Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens during the closing session of the Franco-Indian Economic Forum at the Quai d'Orsay on the sidelines of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Abdul Saboor, Pool Photo via AP)2025-02-13T05:02:26Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump met Thursday with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has heaped praise on him in hopes of avoiding the additional tariffs that the new administration has slapped on other countries in its opening weeks. Trump welcomed Modi to the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon, calling him a great friend, hours after the U.S. president signed increases on tariffs to match the tax rates that other countries charge on imports which affects American trading partners around the world, including India.We have great friendship, he and I and our countries, and I think its only going to get closer, Trump said.Modi is a nationalist and spent his time before arriving in Washington talking up his warm relationship with Trump during his first term while cheering his winning back the White House. The Indian leader was looking to improve relations with Washington and the West overall, which have been frosty lately after Modi refused to condemn Russia for its war on Ukraine. The world had this thinking that India somehow is a neutral country in this whole process, Modi said, praising Trump for speaking with Russia and Ukraines leaders on Wednesday. But this is not true. India has a side, and that side is of peace. The trip comes after Modis ruling Hindu nationalist partys victory during a high-stakes state legislature election last weekend in Indias federal territory, including New Delhi. The prime minister said before leaving for Washington that the visit was a chance to deepen our partnership in key areas such as technology, trade, defense and energy. The White House visit isnt likely to be all smiles, though. Trump, a Republican, previously imposed tariffs on China and says more are coming against the European Union, while threatening similar against Canada and Mexico and expanding tariffs on steel and aluminum he initially imposed during his first term. The White House insists that in signing Thursdays round of what Trump called reciprocal tariffs, he is leveling the playing field between U.S. manufacturers and foreign competitors though these new taxes would likely be paid by American consumers and businesses either directly or in the form of higher prices. Even prior to signing the new round of tariffs, however, Trump indicated that he was ready to object to Indian tariffs. He repeatedly dubbed Modis country a tariff king. In response, New Delhi showed willingness to buy more American oil and lower its own tariffs on U.S. goods, including on some Harley-Davidson motorcycles, from 50% to 40% moves it took prior to Modis coming to Washington. Also, India in 2023 dropped retaliatory tariffs on U.S. almonds, apples, chickpeas, lentils and walnuts. Then theres a recent deal allowing U.S.-based General Electric to partner with India-based Hindustan Aeronautics to produce jet engines for Indian aircraft in India, and the sale of U.S.-made armed MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones. Still, Trump has decried U.S. trade deficits around the world and said hell work to shrink them, including during his meetings at the White House last week with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. The U.S. is Indias largest trade partner, but the two countries have a trade deficit of $50 billion in Indias favor. The Indo-U.S. goods and services trade totaled around $190.1 billion in 2023. According to Indias External Affairs Ministry, the U.S. exports to India were worth nearly $70 billion and imports $120 billion.A Trump administration official, on a phone call with reporters, said that India has made modest positive steps on trade. The official, who insisted on anonymity as a term of the call, said there is a goal of finalizing by the end of this year a trade arrangement with India that the United States would judge as fair to both sides.Modi is the fourth foreign leader to visit Trump since his inauguration last month, following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ishiba of Japan and Jordans King Abdullah II. Prior to meeting with Trump, Modi sat down with national security adviser Mike Waltz. He also met with billionaire SpaceX founder and top Trump administration official Elon Musk.In a photo posted to Modis account on X, the platform owned by Musk formerly known as Twitter, the prime minister, joined by his official delegation, was seen engaging warmly in conversation with Musk, who brought some of his children and an executive, Shivon Zilis, who is also the mother of three of his children.While signing the tariffs order in the Oval Office, Trump was asked if Musk spoke with Modi as a government worker or a tech magnate, amid concerns the meeting was related to the billionaires business dealings.India is a very hard place to do business because of the tariffs. They have the highest tariffs, just about in the world, and its a hard place to do business, Trump said. No, I would imagine he met possibly because, you know, hes running a company. Modi and Trump were also likely to use their upcoming discussions to talk about immigration. There, the prime minister can point to Indias having accepted the return of 104 migrants brought back on a U.S. military plane the first such flight to the country as part of the Trump administrations crackdown on immigration and the U.S.-Mexico border.For the Trump administration, meanwhile, India is seen as integral to the U.S. strategy of containing China in the Indo-Pacific. Modis country is hosting a summit of a group of countries known as the Quad made up of the U.S., India, Japan and Australia later this year. WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers national politics and the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto

This May 18, 1969 photo provided by NASA shows Earth from 36,000 nautical miles away as photographed from the Apollo 10 spacecraft during its trans-lunar journey toward the moon. (NASA via AP)2025-02-13T18:52:40Z CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) The threat of a newly discovered asteroid has risen slightly in the past few weeks, as the worlds telescopes rush to track its course. But the chance of an impact is still quite slim. New calculations suggest theres a 2% chance the space rock 2024 YR4 will smack Earth in 2032. This also means theres a 98% chance it will safely pass our planet. The odds of a strike will almost certainly continue to go up and down as the asteroids path around the sun is better understood, and astronomers said theres a good chance the risk likely will drop to zero. NASA and the European Space Agencys Webb Space Telescope will observe this near-Earth asteroid in March before the object disappears from view. Once that happens, scientists will have to wait until 2028 when it passes our way again.Whats an asteroid?Asteroids are space rocks orbiting the sun that are considerably smaller than planets. Scientists believe theyre the leftovers from the solar systems formation 4.6 billion years ago. There are so many asteroids orbiting between Mars and Jupiter millions of them that this region is known as the main asteroid belt. They sometimes get pushed out of the belt and can end up all over the place like this one. How do scientists track potentially dangerous asteroids? A telescope in Chile discovered the asteroid 2024 YR4 in December. Its estimated to be 130 feet to 300 feet (40 meters to 90 meters) across. Observations by the Webb telescope should provide a more precise measurement, according to NASA.NASA and the European Space Agency initially put the odds of a strike at just over 1%. By Thursday, it had risen to roughly 2%. NASA describes that as still extremely low. Until scientists have a better understanding of the asteroids path around the sun, they caution the odds will continue to fluctuate and quite possibly fall to zero.You dont have to be worried about anything. Its a curiosity, said Larry Denneau, senior software engineer with the University of Hawaiis asteroid impact alert system that first spotted the asteroid. Dont panic. Let the process play out, and well have a for-sure answer.In 2021, NASA gave the all-clear to another potentially worrisome asteroid, Apophis, after new telescope observations ruled out any chance of it hitting Earth in 2068. Should we worry about asteroid 2024 YR4?Its way too soon to fret over this asteroid, according to the experts. No one should be concerned that the impact probability is rising. This is the behavior our team expected, Paul Chodas, director of NASAs Center for Near-Earth Object Studies, said in an email. To be clear, we expect the impact probability to drop to zero at some point. Since the asteroids size and orbit are uncertain, its unclear where it might hit and what the possible impacts would be should it strike Earth. If the asteroid is on the smaller end, ESA said any potential impacts would be local similar to the Tunguska event that flattened thousands of square miles of forest in remote Siberia in 1908. But if its close to 330 feet (100 meters), the consequences would be significantly worse. Chodas said once Webb pinpoints the asteroids size, NASA can predict how serious an impact this asteroid could produce and how difficult a task it might be to deflect this asteroid.NASA already has some experience nudging an asteroid. The space agencys Dart spacecraft deliberately rammed a harmless asteroid in 2022 in the first planetary defense test of its kind, altering its orbit around its larger companion asteroid.___AP video journalist Mary Conlon contributed to this report. ___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.

Protesters hold banners during a rally in front of the Office of Personnel Management, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington. President Donald Trump is relying on a relatively obscure federal agency to reshape government. The Office of Personnel Management was created in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter and is the equivalent of the government's human resources department. It helps manage the civil service, including pay schedules, health insurance and pension programs. The agency has offered millions of federal workers eight months of salary if they voluntarily choose to leave their jobs by Feb. 6. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)2025-02-13T22:36:42Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Trump administration on Thursday intensified its sweeping efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce, the nations largest employer, by ordering agencies to lay off nearly all probationary employees who had not yet gained civil service protection potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of workers. In addition, workers at some agencies were warned that large workplace cuts would be coming.The decision on probationary workers, who generally have less than a year on the job, came from the Office of Personnel Management, which serves as a human resources department for the federal government. The notification was confirmed by a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.Its expected to be the first step in sweeping layoffs. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that told agency leaders to plan for large-scale reductions in force. Follow live updates on President Donald Trump and his new administration. Elon Musk, whom President Trump has given wide leeway to slash government spending with his Department of Government Efficiency, called Thursday for the elimination of whole agencies. I think we do need to delete entire agencies as opposed to leave a lot of them behind, Musk said via a videocall to the World Governments Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. If we dont remove the roots of the weed, then its easy for the weed to grow back. Paul Light, an expert on the federal government and professor emeritus of public service at New York University, said it seemed like the administration was inventing new methods for destroying government capacity.Youre basically harassing your own workforce at the end of the day, he said. Youre undermining the engine that you want to run.Layoffs are unlikely to yield significant deficit savings. When the Congressional Budget Office looked at the issue, it found the government spent $271 billion annually compensating civilian federal workers, with about 60% of that total going to workers employed by the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs. The government could, in theory, have cut all those workers and still run a deficit of over $1 trillion that would continue to grow as tax revenues are needed to keep up with the growing costs of Social Security and Medicare.Thursdays order was an expansion of previous directions from OPM, which told agencies earlier this week that probationary employees should be fired if they werent meeting high standards. Its not clear how many workers are currently in a probationary period. According to government data maintained by OPM, as of March 2024, 220,000 workers had less than a year on the job the most recent data available. The firing of probationary employees began earlier this week and has included Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Education workers.At least 39 were fired from the Education Department on Wednesday, according to a union that represents agency workers, including civil rights workers, special education specialists and student aid officials. The layoffs also hit Department of Veterans Affairs researchers working on cancer treatment, opioid addiction, prosthetics and burn pit exposure, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat, said Thursday.Im hearing from longtime VA researchers in my home state of Washington who are right now being told to immediately stop their research and pack their bags, Murray said in a statement, not because their work isnt desperately needed, but because Trump and Elon have decided to fire these researchers on a whim.Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a group that defends government workers, said the Agriculture Departments Food Safety and Inspection Service would be hit especially hard by laying off probationary employees because it has trouble recruiting inspectors required to be present at all times at most slaughterhouses.Firing any probationary employees would be a big kick in the gut to those that do very grueling and difficult work, PEERs executive director, Tim Whitehouse, said. It would make our food system less safe and cause consumer confidence in the safety of our food supply to dip. The civilian federal workforce, not including military personnel and postal workers, is made up of about 2.4 million people. While about 20% of the workers are in Washington D.C., and the neighboring states of Maryland and Virginia, more than 80% live outside the Capitol region. Trumps initial attempt to downsize the workforce was the deferred resignation program, commonly described as a buyout, which offered to pay people until Sept. 30 if they agreed to quit. The White House said 75,000 people signed up, and a federal judge cleared a legal roadblock for the program on Wednesday. However, the number of workers who took the offer was less than the administrations target, and Trump has made it clear he would take further steps.Employees at the National Science Foundation and Housing and Urban Development Department were told this week that large reductions, in some cases a halving of the workforce, would be coming, according to a person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it. The National Science Foundation was told to expect a 25% to 50% reduction in force within two months, while the Housing and Urban Development Department was told to plan for a 50% reduction, the person said.Employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were also bracing Thursday for reductions in their workforce.The order Trump signed Tuesday stipulated that government functions not required by law would be prioritized for cuts and hiring will be restricted. With exceptions for functions such as public safety, only one employee can be added for every four that leave. In addition, new hires would generally need the approval from a representative of the DOGE, expanding the influence of Musks team.Trump, speaking to reporters later at the White House, praised Musks work to slash federal spending. Were looking for waste, fraud and abuse, he said. Thats what Elon is working so hard on.The Republican president has also been sharply critical of federal workers, especially those who want to keep working remotely, though his administration is simultaneously working to cut federal office space and ordering the termination of worksite leases throughout the government. Nobody is gonna work from home, Trump said Monday. They are gonna be going out, theyre gonna play tennis, theyre gonna play golf, theyre gonna do a lot of things. Theyre not working.___Price reported from New York. Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Josh Boak and Collin Binkley in Washington; Carla Johnson in Seattle; and JoNel Aleccia in Los Angeles 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 MICHELLE L. PRICE Price is a national political reporter for The Associated Press. She is based in New York. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., President-elect Donald Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency, appears before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)2025-02-13T19:24:19Z WASHINGTON (AP) In a major reversal, the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency said he will try to rescind $20 billion in grants awarded by the Biden administration for climate and clean-energy projects.In a video posted on X, Administrator Lee Zeldin said the EPA would revoke contracts for a still-emerging green bank that is set to fund tens of thousands of projects to fight climate change and promote environmental justice. The program, approved under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, is formally known as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, but is more commonly called the green bank. Two initiatives, worth $14 billion and $6 billion respectively, are intended to offer competitive grants to nonprofits, community development banks and other groups for projects with a focus on disadvantaged communities.The program is a favorite of Democrats who passed President Joe Bidens signature climate law without a single Republican vote, and former EPA Administrator Michael Regan frequently cited it as one of his major accomplishments. Republicans in Congress have called the green bank a slush fund and voiced concern over how the money will be used and whether there will be sufficient accountability and transparency. The Republican-controlled House approved a bill last year to repeal the green bank and other parts of Bidens climate agenda. The bill was blocked in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Zeldin, in the video posted Wednesday night, said there will be zero tolerance of any waste and abuse at the EPA under his administration. He cited an extremely disturbing video on X that features a former EPA staffer stating that the Biden administration was tossing gold bars off the Titanic in order to spend billions of taxpayer dollars before President Donald Trump took office. The days of irresponsibly shoveling boatloads of cash to far-left activist groups in the name of environmental justice and climate equity are over, Zeldin said. Ive directed my team to find your gold bars, and they found them. Now we will get them back inside of control of government as we pursue next steps. The video Zeldin cited was posted by Project Veritas, a right-wing organization that often uses hidden cameras to try to embarrass news outlets, labor organizations and Democratic officials. In this case, the Veritas video showed Brent Efron, a former special assistant to the EPAs associate administrator for policy, speaking at a bar or restaurant with someone who turned out to be with the group. Efron has since left the EPA.Clean energy advocates denounced Zeldins action as a political stunt and said he was illegally attempting to revoke spending approved by Congress for partisan reasons. They pledged to challenge the directive in court.This is not just an attack on clean energy investments its a blatant violation of the Constitution, said Lena Moffitt, executive director of Evergreen Action, an environmental group that supports the green bank. The Trump team is once again trying to illegally slash programs meant to help American families to fund tax cuts for billionaires. The money has already been awarded to eight nonprofits, including the Coalition for Green Capital, Climate United Fund, Power Forward Communities, Opportunity Finance Network, Inclusiv and the Justice Climate Fund. Those organizations have partnered with a range of groups, including Rewiring America, Habitat for Humanity and the Community Preservation Corporation.Former Vice President Kamala Harris announced the grant awards last year at an event in Charlotte, North Carolina. MATTHEW DALY Daly covers climate, environment and energy policy for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington, D.C. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks at a press conference in the Queens borough of New York, Nov. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)2025-02-13T21:17:27Z ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) A Texas judge on Thursday fined a New York doctor for prescribing abortion pills to a woman near Dallas in one of the first challenges in the U.S. to shield laws enacted in Democratic-controlled states where abortion is legal.The ruling was handed down on the same day New York Gov. Kathy Hochul rejected a request from Louisiana to extradite the same doctor, Dr. Maggie Carpenter, who was charged in that state with prescribing abortion pills to a pregnant minor.Unlike Louisiana, Texas did not file criminal charges against Carpenter but accused her in a December lawsuit of violating state law by prescribing abortion medication via telemedicine. Texas has one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the nation.State District Judge Bryan Gantt issued a $100,000 fine against Carpenter and ordered her to pay attorneys fees. Earlier Hochul, a Democrat, said she will not honor Louisianas request to arrest and send the doctor to Louisiana after she was charged with violating the southern states strict anti-abortion law. I will not be signing an extradition order that came from the governor of Louisiana, Hochul said at a news conference in Manhattan. Not now, not ever. She also said she sent out a notice to law enforcement in New York that instructed them to not cooperate with out-of-state warrants for such charges. The case against Carpenter appears to be the first instance of criminal charges against a doctor accused of prescribing abortion pills to another state. Pills have become the most common method of abortion in the U.S. and are at the epicenter of political and legal fights over abortion access following the U.S. Supreme Courts overturning of Roe v. Wade.The showdown between New York and Louisiana over Carpenter is expected to result in a court case that could test New Yorks so-called shield law, which gives legal protections to doctors who prescribe abortion medication to conservative states where abortions are banned or otherwise limited. Other Democratic-controlled states have similar shield laws. Prosecutors in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, indicted Carpenter on charges that she violated the states near-total abortion ban, which allows physicians convicted of performing abortions, including one with pills, to be sentenced up to 15 years in prison. Louisiana authorities said the girl who received the pills experienced a medical emergency and had to be transported to the hospital. The girls mother was also charged and has turned herself in to police. In a videotaped statement Thursday, Republican Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said there is only one right answer in this situation, and it is that that doctor must face extradition to Louisiana where she can stand trial and justice will be served. Landrys office did not immediately return an emailed request for comment sent after Hochul refused the extradition request.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks about plans to lower insurance prices in the state, during a press conference at Florida International University's Wall of Wind, an experimental facility focused on wind engineering research, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)2025-02-13T21:09:30Z Associated Press/Report for America (AP) Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a sweeping package of immigration laws on Thursday aimed at carrying out President Donald Trump s mass deportation agenda. Republicans say the laws put Florida long a haven for immigrants on the leading edge of conservative-controlled states working to leverage state and local resources for federal immigration enforcement.As Trump supporters in state capitols across the country race to deliver on the presidents signature issue despite concerns from immigrant advocates lawmakers in Florida are teeing up a potential fight with the courts as they advance a provision that critics argue is unconstitutional.Floridas new legislation mandates the death penalty for immigrants in the U.S. without legal authorization who commit capital offenses such as first degree murder or child rape. Its a provision that goes above and beyond Trumps executive orders. A rift between lawmakers and DeSantisDeSantis approved the bills after legislative leaders brokered a compromise that settled a weekslong standoff among the states top Republicans over how best to support Trumps sweeping crackdown on illegal immigration.Today, the Florida Legislature has passed the strongest legislation to combat illegal immigration of any state in the entire country, DeSantis said before signing the bills and handing a sharpie to each of the legislative leaders standing behind him. We are ahead of the curve on ending the illegal immigration crisis. But the tensions pitting allies of the president against DeSantis who dared to challenge Trump for the nomination may not evaporate, as the term-limited governor is widely expected to have presidential aspirations in 2028.Ultimately this is a win for Donald Trump. Because thats what this is all about, said Republican Sen. Joe Gruters, a sponsor of the bills and a key Trump ally. But the process was bruising, with DeSantis blasting lawmakers previous proposals as weak and a betrayal of conservative voters.Theres still hurt feelings, Gruters said, on all sides.Florida bills set aside nearly $300 million for immigration enforcementThe $298 million would be allocated to hire more than 50 new law enforcement officers focused on immigration, plus grants to equip and train local agencies, bonuses for officers who assist in federal operations, and reimbursement for leasing detention facilities.The proposal also mandates the death penalty for immigrants who commit capital offenses while in the country illegally. Democrats and civil rights advocates say that provision is unconstitutional, citing previous Supreme Court precedent.The laws would increase penalties for all crimes committed by immigrants in the country without authorization, and would create a new crime of entering the state after coming to the U.S. illegally.As part of the compromise, lawmakers did away with a previous proposal to strip the governor of much of his emergency powers on immigration.A provision that drew bipartisan criticism repeals a law that allows Florida students who are in the country without legal authorization to qualify for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities. Georgia and Alabama advance restrictionsLawmakers in other southern states are passing their own bills aimed at furthering Trumps immigration crackdown.The Alabama Senate on Thursday swiftly advanced their own slate of proposals, which would allow jails to hold people to verify immigration status; require jails to collect DNA from unauthorized immigrants in their custody; end the states recognition of driver licenses from other states that are issued without proof of citizenship; and make it a felony to bring an undocumented immigrant into the state.If you come to the country legally, if you come into Alabama legally, then these bills dont affect you, said Republican Sen. Wes Kitchens, a sponsor of one of the bills. The bills now move to the Alabama House over the opposition of Democrats, who accused Republicans of grandstanding.Jasmin Hernadez-Alamillo, the daughter of Mexican immigrants and a recent graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said shes concerned the proposals will lead to racial profiling in traffic stops and said the measures make her rethink living in the state. I dont necessarily want to be part of a state that is going to continually perpetuate this negative sentiment around marginalized communities, Hernadez-Alamillo said.Also on Thursday, the Georgia Senate passed a bill allowing local governments to be sued if they dont cooperate with federal immigration enforcement. The bill would strengthen a Georgia law passed last year after Venezuelan immigrant Jose Ibarra, who authorities say entered the U.S. illegally, murdered 22-year-old University of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. That law mandates law enforcement agencies cooperate with federal officials in identifying and detaining undocumented immigrants and punishes them if they dont. ___Matat reported from West Palm Beach, Florida, Chandler from Birmingham, Alabama, and Kramon from Atlanta, Georgia.___Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. KATE PAYNE Payne writes about state government and education and is based in Tallahassee, FL. She is a Report for America corps member. twitter mailto STEPHANY MATAT Matat is an Associated Press general assignment reporter with a focus on politics and South Florida issues. twitter instagram mailto CHARLOTTE KRAMON Kramon covers government and politics from Atlanta. She is a Report for America corps member. twitter mailto

Panama's President Jose Mulino, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrive for a meeting at the presidential palace in Panama City, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)2025-02-13T17:21:45Z PANAMA CITY (AP) Panama has received the first U.S. flight carrying deportees from other nations as the Trump administration takes Panama up on its offer to act as a stopover for expelled migrants, the Central American nations president said Thursday.Yesterday a flight from the United States Air Force arrived with 119 people from diverse nationalities of the world, President Jos Ral Mulino said Thursday in his weekly press briefing. He said there were migrants from China, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan, among others, aboard.The president said it was the first of three planned flights that were expected to total about 360 people. Its not something massive, he said.The migrants were expected to be moved to a shelter in Panamas Darien region before being returned to their countries, Mulino said.Asked later Thursday why Panama was acting as a stopover for these deportations, Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Ruiz Hernndez said that it was something the U.S. government had requested. He also said the U.S. government was paying for the repatriations through U.N. immigration agencies. The migrants who arrived Wednesday, had been detained after crossing the U.S. border and did not have criminal records, he said. Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Mulino in Panama. While U.S. President Donald Trumps demands to retake control of the Panama Canal dominated the visit, Mulino also discussed Panamas efforts to slow migration through the Darien Gap and he offered Panama as a bridge to send U.S. deportees back to their countries. Rubio secured agreements on the trip with Guatemala and El Salvador as well, to accept migrants from other nations in what was seen as the laying groundwork for expanding U.S. capacity to speedily deport migrants.Migration through the Darien Gap connecting Panama and Colombia was down about 90% in January compared to the same month a year earlier. Since Mulino entered office last year, Panama has made dozens of deportation flights, most funded by the U.S. government.Ruiz said Thursday that Panama has been completely willing to participate and cooperate in this request they have made of us. ____Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Ralph Yarl looks at a badge that he received after walking at a brain injury awareness event, May 29, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (KCTV via AP, File)2025-02-13T22:56:33Z KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) An 86-year-old Kansas City man will plead guilty Friday to the 2023 shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black honor student who rang the mans doorbell by mistake, two people familiar with the case told The Associated Press.Andrew Lester was scheduled to stand trial next week on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting of the then 16-year-old, who survived the shooting and has since graduated from high school.On Thursday, prosecutors said Lester would appear in court Friday, but they did not say why or provide additional detail. Two people familiar with the case who requested anonymity to speak in advance of Fridays hearing told AP that Lester will plead guilty. One of those people said he will plead to a lesser charge of second-degree assault.Yarl showed up on Lesters doorstep in April 2023 after he mixed up the streets where he was supposed to pick up his twin siblings. Lesters attorney, Steve Salmon, has long argued that Lester was acting in self-defense and that he was terrified by the stranger who knocked on his door as he settled into bed for the night. He didnt immediately respond to a phone message from The Associated Press on Thursday.The shooting shocked the country and renewed national debate about gun policies and race in the U.S.Yarl showed up on Lesters doorstep after he mixed up the streets where he was supposed to pick up his twin siblings. Yarl testified at an earlier hearing that he he rang the bell and the wait for someone to answer for what seemed longer than normal. As the inner door opened, Yarl said he reached out to grab the storm door. I assume these are my brothers friends parents, he said.He said Lester, who is white, shot him in the head and uttered, Dont come here ever again. Although the bullet didnt penetrate Yarls brain, the impact knocked him to the ground. Yarl said Lester then shot him in the arm. The teen was taken to the hospital and released three days later. His family said the shooting took a big emotional toll and they have filed a lawsuit against the retired aircraft mechanic.Lester has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action. As the trial date approached, the court shut down access to online records in the case, so prospective jurors couldnt see or read any of the documents available to the public. A spokeswoman in the prosecutors office said there have been no new filings in the case this month.Last year, Salmon said that Lesters physical and mental condition had deteriorated. He said Lester has had heart issues, a broken hip and hospitalizations. Lester also has lost 50 pounds (23 kilograms), which Salmon blamed on the stress of intense media coverage and death threats he subsequently received.A judge ordered a mental evaluation of Lester but allowed for the trial to proceed after its completion. The results of that evaluation were not released publicly. ___Hollingsworth reported from Mission, Kan.

President Donald Trump and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-02-14T02:09:54Z The White House blocked an Associated Press journalist from covering a news conference with two major world leaders Thursday, upping the stakes in a disagreement between the news agency and the Trump administration over APs style decision to stick with the name Gulf of Mexico for the body of water that the president rechristened the Gulf of America. An AP reporter was prevented from entering a news conference where President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi answered questions, effectively shutting out thousands of global news outlets that rely on the news organization. Julie Pace, the APs senior vice president and executive editor, called it a deeply troubling escalation and a plain violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. We urge the Trump administration in the strongest terms to stop this practice, Pace, who also wrote to Trumps chief of staff on Wednesday, said in a statement. This is now the third day AP reporters have been barred from covering the president first as a member of the pool, and now from a formal press conference an incredible disservice to the billions of people who rely on The Associated Press for nonpartisan news. Eugene Daniels, president of the White House Correspondents Association, issued a statement Thursday supporting the AP. The White House is seeking to curtail the press freedoms enshrined in our Constitution, and has admitted publicly they are restricting access to events to punish a news outlet for not advancing the governments preferred language, he said. Prohibiting journalists from access because of their editorial decisions is viewpoint discrimination. Questioned about the actions Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said media access decisions are up to the president and suggested that retaining references to the Gulf of Mexico constituted lies for which news organizations would be held accountable. We reserve the right to decide who gets to go into the Oval Office, Leavitt said.The White House had no immediate comment about Thursdays additional actions. Barring a credentialed reporter from a news conference with leaders of two of the worlds most influential nations represents a step beyond preventing access to an Oval Office event. This is a textbook violation of not only the First Amendment, but the presidents own executive order on freedom of speech and ending federal censorship, Daniels said. AP reporters were first prevented from accessing Oval Office events on Tuesday after being warned it would happen. The policy continued for events Wednesday and Thursday in the office and other locations. Contacting The Associated PressThe Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual, nonpartisan journalism. We are reporting on changes within the U.S. government under the new administration. If you are a former or current government worker who would like to share information with us, please message us on Signal at TheAP.1846 Trump moved quickly upon taking office to rename two key landmarks, ordering the name of the mountain known as Denali changed back to its old moniker of Mt. McKinley and renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. AP switched its style for the mountain because, being entirely inside the United States, it was subject to presidential authority. But the agency decided to stick with the Gulf of Mexico for a body that lies partially outside U.S. territory while noting Trumps move. The agencys decision matters because many writers and publications follow the guidelines of the AP Stylebook. Both Google Maps and Apple Maps have switched to the term Gulf of America either entirely or in part. On Thursday, Mexicos president said she was considering suing Google over the move. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

The Goodyear Blimp is prepared for takeoff, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, in New Smyrna Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Mark Long)2025-02-13T20:57:10Z DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) Flying a few hundred feet above the streets and shores of Daytona Beach, the Goodyear Blimp draws a crowd.Onlookers stare and point. Drivers pull over for better looks, snapping pictures, recording videos and trying to line up the perfect selfie. For some, its nostalgic. For others, its a glimpse at a larger-than-life advertising icon.At 100 years old, the blimp is an ageless star in the sky. And the 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 on Sunday roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually to celebrate its latest and greatest anniversary tour.Even though remote camera technologies drones, mostly are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event. Its great to show the pack racing, Fox Sports director Artie Kempner said, adding that he expected to use aerial shots from the blimp about 50 times during Sundays race. The Goodyear Blimp has been a regular at major sporting events since flying above the 1955 Rose Bowl. A few years later, it became a service vehicle for television coverage while simultaneously functioning as a highly visible advertising platform. Its been at every Daytona 500 since 1962. During that streak, blimps have undergone wholesale changes and improved dramatically: steering technology, safety innovations, high-definition cameras, gyro-stabilized aerial views and much quieter rides thanks to relocated engines and propellers.Nowadays, riding on the blimp isnt much different from traveling on a small plane. The 12-seater comes with reclining seats, tray tables, seatbelts, a safety briefing and a bathroom with amazing views. A few windows serve as the only air conditioning onboard. The blimp offers a smooth ride even at top speed, creeping along at 73 mph well below the cars pushing 200 mph on the track. Its an iconic symbol for our nation, a floating piece of Americana, blimp pilot Jensen Kervern said. Theres nothing like it in the world.The blimp has covered more than 2,500 events and taken more than 500,000 passengers for rides, according to Goodyear. Former President Ronald Reagan might be the most famous passenger, and rapper Ice Cube raised the blimps street cred when he included a line about it in his 1992 song titled It Was A Good Day.But not just anyone can climb aboard. Rides are invitation only even though phones at blimp headquarters the three U.S.-based airships are housed in California, Florida and Ohio ring off the hook with people inquiring about buying a ride.As part of the blimps 100-year anniversary celebration, however, Goodyear is giving three U.S. residents a chance to join the exclusive club and win a ride. The sweepstakes will provide each winner a certificate for two to fly on the blimp. The prize also includes $3,000 for travel expenses to one of Goodyears airship hangars. It would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, no doubt.The blimp flies low enough to spot pods of dolphins or flotillas of sea turtles in the Atlantic Ocean. The view over Daytona International Speedway is equally stunning, with the ability to see every inch of the famed track while watching (and hearing) race cars turning laps.Already in 2025, the Goodyear fleet has flown over the Rose Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Pro Bowl and Pebble Beach. Its upcoming schedule includes the Academy Awards, Coachella and WrestleMania.But will the blimp survive another 100 years?Drone imagery and resolution continue to improve along with maneuverability, stability and flight longevity. And where drones can be flown by one person, the Goodyear Blimp crew at Daytona tops 20 staffers.But given the blimps longevity, adaptability and celebrity, no one should bet against it sticking around for generations to come.Despite changes in technology and our environment, people still get so excited to see the blimp, Kervern said. Its just an iconic symbol for our nation.___AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

The doge.gov website that was spun up to track Elon Musks cuts to the federal government is insecure and pulls from a database that can be edited by anyone, according to two separate people who found the vulnerability and shared it with 404 Media. One coder added at least two database entries that are visible on the live site and say this is a joke of a .gov site and THESE EXPERTS LEFT THEIR DATABASE OPEN -roro.Doge.gov was hastily deployed after Elon Musk told reporters Tuesday that his Department of Government Efficiency is trying to be as transparent as possible. In fact, our actionswe post our actions to the DOGE handle on X, and to the DOGE website. At the time, DOGE was an essentially blank webpage. It was built out further Wednesday and Thursday, and now shows a mirror of the @DOGE X account posts, as well as various stats about the U.S. governments federal workforce.Two different web development experts who asked to remain anonymous because they were probing a federal website told 404 Media that doge.gov is seemingly built on a Cloudflare Pages site that is not currently hosted on government servers. The database it is pulling from can be and has been written to by third parties, and will show up on the live website.Both sources told 404 Media that they noticed Doge.gov is pulling from a Cloudflare Pages website, where the code that runs it is actually deployed.One of the sources told 404 Media that they were able to push updates to a database of government employment information after studying the websites architecture and finding the databases API endpoints.This person showed me two database entries they were able to push to the website, which are live on doge.gov as I write this (archived here and here):Feels like it was completely slapped together, they added. Tons of errors and details leaked in the page source code.Both sources said that the way the site is set up suggests that it is not running on government servers.Basically, doge.gov has its codebase, probably through GitHub or something, the other developer who noticed the insecurity said. Theyre deploying the website on Cloudflare Pages from their codebase, and doge.gov is a custom domain that their pages.dev URL is set to. So rather than having a physical server or even something like Amazon Web Services, theyre deploying using Cloudflare Pages which supports custom domains.On Wednesday, we reported that waste.gov, another website created to track government waste, was sitting live with a placeholder Wordpress default template page and sample text. After our article was published, waste.gov was put behind a password wall. It has been widely reported that DOGE has secured administrator access to the codebases at various government agencies, including the Department of Treasury.DOGE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

President Donald Trump and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-02-14T07:15:12Z NEW DELHI (AP) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the U.S. President Donald Trump spoke about easing tariffs, resolving trade issues and shoring up defense ties in a meeting at the White House on Thursday.Even though Trump threatened to impose tariffs, the two leaders said theyd talk about trade, signaling that New Delhi and Washington could offer each other concessions.Trump called Modi a much better negotiator than me, while Modi played on Trumps MAGA, or Make America Great Again, catchphrase, saying he he was determined to Make India Great Again.Here are some key takeaways from the meeting: Concerns over trade and tariffs were the highlight of the meetingTrade and tariffs issues figured extensively in the meeting. Trump said New Delhi will not be spared and said the import levies imposed by India are very unfair and strong.But he and Modi agreed to work on a deal to resolve trade concerns, which Modi said he expects to be completed later this year.Trump also said that his administration wants to bring down the trade deficit with India which stands at $50 billion by increasing U.S. energy exports to the country.Modi offered to double bilateral trade with Washington to $500 billion by 2030.The fact is that Trump is trying to change the global trading order. India recognizes this and now is looking for a pragmatic way to resolve the differences, said Raja Mohan, an analyst at the Institute of South Asian Studies in Singapore. Modi and Trump signal a new defense partnershipTrump said the U.S. will increase its military sales to India and eventually provide F-35 stealth fighter jets. He did not provide a timeline, but Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told reporters that the process is at the stage of a proposal.Rahul Bedi, an India-based defense analyst, said such a deal could take several years. Since 2008, India has contracted for over $20 billion worth of U.S.-origin defense equipment, and a recent deal will allow U.S.-based General Electric to partner with an Indian company to produce jet engines in India.Modi and Trump also agreed to deepen security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, a thinly veiled reference to competition with growing China in the region. A terror attack accused will be extradited to India Trump said hed back extraditing one of the plotters of the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which 166 people were killed appearing to refer to Tahawwur Hussain Rana.Indian officials have accused Pakistans intelligence agency of working with Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taibah to mastermind the attack, an allegation Islamabad has denied.If Rana is extradited to India, it will boost Modis domestic standing. Hes positioned himself as tough on archrival Pakistan.Modi and Trump also said they discussed immigration, with the Indian prime minister saying India will take back any of its citizens living illegally in the U.S.India recently accepted the return of 104 migrants brought back on a U.S. military plane.___Associated Press writer Ashok Sharma contributed to this report. SHEIKH SAALIQ Saaliq covers news across India and the South Asia region for The Associated Press, often focusing on politics, democracy, conflict and religion. He is based in New Delhi. twitter mailto

Hanan Okal, 22, prepares breakfast for her children inside a classroom in the Jabaliya Girls Preparatory School, which displaced people use as a shelter, in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)2025-02-14T05:05:11Z JABALIYA, Gaza Strip (AP) The Nassar family managed to assemble a semblance of their homes old living room. A sofa and some chairs survived, along with a small table they can gather around to eat. The rooms wall had been almost entirely blown away, so they hung sheets over the gaping hole, hiding the mound of wreckage outside.Buried somewhere under that rubble, Khalid Nassar knows, is the body of his son Mahmoud. It has lain there unretrievable for the past four months since he was killed in an Israeli airstrike.This has been the struggle for displaced Palestinians returning to their homes in Gaza under the nearly month-old ceasefire: To re-create some bit of normal lives amid the death and destruction left by 16 months of Israeli bombardment and ground offensives against Hamas fighters. Finding ways to settle inComing home after months or more than a year of living in tents or other shelters, families have no means to do any serious rebuilding. So they find little ways to settle in.Apartment buildings that were reduced to hollowed-out skeletons have been draped with colorful bed linens serving as walls as if the houses have been turned inside-out. Families dig chunks of concrete and mangled metal out of the interior to make them semi-habitable. Rooms look like fragmented movie sets, with furniture arranged in any intact corner, while the remaining walls are shattered. Destruction outside is seen from a damaged bedroom of the Nassar family home in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Destruction outside is seen from a damaged bedroom of the Nassar family home in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The Nassars fled their home in Jabaliya refugee camp early last year, moving around northern Gaza. Khalid Nassars son Mahmoud was killed in October when he tried to go back home to retrieve some clothes in the neighboring building, which they also owned, and a strike hit it, Nassar said. His daughter was also killed in a separate airstrike on her home in Jabaliya, where her body too remains buried under rubble.The family returned in January, as soon as Israeli troops withdrew from Jabaliya, which had been the scene of some of the fiercest fighting of the war in the previous four months. They found the top floor of their three-story building was wiped away. One of Nassars sons settled with his wife and kids on the second floor. The 61-year-old Nassar, his wife Khadra Abu Libda, 59, and the five children of another son, who was imprisoned by Israel, moved into what remains of the ground floor.Miraculously, their living room furniture remained. Other rooms were trashed, littered with debris. In one room, someone had spray painted Hamas on the wall Nassar said he didnt know who did it or whether the house was used by fighters during the battles.For water, they have to walk 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) to wait in line for hours at a well when the pump there is working. For food, they have collected some humanitarian aid supplies, some bread, and a green called khobeiza in Arabic that grows in empty lots. Khalid Nassar, 61, sits with his wife, Khadra Abu Libda, 59, and his grandchildren for lunch, with fabric covering the hole in a wall of their destroyed house in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Khalid Nassar, 61, sits with his wife, Khadra Abu Libda, 59, and his grandchildren for lunch, with fabric covering the hole in a wall of their destroyed house in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Khalid Nassar collects cardboard to burn so he can cook for his grandchildren in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Khalid Nassar collects cardboard to burn so he can cook for his grandchildren in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Khalid Nassar uses an open fire to cook noodles for his grandchildren inside his damaged house in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Khalid Nassar uses an open fire to cook noodles for his grandchildren inside his damaged house in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More But the wreckage next door where his son is buried haunts Nassar. Every minute I think about how to get my son out from under the rubble, he said. I cant describe the torment so long as my son is not properly buried. He said he digs every day, but the only tool he has is a shovel, so he cant lift the large slabs of concrete. This morning, I was digging and searching, but I found nothing but some papers and clothes, he said.After the ceasefire in January, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flooded back to homes across Gaza that they had fled. Not everyone has been able to return. Hanan Okal said her familys building in Jabaliya was flattened. So they are staying in the nearby school-turned-shelter where they have been taking refuge. Clothes hang to dry outside a destroyed room belonging to the Nassar family in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Clothes hang to dry outside a destroyed room belonging to the Nassar family in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Nearby in Jabaliya, the Odeh family returned to find their buildings ground floor gutted. They had to set up a ladder to climb in and out of the second floor, where Yousef and his brother Mohammed Oudeh settled in with their families.Their parents, Ahmed and Mariam, stay in a tent of wood and plastic sheets outside. The shell of their building does no better than the tent to protect from the cold, they said.With the surrounding neighborhood flattened, theres nothing to shield them from the cold February wind. At one point, the wind blew away and tore the sheets they had set up in the holes in the walls. So they scrounged for new sheets and blankets among the rubble of other houses. Aid boxes and packaged food are lined up on shelves in the Nassar family house in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Aid boxes and packaged food are lined up on shelves in the Nassar family house in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Ready for the familys return Youssef Issa returned to his family home in Jabaliya to prepare it ahead of his parents and siblings, who remain in their shelter in central Gaza. He found it in relatively good shape. It was partially damaged by nearby collapsed buildings, but apparently, it was used by Israeli troops as a position at some point in the fighting, so it wasnt bombarded. Issa said he, his cousin and his friends swept out the debris and spent ammunition casings. Youssef Issa, 21, uses fabric to cover a hole in a destroyed wall in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Youssef Issa, 21, uses fabric to cover a hole in a destroyed wall in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Like many houses, his had been scavenged and looted for anything of value. Clothes, blankets and any food left behind was taken. But his flat-screen TV was not touched: Without electricity, it was useless to steal it. But Issa was able to reassemble an almost cozy-looking sitting room. The familys plush purple sofa was still intact. He draped thick red fabric over the hole in the wall behind it. And he arranged the cushions on the sofa just right ready for his familys return. The damaged Odeh house stands amid the devastation in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) The damaged Odeh house stands amid the devastation in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Yousef Odeh, 27, connects a wire to a battery to light up his house in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Yousef Odeh, 27, connects a wire to a battery to light up his house in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Qasim Al-Najjar, 4, stands inside a classroom in the Jabaliya Girls Preparatory School which displaced people use as shelter in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Qasim Al-Najjar, 4, stands inside a classroom in the Jabaliya Girls Preparatory School which displaced people use as shelter in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Khadra Abu Libda, 59, burns wood to cook food inside a room in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 9, 2025. The family didnt know who spray painted "Hamas" on the wall, or whether the house was used by fighters during the battles. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Khadra Abu Libda, 59, burns wood to cook food inside a room in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 9, 2025. The family didnt know who spray painted "Hamas" on the wall, or whether the house was used by fighters during the battles. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Red fabric is draped over a destroyed wall in the Mossa family home in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Red fabric is draped over a destroyed wall in the Mossa family home in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Devastation around the Saleh family home is seen through destroyed walls in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 5 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Devastation around the Saleh family home is seen through destroyed walls in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 5 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Hanan Okal, 22, feeds her children, Abdul Rahman Al-Najjar, 2, and Qasim Al-Najjar, 4, in a classroom inside the Jabaliya Girls Preparatory School which displaced people use as a shelter in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Hanan Okal, 22, feeds her children, Abdul Rahman Al-Najjar, 2, and Qasim Al-Najjar, 4, in a classroom inside the Jabaliya Girls Preparatory School which displaced people use as a shelter in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Mariam Odeh uses a ladder to exit through a window of her house, which was damaged during the Israeli military's air and ground operation against Hamas, in the devastated Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Mariam Odeh uses a ladder to exit through a window of her house, which was damaged during the Israeli military's air and ground operation against Hamas, in the devastated Jabaliya refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Mariam Odeh speaks with her husband, Ahmed Odeh, sitting next to a small fire to warm himself in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Mariam Odeh speaks with her husband, Ahmed Odeh, sitting next to a small fire to warm himself in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Hanan Okal, 22, prepares tea for her children using an open fire inside a classroom at the Jabaliya Preparatory Girls School in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Hanan Okal, 22, prepares tea for her children using an open fire inside a classroom at the Jabaliya Preparatory Girls School in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Nylon covers holes in the destroyed walls of the Jabaliya Girls Preparatory School which displaced people are using as shelter in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Nylon covers holes in the destroyed walls of the Jabaliya Girls Preparatory School which displaced people are using as shelter in the Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More ____AP correspondent Lee Keath in Cairo contributed to this report.

In this photo released by Royal Thai Army, more than 250 people from 20 nations who were reportedly rescued from alleged scam centers in Myanmar, as they crossed into Thailand's Tak province on Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (Royal Thai Army, by Army Spokesperson via AP)2025-02-13T13:25:33Z BANGKOK (AP) Some 260 people believed to have been trafficked and trapped into working in online scam centers are to be repatriated after they were rescued from Myanmar, Thailands army announced Thursday. In a fresh crackdown on scam centers operating from Southeast Asia, the Thai army said it was coordinating an effort to repatriate some 260 people believed to have been victims of human trafficking after they were rescued and sent from Myanmar to Thailand.Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, which share borders with Thailand, have become known as havens for criminal syndicates who are estimated to have forced hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Asia and elsewhere into helping run online scams including false romantic ploys, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes.Such scams have extracted tens of billions of dollars from victims around the world, according to U.N. experts, while the people recruited to carry them out have often been tricked into taking the jobs under false pretenses and trapped in virtual slavery. An earlier crackdown on scam centers in Myanmar was initiated in late 2023 after China expressed embarrassment and concern over illegal casinos and scam operations in Myanmars northern Shan state along its border. Ethnic guerrilla groups with close ties to Beijing shut down many operations, and an estimated 45,000 Chinese nationals suspected of involvement were repatriated. The army said that those rescued in the most recent operation came from 20 nationalities with significant numbers from Ethiopia, Kenya, the Philippines, Malaysia, Pakistan and China. There were also nationals of Indonesia, Nepal, Taiwan, Uganda, Laos, Brazil, Burundi, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Ghana and India. They were sent across the border from Myanmars Myawaddy district to Thailands Tak province on Wednesday. Reports in Thai media said a Myanmar ethnic militia that controls the area where they were held, the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, was responsible for freeing the workers and taking them to the border. Myanmars military government exercises little control over frontier areas where ethnic minorities predominate. Several ethnic militias are believed to be involved in criminal activities, including drug trafficking and protecting call-center scam operations.The Thai army statement said the rescued people will undergo questioning, and if determined to be victims of human trafficking, will enter a process of protection while waiting to be sent back to their countries.Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who is also defense minister, said Wednesday that there might be many more scam workers waiting to be repatriated from Myanmar through Thailand, but that Thailand would only receive those that are ready to be taken back right away by their country of origin.Ive made it clear that Thailand is not going to set up another shelter, he told reporters during a visit in Sa Kaeo province, which borders Cambodia. Thailand hosts nine refugee camps along the border holding more than 100,000 people, most from Myanmars ethnic Karen minority. Phumtham added that Thailand would also need to question them before sending them back, first is to make sure that they are victims of human trafficking, and also to get information that would help the police investigate the trafficking and scam problems.On a visit to China in early February, Thailands Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra vowed along with Chinas leader Xi Jinping to crack down on the scam networks that plague Southeast Asia.Many dramatic stories of Chinese people being lured to work in Bangkok only to be trafficked into a scam compound in Myanmar have surfaced. Chinese actor Wang Xing was a high-profile case but was quickly rescued after his tale spread on social media.Underlining Beijings concern, Liu Zhongyi, Chinas Vice Minister of Public Security and Commissioner of its Criminal Investigation Bureau, made an official visit to Thailand last month and inspected the border area opposite where many of the Myanmars scam centers are located. Just ahead of Paetongtarns visit to China, the Thai government issued an order to cut off electricity, internet and gas supplies to several areas in Myanmar along the border with northern Thailand, citing national security and severe damage that the country has suffered from scam operations. Her government is considering expanding this measure to Thailands northeastern areas bordering Cambodia, said Thai Defense Ministry spokesperson Thanathip Sawangsang, who explained that officials had already removed internet cables that were installed illegally in the areas.

Housewife Jimmy Au stands in her kitchen at home in a residential area of Prince Edward district in Hong Kong on Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Kanis Leung)2025-02-14T01:27:56Z HONG KONG (AP) Jimmy Aus world shrinks to about the size of a parking space whenever she gets home. Her cramped Hong Kong home is one of four units carved out of what was once a single apartment. Most of the space is occupied by the bunk bed she shares with her husband and son, and their sleep is often disrupted by neighbors returning late or heading out early. Aus son often gets bruises bumping into things. Privacy is limited, with only a curtain separating the bathroom from the kitchen. Housewife Jimmy Au pulls back a curtain to reveal her toilet at home in a residential area of Prince Edward district in Hong Kong, on Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Kanis Leung) Housewife Jimmy Au pulls back a curtain to reveal her toilet at home in a residential area of Prince Edward district in Hong Kong, on Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Kanis Leung) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More But what troubles Au most about her home is that she might lose it. Hong Kongs government is planning to crack down on what it calls inadequate housing in subdivided apartments, mandating a minimum size and other baseline standards for homes like Aus. A public consultation period ended on Monday, and the government is aiming to pass the rules into law this year. The proposed rules leave many low-income residents like Au uncertain about their future in one of the worlds most expensive housing markets.Au, a homemaker who moved from mainland China nine years ago, said her family pays about $460 a month in rent, about half of the income her husband makes from irregular renovation jobs. Im afraid the rent will get so high we cant afford it, Au said, sitting on the beds lower bunk, surrounded by clothes, a fan and plastic storage drawers. Housing is a sensitive issue in Hong Kong, one of the worlds least affordable cities. Some 7.5 million people live in a small territory thats mostly made up of steep slopes. Just 7%, or 80 square kilometers (30 square miles), of the citys total land is residential. The average price of an apartment of less than 40 square meters (430 square feet) last December ranged from about $13,800 to $16,800 per square meter, depending on the district. A resident adjusts the curtains over a bed at her subdivided flat in Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong, on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei) A resident adjusts the curtains over a bed at her subdivided flat in Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong, on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Resident Tsang Mei Qin sits at her subdivided flat in Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong, on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei) Resident Tsang Mei Qin sits at her subdivided flat in Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong, on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Beijing, which sees the citys housing problems as a driver of the 2019 anti-government protests, wants the city to phase out subdivided units by 2049. The government is also boosting the public housing supply, aiming to provide 189,000 flats over the next five years. But some 220,000 people rely on subdivided units, including migrants, workers, students and young professionals. Most subdivided homes are not far from the standards, the government said, but an estimated 33,000 units would need major renovations to meet them.The proposed rules would mandate a minimum size of at least eight square meters (86 square feet), a bar the government says it meant to leave room for low-priced housing. Every unit will also need to have a window, a toilet exclusively for the occupants use, and a door to separate the toilet from other parts of the home, among other criteria. Landlords will have a grace period to renovate. After that, violations could lead to up to three years imprisonment and a maximum fine of about $38,500.Security guard Fafa Ching has lived in multiple subdivided flats for over a decade. Her current unit costs about $490 per month and lacks even a bathroom sink, forcing her to collect water from the showerhead with a basin to wash her face. Her home will need renovation to meet proposed requirements for fire safety and separate electricity and water meters. Ching worries that upgraded homes will be too expensive for her.The government has said if necessary, it will offer assistance such as helping affected tenants to find other private accommodation or directly providing temporary shelter. A top official told the citys public broadcaster that transitional housing apartments are ready and assured that large-scale enforcement will happen only when proper resettlement arrangements are available. A toilet and kitchen are located in the same area of a subdivided flat in Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong, on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei) A toilet and kitchen are located in the same area of a subdivided flat in Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong, on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Chan Siu-ming, a professor at the City University of Hong Kongs social and behavioral sciences department, welcomed the governments taking steps to set minimum standards, but said its resettlement plans are inadequate. Chan said the impact could be wider than officials expect, and the citys supply of public and transitional housing may not meet needs. Low-income residents may also need help shouldering the cost of moving house, he said. As of last September, the average waiting time for a public flat is five and a half years, but it can take even longer than that. Ching said shes waited for eight years.In an emailed response to questions from The Associated Press, the government said it does not expect significant surges in rent as demand will drop with the increasing public housing supply. It reiterated that the rules will be implemented gradually to avoid causing panic. A resident rests in his bed space in Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong, on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei) A resident rests in his bed space in Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong, on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More A resident rests in his bed space in Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong, on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei) A resident rests in his bed space in Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong, on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More A resident who gave his name as Chiu watches television at his subdivided flat in Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong, on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei) A resident who gave his name as Chiu watches television at his subdivided flat in Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong, on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Resident Law Chung-yu sits in his bed space in Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong, on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei) Resident Law Chung-yu sits in his bed space in Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong, on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Chan added that some single people may be forced into even smaller dormitory-like bed spaces, which are not covered by the proposed rules. Bed spaces are widely considered to be Hong Kongs worst form of housing partitioned areas in which residents get barely enough space to fit a single bed and some belongings. They are currently regulated under another law, the government said. Sze Lai-shan, the deputy director of the Society for Community Organization, a non-government organization, said some people have already been asked to move out of subdivided homes as landlords anticipate the policy.She suggested the government start registering substandard flats before the legislation comes into force to assess the residents needs and consider expanding the eligibility for transitional housing. She also hoped the policy would eventually cover those living in tiny bed spaces.Its difficult to explain to people that Hong Kong has two sets of housing standards, she said. Resident Law Chung-yu has dinner in his bed space in Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong, on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei) Resident Law Chung-yu has dinner in his bed space in Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong, on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More In Sham Shui Po, one of the citys poorest districts, bed space resident Law Chung Yu said he doubts that landlords will be able to comply with the rules.Law, who cant work due to a health problem and rents one layer of a bunk bed, pays around $280 in monthly rent for the bed space, about 30% of what he gets from the government subsidies he lives on. He shares a bathroom with neighbors in an apartment infested by lice.Its basically an armchair strategy, I dont see it having much impact in reality, he said. Residential buildings are seen through a window of a bed space in Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong, on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei) Residential buildings are seen through a window of a bed space in Sham Shui Po district of Hong Kong, on Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Aus never measured her unit, and isnt sure if her unit meets the minimum size. But with her neighboring units falling short of the minimum size requirement, she knows her home would probably be gone too. She hopes the government will help resettle affected households into places that cost the same as their current rent.Her landlord hasnt discussed the issue with her yet. For now, all she can do is wait.Im taking it day by day. Itd be worse if I think about it so much I develop mental problems, she said. KANIS LEUNG Leung covers Hong Kong, Macao and mainland China for The Associated Press. She is based in Hong Kong. twitter RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Ireland Daugherty stands in front of future housing for Libera in Morgantown, W.Va., Thursday, Feb., 6 2025. (AP Photo/Kathleen Batten)2025-02-14T05:04:13Z CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) After surviving teen homelessness and domestic violence in West Virginia, 23-year-old Ireland Daugherty was finally feeling stable: She had her own apartment, a job and was studying for a four-year degree. Ashley Cain, 36, was celebrating four years of sobriety and working with a nonprofit that trains workers to remediate long-abandoned factories and coal mines into sites for manufacturing and solar projects.Federally funded programs provided both women with a social safety net and employment in one of the nations poorest states, where nonprofits play a vital role in providing basic services like health care, education and economic development.We are a state that heavily, heavily relies on government funding, said Daugherty, who works for an organization that helps young adults transitioning out of the foster care system. And I know thats not something that everyone wants to hear, but its the reality. Two weeks ago, the White House froze spending on federal loans and grants, plunging organizations across the country into uncertainty and creating chaos for nonprofits in the poorest, most rural states, like West Virginia. President Donald Trumps administration rescinded the order, but a federal appeals court found Tuesday that not all federal funding had been restored. West Virginias reliance on federal funds to help address deeply ingrained issues makes it particularly vulnerable to the new administrations sweeping actions in a state where Trump support has run deep since his first presidency. In three elections, he has won every county. West Virginia has the nations highest rate of opioid overdose deaths, kids in foster care, obesity and diabetes and 1 in 4 children lives in poverty. The state also has widespread infrastructure issues, from polluted drinking water to patchy broadband, and was expected to benefit heavily from federal spending packages focused on revitalizing communities. Projects put on hold amid uncertaintyThe organization Cain works for, Coalfield Development, helped leverage almost $700 million for projects tied to Biden administration spending packages, funding 1,000 jobs in West Virginia alone. It supported similar federally funded projects cleaning up abandoned mine sites and setting up solar arrays in Kentucky and Pennsylvania. Part of the nonprofits role is to recruit and train the local workforce for projects, which is personal for CEO Jacob Hannah, who comes from three generations of coal miners and saw his father laid off from the mines. Those projects, funded by a mix of federal agencies, are now on pause indefinitely. Hannah said his organization received communications that their awards are under review with limited details.Its been a lot of, how do we figure out how to keep doing our work and not just sit and wait and have a death spiral? he said.In Huntington, West Virginias second largest city, Cain and Hannah toured a former coal train refurbishment factory slated to become a manufacturing hub and business incubation space where workers should have been busy with rewiring, brick and roof repair. Its like everything has culminated to the right point, but theres the starting line, and heres us, Hannah said. We just cant get to it.Cain, who went through a Coalfield Development workforce training herself, said the uncertainty has made the atmosphere at work heavier than usual.Just the awareness of what could happen has really affected peoples attitudes, Cain said. Ive seen that a lot of people that come here, that do face barriers, theyre sometimes hopeless theyre not going to be able to build a better life.In Morgantown, Daugherty was losing sleep because Libera, the nonprofit she works for, hadnt received reimbursement for a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services grant it uses.Daughtery, who was placed in state care at 16, said lack of support, low self-esteem, trauma and high rates of depression make the transition difficult for many.When the organization didnt receive its scheduled Jan. 31 payment, it had to freeze spending, including for a mental health program serving middle school girls. With the high need in her area, Daughtery said there are executive orders right now that are extremely dangerous to the way of life for West Virginians. Many groups are still in limboThe National Council of Nonprofits CEO and President Diane Yentel said Thursday that some organizations had seen funds restored but many others across the country were still waiting in limbo, and unfortunately, much of the confusion, chaos, and harm that the directive unleashed hasnt ended. The council was among the organizations that sued over Trumps orders.The crisis has forced some organizations into quick spending decisions that could have long-term implications. The Appalachian Center for Independent Living, which provides support to people with disabilities, let staff go, only to rehire them days later when it received a reimbursement. West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition said it spent a decade building trust with sometimes-skeptical farmers by offering technical support and helping them market their products.If that all goes away or if thats all significantly paused, they will lose trust in us, Executive Director Spencer Moss said.Ryan Kelly, executive director of Rural Health Associations in Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas, said he thinks the federal freeze was the wrong approach but agrees with what the Trump administration is trying to do.Diving in and trying to find the sources of waste, I think thats a very good thing, he said. When youre making changes, there will be problems that happen. But Im cautiously optimistic that the good will outweigh the bad and there will be some good results coming out of this.Alecia Allen, who runs a therapy practice and grocery store in a low-income neighborhood in West Virginias capital, said lately its felt like she has been dealing with one crisis after another. She didnt receive therapy appointment reimbursements for almost two weeks from Medicaid, which insures the majority of her patients. The delay was unusual, she said. Allen wasnt getting answers from federal agencies about the grants helping her work with farmers to provide local, healthy food to her community at a lower cost. Then a vendor she buys from to stock store shelves said her weekly bill was going up from $500 to $850 because of tariffs. It is a huge step backwards, and it is unfortunate to have to digest every day, she said.

United States Vice-President JD Vance, second left, speaks during a meeting with Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)2025-02-14T05:02:03Z MUNICH (AP) Vice President JD Vance hammered home the U.S. demand that the NATO alliance step up defense spending on Friday, ahead of a security meeting in Europe at a time of intense concern and uncertainty over the Trump administrations foreign policy.The future of Ukraine is the top item on the agenda at the Munich Security Conference following a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin this week, when they pledged to work together to end the 3-year-old Russia-Ukraine conflict.Vance is expected to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later Friday for talks that many observers, particularly in Europe, hope will shed at least some light on Trumps ideas for a negotiated settlement to the war. NATO defense spendingVance started his day in Munich meeting separately with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and British foreign secretary David Lammy. He used the engagements to reiterate the Republican Trump administrations call for NATO members to spend more on defense. Currently, 23 of NATOs 32 member nations are hitting the Western military alliances target of spending 2% of the nations GDP on defense.NATO is a very important military alliance, of course, that were the most significant part of, Vance told Rutte. But we want to make sure that NATO is actually built for the future, and we think a big part of that is ensuring that NATO does a little bit more burden sharing in Europe, so the United States can focus on some of our challenges in East Asia.Rutte said he agreed that Europe needs to step up. We have to grow up in that sense and spend much more, he said. Chernobyl drone strikeHours before Vance and Zelenskyy were set to meet, a Russian drone with a high-explosive warhead hit the protective confinement shell of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Kyiv region, the Ukrainian president said. Radiation levels have not increased, Zelenskyy and the U.N. atomic agency said. Zelenskyy in Munich told reporters that he thinks the Chernobyl drone strike is a very clear greeting from Putin and Russian Federation to the security conference.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Friday denied Ukraines claims.U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was supposed to join Vance and Zelenskyy but was delayed when his Air Force plane had to return to Washington after developing a mechanical problem en route to Munich. He took a different aircraft, but it was unclear whether he would arrive in time for the meeting. Trump, who upended years of steadfast U.S. support for Ukraine during his call with Putin on Wednesday, has been vague about his specific intentions other than suggesting that a deal will likely result in Ukraine being forced to cede territory that Russia has seized since it annexed Crimea in 2014.The Ukraine war has to end, Trump told reporters Thursday. Young people are being killed at levels that nobodys seen since World War II. And its a ridiculous war. Ukraines bid to join NATO Trumps musings have left Europeans in a quandary, wondering how or even if they can maintain the post-WWII security that NATO afforded them or fill the gap in the billions of dollars of security assistance that the Democratic Biden administration provided to Ukraine since Russias February 2022 invasion. Trump has been highly skeptical of that aid and is expected to cut or otherwise limit it as negotiations get underway in the coming days.Both Trump and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week undercut Ukraines hopes of becoming part of NATO, which the alliance said less than a year ago was irreversible, or of getting back its territory captured by Russia, which currently occupies close to 20% including Crimea.I dont see any way that a country in Russias position could allow ... them to join NATO, Trump said Thursday. I dont see that happening.But British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Zelenskyy on Friday that Ukraine must be allowed to join NATO.Trump in recent days said he wants to reach an agreement with Ukraine to gain access to the countrys rare earth materials as a condition for continuing U.S. support for Ukraines defense against Russia. He confirmed earlier this week that aides were working toward striking such a deal.Asked Friday if a deal might be completed in Munich, Vance responded, Well see. Possible sanctions against RussiaVance, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, said that the U.S. would hit Moscow with sanctions and potentially military action if Putin wont agree to a peace deal with Ukraine that guarantees Kyivs long-term independence.The warning that military options remain on the table was striking language from a Trump administration thats repeatedly underscored a desire to quickly end the war. Zelenskyy wont accept agreements made without UkraineThe U.S. reassurances may have somewhat allayed Zelenskyys fears, although they will not replace any lost military or economic support that President Joe Bidens administration had provided.The Ukrainian leader conceded Thursday that it was not very pleasant that Trump spoke first to Putin. But he said the main issue was to not allow everything to go according to Putins plan. We cannot accept it, as an independent country, any agreements (made) without us, Zelenskyy said as he visited a nuclear power plant in western Ukraine.European turning pointThe track Trump is taking also has rocked Europe, much as his dismissive comments about France and Germany did during his first term.French Deputy Foreign Minister Benjamin Haddad described Europe as being at a turning point, with the ground shifting rapidly under its feet, and said Europe must wean itself off its reliance on the United States for its security. He warned that handing a victory to Russia in Ukraine could have repercussions in Asia, too.I think were not sufficiently grasping the extent to which our world is changing. Both our competitors and our allies are busy accelerating, Haddad told broadcaster France Info on Thursday.___Lee reported from Washington and Dazio from Berlin. AP reporters Lolita C. Baldor and Zeke Miller in Washington, John Leicester in Paris and Jill Lawless in London contributed. AAMER MADHANI Madhani covers the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto STEFANIE DAZIO Dazio covers Northern Europe from Berlin for The Associated Press. She previously covered crime and criminal justice from Los Angeles.

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, a searchlight illuminates a hole in the roof of a damaged sarcophagus, that covers the destroyed 4th reactor of Chernobyl nuclear power plant, following a Russian drone attack in Chernobyl, Ukraine, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)2025-02-14T08:14:47Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) A Russian drone with a high-explosive warhead hit the protective containment shell of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Kyiv region during the night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday, but a senior Russian official rejected blame for the strike.Radiation levels at the plant have not increased, Zelenskyy and a U.N. agency said. The International Atomic Energy Agency said the strike did not breach the plants inner containment shell.The IAEA did not attribute blame, saying only its team stationed at the site heard an explosion and were informed that a drone had struck the shell.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the Ukrainian claims it was responsible. There is no talk about strikes on nuclear infrastructure, nuclear energy facilities, any such claim isnt true, our military doesnt do that, Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. It was not possible to independently confirm who was behind the strike.The strike came two days after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss ending the war, in a move that seemed to identify Putin as the only player that matters and looked set to sideline Zelenskyy, as well as European governments, in any peace talks. That was more unwelcome news for Ukraine, which is being slowly pushed backward by Russias bigger army along parts of the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line and desperately needs more Western help. Ukraine intends to provide detailed information to U.S. officials about the Chernobyl strike during the Munich Security Conference starting Friday, the head of Ukraines Presidential Office, Andrii Yermak, wrote on his Telegram channel.Zelenskyy said that the strike damaged the structure and started a fire, which has been put out. The Ukrainian Emergency Service provided a photograph it said showed a searchlight illuminating a ragged hole in the roof of the damaged sarcophagus. Peskov suggested, without presenting evidence, that Ukrainian officials made the claim about a drone strike because they wanted to thwart efforts to end the war through negotiations between Trump and Putin.Its obvious that there are those (in the Ukrainian government) who will continue to oppose any attempts to launch a negotiation process, and its obvious that those people will do everything to try to derail this process, Peskov said.The U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency said the Chernobyl strike occurred at 1:50 a.m. local time (2350 GMT). The outer shell that was hit is a protective cover built in 2016 over a heavy concrete containment structure. The inner layer was placed on the plants fourth reactor soon after the 1986 disaster, which was one of the worst accidents in nuclear history. The containment shells seek to prevent radiation leaks.The three-year Russia-Ukraine war has brought repeated warnings of dangers to Ukraines four nuclear plants, especially at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, which is Europes biggest and one of the 10 largest in the world. IAEA chief Rafael Rossi said on X that the Chernobyl strike and the recent increase in military activity near the Zaporizhzhia plant underline persistent nuclear safety risks, adding that the IAEA remains on high alert.The IAEA said its personnel at the site responded within minutes of the strike, adding there were no casualties.Radiation levels inside and outside remain normal and stable, the IAEA said on X.Zelenskyy claimed on Telegram that the Chernobyl strike showed that Putin is certainly not preparing for negotiations a claim Ukrainian officials have repeatedly made.The only state in the world that can attack such facilities, occupy the territory of nuclear power plants, and conduct hostilities without any regard for the consequences is todays Russia. And this is a terrorist threat to the entire world, he wrote.Russia must be held accountable for what it is doing, he added.___Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Red Star hens, a hybrid breed that lays large brown eggs, walk around outside their coop at Historic Wagner Farm, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in Glenview, Ill. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)2025-02-14T06:05:44Z LAS VEGAS (AP) Back when egg prices remained securely under $2 a dozen in 2021, Nevada joined several other states concerned about animal welfare in requiring cage-free eggs.Now four years later, a dozen eggs costs an average of nearly $5 in the U.S. because of the lingering bird flu, so Nevada passed a law the governor signed Thursday that will allow the state to suspend that law temporarily in hopes of getting residents some relief at the checkout counter.But it is not quite that simple, which is why the other six states with the same laws are so far reticent to follow suit.By relaxing the rule, Nevada might get access to additional eggs, but the supply of all eggs remains tight because nearly 159 million birds have been slaughtered since the bird flu outbreak began in 2022 to help limit virus spread. The virus prompts the slaughter of entire flocks anytime it is found. It is not clear dropping cage-free laws will have a significant effect on egg prices that have peaked at an average of $4.95 per dozen because the farmers who collectively invested several billion dollars in making the switch cant easily go back to raising chickens packed together in massive barns that they already spent the money to convert. Even if all the cage-free laws went away, big corporations like McDonalds and Sodexo remain committed to buying only those kind of eggs, ensuring strong demand for cage-free eggs.University of Arkansas agricultural economist Jada Thompson said opening up Nevada to all kinds of eggs could ease egg prices in Nevada very slightly, but that it might make prices worse elsewhere because supplies are so tight. Nevada tries to counter high egg pricesBut Nevada is going to give it a try even if California, Massachusetts, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Michigan dont seem to be considering it. Arizona, Rhode Island and Utah also have cage-free laws on the books, but theirs wont take effect for at least a couple more years.Democratic Assemblymember Howard Watts III, who raises chickens in his Nevada backyard, advocated for the 2021 bill to promote the standard of humane treatment of the animals. But the ongoing bird flu outbreak in the U.S. has caused egg prices to to hit a record high, and cage-free eggs are generally even more expensive.One of the things that was not foreseen at that time was this major animal disease outbreak, Watts testified Tuesday. As a result, there was no regulatory flexibility to suspend those requirements in the event of a major supply chain disruption.Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo approved the legislation Thursday. Nevada Department of Agriculture Director J.J. Goicoechea is expected to authorize the 120-day suspension of the cage-free egg requirements within a day, according to Goicoecheas spokesperson Ciara Ressel.We anticipate 30 days before we can see an impact at the grocery stores, Ressel said.This months jump in egg prices was the biggest since the nations last bird flu outbreak in 2015. The previous high was set two years ago when eggs were selling for $4.82 per dozen on average. The average prices mask just how bad it is in some places. Some Californians these days are shelling out $12.99 for a dozen, or more than a buck an egg. Some New York shops even started selling bundles of three eggs to help people who cant afford a full dozen.Nevada resident Nancy Wong said she has been outraged by egg prices in the state. We have gone to the store and eggs have been either rationed or completely out, she said.A minority of eggs are produced on cage-free farmsThe concern with the cage-free requirements is that only about 121 million of the 304 million chickens laying eggs nationwide are raised on cage-free farms, so the supply is limited. Many of the eggs those hens produce are promised to restaurant chains like McDonalds and Panera, food service giants like Sodexo and Aramark and grocers under long-term contracts that help keep prices down. But even when they do have to pay a premium, grocers sometimes lose money on eggs by selling them cheaply to try to get shoppers in the door. The number of cage-free chickens has steadily increased in recent years because of the laws and the pressure from the companies buying eggs, increasing exponentially from just 38 million at the start of 2017. But the United Egg Producers trade group has estimated it would take at least 226 million cage-free hens to meet all the demand for those eggs, and more customers are clamoring for them, so the supply is tight.The total flock of chickens nationwide used to number above 330 million before the bird flu outbreak began.Even as more egg farmers were converting to cage-free setups over the past decade, prices stayed between $1.40 and $2 per dozen most of the time with only the normal seasonal price spikes around Easter and Thanksgiving until this current bird flu outbreak began in early 2022. If bird flu outbreaks happen to hit cage-free farms hard, there are fewer eggs out there that can replace the lost ones. For example, out of the nearly 47 million birds slaughtered just since the start of December, more than 3 million of them were on five cage-free farms in California. Anytime birds must be killed, it takes months for a farm to resume producing eggs because of the time required to dispose of the carcasses, sanitize the barns and raise new chickens until they are about 5 months old and capable of laying eggs.Other states resist overturning cage-free lawsCalifornia wont consider dropping its cage-free law in part because the rule came from a measure voters passed in 2018, so voters would have to approve any major changes. But there doesnt seem to be much support for changes in other states either.Michigan state Rep. Jerry Neyer, a dairy farmer and chair of the state House Agriculture Committee, said the idea that new cage-free laws are driving up egg prices is a misconception. The Republican added that most farms already adapted to comply with the law, so dropping the mandate wouldnt cut costs.A bill to repeal Colorados cage-free requirements, which just took effect on Jan. 1, was killed in its first committee vote last month. The sponsor, Republican state Rep. Ryan Gonzalez, argued that while the avian flu was a major factor in prices, the cage-free rules played a significant role. But the majority of lawmakers on the panel appeared skeptical.Jonathan Kuester, who runs the small Historic Wagner Farm with about 200 Red Star hens in Illinois just outside Chicago, said he doesnt think cage-free practices are the cause of the egg shortages.He acknowledged his farm is more vulnerable to a bird flu infection than a traditional farm where chickens are confined inside a barn that can be better protected. Kuesters birds roam free, where they might interact with ducks and geese that are the main carriers of the disease.The egg shortage that people are seeing is a result of some fairly large flocks being euthanized, and so fewer chickens are currently laying than were three or four months ago, Kuester said. Theres been a little bit of a panic, too. People are suddenly buying eggs as quickly as they can, and so you see that shortage.___Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska. Govindarao reported from Phoenix. Associated Press writers Sophie Austin, Joey Cappelletti, Michael Casey, Isabella Volmert, Jesse Bedayn, Erin Hooley and Dee-Ann Durbin contributed to this report. JOSH FUNK Funk is an Associated Press reporter who covers all the major freight railroads including Union Pacific, BNSF, Norfolk Southern, CSX, Canadian National and CPKC. Funk also covers Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway and has been attending Buffetts Woodstock for Capitalists annual meeting every spring in Omaha, Nebraska, for 19 years. twitter mailto SEJAL GOVINDARAO Govindarao covers Arizona government and politics for The Associated Press, with a focus on women in state government. She is based in Phoenix. twitter mailto

A road is covered in mud in the Eaton Fire zone during a storm Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Altadena, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)2025-02-14T06:42:35Z LOS ANGELES (AP) Southern California faces the continued risk of rock and mudslides on wildfire-scarred hillsides Friday, a day after heavy rains sent debris across several roadways, including the Pacific Coast Highway, where a fire department vehicle was pushed into the ocean.The storm hitting the region began to ease Thursday night, but dangerous slides can strike even after rain stops, particularly in scorched areas where vegetation that helps keep soil anchored has burned away.One member of the Los Angeles Fire Department was in the vehicle when it went into the water in Malibu and was able to exit with minor injuries, department spokesperson Erik Scott said on the social platform X. In Pacific Palisades on Thursday, one intersection of the highway was submerged in at least 3 feet (0.9 meters) of sludge, with some drivers trying to force their way through and police officers pushing one vehicle through the muck. Bulldozers worked to clear the roads not far from where just weeks ago they moved abandoned cars after people fleeing last months wildfires got stuck in traffic and fled on foot. In north Altadena, a road near the Eaton Fire burn scar was also covered in several feet of mud, vegetation and trees as a flood of water overcame concrete blocks put in place to prevent such debris flows. The area was mostly deserted. To the north, snow and ice contributed to major pileups on highways in Oregon and Washington, injuring at least 10 people, as a winter storm descended on the Pacific Northwest.The West Coast storms are just the latest in a week of bad weather across the U.S. that cut power to tens of thousands. Too much rain too quickly in California?As the downpour intensified Thursday, the National Weather Service issued flash flood and severe thunderstorm warnings for a swath of eastern Los Angeles County. The rain caused a rockslide and pushed mud onto the road in Malibu Canyon, and a large debris flow left about 8 inches (20 centimeters) of mud across a road in the Hollywood Hills.Southern California reported 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 centimeters) of rain in coastal areas and valleys and 3 to 6 inches (7.6 to 15.2 centimeters) across the coastal slopes on Thursday, according to the weather service.More than 30,000 people in California were without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us. Evacuation orders and warnings were issued in areas where hillsides were scarred by the Palisades Fire, the most destructive in LA history. In addition to burning the vegetation that keeps soil in place, the fires also added loose debris to the landscape, including ash, soil and rocks. Ahead of the storm, officials distributed sandbags, positioned rescue swimmers and told residents to have go-bags ready. Sandbags and temporary concrete barriers were in place across Altadena, where the Eaton Fire destroyed thousands of homes. Despite recent storms, much of Southern California remains in extreme or severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that while the area is desperate for rain, this storm might bring too much too quickly. In Altadena, Mehran Daoudian prepared by laying tarp over a hole in his homes roof where fire burned through it last month. Daoudian said he was grateful that city workers arranged sandbags and concrete barriers in his neighborhood over the past few weeks.I did not leave the cars on the street because with the mudslide, (they) might go down, he said.Near the burn scar for the Airport Fire in Orange County, Trabuco Canyon Road was overtaken by mud and debris, Orange County Public Works posted on social media.In the San Francisco Bay Area, there were blackouts, small landslides and inundated roadways. Authorities urged people to evacuate Felton Grove, a small community along the central coast, as the San Lorenzo River threatened to top its banks. In neighboring Nevada, the weather service said it recorded a measurable amount of rain in Las Vegas, ending a streak of 214 days without precipitation.And in northern Utah, rain and snow created dangerous conditions on mountain roads leading to ski resorts. The state Department of Transportation issued a road safety alert warning of a mix of heavy snow and rain through Friday. Pacific Northwest ice storm First responders searched every vehicle in a pileup Thursday near Multnomah Falls, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Portland, Oregon, the Multnomah County Sheriffs Office said. The office initially said more than 100 cars were involved, but the state transportation department later said the number was 20 to 30 vehicles. Oregon State Police said four people were taken to hospitals with minor injuries.The pileup happened during near-whiteout conditions in the westbound lanes of Interstate 84, authorities said. An SUV caught fire, but its occupants escaped. Multnomah County officials extended a state of emergency through at least Friday and said eight shelters would be open. Officials said 489 people went to the shelters Wednesday night. Wind chills could dip to 10 degrees (minus 12 Celsius) in Portland, the weather service said. In southern Washington, six people were taken to hospitals with injuries in another pileup of 22 vehicles on Interstate 5 near the Cowlitz River, state patrol spokesperson Will Finn said. There were 95 crashes Thursday in five counties in the states southwest.___Whittle reported from Scarborough, Maine. Associated Press journalists from across the U.S. contributed. PATRICK WHITTLE Whittle is an Associated Press reporter based in Portland, Maine. He focuses on the environment and oceans. twitter mailto

Markus Soeder, Prime Minister of Bavaria, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Dieter Reiter (SPD),Mayor of Munich, from right, bring flowers to the site where a car crashed into a Ver.di demonstration the day before, Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)2025-02-14T10:58:07Z MUNICH (AP) The suspect in the car-ramming attack in Munich that left more than 30 people injured appears to have had an Islamic extremist motive, but theres no evidence that he was involved with any radical network, authorities said Friday.The 24-year-old Afghan, who arrived in Germany as an asylum-seeker in 2016 and lived in Munich, was arrested after driving his Mini Cooper into the back of a labor union demonstration in the Bavarian city on Thursday. Police officers pulled him out of the car after firing a shot at the vehicle, which didnt hit him, and arrested him.It was the fifth in a series of attacks involving immigrants over the past nine months that have pushed migration to the forefront of the campaign for Germanys Feb. 23 election.Prosecutor Gabriele Tilmann said that the suspect said Allahu Akbar, or God is great, to police and then prayed after his arrest which prompted a department that investigates extremism and terror to take on the case immediately. In questioning, he admitted deliberately driving into the demonstration and gave an explanation that I would summarize as religious motivation, Tilmann said. She didnt give details, but added: According to all we know at the moment, I would venture to speak of an Islamist motivation. However, there were no indications the suspect was in any Islamic extremist organization, she added. He posted content with religious references such as Allah, protect us always on social media, where he described himself as a bodybuilder and fitness model, Tilmann said.The deputy head of Bavarias state criminal police office, Guido Limmer, said investigators found a chat, apparently with relatives, in which the suspect wrote perhaps I wont be there anymore tomorrow, but so far they have found nothing that points to concrete preparations for the attack or anyone else being involved. The man had no previous convictions and had a valid residence permit, although his asylum application had been rejected. He had jobs, including as a store detective. Tilmann said there was no indication of mental illness.Police said that they know of 36 people who were injured in the attack, two of them very seriously and eight seriously. Tilmann said the suspect is under investigation on 36 counts of attempted murder as well as bodily harm and dangerous interference with road traffic.Well-wishers laid flowers and lit candles near the site of the attack. Im speechless, said Anna Zagkoti, 37. We had too many other cases like this in other German cities. For me its really sad and it cant continue. Politicians have to do something and we as society as well. We have to stand together and fight it.German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier laid a flower at the scene Friday morning. He condemned the brutality of this act and said that it leaves us stunned.The attack happened a day before the opening of the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of international foreign and security policy officials that is accompanied by heavy security. U.S. Vice President JD Vance offered his condolences at the start of a bilateral meeting with Steinmeier on the sidelines of the event. " We wish the government the best as you recover and try to care for the victims and families, he said.Moulson reported from Berlin. Daniel Niemann and Aamer Madhani in Munich contributed to this report. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Pope Francis meets with Czech Republic's Prime Minister Robert Fico, right, at The Vatican Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Vatican Media via AP, HO)2025-02-14T10:07:09Z ROME (AP) Pope Francis was hospitalized Friday to treat a weeklong bout of bronchitis and undergo some necessary diagnostic tests, the Vatican said, confirming the latest issues with the 88-year-olds pontiffs health.Francis was diagnosed with bronchitis last Thursday, but had continued to hold daily audiences in his Vatican hotel suite. He attended his general audience Wednesday and even presided at an outdoor Mass on Sunday. But he had handed off his speeches for an aide to read aloud, saying he was having trouble breathing. On Friday, he appeared bloated and pale during the handful of audiences he held before going to the hospital. The bloating is an indication the medication he is taking to treat the lung infection is making him retain water.Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has long battled health problems, especially bouts of acute bronchitis in winter. He uses a wheelchair, walker or cane when moving around his apartment and recently fell twice, hurting his arm and chin. Francis was hospitalized at Romes Gemelli hospital, where he was last admitted in June 2023 to have surgery to remove intestinal scar tissue and repair a hernia in the abdominal wall. A few months before that, he spent three days in the hospital to receive intravenous antibiotics for a respiratory infection. A Vatican statement said Francis would be admitted after his Friday audiences. In addition to regular Vatican officials, the pope met Friday morning with the Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico, and the head of CNN, Mark Thompson. This morning, at the end of the audiences, Pope Francis will be admitted to the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic for some necessary diagnostic tests and to continue in a hospital setting treatment for bronchitis that is still ongoing, the statement said.The Vatican didnt provide details of the duration of Francis hospitalization or what would come of his scheduled events. He has a busy weekend agenda with another special Holy Year event planned, this time honoring artists. On the calendar is an audience with artists Saturday, a Mass on Sunday and a trip to Romes famed Cinecitta studios on Monday. The Vatican announcement, delivered ahead of Francis hospitalization, came in sharp contrast to the 2023 hospitalization for bronchitis that caused confusion.Initially, the Vatican had said he had gone in for scheduled tests, but the pontiff later revealed he had felt pain in his chest and was rushed to the hospital where bronchitis was diagnosed. He was put on intravenous antibiotics and was released April 1, quipping as he left that he was still alive.Francis spent 10 days at the same hospital in July 2021 following intestinal surgery for a bowel narrowing. He credited his personal nurse then with saving his life for having insisted he get the problem checked out.It wasnt the first time he credited a nurse with saving his life. Francis recounted his near-death experience with his youthful lung infection in his recent autobiography Hope, in which he credited his survival to a nurse, an Italian nun named Sister Cornelia Caraglio. She was an experienced, cultured woman who had worked as a teacher in Greece, and she quickly realized the seriousness of my situation: She called the specialist, who drained one and a half liters of fluid from my lungs. It began a slow and unsteady climb back from the brink between life and death, he recalled. It was she who, after the doctor prescribed a certain dose of penicillin and streptomycin, ordered that it be doubled, he recalled.She had intuition and practical experience, and certainly no lack of courage, he recalled. My companions came from the seminary to visit me; some also gave me their blood for transfusions. Gradually the fevers decided to leave me, and the light began to return.___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.

Pope Francis starts reading his speech during his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)2025-02-14T11:14:28Z VATICAN CITY (AP) Pope Francis was being hospitalized Friday for the fourth time since he was elected pope in 2013, after he was diagnosed with bronchitis last week. Francis had part of one lung removed as a young man and has recurring bouts of bronchitis, especially in winter.The 88-year-old pontiff has had a series of other health problems, too. In addition to having had a large chunk of his large intestine removed in 2021, he now uses a wheelchair, cane or walker because of strained knee ligaments.Francis has a personal physician, Dr. Roberto Bernabei, who is an internist and geriatric specialist at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome. He also has a personal nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, an employee of the Vatican health system whom Francis credited with saving his life when Strappetti diagnosed the 2021 intestinal problem. In 2022, Francis named Strappetti his personal health care assistant. Strappetti and Bernabei usually join Francis on his foreign trips.Heres a look at the health of the pontiff.1957: In his native Argentina, Francis, then in his early 20s, suffered from a severe respiratory infection that forced doctors to remove part of one lung. He later recalled that a nurse saved his life at the time, deciding to double the amount of drugs he had been given. July 4-14, 2021: Francis spent 10 days in Gemelli hospital in Rome for what the Vatican said was a narrowing of the large intestine. Doctors removed 33 centimeters (13 inches) of his colon. Francis emerged, saying he could eat whatever he wants, but lamenting he didnt respond well to general anesthesia. Jan. 24, 2023: Francis told The Associated Press that the diverticulosis, or bulges in his intestinal wall, that had prompted the 2021 surgery had returned but was under control.March 29-April 1, 2023: Francis spent three days at Gemelli with a respiratory infection after feeling a sharp pain in his chest and having trouble breathing. Doctors diagnosed an acute bronchitis and treated him with intravenous antibiotics. June 6, 2023: Francis underwent unspecified medical checks at Gemelli before returning to the Vatican.June 7, 2023: Francis underwent abdominal surgery to remove scar tissue and repair an abdominal hernia. He was released nine days later. Feb. 14, 2025: Francis returned to Gemelli for treatment of bronchitis and further diagnostic tests, the Vatican said.___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.

American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, 65, center left, waves as he is escorted by Hamas fighters to be handed over to the Red Cross in Gaza City, Saturday Feb.1, 2025.(AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar, File)2025-02-14T13:46:23Z RAMAT GAN, Israel (AP) After 484 days of captivity in Gaza, Keith Siegel had many questions. Was his 97-year-old mother still alive? Which of his neighbors was killed in Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack? Why did it take so long to free him?With minimal access to media, the dual American-Israeli citizen only learned months after he was captured that his son had survived the attack that launched the war in Gaza. He had heard that his family and others were advocating for hostages freedom. But beyond that, he knew very little about life outside his confines in Gaza. He really wanted to know everything as soon as possible, just to put all the question marks away and to know what happened, said his daughter, Elan Siegel. Hamas fighters deploy at the site of the hand over of American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, 65, to the Red Cross in Gaza City, Saturday Feb.1, 2025.(AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar) Hamas fighters deploy at the site of the hand over of American-Israeli hostage Keith Siegel, 65, to the Red Cross in Gaza City, Saturday Feb.1, 2025.(AP Photo/Mohammed Hajjar) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Hostages freed as part of a tenuous ceasefire in Gaza are confronting a flood of information about loved ones and destroyed communities, and are still figuring out their place in a changed world. Their families are grappling with how to fill them in on what they missed without potentially deepening their trauma.Experts say it is important to be cautious.The information is definitely traumatic so you have to really be sensitive, careful and monitor the pace in which you expose the information, said Einat Yehene, who heads the rehabilitation division at the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Israeli captive Eli Sharabi, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Israeli captive Eli Sharabi, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Paraded by Hamas, then by shattered realityFor many freed captives, catching up has been excruciating.Eli Sharabi, 52, had no exposure to media during his 16-month ordeal, according to his brother, Sharon Sharabi. Forced to speak at a staged Hamas ceremony before his release, a gaunt Sharabi told a crowd of masked militants and journalists that he was looking forward to seeing his wife and two teenage daughters back in Israel.Then he learned the crushing reality shortly after his arrival in Israel: all three had been killed at home during the Oct. 7 attack.Beyond the emotional burden and difficult experiences he faced in captivity, he had to bear this horrible loss on the first day that he left from there, his brother told Israeli Army Radio. Family of Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi, whose wife and two daughters were killed on Oct. 7 attack, react as they watch the live broadcast of him being released from Hamas captivity in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) Family of Israeli hostage Eli Sharabi, whose wife and two daughters were killed on Oct. 7 attack, react as they watch the live broadcast of him being released from Hamas captivity in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Or Levy, 34, was dealt a similar blow upon being freed. That is when he learned that his wife, Einav, was killed on Oct. 7. For 491 days, he held onto hope that he would return to her, his brother, Michael Levy, told reporters.Levy was reunited with his young son, who hit key developmental milestones, like being potty trained, while his father was in captivity. It took you a long time to come back, the 3-year-old told his father, according to Israeli media. Palestinians gather as Hamas fighters escort Red Cross vehicles carrying Israeli captives Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi, and Or Levy, who have been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, after being handed over in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Palestinians gather as Hamas fighters escort Red Cross vehicles carrying Israeli captives Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi, and Or Levy, who have been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, after being handed over in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Facing uncertainty even after being freed The first person Keith Siegel asked about upon returning home was his mother, Gladys. When his wifes eyes welled up, he immediately understood she had died, his daughter recounted.Siegel picked up some information about his family while in captivity. Months into the war, he heard his daughter on the radio, speaking about how his son had survived Hamas attack. Other freed hostages have also reported hearing messages from their families through the news media. Yarden Bibas, who was freed earlier this month, was told by his captors that his wife, Shiri, and their two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, were dead. But he was also told they were spotted in Tel Aviv, according to Israeli media. Now that he is out, he still lacks clarity. They remain in Gaza, and the Israeli government has said it has serious concern for their lives. Israeli Yarden Bibas, 34, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday Feb. 1, 2025. Photo/Abdel Kareem) Israeli Yarden Bibas, 34, who has been held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since October 7, 2023, is escorted by Hamas fighters before being handed over to the Red Cross in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday Feb. 1, 2025. Photo/Abdel Kareem) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Yifat Zailer shows photos of her cousin, Shiri Bibas, center, her husband Yarden, left, and their children Ariel, top right, and Kfir, who are held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, at home in Herziliyya, Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. Kfir was an infant when they were captured and is now marking his second birthday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo) Yifat Zailer shows photos of her cousin, Shiri Bibas, center, her husband Yarden, left, and their children Ariel, top right, and Kfir, who are held hostage by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, at home in Herziliyya, Israel, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. Kfir was an infant when they were captured and is now marking his second birthday. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Demonstrators hold portraits of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip as a video featuring Kfir Bibas, who, along with his parents Shiri and Yarden Bibas, and his brother Ariel, is still being held hostage in Gaza, plays behind them during a protest in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) Demonstrators hold portraits of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip as a video featuring Kfir Bibas, who, along with his parents Shiri and Yarden Bibas, and his brother Ariel, is still being held hostage in Gaza, plays behind them during a protest in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday Jan. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More A relentless need to know moreBeyond their personal lives, freed hostages are also taking in more than a years worth of world events: President Donald Trump is back in the White House; Israel and Iran engaged in their first direct attacks; Israel killed the longtime chief of the militant group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah.Keith Siegels family is sharing information sparingly, as one might with a child. You answer only what he asks and not more than that, his daughter, Elan, said.But the questions are relentless. Siegel wanted to know what happened to his community of Kfar Aza. Was anyone watering the plants? Who was killed in Hamas attack?We asked him if hes sure that hes ready. And he said yes, that he just wants to know. So I read him the list of 64 people who were killed, his daughter said. She said his reaction to the news has been muted because its almost like he forgot how to feel while in captivity. People react at the so-called hostages square as they watch the release of hostages Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami, live on a television screen in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) People react at the so-called hostages square as they watch the release of hostages Eli Sharabi, Or Levy and Ohad Ben Ami, live on a television screen in Tel Aviv, Israel on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Siegels photo has been a mainstay at protests and on banners highlighting the plight of hostages, making him recognizable across Israel. Ahead of his release, dozens of Israelis posted videos of themselves on social media making his favorite pancake recipe. Siegels wife, Aviva, who was freed from captivity in the early weeks of the war, prepared a book for him that includes notes from the important figures she had lobbied on his behalf from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to former U.S. President Joe Biden. Siegel was especially befuddled by the revelation that world leaders knew about his captivity.His daughter, Elan, recalled him saying: If they knew, how can it be that I was there for so long? TIA GOLDENBERG Goldenberg is an Associated Press reporter and producer covering Israel and the Palestinian territories. She previously reported on East and West Africa from Nairobi. twitter mailto

U.S. Air Force fighter aircraft F-35 takes off to perform on the fourth day of the Aero India 2025, a biennial event, at Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru, India, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)2025-02-14T11:33:03Z SRINAGAR, India (AP) There was guarded optimism among military experts in India as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Donald Trump outlined plans to ramp up sales of defense systems to New Delhi, including F-35 stealth fighter jets, to deepen the U.S.-India strategic relationship.Defense sector is a big money, and India happens to be one of the top buyers in the world, said Lt. Gen. Vinod Bhatia, Indias director-general for military operations from 2012 to 2014. As long as we buy, Trump will be happy but its surely going to expand our conventional deterrence.The meeting signaled that defense diplomacy is the core of diplomacy these days, Bhatia said.In a joint statement at the White House, the two leaders announced plans to sign a new 10-year framework later this year for the U.S.-India Major Defense Partnership. Modi and Trump pledged to elevate military cooperation across all domains air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace through enhanced training, exercises, and operations, incorporating the latest technologies, the statement said.The leaders also committed to break new ground to support and sustain the overseas deployments of the U.S. and Indian militaries in the Indo-Pacific, including enhanced logistics and intelligence sharing, the statement said. While Indian military experts have long sought to diversify national defense procurements, analysts say it will take years to reduce New Delhis dependency on Russian arms, even with expanded defense cooperation with the U.S. Raja Mohan, an analyst at the Institute of South Asian Studies in Singapore, said expansion in defense cooperation would take time. What India wants is coproduction and more research and development in India. Its a long-term project, he said.It is difficult for India to remain dependent on Russia for defense equipment owing to difficulties obtaining parts and upgrades. However, a deal with the U.S. for F-35 stealth fighter jets will not fill Indias immediate need for more than 100 aircraft, said Rahul Bedi, an independent defense analyst based in India. They are not going to come tomorrow, Bedi said. Its going to take several years to start arriving, he added.As its geostrategic competition with China has grown manifold in recent years, India has diversified defense acquisitions from the U.S., Israel and France while seeking to move toward self-reliance in this sector. But New Delhi is still far from getting over its dependence on supplies and spare parts from Russia that makes up to 60% of Indian defense equipment.With vast borders and protracted border conflicts with neighboring countries Pakistan and China, India also relies hugely on Moscow for military upgrades and modernization.India faces threats from China and Pakistan, and a threat from collaborative Pakistan-China. We need technologically capable systems to counter these threats and one country that can give such systems is America, said Lt. Gen. D.S. Hooda, who from 2014 to 2016 headed the Indian militarys Northern Command. Chinas rise as a global power also has pushed India closer to the U.S. and to the Quad, a new Indo-Pacific strategic alliance among the U.S., India, Australia and Japan. The growing strategic alliance accuses China of economic coercion and military maneuvering in the region, upsetting the status quo, and has ruffled feathers in Beijing, which sees the relationship as a counterweight against Chinas rise.Indian fears of Chinese territorial expansion are bolstered by the growing presence of the Chinese navy in the Indian Ocean and Beijings efforts to strengthen ties with not only Pakistan but also Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal.The major threat is from China which is outstripping Indias capability, Hooda said.In the early 1990s, about 70% of Indian army weapons, 80% of its air force systems and 85% of its navy platforms were of Soviet origin. From 2016 to 2020, Russia accounted for nearly 49% of Indias defense imports while French and Israeli shares were 18% and 13%, respectively, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Major Indian purchases from the U.S. included long-range maritime patrol aircraft, C-130 transport aircraft, missiles and drones.The defense sales also can potentially offset the trade deficit between the two countries, Hooda said.Its a win-win for all. America will get more business, and well get modern weapons, Hooda said. It will also help to ease pressure on the tariff issue and trade deficit.___Associated Press writer Ashok Sharma in New Delhi contributed to this report. AIJAZ HUSSAIN Hussain is a senior reporter for The Associated Press covering the Kashmir conflict, Indian politics and strategic affairs, and climate. He has worked for the AP for nearly two decades. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

A snowy owl named Ghost eats a frozen rat at the Bird Treatment and Learning Center on Feb. 6, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. The center is among animal shelters and zoos around the country providing cathartic avenues for the scorned to get a little revenge on Valentine's Day. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)2025-02-13T06:05:58Z ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) Feel like dissing instead of kissing your former lover this Valentines Day? Think your ex is more like a rat than a prince? Do you believe your former paramour should never procreate?Animal shelters and zoos around the country are encouraging little cathartic avenues for revenge this holiday and raising money for a cause with a slew of darkly funny fundraisers for those missed by Cupids arrow.Options include naming a feral cat after your old flame before its neutered or giving rodents or cockroaches your love bugs name before feeding them to bigger animals. The Minnesota Zoos campaign to name a bug after either a friend or a foe has attracted donors from across the world.Teri Scott of Poulsbo, Washington, said she was bombarded on social media with the anti-love campaigns, including naming a hissing cockroach after an ex. She said she couldnt bring herself to name a bug thats so hard to get rid of after her former husband, fearing that it could be an omen shed never shake him despite the court costs she paid.Then she ran across a promotion for the Love Hurts fundraiser at the Bird Treatment and Learning Center in Anchorage, Alaska. She ponied up $100 to name a frozen dead rat after her ex, and it will now be fed to a resident raptor at the facility. A hedgehog is shown May 17, 2024, eating a bug at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, Minnesota. (Minnesota Zoo via AP) A hedgehog is shown May 17, 2024, eating a bug at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, Minnesota. (Minnesota Zoo via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Scott, who is celebrating her first anniversary as a newly single woman, views the donation as a gift to herself. You never enter a relationship thinking its going to end, but when it does its just hurtful, she said. I just thought, I need to do something a little bit special for myself.She laughed out loud when she saw the Love Hurts posting. It just seemed like a beautiful way to give back, she said.We do this in good fun, said Laura Atwood, the centers executive director. The money raised helps the facility pay salaries and care for birds the nonprofit rehabilitated 580 of them last year. Just over $18,000 had been raised by the time the campaign closed Wednesday. So many rats more than 130 were purchased for the campaign, the center ran out of supplies until another batch of frozen rodents arrived Wednesday, People are sometimes hurt by a relationship, and this just gives them a little cathartic way to maybe work something out, Atwood said, adding that they dont publicize last names.The videos of raptors like Ghost, a snowy owl that swallows the rat whole, or a peregrine falcon named Breland, which keeps one talon on the rodent and pecks away at it until its gone, will be emailed to donors. Breland, a peregrine falcon, eats a frozen rat at the Bird Treatment and Learning Center on Feb. 6, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen) Breland, a peregrine falcon, eats a frozen rat at the Bird Treatment and Learning Center on Feb. 6, 2025, in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Theres also a cheaper option: People can pay $10 to name a mealworm after their ex before its fed to a crow or a magpie, and a video will be posted on social media. The Memphis Zoo in Tennessee gives you two options one for your lover and the other for a nemesis, each for $10, in its Dating or Dumping campaign. If youre happily coupled, you can get a digital card and a family-friendly video of a red panda eating a grape to share. But for those harboring a grudge, along with your card, youll get a video of an elephant pooping signed with the words Scent with Love. After Valentines Day, the zoo will post a recap video showing the names of people memorialized in a video and will list the names that popped up the most for both daters and those earning a stinky shout-out.This is the most incredible thing, said Caleigh Johnson, who is campaigning for her ex-boyfriend to be at the top of the smelly list by encouraging her friends to give to the fundraiser. Im hoping that a few people will come through.Johnson doesnt talk to her ex anymore; instead, the video will be a treat for her friends to laugh at as they celebrate Galentines Day. MARK THIESSEN Thiessen is an Associated Press all-formats reporter based in Anchorage, Alaska. He covers Alaska Native issues and other general assignments. twitter mailto

Some auspicious Neapolitan horns are displayed inside Italian sculptor Lello Esposito's art gallery in Naples, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Giada Zampano)2025-02-14T02:01:32Z NAPLES, Italy (AP) Food, music and culture have made the Italian southern city of Naples famous around the globe. But theres another Neapolitan tradition that fascinates locals and visitors alike: the cornicello, an iconic symbol of prosperity, love and fortune that has become a popular present among lovers on Valentines Day.The Neapolitan cornicello, a small horn-shaped amulet, represents good luck and protection against the evil eye, and is associated with fertility and strength, while its red, intense color is considered a powerful antidote against negative energies.As with any self-respecting superstition, the power of the Neapolitan horn, to be effective, must meticulously follow some rules. The most important one is that it must be a gift, and that is why, over the years, it has become a popular present that lovers exchange on Valentines Day, often decorated with little hearts. Its ancient origins date back to Greek and Roman mythology, as it reproduces the phallic shape and red color in a reference to Priapus, the god of male fertility.Neapolitan artisans meticulously handcraft cornicelli in red coral, terracotta and even gold or silver. But a key element of the tradition is that cornicello must be porous, enabling it to absorb all the negative energies, protecting friends and loved ones. The authentic cornicello has to be handmade in Naples, says Delia DAlessandro, 30, founder of Cosmos, a tiny workshop producing the lucky charms in the heart of San Gregorio Armeno Naples narrow lane known for its pastori, or nativity-scene figurines. DAlessandro and her sister Serena carry on the craft learned from their parents Vicenzo and Rosaria and now run the family business in the citys historical center.Its a beautiful way to continue the family tradition and contribute to the city we love, Serena said, as she paints terracotta horns crafted by a team of young artisans. Deeply entrenched in Naples cultural roots, the red horn becomes a powerful symbol in the creations of Neapolitan sculptor and painter Lello Esposito.Esposito, 67, started his long international career from the popular streets of Naples as a young artist, selling his handmade puppets of Pulcinella, the famous character of Neapolitan commedia dellarte.This is the original horn that has inspired the ones in the bottegas around the city, he said, gesturing toward a giant red-horn sculpture that dominates his atelier at Scuderie Sansevero, a majestic palace in Naples historic center.Its red because thats the color of passion, said Esposito, who has focused his research on the relation between contemporary art and popular tradition.If we think about Pompeii, we think of Pompeiian phalluses. These penises were displayed in the little shops around the city. So, the horn is an ancient symbol going back over 2,000 years, he adds.Espositos creations, inspired by Naples iconic symbols, have traveled the world, with one of his giant horns exhibited recently at the Bangkok Art Biennale.

This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss Apple's iCloud, Wikipedia is a miracle of humankind, and good soup.JASON:After our relatively unhinged BTBs last week, many of you left extremely nice comments, reached out individually, or otherwise gave us encouragement. You all are the best, and it made us feel very good. Thank you!This week, I wrote about what the Wikimedia Foundation is doing to prepare itself for attacks from well-funded people who have decided to wage a harassment and legal war on Wikipedia editors. I am not going to rehash why people want to attack Wikipedia because its done very well in this article by Molly White, but boils down essentially to: Wikipedia is not that easily manipulated, it does not shy away from the truth, and its distributed, global nature makes it quite resilient.

The American flag flying alone beside an empty flagpole that previously had the flag of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, are pictured in the reflection of a window that previously had the sign and the seal of USAID, outside the agency's headquarters in Washington, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-02-14T13:01:35Z WASHINGTON (AP) A federal judge has ordered President Donald Trumps administration to temporarily lift a funding freeze that has shut down U.S. humanitarian aid and development work around the world, and he has set a five-day deadline for the administration to prove its complying.The judges ruling late Thursday cited the financial devastation that the near-overnight cutoff of payments has caused suppliers and nonprofits that carry out much of U.S. aid overseas.The ruling was the first to challenge the Republican administrations funding freeze. It comes amid a growing number of lawsuits by government employees groups, aid groups and government suppliers asking courts to roll back the administrations fast-paced dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, and U.S. foreign assistance overall.Trump and his aide Elon Musk say the 6-decade-old aid agency and much of foreign assistance overall is out of line with the Republican presidents agenda. Administration officials have not offered any explanation for why a blanket suspension of all congressionally appropriated foreign aid, which set off a shockwave and upended contracts with thousands of nonprofit groups, businesses and others, was a rational precursor to reviewing programs, Judge Amir H. Ali said in his ruling. Contractors, farmers and suppliers in the U.S. and around the world say the Trump administrations funding freeze has stiffed them on hundreds of millions of dollars in pay for work already done, has forced them to lay off staff and is rapidly putting many near the point of financial collapse. Farmers and other suppliers and contractors describe fortunes in undelivered food aid rotting in ports and other undelivered aid at risk of theft.The judge ordered the administration to notify every organization with an existing foreign-aid contract with the federal government of his temporary stay. He set a Tuesday deadline for the administration to show it had done so and was otherwise complying with the order. There was no immediate public response from the Trump administration.The judge issued the temporary order in the U.S. in a lawsuit brought by two organizations, the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition and the Global Health Council, representing health organizations receiving U.S. funds for work abroad.In his order, the judge noted that the Trump administration argued it had to shut down funding for the thousands of USAID aid programs abroad to conduct a thorough review of each program and whether it should be eliminated.However, lawyers for the administration had failed to show they had a rational reason for disregarding ... the countless small and large businesses that would have to shutter programs or shutter their businesses altogether, the judge added.The ruling also bars Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other Trump officials from enforcing stop-work orders that the Trump administration and Musk have sent to the companies and organizations carrying out foreign aid orders. The judge also rejected the Trump administrations argument that it was buffering the impact of the funding freeze, offering waivers to allow funding to keep flowing to some aid partners. He cited testimony that no such waiver system yet existed and that the online payment system at USAID no longer functioned.In a separate ruling in another lawsuit Thursday, a judge said his temporary block on a Trump administration order that would pull all but a fraction of USAID staffers off the job worldwide would stay in place at least another week.U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols closely questioned the government about how it could keep aid staffers abroad safe on leave despite the administrations dismantling of USAID. When a Justice Department attorney could not provide detailed plans, the judge asked him to file court documents after the hearing.USAID staffers who until recently were posted in Congo had filed affidavits for the lawsuit describing the aid agency all but abandoning them when looting and political violence exploded in Congos capital last month, leaving them to evacuate with their families. ELLEN KNICKMEYER Knickmeyer covers foreign policy and national security for The Associated Press. She is based in Washington, D.C. twitter 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 RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

This image released by Milk Street shows a recipe for double chocolate loaf cake. (Milk Street via AP)2025-02-10T15:12:38Z Chocolate is a must-have for Valentines Day, but it neednt be fussy. Instead of melting bars for chocolate-covered strawberries or spending money on store-bought bon bons, give your valentine an intensely rich double chocolate loaf cake with a plush, velvety crumb.Inspiration for this cake came to us by way of Claire Ptak of Violet Cakes, a bakery-caf in East London. In this recipe from our cookbook, Milk Street Bakes, we achieve a complex chocolatiness using a generous amount of bittersweet chocolate and unsweetened cocoa powder. Any type of bittersweet chocolate will work, but for best results use one thats tasty enough to eat out of hand and contains about 70% cocoa solids.Dont use natural cocoa. Dutch-processed is best because the alkali used in its production gives the cocoa a richer, deeper hue and smoother taste thats important for color and flavor intensity. If your cocoa does not indicate type on the label, check the ingredient list. If it reads processed with alkali, the cocoa is Dutch-processed.Serve slices with fresh berries and spoonfuls of crme frache, which has a subtle tang and creaminess that are fantastic foils for the cake. Store leftovers at room temperature, tightly wrapped, for up to three days. Double Chocolate Loaf CakeStart to finish: 1 hours (20 minutes active), plus coolingMakes one 9-inch loaf cake Ingredients:200 grams (7 ounces) bittersweet chocolate (see headnote), finely chopped198 grams (14 tablespoons) salted butter, cut into several chunks195 grams (1 cups) all-purpose flour214 grams (1 cup) white sugar43 grams ( cup) Dutch-processed cocoa powder2 teaspoons baking powder teaspoon table salt3 large eggs, room temperature1 cup boiling water Directions:Heat the oven to 350F with a rack in the middle position. Mist a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray, then line it with an 8-by-14-inch piece of kitchen parchment, allowing the excess to overhang the long sides of the pan.In a medium saucepan over medium, bring 1 inch of water to a simmer. Put the chocolate and the butter in a large heatproof bowl and set the bowl on top of the saucepan; be sure the bottom does not touch the water. Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are melted. Remove the bowl from the pan and cool until barely warm to the touch, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder and salt.Add the eggs to the cooled chocolate mixture; whisk until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and stir with a silicone spatula until evenly moistened; the mixture will be dryish and thick. Gradually stir in about half of the boiling water; when fully incorporated, whisk in the remaining boiling water. The batter will be smooth, glossy and fluid. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake until the center of the cake rises, forming deep fissures on the surface, and a toothpick inserted at the center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 55 to 60 minutes.Cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes. Lift the cake out of the pan using the parchment and set it directly on the rack. Cool to room temperature. Peel off and discard the parchment before slicing.EDITORS NOTE: For more recipes, go to Christopher Kimballs Milk Street at 177milkstreet.com/ap

This undated image, provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, shows Danielle R. Sassoon, interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. (U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York via AP)2025-02-14T18:35:57Z NEW YORK (AP) Danielle Sassoon had served just three weeks as interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York when she penned a letter to recently confirmed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi saying she could not follow a directive to drop the offices corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Sassoon wrote in her letter obtained by The Associated Press that the directive to drop the charges issued by Bove would violate her sworn duty to uphold the law. The directive, raises serious concerns that render the contemplated dismissal inconsistent with my ability and duty to prosecute federal crimes without fear or favor and to advance good-faith arguments before the courts, she wrote.Sassoon did not return a message seeking comment. But in her letter, she alluded to some details of her 10 years of public service that shed light on how she came to the decision to resign and who the now-former federal prosecutor who made headlines for defying the new DOJ is. What are Sassoons credentials?Sassoon, 38, graduated from Harvard College in 2008 and from Yale Law School in 2011, according to her biography on the Department of Justice website, which was taken down Thursday. Sassoon served as a foreign law clerk to Justice Hanan Melcer of the Israel Supreme Court in 2009, according to a biography attached to an essay she wrote while on a legal scholarship in London. Sassoon wrote in an editorial while at Harvard about her grandmothers journey as a Jewish teenager fleeing persecution from Syria to Lebanon and eventually Italy in 1947. Sassoon also clerked for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III in the Fourth Circuit in Charlottesville, Virginia, and for late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.In a 2016 tribute to the late justice, who was an outspoken stalwart for the courts conservative wing, Sassoon, a Republican, called Scalia the real deal. Sometimes, when you peek behind the curtain of power, you suffer a rude awakening. What you find is corruption, ego, or a lack of ideals and intellectual heft. Stepping behind closed doors with Justice Scalia elevated my faith in the judiciary and deepened my love of the law, she wrote in the tribute posted to the SCOTUS blog.Sassoon also cited Scalia in her letter objecting to the directive to drop charges against Adams, a Democrat who has curried favor with President Donald Trumps administration partly based on immigration issues.Sassoon cited her objections to what she called a political quid pro quo with Adams legal team for the mayor to enforce Trumps immigration policies only if he was freed from the looming prosecution. Attorneys for Adams, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, denied any offer or suggestion of a quid pro quo. What is Sassoons track record at the U.S. attorneys office?After clerking for Scalia, Sassoon was a litigation lawyer and an adjunct law professor at New York University before being hired in 2016 as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York. She focused on murder and racketeering cases as part of the Violent and Organized Crime Unit, according to the now-defunct DOJ biography.She worked on a handful of high-profile cases including the case against Lawrence Ray, who was convicted of trafficking and other offenses after living in his daughters college dorm room and coercing a group of college students to engage in prostitution. Sassoon also conducted the cross-examination of Sam Bankman-Fried, the cryptocurrency executive convicted of defrauding customers out of billions of dollars. Both men are appealing their convictions.The DOJ biography notes she was most recently co-chief of the Criminal Appeals division in the office. It also notes numerous awards from the department in recent years, including the FBI Directors Award in 2024 for Outstanding Criminal Prosecution.She was appointed as the interim U.S. Attorney for the district on Jan. 21 and had not brought the initial charges against Adams. Those charges were brought by former U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, a Democrat who resigned after Trump won reelection. What happens next?After a stunning dayslong standoff, Sassoons resignation was accepted in a scathing letter Thursday from acting Attorney General Emil Bove. Bove placed case prosecutors on paid administrative leave and said they and Sassoon would be subject to internal investigations.It was unclear what agency would do that investigation and what sanctions would be at stake since Sassoon is no longer employed by the U.S. Attorneys Office.Meanwhile, Matthew Podolsky, who has spent a decade in the office, was named the new acting U.S. attorney after Sassoons departure. Trumps ultimate pick for the office, Jay Clayton, a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, has not yet been confirmed.As of Friday afternoon, motions to dismiss the charges against Adams had not been filed and a handful of employees from the departments public integrity section have also left.

Volunteer and widow Jillian Myers, left, and her 15-year-old daughter Lydia, cut flowers during a Valentine's Day Widow Outreach Project event, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Erik Verduzco)2025-02-14T17:08:18Z CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) Jillian Myers knows the devastation of losing a husband and feeling alone and empty, particularly on Valentines Day. Her husband, Jason Myers, was working as a meteorologist for a North Carolina television station when he died in a helicopter crash in 2022, leaving behind his wife of 19 years and four children. As a widow, you often dont feel seen, Myers, 42, said of the holiday. You dont feel appreciated. You dont feel the warmth and the love that your person would express.She is among a growing number of volunteers who deliver gifts to widows and widowers through the Valentines Day Widow Outreach Project. The movement started in 2021 in the driveway of a Charlotte flower shop owners home and has grown each year. The project on Friday planned to reach 1,500 people in the Charlotte area whove lost a spouse, while similar efforts are underway in Houston, Nashville, Pittsburgh and other cities. Gifts range from anything from wine and candy to flowers and jewelry. You kind of resign yourself to this is how life is going to be my persons gone and its never going to be the same, said Myers, who lives outside of Charlotte and previously received gifts through the project. And its true, its never the same. But when someone sees you and expresses such compassion for you and youre the recipient of that, its such a heartwarming feeling, she continued. Its so touching and you cant help but want to pay it forward. Especially for women that you also know exactly how theyre feeling. The project was started by Ashley Manning, who owns the Charlotte flower shop Pretty Things by A.E. Manning. The basic idea emerged years ago, after her sons preschool teacher mentioned to Manning that she had lost her husband to cancer.I just remembered that, and I could tell it still hurt her, Manning said. The following Valentines Day, Manning bought flowers, chocolate and a card for the woman. Months later, she told Manning, I just want you to know how much that meant to me.By February 2021, Manning had opened her flower shop. She wanted to bring gifts to more widows, maybe 30 to 50, and reached out to followers on social media. And over a couple of weeks we had donations, volunteers and nominations for over 120, Manning said. So that was it. The first year it was very makeshift. It was not very organized, but we got it done. And a lot of the people that showed up that year are still here five years later volunteering. Several of them are widows like Myers.I love listening to their stories, Myers said. I love being able to just connect with them in that way women that are ahead of me in the journey of being a widow, women that are coming behind me. Theres way too many widows.The group of volunteers includes people who didnt lose a spouse, such as Keely Hudson, 36, who lost her father when she was 13. I watched my mom struggle as a single mom with young kids, Hudson said. I know how special it is for people to show up for you when you need somebody. Hudson recalled one particular experience last year when she and her two sons delivered gifts to a woman in a senior living community. The look on the womans face was incredible she had no idea, Hudson recalled. And she kept asking me, But who is it from? And who are you? She didnt understand it. And so, after I explained it, she just cried. And we hugged and she got to hug my boys. And so that was just a really cool experience.

After being forced by a court order to restore certain pages about gender and diversity to government websites, the Trump administration has added a note to the top of those pages saying Any information on this page promoting gender ideology is extremely inaccurate, and disconnected from the immutable biological reality that there are two sexes, male and female.For example, a page on Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations website (SAMHSA) linking to a survey about behavioral health and substance abuse among gay, lesbian, bisexual, or others nonheterosexual adolescents, now includes the note. In full, the note reads:Per a court order, HHS is required to restore this website as of February 14, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Any information on this page promoting gender ideology is extremely inaccurate, and disconnected from the immutable biological reality that there are two sexes, male and female. The Trump Administration rejects gender ideology and condemns the harms it causes to children, by promoting their chemical and surgical mutilation, and to women, by depriving them of their dignity, safety, well-being, and opportunities. This page does not reflect biological reality and therefore the Administration and this Department rejects it.The same note now also appears on U.S. Food & Drug Administrations (FDA) site page for a June 2024 guidance document for Diversity Action Plans to Improve Enrollment of Participants from Underrepresented Populations in Clinical Studies, as well as an January 2025 guidance document for the Study of Sex Differences in the Clinical Evaluation of Medical Products.The note essentially seems like a way for the current administration to legally comply with a court order while still signaling that it entirely rejects any government funded or endorsed research or policy sympathetic to LGBTQ+ community and diversity, equity, and inclusion, which Trump and Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency have been purging from government websites.Earlier this week, we reported that a federal judge ordered the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control, and Food and Drug Administration to restore several webpages they removed as a result of Trumps executive order attacking diversity, equity, and inclusion. The agencies were given until 11:59 p.m. on February 11 to restore the webpages.The court ordered the administration to restore the webpages to their versions as of January 30, 2025, meaning they were supposed to revert the webpages to what they looked like on January 30 with no changes. The versions that have been restored now have this additional disclaimer.A joint status update filed Thursday by lawyers for the Department of Justice and the Public Citizen Litigation Group says that the government has provided the court with a list of websites that it has restored, though the list of websites is not available. It also specifically says that the government is refusing to restore the website reproductiverights.gov: Defendants have objected to restoring the website reproductiverights.gov. Plaintiffs counsel is conferring with their client, it says.Plaintiffs lists include websites from Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) components other than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. The parties disagree about whether such websites properly fall within the scope of the Order. However, given Plaintiffs forthcoming amended complaint and to avoid further emergency motions practice, Defendants will restore those websites consistent with the Order, it adds.

People protest during a rally outside the Treasury Department in Washington, Feb. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)2025-02-14T15:00:34Z Follow live updates on President Donald Trump and his new administration. WASHINGTON (AP) The Treasury Departments Office of Inspector General on Friday said it was launching an audit of the security controls for the federal governments payment system, after Democratic senators raised red flags about the access provided to Trump aide Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency team.The audit will also review the past two years of the systems transactions as it relates to Musks assertion of alleged fraudulent payments, according to a letter from Loren J. Sciurba, Treasurys deputy inspector general, that was obtained by The Associated Press.The audit marks part of the broader effort led by Democratic lawmakers and federal employee unions to provide transparency and accountability about DOGEs activities under President Donald Trumps Republican administration. The Musk team has pushed for access to the governments computer systems and sought to remove tens of thousands of federal workers. We expect to begin our fieldwork immediately, Sciburba wrote. Given the breadth of this effort, the audit will likely not be completed until August; however, we recognize the danger that improper access or inadequate controls can pose to the integrity of sensitive payment systems. As such, if critical issues come to light before that time, we will issue interim updates and reports. Tech billionaire Musk, who continues to control Tesla, X and SpaceX among other companies, claims to be finding waste, fraud and abuse while providing savings to taxpayers, many of his claims so far unsubstantiated. But there is a risk that his teams aggressive efforts could lead to the failure of government computer systems and enable Musk and his partners to profit off private information maintained by the government. The audit would overlap with increased pressure that the Trump administration is placing on inspectors general, presidential appointees who are supposed to serve as an independent check against mismanagement and abuse of government power. In January, the administration fired several independent inspectors general at government agencies, a move that some members of Congress said violated federal oversight laws. The firings prompted a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in federal court in Washington that seeks to return the inspectors general to their jobs. Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon led the push for the inspector general offices inquiry at the Treasury.On Wednesday, Warren, Wyden and Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noting the inconsistencies in the accounts provided by his department about DOGE.Your lack of candor about these events is deeply troubling given the threats to the economy and the public from DOGEs meddling, and you need to provide a clear, complete, and public accounting of who accessed the systems, what they were doing, and why they were doing it, the Democratic lawmakers wrote in their letter.The Treasury Department provided conflicting information about DOGEs access to the payment system. Initially, it claimed the access was read only, only to then acknowledge that a DOGE team member briefly had the ability to edit code, and then to say in an employee sworn statement that the ability to edit was granted by accident. The 25-year-old employee granted the access, Marko Elez, resigned this month after racist posts were discovered on one of his social media accounts, only for Musk to call for his rehiring with the backing of Trump and Vice President JD Vance.Advocacy groups and labor unions have filed lawsuits over DOGEs potential unauthorized access to sensitive Treasury payment systems, and five former treasury secretaries have sounded the alarm on the risks associated with Musks DOGE accessing sensitive Treasury Department payment systems and potentially stopping congressionally authorized payments.Earlier this week, the Treasury declined to brief a pair of the highest-ranking lawmakers on the Senate Finance Committee, including Wyden, on the ongoing controversy related to DOGEs use of Treasury payment systems, citing ongoing litigation.___Follow the APs coverage of the U.S. Department of the Treasury at https://apnews.com/hub/us-department-of-the-treasury. 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 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

A Social Security card is displayed Oct. 12, 2021, in Tigard, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)2025-02-14T12:03:57Z WASHINGTON (AP) Many U.S. adults believe the federal government is overspending but polling also shows that many Americans, including Republicans, think the country is spending too little on major government programs such as Social Security. The polls from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research suggest that as President Donald Trump and adviser Elon Musk push for extensive cuts throughout the federal government, slashing funding for humanitarian aid and turning their attention to the Department of Education and the military, Americans may not agree with where Trump and Musks cuts should ultimately fall. About two-thirds of Americans say the U.S. government is spending too little on Social Security and education, according to a January AP-NORC poll. Another 6 in 10, roughly, say too little money is going to assistance to the poor. A similar share say spending is too low for Medicare, the national health care insurance program for seniors, and most also say Medicaid is under-funded by the federal government. About half say border security is not receiving enough funding. The perpetual challenge for lawmakers is that although U.S. adults mostly think the government isnt spending enough on key issues and programs, they are broadly in favor of cuts to the federal budget. AP-NORC polling from March 2023 found that 6 in 10 U.S. adults said the U.S. government was spending too much overall. Most think the US is overspending on foreign aidForeign aid is one area where there is broad consensus that the U.S. is overspending. The 2023 AP-NORC polling suggests that Americans tend to believe too much money is going to other countries. Roughly 7 in 10 U.S. adults said the government was putting too much money toward assistance to other countries. About 9 in 10 Republicans and just over half of Democrats agreed that the country was overspending on foreign aid at the time. Richard Tunnell, a 33-year-old veteran living in Huntsville, Texas, said he believes the United States gets involved in other countries problems too often. Tunnell, an independent who voted for Trump in November, is glad that Trump, a Republican, is prioritizing his America First policies.Americans need to worry about Americans, Tunnell said. Theres atrocities happening on American soil just as much as there is on foreign soil. You know, if we cant clean up our own house, why the hell are we trying to clean up somebody elses house?At the same time, polling has shown that U.S. adults tend to overestimate the share of the federal budget that is spent on foreign aid. Surveys from KFF have found that, on average, Americans say spending on foreign aid makes up 31% of the federal budget rather than the actual answer: closer to 1% or less. Republicans and Democrats say spending is too low for Social SecurityOn both sides of the political aisle, very few U.S. adults think the country is spending too much on Social Security and Medicare, according to the January AP-NORC poll. But there are bigger divides on spending for the military, border security, Medicaid and assistance to the poor. About one-third of U.S. adults say the federal government is spending too much on the military. About one-third say the military is getting too little funding, and another one-third say it takes in about the right amount. But most Republicans say the military is underfunded, while slightly less than half of Democrats say its getting too much money. Jeremy Shouse, a 38-year-old Democrat in Durham, North Carolina, said he believes government assistance programs for ordinary Americans should be as well-funded as the U.S. military is. I think its really a slap in our faces as Americans, he said, referring to the underfunding of programs like Medicaid, which he has needed to use.When it comes down to school, Medicaid, any type of government assistance programs, the money is just kind of not there, he said. Not like it is for the military or the Army.Strong majorities of Democrats say the U.S. government spends too little on assistance to the poor, education, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. They are divided on funding for border security about 4 in 10 say the funding is about the right amount, while 3 in 10 say its too high and about 3 in 10 say its too little and tend to say federal law enforcement agencies such as the CIA and the FBI are getting the right amount of funding. Republicans tend to want more money for border security, Social Security and the military. About 8 in 10 Republicans say too little money is allocated to border security, and about two-thirds say that about Social Security. ___The AP-NORC poll of 1,147 adults was conducted Jan. 9-13, using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. LINLEY SANDERS Sanders is a polls and surveys reporter for The Associated Press. She develops and writes about polls conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, and works on AP VoteCast. twitter

A German researcher captured the contents of the White Houses DEI.gov during a brief period when it was not password protected.The capture shows that the site contains a list of vague, alleged government-funded tasks and their costs, without sources or context, like $1.3 million to Arab and Jewish photographers," $1.5 million for art for inclusion of people with disabilities, and "$3.4 million for Malaysian drug-fueled gay sex app. DEI.gov redirects to waste.gov and is currently inaccessible without a password; Elon Musk told reporters on Tuesday that his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is trying to be as transparent as possible.The researcher is Henrik Schnemann, a historian who started the Safeguarding Research & Culture archivalist project, posted screenshots on Mastodon showing the contents. Schnemann also shared the specific site scrapes that he was able to capture, which showed the contents of the site. He told 404 Media he set up a change detection app using PikaPods, and is monitoring changes across hundreds of government websites. When the dei.gov and waste.gov sites were registered 10 days ago, he started tracking them, too.Before the site administrators added a Wordpress template to the pages, the list was online at those URLs. This list was only online for a maximum of 30 minutes, starting around 4:50 p.m. EST; by 5:23 p.m. on February 11, it was gone from public view, according to the snapshots Schnemanns app captured.According to the screenshots provided by Schnemann, the list includes (all of the following are direct quotes):$78,000 to Palestinian activist group whose chairman was photographed attending an anniversary event celebrating the founding of the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Palestine terrorist group$1 Million for foreign DEI programs, including indigenous language technology in Guatemala, per non-public funding docs reviewed by WFB$5 million for effort to treat eating disorders by affirming LGBTQIA+ patients sexual orientation and gender claimsUp to $3 million to defund the police advocacy group to pursue climate justice for convictsFunded performances of play Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, in which God is bisexual and communists are good, in North MacedoniaDisbursed $15,000 to queer Muslim writers in IndiaShelled out tens of thousands to create army of 2,500 LGBTQI+ alliesUp to $10 million worth of USAID-funded meals went to al Qaeda-linked terrorist group the Nusra Front$500,000 to group that empowers women in attempt to solve sectarian violence in Israel just ten days before Hamas Oct. 7 attacks$4.67 million to EcoHealth Alliance one of the key NGOs funding bat virus research at Wuhan Institute of Virology in late 2021. Later refused to answer key questions about the funding.$7.9 million to a project that would teach Sri Lankan journalists to avoid binary-gendered language$1.3 million to Arab and Jewish photographers$1.5 million for art for inclusion of people with disabilities$2 million to promote LGBT equality through entrepreneurshipin developing Latin American countries.Education Week: Biden Administration Cites 1619 Project as Inspiration in History Grant ProposalVA took at least a dozen actions aimed at bolstering DEI during the Biden-Harris administration while the number of homeless veterans increased and the amount of claims in the VAs backlog grew from ~211,000 to ~378,000NASA has allocated roughly $10 million to grants advancing DEI and environmental justice since 2020Following President Trumps executive order on DEI at federal agencies, the ATF quietly changing the job title of its former diversity officer to senior executive with the ATF.The Department of Labor requested additional funding in 2023 for The Chief Evaluation Office for a new rigorous interagency evaluation of actions aimed at improving Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, and Accessibility across the federal workforce, more than $6.5 million to restore employee benefits programs that will advance equity by specifically addressing how opportunities can be expanded for underserved communities and vulnerable populations, and $5 million to evaluate actions aimed at improving diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) within the federal workforce.Fox Business: FOX Business Trouble in the Skies, a six month investigation of the FAAs new hiring practices, uncovered changes that may put the nations flying public at risk as well as allegations that the newest air traffic control recruits had access to answers on a key test that helped them gain jobs with the FAAAlso uncovered was an FAA effort to promote diversity that discarded 3000 qualified college graduates with degrees in air traffic control despite their following FAA procedure and obtaining FAA accredited degrees.Schnemann told 404 Media he wanted to share a sentiment alongside his find: People all around the world care, you are not alone. And: #TransRights. Earlier this week, we reported that the Trump administration had set up a website called waste.gov, which was live on the internet with a sample page from a default WordPress template. Both DEI.gov and waste.gov were created at the same time, according to Reuters, and DEI.gov was recently set up to redirect to waste.gov. After our reporting, both websites were put behind a password wall.

Salvage crews work on recovering wreckage near the site in the Potomac River of a mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-02-14T19:46:27Z WASHINGTON (AP) The crew of the helicopter that collided midair with an American Airlines jet near Washington D.C.s Ronald Reagan National Airport might not have heard instructions from the air traffic controller to pass behind the plane, investigators said Friday.National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the recording from the Black Hawk helicopter cockpit suggests the crew may have missed the key instruction just before the Jan. 29 collision, in which all 67 aboard the two aircraft were killedHomendy said the helicopter was on a check flight that night when the pilot was being tested on the use of night vision goggles and flying by instruments. Investigators believe the crew was wearing night vision goggles throughout the flight.The collision was the deadliest plane crash in the U.S. since 2001, when a jet slammed into a New York City neighborhood just after takeoff, killing all 260 people on board and five more on the ground. Homendy said the Black Hawk crew never heard the words pass behind the during the transmission from the controller because the helicopters microphone key was depressed right then. At one point during the flight before the collision the helicopters pilot called out that the Black Hawk was at 300 feet, but the instructor pilot said the helicopter was at 400 feet, Homendy said.At this time we dont know why there was a discrepancy between the two, Homendy said.___Sullivan reported from Minneapolis.

Fans gather before the Philadelphia Eagles NFL football Super Bowl 59 parade and celebration, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)2025-02-14T05:01:43Z PHILADELPHIA (AP) On this Feb. 14, love Hurts.At least in Philadelphia, where swooning Eagles fans are ready to celebrate the Super Bowl champions and MVP quarterback Jalen Hurts across the City of Brotherly Love.Fans camped out along the teams parade route overnight, huddling under blankets and inside tents early Friday to secure prime spots near the Philadelphia Museum of Art where the Eagles will take the stage on the Rocky steps. Philadelphia Eagles fans wait for the arrival of their team at Philadelphia International Airport, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola) Philadelphia Eagles fans wait for the arrival of their team at Philadelphia International Airport, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Some fans showed up with grocery carts stocked with food and booze. One group roasted a pig with the number 15 carved into the side a final shot at Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Many hoped to get a glimpse of record-setting running back Saquon Barkley or Cooper DeJean, the rookie defensive back who ran an interception into the end zone on his 22nd birthday.The Eagles, though underdogs, dominated the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, shutting them out in the first half before finishing with a 40-22 victory. Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, who made an amusing gaffe when she mangled the spelling of the Eagles as she led a chant last month, corrected herself Tuesday by calling them the N-F-L-C-H-A-M-P-I-O-N-S. She and other city leaders implored the teams, ahem, exuberant fans to stay safe and keep the mood festive for the Valentines Day dinner crowd. The Benjamin Franklin Parkway is cordoned off in view of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025 as workers make preparations for the upcoming Philadelphia Eagles NFL Super Bowl 59 football victory celebration. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) The Benjamin Franklin Parkway is cordoned off in view of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025 as workers make preparations for the upcoming Philadelphia Eagles NFL Super Bowl 59 football victory celebration. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Do not climb any light poles, the mayor said. In the midst of all this beauty, all of the sacrifices this team has made to meet this moment, we dont want it to all go by the wayside. She spoke after a college student died falling from a street pole after the Eagles won the NFC championship game last month and after last years Super Bowl celebration in Kansas City was marred by gunfire.There was a large police presence along the parade route, which stretches from South Philadelphia where the Eagles play all the way to downtowns City Hall and then onto the art museum. Dump trucks and heavy equipment blocked many of the side streets along the route. City schools closed for the parade, along with city courts and other agencies. ___Associated Press journalists Matt Rourke in Philadelphia and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, contributed. MARYCLAIRE DALE Dale covers national legal issues for The Associated Press, often focusing on the federal judiciary, gender law, #MeToo and NFL player concussions. Her work unsealing Bill Cosbys testimony in a decade-old deposition led to his arrest and sexual assault trials. twitter mailto

Members of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo and the Church of Christ arrive for a meeting with the leader of the political military coalition in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)2025-02-14T13:21:34Z GOMA, Congo (AP) Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern Congo claimed Friday to have seized a second airport in the region following a days-long advance, as the U.N. warned that the recent escalation of fighting with government forces has left 350,000 internally displaced people without shelter.Local sources said M23 rebels have surrounded the area around Kavumu national airport. They also recounted seeing scores of soldiers fleeing the town as the fighting raged on.The Associated Press could not confirm who was in control of the airport, which is located about 30 kilometres (18.5 miles) from the city of Bukavu, which is the capital of South Kivu province. Government officials and civil society leaders did not immediately comment. Kavumu airport became a target after the M23 rebels seized the regions largest city of Goma, including the international airport there, in late January. Goma is a critical trade and humanitarian hub that hosted many of the close to 6.5 million people displaced in the conflict, the worlds largest humanitarian crisis. M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka said on X that the rebels took over Kavumu airport and its surroundings to eliminate the threat at the source. The airport posed a danger to the civilian population, he said.Congos Communication Ministry issued a statement criticizing the rebels for violating a ceasefire that regional leaders have called for. The rebels were imposing an urban war by attacking the positions of the FARDC (Congolese military) who are keen to avoid bloodshed in Bukavu, the ministry said. A local civil society leader in Kavumu reported seeing soldiers abandon their positions and head towards Bukavu. This caused fear within the community (and) I took the necessary measures to bring my family to safety, the leader said, speaking on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. Chaos and panic among residents The M23, which is supported by about 4,000 troops from neighbouring Rwanda, is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of Congos mineral-rich east. The rebellion has killed at least 2,000 people in and around Goma and left hundreds of thousands of displaced people stranded, the U.N. and Congolese authorities have said.The rebels latest advance caused chaos and panic among residents in different parts of South Kivu. Some were fleeing from Kavumu into the provincial capital of Bukavu, while others were emptying from Bukavu into neighboring towns. Some were also stocking up on household supplies as economic activities appeared to be collapsing.I noticed that the soldiers were dropping out and fleeing, so I told myself that I could no longer stay in this place, said Chirimwami Alexis, among residents fleeing from Kavumu. The fear we have is people moving without any preparation or food. We are running away just because of this situation, he added.The rebels last week declared a unilateral ceasefire that the government dismissed as false. They have continued to advance towards Bukavu, seizing several nearby towns, the latest which is Katana captured on Friday. The town is 7 kilometers (4 miles) from Kavumu airport. African leaders to hold summitThe U.N. refugee agency said Friday that hundreds of thousands of displaced people are now in overcrowded makeshift shelters, churches, schools and hospitals. Heavy artillery shelling and looting have destroyed 70,000 emergency shelters around Goma and Minova in North and South Kivu provinces, leaving some 350,000 internally displaced people once again without roofs over their heads, the agency said.African leaders will gather in Ethiopia at the weekend for a summit of the African Union, a continent-wide body that has previously been criticized for inaction amid conflicts in different parts of the region.A recent meeting of leaders from eastern and southern Africa called for a ceasefire in eastern Congo but did not urge the M23 rebels to stop their advance.-Asadu reported from Abuja. AP journalist Rodney Muhumuza in Kampala, Uganda contributed to this report.

Activists holding photos depicting the faces of Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip, during a protest demanding their release from Hamas captivity, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)2025-02-14T14:24:19Z JERUSALEM (AP) Hamas named three Israeli hostages Friday set to be released in a weekend trade for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, the latest sign that the shaky Gaza ceasefire deal appears to be holding in spite of a tense dispute that has threatened to renew fighting.The militant group and a forum representing the families of hostages identified the three men set to be freed Saturday as Israeli-Argentinian Iair Horn, 46; Israeli-American Sagui Dekel Chen, 36; and Israeli-Russian Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29. The trio were abducted from a kibbutz in southern Israel that was ravaged during the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack that ignited the devastating war.Under the terms of the ceasefire, which began on Jan. 21, Israel is to release more than 300 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails in return for the three hostages. The exchange will be the sixth swap since the ceasefire took effect. So far, 21 hostages and over 730 Palestinian prisoners have been freed during the first phase of the truce. But the ceasefire had appeared dangerously close to collapse in recent days. Hamas had said it would delay the next hostage release after accusing Israel of not adhering to the terms of the deal by not allowing in enough shelters, medical supplies, fuel and heavy equipment for clearing vast amounts of rubble. Israel, with the support of U.S. President Donald Trump, has said it would resume fighting Saturday unless hostages were freed leaving it unclear whether it meant the three hostages as scheduled in the ceasefire deal, or all remaining hostages. An Israeli government official on Friday confirmed Israel had received the list of hostages to be released. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.The Hamas-linked prisoners information office said Friday that 369 Palestinians were set to be released from Israeli prisons in the exchange. It said 36 of those were serving life sentences. Who are the hostages slated for release SaturdayHorn, Dekel Chen and Troufanov were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where some 80 of roughly 400 residents were taken hostage during the Oct. 7 attack. Horn was abducted along with his brother, Eitan Horn, who had been staying with him at the time. Eitan remains in captivity. Dekel Chen had been working on a bus renovation when militants stormed the kibbutz. His wife, Avital, who was seven months pregnant at the time, hid in a safe room with their two daughters. Avital has given birth to a third daughter while her husband has been in captivity.Troufanov was taken hostage along with his grandmother Irena Tati, mother Yelena (Lena) and girlfriend Sapir Cohen. The three women were released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023. Troufanovs father was killed in the Oct. 7 attack. Concern about remaining hostages conditionOf the 251 people abducted, 73 remain in Gaza, around half of whom are believed to be dead. Nearly all the remaining hostages are men, including Israeli soldiers.Concern has been growing about the remaining hostages condition, particularly after the release of three last Saturday, who emerged looking emaciated and frail. One of them, 65-year-old Keith Siegel, said in a video message addressed to Trump Friday that his captors had starved him and physically and emotionally tortured him. He said the militants who held him for 484 days treated him worse as the 15-month war intensified, kicking him, spitting on him and holding him with no water or light. The statement marked one of the first accounts of Hamas captivity from a hostage released during the ceasefire.When I was in Gaza, I lived in constant fear...for my life and my personal safety, he said.Siegel, originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, implored Trump to use his leadership and strength to ensure the ceasefire holds and all hostages return home.The truce faces a much bigger challenge in the coming weeks. The first phase is set to conclude at the beginning of March, and there have not yet been substantive negotiations over the second phase, in which Hamas would release all remaining hostages in return for an end to the war. Trumps plan raises uncertaintyTrumps proposal to remove some 2 million Palestinians from Gaza and settle them in other countries has thrown the truces future into further doubt. His plan has been welcomed by Israel, but vehemently rejected by Palestinians and Arab countries which have refused to accept any influx of refugees. Human rights groups say it could amount to a war crime under international law.Trump has said Gazas population should be resettled elsewhere in the region, with wealthy Arab countries paying for it. He has suggested that once the fighting ends, Israel would transfer control of Gaza to the United States, which would then redevelop it as the Riviera of the Middle East.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus far-right allies are already calling for a resumption of the war after the first phase with the goal of annihilating Hamas and implementing Trumps proposal. The militant group remains in control of the territory after surviving one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history.Hamas may be unwilling to release any more hostages if it believes the war will resume. The captives are among the only bargaining chips it has left. New war would likely be far worseThe war has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gazas health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.Israels offensive has obliterated large parts of Gaza. At its height, the fighting had displaced 90% of the territorys population of 2.3 million. Hundreds of thousands have returned to their homes since the ceasefire took hold, though many have found only rubble, buried human remains and unexploded ordnance.Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, echoing Trump, said Wednesday that all hell will break loose if Hamas stops releasing hostages. He said a new Gaza war wouldnt end until Hamas was defeated, which would allow for Trumps vision of mass displacement to be carried out.With far fewer hostages remaining in Gaza, Israel would have more freedom of action militarily.It would also face far fewer constraints from the United States, its main military patron. The Biden administration, while providing crucial military and diplomatic support, had occasionally pressed Israel to allow in more aid and at one point suspended some weapons shipments. It had also said there should be no permanent displacement of its Palestinian population.Trump has lifted restrictions on arms transfers, and his administration is pressing ahead with the sale of $7 billion worth of weapons approved under President Joe Biden.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war JULIA FRANKEL Frankel is an Associated Press reporter in Jerusalem. twitter mailto

People celebrate outside a Seattle federal courthouse after a second federal judge paused President Donald Trump's order against gender-affirming care for youth on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 in Seattle.. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes)2025-02-14T19:16:58Z SEATTLE (AP) A second federal judge on Friday paused President Donald Trumps executive order halting federal support for gender-affirming care for transgender youth under 19.U.S. District Court Judge Lauren King granted a temporary restraining order after the Democratic attorneys general of Washington state, Oregon and Minnesota sued the Trump administration last week. Three doctors joined as plaintiffs in the suit, which was filed in the Western District of Washington.The decision came one day after a federal judge in Baltimore temporarily blocked the executive order in response to a separate lawsuit filed on behalf of families with transgender or nonbinary children. Judge Brendan Hursons temporary restraining order will last 14 days but could be extended, and essentially puts Trumps directive on hold while the case proceeds. Hurston and King were both appointed by former President Joe Biden. Trump signed an executive order last month halting federal funding for institutions that provide the care and directing federally run insurance programs, including Medicaid and TRICARE for military families, to exclude coverage for it. The order also calls on the Department of Justice to pursue litigation and legislation to oppose it. Medicaid programs in some states cover gender-affirming care. Trumps order suggests that the practice could end, and targets hospitals and universities that receive federal money and provide the care. In the complaint filed in Seattle, the three Democratic attorneys general argue that the executive order violates equal rights protections, the separation of powers and states powers to regulate what is not specifically delegated to the federal government.The Trump administration disputed those claims in court filings. The Presidents authority to direct subordinate agencies to implement his agenda, subject to those agencies own statutory authorities, is well established, Justice Department attorneys wrote. A large crowd of people went to the federal courthouse to watch Fridays hearing. Outside, some carried signs with phrases including Protect Trans Kids or Pride flags with the words, You are loved. We had over 100 declarants submit their personal stories about the impact of this illegal and unconstitutional and hateful order, and their bravery allowed for justice to be done today, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said after the ruling.The temporary restraining order is just the first step in a long fight, Brown said, adding that he hopes the order reassures health care providers in the state that they can continue to provide gender-affirming care to their patients.The word I would use is relief, right? third-year medical student Natalie Koconis said when asked for a response to the judges ruling. One of a group of medical students and doctors in white coats who held signs outside the courthouse, Koconis said Trumps executive order is something that has already had material impacts on our ability to treat transgender youth. All we want is just everybody to get the care that they need and deserve. In addition to the orders on health care access and defining the sexes as unchangeable, Trump has also signed orders that open the door to banning transgender people from military service; set up new rules about how schools can teach about gender; and intend to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls and womens sports.Legal challenges have already been filed on the military order, the plan to move transgender women in federal prisons to mens facilities and the recognition only of peoples sex as assigned at birth, which led to the halting of allowing gender markers to be changed on passports.Other lawsuits are likely to be filed, just as there have been challenges to a variety of Trumps policies.As transgender people have gained visibility and acceptance in some ways, theres been vehement pushback. At least 26 states have passed laws to restrict or ban gender-affirming care for minors. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last year but has not yet ruled on whether Tennessees ban on the care is constitutional.___Associated Press reporter Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, contributed to this report.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is shown Sunday, March 15, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)2025-02-14T15:19:59Z Department of Health and Human Services officials expect most of the agencys roughly 5,200 probationary employees to be fired Friday under the Trump administrations move to get rid of nearly all probationary employees, according to an audio recording of a National Institutes of Health department meeting.In that meeting, an NIH office director told employees that some probationary staff with specialized skills might be spared. Terminated staff were to receive emails Friday afternoon, according to audio shared with The Associated Press.The cuts included nearly 1,300 probationary employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention roughly one-tenth of the agencys workforce. The Atlanta-based agencys leadership was notified of the decision Friday morning. The verbal notice came from HHS officials in a meeting with CDC leaders, according to a federal official who was at the meeting. The official was not authorized to discuss it and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. Some portion of the affected employees are supposed to receive four weeks paid administrative leave, according to the federal official and the recording.HHS officials did not answer questions about the specifics of the layoffs. In an emailed statement, Andrew Nixon, the departments director of communications, wrote: HHS is following the Administrations guidance and taking action to support the Presidents broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government. This is to ensure that HHS better serves the American people at the highest and most efficient standard. Do you have a confidential tip for an AP reporter? Heres how to reach us securely. HHS employs more than 80,000 people and runs 13 supporting agencies. Besides the CDC, they include the NIH and the Food and Drug Administration. The department also provides health coverage for nearly half the country through Medicare and Medicaid. Its staff includes scientists, researchers, doctors and other officials. It oversees research of vaccines, diseases and cures. It regulates the medications found in medicine cabinets and inspects the foods that end up in cupboards. With a $9.2 billion core budget, the CDC is charged with protecting Americans from outbreaks and other public health threats. Before the cuts, the agency had about 13,000 employees, including more than 2,000 staff working in other countries.Historically CDC has been seen as a global leader on disease control and a reliable source of health information, boasting some of the top experts in the world. The staff is heavy with scientists 60% have masters degrees or doctorates. Those being fired included all first-year officers about 50 in total in the CDCs Epidemic Intelligence Service, according to two agency employees who communicated with some of the affected staffers. The two spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.The EIS, as it is known, was established in 1951 to recruit young doctors and researchers to join the agency for two-year stints as disease investigators. The laid-off first-year officers represent a little less than half the services current staff. EIS officers often are sent to different states and countries to become primary investigators of outbreaks and emerging health dangers. Many EIS graduates have gone on to leadership jobs at CDC and at other public health organizations.Its not only new employees who are subject to probation. Probationary periods also are applied to veteran staffers who, for example, were recently promoted to a new job in management.Dr. Joshua Barocas, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said many of the probationary CDC employees are filling vital roles.Its essentially assuming that they are not in a job that is crucial for the success of keeping everyone safe just because theyve been there for less than a year or less than six months, said Barocas, speaking Friday morning during an Infectious Diseases Society of America call with reporters.That sort of slash-and-burn approach is what will cause continued disruptions in our understanding of diseases and disease outbreaks, he said. The layoffs are part of a broad effort by President Donald Trump and billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk to reduce the number of workers across the entire federal government. The job cuts also came one day after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in to oversee HHS. In a Thursday interview on Fox News, Kennedy was asked if half the HHS staff would be losing their jobs.I dont know anything about 50% of people being cut, Kennedy said. I would be surprised if there were 50% cuts.He added: If youve been involved in good science, you have nothing to worry about. If you care about public health, you have nothing to worry about. If youre in there working for the pharmaceutical industry, Id say you should move out and work for the pharmaceutical industry.___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. CARLA K. JOHNSON Johnson covers research in cancer, addiction and more for The Associated Press. She is a member of APs Health and Science team. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump listens to a question from a reporter as Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick watches after Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)2025-02-14T23:00:59Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump is taking a blowtorch to the rules that have governed world trade for decades. The reciprocal tariffs that he announced Thursday are likely to create chaos for global businesses and conflict with Americas allies and adversaries alike.Since the 1960s, tariffs or import taxes have emerged from negotiations between dozens of countries. Trump wants to seize the process.Obviously, it disrupts the way that things have been done for a very long time, said Richard Mojica, a trade attorney at Miller & Chevalier. Trump is throwing that out the window ... Clearly this is ripping up trade. There are going to have to be adjustments all over the place.Pointing to Americas massive and persistent trade deficits not since 1975 has the U.S. sold the rest of the world more than its bought -- Trump charges that the playing field is tilted against U.S. companies. A big reason for that, he and his advisers say, is because other countries usually tax American exports at a higher rate than America taxes theirs. Trump has a fix: Hes raising U.S. tariffs to match what other countries charge. The president is an unabashed tariff supporter. He used them in his first term, and three weeks into his second he has already slapped 10% tariffs on China; effectively raised U.S. taxes on foreign steel and aluminum; and threatened, then delayed for 30 days, 25% taxes on goods from Canada and Mexico. Economists dont share Trumps enthusiasm for tariffs. Theyre a tax on importers that usually get passed on to consumers. But its possible that Trumps reciprocal tariff threat could bring other countries to the table and get them to lower their own import taxes. It could be win-win, said Christine McDaniel, a former U.S. trade official now at George Mason Universitys Mercatus Center. Its in other countries interests to reduce those tariffs. She noted that India has already cut tariffs on items from motorcycles to luxury cars and agreed to ramp up purchases of U.S. energy. What are reciprocal tariffs and how do they work?They sound simple: The United States would raise its tariff on foreign goods to match what other countries impose on U.S. products. If they charge us, we charge them, the president told reporters on Sunday. If theyre at 25, were at 25. If theyre at 10, were at 10. And if theyre much higher than 25, thats what we are too.But the White House didnt reveal many details. It has directed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to deliver a report April 1 about how the new tariffs would actually work.Among the outstanding questions, noted Antonio Rivera, a partner at ArentFox Schiff and a former attorney with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, is whether the U.S. is going to look at the thousands of items in the tariff code from motorcycles to mangos -- and try to level the tariff rates out one by one, country by country. Or whether it will look more broadly at each countrys average tariff and how it compares to America. Or something else entirely. Its just a very, very chaotic environment, said Stephen Lamar, president and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association. Its hard to plan in any sort of long-term, sustainable way. How did tariffs get so lopsided?Americas tariffs are generally lower than those of its trading partners. After World War II, the United States pushed for other countries to lower trade barriers and tariffs, seeing free trade as a way to promote peace, prosperity and American exports around the world. And it mostly practiced what it preached, generally keeping its own tariffs low and giving American consumers access to inexpensive foreign goods.Trump has broken with the old free trade consensus, saying unfair foreign competition has hurt American manufacturers and devastated factory towns in the American heartland. During his first term, he slapped tariffs on foreign steel, aluminum, washing machines, solar panels and almost everything from China. Democratic President Joe Biden largely continued Trumps protectionist policies.The White House has cited several examples of especially lopsided tariffs: Brazil taxes ethanol imports, including Americas, at 18%, but the U.S. tariff on ethanol is just 2.5%. Likewise, India taxes foreign motorcycles at 100%, America just 2.4%. Does this mean the U.S. been taken advantage of? The higher foreign tariffs that Trump complains about werent sneakily adopted by foreign countries. The United States agreed to them after years of complex negotiations known as the Uruguay Round, which ended in a trade pact involving 123 countries.As part of the deal, the countries could set their own tariffs on different products but under the most favored nation approach, they couldnt charge one country more than they charged another. So the high tariffs Trump complains about arent aimed at the United States alone. They hit everybody. Trumps grievances against U.S. trading partners also come at an odd time. The United States, running on strong consumer spending and healthy improvements in productivity, is outperforming the worlds other advanced economies. The U.S. economy grew nearly 9% from just before COVID-19 hit through the middle of last year compared with just 5.5% for Canada and just 1.9% for the European Union. Germanys economy shrank 2% during that time. Trumps plan goes beyond foreign countries tariffsNot satisfied with scrambling the tariff code, Trump is also going after other foreign practices he sees as unfair barriers to American exports. These include subsidies that give homegrown producers an advantage over U.S. exports; ostensible health rules that are used to keep out foreign products; and loose regulations that encourage the theft of trade secrets and other intellectual property.Figuring out an import tax that offsets the damage from those practices will add another level of complexity to Trumps reciprocal tariff scheme.The Trump team is also picking a fight with the European Union and other trading partners over so-called value-added taxes. Known as VATs, these levies are essentially a sales tax on products that are consumed within a countrys borders. Trump and his advisers consider VATs a tariff because they apply to U.S. exports.Yet most economists disagree, for a simple reason: VATs are applied to domestic and imported products alike, so they dont specifically target foreign goods and havent traditionally been seen as a trade barrier. And theres a bigger problem: VATs are huge revenue raisers for European governments. There is no way most countries can negotiate over their VAT ... as it is a critical part of their revenue base, Brad Setser, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, posted on X.Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist for Capital Economics, says that the top 15 countries that export to the U.S. have average VATs topping 14%, as well as duties of 6%. That would mean U.S. retaliatory tariffs could reach 20% much higher than Trumps campaign proposal of universal 10% duties. Tariffs and the trade deficitTrump and some of his advisers argue that steeper tariffs would help reverse the United States long-standing trade deficits. But tariffs havent proven successful at narrowing the trade gap: Despite the Trump-Biden import taxes, the deficit rose last year to $918 billion, second-highest on record.The deficit, economists say, is a result of the unique features of the U.S. economy. Because the federal government runs a huge deficit, and American consumers like to spend so much, U.S. consumption and investment far outpaces savings. As a result, a chunk of that demand goes to overseas goods and services. The U.S. covers the cost of the trade gap by essentially borrowing from overseas, in part by selling treasury securities and other assets.The trade deficit is really a macroeconomic imbalance, said Kimberly Clausing, a UCLA economist and former Treasury official. It comes from this lack of desire to save and this lack of desire to tax. Until you fix those things, well run a trade imbalance._____AP Retail Writer Anne DInnocenzio in New York contributed to this story. CHRISTOPHER RUGABER Rugaber has covered the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for the AP for 16 years. He is a two-time finalist for the Gerald Loeb award for business reporting. twitter mailto

This image provided by Office of the New York Mayor shows New York Mayor Eric Adams as he speaks during an address from City Hall, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Ed Reed/Office of the New York Mayor via AP)2025-02-14T19:17:31Z NEW YORK (AP) The Justice Department asked a court Friday to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, with a top official from Washington intervening after federal prosecutors in Manhattan rebuffed his demands to drop the case and some quit in protest.Acting Deputy U.S. Attorney General Emil Bove, the departments second-in-command, and lawyers from the departments public integrity section and criminal division filed paperwork asking to end the case. They contend the case was marred by appearances of impropriety and said that letting it go on would interfere with the mayors reelection bid. A judge must still approve the request.The filing came hours after prosecutors in the public integrity section which handles corruption cases were told their jobs could be at risk for not stepping forward to handle the matter, according to a person briefed on the discussions who insisted on anonymity to speak about a private meeting. The three-page dismissal motion bore Boves signature and the names of Edward Sullivan, the public integrity sections senior litigation counsel, and Antoinette Bacon, a supervisory official in the departments criminal division. No one from the federal prosecutors office in Manhattan, which brought the Adams case, signed the document. The move came five days into a showdown between Justice Department leadership and its office in Manhattan, which has long prided itself on its independence. At least seven prosecutors in Manhattan and Washington quit rather than carry out Boves directive to halt the case, including the interim U.S. attorney in Manhattan and the acting chief of the public integrity section.The Justice Department is seeking to dismiss Adams charges with the option of refiling them at a later date. Bove said earlier this week that the new Manhattan U.S. attorney can decide whether to refile the charges after the November election. Adams faces a Democratic primary in June, with several challengers lined up. His trial had been on track to be held in the spring. Bove concluded that continuing the prosecution would interfere with Adams ability to govern, posing unacceptable threats to public safety, national security, and related federal immigration initiatives and policies, the dismissal motion said. Among other things, it said, the case caused Adams to be denied access to sensitive information necessary to help protect the city.Bove on Monday directed Danielle Sassoon, a Republican serving as interim U.S. attorney in New York, to drop the charges against Adams. He argued President Donald Trump needed the mayors help to advance his immigration enforcement agenda. Bove also echoed claims that Adams has made without evidence that the case was retaliation for his criticism of Biden administration immigration policies. Instead of complying, Sassoon resigned Thursday, along with five high-ranking Justice Department officials in Washington. A day earlier, she sent a letter to Trumps new attorney general, Pam Bondi, asking her to meet and reconsider the directive to drop the case. As Justice Department officials worked Friday to seize the case and end it, a federal prosecutor in Manhattan who worked for Sassoon and was involved in the Adams case resigned and blasted Bove in the process.Hagan Scotten wrote in a resignation letter to Bove that it would take a fool or a coward to meet his demand to drop the charges.Scotten, along with other prosecutors in the case against Adams, was suspended with pay on Thursday by Bove, who launched a probe of the prosecutors that he said would determine whether they kept their jobs.Scotten is an Army veteran who earned two Bronze medals serving in Iraq as a Special Forces troop commander. He graduated from Harvard Law School at the top of his class in 2010 and clerked for Chief Justice John Roberts.In a resignation letter to Bove, Scotten said he was entirely in agreement with Sassoons refusal to seek dismissal of charges that the mayor had accepted over $100,000 in illegal campaign contributions and lavish travel perks from foreign nationals looking to buy his influence while he was Brooklyn borough president campaigning to be mayor. In her letter, Sassoon accused Adams lawyers of offering what amounted to a quid pro quo on immigration when they met with Justice Department officials in Washington last month.Adams lawyer Alex Spiro said Thursday that the allegation of a quid pro quo was a total lie.We offered nothing and the department asked nothing of us, Spiro said in an email to reporters. We were asked if the case had any bearing on national security and immigration enforcement and we truthfully answered it did.On Friday, Adams denied there was any deal to make the case go away.I want to be crystal clear with New Yorkers: I never offered nor did anyone offer on my behalf any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case. Never, the mayor said in a statement. In his resignation letter, Scotten wrote: No system of ordered liberty can allow the Government to use the carrot of dismissing charges, or the stick of threatening to bring them again, to induce an elected official to support its policy objectives.The prosecutor said he was following a tradition in public service of resigning in a last-ditch effort to head off a serious mistake.He said he could see how a president such as Trump, with a background in business and politics, might see the contemplated dismissal-with-leverage as a good, if distasteful, deal.But Scotten said any prosecutor would know that our laws and traditions do not allow using the prosecutorial power to influence other citizens, much less elected officials, in this way.He added: If no lawyer within earshot of the President is willing to give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me.Adams pleaded not guilty to the charges in September but has recently bonded at times with Trump, who has criticized the case against Adams and said he was open to giving Adams, who was a registered Republican in the 1990s, a pardon. __Richer and Tucker reported from Washington. 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 ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Richer is an Associated Press reporter covering the Justice Department and legal issues from Washington. 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

People protest during a rally outside the Treasury Department in Washington, Feb. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)2025-02-14T22:34:14Z NEW YORK (AP) Workers across the country responded with anger and confusion Friday as they grappled with the Trump administration s aggressive effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce by ordering agencies to lay off probationary employees who have yet to qualify for civil service protections.While much of the administrations attention was focused on disrupting bureaucracy in Washington, the broad-based effort to slash the government workforce was impacting a far wider swath of workers. As layoff notices were sent out agency by agency, federal employees from Michigan to Florida were left reeling from being told that their services were no longer needed.In a sign of how chaotic the firings have been, some who received layoff notices had already accepted the administrations deferred resignation offer, under which they were supposed to be paid until Sept. 30 if they agreed to quit, raising questions about whether others who signed the deal would nonetheless be fired. On Friday evening, the Office of Personnel Management, which serves as a human resources department for the federal government, acknowledged that some employees may have received termination notices in error and said the buyouts agreements would be honored. This has been slash and burn, said Nicholas Detter, who had been working in Kansas as a natural resource specialist, helping farmers reduce soil and water erosion, until he was fired by email late Thursday night. He said there seemed to be little thought about how employees and the farmers and ranchers he helped would be impacted. None of this has been done thoughtfully or carefully, he said. The White House and OPM declined to say Friday how many probationary workers, who generally have less than a year on the job, have so far been dismissed. According to government data maintained by OPM, 220,000 workers had less than a year on the job as of March 2024. OMP has given agencies until 8 p.m. Tuesday to issue layoff notices, according to a person familiar with the plan who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.The probationary layoffs are the latest salvo in the new administrations sweeping efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce, which are being led by billionaire Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. Trump, in an executive order Tuesday, told agency leaders to plan for large-scale reductions after their initial attempt to downsize the workforce the voluntary buyout - was accepted by only 75,000 workers. The layoffs beginOn Thursday night, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced the dismissal of more than 1,000 employees who had served for less than two years. That included researchers working on cancer treatment, opioid addiction, prosthetics and burn pit exposure, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat, said Thursday.Dozens were fired from the Education Department, including special education specialists and student aid officials, according to a union that represents agency workers.At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 1,300 probationary employees roughly one-tenth of the agencys total workforce are being forced out. The Atlanta-based agencys leadership was notified of the decision Friday morning, according to a federal official who was at the meeting and was not authorized to discuss the orders and requested anonymity.The new Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Friday that her agency had invited Musks DOGE team with open arms and that layoffs will be forthcoming.Clearly, its a new day, Rollins said at the White House. I think the American people spoke on November 5th, that they believe that government was too big. Workers impactedAndrew Lennox, a 10-year Marine veteran, was part of a new supervisor training program at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He said he received an email out of the blue Thursday evening informing him that he was being terminated.In order to help veterans, you just fired a veteran, said Lennox, 35, a former USMC infantryman who was deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria.Lennox had been working as an administrative officer at the VA since mid-December and said he would love nothing more than to keep working.This is my family, and I would like to do this forever, he said.In a post on its website, the VA announced the dismissal of more than 1,000 employees, saying the personnel moves will save the department more than $98 million per year and be better equipped to help vets.I was like: What about this one? Lennox said David Rice, a disabled Army paratrooper who has been on probation since joining the U.S. Department of Energy in September, also learned Thursday night that he had lost his job.Rice, who has been working as a foreign affairs specialist on health matters relating to radiation exposure, said hed been led to believe that his job would likely be safe. But on Thursday night, when he logged into his computer for a meeting with Japanese representatives, he saw an email saying hed been fired. Its just been chaos, said Rice, 50, who had just bought a house in Melbourne, Florida, after he got the job.Rice said he agrees with the Trump administrations goal of making the government more efficient, but objects to the random, scattershot approach being taken.Fired despite agreeing to the buyoutSome of those impacted had already signed the buyout agreements offered by the administration that were supposed to protect them from dismissal. Detter, 25, who had worked for the Agriculture Departments Natural Resources Conservation Service, said he had accepted the buyout because he knew that, as a probationary employee, hed likely be first on the chopping block if he didnt accept. But late Thursday night, Detter received an email saying he had been laid off effective immediately, even though he had received completely positive evaluations during his time on the job.He said the decision left him feeling disrespected and a a little bit helpless.Youre just kind of a pawn in a much bigger struggle that Elon Musk in particular, I feel like is his kind of battle hes decided to take on to shrink the government, Detter said.Detter said two of the four employees in the Kansas county where he worked were laid off even though they were already struggling with their workload helping farmers manage their land to prevent soil erosion and water pollution, a program that was created in the wake of the 1930s Dust Bowl to help keep Americas farmland healthy and productive.Challenging the administrationThe National Treasury Employees Union and a group of other unions filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging what they call unlawful terminations. Terminating probationary employees who have gone through extensive training will have a devastating impact on agency missions and government operations, NTEU President Doreen Greenwald wrote in a Thursday letter to union members. She said many federal agencies are already severely understaffed due to years of frozen or slashed budgets that prevented them from replacing retiring employees.On Friday evening, the advocacy group Democracy Forward filed a complaint with the Office of Special Counsel, the federal agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers, asking for an investigation into whether the mass firings violated federal personnel practices and asking that they be halted while the inquiry is being conducted. Labor activists and government workers rallied outside the Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington Friday morning, to protest the cuts.Theyre picking us off, one by one, said one federal contractor who has not yet lost her job, but who, like others, declined to identify herself for fear of reprisal. First, its the probationary workers, then were next, she said.Will the cuts reduce the deficit?The layoffs are unlikely to yield significant deficit savings. The government spends about $270 billion annually compensating civilian federal workers, according to the Congressional Budget Office, with about 60% going to workers at the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs.Even if the government cut all of those workers, it would still run a deficit of over $1 trillion.But Trumps mass layoffs of federal workers could come back to bite him in economic data. The monthly jobs reports could start to show a slowdown in hiring, if not turn negative at some point after the February numbers are released.The last time the economy lost jobs was in December 2020, when the United States was still recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.Given everything that is happening in the federal government, it is very plausible that job growth could turn negative at some point, said Martha Gimbel, executive director of the Budget Lab at Yale University. She noted that employers that rely on government grants and contracts would also show declines.Those who have been fired say the people they serve will soon feel the impact, too. Rice, the disabled paratrooper working on radiation exposure at the Department of Energy, said the work he was doing made a difference.Were just out here trying to do something that we actually believe in, that matters, he said. I really believe that were actually out there helping people. ___ Colvin and Price reported from New York, Witte from Annapolis, Maryland, and Householder from Detroit. Associated Press writers Fatima Hussein, Josh Boak, Will Weissert and Lindsay Whitehurst in Washington and Mike Stobbe in New York contributed to this report. JILL COLVIN Colvin is an Associated Press national political reporter covering the 2024 presidential campaign. She is based in New York. mailto MIKE HOUSEHOLDER Householder is an Associated Press video journalist based in Detroit. He shoots and edits his own visual pieces for online and broadcast use, while writing the occasional text news story and book review. twitter mailto MICHELLE L. PRICE Price is a national political reporter for The Associated Press. She is based in New York. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

President Donald Trump, center, arrives on Marine One to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, en route to West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)2025-02-14T23:44:36Z The White House barred a credentialed Associated Press reporter and photographer from boarding the presidential airplane Friday for a weekend trip with Donald Trump, saying the news agencys stance on how to refer to the Gulf of Mexico was to blame for the exclusion. It represented a significant escalation by the White House in a four-day dispute with the AP over access to the presidency.The administration has blocked the AP from covering a handful of events at the White House this week, including a news conference with Indias leader and several times in the Oval Office. Its all because the news outlet has not followed Trumps lead in renaming the body of water, which lies partially outside U.S. territory, to the Gulf of America.AP reporters and photographers travel with the president virtually everywhere as part of a press pool and have for decades. AP journalism serves millions of readers and thousands of news outlets around the world. Journalists consider the administrations move a violation of the U.S. Constitutions First Amendment a governmental attempt to dictate what a news company publishes under threat of retribution. The Trump administration says the AP has no special right of access to events where space is limited, particularly given the news services commitment to misinformation. AP calls that assertion entirely untrue. Freedom of speech is a pillar of American democracy and a core value of the American people. The White House has said it supports these principles, AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton said Friday night. The actions taken to restrict APs coverage of presidential events because of how we refer to a geographic location chip away at this important right enshrined in the U.S. Constitution for all Americans. The body of water in question has been called the Gulf of Mexico for hundreds of years. AP, whose influential stylebook is used by news outlets as an arbiter of language and usage, advised that because of its broad set of global customers, it would both refer to the body of water as the Gulf of Mexico and also reference Trumps order changing the name to the Gulf of America within the United States. At the same time, the AP switched style last month from Denali to Mount McKinley for the mountain in Alaska that Trump ordered renamed. That location lies entirely within U.S. jurisdiction. Taylor Budowich, White House deputy chief of staff, said in a post to X Friday one that was later released as a White House statement that the AP continues to ignore the lawful geographic name change of the Gulf of America. This decision is not just divisive, but it also exposes The Associated Press commitment to misinformation.While the First Amendment protects the APs right to irresponsible and dishonest reporting, it doesnt ensure unfettered access to limited spaces like the Oval Office and Air Force One, Budowich said. He said AP would retain its credentials to the White House complex overall.On Friday, an AP reporter and photographer had traveled to Joint Base Andrews for their participation in the traveling press pool to Trumps Florida residence. But, after clearing security, neither was allowed to board Air Force One, a decision they were told was outlet-specific. Meanwhile, reporters in the press pool who were permitted on the plane sent the AP journalists pictures of cards with their names saying welcome aboard on their empty seats. Other news organizations, like The New York Times and Washington Post, have also said they would primarily use Gulf of Mexico. Fox News said that it was switching to Gulf of America.The White House Correspondents Association has issued statements condemning the action against AP. Although there are talks going on behind the scenes, individual news outlets have been relatively quiet. The Times, through spokesman Charles Stadtlander, said on Friday that we stand by The Associated Press in condemning repeated acts of retribution by this administration for editorial decisions it disagrees with. Any move to limit access or impede reporters doing their jobs is at odds with the press freedoms enshrined in the Constitution. In a statement, the Washington Post said that the APs access to the administration is central for all journalistic organizations, including The Washington Post, in serving millions of Americans with fact-based, independent journalism each day.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who on Wednesday used the word lies in describing AP content, posted on X Friday afternoon about executive orders Trump had signed before his departure. She ended her post: The @AP was not invited.___David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social DAVID BAUDER Bauder is the APs national media writer, covering the intersection of news, politics and entertainment. He is based in New York. twitter mailto

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Alice Weidel, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party's candidate for chancellor, not pictured, hold a press conference following their meeting in the government headquarters in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (Szilard Koszticsak/MTI via AP)2025-02-14T10:35:45Z BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) U.S. President Donald Trumps administration will reconnect Russia with the economies and energy networks of Western countries if the war in Ukraine, now nearly three years old, comes to an end, Hungarys nationalist prime minister said on Friday. In comments on state radio, Viktor Orbn said Trump had initiated a comprehensive shift in approach among Western nations to numerous issues, including Russias war, and Trumps recent efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict would result in Moscow being drawn back into the Western fold. If the American president makes peace, if an agreement is made, I think Russia will be reintegrated into the world economy, reintegrated into the European security system, and even European energy, said Orbn, who is close to Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. This will give the Hungarian economy a huge boost. Its a big opportunity. We gain a lot in peace. A phone call between Trump and Putin on Wednesday, during which they agreed to begin negotiations on ending the war, abruptly ended a three-year, U.S.-led effort to isolate the Russian leader over Ukraine and raised concerns in Kyiv and other European capitals that a negotiated settlement could take place without their direct participation. But Orbn, who has long been critical of Western efforts to support Ukraines defense and threatened to veto European Union sanctions against Moscow, praised Trump for his discussions with Putin, saying the U.S. president wants peace. The United States has initiated a change that puts the whole Western worlds system of arguments, value system, and way of thinking on a new track, he said. This process is progressing much faster than many people thought. We call this the Trump tornado.Hungary, unlike the majority of European countries, has continued to rely heavily on Russian oil and gas even after Moscows full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, and has been a staunch critic of EU sanctions against Russias energy sector. On Friday, he predicted the EU would fall apart if energy prices across the bloc were not brought down.I personally became convinced in 2010, 2011 that the European Union was done for, he said. If the Germans and the French do not figure something out and put the European Union on a new trajectory, then its days are numbered. There is no need to leave it, it will fall apart by itself if it goes on like this. JUSTIN SPIKE Spike is an Associated Press reporter based in Budapest, Hungary. twitter mailto

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev during their meeting via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)2025-02-14T18:15:48Z MOSCOW, Russia (AP) Russia has detained another U.S. citizen, after customs officials found cannabis-laced marmalade in his luggage, Russian media said Friday, days after a Moscow-Washington prisoner swap that the White House called a diplomatic thaw and a step toward ending the fighting in Ukraine.Russian police said the 28-year-old American had attempted to smuggle a significant amount of drugs into the country, the Interfax agency reported, citing Russias Federal Customs Service. The agency said the American was detained at Moscows Vnukovo airport after flying in from Istanbul last Friday.Mash, a Russian Telegram channel with links to the security services, said the U.S. citizen, identified only as K. Byers, faced up to seven years in prison if convicted. There was no immediate comment from the U.S. State Department.The Washington-Moscow prisoner exchange this month saw Alexander Vinnik, a Russian cryptocurrency expert who faced Bitcoin fraud charges in the United States, returned to Russia after being freed for American Marc Fogel, a teacher from Pennsylvania who was detained in 2021 when traveling to Russia to work at a school. Fogel had been serving a 14-year sentence for having with what his family and supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana. President Joe Bidens administration designated Fogel as wrongfully detained in December. President Donald Trump on Wednesday upended three years of U.S. policy toward Ukraine, saying he and Russian leader Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the conflict following a lengthy direct phone call.

In this photo reviewed by U.S. military officials, the Office of Military Commissions building used for Periodic Review Board hearings stands, on April 18, 2019, in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)2025-02-15T01:56:14Z EL PASO, Texas (AP) Three immigrants who won a restraining order against the federal government to avoid transfer to the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba were deported this week on direct flights to Venezuela, according to court documents published Friday.The three men were deported Monday, the day after a federal judge approved a temporary order blocking a possible transfer to Guantanamo Bay.Venezuelan immigrants are being flown on a daily basis from a military base at El Paso, Texas, to Guantanamo as part of President Donald Trumps immigration crackdown.Lawyers for the deported men said they were the target of false accusations of gang affiliation by the U.S. government that may expose them to harm.The governments baseless accusations in this case that two of the (immigrants) are affiliated with the infamous Tren de Aragua gang raises grave concerns about risks to their lives and freedom upon their return to Venezuela, attorney Jessica Myers Vosburgh of the Center for Constitutional Rights told a federal judge. Immigrant rights groups have filed a separate lawsuit demanding access to people who have been sent Guantanamo Bay without access to legal counsel or communication with relatives.Millions of desperate people have fled Venezuela amid a severe economic and political crisis under President Nicols Maduro, migrating to other parts of Latin America or the U.S. The Tren de Aragua gang originated in a lawless prison in the central Venezuelan state of Aragua more than a decade ago RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site