Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, arrives for talks with Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, at the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb.15, 2025. (Sven Hoppe/DPA via AP, Pool)2025-02-17T02:16:25Z DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to the United Arab Emirates late Sunday as momentum grows for potential peace talks ending Moscows war on the country.U.S. President Donald Trump last week suggested he would be meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia. The UAE, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, long has been floated as a possible site for peace talks as well given the large population of Russian and Ukrainian expatriates who have flooded the country since the war began, and due to the Emirates work on prisoner exchanges in the past. Zelenskyy arrived in Abu Dhabi after attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany. Footage released by his office showed him and his wife, Olena Zelenska, being greeted by an Emirati official and honor guard at the airport late Sunday night. Zelenska has traveled to the UAE since Russias full-scale invasion in 2022, but this trip is Zelenskyys first to the UAE since the war began.Our top priority is bringing even more of our people home from captivity, Zelenskyys office said in messages online. We will also focus on investments and economic partnership, as well as a large-scale humanitarian program. The United Arab Emirates state-run WAM news agency did not immediately report on Zelenskyys arrival, which was unusual. It wasnt immediately clear what his agenda would be while he was in the country, though Abu Dhabi is hosting its biennial International Defense Exhibition and Conference arms show this week, where both Ukraine and Russia have displayed arms even as Moscow faces Western sanctions over the war. Russian money continues to flood into Dubais red-hot real estate market. Daily flights between the Emirates and Moscow provide a lifeline for both those fleeing conscription and the Russian elite. The U.S. Treasury under former President Joe Biden also expressed concerns about the amount of Russian cash flowing into the Arabian Peninsula country. Zelenskyys visit comes as Denis Manturov, Russias first deputy prime minister, visited earlier Sunday with UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the countrys president and ruler of Abu Dhabi. A readout from WAM described the talks as focusing on growing UAE-Russia ties and ways to advance shared interests, benefiting both nations and their peoples. 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

William Byron celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, in Daytona Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)2025-02-17T02:50:23Z DAYTONA BEACH, Fla (AP) William Byron raced to his second straight Daytona 500 victory, surviving a string of late-race wrecks that knocked out a chunk of contenders and sent the Hendrick Motorsports driver into victory lane Sunday night at Daytona International Speedway.Ninth in the No. 24 Chevrolet with one lap left, Byron was in the right place by racing near the outside wall in overtime to became the first back-to-back winner since Denny Hamlin in 2019-20. Bryon took advantage of another wreck on the final lap NASCAR did not drop the caution and let the field race to the finish and took another, familiar burnout in Daytona International Speedway. Its obviously really special, Byron said. Its an amazing race, and obviously a lot of crazy racing out there tonight and just a lot of pushing and shovingThe 27-year-old Byron held on to win after two weather delays totaling more than 3 1/2 hours, and with President Donald Trump set to watch the rest of the race in Florida, after he earlier led drivers on two laps around the track in his heavily armored presidential limousine known in Washington as The Beast. Hendrick Motorsports won its 10th Daytona 500 to break a tie with Petty Enterprises for the record. Just obviously fortunate it worked out in our favor, Byron said. Crazy? Yeah. I cant honestly believe that but were here.Byron won for the 14th time in his Cup career, and already set his sights on the championship race in Phoenix after finishing third in the standings in each of the last two years. We plan on trying to win a lot of races this year, so were not going to stop here, Byron said. Were going to continue to push forward and try to get to Phoenix.It wouldnt be Daytona without the ferocious late wrecks down the stretch that inevitably send the race into overtime.With four laps left, Ryan Preece turned upside-down and essentially did a wheelie in his No. 60 Ford. His car flipped onto its roof and turned back onto its tires before hitting the outside wall. Preece dropped his safety net to signal to crews he was OK. Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, Daniel Suarez and Brad Keselowski all had their shots at victory lane spoiled, and the race was red-flagged, just 11 laps after another big one shuffled the field and knocked four former Cup Series champions out of contention.Reigning NASCAR champion Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse started the multi-car melee when Logano moved to the middle and Stenhouse moved to block him. It stacked up Logano, and the accordion effect sent several cars including ones belonging to former Cup champs Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott sliding in every direction.Buschs car ended up on a wrecker, extending his skid to 0 for 20 in The Great American Race.Tyler Reddick was second and two-time Daytona 500 champion Jimmie Johnson was third. Chase Briscoe was fourth and John Hunter Nemechek fifth.Leave a legacyJohnson and Nemechek gave Legacy Motor Club two top-five finishes. A Hall of Fame driver and seven-time NASCAR champion, Johnson is now the majority owner under an offseason restructuring. It was his highest finish in race since he won it in 2013.I have emotions that I didnt expect to have. Ive never been in this position as an owner, and its really opened up a different set of emotions, Johnson said after his highest finish in the race since winning in 2013. Early exitFour-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and 2017 NASCAR champion Martin Truex Jr. were among the drivers whose race ended after they were collected in a wreck before the halfway point. Castroneves made the Daytona 500 under a new rule that allows for a world-class driver to receive a provisional spot. He landed a NASCAR ride as part of Trackhouses Project 91, designed to give renowned racers from outside of the series a shot in a stock car.Disappointed, of course, because I was learning so much, Castroneves said. Its incredible when you have more laps into it, you understand the airflow, the guys, saving fuel. There was some sketchy moments. What a shame. I wish I was still out there. Theres still more to understand, more to learn. Im starting to get a little more comfortable with the whole process. Truex, who retired from full-time racing at the end of last season, failed to win the Daytona 500 in 21 tries.Its always disappointing when you dont finish no matter the situation, Truex said. Its probably our only shot this year. It was fun while it lasted, but it was unfortunately wrong place, wrong time there.Truex finished 38th and Castroneves 39th.Up nextThe series shifts to Atlanta Motor Speedway where Daniel Suarez is the defending race winner.___AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing DAN GELSTON Gelston is an an Associated Press sports writer covering major college and pro sports in Philadelphia, including the 76ers, Flyers, Eagles, Phillies and Villanova. twitter mailto

Downed trees cover the roadway toward South Jefferson Street from severe weather in downtown Tuscumbia, Ala., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025.(Dan Busey/The TimesDaily via AP)2025-02-17T05:06:38Z LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) Harsh weather moved west on Monday as a polar vortex was expected to grip the Rockies and the northern Plains after winter storms pummeled the eastern U.S. over the weekend, killing at least 10 people, including nine victims in Kentucky who died during flooding from heavy rains. The National Weather Service warned of life-threatening cold into Tuesday, with temperatures in northeastern Montana predicted to dip as low as 45 degrees below zero (-42.7 degrees Celsius) with wind chills down to 60 below (-51 degrees Celsius).Meteorologists said several states would experience the 10th and coldest polar vortex event this season. Weather forces in the Arctic are combining to push the chilly air that usually stays near the North Pole into the U.S. and Europe.In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear said Sunday that the death toll rose to nine. I am sad to share some more tough news tonight, Kentucky. We just confirmed another weather-related death out of Pike County, bringing our total loss to 9 people.Beshear had said earlier Sunday that at least 1,000 people stranded by floods had to be rescued. President Donald Trump approved Kentuckys request for a disaster declaration, authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate relief efforts throughout the state. Beshear said most of the deaths, including a mother and 7-year-old child, were caused by cars getting stuck in high water. So folks, stay off the roads right now and stay alive, he said. Parts of Kentucky and Tennessee received up to 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain, said Bob Oravec, a senior forecaster with the National Weather Service. The effects will continue for awhile, a lot of swollen streams and a lot of flooding going on, Oravec said Sunday. In Alabama, the weather service in Birmingham said it had confirmed an EF-1 tornado touched down in Hale County. Storms there and elsewhere in the state destroyed or damaged a handful of mobile homes, downed trees and toppled power lines, but no injuries were immediately reported. A state of emergency was declared for parts of Obion County, Tennessee, after a levee failed on Saturday, flooding the small community of Rives, home to around 300 people in the western part of the state. There will be mandatory evacuations in effect for the residents in Rives due to the rising water, no electricity, and freezing temperatures creating a life-threatening situation, Mayor Steve Carr said in a statement Sunday. In Atlanta, a person was killed when a large tree fell on a home early Sunday, according to Atlanta Fire Rescue Capt. Scott Powell. Dangerously cold wind chill temperatures as low as 50 degrees below zero (minus 45.6) were expected in most of North Dakota, which remained under an extreme cold warning along with large swaths of South Dakota and Minnesota, according to the weather service. Severe floodingWater submerged cars and buildings in Kentucky and mudslides blocked roads in Virginia over the weekend. Flood warnings extended throughout Tennessee and Arkansas. The mother and child were swept away Saturday night in Kentuckys Bonnieville community, Hart County Coroner Tony Roberts said. In southeastern Kentucky, a 73-year-old man was found dead in floodwaters in Clay County, county Emergency Management Deputy Director Revelle Berry said. There were a total of four deaths in Hart County, Beshear said.The Kentucky River Medical Center in the city of Jackson said it had closed its emergency department and transferred all patients to two other hospitals in the region due to a nearby river flooding. High winds brought down trees and power poles across Albermarle County, Virginia. The Charlottesville Police Department said Sunday on social media that officers response times could be delayed due to an overwhelming number of weather-related calls for service. Police urged residents to stay off the roads. Power outages were reported along much of the eastern seaboard, from New York south to Georgia.In West Virginia, 13 southern counties were under a state of emergency for flooding and some areas were cut off to vehicle traffic Sunday. Several volunteer fire departments dealt with flooding in their own buildings while answering rescue and evacuation calls. Rockies, Midwest, Northeast hit with snow storms, Polar Vortex on the wayIce and snow made road travel treacherous in large swaths of Michigan, which remained under a winter weather advisory until Monday afternoon. Michigan State Police reported 114 crashes Sunday around the Detroit area since snow started falling Saturday.Fortunately, most were one-car spin outs and there were no serious injuries, Michigan State Police said on X.Authorities in Colorado reported eight people were killed in fatal vehicle crashes since Valentines Day and warned drivers to be cautious as the weather made driving more difficult. The causes of the fatal crashes werent immediately known. Also in Colorado, three state patrol cruisers that had pulled over along roadsides were struck by other vehicles, including one on Sunday where a trooper had stopped as officials prepared to close a road because of ice. In each case the troopers were out of their cruisers at the time and were uninjured.Avalanche warnings were issued for numerous areas of the Rocky Mountains stretching from Colorado to Washington state, with the danger rated highest in Utah.__Sophia Tareen in Chicago, Nadia Lathan in Austin, Texas, John Raby in Cross Lanes, West Virginia, Matthew Brown in Billings, Montana, and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles contributed to this report. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

The smartphone apps DeepSeek page is seen on a smartphone screen in Beijing, China, on Jan. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)2025-02-17T04:21:28Z SEOUL, South Korea (AP) DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, has temporarily paused downloads of its chatbot apps in South Korea while it works with local authorities to address privacy concerns, according to South Korean officials on Monday.South Koreas Personal Information Protection Commission said DeepSeeks apps were removed from the local versions of Apples App Store and Google Play on Saturday evening and that the company agreed to work with the agency to strengthen privacy protections before relaunching the apps.The action does not affect users who have already downloaded DeekSeek on their phones or use it on personal computers. Nam Seok, director of the South Korean commissions investigation division, advised South Korean users of DeepSeek to delete the app from their devices or avoid entering personal information into the tool until the issues are resolved. Many South Korean government agencies and companies have either blocked DeepSeek from their networks or prohibited employees from using the app for work, amid worries that the AI model was gathering too much sensitive information. The South Korean privacy commission, which began reviewing DeepSeeks services last month, found that the company lacked transparency about third-party data transfers and potentially collected excessive personal information, Nam said.Nam said the commission did not have an estimate on the number of DeepSeek users in South Korea. A recent analysis by Wiseapp Retail found that DeepSeek was used by about 1.2 million smartphone users in South Korea during the fourth week of January, emerging as the second-most-popular AI model behind ChatGPT.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks as part of a panel discussion during the Munich Security Conference at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)2025-02-17T05:08:58Z PARIS (AP) French President Emmanuel Macron called leaders from key European Union nations and the United Kingdom to his ornate Elysee Palace on Monday for an emergency meeting on how to deal with the U.S., a once rock-solid partner.The move follows a weeklong diplomatic blitz on Ukraine by the Trump administration that seemed to embrace the Kremlin while it cold-shouldered many of its age-old European allies.Despite belligerent warnings for months ahead of Donald Trumps reelection as U.S. president, EU leaders publicly ignored the ominous forebodings and somehow hoped Trump would stand side by side with Europe, as it would finally start to act on beefing up its defenses and become less reliant on the firepower of Washington.But a flurry of speeches by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during their initial visits to Europe last week questioned both Europes security commitments and its fundamental democratic principles. Macron said their stinging rebukes and threats of non-cooperation in the face of military danger felt like a shock to the system. The tipping point came when Trump decided to upend years of U.S. policy by holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in hopes of ending the Russia-Ukraine war. Then, Trumps special envoy for Ukraine and Russia on Saturday all but ruled out the inclusion of other Europeans in any Ukraine peace talks. Annalena Baerbock, Germanys foreign minister, called the week an existential moment. Its a moment where Europe has to stand up. It is where Macron hopes to step in with Mondays meeting. Even if Jean-Nol Barrot, Macrons foreign minister, sought to play down the significance of the emergency huddle of Europes main leaders, the weekend scramble to set up the meeting underscored something much more fundamental. Ever since World War II, the United States and western European nations have basically walked in lockstep as they confronted the Soviet Union during the Cold War right up to the increasingly aggressive actions of current-day Russia close to its borders. Even if there had long been U.S. complaints about the reluctance of many European NATO nations to step up their defense efforts, they never boiled up to the political surface as they have over the past days. On Monday, Macron will have afternoon talks with the leaders of Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark and the European Union on how to deal with Europes security quandary. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will also attend.French officials said no firm decisions are expected to emerge beyond a show of unity of European leaders.There is a wind of unity blowing over Europe, as we perhaps have not felt since the COVID period, said Barrot, referring to the pandemic in 2020 when the 27 EU nations had to stand side by side to stave off a health catastrophe.European nations are bent on boosting Ukraine where they can, and EU nations see eye to eye when it comes to upping defense spending. However, even if there is a general consensus to move beyond the goal of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense, it is hardly clear how to get to 3%.Some EU nations are insisting on an agreement on joint borrowing for massive defense projects, while others are insisting it is the task of the nations that lag in spending to get to the 2% threshold first. That issue is also set to be discussed at the meeting.___Casert reported from Brussels. SYLVIE CORBET Corbet is an Associated Press reporter based in Paris. She covers French politics, diplomacy and defense as well as gender issues and breaking news. twitter

This is a locator map of Israel and the Palestinian Territories. (AP Photo)2025-02-17T07:21:29Z JERUSALEM (AP) Israel issued a tender for the construction of nearly 1,000 additional settler homes in the occupied West Bank, an anti-settlement watchdog said Monday.Peace Now says the development of 974 new housing units would allow the population of the Efrat settlement to expand by 40% and further block the development of the nearby Palestinian city of Bethlehem. Hagit Ofran, who leads the groups settlement monitoring, said construction can begin after the contracting process and issuing of permits, which could take another year at least.Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for their future state and view the settlements as a major obstacle to peace, a position with wide international support.President Donald Trump lent unprecedented support to the settlements during his previous term. Israel has also steadily expanded settlements during Democratic administrations, which were more critical but rarely took any action to curb them. Israel has built well over 100 settlements across the West Bank, ranging from hilltop outposts to fully-developed communities that resemble small towns and suburbs, with apartment blocks, malls and parks. Over 500,000 settlers live in the occupied West Bank, which is home to some 3 million Palestinians. The settlers have Israeli citizenship, while Palestinians live under military rule with the Western-backed Palestinian Authority administering population centers. Major human rights groups have described the situation as apartheid, allegations rejected by the Israeli government, which views the West Bank as the historical and biblical heartland of the Jewish people and is opposed to Palestinian statehood. Peace Now, which favors a negotiated two-state solution to the conflict, accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government of pressing ahead with settlement construction while dozens of hostages captured in Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack languish in captivity in the Gaza Strip.While the people of Israel (set) their sights on the release of the hostages and an end to the war, the Netanyahu government is operating on steroids to establish facts on the ground that will destroy the chance for peace and compromise, it said in a statement. ___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Nozuko Majola's grand mother sits in her Umzimkhulu home Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025, affected by U.S. President Donald Trump's global foreign aid freeze, raising worries about HIV patients defaulting on treatment. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)2025-02-16T19:53:49Z UMZIMKHULU, South Africa (AP) At a rural village in South Africas KwaZulu-Natal province, unemployed 19-year-old Nozuko Majola is trying to figure out if she has enough money for the one-hour ride to collect her much-needed HIV medication, usually delivered to her home that cant be easily reached due to rough, untarred roads.Majola is one of millions of patients in South Africa affected by U.S. President Donald Trumps global foreign aid freeze, raising worries about HIV patients defaulting on treatment, infection rates going up and eventually a rise in deaths.In 2024, think tank Human Sciences Research Council released figures showing that Majolas province recorded the second-highest HIV prevalence in the country, at 16%, with at least 1,300 young people estimated to contract the disease every week.KwaZulu-Natal also had the highest number of people living with HIV in South Africa in 2022, about 1.9 million. The country counts more than 7.5 million people infected with the virus that causes AIDS more than any other nation. There are 5.5 million South Africans receiving antiretroviral treatment, whose funding is now in question after Trump suspended the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. It contributes more than $400 million a year to South Africas HIV programs and nongovernmental organizations, about 17% of the total funding, according to the Health Ministry. Globally, PEPFAR is credited with saving at least 26 million lives since its inception in 2003, according to the U.N. AIDS agency. Last week, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to temporarily lift the funding freeze, while the U.S. Embassy in South Africa said PEPFAR projects would resume under a limited waiver. However, aid groups dealing with HIV have already shuttered with closure notices hanging at the entrances and PEPFAR-branded vehicles standing idle, with patients diverted to struggling health facilities. A rusted roof house in Umzimkhulu, KwaZulu Latal, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, where millions of patients in South Africa could be affected by U.S. President Donald Trumps global foreign aid freeze, raising worries about HIV patients defaulting on treatment. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay} A rusted roof house in Umzimkhulu, KwaZulu Latal, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, where millions of patients in South Africa could be affected by U.S. President Donald Trumps global foreign aid freeze, raising worries about HIV patients defaulting on treatment. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay} Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More A child pays with her dog in Umzimkhulu municipality, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, one of the most affected place in South Africa by U.S. President Donald Trumps global foreign aid freeze, raising worries about HIV patients defaulting on treatment. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) A child pays with her dog in Umzimkhulu municipality, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, one of the most affected place in South Africa by U.S. President Donald Trumps global foreign aid freeze, raising worries about HIV patients defaulting on treatment. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Most of the PEPFAR funding is channeled through non-governmental organizations, which run programs that compliment health care services provided by the government.For Majola and other HIV patients in the Umzimkhulu region, where unemployment is rife and most people rely on subsistence farming and government welfare grants, the aid freeze has disrupted their lives.Things will be tough around here, and a lot of people will default on their treatment because we really struggle with transport, she said. The mobile clinics hardly come here.The freeze has hurt various groups that can no longer provide treatment, causing an influx of patients to already overstretched public facilities. Along with the medication, these programs also allowed health personnel to test HIV patients in far-flung villages, which has been a lifeline for many, especially those afraid to visit public facilities due to the social stigma attached to HIV. Women sell goods at the market in Umzimkhulu , South Africa, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, in an area where one of millions of patients in South Africa affected by U.S. President Donald Trumps global foreign aid freeze, raising worry about HIV patients defaulting on treatment. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay} Women sell goods at the market in Umzimkhulu , South Africa, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, in an area where one of millions of patients in South Africa affected by U.S. President Donald Trumps global foreign aid freeze, raising worry about HIV patients defaulting on treatment. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay} Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Unemployed 19-year-old South African Nozuko Majola, walking towards her Umzimkhulu home Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2024, is one of millions of patients in South Africa affected by U.S. President Donald Trumps global foreign aid freeze, raising worries about HIV patients defaulting on treatment. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay} Unemployed 19-year-old South African Nozuko Majola, walking towards her Umzimkhulu home Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2024, is one of millions of patients in South Africa affected by U.S. President Donald Trumps global foreign aid freeze, raising worries about HIV patients defaulting on treatment. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay} Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More In addition, nearly 15,000 health workers whose salaries are funded through PEPFAR are left wondering if they have lost their livelihoods. About an hour away in the district of Umgungundlovu, which the think tank says has the highest number of HIV cases in South Africa, HIV counselors gathered in a small office discussing how best to assist patients like Majola. A manager at a nearby health clinic wondered how to handle the administrative work that is piling up after PEPFAR-funded workers withdrew. People who were doing administration and data capturing, whose salaries were funded by PEPFAR, have left. We are a small facility and we cannot handle such a workload, said the manager, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.Nozuko Ngcaweni has been on HIV treatment for about 30 years. One of her children was also infected and died at age 17. She said the aid suspension already impacted her community and many missed their treatment.Not long ago, we said by 2030, we want to see an HIV-free generation. But if things remain as is, we will not achieve that. We will have to deal with deaths, she said. Unemployed 19-year-old South African Nozuko Majola, one of millions of patients in South Africa affected by U.S. President Donald Trumps global foreign aid freeze, raising worries about HIV patients defaulting on treatment, is greeting by a neighbor near her Umzimkhulu home, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay} Unemployed 19-year-old South African Nozuko Majola, one of millions of patients in South Africa affected by U.S. President Donald Trumps global foreign aid freeze, raising worries about HIV patients defaulting on treatment, is greeting by a neighbor near her Umzimkhulu home, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay} Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Mzamo Zondi, a provincial manager of the Treatment Action Campaign, which advocates for access to HIV treatment for the poor, has been monitoring the impact of the aid freeze in Umgungudlovu.Our response (to HIV) is likely to falter as we struggle to stop newly infected cases, he said. This is a matter of life and death.___The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Magome is an Associated Press reporter based in Johannesburg, South Africa. He covers a range of topics including general news, politics, and enterprise stories from across the Southern Africa region. mailto

A member of the Syrian Civil Defense (White Helmets) takes a photo of his colleague holding the new Syrian flag at the ancient city of Palmyra, Syria, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)2025-02-17T05:03:07Z PALMYRA, Syria (AP) Experts are returning to Syrias war-ravaged heritage sites, hoping to lay the groundwork for restoring them and reviving tourism, which they say could provide a much-needed boost to the countrys decimated economy after nearly 14 years of war. Once-thriving landmarks like the ancient city of Palmyra and the medieval Crusader castle of Crac des Chevaliers remain scarred by years of conflict, but local tourists are returning to the sites, and conservationists hope their historical and cultural significance will eventually draw international visitors back. PalmyraOne of Syrias six UNESCO World Heritage sites, Palmyra was once a key hub to the ancient Silk Road network linking the Roman and Parthian empires to Asia. Located in the Syrian desert, it is renowned for its 2,000-year-old Roman-era ruins. It is now marked by shattered columns and damaged temples. Before the Syrian uprising that began in 2011 and soon escalated into a brutal civil war, Palmyra was Syrias main tourist destination, attracting around 150,000 visitors monthly, Ayman Nabu, a researcher and expert in ruins told The Associated Press. Dubbed the Bride of the Desert, he said Palmyra revitalized the steppe and used to be a global tourist magnet. The ancient city was the capital of an Arab client state of the Roman Empire that briefly rebelled and carved out its own kingdom in the third century, led by Queen Zenobia. In more recent times, the area had darker associations. It was home to Tadmur prison, where thousands of opponents of the Assad familys rule in Syria were reportedly tortured. The Islamic State group demolished the prison after capturing the town.IS militants later destroyed Palmyras historic temples of Bel and Baalshamin and the Arch of Triumph, viewing them as monuments to idolatry, and beheaded an elderly antiquities scholar who had dedicated his life to overseeing the ruins. Between 2015 and 2017, control of Palmyra shifted between IS and the Syrian army before Assads forces, backed by Russia and Iran-aligned militias, recaptured it. They established military bases in the neighboring town, which was left heavily damaged and largely abandoned. Fakhr al-Din al-Maani Castle, a 16th-century fortress overlooking the city, was repurposed by Russian troops as a military barracks.Nabu, the researcher, visited Palmyra five days after the fall of the former government. We saw extensive excavation within the tombs, he said, noting significant destruction by both IS and Assad government forces. The (Palmyra) museum was in a deplorable state, with missing documents and artifacts we have no idea what happened to them. At the theater, the Tetrapylon, and other ruins along the main colonnaded street, Nabu said they documented many illegal drillings revealing sculptures, as well as theft and smuggling of funerary or tomb-related sculptures in 2015 when IS had control of the site. While seven of the stolen sculptures were retrieved and put in a museum in Idlib, 22 others were smuggled out, Nabu added. Many pieces likely ended up in underground markets or private collections. Inside the citys underground tombs, Islamic verses are scrawled on the walls, while plaster covers wall paintings, some depicting mythological themes that highlight Palmyras deep cultural ties to the Greco-Roman world.Syria has a treasure of ruins, Nabu said, emphasizing the need for preservation efforts. He said Syrias interim administration, led by the Islamist former insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has decided to wait until after the transition phase to develop a strategic plan to restore heritage sites.Matthieu Lamarre of the U.N.s scientific, educational and cultural organization UNESCO, said the agency had since 2015, remotely supported the protection of Syrian cultural heritage through satellite analyses, reports and documentation and recommendations to local experts, but it did not conduct any work on site. He added that UNESCO has explored possibilities for technical assistance if security conditions improve. In 2019, international experts convened by UNESCO said detailed studies would need to be done before starting major restorations. Crac des ChevaliersBeyond Palmyra, other historical sites bear the scars of war. Perched on a hill near the town of Al-Husn, with sweeping views, Crac des Chevaliers, a medieval castle originally built by the Romans and later expanded by the Crusaders, was heavily bombarded during the Syrian civil war. On a recent day, armed fighters in military uniform roamed the castle grounds alongside local tourists, taking selfies among the ruins.Hazem Hanna, an architect and head of the antiquities department of Crac des Chevaliers, pointed to the collapsed columns and an entrance staircase obliterated by airstrikes. Damage from government airstrikes in 2014 destroyed much of the central courtyard and the arabesque-adorned columns, Hanna said. Relying on the cultural background of Syrias historical sites and their archaeological and historical significance to enthusiasts worldwide, I hope and expect that when the opportunity arises for tourists to visit Syria, we will witness a significant tourism revival, he said. Some sections of Crac des Chevaliers were renovated after airstrikes and the deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2023 that struck a wide area of neighboring Turkey and also Syria, Hanna said. However, much of the castle remains in ruins.Both Nabu and Hanna believe restoration will take time. We need trained technical teams to evaluate the current condition of the ruin sites, Nabu said. The Dead CitiesIn Northwest Syria, more than 700 abandoned Byzantine settlements called Dead Cities, stretch across rocky hills and plains, their weathered limestone ruins featuring remnants of stone houses, basilicas, tombs and colonnaded streets. Despite partial collapse, arched doorways, intricate carvings and towering church facades endure, surrounded by olive trees that root deep into history.Dating back to the first century, these villages once thrived on trade and agriculture. Today, some sites now shelter displaced Syrians, with stone houses repurposed as homes and barns, their walls blackened by fire and smoke. Crumbling structures suffer from poor maintenance and careless repurposing.Looters have ravaged the ancient sites, Nabu said, leaving gaping holes in search of artifacts. Local visitors carve names and messages into centuries-old walls. Sheep enclosures dot the ruins, plastic debris blending with ancient stone.Moustafa Al-Kaddour, a local resident, returned after eight years. Touring the ruins with family members he brought from Quneitra, he reflected on childhood memories.This is where we went to school, he said, pointing in the distance. In the middle of class, we used to leave and come here to see the ruins.My feelings are indescribable, al-Kaddour, who also saw his father for the first time in years, told the AP. My brain still cannot comprehend that after eight years, by Gods will, we made it back home.He said the Assad forces had established a military position in the village, subjecting the ruins to heavy shelling and gunfire. The area was then controlled by rebels, who made the area off-limits to most Syrians and international tourists, unlike Palmyra, which still saw some visitors during the war.The Dead Cities were added to UNESCOs World Heritage List in 2011 as an open-air museum, said Nabu. Idlib province alone hosts over 1,000 heritage sites spanning different time periods about a third of Syrias total ruins, he added.Beyond the bombings and air raids, looting and unauthorized digging have caused significant damage, Nabu said, adding that new construction near the ruins lacks planning and threatens preservation.Tens of thousands of looted artifacts remain undocumented, he said. For those documented, authorities are compiling case files for international circulation in coordination with the Directorate of Antiquities and Museums to locate them and hopefully retrieve them.___Abou AlJoud reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Khalil Hamra in Palmyra contributed to this report.

A man works on fans at an EBM-Papst plant in Hollenbach, Germany, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)2025-02-17T06:04:56Z MULFINGEN, Germany (AP) Germany needs a new business model. The old one, fueled by cheap natural gas from Russia and lucrative exports to China, is broken, leaving Europes biggest economy mired in stagnation and angst about the future. Delivering that fresh growth strategy is going to be the biggest challenge for the government that takes office after a national election set for Feb. 23, seven months ahead of schedule. The nation that became known for the quality of its products has not seen real economic growth for five years.Multiple factors conspired to take Germany from industrial powerhouse to post-pandemic straggler: too much bureaucracy, a shortage of skilled workers, slow deployment of technology and a lack of clear direction from the outgoing coalition government are among them. Rising competition from China and high energy prices due to Russias war in Ukraine were additional hits. We really need a more company- and enterprise-friendly politics, said Klaus Geissdoerfer, CEO of industrial fan manufacturer EBM-Papst. We have bright talent in Germany. We have good companies, but at the moment we dont have the awareness on the political level. Business criticism gets louder as election nearsWith 2.5 billion euros ($2.6 billion) in annual revenue and plants on three continents, EBM-Papst describes itself as the global leader in its field. The company reported last year that it was suffering in Germany in particular and experienced a 4.1% revenue decline in its home market. Geissdoerfer said EBM-Papsts heating technology division lost 18.7% of its sales through a clumsily handled push to get property owners to replace gas furnaces with less polluting electric heat pumps. The requirements of the Building Energy Act put forward by Chancellor Olaf Scholz three-party coalition were so confusing, people put off the upgrades to their heating systems or rushed to buy new gas devices before the law took effect, he said. That sapped demand for the ultra-quiet heat pump fans EBM-Papst makes. Consumers wondered, What is the right technology for my house? Geissdoerfer said. And so everybody said, If I dont have to, I better wait.Geissdoerfer made a complaint heard across industry: Germanys bureaucracy is excessive. A 2023 law that requires public and private entities to combat climate change by reducing their energy use means EBM-Papst must assign employees to detail what the company is doing to comply, he said. So now, instead of implementing measures, they write and report, the CEO said, adding that the documentation work is a poor use of time at a company whose core business is energy-saving equipment. I really hope with the new government we can get this solved, because at the moment its too much.EBM-Papst is moving in the direction where economists say Germany as a whole should put its industrial resources: into green and digital technology. The company, headquartered in Mulfingen, a town of 3,700 residents in rural southwest Germany, is equipping energy-hungry artificial intelligence data centers with efficient cooling systems for their servers. It also is working on incorporating AI features to help tech companies optimize their power use and to predict when equipment needs to be replaced. In the meantime, EBM-Papst is coping with Germanys economic malaise by shifting its investment focus to Asia and the United States. The company now supplies U.S. customers, for instance, from plants in Farmington, Connecticut,and Telford, Tennessee. Its moves to localize production abroad predate the coronavirus pandemic but give EBM-Papst a shield against any new import taxes imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Ties to China and Russia put Germany in a bindOn top of the homegrown issues, international relations have dealt another blow. Russia cut off most of the countrys natural gas supplies over the German governments wartime support for Ukraine. Electricity prices, a key cost for industry, have risen to 2 1/2 times higher than in the U.S. and China.Metalworking firm Mecanindus-Vogelsang Group, which makes precision parts for automakers and other manufacturers, says it pays twice as much per kilowatt hour for the electricity its German plants use as it does for its U.S. sites in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, and Lakewood, New Jersey. Thats 100,000 euros in added costs and a gigantic competitive disadvantage CEO Ulrich Flatken said. To avoid deindustrialization, which is already taking place, we urgently need internationally competitive energy prices, Flatken said. Another shock came from China, which throughout the 2010s served as a lucrative market for German-made machinery and automobiles. Once Chinese companies started making those same products, backed by government subsidies, German exports suffered. Germanys economy contracted in each of the last two years. By the end of 2024, it was only 0.3% bigger than it was in 2019, before the pandemic. The U.S. economy grew by 11.4% during over the same period, while Chinas expanded by 25.8%, according to Germanys Federal Statistical Office. Complacency and depressionMarcel Fratzscher, president of the German Institute for Economic Research, thinks complacency set in during the boom years of exports to China. German companies werent quick enough to respond to technological trends, such as the move to electric cars, he said. They enjoyed the success of the 2010s and they have been too slow in understanding that they need to change and adapt, Fratzscher said. As the economic woes drag on, mental depression has set in, he said. The pessimism is enormous among companies and citizens, and thats an important explanation why companies are not investing. Many business executives and economists argue that Germanys next government should work to loosen constitutional limits on debt so it can increase public spending on infrastructure and education. Fratzscher wonders if political leaders, like the economy, will falter in adopting new ways of doing things. For the past 75 years, Germany has been built very much on consensus, stability oriented, lots of checks and balances in the political system, and that makes rapid change very difficult, he said. We need to change the mindset, to understand we need to be much faster on economic transformations. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

United States Vice-President JD Vance and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio meet with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)2025-02-17T10:00:40Z Top Russian officials will hold talks with U.S. counterparts on restoring ties, negotiating a peaceful settlement to the war in Ukraine and preparing a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, the Kremlin said Monday.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putins foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov will fly to the Saudi capital later in the day to take part in the talks set for Tuesday. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the U.S. delegation. Trumps envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News Sunday that he and national security adviser Mike Waltz also will take part in the talks.Peskov said the talks will be primarily focused on restoring the entire complex of U.S.-Russian relations, as well as preparing possible talks on the Ukrainian settlement and organizing a meeting of the two presidents. The talks follow last weeks telephone call between Trump and Putin in which Trump said they agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately. The call upended years of U.S. policy, ending the isolation of Moscow over its Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine. After the call with Putin, Trump phoned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to inform him about their conversation. Trump on Sunday told reporters that Zelenskyy will be involved, but did not elaborate, and it wasnt immediately clear if any Ukrainians would take part in the talks in Saudi Arabia. A Ukrainian delegation is in Saudi Arabia to pave the way for a possible visit by Zelenskyy, a Ukrainian official said.Zelenskyy has said he wouldnt accept any negotiations about Ukraine that dont include his country. European governments have also demanded a role.Speaking on Fox News Channels Sunday Morning Futures program, Witkoff said he and Waltz will be having meetings at the direction of the president, and hope to make some really good progress with regard to Russia-Ukraine. In his TV interview, Witkoff didnt directly respond to a question about whether Ukraine would have to give up a significant portion of its territory as part of any negotiated settlement.Those are details, and Im not dismissive of the details, theyre important. But I think the beginning here is trust-building. Its getting everybody to understand that this war does not belong continuing, that it should end. Thats what the president has directed us to do, he said.Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, also a first deputy prime minister, didnt clarify whether there is a link between Zelenskyys planned trip to Saudi Arabia and previously announced U.S.-Russia talks. In a Facebook post, she said the Ukrainian delegations focus is on strengthening economic ties as Kyiv prepares to sign important economic agreements with countries in the region.Andriy Yermak, a top Zelenskyy adviser, said earlier Sunday there was no possibility of Ukrainian and Russian representatives meeting directly in the immediate future. In a Telegram post, Yermak said the Ukrainians werent planning to do so until we develop a plan to end the war and bring about a just peace.Mykhailo Podolyak, another Zelenskyy adviser, on Saturday denied that Ukraine will participate in any planned U.S.-Russia meetings in Saudi Arabia. There is nothing on the negotiating table that would be worth discussing, he told Ukrainian television. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te speaks at a press conference after a security meeting about U.S. President Trump's tariffs on trade partners and semiconductors at the Presidential office in Taipei, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP, File)2025-02-17T09:08:14Z BEIJING (AP) Chinas Foreign Ministry took issue Monday with a revised U.S. government fact sheet that removed a line on American opposition to independence for Taiwan.The United States has gravely backpedaled on its position on Taiwan and sent the wrong message to separatist forces on the island, ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.Taiwan and China split in 1949 during the civil war that brought the communists to power in China. The defeated Nationalists fled to Taiwan and set up a rival government there. Taiwan has its own government and military but has never declared formal independence from China.We urge the U.S. to ... stop emboldening and supporting Taiwan independence and avoid further damaging China-U.S. relations and the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, Guo said when asked about the revision at a daily media briefing. The Taiwan Strait is a narrow waterway that separates the island of Taiwan from Chinas east coast.The U.S. State Department removed the phrase we do not support Taiwan independence from the fact sheet last week. The document on Americas relations with the self-governing island is posted on its website. Taiwans government welcomed the move, though a statement sent to The Associated Press on Monday did not mention the language specifically.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has noted that the U.S. State Department updated the Current State of U.S.-Taiwan Relations page ... with text that is positive and friendly toward us, reflecting the close and amicable partnership between Taiwan and the United States, it said. Its not the first time the State Department has removed the phrase. It did so in May 2022 but restored it a few weeks later after a strong protest from China.Its unclear why the State Department changed the language again and whether it signals any shift in policy under President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House last month. The government in Taiwan is worried that Trump might not be as steadfast a supporter of the island as his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.The U.S. does not recognize Taiwan as a country but is its strongest backer and biggest arms supplier. Trump said last week that Taiwan, a leading maker of semiconductors, had taken the chip business away from the U.S. and that he wants it to come back. China, which says that Taiwan must come under its control, has stepped up military exercises around the island of 23 million people in recent years. The U.S. government fact sheet says that it expects differences to be resolved by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides.

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, file)2025-02-17T11:22:05Z JERUSALEM (AP) When Hamas threatened to call off the planned release of three Israeli hostages last week, U.S. President Donald Trump stepped into the picture with an unexpected ultimatum.Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump called on Hamas to release all of the more than 70 hostages it is holding by noon on Saturday. Otherwise, he warned, all hell is going to break loose.Theyll find out what I mean. Saturday at 12, Trump declared. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in lockstep with the president, hinted the entire deal could collapse.Hamas ended up releasing the three hostages as originally planned. Netanyahu freed scores of Palestinian prisoners in return, and Trumps noon deadline came and went with no further hostage releases.The drama was the latest glimpse of Trumps Mideast diplomacy a world of big declarations, chaotic unpredictability and mixed results. In some cases, this approach has yielded great dividends most notably the 2020 Abraham Accords between Israel and four Arab countries. But it also has threatened to destabilize an already unstable region and shown little success resolving Israels decades-old conflict with the Palestinians.Here are a few takeaways from Trumps first month in office: A surprise Gaza proposalTrump has built his career on tough talk, threats and ultimatums along with surprises that supporters say are meant to shake up the status quo.Trumps boldest and most controversial plan so far has been his call for all of Gazas 2 million people to be removed from the territory, for the U.S. to then take ownership and then to oversee a yearslong reconstruction process. The Palestinians, he says, would not be allowed to return a nightmare for a people whose core grievance is the mass displacement they suffered during Israels creation 76 years ago. The Palestinians have rejected the plan out of hand. Trump has not said how this plan would work, where Palestinians would go, who would take them in or who would pay. Human rights groups and international law experts believe the plan would amount to a war crime.It is not clear whether the plan is a serious proposal or an attempt to shock the regions players into returning to the negotiating table. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday the plan is right on the dot. Its the right plan.Israelis love himIf Israel were part of the United States, it would be a bright red state when it comes to presidential politics. Opinion polls last November showed Israelis overwhelmingly believed Trump would be better for their country than Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.That support has shown no signs of softening. Early this month, Netanyahu was warmly received as the first foreign leader to visit the White House, where Trump unveiled his plan for Gaza.While the idea of a mass transfer of Palestinians was once an idea of Israels most radical ultranationalist fringe, Netanyahu has warmly embraced it since it was floated by Trump.Since then, the Israelis appear to be taking their cues from Trump. Netanyahu repeatedly consulted with the Americans during last weeks standoff. Hosting U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Netanyahu once again called Trump the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House. He said the two nations stood shoulder to shoulder in confronting archenemy Iran and that he was working in full cooperation with Trump on a postwar plan for Gaza. He even adopted Trumps language in threatening to open the gates of hell on Hamas if remaining hostages arent released. Yet he has continued with ceasefire talks at the prodding of the Americans. Arab angstAmericas closest Arab allies have rejected Trumps plans, which pose an existential threat to the Palestinian cause and their own stability. But some also face the threat of Trump cutting off badly needed aid.King Abdullah II of Jordan, one of Trumps hoped-for destinations for uprooted Palestinians, gently refused the plan during his own White House visit last week.Egypt, which borders Gaza and has been named as another potential landing spot for displaced Palestinians, has also ruled it out. A key test for Trump is Rubios visit to Saudi Arabia on Monday.Trump and Netanyahu have made clear they would like to see the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.But the Saudis oppose the mass transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza and want a clear pathway for Palestinian independence as part of any normalization deal with Israel. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmans accusations that Israel committed genocide in Gaza could also complicate the talks.After the warTrumps postwar plan has sent shockwaves across the region.Endorsing the forced expulsion of millions of Palestinians would be risky for U.S. allies.The populations of countries like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt are deeply sympathetic to the Palestinian people and going along with such a plan could trigger domestic unrest. Egypt has warned it could endanger its peace agreement with Israel a cornerstone of regional stability for nearly half a century. At the same time, Trumps plan appears to have bred a sense of urgency. Egypt says it is now working on its own postwar plan for Gaza and is set to host an Arab summit later this month.Rubio has said that if others dont like the American ideas, they should offer an alternative. It may have shocked and surprised many, but what cannot continue is the same cycle where we repeat over and over again and wind up in the exact same place, he said.From the Arabs perspective, what has been tried and failed for decades is Americas unquestioning support for Israel as it occupies lands the Palestinians want for a future state, expands settlements and tries to impose a military solution on the conflict all of which is set to accelerate under Trump. More uncertainty aheadTrumps Mideast team, led by envoy Steve Witkoff, played a key role in securing the current six-week ceasefire, even before taking office.The current phase of the ceasefire is set to expire in two weeks, and Netanyahu has sent mixed signals about what happens next.Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to resume the war, as demanded by the hard-line partners in his governing coalition.But he also has committed to continuing negotiations on a second stage that could ultimately end the war.Its impossible to say which path he and his unpredictable friend in the White House will choose.

A DHL logistics center is now located on the ten years ago closed former Opel car factory site, as a symbol of Germany's economic structural change from industry to services in Bochum, Germany, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. It is the third transition of the site, that once was a coal mine since 1865, then a car plant for 55 years, and now a logistic center and office park. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)2025-02-17T06:23:01Z FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) Germany hasnt seen significant economic growth in five years. Its a stunning turnaround for Europes biggest economy, which for much of this century had expanded exports and dominated world trade in engineered products like industrial machinery and luxury cars. So what happened? Here are five reasons for Germanys ongoing economic slump: Energy shock from RussiaMoscows decision to cut off natural gas supplies to Germany in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine dealt a severe blow. For years, Germanys business model was based on cheap energy fueling production of industrial goods for export. In 2011, then-Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to hasten the end of nuclear power use in Germany while relying on gas from Russia to bridge the gap as the country moved away from coal generation and toward renewable energy. Russia was then considered to be a reliable energy partner; warnings to the contrary from Poland and the United States were dismissed. When Russia discontinued the flow, prices in Germany skyrocketed for gas and for electricity generated from gas, both key costs for energy-intensive industries such as steel, fertilizer, chemicals and glass. Germany had to turn to liquefied natural gas, or LNG, super-cooled and imported by ship from Qatar and the U.S. LNG costs more than pipeline gas. Electricity now costs industrial users in Germany an average of 20.3 euro cents per kilowatt hour, according to a study the research firm Prognos AG prepared for the Bavarian Industry Association. In the U.S. and China, where many competitors of German companies are located, the cost is the equivalent of 8.4 euro cents. Renewable sources of energy havent scaled up fast enough to fill the gap. Homeowner and regional resistance to turbines slowed wind energy growth. Infrastructure to transport hydrogen as a replacement fuel for steel furnaces remains mostly on the drawing board. China: From customer to competitorFor years, Germany benefited from Chinas entry into the global economy - even as other developed countries lost jobs to China. German companies found a massive new market for industrial machinery, chemicals and vehicles. Through the early and mid 2010s, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and BMW reaped fat profits selling into what became the worlds largest car market.At the time, Chinese companies produced items like furniture and consumer electronics that didnt compete with Germanys core strengths. Then, manufacturers in China started making the same things that Germans did. State-subsidized Chinese solar panels wiped out Germanys makers. In 2010, Chinese panel makers depended on imported German equipment; today, global solar panel production relies on equipment from China. The government in Beijing has ramped up efforts to promote and subsidize manufacturing for export. The resulting goods steel, machinery, solar panels, electric vehicles and EV batteries now compete with German goods on export markets. Germany, the most auto-centric of the European Union economies, had the most to lose from Chinas export-oriented industrial policy. In 2020, China was not a net exporter of vehicles; by 2024, it was exporting 5 million a year. Germanys net exports fell by half over the same period, to 1.2 million cars. Chinese factory capacity is estimated at 50 million vehicles a year, roughly half of global demand. Skimping on investmentGermany grew complacent during the good times and put off investing in long-term projects such as rail lines and high-speed internet. The government balanced its budget and sometimes ran surpluses off the tax revenue from a booming economy. These days, German commuters shake their heads at trains that dont run on time and constant service disruptions while repairs are made to worn-out tracks. High speed internet hasnt yet reached some rural areas. A transmission line to bring electricity from Germanys windy north to factories in the south has run years behind and wont be ready before 2028. A key bridge on the highway connecting the industrial Ruhr region with southern Germany had to be closed in 2021, 10 years after doubts about its durability emerged. A replacement wont be ready before 2027. A 2009 constitutional amendment handcuffed the government by limiting deficit spending. Whether to loosen the so-called debt brake will be a thorny issue for the German government installed after the countrys Feb. 23 election. Lack of skilled workersGerman companies are having trouble finding workers with the right skills, from highly trained IT workers to daycare providers, senior care workers and hotel staff members. In a German Chamber of Commerce and Industry survey of 23,000 firms, 43% of companies said they couldnt fill open positions. The response rose to 58% for companies with more than 1,000 workers. Fewer German students are interested in STEM fields, meaning science, technology, engineering and mathematics. An aging population compounds the problem, as does a shortage of affordable child care that keeps many women working part-time or not at all. Bureaucratic hurdles pose an obstacle to employing high-skill immigrants, though a law passed in 2020 and strengthened in 2023 aims to ease the process. Bureaucracy Lengthy approval procedures and too much paperwork are a drag on the economy, according to Germany companies and economists. Securing a construction permit for a wind turbine can take years. A few other examples, among dozens raised by German business groups: Companies installing solar panels need to register with both government regulators and their local utility even though the utility could pass on the information to the government level. Restaurants have to log refrigerator temperatures by hand and keep hard copies of the records for a month even if the data has been stored digitally. A law requiring companies to certify that their suppliers are obeying environmental and labor standards went beyond EU requirements, putting a heavier burden on German companies than their European competitors.

2025-02-17T12:17:45Z Russia has freed a U.S. citizen arrested earlier this month on drug smuggling charges, according to Russian media reports and a U.S. official.The move appears to be an effort to ease tensions between Moscow and Washington ahead of talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. Kalob Byers, 28, was detained on Feb. 7 at Moscows Vnukovo airport after customs officials allegedly found cannabis-laced marmalade in his baggage. According to media reports, Byers had traveled from Istanbul with his Russian fiancee, who was also detained. The authorities said he had attempted to smuggle a significant amount of drugs into the country and put him in custody on the charges of drug smuggling, punishable by a prison term of up to 10 years. Byers has been released from custody and is in the U.S. embassy in Moscow where he is awaiting a flight home, Russian independent news outlet Meduza reported Monday, citing a Facebook post by his parents. A U.S. official confirmed to The Associated Press that Byers was released to the embassy late on Sunday evening. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss sensitive matters. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday in response to a question about Byers that Moscow expects to discuss restoring the entire complex of Russian-American relations at the talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, so certain events can be viewed in this context. It wasnt immediately clear whether Byers fiancee was also released. Russian media reports identified her as Naida Mambetova and said she was placed in pre-trial detention on the same charges. Arrests of American nationals in Russia have become increasingly common in recent years, with relations between Moscow and Washington sinking to Cold War lows over the war in Ukraine. Some have been released in prisoner exchanges. The most recent one included Marc Fogel, a teacher from Pennsylvania imprisoned in Russia on charges similar to those Byers had faced. Fogel was detained in 2021 when traveling to Russia to work at a school and handed a 14-year sentence for having what his family and supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana. He was released and brought back to the U.S. earlier this month in a swap that saw Alexander Vinnik, a Russian cryptocurrency expert who faced Bitcoin fraud charges in the U.S., returned to Russia.The release of Fogel and Byers come as tensions between Russia and the U.S. appear to ease. President Donald Trump on Wednesday upended three years of U.S. policy toward Ukraine and Russia, saying he and Russias President Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the conflict following a lengthy direct phone call. Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. DASHA LITVINOVA Litvinova is an Associated Press correspondent covering Russia, Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus. She is part of the team that covers the Russia-Ukraine war. She has covered Russia and the region for over a decade. twitter mailto

Phil Bustos of Trinidad, Colo., displays the television set he bought for $29 at a Washington's Birthday sale in Washington, D.C., Feb. 22, 1954. Other bargain hunters waited to get into the packed store during the annual holiday sale. (AP Photo, File)2025-02-16T05:03:11Z NORFOLK, Va. (AP) Like the other Founding Fathers, George Washington was uneasy about the idea of publicly celebrating his life. He was the first leader of a new republic, not a king. Phil Bustos of Trinidad, Colo., displays the television set he bought for $29 at a Washingtons Birthday sale in Washington, D.C., Feb. 22, 1954. Other bargain hunters waited to get into the packed store during the annual holiday sale. (AP Photo, File) Phil Bustos of Trinidad, Colo., displays the television set he bought for $29 at a Washingtons Birthday sale in Washington, D.C., Feb. 22, 1954. Other bargain hunters waited to get into the packed store during the annual holiday sale. (AP Photo, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More And yet the United States will once again commemorate its first president on Monday, 293 years after he was born.The meaning of Presidents Day has changed dramatically, from being mostly unremarkable and filled with work for Washington in the 1700s to the bonanza of consumerism it has become today. For some historians, the holiday has lost all discernible meaning.Historian Alexis Coe, author of You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington, has said she thinks about Presidents Day in much the same way as the towering monument in D.C. bearing his name.Its supposed to be about Washington, but can you really point to anything that looks or sounds like him? she remarked in an interview with The Associated Press in 2024. Jefferson and Lincoln are presented as people with limbs and noses and words associated with their memorials. And hes just a giant, granite point. He has been sanded down to have absolutely no identifiable features.Here is a look at how things have evolved: Washingtons birthdays were celebrated, sometimesWashington was born Feb. 22, 1732, on Popes Creek Plantation near the Potomac River in Virginia.Technically, though, he was born Feb. 11 under the ancient Julian calendar, which was still in use for the first 20 years of his life. The Gregorian calendar, intended to more accurately mark the solar year, was adopted in 1752, adding 11 days.Either way, Washington paid little attention to his birthday, according to Mountvernon.org, the website of the organization that manages his estate. Surviving records make no mention of observances at Mount Vernon, while his diary shows he was often hard at work.If he had it his way, he would be at home with his family, Coe said. Maybe some beloved nieces and nephews (and friend) Marquis de Lafayette would be ideal. And Marthas recipe for an indulgent cake. But thats about it. Washingtons birthday was celebrated by his peers in government when he was president, mostly.Congress voted during his first two terms to take a short commemorative break each year, with one exception, his last birthday in office, Coe said. By then, Washington was less popular, partisanship was rampant and many members of his original Cabinet were gone, including Thomas Jefferson.One way to show their disdain for his Federalist policies was to keep working through his birthday, Coe said.The Library of Congress does note a French military officer, the comte de Rochambeau, threw a ball celebrating Washingtons 50th birthday in 1782.After his death, a market for memorabilia is bornWashington was very aware of his inaugural role as president and its distinction from the British crown. He didnt want to be honored like a king, Seth Bruggeman, a history professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, told the AP last year. Still, he said, a market for Washington memorabilia sprang up almost immediately after his death in 1799 at age 67, with people snapping up pottery and reproductions of etchings portraying him as a divine figure going off into heaven.Even in that early moment, Americans kind of conflated consumerism with patriotic memory, said Bruggeman, whose books include Here, George Washington Was Born: Memory, Material Culture, and the Public History of a National Monument. Making it official with parades and festivalsIt wasnt until 1832, the centennial of his birth, that Congress established a committee to arrange national parades, orations and festivals, according to the Congressional Research Service.Only in 1879 was his birthday formally made into a legal holiday for federal employees in the District of Columbia.The official designation for the holiday is Washingtons Birthday, although it has come to be known informally as Presidents Day. Arguments have been made to honor President Lincoln as well because his birth date falls nearby, on Feb. 12.A small number of states, including Illinois, observe Lincolns birthday as a public holiday, according to the Library of Congress. And some commemorate both Lincoln and Washington on Presidents Day.But on the federal level, the day is still officially Washingtons Birthday. A shift to consumerismBy the late 1960s, Washingtons Birthday was one of nine federal holidays that fell on specific dates on different days of the week, according to a 2004 article in the National Archives Prologue magazine.Congress voted to move some of those to Mondays, following concerns that were in part about absenteeism among government workers when a holiday fell midweek. But lawmakers also noted clear benefits to the economy, including boosts in retail sales and travel on three-day weekends.The Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect in 1971, moving Presidents Day to the third Monday in February. Sales campaigns soared, historian C. L. Arbelbide wrote in Prologue. Bruggeman said Washington and the other Founding Fathers would have been deeply worried by how the holiday became taken over by commercial and private interests.They were very nervous about corporations, Bruggeman said. It wasnt that they forbade them. But they saw corporations as like little republics that potentially threatened the power of The Republic.Coe, who is also a fellow at the Washington think tank New America, said by now the day is devoid of recognizable traditions.Theres no moment of reflection, Coe said. Given todays widespread cynicism toward the office, she added, that sort of reflection would probably be a good idea. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Steel melting workers chat at work at the Zaporizhstal Iron and Steelworks, one of the country's largest steel plants, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)2025-02-17T13:32:44Z ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) The steel mill in a partially occupied region of Ukraine is a dystopian maze of flames, chutes and tentacled pipes, vast enough to be a small city. Thunderous blazes of sparks flash above the open furnaces where workers smelt iron ore into streams of molten metal day and night.The Zaporizhstal Iron and Steelworks, one of Ukraines largest steel plants, lies in the countrys industrial east, where Russias 3-year invasion of its neighbor threatens to throttle production at any moment. Daily battles unfold along a front line 40 kilometers (25 miles) away as the plant churns out materials for military equipment and for foreign manufacturers to use in cars, appliances, and construction. Morale is not as high as it was before. We are pretty tired here, plant supervisor Serhii Zhyvotchenko said, reflecting on the hardships. But there is no way to go back; the only way is forward. Last week, though, a second war came to the doorstep of the hulking factory complex: the possible trade war that U.S. President Donald Trump has provoked since returning to office four weeks ago. Trump imposed tariffs of at least 25% on all imported steel and aluminum, a decision that could hurt an essential sector of Ukraines battered economy. Ukrainian government officials and business leaders were shocked by Trumps Feb. 10 executive order, which underscored Ukraines growing precarity in relation to its most important Western ally. The president maintains that imposing a variety of tariffs will level the playing field in international trade and make U.S. factories more competitive. The steel industrys share of Ukraines gross domestic product has dropped by almost half since Russian troops entered the country, and steel exports are substantially below pre-war levels. The Ukrainian Steel Association warned that if the U.S. import duties take effect as planned on March 12, it would cost the weakened industry 2.4 billion hryvnias ($58 million) in revenue and the government 1 billion hryvnias ($24 million) in taxes a year. The tariff order was not the only action by the president or his administration to cause alarm in Kyiv last week. Trump signaled changing winds in U.S. policy by having a direct call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom former President Joe Biden and other Western leaders had tried to isolate since Putin sent troops into Ukraine. Trump also said that he would probably meet in person with the Russian leader in the near future, heightening concerns that Kyiv would be left out of or undermined in any ceasefire talks. Comments by both the president and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth rejecting NATO membership for Ukraine further reinforced the fear that the country no longer had Washington in its corner. Essential support to UkraineEarlier this month, Trump indicated that he wanted to gain access to Ukraines rare earth materials as a condition for continued U.S. support in the countrys defense against Russia.Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko expressed readiness to negotiate with U.S. officials to preserve access to the American steel market.Ukraine hopes to get an exemption until March 2026 for steel products made in Ukraine, as well as for European Union products made from steel semi-finished Ukrainian steel. The crux of Kyivs argument is that the total value of steel supplied to the U.S. from Ukraine directly and via processing in the EU amounts to only 0.81% of total U.S. steel imports and cannot reasonably threaten U.S. industry.Maintaining the tariff exemption for Ukrainian steel, including products made in the EU from Ukrainian steel, provides essential support to Ukraine as it continues to resist unprovoked military aggression from Russia, the Ukrainian Steel Association said in a statement. The exemption enables Ukrainian steel exporters to sustain their operations, contribute to the national budget and support the broader Ukrainian economy.At the Zaporizhstal plant in southeast Ukraines Zaporizhzhia region, smelting iron ore is the first step in a process that culminates in millions of tons of cast iron and steel getting shipped abroad Zhyvotchenko approaches the colossal mouth of the blast furnace as if it were a dragons lair. A gust of oxygen raises the heat to nearly 2,000 degrees Celsius (3,632 degrees Fahrenheit). Workers in full protective gear appear like medieval knights, guiding a luminous flow of liquid steel. For him and other employees, every day since Russias full-scale invasion has been a test to produce more with less. The Zaporizhstal complex is operating at 75% capacity and with 12% fewer personnel after many workers were drafted into the Ukrainian army or left the country, according to the plants owner, international mining and metals company Metinvest Group. Soaring energy costs Metinvest lost control of two other steel plants when Russian soldiers occupied the city of Mariupol after a months-long siege in 2022. Russian gains recently cost the company an important coal mine in eastern Ukraines Donetsk region. Metinvest suspended operations at the Pokrovsk mine and evacuated workers as Russian troops advanced last month. Coking coal is another essential ingredient in steel production. To keep the Zaporizhstal mill running, Metinvest must import 1 million metric tons (1.1 U.S. tons) of coal a year from Europe and the U.S., plant general manager Taras Shevchenko said.The grinding war already has brought other challenges, including soaring energy costs due to relentless attacks on Ukraines energy grid. Blockades and bombs disrupted trade routes. Complex export logistics required Metinivest to shift its focus from serving Asia and the Middle East to seeking customers in Europe. It was a painful process, Shevchenko said.Ukraine plans to make the EU part of its exemption pitch because the bloc now accounts for the lions share of Ukrainian steel exports. Theres worry the U.S. steel tariffs will have unwelcome ripple effects, such as European countries putting import duties on Ukrainian products to offset new taxes on their goods, Metinvest Group Chief Operating Officer Oleksandr Myronenko said.This will be a very significant problem for us, Myronenko said.Period of uncertaintyEurope is the destination for around 80% of Metinvests exported products, he said. The company also has a plant in EU member-state Bulgaria from where reinforcing steel typically used as rods in concrete is exported to the U.S. The rebar shipments would be subject to tariffs as well, and demand may drop as a result, Myronenko said.We will have very large problems in the Bulgarian factory, he said. Plant workers are hoping for the best in this period of uncertainty, they said. Zhyvotchenko stood outside the industrial complex, the smoke of exhaust seeping up from the ground below, as a rail car delivered gigantic ladles shaped like torpedoes. In the final stages of production, the lava-like metal will be poured into the containers for refining and casting. Then the steelworkers start the process over again. We can be tired, we can be tense, we can be anything, but we must endure and must work, Myronenko said. ___Associated Press journalists Dmytro Zhyhinas in Zaporizhzhia and Voldoymyr Yurchuk in Kyiv contributed to this report. SAMYA KULLAB Kullab is an Associated Press reporter covering Ukraine since June 2023. Before that, she covered Iraq and the wider Middle East from her base in Baghdad since joining the AP in 2019. twitter instagram mailto

A historical exhibit at the Kansas Statehouse includes a display quoting President Abraham Lincoln next to a map showing the original extent of the Kansas-Nebraska territories before Kansas became a state and Lincoln took office in 1861, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Topeka, Kansas. (AP Photo/John Hanna)2025-02-16T05:07:36Z TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Is Presidents Day the most confusing holiday in the U.S.?States seem to have as many names for it and ideas about whom to honor as there have been presidents. The federal government doesnt even recognize Monday as Presidents Day. Its officially Washingtons Birthday, honoring the first president and the original American yardstick for measuring greatness. The holiday hasnt been celebrated on Washingtons actual birthday of Feb. 22, or any other presidents birthday, for more than 50 years. Presidents Day became the popular name after the holiday was fixed to a Monday.The result is a jumble, causing some people to yearn for the holiday to just celebrate Washington again.The concept of Presidents Day is a confusing mishmash of ideas, Hunter Abell, a Republican state legislator from Washington state, said recently. By celebrating all the presidents, I believe that we inadvertently celebrate none. Abells interest is more than academic: he wants his state to rename its Presidents Day holiday and made his remarks during a hearing on that proposal. First in war, first in peace, first with a holidayThe federal holiday for Washington started in 1879, but the current date was fixed by law as of 1971.States, of course, have been left to their own devices for decades. Thirty-four still use some form of Washingtons name in their laws, while 19 use some form of Presidents Day. A few use both, while California law goes with the third Monday in February.Forty-seven states will celebrate a public holiday on Monday. Indiana and Georgia celebrate Washington by giving state workers the day after Christmas off. Delaware has no holiday. In 2009, its lawmakers started giving state employees two floating holidays instead of honoring individual presidents or having a Presidents Day, according to the state archives. Whats in a name? Plenty, some sayWashingtons Mount Vernon estate in Virginia wants to return to a federal holiday on his birthday. Its website says Washingtons character and accomplishments shouldnt be muddled by a vague holiday.A dozen states celebrating Washington by name make him share the day with someone else. In Alabama, Washington shares the spotlight with friend-turned-rival Thomas Jefferson, the nations third president and primary author of the Declaration of Independence. In Arkansas, its Daisy Gaston Bates, a civil rights leader best known for her work to integrate Little Rocks Central High School in 1957.Most often, its Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War president who sometimes outranks even Washington among historians for keeping the Union intact. Fourteen states have a separate holiday just for Lincoln. Most are on Honest Abes Feb. 12 birthday. Indiana honors him with a day off for state employees on the day after Thanksgiving, which Lincoln is often credited with starting in 1863. Other presidents have their days, tooA few states have special days for presidents identified with them: Herbert Hoover in Iowa, Dwight Eisenhower in Kansas, Harry Truman in Missouri, Lyndon Johnson in Texas and John F. Kennedy in Massachusetts.On JFKs May 29 birthday, his home state also honors favorite sons John Adams, John Quincy Adams and Calvin Coolidge, who was a Vermont farm boy before becoming Massachusetts governor and, later, the countrys 30th president.Since 1958 in Kentucky, Jan. 30 has been Franklin D. Roosevelt Day, though the president who guided the country out of the Great Depression and through most of World War II was a New Yorker. In Oklahoma, a Republican state senator has proposed a new holiday for Nov. 5, the anniversary of last years presidential election, to celebrate President Donald J. Trump Day. What if you had a holiday and people forgot?A presidential day doesnt necessarily inspire public fanfare. Take Herbert Hoover, whose Depression-marked White House work gets low marks from many historians, though he is highly regarded for nonpresidential humanitarian work. Iowa set aside a day for him in 1969, but it appears to get little notice outside Cedar County, the home of his presidential library. Most Iowans are not aware there is a Hoover Day, said Leo Landis, the state historical societys curator, who acknowledged in an email that he once was among them, despite living in Iowa for more than 45 years. First in reenactments?Presidential impersonators pop up in hundreds of places each year. Its not just Lincoln and Washington. The Association of Lincoln Presenters website even lists a portrayer for Rutherford B. Hayes, the often-neglected single-term 19th president. But Lincoln stands head, shoulders and stovepipe hat above the rest when it comes to presidents audiences want to see, and he dominates the associations roster of historical presenters.John Cooper, the associations president and a Lincoln impersonator himself, said that in scores of professional presentations since 2008, only two people have been displeased with meeting Lincoln. Honest Abe appeals to all groups and is many peoples favorite president, he said. Everybody is happy to see Lincoln, he said. When I go to a county fair, I usually dont have to wander far before I have people come up to me, and they want to talk and they want to get a picture. JOHN HANNA Hanna covers politics and state government in Kansas for The Associated Press. Hes worked for the AP in Topeka since 1986. twitter mailto

Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip, block a freeway during a protest demanding their release from Hamas captivity as they mark 500 days of the Israel-Hamas war in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)2025-02-17T07:35:06Z Monday is the 500th day of the war triggered by Hamas Oct. 7, 2023 attack into southern Israel.A tenuous ceasefire in the Gaza Strip has held for nearly a month. But the current phase of the truce is set to expire in early March and it is unclear if the sides will extend it, begin negotiations for a more lasting ceasefire or resume fighting.Here are some numbers that show the scale of death and devastation. Sources include the Israeli government, the Gaza Health Ministry and U.N. agencies.People killed in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023: Around 1,200Hostages taken into Gaza: 251Hostages remaining in Gaza: 73, including 3 taken before Oct. 7, 2023Hostages in Gaza believed to be dead: 36, including one from before Oct. 7, 2023Palestinians killed in Gaza: Over 48,200 (This figure from the Gaza Health Ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, but the ministry says more than half of the dead were women and children) Palestinians wounded in Gaza: Over 111,600Israeli soldiers killed since Oct. 7, 2023: 846Rockets fired at Israel from Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023: Over 10,000Percentage of Gazas population displaced: Around 90% Palestinians who have crossed into northern Gaza since the ceasefire began: 586,000Israelis displaced by attacks from Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon at their peak: Over 75,500Housing units damaged or destroyed in Gaza: Over 245,000Primary roads damaged or destroyed in Gaza: Over 92%Health facilities damaged or destroyed in Gaza: Over 84%___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

A Palestinian man and two girls stand a mid of the rubble of homes, destroyed by the Israeli army's air and ground offensive against Hamas in in Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)2025-02-17T17:21:58Z CAIRO (AP) Egypt is developing a plan to rebuild Gaza without forcing Palestinians out of the strip in a counter to President Donald Trumps proposal to depopulate the territory so the U.S. can take it over.Egypts state-run Al-Ahram newspaper said the proposal calls for establishing secure areas within Gaza where Palestinians can live initially while Egyptian and international construction firms remove and rehabilitate the strips infrastructure.Egyptian officials have been discussing the plan with European diplomats as well as with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, according to two Egyptian officials and Arab and Western diplomats. They are also discussing ways to fund the reconstruction, including an international conference on Gaza reconstruction, said one of the Egyptian officials and an Arab diplomat.The officials and diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because the proposal is still being negotiated. The proposal comes after an international uproar over Trumps call for the removal of Gazas population of some 2 million Palestinians. Trump said the United States would take over the Gaza Strip and rebuild it into a Riviera of the Middle East, though Palestinians would not be allowed back. Palestinians have widely said they will not leave their homeland, while Egypt, Jordan backed by Saudi Arabia have refused Trumps calls for them to take in Gazas population. Rights groups have widely said the plan amounts to forced expulsion, a potential war crime. European countries have also largely denounced Trumps plan. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised the idea and says Israel is preparing to implement it. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in Saudi Arabia on Monday in a tour of the region, has said the United States was up to hearing alternative proposals. If the Arab countries have a better plan, then thats great, Rubio said Thursday on the U.S. radio program Clay and Buck Show. Egypts Al-Ahram newspaper said the proposal is designed to refute American President Trumps logic and counter any other visions or plans that aim to change the geographic and demographic structure of Gaza Strip.Gaza is nearing a critical juncture with the first phase of a ceasefire due to run out in early March. Israel and Hamas must still negotiate a second phase meant to bring a release of all remaining hostages held by the militants, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a long-term halt to the war.Any reconstruction plan will be impossible to implement without a deal on the second phase, including an agreement on who will govern Gaza in the long term. Israel demands the elimination of Hamas as a political or military force in the territory, and international donors are unlikely to contribute to any rebuilding if Hamas is in charge.Central in Egypts proposal is the establishment of a Palestinian administration that is not aligned with either Hamas or the Palestinian Authority to run the strip and oversee the reconstruction efforts, according to the two Egyptian officials involved in the efforts. It also calls for a Palestinian police force mainly made up of former Palestinian Authority policemen who remained in Gaza after Hamas took over the enclave in 2007, with reinforcement from Egyptian- and Western-trained forces.Asked about the possibility of deploying an Arab force in Gaza one Egyptian official and the Arab diplomat said Arab countries would only agree if there were a clear path for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected any Palestinian state as well as any role for Hamas or the Western-backed Palestinian Authority in governing Gaza, though he has not put forward any clear alternative.Hamas has said it is willing to give up power in Gaza. Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou told The Associated Press on Sunday that the group has accepted either a Palestinian unity government without Hamas participation or a committee of technocrats to run the territory. The Palestinian Authority, which governs pockets of the West Bank, has so far opposed any plans for Gaza that exclude it. The Western diplomat said France and Germany have backed the idea of Arab countries developing a counterproposal to Trumps plan, and that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi discussed his governments efforts with the French president in a phone call earlier this month.Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty also briefed the German foreign minister and other EU officials on the sidelines of last weeks Munich security conference, one of the Egyptian officials said.Officials from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan will discuss Egypts proposal at a gathering in Riyadh this week, before introducing it to the Arab summit later this month, according to the two Egyptian officials and the Arab diplomat. Isarels 16-month campaign in Gaza, triggered by Hamas Oct. 7, 2023 attack, devastated the territory. Around a quarter million housing units have been destroyed or damaged, according to U.N. estimates. More than 90% of the roads and more than 80% of health facilities have been damaged or destroyed. Damage to infrastructure has been estimated at some $30 billion, along with an estimated $16 billion in damaged to housing.Egypts plan calls for a three-phase reconstruction process that will take up to five years without removing Palestinians from Gaza, the Egyptian officials said.It designates three safe zones within Gaza to relocate Palestinians during an initial six-month early recovery period. The zones will be equipped with mobile houses and shelters, with humanitarian aid streaming in.More than two dozen Egyptian and international firms would take part in removing the rubble and rebuilding the strips infrastructure. The reconstruction would provide tens of thousands of jobs to Gazas population, the officials said.

Salvage crews work on recovering wreckage near the site in the Potomac River of a mid-air collision between an American Airlines jet and a Black Hawk helicopter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-02-17T13:27:56Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Trump administration has begun firing several hundred Federal Aviation Administration employees, upending staff on a busy air travel weekend and just weeks after a January fatal mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.Probationary workers were targeted in late night emails Friday notifying them they had been fired, David Spero, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union, said in a statement. The impacted workers include personnel hired for FAA radar, landing and navigational aid maintenance, one air traffic controller told the Associated Press. The air traffic controller was not authorized to talk to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity.The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said in a brief statement Monday it was analyzing the effect of the reported federal employee terminations on aviation safety, the national airspace system and our members. Spero said messages began arriving after 7 p.m. on Friday and continued late into the night. More might be notified over the long weekend or barred from entering FAA buildings on Tuesday, he said. The employees were fired without cause nor based on performance or conduct, Spero said, and the emails were from an exec order Microsoft email address not a government email address.The firings hit the FAA when it faces a shortfall in controllers. Federal officials have been raising concerns about an overtaxed and understaffed air traffic control system for years, especially after a series of close calls between planes at U.S. airports. Among the reasons they have cited for staffing shortages are uncompetitive pay, long shifts, intensive training and mandatory retirements. In the Jan. 29 fatal crash between a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines passenger jet, which is still under investigation, one controller was handing both commercial airline and helicopter traffic at the busy airport. Just days before the collision, President Donald Trump had already fired all the members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee, a panel mandated by Congress after the 1988 PanAm 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. The committee is charged with examining safety issues at airlines and airports. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after landing at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla ., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, after attending the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race. (Pool via AP) President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after landing at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla ., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025, after attending the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race. (Pool via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks before unveiling the Model Y at Tesla's design studio, March 14, 2019, in Hawthorne, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks before unveiling the Model Y at Tesla's design studio, March 14, 2019, in Hawthorne, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More One FAA employee who was fired over the weekend suggested he was targeted for his views on Tesla and X, formerly Twitter, not as part of a general probationary-level sweep. Both are owned by Elon Musk, who is leading Trumps effort to cut the federal government.Charles Spitzer-Stadtlander posted on LinkedIn that he was fired just after midnight Saturday, days after he started getting harassing messages on Facebook. The official DOGE Facebook page started harassing me on my personal Facebook account after I criticized Tesla and Twitter, Spitzer-Stadtlander wrote. Less than a week later, I was fired, despite my position allegedly being exempted due to national security.He added: When DOGE fired me, they turned off my computer and wiped all of my files without warning. Spitzer-Stadtlander said he was supposed to be exempted from the probationary firings because the FAA office he worked in focused on national security threats such as attacks on the national airspace by drones. The Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The firings were first reported by CNN. -Associated Press writer Ellen Knickmeyer contributed from Washington. 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

Calvin Stevens, Air Force Reserve Veteran, poses outside his home in Decatur, Georgia on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Olivia Bowdoin)2025-02-17T13:05:41Z WASHINGTON (AP) Evelyn Seabrook was able to buy a home even though she had only a high school diploma. Glenn Flood worked his way up the career ladder to become a public affairs officer for former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. And Calvin Stevens had a dual military and federal service career that took him to high levels in both.Now in their late 70s and early 80s, the three retirees are part of a generation of Black Americans who used the military and federal civil service to pursue the American dream. They acknowledge there were challenges. But they believe they received more opportunities in the military and as government employees than they would have in a private sector where racial discrimination and patronage were common at the time they were ready to enter the workforce.I am glad I chose to be in federal service, Seabrook said. Even with all the drawbacks, my personal life was enhanced by my federal job. Seabrook, Flood and Stevens have more than 120 years of combined military and federal service. As leaders in various capacities in the National Active and Retired Employees Association, they are plugged into the siege federal employees are under during the opening weeks of President Donald Trumps second term. It started with the elimination of programs promoting diversity, equity and inclusion and has expanded to a culling of the federal workforce under Elon Musk, a special adviser to the Republican president. Musk also seeks to eliminate agencies as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. They say one thing being lost in the attacks on the federal workforce is its important history as a stepping stone into the middle class for minorities when paths were limited, in particular for Black Americans. Speaking from their homes near Orlando, Florida, and in Decatur, Georgia, and Palm Springs, California, the retirees said when they came into the military and federal service decades ago, the push wasnt about diversifying the workforce. Rather, the opportunities were about ending the discrimination that left qualified people of color on the outside of many workplaces. Then-President Lyndon Johnson addressed the problem of employment discrimination through law and executive order. That opened the door wider to the U.S. Postal Service, the military and many other federal jobs where Black professionals got their first chance to pursue executive-level jobs, said Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League.The progress in federal civilian employment was far faster and far greater than it was in the private sector, which was far slower to create the opportunity to run nondiscriminatory hiring practices, he said.The result was a rise in the Black middle class, especially in places like Washington, D.C., where workers entered the system in lower-level jobs but rose through the ranks based on performance, he said.At one point, DC had the highest median income for African Americans in any city in the country, Morial said. For now, the federal government is the largest single employer in the U.S. with about 3 million workers, which includes 600,000 with the U.S. Postal Service but not the active duty military. While Black Americans are nearly 14% of the population overall, they make up nearly 19% of the federal workforce.Proud of being hired and promoted on meritSeabrook, 80, began her Social Security Administration career in New York City in 1966 and worked for the federal government for more than 39 years.The irony of hearing and seeing DEI used as a signal for unworthiness is that there was no affirmative action or special programs to recruit people like her when she started working.The only initiatives I have seen was if you were a veteran and points were added to your test score, she said from her home in Florida. In terms of ethnicity, culture, race, that wasnt even part of the picture. We werent thinking about it then.Even the full impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 came years after she started working. She took tests and those scores led to interviews. Preferences werent part of my life or how I got promoted or not. I got promoted because I could understand the work. I never went in under incentive programs. Her own career path was not entirely smooth and included complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Nevertheless, she continued moving up in positions and even helped train new employees.It certainly was very helpful in me maintaining a level of living that I probably could not have done elsewhere, Seabrook said. Middle-class life not something to take for grantedFlood, 78, was a Navy officer who also served in the reserves and at the Pentagon, where he was one of the regular briefers for former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. He said federal service was instrumental in helping people of color show their abilities.Flood said the times now are scary because of the impact on the federal workforce and how departments and agencies are responding to the administrations moves to gut them: Theres important work out there, and not everything is in D.C, he said from his home in the Southern California desert.His old department, Defense, issued instructions saying it would no longer acknowledge Black History Month, Native American Heritage Month or similar commemorations of culture and history. But he said recognizing that history is important to show how far certain groups have come.His father also was in the Navy but could serve only as a steward.I am very proud of my civil service and my Navy career and its role in his middle-class life, Flood said. That was not something you could take lightly.Saddened to see the civil service under attackStevens, 77, spent 31 years in the Air Force and Air Force Reserves and more than three decades with the General Services Administration. He, like Flood and Seabrook, said his experience wasnt always smooth, but that he had mentors who helped.As his career went forward, he would take it upon himself to get whatever training he needed, paying out of his own pocket so he could advance. One goal was to serve as a role model and mentor for others, and he suggested that recruitment efforts include Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the Atlanta area, where he was based and now lives. He recalls people of color coming into the service with degrees, often advanced ones.He realizes that some might have viewed him merely as an affirmative action hire, but I met the qualifications, he said. I was educated and I was trying to advance, taking classes on my own to train and prepare for each position he sought.Stevens said his military and federal career gave him a blessed life, and that he is saddened to see the whole system under attack.A lot of people went to the federal sector because that was a middle-class opportunity, he said. Some did have degrees and some did not, but they felt that the government, their positions, were secure. They had benefits and they feel that they had a fair opportunity for promotion.___Associated Press video journalist Sharon Johnson in Atlanta contributed to this report.

2025-02-17T19:05:18Z The term polar vortex usually refers to the gigantic circular upper air weather pattern in the Arctic region. It is a normal pattern that is stronger in the winter and keeps some of the coldest weather bottled up near the North Pole. But at times some of the vortex can break off or move south, bringing unusually cold weather south and permitting warmer weather to creep up north.This week, parts of the U.S. are experiencing the 10th and coldest polar vortex event this season. Weather forces in the Arctic are combining to push the chilly air into the U.S. and Europe.With record snow in New Orleans last month and drought and destructive wildfires in Southern California, this winter has not been normal.The latest projected cold outbreak will bring bone-chilling temperatures to the Northern and Central Plains for several days, starting Sunday. Wind chills dropped to minus 60 Fahrenheit (minus 51 Celsius) in parts of North Dakota Monday and minus 50 F (minus 46 C) in parts of Montana. Wind chills were expected to dip even lower Tuesday morning.Frostbite and hypothermia will occur if unprotected skin is exposed to these temperatures. An extended period of freezing temperatures could cause ruptured water pipes, the NWS warned Monday. Meteorologists expect strong winds to make the cold feel even worse. Every U.S. state but Hawaii, California and Florida have some or all parts forecast to have a good chance of windchills of 20 degrees or below sometime next week, the National Weather Service predicted. Some experts say disruptions to polar vortexes are happening more frequently because of a warming world. A warmer Artic gives more energy to atmospheric waves that can drive weather patterns, making the waves more likely to disrupt the vortex and move colder air south into lower latitudes.Despite the unusually cold winter across the U.S., the world remains in an overall warming pattern. Earths average overall temperature set yet another monthly heat record in January. It was the 18th month of the last 19 that the world hit or passed the internationally agreed upon warming limit of 1.5 C (2.7 F) above pre-industrial times. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Natasha Nelson, who was diagnosed with autism in August 2023, just after her youngest daughter was also diagnosed, sits in a sensory room she uses to calm her children in her Stone Mountain, Ga. home on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)2025-02-17T14:05:11Z ATLANTA (AP) Natasha Nelson, a 35-year old entrepreneur in Stone Mountain, Georgia, didnt have an innate sense of social norms. She didnt know why people meeting for the first time would choose to engage in small talk instead of deep conversations, or why people like to make their beds.Then, a few years ago, she was diagnosed with autism, just after her youngest daughter received the same. If your life has always felt like it was in chaos and you dont feel comfortable and you dont feel like you thrive and you just feel like youre constantly surviving and going from one thing to the next, what you got to lose? Nelson said, encouraging people to seek a diagnosis. Common signs of autism include trouble with social communication and a fixation on certain routines or topics Nelson says people have become my special interest now and may go unnoticed during someones childhood.But it can be costly and difficult to obtain an autism diagnosis later in life due to a shortage of medical professionals trained to work specifically with adults. Heres more information on what you should know about adult autism diagnoses. What is autism and when is it usually diagnosed?Autism spectrum disorder is a range of intellectual, language and social difficulties, like rigidly following routines, having fixed or obsessive interests and struggling to hold eye contact or understand nonverbal communication. Autism is typically diagnosed during childhood, and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends all children be screened as early as 18 months. Why are more adults being diagnosed with autism?More adults have sought insight on their own neurodiversity in the last decade often after their children are diagnosed or after seeing social media posts. A study published last year in JAMA Network Open showed a 452% increase in autism diagnoses among adults age 26 to 34 from 2011 to 2022. Some traits of autism can go unnoticed until adulthood, when there are new social demands. Others may have learned how to hide certain behaviors, known as masking. Adults have learned to compensate over time, said Whitney Ence, a psychologist at the University of California San Francisco who works with autistic adults. They may have learned like I cant display that in public, and so I do that in private.Theres also an overlap of symptoms between various disorders like ADHD and OCD that can complicate an autism diagnosis due to difficulties with nonverbal social cues or executive functions like attention span, working memory and problem-solving. What are the symptoms of autism in adults?Symptoms present differently for everyone, and many of the traits are common for people without autism, like enjoying routines or enjoying going down rabbit holes of information. But to meet the diagnostic definition of autism, the symptoms must cause significant impairment, said Dr. Arthur Westover, a psychiatrist who specializes in autism at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.Were human beings in general. We like routines ... just having a bit of pleasure and feeling better with routines does not mean youre autistic, Westover said. It goes a little bit deeper than that. Russell Lehmann, 34, has lived with his autism diagnosis for more than 20 years. The motivational speaker has routines that he describes as both comfortable and stressful. Eating the same food and buying the same groceries, he said, brings him comfort. But if he skips going to the gym for an hour and a half every day, he becomes overwhelmed with feelings of depression and failure. Its like no gym, no day, he said. ... My routine is an incredibly existential burden, because every night I go to bed knowing I have to do a routine I do not like simply to function. How does a diagnosis work?While there are various online screening tools, autism is a complex diagnosis, so experts recommend talking to your primary care physician for a psychiatry referral. That psychiatrist might want to interview people who were present in your early childhood, like family and friends, who can attest to symptoms being present at that time. Some psychiatrists may refer you to a psychologist, who can give you a standardized diagnostic autism test or will use their own clinical judgement. There is no brain scan or blood test for autism. Getting an autism diagnosis as an adult can be costly and take some time. Westover said theres a major shortage of specialists who work with autistic adults. Nelsons diagnosis took three years and she paid more than $3,000 out-of-pocket. Ence also suggests that you ask yourself a few questions when considering getting a professional diagnosis, and to know that you may run into a waitlist: What is leading me down this pathway to think that I need a professional diagnosis? Do I need access to services? Are there services I dont have available to me? ___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. KENYA HUNTER Hunter is an Atlanta-based public health reporter for The Associated Press, covering disabilities and sexual health. mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

This July 2020 photo provided by the family shows Emma Borhanian in San Francisco, whose 2022 death in Vallejo, Calif., is one of six that have been linked to a fringe group of computer scientists. (Family Photo via AP)2025-02-17T20:01:01Z BOSTON (AP) The apparent leader of a cultlike group known as the Zizians has been arrested in Maryland along with another member of the group, Maryland State Police said Monday.Jack Lasota, 34, was arrested Sunday along with Michelle Zajko, 33, of Media, Pennsylvania. They face multiple charges including trespassing, obstructing and hindering and possession of a handgun in the vehicle.A bail hearing for the the two is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Allegany District Court.The Zizians have been tied to the killing of U.S. Border Patrol Agent David Maland near the Canadian border in January and five other homicides in Vermont, Pennsylvania and California. Maland, 44, was killed in a Jan. 20 shootout following a traffic stop in Coventry, Vermont, a small town about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the Canadian border.Officials have offered few details of the cross-country investigation, which broke open after the Jan. 20 shooting death of Maland. Associated Press interviews and a review of court records and online postings tell the story of how a group of young, highly intelligent computer scientists, most of them in their 20s and 30s, met online, shared anarchist beliefs, and became increasingly violent. Their goals arent clear, but online writings span topics from radical veganism and gender identity to artificial intelligence.At the middle of it all is Ziz, who appears to be the leader of the strange group members who called themselves Zizians. She has been seen near multiple crime scenes and has connections to various suspects. LaSota published a dark and sometimes violent blog under the name Ziz and, in one section, described her theory that the two hemispheres of the brain could hold separate values and genders and often desire to kill each other.LaSota, who used she/her pronouns, and in her writings says she is a transgender woman, railed against perceived enemies, including so-called rationalist groups, which operate mostly online and seek to understand human cognition through reason and knowledge. Some are concerned with the potential dangers of artificial intelligence. LaSota, 34, has not responded to multiple Associated Press emails in recent weeks, and her attorney Daniel McGarrigle declined to comment when asked whether she is connected to any of the deaths. Before her weekend arrest, she missed court appearances in two states, and bench warrants have been issued for her arrest. Reached on Monday, McGarrigle would only confirm that he has represented LaSota and wouldnt confirm her arrest or any details of the latest case. MICHAEL CASEY Casey writes about the environment, housing and inequality for The Associated Press. He lives in Boston. twitter mailto

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a rally against the policies of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-02-17T14:07:00Z NEW YORK (AP) Donald Trump is the president, but billionaire Elon Musk is the focus for thousands of Democratic activists launching a protest campaign this week to fight the Trump administrations push to gut federal health, education and human services agencies.Hundreds of protests are scheduled outside congressional offices and Tesla dealerships, with organizers hoping to send a pointed message to members of Congress who are on recess this week.The backlash still hasnt approached the intensity of protests during and after Trumps first inauguration eight years ago. But a loose coalition of Democrats and progressives is coalescing around Musks rise as Trumps top lieutenant and his purge of the federal bureaucracy.Hes a major weak link in the MAGA coalition, Ezra Levin, co-founder of the progressive group Indivisible, said of Musk. I cant think of something that polls worse than the richest man in the world is coming after your Social Security check or your Meals on Wheels or your Head Start. Indivisible, which claims more than 1,300 local chapters nationwide, is encouraging members to protest at the offices of their members of Congress, regardless of political party. The group also offered a step-by-step guide for protesting at dealerships for Tesla, Musks electric vehicle company.The memo encourages protesters to stay on sidewalks and public spaces and to avoid any actions that might directly interfere with business operations, such as blocking entrances or trespassing on private property. It also calls for Tesla protesters to stay on message: This is about Musks political takeover, not Tesla, SpaceX, or X as companies. People protesting Elon Musks actions in the Trump administration hold signs outside a Tesla showroom in Seattle on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes) People protesting Elon Musks actions in the Trump administration hold signs outside a Tesla showroom in Seattle on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Valdes) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is launching what hes calling a national tour to fight oligarchy with stops in working-class districts of Iowa and Nebraska this week. Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin will hit the road for the first time as party leader as well. The newly elected DNC chair will travel to Pennsylvania, Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri in the coming days to meet with local Democratic officials and labor leaders, spokesperson Hannah Muldavin said. Like the protesters, Martin is expected to seize on Musks role. During a meeting with labor leaders in Pittsburgh, for example, he plans to highlight Musks recent focus on the Department of Labor, which could put the integrity of data like the unemployment rate and inflation rate at risk, which is important for a stable U.S. economy and, by extension, working people, Muldavin said.Aware of the intense displeasure from their partys base, many House Democrats plan to be proactive. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., right, is joined by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for a press conference in Statuary Hall at the Capitol, Feb. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File) House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., right, is joined by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for a press conference in Statuary Hall at the Capitol, Feb. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Newly elected Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin speaks after winning the vote at the Democratic National Committee Winter Meeting in National Harbor, Md., Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File) Newly elected Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin speaks after winning the vote at the Democratic National Committee Winter Meeting in National Harbor, Md., Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee issued a memo ahead of the recess instructing Democrats to embrace nine days of visibility and said it was essential for members to host one town hall, in-person or via telephone, and at least one community event that highlights the devastating impacts of Trump and Musks actions. The wave of protests comes at a critical moment as fractured Democrats struggle to stop the Republican presidents purge of the federal bureaucracy, which features thousands of layoffs inside departments focused on public health, education, veterans affairs and human services, among others. Firings in recent days at the Department of Veterans Affairs include researchers working on cancer treatment, opioid addiction, prosthetics and burn pit exposure, according to U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington state. The cuts also include more than 5,000 employees at the Department of Health and Human Services and roughly one-tenth of the workforce at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.In some cases, Musks team is trying with Trumps blessing but without congressional approval to shutter entire agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Education and the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.Trump has defended the cuts as necessary to eliminate waste and fraud. And he has praised Musks work with his Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, saying it has found shocking evidence of wasteful spending. He signed an executive order expanding Musks influence. Musk, meanwhile, has defended the swift and extensive cuts hes pushing across the federal government while acknowledging there have been mistakes.Democrats in Congress condemn the moves as dangerous, but without control of either chamber of Congress, there is little they can do to stop the Trump administration aside from turning to the courts. Still, three of the nations largest progressive groups Indivisible, MoveOn and the Working Families Party are coordinating this weeks protests to send a clear message to elected officials in both major political parties that they must do more. Still, Democratic members of Congress may face their own voters fury.MoveOn, which boasts a membership of nearly 10 million, is hosting dozens of rallies outside town halls and congressional offices for those members who do not host public events. The group will focus on persuadable House Republicans whose votes will be crucial to opposing the Trump-Musk agenda, according to a preview of its recess week plan. But there will also be rallies targeting House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, both of New York, among other Democrats.We are seeing a true resurgence in energy opposing what Trump, Musk and Republicans are doing to our country, MoveOn executive director Rahna Epting said, adding that people are mad as hell. The Working Families Party is focusing protests in the districts of vulnerable Republicans in states such as California, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The actions will feature people directly impacted by the Trump administrations cuts, including special education teachers, nurses and Head Start workers, according to Working Families spokesman Ravi Mangla.A lot of Republicans, Mangla said, have not have had their feet held to the fire.

The sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building is seen. May 4, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)2025-02-17T21:14:06Z WASHINGTON (AP) Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency is seeking access to troves of sensitive taxpayer data at the IRS, two people familiar with the inner workings of the plan who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly told The Associated Press on Monday. If successful, Musk and his group would have access to millions of tightly controlled files that include taxpayer information, bank records and other sensitive records. The people who spoke to the AP and requested anonymity said DOGE is specifically seeking to access the IRS Integrated Data Retrieval System, which enables employees to have instantaneous visual access to certain taxpayer accounts, according to the IRS website.Advocates fear that the potential unlawful release of taxpayer records could be used to maliciously target Americans, violate their privacy and create other ramifications. Harrison Fields, a White House spokesman, said in an emailed statement that waste, fraud, and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long. It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it. DOGE will continue to shine a light on the fraud they uncover as the American people deserve to know what their government has been spending their hard earned tax dollars on, he said. Democratic lawmakers are trying to fight against DOGE plans to access IRS data. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sent a letter Monday to acting IRS Commissioner Douglas ODonnell, demanding copies of any memos that would grant IRS system access to Musk or DOGE. The senators are also seeking justifications for DOGE efforts to inspect tax returns and private bank records. Along with fears that DOGE access to taxpayer data may not be legal, we are also extremely concerned that DOGE personnel meddling with IRS systems in the middle of tax filing season could, inadvertently or otherwise, cause breakdowns that may delay the issuance of tax refunds indefinitely, the letter reads. Any delay in refunds could be financially devastating to millions of Americans who plan their budgets around timely refunds every spring.Jan. 27 was the official start date of the 2025 tax season, and the IRS expects more than 140 million tax returns to be filed by the April 15 deadline. The Washington Post on Sunday first reported on DOGEs plans to access taxpayer data. The news comes as the IRS plans to lay off thousands of probationary workers in the middle of tax season, according to two sources familiar with the agencys plans who were unauthorized to discuss them publicly. Cuts could happen as soon as this week. Previously, IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax season were told they will not be allowed to accept a buyout offer from the Trump administration until after the taxpayer filing deadline, according to a letter sent recently to IRS employees.Additionally, attorneys general from 14 states challenged the authority of DOGE to access sensitive government data housed at Treasury and exercise virtually unchecked power in a lawsuit filed Thursday. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, says the actions taken by Musk at the helm of DOGE can only be taken by a nominated and Senate-confirmed official. It cites constitutional provisions that delineate the powers of Congress and the president.A new account on Musks social media site X, called DOGE IRS, says, DOGE is seeking help from the public! The account asks users to reach out with insights on finding and fixing waste, fraud and abuse relating to the Internal Revenue Service. FATIMA HUSSEIN Hussein reports on the U.S. Treasury Department for The Associated Press. She covers tax policy, sanctions and any issue that relates to money. twitter mailto

This image provided by Office of the New York Mayor shows New York Mayor Eric Adams as he speaks during an address from City Hall, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Ed Reed/Office of the New York Mayor via AP)2025-02-17T21:13:36Z NEW YORK (AP) Four top deputies to New York City Mayor Eric Adams are resigning in the latest fallout from the Justice Departments push to end a corruption case against Adams and ensure his cooperation in President Donald Trumps immigration crackdown a bargain that has raised questions about the mayors political independence and ability to lead the city.In a statement Monday, Adams confirmed the departures of First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Chauncey Parker.I am disappointed to see them go, but given the current challenges, I understand their decision and wish them nothing but success in the future, said Adams, who faces several challengers in Junes Democratic primary. But let me be crystal clear: New York City will keep moving forward, just as it does every day. City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams became the latest Democrat to call on the mayor to resign, saying that with the deputy mayor resignations its clear he has now lost the confidence and trust of his own staff, his colleagues in government, and New Yorkers. Speaker Adams is not related to the mayor.Torres-Springer, Joshi and Williams-Isom told agency heads and staff in a memo that they were exiting because of the extraordinary events of the last few weeks. They did not give a date for their departures, but Adams said they and Parker will remain for the time being to ensure a seamless transition.Adams has faced increasing scrutiny since the Justice Departments second-in-command ordered federal prosecutors in Manhattan last week to drop the mayors corruption case. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove wrote that the case had unduly restricted Mayor Adams ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime. That directive touched off firestorms within the Justice Department and New York political circles, with seven federal prosecutors quitting in protest including the interim U.S. attorney for Manhattan and fellow Democrats calling on Adams to resign.On Friday, after a week of recriminations and resignations, Bove and a pair of Justice Department officials from Washington stepped in and filed paperwork asking Manhattan federal Judge Dale E. Ho to dismiss the case. Ho has yet to take action on the request.Adams, a former police captain, pleaded not guilty last September to charges that he accepted more than $100,000 in illegal campaign contributions and lavish travel perks from foreign nationals looking to buy his influence while he was Brooklyn borough president campaigning to be mayor.The Justice Department said in its filing Friday that it was seeking to dismiss Adams charges with the option of refiling them later, which critics see as a carrot to ensure his compliance on the Republican presidents objectives. In his memo ordering prosecutors to ditch the case, Bove said the new, permanent U.S. attorney would review the matter after the November election. It certainly sounds like President Trump is holding the mayor hostage, Rev. Al Sharpton, an Adams ally, said Tuesday. I have supported the mayor, but he has been put in an unfair position even for him of essentially political blackmail.Political leaders, including Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Nydia Velzquez, and Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, have called on Adams to step down. But Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has said shes taking a more deliberative approach. The allegations are extremely concerning and serious, but I cannot as the governor of this state have a knee-jerk, politically motivated reaction like a lot of other people are saying right now, she told MSNBC on Thursday. Ive got to do it smart, whats right and Im consulting with other leaders in government right now.The drama over Adams legal case played out as the mayor met with Trumps border czar in New York on Thursday and announced increased cooperation on the Trump administrations efforts to remove immigrants, including reestablishing an office for immigration authorities at the citys notorious Rikers Island jail. In their memo to staff announcing their exits, Torres-Springer, Joshi and Williams-Isom wrote: Due to the extraordinary events of the last few weeks and to stay faithful to the oaths we swore to New Yorkers and our families, we have come to the difficult decision to step down from our roles. JAKE OFFENHARTZ Offenhartz is a general assignment reporter in the New York City bureau of The Associated Press. twitter mailto MICHAEL R. SISAK Sisak is an Associated Press reporter covering law enforcement and courts in New York City, including former President Donald Trumps criminal and civil cases and problems plaguing the federal prison system. twitter mailto

This image taken from video provided by CTV shows emergency crews responding at Toronto Pearson Airport after a plane crash, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (CTV via AP)2025-02-17T20:45:42Z TORONTO (AP) A Delta Airlines plane flipped upon arrival at Torontos Pearson Airport on Monday and at least eight people are injured.The airport confirmed on X that an incident occurred with the Delta flight from Minneapolis and that all passengers and crew are accounted for. One passenger is critically injured and seven others were also hurt, paramedics said. Video from the scene showed the plane upside down on the snowy tarmac as emergency workers hose it down. The plane was somewhat obscured by snow from a winter storm that hit Toronto over the weekend.Emergency teams are responding, the airport said in a post on the social platform X. All passengers and crew are accounted for.Delta said in a statement it was aware of reports of Endeavor Flight 4819 operating from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Toronto-Pearson International Airport as involved in an incident. Ontarios Premier Doug Ford said on X he is relieved there are no casualties after the incident at Toronto Pearson. Provincial officials are in contact with the airport and local authorities and will provide any help thats needed, Ford said. Toronto is the capital of Ontarios province.It is at least the fourth major aviation mishap in North America in the past month. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided near the nations capital on Jan. 29, killing 67 people. A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on Jan. 31, killing the six people on board and another person on the ground and 10 were killed in a plane crash in Alaska. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

This photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard on Feb. 7, 2025, shows a small commuter plane that crashed in western Alaska on a flight that was bound for the hub community of Nome. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP, File)2025-02-18T00:36:22Z The crash of a Delta Airlines plane in Toronto is the fourth major aviation disaster in North America in the last month.Heres a look at each of the crashes.Passenger plane flips during landing in Toronto A Delta Airlines plane arriving Monday at Torontos Pearson Airport from Minneapolis flipped and landed on its roof, injuring at least 17 people. The airport confirmed that an incident occurred Monday with the Delta flight and that all 80 passengers and crew are accounted for. Ornge air ambulance said it was transporting one child to Torontos SickKids hospital and two adults with critical injuries to other hospitals in the city.Video from the scene showed the Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR upside down on the snowy tarmac as emergency workers hose it down. According to the Meteorological Service of Canada, the airport was experiencing blowing snow and winds of 32 mph (51 kph) gusting to 40 mph (65 mph). The temperature was about 16.5 degrees (minus 8.6 Celsius). Endeavor Air, based in Minneapolis, is a Delta subsidiary and the worlds largest operator of CRJ-900 aircraft, a popular regional jet developed by Canadian aerospace company Bombardier.The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the Transportation Safety Board of Canada will head up the investigation and provide any updates. Commuter plane crashes in Alaska, killing all 10 aboard A small commuter plane on its way to Nome crashed on Feb. 6, killing the pilot and nine passengers. The Bering Air single-engine turboprop Cessna Caravan was traveling from Unalakleet when it disappeared about an hour after taking off. The Coast Guard said the aircraft went missing about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Nome.After a wide search, the planes splintered body and debris were found the next day on the sea ice. The day of the crash there was light snow and fog, with a temperature of 17 degrees (minus 8.3 Celsius).The commuter flight was part of a workhorse network of short-hop flights that people in the immense and rugged state rely on to get to medical appointments, attend work meetings, buy essential supplies or even travel to away sports games.The victims included two men who were on a work trip to service a heat recovery system vital to a communitys water treatment plant, a retired teacher who was on a trip mentoring other teachers, and another person who was flying for a doctors appointment. Air ambulance crashes onto busy Philadelphia street, killing seven A medical transport jet with a child patient, her mother and four others aboard crashed into a Philadelphia neighborhood on Jan. 31, exploding in a fireball that engulfed several homes. The crash killed seven people, including all those aboard, and injured 19 others. The Learjet 55 took off and then plummeted in a steep descent, crashing less than a minute after takeoff from the Northeast Philadelphia Airport. The plane hit the ground during a busy Friday evening less than 3 miles (5 kilometers) from the airport, leaving a crash scene of at least four blocks. A father who was inside his car when the small plane crashed was among those killed.The plane operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance was on its way to Mexico, returning the child, who had spent months in treatment at Shriners Childrens Philadelphia hospital.Jet Rescue is based in Mexico and has operations both there and in the U.S. Helicopter and plane collide near Washington, killing 67A midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight about to land at Washingtons Ronald Reagan National Airport on Jan. 29 killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft. It was the countrys deadliest aviation disaster since 2001.The regional jet out of Wichita, Kansas, was carrying 60 passengers and four crew and preparing to land when the helicopter apparently flew into its path, causing a collision that sent both aircraft into the icy waters of the Potomac River. The UH-60 Black Hawk, based at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, was on a training exercise and carried three soldiers. Among those killed were members of the Skating Club of Boston who were returning from a development camp that followed the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita.The victims also included a group of hunters returning from a guided trip in Kansas, four members of a steamfitters local union in suburban Maryland, nine students and parents from Fairfax County, Virginia, schools and two Chinese nationals.

A Lebanese man watches bulldozers at work on the Hamamis hill, background, near the town of Khiam, southern Lebanon, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)2025-02-17T19:11:30Z KHIAM, Lebanon (AP) Sabah Abdullah comes to her hometown in Lebanon every morning and sits next to her destroyed home. She is waiting for experts from Hezbollahs construction arm to compensate her for the damage caused by the Israel-Hezbollah war that has left her homeless.The 66-year-old woman from Khiam now rents a home in the nearby village of Kawkaba and is repairing her small grocery store, which was badly damaged by the 13-month war that ended in late November as a result of a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. The war has left more than 4,000 people dead and over 16,000 wounded in Lebanon and caused damage worth billions of dollars. Damage can be compensated but the loss of souls cannot be replaced, said Abdullah as she sat on a plastic chair in the sun outside her shop. Israeli forces will remain in parts of southern Lebanon The 60-day ceasefire that was supposed to end on Jan. 27 with an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and Hezbollah ending its armed presence along the border area was extended until Tuesday. But an Israeli official said Monday that Israeli forces will remain in five strategic locations in southern Lebanon after the deadline.One of these locations is the Hamamis hill on the southern outskirts of Khiam. On Monday, bulldozers could be seen from a distance at work building what appeared to be fortifications in an apparent sign that Israels military is planning to stay long beyond Tuesdays deadline.Hezbollah leader Naim Kassem said in a speech Sunday that Israel has to fully withdraw from Lebanon on Tuesday, saying there is no pretext for five points nor other details. He added that the Lebanese state should prevent Israel from staying in the country after Tuesday as stated in the ceasefire deal. The Israel-Hezbollah war began a day after Hamas carried out its deadly attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 people hostage triggering the Israel-Hamas war. The Israel-Hezbollah war intensified as of Sept. 23, when Israel expanded its attacks and killed Hezbollahs longtime top leader and one of its founders, Hassan Nasrallah. Widespread damage in KhiamKhiam, one of the largest towns close to the Israeli border, suffered widespread damage, including entire blocks that were turned to piles of debris, while graffiti left behind by Israeli troops could be seen on the walls as well as inside homes. The towns cemetery suffered severe damage, with many graves blown out. On Monday, workers were removing debris in different locations in Khiam as many residents come during the day to spend a few hours at their homes and leave before sunset since the town still has no electricity or running water. New poles were being put in place by the countrys state-run electricity company as the infrastructure suffered severe damage.In Khiam everyone was martyred, read a graffiti on a wall in Arabic. Khiam is Golanis graveyard, another one read referring to Israels Golani Brigade.In a building on the eastern edge of Khiam, a woman showed a journalist a Star of David sprayed in red at the entrance of her apartment. The woman, who asked not to be named for safety reasons, then walked through her apartment showing a reporter the damage in the sitting room and kitchen. Abdallah said when she first came to Khiam days after the ceasefire went into effect in late November, she found that hungry cats and dogs inside her badly damaged shop had eaten cakes, croissants and chocolates. The metal door of her shop was blown wide open, she said. Seeing her home, which was built by her late father, destroyed saddened her but Abdallah said she is happy that none of her siblings or relatives were hurt during the war.The future is obscureAbdallah said that soon after the war ended, Hezbollahs construction arm Jihad al-Binaa paid her $12,000, of which $8,000 were to compensate her for lost furniture and $4,000 for a years rent.Abdallah said that since the Israel-Hezbollah war began she rented a house in Marakaba and had spent most of her savings and was selling some of her jewelry. She said she is now waiting for government experts to visit her and estimate the losses to pay her for rebuilding her two-story house that she shared with her brother. I will rebuild my house but the future is obscure. We live close to the border, Abdallah said, referring to repeated wars with Israel over the past decades.Another Khiam resident, Dalal Abdallah, said if Israel decides to stay in Lebanon, Israel will be eventually forced to leave again.Valuable blood and souls were paid for this land, she said. She added that no one should think that we will leave our land.

South Korean actor Kim Sae-ron arrives at the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 5, 2023. (Yonhap via AP)2025-02-18T06:03:17Z SEOUL, South Korea (AP) South Korean actor Kim Sae-rons death this week has triggered an outpouring of grief and calls for changes to the way the countrys celebrities are treated in the public arena and on social media, which critics say can foster a culture of harassment. The 24-year-old, who began her career as a child actor and earned acclaim for her roles in several domestic films, including the 2010 crime noir The Man from Nowhere, was found dead by a friend at her home in the countrys capital, Seoul, on Sunday. The National Police Agency has said that officers are not suspecting foul play and that Kim left no note. Once among the brightest stars on South Koreas vibrant movie and television scene, Kim struggled to find work after a 2022 drunk driving incident, for which she was later fined in court.Online posts in South Korea are notoriously harsh toward celebrities who make missteps, especially women, and Kim faced constant negative coverage from news organizations that capitalized on public sentiment. Newspapers and websites criticized her whenever she was seen partying with friends, or when she complained about her lack of work and nasty comments on social media. She was even criticized for smiling while filming an independent movie last year. Following Kims death, several of the countrys major newspapers on Tuesday published editorials and opinion pieces lambasting the toxic online comments about the actor. Some invoked the 2019 deaths of K-Pop singers Seol-li and Goo Hara and the 2023 death of Squid Games actor Lee Sun-kyun while calling for a change in the harsh, zero-tolerance culture toward celebrities. The Hankook Ilbo newspaper said the countrys media outlets were part of the problem, lamenting that some outlets continued to exploit Kim for clicks even after her death, using provocative headlines that highlighted her past struggles. The watchdog Citizens Coalition for Democratic Media on Tuesday criticized news organizations for blaming social media without considering their own sensational and provocative reporting.Born in 2000, Kim began her acting career at age 9, with the 2009 film A Brand New Life, portraying a girls struggles to adjust to a new life after being left at an orphanage by her father. She rose to stardom with The Man from Nowhere, which was one of the biggest hits in the South Korean movie scene that year and won her a domestic acting award. She starred in various movies and TV shows before the 2022 drunk driving incident. Gold Medalist, Kims former management agency, did not immediately answer calls for comment. KIM TONG-HYUNG Kim has been covering the Koreas for the AP since 2014. He has published widely read stories on North Koreas nuclear ambitions, the dark side of South Koreas economic rise and international adoptions of Korean children. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

A Social Security card is displayed Oct. 12, 2021, in Tigard, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)2025-02-18T02:28:02Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Social Security Administration s acting commissioner has stepped down from her role at the agency over Department of Government Efficiency requests to access Social Security recipient information, according to two people familiar with the officials departure who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.Acting Commissioner Michelle Kings departure from the agency over the weekend after more than 30 years of service was initiated after King refused to provide DOGE staffers at the SSA with access to sensitive information, the people said Monday. The White House has replaced her as acting commissioner with Leland Dudek, who currently works at the SSA, the people said. White House spokesperson Harrison Fields released a statement Monday night saying: President Trump has nominated the highly qualified and talented Frank Bisignano to lead the Social Security Administration, and we expect him to be swiftly confirmed in the coming weeks. In the meantime, the agency will be led by a career Social Security anti-fraud expert as the acting commissioner. Fields added, President Trump is committed to appointing the best and most qualified individuals who are dedicated to working on behalf of the American people, not to appease the bureaucracy that has failed them for far too long. Kings exit from the administration is one of several departures of high-ranking officials concerned about DOGE staffers potential unlawful access to private taxpayer information. DOGE has accessed Treasury payment systems and is attempting to access Internal Revenue Service databases.Since Republican President Donald Trump has retaken the White House, his billionaire adviser Elon Musk has rapidly burrowed deep into federal agencies while avoiding public scrutiny of his work through the DOGE group. Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, an advocacy group for the preservation of Social Security benefits, said of DOGEs efforts that there is no way to overstate how serious a breach this is. And my understanding is that it has already occurred. The information collected and securely held by the Social Security Administration is highly sensitive, she said. SSA has data on everyone who has a Social Security number, which is virtually all Americans, everyone who has Medicare, and every low-income American who has applied for Social Securitys means-tested companion program, Supplemental Security Income.If there is an evil intent to punish perceived enemies, someone could erase your earnings record, making it impossible to collect the Social Security and Medicare benefits you have earned.The future of Social Security has become a top political issue and was a major point of contention in the 2024 election. About 72.5 million people, including retirees, disabled people and children, receive Social Security benefits. FATIMA HUSSEIN Hussein reports on the U.S. Treasury Department for The Associated Press. She covers tax policy, sanctions and any issue that relates to money. twitter mailto

Paquita La Del Barrio performs at the 14th Annual Latin Grammy Awards at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, Nov. 21, 2013, in Las Vegas. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP), File2025-02-17T19:23:19Z MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexican musical legend Paquita la del Barrio, known for her powerful voice and fierce defense of women, died at her home in Veracruz early Monday at the age of 77.Her passing was announced on her official social media accounts and confirmed by her representatives to The Associated Press. The state capital of Veracruz will mourn the loss of the iconic singer, who had faced a number of recent health problems.With deep pain and sadness we confirm the sensitive passing of our beloved Paquita la del Barrio at her home in Veracruz, the statement said. She was a unique and unrepeatable artist who will leave an indelible mark in the hearts of all of us who knew her and enjoyed her music. Born Francisca Viveros Barradas, Paquita la del Barrio captivated audiences with songs of heartbreak and betrayal, including anthems like Rata de dos patas and Tres veces te enga. While her fan base was predominantly women, her powerful performances also drew men to her concerts. At the beginning, many men said Why would I go, to get shamed? ... Now they join the concerts. They go with their girlfriend, their wife and they love it, Paquita said in a 2016 interview with the AP. A two-time Grammy and Latin Grammy nominee, Paquita la del Barrio received recognition from across the industry, including the Billboard Latin Music Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2021, which was presented to her by Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny. News of her death sparked an outpouring of grief on social media. The Latin Grammys and Apple Music were among the many who took to social media to mourn her passing.RIP Paquita la del Barrio, the feminist icon from Mexico who sang what others were afraid to say, wrote Apple Music on the social platform X.____Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, right, and Maria Medvedeva, the deputy CEO for external communication for the fund, walk across the Ritz Carlton hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Baraa Anwer)2025-02-18T06:18:20Z RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) Top Russian and U.S. officials are set to hold talks hold talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in a bid to improve their ties and negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. The meeting between the two countries top diplomats in Riyadh would be their most significant since the Russia invaded its neighbor almost three years ago, and is meant to pave the way for a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump earlier this month upended U.S. policy toward Ukraine and Russia, saying he and Putin had agreed to begin negotiations on ending the war. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Putins foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov arrived in the Saudi capital on Monday night. Ushakov said the talks would be purely bilateral and would not include Ukrainian officials.U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will meet the Russian delegation, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said. The recent U.S. diplomatic blitz on the war has sent Kyiv and key allies scrambling to ensure a seat at the table amid concerns that Washington and Moscow could press ahead with a deal that wont be favorable to them. France called an emergency meeting of European Union countries and the U.K. on Monday to decide how to respond. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday his country wont accept the outcome if Kyiv doesnt take part. U.S.-Russia talks would yield no results without Ukrainian officials, Zelenskyy said on a conference call with journalists from the United Arab Emirates. Ahead of the talks, Kirill Dmitriev, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund who the Kremlin said might join the meeting, underscored the importance of the meeting in comments to The Associated Press. Good U.S.-Russia relations are very important for the whole world. Only jointly can Russia and the U.S. address lots of world problems, resolve for global conflicts and offer solutions, Dmitriev, who said he and his team would focus on economic issues at the talks, told AP. The Saudi-owned satellite channel Al Arabiya, citing the Russian delegation, described Moscows priority as real normalization with Washington.For Saudi Arabia, the talks are a major step toward a goal de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pursued throughout the war putting the kingdom in the middle of diplomatic negotiations. It has helped in prisoner negotiations and hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for an Arab League summit in the kingdom in 2023. Zelenskyy will likely travel to Saudi Arabia later this week.For Prince Mohammed, once described as a pariah by former President Joe Biden over the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, hosting such talks burnish the otherwise-tarnished image the West has for him. LikeAhead of the summit, the Saudi daily newspaper Okaz described the moment as the worlds eye on Riyadh. Writing in the London-based but Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq Al Awsat, journalist Mishari al-Dhaidi described the summit as a major step on the international political chess arena, revealing the status of Saudi Arabia and its positive influence for the benefit of the people all the people, he wrote. the neighboring United Arab Emirates, the prince also has maintained close relations to Russia throughout its war on Ukraine, both through the OPEC+ oil cartel and diplomatically as well. Hosting the summit also balances the harsh criticism recently levied by the kingdoms tightly controlled media at President Donald Trump over his repeated comments that he wants the U.S. to own the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by the Israeli military offensive there since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. The Palestinians want Gaza and the West Bank for a future state, something backed by the wider Arab world and nearly all of the international community.___Litvinova reported from Tallinn, Estonia. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report. BARAA ANWER Anwer is a video journalist for The Associated Press, specializing in news coverage across the Gulf region. twitter instagram mailto DASHA LITVINOVA Litvinova is an Associated Press correspondent covering Russia, Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus. She is part of the team that covers the Russia-Ukraine war. She has covered Russia and the region for over a decade. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Casts of skulls are seen inside an exhibit of early human species inside the Smithsonian Hall of Human Origins, Thursday, July 20, 2023, at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)2025-02-18T10:01:04Z Why did humans start speaking? Scientists suggest genetics played a big role and they say the evolution of this singular ability was key to our survival.A new study links a particular gene to the ancient origins of spoken language, proposing that a protein variant found only in humans may have helped us communicate in a novel way. Speech allowed us to share information, coordinate activities and pass down knowledge, giving us an edge over extinct cousins like Neanderthals and Denisovans.The new study is a good first step to start looking at the specific genes that may affect speech and language development, said Liza Finestack at the University of Minnesota, who was not involved with the research. What scientists learn may someday even help people with speech problems. The genetic variant researchers were looking at was one of a variety of genes that contributed to the emergence of Homo sapiens as the dominant species, which we are today said Dr. Robert Darnell, an author of the study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications. Darnell has been studying the protein called NOVA1 and known to be crucial to brain development since the early 1990s. For the latest research, scientists in his lab at New Yorks Rockefeller University used CRISPR gene editing to replace the NOVA1 protein found in mice with the exclusively human type to test the real-life effects of the genetic variant. To their surprise, it changed the way the animals vocalized when they called out to each other. Baby mice with the human variant squeaked differently than normal littermates when their mom came around. Adult male mice with the variant chirped differently than their normal counterparts when they saw a female in heat. Both are settings where mice are motivated to speak, Darnell said, and they spoke differently with the human variant, illustrating its role in speech. This isnt the first time a gene has been linked to speech. In 2001, British scientists said they had discovered the first gene tied to a language and speech disorder.Called FOXP2, it was referred to as the human language gene. But though FOXP2 is involved in human language, it turned out that the variant in modern humans wasnt unique to us. Later research found it was shared with Neanderthals. The NOVA1 variant in modern humans, on the other hand, is found exclusively in our species, Darnell said.The presence of a gene variant isnt the only reason people can speak. The ability also depends on things like anatomical features in the human throat and areas of the brain that work together to allow people to speak and understand language.Darnell hopes the recent work not only helps people better understand their origins but also eventually leads to new ways to treat speech-related problems.University of Minnesotas Finestack said its more likely the genetic findings might someday allow scientists to detect, very early in life, who might need speech and language interventions.Thats certainly a possibility, she said.---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. LAURA UNGAR Ungar covers medicine and science on the APs Global Health and Science team. She has been a health journalist for more than two decades. twitter mailto

2025-02-18T10:55:28Z MILAN (AP) A pro-Russian hacker group attacked Italian government websites on Tuesday in what it said was a reaction to a speech by Italian President Sergio Mattarella that compared Russias invasion of Ukraine to the Nazis wars of conquest.The NoName57 hacker group, which announced the attacks on social media, hit the websites of the defense, interior and transport ministries, as well as law enforcement agencies. Access to the sites was spotty.The group on Monday it attacked Italian banks, ports, airports and local transport agencies, but those attacks did not cause major disruptions.In a speech in Marseille, France on Feb. 5, Mattarella said that patterns that led to World War II were repeating, including wars of conquest. This was the project of the Third Reich in Europe. Todays Russian aggression against Europe is of this nature, he said.Russias foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, expressed dismay about Mattarellas remarks.Mattarellas office has declined to comment on the attacks.

2025-02-18T09:05:04Z Ronald Donats longtime dream of becoming a police officer was in jeopardy.The 41-year-old struggled to stand after completing a flurry of pushups, sprints and pullups in the notoriously grueling start of physical training that recruits call Hell Day.You are dead! classmates recall a sergeant berating Donat, ordering him to sit on concrete at the suburban Atlanta police academy.Donat, a Haitian immigrant on his third attempt to land a law enforcement job, assured instructors he wasnt giving up. He managed to get off the ground and rejoin recruits in a bear crawl exercise. But he soon went limp. Sharline Volcy shows a picture of her husband, Ronald Donat, on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Orange, N.J. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki) Sharline Volcy shows a picture of her husband, Ronald Donat, on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Orange, N.J. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More One hundred minutes after training began that October 2021 morning, he was dead, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.Donat is among at least 29 recruits who died during basic training at law enforcement academies around the country in the last decade, an AP investigation found. Most died of exertion, dehydration, heat stroke and other conditions tied to intense exercise often on the first day of training, like Donat. Others died several weeks in, sometimes after suffering trauma during boxing or use-of-force drills or collapsing during high-stakes timed runs on hot days. Experts and police advocates were surprised by APs findings based on an extensive review of lists of law enforcement deaths in every state, workplace safety records and news reports and said many of the deaths were preventable. No federal agency or outside organization comprehensively tracks recruit deaths, unlike officers who die in the line of duty. A memorial Sharline Volcy set up in honor of her husband, Ronald Donat, is seen Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at her home in Orange, N.J. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki) A memorial Sharline Volcy set up in honor of her husband, Ronald Donat, is seen Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, at her home in Orange, N.J. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Training shouldnt have one death, much less 29, said David Jude, a retired Kentucky State Police academy commander and instructor. To hear that number, it is shocking.Black recruits represented nearly 60% of those who died, a striking disparity given that federal data show Black officers make up 12% of local police forces. Many carried sickle cell trait, a condition most prevalent among Black Americans that increases the risk of serious injury following extreme exertion. Overall, the deaths amount to a tiny percentage of the nations 800,000 sworn officers but highlight another hazard in a profession where shootings, car accidents and other dangers are part of the job.APs tally shows the deaths have grown at a time when departments are tapping an older and more diverse pool of applicants to address officer shortages. More than two-thirds of the deaths occurred since 2020. A heartbreaking string of deathsA Texas recruit collapsed minutes after instructors denied his request for water, saying: You cant get water in a fight, video obtained by AP shows.An Arkansas cadet died after he was forced to run wearing long pants in the scorching midday sun. A North Carolina trainees temperature was 106 degrees an hour after his death, when he had no water breaks during an hourlong obstacle course.Citing similar cases, one expert warned in a medical journal in mid-2023 of a troubling spate of exertional collapse and death of police trainees.This sad tragedy is preventable, but will not become so until our police chiefs begin to heed the message, wrote Dr. Randy Eichner, a retired University of Oklahoma professor who has long studied exertion-related deaths. At least 29 recruits have died during basic training at law enforcement academies nationwide in the last decade according to new reporting by the Associated Press. Experts say many of deaths could have been prevented. (AP video: Mark Vancleave and Ryan J. Foley) But deaths have only continued to mount. At least five were recorded in 2024, including a New York City recruit who died of heat stroke, a Kentucky man who exerted himself during water-based survival training and a Massachusetts cadet who became unresponsive during defensive tactics training.Police leaders say some deaths can be prevented through improved awareness and practices, acknowledging that the field needs to better screen for and accommodate health conditions that put recruits at risk and to rein in unnecessarily harsh drills.Not only are we potentially putting students in danger, but were also putting instructors in precarious situations where they may not know about the risks, said Jude, an expert witness in the 2022 death of 38-year-old Jonesboro, Arkansas, recruit Vincent Parks. Jude cited a law passed in Arkansas, amid outrage over video showing Parks collapsing while training on a hot afternoon, as a positive step. It requires trainers be educated on heat exhaustion, dehydration and symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest, and mandates that instructors remove cadets from physical activities if they faint or lose consciousness. This photo provided by the Jonesboro Police Department shows Vincent Parks in 2022. (Jonesboro Police Department via AP) This photo provided by the Jonesboro Police Department shows Vincent Parks in 2022. (Jonesboro Police Department via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More APs investigation found instances in which recruits who were in serious medical distress were pushed to continue training before they died. In addition to calling off drills in such cases, academy leaders must ensure adequate hydration and breaks and limit training when heat makes it unsafe, experts said.Bill Alexander, CEO of the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, said the number of deaths could be reduced but probably not eliminated given the nature of policing, which can require chasing and arresting combative suspects. If youre training people physically and if youre training them hard, youre going to have these very rare medical events, said Alexander, who previously led an academy in Maryland. Have a news tip?Contact APs global investigative team at [emailprotected]. For secure and confidential communications, use the free Signal app +1 (202) 281-8604. Still, some leaders say the field needs urgent action to better protect recruits.It was just heartbreaking. Ill never forget it. And Ill do anything at all to get this message out, said Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey of Hamilton County, Ohio, who witnessed the 2023 death of 36-year-old Marcus Zeigler after he collapsed during a training run. Were talking about life or death.An eager recruit for a department in need When Ronald Donat arrived at the Gwinnett County Police Department Academy in Lawrenceville, Georgia, he thought hed finally found his place in law enforcement.He always wanted to become an officer, but his wife, Sharline Volcy, said she initially discouraged him due to safety concerns when their children were young. Both immigrated from Haiti in the 1990s to New Jersey, where they met at church. Sharline Volcy poses for a portrait on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Orange, N.J. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki) Sharline Volcy poses for a portrait on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Orange, N.J. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Donat earned a college degree and worked various jobs, including installing satellites and cable, but longed for the responsibility and community service that policing would bring.He finally applied but was initially passed over. When Gwinnett County recruited applicants from New Jersey, Donat applied because he already had a sister living in Georgia, Volcy said.Georgias second-largest police agency, Gwinnett County has held hiring events around the country as it struggles to fill hundreds of vacancies. Its offered bonuses to combat the officer shortage, which grew during the coronavirus pandemic and 2020 protests against police brutality. In this photo provided by Sharline Volcy, Volcy, her husband Ronald Donat, their two daughters and two other relatives pose for a photo at a 2016 family picnic in West Orange, N.J. (Sharline Volcy via AP) In this photo provided by Sharline Volcy, Volcy, her husband Ronald Donat, their two daughters and two other relatives pose for a photo at a 2016 family picnic in West Orange, N.J. (Sharline Volcy via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More A physician who evaluated Donat for the department concluded he was healthy, with no concerning conditions, according to a form the doctor submitted to the states police standards agency. Following the normal process for the county and most U.S. police departments, the doctor didnt screen Donat for sickle cell trait.Donat began working out with other recruits, passed a state-mandated physical fitness test and was given badge 2423. He smiled for a selfie in a squad car. He shared advice with a classmate: Never give up.Most departments lack policies on sickle cell traitUp to 3 million Black citizens in the U.S. have sickle cell trait, yet many adults with the genetic condition dont know their status, researchers say. Unlike people with sickle cell disease, they carry only one gene for sickle cell, and one normal gene.The condition, which is diagnosed through a blood test, doesnt usually affect their daily lives. But it can cause decreased blood flow and muscle breakdown after intense exertion, dehydration or high body temperatures. In very rare cases, that can result in collapse and death. Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The NCAA and U.S. military now screen recruits for the condition, which has contributed to some deaths during football practices and boot camps. Researchers say exertional deaths among college athletes plummeted after NCAA-mandated testing and precautions went into effect in 2010, while the impact of the military programs is under review. Slowly building intensity, resting between drills, remaining hydrated during workouts and responding quickly to signs of distress are recommended.Most police departments have no such screening programs. Many longtime law enforcement trainers say theyve never heard of the condition, which AP found was cited as a contributing factor in several deaths and serious injuries of recruits. Sharline Volcy holds a photo from her wedding to Ronald Donat, on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Orange, N.J. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki) Sharline Volcy holds a photo from her wedding to Ronald Donat, on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Orange, N.J. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More McGuffey, the Ohio sheriff, said the cause of Marcus Zeiglers death was initially a mystery. Before his collapse in May 2023, Zeigler was in peak condition and a top recruit, she said.The sheriff said she learned about sickle cell trait afterward from another employee, who himself had been seriously injured during academy training. She asked the coroner to investigate whether Zeigler had the condition. After ruling that Zeigler died of exertional heatstroke, the coroners office added sickle cell trait as a contributing factor.Since the death, Hamilton County has started screening recruits for the condition, which costs $75 per test. A physical and mental test For Donat and his 27 classmates, academy staffers planned an intense hourlong workout -- a first-day ritual designed to test physical and mental fitness.Pushups. Flutter kicks. More pushups. Hill sprints. Burpees. Pullups. Bear crawls.Trainers say the exercises set the tone for the monthslong academy, which seeks to instill a never-quit mindset and prepare recruits for the most dangerous aspects of policing. But the military-style drills have long led to allegations of harsh treatment that cross the line into hazing.The risks were so well-known that an ambulance usually sat nearby on the first day at the Gwinnett County academy. But that year, a major declined the staffs request, saying an ambulance would create the perception of danger, according to statements in an internal investigation report.Donat kept up with classmates for 45 minutes but became exhausted during a set of pullups and couldnt complete the next exercise, air squats. A diagram shows an obstacle course that Ronald Donat completed in less than two minutes as part of a required physical ability test to join the department. Credit: Gwinnett County Police Department record A diagram shows an obstacle course that Ronald Donat completed in less than two minutes as part of a required physical ability test to join the department. Credit: Gwinnett County Police Department record Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More An instructor ordered Donat to sit: You are dead! six recruits recalled him screaming, according to the investigation.The instructor insisted that he told Donat You are done! Either way, it was intended as a reminder, the investigation found, that giving up on police work could lead to death.Donat didnt want to quit. Three minutes later, he got up with the help of another recruit and got in formation for a 25-foot bear crawl. Everything is all right, Donat, a recruit assured him. But Donat collapsed and stopped breathing.A paramedic on scene quickly treated Donat with oxygen and chest compressions. An ambulance arrived 10 minutes later.After Donat was pronounced dead at a hospital, instructors wondered whether his life could have been saved with an ambulance on site. Widow Sharline Volcy holds a picture of her deceased husband, Roland Donat, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Orange, N.J. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki) Widow Sharline Volcy holds a picture of her deceased husband, Roland Donat, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Orange, N.J. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Changes but no discipline after a Georgia deathHours after Donat died, Gwinnett County released a statement saying Donat had been instructed by supervising staff to rest after becoming lethargic. A fellow recruit who saw that statement on the news questioned the claim, texting classmates, as far as I know I never heard that or saw that. One responded that Donat was last seen in the planking position before his collapse.A county medical examiner ruled Donat died of natural causes, saying he had an enlarged heart prone to abnormal rhythms. That shocked his wife, Volcy, who said her husband was a fit soccer player with no known heart issues.The autopsy report didnt mention sickle cell trait. Volcy believes her husband had it shes learned their daughters do, she said, and she has tested negative. Today, Gwinnett County still doesnt screen recruits for the condition, spokesperson Sgt. Collin Flynn said.The departments investigation, completed weeks after Donats death, found no policy violations and resulted in no disciplinary action. A major who led the investigation concluded, I cannot imagine a scenario, had different actions been taken, that would have changed the tragic death of Recruit Donat.Still, the department now requires an ambulance with emergency responders on scene during the first day of physical training, Flynn said. Changes to the workout allow instructors to keep a closer eye on those who are struggling, he said.The Occupational Safety and Health Administration didnt investigate because local government agencies arent under its jurisdiction. Thats the case in many states, which have not extended workplace safety protections to municipal employees such as police officers.Families of deceased recruits face obstacles to recognition, benefitsBecause most of the recruits in APs investigation hadnt been sworn in as officers before they died, their names dont appear on the national memorial for deceased officers or some state memorials. And many of their families cant qualify for death benefits. This undated photo provided by the Knoxville, Tenn., Police Department shows Wisbens Antoine. (Knoxville Police Department via AP) This undated photo provided by the Knoxville, Tenn., Police Department shows Wisbens Antoine. (Knoxville Police Department via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Aware of those stakes last year, the police chief in Knoxville, Tennessee, summoned a judge to the hospital room of unconscious recruit Wisbens Antoine.On that February night, a fellow recruit took the oath on behalf of Antoine, whod collapsed during training a week before graduation.Hours later, Officer Antoine, 32, died.Like Donat, he was a Haitian immigrant who left behind a wife and two daughters.In Gwinnett County, officials honored Donat by adding his name to its Fallen Heroes Memorial in 2022. But his name isnt on federal or state memorials. Donats family was ineligible for state death benefits because he hadnt graduated.Congress in 2021 passed a law allowing trainees relatives to be eligible for the same federal death benefits as those of sworn officers. The program includes a payment of nearly $450,000, plus college assistance. This undated photo provided by the Knoxville, Tenn., Police Department shows Tristants Simpson, a fellow recruit class member, taking the police oath on behalf of Wisbens Antoine, while Sgt. Jimmy Wilson, Police Chief Paul Noel, Mayor Indya Kincannon, Officer Terry Crowe and Municipal Court Judge Tyler Caviness, look on. (Scott Erland/Knoxville Police Department via AP) This undated photo provided by the Knoxville, Tenn., Police Department shows Tristants Simpson, a fellow recruit class member, taking the police oath on behalf of Wisbens Antoine, while Sgt. Jimmy Wilson, Police Chief Paul Noel, Mayor Indya Kincannon, Officer Terry Crowe and Municipal Court Judge Tyler Caviness, look on. (Scott Erland/Knoxville Police Department via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More But three years later, Volcy said, shes still awaiting a ruling from the Department of Justice on her application for benefits, which she said she desperately needs to afford college tuition and other expenses.Volcy was unaware of the investigation into her husbands death until AP gave her the report last year. She said the department put recruits like Donat and their families at risk.It is disappointing to know that excessive strain and physical activities brought an end to his life, Volcy said. What was supposed to be a new beginning, a lifetime achievement, a dream come true turned children into orphans, a wife into a widow and a lifetime of grief. RYAN J. FOLEY Foley covers state and national news for The Associated Press and is based in Iowa City, Iowa. A 20-year AP veteran, hes known for investigative reporting and using open records laws to obtain information. twitter mailto

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gestures during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Monday Feb. 17, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)2025-02-18T12:00:47Z DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Saudi Arabias crown prince may not be inside the room for the first high-level talks between Russia and the United States over Moscows war on Ukraine on Tuesday, but Mohammed bin Salman still wins the day for hosting the gathering that could be a game changer in the bloody conflict.The assertive 39-year-old heir to the throne in the oil-rich kingdom already has taken over Saudi Arabia as its de facto leader under his father, the 89-year-old King Salman. But the princes war in Yemen and the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which U.S. intelligence agencies believe came at his orders, tarnished his reputation internationally. Crown Prince Mohammed now finds himself at the center of the Trump administrations outreach to Russia, a country Saudi Arabia carefully maintained ties to during the war through the OPEC+ oil cartel. The prince likely caught President Donald Trumps attention when he announced plans for a $600 billion investment in the United States prompting the American leaders musings about whether to make Saudi Arabia the location for his first foreign trip in this presidency. And with Trump suggesting his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin something Moscow hopes can bring it in from the cold of Western nations will take place in Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed is likely to remain a top player. As the summit opened, the state-run Saudi Press Agency announced that upon directives from the royal, talks between Russa and the U.S. are taking place in Riyadh as part of the kingdoms ongoing efforts to promote global security and peace firmly putting Prince Mohammeds fingerprints on the proceedings. Risks remain for the princes strategyThe strategy still holds risks for Prince Mohammed, particularly as the shaky ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war that ravaged the Gaza Strip remains in question. Trumps repeated comments that he wants the U.S. to own the Gaza Strip have inflamed the Arab world. The Palestinians want Gaza and the West Bank for a future state, something backed by nearly all of the international community.Also, Saudi state media in recent days have openly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu something that was avoided while Prince Mohammed weighed a possible diplomatic recognition deal with Israel under the Biden administration. The idea of an American ownership of Gaza as muddy as to what that would mean exactly has similarly angered Saudis who support the Palestinians. The Saudi Foreign Ministry, in a quickly reaction to Trumps initial remarks, said its unwavering position is nonnegotiable and not subject to compromises. But the kingdom did not criticize Trump directly. Then theres Trump longstanding criticism of OPEC, in which Saudi Arabia remains the top power. In January, Trump claimed OPEC price cuts would be able to automatically stop the tragedy thats taking place in Ukraine. One way to stop it quickly is for OPEC to stop making so much money and to drop the price of oil, because they have it nice and high, Trump said in January. And if you have it high, that war is not going to end so easily. However, global oil prices are down from highs of over $120 a barrel in 2022 after Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, to around $75 a barrel today. The lower prices threaten Prince Mohammeds ambitious projects, including his vision of the futuristic city of Neom, priced at $500 billion. The princes peace push eases the burden on Saudi Arabia During years in the cold after the Khashoggi killing, both Russia and China offered Saudi Arabia and Prince Mohammed the cachet of being respected by Moscow and Beijing, bypassing persistent human rights concerns of the West. Prince Mohammed has hosted and spoken by phone with both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin.Then, a 2023 Chinese-mediated deal on the kingdom reestablishing ties with Iran have Prince Mohammed a new opportunity to show the U.S. that others can shape Mideast politics. It also eased a major security concern for the kingdom after a likely Iranian attack in 2019 temporarily halved the kingdoms oil production. What the kingdom perceived as a slow American response to that attack and others, by the Iran-backed Yemeni rebels, has promoted Saudi Arabia to hedge its risks through outreach to both Western friends and foes alike. In the Saudi-owned, London-published newspaper Asharq Al Awsat, journalist Mishari al-Dhaidi described the summit as restoring dialogue between the two poles of the world and saying exuberantly that it opens a window of hope to let in fresh air and a bright ray that spreads the leaves of optimism.It is a major step on the international political chess arena, revealing the status of Saudi Arabia and its positive influence for the benefit of the people all the people, he wrote.Flowery language aside, Prince Mohammeds strategy appears to be working at the moment regardless of the outcome of Tuesdays meeting. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday and Trump himself may turn up sooner or later. ___EDITORS NOTE Jon Gambrell, the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press, has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the Mideast and wider world since joining the AP in 2006. 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

Manchester United's head coach Ruben Amorim reacts after Leicester's Bobby Decordova-Reid scored the opening goal during the English FA Cup fourth round soccer match between Manchester United and Leicester City at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)2025-02-18T12:43:26Z MANCHESTER, England (AP) Its been a year since one of Britains richest men bought into its most famous soccer team and vowed to bring the good times back. So far, it hasnt gone to plan for Manchester United or Jim Ratcliffe. The record 20-time English champion is languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League, losing vast sums of money every year and facing fan unrest.Even head coach Ruben Amorim said recently that this might be the worst team in the clubs storied history. Thats not all on Ratcliffe, the billionaire owner of petrochemicals giant INEOS, but it has been a rocky start since he paid $1.3 billion for an initial 25% stake in United and assumed control of its soccer operations. There have been high profile hirings and firings, brutal cost cutting, a hike in ticket prices and new lows on the field for a team that had been in decline for more than a decade before he became minority owner. While there was triumph in the FA Cup last year, that success has been overshadowed by supporter protests, job losses, unconvincing transfers and humbling defeats. Bold plansRatcliffe said his investment was just the beginning of our journey to take Manchester United back to the top of English, European and world football. Those ambitions feel further away now than they have in decades, with United 15th in the standings and closer to the relegation zone than the top six after a woeful campaign. Sundays 1-0 loss to Tottenham was the 12th in the league this season and an eighth under Amorim, who only took charge in November. Amorim said: I have a lot of problems, my job is so hard, but I am here to continue my job to the next week with my beliefs. Major overhaulHe was one of a number of key hires made as part of Ratcliffes overhaul of Uniteds soccer operations. Omar Berrada was lured away from Manchester City to become CEO and Dan Ashworth left Newcastle to take up the role of sporting director. Jason Wilcox, formerly director of Citys academy, became technical director. Key figures at Ratcliffes Ineos Sport, Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc, were appointed to the board and Amorim became the final piece of a new leadership team after former manager Erik ten Hag was fired in October. But that restructuring has been far from a smooth process. Ten Hag was fired three months after being handed a one-year contract extension with United having lost four of its opening nine league games.Ashworth left the club less than six months after taking up his role, and after months of negotiations to take him away from Newcastle. They were expensive missteps.In total it cost United 10.4 million pounds ($13.09 million) to pay off Ten Hag and his staff and another 11 million pounds ($13.85 million) to trigger Amorims release from Sporting Lisbon. It was reported it cost between 2 and 3 million pounds ($2.5-3.78 million) to hire Ashworth, who spent five months on gardening leave during negotiations with Newcastle. Cost cuttingThose numbers make uncomfortable reading at a time when United has implemented cost-saving initiatives that it said included staff redundancies of around 250 roles. More could be on the way, according to reports. In October it emerged that managerial great Alex Ferguson was not beyond the reach of those measures. He will step down from his lucrative role as club ambassador at the end of the season.In addition to cuts, United raised its lowest-priced tickets to 66 pounds ($81) partway through the season, up from 40 pounds ($49).It defended that decision by telling fans it could not sustain its current financial losses and was in danger of breaching league rules if it did not act. United reported losses last year of 113.2 million pounds ($140 million).We will get back to a cash positive position as soon as possible and we will have to make some difficult choices to get there, it said in a letter to fans. Fan protestsThat explanation has not gone down well with supporters. Fans should not be paying the price for previous bad ownership & bad management, Manchester United Supporters Trust posted on X. The supporters bring far more value than the simple collective ticket revenue.Supporters spent years trying to drive out the American Glazer family, which is still majority owner, and there continues to be anger towards them after Ratcliffes investment. There have been jeers for the team while Uniteds performances on the field have continued to slide. New lowsRatcliffes first season as co-owner saw United endure its worst league campaign in 34 years when it finished in eighth place. The end of his first full season could be even worse. The last time it lost 12 of its first 25 games in a league season was in the 1973-74 campaign when it was relegated from the top flight. Transfer strategyUnited has spent around $260 million on players in the two transfer windows under Ratcliffe, but the squad still looks well short of the quality required to challenge for the title. Forward Joshua Zirkzee has struggled to adapt to the Premier League and defender Leny Yoro missed a large part of the season through injury. The pressure of complying with the leagues financial rules has placed uncertainty on Uniteds ability to spend big in the summer to bring in players to suit Amorims preferred system, and there is unlikely to be a quick fix. Stadium rebuildRatcliffe wants a world class stadium, either by way of redeveloping Uniteds iconic Old Trafford or building one from new. His plans, which include an ambitious redevelopment of the surrounding area, have been backed by the U.K. government. Financing them, however, is another issue and it is not yet clear where that money will come from. The modernization of Uniteds Carrington training ground is well underway after 50 million pounds ($63 million) of investment.The futureUnited hasnt lifted the league title since Fergusons last season in 2013 and behind the scenes the focus is on winning it for a record-extending 21st time. But with Liverpool on course to equal Uniteds haul of 20 this season, it is the clubs great rival from Merseyside that could set that new bar first. Ratcliffe is a hugely successful businessman but, as he is discovering, that does not guarantee success in soccer. ___James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Morocco's Nouhaila Benzina walks around the ground during a familiarization tour ahead of her Women's World Cup Group H match with Germany in Melbourne, Australia, on July 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Victoria Adkins, File)2025-02-18T13:15:20Z Amnesty International is urging French lawmakers to reject a bill this week that would ban headscarves in all sporting competitions.The bill is backed by right-wing senators and will be debated from Tuesday in the upper house of the French parliament. Its aim is to ban all ostensibly religious clothing and symbols during competitions. Amnesty International says the move would be discriminatory.The vote is likely to refuel the lingering debate on secularism still volatile more than a century after the 1905 law on separation of church and state that established it as a principle of the French Republic.Until now, sporting federations have been free to decide whether or not to allow headscarves, with two of the countrys most powerful sports, soccer and rugby, opting to ban them.The bill is at an early stage and this weeks vote marks the beginning of a long legislative process with an uncertain outcome. Even if senators vote in favor, the bills future will remain unclear since the lower house has the final say. To pass, the bill would need a coalition of forces that dont usually collaborate in the deeply divided lower house. Amnesty Internationals calls come after French sprinter Sounkamba Sylla said last summer she was barred from the opening ceremony at the Paris Olympics because she wears a hijab. She was eventually allowed to take part wearing a cap to cover her hair. France enforces a strict principle of lacit, loosely translated as secularism. At the Games, the president of the French Olympic Committee said its Olympians were bound by the secular principles that apply to public sector workers in the country, which include a ban on hijabs and other religious signs. At the Paris Olympics, Frances ban on French women athletes who wear headscarves from competing at the Games drew international outrage, said Anna Bu, an Amnesty International researcher on gender justice. Just six months on, French authorities are not only doubling down on the discriminatory hijab ban but are attempting to extend it to all sports.Experts appointed by the UN Human Rights Council have previously criticized the decision by the French soccer and basketball federations to exclude players wearing the hijab, and the French governments decision to prevent its athletes wearing headscarves from representing the country at the Paris Games.Amnesty International said the bill in reality targets Muslim women and girls by excluding them from sporting competitions if they wear a headscarf or other religious clothing. Lacit...which is theoretically embedded in the French constitution to protect everyones religious freedom, has often been used as a pretext to block Muslim womens access to public spaces in France, Amnesty International said. Over several years, the French authorities have enacted laws and policies to regulate Muslim womens and girls clothing, in discriminatory ways. Sport federations have followed suit, imposing hijab bans in several sports.Two years ago, Frances highest administrative court said the countrys soccer federation was entitled to ban headscarves in competitions even though the measure can limit freedom of expression. Wielding the principle of religious neutrality enshrined in the constitution, the countrys soccer federation also does not make things easy for international players who want to refrain from drinking or eating from dawn to sunset during the Ramadan, Islamic holy month.Supporters of the bill cite growing attacks on secularism in sport, arguing that its core values are based on a principle of universality. To protect sports grounds from any non-sporting confrontation, they say, a principle of neutrality needs to be implemented to ensure that no political, religious or racial demonstration or propaganda can be promoted.The bill also states that using part of a sports facility as a place of worship would be a misuse of its purpose, and bans the wearing of religious clothing, such as the burkini, in public swimming pools. By placing the wearing of a headscarf on the spectrum of attacks on secularism, which range from permissiveness to terrorism, this legislation, if passed, would fuel racism and reinforce the growing hostile environment facing Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim in France, Amnesty International said.___Associated Press reporter Sylvie Corbet contributed to this story. SAMUEL PETREQUIN Petrequin has been covering sports and general news for The Associated Press for more than two decades. twitter mailto

A destroyed mosque, caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive, is seen in the town of Khiam, southern Lebanon, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)2025-02-18T08:29:25Z DEIR MIMAS, Lebanon (AP) Israeli forces withdrew Tuesday from border villages in southern Lebanon under a deadline spelled out in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war, but stayed put in five strategic overlook locations inside Lebanon. Top Lebanese leaders denounced the continued presence of the Israel troops as an occupation and a violation of the deal, maintaining that Israel was required to make a full withdrawal by Tuesday. The troops presence is also a sore point with the militant Hezbollah group, which has demanded action from the authorities.Lebanese soldiers moved into the areas from where the Israeli troops pulled out and began clearing roadblocks set up by Israeli forces and checking for unexploded ordnance. They blocked the main road leading to the villages, preventing anyone from entering while the military was looking for any explosives left behind. Most of the villages waited by the roadside for permission to go and check on their homes but some pushed aside the roadblocks to march in. Elsewhere, the army allowed the residents to enter. Many of their houses were demolished during the more than year-long conflict or in the two months after Novembers ceasefire agreement, when Israeli forces were still occupying the area.In the border village of Kfar Kila, people were stunned by the amount of destruction, with entire sections of houses wiped out. What Im seeing is beyond belief. I am in a state of shock, said Khodo Suleiman, a construction contractor, pointing to his destroyed home on a hilltop. There are no homes, no plants, nothing left, said Suleiman, who had last been in Kfar Kila six months ago. I am feeling a mixture of happiness and pain.In the main village square, Lebanese troops deployed as a military bulldozer removed rubble from the street.Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli army will stay in a buffer zone in Lebanon in five control posts to guard against any ceasefire violations by Hezbollah. He also said the army had erected new posts on the Israeli side of the border and sent reinforcements there. We are determined to provide full security to every northern community, Katz said.However, Lebanons three top officials the countrys president, prime minister and parliament speaker in a joint statement said that Israels continued presence at the five locaions was in violation of the ceasefire agreement. They called on the U.N. Security Council to take action to force a complete Israeli withdrawal.The continued Israeli presence in any inch of Lebanese territory is an occupation, with all the legal consequences that result from that according to international legitimacy, the statement said.The Israeli troop presence was also criticized in a joint statement by the U.N. special coordinator for Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, and the head of the U.N. peacekeeping force in the country, Lt. Gen. Aroldo Lzaro.The two, however, warned that this should not overshadow the tangible progress that has been made since the ceasefire agreement. Near the Lebanese villages of Deir Mimas and Kfar Kila, hundreds of villagers were gathered early on Tuesday morning as an Israeli drone flew overhead.Atef Arabi, who had been waiting with his wife and two daughters before sunrise, was eager to see whats left of his home in Kfar Kila. I am very happy I am going back even if I find my home destroyed, said the 36-year-old car mechanic. If I find my house destroyed I will rebuild it.Later on Tuesday, Kfar Kilas mayor Hassan Sheet told The Associated Press that 90% of the village homes are completely destroyed while the remaining 10% are damaged. There are no homes nor buildings standing, he said, adding that rebuilding will start from scratch.The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah began firing rockets across the border on Oct. 8, 2023, one day after a deadly Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza. Israel responded with shelling and airstrikes in Lebanon, and the two sides became locked in an escalating conflict that became a full-blown war last September. More than 4,000 people were killed in Lebanon and more than 1 million were displaced at the height of the conflict, more than 100,000 of whom have not been able to return home. On the Israeli side, dozens of people were killed and some 60,000 are displaced.Hussein Fares left Kfar Kila in October 2023 for the southern city of Nabatiyeh. When the fighting intensified in September he moved with his family to the city of Sidon where they were given a room in a school housing displaced people.Kfar Kila saw intense fighting and Israeli troops later detonated many of its homes.I have been waiting for a year and the half to return, said Fares who has a pickup truck and works as a laborer. He said he understands that the reconstruction process will take time.I have been counting the seconds for this day, he said.___Associated Press writer Tia Goldenberg in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Displaced Palestinians, traveling in vehicles, wait to cross through a security checkpoint at the Netzarim corridor as they make their way from central Gaza to the northern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)2025-02-18T13:21:25Z CAIRO (AP) A top Hamas leader says the militant group will release six living Israeli hostages on Saturday and the bodies of four others on Thursday, a surprise increase that apparently comes in return for Israel allowing mobile homes and construction equipment into the devastated Gaza Strip.The six are the last living hostages set to be freed under the ceasefires first phase. The warring sides have yet to negotiate the second and more difficult phase, in which Hamas says it will release dozens more hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, in prerecorded remarks, said the Bibas family would be included in the handover of four bodies, apparently referring to Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, Ariel and Kfir, who for many Israelis embody the captives plight.Israel has not confirmed their deaths, and the prime ministers office urged the public not to distribute photos, names and rumors. Israel has said it was gravely concerned about the Bibas family, while Hamas said they were killed in an Israeli airstrike early in the war. Yarden Bibas, the husband and father, was kidnapped separately and released this month. Kfir, who was 9 months old at the time, was the youngest hostage taken in Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. A video of the abduction showed Shiri swaddling her redheaded boys in a blanket and being whisked away by armed men. An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to allow long-requested mobile homes and construction equipment into Gaza as part of efforts to accelerate the hostages release.Hamas last week threatened to hold up releases, citing the refusal to allow in mobile homes and heavy equipment among other alleged violations of the truce. Israel is expected to continue releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including many serving life sentences for deadly attacks, in exchange for the hostages. Others were detained without charge.The ceasefire that began in mid-January has paused the deadliest fighting ever between Israel and Hamas, surged aid into devastated Gaza and allowed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to return to their homes as Israeli forces withdrew from much of the territory.Israelis and Palestinians marked 500 days of war on Monday.Major challenges are ahead. Israels government says it wants to eliminate Hamas military and governing capabilities in Gaza. But the militant group quickly reasserted its control of the territory during the ceasefire despite losing leaders and many fighters.In addition, U.S. President Donald Trump s proposal to relocate the Palestinians out of Gaza so the U.S. can redevelop the territory has been rejected by the Arab world and by the Palestinians, who fear theyll never be allowed to return. Egypt is working on a counter-plan to rebuild without moving Palestinians.Israel has embraced the plan, and it and the Trump administration have emphasized they share the same goals in the war. Israelis were horrified by the sight of three emaciated hostages in an earlier release this month, and revelations about hostages being held alone, barefoot or in chains have increased the pressure on Netanyahus government to push ahead with the ceasefires next phase.Under the current phase, Hamas is gradually releasing 33 Israeli hostages, eight of whom are believed to be dead. If the upcoming releases go as planned, four bodies will remain and are set to be returned next week.Hamas-led militants would still hold some 70 captives, around half believed to be dead.The ceasefires current phase ends at the beginning of March, and there are fears that fighting will resume. Talks on the second phase were to start early this month.The militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250 in the Oct. 7 attack. More than half the captives have been released in ceasefire agreements and other deals, while eight have been rescued in military operations.Israels air and ground war killed over 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The offensive destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced most of its population of 2.3 million. ___Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

M23 rebels guard outside the South Kivu province administrative office, at the centre of east Congo's second-largest city, Bukavu, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga)2025-02-18T11:55:48Z DAKAR, Senegal (AP) The U.N. human rights chief accused Rwanda-backed rebels who seized a second major city in eastern Congo of killing children and attacking hospitals and warehouses storing humanitarian aid.Volker Trk said in a statement Tuesday that his office confirmed cases of summary execution of children by M23 after they entered the city of Bukavu last week. We are also aware that children were in possession of weapons.He provided no details or did not refer to specific events, but U.N. agencies have previously accused both Congolese government forces and the rebels of recruiting children. The United Nations Human Rights Council earlier this month launched a commission that will investigate atrocities, including rapes and killings akin to summary executions committed by both sides since the beginning of the year.The M23 rebels on Sunday captured Bukavu, the city of 1.3 million people, after seizing Goma, 100 kilometers (62 miles) to the north last month. At least 3,000 were reported killed and thousands displaced in the Goma fighting. Early Tuesday, the bodies of over 20 people were recovered in Bukavu, Franois Moreillon, from the International Committee of the Red Cross, told The Associated Press. The M23 is the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of eastern Congos trillions of dollars in mineral wealth thats critical for much of the worlds technology. The rebels are supported by about 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to U.N. experts. Rwanda accuses Congo of enlisting Hutu fighters responsible for the 1994 genocide of minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus. M23 says its fighting to protect Tutsis and Congolese of Rwandan origin from discrimination and wants to transform Congo from a failed into a modern state though critics say its a pretext for Rwandas involvement. Unlike in 2012, when the M23 briefly seized Goma and withdrew after international pressure, analysts have said the rebels this time are eyeing political power.The decades-long fighting has displaced more than 6 million people in the region, creating the worlds largest humanitarian crisis.

This is a locator map for Sudan with its capital, Khartoum. (AP Photo)2025-02-18T14:12:55Z CAIRO (AP) Attacks by Sudans paramilitary Rapid Support Force have killed hundreds of civilians, including infants, in White Nile state, Sudanese officials and rights groups said Tuesday.Sudans Foreign Ministry said in a statement cited by Egyptian state-run Qahera News TV that the paramilitary group targeted civilians in the past few days in villages in the al-Gitaina area after they were certain of their crushing defeat by the Sudanese army. The statement put the death toll at 433, while the Preliminary Committee of Sudan Doctors Trade Union put that figure at 300. Emergency Lawyers, a rights group tracking violence against civilians, said in a statement Tuesday morning that more than 200 people, including women and children, were killed in RSF attacks and hundreds of others were injured over the past three days.The attacks included executions, kidnapping, forced disappearance, looting, and shooting those trying to escape, the group said. Minister of Culture and Information Khalid Ali Aleisir said on Facebook that recent attacks by the RSF in Al-Kadaris and Al-Khalwat villages in White Nile state are the latest systematic violence against defenseless civilians. The Sudanese military said Saturday it had advanced in White Nile and liberated more cities and villages, cutting crucial supply routes to the RSF, a rival group it has battled for control of the country since April 2023. The war in Sudan has killed more than 24,000 people and driven over 14 million people about 30% of the population from their homes, according to the United Nations. An estimated 3.2 million Sudanese have crossed into neighboring countries including Chad, Egypt and South Sudan.The U.N. on Tuesday said that throughout 2024, its human rights office documented more than 4,200 civilian killings, adding that the total number is likely much higher. Meanwhile, Norways Minister of International Development smund Aukrust denounced an escalation in violence and attacks against civilians.I am deeply concerned about the sharp increase in civilian deaths caused by the intensified conflict in Sudan. I am also shocked by reports of indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure. Any such attacks must stop immediately, Aukrust said.The developments on the ground have given the military the upper hand in the war as the paramilitary suffered multiple blows, including losing control of the city of Wad Medani, the capital of Gezira province, and other areas in the province. The Sudanese military also regained control of the countrys largest oil refinery.The RSF appears to have lost control of the Greater Khartoum area and the cities of Omdurman and Khartoum Bahri.The war has showed no end in sight despite international mediation attempts, including a U.S. assessment that the RSF and its proxies are committing genocide.

American Indian activist Leonard Peltier speaks during an interview at the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kan., April 29, 1999. (Joe Ledford/The Kansas City Star via AP, File)2025-02-18T05:01:32Z SUMTERVILLE, Fla. (AP) Native American activist Leonard Peltier was released from a Florida prison on Tuesday, weeks after then-President Joe Biden angered law enforcement officials by commuting his life sentence in the 1975 killings of two FBI agents.For nearly half a century, Peltiers imprisonment has symbolized systemic injustice for Native Americans across the country who believe in his innocence. The decision to release the 80-year-old to home confinement was celebrated by supporters.He represents every person whos been roughed up by a cop, profiled, had their children harassed at school, said Nick Estes, a professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota and a member of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe who advocated for Peltiers release.But the move just before Biden left office also prompted criticism from those who say Peltier is guilty, including former FBI Director Christopher Wray, who called him a remorseless killer in a private letter to Biden obtained by The Associated Press. Granting Peltier any relief from his conviction or sentence is wholly unjustified and would be an affront to the rule of law, Wray wrote. The commutation was not a pardon for crimes committed, something Peltiers advocates have hoped for since he has always maintained his innocence.Peltier left the prison Tuesday morning in an SUV, according to a prison official. He didnt stop to speak with reporters or his supporters outside the gates. One of his attorneys, Jenipher Jones, said Peltier was looking forward to going home.Were so excited for this moment, Jones said. He is in good spirits. He has the soul of a warrior.After being released from USP Coleman, a high-security prison, Peltier planned to return to North Dakota, where he is expected to celebrate with friends and family on Wednesday.Biden commuted Peltiers sentence Jan. 20, noting he had spent most of his life in prison and was now in poor health. We never thought he would get out, Ray St. Clair, a member of the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, said shortly before Peltiers release. It shows you should never give up hope. We can take this repairing the damage that was done. This is a start.Peltier, an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota, was active in the American Indian Movement, which beginning in the 1960s fought for Native American treaty rights and tribal self-determination.The group grabbed headlines in 1969 when activists occupied the former prison island of Alcatraz in the San Francisco Bay, and again in 1972, when they presented presidential candidates with a list of demands including the restoration of tribal land. After they were ignored, they seized the headquarters of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.From then on, the group was subject to FBI surveillance and harassment under a covert program that sought to disrupt activism and was exposed in 1975. Peltiers conviction stemmed from a confrontation that year on the Oglala Sioux Indian Reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, in which FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams were killed. According to the FBI, the agents were there to serve arrest warrants for robbery and assault with a dangerous weapon. Prosecutors maintained at trial that Peltier shot both agents in the head at point-blank range. Peltier acknowledged being present and firing a gun at a distance, but he said he fired in self-defense. A woman who claimed to have seen Peltier shoot the agents later recanted her testimony, saying it had been coerced.He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and given two consecutive life sentences.Two other movement members, co-defendants Robert Robideau and Dino Butler, were acquitted on the grounds of self-defense.Peltier was denied parole as recently as July and was not eligible to be considered for it again until 2026.Leonard Peltiers release is the right thing to do given the serious and ongoing human rights concerns about the fairness of his trial, his nearly 50 years behind bars, his health and his age, Paul OBrien, executive director with Amnesty International USA, said in a statement before Peltiers release. While we welcome his release from prison, he should not be restricted to home confinement. Prominent Native American groups like the National Congress of the American Indian have called for Peltiers release for decades, and Amnesty International considered him a political prisoner. Prominent supporters over the years included South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, civil rights icon Coretta Scott King, actor and director Robert Redford and musicians Pete Seeger, Harry Belafonte and Jackson Browne.Generations of Indigenous activists and leaders lobbied multiple presidents to pardon Peltier. Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and the first Native American to hold the secretarys position, praised Bidens decision. I am grateful that Leonard can now go home to his family, she said Jan. 20 in a post on X. I applaud President Biden for this action and understanding what this means to Indian Country. As a young child, Peltier was taken from his family and sent to a boarding school. Thousands of Indigenous children over decades faced the same fate, and were in many cases subjected to systemic physical, psychological and sexual abuse. He hasnt really had a home since he was taken away to boarding school, said Nick Tilsen, who has been advocating for Peltiers release since he was a teen and is CEO of NDN Collective, an Indigenous-led advocacy group based in South Dakota. So he is excited to be at home and paint and have grandkids running around.___Brewer reported from Norman, Oklahoma. GRAHAM LEE BREWER Brewer reports for the APs Race and Ethnicity team, focusing on Indigenous communities and tribal nations. He is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and is based in Oklahoma. twitter mailto

On January 24 we received a pretty unusual email. The sender, a procurement officer from government contractor Cirrus Systems, wanted to buy multiple licenses for Graykey, the iPhone and Android hacking technology widely used by U.S. law enforcement and agencies.Hello sales Team, I hope this email finds you well, the email started. I would be grateful if you provide us with best/lowest price quote for the following items for Federals demand. Please assist in me in the below.This was a government contractor trying to buy a phone hacking tool directly from a group of journalists. So, pretty weird.The email included a table laying out how many licenses Cirrus Systems is after (it looks like four). A statement of work (SOW) then lists what specific capabilities the desired system must be capable of doing. They include full forensic acquisition capability for the latest generations of iOS as implemented on the latest iPhone (iPhone 16 at this time) cellular telephones, and the same for the latest generations of Android.Graykey, owned by the company Magnet Forensics, is a staple across local, state, and federal U.S. law enforcement agencies, with officials using it constantly to unlock and extract data from seized mobile phones. Recently 404 Media published a never-before-seen list of what specific devices Graykey was able to access. On its website, Magent says that Graykey is restricted to select countries. Graykey is not available to the private sector.A screenshot of the email. Image: 404 Media.The end user, the email said, would be Washington Headquarters Services (WHS), an agency that provides human resources, personnel security, and other services to the Office of the Secretary of Defense and other Department of Defense components. The date of closing was February 13, the email added.The contractor does business as Cirrus Systems but the company itself is called FSR Consulting LLC, according to the email. FSR Consultings customers include the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Navy, the Air Force, and other government agencies, according to public procurement records.Do you know anything else about Graykey? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at +44 20 8133 5190. Otherwise, send me an email at joseph@404media.co.Weirdly, this isnt the first time someone has tried to buy something from me that is typically limited to just governments. In 2019 a Saudi cybersecurity company wanted to source zero day exploits from me.I dont know whether WHS got the Graykeys it was after. Plenty of other agencies have, though. One procurement record this month points to Graykey license renewals for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.Neither Cirrus Systems or the DoD responded to a request for comment.

This image taken from video provided by CTV shows an aerial view of the overturned plane at Toronto Pearson Airport, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (CTV via AP)2025-02-18T16:35:47Z TORONTO (AP) The Delta Air Lines jet came down fast, wobbled so hard that it lost its right wing, and burst into flames on a runway in Toronto. The aircraft slid to a stop, upside down, leaving a trail of black smoke in its wake. Miraculously, all 80 people on board the flight from Minneapolis to Torontos Pearson International Airport survived the crash Monday. Most of them walked away with minor injuries, the airports chief executive said. Delta said some of the 18 injured were released from hospitals Tuesday.Authorities said the cause of the crash remains under investigation. Communications between the tower and pilot were normal on approach and its not clear what went wrong when the plane touched down. At the time of the flights arrival, Pearson was experiencing blowing snow and winds of 32 mph (51 kph) gusting to 40 mph (65 kph), according to the Meteorological Service of Canada. The temperature was about 16.5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 8.6 degrees Celsius). Peter Carlson, a passenger traveling to Toronto for a paramedics conference, said the landing was very forceful.All the sudden everything just kind of went sideways and the next thing I know, its kind of a blink and Im upside down still strapped in, he told CBC News. Canadian authorities held two brief news conferences Monday but provided few details. The aircraft was a Mitsubishi CRJ-900 made by the Canadian company Bombardier. We are very grateful there was no loss of life and relatively minor injuries, Deborah Flint, CEO of Greater Toronto Airports Authority, told reporters. Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a statement that the hearts of the entire global Delta family are with those affected. The crash was the fourth major aviation accident in North America in recent weeks. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29, killing 67 people. A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on Jan. 31, killing the six people on board and another person on the ground. And on Feb. 6, 10 people were killed in a plane crash in Alaska. The last major crash at Pearson was on Aug. 2, 2005, when an Airbus A340 from Paris skidded off the runway and burst into flames in stormy weather. All 309 passengers and crew aboard Air France Flight 358 survived.The Delta flight was cleared to land at about 2:10 p.m. Audio recordings show the control tower warned the pilots of a possible air flow bump on approach. It was windy, but the airplanes are designed and certified to handle that, said John Cox, CEO of aviation safety consulting firm Safety Operating Systems in St. Petersburg, Florida. The pilots are trained and experienced to handle that.The plane came to a rest at the intersection of Runways 23 and 15L. Carlson said when he took off his seat belt he crashed onto the ceiling, which had become the floor. He smelled gas, saw aviation fuel cascading down the cabin windows and knew he needed to get out, but his paramedic skills kicked in and he looked for those he could help. Carlson and another man assisted a mother and her young son out of the plane and then Carlson dropped onto the tarmac. He said snow was blowing but I didnt care how cold it was, didnt care how far I had to walk, how long I had to stand all of us just wanted to be out of the aircraft.Cox, who flew for U.S. Air for 25 years and has worked on U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigations, said the CRJ-900 has been in service for decades and does a good job of handling inclement weather, but that its unusual for any plane to end up on its roof. Weve seen a couple of cases of takeoffs where airplanes have ended up inverted, but its pretty rare, Cox said.Among the questions that need to be answered, Cox said, is why the crashed plane was missing its right wing. He said the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder will be imperative to understanding what actually occurred.The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that the Transportation Safety Board of Canada would head up the investigation and provide any updates. The NTSB in the U.S. said it was sending a team to assist.Endeavor Air, based in Minneapolis, is a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines and the worlds largest operator of CRJ-900 aircraft. The airline operates 130 regional jets on 700 daily flights to over 126 cities in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean, according to the companys website. ___Casey reported from Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press journalists Michael Sisak in New York, Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, Alex Veiga in Los Angeles, and Jim Morris in Vancouver, British Columbia, contributed reporting. MICHAEL CASEY Casey writes about the environment, housing and inequality for The Associated Press. He lives in Boston. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

People shovel snow to dig out their cars in Montreal, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, after over 70 centimetres of snow fell in 4 days, breaking a snowfall record in the city. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)2025-02-18T16:41:05Z BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) North Dakota felt more like the North Pole on Tuesday as lows broke records in the state capital of Bismarck and other parts of the state that had stood for more than a century.Bismarck hit minus 39 on Tuesday, breaking the record of minus 37 (-38.3 C) set in 1910 for the same date, said National Weather Service Meteorologist James Telken in Bismarck. And late on Monday, Bismarck set a record of minus 35, shattering a 150-year-old record of minus 30 for the date of Feb. 17.Much of the Midwest including Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska also is gripped by low temperatures double digits below zero. People should make sure to bundle up with hats, jackets and other winter gear even if they are outside for only a few minutes in such subzero cold, and they should bring pets indoors, Telken said. Warm clothing is especially important for drivers should they become stranded, he added. A gradual warmup is expected with lows on Wednesday night across most of North Dakota forecasted to be in the minus 10s to minus 20s. By Thursday, lows are projected to be in the single digits above and below zero.Forecasted highs for Monday are in the 50s for parts of southwestern and south-central North Dakota, he said. JACK DURA Dura covers the North Dakota state government for The Associated Press. He is based in Bismarck, North Dakota. twitter mailto

French President Emmanuel Macron, center right, walks with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, center left, as she leaves the Elysee Palace, after an informal meeting of leaders from key European Union nations and the United Kingdom, in Paris, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)2025-02-18T16:29:44Z PARIS (AP) French President Emmanuel Macron painted a veneer of European unity by inviting a small number of handpicked European leaders to the lyse Palace, while the Trump administration sidelined the continent by moving ahead with direct negotiations on Tuesday with Russia on the war in Ukraine. But beneath the diplomatic pageantry, cracks in European consensus were hard to ignore.One question loomed: Could Europe take charge of its own security, or would it remain reactive to U.S. and Russian decisions?From Macrons push for European-led defense to Keir Starmers third way diplomacy, Giorgia Melonis balancing act between Brussels and Washington, and Olaf Scholz s resistance to breaking with NATO, Europe remains divided on its next move. France Macron seeks to take the leadBy hosting the Monday summit in his Parisian palace, Macron reinforced his image of the imperial French Sun King and his bid to become the dominant voice on Ukraine and European security. With Germanys Scholz politically weakened and potentially soon out of office, the U.K. outside the EU, and Italy leaning toward Trump, Macron has emerged as the blocs de facto leader in a push for strategic autonomy.With a presidential mandate until 2027 and Frances nuclear arsenal making it Europes only atomic power, Macron has positioned himself as the only politician with both the ambition and authority to act. His proposal for a European-led security force in Ukraine, even in a limited training and logistics role, fits into his broader push for a continent less dependent on Washington. But forging consensus is proving difficult: Germany is resisting, key frontline EU nations were left out of the summit, and Trumps unpredictability clouds Europes security outlook.Macron has sought to impose himself as Europes strongman, said French political analyst Jean-Yves Camus. United Kingdom Starmers third way strategyKeir Starmer is charting a different course, positioning himself as Europes key link to Washington while maintaining a firm pro-Ukraine stance. Having met Trump before the election I like him a lot, the U.S. president said the British prime minister is set to travel to Washington next week in what some see as an effort to bridge the U.S.-Europe divide, and a hallmark of the special relationship.While Trump moves toward de-escalation in Ukraine, Starmer is doubling down on support for Kyiv, stating the U.K. is ready and willing to send British troops if necessary. This stance stands in contrast to Macron and Scholzs more cautious approach.Starmers surprising decision not to sign a key international declaration on the future of AI last week aligning with the U.S. rather than the EU has raised questions about whether Britain is shifting closer to Washington on broader geopolitical issues. The U.K. is unique in that its practically the only major ally that Trump hasnt purposefully antagonized since his inauguration, said Anand Sundar, a special advisor at the European Council on Foreign Relations. The Starmer government is doing everything it can to not put a target on its back.Some analysts suggest Starmer is positioning himself as Trumps European whisperer, able to influence the White House while staying in step with Europe. Italy Melonis balancing actGiorgia Meloni, a Trump ally and the only leader of a major European economy to attend his inauguration in January, arrived late to the Paris summit and left without making a public statement moves observers saw as signs of skepticism toward the meeting.According to Italian news agency ANSA, Meloni questioned why the summit was held in Paris rather than Brussels, the EUs natural decision-making hub, and criticized the exclusion of frontline states such as the Baltic nations, Sweden, and Finland.At the summit, she pushed back against deploying European troops to Ukraine, calling it the most complex and least effective option - especially without firm security guarantees for Kyiv.Observers noted that Meloni echoed some of U.S. Vice President JD Vances criticism of Europes reliance on U.S. protection. We shouldnt be asking what the Americans can do for us, but what we must do for ourselves, she said, according to ANSA.Despite her skepticism, Meloni still engaged in the talks, bringing Italys concerns over long-term European military commitments to the table. Hungary Orbans absenceNotably absent from the Paris talks was Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbn, a close Trump ally and frequent critic of EU policies. While no official reason was given for his exclusion, some observers saw it as a pointed message from Paris and its European allies about the limits of engagement with leaders seen as too closely aligned with Trumps worldview.Germany Scholzs irritation If Macron is stepping forward, Scholz is pushing back. At the summit, the German Chancellor rejected Macrons proposal for a European-led security force in Ukraine, calling it completely premature and highly inappropriate given the ongoing war.Scholz didnt hide his frustration, saying he was a little irritated that peacekeeping forces were even being discussed at the wrong time. He insisted NATO not an independent European force must remain the foundation of security.Due to its historical legacy from the world wars, some argue that Germany has always been willing to cede European security leadership to France, a role the French have pursued since President Charles de Gaulle. At the same time, the debate over military spending is intensifying, as NATO officials stress the alliances 2% GDP target is now a baseline rather than a cap.

This image taken from video provided by CTV shows an aerial view of the overturned plane at Toronto Pearson Airport, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (CTV via AP)2025-02-18T16:18:37Z A passenger jet flipped onto its roof while landing in Toronto, Canada, the fourth major aviation accident in North America in the past three weeks. While at least 18 people were injured, all 80 people on board the Delta Air Lines flight from Minneapolis survived the crash Monday. Here are some things to know about the crash: What caused the airplane to flip?Communications between the tower at Torontos Pearson International Airport and the pilot were normal on approach and right now its not clear what went wrong when the plane touched down.Were strong winds a factor in the crash?Toronto Pearson Fire Chief Todd Aitken has said the runway was dry and there was no cross-wind conditions.Audio recordings indicate that the control tower warned the pilots of a possible air flow bump on the approach. Winds were gusting up to 40 mph (65 kph) during the day at the airport, according to the Meteorological Service of Canada. But airplanes and pilots should be equipped to handle those kind of winds while landing, said John Cox, CEO of aviation safety consulting firm Safety Operating Systems in Florida. Were the passengers badly injured? Those hurt had relatively minor injuries, the airports chief executive said. The airport fire chief said 18 passengers were taken to the hospital. An air ambulance operator said it had transported one pediatric patient and two adults to hospitals. Delta said Tuesday that some of those injured had been released. What happened inside the plane? One passenger told told CBC News that he found himself upside down and still strapped in his seat after a forceful landing. Peter Carlson said he crashed onto the ceiling when he took off his seat belt and smelled gas. He and another man helped a mother and her young son out of the plane before getting out. Who is investigating? The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said the Transportation Safety Board of Canada will lead the investigation. The National Transportation Safety Board in the U.S. said it was sending a team to assist. Is it safe to fly?The fourth major aviation accident in North America in less than a month has many people concerned about the safety of flying. Fatal crashes remain rare and the track record of U.S. airlines is remarkably safe.But there have been deadly crashes recently around the world and U.S. officials have been raising concerns about an overtaxed and understaffed air traffic control system for years___Associated Press writers John Wawrow and Michael Casey contributed to this report. JOHN SEEWER Seewer covers state and national news for The Associated Press and is based in Toledo, Ohio. twitter mailto