In this April 17, 2019, photo, reviewed by U.S. military officials, the control tower is seen through the razor wire inside the Camp VI detention facility in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)2025-02-04T18:08:57Z WASHINGTON (AP) The first U.S. military flight to deport migrants from the United States to Guantanamo Bay was set to depart Tuesday, a U.S. official said. It is the first step in what is expected to be a surge in the number of migrants held at the Navy base in Cuba, which for decades was primarily used to detain foreigners associated with the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.President Donald Trump has eyed the facility as a holding center and said it has the capacity to hold as many as 30,000. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was assigned to Guantanamo Bay when he was on active duty, has called it a perfect place to house migrants. Additional U.S. troops have arrived at the facility in the past few days to help prepare it. In addition, the U.S. flew Indian migrants back to India on Monday, and that flight was still in progress as of midday Tuesday, the U.S. official said. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details not yet made public. There had previously been seven deportation flights, to Ecuador, Guam, Honduras and Peru. In addition, Colombian officials flew to the U.S. and took two flights of migrants back to their country.There are approximately 300 service members supporting the holding operations at Guantanamo Bay, and the numbers will fluctuate based on the requirements of the Department of Homeland Security, which is the lead federal agency.CNN was first to report on the flights. TARA COPP Copp covers the Pentagon and national security for the Associated Press. She has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia. twitter mailto LOLITA C. BALDOR Baldor has covered the Pentagon and national security issues for The Associated Press since 2005. She has reported from all over the world including warzones in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. twitter mailto

Thomas Shedd, a Musk-associate and now head of the General Services Administrations Technology Transformation Services (TTS), told government tech workers in a meeting this week that the administration plans to widely deploy AI throughout the government. Shedd also said the administration would need help altering login.gov, a government login system, to further integrate with sensitive systems like social security to further identify individuals and detect and prevent fraud, which employees identified on the meeting as an illegal task.Shedd, who is a former Tesla engineer, said the government should try to get consent, regarding login.gov changes but that we should still push forward and see what we can do.WIRED and the New York Times previously reported on aspects of the meeting. 404 Media has now obtained audio of the full meeting and quotes it extensively below. Shedd told TTS workers that the administration would need help making radical changes to various government systems: Things are going to get intense, he said.Are you a current or former worker for 18F, TTS, the GSA, or a similar entity? We would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message Jason securely on Signal at +1 202 505 1702; Joseph on +44 20 8133 5190; and Emanuel on +1 609 678 3204.These potential changes, he said, would include things like creating AI coding agents that would write government software for many different agencies and would be trained in part on existing government contracts, larger scale automations of government, and, critically, changes to Login.govJust like a fun one that we've been thinking through with Login, specifically in TTS is, as most of you know, Login can't access government information on individuals. And so there's no connection that Login has with social security or any other government system, even though we're part of the government, Shedd said. And so part of one of the things to work through is how do we make it so that those agencies that has that information of very secure APIs that can be leveraged by login to further identify individuals and detect and prevent fraud?I'm not saying that this is an easy task, but it is a task that's worth trying to pursue and one that only we can do as an internal team, right? We can't bring a third party in, hire them and have them work on a project like this. It has to be an internal technology team that works on this, Shedd continued.During a question-and-answer session, a government employee told Shedd that The Privacy Act forbids agencies sharing personal information without consent.I think we were on the topic of login aggregating data. It's an illegal task, the employee question, which was read aloud by a woman facilitating the meeting, said. The Privacy Act forbids agencies sharing personal information without consent.The idea would be that folks would give consent to help with the login flow, Shedd said. But again, that's an example of something that we have a vision, that needs worked on, and needs clarified. And if we hit a roadblock, then we hit a roadblock. But we still should push forward and see what we can do.Currently, Login.gov says it is for account access and sign in only. This account does not affect or have any information related to the specific agency you are trying to access. A FAQ about its current integration with the Social Security Administration says a users account does not affect or have any information about your Social Security card, number, or benefits. Please do not send Login.gov sensitive data about yourself or identifying numbers.Throughout the entire meeting, Shedd painted a vision of the federal government where a small group of coders under his leadership would revolutionize the way government works. He said, for example, that he would need help creating AI coding agents that would write software across the entire federal government. He proposed creating a centralized database of contracts that could be analyzed.We want to start implementing more AI at the agency level and be an example for how other agencies can start leveraging AI thats one example of something that were looking for people to work on, Shedd said. Things like making AI coding agents available for all agencies. One that we've been looking at and trying to work on immediately within GSA, but also more broadly, is a centralized place to put contracts so we can run analysis on those contracts.The comments also highlight how Musks allies are treating the federal government as a private company that needs to cut costs to please shareholders.Both what Ive seen, and what the administration sees, is you all are one of the most respected technology groups in the federal government, Shedd told TTS workers. You guys have been doing this far longer than I've been even aware that your group exists.An employee familiar with Shedds comments told 404 Media that the reaction of the team, the whole group of 18F and TTS is pretty unanimously negative. 18F is a group within TTS that helps build software across the government. The employee said that it feels to them like 18F itself is being gutted and that the administration hopes its best coders will work for DOGE or a group that Musk has more control over: The administration views TTS and 18F as a pool of talent that it will draw from, that it will poach from. And it will take the people from TTS that it wants, and then most of the organization will wither away.We should still push forward and see what we can do.They said that the idea of using AI coding agents in the federal government would be a major security risk, and that training them on existing federal contracts raises red flags considering that Elon Musk, the head of DOGE, has billions of dollars worth of federal contracts. 404 Media granted the employee anonymity to talk about sensitive issues in an administration that has targeted those who speak out.The AI-ification of government is contradictory to security practices that have existed up to now, the employee said. Government software is concerned with things like foreign adversaries attempting to insert backdoors into government code. With code generated by AI, it seems possible that security vulnerabilities could be introduced unintentionally. Or could be introduced intentionally via an AI-related exploit that creates obfuscated code that includes vulnerabilities that might expose the data of American citizens or of national security importance.Shedd started the meeting talking about the need to shrink the government workforce, something Trump and Musk has been pushing for. That in turn creates an opportunity for more automation, Shedd said.Because as we decrease the overall size of the federal government, as you all know, there's still a ton of programs that need to exist, which is this huge opportunity for technology and automation to come in full force, which is why you all are so key and critical to this next phase, he said. It is the time to build because, as I was saying, the demand for technical services is going to go through the roof.Which means things are going to get intense. Like across the board in every agency, the demand on all of us is going to go up, he added. One employee asked if it is currently illegal to work more than 40 hours a week. Is that going to change?Unclear at this point, Shedd said. I think, yeah, this goes back to HR. HR guidance is the best to follow in terms of rules and official guidance.Other parts of the meeting focused on the now-infamous Fork in the Road email sent to all members of the federal government, in which the Office of Personnel Management offered buyouts that may or may not have funding. Many members of 18F and TTS work entirely remotely and near no major government office, and so workers were worried about whether they would be forced to move or would lose their jobs. The deadline to take the buyout is Thursday, a date Shedd referenced multiple times.The work will be intense and it will be in person, Shedd said. And so please think deeply about this coming Thursday and what that means for you.Musk is now in charge of the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization, which was formerly the United States Digital Service, a group established to help the government modernize its technology under Barack Obama. Since Trump took office, several media outlets reported that Musk and a small group of young engineers from Musks private companies have seized control of Federal infrastructure, gaining access to the Treasury Departments payment system, classified information at USAID, and have removed several programs or mere mentions of DEI across a number of government agencies and websites. 404 Media previously reported that DOGE brought in an HR consultant focused on non-woke DEI she says is more consistent with Christianity.GSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Proud Boys lost big this week when a judge ruled that the group can no longer use its own name and instead awarded the moniker to a Washington DC-based Black church that was subjected to a hateful and overtly racist attack by the white supremacists.On Monday, the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal church where Fredrick Douglass, Oprah Winfrey, and former President Barack Obama have all worshipped was awarded power over the Proud Boys name by DC superior court judge Tanya Jones Bosier, who opened the door for the church to seize any profit made from the sale of merchandise sales using the far-right extremist groups name, logos, and insignia, The Guardian reports. The Proud Boys were initially ordered to pay the church $2.8 million in 2023 after several members scaled a wall and vandalized the church, including burning a Black Lives Matter banner during a December 2020 rally put on by people who falsely claimed that the election was stolen from Donald Trump after he lost to Joe Biden.Proud Boys leader Henry Enrique Tarrio and fellow members John Turano, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Jeremy Bertino lost the civil suit after DC superior court judge Neal Kravitz said that when they attacked the church, they had acted with an evil, discriminatory motive based on race and that their conduct was reprehensible to an extreme degree. Tarrio was also one of the planners of the January 6 insurrection at the Capital and was sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy, but was recently pardoned and released from prison by Trump. Although he was one of the main organizers of the Capital riot, he was not part of the insurrection and instead helped to plan it from a hotel room in Baltimore. He had already been arrested for stealing a BLM flag when the Proud Boys attacked the Ashbury Methodist church, part of a series of crimes that saw the white supremacist group target four churches in a single night. To satisfy the more than $2 million judgment, which the Proud Boys have yet to pay, the group will have to seek permission from the church in order to use its own name or logos (including their recognizable yellow laurel leaf design) for any revenue-creating venture. In the lawsuit, lawyers for the church say the Proud Boys have engaged in fraudulent activity to prevent the church from collecting the judgment, which includes terminating the Proud Boys entity and surrendering its trademark registration.Tarrio has not remained quiet after being pardoned, instead, he has called for the church to have its nonprofit status revoked and the impeachment of Bosier, who was appointed by Biden.Their actions are a betrayal of justice, Tarrio said of Bosier and Kravitz, the two judges involved in the case.I hold in contempt any motions, judgments and orders issued against me.

President Donald Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-02-04T18:29:32Z Seven families with transgender or nonbinary children filed a lawsuit Tuesday over President Donald Trumps executive order to halt federal support for gender-affirming health care for transgender people under age 19.PFLAG, a national group for family of LGBTQ+ people; and GLMA, a doctors organization, are also plaintiffs in the court challenge in a Baltimore federal court.It comes one week after Trump signed an order calling for the federal government to stop funding the medical care through federal government-run health insurance programs including Medicaid and TRICARE.Kristen Chapman, the mother of one of the plaintiffs in the case, said her family moved to Richmond, Virginia, from Tennessee in 2023 because of a ban on gender-affirming care in their home state. Her 17-year-old daughter, Willow, had an initial appointment scheduled for last week with a new provider who would accept Medicaid. But Trump signed his order the day before and the hospital said it could not provide care. I thought Virginia would be a safe place for me and my daughter, Kristen Chapman said in a statement. Instead, I am heartbroken, tired, and scared. The ACLU and Lambda Legal, who are representing the plaintiffs, want a judge to put the order on hold. In a court filing Tuesday, they said Trumps executive orders are unlawful and unconstitutional because they seek to withhold federal funds previously authorized by Congress. The challenge also says that the law infringes on the rights of parents. Like other legal challenges to bans on gender-affirming care, they also argue that the policy discriminates because it does not prohibit federal funds for the same treatments when theyre not used for gender transition.Some health providers immediately paused providing the coverage while they assess how the order affects them. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has repeatedly battled Trump in court, told hospitals in her state Monday that it would violate the law to stop offering gender-affirming care to people under 19. Trumps approach on transgender policy represents an abrupt change from the Biden administration, which sought to explicitly extend civil rights protections to transgender people.Trump has used strong language, asserting in the order on gender-affirming care that medical professionals are maiming and sterilizing a growing number of impressionable children under the radical and false claim that adults can change a childs sex.Alex Sheldon, executive director of GLMA, the doctors group in the legal challenge, said there are established medical standards for caring for transgender youth. Now, an extreme political agenda is trying to overrule that expertise, putting young people and their providers in danger, Sheldon said in a statement. We are confident that the law, science, and history are on our side.In addition to the order on health care access, Trump has also signed orders that narrowly define the sexes as unchangeable, open the door to banning transgender people from military service and set up new rules about how schools can teach about gender. Legal challenges have already been filed on the military order and a plan to move transgender women in federal prisons to mens facilities. Others are expected to be filed, just as there have been challenges to a variety of Trumps policies.Researchers have found that fewer than 1 in 1,000 adolescents receive the care, which includes treatments such as puberty blockers, hormone treatments and surgeries though surgery is rare for children.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 the 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. GEOFF MULVIHILL Mulvihill covers topics on the agendas of state governments across the country. He has focused on abortion, gender issues and opioid litigation. twitter mailto

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters is seen in Washington, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)2025-02-04T18:05:56Z WASHINGTON (AP) FBI agents who participated in investigations related to President Donald Trump have sued over Justice Department efforts to develop a list of employees involved in those inquiries that they fear could be a precursor to mass firings.The class-action complaint, filed Tuesday in federal court in Washington, seeks an immediate halt to the Justice Developments plans to compile a list of investigators who participated in probes of the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol as well as Trumps hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.The lawsuit notes that Trump on the campaign trail repeatedly stated that he would personify the vengeance or the retribution, for those whom he called political hostages, for their actions during the Jan. 6 attack.The agents contend the very act of compiling lists of persons who worked on matters that upset Donald Trump is retaliatory in nature, intended to intimidate FBI agents and other personnel and to discourage them from reporting any future malfeasance and by Donald Trump and his agents. The complaint also cites the Justice Departments firing last week of prosecutors on special counsel Jack Smiths team as proof that the effort to compile the list is rooted in a desire for retribution. Donald Trump has made repeated public pronouncements of his intent to exact revenge upon persons he perceives to be disloyal to him by simply executing their duties in investigating acts incited by him and persons loyal to him, the complaint says. Whatever the Trump administration believes about Plaintiffs political affiliation, it clearly believes that persons who were involved in the investigation and prosecution of Jan. 6 and Mar-a-Lago cases are insufficiently politically affiliated with Donald Trump to be entitled to retain their employment. A Justice Department spokesman did not immediately return a message seeking comment. ERIC TUCKER Tucker covers national security in Washington for The Associated Press, with a focus on the FBI and Justice Department and the special counsel cases against former President Donald Trump. twitter mailto ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Richer is an Associated Press reporter covering the Justice Department and legal issues from Washington. twitter mailto

It's getting hot in here!The 2025 GayVN Awards saw the hottest adult entertainers from around the world all come together in Las Vegas to spill the tea on their sexy content. Plus, the stars save some time to film spicy scenes for fans to watch.Jordan Starr has worked in the adult film industry for three years now and he's continuing to break boundaries. When it comes to his steamy content, the content creator prefers to film intimate and homemade scenes."I like my OnlyFans scenes. They're more intimate and I just get to have fun. I'm living in the moment," Starr tells PRIDE. See on Instagram Although the GayVN Awards are considered the Oscars for the gay porn industry, Starr is now debuting his very own award show. The model recently created the ICCA Awards, set to premiere this May in Puerto Vallarta. "I'm working on my own award show! I've got my Rising Starrs, which is talent management. Then, I've got Shooting Starrs, which is production work. I'm transitioning into other things, but I'm going to do this as long as the industry will have me."Fans can keep up with Jordan Starr by following him on Instagram here. To see the full interview from the GayVN Awards, check out the video at the top of the page.

February is for lovers and one thing is sure there is plenty to love about the lineup of queer TV and movies headed our way this month!From the long-awaited return of our fave Sapphic cannibals in Yellowjackets to a queer coming-of-age tale Bonus Track to Laverne Cox taking over our TVs in Clean Slate. Oh yes, we are all heart eyes over February's must-watch LGBTQ+ programming! But thats not all, this month also sees a new season of White Lotus, Valeria is back and both The Z-Suite and Running Point have us giggling. So on that note, here is what we're going to be watching all month long and where you can watch them, too.All film and series descriptions are courtesy of their respective studios and networks.Clean Slate - February 6This heartfelt Norman Lear comedy follows Harry (George Wallace), an old-school car wash owner in Alabama who has a lot of soul-searching to do when the child he thought was a son returns as a proud, trans woman, Desiree (Laverne Cox). Her homecoming brings together a hilarious cast of friends, coworkers, and love interests, as Desiree and Harry try to get it right the second time around.Where to watch: Prime Video Fallen - February 6A young woman named Luce is sent to Sword and Cross, a cult-like rehabilitation facility, where she must serve time for a crime she doesnt even remember committing.Where to watch: AMC+Invincible (Season 3) - February 6Based on Robert Kirkmans award-winning comic book series, Invincible follows 19-year-old Mark Grayson, as he inherits his fathers superpowers and sets out to become Earths greatest defender, only to discover the job is more challenging than he could have ever imagined. Everything changes as Mark is forced to face his past, and his future, while discovering how much further he'll need to go to protect the people he loves.Where to watch: Prime Video The Z-Suite - February 6Generations clash when the award-winning C-suite at Atelier Ad Agency is canceled and pushed out and the Gen Z social media team is put in charge.Where to watch: Tubi Love Hurts - February 7Marvin Gable (Ke Huy Quan), a realtor working in the Milwaukee suburbs, where For Sale signs bloom. Gable receives a crimson envelope from Rose (ArianaDeBose), a former partner-in-crime that he had left for dead. Shes not happy.Now, Marvin is thrust back into a world of ruthless hitmen, filled with double-crosses and open houses turned into deadly warzones. With his brother Knuckles (Daniel Wu), a volatile crime lord, hunting him, Marvin must confront the choices that haunt him and the history he never truly buried.Where to watch: In theatersBonus Track - February 11Its 2006, and George - a small-town sixteen-year-old - is on the road to complete social and academic failure. He dreams of being a star, and knows hes a gifted musician - but no one else seems to agree...So, when Max - the son of a mega-famous musical duo - enrolls at his school and takes an interest in his music, George cant believe it! Neither can anyone else. But as the boys grow closer, George begins to question why he actually wants to spend time with Max... George is faced with a potential dream come true - if he can just figure out what that dream now really isWitcher: Sirens of the Deep - February 11Geralt of Rivia, a mutated monster hunter, is hired to investigate a series of attacks in a seaside village and finds himself drawn into a centuries-old conflict between humans and merpeople. He must count on friends -- old and new -- to solve the mystery before the hostilities between the two kingdoms escalate into all-out war.Where to watch: Netflix La Dolce Vita - February 13Successful businessman, Eric travels to Italy to stop his daydreaming daughter Olivia from restoring a crumbling villa. Italy, however, has different plans for him as it delivers on its legendary promise of beauty, magic, and romance.Where to watch: Netflix Valeria (season 4) - February 14As the four close friends venture into their thirties, their lives face new challenges that make it increasingly difficult to meet up. Yet, despite everything, sticking together remains the only thing that keeps them sane. In this final season, Valeria (Diana Gmez) will have to make a pivotal decision both for her love life, choosing between Vctor (Maxi Iglesias) and Bruno (Federico Aguado), and for her professional career; Carmen (Paula Malia) will have to tackle motherhood alongside Borja (Juanlu Gonzlez) and all the changes that a baby entails; Nerea (Teresa Riott) will seek balance between her professional life as a freelancer and stability with Georgina (Mima Riera), and meanwhile, Lola (Silma Lpez) will try to overcome a new life crisis: everything that changes when you turn 30, especially when your partner, Rai (Jos Pastor), is at a very different point in life.Where to watch: NetflixYellowjackets (season 3) - February 14In season three, as summer arrives, the Yellowjackets face a fragile victorythe brutal winter that nearly claimed them is finally behind them, but distrust in leadership and tension within the team jeopardize their chances of being rescued. In the present, long-buried secrets from their pasts begin to surface. As the women fight to keep their lives from unraveling, they must confront a chilling question: who are they really, and what dark truths are they hiding from each other and themselves?Where to watch: ShowtimeYou, Me & Her - February 14Mags (Selina Ringel), a high-powered, Latinx financial advisor who runs the household and Ash (Ritesh Rajan), Indian-American, a great dad who runs a struggling cannabis start-up, are stuck in a rut. They can't stop arguing on their first vacation alone together after having a baby until they meet Angela (Sydney Park), a spiritual digital nomad, who takes a romantic interest in Mags. Mags starts to question her own sexuality when she becomes intrigued by Angela. Suddenly Ash and Mags start to reconnect over the idea of having a threesome in hopes that the excitement of the potential sexual experience will save their marriage.Where to watch: In theatersStockade - February 21 (theaters) & February 15 (Digital)Stockade tells the story of Ahlam, a struggling Lebanese artist in New York City who takes a job delivering a package upstate, only to open a Pandoras box. In this updated meditation on the pursuit of the American dream, Ahlam finds herself in dire financial straits and desperate to come by the funds to extend her artists visa. When she is offered a job to deliver a mysterious package upstate, Ahlam believes she has found a solution. Upon her arrival in the Hudson Valley, Ahlam encounters shady characters and quirky neighbors as she is unwittingly drawn into the world of ancient artifact trafficking.Where to watch: On VODWhite Lotus (season 3) - February 16The social satire is set at an exclusive Thai resort and follows the exploits of various guests and employees over the span of a week.Where to watch: HBO No Taste Like Home with Antony Porowski - February 23No Taste Like Home with Antony Porowski invites viewers on a captivating culinary adventure. Antoni Porowski joined by celebrity guests Awkwafina, Henry Golding, James Marsden, Florence Pugh, Issa Rae and Justin Theroux curates bespoke journeys that uncover the rich stories behind treasured family recipes. From the mouthwatering origins of Therouxs family pasta in Italy to the vibrant flavors of Awkwafinas Korean heritage, each episode celebrates the deep connections between food, culture and identity. As they explore the world together, Antoni and his guests meet locals who share their own family traditions and culinary secrets. Each journey culminates in a heartfelt family meal featuring a regional classic, showcasing the beauty and diversity of their cultural heritage.Where to watch: National GeographicRunning Point - February 27When a scandal forces her brother to resign, Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson) is appointed president of the Los Angeles Waves, one of the most storied professional basketball franchises, and her family business. Ambitious and often overlooked, Isla will have to prove to her skeptical brothers, the board, and the larger sports community that she was the right choice for the job.Where to watch: Netflix

Inmates attend a class on social behavior from inside their shared cell during a press tour of the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, in Tecololuca, El Salvador, Oct. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File)2025-02-04T19:41:43Z SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) The Trump administration and the president of El Salvador said Monday that theyd struck a deal allowing the U.S. to ship both detained migrants and imprisoned citizens to the tiny Central American nation, which has suspended some basic rights as it battles powerful street gangs. The U.S. government cannot deport American citizens and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that there are obviously legalities involved. We have a Constitution, he acknowledged. But its a very generous offer ... obviously, the administration will have to make a decision.Bukele has made El Salvadors stark, harsh prisons a trademark of his aggressive fight against crime. Since March 2022, more than 84,000 people have been arrested, many with little to no due process.Even before the campaign against gangs, El Salvadors prisons were notoriously violent and overcrowded but the crown jewel of Bukeles fight is the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, he opened in 2023. A body screening device used to register inmates is displayed during a media tour of the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Feb. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File) A body screening device used to register inmates is displayed during a media tour of the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Feb. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More In slickly produced videos, prisoners in boxer shorts are marched into prison yards and made to sit nearly atop each other. They are packed into cells without enough bunks for everyone. At the time, Bukele tweeted: El Salvador has managed to go from being the worlds most dangerous country, to the safest country in the Americas. How did we do it? By putting criminals in jail. Is there space? There is now. Even before his announcement with Rubio, Bukele had planned to put more people in prison. The Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, stands in Tecoluca, El Salvador, March 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File) The Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, stands in Tecoluca, El Salvador, March 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Prison guards stand outside holding cells during a media tour of the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Feb. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File) Prison guards stand outside holding cells during a media tour of the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, in Tecoluca, El Salvador, Feb. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More What is the CECOT?Bukele ordered the mega-prison built as he began his campaign against El Salvadors gangs in March 2022. It opened a year later in the town of Tecoluca, about 45 miles east of the capital.Able to hold 40,000 inmates, the CECOT is made up of eight sprawling pavilions. Its cells hold 65 to 70 prisoners each. They do not receive visits. There are no programs preparing them to return to society after their sentences, no workshops or educational programs. They are never allowed outside.The exceptions are occasional motivational talks from prisoners who have gained a level of trust from prison officials. Prisoners sit in rows in the corridor outside their cells for the talks or are led through exercise regimens under the supervision of guards.Bukeles justice minister has said that those held would never return to their communities.The prisons dining halls, break rooms, gym and board games are for guards. Inmates exercise under the watch of prison guards during a press tour of the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, in Tecololuca, El Salvador, Oct. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File) Inmates exercise under the watch of prison guards during a press tour of the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, in Tecololuca, El Salvador, Oct. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More How many prisoners does El Salvador hold?In April 2021, a year before the start of the state of emergency, the government reported nearly 36,000 prisoners.The government doesnt regularly update the figure but the human rights organization Cristosal reported that in March 2024 El Salvador population 6.36 million held 110,000 people, including those sentenced to prison and those still awaiting trial. The Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, stands in Tecoluca, El Salvador, late Feb. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File) The Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, stands in Tecoluca, El Salvador, late Feb. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More What do human rights advocates say?Cristosal reported last summer that at least 261 people had died in El Salvadors prisons during the gang crackdown. The group and others have cited cases of abuse, torture and lack of medical attention. Inmates attend class on social behavior during a press tour of the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, in Tecololuca, El Salvador, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. Inmates wear masks as a precaution to not spread COVID-19. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File) Inmates attend class on social behavior during a press tour of the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, in Tecololuca, El Salvador, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023. Inmates wear masks as a precaution to not spread COVID-19. (AP Photo/Salvador Melendez, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More AP writer Matthew Lee in San Salvador contributed to this report.

Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump's choice to be the Director of National Intelligence, arrives to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee for her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)2025-02-04T19:38:47Z WASHINGTON (AP) Tulsi Gabbards nomination to be President Donald Trump director of national intelligence cleared a key Senate committee Tuesday despite concerns raised about her past comments sympathetic to Russia and a meeting with Syrias now-deposed leader.A former Democratic congresswoman, Gabbard is one of Trumps most divisive nominees, with lawmakers of both parties also pointing to her past support for government leaker Edward Snowden. But the Senate Intelligence Committee advanced her nomination in a closed-door 9-8 vote, and it now heads to the full Senate for consideration. A vote has not been scheduled yet.Following a contentious confirmation hearing last week, where some Republican senators questioned Gabbard harshly, GOP support for her fell into place following a pressure campaign over the weekend unleashed by Trump supporters and allies, including Elon Musk. Until three GOP members seen as swing votes announced their support, it wasnt clear her nomination would advance beyond the Intelligence Committee. Given strong Democratic opposition and thin Republican margins, Gabbard will need almost all GOP senators to vote yes to win confirmation to the top intelligence job. Given the sensitive nature of the work it does, the Intelligence Committee regularly meets privately, and Tuesdays vote on Gabbard was held during such a session. While the votes of members of the committee were not released, support for Gabbard has fallen along party lines, with no Democrats expressing support. Gabbard is a lieutenant colonel in the National Guard who deployed twice to the Middle East and ran for president in 2020. She has no formal intelligence experience, however, and has never run a government agency or department. Gabbards past praise of Snowden drew particularly harsh questions during the nomination hearing. The former National Security Agency contractor fled to Russia after he was charged with revealing classified information about surveillance programs. Gabbard said that while Snowden revealed important facts about surveillance programs she believes are unconstitutional, he violated rules about protecting classified secrets. Edward Snowden broke the law, she said.A 2017 visit with Syrian President Bashar Assad is another flash point. Assad was recently deposed following a brutal civil war in which he was accused of using chemical weapons. Following her visit, Gabbard faced criticism that she was legitimizing a dictator and then more questions when she said she was skeptical that Assad had used chemical weapons.Gabbard defended her meeting with Assad, saying she used the opportunity to press the Syrian leader on his human rights record.She has also repeatedly echoed Russian propaganda used to justify the Kremlins invasion of Ukraine and in the past opposed a key U.S. surveillance program. In the latest instance of the Make America Great Again base pressuring senators to support Trumps nominees, Musk blasted Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana as a deep-state puppet in a now-deleted social media post before the two men spoke and Musk later called him an ally. Young, whose critical questioning of Gabbard had prompted speculation he might oppose her, confirmed Tuesday he would back Gabbard. Young said his tough questions for Gabbard were just part of the process. I have done what the framers envisioned for senators to do: use the consultative process to seek firm commitments, in this case commitments that will advance our national security, he wrote in statement announcing his support for Gabbard. FARNOUSH AMIRI Amiri covers Congress for The Associated Press, with a focus on foreign policy and congressional investigations. She previously covered politics for AP as a statehouse reporter based in Columbus, Ohio. twitter mailto

(@) Someone reposted a video of a MAGA supporter comically falling off a bike because not all heroes wear capes, and we could all use a good cathartic laugh right now.In the video, which originally did the rounds on social media back in April 2023 but has now gone viral again, a shirtless man wearing a Trump flag as a cape is seen riding a lifted bike decked out in red, white, and blue before a skateboard hits his front tire and he falls on the ground.Reminiscent of the QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley, who wore antlers to the January 6 insurrection, the mans face is covered in American flag face paint, and hes wearing a fur hat with antlers.The once popular video has gone viral a second time and has now amassed nearly 4 million views, as people seem to take pleasure in watching a Trump supporter eating pavement.From people commenting that the short clip was the best thing they saw all day to someone saying they laughed so hard they "actually started to cry to a commenter quipping that the video is actually of Elon on a cyber bike, the jokes were almost as good as the video itself.Keep scrolling to see the funniest reactions to a MAGA follower falling on his face! (@) (@) "Thank you...I've been doing nothing but reading the news and stressing for the last 2 weeks that when I saw this I started laughing so hard that I actually started to cry. It was really cathartic." (@) (@) "gonna keep that in MAGA file with this one....' (@) "Thank you for my laugh of the day. I really needed that." (@) "The best crash ever! What a dope." (@) "Recognised him! Its Elon on a cyber bike." (@) (@) "I shouldn't laugh ... wait, yes I should" (@) "Ive seen it about 167 times, and it keeps getting funnier" (@) "Is it awful of me to hope that that *really hurt?*" (@) "Well at least he got his 5 minutes of fame, just not the way he'd hoped for" (@) "Gravity was not his friend that day " (@) "Bro turned into a Beyblade and let it rip."

Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmers former nanny has filed a lawsuit against the ex-couple after previously accusing Gaiman of sexual assault.Scarlett Pavlovich is one of multiple women who have come forward with allegations against the author over the past year. She previously detailed her experiences in both Tortoise Medias podcast series last summer and Vultures expos on Gaiman published in January.In her lawsuit, Pavlovich says she met Palmer on a beach in New Zealand, where shes from and where Gaiman and Palmer were living at the time. She began helping out with personal tasks and childcare, eventually becoming a nanny to their son. However, she alleges Gaiman sexually assaulted her repeatedly while she was in their employ, but that she felt unable to leave as she had previously been homeless and broke.Pavlovich has further claimed that she told Palmer about the assaults, and that Palmer subsequently informed her that multiple women had told her similar things about Gaiman in the past."Palmer was sufficiently aware that Gaiman was likely to target Scarlett, that she warned Gaiman to stay away from Scarlett before she brought Scarlett to Gaimans house as a babysitter," the lawsuit reads. "Yet Palmer never warned Scarlett of the known danger posed by Gaiman."Public opinion has shifted drastically against Gaiman as more and more accusations have come to light. He has also incurred professional consequences, with adaptations and reprints of his work either being canceled or put on pause.In January, he finally responded to the many allegations in a blog post on his website, claiming he had previously stayed silent "out of a desire not to draw even more attention to a lot of misinformation.""There are moments I half-recognise and moments I dont, descriptions of things that happened sitting beside things that emphatically did not happen," he wrote. "Im far from a perfect person, but I have never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever."A representative for Palmer previously stated that she is "profoundly disturbed by the allegations that Mr. Gaiman has abused several women," but she has otherwise asked for privacy, citing "ongoing custody and divorce proceedings."

Elon Musk arrives before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)2025-02-04T20:16:45Z OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Elon Musks lawyers faced off with OpenAI in court Tuesday as a federal judge weighed the billionaires request for a court order that would block the ChatGPT maker from converting itself to a for-profit company.U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said it was a stretch for Musk to claim he will be irreparably harmed if she doesnt intervene to stop OpenAI from moving forward with its transition from a nonprofit research laboratory to a for-profit corporation. But the judge also raised concerns about OpenAI and its relationship with business partner Microsoft and said she wouldnt stop the case from moving to trial as soon as next year so a jury can decide.It is plausible that what Mr. Musk is saying is true. Well find out. Hell sit on the stand, she said.Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company last year, first in a California state court and later in federal court, alleging it had betrayed its founding aims as a nonprofit research lab benefiting the public good. Musk had invested about $45 million in the startup from its founding until 2018, his lawyer said Tuesday. Musk escalated the legal dispute late last year, adding new claims and defendants and asking for a court order that would stop OpenAIs plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully. Musk also added his own AI company, xAI, as a plaintiff. Also targeted by Musks lawsuit is OpenAIs close business partner Microsoft and tech entrepreneur Reid Hoffman, a former OpenAI board member who also sits on Microsofts board. Gonzalez Rogers said she has a high bar for approving the kind of preliminary injunction that Musk wants but hasnt yet ruled on the request. She has handled a number of tech industry cases including Apples fight with Epic Games, though she said Tuesday that Musks case is nothing like that one. Then-President Barack Obama appointed her to the federal bench in 2011. Tuesdays hearing was originally set for January but was postponed after Musks attorney Marc Toberoff said his house was destroyed in the Pacific Palisades wildfire. Musk, who did not attend the hearing, has alleged in the lawsuit that the companies are violating the terms of his foundational contributions to the charity.OpenAI has said Musks requested court order would debilitate OpenAIs business and mission to the advantage of Musk and his own AI company and is based on far-fetched legal claims. At the heart of the dispute is a 2017 internal power struggle at the fledgling startup that led to Altman becoming OpenAIs CEO.Emails disclosed by OpenAI show Musk had also sought to be CEO and grew frustrated after two other OpenAI co-founders said he would hold too much power as a major shareholder and chief executive if the startup succeeded in its goal to achieve better-than-human AI known as artificial general intelligence, or AGI. Musk has long voiced concerns about how advanced forms of AI could threaten humanity. Altman eventually succeeded in becoming CEO and has remained so except for a period in 2023 when he was fired and then reinstated days later after the board that ousted him was replaced.OpenAI has sought to demonstrate Musks early support for the idea of making OpenAI a for-profit business so it could raise money for the hardware and computer power that AI needs.Musk is not the only one challenging OpenAIs for-profit transition. Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms has asked Californias attorney general to block it, and the office of Delawares attorney general has said it is reviewing the conversion.OBrien reported from Providence, Rhode Island.-The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement that allows OpenAI access to part of APs text archives. BARBARA ORTUTAY Ortutay writes about social media and the internet for The Associated Press. mailto MATT OBRIEN OBrien covers the business of technology and artificial intelligence for The Associated Press. mailto

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-02-04T20:21:32Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump said Tuesday that hes given his advisers instructions to obliterate Iran if it assassinates him.If they did that they would be obliterated, Trump said in an exchange with reporters while signing an executive order calling for the U.S. government to impose maximum pressure on Tehran. Ive left instructions if they do it, they get obliterated, there wont be anything left.Federal authorities have been tracking Iranian threats against Trump and other administration officials for years. Trump ordered the 2020 killing of Qassem Soleimani, who led the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force.A threat on Trumps life from Iran prompted additional security in the days before a July campaign rally in Pennsylvania where Trump was shot in the ear, according to U.S. officials. But officials at the time said they did not believe Iran was connected to that assassination attempt. The Justice Department announced in November that an Iranian plot to kill Trump before the presidential election had been thwarted.The department alleged Iranian officials had instructed Farhad Shakeri, 51, in September to focus on surveilling and ultimately assassinating Trump. Shakeri is still at large in Iran. Iranian officials, at the time, dismissed the allegation, with foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei calling the report a plot by Israel-linked circles to make Iran-U.S. relations more complicated. Investigators were told of the plan to kill Trump by Shakeri, an accused Iranian government asset who spent time in American prisons for robbery and who authorities say maintained a network of criminal associates enlisted by Tehran for surveillance and murder-for-hire plots, according to the complaint.Shakeri, an Afghan national living in Iran, told the FBI that a contact in Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard instructed him last September to set aside other work he was doing and assemble a plan within seven days to surveil and ultimately kill Trump, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in federal court in Manhattan. Trump recently revoked government security protection for former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his top aide, Brian Hook, as well as his former national security adviser John Bolton, who have all faced threats from Iran after they took hardline stances against the Islamic Republic during Trumps first administration. MICHELLE L. PRICE Price is a national political reporter for The Associated Press. She is based in New York. twitter mailto AAMER MADHANI Aamer Madhani is a White House reporter. twitter mailto ZEKE MILLER Zeke is APs chief White House correspondent twitter mailto

Last night, thousands of people showed up to protest NYU Langone Hospital to protest after the hospital canceled appointments trans youth had already booked. Why were they canceled? Trumps anti-trans executive order attacking healthcare for trans youth. Yet New Yorks Attorney General James told hospitals to continue providing healthcare to trans youth. And thousands of [...]The post New Yorkers Are Rising Up Against Anti-Trans Attacks! first appeared on GLAAD.

Queer musical artist Bitch has been an opening act for Indigo Girls and Ani DiFranco. She has also appeared in. John Cameron Mitchells film Shortbus, and co-wrote a song with Margaret Cho. Bitch is now taking the stage with the world premiere of B*TCHCRAFT: A Musical Playat New Yorks wild project starting February 7 through [...]The post B*TCHCRAFT: A Musical Creator Bitch Says Sharing Queer Autobiographical Story is an Act of Resistance first appeared on GLAAD.

Like designer knock-offs, tariffs may look like they mean business, but how quickly do they fall apart at the seams.With President-elect Donald Trump preparing for his presidency, he promised to slap tariffs on goods from the leading U.S. trade partners on day one. This would range from 10% on goods from China to 25% from Canada and Mexico. Trump has touted this move as a way to negotiate with these countries over several policies, mainly cracking down on drug production and illegal migrants entering the country, as well as protecting domestic jobs and industries.What Are Tariffs?"Tariffs are often touted as a protective measure for domestic industries," explains David Fritch, a registered investment advisor and CPA with over four decades of experience. "But the reality is that ramping up local production capacity can take considerable time." Even when goods are not wholly made externally, tariffs also increase the cost of resources for businesses, both big and small. While Trump guarantees that tariffs will be paid by the companies exporting their goods, that's not the case. Ultimately, it's the company and consumers importing goods; tariffs cause businesses to "reassess their supply chain strategies," Fritch says, "and even forcing some to pass costs onto consumers."So, which items will immediately face tariffs, and which could be vulnerable to potential tariffs should Trump launch a global trade war?Electronics: From Playstations to iPhonesIt's no secret that our gadgets are global jet-setters before they even hit the shelves. PlayStations are born from the minds of Sony in Japan, though they are assembled partly in China. And that shiny iPhone in your hand? It's as American as apple pieif it came from a bakery in Shenzen, China. With China being targeted, your next binge-worthy gaming console or phone upgrade might have a higher price tag.Fashion and Flair: Clothing and WigsFor those on a shopping budget or jumping into the latest aesthetic trend, the Chinese fast-fashion mogul Shein is about to stretch your wallet. And like elastic waistbands, expect a price increase from other clothing manufacturers based in China. And let's remember that many wig producers and suppliers are Chinese-based, so expect a 10% premium on your next hair transformation moment.Fortunately, a pair of Louboutins are safe from any proposed tariffs, as those red soles are safely made in France. But should President Trump choose to launch a trade war with the European Union, expect these to be on the chopping block.The Vanity Set: Makeup, Perfume, and FillersOur beauty essentials are also coming under attack. Brands like MAC Cosmetics, NARS, and Urban Decay make some or all of their products in Canada. In contrast, other brands like L'Oral are sourced from several countries, including Mexico. Fortunately, the cult-favorite Baccarat Rouge 540 and Juvderm are safely made in France and Ireland, respectively, so we will not foresee any price hikes due to tariffsWhether wholly imported or sourcing foreign-made materials, you may expect a higher price when it comes to cosmetics and perfumes. But let's face it, glowing skin is non-negotiable.Booze and Beans: Imported Liquor & CoffeeWhen you're sipping on Espolon, Patron, Don Julio, and Jose Cuervo, expect to pay an extra few bucks at your favorite bar. But suppose you choose a shot of Jameson or a sidecar of Hennessy. In that case, these libations are currently safe from tariff woes.And what about coffee? Rest assured, that morning cup will not increaseat least for now. Though Mexico's coffee exports to the U.S. pail compared to other Latin American and African countries, Trump could effectively impose tariffs on coffee-exporting countries to halt illegal migrants or drugs from entering the country.Trade Wars: Who Will Hurt The Most?Donald Trump's proposal is already sparking a range of responses, from concerns and threats of retaliation from the leaders of the U.S.'s three largest trade partners.I'm still eyeing my shopping cart like a financial advisor reading over my monthly expenses. Who would be caught in this international game of cat and mouse? We will. Consumers will undoubtedly fork out higher prices for our goods, be it furniture, electronics, clothing, or our favorite makeup or wig brands.Tech upgrades, closet staples, and the occasional indulgence may take a backseat these next few years until the Trump administration reverses its tariff policy. In the meantime, I'll patiently await the holiday sales.Marie-Adlina de la Ferrire is the Community Editor at equalpride, publisher of PRIDE.com.Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ and Allied community. Visit pride.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists and editors, and do not directly represent the views of PRIDE or our parent company, equalpride.

The Aga Khan, spiritual head of Ismaili Muslims, listens to a speech during the inauguration of the restored 16th century Humayun's Tomb in New Delhi, India, Sept. 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File)2025-02-04T22:08:11Z PARIS (AP) The Aga Khan, who became the spiritual leader of the worlds millions of Ismaili Muslims at age 20 as a Harvard undergraduate and poured a material empire built on billions of dollars in tithes into building homes, hospitals and schools in developing countries, has died. He was 88.His Aga Khan Development Network and the Ismaili religious community announced that His Highness Prince Karim Al-Hussaini, the Aga Khan IV and 49th hereditary imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, died Tuesday in Portugal surrounded by his family.His successor was designated in his will, which will be read out in the presence of his family and senior religious leaders in Lisbon before the name is made public. A date has not been announced. The successor is chosen from among his male progeny or other relatives, according to the Ismaili communitys website. Considered by his followers to be a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV was a student when his grandfather passed over his playboy father as his successor to lead the diaspora of Shia Ismaili Muslims, saying his followers should be led by a young man who has been brought up in the midst of the new age. Over decades, the Aga Khan evolved into a business magnate and a philanthropist, moving between the spiritual and the worldly and mixing them with ease.Treated as a head of state, the Aga Khan was given the title of His Highness by Queen Elizabeth in July 1957, two weeks after his grandfather the Aga Khan III unexpectedly made him heir to the familys 1,300-year dynasty as leader of the Ismaili Muslim sect. He became the Aga Khan IV on Oct. 19, 1957, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on the spot where his grandfather once had his weight equaled in diamonds in gifts from his followers.He had left Harvard to be at his ailing grandfathers side, and returned to school 18 months later with an entourage and a deep sense of responsibility. I was an undergraduate who knew what his work for the rest of his life was going to be, he said in a 2012 interview with Vanity Fair magazine. I dont think anyone in my situation would have been prepared.A defender of Islamic culture and values, he was widely regarded as a builder of bridges between Muslim societies and the West despite or perhaps because of his reticence to become involved in politics.The Aga Khan Development Network, his main philanthropic organization, deals mainly with issues of health care, housing, education and rural economic development. It says it works in over 30 countries and has an annual budget of about $1 billion for nonprofit development activities.A network of hospitals bearing his name are scattered in places where health care had lacked for the poorest, including Bangladesh, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, where he spent tens of millions of dollars for development of local economies.His eye for building and design led him to establish an architecture prize, and programs for Islamic Architecture at MIT and Harvard. He restored ancient Islamic structures throughout the world. Accounts differ as to the date and place of Prince Karim Aga Khans birth. According to Whos Who in France, he was born on Dec. 13, 1936, in Creux-de-Genthod, near Geneva, Switzerland, the son of Joan Yarde-Buller and Aly Khan.The extent of the Aga Khans financial empire is hard to measure. Some reports estimated his personal wealth to be in the billions.The Ismailis a sect originally centered in India but which expanded to large communities in east Africa, Central and South Asia and the Middle East consider it a duty to tithe up to 10% of their income to him as steward.We have no notion of the accumulation of wealth being evil, he told Vanity Fair in 2012. The Islamic ethic is that if God has given you the capacity or good fortune to be a privileged individual in society, you have a moral responsibility to society.He is survived by three sons and a daughter.The Aga Khan will be buried in Lisbon. The date was not released.

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-02-04T21:06:11Z WASHINGTON (AP) When Donald Trump started the biggest trade war since the 1930s in his first term, his impulsive combination of threats and import taxes on U.S. trading partners created chaos, generated drama -- and drew criticism from mainstream economists who favor free trade.But it didnt do much damage to the U.S. economy. Or much good. Inflation stayed under control. The economy kept growing as it had before. And Americas massive trade deficits, the main target of Trumps ire, proved resistant to his rhetoric and his tariffs: Already big, they got bigger.The trade war sequel that Trump has planned for his second term if it unfolds the way hes described it would likely be a different matter altogether. Trump appears to have grander ambitions and is operating in a far more treacherous economic environment this time.His plans to plaster tariffs of 25% on goods from Mexico and Canada and 10% on China and to follow those up by targeting the European Union would threaten growth, and push up prices in the United States, undermining his campaign pledge to eliminate the inflation that plagued President Joe Biden. The tariffs would be paid by U.S. importers, who would then try to pass along the higher costs to consumers through higher prices. Trump himself has warned of possible fallout. WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!), Trump said in a social media post Sunday. BUT WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, AND IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID. For now, some of the hostilities are on hold. Trump on Monday paused the tariffs on Canada and Mexico for 30 days to allow more negotiations after those countries agreed to do more to stop the flow of illegal drugs and undocumented workers into the United States.But he went ahead with the 10% tariffs on China Tuesday. Beijing promptly retaliated by imposing tariffs on U.S. products, including coal and big cars. It also is restricting exports of critical minerals and launching an antitrust investigation into Google. Trump views tariffs taxes on imports as an economic elixir that can restore factories to the American heartland, raise money for the government and pressure foreign countries to do what he wants. During his first term, Trump put tariffs on most Chinese goods and on imported solar panels, washing machines, steel and aluminum. The tax increases might have raised prices on those items, but they had little or no impact on overall inflation, which remained modest. Nor did they do much to restore factory jobs.Economists agree that a second Trump trade war could be far costlier than the first.That was then. This is now, said trade analyst William Reinsch of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. That is why the stock market briefly fell sharply Monday on anticipation of the tariffs, before rebounding on news of the pause with Mexico and Canada.During Trumps first term, his trade team carefully focused its tariff hit list to avoid or at least delay the impact on consumers. They targeted industrial products and not those that would show up on Walmarts shelves, said Reinsch, a former U.S. trade official. That tamped down the impact. This time, by contrast, the tariffs are across the board although the tariffs Trump had planned and then paused would have limited the levy on Canadian energy to 10%, showing that he was mindful of how much Americans in northern and midwestern states depend on oil and electricity from north of the border.In Boca Raton, Florida, the toy company Basic Fun is preparing to raise prices and absorb a hit to profits when the tariffs land. Ninety percent of Basic Funs toys come from China, including Tonka and Care Bears. CEO Jay Foreman says the price on the Tonka Classic Steel Mighty Dump Truck is likely to rise later this year from $29.99 to as much as $39.99.Five years ago, the Trump administration spared toys, exempting them from its China tariffs. This time, Foreman said, we are now just going to forecast a lot of money draining out of the company.' In addition to the threats to Canada, Mexico and the EU, Trump has threatened a worldwide tariff of 10% to 20%. The breadth of his potential targets means it will be much harder for companies to escape his tariffs.In his first term, many companies dodged his China tariffs by moving production to Mexico or Vietnam. Now, suppliers anywhere could wind up in Trumps crosshairs. It sends the signal that no place is safe, said Mary Lovely, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.Also worrying, economists say, is a retaliation clause the Trump team inserted in the tariff orders he signed Saturday.If other countries retaliate against Trumps tariffs with tariffs of their own as China did and Canada and Mexico have threatened -- Trump will lash back with still more tariffs. That risks setting off a spiraling trade war of tit-for-tat tariffs and counter-tariffs, said Eswar Prasad, professor of trade policy at Cornell University. But the biggest difference is the economic backdrop Trump must contend with this time.Six years ago, inflation was low maybe even too low, the Federal Reserve fretted. Trumps first-term tariffs didnt make a dent. Inflation isnt so benign anymore. Prices surged in the unexpected boom that followed the end of COVID-19 lockdowns. Inflation has come down from the four-decade high it hit in mid-2022, but its still stuck above the Feds 2% target and hasnt shown much improvement since summer. Trumps tariffs could rekindle the inflationary trend and convince the Fed to cancel or postpone the two interest rate cuts it had anticipated this year. That would risk keeping interest rates at their current elevated level for a longer period in 2025. That will push up mortgage and loan borrowing rates ... and reduce real growth, said Boston College economist Brian Bethune.For now, businesses, investors and U.S. trading partners are waiting to see what the unpredictable Trump will do next. Will he re-impose the tariffs on Canada and Mexico after 30 days? Will he really go after the EU? Or make good on his threat of a universal tariff?Outside a Harris Teeter supermarket near downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, Jacobs Ogadi had in his shopping bag an avocado, which almost certainly came from Mexico. The 62-year-old mechanic said it doesnt take a rocket scientist to know that Trumps tariffs run counter to his promises to rein in inflation. If it goes up 25%, its not the government, its not the Mexican people paying for it, he said. Who pays for it? Us.____AP writers Anne DInnocenzio in New York and Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this story.

After more than two decades spent rewatching cult hit Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the die-hard fans have reason to rejoice as the beloved series may be finally getting brand new episodes!A sequel to the iconic show is currently in the works and nearing a pilot order at Hulu with star Sarah Michelle Gellar attached, Variety reports.While all fans of the cult classic show are likely waiting with bated breath for every new kernel of information that comes along, Buffy the Vampire Slayer has always been especially beloved by Sapphics who loved the series queer-coded moments like every moment Buffy and Faith were on screen and the lesbian love story between Willow and Tara. (@) Gellar, who played the titular slayer Buffy Summers, is expected to reprise her signature role in what is being described as the next chapter in the Buffyverse despite spending years opposed to the idea of revisiting the series that helped to skyrocket her to fame. It wasnt until she starred in the Dexter prequel series Original Sin that she started to reconsider. Its funny, I always used to say no, because its in its bubble and its so perfect, she said, according to Deadline. But watching Sex and the City and seeing Dexter, and realizing there are ways to do it, definitely does get your mind thinking, Well, maybe.Despite some fans being excited about the possibility of watching Gellar slay vampires again, others feel like the legacy sequel series is just a cash grab that will never have the cultural impact of the original. (@) (@) Its unclear if any of the other original cast members will return, but self-professed lifelong Buffy fan Chlo Zhao is set to direct with many of the original executive producers returning. Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, Gail Berman, Fran Kuzui, and Kaz Kuzui will all be back and working alongside none other than country music icon Dolly Parton. Original series creator Joss Whedon, who faced misconduct allegations by nearly a dozen people who worked on the show, is not part of the creative team on the proposed sequel series.

The Hoying family is about to expand!Pentatonix's Scott Hoying and his adorable husband Mark Hoying have been gearing up to have a baby since they tied the knot since their beautiful wedding ceremony in 2023.While walking the red carpet at the 67th Grammy Awards, the couple dished on their journey to fatherhood, which is quickly approaching."It's such an amazing experience! We're closer than ever right now. This year, we'll be pregnant," Mark Hoying tells PRIDE. See on Instagram 2025 is shaping up to the biggest year yet for the husbands. For this year's Grammy Awards, Scott Hoying received his first nomination as a solo artist for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella with his stunning ballad "Rose Without The Thorns.""This is such a personal song. It was for our one-year anniversary and I wasn't even going to release it! Mark actually talked me into releasing it and now we're at the Grammys. When you tell your truth and a queer love story, it just feels different," Scott Hoying says."I am Scott's number one fan in everything he does. It's so exciting to see him continue to soar and reach these new levels. It makes me the most proud husband I could possibly be. It is truly the greatest honor of all time," Mark Hoying adds.Besides their musical accomplishments, the Hoying hubbies are also releasing a second children's book this September titled Fa La La Christmas."It's all about families at Christmas time and how they can look a lot of different ways, not just the conventional family. Maybe it's a dad or two," Scott Hoying shares."Your chosen family. Your friends. It can be truly anyone who makes you feel like home," Mark Hoying concludes.Fans can keep with Scott Hoying and Mark Hoying by following them on Instagram. To see the full interview at the Grammy Awards, check out the video at the top of the page.

Pam Bondi, President-elect Donald Trump's choice to lead the Justice Department as attorney general, appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)2025-02-04T23:24:03Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Senate was heading towards a confirmation vote for Pam Bondi as U.S. attorney general Tuesday evening, potentially putting a longtime ally of Donald Trump at the helm of a Justice Department that has already been rattled by the firings of career employees seen as disloyal to the Republican president. Bondi, a former Florida attorney general and corporate lobbyist, is expected to oversee a radical reshaping of the department that has been the target of Trumps ire over the criminal cases it brought against him. She would enter with the FBI, which she would oversee, in turmoil over the scrutiny of agents involved in investigations related to the president, who has made clear his desire to seek revenge on his perceived adversaries.Republicans have praised Bondi as a highly qualified leader they contend will bring much-needed change to a department they believe unfairly pursued Trump through investigations resulting in two indictments. But Bondi has faced intense scrutiny over her close relationship with the president, who during his term fired an FBI director who refused to pledge loyalty to him and forced out an attorney general who recused himself from the Justice Departments investigation into potential ties between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign. While Bondi has sought to reassure Democrats that politics would play no part in her decision-making, she also refused at her confirmation hearing last month to rule potential investigations into Trumps adversaries. And she has repeated Trumps claims that the prosecutions against him amounted to political persecution, saying the Justice Department had been weaponized for years and years and years, and its got to stop. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., praised Bondi as accomplished and competent but said his grave concern is really about President Trump and what he is clearly demanding. That clearly is a loyalty oath to him as opposed to a demand for straightforward, candid advice, including if the president is asking for something to be done like the prosecution of a political adversary, Welch said.Bondis confirmation vote comes hours after FBI agents sued the Justice Department over efforts to develop a list of employees involved in the Jan. 6 prosecutions, which agents fear could be a precursor to mass firings.Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove last week ordered the acting FBI director to provide the names, titles and offices of all FBI employees who worked on the Jan. 6 cases which Trump has described as a grave national injustice. Bove, who defended Trump in his criminal cases before joining the administration, said Justice Department officials would carry out a review process to determine whether any additional personnel actions are necessary. Justice Department officials have also recently forced out senior FBI executives, fired prosecutors on special counsel Jack Smiths team who investigated Trump and terminated a group of prosecutors in the D.C. U.S. attorneys office who were hired to help with the massive Jan. 6 investigation. Bondi repeatedly stressed at her confirmation hearing that she would not pursue anyone for political reasons, and vowed that the public, not the president, would be her client. But her answers at times echoed Trumps campaign rhetoric about a politicized justice system. They targeted Donald Trump, Bondi told lawmakers. They went after him actually starting back in 2016, they targeted his campaign. They have launched countless investigations against him. She added, If I am attorney general, I will not politicize that office.Bondi has been a fixture in Trumps orbit for years, and a regular defender of the president-elect on news programs amid his legal woes. In a 2023 Fox News appearance, she suggested that bad Justice Department prosecutors would be investigated under the Trump administration. The investigators will be investigated, she said. Smith has said politics played no part in his decisions and the evidence his team gathered was sufficient for Trump to have been convicted at trial on charges of scheming to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Smith dropped that case and a separate one charging Trump with illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after Trumps election win in November, citing longstanding Justice Department policy prohibiting criminal cases against a sitting president. ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Richer is an Associated Press reporter covering the Justice Department and legal issues from Washington. twitter mailto STEPHEN GROVES Groves covers Congress for The Associated Press. twitter mailto

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with President Nayib Bukele at his residence at Lake Coatepeque in El Salvador, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)2025-02-04T22:29:00Z SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) El Salvador has offered to take in people deported from the U.S. for entering the country illegally and to house some of the countrys violent criminals even if theyre American citizens.U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, after a meeting Monday with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, proclaimed it the most unprecedented, extraordinary offer the country has yet received during the ongoing wave of global migration.Details on the deal are scant, and immigration and constitutional experts question its legality. Heres what you need to know:Whats El Salvador offering? Bukele, who took office in 2019, says hes offering a release valve for Americas vast prison system.Writing on X, he said the Central American nation will allow the U.S. to outsource part of its inmate population, but it will only take in convicted criminals.The U.S. would have to pay El Salvador to house the prisoners, though he did not disclose an asking price.Bukele said the going rate would be relatively low for the U.S., but significant for his country enough to make its entire prison system sustainable. Where do they want to house U.S. criminals? Bukele has proposed housing U.S. criminals in the mega-prison his administration opened in 2023 to tame MS-13 and other powerful street gangs.The maximum-security facility is about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southeast of the capital city of San Salvador and is known as CECOT, a Spanish acronym that translates to terrorism confinement center.The facility can house up to 40,000 people across eight sprawling pavilions, where each cell holds up to 70 prisoners.Human rights organizations say the bare-bones setting is overly harsh. Inmates are not allowed visitors or time outside.They are served just one meal a day and are not offered educational or reintegration programs typically found at other prisons, save for the occasional motivational talk or exercise regimen under strict supervision.The prisons dining halls, break rooms, gym and board games are for guards only, and administration officials have said inmates will never return to their communities. Is this even legal?Deporting foreign nationals to countries other than their native land is legal, but deporting American citizens is almost certainly not.Under U.S. immigration law, a country such as El Salvador can accept someone deported from the U.S. who isnt a citizen of that country if the persons homeland refuses to accept them, says Theresa Cardinal Brown, a former homeland security official under the administrations of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.Whats more, she noted, deportation is a legal term that applies only to someone physically removed from the country because they have violated some provision of the immigration act, which applies only to aliens.So what about American citizens? Naturalized U.S. citizens, in rare cases, can be denaturalized and revert to green-card status, such as if they lied on their initial immigration forms or committed a serious crime such as funding a terrorist group, according to Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration law expert and retired Cornell Law School professor.Green card holders can then be deported if theyre convicted of any number of crimes, including murder, assault, burglary, tax evasion, domestic violence and illegal firearms possession, he said.Natural-born U.S. citizens, however, maintain their citizenship through the U.S. Constitutions 14th Amendment, which outlines the rights guaranteed to all citizens, such as due process and equal protection under the law.So, just as President Trump cant eliminate birthright citizenship by himself, so too the U.S. government cannot deport U.S. citizens, even if they have committed crimes, Yale-Loehr said.Why is El Salvador doing this?El Salvador is attempting to turn the page on decades of civil war and violence from MS-13 and other street gangs that long made it one of the most dangerous countries in the world.Under Bukele, the country of 6 million residents declared a state of emergency in 2022, suspending constitutional rights and launching a fierce crackdown on gangs thats led to the arrest of more than 80,000 people.Bukeles popularity has soared as crime plummeted to a record low of 114 homicides last year, but human rights groups have complained that many people are being unjustly detained without due process rights. Has this been done before elsewhere?The U.S. and other nations have reached deals to deal with migrants but nothing quite like what El Salvadors leader proposes.Britain has an agreement with Rwanda to send asylum-seekers to the East African country, though the accord has been stymied in the U.K. courts.Trump also struck agreements with El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to take in U.S. asylum seekers in 2019, during his first term as president.Guatemala was the only one of the three agreements that took effect. More than 900 people from El Salvador and Honduras were sent, but few sought asylum and instead continued on to their own countries in what became known as deportation with a layover.President Joe Biden canceled the three agreements in 2021. What are the next steps?Trump praised the offer Tuesday, saying it would serve as great deterrent but acknowledged it might not pass legal muster.Im just saying if we had a legal right to do it, I would do it in a heartbeat, he said in the Oval Office. I dont know if we do or not. Were looking at that.Rubio similarly called El Salvadors offer generous, but stressed that the Republican administration will need to study the proposal before making any commitments.There are obviously legalities involved, he said Tuesday at a news conference in San Jose, Costa Rica, with Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves. We have a constitution. We have all sorts of things.That hasnt stopped Bukele from making the most of the renewed attention.Hes joked El Salvador would even take in disgraced former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, who was sentenced last week to 11 years in federal prison for accepting bribes of gold and cash and acting as an agent of Egypt.Yes, Bukele wrote on X, well gladly take him in.___Marcelo reported from New York. Associated Press reporters Elliot Spagat in San Diego, Matthew Lee in San Jose, Costa Rica, and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this story.___Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo. PHILIP MARCELO Marcelo is a general assignment reporter in the NYC bureau. He previously wrote for AP Fact Check and before that was based in Boston, where he focused on race and immigration. twitter mailto

South by Southwest Conference and Festivals announced the lineup for 32nd edition of the SXSW Film & TV Festival which is set to take place March 7-15 in Austin, TX. There is a diverse array of LGBTQ narratives, characters, and creators Among the films, shorts, and TV series at the fest including opening night film, [...]The post SXSW Film and TV Festival 2025: Outerlands, Assembly, Shes The He, Rocky Horror Picture Show Docu Among LGBTQ Titles; Another Simple Favor Set as Opener first appeared on GLAAD.

Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks after taking the oath of office at the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)2025-02-04T23:05:34Z WASHINGTON (AP) A Treasury Department official wrote a letter Tuesday to federal lawmakers saying that a tech executive working with Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency will have read-only access to the governments payment system.The official sent the letter out of concerns from members of Congress that DOGEs involvement with the payment system for the federal government could lead to security risks or missed payments for programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Lawmakers are also concerned that Musk, an unelected citizen, wields too much power within the U.S. government and states blatantly on his social media platform that DOGE will shut down payments to organizations.DOGE, a Trump administration task force assigned to find ways to fire federal workers, cut programs and slash federal regulations, has raised concerns about its intentions and overruling of career officials at multiple agencies. Democratic lawmakers have voiced frustration over the lack of transparency and public accountability, saying that Musks people might illegally withhold payments to suit their political agenda. The Treasury official said that the ongoing review has not caused payments for obligations such as Social Security and Medicare to be delayed or re-routed. The letter said that Tom Krause, who is also listed online as the CEO of Cloud Software Group, was working at Treasury as a special government employee, which subjects him to less stringent rules on ethics and financial disclosures than other workers. The letter also said that Krause is conducting the effort in coordination with career treasury officials. Krause did not respond to an Associated Press phone call request for comment on his involvement with DOGE and the Treasury Department. Treasurys payments are managed by the Fiscal Service, which conducts over 1.2 billion transactions annually and accounts for 90% of federal disbursements. The official said the review is about payment integrity. However, some Democrats are not convinced about the notion that DOGE, Musk and Krause have read-only access. Some Republicans are trying to suggest that Musk only has viewing access to Treasurys highly sensitive payment system as if thats acceptable either, said Sen. Patty Murray, (D-Wash.), vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, in a statement. But why on earth should we believe that particularly when he is saying the exact opposite loudly and repeatedly for everyone to see?For instance, Musk has tweeted on his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that DOGE has shut down payments to a Lutheran charity. The corruption and waste is being rooted out in real-time, Musk said on X, adding that DOGE is rapidly shutting down payments to the charity. At least one lawsuit has been filed, by a group of labor unions and advocates, seeking to stop Treasury from giving DOGE and Musk access to the payment systems. DOGEs access to the agencys payment systems came after Treasurys acting Deputy Secretary David Lebryk resigned from his position at Treasury after more than 30 years of service. The Washington Post on Friday reported that Lebryk resigned from his position after Musk and his DOGE organization requested access to sensitive Treasury data. The Fiscal Service performs some of the most vital functions in government, Lebryk said in a letter to Treasury employees. Our work may be unknown to most of the public, but that doesnt mean it isnt exceptionally important. I am grateful for having been able to work alongside some of the nations best and most talented operations staff.The letter to lawmakers was sent Tuesday afternoon, while hundreds of demonstrators appeared in front of U.S. Treasury, held signs, pounded drums and chanted slogans protesting the Treasury Departments decision to hand over access to sensitive payment systems to DOGE.People chanted Deport Musk, Down with Trump and Do your Job Congress! More than a dozen Democratic lawmakers spoke to the crowd. Elon musk is seizing power from the American people, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said. Hes here to seize power for himself, we are here to fight back.Maureen Jais-Mick, a Montgomery County resident showed up to the event to protest the blatant power grab by Musk and the DOGE committee. This amounts to a coup, she said. ___

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-02-04T23:25:23Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump is preparing to gut the U.S. Education Department to the full extent of his power, directing his administration to slash spending while pressuring employees to quit. Yet his promise to close the department is colliding with another reality: Most of its spending and its very existence is ordered by Congress.An executive order in preparation by the White House appears to recognize the limits of the presidents power. The planned order would direct his education chief to start winding down the agency but urge Congress to pass a measure abolishing it, according to sources familiar with the plan.Trump has yet to sign such an order. But at a White House press conference Tuesday, Trump quipped about the first task for Linda McMahon, his nominee for education secretary.I want Linda to put herself out of a job, Trump said. Trump campaigned on a pledge to close the department, saying it has been infiltrated by radicals, zealots and Marxists. In the nearly five decades since the agency was created, conservatives have made occasional attempts to shut it down, with critics saying it wastes taxpayer money and inserts the federal government into local education decisions. Trump is expected to give his education chief a deadline to deliver a plan for the agencys winddown. Yet even some of his allies question how far he can go without Congress. Some of the departments most significant programs are required by federal legislation, including Title I money for low-income schools and federal student loans. That was a source of frustration during Trumps first term in office, when his education chief repeatedly sought budget cuts but instead saw Congress increase the agencys spending each year.Whats more, Trumps quest to shut down the department could be complicated by his own agenda. Already, he has created new work for the department, including plans to promote patriotic education and efforts to go after schools that teach controversial lessons on race and gender. The agency also has opened new investigations into colleges, after Trump ordered a crackdown on campus antisemitism. What Trump can actually do to cut spending could be limited to tiny fractions of the budget, according to one source with knowledge of the plan. It would hardly dent the departments $79 billion annual budget.The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to discuss the plan publicly.Getting support from Congress would provide another test of Trumps sway. Some Republicans have raised doubts about the popularity of closing the department or slashing its programs, which support Republican and Democratic states alike.The House considered amending a bill to close the agency in 2023, but 60 Republicans joined Democrats in opposing it. Last week Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, against introduced legislation to close the agency. The one-sentence proposal said the Education Department shall terminate on December 31, 2026. Yet there are signs that Trump is determined to deliver his promise.Dozens of Education Department employees were put on paid leave on Friday in response to an executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the federal government. Most of the workers dont work in DEI but had taken an optional diversity course promoted by the department, according to a union that represents department staff. Trumps order called for government DEI officials to be fired to the maximum extent allowed by law.The White House has also pressured federal workers to quit. Education Department workers were among those who received an offer to leave their jobs by Feb. 6 and receive a buyout worth seven months of salary.A fresh wave of angst enveloped the agency when a team from Elon Musks so-called Department of Government Efficiency showed up at the departments offices this week. An Education Department spokesperson confirmed a team was on site Monday but did not provide details on the nature of its work. Musks colleagues have already sought to close the U.S. Agency for International Development and to gain access to sensitive payment systems at the Treasury Department. Trumps comments at his press conference raised alarms among schools and states that rely on federal money. Federal funding makes up a small portion of public school budgets roughly 14% but it adds targeted support for low-income schools and special education, among other grant programs.In Minnesota, Democrats in the state assembly warned about the potential impact of Trumps order on Tuesday. Sen. Mary Kunesh said she was worried the order could disrupt funding and called for more clarity on the plan.Imagine if we have billions of dollars frozen at the federal level, Kunesh said at a press conference. How are we going to make sure they have the curriculum they have to learn? Some Republicans in Minnesotas Legislature said there was no reason to panic without full details of the order.Those details are expected to be sorted out by Trumps education chief, and the president didnt immediately say whether he would look to preserve the departments core work.One potential model is found in Project 2025, a blueprint for Trumps second term created by the conservative Heritage Foundation. The proposal calls for many of the departments biggest programs to be parceled out to other agencies.Under the Project 2025 plan, Title I funding, the largest source of federal money to public schools, would be moved to the Department of Health and Human Services and given as block grants to states for them to spend as they please, with no strings attached. The Education Departments Office for Civil Rights would shift to the Justice Department.Trump has sought distance from Project 2025, though he has hired some of the staff behind it, and on some issues theres considerable overlap with his own platform.Democrats in Congress were quick to jump on Trumps plan. Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, called it an attack on educators, families and students. He vowed to fight it.Trumps plan could complicate the confirmation hearing for McMahon, a billionaire professional wrestling mogul and longtime Trump ally. Some advisers had asked the White House to keep the order quiet to avoid thorny questions, and others are pushing for it to be signed after her confirmation. No date has been set yet for her Senate hearing.___Associated Press writer Steve Karnowski contributed from Minneapolis.___The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. COLLIN BINKLEY Binkley covers the U.S. Education Department and federal education policy for The Associated Press, along with a wide range of issues from K-12 through higher education. twitter mailto BIANCA VZQUEZ TONESS Vzquez Toness is an Associated Press reporter who writes about the continuing impact of the pandemic on young people and their education. twitter mailto

The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced on Friday, January 31, that it will no longer accept requests to change sex markers in its records, an unexpected shift that has sparked concern and outrage within the LGBTQ+ community. The new policy, communicated internally through an emergency memo, will only recognize the traditional male (M) and female (F) markers in the SSAs Numerical Identification System (NUMIDENT), a computer database that tracks personal information, including a persons full name, date of birth, gender, and Social Security Number (SSN).According to Chris Geidner, a legal expert at the website Law Dork, the memo explicitly directs SSA staff to refuse any changes from M to F or vice versa, signaling a direct response to a sweeping executive order issued by former President Donald Trump. The order, titled Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, mandates that the federal government only recognize two sexesmale and femalebased on reproductive biology at conception.The memo, which was sent out by the SSAs Office of Retirement and Disability Policy, raises additional concerns, particularly for individuals with gender markers labeled as X, which is used for nonbinary or gender-nonconforming people. The SSA memo does not specify how the agency will handle these individuals, leaving a significant gap in the policy that LGBTQ+ advocates say could further marginalize vulnerable communities.LGBTQ+ Advocates Criticize Policy ChangeLGBTQ+ advocates have harshly criticized the new directive, arguing that it further alienates already marginalized groups, especially transgender and nonbinary individuals. The Trump administration is obsessed with controlling every aspect of peoples lives, including their gender identity, said one advocate, noting that the SSAs move comes as part of a larger pattern of policies aimed at limiting gender expression and recognition.The policy change is in direct response to Trumps executive order, which insists that the federal government only acknowledge two sexesmale and femalebased on the biological characteristics assigned at birth. The order has been widely seen as an effort to impose a rigid, binary understanding of sex and gender across all federal agencies.Shortly before the SSA issued its directive, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent a similar memo to all federal agencies, ordering them to comply with Trumps executive order by January 31. The timing of the SSAs announcement coincided with the OPM deadline, signaling that the shift is part of a broader government initiative to limit recognition of gender beyond male and female.Removal of Gender-Related Information from SSA WebsitesThe SSAs move to halt changes to sex markers is not an isolated incident. In the wake of Trumps executive orders, the agency has quietly removed a section from its website that previously provided guidance on how individuals could update their gender identification. This information, which had previously helped transgender individuals correct their gender markers in SSA records, was wiped from the site soon after Trump signed the order into effect.Fortunately, proactive internet users, anticipating such actions, archived the original content, preserving the lost information. LGBTQ+ advocates have expressed concern that these website changes are part of a broader effort to erase critical resources for transgender and nonbinary individuals, especially in the face of political opposition to gender-inclusive policies.Additionally, the SSA has removed mentions of sexual orientation and gender identity from its Civil Rights and Compliance page, another sign of the administrations ongoing efforts to curtail protections for LGBTQ+ people within federal agencies.Legal Challenges and Warnings from LawmakersDespite the implementation of these executive orders, many legal experts and government officials warn that these actions could violate federal law and constitutional protections. Executive orders are not automatically enforceable and often require further legal processes to take effect. Many of Trumps orders, including the one restricting gender identification changes, are currently being challenged in court for potential violations of civil rights and anti-discrimination laws.New York Attorney General Letitia James has been outspoken in her opposition to the executive order, writing a letter to NYU Langone Health urging the hospital to continue providing puberty blockers and other gender-affirming care to transgender youth. James warned that refusal to provide such treatments could violate New Yorks state anti-discrimination laws, which protect LGBTQ+ individuals from being denied medical care based on their gender identity.James intervention came after NYU Langone began turning away patients seeking gender-affirming care, citing concerns over the potential loss of federal funding as a result of Trumps order. This move has sparked wider concerns about the impact of the executive order on medical care for transgender individuals, particularly as it could lead to a chilling effect on healthcare providers across the country.Wider Implications for LGBTQ+ RightsThe SSAs decision to stop accepting sex marker changes and the ongoing implementation of Trumps executive orders have raised alarms across the LGBTQ+ community. Critics argue that the actions are part of a broader effort to roll back the rights and protections of LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly those who are transgender or nonbinary.In response to these changes, many LGBTQ+ organizations have vowed to continue fighting for the rights of gender-diverse individuals, including advocating for legal challenges to the executive orders and pushing for stronger protections at the state and federal levels.As these policies unfold, the LGBTQ+ community and its allies are bracing for further efforts to curtail gender inclusivity in federal systems. However, many are also preparing to challenge these policies in court, as the battle over LGBTQ+ rights continues to intensify in the wake of Trumps presidency. The full impact of these changes on transgender and nonbinary individuals remains to be seen, but advocates are determined to ensure that their voices are heard in the fight for equality and recognition.The post Social Security Administration Halts Changes to Sex Markers, Following Trump Executive Order appeared first on Gayety.

President Donald Trump holds an executive order regarding withdrawing from the United Nationals Human Rights Council in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-02-05T00:34:28Z UNITED NATIONS (AP) President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the United States will withdraw from the top U.N. human rights body and will not resume funding for the U.N. agency helping Palestinian refugees.The U.S. left the Geneva-based Human Rights Council last year, and it stopped funding the agency assisting Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, after Israel accused it of harboring Hamas militants who participated in the surprise Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel, which UNRWA denies.Trumps announcement came on the day he met with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose country has long accused both the rights body and UNRWA of bias against Israel and antisemitism.Trumps executive orders also call for a review of American involvement in the Paris-based U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, known as UNESCO, and a review of U.S. funding for the United Nations in light of the wild disparities in levels of funding among different countries. The United States, with the worlds largest economy, pays 22% of the U.N.'s regular operating budget, with China the second-largest contributor. Ive always felt that the U.N. has tremendous potential, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Its not living up to that potential right now. ... Theyve got to get their act together.He said the U.N. needs to be fair to countries that deserve fairness, adding that there are some countries, which he didnt name, that are outliers, that are very bad and theyre being almost preferred. Before Trumps announcement, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric reiterated the Human Rights Councils importance and UNRWAs work in delivering critical services to Palestinians. Trump also pulled the U.S. out of the Human Rights Council in June 2018. His ambassador to the U.N. at the time, Nikki Haley, accused the council of chronic bias against Israel and pointed to what she said were human rights abusers among its members. President Joe Biden renewed support for the Human Rights Council, and the U.S. won a seat on the 47-nation body in October 2021. But the Biden administration announced in late September that the United States would not seek a second consecutive term.Trumps order on Tuesday has little concrete effect because the United States is already not a council member, said council spokesperson Pascal Sim. But like all other U.N. member countries, the U.S. automatically has informal observer status and will still have a seat in the councils ornate round chamber at the U.N. complex in Geneva.UNRWA was established by the U.N. General Assembly in 1949 to provide assistance for Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes before and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that followed Israels establishment, as well as for their descendants. It provides aid, education, health care and other services to some 2.5 million Palestinians in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as 3 million more in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. Before the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, UNRWA ran schools for Gazas 650,000 children as well as health facilities, and helped deliver humanitarian aid. It has continued to provide health care and been key to the delivery of food and other aid to Palestinians during the war.The first Trump administration suspended funding to UNRWA in 2018, but Biden restored it. The U.S. had been the biggest donor to the agency, providing it with $343 million in 2022 and $422 million in 2023.For years, Israel has accused UNRWA of anti-Israeli bias in its education materials, which the agency denies.Israel alleged that 19 of UNRWAs 13,000 staff in Gaza participated in the Hamas attacks. They were terminated pending a U.N. investigation, which found nine may have been involved.In response, 18 governments froze funding to the agency, but all have since restored support except the United States. Legislation ratifying the U.S. decision halted any American funding to UNRWA until March 2025, and Trumps action Tuesday means it will not be restored.. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

A Waffle House sign is shown in Indianapolis Feb. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Isabella Volmert, File)2025-02-04T14:47:44Z NEW YORK (AP) The Waffle House restaurant chain is putting a 50 cent per egg surcharge in place because of the biggest bird flu outbreak in a decade.The 24-7 restaurant said that the resulting egg shortage has led to a dramatic increase in its costs. Bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing U.S. egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. And it appears there may be no relief in sight with Easter approaching.The average price per dozen eggs nationwide hit $4.15 in December. That is not quite as high as the $4.82 record set two years ago, but the Agriculture Department predicts egg prices are going to soar another 20% this year.The Waffle House, a reliable source of a cheap breakfast, said that its egg surcharge became effective this week and that it applies to all of its menus. The restaurants two-egg breakfast, which comes with toast and a side, was listed at $7.75 on Tuesday. While we hope these price fluctuations will be short-lived we cannot predict how long this shortage will last, the company said. The company continues to monitor egg prices and said that it will adjust or remove the surcharge as market conditions allow. Last month, the first U.S. human fatality linked bird flu was reported in Louisiana. There have been 67 confirmed bird flu infections of humans in the U.S. since 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The H5N1 bird flu has been spreading widely among wild birds, poultry, cows and other animals. Its growing presence in the environment increases the chances that people will be exposed, and potentially catch it, officials have said, though it remains rare. Health officials urge anyone who has contact with sick or dead birds to take precautions, including respiratory and eye protection and gloves when handling poultry. Waffle House, based in Georgia, has more than 1,900 locations in 25 states.Pete & Gerrys Organics also faced a difficult situation with its eggs in Antrim Township, Pennsylvania, when 100,000 of them were stolen from the back of its distribution trailer Saturday night, according to Pennsylvania State Police. Law enforcement are investigating the theft of roughly $40,000 worth of eggs.___Associated Press reporter Hallie Golden contributed reporting.

A new report reveals that Netflix is quietly distancing itself from Karla Sofa Gascn, the first openly transgender woman to be nominated for an acting Oscar, following a series of controversial social media posts. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gascns role in the film Emilia Prez had initially positioned her as a frontrunner for awards season, but recent controversies have led the streaming giant to halt its support for her involvement in the campaign.Gascn, who made history with her nomination for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, was set to attend a number of key awards events, including the AFI Awards luncheon, Critics Choice Awards, and the PGA Awards. However, reports indicate that Netflix has opted not to cover her travel, accommodation, or other associated costs for these events. Tensions reportedly escalated between the actress and the studio, leading to the removal of her name from promotional materials, such as email blasts and ad reads. Additionally, some events, including the Santa Barbara Film Festival, were said to be considering canceling their plans to feature Emilia Prez if Gascn did not withdraw from participation.From Oscar Glory to ControversyEmilia Prez received widespread critical acclaim upon its release and made history with a record 13 Oscar nominations. Gascns role as the titular character, Emilia Prez, cemented her place in LGBTQ+ history as the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an acting Oscar. However, her path to the Oscars has been marred by increasing scrutiny over past social media posts.In late January, Gascn sparked a wave of controversy when she accused Brazilian actress Fernanda Torreswho is also nominated for Best Actress for her performance in Im Still Hereof orchestrating a social media attack against her as a trans woman and against Emilia Prez as a film. However, these claims were quickly debunked. Social media responses came predominantly from independent film critics and Brazilian fans of Torres who supported her Oscar campaignnot from any coordinated effort as Gascn had suggested.The accusations were followed by the resurfacing of several old posts from Gascns social media accounts. These posts, dating back to the 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s, included controversial opinions about various topics, including Islam, Muslims, George Floyd, and singer Adele. The discovery of these posts led to a wave of public backlash. Some of Gascns remarks were viewed as offensive, leading to further scrutiny of her character during the critical awards season.Gascn Responds and Netflix Takes a Step BackIn response to the uproar over her past social media activity, Gascn issued an apology through a press statement, acknowledging the harm caused by her earlier comments. I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt, she told Variety. As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain. All my life, I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.In an effort to distance herself from the controversy, Gascn deactivated her social media accounts. Im sorry, but I can no longer allow this campaign of hate and misinformation to affect me and my family, so at their request I am closing my account on X, she told The Hollywood Reporter. She also spoke candidly about the threats and harassment she has received, adding, I have been threatened with death, insulted, abused and harassed to the point of exhaustion. I have a wonderful daughter to protect, whom I love madly and who supports me in everything.Despite the fallout, Gascns nomination remains intact, and she has made it clear that she does not intend to withdraw from the Oscar race. Speaking to CNN en Espaol, Gascn explained, I cannot renounce a nomination because what I have done is a job, and what is being valued is my acting work. I cannot renounce a nomination, either, because I have not committed any crime nor have I harmed anyone. I am not a racist nor am I anything that all these people have taken upon themselves to try to make others believe that I am.A Film in CrisisThe situation has raised significant questions about the intersection of celebrity, social media, and awards campaigning. While Emilia Prez had originally garnered attention for its historic Oscar nominations, Gascns public controversies have thrown a shadow over the films path to the Academy Awards. The film, which has received critical praise, now finds itself in a difficult position as it navigates the aftermath of the social media backlash.The report from The Hollywood Reporter also highlights the internal tensions between Gascn and Netflix as they navigate the fallout. The decision to remove Gascns name from promotional materials and halt her participation in key events underscores the complexities of balancing support for a groundbreaking nomination with the realities of public relations in the #MeToo and cancel culture era.As the Oscar race continues, all eyes will remain on the impact of these controversies on Gascns chances and the future of Emilia Prez. The unfolding situation serves as a stark reminder of the challenges celebrities and films face in the age of social media, where past actions can resurface to impact present-day careers.For Gascn, the battle is far from over. With her nomination still in place, she remains resolute in defending her body of work, despite the public scrutiny surrounding her personal history. The next few weeks will likely determine whether she can overcome the controversy or if her Oscar campaign will be overshadowed by the fallout from her past social media activity.The post Netflix Pulls Back Support for Karla Sofa Gascn Amid Controversy, Oscar Campaign in Limbo appeared first on Gayety.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) announced an immediate shift away from observances that celebrate diversity, effectively ending recognition of cultural and identity-based events such as Pride Month, Black History Month, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The directive, issued by former U.S. Representative Sean Duffy, who now leads the department, aligns with the broader agenda of the Trump administration to eliminate what it deems woke policies from federal agencies.Duffy, a former Wisconsin congressman and reality TV star known for his stint on The Real World: Boston, revealed the decision on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday. Effective immediately, the Department of Transportation will no longer participate in celebrations based on immutable traits or any other identity-based observances, Duffy wrote, asserting that these events were distractions that do little to advance the core mission of the department.From now on, everyday of every month we celebrate transportation, beautiful infrastructure, and safety, Duffy added, emphasizing a renewed focus on the departments primary responsibilities, including air traffic safety, train operations, and the security of U.S. ports and highways.The move marks a continuation of the Trump administrations push to roll back diversity initiatives in federal agencies. Earlier directives had already led to the elimination of cultural observances related to Juneteenth, Holocaust Remembrance Days, and other heritage celebrations. The recent decision by the DOT fits into the larger effort by Duffy and others in the Trump administration to dismantle what they view as excessive woke policies.A Pushback Against DEI Initiatives and Climate Change PoliciesDuffys action is part of a broader initiative aimed at reversing policies put in place during the Biden administration. In a memo titled Woke Rescission, Duffy instructed department staff to identify and eliminate any Biden-era policies, programs, or practices that promote what he termed wokeism. This included Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, racial equity programs, and gender identity policies, which Duffy described as partisan and disconnected from the departments goals.The memo also targeted climate-related policies, including initiatives addressing environmental justice. One such policy rollback includes rescinding a rule from the Biden administration that required state transportation departments to establish targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions on federally funded highways. Transportation is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., responsible for about 28% of total emissions.Former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who led the department under the Biden administration, had made efforts to align transportation policies with climate change goals, advocating for a reduction in carbon emissions from the sector. In 2022, Buttigieg emphasized that addressing climate change would require the transportation sector to play an active role, saying, If we care about climate change, we have to make transportation part of the solution.However, Duffys recent directive has rolled back these climate-conscious measures, signaling a stark contrast in approach between the two administrations. While Buttigieg and the Biden administration focused on integrating sustainability into transportation, Duffys policies move away from environmental targets, instead emphasizing more traditional infrastructure goals.Political Agendas and Policy ShiftsDuffys memo also included several other controversial directives that reflect broader political goals. Among them was an order to give preference to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average, a policy that critics have argued could disproportionately affect marginalized groups. Additionally, the memo calls for a prohibition on DOT support to recipients who impose vaccine and mask mandates and mandates local compliance with federal immigration enforcement policies.These elements of the memo have raised questions about whether the Department of Transportation is using its authority to further the administrations political agenda, beyond the scope of its transportation-related responsibilities. Critics argue that such policies could undermine the departments core mission and interfere with its ability to carry out its duties effectively.The directive also aligns with broader efforts by the Trump administration to prioritize certain social and political values over more traditional policy goals. Critics contend that, by focusing on identity politics and pushing partisan objectives, Duffy is undermining the departments role in ensuring safe, efficient, and sustainable transportation infrastructure.The Broader Debate on Wokeism in GovernmentThe move to halt diversity observances and target woke policies is part of an ongoing ideological battle within the U.S. government, with Trumps allies seeking to curb what they describe as an overemphasis on progressive social issues. The term wokeism has become a flashpoint in American politics, often used by conservatives to critique what they see as left-wing overreach in policy-making.Supporters of these policy changes argue that government agencies should focus exclusively on their core missions, free from political or social agendas. They argue that programs promoting diversity and inclusion are unnecessary distractions that could undermine public trust in government agencies.However, critics warn that these policies may disproportionately harm marginalized communities, particularly LGBTQ+ individuals and people of color, by removing vital support systems that promote equity and inclusion. By eliminating these observances, they argue, the Trump administration is signaling a retreat from efforts to address systemic inequality and social justice.As Duffy and the Trump administration move forward with their agenda, many are questioning how these shifts will impact the future of federal policy, particularly in areas that intersect with social justice, climate change, and inclusivity. With tensions already high over issues of race, gender, and climate, the fallout from these changes is likely to spark continued debate and resistance across the political spectrum.The coming months will likely reveal the full impact of these policy shifts, as the transportation department and other agencies implement the Trump administrations directive to defend against what they view as divisive or unproductive policies. The long-term consequences of these changes, particularly for marginalized communities, remain to be seen.The post Transportation Department Ends Diversity Celebrations Under New Leadership appeared first on Gayety.

A polling officer checks the identity cards of people before they cast their votes for the capitals state legislature election at a polling booth in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Shonal Ganguly)2025-02-05T03:10:09Z NEW DELHI (AP) Thousands begin voting in the Indian capitals state legislature election on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modis Hindu nationalist party trying to unseat a powerful regional group that has ruled New Delhi for over a decade.Voters walked to polling booths on a cold, wintry morning to cast their ballots across the sprawling capital. Manish Sisodia, a key Aam Aadmi Party leader, and others offered prayers in a temple before voting.Modis Bharatiya Janata Party is up against the AAP, led by Arvind Kejriwal, which runs New Delhi and has built a vast support base on its welfare policies and an anti-corruption movement. Kejriwal, a popular crusader against corruption, suffered a setback as he himself faced graft allegations.The AAP won 62 out of 70 seats in a landslide victory in the last election, held in 2020. leaving BJP with only eight and the Congress party with none. The AAP had also swept the 2015 state elections, winning 67 seats, with the BJP taking three. Modi and Kejriwal have both campaigned vigorously in roadshows with thousands of supporters tailing them. They have offered to revamp government schools and provide free health services and electricity, and a monthly stipend of over 2,000 rupees ($25) to poor women. Voting ends later Wednesday, with results due on Saturday. More than 15 million people are eligible to vote in New Delhis election. Arati Jerath, a political commentator, predicted a tight contest between the two parties, saying, Even since the AAP rose to prominence, it has been a one-sided contest.Delhi, a city of more than 20 million people, is a federal territory that Modis party has not won for over 27 years despite having a sizable support base there.Kejriwal and other AAP leaders recently faced graft allegations in a liquor license case.Neerja Chowdhury, a political analyst, said the liquor policy case in which several AAP leaders, including Kejriwal, went to jail had dented Kejriwals clean image. Kejriwal was arrested last year along with two key leaders of his party ahead of national elections on charges of receiving bribes from a liquor distributor. They have consistently denied the accusations, saying they are part of a political conspiracy. The Supreme Court allowed the release of Kejriwal and other ministers on bail.Kejriwal later relinquished the chief ministers post to his most senior party leader.The BJP, which failed to secure a majority on its own in last years national election but formed the government with coalition partners, has gained some lost ground by winning two state elections in northern Haryana and western Maharashtra states.Modis party hopes to benefit after last weeks federal budget slashed income taxes on the salaried middle class, one of its key voting blocks.Opposition parties widely condemned Kejriwals arrest, accusing Modis government of misusing federal investigation agencies to harass and weaken political opponents, and pointed to several raids, arrests and corruption investigations of key opposition figures in the months before the national election. Kejriwal vowed to be an anti-corruption crusader and formed the AAP in 2012 after tapping into public anger against the then-Congress party government over a series of corruption scandals. His pro-poor policies have focused on fixing state-run schools and providing cheap electricity, free health care and bus transport for women.The BJP was voted out of power in Delhi in 1998 by the Congress party, which ran the government for 15 years. In the 2015 and 2020 elections in Delhi, the AAP won landslide victories.

A housing construction site is seen at the West Bank Jewish settlement of Eli, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg, File)2025-02-04T20:03:21Z BEIT EL, West Bank (AP) The Jewish population in the West Bank grew at twice the rate of the general Israeli population last year, according to an advocacy group that hopes the Trump administration will support policies that help accelerate the growth of settlements in the occupied territory.The West Banks Jewish-settler population rose by roughly 2.3% over 12,000 people last year, reaching 529,450, according to a report by WestBankJewishPopulationStats.com, based on official government figures.That was a slight dip from the 2.9% growth rate in 2023, but roughly double the 1.1% population growth rate inside Israel proper. The number of Jewish settlers in the West Bank could grow much higher under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, Baruch Gordon, the director of the group that publishes the data, said Tuesday. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast war and has built about 130 settlements and dozens of settlement outposts in a bid to cement its control over the territory. The Palestinians seek the area as the heartland of a future state and say the presence of settlements makes independence impossible. Nearly all of the international community, including the former Biden administration, opposes the settlements as obstacles to peace.The International Court of Justice ruled in July that the occupation of the West Bank was illegal and said that it violated Palestinians right to self-determination. It said Israeli policy in the territories constituted systemic discrimination based on religion, race or ethnic origin, and that Israel had already effectively annexed large parts of the territory. During his first term, Trump broke with the international community and years of American policy. He developed close ties with settler leaders and presented a peace plan that would allow Israel to annex large parts of the West Bank and keep all of its settlements. That track record has raised hopes among Israels settlers that they could be entering a new period of rapid growth. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus coalition is dominated by settler supporters and he has placed a prominent settler leader, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, in charge of settlement planning.I think youre going to see an explosion of the construction here, Gordon said.Gordons group projects the Jewish population in the West Bank will surpass 600,000 by 2030. There are roughly 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank.The report does not include east Jerusalem, where it estimates 340,000 Jewish settlers live. Israel says these settlers are residents of neighborhoods of its capital, while the international community considers these areas to be settlements.Inside the gated settlement of Beit El, on a hilltop abutting several Palestinian villages in the central West Bank, construction is continuing apace. Its a rapidly developing community, where high-rise luxury condominiums finished last year can now house 300 families and construction workers are working on a new dormitory for a Jewish seminary. Settlers like Gordon say Israel must keep the territory for security and spiritual reasons. This is our biblical heartland, he says.But critics say the settlement expansion is a recipe for continued conflict. The military last month launched a large-scale operation in the northern West Bank last month, in part as a response to militant attacks on settlements.The United Nations says over 800 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, triggered Israels war in Gaza. It also has reported a jump in settler attacks on Palestinians.Israel says its military offensives are aimed at militants, but stone throwers and uninvolved civilians have also been killed in the crackdown. JULIA FRANKEL Frankel is an Associated Press reporter in Jerusalem. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), one of the nations leading LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, is set to lay off approximately 20% of its workforce as part of a major restructuring initiative aimed at adapting to shifting political and financial realities. According to sources familiar with the decision, the layoffs, which will impact around 50 employees, will take effect on February 12, 2024. Following the layoffs, the organization plans to operate with roughly 180 staff members, a significant reduction from its previous staffing levels.This restructuring comes amid a challenging political and financial landscape, with the HRC leadership signaling the need to operate differently in light of growing threats to LGBTQ+ rights and budgetary constraints.Financial Realities and Unsustainable GrowthWhile the HRC has enjoyed considerable fundraising success in recent years, the groups leadership has acknowledged that the organizations financial model is unsustainable. In fiscal year 2023, HRC raised $85 million, exceeding its $63 million fundraising target. However, a review of financial records, including IRS Form 990s, revealed that the groups total revenue decreased to approximately $75 million in fiscal year 2024, down from the previous years $85 million.The organizations expenses, however, have not decreased. In fiscal year 2024, HRCs total expenses were close to $89 million, resulting in a net asset decline of more than $12 million. As of March 31, 2024, HRCs net assets stood at $45.7 million, down from $58 million in 2023. Leadership determined that in order to balance the budget and sustain its operations, restructuring was necessary.HRCs president, Kelley Robinson, who has led the organization since 2022, has been tasked by the board to ensure a balanced budget and adapt to the current environment. In an official statement, one senior HRC official explained that the board had instructed Robinson to make the necessary adjustments to ensure HRC remains financially viable and effective in its advocacy efforts.External Pressures and Internal RestructuringIn addition to the financial challenges, HRC officials noted that the organization is facing increasingly hostile political and legislative attacks on LGBTQ+ rights. Robinson pointed out that the political landscapeparticularly the growing efforts to roll back LGBTQ+ protections at the state and federal levelshas forced many progressive organizations to rethink their strategies and structures.We are not just responding to threatswere transforming them into opportunities for lasting impact, one senior HRC official explained. This reset is really about strengthening our ability to win on these critical fights and keep our focus where we have the ability to make the most impact.Robinson also emphasized the importance of focusing on key areas where HRC can make a significant difference: schools, workplaces, policies, and politics. Were sharpening our focus on where we can make the most impact, Robinson said. This is about ensuring that we are agile and strategic in this moment.Commitment to LGBTQ+ Rights Despite ChallengesDespite the challenges, Robinson was adamant that HRCs core mission remains unchanged. Our success has never been determined by the number of staff we have but by the impact that we make in the world, she said. She acknowledged the difficulty of the decision but emphasized that this restructuring is necessary to ensure the organization can continue to make a difference in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.We need to stay laser-focused on how we can create change, Robinson added.One area where HRC remains committed is in its ongoing corporate partnerships. Despite growing opposition to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from conservative forces, HRC continues to engage with companies on its Corporate Equality Index, which ranks businesses on LGBTQ+ workplace policies. Robinson highlighted that over 1,400 companies participated in the index last year, and the organizations Corporate Equality 100 awards continue to draw support from major corporate allies.Reorganization Will Focus on Key AreasMoving forward, HRC plans to place a particular emphasis on defending LGBTQ+ rights in schools and workplaces, ensuring that protections and resources are available for LGBTQ+ people in their daily lives. The organization will also continue its advocacy on policy and politics, defending against harmful legislation and working to advance both state and federal protections for LGBTQ+ people.In addition, HRC is shifting its approach to countering the wave of anti-LGBTQ+ disinformation that has become prevalent in political discourse. As part of its strategy, HRC will launch new storytelling initiatives to highlight the real-life impact of anti-LGBTQ+ policies. This effort will include media training for advocates and amplifying diverse voices within the community, including individuals like Daniel Trujillo, a Latino transgender advocate, and Emily Shilling, a U.S. Navy commander who has spoken out against anti-trans military bans.Union Involvement and Staff SupportHRC has been a unionized workplace for more than 25 years, with employees represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The organization has already notified the union about the upcoming layoffs and is in discussions with union representatives to finalize the details. Robinson emphasized that the organization is committed to ensuring that affected employees are treated with dignity and respect.Were in active conversations with our union to make sure that we are honoring those discussions, she said. The union has not yet responded to requests for comment.Despite the financial restructuring and workforce reductions, HRC remains committed to its mission of advocating for LGBTQ+ rights. Robinson, who is expecting a child in the spring, expressed confidence in the leadership teams ability to maintain momentum during her maternity leave.A movement is bigger than any single person, Robinson said. I am proud to have a great chief of staff, a great chief operating officer, and an incredible team here at the Human Rights Campaign that will continue to move things forward.HRC also reaffirmed its commitment to hosting major events like the National Dinner and regional fundraising galas, which are vital for building community and raising funds to support its work.As the organization faces unprecedented challenges, both financially and politically, its leadership believes that these adjustments will ensure HRC remains a powerful and effective advocate for LGBTQ+ communities in the years to come.The post Human Rights Campaign to Lay Off 20% of Workforce in Major Restructuring Effort appeared first on Gayety.

Packages are seen stacked on the doorstep of a residence, Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021, in Upper Darby, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)2025-02-04T23:54:48Z A sweeping new U.S. tariff on products made in China is expected to increase the prices American consumers pay for a wide array of products, from the ultra-cheap apparel sold on online shopping platforms to toys and electronic devices such as computers and cellphones. An additional 10% tariff on all Chinese goods took effect Tuesday, a day after President Donald Trump agreed to pause his threatened tariffs against Mexico and Canada for 30 days. The delay followed negotiations on Trumps demands for the North American nations to take steps to reduce illegal immigration and the flow of drugs such as fentanyl into the U.S. After failing to get a similar White House reprieve, China struck back with retaliatory tariffs on some U.S. goods that are set to begin next week. The sheer volume and variety of the China-made merchandise sold in the U.S. means residents would probably see the prices of many typically inexpensive items tick higher if the tit-for-tat tariffs persist. These are some of the products most likely to be impacted: Electronics, home supplies and car partsThe U.S. imported about $427 billion worth of goods from China in 2023, the most recent year with complete data, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Consumer electronics, including cellphones, computers and other tech accessories, make up the biggest import categories. China is a dominant production engine for tech gear, including for American companies like Apple that have their products assembled in the country. In 2023, China accounted for 78% of U.S. smartphone imports and 79% of laptop and tablet imports, the Consumer Technology Association trade group reported. The tariffs also may affect how much consumers pay for typically inexpensive clothing, shoes and kitchen items like pots and pans, as well as the big-ticket items, such as appliances, furniture and auto parts. Jay Salaytah, 43, who runs his own auto repair shop in Detroit, said he bought some pieces of equipment sooner than he might have, anticipating they would cost more if Trump implemented his campaign promise to use import tariffs as a tool to promote U.S. manufacturing. I knew the costs were going to go up, and these are manufactured in China, Salaytah said of a probe test light he purchased before Tuesdays tariff went into effect. Low-cost apparel and accessoriesIn addition to imposing a new tariff on Chinese imports, Trumps executive order also suspended a little-known trade exemption that allowed goods worth less than $800 to come into the U.S. duty-free. The order left open the possibility for the loophole to still be used with shipments from other countries.The trade rule, known as de minimis, has existed for nearly a century. It came under greater scrutiny in recent years due to the rapidly growing number of low-cost items coming into the U.S. from China, mainly from prominent China-founded online retailers such as Shein, Temu and Alibabas AliExpress. Former President Joe Bidens administration proposed a crackdown on the loophole in September, but the rules did not take effect before Biden left office. Shein and Temu have gained global popularity by offering a quickly updated assortment of ultra-inexpensive clothes, accessories, gifts and gadgets shipped mostly from China, allowing the two e-commerce companies to compete on the home turf of American companies.Seattle-based Amazon is trying to compete with them through an online storefront that mimics their business model by offering cheap products shipped directly from China.Chinese exports of low-value packages soared to $66 billion in 2023, up from $5.3 billion in 2018, according to report released last week by the Congressional Research Service. In the U.S., Temu and Shein comprise about 17% of the discount market for fast fashion, toys and other consumer goods, the report said. How much will prices go up?Its unclear. Under de minimis, Shein, Temu and AliExpress could bypass taxes collected by customs authorities. But under the changes effective Tuesday, company shipments from China will now be subject to existing duties plus the new 10% tariff imposed by Trump, analysts said.The vast majority of these orders are valued less than $800, which means all or virtually all of them are going to get caught in that, Youssef Squali, an analyst at Truist Financial, said. Juozas Kaziukenas, founder of e-commerce intelligence firm Marketplace Pulse, said he thinks the price increases on platforms like Shein and Temu will be pretty small and the products they sell will remain cheap. However, the rule change is likely to result in delivery delays since the packages now have to go through customs, Kaziukenas said.The new tariffs will also hit third-party sellers on Amazon that import products from China, according to Squali. He expects sellers to eat some of the costs and pass the rest onto customers, which he thinks could result in percentage price increases in the mid-single digits. Other e-commerce sites that host businesses, such as Etsy, are also going to be impacted, Squali said. Temu, which is owned by Chinas PDD Holdings, has previously said its growth did not depend on the de minimis policy. Though most of its products are shipped from China, Temu has been recruiting Chinese merchants to store inventory in the U.S., a move that experts said would allow it to not be as exposed to changes around the trade rule. In January, China also introduced measures to help cross-border e-commerce build overseas warehousing by offering them tax rebates or tax exemptionsWhat are US retailers saying?The day after Novembers U.S. presidential election, Brieane Olson, CEO of teen clothing chain PacSun, went to Hong Kong to meet with factory executives to figure out ways to prepare for Trumps tariff plan. Roughly 35% to 40% of PacSuns garments are made in China, even as the chain has accelerated moves to diversify with suppliers in countries like Cambodia and Vietnam.But Olson said Trumps 10% tariff on Chinese goods was less extreme than the company anticipated. For now, PacSun doesnt plan to increase prices on its products or move its manufacturing of knitwear and denim out of China. Toys are another category of consumer products that relies heavily on imports from China. Greg Ahearn, the president and CEO of The Toy Association trade group, said he thinks toy companies that source in China are going to absorb the cost of the new tariff in the short term.Eventually, those price hikes will be moved onto the consumer, Ahearn said. ___Associated Press writers Anne DInnocenzio in New York, and Christopher Rugaber and Didi Tang in Washington contributed to this report. HALELUYA HADERO Haleluya covers Amazon, retail and technology. twitter mailto

Red Cross personnel load bodies of victims of the fighting between Congolese government forces and M23 rebels in a truck in Goma, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, as the U.N. health agency said 900 died in the fight. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)2025-02-04T20:27:29Z GOMA, Congo (AP) Congos government on Tuesday described the unilateral ceasefire declared by Rwanda-backed rebels in eastern Congo as false communication, while the United Nations noted reports of heavy fighting with Congolese forces in the region.The M23 rebels on Monday announced the ceasefire on humanitarian grounds after pleas for the safe passage of aid and hundreds of thousands of displaced people.But all we are waiting for is the withdrawal of the M23, Congos government spokesperson Patrick Muyaya told journalists.The M23 last week seized control of Goma, a city of 2 million people at the heart of a region home to trillions of dollars in mineral wealth. It remains under rebel control.The M23 had been reported to be gaining ground in other areas of eastern Congo and advancing on another provincial capital, Bukavu, in South Kivu. On Tuesday, U.N, spokesman Stephane Dujarric told journalists they had reports of heavy fighting in South Kivu, though we dont have any reports of the M23 moving closer to Bukavu.The M23 rebels are backed by some 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts. Thats far more than in 2012, when they briefly captured Goma then withdrew after international pressure. The M23 are the most potent of the more than 100 armed groups active in Congos east, which holds vast deposits critical to much of the worlds technology. Congos government has said it is open to talks to resolve the conflict, but that dialogue must occur within the context of previous peace agreements. Rwanda and the rebels have accused Congo of defaulting on previous agreements. Regional leaders are meeting Friday and Saturday in Tanzania to discuss the conflict.Also Tuesday, Congos interior minister, Jacquemain Shabani, said the death toll in last weeks fighting had reached 2,000, asserting that bodies had been put into one or more mass graves. Shabani called them victims of massacres perpetrated by the Rwandan occupation army. There was no immediate Rwanda comment.On Monday, the U.N. health agency said at least 900 people had been killed in the fighting in Goma between the rebels and Congolese forces.Residents continued to bury bodies.I just saw the conditions in which our Congolese brothers were buried, our children who were shot during the events in Goma, Elisha Dunia, the father of one victim, told The Associated Press at a cemetery in the city. We are heartbroken, and we ask for peace to return to our country.Debors Zuzu, also at the cemetery, said he lost three family members, two in a bomb explosion while another was shot. He said he was devastated.Our biggest plea is for the leaders to ensure that the war ends because war has no value. We want peace in Goma, Zuzu said. If everyone dies, I dont know who the leaders will govern.The U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Congo, Bruno Lemarquis, called for the urgent reopening of the airport in Goma, calling it a lifeline for the evacuation of wounded people and the delivery of aid.___Kamale reported from Kinshasa, Congo. Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed.

Solar panels system funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are seen in the Lebanese-Syrian border town of Majdal Anjar, eastern Bekaa valley, Lebanon, Nov. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)2025-02-05T02:33:59Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Trump administration is placing U.S. Agency for International Development direct-hire staffers around the world on leave except those deemed essential, upending the aid agencys six-decade mission overseas.A notice posted online Tuesday gives the workers 30 days to return home. The move had been rumored for several days and was the most extreme of several proposals considered for consolidating the agency into the State Department. Other options had included closures of smaller USAID missions and partial closures of larger ones.Thousands of USAID employees already had been laid off and programs worldwide shut down after President Donald Trump imposed a sweeping freeze on foreign assistance. In the space of a few weeks, Trump political appointees and Elon Musks budget-slashing Department of Government Efficiency have dismantled the aid agency despite outcry from Democratic lawmakers. They have ordered a spending stop that has paralyzed U.S.-funded aid and development work around the world, gutted the senior leadership and workforce with furloughs and firings, and closed Washington headquarters to staffers Monday. Lawmakers said the agencys computer servers were carted away. Spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper, Musk boasted on X.Musks teams had taken USAIDs website offline over the weekend and it came back online Tuesday night, with the notice of recall or termination for global staffers its sole post. The decision to withdraw direct-hire staff and their families earlier than their planned departures will likely cost the government tens of millions of dollars in travel and relocation costs.Staff being placed on leave include both foreign and civil service officers who have legal protection against arbitrary dismissal and being placed on leave without reason.The American Foreign Service Association, the union which represents U.S. diplomats, sent a notice to its members denouncing the decision and saying it was preparing legal action to counter or halt it. Locally employed USAID staff, however, do not have much recourse and were excluded from the federal governments voluntary buyout offer.USAID staffers abroad have been fearing the move, packing up household belongings over the past week. Families faced wrenching decisions as the move loomed, including whether to pull children out of school midyear. Some gave away pet cats and dogs, fearing the Trump administration would not give them time to complete the paperwork to bring the animals with them.The announcement came as Secretary of State Marco Rubio was on a five-nation tour of Central America and met with embassy and USAID staff at two of the regions largest USAID missions: El Salvador and Guatemala on Monday and Tuesday.Journalists accompanying Rubio were not allowed to witness the so-called meet and greet sessions in those two countries, but had been allowed in for a similar event in Panama on Sunday in which Rubio praised employees, particularly locals, for their dedication and service. Democratic lawmakers and others say the USAID is enshrined in legislation as an independent agency and cannot be shut down without congressional approval.The online notice says those who will exempted from leave include staffers responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs and would be informed by Thursday afternoon.Thank you for your service, the notice concluded.___Lee reported from Guatemala City. ELLEN KNICKMEYER Knickmeyer covers foreign policy and national security for The Associated Press. She is based in Washington, D.C. twitter

Tuskegee Airmen Detroit Chapter President Arthur Green, left, of Farmington Hills, holds a P-51 D model plane as Lt. Col. Harry Stewart, Jr., center, and Col. Charles McGee, right sign their autographs on the model for the 127th Mission Support Group, June 19, 2012, at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. (Todd McInturf/Detroit News via AP, File)2025-02-05T05:23:00Z Retired Lt. Col. Harry Stewart Jr, a decorated World War II pilot who broke racial barriers as a Tuskegee Airmen and earned honors for his combat heroism, has died. He was 100. Stewart was one of the last surviving combat pilots of the famed 332nd Fighter Group also known as the Tuskegee Airmen. The group were the nations first Black military pilots.The Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum confirmed his death. The organization said he passed peacefully at his home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, on Sunday.Stewart earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for downing three German aircraft during a dogfight on April 1, 1945. He was also part of a team of four Tuskegee Airmen who won the U.S. Air Force Top Gun flying competition in 1949, although their accomplishment would not be recognized until decades later. Harry Stewart was a kind man of profound character and accomplishment with a distinguished career of service he continued long after fighting for our country in World War II, Brian Smith, president and CEO of the Tuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum, said. Born on July 4, 1924, in Virginia, his family moved to New York when he was young. Stewart had dreamed of flying since he was a child when he would watch planes at LaGuardia airport, according to a book about his life titled Soaring to Glory: A Tuskegee Airmens Firsthand Account of World War II. In the wake of Pearl Harbor, an 18-year-old Stewart joined what was then considered an experiment to train Black military pilots. The unit sometimes was also known as the Tuskegee Airmen for where they trained in Alabama or the Red Tails because of the red tips of their P-51 Mustangs.I did not recognize at the time the gravity of what we are facing. I just felt as though it was a duty of mine at the time. I just stood up to my duty, Stewart said of World War II in a 2024 interview with CNN about the war. Having grown up in a multicultural neighborhood, the segregation and prejudice of the Jim Crow-era South came as a shock to Stewart, but he was determined to finish and earn his wings according to the book about his life. After finishing training, the pilots were assigned to escort U.S. bombers in Europe. The Tuskegee Airmen are credited with losing significantly fewer escorted bombers than other fighter groups. I got to really enjoy the idea of the panorama, I would say, of the scene I would see before me with the hundreds of bombers and the hundreds of fighter planes up there and all of them pulling the condensation trails, and it was just the ballet in the sky and a feeling of belonging to something that was really big, Stewart said in a 2020 interview with WAMC. Stewart would sometimes say in a self-effacing way that he was too busy enjoying flying to realize he was making history, according to his book. Stewart had hoped to become a commercial airline pilot after he left the military, but was rejected because of his race. He went on to earn a mechanical engineering degree New York University. He relocated to Detroit and retired as vice president of a natural gas pipeline company. Stewart told Michigan Public Radio in 2019 that he was moved to tears on a recent commercial flight when he saw who was piloting the aircraft. When I entered the plane, I looked into the cockpit there and there were two African American pilots. One was the co-pilot, and one was the pilot. But not only that, the thing that started bringing the tears to my eyes is that they were both female, Stewart said.The Air Force last month briefly removed training course s with videos of its storied Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots, or WASPs in an effort to comply with the Trump administrations crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The materials were quickly restored following a bipartisan backlash.

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-02-05T05:02:13Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump offered a jaw-dropping performance during his joint news conference Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, suggesting that Palestinian refugees from the Gaza Strip could be permanently resettled elsewhere and that the U.S. might stage a long-term takeover of the vacated region even leading redevelopment efforts to make it a seaside paradise in waiting. He refused to rule out sending U.S. troops in to seal the deal, and said he himself ever the real estate developer might pay a personal visit. Here are some takeaways from Trumps remarks: Trumps comments could upend the ceasefire in GazaNegotiations to sustain the tenuous ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas and secure the liberation of the remaining living hostages in captivity there, including at least one American are set to begin in earnest this week. Trumps audacious proposal to relocate roughly 1.8 million Palestinians from the land they have called home, and look to as part of a future state, could completely upend those negotiations.The framework for the talks calls for surging humanitarian and reconstruction supplies to help the people of Gaza recover after more than 15 months of devastating conflict between Israel and Hamas. It was always going to be a challenge for mediators to try to win Hamas agreement to be uprooted as the governing authority in the territory. Trumps suggestions that the U.S. take ownership of the area and redevelop it, with the possible support of American troops, is a sure non-starter for the militant group. It is also likely to put new stress on Qatar and Egypt, the other mediators in the talks, who have long advocated for Palestinian statehood.A breakdown in the negotiations could see the return to fighting in Gaza jeopardizing the fates of the remaining living hostages held by Hamas and other militant groups in the territory. The suggestions were quickly panned in the Middle EastTrumps comments were immediately repudiated by Saudi Arabia, whose foreign ministry issued a sharply worded statement that the nations long call for an independent Palestinian state was a firm, steadfast and unwavering position.Saudi Arabia has been in negotiations with the U.S. over a deal to diplomatically recognize Israel in exchange for a security pact and other terms. But the ministrys statement noted Saudi Arabias absolute rejection of efforts to displace the Palestinian people from their land.The duty of the international community today, the statement added, is to work to alleviate the severe human suffering endured by the Palestinian people, who will remain committed to their land and will not budge from it.Hamas, in its own statement said, We reject Trumps statements in which he said that the residents of the Gaza Strip have no choice but to leave, and we consider them a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region. An isolationist president is open to sending US troops to GazaTrump has built a political persona around an America first mantra that promotes isolationism, and is proud of the fact that the U.S. is currently not engaged in any foreign military conflicts. So the fact that he might be ready to dispatch U.S. troops to Gaza is nothing short of stunning.The president said he wants the U.S. to take long-term ownership of the Gaza and redevelop it after Palestinians are resettled elsewhere. Asked if that might involve American military forces, Trump replied, As far as Gaza is concerned, well do what is necessary. If its necessary, he added, Well do that.Trump is in real estate developer modeTrump, who became famous as a 1980s New York real estate developer, still often gleefully looks at the world that way and it showed on Tuesday.The president said he envisions the worlds people living in a redeveloped Gaza that he said could look like the Riviera of the Middle East.This could be something that could be so valuable. This could be so magnificent, Trump said, adding that most importantly, the people that live there would be able to live in peace and, Well make sure that its done world-class.Trump said that eventually he envisioned Palestinians, mostly living in the region but also described his vision for Gaza as an international, unbelievable place. The president also said he planned to visit Israel during his second term in office and even suggested he might go to Gaza a trip that would present unprecedented logistical and security challenges. Trump keeps expressing reluctance about his own Iran stanceAmid precarious ceasefire and hostage negotiations, Trump has also begun expressing reluctance about the pressure his administration is seeking to put on Iran. Trump made it clear he would like to negotiate with one of Americas top adversaries to allow it to prosper as long as Iran commits to not developing a nuclear weapon. He twice said he hated signing an executive order earlier Tuesday instructing the U.S. to impose maximum pressure on Tehran.I want Iran to be peaceful and successful. I hated doing it, the president said. Trump then sought to address the people of Iran directly by saying he would love to be able to make a great deal, a deal where you can get on with your lives. Youll do wonderfully.That tone was a noticeable departure from unapologetically tough words Trump offered about some of Americas allies in recent days threatening tariffs against Canada and Mexico and suggesting that similar levies could be coming against the European Union.Trump praised the Iranians as industrious, beautiful and incredible people, and said his one requirement as he seeks a deal with them is that they dont obtain a nuclear weapon. He also said if Iran can convince the U.S. that they wont, I think theyre going to have an unbelievable future.I hope were going to be able to do something so that it doesnt end up in a very catastrophic situation. I dont want to see that happen, Trump said. I really want to see peace.Trumps takeover list is growing And now its designs on Gaza. Trumps suggestions that the U.S. could occupy Gaza, with the possible support of U.S. troops, follows his threatening to take the Panama Canal by military force. And that came after his repeated insistence the U.S. can somehow wrest control of Greenland from Denmark, and that Canadians would like to become the 51st state. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., didnt mince words when asked about Trumps suggestions for Gaza: Hes completely lost it. He wants a U.S. invasion of Gaza, which would cost thousands of American lives and set the Middle East on fire for 20 years? asked the Democrat from Connecticut. Its sick. ___Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report. WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers national politics and the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto MICHELLE L. PRICE Price is a national political reporter for The Associated Press. She is based in New York. twitter mailto ZEKE MILLER Zeke is APs chief White House correspondent twitter mailto

A view of an area in Gaza City destroyed during fightings between the Israeli army against Hamas, in Gaza City, Tuesday, Feb.4, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)2025-02-05T04:50:39Z JERUSALEM (AP) Gaza has long been a powder keg, and it exploded after Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and began killing and abducting people, sparking a crushing Israeli military operation there thats only recently reached an uneasy ceasefire.President Donald Trump s suggestion Tuesday that that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the war-torn territory and the U.S. take ownership may spark new tension over the enclave on the Mediterranean Sea.Heres a look at the troubled modern history of the Gaza Strip: 1948 - 1967: Egyptian rule of GazaBefore the war surrounding Israels establishment in 1948, present-day Gaza was part of the large swath of the Middle East under British colonial rule. After Israel defeated the coalition of Arab states, the Egyptian army was left in control of a small strip of land wedged between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean.During the war, some 700,000 Palestinians either fled or were forced from their homes in what is now Israel a mass uprooting that they call the Nakba, or catastrophe. Tens of thousands of Palestinians flocked to the strip. Under Egyptian military control, Palestinian refugees in Gaza were stuck, homeless and stateless. Egypt didnt consider them to be citizens and Israel wouldnt let them return to their homes. Many were supported by UNWRA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, which has a heavy presence in Gaza to this day. Meanwhile, some young Palestinians became fedayeen insurgency fighters who conducted raids into Israel. 1967 - 1993: Israel seizes controlIsrael seized control of Gaza from Egypt during the 1967 Mideast war, when it also captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem areas that remain under Israeli control. The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, which administers semi-autonomous areas of the occupied West Bank, seeks all three areas for a hoped-for future state.Israel built more than 20 Jewish settlements in Gaza during this period. It also signed a peace treaty with Egypt at Camp David a pact negotiated by U.S. President Jimmy Carter.Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has referenced this 40-year old treaty when he declined to permit Palestinian refugees from Gaza into Egypt, saying the potential entrance of militants into Egypt would threaten longstanding peace between Israel and Egypt.The first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation erupted in Gaza in December 1987, kicking off more than five years of sustained protests and bloody violence. It was also during this time that the Islamic militant group Hamas was established in Gaza. 1993 - 2005: The Palestinian Authority takes chargeFor a time, promising peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian leaders made the future of Gaza look somewhat hopeful. Following the Oslo accords a set of agreements between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat that laid the groundwork for a two-state solution control of Gaza was handed to the fledgling Palestinian Authority. But the optimism was short lived. A series of Palestinian suicide attacks by Hamas militants, the 1995 assassination of Rabin by a Jewish ultranationalist opposed to his peacemaking and the election of Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister the following year all hindered U.S.-led peace efforts. Another peace push collapsed in late 2000 with the eruption of the second Palestinian uprising. As the uprising fizzled in 2005, then-Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon led a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, uprooting all of Israels troops and roughly 9,000 settlers in a move that bitterly divided Israel. 2005 - 2023: Hamas seizes powerJust months after Israels withdrawal, Hamas won parliamentary elections over Fatah, the long-dominant Palestinian political party. The following year, after months of infighting, Hamas violently seized control of Gaza from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority.Israel and Egypt imposed a crippling blockade on the territory, monitoring the flow of goods and people in and out. For nearly two decades, the closure has crippled the local economy, sent unemployment skyrocketing, and emboldened militancy in the region, which is one of the most densely populated places on the planet. Through previous wars and countless smaller battles with Israel that devastated Gaza, Hamas has only grown more powerful. In each subsequent conflict, Hamas has had more rockets that have traveled farther. The group has displayed a growing array of weapons. Its top leaders have survived, and ceasefires have been secured. In the meantime, it has built a government, including a police force, ministries and border terminals equipped with metal detectors and passport control. 2023 Hamas attack sparks the Israel-Hamas warThe Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw around 250 people taken hostage. Over 100 hostages were freed during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023, eight have been rescued alive and dozens of bodies have been recovered by Israeli forces.Israels air and ground war has killed over 47,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many of the dead were fighters. The war has left large parts of several cities in ruins and displaced around 90% of Gazas population of 2.3 million people.Under the first phase of the latest ceasefire, which went into effect on Jan. 19, Hamas is to release a total of 33 hostages, eight of whom Hamas says are dead, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli forces have pulled back from most areas and allowed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to devastated northern Gaza while aid flows in.Negotiations on the second phase, which would end the war and see the remaining 60 or so hostages returned, are set to begin Monday. If mediators the United States, Qatar and Egypt are unable to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas, the war could resume in early March.___The Associated Press is republishing this story from Oct. 21, 2023, to update with the ceasefire and President Donald Trumps comments about the Gaza Strip. JULIA FRANKEL Frankel is an Associated Press reporter in Jerusalem. twitter mailto

Palestinians carry defaced pictures of U.S. President Donald Trump while protesting against his latest statements regarding the transfer of Palestinians from Gaza, in the West Bank city of Ramallah Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)2025-02-05T05:55:42Z DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) President Donald Trumps proposal that the United States take over the Gaza Strip and permanently resettle its Palestinian residents was swiftly rejected and denounced on Wednesday by American allies and adversaries alike.Trumps suggestion came at a White House news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who smiled several times as the president detailed a plan to build new settlements for Palestinians outside the Gaza Strip, and for the U.S. to take ownership in redeveloping the war-torn territory into the Riviera of the Middle East.The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too, Trump said. Well own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs. The comments came amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, during which the militant group has been turning over hostages in exchange for the release of prisoners held by Israel. Egypt, Jordan and other American allies in the Middle East have already rejected the idea of relocating more than 2 million Palestinians from Gaza elsewhere in the region.Saudi Arabia, an important American ally, weighed in quickly on Trumps expanded idea to take over the Gaza Strip in a sharply worded statement, noting that its long call for an independent Palestinian state was a firm, steadfast and unwavering position. The kingdom of Saudi Arabia also stresses what it had previously announced regarding its absolute rejection of infringement on the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, whether through Israeli settlement policies, annexation of Palestinian lands or efforts to displace the Palestinian people from their land, the statement said. Similarly, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Canberra, Australia, that his country has long supported a two-state solution in the Middle East and that nothing had changed. Australias position is the same as it was this morning, as it was last year, as it was 10 years ago, he said. Trump has already made waves and upset longtime allies suggesting the purchase of Greenland, the annexation of Canada and the possible takeover of the Panama Canal. It was not immediately clear whether the idea of taking over the Gaza Strip was a well thought out plan, or an opening gambit in negotiations. Albanese, whose country is one of the strongest American allies in the Asia-Pacific region, seemed frustrated to even be asked about the Gaza plan, underscoring that his policies will be consistent.Im not going to, as Australias prime minister, give a daily commentary on statements by the U.S. president, he said. My job is to support Australias position.New Zealands Foreign Ministry said in a statement that its long-standing support for a two-state solution is on the record and added that it, too, wont be commenting on every proposal that is put forward. Hamas, which sparked the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, said Trumps proposal was a recipe for creating chaos and tension in the region.Instead of holding the Zionist occupation accountable for the crime of genocide and displacement, it is being rewarded, not punished, the militant group said in a statement. In its attack on Israel, Hamas killed some 1,200 people, primarily civilians, and took about 250 hostages. Israels ensuing air and ground war has has killed over 47,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to local health authorities who do not say how many of the dead were fighters. The war has left large parts of several cities in ruins and displaced around 90% of Gazas population of 2.3 million people.In the U.S., opposition politicians quickly rejected Trumps idea, with Democratic Sen. Chris Coons calling his comments offensive and insane and dangerous and foolish. The idea risks the rest of the world thinking that we are an unbalanced and unreliable partner because our president makes insane proposals, Coons said, noting the irony of the proposal coming shortly after Trump had moved to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development.Why on earth would we abandon decades of well-established humanitarian programs around the world, and now launch into one of the worlds greatest humanitarian challenges? Coons said. Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American member of Congress from Michigan, accused Trump in a social media post of openly calling for ethnic cleansing with the idea of resettling Gazas entire population. ___Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Zeke Miller in Washington and Charlotte McLay in Wellington, New Zealand, contributed to this report. DAVID RISING Rising covers regional Asia-Pacific stories for The Associated Press. He has worked around the world, including covering the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Ukraine, and was based for nearly 20 years in Berlin before moving to Bangkok. twitter mailto JON GAMBRELL Gambrell is the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press. He has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006. twitter instagram mailto

A U.S. Postal Service employee loads parcels outside a post office in Wheeling, Ill., on Jan. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)2025-02-05T08:29:52Z HONG KONG (AP) Americans are likely to pay more for products from popular Chinese e-commerce platforms like Shein and Temu as the U.S. Postal Service said it would stop accepting parcels from China and Hong Kong.The move was announced Tuesday, coming after the U.S. imposed an additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods and ended a customs exception that allowed small value parcels to enter the U.S. without paying tax. Canada and Mexico managed to negotiate a month-long reprieve from 25% tariffs threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump.It will likely impact online shopping destinations like Shein and Temu, popular with younger shoppers in the U.S. for cheap clothing and other products, usually shipped directly from China.Cheap, direct postal service helps these companies keep costs low, as did the de minimis exemption that previously allowed shipments to go tax-free if their value is under $800.The temporary suspension by USPS is likely to delay shipments and could mean higher prices in the long term. What exactly did the USPS announce?The U.S. Postal Service said in a notice that it would temporarily stop accepting inbound parcels from the China and Hong Kong Posts until further notice.Letters and flats mail that measures up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) long or 3/4 inches (1.9 centimeters) thick are not affected. Why did it happen?The USPS did not state a reason in a brief announcement, but the suspension came after Trump closed the de minimis customs exemption this week that allowed shoppers and importers to avoid duties on packages worth below $800.The exemption was removed as part of an executive order to levy a 10% tariff on Chinese goods.U.S. Customs and Border Protection previously stated that it processes an average of over four million de minimis imports each week. What is the impact and who is most affected?Consumers and companies alike will no longer be able to send parcels to the U.S. from Hong Kong or China.This move is likely to impact Chinese e-commerce firms like Shein and Temu, although Shein is likely to be more affected, according to Jacob Cooke, CEO of e-commerce marketing agency WPIC Marketing + Technologies.Both companies have significant market share in the U.S.Compared to Temu, Shein relies more heavily on USPS for direct-to-consumer shipping from China, and without this channel, it will have to rely more on private carriers, said Cooke.That will increase logistics costs, which along with the recent scrapping of the de minimis exemption for most products from China, could erode its price advantage.Cooke said Temu operates on a semi-consignment model and often ships bulk orders to the U.S. before fulfilling orders domestically.Temus model of sourcing low-cost goods should also enable the platform to absorb higher logistics costs and remain price competitive, he said.Shein and Temu did not immediately comment.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China would take necessary measures to protect its companies, and urged the U.S. to stop politicizing economic and trade issues and using them as a tool, and to stop unreasonably suppressing Chinese companies. What are possible ways for companies to work around the issue?It is unclear how long the USPS suspension will last, but the effort to crack down on the de minimis excemption seems like a longer-term shift in policy, Cooke said.Shein and Temu will simply need to rely more on private carriers as a workaround to the USPS suspension, he said.In the long term, Shein could accelerate its warehouse expansion in the U.S., while Temu can double down on its semi-consignment model. By shipping in bulk to the U.S. and fulfilling orders domestically, logistics cost can be reduced, Cooke said.Shipping in bulk to the U.S. and fulfilling domestically can reduce logistics costs, but for Shein, this poses a longer-term disruption to their business model which has depended on rapidly developing new SKUs and shipping them directly to consumers, Cooke said. ZEN SOO Soo reports on technology and business in China and across Asia for The Associated Press. She is based in Hong Kong. twitter mailto

Police officers stand guard near the scene of a shooting at an adult education center on the outskirts of Orebro, Sweden, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)2025-02-05T06:57:46Z OREBRO, Sweden (AP) Swedens worst mass shooting left at least 11 people dead, including the gunman, at an adult education center west of Stockholm as officials warned that the death toll could rise.The gunmans motive, as well as the number of wounded, hadnt been determined by early Wednesday as the Scandinavian nation where gun violence at schools is very rare reeled from an attack with such bloodshed that police early on said it was difficult to count the number of dead among the carnage.The school, called Campus Risbergska, offers primary and secondary educational classes for adults age 20 and older, Swedish-language classes for immigrants, vocational training and programs for people with intellectual disabilities. It is on the outskirts of Orebro, which is about 200 kilometers (125 miles) west of Stockholm.Justice Minister Gunnar Strmmer called the shooting an event that shakes our entire society to its core. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson ordered flags to be flown at half-staff at the Royal Palace and government buildings. The Swedish news agency TT reported that officials have planned a news conference for Wednesday morning. The shooting started Tuesday afternoon after many students had gone home following a national exam. Students sheltered in nearby buildings, and other parts of the school were evacuated following the shooting. Authorities were working to identify the deceased, and police said the toll could rise. Roberto Eid Forest, head of the local police, told reporters that the suspected gunman was among the dead. There were no warnings beforehand, and police believe the perpetrator acted alone. Police havent said if the man was a student at the school. They havent released a possible motive, but authorities said there were no suspected connections to terrorism at this point. Police raided the suspects home after Tuesdays shooting, but it wasnt immediately clear what they found. Today, we have witnessed brutal, deadly violence against completely innocent people, the prime minister told reporters in Stockholm late Tuesday. This is the worst mass shooting in Swedish history. Many questions remain unanswered, and I cannot provide those answers either. But the time will come when we will know what happened, how it could occur, and what motives may have been behind it. Let us not speculate, he said.While gun violence at schools is very rare in Sweden, people were wounded or killed with other weapons such as knives or axes in several incidents in recent years.___Stefanie Dazio reported from Berlin. Geir Moulson in Berlin, and Kwiyeon Ha in London, contributed to this report.

A view of an area in Gaza City destroyed during fightings between the Israeli army against Hamas, in Gaza City, Tuesday, Feb.4, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)2025-02-05T08:50:07Z JERUSALEM (AP) Palestinians will mark this year the 77th anniversary of their mass expulsion from what is now Israel, an event that is at the core of their national struggle. But in many ways, that experience pales in comparison to the calamity now faced in the Gaza Strip particularly as President Donald Trump has suggested that displaced Palestinians in Gaza be permanently resettled outside the war-torn territory and that the United States take ownership of the enclave.Palestinians refer to their 1948 expulsion as the Nakba, Arabic for catastrophe. Some 700,000 Palestinians a majority of the prewar population fled or were driven from their homes before and during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that followed Israels establishment.After the war, Israel refused to allow them to return because it would have resulted in a Palestinian majority within its borders. Instead, they became a seemingly permanent refugee community that now numbers some 6 million, with most living in slum-like urban refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In Gaza, the refugees and their descendants make up around three-quarters of the population. Israels rejection of what Palestinians say is their right of return to their 1948 homes has been a core grievance in the conflict and was one of the thorniest issues in peace talks that last collapsed 15 years ago. The refugee camps have always been the main bastions of Palestinian militancy. Now, many Palestinians fear a repeat of their painful history on an even more cataclysmic scale.All across Gaza, Palestinians in recent days have been loading up cars and donkey carts or setting out on foot to visit their destroyed homes after a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war took hold Jan. 19. The images from several rounds of mass evacuations throughout the war and their march back north on foot are strikingly similar to black-and-white photographs from 1948. Mustafa al-Gazzar, in his 80s, recalled in 2024 his familys monthslong flight from their village in what is now central Israel to the southern city of Rafah, when he was 5. At one point they were bombed from the air, at another, they dug holes under a tree to sleep in for warmth.Al-Gazzar, now a great-grandfather, was forced to flee again in the war, this time to a tent in Muwasi, a barren coastal area where some 450,000 Palestinians live in a squalid camp. He said then the conditions are worse than in 1948, when the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees was able to regularly provide food and other essentials.My hope in 1948 was to return, but my hope today is to survive, he said. The war in Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas Oct. 7 attack into Israel, has killed over 47,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, making it by far the deadliest round of fighting in the history of the conflict. The initial Hamas attack killed some 1,200 Israelis.The war has forced some 1.7 million Palestinians around three quarters of the territorys population to flee their homes, often multiple times. That is well over twice the number that fled before and during the 1948 war. Israel has sealed its border. Egypt has only allowed a small number of Palestinians to leave, in part because it fears a mass influx of Palestinians could generate another long-term refugee crisis.The international community is strongly opposed to any mass expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza an idea embraced by far-right members of the Israeli government, who refer to it as voluntary emigration.Israel has long called for the refugees of 1948 to be absorbed into host countries, saying that calls for their return are unrealistic and would endanger its existence as a Jewish-majority state. It points to the hundreds of thousands of Jews who came to Israel from Arab countries during the turmoil following its establishment, though few of them want to return.Even if Palestinians are not expelled from Gaza en masse, many fear that they will never be able to return to their homes or that the destruction wreaked on the territory will make it impossible to live there. One U.N. estimate said it would take until 2040 to rebuild destroyed homes. The Jewish militias in the 1948 war with the armies of neighboring Arab nations were mainly armed with lighter weapons like rifles, machine guns and mortars. Hundreds of depopulated Palestinian villages were demolished after the war, while Israelis moved into Palestinian homes in Jerusalem, Jaffa and other cities.In Gaza, Israel has unleashed one of the deadliest and most destructive military campaigns in recent history, at times dropping 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) bombs on dense, residential areas. Entire neighborhoods have been reduced to wastelands of rubble and plowed-up roads, many littered with unexploded bombs. Yara Asi, a Palestinian assistant professor at the University of Central Florida who has done research on the damage to civilian infrastructure in the war, says its extremely difficult to imagine the kind of international effort that would be necessary to rebuild Gaza.Even before the war, many Palestinians spoke of an ongoing Nakba, in which Israel gradually forces them out of Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories it captured during the 1967 war that the Palestinians want for a future state. They point to home demolitions, settlement construction and other discriminatory policies that long predate the war, and which major rights groups say amount to apartheid, allegations Israel denies.Asi and others fear that if another genuine Nakba occurs, it will be in the form of a gradual departure.It wont be called forcible displacement in some cases. It will be called emigration, it will be called something else, Asi said.But in essence, it is people who wish to stay, who have done everything in their power to stay for generations in impossible conditions, finally reaching a point where life is just not livable.___Associated Press reporters Wafaa Shurafa and Mohammad Jahjouh in Rafah, Gaza Strip, contributed to this report.___The Associated Press is republishing this story from May 14, 2024, to update with the ceasefire and President Donald Trumps comments about the Gaza Strip.

This image taken from video provided by WSYX shows police responding to an active shooter early Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in New Albany, Ohio. (WSYX via AP)2025-02-05T06:44:55Z NEW ALBANY, Ohio (AP) One person has died and five others were wounded in a shooting Tuesday night at a cosmetics warehouse in Ohio, officials said.The victims have been transported to hospitals and the suspect is no longer believed to be at the building, said Josh Poland, a spokesperson for the city of New Albany. New Albany Police Chief Greg Jones described the shooting just before 11 p.m. as a targeted type of attack and said officials dont believe the suspect poses a general threat to the public. We have a person of interest and were looking to locate them and bring them into custody, he said during a press conference. A firearm was found at the scene.The shooting happened at the warehouse for a company that makes products including cosmetics and toiletries. Police did not immediately provide a motive for the shooting or the conditions of those wounded. About 150 people were evacuated to a neighboring building, according to Jones.

This image from video provided by UPMC and University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences shows Doug McCullough, who has spinal muscular atrophy, during tests of experimental spinal cord stimulation to improve muscle function in Pittsburgh, on March 14, 2023. (UPMC, University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences via AP)2025-02-05T10:01:13Z WASHINGTON (AP) Three people with a muscle-destroying disease destined to worsen got a little stronger able to stand and walk more easily when an implanted device zapped their spinal cord.On Wednesday, researchers reported what they called the first evidence that a spine-stimulating implant already being tested for paralysis might also aid neurodegenerative diseases like spinal muscle atrophy by restoring some muscle function, at least temporarily.These people were definitely not expecting an improvement, said Marco Capogrosso, an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh who led the research. Yet over the month-long pilot study, they were getting better and better.Spinal muscle atrophy or SMA is a genetic disease that gradually destroys motor neurons, nerve cells in the spinal cord that control muscles. That leads muscles to waste away, especially in the legs, hips and shoulders and sometimes those involved with breathing and swallowing. There is no cure. A gene therapy can save the lives of very young children with a severe form of the disease, and there are some medicines to slow worsening in older patients. Stimulating the spinal cord with low levels of electricity has long been used to treat chronic pain but Capogrossos team also has tested it to help people paralyzed from strokes or spinal cord injury move their limbs unaided. While turned on, it zaps circuits of dormant nerves downstream of the injury to activate muscles. Then Capogrosso wondered if that same technology might help SMA in a similar way by revving up related sensory nerves so they wake up damaged muscle cells, helping them move to combat wasting. The Pitt researchers implanted electrodes over the lower spinal cord of three adults with SMA and tested their muscle strength, fatigue, range of motion and changes in gait and walking distance when the device was firing and when it was turned off. It didnt restore normal movement but with just a few hours of spinal stimulation a week, all quickly saw improvements in muscle strength and function, researchers reported in the journal Nature Medicine.With a progressive disease you never get any better, said study participant Doug McCullough, 57, of Franklin Park, New Jersey. Either youre staying stable or getting worse. So having any improvement is just a really surreal and very exciting benefit.All three participants significantly increased how far they could walk in six minutes, and one who initially couldnt stand from a kneeling position could by the studys end, Capogrosso said. And McCulloughs gait changed so that each step was about three times longer.They get less fatigued so they can walk for longer, Capogrosso said. Even a person this many years into the disease can improve.Intriguingly, researchers found the improvements didnt disappear as soon as the stimulator was switched off, though they did fade as participants were tracked after the study ended.McCullough said even when the stimulator was turned off, some nights his legs would just feel supercharged. While he understood that the device had to be removed at the studys end, he was disappointed. He said there were some lingering benefits at his six-week checkup, but none after six months. Neuroscientist Susan Harkema, who led pioneering studies of stimulation for spinal cord injuries while at the University of Louisville, cautioned the new study is small and short but called it an important proof of concept. She said its logical to test the technique against a list of muscle-degenerating diseases.Human spinal circuitry is very sophisticated its not just a bunch of reflexes controlled by the brain, said Harkema, now with the Kessler Foundation, a rehabilitation research nonprofit. This is a very solid study, an important contribution to move forward.At Pitt, Capogrosso said some small but longer studies are getting underway.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Police personnel redirect traffic near the international airport, before the arrival of a US military plane carrying deported Indian immigrants, in Amritsar, India, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Prabhjot Gill)2025-02-05T09:21:46Z AMRITSAR, India (AP) A U.S. military plane carrying 104 deported Indian migrants arrived in a northern Indian city on Wednesday, the first such flight to the country as part of a crackdown ordered by the Trump administration, airport officials said.The Indians who returned home had illegally entered the United States over the years and came from various Indian states.The move came ahead of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Washington, which is expected next week. U.S. President Donald Trump and Modi discussed immigration in a phone call last week and Trump stressed the importance of India buying more American-made security equipment and fair bilateral trade.India has cooperated with the U.S. and said it is ready to accept the deported Indians after verification.New Delhi says it is against illegal immigration, mainly because it is linked to several forms of organized crime, and it has not objected to the U.S. deporting its citizens. For Indians, not just in the United States but anywhere in the world, if they are Indian nationals, and they are overstaying or they are in a particular country without proper documentation, we will take them back, provided documents are shared with us so that we can verify their nationality that they are indeed Indians, Indias External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said last month. If that happens to be the case, then we will take things forward. We will facilitate the return to India, Jaiswal said. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this week the deportation flights were an effective way to stem the flow of illegal migration, which he said is destructive and destabilizing.The State Department said such deportations send a message of deterrence to other people considering migrating illegally.Indias junior External Affairs Minister Kirti Vardhan Singh told Indias Parliament that 519 Indian nationals were deported to India between November 2023 and October 2024, citing U.S. government data. The U.S. government carries out deportations through commercial and chartered flights, he added.Media reports say there are about 7,25,000 undocumented Indians in the U.S., mainly from Punjab and Gujarat states, and that Indians comprised about 3% of all illegal border crossings in the U.S. in 2024.The Indian Express newspaper said there were 20,407 undocumented Indians as of November last year who are either facing final removal orders or are currently in detention centers of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce, right, greets Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris, left, after an NFL football game Dec. 16, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/David Becker, File)2025-02-05T11:00:07Z ASHBURN, Va. (AP) Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin paused for a moment to think while speaking to a reporter after a practice this season.Now that you mention it, McLaurin said, Ive never had a Black head coach in high school, college or the NFL. Coordinators and position coaches only.McLaurin, like the majority of NFL players, is Black, and, like some of his colleagues, harbors concerns about the lack of Black head coaches. The Associated Press surveyed more than 65 Black players from 25 teams about the topic, and more than a third about 36% were discouraged or disappointed by the number of Black coaches.Until you see more coaches, Dolphins linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. said, were all going to look at it the same way: There arent enough Black coaches.For Sundays Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles, both starting quarterbacks are Black. Neither coach is. Panthers safety Nick Scott sees a parallel with how long it took clubs to discard biases about Black QBs.They were labeled as not as cerebral. That was the narrative. But I dont know how you go about changing that (for coaches), Scott said. I would hate for it to turn into some affirmative action thing, where people are getting pushed into a job whether they are qualified or not. So its a tricky balance, right? ... But I think there are plenty of guys who are qualified. At a time when President Donald Trump has moved to end federal government diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and a number of prominent companies scaled back DEI initiatives, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday the league will continue its diversity efforts. Several players the AP interviewed noted the gap between the proportion of Black athletes in the NFL 53.5% in 2023, according to The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) and that of Black head coaches, 22% to start this season. That might drop to 19% next season (six of 32), depending on the New Orleans Saints pick for the last opening. You cant just overlook that discrepancy, McLaurin said. Obviously, you want the best candidate for the job, whether its someone who is Black, white, Asian or whoever. However, when you have a big representation of African-American players that are in your league, you would like to see that represented in coaching, as well.How many NFL teams never had a full-time head coach who is Black?Setting aside interim hires, McLaurins Commanders is one of 11 clubs that never employed a full-time head coach who is Black, joining the Bills, Cowboys, Giants, Jaguars, Panthers, Rams, Ravens, Saints, Seahawks and Titans. Thats about a third of the NFL.No! Are you saying most Southern teams have never? Thats crazy! How many have never drafted a Black quarterback? Have you done that one? Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan said. Theres obvious franchises that wont hire a Black coach.Over 25 seasons from 2000 through 2024, an AP count shows, 31 of 173 new NFL coaches 18% are Black.Youd be blind not to be discouraged, Cowboys special teams player C.J. Goodwin said. Black coaches can do it, can get the job done. ... You dont want to have the glass ceiling.Raiders defensive end Malcolm Koonce spoke for the 58% of surveyed players who answered No to that question (6% werent sure how they felt) by responding: Its, like, eyebrow-raising when you actually hear the number, but its not discouraging. Two of three new full-time NFL coaches who are Black got firedThis season began with seven Black head coaches: holdovers Mike McDaniel of the Dolphins, Todd Bowles of the Buccaneers, DeMeco Ryans of the Texans and Mike Tomlin of the Steelers, and newcomers Antonio Pierce of the Raiders (who began on an interim basis the prior season), Jerod Mayo of the Patriots and Raheem Morris of the Falcons.Pierce and Mayo were fired in January. One of six hires this offseason is Black, Aaron Glenn of the Jets. Its still like, Oh, wow, its a Black coach! Jets defensive lineman Solomon Thomas said. In a league thats predominantly Black, I definitely believe there should be more. Brandon Brown, the director of TIDES, said it makes sense players would feel that way.We always need to continue the upward progress. Anytime you see downward progress, its a bit discouraging, Brown said. In talking to people at the NFL, there is no lack of trying to be diverse in their hires. What that eventually looks like is one thing.How many Black coaches are in the NBA, MLB and NHL?In the NBA, where about 70% of players are Black, 11 of 30 teams 37% have a Black coach. In Major League Baseball, three of 30 teams have a Black manager. In the 30-team NHL, theres been one Black coach, Dirk Graham, who was fired by the Blackhawks during his only season. Nearly 40% of the NFL players who participated in the AP survey would like to be a head coach in the league; others are more likely to try to be an assistant or work in college, high school or youth football. More than 90% were encouraged by the number of Black head coaches getting new full-time positions last offseason. Those three hires tied for the most since 2000. What is the NFLs Rooney Rule? The NFLs Rooney Rule was created in 2003 named for Steelers owner Dan Rooney, who died in 2017 to increase diversity among coaches (and, later, front-office executives) by making clubs interview minority candidates. The Rooney Rules a great rule, Washingtons McLaurin said, but ... from what Ive heard, some teams kind of use that to check a box, which is unfortunate, instead of using the rule the way it was intended.That is one of the elements in the 2022 lawsuit filed by former Dolphins head coach now Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who accused the NFL and three teams of racist hiring practices.I knew what Mr. Rooney was trying to accomplish with that, Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward said. And so to see people work around it and say, Well, this guy was already getting the job; were just (talking to a Black candidate) to appease the many I dont think thats right.Recent searches by the Patriots and Jaguars, for example, raised eyebrows with interviews perceived by some as merely aimed at satisfying the Rooney requirements.We follow up with the candidates, Goodell said. We speak about the sincerity and the thoroughness of an interview to make sure that were doing that in the proper fashion.Why are there so few Black head coaches in the NFL?As for underlying causes, some, like Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton, pointed to networking and nepotism.For Black people in this league, its an uphill battle. ... Theres been a plethora of white head coaches over the course of the history of the NFL. Those coaches have sons who get into coaching, Hamilton said. Look at the big Shanahan tree. No disrespect to them, but they have a step up in the business. Its not about what you know; its about who you know. ... Black people have kind of been behind.Others found connections to larger issues.Its just American society, the Cowboys Goodwin said. Thats more of a societal question than it is a question about the NFL.___AP Sports Writers Mark Anderson, David Brandt, Dave Campbell, Tom Canavan, Schuyler Dixon, Josh Dubow, Dan Gelston, Will Graves, Kyle Hightower, Larry Lage, Mark Long, Brett Martel, Steve Megargee, Charles Odum, Steve Reed, Joe Reedy, Andrew Seligman, Dave Skretta, Arnie Stapleton, Alanis Thames, Teresa M. Walker, Dennis Waszak Jr., John Wawrow and Tom Withers contributed to this report.___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl HOWARD FENDRICH Fendrich is an Associated Press national writer based in Washington, D.C. He reports on tennis and other sports. twitter mailto

A man accused of being an Islamic State (ISIS) fighter as others stand inside a cell at the Syrian Democratic Forces-run Gweiran Prison, now called Panorama, in Hassakeh, northeastern Syria, Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)2025-02-05T05:02:01Z HASSAKEH, Syria (AP) Men of various ages and nationalities sit silently in their cells, a small window in the metal doors their only opening to the world. All are alleged members of the Islamic State group, captured during the final days of the extremists so-called caliphate declared in large parts of Iraq and Syria.The Gweiran Prison, now called Panorama has held about 4,500 IS-linked detainees for years. The Associated Press was given an exclusive visit to the prison, nearly two months after the fall of the 54-year Assad dynasty in Syria an upheaval the detainees might not even know about as prison officials try to limit outside information.Syrian President Bashar Assads ouster during a lightning insurgent offensive in December has led to new attention, and new pressures, on such detention centers in the countrys northeast that have been holding some 9,000 IS members without trial. The centers are guarded by members of the U.S.-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that in March 2019 captured the last sliver of land that IS members once held, the eastern town of Baghouz. SDF chief commander Mazloum Abdi told the AP that after the fall of Assad, IS members captured large amounts of weapons in eastern Syria from posts abandoned by forces loyal to the former president. An SDF security official warned that the extremists might attack detention facilities and try to free their comrades. He spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. The detainees are a literal and figurative ISIS army in detention, Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of the U.S. Central Command, said during a visit to Syria last month.The prison visit occurred in a corridor with six cells on each side and with masked guards holding clubs. A window in a cell door was opened, and the detainees were told they could speak briefly to journalists. A young man moved forward and identified himself as Maher, a nurse from Melbourne, Australia. Prison authorities asked that only first names be used.Id love to go back to Australia, the man said, adding that he was not arrested in 2019 in Baghouz but gave himself up when the U.S.-led coalition opened a humanitarian corridor.I didnt do anything to anyone. Ive been here for seven years without judgement. Without anything, he said, and expressed regret for a lot of things.Maher said he married a Syrian woman and has two sons, and they are at one of the camps housing families of IS members in northeast Syria. He said he has not had information about them, and that he sent a letter to his parents via the International Committee of the Red Cross and never received an answer.The security of the detention centers is a growing question since Assads fall.One of the most serious threats to the centers came in January 2022 when IS gunmen stormed the prison, leading to 10 days of battles with the SDF that left nearly 500 people dead.The prison, formerly the classrooms of a technical school, was later renovated with the help of the U.S.-led coalition. Security was tight when the AP visited, with armed fighters stationed on roads leading to the facility. But SDF officials have said that recent clashes between their fighters and Turkey-backed gunmen in northern Syria, which coincided with the insurgent offensive that led to Assads fall, are affecting their ability to protect the prisons.During a visit to Turkey last month by Syrias foreign minister, Asaad al-Shibani, his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan told reporters that Ankara was ready to help Syrian authorities manage the detention centers as well as the camps where more than 40,000 people, many of them women and children, with alleged IS links are held.But the SDF chief commander didnt welcome the idea.The way Turkey can help is to stop its attacks on us so that we concentrate on the protection of al-Hol and the prisons, Abdi said.He added that the fate of al-Hol and other prisons can be solved within Syria. The countrys future is being discussed in talks between the SDF, which controls nearly 25% of Syria, and the new government in Damascus led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group. Inside the cells, the men wait for word on their own fate.A British prisoner from London who asked that his name not be made public said he wants to return to Britain and stand trial there. He was 18 when he came to Syria a decade ago after seeing media reports on the killings of kids by Assads government forces during a popular uprising that turned into civil war.He said he later wanted to leave Syria but could not.Once you enter (IS) its hard to leave, he said.He claimed he had not been a fighter but bought and sold cars while living in IS-held areas. He said all men captured by the SDF in the Baghouz area in early 2019 were classified as IS members.Seven years have passed in detention.To survive a day in this place is a miracle, he said, adding that he and fellow detainees know nothing of the world now, not even the date.Asked what day it was, he replied: We are in early 2025.

The former president of Spain's soccer federation Luis Rubiales sits in a courtroom on the outskirts of Madrid, Monday Feb. 3, 2025 where he goes on trial for his unsolicited kiss on forward Jenni Hermoso. (Chema Moya, Pool photo via AP)2025-02-05T12:40:08Z MADRID (AP) The brother of Jenni Hermoso and one of her teammates told a judge Wednesday there were attempts to pressure the player into downplaying the unsolicited kiss by former Spanish federation president Luis Rubiales in the awards presentation ceremony following the 2023 Womens World Cup.Rafael Hermoso said in court that former womens national team coach Jorge Vilda asked him to tell Jenni to record a video together with the former president to show she was OK with the kiss. Former teammate Misa Rodrguez said Jenni told the other players that she was being coerced and that she was not well after what happened.Rubiales is on trial for sexual assault for kissing Jenni Hermoso after the World Cup won by Spain in Sydney, as well as for coercion for allegedly trying to convince the player to support his version of the kiss. Vilda and two other former members of the federation are also on trial for coercion. All four deny wrongdoing.Jenni Hermoso says she did not consent to the kiss while Rubiales says it was consensual. The kiss marred the title celebrations and sparked outrage in Spain about the prevalence of sexism in sports and beyond. Rafael Hermoso said his sister told him she was pressurised several times by members of the Spanish federation.She came to us half-crying and told us that they were pressuring her to take a stance downplaying the kiss, Rafael said. Rodrguez said Jenni told them about the kiss and that she did not know how to react to it. She also said that Jenni told them she was being pressurised to record a video and downplay the kiss.She told us that she didnt want to do it and we supported her decision, Rodrguez said. We told her that she should not talk to anybody anymore and should try to get some rest, because we noticed that she was not well. Rafael Hermoso said Vilda came to him on the plane returning from the final in Australia to ask him to talk to his sister. We were talking about soccer and the achievement of the team and suddenly he mentioned the kiss, Rafael said. He said that the president wanted me to talk to Jenni to ask her to record the video together downplaying the kiss, because that would be the best thing for everyone.Rafael added that Vilda told him that Rubiales daughters were crying and that the president was worried about losing his job because of what happened. He said Vilda told him that he had already talked to Jenni and that she had not agreed to do the video.I told him that I was not going to try to convince her to do something that I also dont agree with, Rafael said.Rafael said he felt Vilda threatened his sister by hinting that things would not be good for her in the federation if she decided not to help. He also said Vilda implied that Jenni owed that to Rubiales daughters and the president himself.Jenni Hermoso was not called up to the national team immediately after the World Cup, with new coach Montse Tom saying she wanted to protect the player. Rubiales has yet to testify and denied the charges. He resigned under pressure three weeks later and was banned by FIFA for three years. He said he was the victim of a witch hunt by false feminists. Prosecutors, Hermoso and the Spain players association want Rubiales jailed for two and a half years, fined 50,000 euros ($51,800) for damages, and banned from working as a sports official. They want the other three defendants sentenced to one and a half years in prison.The trial is expected to last at least 10 days. Rubiales attended the first day on Monday. The coach of the mens national team, Luis de la Fuentes, testified on Tuesday.___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer TALES AZZONI Azzoni is a sports reporter based in Madrid in charge of Spain and Portugal for The Associated Press. He has covered multiple World Cups and Olympic Games for the AP, as well as other major sporting events worldwide. twitter mailto

A cleric walks in front of a shopping center in northern Tehran, Iran, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)2025-02-05T05:08:16Z TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Irans government seems to be welcoming some recent decisions by the United States even though they happen to come from a man Iranian operatives have allegedly been plotting to assassinate. President Donald Trumps moves to freeze spending on foreign aid and overhaul, maybe even end, the U.S. Agency for International Development have been lauded in Iranian state media. The reports say the decisions will halt funding for opponents of the countrys Shiite theocracy pro-democracy activists and others supported through programs as part of U.S. governments efforts to help democracy worldwide. At the same time, Iranian officials appear to be signaling that they are waiting for a message from Trump on whether he wants to negotiate over Tehrans rapidly advancing nuclear program. At stake are potentially billions of dollars withheld from Iran through crushing sanctions and the future of a program on the precipice of enriching weapons-grade uranium. And even when signing an executive order to reimpose his maximum pressure on Iran on Tuesday, Trump suggested he wanted to deal with Tehran. Meanwhile, ordinary Iranians worry what all this could mean for them. On Wednesday, Irans currency, the rial, plunged to a record low of 850,000 to $1 after Trumps order, showing the ongoing economic volatility they face. A decade ago, it stood at 32,000 rials to $1.It encourages hard-liners inside Iran to continue repressions because they feel the U.S. would have less capability in supporting Iranian people who seek freedom, said Maryam Faraji, a 27-year-old waitress in a coffee shop in northern Tehran. Iranian media say Trumps cuts could stop the opposition in IranThe state-run IRNA news agency said that cutting the budget of foreign-based opposition could affect the sphere of relations between Tehran and Washington.Newspapers, like the conservative Hamshhari daily, described Irans opposition as counterrevolutionaries who had been celebrating Trumps election as heralding the last days of life of the Islamic Republic.They then suddenly faced the surprise of cut funding from their employer, the newspaper crowed. Even the reformist newspaper Hammihan compared it to a cold shower for opponents of Irans theocracy abroad, an idea also expressed by the Foreign Ministry. Those financial resources are not charity donations, Esmail Bagahei, Irans Foreign Ministry spokesman, said during a briefing with reporters on Monday. They are wages paid in exchange for services.This is a clear sign of Americas interventionist policy particularly during the Biden administration, which tried to pressure Iran and meddle in its domestic affairs through financial aid, Bagahei added.It remains unclear how funding for Iranian activists and opposition figures would be affected by the USAID decision. The lions share of money for civil society in Iran has come through the U.S. State Departments Near East Regional Democracy fund, known by the acronym NERD, which grew as an American response to the Green Movement protests in 2009. In 2024, the Biden administration requested $65 million for NERD after over $600 million had been appropriated by Congress for the fund, according to the Congressional Research Service. That money and other funding had gone in the past toward training journalists and activists on how to report on human rights abuses, funding access to the internet amid government shutdowns and other issues.The State Department did not respond to a request for comment over the NERD funding and its future. American officials for years have kept the awardees of NERD grants secret due to what they describe as the risk activists face from Iran, particularly after Iranian intelligence officers have allegedly targeted in kidnapping or assassination plots, U.S. prosecutors say. Iran repeatedly hints its ready to talk to TrumpIran also noticed that the U.S. avoided direct criticism of the Islamic Republic during a review by the United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva last week. For those in Irans government, theres anticipation this could mean that Trump is willing to negotiate, something he repeatedly brought up in his election campaign as a possibility. Even Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, in a speech in September opened the door to talks with the U.S., saying there is no harm in engaging with the enemy. More recently, he tempered that, warning that sinister plots could still be concealed behind diplomatic smiles.We must be careful about who we are dealing with, who we are negotiating with, and who we are speaking to, Khamenei said last week.While Bagahei, the Foreign Ministry spokesman, acknowledged Iran hasnt seen any green light yet for talks, Iran is trying to do everything it can to signal it wants them. The countrys reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian, who campaigned on outreach to the West, urged officials on Monday to listen to dissent from the Iranian people and avoid further crackdowns like those that followed the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini. The enemies are hoping that by stirring up disputes within the country, they will throw people into the streets and then ride the wave of protests themselves, Pezeshkian said.As he signed the executive order on Iran on Tuesday, Trump warned the country would be obliterated if he was assassinated by Tehran. The order calls for putting Irans export of oil to zero, including to China, which buys Tehrans crude at a discount. It also seeks a so-called snapback of United Nations sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.However, Trump still left the door open for talks. Im going to sign it, but hopefully were not going to have to use it very much, he said from the Oval Office. We will see whether or not we can arrange or work out a deal with Iran.We dont want to be tough on Iran. We dont want to be tough on anybody, Trump added. But they just cant have a nuclear bomb.Trump followed with another online message on Wednesday, saying: Reports that the United States, working in conjunction with Israel, is going to blow Iran into smithereens, ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED.I would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper, he wrote on Truth Social. We should start working on it immediately, and have a big Middle East Celebration when it is signed and completed.He did not elaborate. However, factions within Irans theocracy are still likely to oppose talks, whether out of their own self interest or over anger that Trump ordered the 2020 drone strike that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the countrys top general and a revered figure. That killing fueled Iranian calls for Trumps assassination and alleged plots against him. In November, the Justice Department disclosed an Iranian murder-for-hire plot to kill Trump. While Iran denied being involved, Tehran has a history of plotting the killing of opponents abroad.This will not have any impact on the factions that oppose talks with the U.S. but maybe some moderates find it as an excuse to say that Trump is taking some steps, Iranian political analyst Ahmad Zeiabadi said.For now though, much of this can seem as conjecture and theorizing to many of Irans over 80 million people who continue to struggle in the grips of the countrys ailing economy.Tehran taxi driver Gholanhossein Akbari, 27, insisted Iranians like him never benefitted from U.S. support of Irans pro-democracy activists abroad.We did not see any result from the funds the U.S. paid to foreign-based Iranian activists who only make comments in the media, Akbari said.___Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report. NASSER KARIMI Karimi reports and writes from Tehran, Iran, on various topics for The Associated Press. He began working for AP in 2003. twitter instagram mailto JON GAMBRELL Gambrell is the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press. He has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006. twitter instagram mailto