaysia is a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause and has pushed for a two-state solution.Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza, and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, territories the Palestinians want for a future state. This is also an issue of politics of dispossession. When you rob peoples land, peoples houses, peoples property therefore there are two issues here we have to resolve. One of course immediate humanitarian assistance, but also a long term just amicable resolution to the problem, Anwar said. UN chief says renewed fighting would led to an immense tragedyUNITED NATIONS U.N. Secretary-General Antnio Guterres has called for the extension of a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, saying a resumption of hostilities would lead to an immense tragedy.He called on the Hamas militant group to continue freeing Israeli hostages after it threatened to delay the next release. Hamas accuses Israel of violating the ceasefire agreement.Both sides must fully abide by their commitments, Guterres said in a statement Tuesday. He also urged the sides to hold serious negotiations over the next phase of the agreement, in which Hamas is to release dozens of remaining hostages abducted in its 2023 attack in exchange for an end to the war.Egyptian envoy says Arab countries reject Trumps Gaza planCAIRO Egypts top diplomat has told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Arab countries reject President Donald Trumps proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and relocate its Palestinian population.Thats according to a statement from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry after Foreign Minister Badr Abdelattys meeting late Monday with Rubio in Washington.The statement said Abdelatty stressed the importance of accelerating Gazas reconstruction while Palestinians remain there.Abdelatty also stressed the importance of finding a political horizon leading to a final settlement for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in a way that ensures the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 border with East Jerusalem as its capital, the statement said.Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for their future state. There is wide international support for a two-state solution to the decadeslong conflict along those lines.

A mural depicting steel workers stands at the Stelco steel production facility in Hamilton, Ontario, on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press via AP)2025-02-11T03:59:56Z VOLTAGE, Wash. (AP) Four people were killed and seven others were hurt when a motorist trying to pass another car on a two-lane highway hit a charter bus in central Washington state. A Toyota Camry was heading west on Highway 28 east of Wenatchee on Sunday afternoon when it hit an oncoming Northwestern Stage Lines charter bus, The Seattle Times reported. A 66-year-old Spokane man who was driving the bus was killed, along with a 17-year-old female driver and a 17-year-old male passenger in the Camry, both from East Wenatchee, the Washington State Patrol said. A bus passenger died later at a hospital. Seven others, ages 24 to 71, were hurt in the crash and taken to local hospitals, troopers said.The car also hit and damaged the car it was trying to pass, but no one inside that vehicle was hurt, according to the state patrol.Jacob Price, owner of the Spokane-based bus company, said the crash happened during a scheduled route between Seattle and Spokane. He said about 20 people were on the bus. Price told the newspaper the crash was caused by a driver trying to pass while traveling at an excessive speed, and that the company was working with state troopers and the state Department of Transportation to learn more.Sadly, our talented and dedicated driver was among the fatalities, he said. The names of those killed in the crash have not yet been released.

United States Vice-President JD Vance addresses the audience at the Grand Palais during the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)2025-02-11T09:24:04Z PARIS (AP) U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday warned global leaders and tech industry executives that excessive regulation in the artificial intelligence industry will kill the rapidly growing industry just as its taking off.Vance, making his first major policy speech since becoming vice president last month, said the Trump administration will ensure that AI systems developed in America are free from ideological bias, and that the United States would never restrict our citizens right to free speech.He also said the Trump administration is troubled that some foreign governments are considering tightening the screws on U.S. tech companies with international footprints.Now, at this moment, we face the extraordinary prospect of a new industrial revolution, one on par with the invention of the steam engine, Vance said. But it will never come to pass. If overregulation deters innovators from taking the risks necessary to advance the ball. Vances address challenged Europes regulatory approach to artificial intelligence and its moderation of content on Big Tech platforms, underscoring divergence between the United States and its allies on AI governance. With the global public both excited and worried about the power of AI, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed that, AI needs the confidence of the people and has to be safe.' She mentioned EU guidelines intended to standardize how the blocs AI Act is applied across the 27-nation bloc. At the same time, I know that we have to make it easier and we have to cut red tape and we will, she added.Von der Leyen announced that the so-called InvestAI initiative reached a total of 200 billion euros in investments in Europe, including a new fund of 20 billion euros for AI gigafactories.The summit has drawn world leaders, top tech executives, and policymakers to debate AIs impact on security, economics, and governance. A three-way race for AI dominanceThe differences were openly displayed at the summit: Europe seeks to regulate and invest, China expands access through state-backed tech giants, and the U.S., under President Donald Trump, champions a hands-off approach. Among the high-profile attendees is Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing, special envoy of Xi Jinping, reflecting Beijings interest in shaping global AI standards. Vance has been an outspoken critic of European content moderation policies. He has suggested the U.S. should reconsider its NATO commitments if European governments impose restrictions on Elon Musks social media platform, X. His Paris visit is also expected to include candid discussions on Ukraine, AIs role in global power shifts, and U.S.-China tensions. How to regulate AI?Concerns over AIs potential dangers have loomed over the summit, particularly as nations grapple with how to regulate a technology that is increasingly entwined with defense and warfare. I think one day we will have to find ways to control AI or else we will lose control of everything, said Admiral Pierre Vandier, NATOs commander who oversees the alliances modernization efforts. Beyond diplomatic tensions, a global public-private partnership is being launched called Current AI, aimed at supporting large-scale AI initiatives for the public good. Analysts see this as an opportunity to counterbalance the dominance of private companies in AI development. However, it remains unclear whether the U.S. will support such efforts. Separately, a high-stakes battle over AI power is escalating in the private sector. A group of investors led by Musk who now heads Trumps Department of Government Efficiency has made a $97.4 billion bid to acquire the nonprofit behind OpenAI. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, attending the Paris summit, swiftly rejected the offer on X. The US-China rivalry In Beijing, officials on Monday condemned Western efforts to restrict access to AI tools, while Chinese company DeepSeeks new AI chatbot has prompted calls in the U.S. Congress to limit its use over security concerns. China promotes open-source AI, arguing that accessibility will ensure global AI benefits. French organizers hope the summit will boost investment in Europes AI sector, positioning the region as a credible contender in an industry shaped by U.S.-China competition. French President Emmanuel Macron, addressing the energy demands of AI, contrasted Frances nuclear-powered approach with the U.S.s reliance on fossil fuels, quipping: France wont drill, baby, drill, but plug, baby, plug. Vances diplomatic tour will continue in Germany, where he will attend the Munich Security Conference and press European allies to increase commitments to NATO and Ukraine. He may also meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Talking Ukraine and Middle East with MacronVance will discuss Ukraine and the Middle East over a working lunch with Macron. Like Trump, he has questioned U.S. aid to Kyiv and the broader Western strategy toward Russia. Trump has pledged to end the war in Ukraine within six months of taking office. Vance is also set to meet separately with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. ___Associated Press writers Sylvie Corbet and Kelvin Chan in Paris contributed to this report. AAMER MADHANI Madhani covers the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Mifepristone tablets are seen in a Planned Parenthood clinic Thursday, July 18, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)2025-02-11T05:01:33Z Lawmakers in some states where abortion is already banned are seeking to explicitly bar abortion pills or take a step that most leading anti-abortion groups oppose: punish women who seek to end their pregnancies.Its too early in some legislative sessions to know whether the measures will get serious consideration. But it does show that the policy debate continues to evolve following the Supreme Courts 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and opened the door to state bans on abortion. Heres a look at where things stand: Some lawmakers target pills that are used in most abortionsLawmakers in several states have introduced measures to classify the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol which are used together in the majority of U.S. abortions as controlled dangerous substances, making it a crime to possess them without prescriptions.Louisiana last year became the first state to adopt such a law, despite concerns from doctors who contended that the restrictions would make it harder for them to access the drugs to perform life-saving procedures.The measures have been introduced in states where Republicans control the government and where there are bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions. The legislation has died or appears unlikely to advance in Indiana and Mississippi. Elsewhere including Idaho, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas its too early to know whether they have a chance.In Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt, a staunch opponent of abortion, has vowed to sign any anti-abortion measure that comes to his desk. And one scholar who follows abortion policy said that the bills can affect the debate even if they dont pick up momentum.The more often that theyre introduced, the more normalized these sorts of bills and these sorts of concepts that theyre pushing become, said Laura Hermer, a professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. The pill fight is roaring even without additional state lawsAuthorities in two states with stringent abortion laws have targeted a New York doctor for allegedly sending abortion pills to patients in those states.Last month, a Louisiana grand jury indicted Dr. Maggie Carpenter on charges of criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs, a felony. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Carpenter in civil court under similar circumstances.The legal actions set up a test of laws in some Democratic-controlled states, including New York, that seek to protect health care providers who use telehealth to prescribe and then mail abortion pills to patients in states where theyre banned. New York officials say they will not extradite the doctor to Louisiana.Since Carpenters indictment, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law that allows doctors to leave their names off prescription bottles for abortion pills as a way to further insulate them. Similar legislation has been introduced in Maine.The attorneys general of Idaho, Kansas and Missouri are also suing in federal court to roll back federal approvals for mifepristone and bar prescriptions for it by telehealth.Some advocates are calling on President Donald Trump to enforce an 1873 law to ban mailing medication or instruments used in abortion, but he has not done so. While critics say the drugs are unsafe, some major medical groups disagree. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says there is decades of evidence that mifepristone and misoprostol are safe and effective. The group cited a study showing that major adverse events such as significant infection and excessive blood loss occur in less than 0.32% of patients taking mifepristone for a medication abortion. Medical organizations say mifepristones safety compares to that of the over-the-counter pain medication ibuprofen.There are attempts to punish women, though they rarely gain tractionBills in several states would open the door to criminal charges against women who seek or obtain abortions on charges including murder.Thats a step no state has taken so far, and which leading anti-abortion groups such as Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and the National Right to Life Committee oppose.Still, such bills have been introduced in Idaho and Indiana, where theyre unlikely to advance, and Oklahoma, North Dakota and South Carolina, where theyre all early in the legislative process. Reached by phone, South Carolina Rep. Luke Rankin, a Republican who added his name to a list of bill sponsors last week, said, Ive always been pro-life. When asked about the provision to allow prosecution of women seeking abortion, he said: I cant help you there and declined to answer questions.___Associated Press writers Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho; Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville, Tennessee; Nadia Lathan in Austin, Texas; Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City; Laura Ungar Louisville, Kentucky; and Isabella Volmert in Lansing, Michigan, contributed to this article. GEOFF MULVIHILL Mulvihill covers topics on the agendas of state governments across the country. He has focused on abortion, gender issues and opioid litigation. twitter mailto

Maryland Department of Transportation employees use a backhoe to load a truck with salt at the State Highway Administration District 6 Office in LaVale, Md., Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (Steve Bittner/Cumberland Times-News via AP)2025-02-11T05:11:41Z A wintry mess was bearing down on mid-Atlantic states Tuesday with forecasts of significant snow and ice accumulations prompting warnings of potential power outages.The National Weather Service said travel would become treacherous Tuesday through early Wednesday in much of Virginia and West Virginia.Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Monday declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm, allowing state agencies to assist local governments. Schools and government offices throughout Virginia were closed Tuesday.The heaviest snow, up to 10 inches (25.4 centimeters), was forecast in portions of northern and central Virginia and eastern West Virginia. Ice accumulations could range from a glaze in Kentucky and West Virginia to a half-inch (1.3 centimeters) in the Roanoke Valley of southwest Virginia, the weather service said. Power outages and tree damage were likely in places with heavy ice buildups. Did you think winter was over? Think again! the weather services office in Blacksburg, Virginia, said in a post on the social media platform X.Appalachian Power, which serves 1 million customers in West Virginia, Virginia and Tennessee, said it has requested 700 additional workers from neighboring utilities to assist with problems by Tuesday morning. In northern Virginia, the National Park Service closed a portion of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, a narrow highway that winds its way through woods along the Potomac River. The parkway connects multiple small national park sites and has historically been a trouble spot during winter storms for abandoned cars that created a slalom course for snowplows and other vehicles. Winter storm warnings extended from Kentucky to southern New Jersey, and a flood watch was posted for a wide swath of Kentucky, Tennessee, southwest Virginia and northern Georgia. The snow-and-ice mix was expected to become all rain as temperatures climb by Wednesday afternoon. A separate storm system is set to bring heavy snow from Kansas and Missouri to the Great Lakes on Wednesday, the weather service said. Dangerous cold was forecast Tuesday from an Arctic air mass stretching from Portland, Oregon, to the Great Lakes.The temperature was expected to bottom out Tuesday morning at minus 33 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 36 degrees Celsius) in Butte, Montana, where over the past two winters at least five people died due to cold exposure, said Brayton Erickson, executive director of the Butte Rescue Mission. Advocates for the homeless in the city of about 35,000 planned to be out on the streets distributing sleeping bags, jackets, mittens and other cold weather gear to anyone who needs them, Erickson said.When it gets this cold, we kind of pull out all the stops, he said. Having all those resources available literally can save their life or keep them from frostbite.___Associated Press writers from across the U.S. contributed to this report. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Mohammed Shula speaks at a relative's house, where he and his wife have taken refuge, in the West Bank village of Kafr al-Labad, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)2025-02-11T10:23:50Z KAFR AL-LABAD, West Bank (AP) The call came in the middle of the night, Mohammed Shula said. His daughter-in-law, eight months pregnant with her first child, was whispering. There was panic in her voice.Help, please, Shula recalled her saying. You have to save us.Minutes later, Sondos Shalabi was fatally shot.Shalabi and her husband, 26-year-old Yazan Shula, had fled their home in the early hours of Sunday as Israeli security forces closed in on Nur Shams refugee camp, a crowded urban district in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem.Israeli military vehicles surrounded the camp days earlier, part of a larger crackdown on Palestinian militants across the northern occupied West Bank that has escalated since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza took effect last month. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has announced the expansion of the armys operations, saying it aimed to stop Iran Hamas ally from opening up a new front in the occupied territory. Palestinians see the shooting of Shalabi, 23, as part of a worrying trend toward more lethal, warlike Israeli tactics in the West Bank. The Israeli army issued a short statement afterward, saying it had referred her shooting to the military police for criminal investigation. Also on Sunday, just a few streets away, another young Palestinian woman, 21, was killed by the Israeli army. An explosive device it had planted detonated as she approached her front door. In response, the Israeli army said that a wanted militant was in her house, compelling Israeli forces to break down the door. It said the woman did not leave despite the soldiers calls. The army said it regrets any harm caused to uninvolved civilians.Across the West Bank and east Jerusalem, at least 905 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack triggered the war in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Many appear to have been militants killed in gunbattles during Israeli raids. But rock-throwing protesters and uninvolved civilians including a 2-year-old girl, a 10-year-old boy and 73-year-old man have also been killed in recent weeks. The basic rules of fighting, of confronting the Palestinians, is different now, said Maher Kanan, a member of the emergency response team in the nearby village of Anabta, describing what he sees as the armys new attitude and tactics. The displacement, the number of civilians killed, they are doing here what they did in Gaza. Mohammed Shula, 58, told The Associated Press that his son and daughter-in-law said they started plotting their flight from Nur Shams last week as Israeli drones crisscrossed the sky, Palestinian militants boobytrapped the roads and their babys due date approached.His son was worried about (Shalabi) all the time. He knew that she wouldnt be able to deliver the baby if the siege got worse, he said.Yazan Shula, a construction worker in Israel who lost his job after the Israeli government banned nearly 200,000 Palestinian workers from entering its territory, couldnt wait to be a father, his own father said. Shalabi, quiet and kind, was like a daughter to him moving into their house in Nur Shams 18 month sago, after marrying his son. This baby is what they were living for, he said.Early Sunday, the young couple packed up some clothes and belongings. The plan was simple they would drive to the home of Shalabis parents outside the camp, some miles away in Tulkarem where soldiers werent operating. It was safer there, and near the hospital where Shalabi planned to give birth. Yazan Shulas younger brother, 19-year-old Bilal, also wanted to get out and jumped in the backseat.Not long after the three of them drove off, there was a burst of gunfire. Mohammed Shulas phone rang. His daughter-in-laws breaths came in gasps, he said. An Israeli sniper had shot her husband, she told her father-in-law, and blood was flowing from the back of his head. She was unscathed, but had no idea what to do.He coached her into staying calm. He told her to knock on the door of any house to ask for help. Her phone on speaker, he could hear her knocking and shrieking, he said. No one was answering. She told him she could see soldiers approaching. The line went dead, said Mohammed Shula, who then called the Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service.We couldnt go outside because we were afraid wed be shot, said Suleiman Zuheiri, 65, a neighbor of the Shula family who was helping the medics reach their bodies. We tried and tried. All in vain. (The medics) kept getting turned back, and the girl kept bleeding.Bilal Shula wasnt hurt. He was arrested from the scene and detained for several hours.The Red Crescent said that the International Committee of the Red Cross had secured approval from the Israeli military to allow medics inside the camp. But the paramedics were detained twice, for a half-hour each time, as they made their way toward the battered car, it said. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on why soldiers had blocked ambulances.It wasnt until after 8:00 a.m. that medics finally reached the young couple, and were detained a third time while rushing the husband out of the camp to the hospital, the Red Crescent said. Yazan Shula was unconscious and in critical condition, and, as of Tuesday, remains on life support at a hospital. Shalabi was found dead. Her fetus also did not survive the shooting. Mohammed Shula keeps thinking about how soldiers saw Shalabis body bleeding on the ground and did nothing to help as they handcuffed his other son and marched him into their vehicle.Why did they shoot them? They were doing nothing wrong. They could have stopped them, asked a question, but no, they just shot, he said, his fingers busily rubbing a strand of prayer beads.Israeli security forces invaded the camp some hours later. Explosions resounded through the alleyways. Armored bulldozers rumbled down the roads, chewing up the pavement and rupturing underground water pipes. The electricity went out. Then the taps ran dry. Before Mohammed Shula could process what was happening, he said, Israeli troops banged on his front door and ordered everyone his daughter, son and several grandchildren, one of them a year old, another two months old to leave their home.The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on why it was forcibly evacuating civilian homes in Nur Shams. Mohammed Shula pointed to a bag of baby diapers in the corner of his friends living room. Thats all he had time to bring with him, he said, not even photographs, or clothes. ISABEL DEBRE DeBre writes about Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay for The Associated Press, based in Buenos Aires. Before moving to South America in 2024, she covered the Middle East reporting from Jerusalem, Cairo and Dubai. twitter mailto

Students interact in a fourth grade classroom at William Jefferson Clinton Elementary in Compton, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)2025-02-11T05:05:03Z COMPTON, Calif. (AP) Math is the subject sixth grader Harmoni Knight finds hardest, but thats changing. In-class tutors and data chats at her middle school in Compton, California, have made a dramatic difference, the 11-year-old said. She proudly pulled up a performance tracker at a tutoring session last week, displaying a column of perfect 100% scores on all her weekly quizzes from January. Since the pandemic first shuttered American classrooms, schools have poured federal and local relief money into interventions like the ones in Harmonis classroom, hoping to help students catch up academically following COVID-19 disruptions. But a new analysis of state and national test scores shows the average student remains half a grade level behind pre-pandemic achievement in both reading and math. In reading, especially, students are even further behind than they were in 2022, the analysis shows. Compton is an outlier, making some of the biggest two-year gains in both subjects among high-poverty districts. And there are other bright spots, along with evidence that interventions like tutoring and summer programs are working. The Education Recovery Scorecard analysis by researchers at Harvard, Stanford and Dartmouth allows year-to-year comparisons across states and districts, providing the most comprehensive picture yet of how American students are performing since COVID-19 first disrupted learning. The most recent data is based on tests taken in spring 2024. By then, the worst of the pandemic was long past, but schools were dealing still with a mental health crisis and high absenteeism not to mention students whod had crucial learning interrupted. Students work in a classroom at Benjamin O. Davis Middle School in Compton, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Students work in a classroom at Benjamin O. Davis Middle School in Compton, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More A tutor helps students at Benjamin O. Davis Middle School in Compton, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 6,, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) A tutor helps students at Benjamin O. Davis Middle School in Compton, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 6,, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The losses are not just due to what happened during the 2020 to 2021 school year, but the aftershocks that have hit schools in the years since, said Tom Kane, a Harvard economist who worked on the scorecard. In some cases, the analysis shows school districts are struggling, even though their students may have posted decent results on state tests. Thats because each state adopts its own assessments, and those arent comparable to each other. Those differences can make it impossible to tell whether students are performing better because of their progress, or whether those shifts are because the tests themselves are changing, or the state has lowered its standards for proficiency. For example, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Florida seem to have relaxed their proficiency cutoff in math and reading in the last two years, Kane said, citing the analysis. A teacher points to a board as students listen in a fourth grade classroom at William Jefferson Clinton Elementary in Compton, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) A teacher points to a board as students listen in a fourth grade classroom at William Jefferson Clinton Elementary in Compton, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The Scorecard accounts for differing state tests and provides one national standard. Higher-income districts have made significantly more progress than lower-income districts, with the top 10% of high-income districts four times more likely to have recovered in both math and reading compared with the poorest 10%. And recovery within districts remains divided by race and class, especially in math scores. Test score gaps grew by both race and income. The pandemic has not only driven test scores down, but that decline masks a pernicious inequality that has grown during the pandemic, said Sean Reardon, a Stanford sociologist who worked on the scorecard. Not only are districts serving more Black and Hispanic students falling further behind, but even within those districts, Black and Hispanic students are falling further behind their white districtmates. Tutors in class, after school and on SaturdaysStill, many of the districts that outperformed the country serve predominantly low-income students or students of color, and their interventions offer best practices for other districts.In Compton, the district responded to the pandemic by hiring over 250 tutors that specialize in math, reading and students learning English. Certain classes are staffed with multiple tutors to assist teachers. And schools offer tutoring before, during and after school, plus Saturday School and summer programs for the districts 17,000 students, said Superintendent Darin Brawley.The district also now conducts dyslexia screenings in all elementary schools. The low-income school district near downtown Los Angeles, with a student body that is 84% Latino and 14% Black, now has a graduation rate of 93%, compared with 58% when Brawley took the job in 2012. A tutor helps students at Benjamin O. Davis Middle School in Compton, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) A tutor helps students at Benjamin O. Davis Middle School in Compton, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Harmoni, the sixth grader, said tutoring has helped her grasp concepts and given her more confidence in math. She has data chats with her math specialist that are part performance review, part pep talk.Looking at my data, it kind of disappoints me when the numbers are low, said Harmoni. But it makes me realize I can do better in the future, and also now.Brawley said hes proud of the districts latest test scores, but not content.Truth be told, I wasnt happy, he said. Even though we gained, and we celebrate the gains, at the end of the day we all know that we can do better. A tutor helps students at Benjamin O. Davis Middle School in Compton, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) A tutor helps students at Benjamin O. Davis Middle School in Compton, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More That could be more difficult in coming years. Federal pandemic relief money has ended; many schools used it for programs like tutoring. Going forward, schools must prioritize interventions that worked. Districts that spent federal money on increased instructional time, either through tutoring or summer school, saw a return on that investment, Kane and Reardon said. Brawley said Compton hopes to maintain its tutoring programs using other funding sources. The question is, at what scale? Elsewhere in the country, reading levels have continued to decline, despite a movement in many states to emphasize phonics and the science of reading. So Reardon and Kane called for an evaluation of the mixed results for insights into the best ways to teach kids to read. Schools also must engage parents and tell them when their kids are behind, the researchers said.And schools must continue to work with community groups to improve students attendance, they said. The scorecard identified a relationship between high absenteeism and learning struggles.Tutors also help with attendanceIn the District of Columbia, an intensive tutoring program helped with both academics and attendance, D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said. In the scorecard analysis, the District of Columbia ranked first among states for gains in both math and reading between 2022 and 2024, after its math recovery had fallen toward the bottom of the list. Pandemic-relief money funded the tutoring, along with a system of identifying and targeting support at students in greatest need. The district also hired program managers who helped maximize time for tutoring within the school day, Ferebee said. Students who received tutoring were more likely to be engaged with school, Ferebee said, both from increased confidence and because they had a relationship with another trusted adult. Students expressed that Im more confident in math because Im being validated by another adult, Ferebee said. That validation goes a long way, not only with attendance, but a student feeling like they are ready to learn and are capable. A tutor helps students at Benjamin O. Davis Middle School in Compton, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) A tutor helps students at Benjamin O. Davis Middle School in Compton, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Even now that federal pandemic relief money has ended, Ferebee said many of the investments the district made will have lasting impact, including the money spent on teacher training and curriculum development in literacy. Christina Grant, the District of Columbias superintendent of education until 2024, said shes hopeful to see the evidence emerging on whats made a difference in student achievement.We cannot afford to not have hope. These are our students. They did not cause the pandemic, Grant said. The growing concern is ensuring that we can ... see ourselves to the other side. ___Sharon Lurye contributed from New Orleans.___The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. ANNIE MA Ma is an Associated Press national writer who covers K-12 education. twitter mailto JOCELYN GECKER Gecker is an Associated Press reporter covering education with a focus on social media and youth mental health. twitter mailto

Fatima Guzman prays during a church service at the Centro Cristiano El Pan de Vida, a mid-size Church of God of Prophecy congregation in Kissimmee, Florida, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Alan Youngblood)2025-02-11T14:05:45Z More than two-dozen Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans ranging from the Episcopal Church and the Union for Reform Judaism to the Mennonites and Unitarian Universalists filed a federal court lawsuit Tuesday challenging a Trump administration move giving immigration agents more leeway to make arrests at houses of worship.The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, contends that the new policy is spreading fear of raids, thus lowering attendance at worship services and other valuable church programs. The result, says the suit, infringes on the groups religious freedom namely their ability to minister to migrants, including those in the United States illegally.We have immigrants, refugees, people who are documented and undocumented, said the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. We cannot worship freely if some of us are living in fear, he told The Associated Press. By joining this lawsuit, were seeking the ability to gather and fully practice our faith, to follow Jesus command to love our neighbors as ourselves. The new lawsuit echoes and expands on some of the arguments made in a similar lawsuit filed Jan. 27 by five Quaker congregations and later joined by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and a Sikh temple. It is currently pending in U.S. District Court in Maryland. There was no immediate Trump administration response to the new lawsuit, which names the Department of Homeland Security and its immigration enforcement agencies as defendants. However, a memorandum filed Friday by the Department of Justice, opposing the thrust of the Quaker lawsuit, outlined arguments that may also apply to the new lawsuit.In essence, the memo contended that the plaintiffs request to block the new enforcement policy is based on speculation of hypothetical future harm and thus is insufficient grounds for issuing an injunction. The memo said that immigration enforcement affecting houses of worship had been permitted for decades, and the new policy announced in January simply said that field agents using common sense and discretion could now conduct such operations without pre-approval from a supervisor.One part of that memo might not apply to the new lawsuit, as it argued the Quakers and their fellow plaintiffs have no basis for seeking a nationwide injunction against the revised enforcement policy.Any relief in this case should be tailored solely to the named plaintiffs, said the DOJ memo, contending that any injunction should not apply to other religious organizations.The plaintiffs in the new lawsuit represent a vastly larger swath of American worshippers including more than 1 million followers of Reform Judaism, the estimated 1.5 million Episcopalians in 6,700 congregations nationwide, nearly 1.1 million members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and the estimated 1.5 million active members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church the countrys oldest predominantly Black denomination. Among the other plaintiffs are the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), with more than 3,000 congregations; the Church of the Brethren, with more than 780 congregations; the Convencin Bautista Hispana de Texas, encompassing about 1,100 Hispanic Baptist churches; the Friends General Conference, an association of regional Quaker organizations; the Mennonite Church USA, with about 50,000 members; the Unitarian Universalist Association, with more than 1,000 congregations; the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, with more than 500 U.S. congregations; and regional branches of the United Methodist Church and the United Church of Christ.The massive scale of the suit will be hard for them to ignore, said Kelsi Corkran, a lawyer with the Georgetown University Law Centers Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection who is lead counsel for the lawsuit.Prior to the recent Trump administration change, Corkran said immigration agents generally needed a judicial warrant or other special authorization to conduct operations at houses of worship and other sensitive locations such as schools and hospitals. Now its go anywhere, any time, she told the AP. Now they have broad authority to swoop in theyve made it very clear theyll get every undocumented person.She cited a recent incident in which a Honduran man was arrested outside his familys Atlanta-area church while a service was being held inside.The lawsuit includes details from some of the plaintiffs as to how their operations might be affected. The Union for Reform Judaism and the Mennonites, among others, said many of their synagogues and churches host on-site foodbanks, meal programs, homeless shelters and other support services for undocumented people who might now be fearful of participating. One of the plaintiffs is the Latino Christian National Network, which seeks to bring together Latino leaders with different traditions and values to collaborate on pressing social issues. The networks president is the Rev. Carlos Malav, a pastor of two churches in Virginia, who described to the AP what network members are observing.There is deep-seated fear and distrust of our government, he said. People fear going to the store, they are avoiding going to church. ... The churches are increasingly doing online services because people fear for the well-being of their families and children.The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which leads the nations largest denomination, did not joint the lawsuit, though it has criticized Trumps migration crackdown. On Tuesday, Pope Francis issued a major rebuke to the deportation plan, warning that the forceful removal of people purely because of their illegal status deprives them of their inherent dignity and will end badly.Many conservative faith leaders and legal experts across the U.S. do not share concerns about the new arrest policy.Places of worship are for worship and are not sanctuaries for illegal activity or for harboring people engaged in illegal activity, said Mat Staver, founder of the conservative Christian legal organization Liberty Counsel.Fugitives or criminals are not immune from the law merely because they enter a place of worship, he said via email. This is not a matter of religious freedom. There is no right to openly violate the law and disobey law enforcement.Professor Cathleen Kaveny, who teaches in the theology department and law school at Boston College, questioned whether the plaintiffs would prevail with the religious freedom argument, but suggested the Trump administration might be unwise to disregard a traditional view of houses of worship as places of sanctuary for vulnerable people.These buildings are different almost like embassies, she said. I think of churches as belonging to an eternal country.___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. DAVID CRARY Crary has headed APs 11-person Religion team since 2020. Among previous AP jobs, he was a foreign correspondent for 14 years, and has used that experience to bolster APs worldwide religion coverage. twitter mailto

The Wikimedia Foundation is building new tools that it hopes will help Wikipedia editors stay anonymous in part to avoid harassment and legal threats as Elon Musk and the Heritage Foundation ramp up their attacks on people who edit Wikipedia. Some of the tactics have been pioneered by Wikimedia in countries with authoritarian governments and where editing Wikipedia is illegal or extremely dangerous. Last month, Forward obtained a document created by the Heritage Foundation called Wikipedia Editor Targeting, which set a goal to identify and target Wikipedia editors abusing their position by analyzing text patterns, usernames, and technical data through data breach analysis, fingerprinting, HUMINT (human intelligence), and technical targeting.The document discusses creating sock puppet accounts to reveal patterns and provoke reactions, discusses trying to track users geolocation, searching through hacked datasets for username reuse, and using Pimeyes, a facial recognition software, to learn the real identities of Wikipedia editors. Molly White of Citation Needed has an extensive rundown on Elon Musks crusade against Wikipedia, and both Slate and The Atlantic have written about the rights war on Wikipedia in recent days.In a series of calls and letters to the Wikimedia community over the last two weeks, Wikimedia executives have told editors that they are trying to figure out how to keep their users safe in an increasingly hostile political environment. Im keeping an eye on the rising noise of criticism from Elon Musk and others and I think thats something we need to grapple with, Wikimedia founder Jimmy Wales said in a meeting on January 30.Were seeing an increase in threats, both regulation and litigation across the world, Wikimedia Foundation CEO Maryana Iskander told community members during the same January 30 meeting. Were all just trying to understand what is happening not only in the United States [but across the world], so the best we can do is monitor, check-in on staff, and try to understand whats needed thats the most honest answer I can give you to an impossible set of questions were all grappling with on a daily basis.Wikimedia lawyers told the community that the project is trying to change how editing Wikipedia for logged-out accounts works. Currently, if a user edits an article while not logged in, their IP address will show publicly, which can provide information to someone looking to file a defamation or libel lawsuit. Wikimedia is launching a temporary accounts program which will give editors who are not logged in a temporary username rather than showing an IP address. Its a way of ensuring that for logged-out users, their IP address isnt visible to everyone asunder but rather available only to people who are really engaged in anti-vandalism, Phil Bradley-Schmieg, a Wikimedia lawyer, said.Bradley-Schmieg also suggested that Wikimedias human rights team, which is focused on helping users stay safe, particularly in countries where freedom of speech and expression is under attack on a regular basis, may need to play a larger role across the entire project.Jacob Rogers, another Wikimedia lawyer, said during a separate meeting on January 30 that some Wikimedia projects in non-English languages have a feature where users are allowed to create and register a sock-puppet account (a dummy username, basically) to edit controversial articles and to register that account with administrators.A number of the different language projects have the option to make legitimate sock puppet accounts if youre going to work on something you know is going to be controversial, you can make a sock puppet and register it with admins on that project so its more obscure, kept separate from the rest of your life, Rogers said.Both Rogers and Bradley-Schmieg said that Wikimedia has worked to limit the amount of data that the foundation has on any given user. IP addresses associated with edits are deleted or anonymized after 90 days, for example.The foundation has very little data about most users, so if somebody is stepping up their harassment and coming to the foundation, we generally dont really know anything about users in most cases and theres not a lot they can get from us, Rogers said. In the first six months of 2024, the last period for which data is available, Wikimedia received 26 formal requests for information on users; it provided info in two cases. Six of those requests came from the United States, the most of any jurisdiction.Wikimedia has also created a legal defense program that will in some cases fund the defense of Wikipedia editors who are attacked through the legal system as long as that editor or staffer was contributing to a Wikimedia project in good faith, Rogers said. Wikimedia has recently fought cases in both India and Germany.While Musks and the Heritage Foundations attacks on Wikipedia have escalated in recent days, these general trends are not new, and they were outlined as a threat in the foundations 2024 annual plan, which states the following:Human rights threats are growing. Physical and legal threats against volunteers and staff who fight disinformation continue to grow. Accusations of bias and inaction by those whose preferred narratives do not prevail on Wikipedia may be encouraged and amplified by purveyors of disinformation, the foundation wrote in an update to users. Law is weaponized in important jurisdictions. Bad-faith lawsuits, by people who dont like the verified information appearing on Wikipedia pages, are succeeding in some European countries. Some incumbent leaders are abusing their powers to silence and intimidate political opponents.Iskander said in the meeting that the foundation is going to consider the safety of Wikipedians for its in-person events, such as Wikimania, an annual conference and party.Were paying very close attention trying to understand what the impacts might be and ensure those might be considered in any decisions we make. I will remind folks part of our processes in any event related to community gatherings is to do a risk assessment for community conferences for Wikimania, she said. Its an imperfect and imprecise exercise but theres a real intentionality around being thoughtful about the places that were selecting to ask people to gather and manage within our control.It is not clear whether any of these steps will be sufficient, or whether any of them are going to make Wikipedia more resilient to right-wing attacks. What makes Wikipedia so strong is the fact that it has a distributed global base of dedicated volunteer editors, and a governance structure that is not very easy to infiltrate. Wikimedias decentralized power base makes it resistant to but not invulnerable from takeover attempts.During one of the meetings, Rogers was asked if Wikimedia would consider moving its headquarters out of the United States because of the political situation here. Rogers said moving would probably not do very much because the projects would remain accessible in the United States and many things would still be subject to US law even if the foundation moved its headquarters to a different jurisdiction.I think a move would be extremely expensive and cost something in the tens to hundreds of millions of dollars, he said. I see that as one of the most significant, expensive, and extreme possible options. You would only do that if it was like, the only solution to a major problem where doing that would make sense. The Wikimedia Foundation did not respond to a request for comment. The Heritage Foundation did not respond to a request for comment.

Elon Musk speaks at an indoor Presidential Inauguration parade event in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)2025-02-10T22:59:06Z WASHINGTON (AP) The acting head of the federal agency responsible for responding to disasters said Monday that hes suspending payments sent to New York City to house migrants and that staff who made them will be held accountable, after Elon Musk blasted the transactions on his social media platform.Musk, who as head of the Department of Government Efficiency has consolidated control over much of the federal government and is working to cut costs and shrink the workforce, posted on X that his team just discovered that FEMA sent $59M LAST WEEK to luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal migrants. He said the money is intended for disaster relief and would be clawed back.Cameron Hamilton, acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, reposted Musks comments and said the payments were suspended as of Sunday. Musk gave no evidence to support his claim, and information from the city of New York indicated that money its received to care for migrants was appropriated by Congress and allocated to the city last year by FEMA. The city hasnt been notified of any pause in funding, spokeswoman Liz Garcia said. A statement noted that the city has received federal government reimbursements through the past week and said the matter would be discussed directly with federal officials. Neither Hamilton nor Musk specified what kind of payments were involved. But the comments on X reposted thousands of times likely referred to payments made by the Shelter and Services Program, which gives money to reimburse cities, towns or organizations for immigration-related expenses. FEMA did not respond to questions about the payments. But spokesman Trisha McLaughlin for the Department of Homeland Security to which FEMA belongs pointed to recent statements by Secretary Kristi Noem. As Secretary Noem said yesterday, we must get rid of FEMA the way it exists today, McLaughlin told The Associated Press on Monday. This is yet another egregious example. Individuals who circumvented leadership and unilaterally made this payment will be fired and held accountable. What is the Shelter and Services Program? When migrants arrive at the border, theyre often released into the U.S. because the federal government doesnt have enough space to hold them all. Feeding and housing them often falls on local and state governments, as well as nonprofits.In 2019, with the number of people coming directly to the southern border climbing dramatically, Congress authorized the federal government to reimburse some of those costs. Those were the first such payments and the beginning of the Shelter and Services Program. The money comes directly from Congress and is specifically for Customs and Border Protection also part of the Department of Homeland Security. FEMA administers the payments.The money is separate from the disaster relief fund, which is FEMAs main funding stream to help people and governments affected by disasters. The Shelter and Services Program has become a flashpoint for criticism by Republicans, who incorrectly claim its taking money from people hit by hurricanes or floods. Critics also have questioned whether taxpayer money should go to cities and states where right-to-shelter laws mean everyone must be given a place to stay. At least two other localities that received money through the Shelter and Services Program said they had not heard from the federal government about whether they would take back the money.What did Elon Musk say about the program?Musk called the $59 million his team has identified gross insubordination to the Presidents executive order and said the funds would be recouped. It was not clear where the $59 million figure came from, and officials did not provide details to AP. The New York City mayors office said it received $81 million in payments from the federal government for immigration-related costs last week in two separate pieces one of which was about $59 million, with $19 million for direct hotel costs.New York Citys right-to-shelter laws require the city to provide shelter to anyone whos homeless. It has historically housed homeless people in hotels. City resources have been strained with an influx of roughly 230,000 migrants since the spring of 2022. In addition to housing migrants temporarily in hotels, it also uses tent complexes.The city says it currently shelters 46,000 migrants, most of whom are part of families.In another post Monday, Musk said that under the Biden administration, FEMA took money away from disaster relief and spent it on 5 star hotels for illegals.Garcia said the city has never paid luxury rates. The vast majority are outside Manhattan, and the government has paid on average $152 a night for rooms, according to a 2024 city comptroller report. In comparison, 5-star hotels in Manhattan for the coming weekend run from $400 a night to well over $1,000. The payments of $81 million, Garcia said, covered reimbursements for November 2023 to October 2024, including hotel, security, food, and other costs. She said the city applied in April, the money was appropriated last year by Congress, and FEMA allocated it last year. The city has millions more in outstanding reimbursements, she said..Is the Trump administration getting rid of FEMA?The confusion over the payments comes amid intense interest in FEMAs future. In a North Carolina trip last month, President Trump said he was considering getting rid of FEMA. Hes also creating a task force to carry out a full-scale review on the organization. Republicans last fall lambasted FEMA, saying it wasnt doing enough to help survivors hit by double hurricanes Helene and Milton. The agency was also beset by false claims about the storms and withheld aid often fueled by Trump and others just ahead of the presidential election. Criticism of FEMA intensified after the agency announced that a staffer was fired after she directed workers not to go to homes with yard signs supporting Trump.Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL and unsuccessful Republican congressional candidate from Virginia, previously worked on emergency management issues for the departments of Homeland Security and State but has limited experience handling natural disasters. Hes been critical of FEMA on social media and outspoken about increasing security along the southern border, where the agencys resources could be redirected. Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trumps second term prepared by the presidents allies, called for dismantling Homeland Security and relocating FEMA to the Department of Interior or the Department of Transportation.It also suggested changing the formula that the agency uses to determine when federal disaster assistance is warranted, shifting the costs of preventing and responding to disasters to states.__Attanasio reported from New York. REBECCA SANTANA Santana covers the Department of Homeland Security for The Associated Press. She has extensive experience reporting in such places as Russia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. twitter mailto CEDAR ATTANASIO Attanasio covers New York City for The Associated Press with a focus on immigration and the ocean. He uses remote sensing to support the APs global coverage. twitter instagram facebook mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Steve Bannon arrives at court in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)2025-02-11T15:24:21Z NEW YORK (AP) Steve Bannon pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a fraud charge related to duping donors who gave money to a private effort to build a wall along the U.S. southern border a case the conservative strategist has decried as a political persecution.Bannon, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty to one scheme to defraud count as part of a plea agreement that spares him from jail time in the We Build the Wall scheme. He received a three-year conditional discharge, which requires that he stay out of trouble to avoid additional punishment.Asked how he was feeling as he left the courtroom, Bannon said, Like a million bucks.Bannon spoke to reporters afterward and called on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to begin an immediate criminal investigation into New York Attorney General Leticia James and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Defense attorney Arthur Aidala called the case against Bannon flimsy, saying it was never about his client.Mr. Bannon deserves credit. He wants to fight. Everyone knows Steve Bannon, he always wants to put up a fight, Aidala said. The district attorneys office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Bannons deal comes just days after Bondi ordered the Justice Department to investigate what the president called the weaponization of prosecutorial power.The case had been scheduled to go to trial March 4. Braggs office charged Bannon in state court after a Trump pardon in 2021 wiped away federal charges on the same allegations.In November, Judge April Newbauer ruled prosecutors could show jurors certain evidence, including an email they say shows Bannon was concerned the fundraising effort was a scam.Bannon had been planning an aggressive defense strategy and recently hired a new team of attack dog lawyers who sought to portray the case to jurors as a selective and malicious prosecution. In January, Bannons lawyers filed papers asking Newbauer to throw out the case, calling it an unconstitutional selective enforcement of the law. The judge had been expected to rule on that on Tuesday before Bannons plea deal made the request moot.Bannon, 71, pleaded not guilty in September 2022 to a state court indictment charging him with money laundering, fraud and conspiracy.He was accused of falsely promising donors that all money given to the We Build the Wall campaign would go toward building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Instead, prosecutors alleged the money was used to enrich Bannon and others involved in the project.The campaign, launched in 2018 after Trump fired Bannon as his chief strategist, quickly raised over $20 million and privately built a few miles of fencing along the border. It soon ran into trouble with the International Boundary and Water Commission, came under federal investigation and drew criticism from Trump, the Republican whose policy the charity was founded to support.Bragg, a Democrat, took up the case after Trump cut Bannons federal prosecution short with a pardon in the final hours of his first term in the White House. Presidential pardons apply only to federal crimes, not state offenses. Early in the fundraising campaign, Bannon pooh-poohed it, prosecutors said at a November hearing.Isnt this a scam? You cant build the wall for this much money, Bannon wrote in an email, according to prosecutor Jeffrey Levinson. He said Bannon went on to add: Poor Americans shouldnt be using hard-earned money to chase something not doable.Two other men involved in the project, Brian Kolfage and Andrew Badolato, pleaded guilty to federal charges and were sentenced to prison. A third defendant, Timothy Shea, was convicted and also sentenced to prison.Bannon went to prison in an unrelated case last year, serving four months at a federal lockup in Connecticut for defying a subpoena in the congressional investigation into the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021. He was released in October.Bondi last week formed a Weaponization Working Group at the Justice Department to examine cases she said appear to have been motivated by political objectives or other improper aims, including Braggs pursuit of criminal charges against Trump.___Follow Michael Sisak on Twitter at twitter.com/mikesisak and send confidential tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/. MICHAEL R. SISAK Sisak is an Associated Press reporter covering law enforcement and courts in New York City, including former President Donald Trumps criminal and civil cases and problems plaguing the federal prison system. twitter mailto

Elon Musk talks with President-elect Donald Trump before the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024 in Boca Chica, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Pool via AP, File)2025-02-11T16:30:53Z WASHINGTON (AP) Elon Musk has long railed against the U.S. government, saying a crushing number of federal investigations and safety programs have stymied Tesla, his electric car company, and its efforts to create self-driving automobiles.Now, Musks close relationship with President Donald J. Trump means many of those federal headaches could vanish.The Trump administration could quickly nix a host of federal probes and safety programs: crash investigations into Teslas partially automated vehicles; a U.S. Department of Justice criminal investigation examining whether Musk and Tesla have overstated their cars self-driving capabilities; and a government mandate to report crash data on vehicles using technology like Teslas Autopilot.Safety advocates, who credit such federal investigations and recalls with saving lives, say the consequences of such actions could prove dire. Musk wants to run the Department of Transportation, said Missy Cummings, a former senior safety adviser at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Ive lost count of the number of investigations that are underway with Tesla. They will all be gone.Here are some key things to know about what what experts think might happen: Musk and Trump are aggressively seeking to revamp government The White House and Musk is waging an unbridled war against the federal government freezing spending and programs while sacking a host of career employees, including prosecutors and government watchdogs typically shielded from such brazen dismissals without cause.The actions have sparked outcries from legal scholars who say the Trump administrations actions are without modern-day precedent and are already upending the balance of power in Washington.The Trump administration has not yet declared any actions that could benefit Tesla or Musks other companies. However, snuffing out federal investigations or jettisoning safety initiatives would be a much easier task than their audacious assault on regulators and the bureaucracy.Trumps election, and the bromance between Trump and Musk, will essentially lead to the defanging of a regulatory environment thats been stifling Tesla, said Daniel Ives, a veteran Wall Street technology and automobile industry analyst. Federal government has a lot of power over TeslaThe federal governments power over Tesla is wide-ranging. It can investigate, order recalls and mandate crash data reporting. However, the Trump administration could quickly ease up on Tesla and on the other companies in Musks sprawling business empire.A host of Musks other businesses such as his aerospace company SpaceX and his social media company X are subjects of federal investigations.Tesla alone is facing federal probes from a litany of agencies, including the Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the National Labor Relations Board. The federal agency that has the most power over Tesla and the entire automobile industry is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is part of the Department of Transportation.NHTSA sets automobile safety standards that must be met before vehicles can enter the marketplace. It also has a quasi-law enforcement arm, the Office of Defects Investigation, that has the power to launch probes into crashes and seek recalls for safety defects. The agency has six pending investigations into Teslas self-driving technology, prompted by dozens of crashes that took place when the computerized systems were in use.NHTSA has been a thorn in Musks side for over the last decade and hes grappled with almost every three-letter agency in the Beltway, said Ives, the Wall Street analyst who covers the technology sector and automobile industry. Thats all created what looks to be a really big soap opera in 2025. Victims and attorneys worry about a lack of oversightPeople whose lives have been forever changed by Tesla crashes fear that dangerous and fatal accidents may increase if the federal governments investigative and recall powers are restricted.They say they worry that the company may otherwise never be held accountable for its failures, like the one that took the life of 22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon, who was killed when a Tesla blew through a three-way intersection in rural Florida. Benavides Leon died at the scene; her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, suffered injuries but survived. A federal investigation determined that Autopilot in Teslas vehicles at this time was faulty and needed repairs.We, as a family, have never been the same, said Benavides sister, Neima. Im an engineer and everything that we design and we build has to be by important codes and regulations. This technology cannot be an exception.It has to be investigated when it fails, she added. Because it does fail.Teslas lawyers did not respond to requests for comment. In a statement on X in December 2023, Tesla pointed to an earlier lawsuit the Benavides family had brought against the driver who struck the college student. He testified that despite using Autopilot, I was highly aware that it was still my responsibility to operate the vehicle safely. Tesla also said that because the driver was pressing the accelerator to maintain 60 mph his actions effectively overrode Autopilot, which would have otherwise restricted the speed to 45 mph on the rural road, something Benavides attorney disputes.In the pending wrongful death lawsuit that Neima Benavides filed against Tesla after her sisters death, her attorney told a Miami district judge the lawsuit would have likely been dropped if NHTSA hadnt investigated and found defects with the Autopilot system.All along we were hoping that the NHTSA investigation would produce what it did, in fact, end up producing, which is a finding of product defect and a recall, attorney Doug Eaton said during a March court hearing. And we had told you very early on in the case if NHTSA had not found that, we may very well drop the case. But they did, in fact, find this. BRIAN SLODYSKO Slodysko is an investigative reporter for the Associated Press based in Washington. mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Egg cartons for sale are displayed at a grocery store, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025 in Grosse Pointe, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)2025-02-11T16:30:01Z NEW YORK (AP) Trader Joes and other grocers are limiting the number of eggs customers can buy across the U.S., citing limited supply caused by the ongoing bird flu outbreak.Trader Joes is capping purchases to one carton per customer each day, the Monrovia, California-based chain confirmed. That limit applies to all of Trader Joes locations across the country.We hope these limits will help to ensure that as many of our customers who need eggs are able to purchase them when they visit Trader Joes, the company said in a statement sent to The Associated Press Tuesday.Photos of in-store notices about eggs purchase limits at retailers nationwide have swirled around online in recent weeks. In addition to Trader Joes, consumers and several local media outlets have also reported varying limits seen at stores like Costco, Whole Foods, Kroger and Aldi locations. When each limit went into effect is unclear, however. And not all are being implemented nationally. A spokesperson for Kroger, for example, confirmed that the supermarket giant doesnt currently have enterprise-wide limits in place but said some of regional divisions and store banners are asking customers to cap egg purchases to two dozen per trip.Walmart says it also hasnt imposed national limits expect for bulkier purchases of 60-count cartons, which have been capped to two per purchase, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail giant confirmed Tuesday. Although supply is very tight, were working with suppliers to try and help meet customer demand, while striving to keep prices as low as possible, Walmart said in an emailed statement.Costco, Whole Foods and Aldi did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. But Costco confirmed to CNN that the chain was limiting its customers to three packages of eggs, which are typically sold in two-dozen or four-dozen cartons. Meanwhile, notices previously seen in some Target locations have warned about supplier shortages, but dont indicate specific purchase limits. The AP reached out to the retailer for further information. Avian flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing U.S. egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. The average price per dozen nationwide hit $4.15 in December and it appears there may be no relief in sight, with the Agriculture Department predicting prices will soar another 20% this year. Retailers could notably feel added pressures with Easter demand fast approaching.Beyond grocery stores limits, U.S. consumers are also facing more expensive eggs in some restaurants. Last week, Waffle House, for example, said it would be adding a 50-cent surcharge per egg on all of its menus. WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS Grantham-Philips is a business reporter who covers trending news for The Associated Press. She is based in New York. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Senator and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee Dick Durbin has sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking about his companys role in directing traffic to apps that use artificial intelligence to generate nonconsensual nude images. Specifically, Durbins letter cites 404 Medias reporting about Crushmate, a so-called nudify app that has repeatedly advertised its services on Meta platforms, often with nonconsensual nude images of women, and that according to traffic analysis firm Similarweb has sent Crushmate 90 percent of its traffic. Alexios Mantzarlis was first to track the traffic Meta was sending Crush in his Faked Up newsletter.Tech companies should not assist malevolent actors who seek to take advantage of women and children, Durbin wrote in his letter to Zuckerberg. I am gravely concerned with Metas failure to prevent this perverse abuse of its platforms and I refuse to accept Metas facilitation of these crimes. I therefore urge Meta to join us in combatting this threat.Durbin asked that Zuckerberg respond to the following questions no later than March 11, 2025:What safeguards has Meta put in place to prevent advertisements on its platforms for Crush and similar apps that encourage users to create nonconsensual deepfake intimate imagery?How does Meta ensure that advertiser profiles are legitimate?What safeguards does Meta have in place to identify and remove fake advertiser profiles on its platforms?What steps does Meta take to ensure advertisements on its platforms do not redirect users to otherwise prohibited products or advertisers?What is Meta doing to educate the public, and youth in particular, about the harms of nonconsensual deepfake intimate imagery?As our previous reporting has shown, and as Durbins letter points out as well, the Crushmate ads are in clear violation of Metas own policies. Weve seen Meta take action against some of these ads before, but Crushmate and other nudify ads have found seemingly easy strategies to bypass Metas enforcement, even when it does take action. When Meta detects one of these ads, it sometimes removes not only the ad but the account that bought the ad, and attempts to block other ads that promote the same URL. What Crushmate has done in response is simply create new accounts that promote different URLs that redirect traffic to Crushmate.This is a highly adversarial space and bad actors are constantly evolving their tactics to avoid enforcement, which is why we continue to invest in the best tools and technology to help identify and remove violating content, Meta told 404 Media in response to our article about Crushmate advertising on its platform.We dont know why Meta hasnt removed all of these ads based on the content of the ads themselves, which are not subtle. Many of these thousands of ads, which weve spotted on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and even Facebook Marketplace, often feature explicit, nonconsensual nudity of hugely popular Instagram models. In January, extensive testing by AI Forensics, a European non-profit that investigates influential and opaque algorithms, found that nudity uploaded to Instagram and Facebook as a normal user was promptly removed for violating Metas Community Standards. The same exact visuals were not removed when they were uploaded as ads, showing that Meta has a different standard for enforcement when its getting paid to push images in front of users.As our reporting has previously shown, and as Durbin letter states, these nudify ads are some of the most harmful implementations of AI that currently exist.Because this easily used software is now so readily accessible through platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, middle schools and high schools around the country are grappling with shocking acts of image-based abuse committed by students on other students, Durbin wrote in his letter. These images may be used to harass victims and damage their employment, education, or reputation, or to further criminal activity such as extortion and stalking. In the worst cases, they drive victims to suicide.

Israeli soldiers gather by the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel, Tuesday, Feb.11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)2025-02-11T16:25:12Z JERUSALEM (AP) An Israeli official says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the army to beef up troops in and around the Gaza Strip after Hamas threatened to call off a scheduled hostage release on Saturday.The official said Netanyahu also ordered officials to prepare for every scenario if Hamas doesnt release our hostages this Saturday.The preparation plans come after Netanyahu met with his Security Cabinet for four hours on Tuesday to discuss Hamas threat, which has put the fragile ceasefire agreement in danger.Under the ceasefire, Hamas has released 21 hostages in a series of exchanges for Palestinian prisoners. But it said Monday it was delaying the next release of three more hostages after accusing Israel of failing to allow enough aid into Gaza under the deal.President Donald Trump has said Israel should cancel the entire ceasefire if all of the roughly 70 hostages held by Hamas arent freed by Saturday.The Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a closed-door meeting, was not clear if Netanyahus order referred to all hostages, or the three scheduled for release on Saturday.

2025-02-11T15:12:42Z BOSTON (AP) The states top court ruled Tuesday that Karen Read can be retried on all the same charges in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend.Prosecutors have sought to retry Read this year on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and leaving the scene of a crime. They accused her of ramming into John OKeefe with her SUV and leaving him to die in a snowstorm in January 2022. Reads attorneys argue she was framed to protect other law enforcement officers involved in OKeefes death. A judge declared a mistrial in June after finding jurors couldnt reach an agreement, without polling the jurors to confirm their conclusions. Reads attorney Martin Weinberg argued that five jurors later said they were deadlocked only on the manslaughter count, and had unanimously agreed in the jury room that she wasnt guilty on the charges of second-degree murder and leaving the scene. But they hadnt told the judge. The ruling from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court clears the way for a new trial on all three charges.The jury clearly stated during deliberations that they had not reached a unanimous verdict on any of the charges and could not do so. Only after being discharged did some individual jurors communicate a different supposed outcome, contradicting their prior notes, the judges wrote. Such posttrial disclosures cannot retroactively alter the trials outcome -- either to acquit or to convict. Weinberg argued in the appeal that trying her again would amount to double jeopardy, and urged the court to allow an a evidentiary hearing where jurors could be asked whether they had reached final not guilty verdicts on any of the charges. Prosecutors maintained theres no basis for dismissing the charges of second-degree murder and leaving the scene. They argued that her lawyers should have sensed a mistrial was inevitable or unavoidable and that they had every opportunity to be heard in the trial courtroom. The judges questioned Weinberg over the the merits for holding an inquiry. Associate Justice Frank Gaziano noted that such inquiries are usually reserved for extraneous information such as racisms in the jury room. Chief Justice Kimberly Budd wondered about the limits of allowing an inquiry, which she suggested could open the door for other defendants to argue a juror came to them to say thats not really what happened.The trial judge, Beverly Cannone, ruled in August that Read could be retried on all three charges. Where there was no verdict announced in open court here, retrial of the defendant does not violate the principle of double jeopardy, Cannone said.Prosecutors said Read, a former adjunct professor at Bentley College, and OKeefe, a 16-year member of the Boston police, had been drinking heavily before she dropped him off at a party at the home of Brian Albert, a fellow Boston officer. They said she hit him with her SUV before driving away. An autopsy found OKeefe had died of hypothermia and blunt force trauma.The defense portrayed Read as the victim, saying OKeefe was actually killed inside Alberts home and then dragged outside. They argued that investigators focused on Read because she was a convenient outsider who saved them from having to consider law enforcement officers as suspects. MICHAEL CASEY Casey writes about the environment, housing and inequality for The Associated Press. He lives in Boston. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-02-11T17:39:28Z WASHINGTON (AP) A federal judge on Tuesday ordered government agencies to restore public access to health-related webpages and datasets that they removed to comply with an executive order by President Donald Trump.U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington agreed to issue a temporary restraining order requested by the Doctors for America advocacy group. The judge instructed the government to restore access to several webpages and datasets that the group identified as missing from websites and to identify others that also were taken down without adequate notice or reasoned explanation.On Jan. 20, his first day back in the White House, Trump signed an order for agencies to use the term sex and not gender in federal policies and documents. In response, the Office of Personnel Managements acting director required agency heads to eliminate any programs and take down any websites that promote gender ideology. Doctors for America, represented by the Public Citizen Litigation Group, sued OPM, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services. The nonprofit group cited the executive orders adverse impact on two of its members: a Chicago clinic doctor who would have consulted CDC resources to address a recent chlamydia outbreak in a high school and a Yale School of Medicine doctor who relies on CDC resources about contraceptives and sexually transmitted infections. These doctors time and effort are valuable, scarce resources, and being forced to spend them elsewhere makes their jobs harder and their treatment less effective, the judge wrote.The case is among dozens of lawsuits challenging executive orders that Trump, a Republican, issued within hours of his second inauguration. The scrubbed material includes reports on HIV prevention, a CDC webpage for providing clinicians with guidance on reproductive health care and an FDA study on sex differences in the clinical evaluation of medical products. Removing important information from the CDC and FDA websites is delaying patient care, hampering research and hindering doctors ability to communicate with patients, the plaintiffs attorneys argued in a court filing.The agencies actions create a dangerous gap in the scientific data available to monitor and respond to disease outbreaks, halt or hamper key health research, and deprive physicians of resources that impact clinical practice, they wrote.Government lawyers argued that Doctors for Americas claims fall well short of clearly showing irreparable harm to any plaintiffs and are unlikely to succeed on their merits.Either failure provides a sufficient basis for denying extraordinary relief, they wrote.During a hearing Monday, the judge asked plaintiffs attorney Zachary Shelley if the removal of the online material harms the public. Shelley said the doctors interests align with their patients.There is immense harm to the public, Shelley said. There are massive threats to public health. The judge concluded that the harm in this case ultimately trickles down to everyday Americans seeking doctors care.If those doctors cannot provide these individuals the care they need (and deserve) within the scheduled and often limited time frame, there is a chance that some individuals will not receive treatment, including for severe, life-threatening conditions, Bates wrote.Doctors for America is a not-for-profit group representing more than 27,000 physicians and medical trainees. It was born from an earlier organization that pushed for health reform and supported Barack Obama, a Democrat, when he was running for president.

A drawn portrait of Marc Fogel, who has been detained in Russia since August 2021, hangs on rails outside of the White House during a demonstration organized by his family, July 15, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)2025-02-11T18:33:17Z WASHINGTON (AP) Marc Fogel, an American teacher who was deemed wrongfully detained in Russia, has been released, the White House announced on Tuesday.Steve Witkoff, a special envoy for President Donald Trump, left Russian airspace with Fogel, a history teacher from Pennsylvania, and hes expected to be reunited with his family by the end of the day.Fogel was arrested in August 2021 and was serving a 14-year prison system. His family and supporters said he had been traveling with medically prescribed marijuana, and he was designated by President Joe Bidens administration as wrongfully detained in December.Mike Waltz, Trumps national security adviser, said the U.S. and Russia negotiated an exchange to ensure Fogels release. He did not say what the U.S. side of the bargain entailed. Previous negotiations have occasionally involved reciprocal releases of Russians by the U.S. or its allies. Waltz described the development as a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine. Trump, a Republican, has promised to find a way to end the conflict. Fogels relatives said they were beyond grateful, relieved and overwhelmed that he was coming home. This has been the darkest and most painful period of our lives, but today, we begin to heal, they said. For the first time in years, our family can look forward to the future with hope. There was no immediate comment from Moscow about Fogels release on Tuesday.Other Americans also remain detained in Russia when they werent included in a massive prisoner swap last August that freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.Those include U.S.-Russian dual national Ksenia Khavana, who was convicted in August of treason and sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges stemming from a donation of about $52 to a charity aiding Ukraine. The Biden White House at the time called the conviction and sentencing nothing less than vindictive cruelty. 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 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 RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

On Tuesday, a judge ordered the Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control, and Food and Drug Administration to restore several of the webpages they removed following President Trumps executive order attacking diversity, equity and inclusion.The health agencies have until 11:59 p.m. on February 11 to restore the pages to how they were on January 30, and identify any other resources that [Doctors for America] DFA members rely on to provide medical care and that defendants removed or substantially modified on or after January 29, 2025, without adequate notice or reasoned explanation, U.S. District Judge John Bates wrote in the order.The nonprofit Doctors for America is suing the health agencies following their takedown of these resources in compliance with President Trumps executive order Defending Women, which demanded federal agencies scrub their websites. Our teams government affairs firm is advising that as of 5pm today, all U.S. government agency websites will be taken down, an internal email obtained by 404 Media on February 1 said. According to reports, agencies are unable to comply fast enough with President Trumps EO ordering all government entities to remove all DEI references from their websites, so these websites will be taken offline. There is no word on when they will be made available again.The online resources that were taken down that which Doctors for America cited in court documents include The Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System, webpages on Data and Statistics for Adolescent and School Health, webpages for The Social Vulnerability Index, The Environmental Justice Index, a report on PrEP for the Prevention of HIV Infection in the U.S.: 2021 Guideline Summary, pages about HIV Monitoring, A webpage on Getting Tested for HIV. 404 Media reported on several of these resources going dark as it happened. According to the Internet Archive, some of these sites, such as the Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System, were down for more than a week after the executive order, then went back up, and are online as of writing. Others, like the Adolescent and School Health page, are still down.The judges decision is in response to Doctors for Americas motion for a temporary restraining order, as part of the organizations case against federal agencies for removing information from their websites that healthcare workers need for their work. Doctors for America is suing the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), claiming that their removal of datasets and webpages violates the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Paperwork Reduction Act.Lack of access to CDC materials on infectious diseases not only harms DFA members ability to treat individual patients but also hampers their ability to respond to broader disease outbreaks, Doctors for America wrote in court documents.Like many of my colleagues, I am both a doctor who takes care of patients and a researcher. Removing critical clinical information and datasets from the websites of CDC, FDA, and HHS not only puts the health of our patients at risk, but also endangers research that improves the health and health care of the American public, Reshma Ramachandran, a member of the Doctors for America board of directors, said in a Doctors for America press release.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, at Station F, during an event on the sidelines of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, Pool)2025-02-11T19:05:46Z PARIS (AP) OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has dismissed a $97.4 billion takeover bid led by rival Elon Musk, but the unsolicited offer could complicate Altmans push to transform the maker of ChatGPT into a for-profit company.We are not for sale, Altman said Tuesday at an artificial intelligence summit in Paris. Musks bid, announced Monday, is the latest in a bitter years-long battle with Altman over control of the AI startup they both helped found a decade ago as a nonprofit and is now a leading force in the global boom surrounding generative AI technology.OpenAI has a mission, Altman told Frances AI minister in an on-stage discussion Tuesday mobbed by tech industry workers and investors. We are an unusual organization and we have this mission of making AGI benefit all humanity. And we are here to do that.Its stated aim since its founding in 2015 is to safely build futuristic, better-than-human AI known as artificial general intelligence, or AGI. Musk, an early investor and board member, quit OpenAI in 2018 after an internal power struggle left Altman in charge. Their public feud has escalated over the past year as Musk sued OpenAI and is working to grow his own AI company called xAI, part of a business empire that includes Tesla, SpaceX and social media platform X. Musk also now holds power as a top adviser to President Donald Trump in reshaping the U.S. government, and has publicly questioned OpenAIs Trump-backed private investment project for building AI data centers in the United States. What happens next?The offer complicates OpenAIs plan to shift its structure away from its nonprofit roots to a company beholden to shareholders.OpenAIs nonprofit board will need to consider Musks offer. Its not Altman alone who can accept or reject it. The board will need to weigh not just the value of the companys assets but also the value of controlling the company developing this technology. Musks offer also seems to set a floor for how much the nonprofit should be paid if it does relinquish control of its subsidiaries. Rose Chan Loui, executive director for the Lowell Milken Center on Philanthropy and Nonprofits at UCLA Law, said the board should consider the credibility of Musks offer, including if he and his investors will pay in cash. And they should consider whether a new board under the control of Musk and other investors would be independent and what guarantees they can give about protecting its public mission.Musks $44 billion Twitter takeover in 2022 also started with an unsolicited offer and a legal fight with Twitters board, led by former Facebook and Salesforce executive Bret Taylor, who now chairs OpenAIs board. However, taking over OpenAI would be more complicated because of its charitable purpose.There is a legally binding purpose, said Jill Horwitz, a professor at UCLA School of Law. It is the promise that was made to the public when OpenAI, the nonprofit, was formed. That promise is legally enforceable.The sudden popularity of ChatGPT two years ago brought worldwide fame and new commercial possibilities to OpenAI and also heightened internal turmoil over the future of the organization and the advanced AI it was trying to develop. Its nonprofit board fired Altman in late 2023. He came back days later with a new board. OpenAIs nonprofit complicationsOpenAIs nonprofit purpose, as defined most recently in 2020, is (to) ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity, including by conducting and/or funding artificial intelligence research.The question is, can it do that if it sells its assets and loses control of the company developing this technology?To make the promise to the world that you are bound by a legal purpose and to build with that promise, including telling your investors not to expect any returns and to think of your investments as more akin to a donation than an investment, said Horwitz. And then to say once youve gotten big enough, You know what? Wed like to own this. That seems like a real violation of the promise. Musk sued OpenAI last year, first in a California state court and later in federal court, alleging it had betrayed its founding aims as a nonprofit research lab that would benefit the public good. A lawyer for Musk has said he invested about $45 million in the startup from its founding until 2018.Lawyers for OpenAI and Musk faced off in a California federal court last week as a judge weighed Musks request for a court order that would block OpenAIs for-profit conversion. The judge hasnt yet ruled on Musks request but in the courtroom said it was a stretch for Musk to claim he will be irreparably harmed if she doesnt intervene to stop OpenAI from moving forward with its planned transition. But she also suggested Musk had plausible enough arguments to take to a jury trial. Who else is backing Musks OpenAI bid?Along with Musk and xAI, others backing the bid announced Monday include Baron Capital Group, Valor Management, Atreides Management, Vy Fund ,and firms run by Musk allies Ari Emanuel and Jon Lonsdale.Musk attorney Marc Toberoff said in a statement that if Altman and OpenAIs current board are intent on becoming a fully for-profit corporation, it is vital that the charity be fairly compensated for what its leadership is taking away from it: control over the most transformative technology of our time.Altman has sought to characterize Musks tactics as those of a competitor trying to catch up.I think hes probably just trying to slow us down. He obviously is a competitor, Altman told Bloomberg TV at the Paris summit on Tuesday.Continuing their deeply personal feud, Altman said Musk is probably not a happy person. Probably his whole life is from a position of insecurity. I feel for the guy, Altman said.-OBrien reported from Providence, Rhode Island, and Beaty from Seattle. -The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement that allows OpenAI access to part of APs text archives. MATT OBRIEN OBrien covers the business of technology and artificial intelligence for The Associated Press. mailto THALIA BEATY Beaty reports on philanthropy for The Associated Press and is based in New York. KELVIN CHAN Covering technology and innovation in Europe and beyond. twitter mailto

New York City Mayor Eric Adams exits from Manhattan federal in New York, Friday, Nov. 01, 2024.(AP Photo/Kena Betancur, File)2025-02-11T16:21:06Z NEW YORK (AP) New York City Mayor Eric Adams vowed to regain the publics trust Tuesday as the Justice Department moved to halt his criminal corruption case, a directive that officials said would free him up to assist in the Trump administrations immigration crackdown.In his first public comments after a Justice Department memo ordering federal prosecutors to drop the case, Adams said he was eager to move on from the monthslong saga that put me, my family and this city through an unnecessary ordeal.He did not mention President Donald Trump by name but praised the Justice Department for its honesty, adding that he hoped to put this cruel episode behind us and focus entirely on the future of this city.The brief address at City Hall came one day after acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove ordered federal prosecutors in Manhattan to dismiss the bribery charges as soon as is practicable. AP AUDIO: New York mayor vows to regain publics trust after Justice Department orders halt to prosecution AP correspondent Julie Walker reports New Yorks Mayor thanks Trumps Justice Department for ordering the local case against him dismissed. In a two-page memo, Bove said the Justice Department decided to dismiss the case without assessing the strength of the evidence, but for a string of political considerations, including allowing Adams to devote full attention and resources to illegal immigration and violent crime. In the hours since, Adams has faced a barrage of criticism from some allies in the Democratic party, who say he is now beholden to the Trump administrations agenda.It certainly sounds like President Trump is holding the Mayor hostage, Rev. Al Sharpton said in a statement Tuesday. I have supported the Mayor, but he has been put in an unfair position even for him of essentially political blackmail. The task of carrying out the order now falls to Danielle Sassoon, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.Her office declined to comment and has not indicated what it plans to do next. In a letter sent last month, prosecutors in the Adams case praised the strength of the evidence, dismissing the mayors claim of political prosecution as an attempt to shift the focus away from the evidence of his guilt. Sassoon, a seasoned prosecutor who was appointed acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan just days after Trump took office, has limited power to oppose the order. She can be replaced at will by the Justice Department. Trump in November nominated Jay Clayton, the former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, to lead the office. His appointment must be confirmed by the Senate.Adams lawyer, Alex Spiro, said Monday that the Justice Departments order vindicated the mayors claim of innocence. Now, thankfully, the mayor and New York can put this unfortunate and misguided prosecution behind them.Bove, however, said in his memo that the charges could still be refiled after the November mayoral election. Dismissal of the case should be conditional, Bove said, on Adams agreeing in writing that prosecutors are legally allowed to bring the charges back if they choose.That means the threat of a renewed prosecution will hover over Adams in all of his dealings with the Trump administration while he is mayor. Arlo Devlin-Brown, the former chief of public corruption at the U.S. attorneys office in Manhattan, said the unusual conditions attached to the memo made it uncertain when the charges would be formally dismissed.I have not seen anything like this before, he said. For a case thats already been charged to be reversed in the absence of some real new development in the merits of the case is highly unusual.The indictment against Adams alleges he accepted illegal campaign contributions and lavish travel perks worth more than $100,000 including expensive flight upgrades and luxury hotel stays while serving in his previous job as Brooklyn borough president.The indictment said a Turkish official who helped facilitate the trips then leaned on Adams for favors, including lobbying the Fire Department to allow a newly constructed diplomatic building to open in time for a planned visit by Turkeys president.Prosecutors also said they had evidence Adams personally directed campaign staffers to solicit foreign donations, then disguised those contributions to qualify for a city program that provides a generous, publicly funded match for small donations. Foreign nationals are banned from contributing to U.S. election campaigns under federal law. Many of Adams Democratic opponents in the June mayoral primary castigated the Justice Departments decision to shut down the case and accused the mayor of adopting a pro-Trump agenda out of a desire for personal preservation.Following his September indictment, Adams cultivated a warm relationship with Trump praising his agenda, refusing to criticize him and showing a willingness to roll back some of the citys protections for undocumented migrants. JAKE OFFENHARTZ Offenhartz is a general assignment reporter in the New York City bureau of The Associated Press. twitter mailto

New York City Mayor Eric Adams exits from Manhattan federal in New York, Friday, Nov. 01, 2024.(AP Photo/Kena Betancur, File)2025-02-11T19:58:14Z NEW YORK (AP) New York City Mayor Eric Adams was thrown a lifeline when the Trump administration moved to drop federal corruption charges against the embattled leader of Americas largest city.It marked an extraordinary deviation from longstanding norms of federal prosecutions, but, in many ways, was entirely expected, given the months of political intrigue involving closed-door talks and public overtures between the Democratic mayor and Republican president.Heres what you need to know: Did the mayor just reach a plea deal or get a pardon?Neither. The Justice Department on Monday simply ordered prosecutors to drop the charges before the case even goes to trial, which had been set for April.In a two-page memo, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, second in command at the U.S. Justice Department, directed prosecutors in New York to dismiss the bribery charges against Adams as soon as is practicable.He also ordered the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York to halt the ongoing investigation into the mayors conduct at least for now. Bove said prosecutors should review the case sometime after the November mayoral election to see if the charges should be revived. There shall be no further targeting of Mayor Adams or additional investigative steps prior to that review, Bove added.Prosecutors in the U.S. attorneys office had yet to comment on the directive or file any paperwork with the court to begin the process of formally dropping the case. Why are the feds seeking to drop the charges?The decision wasnt based on the strength of the evidence against Adams or the integrity and efforts of the career prosecutors who worked on the case, Bove said in his memo.Instead, the high-profile prosecution the first against a sitting New York City mayor has improperly interfered with Adams reelection campaign, he said.The case has also been distracting the Democratic executive from advancing the priorities of the Republican White House, namely around immigration, argued Bove, who previously served on Trumps legal team when he was convicted of falsifying business records in New York last year.The pending prosecution has unduly restricted Mayor Adams ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime that escalated under the policies of the prior Administration, he wrote. Is it unusual to drop a case against a public official like this?Extremely. While prosecutions against elected officials occasionally fall apart for reasons related to the strength of the evidence, it is an extraordinary departure for the Justice Department to drop a case because an accused person is perceived to be a likely political ally.And while judges and prosecutors do sometimes adjust the timing of a trial or an indictment to avoid the appearance that they are interfering in with an election, it is extremely rare to drop an existing case entirely for that reason. Does this close the case for good?Not quite. Boves letter says the case should be dismissed without prejudice, giving prosecutors the flexibility to refile charges at a later date.The letter also says the mayor has to agree in writing to that key caveat, giving Adams critics concern that he will be under intense pressure to meet Trumps demands if he remains in office.The only thing worse for our city than Trump giving the mayor a get-out-of-jail-free card is the unspoken deal that comes with it, New York City Council member Shaun Abreu, a Democrat who represents upper Manhattan, said on social media. Our mayor shouldnt be beholden to anyone but the voters. A dismissal without prejudice means Adams isnt off the hook; hes just on notice.What was Adams accused of doing?Adams was indicted in September on charges including conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery.Prosecutors accused him of accepting illegal campaign contributions and lavish overseas trips while he was a local elected official in Brooklyn and while he was campaigning to become mayor.The indictment said that in exchange, Adams did favors for foreign government officials and local businesspeople, including expediting city approvals for the Turkish consulates new building in Manhattan. What happens to others charged in the investigation?It isnt clear. Prosecutors earlier this month said Mohamed Bahi, Adams chief liaison to the Muslim community, planned to plead guilty to charges that he conspired to commit wire fraud by collecting campaign contributions made under the name of someone other than the true contributor.A Brooklyn real estate magnate, Erden Arkan, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy, admitting that he worked with a Turkish government official to funnel illegal campaign contributions to Adams. Whats next for Adams?The mayor goes from the perils of a federal corruption probe to a bruising reelection fight.He faces at least eight challengers, many of them more left-leaning and progressive. Among them are the current and the former city comptrollers, various state lawmakers and a handful of others who have never held political office.Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has also been weighing a potential run. Cuomo resigned in 2021 following a state attorney general report that found he sexually harassed at least 11 women.Adding to the political calculus, Adams hasnt ruled out the possibility of switching back to the GOP.The Brooklynite, who was a registered Republican in the 1990s and early 2000s, attended Trumps inauguration last month and lunched with top New York Republicans in Washington.Hes also instructed officials to lawfully cooperate with Trumps agenda around immigration and other issues, while flatly refusing to criticize the president or any of his policies.___Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo. PHILIP MARCELO Marcelo is a general assignment reporter in the NYC bureau. He previously wrote for AP Fact Check and before that was based in Boston, where he focused on race and immigration. twitter mailto

Sona Anderson of San Diego, center, shouts her support for civil service workers as activists protest the policies of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk outside the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)2025-02-11T19:59:52Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order on Tuesday that would continue downsizing the federal workforce, including strict limits on hiring. The Associated Press reviewed a White House fact sheet on the order, which is intended to advance Elon Musk s work slashing spending with his Department of Government Efficiency. It said that agencies will undertake plans for large-scale reductions in force and determine which agency components (or agencies themselves) may be eliminated or combined because their functions arent required by law.It also said that agencies should hire no more than one employee for every four employees that depart from federal service. There are plans for exceptions when it comes to immigration, law enforcement and public safety. Trump and Musk are pushing federal workers to resign in return for financial incentives, although their plan is currently on hold while a judge reviews its legality. The deferred resignation program, commonly described as a buyout, would allow employees to quit and still get paid until Sept. 30. Administration officials said more than 65,000 workers have taken the offer. Hundreds of people gathered for a rally Tuesday across the street from the U.S. Capitol in support of federal workers. Janet Connelly, a graphic designer with the Department of Energy, said shes fed up with emails from the Office of Personnel Management encouraging people to take the deferred resignation program. She tried to use her spam settings to filter out the emails but to no avail. Connelly said she has no plans to take the offer. From the get-go, I didnt trust it, she said.Connelly said she thinks of her work as trying to do an important service for the American public. Its too easy to vilify us, she said. Others have said fear and uncertainty have swept through the federal workforce. Theyre worried about their jobs. Theyre worried about their families. Theyre also worried about their work and the communities they serve, said Helen Bottcher, a former Environmental Protection Agency employee and current union leader in Seattle. Bottcher participated in a press conference hosted by Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington.Murray said workers deserve better than to be threatened, intimidated and pushed out the door by Elon Musk and Donald Trump. She also said that we actually need these people to stay in their jobs or things are going to start breaking._____AP writers Martha Bellisle in Seattle and Rebecca Santana 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

Kash Patel, President Donald Trump's choice to be director of the FBI, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)2025-02-11T20:13:34Z WASHINGTON (AP) A top Democratic senator has asked the Justice Departments inspector general to investigate after he says he received information that President Donald Trumps pick to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, had been personally directing the ongoing purge of agents at the bureau.The letter Tuesday from Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, asserts that Patel may have misled the panel at his confirmation hearing last month when he said in response to a question that he was not aware of any plans inside the FBI to punish or fire any agents. The hearing took place just hours before news broke that a group of senior FBI executives had been told either to resign or be fired, and one day before it was revealed that the Justice Department had demanded a list of thousands of agents who worked on investigations related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, a move some bureau employees fear could be a precursor to more expansive firings. It is unacceptable for a nominee with no current role in government, much less at the FBI, to personally direct unjustified and potentially illegal adverse employment actions against senior career FBI leadership and other dedicated, nonpartisan law enforcement officers, Durbin wrote. If these allegations are true, Mr. Patel may have perjured himself before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Durbins letter to Inspector General Michael Horowitz points to what he describes as highly credible information from multiple sources that he says shows Patels involvement in that process. That includes contemporaneous notes from a Jan. 29 meeting between FBI and Justice Department leaders that say KP wants movement at FBI, reciprocal actions for DOJ, Durbin wrote. The senator also contends that hes learned from unidentified sources that Patel, despite not being confirmed yet as director, is receiving information about FBI operations from a member of a newly established advisory team inside the bureau and that he passes along that information to top White House official Stephen Miller. Durbin says hes been told that a senior Justice Department official told others that Miller had been pressuring the Justice Department because Mr. Patel wanted the FBI to remove targeted employees faster, as DOJ had already done with prosecutors.Erica Knight, a spokeswoman for Patel, who is set for a vote Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, described the claims in the letter as second-hand gossip meant to push a false narrative.Patel is a highly qualified national security expert who has been fully transparent with the American people throughout this process and has demonstrated the integrity and leadership needed for this role. The Senate should confirm him without delay, she said. 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

Flowers and a sign are placed outside the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-02-11T17:57:19Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Trump administrations dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development is stiffing American businesses on hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid bills for work that has already been done, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday.The administrations abrupt freeze on foreign aid also is forcing mass layoffs by U.S. suppliers and contractors for USAID, including 750 furloughs at one company, Washington-based Chemonics International, the lawsuit says. One cannot overstate the impact of that unlawful course of conduct: on businesses large and small forced to shut down their programs and let employees go; on hungry children across the globe who will go without; on populations around the world facing deadly disease; and on our constitutional order, the U.S. businesses and organizations said.An organization representing 170 small U.S. businesses, major suppliers, an American Jewish group aiding displaced people abroad, the American Bar Association and others joined the court challenge. It was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington against President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, acting USAID Deputy Administrator Peter Marocco, a Trump appointee who has been a central figure in hollowing out the agency, and Russell Vought, Trumps head of the Office of Management and Budget. It is at least the third lawsuit over the administrations rapid unraveling of the U.S. aid and development agency and its programs worldwide. Trump and ally Elon Musk have targeted USAID in particular, saying its work is out of line with Trumps agenda. Marocco, Musk and Rubio have overseen an across-the-board freeze on foreign assistance and agency shutdown under a Jan. 20 executive order by Trump. A lawsuit brought by federal employees associations has temporarily blocked the administration from pulling thousands of USAID staffers off the job. The funding freeze and other measures have persisted, including the agency losing the lease on its Washington headquarters. The new administration terminated contracts without the required 30-day notice and without back payments for work that was already done, according to a U.S. official, a businessperson with a USAID contract and an email seen by The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal by the Trump administration.For Chemonics, one of the larger of the USAID partners, that has meant $103 million in unpaid invoices and almost $500 million in USAID-ordered medication, food and other goods now stalled in the supply chain or ports, the lawsuit says.For the health commodities alone, not delivering them on time could potentially lead to as many as 566,000 deaths from HIV/AIDS, malaria, and unmet reproductive health needs, including 215,000 pediatric deaths, the lawsuit says. The filing asserts that the administration has no authority to block programs and funding mandated by Congress without approval.Marocco defended the funding cutoff and push to put all but a fraction of USAID staff on leave in an affidavit filed late Monday in the lawsuit brought by the workers groups.Insubordination and noncompliance by USAID staffers made it necessary to stop funding and operations by the agency to allow the administration to carry out a program-by-program review to decide what U.S. aid programs could resume overseas, Marocco wrote. ELLEN KNICKMEYER Knickmeyer covers foreign policy and national security for The Associated Press. She is based in Washington, D.C. twitter

Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-02-11T22:17:16Z The White House blocked an Associated Press reporter from an event in the Oval Office on Tuesday after demanding the news agency alter its style on the Gulf of Mexico, which President Donald Trump has ordered renamed the Gulf of America.The reporter tried to enter the White House event as usual Tuesday afternoon and was turned away, AP executives said. The highly unusual ban, which Trump administration officials had threatened earlier Tuesday unless the AP changed the style on the Gulf, could have constitutional free-speech implications. Julie Pace, senior vice president and executive editor of The Associated Press, called the administrations move unacceptable.It is alarming that the Trump administration would punish AP for its independent journalism, Pace said in a statement. Limiting our access to the Oval Office based on the content of APs speech not only severely impedes the publics access to independent news, it plainly violates the First Amendment. The Trump administration made no immediate announcements about the move, and there was no indication any other journalists were affected. Trump has long had an adversarial relationship with the media. On Friday, the administration ejected a second group of news organizations from Pentagon office space. AP style is not only used by the agency. The AP Stylebook is relied on by thousands of journalists and other writers globally. Demands by a president that a news organization comply with an order to change its content would seem to run counter to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which bars the government from impeding the freedom of the press.Before his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump announced plans to change the Gulf of Mexicos name to the Gulf of America and signed an executive order to do so as soon as he was in office. Mexicos president responded sarcastically and others noted that the name change would probably not affect global usage. This week, Google Maps began using Gulf of America, saying it had a longstanding practice of following the U.S. governments lead on such matters. The other leading online map provider, Apple Maps, was still using Gulf of Mexico.The AP said last month, three days after Trumps inauguration, that it would continue to refer to the Gulf of Mexico while noting Trumps decision to rename it as well. As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, the AP says it must ensure that place names and geography are easily recognizable to all audiences.Trump also decreed that the mountain in Alaska known as Mount McKinley and then by its Indigenous name, Denali, be shifted back to commemorating the 25th president. President Barack Obama had ordered it renamed Denali in 2015. AP said last month it will use the official name change to Mount McKinley because the area lies solely in the United States and Trump has the authority to change federal geographical names within the country.

Plastic straws are displayed in a glass, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)2025-02-11T18:25:12Z Straws might seem insignificant, inspiring jokes about the plastic vs. paper debate, but the plastic straw has come to symbolize a global pollution crisis over the past decade.On Monday, President Donald Trump waded into the issue when he signed an executive order to reverse a federal push away from plastic straws, declaring that paper straws dont work and dont last very long. Trump said he thinks its OK to continue using plastic straws, although theyve have been blamed for polluting oceans and harming marine life.In 2015, video of a marine biologist pulling a plastic straw out of a turtles nose sparked outrage worldwide and countries and cities started banning them, starting with the Pacific Island nation Vanuatu and Seattle in 2018. A box of plastic straws is displayed, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) A box of plastic straws is displayed, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Heres what to know about the larger fight over single-use plastics in the United States: What happens to plastic straws?More than 390 million plastic straws are used every day in the United States, most for 30 minutes or less, according to advocacy group Turtle Island Restoration Network. Plastic straws are usually thrown away after one use, going on to litter beaches and waterways and potentially killing marine animals that mistake them for food.The straws are not recyclable because they are so small. They take at least 200 years to decompose, the network said. They break down into incredibly tiny bits of plastic smaller than a fraction of a grain of rice. These microplastics have been found in a wide range of body tissues. Though research is still limited overall, there are growing concerns that microplastics in the body could potentially be linked to heart disease, Alzheimers and dementia, and other problems. Trumps executive order claims that paper straws use chemicals that may carry risks to human health are more expensive to produce than plastic straws. Researchers from the University of Antwerp found forever chemicals known as PFAS to be present in paper, bamboo, glass and plastic straws, but not stainless steel ones, according to a 2023 study. The advocacy group Beyond Plastics said that while plastics are often cheaper than paper products, the cheapest option is to skip the straw.Judith Enck, a former Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator who now heads up Beyond Plastics, said she hopes that people react to the executive order by committing to using fewer plastic straws and that local and state governments do, too. Its easy to just kind of almost poke fun of this, ignore it, she said Tuesday. But this is a moment that we as individuals and state and local policymakers can make a statement that they disagree with this executive order and are committed to using less plastic straws. Its not that hard to do.Several states and cities have banned plastic straws and some restaurants no longer automatically give them to customers. Plastic straws, left, sit next to paper straws on display for sale in Cincinnati on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Plastic straws, left, sit next to paper straws on display for sale in Cincinnati on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More What is being done globally?President Joe Biden administrations had committed to phasing out federal purchases of single-use plastics, including straws, from food service operations, events and packaging by 2027, and from all federal operations by 2035. The move was a way for the federal government to formally acknowledge the severity of the plastic pollution crisis and the scale of the response required to effectively confront it. Erin Simon, an expert on plastics and packaging at the World Wildlife Fund, said at the time that it sent a message around the world: If we can make change happen at scale, so can you.The declaration came in July, just a few months before negotiators met in South Korea to try to finish crafting a treaty to address the global crisis of plastic pollution. Negotiators didnt reach an agreement late last year, but talks resume this year. Under the Biden administration, the United States at first adopted a position viewed as favoring industry, stating that countries should largely develop their own plans instead of abiding by global rules. China, the United States and Germany are the biggest players in the global plastics trade. The United States changed its position heading into South Korea. The delegation said it would support having an article in the treaty that addresses supply, or plastic production. More than 100 countries want an ambitious treaty that limits plastic production while tackling cleanup and recycling. U.S. manufacturers have asked Trump to remain at the negotiating table but revert to the old position that focused on redesigning plastic products, recycling and reuse. A plastic straw is displayed in a glass of milk, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) A plastic straw is displayed in a glass of milk, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Arent other plastics a problem?The environment is littered with single-use plastic food and beverage containers water bottles, takeout containers, coffee lids, straws and shopping bags.Every year, the world produces more than 400 million tons of new plastic. About 40% of all plastics are used in packaging, according to the United Nations. In 2023, Ocean Conservancy volunteers collected more than 61,000 plastic straws and stirrers polluting beaches and waterways in the United States. There were even more cigarette butts, plastic bottles, bottle caps and food wrappers, the nonprofit said. Most plastic is made from fossil fuels. Negotiators at the United Nations climate talks known as COP28 agreed in 2023 the world must transition away from planet-warming fossil fuels and triple the use of renewable energy.As pressure to reduce fossil fuels has increased globally, oil and gas companies have been looking more to the plastics side of their business as a market that could grow. Trump strongly supports and gets support from the oil and gas industry.___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. JENNIFER McDERMOTT McDermott is a reporter on the Associated Press Climate and Environment team. She focuses on the transition to clean energy. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-02-11T22:31:59Z WASHINGTON (AP) A federal appeals court on Tuesday refused to immediately halt a judges order requiring the Trump administration to release billions of dollars in federal grants and loans that remain frozen even after a court blocked a sweeping pause on federal funding. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals turned back the emergency appeal, though it said it expected the lower court judge to act quickly to clarify his order and would keep considering the issue.The Justice Department argued the sweeping lower court order to keep all federal grants and loans flowing was intolerable judicial overreach.That ruling came from U.S. District Court Judge John McConnell in Rhode Island, the first judge to find that the administration had disobeyed a court order.McConnell is presiding over a lawsuit from nearly two dozen Democratic states filed after the administration issued a boundary-pushing memo purporting to halt all federals grants and loans, worth trillions of dollars. The plan sparked chaos around the country. The administration has since rescinded that memo, but McConnell found Monday that not all federal grants and loans had been restored. Money for things like early childhood education, pollution reduction and HIV prevention research has remained tied up even after his Jan. 31 order halting the spending freeze plan, the states said.McConnell, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, ordered the Trump administration to immediately take every step necessary to unfreeze federal grants and loans. He also said his order blocked the administration from cutting billions of dollars in grant funding from the National Institutes of Health, a move announced last week.The Justice Department said McConnells order prevents the executive branch from exercising its lawful authority, including over discretionary spending or fraud. A single district court judge has attempted to wrest from the President the power to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. This state of affairs cannot be allowed to persist for one more day, government attorneys wrote in their appeal.The states, meanwhile, argued that the president cant block money that Congress has approved, and the still-frozen grants and loans are causing serious problems for their residents. They urged the appeals court to keep allowing the case to play out in front of McConnell.The court battle is unfolding as a string of court losses is increasingly frustrating top administration officials by slowing President Donald Trumps wide-ranging agenda .Judges have also blocked, at least temporarily, Trumps push to end birthright citizenship for anyone born in the U.S., access to Treasury Department records by billionaire Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency and a mass deferred resignation plan for federal workers.The Republican administration previously said the sweeping funding pause would bring federal spending in line with the presidents priorities, including increasing fossil fuel production, removing protections for transgender people and ending diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.A different federal judge in Washington has also issued a temporary restraining order against the funding freeze plan and since expressed concern that some nonprofit groups werent getting their funding. LINDSAY WHITEHURST Whitehurst covers the Supreme Court, legal affairs and criminal justice for The Associated Press in Washington, D.C. Past stops include Salt Lake City, New Mexico and Indiana. twitter mailto

New York City mayor Eric Adams departs Manhattan federal court after an appearance, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)2025-02-11T22:54:17Z New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared Tuesday that he is no longer facing legal questions after the Justice Department moved to shield him from the bribery charges that have been hanging over his reelection campaign.But now, with the Democratic primary just four months away, he faces a seemingly impossible political balancing act.The Democrat may have to continue pleasing Republican President Donald Trump with his policies and public statements to keep the charges from being revived while simultaneously convincing voters in a deep-blue city that hes still his own man.Adams fraught position is owed to a section of the extraordinary Justice Department memo that ordered prosecutors to drop the case but left open the possibility that the charges could be brought back.In the memo, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove told prosecutors in New York not to take additional investigative steps against the mayor until after the November election when the new top prosecutor in the district will review the case and could potentially reinstate charges. The decision was not based on the facts of the case, Bove wrote, but came instead because the prosecution was distracting Adams from campaigning and helping Trump carry out his hard-line immigration agenda in New York. The Rev. Al Sharpton, a close ally of Adams who holds sway among perhaps the mayors most crucial voting bloc, said in a pointed statement Tuesday that the arrangement amounts to essentially political blackmail. So if the Mayor were to disagree with the president, does that mean they have the right to call a trial on him at any time? Sharpton asked. It certainly sounds like President Trump is holding the mayor hostage.Adams was already fending off accusations that he had become beholden to the president in order to secure leniency in his criminal case. Now his primary challengers have a fresh angle of attack, arguing that everything the mayor does moving forward can be interpreted as an attempt to please a president who has unprecedented sway over a prominent Democrat who could have been a high-profile rival.Eric Adams no longer works for New Yorkers. He works for Donald Trump. Period, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, a mayoral candidate, said at a news conference. Mayor Eric Adams will be under the thumb and control under Donald Trump until November.Adams, a former police officer, was indicted in September on federal conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery charges, with prosecutors alleging Adams allowed Turkish officials and businesspeople to buy his influence with illegal campaign contributions and lavish overseas trips in exchange for political favors.Before the charges, Adams ran for office and governed as a centrist, often warring with New York City liberals that he castigates as unrealistic. He was a registered Republican for a period of time earlier in his political career.Still, it is undeniable that Adams has significantly warmed to Trump since the case emerged and has built a relationship with the new administration, meeting with the Republicans so-called border czar on immigration enforcement and attending Trumps inauguration. Adams late last year also suggested that he was open to changing political parties to become a Republican but walked the idea back after criticism that he was openly courting Trump.On Monday, hours before the memo became public, Adams convened his top deputies to discuss the citys response to Trumps policies, including a recent directive that appeared to open the door to further cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.During the meeting, Adams instructed his deputies not to publicly spar with Trump, warning it could put federal grants at risk, according to an official who attended the meeting. The person requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.Among Adamss other declared primary challengers are city Comptroller Brad Lander, former comptroller Scott Stringer, state Sen. Jessica Ramos and state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has also been eyeing an entry into the race and could be a formidable candidate, despite having resigned from office following multiple sexual harassment allegations.George Arzt, a veteran New York Democratic political operative, said Adams will have to proceed carefully.I think hell know what to do with Trump. The problem is that he can be handcuffed to Trump in an election year, and hes got to be very, very careful, Arzt said. Yes, he wants the charges dropped officially, but no, he doesnt want to be linked closely to Trump, even though he is already.In his first public statement since the Justice Department memo became public, Adams maintained that he is innocent of the charges, saying: I would never put any personal benefit above my solemn responsibility as your mayor. Despite the fact that I am no longer facing legal questions, I also understand that many New Yorkers will still question my character, Adams said in a speech. And I know that I must continue to regain your trust.New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat who has the power to remove Adams from office but has repeatedly said she would not do so, told reporters Tuesday that everything Adams does will now be under a spotlight.I dont know whether anyone is compromised in that situation. I truly do not know, she said. I have to believe that the mayor is going to put the interests of New York City first.I just want to have a partner who has the same priorities that I do and that is focused on the people of this city and nothing else, she said.___Associated Press Writer Jake Offenhartz contributed to this report.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks to employees at the Department of Homeland Security, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)2025-02-11T23:33:23Z WASHINGTON (AP) For years, Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have railed against the IRS and its cadre of armed agents. Now the administration has big plans for them: It wants the agents to assist with immigration enforcement.Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sent a request to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to borrow IRS workers to help with the immigration crackdown, according to a recent letter obtained by The Associated Press. It cites the IRSs boost in funding, though the $80 billion infusion of funds the federal tax collection agency received under the Democrats Inflation Reduction Act has already been clawed back.Noems request, asking for workers from the IRS Criminal Investigation unit within the Treasury Department, is a change in Republicans tone toward these workers but also exemplifies Trumps focus on border security. It points to a broader shift in the overall direction of the federal workforce under the Trump administration with workers being coaxed to resign, redesignated to different jobs or eventually be fired. Republicans, both those in office and on the campaign trail, have long claimed falsely that the IRS planned to hire 87,000 armed agents to harass middle-income earners. But the IRS Criminal Investigation unit, which employed 2,144 special agents in 2023, is different from the larger IRS workforce of roughly 89,000 workers. These are the agents with guns who work on trafficking, fraud and other criminal cases in the field. Now DHS wants those agents to serve in task forces with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, targeting employers engaged in unlawful hiring practices, monitoring immigrants in the country illegally and other tasks. Treasury has qualified law enforcement personnel available to assist with immigration enforcement, especially in light of recent increases to the Internal Revenue Services work force and budget, Noem said in her letter to Bessent. Trump teased the idea in January in Las Vegas, when he said of IRS employees: Were in the process of developing a plan to either terminate all of them or maybe well move them to the border.Experts in the tax and immigration fields say this particular request for diverting workers is unusual and could result in a loss of tax revenue.While there is precedent across administrations for reassigning federal workers to do work unrelated to their original jobs, Noems request to Bessent is extraordinary, says Donald Williamson, the former executive director of the Kogod Tax Center at American University. Thats in part because it calls for mobilizing people who dont often deal with immigration issues and puts the ball in Bessents court to choose among thousands of IRS workers to serve DHSs mission, he said.I dont really look at IRS officials as G-men, he said.Williamson said he doesnt consider DHSs request as inconsistent with Republicans earlier criticisms of IRS hiring, but he noted that its a redirecting of the IRSs efforts to align with the administrations priorities. They have expertise of auditing employers and can do some of the tasks outlined in Noems memo, he said.Chloe East, who studies immigration policy and is a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution, said tapping into the IRS workforce to focus on the border rather than on catching tax evaders will likely result in lower tax revenues at a time when the Trump administration says it is focused on cutting the deficit.Were talking about billions of dollars in lost tax revenue by shuffling IRS workers, East said. She said the passage of the Laken Riley Act will require the presence of more officers at the border. The Trump administration would rather pursue immigrants rather than pursue money launderers, she said. Representatives from IRS Criminal Investigation and Treasury did not respond to requests for comment. FATIMA HUSSEIN Hussein reports on the U.S. Treasury Department for The Associated Press. She covers tax policy, sanctions and any issue that relates to money. twitter mailto

United States Vice-President JD Vance delivers a speech during the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)2025-02-11T21:54:29Z PARIS (AP) In his first big moment on the world stage, Vice President JD Vance delivered an unmistakable message: the United States under the 47th president has room for you on the Trump train but it also has no problem leaving you behind.Vance, speaking at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris on Tuesday, hewed closely to President Donald Trumps America First outlook as he spoke of maintaining U.S. dominance in the surging industry. He also pressed European nations to step back from excessive regulation of the AI sector that he said could kill a transformative industry just as its taking off.Now, just because were the leader doesnt mean we want to or need to go it alone, Vance said. But to create that kind of trust, we need international regulatory regimes that fosters the creation of AI technology rather than strangles it. And we need our European friends in particular to look to this new frontier with optimism rather than trepidation. The message was centered on AI, but the tone and substance of Vances remarks fall in line with a Trump administration that has been approaching policymaking and it opponents with the attitude that its a juggernaut that will not be stopped. Already, Trump has effectively shut down much of foreign aid through the United States Agency for International Development. He remains insistent that post-war Gaza will be taken over and redeveloped by the U.S. into a Riviera of the Middle East, despite Palestinians and much of the Arab world flatly rejecting his plans. He has also threatened to take back the Panama Canal and turn Canada into 51st state. Vances remarks contrasted sharply with the overall tenor and content of the summit, which was largely focused on protecting democracies from disinformation and promoting the use of AI technology for the public interest. The United States of America is the leader in AI, and our administration plans to keep that, Vance said. The AI future is not going to be won by hand-wringing about safety. It will be won by building.Early in his address, he knocked former President Joe Bidens administration for being far too risk averse and referred derisively to a speech that then- Vice President Kamala Harris gave at a summit two years ago.Im not here this morning to talk about AI safety, which was the title of the conference a couple of years ago, Vance said. Im here to talk about AI opportunity.For Vance, the five-day overseas visit to Paris, and later Munich, for a pair of summits gives him an early chance to rub shoulders with world leaders and the titans of the tech industry. But his boss threw a little shade at Vance ahead of the trip, telling Fox News that the vice president was very capable but that he wasnt ready to endorse him as his heir apparent in 2028.I think you have a lot of very capable people, Trump said. So far, I think hes doing a fantastic job. Its too early. Were just starting.The Paris summit was billed by organizers France and India as an opportunity for leaders to focus on solutions and standards for shaping a more sustainable AI that works for collective progress. Vance told emerging AI innovators that America is open for business while expressing disbelief that some foreign governments are considering tightening the screws on U.S. tech companies with international footprints.This administration will not be the one to snuff out the startups and the grad students, producing some of the most groundbreaking applications of artificial intelligence, Vance said. Instead, our laws will keep Big Tech, Little Tech and all other developers on a level playing field.The vice president arrived in Paris with Trump sparking new tension with world leaders, including some at the AI summit.Trump on Sunday announced hours before Vance embarked for his trip that he would levy 25% tariffs on all foreign aluminum and steel.The new tariffs didnt sit well with some U.S. allies. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen issued a statement early Tuesday that the U.S. tariffs will not go unanswered. Hours later, von der Leyen and Vance sat down for talks at the U.S. embassy. Neither directly addressed the steel and aluminum tariffs in their brief appearance before reporters.We also want to make sure that were actually engaged in a security partnership thats good for both Europe and the United States, Vance said, as Trump has also been pressing for NATO members to dramatically increase domestic spending.Von der Leyen, for her part, noted a moment in Vances speech when he called for allies to be motivated by optimism instead of fear.I think the same should go for our transatlantic relations, von der Leyen said. We should look with optimism.Vance and his wife, Usha, were hosted for lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, at the Elysee Palace. In an address on the opening day of the summit, Macron took a jab at Trump, contrasting Frances push for reducing its reliance on fossil fuels with Trumps belief that pumping more oil could be the answer to solving all thats wrong with the economy.In this world, where I have a good friend on the other side of the ocean saying, Drill, baby, drill, Macron said. Here, theres no need to drill. Its just plug, baby, plug.Vance will head on Thursday to Munich, where hes slated to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss Russias war on Ukraine, visit the site of the former Dachau concentration camp and deliver a much-anticipated address to the Munich Security Conference. AAMER MADHANI Madhani covers the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto

En esta imagen de archivo, el entonces candidato republicano a la presidencia de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump (izquierda), aplaude al director general de Tesla y SpaceX, Elon Musk, tras un discurso en un acto electoral en Butler Farm Show, el 5 de octubre de 2024, en Butler, Pensilvania. (AP Foto/Alex Brandon, archivo)2025-02-11T16:48:16Z Follow live updates on President Donald Trump and his new administration. WASHINGTON (AP) A federal research agency that tracks the progress of Americas students is being hit with almost $900 million in cuts after Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency found no need for much of its work.Its unclear to what degree the Education Departments Institute of Education Sciences will continue to exist after Musks team slashed scores of contracts. Industry groups said at least 169 contracts were suddenly terminated Monday, accounting for much of the institutes work.The Education Department did not immediately share details on the cuts. Madison Biedermann, an agency spokesperson, said the action will not affect the institutes primary work, including the NAEP assessment, known as the nations report card, and the College Scorecard, a database of university costs and outcomes.Musks grip on the Education Department was dealt a setback Tuesday when the agency agreed to temporarily block DOGE workers from more than a dozen internal systems containing sensitive information. DOGE has been tasked with slashing costs across the federal government. As part of a lawsuit challenging its access, the department agreed to block Musks team until at least Monday while a judge weighs a broader pause. The cuts to IES raised alarm among advocates who said it could hurt the accountability of Americas education system, leaving the nation in the dark on schools effectiveness. Historically, achievement gaps have shown low-income students and students of color falling behind their peers. The cuts are counterproductive and destructive, said Rachel Dinkes, president and CEO of the Knowledge Alliance, a coalition of education research firms. Cutting out at the knees the one independent agency that helps improve student outcomes is ridiculous, Dinkes said.Biedermann declined to share the names of vendors whose contracts were cut. Contracts have sensitive business information, our contractors have reputational interests that we want to preserve, and our contractors did not agree to have their business information publicly disclosed outside of the FOIA context, she said. In response to questions, she referred to a social media post from DOGE that said Musks team had terminated 89 contracts worth $881 million, including $1.5 million to a contractor hired to observe mailing and clerical operations at a mail center. Another post said 29 grants totaling $101 million for training in diversity, equity and inclusion had been cut.The Institute of Education Sciences is a central source of information on the health of Americas education system. Across the country, it tracks student progress over time and across demographics. It evaluates the effectiveness of federal programs, and colleges and schools rely on its research to improve student outcomes.The cuts appear to have been carried out under a clause allowing IES to end contracts at any time for the governments convenience, according to notices obtained by The Associated Press.Among the projects being cut is a study exploring how to accelerate math learning for students in fourth and fifth grade, according to a document obtained by the AP. Known as ReSolve, the project was being led by research group MDRC. Last month IES released the latest NAEP results, revealing that Americas children have continued to lose ground on reading skills and made little improvement in math in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.Activate Research, a small business, lost four contracts and plans to lay off at least 20 of its 28 workers. The company was hired to ensure accuracy and objectivity in reports. When founder Dinah Sparks announced the company was winding down Tuesday, she had a message for her team: We are not waste, she said. We did valuable work for the U.S. taxpayer.Another small business lost multiple contracts after being hired to collect basic information on the nations schools. The company started laying off workers this week, according to an employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. Congress gave the institute about $800 million last year, roughly 1% of the Education Departments annual budget.Two prominent research associations jointly called for the contracts to be reinstated, saying much of IES work is mandated by Congress and relies on contracts to support its limited staff. The groups said 169 contracts had been cut, curbing the institutes ability to report data on school finances and student outcomes.Without such research, student learning and development will be harmed, according to leaders of the American Educational Research Association and the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics.The institute oversees a wide range of work, including the administration of the NAEP exam and U.S. participation in PISA, an assessment that compares academic progress across nations. Its also a major funder of education research and keeps a database of research that has shown results in improving education. IES shines a light on inequity and its work is more than just numbers and statistics, said the Education Trust, a nonprofit research and advocacy group. Without it, we are left in the dark, unable to see where educational gaps exist or how to close them, the group said in a statement.Mark Schneider, a former IES commissioner appointed by President Donald Trump in 2018, said the cuts give the new administration a chance to rethink programs that have changed little in decades. But so far its unclear if or how the contracts will be replaced.The question is not what happened on Monday, its what happens next, Schneider said. If we just swing this sledgehammer, break all this stuff and say, OK, done, then weve wasted an opportunity to fix things.Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, a former teacher and member of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, said she will be sounding the alarm to fight the cuts.An unelected billionaire is now bulldozing the research arm of the Department of Education taking a wrecking ball to high-quality research and basic data we need to improve our public schools, the Washington senator said in a statement. Cutting off these investments after the contract has already been inked is the definition of wasteful.Trump has promised to abolish the Education Department and turn its power over to states and schools. The White House is considering an order that would direct Trumps education chief to dismantle the agency as far as possible while calling on Congress to fully shut it down.Its unclear how far Trump could act on his own to slash the departments spending, much of which is ordered by Congress.___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

Residences destroyed by the Eaton Fire line a neighborhood in Altadena, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)2025-02-11T23:43:43Z SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Californias plan that provides insurance to homeowners who cant get private coverage needs $1 billion more to pay out claims related to the Los Angeles wildfires, the state Insurance Department said Tuesday.The FAIR Plan is an insurance pool that all the major private insurers pay into, and the plan then issues policies to people who cant get private insurance because their properties are deemed too risky to insure. The plans provide high premiums and basic coverage. There were more than 452,000 policies on the Fair Plan in 2024, more than double the number in 2020.The plan says its expecting a loss of roughly $4 billion from the Eaton and Palisades Fires, which sparked Jan. 7, destroyed nearly 17,000 structures and killed at least 29 people. Roughly 4,700 claims have been filed as of this week, and the plan has already paid out more than $914 million. All insurers doing business in California will have to bear half the cost and can pass on the rest to all policyholders in the form of a one-time fee as a percentage of premiums. Insurers can collect that cost in the next two years. The state Insurance Department must approve those costs. The plan also expects to receive $1.45 billion in reinsurance to help pay out claims.Insurers on Tuesday said theyre committed to helping the recovery process after the fires and that the ability to recoup some of the cost from ratepayers will prevent companies from ending their business in the state. This is essential to prevent even greater strain on Californias already unbalanced insurance market and avoiding widespread policy cancellations that would jeopardize coverage for millions of Californians, said Mark Sektnan of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, the largest national trade association for home, auto and business insurers.According to the FAIR Plan, 45% of the claims are reported as total losses, 45% as partial losses and 10% as fair rental value. Its the first time the Fair Plan has sought approval for additional money in more than 30 years, the department said.I took this necessary consumer protection action with one goal in mind: the FAIR Plan must pay claims just like any other insurance company, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said in a statement. I reject those who are hoping for the failure of our insurance market by spreading fear and doubt. Wildfire survivors cant cash what ifs to pay for food and rent, but they can cash FAIR Plan checks. TRN NGUYN Nguyn is an Associated Press reporter covering California government and politics. mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

In this photo provided by Zhang Yazhou, she stands in front of her damaged Tesla Model 3 outside of the Tesla dealership in Zhengzhou, the capital of central Chinas Henan province, on March, 19, 2021. The car was painted with the phrase Brakes fail. (Courtesy Zhang Yazhou via AP)2025-02-12T01:01:11Z BEIJING (AP) Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her fathers panicked voice: The brakes dont work! Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into an SUV and a sedan and crashing into a large concrete barrier.Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the cars brakes and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than $23,000 in damages and publicly apologize to the $1.1 trillion company.Zhang is not the only one to find herself in the crosshairs of Tesla, which is led by Elon Musk, among the richest men in the world and a self-described free speech absolutist. Over the last four years, Tesla has sued at least six car owners in China who had sudden vehicle malfunctions, quality complaints or accidents they claimed were caused by mechanical failures. The company has also sued at least six bloggers and two Chinese media outlets that wrote critically about the company, according to a review of public court documents and Chinese media reports by The Associated Press. Tesla won all eleven cases for which AP could determine the verdicts. Two judgments, including Zhangs, are on appeal. One case was settled out of court. It is not common practice for automakers in China or elsewhere to sue their customers. But Tesla has pioneered an aggressive legal strategy and leveraged the patronage of powerful leaders in Chinas ruling Communist Party to silence critics, reap financial rewards and limit its accountability. The AP review of Teslas record in China comes as Musk is wielding significant influence in President Donald Trumps new administration, leading an effort to rapidly shrink the size of the federal government and oust employees deemed disloyal to the president. His actions have raised concerns that Musk is weakening the U.S. system of checks and balances, in part, to benefit Tesla and his other companies. In the United States, Musk has found a powerful ally in Trump. Together, they have ransacked the federal government, freezing spending, suspending programs and dismissing prosecutors, government watchdogs and others that have traditionally acted as guardrails.Tesla officials in China and the United States did not reply to requests for comment. In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, the Tesla Gigafactory in Lingang new area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone is seen in east Chinas Shanghai on Sept. 26, 2023. (Liu Ying/Xinhua via AP, File) In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, the Tesla Gigafactory in Lingang new area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone is seen in east Chinas Shanghai on Sept. 26, 2023. (Liu Ying/Xinhua via AP, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Teslas record in China shows how Musk has thrived in a system in which regulators, the media and the courts which must all ultimately answer to the ruling Communist Party are, by design, somewhat intertwined.Tesla has profited from the largesse of the Chinese state, winning unprecedented regulatory benefits, below-market rate loans and large tax breaks. With a few pointed exceptions, Tesla has enjoyed largely ingratiating coverage in the Chinese press, and journalists told AP they have been instructed to avoid negative coverage of the automaker. Teslas windfall has extended to the courts and not just in legal actions Tesla has brought against customers. In a review of public court documents, AP found that Tesla won nearly 90% of civil cases over safety, quality or contract disputes brought by customers.The government gave Tesla a super status that put consumers in a very vulnerable position, said Qiao Yudong, a former lawyer for American sports car company Saleen Automotive in China. Thats why some consumers had to resort to extreme actions.One of those desperate customers was Zhang.Burning with angerThe February 2021 crash in central Chinas Henan province sent Zhangs mother and father, who had a concussion, to the hospital for four days, medical records show. Zhang who was unharmed in the accident, as was her baby niece wanted to understand what had happened: How could her dream car have turned into such a nightmare? This photo provided by Zhang Yazhou shows her damaged Tesla Model 3, left, which her father was driving when it hit two other cars before crashing to a halt against a concrete barrier in Anyang, a city in central Chinas Henan province, on Feb. 21, 2021. Zhang was in the passenger seat. Her mother and her one-year-old niece were at the back. (Zhang Yazhou via AP) This photo provided by Zhang Yazhou shows her damaged Tesla Model 3, left, which her father was driving when it hit two other cars before crashing to a halt against a concrete barrier in Anyang, a city in central Chinas Henan province, on Feb. 21, 2021. Zhang was in the passenger seat. Her mother and her one-year-old niece were at the back. (Zhang Yazhou via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Traffic police determined that the crash was her dads fault because he hadnt maintained a safe following distance. Zhang, however, insisted that the brakes had malfunctioned, sending the car out of control. She filed a complaint with a local market regulator, requesting a refund and compensation. Teslas are among the most computerized cars on the market, so Zhang asked the automaker to turn over the full pre-crash data from her car, hoping it might help explain what went wrong. Tesla refused.Teslas employees were very arrogant and tough in dealing with my complaints, Zhang said in an interview. I was burning with anger. After weeks of stewing, she draped her damaged car with a banner proclaiming Tesla brake failure in front of the Tesla dealership in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province, some 200 km (124 miles) from her home. She sat on the Teslas roof and blared her protest through a bullhorn: Tesla Model 3 brakes failed, she said. A family of four almost died. The next month, she parked her damaged car outside an auto show in Zhengzhou. It was all to no avail Tesla refused to turn over the full data and mediation went nowhere. In this photo provided by Zhang Yazhou, she sits on the roof of her damaged Tesla Model 3 with a bullhorn outside a Tesla dealership in Zhengzhou, the capital of central Chinas Henan province, on March, 9, 2021. Banner reads, Tesla brake failure. (Courtesy Zhang Yazhou via AP) In this photo provided by Zhang Yazhou, she sits on the roof of her damaged Tesla Model 3 with a bullhorn outside a Tesla dealership in Zhengzhou, the capital of central Chinas Henan province, on March, 9, 2021. Banner reads, Tesla brake failure. (Courtesy Zhang Yazhou via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Figuring that top Tesla officials would attend an April auto show in Shanghai, she and a friend who had also had a problem with her Tesla donned matching T-shirts with the phrase Brakes fail and headed for Teslas booth, determined to buttonhole executives. The automakers officials avoided them, Zhang said, and they couldnt get anyone to hear them out.Her friend, who was six months pregnant, started shouting, Tesla brakes fail!Zhang clambered on top of a shiny red display model and started hollering, too.Things escalated, said Zhang.The moment captured on cell phone videos shot by onlookers went viral on Chinese social media. Burly security guards hauled Zhang out, and she was detained for five days. This February 2025 image shows Zhang Yazhous Weibo social media account with videos she posted talking about Tesla in 2022 in Henan Province. (AP Photo) This February 2025 image shows Zhang Yazhous Weibo social media account with videos she posted talking about Tesla in 2022 in Henan Province. (AP Photo) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Some observers speculated that Zhangs protest had been orchestrated -- perhaps by a competitor or by the Chinese government itself to pressure Tesla to conform with Chinese regulations. Tesla alleged that Zhang hadnt acted on her own. A top executive speculated to Chinese media that she had someone behind her and said Zhang was making a fuss because she just wanted higher compensation.Zhang insisted she acted on her own and out of anguish. Outraged, she sued Tesla for defamation, arguing that the executives comments unjustly cast her as a troublemaker to deflect attention from the companys own shortcomings. And then she found herself on the receiving end of a lawsuit filed by Tesla. The odds are against youTesla said Zhang had deliberately spread false information that damaged the brand and asked for 5 million yuan ($684,000) in damages.The case, which a court took up in October 2021, came as Tesla faced a barrage of criticism in China.Dozens of Tesla owners had been publicly complaining about alleged brake failures, battery fires, unintended acceleration and other defects, as well as what they claimed were misleading sales practices. The same month as Zhangs crash, Chinese regulators summoned Tesla to respond to quality concerns raised by such reports.Zhangs emotional protest sparked a rare burst of criticism of Tesla in Chinese media. Under pressure from regulators, Tesla finally released the data from her car, which the company said showed her father had been driving nearly 120 km per hour (75 mph) and that the brakes had functioned to reduce the magnitude of the collision.Tesla had finally given Zhang what shed been asking for, but theyd published the data publicly and included her vehicle identification number. She said she and her family started getting threatened and doxed online. Besides, she wondered, how could she be sure Tesla hadnt modified or redacted the data from her car? It was less than the victory shed hoped for. Feeling besieged, she sued Tesla a second time, in March 2022, for invading her privacy.Zhang lost both cases she brought against Tesla.Meanwhile, the defamation case against her was grinding along. Back in court as a defendant, Zhang was unable to prove that the brakes on her Tesla had indeed failed. In a closed trial, a Shanghai court ruled in May 2024 that Zhangs public complaints went beyond what magistrates considered reasonable, factual criticism and ordered her to publicly apologize and pay 170,000 RMB ($23,000) to cover damages and the legal costs of the worlds most valuable car company.Zhang appealed the ruling. She maintains that her lawsuit is a cry for transparency and accountability and that a company as rich and powerful as Tesla should be able to tolerate legitimate criticism from its customers.I refuse to accept it, Zhang told the Associated Press, As a consumer, even if I said something wrong, I have the right to comment and criticize. I spoke about my feelings as a user of the car. It has nothing to do with damaging their reputation.Her odds of winning the appeal against Tesla do not look good. Tesla has not only won the defamation cases it brought against unhappy car owners and critical journalists, its also prevailed in lawsuits customers have filed against it.An AP review of a Chinese government database of court filings published online found 81 civil judgements in which car owners sued Tesla over safety and quality issues or contract disputes. Car owners won in only nine of those cases.In a statement to AP, the Shanghai High Peoples Court said that judgments are the result of a fair trial based on the objective facts of the case. It cannot be assumed that the party has received special protection or special treatment because of their victory, the court wrote. Tesla vehicles are parked outside of a building at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound during a meeting between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool, File) Tesla vehicles are parked outside of a building at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound during a meeting between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More While some auto industry experts in China say its generally difficult for customers to win cases against car companies, others say its remarkable for a foreign company to enjoy such blazing success in Chinese courts. Have a news tip?Contact APs global investigative team at [emailprotected]. For secure and confidential communications, use the free Signal app +1 (202) 281-8604. For Tesla to win that percentage of the time is an anomaly, said Bill Russo, founder of Automobility Ltd., an advisory firm based in Shanghai, who also used to be regional head of Chrysler in northeast Asia. The odds are stacked against you. Its like going to the casino and winning every hand. The power of patronageTeslas commercial and political success in China has hinged on the support of a powerful patron: Li Qiang, the former party boss of Shanghai who is now Chinas premier, second in rank only to President Xi Jinping. It was under his watch, in 2019, that Tesla built its first overseas factory on the outskirts of Chinas financial capital. In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, visiting Tesla CEO Elon Musk, left, meets with then-Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, Sunday, April 28, 2024. (Wang Ye/Xinhua via AP, File) In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, visiting Tesla CEO Elon Musk, left, meets with then-Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, Sunday, April 28, 2024. (Wang Ye/Xinhua via AP, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More With Lis support, Tesla became the first foreign automaker allowed to retain complete control over its China venture and got low-interest loans and generous tax breaks. China also adopted an emissions credit scheme modeled after a U.S. program that has generated billions in income for Tesla.In January 2020, one year after breaking ground, Elon Musk unveiled the first Chinese-made Teslas on a stage in Shanghai. Tesla turned an annual profit for the first time in its history that year, and Musk was declared the worlds richest person in January 2021.China got what it wanted, too: Tesla was a potent catalyst for domestic production and consumption. Before Teslas arrival, new energy vehicles accounted for around five percent of Chinas auto market. Today, analysts say, more than half of passenger vehicles sold retail in China are powered by an electric motor. Chinese battery maker CATL, a key Tesla supplier, has embedded itself in global supply chains to become the worlds largest EV-battery maker. Chinas BYD is now the worlds largest electric vehicle manufacturer and a growing competitive threat to legacy carmakers in the West.Tesla had a large part to play in that, said Tu Le, the managing director of Sino Auto Insights, a consulting firm. Tu said the way the government smoothed the way for Musks factory was critical. It was a swampy field on the outskirts of Shanghai. A year later theyre rolling cars off the line, he said. I dont know if that happens anywhere else in the world. In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Tesla CEO Elon Musk reacts at a delivery ceremony for the first Tesla Model 3 cars made at Tesla's Shanghai factory in Shanghai, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. (Ding Ting/Xinhua via AP, File) In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Tesla CEO Elon Musk reacts at a delivery ceremony for the first Tesla Model 3 cars made at Tesla's Shanghai factory in Shanghai, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. (Ding Ting/Xinhua via AP, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks at a delivery ceremony for the first Tesla Model 3 cars made at Tesla's Shanghai factory in Shanghai, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. (Ding Ting/Xinhua via AP, File) In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks at a delivery ceremony for the first Tesla Model 3 cars made at Tesla's Shanghai factory in Shanghai, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2020. (Ding Ting/Xinhua via AP, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Requests for comment to the State Council, which is run by Li Qiang and oversees Chinas government ministries, went unanswered.Musk still swings by to meet Li when he goes to China. Their encounters underscore the complexity of Musks overlapping interests as a businessman and the most China-friendly member of Trumps inner circle.Musks greater objective was winning influence over the people that mattered for him, that enabled him to get things done, said Russo, the auto strategist in Shanghai. Hes done a good job of it in China and hes done it now with the influence he purchased with his relationship with Trump.A chilling effectSafety advocates worry about the implications of Musks proximity to power in the United States. Federal investigations and safety initiatives Musk has long railed against could be easily snuffed out by the new administration.In the U.S., Tesla also has been subject to a raft of customer safety complaints and lawsuits over autopilot function, battery charging, alleged suspension defects, sudden braking or acceleration, faulty airbags and allegedly monopolistic practices on repairs and parts. Judges have dismissed some cases. In others, Tesla settled out of court or paid hefty settlements.Tesla has not publicly sued any of its U.S. customers for speaking out, though in January, Musk said on X that maybe it is time to sue media outlets for coverage that could stain Teslas brand. His post has been viewed more than 22 million times.Tesla has already successfully done that in China.Two Chinese journalists based in Shanghai told AP there is an unwritten rule to avoid critical coverage of Tesla. Both spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing retaliation.We were told by our editor that we should not write negatively about Tesla because it is a key company that was introduced and protected by the Shanghai government, a tech reporter told AP. Those who have strayed have found themselves in court. Musks company sued media outlets PingWest and ifeng.com over negative coverage. It was unhappy about PingWests report that claimed Teslas Shanghai factory was a sweatshop. The news website ifeng.com drew Teslas ire over a story that explored the tribulations of car owners who fought Tesla. PingWest had to apologize and pay Tesla 100,000 yuan ($13,700). AP could not determine the outcome of the case against ifeng.com.Tesla is not the only company in its industry to sue its critics. BYD has also aggressively pursued media in court, including an unsuccessful lawsuit against Vice Media in the United States. More recently, electric vehicle makers Nio and Li Auto have stepped up defamation cases against bloggers in China who allegedly spread false information about their companies.Tesla, however, stands out even among its cut-throat Chinese competitors in going after car owners who suffered crashes.Tesla used their legal advantages to bully Chinese car owners and people who speak up for them, said Feng Shiming, an auto blogger and Tesla owner who was ordered by a Shanghai court last year to pay Tesla 250,000 yuan ($34,200) after he wrote about Teslas alleged brake failures. He has appealed the verdict. Tesla wants to have a chilling effect on society and terrify people so they will be scared to say anything negative about Tesla.Chen Junyi got the message. He lost control of his Model 3 and plowed into a dozen cars in a parking lot at high speed in August 2020. He claimed the brakes had failed. He told Chinese media at the time that he broke his back and four ribs and had to have 30 centimeters (12 inches) of his small intestine removed. Chen took to social media and warned people not to buy Tesla, raising his shirt to reveal the long, gnarled scar that runs up his abdomen.Tesla maintained the accident was Chens fault, citing a technical review that found the car was accelerating and not braking in the seconds before the crash, and sued him for making false claims.Tesla should proactively respond to consumers instead of using its superior resources and filing lawsuits against consumers who are at a disadvantage, Chen said in a court statement reviewed by AP. I almost lost my life because of the car accident. I lost my job and income. I am under tremendous economic pressure. This excerpt from a legal document shows that a Chinese civil court ordered Chen Junyi to publicly apologize to Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and to pay the company $6,800. (AP Illustration/Allen G. Breed) This excerpt from a legal document shows that a Chinese civil court ordered Chen Junyi to publicly apologize to Tesla (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and to pay the company $6,800. (AP Illustration/Allen G. Breed) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Chen declined to speak with the AP, citing fear of retaliation. A Chinese court ordered Chen to pay the carmaker 50,000 yuan ($6,800) as compensation and to issue an apology.I deeply regret the serious negative impacts I have had on Tesla and its cars, he wrote. I hereby sincerely apologize to Tesla and to the people who were misled by my remarks.A month later, he apologized for his apology, saying the words were not his own.___Chen and Kinetz reported from Washington.___Contact APs global investigative team at [emailprotected] or https://www.ap.org/tips/ ELSIE CHEN Chen covers China-related issues for APs Global Investigations team from Washington. twitter mailto ERIKA KINETZ Kinetz is a global investigative journalist for The Associated Press, based in Rome. She has won awards for her work in Ukraine, China, India, Myamnar and Cambodia. mailto DAKE KANG Kang covers Chinese politics, technology and society from Beijing for The Associated Press. Hes reported across Central, South, and East Asia, and was a Pulitzer finalist for investigative reporting in China. twitter mailto

A sign for the Food and Drug Administration is displayed outside their offices in Silver Spring, Md., on Dec. 10, 2020. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)2025-02-11T15:29:36Z Several brands of canned tuna sold at stores including Trader Joes, Costco and H-E-B have been recalled because they might be contaminated with a type of bacteria that causes botulism, a potentially fatal form of food poisoning. Tri-Union Seafoods of El Segundo, California, last week recalled certain lots of tuna sold under the Genova, Van Camps, H-E-B and Trader Joes brand names, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The company said that lids on the easy open cans may have a manufacturing defect that could cause the products to leak or to become contaminated with the bacteria that causes botulism. The affected products have retail codes listed in the recall notice and best-by dates in 2027 and 2028. The tuna was also sold at Harris Teeter, Publix, Kroger, Safeway, Walmart and some independent stores in several states. No illnesses have been reported to date, the company said. Consumers should not consume the recalled tuna even if it doesnt look or smell spoiled. Return the recalled tuna to the store for a full refund, throw it away or contact Tri-Union Seafoods. Botulism is a rare but serious illness that occurs when a toxin caused by the bacteria attacks the bodys nerves. It can cause difficulty breathing, paralysis and death. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

A family runs across the street near a building, where some people trafficked under false pretenses are forced to work in online scams targeting people all over the world, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)2025-02-12T03:12:30Z BANGKOK (AP) President Donald Trumps freeze on foreign assistance has dealt a blow to organizations fighting human trafficking and forced labor in Cambodia, where tens of thousands of people are held captive and forced to work in call centers running telephone scams.Hundreds of thousands of people work in remote compounds in countries including Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos where they run online scams targeting people all over the world, including Americans, according to U.N. estimates. Some are trafficked and lured to the jobs under false pretenses and forced to work against their will. A shelter for people who manage to leave these compounds run by the Catholic charity Caritas recently let some victims go and may stop accepting further victims due to the funding squeeze, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said. The shelter, in the capital Phnom Penh is the only one not operated by the government which takes in victims of scam compounds, both foreign and Cambodian. The sources declined to be named because they were concerned about retaliation from the Trump administration. The funding freeze has also halted civil-society-assisted rescue work and related programs on preventing human trafficking. The compounds operate with support from some local elites. Last October, the U.S. sanctioned Ly Yong Phat, a leading member of the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party of Prime Minister Hun Manet, for owning businesses that have trafficked people and forced to work in online scam centers. The blow to civil society efforts comes as a small network of society and independent media addressing Cambodias scam compounds are already under intense government pressure. Independent media outlets have been shuttered, and a prominent Cambodian investigative journalist who had reported on the issue was arrested.The Trump Administration froze U.S. foreign assistance in January, upending projects all over the world that ranged from providing medications to HIV patients to humanitarian assistance to people displaced by conflict. While there are other shelters in Cambodia, the one operated by Caritas is the only qualified and competent shelter, said Jake Sims, a co-founder of Shamrock, a public-private coalition working to combat transnational organized cybercrime. It offers victims trauma-informed care, as well as help with visas and legal support so they can go back to their home countries.The Caritas shelter received financial support from Winrock International, USAIDs partner in Cambodia. It was due to receive about $1 million from USAID over the course of two years, the sources said. The shelter was also partially funded by IOM, a United Nations agency which is largely funded by the U.S. Neither USAID, IOM nor the government of Cambodia responded to requests for comment.Some people manage to leave the compounds, either making their own escapes sometimes jumping out of windows or relying on a few rescue operators who assist the Cambodian police. Theres also a Cambodian government rescue hotline. When victims do get out, they often have trouble returning home. They are usually held in police custody and then sent on to immigration detention where they may linger for months. Many dont have any savings and may need legal help if they entered the country illegally with smugglers, rescuers say. Shelters are critical for ensuring victims dont wind up being trafficked again, said Mina Chiang, founder of Humanity Research Consultancy, which has conducted research on the scam compounds in the region.In 2022, my team and I have learnt cases where Taiwanese survivors became homeless on the streets of Cambodia after escaping the scam compounds, she said. There have also been cases where survivors were hunted down by criminals after they had escaped.Li Ling, a rescue worker who has referred cases to the Caritas shelter, said she has had to stop assisting in rescues of scam workers because of the funding freeze.Six victims left the shelter as soon as it got a stop-work order, and two of them have subsequently disappeared, said Li, whos also a PhD student at CaFoscari University of Venice studying cyber-enabled modern slavery. She had asked them to stay in regular contact after their departure and said she is concerned they may have wound up back in a scam compound, as they did not have any savings and planned to look for jobs for food and shelter. Other organizations that support scam center victims have also taken a hit from the funding freeze, such as one which provides medical assistance to victims who injured in escapes, said Li. For example, last year, they had helped someone who jumped out of a building to escape a scam compound. The organization helped pay for the emergency surgery for the victim, but that source of funds has also stopped. The funding freeze has also led to the cancellation of other related programs focused on preventing human trafficking.One non-profit organization registered in the region was due to start a training program with community journalists across Southeast Asia to raise awareness about scam compounds and their recruitment processes. Another labor-focused organization was due to start a training program with labor unions in six Southeast Asian countries on recognizing signs of trafficking, the sources with knowledge of the funding said.The organizations asked to not be named due to the fear of government retaliation. Ongoing research funded by to keep track of the latest developments in the scam compounds and the Cambodian government response has also been halted, the source with knowledge of the funding said. Research consultants funded by USAIDs counter-trafficking program wrote internal reports for the agency on the criminal activity that are also sometimes shared with Congressional staff, as well as different parts of the U.S. government.With U.S. government support now abruptly removed, we can expect an acceleration in civil society repression, Jake Sims.Last October, the Cambodian government arrested a well-known investigative journalist who had reported extensively on the proliferation of scam compounds in the country.After widespread international attention and the support of local media organizations, journalist Mech Dara was released on bail after about a month. Afterward, he made a public statement that he would quit journalism.Even if new funding is secured, restarting anti-trafficking programs could be more costly, since programs have already been shuttered and contract workers have been let go. The knock-on effect of the USAID funding freeze extends beyond the trafficking and re-trafficking of vulnerable people; it strengthens criminal networks, allowing them to expand their operations, said Humanity Research Consultancys Chiang. HUIZHONG WU Wu covers Chinese culture, society, and politics for The Associated Press, as well as the countrys growing overseas influence from Bangkok. She was previously based in Taiwan and China. twitter RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Migrant, Cesar Anibal Bonilla Estrada, 54, from Ecuador, center, checks his phone during dinner time at the migrant shelter on Randall's Island, on Tuesday, April 9, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)2025-02-11T17:55:37Z Follow live updates on President Donald Trump and his new administration. WASHINGTON (AP) Four federal employees were fired Tuesday over payments to reimburse New York City for hotel costs for migrants, Department of Homeland Security officials said.The workers are accused of circumventing leadership to make the transactions, which have been standard for years through a program that helps with costs to care for a surge in migration. However, officials did not give details on how the four had violated any policies. On Monday, President Donald Trumps aide Elon Musk posted on X that his team had discovered payments used to house migrants in luxury hotels with money intended for disaster relief. Musk blasted the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is part of Homeland Security, and called the payments gross insubordination. FEMAs acting administrator, Cameron Hamilton, later said the payments were suspended and the employees who authorized them would be held accountable. The terminated employees were FEMAs chief financial officer, two program analysts and a grant specialist, a Homeland Security statement said. The employees made egregious payments for luxury NYC hotels for migrants, the statement said. DHS will not sit idly and allow deep state activists to undermine the will and safety of the American people. The statement gave no other details, and officials didnt reply to emails seeking further comment.But in court documents filed Tuesday, Hamilton said the administration yanked funding from the Shelter and Services Program because of concerns the money was facilitating illegal activities at a Manhattan hotel used to house migrants. Hamiltons comments came as part of a lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administrations freeze on federal grants and loans. The freeze, just days into the new administration, threw states, communities and organizations that rely on federal funding into mass confusion, and was rescinded two days later. As of today, the Department has paused funding to the Shelter and Services Program based on significant concerns that the funding is going to entities engaged in or facilitating illegal activities, Hamilton wrote.Hamilton cited a New York Post news report that the Venezuelan gang Tren De Aragua was using the Roosevelt Hotel which is used to house migrants in New York as a recruiting center and base of operations to plan a variety of crimes. Hamilton said if FEMA payments continue, they would likely fund criminal activity.New York started leasing the Roosevelt Hotel as an intake center for homeless migrants seeking city services in 2023, after it closed in the fall of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. By law, New York City must offer shelter to anyone who needs it, and at the time the regular homeless shelter system was overwhelmed with new arrivals. The hotel now serves as both a place where migrants must go to apply for services and as a temporary shelter for hundreds of families who can stay for only 60 days.Hamilton said that the federal government can pause or end payments if recipients dont abide by the terms and that FEMA is reaching out to New York to get more information and ensure that federal funds are not being used for illegal activities. The Shelter and Services Program with money coming from Congress and administered by FEMA has become a flashpoint for criticism by Republicans, who incorrectly claim its taking funds from people hit by hurricanes or floods.The money is separate from the disaster relief fund, which is FEMAs main funding stream to help people and governments affected by disasters.The firings and court filing come as Trumps Republican administration ratchets up pressure on FEMA, suggesting it should be disbanded and money should be given directly to states to handle disasters.___AP reporter Cedar Attanasio contributed from New York. REBECCA SANTANA Santana covers the Department of Homeland Security for The Associated Press. She has extensive experience reporting in such places as Russia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. twitter mailto

This articlewas producedwith support from WIRED.Last year, a joint investigation revealed that a Florida-based data broker, Datastream Group, was selling highly sensitive location data that tracked United States military and intelligence personnel overseas. However, at the time, the origin of that data remained unknown.Now, a letter sent to US senator Ron Wydens office that was obtained by an international collective of media outletsincluding WIRED and 404 Mediareveals that Eskimi, a little-known Lithuanian adtech company, was the ultimate source of that data.Eskimis role highlights the opaque and interconnected nature of the location data industry: A Lithuanian company provided data on US military personnel in Germany to a databroker in Florida, which could then theoretically sell that data to essentially anyone.

People gather outside the Bowery Ballroom where Paul McCartneys surprise show was held in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jake Coyle)2025-02-12T04:12:17Z NEW YORK (AP) Paul McCartneys previous New York-area performance took place three years ago at MetLife Stadium, capacity 82,500. His surprise show Tuesday night at the Bowery Ballroom fit, at most, 575. It was probably less than that since McCartneys sound board and gear too much to fit backstage occupied a portion of the floor space at the venerable downtown theater. The whole thing felt like, and was, a lark. McCartney announced the show just hours before taking the stage. Like an echo of Beatlemania, the news swept through Manhattan and beyond earlier in the day, sending New Yorkers sprinting down Delancey Street for a chance to snag one of the few tickets at the Bowery. Most in attendance, including McCartney, himself, could hardly believe it was happening. So, here we are, McCartney said, grinning. Some little gig. New York. Why not? Later, he added before launching into Let Me Roll It: I cant quite believe were here, doing this. But we are here, doing this.It was not McCartneys first impromptu concert. The Beatles, of course, famously performed atop the roof of their Apple Corps headquarters at 3 Savile Row in London in 1969. Since then hes made something of a habit of it on trips to New York. In 2009, McCartney returned to the Ed Sullivan Theater, site of the Beatles famous U.S. debut, and performed above the marquee. In 2018, he popped up in Grand Central Terminal to promote the release of his Egyptian Station. With temperatures in the low 30s on Tuesday, McCartney, 82, this time opted for an intimate, indoor show. Tickets were sold only physically at the venue, one per person. All were snapped up within about 30 minutes. For those quick enough, it was like hitting the lottery. Amy Jaffe, 69, was at home about 30 blocks north when she saw the announcement on Instagram. I thought: I can do this, Jaffe said before the show. I put on jeans, grabbed a coat, called a Lyft. Jaffe has seen McCartney many times before, including with the Beatles in 1964 in Forrest Hills, Queens. But she was still incredulous, smiling and shaking her head: I dont actually believe it.Phil Sokoloff, 31, was on his way to work nearby when he saw the news. He ran in and told his co-worker, Mat Fuller, and they rushed over to the Bowery Ballroom.We just got lucky, Sokoloff said. Im always learning about these things the day after.McCartney took the stage roughly on time at 6:30 p.m. with his regular band, along with a three-member horn section. They had only rehearsed once, the day before, McCartney said. Someone shouted: You dont need to rehearse! If the location was stripped down, the former Beatle didnt come with a minimized show, packing in a blistering tour through his entire catalog, from Beatles classics to Wings hits. He began with A Hard Days Night and also performed Got To Get You Into My Life, Maybe Im Amazed, Lady Madonna, Jet, Get Back, Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, Let it Be and Hey Jude. Blackbird was a solo number on acoustic guitar, and afterward McCartney reflected on how he wrote it for the Civil Rights Movement, a memory that brought back his first trips to the United States. We were just kids, McCartney said. Ive got grandchildren older than that now. In the early days, he said, he and John Lennon were always writing for the audience, and the songs were all about reaching out: I Want to Hold Your Hand, From Me to You. It had everything to do with the fans, really, McCartney said. Before playing the Wings song Mrs. Vanderbilt, McCartney spoke of playing it in front of 350,000 people in Kyiv, when Ukraine was exuberant with a newfound freedom. Lets hope it gets back to that soon, he said. Conversation, mixed with shouts from the audience, peppered the set. After one particularly shrill scream, McCartney responded. That was a Beatles scream. Then he asked for more, saying, OK, lets get it out of the way. Girls, give me a Beatles scream. All in attendance obliged. McCartney also performed the so-called last Beatles song, Now and Then, a ballad penned by Lennon in the late 70s but only released in 2023 with the help of the some of the technology used in Peter Jacksons 2021 documentary, The Beatles: Get Back. The song made McCartney wistful for his songwriting partner, whom he noted loved New York. Lets hear it for John, he said. McCartney, who was spotted Sunday at the Super Bowl in New Orleans chatting with Adam Sandler, was in New York for the upcoming Saturday Night Live 50th anniversary festivities. Hes to be a guest on the star-studded television special Sunday. It was unclear if McCartney was playing a single show or preparing for something more. He wrapped the Got Back Tour in December and has said hes hoping to finish a new album this year. For now, though, it was a one-night-only event. One crowd member asked McCartney if it could go all night. Some of us need to get some sleep, you know, he replied. McCartney still came back, bouncing on the stage for an encore. He closed with the rousing Abbey Road send off of Carry That Weight and The End, concluded with its immortalized final lines: And in the end/ The love you take/ Is equal to the love you make. The crowd, still in disbelief, spilled out into the street. Snow had begun to fall. JAKE COYLE Coyle has been a film critic and covered the movie industry for The Associated Press since 2013. He is based in New York City. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump, from right, speaks to reporters accompanied by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Burgum's wife Kathryn Burgum, aboard Air Force One where Trump signed a proclamation declaring Feb. 9 Gulf of America Day, as he travels from West Palm Beach, Fla. to New Orleans, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)2025-02-12T01:52:11Z SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Apple renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on its maps Tuesday after an order by President Donald Trump was made official by the U.S. Geographic Names Information System.The move follows Google, which announced last month that it would make the change once the official listing was updated and wrote in a blog post Sunday that it had begun rolling out the change. In Googles case, the company said people in the U.S. will see Gulf of America and people in Mexico will see Gulf of Mexico. Everyone else will see both names.After taking office, Trump ordered that the water bordered by the Southern United States, Mexico and Cuba be renamed.The U.S. Geographic Names Information System officially updated the name late Sunday. Microsoft has also made the name change on its Bing maps.The Associated Press, which provides news around the world to multiple audiences, will refer to the Gulf of Mexico by its original name, which it has carried for 400 years, while acknowledging the name Gulf of America.

Relatives of hostages, held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, protest in Tel Aviv, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025 after the militant group announced it would delay hostage releases in the Gaza Strip after accusing Israel of violating a fragile ceasefire. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)2025-02-12T05:24:24Z TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) After 16 months of excruciating uncertainty, Idit Ohel finally received word this week that her 24-year-old son, a hostage in Gaza, is still alive.She said she fainted upon hearing the brutal details of his captivity from freed hostages who had been held with him by Hamas since Oct. 7, 2023. Bound by chains in an underground tunnel, Alon Ohel has subsisted on a piece of bread or less each day.He hasnt seen sunlight in 493 days, she told reporters on Monday.As the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas seems increasingly at risk of falling apart Hamas says it will not free three hostages on Saturday as planned, and Israel says its ready to resume the war if it doesnt families of the hostages are struggling to maintain hope. They are pleading with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to give up on the ceasefire framework, and to speed up the timeline of releases if possible. Their worries about the ceasefire collapsing have been exacerbated by President Donald Trumps demand that all of the hostages be freed by Saturday and his insistence that Gaza be emptied of all Palestinians and redeveloped as a tourist enclave controlled by the United States. The emaciated state of three hostages released last Saturday has infuriated Israelis and terrified families of the remaining hostages, especially as more details come out about the conditions of their captivity. The situation is especially difficult for relatives of hostages who are not on the list of 33 hostages expected to be released in the ceasefires first, six-week phase, which began on Jan. 19. The agreement requires Israel to free 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, whose families are also worried about how their enemy treats them.Two hostages released on Saturday, Or Levy and Eli Sharabi, were held together with Alon Ohel, and a fourth hostage, Eliya Cohen. The four were held underground since their kidnapping, Idit Ohel said. Cohen is expected to be released in the ceasefires first stage; Ohel would be freed in the second stage, if Israel and Hamas reach that point.Levy, Ohel, and Cohen were kidnapped from a bomb shelter near a music festival in southern Israel, along with Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American-Israeli who was killed in captivity in August.It breaks my heart to know he was chained and to know what happened to him in the tunnels from people in the tunnels, Cohens fiance, Ziv Abud, 27, told reporters on Tuesday. The returned hostages said that Cohen had lost more than 20 kilograms (44 pounds) and had a bullet in his leg that did not receive medical attention. While they were with him, Cohen was unaware that Abud had survived the Hamas attack on the bomb shelter where they were hiding.During the Oct. 7 attack, militants tossed grenades and sprayed bullets inside the concrete bomb shelter near the music festival, where almost 30 people had crammed inside. At least 16 people inside the shelter were killed.Abud said she was protected by the crush of bodies above her. Going in and out of consciousness, she spent hours laying beneath the bodies of her nephew and his girlfriend. For families of hostages who are not scheduled for release in the first phase of the ceasefire, its uncertainty is even more difficult to bear.Israel and Hamas were set last week to begin talks on a second phase of the ceasefire that would include an end to the war and the release of the remaining hostages. But those efforts have been frozen while the two sides trade accusations about whether the other is living up to the terms of the first phase. Tamir Nimrodi, 20, an Israeli soldier kidnapped from his post at a main crossing between Israel and Gaza, is not on the list to be freed in the first stage. His mother, Herut, said Hamas plan to delay the next hostage release came as a shock. We try to analyze it, think, what are the possibilities? Is this psychological terrorism they are pulling on us? she said.Its been difficult watching the hostage releases over the past few weeks, Nimrodi said, especially the emotional videos of hostages reuniting with their families. On the one hand, each reunion is a step closer to bringing back her son, whom she described as a creative person who loves riding horses and drinking sweet cocktails made with pineapple juice. But Nimrodi does not know if her son, who also holds German citizenship, is alive.The other two soldiers he was kidnapped with were killed, and she has not received any sign of life from him. I know there is a chance I wont get to the point where I can hold my son, she said.According to Israeli media, returning hostages have provided proof of life for at least seven Israeli hostages, including Cohen and Ohel.Nimrodi doesnt know what is worse to believe her son is dead, or to receive information that he is alive, but held in conditions like Alon Ohel. Im scared if Tamir is still alive, I have no idea what hes going through, Im scared to even imagine, she said. Idit Ohel received the information about her sons condition less than an hour before she went on Israels Channel 12 news program earlier this week. She sat at the news desk sobbing on live TV, pleading with the government to continue to the second stage of the ceasefire and bring all of the hostages home as soon as possible. Alon, who also has German and Serbian citizenship, is a talented pianist. The family has placed pianos across Israel in his honor, many of which are yellow, the color associated with the struggle for the hostages.The family marked Alons second birthday in captivity on Monday evening in Tel Aviv, where his mother addressed the Israeli government. After all the sights you saw, after all the testimonies you heard from the survivors of captivity, how do you allow this situation to continue? she said. Alon did remember his younger sister, Inbar, had a birthday on Saturday and delivered her a message through the hostages who were released that day. She got her birthday wish, to hear from her brother, which is incredible, Idit said, through tears. MELANIE LIDMAN Lidman is an Associated Press reporter based in Tel Aviv, Israel.

People line up to receive food at a shelter for families displaced by gang violence in the Kenscoff neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)2025-02-12T05:15:03Z SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) Haitis children are increasingly caught in the crossfire of gang violence, forced to carry weapons, spy on police and rival gangs and run errands for gunmen, according to a report released Wednesday by Amnesty International.One of 51 children interviewed by the human rights group said he was constantly pressured by a gang to fight alongside it.They killed people in front of me and asked me to burn their bodies. But I dont have the heart for that, the unidentified boy was quoted as saying.An estimated 30% to 50% of gang members are now children, according to UNICEF.Amnesty International said the children had no choice, and that their involvement was predominantly out of hunger or fear.Nearly two million people are on the verge of starvation in Haiti, and more than one million children are estimated to be living in gang-controlled areas, with 85% of the capital of Port-au-Prince under their rule. One unidentified boy, 16, said hes paid to run errands for a gang.(The gangs) are in control. And there is nothing you can do about it, he was quoted as saying. If children refuse to follow a gangs orders, they or their family would be killed, according to the report, which relied on a total of 112 interviews and research done from May to October last year.Children are not only in danger of gangs, but of vigilantes and police officers who believe theyre working for them, according to Amnesty International. Girls and young women also have been collectively raped by gang members and infected with sexually transmitted diseases, often ending up pregnant in a country where health care is extremely limited.One teen was raped by six men, and her sister by five others.There was so much blood, the unidentified younger sister said in an interview.Another teen recounted how she drank bleach to try and kill herself after having a baby after being raped by three men who then left her naked in public. People found me on the street and put a dress on me, she said.Amnesty International said many of those interviewed scoffed at the idea of reporting their attacks to authorities.A 16-year-old girl who was abducted and raped by several gang members said: Are you kidding me? Its not possibleThere is no policeThe only chief in town are the gang members.The violence also has led to injury and death.One girl, 14, recounted how a ricocheting bullet pierced her lip in September 2024. Three months before that, her 17-year-old brother died from a stray bullet.I lost a huge presence in my life. Since then, I dont know how to be happy, the girl said.The violence is especially punishing on children with disabilities, with some recounting how they had to leave behind crutches and wheelchairs during sudden gang attacks in their neighborhoods.Amnesty International called on the Haitian government to better support children, restore education, provide mental health services, and resume court proceedings against children suspected of ties to gangs who are being held without charge. It also said more resources including training and security are needed to help reintegrate children into society.The international community cannot continue to make empty promises, the report said. The country needs immediate and sustained technical and financial assistance to rescue a generation of boys and girls from being lost to repeated cycles of gang violence.In 2023, 128 children were reported killed, according to the U.N. While the figure wasnt available for last year, more than 5,600 people were reported killed in 2024, the organization found.Haitis National Police, which is severely underfunded and understaffed, is working alongside a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenyan police to help quell gang violence.However, the mission lacks funding and personnel, and the U.S. and other countries have been pushing to transform it into a U.N.-peacekeeping mission.____Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

The exterior of the South Carolina Supreme Court building in Columbia, S.C. is shown Jan. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/James Pollard, file)2025-02-12T05:06:55Z COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) With a heartbeat abortion ban solidly in place in South Carolina, lawyers for the state and Planned Parenthood return to the states highest court Wednesday to argue how restrictive the ban should be.The law is being enforced in South Carolina as a ban on almost all abortions around six weeks after conception, setting that mark as the time cardiac activity starts.But Planned Parenthood and other abortion rights groups are arguing the 2023 law includes alternative definitions about the timing of a fetal heart forming and a heartbeat starting and the true ban should start around nine or 10 weeks.Both sides are set to argue for just over an hour at the South Carolina Supreme Court in Columbia. The justices likely will take several months to decide the case. In the meantime, the abortion ban around six weeks likely will remain in place after a lower court upheld it. The 2023 law says abortions cannot be performed after an ultrasound can detect cardiac activity, or the steady and repetitive rhythmic contraction of the fetal heart, within the gestational sac.South Carolina and several other states place that at six weeks into development. But what follows the or in the sentence could require that a heart has formed, and medical experts say that doesnt happen until around nine weeks. The legal fight has been brewing since the state Supreme Court reversed itself after overturning a similar ban in 2021. The Republican-dominated General Assembly then made small changes and a justice who voted in the majority in the 3-2 decision to overturn the ban reached retirement age and was replaced. In the decision upholding the new ban, the state Supreme Court itself noted the different definitions saying resolving them would be a question for another day.That day is Wednesday. Since then, more inconsistencies in the laws language have been brought up. The law refers to a fetal heartbeat, but most experts consider a fertilized egg to be an embryo for about 10 weeks after conception before transitioning into a fetus. Lawyers for the state said the parsing of the language ignores the intent of the Legislature. Both supporters and opponents of the bill called it nearly exclusively a six-week ban during debate in the House and Senate.Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and ended a nationwide right to abortion, most Republican-controlled states have started enforcing new bans or restrictions and most Democrat-dominated ones have sought to protect abortion access.Currently, 13 states are enforcing bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions, and South Carolina and three others have bans that kick in at or about six weeks into pregnancy -- often before women realize theyre pregnant.The latest lawsuit was filed by South Carolina resident Taylor Shelton, who said she had sought medical attention for pain from her intrauterine device and was stunned to find out, just two days after missing her regularly-tracked period, that she was pregnant. She ended up in North Carolina, driving for hours to several appointments to undergo an abortion because doctors in South Carolina were unsure how to define a heartbeat. Shelton couldnt be completely sure she was within six weeks.Some Republicans in South Carolina are also pushing for an outright abortion ban, but while legislation was introduced this January when the General Assembly started its two-year session, no hearings have been held. JEFFREY COLLINS Collins covers South Carolina from Columbia for The Associated Press. He has been with the AP since 2000. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up as Jordan's King Abdullah II departs the White House after meeting at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-02-12T05:02:22Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump is taking additional action to upset the world trade system, with plans to sign an order as soon as Wednesday that would require that U.S. tariffs on imports match the tax rates charged by other countries.Its time to be reciprocal, Trump told reporters earlier this week. Youll be hearing that word a lot. Reciprocal. If they charge us, we charge them.The president had suggested that the order would come on Tuesday or Wednesday. But when Tuesday passed without the tariffs being officially announced, Trump was asked if he would sign the order on Wednesday and Trump answered: Well see what happens.As Trump has unleashed a series of tariffs after being in power for less than a month, he has fully taken ownership of the path of the U.S. economy. Its a bet that his economic ideas can eventually deliver meaningful results for voters, even if by Trumps own admission the import taxes could involve some financial pain in the form of inflation and economic disruptions. For all of Trumps talk, the impact will likely depend on the details of the tariffs and how other nations respond. A reciprocal tariffs order could amount to a substantial tax hike to be shouldered largely by U.S. consumers and businesses as the Census Bureau reported that the country had total imports of $4.1 trillion last year. The tariffs could set off retaliatory measures by trading partners that could roil growth around the globe and reset where the United States stands with allies and rivals alike. By signing the order, Trump would fulfill his long-standing pledge to raise taxes on most imported goods, a clear break with his recent White House predecessors who saw tariffs as either targeted tools to use strategically or barriers worth lowering. Trump has broken with that precedent by saying he wants to return the United States to the 1890s when taxes on imports were the governments dominant source of revenues. But should job gains never materialize and should inflation stay high, its an easy line of attack for Democratic lawmakers and candidates that Trump helped the ultrawealthy at the expense of the middle class. No matter which way you slice it, costs are going to climb for consumers, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said earlier this month. I will work with my colleagues to undo this mess, get costs down and get these billionaires out of the way.Trump put 10% tariffs on China over its contributions to the production of the illicit drug fentanyl, and China has taken retaliatory measures. He said he is ready if necessary on March 1 after a 30-day suspension to put tariffs on Mexico and Canada over his belief they should do more to fight illegal immigration and drug smuggling. On Monday, he closed the exemptions to his 2018 tariffs on steel and aluminum, in addition to raising the tariff rates on aluminum. He has also talked about additional taxes on imported autos, computer chips and pharmaceutical drugs.Many of Americas dominant trading partners are preparing for an economic rupture in reaction to Trumps possible actions. In response to the steel and aluminum tariffs, European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday: Unjustified tariffs on the EU will not go unanswered they will trigger firm and proportionate countermeasures. That means motorcycles, jeans, bourbon and peanut butter from the United States could face new taxes abroad. Mexico and Canada Americas two largest trading partners have also prepared countermeasures.Multiple Trump aides have privately said that Trumps long-standing goal with tariffs has been reciprocity. But Trump has also portrayed tariffs as a diplomatic tool to try to force Canada and Mexico to spend more resources on stopping illegal immigration and drug trafficking into the United States. He also suggested repeatedly that tariffs would be a source of revenues that could offset his planned income tax cuts.But even before Trump formally signed the order, analysts at Goldman Sachs on Tuesday concluded it was unlikely to be the final word on tariffs. Of course, even if President Trump views reciprocal tariffs as an alternative to more sweeping measures at the moment, we are entering only the fourth week of a four-year presidential term and it seems likely there will be many further tariff announcements, the investment banks analysts wrote.Michael Zezas, a strategist at Morgan Stanley, wrote in a Sunday note that the tariff trajectory would shape what happens with growth, inflation, interest rates and Federal Reserve policies this year.Its a major shift from the era of globalization, when companies shrank expenses by pursuing lower-cost labor and materials offshore, Zezas said. This transition is likely to take many years, creating challenges for some and substantial opportunities for others. JOSH BOAK Boak covers the White House and economic policy for The Associated Press. He joined the AP in 2013. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site