Transition-related health care for transgender people, including youth, is supported by every major medical association and leading health authority. Efforts to ban and criminalize this care are not based in medical nor scientific expertise, and frequently employ intentional misinformation about what health care for trans, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming people may encompass. Advocates for Trans [...]The post Fact Sheet for Reporters: Intentional Mischaracterizations of Transgender Health Care first appeared on GLAAD.

President Donald Trump meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-02-07T21:48:47Z WASHINGTON (AP) The State Department has formally told Congress that it plans to sell more than $7 billion in weapons to Israel, including thousands of bombs and missiles, just two days after President Donald Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.The massive arms sale comes as a fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas holds, even as Trump continues to tout his widely criticized proposal to move all Palestinians from Gaza and redevelop it as an international travel destination.The sale is another step in Trumps effort to bolster Israels weapons stocks. In late January, soon after he took office, he lifted the hold on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. The Biden administration had paused a shipment of the bombs over concerns about civilian casualties, particularly during an assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Trump told reporters that he released them to Israel, because they bought them.According to the State Department, two separate sales were sent to Congress on Friday. One is for $6.75 billion in an array of munitions, guidance kits and other related equipment. It includes 166 small diameter bombs, 2,800 500-pound bombs, and thousands of guidance kits, fuzes and other bomb components and support equipment. Those deliveries would begin this year.The other arms package is for 3,000 Hellfire missiles and related equipment for an estimated cost of $660 million. Deliveries of the missiles are expected to begin in 2028.__ LOLITA C. BALDOR Baldor has covered the Pentagon and national security issues for The Associated Press since 2005. She has reported from all over the world including warzones in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. twitter mailto

The FX sitcom English Teacher just picked up for a second season despite the shows star Brian Jordan Alvarez facing sexual assault allegations.In December, Alvarez was accused of sexual assault and harassment by his former collaborated Jon Ebeling during the time the two were working on the web series The Gay and Wonderous Life of Caleb Gallo, Out reports.Through his spokesperson, Alvarez has denied the allegations, claiming they were entirely consensual.According to Screenrant, even with this looming controversy, the comedy series will be renewed for season 2 and may even start production this month, though it remains unclear which cast members will return.The comedy series, about a teacher (Alvarez) who finds himself caught up in personal, professional, and political aspects of working at a Texas high school, became a hit and gained even more viewers when it streamed on Hulu.The first season of the popular show quickly garnered a fan base and received praise for its writing and performances, with Alvarez himself helping to raise the shows profile by making frequent TikTok videos of himself dancing frequently shirtless with captions reminding people to Stream English Teacher on Hulu.Not only is Alvarez the star of the comedy, but he is also the shows creator, which would make excising him from English Teacher even trickier. So far FX has not commented on the new season or whether Alvarez will be asked back.If production resumes this month, fans of the show could get new episodes starting at the end of 2026.

A new TV show about chaotic gays? Sign us up.Kit Williamson is the heartthrob who's starred in a slew of hit projects including EastSiders and Mad Men, but his latest role may be his favorite yet.The multi-hyphenate directed, produced, and starred in the brand new show Unconventional, which serves as a spiritual successor to EastSiders by following a group of dynamic queer people trying to simply survive in this world."I love gay shenanigans! Unconventional is a dark comedy about two eccentric gay siblings and their significant others trying to start a family. The brother, played by me, will be the sperm donor to his sister's girlfriend. Of course, everything goes haywire. Their lives are falling apart," Williamson tells PRIDE. See on Instagram As if a queer family trying to have a baby isn't juicy enough, Williamson's character and his partner also explore threesomes and polyamory to spice up their relationship."I think affording queer characters the right to be complex and flawed is just as important as positive representation. People have sex! That's a part of life. It's a part of relationships and we'd be remiss not to explore it. There's a lot of throuple trouble going on, for sure."Although there's no shortage of wild themes explored in Unconventional, audiences will giggle as all of the storylines play out on screen. After all, laughter is needed now more than ever... and who better to bring the funny than Willam Belli and Kathy Griffin?"You gotta cast drag queens and Kathy Griffin! I'll write something for Willam in everything I ever do. I'm absolutely obsessed with him. Everybody, at some point in their life, has been a complete and total mess. I just really want to tap into that core memory for everyone. I think people can relate to that."Unconventional premieres on Tuesday, February 11, on Revry. To see the full interview with Kit Williamson, check out the video at the top of page. Don't forget to catch the official trailer below!

A bouquet of white flowers placed outside the headquarters of the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, is pictured, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)2025-02-07T20:56:01Z As the Trump administration moves to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, false and misleading information is being pushed on social media to support the change, much of it spread by the administration and Elon Musk.The posts raise questions about funding for certain projects and organizations, often claiming without evidence that the money was used inappropriately.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said to reporters Tuesday that USAID had spent $1.5 million to advance DEI in Serbias workplaces; $70,000 for the production of a DEI musical in Ireland; $47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia, $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru. Those claims were picked up and spread widely on social media throughout the week. Only the grant to a Serbian organization called Grupa Izadji was awarded by USAID. Its stated aim is to to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Serbias workplaces and business communities. The rest were awarded by the State Departments Office of the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. In 2022, it granted $70,884 to an Irish company for a live musical event to promote the U.S. and Irish shared values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. A grant for $25,000 was awarded in 2021 to a university in Colombia to raise awareness and increase the transgender representation through the production of an opera, with an additional $22,020 coming from non-federal funding. And $32,000 awarded in 2022 to a Peruvian organization funded a tailored-made comic, featuring an LGBTQ+ hero to address social and mental health issues. The information environment about what USAID does and does not do has gotten to a very difficult place, where theres a lot of false and misleading information being circulated, said Rachel Bonnifield, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. And I would hope everybody could hew back to the facts, which are publicly available, and we can have a good faith discussion about what USAID should and should not be doing based on those. Sean Roberts, a professor of international affairs at George Washington University and director of the schools international development studies masters program, explained that it makes sense that these programs were funded by the under secretarys office. They do these small grant programs as outreach to local organizations and local communities and theyre generally supposed to reflect values of the United States and the friendship between the countries, he said. Sometimes theyre about democracy, in this case theyre about diversity. But they have nothing to do with USAID.Asked about the Trump administrations portrayal of USAID funding, including Leavitts statement earlier this week, White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said, This waste of taxpayer dollars underscores why the president paused foreign aid on day one to ensure it aligns with American interests. She did not address the misrepresented grants cited above. What about the media?Major media outlets are among the organizations that have been singled out with claims that are false and misleading, including The Associated Press.The BBC, for example, was said to have received approximately $3.2 million (2.6 million pounds) during the 2023-2024 financial year. But that money didnt go to its news operation. It went to BBC Media Action, an international charity that is part of the BBC family, but editorially and financially separate from BBC News, the charity said in a statement. It accounted for about 8% of BBC Media Actions budget that year.We follow the BBCs editorial standards and values in our support for public interest media, reads the statement. However, all of our funding goes to our own projects. These are completely separate from the journalism of BBC News. We have no influence over the editorial decision-making of BBC News. The BBC in the UK is mostly funded by a TV Licence fee.The BBC not including BBC Media Action, which is a separate entity also earns income from the organizations commercial subsidiaries. Posts shared widely across social media also falsely claimed that Politico received at least $8 million from USAID in 2024, with some posts putting that number as high as $34.3 million. That is incorrect. USAID did pay the news site $44,000 in subscription fees in financial years 2023 and 2024. But additional government payments came from other entities.Politico, in a statement to readers from CEO Goli Sheikholeslami and Editor-in-Chief John Harris, said Thursday that it is not getting a government subsidy.The Associated Press was among the media outlets said to receive USAID funding. Although the news wire has been paid $37.5 million by other government agencies since 2008, none of that came from USAID, according to a federal government website that tracks its spending. AP spokeswoman Lauren Easton said that the U.S. government has long been an AP customer through both Democratic and Republican administrations. It licenses APs nonpartisan journalism, just like thousands of news outlets and customers around the world. Its quite common for governments to have contracts with news organizations for their content. Values changeForeign aid experts say that it is normal for an incoming administration to examine how aid is allocated and make changes based on its values.For a new administration to come in and review aid to see if its in line with their view of the American interest and their policy priorities, their general orientation, in theory this is totally normal and appropriate. Elections have consequences, said Bonnifield.She added, however, that the information being spread on social media about USAID funding shows a lack of understanding of how the agency works.There are certain motivations being assigned to it that dont really seem to square with the facts and people are kind of reaching conclusions without understanding whats happening, she said. Thats not to say necessarily all those expenses are good or should continue, but theyre implying intent that isnt there.Roberts described the Trump administrations current approach to USAID as shoot now, ask questions later in which it is amplifying any funding data it can by using incendiary accusations based on nothing.They just tend to obscure any kind of rational discussion about whether this agency is worthwhile and what its goals are and whats the purpose of foreign aid, he said in reference to recent social media posts about USAID funding.Bonnifield and Roberts agreed that further research would be necessary to determine independently from political views whether there are instances of inappropriate or wasteful spending.USAID is an independent agency that has provided humanitarian and development assistance around the world for more than 60 years. According to its 2023 annual report, the agency worked in more than 100 countries worldwide guided by five areas of focus: promoting global health, support global stability, providing humanitarian assistance, catalyzing innovation and partnership, and empowering women and girls.___ MELISSA GOLDIN Goldin debunks, analyzes and tracks misinformation for The Associated Press. She is based in New York. twitter mailto

In a season full of gag-worthy moments, the return of For the Love of DILFs season two fan favorite Daddy Tony Randel may have been the, well, mother of them all. While his first shot at love in Dr. DILFs mansion may have been ill-fated, in season three he found a passionate match with himbo Jay Seabrook together they rode that chemistry all the way into the finale.Thats not to say they didn't have their own issues to overcome. Professionally, they couldnt be further apart. Daddy Tony is a banker and Jay earns his living following his passion, literally, as an adult content creator. After a brief hesitation, Daddy Tony came to the realization that there was no issue for him, and Jay was happy to see that his match was not going to try and change him which would have been a dealbreaker. The rest of the season was smooth sailing, with a lot of smooching for the duo (quite an upgrade from the infamous forehead kiss of season two).In the finale, the full cast returned for a reunion which culminated with them voting for the couple they felt had the most future potential. It came down to two couples, Daddy Tony and Jay versus Robert and Samuel. While the latter pair had faced a rockier road throughout the season, Robert had confessed his love for Samuel during the Romeo and Juliet challenge. Despite that declaration, Daddy Tony and Jay were both confident in facing off against them.I wanted to go against Robert and [Samuel]...over Victor [Yates], because Victor had a lot of good relationships with the daddies, so did I, and I knew that if we were going against them, we would have a better chance, Daddy Tony tells PRIDE. Also I knew that all the himbos like Jay, so if we could just get rid of Victor and Dani I felt like we had it in the bag.From the moment that Daddy Tony entered the house as one of the new daddies and picked Jay for his first date, Jay was laser-focused on him, and regardless of the drama that popped off in the house, their connection never wavered which proved to be a major advantage when it came to the final vote. Everyone else got stuck in all their drama, that's what their energies were on versus us. We were spending time [together]. We were just being the big brothers of both groups, Jay tells PRIDE. So knowing that we were going to go against Sam and Robert, although I love their story arc, I kind of knew we're going to have the advantage also because Steff brought back all the drama and put Robert on the hot spot.Jay, of course, is referring to the love triangle that emerged when Steff entered the house and caught Roberts eye. While Sam and Robert did ultimately resolve their issues, Daddy Tony and Jay remained skeptical about the whole situation. [Robert and Steff] were making out a lot more than they showed, so I said at the reunion that they were doing a lot. Every time I'd be walking around the house, I would see them two together, like on the stairs and everywhere, Daddy Tony reveals. I think Robert just saw that he could probably win with the other person but he was way more into Steff, from what I saw. There was definitely a disconnect [between Robert and Samuel] that happened, Jay agrees You can see it in those episodes that Sam is interrogating Robert, and he's still treading the waters and seeing how he feels. Sam was really, really turned off about the whole situation. There were times that we were talking in the room and I was like, I don't know where Sam's headspace is at, because up until that point, Sam didn't really make any connections with any of the other daddies. So I was like, it's either Robert or no one else for him.While that certainly cast a new light on that drama, Robert was far from the only daddy who found himself in the hot seat this season. Some of the most heated tension was between daddies Victor and David Smith when the former accused the latter of being too promiscuous with the himbos after David locked lips with both Timmy Hilton and Steff. However, according to David in a previous interview with PRIDE, Victor may have been doing a little side romancing as well, which Daddy Tony seemingly confirms. Well, I heard when I got in the house the first night that [he and Nicholas Rodriguez] did cuddle, but I heard it was like an anxiety type of thing, like they both was having a little crisis or [were] a little stressed out, being in the house, he explained. Nick was ready to leave because he was having, like, a little bit of an anxiety situation and they kind of came together to comfort each other. It was more like a friendship, cuddling, not a real 'we going to have sex,' cuddling.Jay, on the other hand, is dubious. I'm sorry. I don't buy it, he says. Victor made me extremely uncomfortable multiple times at the house. I said it in the first episode that he was behaving one-way off-camera and another way when the cameras turned on. From that point on, anything that that man said and how he was heavily involved in trying to sabotage other couples, it made me feel extremely uncomfortable not only as a contestant on the show but as a sex worker. The amount of sex shaming he did over making out was extremely inappropriateIt did seem a bit out of step with a show that so unapologetically showcases queer love and sexuality. Yes, it's very steamy and often leans into the camp, but along the way, the show has also presented frank, moving, and even destigmatizing conversations around consent, abuse, sex work, and HIV status. The show is extremely entertaining but also not so quietly revolutionary. So Victors accusations of bed bugs did not sit well with some. Daddy Tony, however, was quick to defend his friend. Okay, hold on. I just want to defend the daddies for one second, We are older. From my experience of dating younger guys now, the lines of monogamy and relationships are so blurry now. It's so different. Because back in the days we were monogamous and we just cheated, like everybody else, he laughs. Now everybody wants to just be like, 'I'm going out to f*ck this guy and I'm coming back home.' Like, what?! It's taking a little bit of getting used to the new stuff. So, like I said, Victor's older...we from a different generation.Thats not to say Daddy Tony isn't afraid to be unapologetically sex-positive. Case in point: his first date with Jay where he asked the himbo about his feelings on eating ass. As it turns out, it was the perfect icebreaker for Jay. It made me extremely comfortable because that's my home turf. I don't have any reason to have any inhibitions when it comes to my sexual appetite. It is such a big, important part of my life. Once you pass that talk, once you have those conversations that people are scared of having, that's when you can get, like, really deep with your conversations, he explains. So once I was able to define that connection with Tony on the show, we were able to just fully commit to it every single episode. So then when it came to interacting with other couples or having certain altercations with other contestants, we weren't really phased. We already knew what we had going on was great.Jay is a proud sex worker and a popular OnlyFans content creator, so naturally fans have been calling for the couple to collaborate on the platform while there are no concrete plans at the moment, they hint that there is a possibility we will see the duo in the future. I don't know if I'm ready for OnlyFans. I'm warming up to it, though, admits Daddy Tony. Jay, however, is ready to go. My legs will always be open for that. So whenever you're ready, he says, adding that Daddy Tonys Instagram subscription proves his mind is opening up. Im working up to it. Instagram subscriptions are kind of racy. They are racy, Tony admits with a laugh. While the duo was not shy about sharing their sexual chemistry they hope that viewers at home see them more through their story. Queer love stories from the most camp to the most epic are powerful simply in their visibility, which feels particularly important at this moment something that isn't lost on Jay. I hope it inspires more people to have a voice, especially when your queerness is being targeted and as our identities continuously are politicized. This is our chance to use our queerness as a path of hope and love, and for us to be able to build community and whatever goes against us, just continuously be ourselves, he says. The only way to go through it is together. It's a little bittersweet, but I know that this footage will be out there forever for people to see, and hopefully someone will take it as a positive. We can all survive this together.Daddy Tony hopes the queer community finds something deeper in the show as well, namely less snap judgment about their fellow queer folks. Don't judge people. If you immediately be like, Oh, he does this. I'm not messing with him. Oh, he got this. I'm not messing with him. You don't know this could be the most beautiful person, the most wonderful person, he says. I just had a conversation with someone who asked me if I was poz friendly, and I said, 'Yes, I am.' And they were looking at me like I was the problem, and I'm like, 'No, you're the problem.' Daddy Tonys wisdom (and that accent) made him a fan fave, and his return was a delightful surprise the question now is could we see some more former cast members joining future seasons? Jay and Daddy Tony have some ideas about who theyd like to see return to the DILF mansion. I was just thinking about this. I think the person that deserves another chance is actually [Anthony Hairston] from season two, says Daddy Tony. I think he got kind of shafted in his season when [Hazel Hoffman] just said... 'Oh, he's into me.' No, he just was being nice to you! [Anthony] got kind of the short end of the stick. So I think he deserves another chance.[Phoenix Lee] needs a redemption, suggests Jay. He is so liked by the community and so liked by viewers. The first thing people saw in season three was him chasing Stormy's car, opening the door, and then just vanishing into thin air. Bring him back! While there is no firm news on future seasons of the hit show, fans and PRIDE alike remain hopeful that Dr. DILF will be back for another season of intergenerational romance. But was this seasons experiment a success? When asked the big question, i.e., if this couple is still in fact one, Jay is the first to answer. So sadly, we decided that romantically, we are okay not together. We still have a lot of love and attraction for each other. I did visit him a couple of months after we ended the show. So we spend a day together, a night together. I ate his ass, you know, the regular, he confesses. We got it in without cameras, jokes Daddy Tony. Let me just say this, we gave it the college try. We didn't just end it and be like, we're gonna collect our check. We weren't performing for the cameras. He came to New York. We hung out, and it was great. I don't know if it was the distance or the time zone thing, things started to just kind of fall by the wayside. Were gonna be friends forever, though. Were gonna be cool forever.That might not be the forever they entered the house hoping for, but love is love, even when sometimes it's in the form of friendship.

The Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)2025-02-07T16:55:19Z NEW YORK (AP) President Donald Trumps administration is using federal prisons to detain some people arrested in its immigration crackdown, the federal Bureau of Prisons said Friday, returning to a strategy that drew allegations of mistreatment during his first term.In a statement to The Associated Press, the prison agency said it is assisting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement by housing detainees and will continue to support our law enforcement partners to fulfill the administrations policy objectives.The Bureau of Prisons declined to say how many immigration detainees it is taking in, or which prison facilities are being used.For privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not comment on the legal status of an individual, nor do we specify the legal status of individuals assigned to any particular facility, including numbers and locations, the agency said. Three people familiar with the matter told the AP that federal jails in Los Angeles, Miami and Philadelphia and federal prisons in Atlanta, Leavenworth, Kansas, and Berlin, New Hampshire, are among the facilities being used. The people were not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity. The Miami jail alone is set to receive up to 500 detainees, the people said. An influx of immigration detainees could put yet more strain on the Bureau of Prisons, which AP reporting revealed has been plagued by severe understaffing, violence and other problems. The agency is seeking to temporarily move employees from its other facilities to help with immigrant detention. The Bureau of Prisons is the Justice Departments biggest agency with more than 30,000 employees, 122 facilities, 155,000 inmates and an annual budget of about $8 billion. In December, the agency said it was closing one prison and idling six prison camps to address significant challenges, including a critical staffing shortage, crumbling infrastructure and limited budgetary resources. A message seeking comment was left for ICE.Trump has vowed to deport millions of the estimated 11.7 million people in the U.S. illegally. ICE currently has the budget to detain only about 41,000 people and the administration has not said how many detention beds it needs to achieve its goals.Many detainees are taken to ICE processing centers, privately operated detention facilities or local prisons and jails it contracts with. On Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said a second flight of detainees landed at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. Immigrant rights groups sent a letter Friday demanding access to people who have been sent to Guantanamo Bay, saying the base should not be used as a legal black hole.White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that more than 8,000 people have been arrested in immigration enforcement actions since Trumps Jan. 20 inauguration. Of them, 461 were released for reasons that included medical conditions and lack of detention capacity, she said.ICE averaged 787 arrests a day from Jan. 23 to Jan. 31, compared to a daily average of 311 during a 12-month period that ended Sept. 30 during former President Joe Bidens administration. ICE has stopped publishing daily arrests totals. In 2018, during Trumps first term, the Bureau of Prisons reached an agreement with ICE and Customs and Border Protection to detain up to 1,600 immigrants at federal prison facilities in Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington and Texas.Six immigrants detained under that arrangement at a medium-security federal prison in Victorville, California, sued Trump, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and immigration and prison officials, alleging punitive and inhumane treatment.The men, who were seeking asylum in the U.S., accused the Bureau of Prisons of providing inedible meals and spoiled milk, infringing on their ability to practice their religious faith, allowing only a few hours a week of recreation in the hot sun, and failing to provide adequate medical care.Last October, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the Bureau of Prisons and immigration authorities under the Freedom of Information Act for records related to the use of federal prisons to detain immigrants during Trumps first term. A conference in that case is scheduled for Feb. 28. An ongoing AP investigation has exposed serious issues in the Bureau of Prisons, including rampant misconduct, sexual abuse by staff, dozens of escapes, chronic violence, and employees ill-equipped to respond to emergencies because of staffing limitations.Last week, El Salvadors President Nayib Bukele offered to put U.S. immigration detainees and other U.S. prisoners in his countrys massive CECOT prison even American citizens and legal residents. In a post on the social platform X, Bukele said he was offering the U.S. the opportunity to outsource part of its prison system in exchange for a relatively low fee. Trump says he was open to the idea, but acknowledged it could be legally problematic.Im just saying if we had a legal right to do it, I would do it in a heartbeat, Trump told reporters Tuesday in the Oval Office. I dont know if we do or not, were looking at that right now.___Associated Press reporter Rebecca Santana in Washington contributed to this report. 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 RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump, left, claps as Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk prepares to depart after speaking at a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show, on Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)2025-02-08T00:06:40Z Nineteen Democratic attorneys general sued President Donald Trump on Friday to stop Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury Department records that contain sensitive personal data such as Social Security and bank account numbers for millions of Americans. The case, filed in federal court in New York City, alleges the Trump administration allowed Musks team access to the Treasury Departments central payment system in violation of federal law. The payment system handles tax refunds, Social Security benefits, veterans benefits and much more, sending out trillions of dollars every year while containing an expansive network of Americans personal and financial data.The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Musks Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, was created to discover and eliminate what the Trump administration has deemed to be wasteful government spending. DOGEs access to Treasury records, as well as its inspection of various government agencies, has ignited widespread concern among critics over the increasing power of Musk, while supporters have cheered at the idea of reining in bloated government finances. New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose office filed the lawsuit, said DOGEs access to the Treasury Departments data raises security problems and the possibility for an illegal freeze in federal funds. This unelected group, led by the worlds richest man, is not authorized to have this information, and they explicitly sought this unauthorized access to illegally block payments that millions of Americans rely on, payments for health care, child care and other essential programs, James said in a video message released by her office. James, a Democrat who has been one of Trumps chief antagonists, said the president does not have the power to give away Americans private information to anyone he chooses, and he cannot cut federal payments approved by Congress. Also on the lawsuit are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.The suit alleges that DOGEs access to the Treasury records could interfere with funding already appropriated by Congress, which would exceed the Treasury Departments statutory authority. The case also argues that the DOGE access violates federal administrative law and the U.S. Constitutions separation of powers doctrine. It also accuses Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent of changing the departments longstanding policy for protecting sensitive personally identifiable information and financial information to allow Musks DOGE team access to its payment systems.This decision failed to account for legal obligations to protect such data and ignored the privacy expectations of federal fund recipients, including states, veterans, retirees, and taxpayers, the lawsuit says.The Treasury Department has said the review is about assessing the integrity of the system and that no changes are being made. According to two people familiar with the process, Musks team began its inquiry looking for ways to suspend payments made by the U.S. Agency for International Development, which Trump and Musk are attempting to dismantle. The two people spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. Separately, Democratic lawmakers are seeking a Treasury Department investigation of DOGEs access to the governments payment system. Also, labor unions and advocacy groups have sued to block the payments system review over concerns about its legality. A judge in Washington on Thursday temporarily restricted access to two employees with read only privileges. ___Associated Press writer Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut, contributed to this report. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Two world renowned ice skaters are using their retirement to push for same-sex skating pairs to be permitted in major competitions. And theyre doing so by skating together.Gabriella Papadakis and Madison Hubbell are returning to the ice as part of the Art on Ice Gala throughout Switzerland in February. The two have known each other for seven years, competing as rivals but also going on to train together at Montreals Ice Academy.According to Papadakis, this whole thing started when they decided to pair up after skating together "for fun" during training one day."We realised that it was quite cool and that it was quite enjoyable and we said to ourselves, when were finished with our competitive career, well try it for real," she told AFP.Hubbell retired from competitive skating after the 2022 World Championships, although she and partner Zachary Donohue were belatedly awarded a gold medal for the 2022 Winter Olympics last year. But it wasnt until December 2024 that Papadakis who also took home a gold medal in the 2022 Olympics officially followed suit, paving the way for this new partnership between the women.See on InstagramPart of their interest in changing the status quo sounds practical a way to allow for more women and girls to pursue ice skating at a competitive level."I see a lot of young women who want to pursue ice dance in a certain way and there's not that many young boys or men who are competing," Hubbell told Reuters, "so there's a limit to how many people right now are participating."Right now, Skate Canada is the only governing body that allows for same-sex couples to compete nationally, a rule thats only been in place since 2022.But as the skating champions have pursued this path, theyve come to realize inspiring change in this manner could mean even more than they initially knew."It wasn't our basic intention but we realise what it can represent, what it can show, for us, it's something that is close to our hearts too," Papadakis told AFP. "I also realised while skating with Madison, is that there were codes that I had never really questioned all my life.""With this project, we dream of a future where everyone can find their place on the ice," Hubbell added, "regardless of their vision or identity."

Chappell Roan, the breakout pop star known for her hit Pink Pony Club, has hit back at a critical op-ed written by music industry veteran Jeff Rabhan in The Hollywood Reporter. In the piece, Rabhan criticized Roans comments made during her acceptance speech at the 2025 Grammy Awards, calling her remarks condescending and dismissing her as too green and too uninformed.The controversy began when Roan, accepting the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, used her platform to advocate for struggling artists. She highlighted the difficulties of up-and-coming musicians, specifically mentioning how she lost access to health care after being dropped by a record label and calling on the music industry to better support emerging talent with fair wages and adequate healthcare benefits.In his op-ed, Rabhan took issue with Roans comments, labeling her Chappell Groan in a dismissive tone and suggesting that she was uninformed about the complexities of the music business. He also challenged her to put your money where your mouth is, questioning whether she was truly committed to the cause of supporting artists.Roan, however, quickly accepted Rabhans challenge. In an Instagram Story post, she called on Rabhan to match her $25,000 donation to struggling artists, writing, Hey @jeffrabhan wanna match me $25k to donate to struggling dropped artists? My publicist is @biz3publicity. Lets talk.In a subsequent post, Roan shared a selfie and added, Will keep everyone updated on the much-awaited @jeffrabhan response!! And I will show receipts of the donations. She further elaborated, Mr. Rabhan, I love how in the article you said put your money where your mouth is. Genius!!! Lets link and build together and see if you can do the same.Roans response has sparked significant attention, especially with her bold challenge to Rabhan. It also underscores her ongoing commitment to advocating for greater support for emerging musicians who often struggle with the same issues Roan faced before finding success.In addition to calling out Rabhan, Roan used her platform to spotlight several lesser-known artists she believes deserve more attention. In a series of Instagram Stories, she recommended several rising stars, highlighting their work and encouraging her followers to listen and support them.Among the artists Roan spotlighted were Hemlock Springs (@hemlockesprings on Instagram), a musician with a unique and haunting style; Sarah Kinsley (@sarahkinsleyd on Instagram), whose emotionally charged music has earned her a growing fanbase; and Devon Again (@trashytrashy on Instagram), who brings an innovative and experimental sound to the indie scene. Roan also highlighted Baby Storme, an artist whose work blends pop and alternative influences to create a distinct musical identity.Here are some artists that deserve more love and a bigger platform, Roan wrote, sharing links to the musicians music on popular streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. By recommending these up-and-coming talents, Roan continues her advocacy for greater recognition and support for lesser-known musicians who may not have the same level of industry backing as more established stars.The confrontation between Roan and Rabhan highlights a larger issue within the music industry: the financial and emotional struggles faced by emerging artists. For many musicians, the path to success is fraught with obstacles, including lack of access to healthcare, financial instability, and the constant pressure to stay relevant in an industry that often prioritizes big-name artists over newcomers. Roans comments at the Grammys, and her subsequent actions, serve as a call to action for the industry to reconsider how it treats and supports its rising stars.As the music world watches this unfolding exchange, it remains to be seen how Rabhan will respond to Roans challenge. Will he match her $25,000 donation and contribute to the cause of supporting struggling artists? Roan has made it clear that she is ready and willing to put her money where her mouth is, and she is eager to hold industry figures accountable for their role in supporting the next generation of musicians.Roans advocacy, paired with her rising success in the music industry, continues to make her a powerful voice for change, and it is clear that her impact extends far beyond her music.The post Chappell Roan Responds to Bold Online Criticism for Grammys Speech: Lets Talk appeared first on Gayety.

FX has announced the renewal of its comedy series English Teacher for a second season. The show, which first premiered on FX and Hulu in September 2024, quickly garnered critical acclaim for its unique premise and strong performances. Created by and starring Brian Jordan Alvarez, English Teacher has received praise for its clever writing and sharp humor, cementing its place as one of the standout comedies of 2024.We are thrilled with the success of English Teacher and are excited to bring another season to our audience, said Nick Grad, president of FX Entertainment. The series was one of the most critically acclaimed new shows of 2024, and we are grateful to the producers, writers, cast, directors, and crew for the shows creative excellence. We look forward to continuing the story in season two.Alongside Alvarez, the series features a talented cast including Stephanie Koenig, Enrico Colantoni, Sean Patton, and Carmen Christopher. The show follows Evan Marquez, a high school teacher in Austin, Texas, who navigates the complexities of personal, professional, and political challenges in his day-to-day life. Over the course of the first season, Evan juggles his relationships with his students and colleagues while grappling with the question of whether it is possible to truly be oneself in a professional environment.Alvarez not only stars in the series but also serves as an executive producer, alongside Paul Simms, Jonathan Krisel, Dave King, Kathryn Dean, Jake Bender, and Zach Dunn. The series is produced by FX Productions.Despite the positive reviews and the renewal announcement, English Teacher has found itself at the center of controversy due to serious allegations made against Alvarez. In August 2024, Jon Ebeling, a former friend and co-star of Alvarez from the 2016 web series The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo, publicly accused Alvarez of sexual assault via an Instagram story. Ebeling expanded on the accusations in an article published by New York Magazine in December 2024, in which he also claimed that English Teacher star and writer Stephanie Koenig played a role in maintaining a toxic dynamic between him and Alvarez.In response to the allegations, an FX spokesperson stated, We reviewed the allegations presented to us by another media outlet prior to the shows launch. Mr. Ebeling never reached out to us with any concerns. We will have no further comment at this time. The network did not address the ongoing controversy or Ebelings claims in its announcement of the shows renewal.Despite the legal and public challenges surrounding Alvarez, English Teacher has maintained a strong following, with many fans and critics praising the shows honest exploration of workplace dynamics, identity, and relationships. Alvarezs portrayal of Evan, a character struggling with balancing his personal beliefs with his professional responsibilities, has been particularly lauded for its depth and relatability.The first season of English Teacher also explored themes of political correctness, societal expectations, and the pressures of being a teacher in a modern high school environment, where personal opinions can often clash with institutional norms. The series has been commended for tackling these issues with humor and a sharp, critical eye.The renewal of English Teacher for a second season comes as the show has developed a dedicated fan base and become a notable part of FXs growing slate of original comedies. As the second season moves forward, viewers can expect more of the same witty dialogue, engaging character arcs, and explorations of difficult social and personal topics.For now, fans of English Teacher will have to wait for further details regarding the upcoming season, which is expected to continue its deep dive into the life of Evan Marquez and the ever-complicated world of teaching. With the renewal of the series, FX appears committed to continuing the shows unique brand of humor and its nuanced take on contemporary issues.The renewal news also brings new attention to the ongoing conversation about the allegations against Alvarez, which could continue to shape public perception of both the actor and the series. However, it remains to be seen how these developments will affect the shows future and its relationship with audiences.The post FX Comedy Series English Teacher Renewed for Season 2 Amid Controversy appeared first on Gayety.

Jim Becker, a former Associated Press journalist, holds a book showing a 1945 photo of him as a Stars and Stripes correspondent in Shanghai, at his home in Kaneohe, Hawaii, May 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)2025-02-07T23:03:53Z HONOLULU (AP) Jim Becker, a world-traveling journalist who covered Jackie Robinsons big-league baseball debut and the U.S. Armys retaking of Seoul during the Korean War, died Friday. He was 98.He died of natural causes at a Honolulu hospital, said his goddaughter Carla Escoda Brooks.Becker served as an Associated Press bureau chief in Manila, New Delhi and Honolulu and covered Margaret Thatcher as a freelance journalist in London. But he said his most important story was about an underdog Hawaii high school football team that won a league championship, a tale he told as a Honolulu Star-Bulletin columnist.Becker joined the AP in 1946 fresh out of the Army when he walked into the wire services New York headquarters without an appointment and was hired to start the next day.He watched Robinson become the first Black player on a Major League baseball team when editors sent him to the trailblazing athletes first game as a Brooklyn Dodger. Nearly half of Robinsons teammates had signed a petition because they didnt want to play with a Black man. But the stadium crowd was supportive of Robinson, Becker said, adding that half of Brooklyn was Jewish and they knew a little something about prejudice.Becker, who was just 20 at the time, got quotes from Robinson in the clubhouse and ran them up to the AP staffer writing the story. Becker, in an interview for this obituary, recalled seeing Robinson emerge from the first base dugout and begin to play catch with a player who unbeknownst to Robinson had signed the petition.And I thought, hes carrying the banner of decency and dignity and fair play and the American promise, Becker said. Hes carrying it for all of us in this room, in a stadium And I thought, hes carrying it alone. From the Korean War to the Dalai LamaBecker was part of APs Newsfeatures team, which covered the worlds major news stories from a feature perspective. In 1950, his editor sent him to Korea, where the U.S. and its allies deployed forces to repel an invasion of South Korea by North Koreas Korean Peoples Army.Becker embedded with the U.S. Marines. Communications were poor and the Marines used their limited radio connections for battlefield instructions. So Becker typed up his stories and put them in the breast pockets of wounded troops being evacuated for medical treatment. He attached notes asking nurses and doctors to call the nearest Associated Press office.I knew they would go at least to Tokyo and maybe even Honolulu. In fact, one of my stories emerged in Washington. They flew the kid to Bethesda, he said.Becker said all his stories made it out though not quite in order.He later embedded with the 3rd Army Division, which recaptured Seoul. He remembered crossing the Han River with seven or eight soldiers and other correspondents and walking around a city abandoned by opposing troops.A gifted storyteller, Becker delighted colleagues with his recounting of the Dalai Lamas 1959 entry into Indian exile. Few photos existed of the Tibetan spiritual leader at the time, and the AP and its then-archrival, United Press International, raced to transmit the first pictures of his arrival in the northern town of Tezpur. Both AP and UPI chartered planes to Kolkata to rush their photographs to a radiophoto machine that would send the pictures around the world. The UPI correspondent got there first after APs pilot took a more circuitous route to avoid East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) airspace due to India-Pakistan disputes. Soon Becker began receiving a series of increasingly alarmed cables from AP editors in London informing him that UPIs Dalai Lama photos were coming in and demanding to know the whereabouts of APs.Becker finally transmitted APs first photo and feared he was headed for a career change. I can see Im going to be on the night desk in Des Moines, Becker said. Then editors cabled again: URGENT BECKER UPI DALAI LAMA FULL HAIRED. OUR DALAI LAMA SHORN CLARIFY URGENTLY. AP PHOTOS LONDON.And I realized that God may have given me a chicken pilot, but he made up for it by assigning the only correspondent in Asia who was so stupid he didnt know what the Dalai Lama looked like and who had sent three radiophotos of the Indian interpreter, Becker said. The most important story I ever wroteIn the 1960s, the editor of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin lured Becker from AP to be a columnist, clearing the way for what Becker called the most important story I ever wrote.It depicted the football team from Farrington High School which served the hardscrabble Honolulu neighborhood of Kalihi as they triumphed over a wealthy private school rival, Kamehameha, in the 1965 league championship.The teams volunteer bus drivers all had day jobs driving city garbage trucks. Their trainer was a merchant seaman who missed ships during football season. Some players didnt have anything to eat for breakfast or lunch. When their coach found out, he had the school cafeteria save unused milk and bought players cereal. Becker tagged along to a Waikiki hotel where the coach put the team the night before the big game to get them away from gambling and distractions at home. Becker detailed the players carrying their dishes to the kitchen at a restaurant after they were done eating. And how the captain led the team in prayer, asking for guidance and for no one to be injured either on their own team or the opposing side.State Rep. Gregg Takayama, a 1970 graduate of Farrington and a former Star-Bulletin reporter, said the column was a source of pride for Kalihi. Back then and to some extent now news coverage of Kalihi focused on violence, drugs and gangs.The message of the story really was that, no matter your beginnings, as humble as they may be, you can do great things, Takayama said. And that is what was shown in the story through the team bonding, the fact that they worked as a real team in every sense of the word and made something great out of themselves.For decades afterward, people approached Becker to tell him how much the story meant to them or that they had a framed copy hanging in their home.Beckers wife of 60 years, Betty Hanson Becker, died in 2008. They didnt have children but became godparents to Brooks, her sister Cristina Escoda and her cousin Maria Teresa Roxas when they were children and Brooks and Escodas father was Beckers colleague in the Manila bureau. Becker is survived by Brooks and her husband Peter Brooks, Escoda and Roxas.

Former Wizards of Waverly Place star Dan Benson has announced that he is stepping away from his adult entertainment career by shutting down his OnlyFans account, a decision he made after reflecting on his past actions and personal motivations. Benson, who became widely known for his role as Zeke Beakerman on the Disney Channel show, opened up about his choice in a recent TikTok video that has since been deleted.Bensons venture into adult content started in 2022 after private photos of him were leaked online. Initially, he turned to OnlyFans as a way to regain control of the narrative and support his financial needs, including paying medical bills for his elderly dog. However, in the TikTok post, Benson admitted that, after several years in the adult industry, the experience had started to take a toll on him, leading him to reconsider his path forward.I think Im done, Benson said in the video. When I made the decision to start an OnlyFans page, I thought I was doing it for the right reasons. I was doing it to support financially my elderly dog that needed a lot of financial help with his medical bills. I was tired of being so poor and feeling like I was being taken advantage of. I dont know. I think after years of doing this, its starting to weigh on me and Im going to pull away for a while and take some time to reflect.The 37-year-old actor, who has gained a significant following on social media since his departure from the Disney Channel spotlight, went on to express his gratitude for his fans support. He also hinted that he may explore returning to acting or seeking a more traditional job. However, given that Wizards of Waverly Place has been rebooted with many of its original cast members, it seems unlikely that Benson would reprise his role, especially given his adult content history. He has previously acknowledged that Disney, which maintains a family-friendly image, would likely not welcome his return due to his adult film career.Thank you to everyone who has supported me this whole time, Benson continued. I might go back to acting. I might just go and try and get a normal job and disappear. Just be a normal person. I dont really know. I hope I can remove some of the stuff that is already out there. So if youre thinking about doing this, just be thoughtful, because I know its going to be really hard.Although Benson has made the decision to shut down his OnlyFans, as of February 6, his account remained active. However, he has since continued to engage with his audience on other platforms, including X (formerly Twitter), where he posted a spicy video just days after his announcement. It appears that while hes stepping away from adult content, Benson is not completely disappearing from the public eye just yet.Bensons journey into the adult entertainment industry has been a controversial one, especially given his former Disney Channel fame. Many fans were shocked to learn that the actor, known for his wholesome role on Wizards of Waverly Place, had started creating adult content online. However, Benson has repeatedly emphasized that his decision was financially motivated, driven by the need to support his family, and that he never anticipated the personal and public challenges that would follow.Now, as he steps away from the adult industry, Benson is reflecting on the impact his choices have had on his life and his career. It remains to be seen what direction he will take next, but for now, he seems focused on stepping back and considering his future options, whether they involve a return to acting, pursuing a normal job, or continuing to live a more private life away from the public eye.In the coming months, fans may get a better sense of what Bensons next steps will be as he takes the time to regroup and reflect.The post Fans Wonder if Former Wizards of Waverly Place Star Dan Benson Is Actually Closing His OnlyFans Account appeared first on Gayety.

Donald Trump fired National Archives director Colleen Shogan Friday night, she said in a LinkedIn post and confirmed to 404 Media."It was an honor and privilege to serve as the 11th Archivist of the United States," Shogan told 404 Media. "I did so with integrity every day."Earlier on LinkedIn, Shogan wrote: This evening, President Trump fired me, Shogan wrote. No cause or reason was cited. It has been an honor serving as the 11th Archivist of the United States. I have zero regrets - I absolutely did my best every day for the National Archives and the American people.Earlier this week, ABC News reported that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been serving as the acting Archivist of the United States since shortly after President Trumps inauguration. Archives employees told me Thursday that there was no indication Rubio was involved in the Archives in any way, and Shogan gave an all-hands meeting at the National Archives Tuesday in which she said she had been working with the administration. At the time, National Archives and Records Administration officials told workers that they had not been approached by Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency, which has been gutting federal agencies.It remains unclear who is going to run the agency, which is in charge of record keeping for the entire federal government.This is a particularly important role considering that large parts of the federal government are currently being purged or shut down, and there is uncertainty about what will happen to their records."At the direction of@realDonaldTrumpthe Archivist of the United States has been dismissed tonight," Sergio Gor, the director of the Presidential Personnel Office, tweeted. "We thank Colleen Shogan for her service."A spokesperson for NARA declined to comment.

President Donald Trump waves after arriving on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)2025-02-08T01:05:38Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump said Friday that he is firing members of the board of trustees for the Kennedy Center and naming himself chairman.He also indicated that he would be dictating programming at one of the nations premier cultural institutions, specifically declaring that hed put an end to events featuring performers in drag. Trumps announcement came as the new president has bulldozed his way across official Washington during the first weeks of his second term, trying to shutter federal agencies, freeze spending and ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the government.At my direction, we are going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., GREAT AGAIN. I have decided to immediately terminate multiple individuals from the Board of Trustees, including the Chairman, who do not share our Vision for a Golden Age in Arts and Culture, Trump wrote on his social media website. We will soon announce a new Board, with an amazing Chairman, DONALD J. TRUMP!In a statement late Friday on its website, the Kennedy Center said it was aware of Trumps post. We have received no official communications from the White House regarding changes to our board of trustees, the statement said. We are aware that some members of our board have received termination notices from the administration. The statement continued: Per the Centers governance established by Congress in 1958, the chair of the board of trustees is appointed by the Centers board members. There is nothing in the Centers statute that would prevent a new administration from replacing board members; however, this would be the first time such action has been taken with the Kennedy Centers board. Unlike former President Joe Biden and other commanders in chief through the decades, Trump did not attend the annual Kennedy Center Honors ceremonies during his first term, held at the performing arts venue in Washingtons Foggy Bottom neighborhood that opened in 1971. Shortly after Trumps post, the Kennedy Center website began experiencing technical difficulties. Visitors got a message reading We are experiencing high traffic and were redirected to a waiting room that listed how many hundreds of people were trying to access the site ahead of them.Trump suggested in his post that he would be implementing some changes to the centers performance schedule, noting that last year the Kennedy Center featured Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth THIS WILL STOP.According to its website, the center in July hosted a preshow titled A Drag Salute to Divas and a November Drag Brunch. In his post, Trump did not clarify which board of trustee members he would be terminating besides the current chairman, philanthropist David Rubenstein. The board often features political powerbrokers and major donors, and is currently made up of members from both sides of the aisle.Rubenstein was first elected to the post in 2010 and reelected each year since that time. Also, the principal owner of the Baltimore Orioles, Rubenstein was originally appointed to the Kennedy Center board by President George W. Bush and subsequently reappointed by President Barack Obama and Biden. The current board features Bidens White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, as well as Mike Donilon, Bidens longtime ally, and Stephanie Cutter, a former Obama adviser. The treasurer of the centers board of trustees is television producer Shonda Rhimes, who hosted fundraisers for Biden before he abandoned his reelection bid last summer. But the current board also features Trump allies, including Pam Bondi, the new presidents recently confirmed attorney general, and Lee Greenwood, whose song God Bless the USA, was the unofficial anthem of Trumps presidential campaign. During his first term in 2019, Trump announced that he was tapping actor Jon Voight, a longtime supporter, to the board, along with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who hes picked as U.S. ambassador to Israel this time. ___ WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers national politics and the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses a Canada-U.S. economic summit in Toronto, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (Frank Gunn /The Canadian Press via AP)2025-02-07T19:50:08Z VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday said President Donald Trumps talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state is a real thing and is linked to the countrys rich natural resources, local media reported.Trudeaus comments to business and labor leaders in a closed-door session were mistakenly carried by a loudspeaker, Canadas public broadcaster CBC reported.Mr. Trump has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country and it is a real thing. In my conversations with him on, Trudeau said of making Canada a U.S. state before the microphone cut out, according to CBC.Theyre very aware of our resources, of what we have and they very much want to be able to benefit from those, Trudeau reportedly said. Trudeaus office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.In a post on social platform X, Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labor, confirmed what Trudeau said. Yes, I can confirm that Trudeau said his assessment is that what Trump really wants is not action on fentanyl or immigration or even the trade deficit, what he really wants is to either dominate Canada or take it outright, McGown wrote. Trump has repeatedly suggested Canada would be better off if it agreed to become the 51st U.S. state.In public comments Friday, Trudeau said Canada must think tactically and strategically on how to deal with Trumps threats to impose hefty tariffs on all Canadian imports. Speaking in Toronto at the opening of a one-day summit on the Canada-U.S. economic relationship, Trudeau said the country must work with the U.S. to avoid tariffs, adding that Canada needs to eliminate internal trade barriers and expand its trade with other nations.This is a moment, said Trudeau. This is a time in our countrys history that really matters.Trump on Monday agreed to a 30-day pause on threats to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, with another 10% tariff on Canadian oil, natural gas and electricity. Trump had threatened the tariffs to ensure greater cooperation from the countries to stop illegal immigration and prevent fentanyl smuggling, but he has also pledged to use tariffs to boost domestic manufacturing and raise revenues for the federal government.Trudeau said Canada can use the 30-day extension to show U.S. officials the countrys increased spending on border security. Canada has announced a $1.3 billion Canadian dollars ($900 million) border security plan that includes drones, helicopters, more border guards and the creation of a joint task force.Trudeau also has promised to appoint a new fentanyl czar, who will serve as the primary liaison between the Canadian and U.S. governments, even though less than 1% of the fentanyl and illegal immigrant crossings into the U.S. come from Canada.We need to be very deliberate about how we continue to engage closely with the United States to make the case that Canada is responsible for a tiny part of the North American fentanyl problem, but that we are also bitterly touched by this tragedy, Trudeau said. He added that Canada needs to be prepared if Trump decides to go ahead with the tariffs after 30 days.We need to be ready to respond robustly, he said. We also have to be ready to support Canadians through the responses were giving and through a difficult time of tariffs.Canada had planned to retaliate to the U.S. action with 25% tariffs on $155 billion Canadian dollars ($109 billion) worth of American goods.Trudeau said its also time to have genuine free trade in Canada, while strengthening its trade relationships with other countries.Candace Laing, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said she is happy the meeting is focused on internal trade, trade diversification and responding to U.S. tariffs.Its clear that we cant just tinker around the edges with incremental steps right now, she said. Weve got to be bold so that businesses and communities can pivot to be more resilient and less reliant on what happens in the U.S., Laing said in a statement.

This combination of undated photos provided by Hostages Family Forum show Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami, all of whom were abducted and brought to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. (Hostages Family Forum via AP)2025-02-07T21:12:33Z JERUSALEM (AP) Hamas identified three more Israeli hostages it plans to free as part of the fragile ceasefire agreement, a sign the deal was moving forward Friday even as U.S. and Israeli officials continued calls to relocate Gazas population after the war.The three men, captured by Hamas during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, are set to be freed Saturday, in the fifth exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel.An Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive material, confirmed that the hostages scheduled for release are: Eli Sharabi, 52; Ohad Ben Ami, 56; and Or Levy, 34.Israel is set to release 183 Palestinian prisoners on Saturday to fulfill its side of the agreement, according to the Hamas-linked prisoners office in Gaza. The terms of the deals first six-week phase call for Hamas to gradually free a total of 33 Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Sharabi was taken captive from Kibbutz Beeri, a communal farm that was one of the hardest hit in the Hamas attack. His wife, Lianne, and their teenage daughters were killed by militants. Ben Ami, a father of three, was taken hostage from the same community, where he was the kibbutz accountant. His wife, who was also captured, was released during a brief ceasefire in November 2023.Levy, a computer programmer from the city of Rishon Lezion, was pulled by militants from a bomb shelter near the Nova music festival in southern Israel. His wife was killed during the attack. The couples toddler son has been under the care of family members. Hamas has so far released 18 hostages, including five Thai citizens captured in Israel during the attack. Last week, Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners in accordance with the deal.Details of the planned exchange came as U.S. President Donald Trump continued talking up his widely criticized proposal to move all Palestinians from Gaza and redevelop it as an international travel destination. The idea, which Trump characterized Friday as a real estate transaction, has been roundly rejected by the regions Arab governments and by Palestinians themselves, who say forcing them from their homes would constitute ethnic cleansing. But Trump insisted Friday that his idea had been very well received. After calling originally for permanent resettlement of the Palestinians, his newest comments left the question of duration unresolved.We dont want to see everybody move back and then move out in 10 years because of continued unrest, he said.Israeli forces have withdrawn from most of Gaza, as specified by the ceasefire agreement, but remain in border areas. The military has warned Palestinians to avoid areas where troops are operating and has opened fire on people accused of violating the terms of the agreement.Negotiators have yet to agree on terms for the deals second phase, in which Hamas would release dozens more hostages in return for more prisoners and a lasting ceasefire. The Palestinian prisoners office said that of those set for release Saturday, 18 are serving life sentences, 54 have long-term sentences, and 111 are Gazans who were detained after the Oct. 7 attack.A list of those expected to be released, distributed Friday by Palestinian authorities, included Iyad Abu Shakhdam, 49, who has been imprisoned for nearly 21 years over his involvement in Hamas militant attacks that killed dozens of Israelis in the early 2000s. He is serving 18 life sentences.Also on the list is Jamal al-Tawil, 61, a Hamas politician and former mayor of the West Bank city of Al-Bireh who has spent nearly two decades in and out of Israeli prisons. Since his most recent arrest in 2021, he has been held without trial for allegedly organizing violent riots.___AP reporter Isabel DeBre in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report. JULIA FRANKEL Frankel is an Associated Press reporter in Jerusalem. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner with Senate Republicans at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)2025-02-08T05:04:48Z ATLANTA (AP) Donald Trumps second administration has put forth an avalanche of policy changes and political pronouncements that have jolted Washington and the world.That agenda is taken largely from his Agenda 47 campaign proposals, the Heritage Foundations Project 2025 and other hard-right influencers with juice in Trumps White House. There is much more, however, that the president and those groups discussed on the campaign trail but have yet to attempt.Heres a look at some substantial proposals still pending. Shuttering the Department of EducationThe right has long targeted the Department of Education, which became a Cabinet agency in 1980 under President Jimmy Carter. Trump aides have prepared an executive order that would limit if not effectively shut down the department.I want Linda to put herself out of a job, Trump said of Education Secretary-designee Linda McMahon, who awaits Senate confirmation.The timing, though, remains uncertain as the White House grapples with how to unwind an agency that was established by law and involves billions in spending approved by Congress, including Title I money for low-income schools and college student loans. Tightening restrictions on abortion pills and other actionsTrump sidestepped and obfuscated on abortion during the campaign. He bragged that his Supreme Court nominees helped overturn the Roe v. Wade precedent and shifted control of abortion restrictions to state governments but said he would not sign a national ban. Then he changed course and said he would ban abortion later in pregnancy, though he did not specify when that would be.Project 2025 proposes a range of ideas, most of which would come under the purview of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. if the Senate confirms him as Health and Human Services secretary: It seeks tighter restrictions on abortion pills, demand for which rose after Trumps election. The document says the administration should revoke the Food and Drug Administrations approval of medication abortion drugs. Short of that, if the drugs remain on the market, the document urges Trump to reinstate earlier safety protocols for Mifeprex that were mostly eliminated in 2016 and apply these protocols to any generic version of mifepristone. Specifically, Project 2025 calls for a bare minimum deadline of the 49th day of gestation for dispensing the drugs (it is now 70 days), requiring in-person dispensing, and requiring prescribers to report all serious adverse events, not just deaths. During his confirmation hearings last month, Kennedy said Trump has asked him to study mifepristone, a drug used to terminate pregnancies and help women complete miscarriages. If those paths are not sufficient to limit medication abortions, it proposes invoking an 1873 anti-obscenity law, the Comstock Act, as justification to block the mailing of any abortion-related materials. When asked during an April 12, 2024, interview with Time magazine for his views on the Comstock Act and the mailing of abortion pills, Trump promised to make a statement on the issue in the next 14 days, saying: I feel very strongly about it. I actually think its a very important issue. He never made that statement. Project 2025 also calls to codify into law the Hyde and Weldon amendments, budget measures used to limit the use of federal money for abortion-related services. Dave Weldon, a former Republican lawmaker who sponsored the Weldon amendment, has been nominated to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And it calls for federal guidance declaring that emergency abortion care such as for complications that could lead to sepsis is not required under the 1986 law, signed by Republican President Ronald Reagan, that generally requires hospital emergency departments to meet a certain standard of care for all patients. Trump has been expected to pull back Biden administration guidance requiring emergency rooms to provide abortions when necessary to stabilize a womans health or life. Nationalizing school choice and dismantling teacher tenureOn the one hand, the 2024 Republican platform promised to return education to the states. But the document, boosted by Trumps statements, also promises universal school choice meaning to use the power of the federal government to implement private school tuition subsidies and ending teacher tenure, job protections usually defined at the state level. Additionally, Trump declared that parents of schoolchildren should be able to hire and fire principals, decisions typically made by local school superintendents and school boards.Trump did not detail how he would accomplish such national uniformity in K-12 schools. But, in general, his education ideas would make federal money conditional, and the administrations opening weeks suggest the White House believes it can use executive power to do that rather than go through Congress. Targeting universitiesIn Agenda 47 and at rallies, candidate Trump described U.S. colleges and universities as havens for Marxist maniacs and lunatics. Trump proposed taking over the independent accreditation process for higher education institutions, calling that his secret weapon to transform the system. He took aim at higher education endowments, promising to collect billions and billions of dollars from schools via taxing, fining and suing excessively large private university endowments at schools that do not comply with his edicts like his crackdowns on diversity initiatives.Trump did not name schools in Agenda 47. But many well-regarded private universities hold endowments exceeding $10 billion, and the oldest Ivy League institutions Harvard and Yale measure theirs in the tens of billions. Of course, trying to commandeer private endowments would invite court fights, since they are legally protected funds from donors.Agenda 47 calls for redirecting captured endowment money into an online American Academy offering college credentials to all Americans without a tuition charge. It will be strictly non-political, and there will be no wokeness or jihadism allowed none of thats going to be allowed, Trump said on Nov. 1, 2023.More tariffs and tax cutsTrump has imposed tariffs on China, which responded with its own levies. But there is a pause on border levies on goods from Mexico and Canada. Beyond that initial foray into the presidents promised protectionism, Trump promised as a candidate to pursue The Trump Reciprocal Trade Act in Congress, to reverse U.S. trade deficits and goose domestic production. He also called for baseline tariffs, without making clear whether he meant through executive action or legislation.Trump more recently hailed the late 19th and early 20th century era when the federal government relied heavily on tariff revenue, before the income tax era began with the 16th Amendments ratification in 1913. That era, however, also predates Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the Pentagon being responsible for the worlds most expensive military. (Trump has explicitly promised to protect all those big-ticket items other than Medicaid.)The presidents talk of tariff revenue aside, he has pledged a return of policies in the Republicans sweeping 2017 overhaul. That package reached nearly every U.S. household but concentrated benefits among corporations and the wealthiest individual filers. Trump added 2024 campaign promises to exempt tips, Social Security benefits and overtime pay from income taxes.Congress is still contemplating tax changes.Rolling back federal labor lawsDespite Trumps promise on overtime wages, conservatives have separate ideas that would reduce the instances U.S. workers get overtime pay in the first place.Project 2025 calls for rescinding Biden administration rules that sought to expand qualifications for time-and-a-half overtime for about 4 million workers. The document also would curtail Biden-era rules that make it easier for gig economy workers rideshare drivers, for example to gain benefits as full-time employees rather than contract workers with fewer protections under labor law, including the standard 40-hour workweek threshold that triggers overtime pay.More broadly, Project 2025 calls for weakening the Fair Labor Standards Act and National Labor Relations Act seminal laws from Franklin Roosevelts presidency. The authors want Congress to authorize collective bargaining to treat national employment laws and regulations as negotiable defaults and allow waivers for states and local governments to encourage experimentation and reform efforts. Proposing looser safety rules, Project 2025 would make it easier for teenagers to work dangerous jobs and harder for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to investigate conditions and impose penalties on private-sector businesses.Trumps pick for labor secretary, meanwhile, is an organized labor ally. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, R-Ore., co-sponsored the PRO Act, a union-backed proposal that would make it easier for workers to organize. Trump, however, has offered no signs that he would support the law, and Republican leaders in the GOP-controlled House and Senate oppose the measure.Ending the wars in Ukraine and IsraelHyperbole or not, Trump insisted repeatedly as a candidate that he would quickly settle the war in Ukraine brought about by Russias invasion and the Israel-Hamas war spawned by Hamas slaughter of Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, 2023.The Biden administration, with Trump transition team involvement, negotiated a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. But there is no permanent peace accord in place, and Trump has complicated matters with his musings about a U.S. takeover of Gaza.On Ukraine, Trump also said, I will ask Europe to reimburse us for the cost of rebuilding the stockpiles sent to Ukraine.He recently suggested Ukraine should reimburse the U.S. with access to its rare earth minerals as part of an agreement to continue military support against the Russian invasion.___ BILL BARROW Bill Barrow covers U.S. politics. He is based in Atlanta. twitter mailto

Mellow, a transgender woman, poses for a portrait, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, outside of the Norfolk Circuit Court in Norfolk, Va., where she applied for a passport. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)2025-02-08T05:14:13Z The day after President Donald Trump returned to office, Lisa Suhay took her 21-year-old daughter, Mellow, to a passport office in Norfolk, Virginia, where they live.Getting a passport for Mellow, who is transgender, was urgent.In an executive order Trump signed the night before, the president used a narrow definition of the sexes instead of a broader conception of gender. The order says a person is male or female and it rejects the idea that someone can transition from the sex assigned at birth to another gender. The framing is in line with many conservatives views but at odds with major medical groups and policies under former President Joe Biden.Her family wants Mellow to be able to leave the country if things became unbearable for transgender people in the U.S. as the federal government increasingly moves not to recognize them. If the worst was to come to worst and things were to threaten my life, she said, I would have some way out.Trumps Jan. 20 order, which questions the existence of transgender and nonbinary people, created confusion and pain for Mellow and others seeking new, renewed or updated passports. A group of impacted people challenged the policy with a lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Boston. The State Department fell in line with Trumps orderThe State Department quickly stopped issuing travel documents with the X gender marker preferred by many nonbinary people, who dont identify as strictly male or female. The department also stopped allowing people to change the gender listed on their passport or get new ones that reflect their gender rather than their sex assigned at birth.Applications that had already been submitted seeking gender marker changes were put on hold. The State Department also replaced its webpage with information for LGBTQI+ travelers to just LGB, removing any reference to transgender or intersex people.Knowing about the policy change, Mellow checked the box for male, even though thats at odds with her life and her state-issued drivers license. We had to swear oath to the fact that the information that we presented was true, even if what we had to do was not truthful to ourselves Mellow said. It was emotional because it was in a way lying to yourself.Her mother worries that Mellow might not be granted a passport or that it could create legal problems if her documents dont match or because she swore to something thats not true.Trump has targeted transgender people on several frontsThe passport policy is among several actions Trump has taken since returning to office that could stifle rights and legal recognition of transgender, intersex and nonbinary people.The same order that seeks to define the sexes to exclude them would also require housing transgender women in prison in mens facilities. Additional orders could open the door to kicking transgender service members out of the military, barring the use of federal taxpayer money to provide gender-affirming care to transgender people under 19 and keeping transgender girls and women out of girls and womens sports competitions.The lawsuit filed Friday by ACLU lawyers challenging the passport change contends that the order discriminates against people based on their sex or transgender status, depriving them of their rights to equal protection, privacy and speech. It also contends the abrupt policy change violates the requirement for a 60-day notice and comment period. Trumps administration has said the policy would not affect existing unexpired passports.Groups such as New Jersey-based Garden State Equality warned transgender and nonbinary members that they could be at risk when returning to the U.S. after traveling abroad, particularly if their passport has the X gender marker.A family is in limbo over one sons applicationElise Flatland, a mother of four in the Kansas City suburb of Olathe, Kansas, is still waiting to hear about whether a passport has been approved for her 12-year-old transgender son.The family filled out the application in December at the same time they requested passports for two of their other children. The others have arrived, but his has not. Flatland said its essential to have the travel document so the family could go to another country for gender-affirming care if it becomes unavailable in the U.S. It would also help her son in other ways. A 2023 Kansas law left them unable to change his birth certificate, so he has no government-issued document that reflects his gender. Having one could help answer fellow sixth graders who question his identity, more so since Trump was elected in November.There is definitely a sense of everyone being emboldened in their anti-trans, anti-LGBTQ attitudes, and they have no need to act politely in public, Flatland said. Seeking a passport change means handing over documentsAnticipating a passport change, Ash Lazarus Orr, a West Virginia advocate for transgender people, sent in an expedited application to change the gender marker on his passport from F to M days before Trump took office.But it wasnt processed until after inauguration, and Orr doesnt expect the change will be made.A complication for Orr is that the State Department has his current passport, which doesnt expire for several years, his birth certificate and marriage license. That has put some upcoming international travel plans into question.He said he hopes his non-updated passport will be returned, so he can travel. Worst-case scenario, I could see this lost through the entire administration where I dont have a passport, Orr said.The State Department said it corrected a passport applicationZaya Perysian, a 22-year-old content creator who lives in Los Angeles, tried to change the gender mark on her passport once she heard about Trumps passport policy.She bought a plane ticket to Canada to serve as the basis for a request for expedited service. After an appointment at a passport office, she hoped the switch would be approved.Days later, her new passport arrived in the mail along with a letter explaining that the application had been corrected to male.She said the issue is bigger than the travel document.They dont want any trans person to feel validated, she said in an interview. They want it to go back to how it used to be, where we were seen as like these creatures, and that we were just like night stalkers.Both Orr and Perysian are among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit seeking to halt the policy. GEOFF MULVIHILL Mulvihill covers topics on the agendas of state governments across the country. He has focused on abortion, gender issues and opioid litigation. twitter mailto 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

This photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard on Friday, 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)2025-02-08T05:48:56Z JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) Just hours after finding 10 people dead in western Alaska from one of the deadliest plane crashes in the state in 25 years, authorities raced to recover their remains and the wreckage of the small commuter plane from unstable sea ice before expected high winds and snow.The conditions out there are dynamic, so weve got to do it safely in the fastest way we can, Jim West, chief of the Nome Volunteer Fire Department, said Friday.The Bering Air single-engine turboprop plane was traveling from Unalakleet to the hub community of Nome when it disappeared Thursday afternoon. It was found the next day after an extensive search with all nine passengers and the pilot dead.As the community tried to process the deadly event, crews worked swiftly on unstable, slushy sea ice to recover the bodies and the wreckage with less than a day before bad weather was expected. Officials said a Black Hawk helicopter would be used to move the aircraft once the bodies were removed. Among those killed in the crash were Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson. They had traveled to Unalakleet to service a heat recovery system vital to the communitys water plant, according to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. These two members of our team lost their lives serving others, David Beveridge, vice president of environmental health & engineering for the organization, said in a statement. The loss of these two incredible individuals and everyone else on board the plane will be felt all over Alaska. The other peoples names have not been released. All 10 people on board the plane were adults, and the flight was a regularly scheduled commuter trip, according to Lt. Ben Endres of the Alaska State Troopers.A photo provided by the Coast Guard showed the planes splintered body and debris lying on the sea ice. Two people in brightly colored emergency gear circled the wreckage. Its hard to accept the reality of our loss, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said during an evening news conference.Nome Mayor John Handeland choked up as he discussed the deaths and the response effort.Nome is a strong community, and in challenging times we come together and support each other. I expect the outpouring of support to continue in the coming days as we all work to recover from this tragic incident, Handeland said.The Cessna Caravan left Unalakleet at 2:37 p.m. Thursday, and officials lost contact with it less than an hour later, according to David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air. There was light snow and fog, with a temperature of 17 degrees (minus 8.3 Celsius), according to the National Weather Service. The Coast Guard said the aircraft went missing about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Nome.Radar forensic data provided by the U.S. Civil Air Patrol indicated that about 3:18 p.m., the plane had some kind of event which caused them to experience a rapid loss in elevation and a rapid loss in speed, Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin McIntyre-Coble said. What that event is, I cant speculate to. McIntyre-Coble said he was unaware of any distress signals from the aircraft. Planes carry an emergency locating transmitter. If exposed to seawater, the device sends a signal to a satellite, which then relays that message back to the Coast Guard to indicate an aircraft may be in distress. No such messages were received by the Coast Guard, he said. Rescuers were searching the aircrafts last known location by helicopter when the wreckage was spotted, said Mike Salerno, a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard. Two rescue swimmers were lowered to investigate.Local, state and federal agencies had assisted in the search effort, combing stretches of ice-dotted waters and scouring miles of frozen tundra. The National Transportation Safety Board was sending nine people to the scene from various states.Flying is an essential mode of transportation in Alaska due to the vastness of the landscape and limited infrastructure. Most communities are not connected to the developed road system that serves the states most populous region, and its common to travel by small plane. Some high school teams fly to sporting events against rival high schools, and goods are brought to many communities by barge or by air. The planes crash marks the third major U.S. aviation mishap in eight days. 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.Bering Air serves 32 villages in western Alaska from hubs in Nome, Kotzebue and Unalakleet. Most destinations receive twice-daily scheduled flights Monday through Saturday.Unalakleet is a community of about 690 people about 150 miles (about 240 kilometers) southeast of Nome and 395 miles (about 640 kilometers) northwest of Anchorage. The village is on the Iditarod trail, route of the worlds most famous sled dog race, during which mushers and their teams must cross the frozen Norton Sound.Nome, a Gold Rush town, is just south of the Arctic Circle and is known as the ending point of the 1,000-mile (1,610-kilometer) Iditarod. The city said prayer vigils would be held Friday for those on board the plane, friends and family and those involved in search efforts. ___Golden reported from Seattle. Martha Bellisle in Seattle and Lisa Baumann in Bellingham, Washington, contributed to this report. BECKY BOHRER Bohrer is a statehouse and political reporter based in Juneau, Alaska. twitter RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

This combination of undated photos provided by Hostages Family Forum show Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami, all of whom were abducted and brought to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. (Hostages Family Forum via AP)2025-02-08T04:17:11Z DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) Hamas-led militants are set to free three more hostages, all Israeli civilian men, on Saturday, and Israel will release dozens of Palestinian prisoners as part of a fragile agreement that has paused the war in the Gaza Strip. This combination of undated photos provided by Hostages Family Forum show Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami, all of whom were abducted and brought to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. (Hostages Family Forum via AP) This combination of undated photos provided by Hostages Family Forum show Or Levy, Eli Sharabi and Ohad Ben Ami, all of whom were abducted and brought to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. (Hostages Family Forum via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More President Donald Trumps stunning proposal to transfer the Palestinian population out of Gaza, welcomed by Israel but vehemently rejected by the Palestinians and most of the international community, does not appear to have affected the current phase of the truce, which runs until early March.But it could complicate talks over the second and more difficult phase, when Hamas is to release dozens more hostages in return for a lasting ceasefire. Hamas may be reluctant to free more captives and lose its main bargaining chip if it believes the U.S. and Israel are serious about depopulating the territory, which rights groups say would violate international law. The hostages to be released on Saturday, according to Hamas and Israel, are: Eli Sharabi, 52; Ohad Ben Ami, 56; and Or Levy, 34. All were abducted during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that sparked the war. Dozens of masked and armed Hamas fighters, some driving white pickup trucks with guns mounted on them, gathered Saturday morning at the location of the exchange, near the territorys main north-south highway in Central Gaza. It will be the fifth swap of hostages for prisoners since the ceasefire began on Jan. 19. Eighteen hostages and more than 550 Palestinian prisoners have already been freed in that time.The first phase of the ceasefire calls for the release of 33 hostages and nearly 2,000 prisoners, the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza and an increase in humanitarian aid to the devastated territory. Last week, wounded Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza for Egypt for the first time since May. Whos set to be released on Saturday?Sharabi and Ben Ami were both taken hostage from Kibbutz Beeri, one of the hardest-hit farming communities in the Hamas attack. Levy was abducted from the Nova music festival, where he was taking shelter in a saferoom when the militants arrived.The 183 Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel on Saturday include 18 people serving life sentences for committing deadly attacks, 54 serving long-term sentences and 111 Palestinians from Gaza who were detained after the Oct. 7 attack. All are men, ranging in age from 20 to 61.While Israel considers them to be terrorists, Palestinians view them as heroes battling Israeli occupation. Virtually every Palestinian has a friend, relative or acquaintance who has been imprisoned.More than 100 hostages were released during a weeklong ceasefire in Nov. 2023. More than 70 are still in Gaza, and at least a third of them are believed to have been killed in the initial attack or to have died in captivity. Israel says Hamas has confirmed that eight of the 33 to be released in the first phase of the ceasefire are dead. Ceasefire is holding but next phase is uncertain Hamas fighters take up positions ahead of a hostage release in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. Photo/Abdel Kareem, File) Hamas fighters take up positions ahead of a hostage release in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. Photo/Abdel Kareem, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More It is not clear whether Israel and Hamas have begun negotiating a second phase of the ceasefire, which calls for releasing the remaining hostages and extending the truce indefinitely. The war could resume in early March if an agreement is not reached.Israel says it is still committed to destroying Hamas, even after the militant group reasserted its rule over Gaza within hours of the latest ceasefire. A key far-right partner in Netanyahus coalition is calling for the war to resume after the ceasefires first phase.Hamas says it wont release the remaining hostages without an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.In the Oct. 7 attack that started the war, some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed. More than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israels retaliatory air and ground war, over half of them women and children, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were militants.The Israeli military says it killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because its fighters operate in residential neighborhoods. Senior militants among Palestinian prisoners set for releaseOf the 72 security prisoners being released Saturday, five hail from east Jerusalem, 14 from the Gaza Strip and the remaining 53 from the occupied West Bank. Seven are set to be transferred to Egypt ahead of further deportation. A total of 47 prisoners will be set free Saturday from Ofer prison, in the West Bank, and transferred to Palestinian custody at the Betunia crossing point near the administrative center of Ramallah where scores of relatives, friends and supporters were preparing a heros welcome for the returnees.The Palestinian security prisoners were detained over offenses ranging from bomb attacks to involvement in militant organizations, in some cases dating back decades. Palestinians purchase goods at a makeshift market set up amid widespread destruction caused by the Israeli military's ground and air offensive in Gaza City's Jabaliya refugee camp, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Palestinians purchase goods at a makeshift market set up amid widespread destruction caused by the Israeli military's ground and air offensive in Gaza City's Jabaliya refugee camp, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Pedestrians walk along a road lined with few stands selling goods, amid widespread destruction caused by the Israeli military's ground and air offensive in Gaza City's Jabaliya refugee camp, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Pedestrians walk along a road lined with few stands selling goods, amid widespread destruction caused by the Israeli military's ground and air offensive in Gaza City's Jabaliya refugee camp, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Among them is Iyad Abu Shakhdam, 49, who has been locked up for nearly 21 years over his involvement in Hamas militant attacks in crowded civilian areas that killed dozens of Israelis during the Palestinian uprising of the early 2000s. That included a notorious 2004 suicide bus bombing in Israels southern desert city of Beersheba that killed 16 people, including a 4-year-old child. Another is Jamal al-Tawil, a prominent Hamas politician in the occupied West Bank and former mayor of the village of al-Bireh, abutting Ramallah. He has spent nearly two decades in and out of Israeli jail, with the military reporting his last arrest in 2021 over his alleged participation in violent riots and efforts to entrench Hamas leadership in the West Bank. He was transferred to administrative detention, a repeatedly renewable six-month period in which suspects are held without charge or trial.Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians want all three territories for their future state.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

President Donald Trump, from left, gestures as he walks with first lady Melania Trump to send off former President Joe Biden and Jill Biden to board a Marine helicopter en route to Joint Base Andrews after the 60th Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-02-07T23:41:21Z PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) President Donald Trump said Friday that hes revoking former President Joe Bidens access to government secrets and ending the daily intelligence briefings hes receiving in payback for Biden doing the same to him in 2021.Trump announced his decision in a post on his social media platform shortly after he arrived at his Mar-a-Lago home and private club in Palm Beach for the weekend.There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information. Therefore, we are immediately revoking Joe Bidens Security Clearances, and stopping his daily Intelligence Briefings, Trump wrote. He set this precedent in 2021, when he instructed the Intelligence Community (IC) to stop the 45th President of the United States (ME!) from accessing details on National Security, a courtesy provided to former Presidents. The move is the latest in a vengeance tour of Washington that Trump promised during his campaign. He has previously revoked security clearances from more than four dozen former intelligence officials who signed a 2020 letter saying that the Hunter Biden laptop saga bore the hallmarks of a Russian information operation. Hes also revoked security details assigned to protect former government officials who have criticized him, including his own former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, who faces threats from Iran, and former infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci. Biden didnt immediately comment on the move. Biden ended Trumps intelligence briefings after Trump helped spur efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and incited the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. At the time, Biden said Trumps erratic behavior should prevent him from getting the intel briefings.Asked in an interview with CBS News what he feared if Trump continued to receive the briefings, Biden said he did not want to speculate out loud but made clear he did not want Trump to continue having access to such information. I just think that there is no need for him to have the intelligence briefings, Biden said. What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?in 2022, federal agents searched Trumps Florida home and seized boxes of classified records. He was indicted on dozens of felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified records and obstructing FBI efforts to get them back. He pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing. A judge dismissed the charges, ruling the special counsel who brought them was illegally appointed, and the Justice Department gave up appeals after Trump was elected in November. In a related matter, Trump dismissed Colleen Shogan as the archivist of the United States, White House aide Sergio Gor posted on X Friday night.Trump had said in early January that he would replace the head of the National Archives and Records Administration. The government agency drew his anger after it informed the Justice Department about issues with Trumps handling of classified documents. Shogan, the first woman in the post, wasnt the archivist of the United States at the time the issue emerged. In his post on Biden, Trump cited the special counsel report last year into his handling of classified documents, saying, The Hur Report revealed that Biden suffers from poor memory and, even in his prime, could not be trusted with sensitive information.He ended his post by saying, I will always protect our National Security JOE, YOURE FIRED. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!Special counsel Robert Hur investigated Bidens handling of classified information and found that criminal charges were not warranted but delivered a bitingly critical assessment of his handling of sensitive government records. The report described Bidens memory as hazy, fuzzy, faulty, poor and having significant limitations. It said Biden could not recall defining milestones in his own life such as when his son Beau died or when he served as vice president. Trump has the right to end the briefings for Biden because it is a sitting presidents decision on whether a past president should continue to have access to classified information.Steven Cheung, the presidents communications director, shared Trumps post on the X social media platform and said, Hit the road Jack and dont you come back no more! DARLENE SUPERVILLE Superville covers the White House for The Associated Press, with a special emphasis on first ladies and first families.

Camden Lee, 16, poses for a portrait at his family's apartment, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)2025-02-08T05:15:25Z NEW YORK (AP) Camden Lee was leaving high school football practice in September when he saw the photograph, splashed across the New York Police Departments social media accounts, that would soon upend his life. In a crisp surveillance image, the 15-year-old stands alone in a hoodie and shorts, eyes cast down on a Brooklyn street. The pictured individual, police declared in an accompanying caption, had discharged a firearm at the West Indian American Day parade, killing one person and wounding four others. Camden Lee, 16, gets in an Uber to go to school, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Camden Lee, 16, gets in an Uber to go to school, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More I see the NYPD logo. I see me. I see suspect wanted for murder, Lee recalled. I couldnt believe what was happening. Then everything went blurry.In private, police backpedaled almost immediately. After meeting with Lee and his lawyer, they declined to bring charges, then quietly removed his photograph from their X and Instagram accounts. But they have not publicly acknowledged the retraction, ignoring the repeated pleas of Lee and his mother, who say their lives remain threatened by the falsehood. The familys search for answers has raised questions about the NYPDs policies for correcting misinformation at a time when the department is already facing scrutiny for other social media misrepresentations. I used to have a lot of trust in the NYPD and how they do things, said Lees mother, Chee Chee Brock, whose older son recently joined the force. But I raised my kids to admit when they made a mistake. If you can blame an innocent kid for murder, what else can you get away with? Camden Lee, 16, shows Instagram posts, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Camden Lee, 16, shows Instagram posts, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The departments newly appointed chief spokesperson, Deputy Commissioner for Public Information Delaney Kempner, said she would look into the matter but did not answer a list of questions or provide further information.It remains unclear why Lee was identified as a suspect. The day of the shooting, Lee said, he left football practice and stopped at the annual Labor Day celebration of Caribbean culture with a teammate at around 1 p.m. Minutes later, as gunfire erupted along the route, his friend was grazed in the shoulder. The surveillance image, Lee said, showed his stunned expression after hearing gunshots for the first time, then watching his bloodied friend carted away on a stretcher. Camden Lee, left, cooks breakfast while his mom Chee Chee Brock, right, gets ready for work, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Camden Lee, left, cooks breakfast while his mom Chee Chee Brock, right, gets ready for work, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More When police published it, on Sept. 19, Lees mother immediately contacted an attorney, Kenneth Montgomery, who offered to set up a meeting with homicide detectives that night. But police told the lawyer to bring the teen to Brooklyns 77th precinct station the following week. At the meeting according to Montgomery, Lee and his mother the detectives said he was not a suspect.They conceded they got it wrong, Montgomery said. But these officers were so cavalier about it. It was like they were playing a game with a kids life.By then the NYPDs communications division had widely distributed the photograph of Lee to media outlets and TV stations, which urged people to come forward with tips about the unnamed suspect.In recent weeks a high-ranking department official has urged some outlets not to use the image in follow-up stories about the shooting, according to text messages shared with The Associated Press. But those conversations with reporters were off the record, preventing news sites from explaining why the photograph was removed. Camden Lee's report card hangs on the refrigerator in his family's apartment, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Camden Lee's report card hangs on the refrigerator in his family's apartment, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Camden Lee, 16, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at his family's apartment, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Camden Lee, 16, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at his family's apartment, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More In the absence of official clarification, the photo has continued to circulate online, triggering a barrage of death threats against Lee from online sleuths who tracked down his own social media accounts.As he got ready for school on a recent morning, Lee pulled up an Instagram page with 750,000 followers and scrolled through the comments below his photograph.He about to get found quick, one read. Another said simply: He done. Others tagged friends and family of Denzel Chan, 25, who was killed in the shooting. They deserve answers too, Lee said of Chans loved ones.At a news conference immediately following the shooting, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said the violence was gang-related. He described the suspect as a slim man in his 20s who wore a paint-stained brown shirt and bandana. Lee, who turned 16 in January, wore neither in the photograph released weeks later. Camden Lee, 16, shows Instagram posts, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Camden Lee, 16, shows Instagram posts, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Fearing possible gang retaliation, Brock, a single mother who works at the post office, moved her son and two daughters to a relatives home outside the city. Lee missed weeks of school, hurting his grades, as evidenced by a report card hanging on the fridge. While the family has since returned to Brooklyn, Lee has been forbidden by his mother from moving around alone.As a mom, the No. 1 thing Im scared of is losing my kids to the streets or the jail system, said Brock. So he doesnt have freedom now. When he goes to the corner store, I time him.It has not escaped the familys attention that the mistaken identification came at a uniquely tumultuous time for city police. In the 17 days between the shooting and the release of the photo, federal agents seized phones from Police Commissioner Edward Caban, who then resigned, telling officers that the investigation created a distraction for the department. Theres tremendous pressure on the NYPD to serve up results in a high-profile shooting like this, said Wylie Stecklow, a civil rights attorney who is representing the family as they weigh a possible lawsuit. The fact that theyve failed to explain how this mistake was made, and how theyll avoid it in the future, is deeply troubling.As the department seeks to rehabilitate its image, its communications strategy has also come under fire. A recent report from the citys Department of Investigation faulted certain NYPD executives for irresponsible and unprofessional use of social media and called on the department to codify its policies around deleting public posts, as other city agencies have done.In an earlier social media post, Chell, who has since been promoted to chief of department, mistakenly identified a judge he accused of letting a predator back into the community. That post, too, was deleted.In December, just when the initial wave of attention around Lee began to subside, police announced they were upping the reward for information about the shooting to $10,000. This time they did not circulate Lees photo. But without official confirmation that Lee was no longer a suspect, many news stations and newspapers ran the old image of him anyway. It remains all over the internet, including atop some news stories. For the photo to come out again, it brought it all back to the start, Lee said. My mom was just thinking of letting me go on the train again.Lately, he said, he can sense people looking at him, whispering behind back, as he walks through his neighborhood or the hallways at school. He has considered cutting his hair or buying new clothes in the hopes of passing unrecognized. Some days he prefers not to leave home at all. It takes me to a dark place, Lee said. I dont feel like myself anymore. I dont have the opportunity to explain my side of the story. Everyone is so fixed on this one image of me: murderer. JAKE OFFENHARTZ Offenhartz is a general assignment reporter in the New York City bureau of The Associated Press. twitter mailto

Palestinian prisoners are greeted as they exit a Red Cross bus after being released from Israeli prison following a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Saturday Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)2025-02-08T11:40:46Z RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) Israel on Saturday is releasing 183 Palestinian prisoners in the latest exchange for Israeli hostages held in Gaza, part of a ceasefire that has paused the war but whose future is uncertain.Israel views the security prisoners as terrorists, while Palestinians see them as freedom fighters resisting a decades-long military occupation. Nearly every Palestinian has a friend or family member who has been jailed by Israel at some point, for militant attacks or lesser offenses like rock-throwing, protesting or membership in a banned political group. Some are held for months or years without trial in what is known as administrative detention, which Israel says is needed to prevent attacks and avoid sharing sensitive intelligence.Eighteen of those released Saturday had been sentenced to life and 54 were serving long sentences for their involvement in deadly attacks against Israelis. Seven of those convicted of the most serious crimes will be transferred to Egypt ahead of further deportation. Among those being released are 111 Palestinians who were rounded up after Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, which triggered the war. They have been detained without trial.Heres a look at some prominent Palestinian prisoners released since the truce went into effect on Jan. 19. Iyad Abu ShakhdamAbu Shakhdam, 49, was sentenced to the equivalent of 18 life sentences over his involvement in Hamas attacks that killed dozens of Israelis during the second intifada, or Palestinian uprising, between 2000 and 2005. Among the most infamous of those attacks was a double suicide bombing that blew up two buses in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba in 2004, killing 16 Israelis, including a 4-year-old, and wounding over 100 others. In interviews with Arabic media, he described his militancy as a desire for revenge stemming from his brothers killing by Israeli security forces in 2000. Abu Shakhdam was on the run for weeks before his arrest in his hometown of Hebron in the West Bank in November 2004, following a gunfight with Israeli security forces in which he was shot 10 times. During 21 years in prison, his family said, he finished high school and earned a certificate for courses in psychology.Jamal al-TawilAl-Tawil, 61, a prominent Hamas politician in the occupied West Bank, has spent nearly two decades in and out of Israeli prison, in part over allegations that he helped plot suicide bombings.Most recently, the Israeli military arrested al-Tawil 2021, saying that he had participated in violent riots and mobilized Hamas political activists in Ramallah, the seat of the semi-autonomous Palestinian Authority and Hamas main rival. He had been held without charge or trial since then. After his arrest, he went on hunger strike for more than three weeks to protest his administrative detention. During one of al-Tawils stints in Israeli prison in the early 2000s, he ran a successful electoral campaign from custody to become mayor of Al-Bireh, a West Bank town abutting Ramallah. U.S. court documents from 2007, filed by the families of Israelis killed during the second intifada, show that al-Tawil had served for years as chairman of Al-Islah Charitable Society, a front organization to raise money for Hamas. The case accused al-Tawil of recruiting a Hamas militant to carry out a 2001 suicide bombing that targeted a crowded pedestrian mall in Jerusalem, killing 11 people. His daughter, 32-year-old journalist Bushra al-Tawil, was among the dozens of women and teenagers released in the first round of prisoner-for-hostage exchanges on Jan. 19.He and another prisoner were immediately taken to a hospital for medical treatment after their release on Saturday. Mohammed el-HalabiThe Palestinian manager of the Gaza branch of World Vision, a major Christian aid organization, was arrested in 2016 and accused of diverting tens of millions of dollars to Hamas in a high-profile case that drew criticism from rights groups. He was freed on Feb. 1. Both el-Halabi, 47, and World Vision vigorously denied the allegations and independent investigations found no proof of wrongdoing. One independent audit found that el-Halabi had enforced internal controls and ordered employees to avoid anyone suspected of Hamas ties.Rights groups say el-Halabi was denied a fair and transparent trial, as he and World Vision had no chance to review the evidence against them. U.N. experts say el-Halabi was questioned for 50 days without access to a lawyer. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.Israel has attributed the closed hearings to sensitive security information being relayed. Shadi AmouriAmouri, 44, from the northern West Bank city of Jenin, was arrested for his alleged role in manufacturing the powerful car bomb that detonated beside an Israeli bus packed with passengers on June 5, 2002, killing 17 Israelis in what became known as the Megiddo Junction suicide bombing. The attack during the second intifada took place in northern Israel. The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.Amouri was sentenced to life in prison, plus 20 years. He was among those transferred to Egypt on Feb. 1 and released into exile.Zakaria ZubeidiZakaria Zubeidi is a prominent former militant leader and theater director whose dramatic jailbreak in 2021 thrilled Palestinians across the Middle East and stunned the Israeli security establishment.Zubeidi was a senior militant in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in the urban Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank. After the second intifada in 2006, he co-founded a theater in Jenin to promote what he described as cultural resistance to Israel. The Freedom Theater has put on everything from Shakespeare to stand-up comedy to plays written by residents.In 2019, after Zubeidi had already served years in prison for attacks in the early 2000s, Israel arrested him again over his alleged involvement in shooting attacks that targeted buses of Israeli settlers but caused no injuries.Zubeidi, who was released on Jan. 30 into the West Bank, had been awaiting trial in prison. He denies the charges, saying that he gave up militancy to focus on his political activism after the intifada.In 2021, he and five other prisoners tunneled out of a maximum-security prison in northern Israel. All six were recaptured days later.Mohammed Abu WardaA Hamas militant during the second intifada, Abu Warda helped organize a series of suicide bombings that killed over 40 people and wounded more than a hundred others. Israel arrested him in 2002, and sentenced him to 48 terms of lifetime imprisonment, among the longest sentences it ever issued. As a young student, Abu Warda joined Hamas at the start of the intifada following Israels killing of Yahya Ayyash, the militant groups leading bomb maker, in 1996. Palestinian authorities said at the time that Abu Warda had helped to recruit suicide bombers, whose attacks targeting crowded civilian areas in Israeli cities killed scores of people in the early 2000s. Abu Warda was released and deported on Jan. 30. Mohammed Aradeh, 42An activist in Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Aradeh was sentenced to life in prison for a range of offenses going back to the second intifada. Some of the charges, according to the Israeli Prison Service, included planting an explosive device and attempted murder.He was credited with plotting the extraordinary prison escape in 2021, when he and five other detainees, including Zubeidi, used spoons to tunnel out one of Israels most secure prisons. They remained at large for days before being caught.From an impoverished and politically active family in Jenin, in the northern occupied West Bank, Aradeh has three brothers and a sister who have all spent years in Israeli prisons.He was welcomed as a sort of cult hero in Ramallah on Jan. 25 as family, friends and fans swarmed him, some chanting The freedom tunnel! in reference to his jailbreak. Mohammed Odeh, 52, Wael Qassim, 54, and Wissam Abbasi, 48All three men hail from the neighborhood of Silwan, in east Jerusalem, and rose within the ranks of Hamas. Held responsible for a string of deadly attacks during the second intifada, the men were handed multiple life sentences in 2002. They were accused of plotting a suicide bombing at a crowded pool hall near Tel Aviv in 2002 that killed 15 people. Later that year, they were found to have orchestrated a bombing at Hebrew University that killed nine people, including five American students. Israel had described Odeh, who was working as a painter at the university at the time, as the architect of the attack.All three were transferred to Egypt on Jan. 25. Their families live in Jerusalem and said they will join them in exile.Mohammad al-Tous, 67The 67-year-old al-Tous had held the title of longest continuous Israeli imprisonment until his release last Saturday, Palestinian authorities said. First arrested in 1985 while fighting Israeli forces along the Jordanian border, the activist in the Fatah party spent a total of 39 years behind bars. Originally from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, he was among the prisoners exiled on Jan. 25. ___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war ISABEL DEBRE DeBre writes about Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay for The Associated Press, based in Buenos Aires. Before moving to South America in 2024, she covered the Middle East reporting from Jerusalem, Cairo and Dubai. twitter mailto

Former NFL head coach Bill Belichick and girlfriend Jordon Hudson, pose on the red carpet at the NFL Honors award show ahead of the Super Bowl 59 football game, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)2025-02-07T21:24:38Z NEW ORLEANS (AP) At 72 years old and out of the NFL, Bill Belichick still stole the show during Super Bowl week.Whats the former Patriots coach wearing on the red carpet?Try all of his Super Bowl rings.He was the the Bill of the ball at the NFL Honors, where Belichick not only flashed and flexed the gaudy bling earned from winning more Super Bowls over his vaunted career than any other coach in history, but earned a kindly roasting at the awards show social media was less kind for walking arm-in-arm with 24-year-old girlfriend Jordon Hudson.Belichick even dumped his trademark hoodie for a burgundy sports coat while Hudson stunned in a silver sequin dress.Stories about Belichick pop up these days about as often on TMZ as they do involving the NFL, or even his new gig as head coach at North Carolina. Hudson turned heads when she appeared to also sport one of Belichicks Super Bowl rings but on THAT finger that even fueled engagement rumors on social media and other publications. The Daily Mail posted photos of Hudson flaunting a stunning sparkler at a charity event Wednesday in New Orleans. Hang tight, paparazzi. Hudson posted on Instagram that the ring she wore at Honors was a Bridgewater State University Bearcats National Cheerleaders Association Collegiate Championship ring.Not even Tom Brady has one of those.Like any young couple well, OK, any couple with one young person in it they were spotted after the show hitting Bourbon Street bars looking for a good time. The grumpy coach who couldnt be bothered in New England with any meaningful quotes and conversation with reporters has turned into a bit of a media darling since his split with the Patriots. He clowns around and offers insights on The Pat McAfee Show and even hosted a pair of podcasts. He even appeared on the NFL Network on Thursday night where he refused to pick a Super Bowl winner between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. Hes changed in a good way. I like it, retired Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski told The Associated Press. I like it big time. How hes been representing. Hows he swaggy. How hes been in a new world, not coaching in the NFL. Hes been spectacular. Everyone loves him now.Belichick, who won six Super Bowls as head coach at New England and two more as an assistant with the New York Giants, even seems to have a sense of humor about himself, at least when it comes to his relationship with Hudson.Honors host and rapper Snoop Dogg poked fun at the age gap between Belichick and Hudson during his monologue, joking he remembered the old days of the NFL when the Cowboys were good, the Chiefs were bad, and I remember, what was it, Bill Belichicks girlfriend wasnt even born yet.Belichick and Hudson politely laughed at the joke while the crowd awwwed at the punchline.On social media, the jokes flew faster than a Saquon Barkley 60-yard touchdown run. One person posted a picture of the two at the awards show and wrote, You can make fun of Bill Belichick all you want, but I think its really nice that he took his girlfriend to the NFL Awards even if it is a school night. Another posted a photo collage that included Napster and Toy Story 2, and wrote, All of these things are older than Bill Belichicks girlfriend. Date nights might be harder to come by once Belichick goes back to college.Belichick signed a five-year deal with North Carolina in December that pays him $10 million in base and supplemental salary per year though it is guaranteed only for the first three years, including for buyout purposes and there is also up to $3.5 million in annual bonuses.Thats enough scratch to buy all the rings Hudson could want to slip on just like her boyfriend all her fingers.___AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi contributed to this report.___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl 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

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Officer director Matt Elliston listens during a briefing, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025, in Silver Spring, Md. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-02-08T05:21:41Z For years, the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office in suburban Indianapolis has wanted to partner with federal immigration authorities to identify and detain immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally and facing charges.President Joe Bidens administration never returned its calls, the sheriffs office said. But as President Donald Trump cracks down on illegal immigration, Hamilton County deputies soon could become the first in Indiana empowered to carry out federal immigration duties and one of many nationally that Trumps administration hopes to enlist.We definitely are joining, Chief Deputy John Lowes told The Associated Press. We want to collaborate with ICE to make sure we keep our community safe.Under Trump, U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement is reviving and expanding a decades-old program that trains local law officers to interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation. The 287(g) program named for a section of the 1996 law that created it currently applies only to those already jailed or imprisoned on charges. But Trumps border czar, Tom Homan, recently told sheriffs that he wants to expand it to include local task forces that can make arrests on the streets, reviving a model that former President Barrack Obama discontinued amid concerns about racial profiling. Its unclear whether that could allow local officers to stop people solely to check their immigration status. On Friday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that the Florida Highway Patrol had struck an agreement with ICE to interrogate, arrest and detain immigrants suspected of being in the country illegally and deliver them to federal authorities. The arrangement will help fulfill the presidents mission to effectuate the largest deportation program in American history, DeSantis said. Advocates for immigrants, meanwhile, are raising alarm about new pacts that put local law officers on immigration enforcement. All of these agreements, in practice, have the same track record of racial profiling, of sweeping in U.S. citizens or people who have lawful status, of having a chilling effect in terms of communities reporting crime to local law enforcement agencies, said Nayna Gupta, policy director at the nonprofit American Immigration Council. A dormant program gets a jumpstartIn the early 2000s, many of the initial participants in the 287(g) program had agreements that allowed them to enforce immigration laws in their communities, not just their jails. But problems arose in several places, including Arizona.In 2011, a civil rights investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice found that deputies in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, had engaged in a pattern of racial profiling, unlawful stops and arrests of Latinos. The Department of Homeland Security ended its agreement with the county.The program became the hallmark of far-right, anti-immigrant sheriffs as a means to feed people on the basis of their ethnicity into the deportation machine, asserted Lena Graber, senior staff attorney at the nonprofit Immigrant Legal Resource Center. In recent years, ICE has offered two types of 287(g) agreements to law enforcement agencies. One model requires four weeks of training and allows local officers to question suspected noncitizens who are jailed on other charges and detain them for ICE. The other model, which Trump launched during his first term, requires just eight hours of training and only allows local officers to serve federal immigration warrants.As of December, ICE had 135 agreements with sheriffs offices, police departments and prison systems in 21 states, with requests pending from 35 others. Two-thirds of the agreements were in just three states Florida, Texas and North Carolina. But no agreements had been signed during Bidens four years as president, according to ICE data.On his first day back in office, Trump ordered the Department of Homeland Security to maximize 287(g) agreements for local law officers to investigate, apprehend and detain immigrants. At a recent National Sheriffs Association conference, Homan said the administration is looking to lighten detention facility regulations and shorten the training to encourage greater collaboration with federal immigration officials. The associations president, Kieran Donahue, applauded the announcement. Theres going to be local sheriffs offices throughout the country, no question, theyre going to sign onto this program, Donahue told the AP. But Donahue is not planning to sign up his own department in Canyon County, Idaho. I dont have that kind of manpower, he said, adding: I have no bed space in my facility. Zero. States push for mandatory ICE trainingThe Florida Department of Law Enforcement in 2002 was the first to sign a 287(g) agreement with the federal government, running a task force for immigration enforcement. Twenty years later, Florida became the first state to require all local agencies with county jails to join the program or inform the state why they couldnt. After a Venezuelan man who was illegally in the U.S. killed University of Georgia student Laken Riley, Georgia passed a law last year requiring local law enforcement agencies to apply for the program. This year, Republican lawmakers in about a dozen states are seeking to require or incentivize cooperative agreements with ICE. One measure is sponsored by Texas state Rep. David Spiller, a Republican who also authored a law allowing any law enforcement officer to arrest migrants suspected of entering the country illegally. That law is on hold amid a legal challenge. Spiller said mandatory participation in ICE programs is essential.President Trump and border czar Homan cannot remove and deport all the people that are a public safety threat to our state and our nation over the next year and a half without the help of our local law enforcement, Spiller said. Already this year, Florida lawmakers have passed legislation that would allot millions of dollars for local immigration enforcement efforts. Legislation passed in Tennessee would direct the state to apply for the 287(g) program and authorize grants for local agencies that join. Legislation creating a state grant program for 287(g) participants also passed the Indiana Senate this week and is pending in the House. Democratic state Sen. Rodney Pol called it a very, very dangerous and very, very disturbing proposal.Were putting too much on people, particularly police officers, that are going to be put into situations where theyre going to have to break up their communities, Pol said. But Lowes said Hamilton County deputies plan to focus only on people who are already in jail. Last year, he said, the jail booked over 500 people believed to be noncitizens on charges that included driving while intoxicated, drug possession, theft, burglary, sexual battery and other offenses. Its unclear how many were in the country illegally, but ICE became involved in 64 of those cases, he said.We believe that this program will help us see a reduction in some of those crimes and will help us get some of the people out of our community that are committing crimes that endanger our safety, Lowes said. DAVID A. LIEB Lieb covers issues and trends in state governments across the U.S. Hes reported about government and politics for The Associated Press for 30 years. twitter mailto

Welcome back to the Abstract!Since we are all super-chill and bereft of any existential dread these days, lets take a moment to envision the grand-daddy of all apocalyptic scenarios: Death by asteroid. We have a small rock potentially incoming in December 2032 and a big rock potentially incoming in September 2182. Pick your fighter!Then, want to make two Grand Canyons in ten minutes? I know a trick. Finally, time to calm down with some whale songs and a fish fry with libations. Weve earned it by surviving this long in a cosmic shooting gallery. Bottoms up!Sir Bennu the BummerDai, Lan et al. Climatic and ecological responses to Bennu-type asteroid collisions. Science Advances.We all know the tale of the giant dino-killing asteroid, a freak deathbringer that measured about 10 miles wide and delivered a TKO to most life on Earth. Fortunately, asteroid impacts of that scale are extremely rare, occurring once every 150 million years or so. Its far more likely that we will get roughed up by a medium-sized asteroid, measuring a half-mile or smaller, which crash into Earth once every 150,000 years on average.Indeed, recently scientists have been tracking 2024 YR4, a rock that is about 200 feet across and has roughly a 1 in 50 (2%) chance of hitting Earth on December 22, 2032 (Merry Christmas!). Those are very high odds for an asteroid impact, which is actually good news, because they are objectively low odds. Hazardous asteroids are extremely unlikely to hit Earth in the near term, and most never break 1% risk.In other words, 2024 YR4 will almost certainly NOT strike Earth in seven years. But if it did, it would explode in the atmosphere and produce a powerful airburst that could kill millions of people if it occurred near a populated area (it would be the Chelyabinsk meteor on roids). As terrifying as that is to imagine, a rock the size of 2024 YR4 would still only deal regional damage and casualties could be mitigated by evacuation efforts among other preparations.Scientists are more worried about asteroids the size of Bennu, a rock that measures a third of a mile and has a 0.037% chance of impacting Earth on September 24, 2182 (Save the date!). Obviously, that is just a teeny tiny sliver of a chance1 in 2,700 oddsbut a study this week outlines why we should take it seriously nonetheless.Depending on the collision parameters, an impact between a medium-sized asteroid and Earth could cause regional to large-scale devastation, including non-negligible threats to the habitability of our planet, said researchers led by Lan Dai of Pusan National University.Beyond immediate effects such as thermal radiation, earthquakes, and tsunamis, asteroid impacts would have long-lasting climatic effects by emitting large quantities of aerosols and gases into the atmosphere, the researchers continued.More specifically, the team used advanced climate simulations to predict that a run-in with Bennu would inject up to 400 million tons of dust into Earths atmosphere. Global temperatures would subsequently plummet by about 4C and precipitation rates would fall by about 15%. The ozone would be depleted by about 32%, exposing life on our world to high doses of harmful UV radiation.Bennu up close. Image: NASA/Goddard/University of ArizonaThe initial reductions in ecosystem productivity on land and in the ocean would disrupt food availability and threaten global food security. the researchers said. The abrupt cooling and ecosystem collapses caused by asteroid collisions would severely reduce the habitat suitability for humans, wildlife, and terrestrial ecosystems,In simpler terms: we ded (skull emoji). At least, a lot of people would perish in this scenario. Of course, by the year 2182, we are all going to be pushing daisies anyway, except the Peter Thiel types that have managed to subsist on the blood of the young.Still, I am not paying inordinate sums for daycare just to have my future descendents get whacked by some space rock. To that end, NASA has already visited Bennu with its OSIRIS-REx mission, which returned samples from the asteroid back to Earth in 2023 to get a better sense of its composition. NASA also memorably punched an asteroid in the face with the DART mission in 2022, which shifted the rocks orbit.These missions (among others) are building the know-how to knock dangerous asteroids off-course with spacecraft impactors, as part of a redirect strategy. If the odds of an impact with Bennu get higher, we may ultimately have to send a spacecraft out to give it an uppercut that will push it away from a collision course.Deadly impacts do not make for light reading, but they are a reminder that we only exist at the mercy of weird gravitational perturbations in the asteroid belt. We are in more or less the same bind as T-rex, and Triceratops, and Mosasaurus, and all the other fantastic beasts felled by an extraterrestrial rock 66 million years ago. We may share their fate, or perhaps take a cue from the intelligent hadrosaurs who escaped that extinction (source: Star Trek: Voyager).In any case, if youre interested in keeping tabs on deadly space rocks (including 2024 YR4), I recommend following Robin George Andrews, who is an expert on killer asteroids and killing asteroidsa double whammy.The Moon Has Grand Canyons to SpareKring, David et al. Grand Canyons on the Moon. Nature Communications.Hey, want a break from thinking about space rocks crashing into things and wreaking havoc? Hahaha, not a chance. Im a sadist and I have been given too much power!Dont worry, the next impact I want to bring to your attention happened a long time ago (about 3.8 billion years in the past) and affected a location where humans are only occasionally present: the Moon. A new study reconstructed the catastrophic backstory of the Schrdinger impact basin, which stretches across 200 miles of the lunar south pole.Schrdinger basin is the best analog surface expression for Earths buried Chicxulub impact crater, which is linked to the extinction of dinosaurs and most life at the end of the Cretaceous, said researchers led by David Kring of the Lunar and Planetary Institute. The Schrdinger impact basin is remarkable for streams of rocky debris that it ejected, carving two canyons that are comparable to Earths Grand Canyon in width and depth.Schrdingers basin and the two canyons. Image: Kring et al.Kring and his colleagues used photogeologic mapping of the canyons, Vallis Schrdinger and Vallis Planck, to reconstruct their catastrophic backstory. The teams models suggest that they were forged by rays of rocky ejecta traveling at about 2,800 miles per hour, which violently tore gashes into the lunar landscape within ten minutes of impact. Ten minutes! Imagine blasting out two Grand Canyons in the time it takes to boil an egg. You have to hand it to space rocks: They know how to make a lasting impression.Fun fact: Schrdinger crater is also the location of the fictional Schwarze Sonne, a Nazi Moon fortress that is literally shaped like a swastika, featured in the 2012 film Iron Sky. Now you know.Look Whos Talking Too (Its Whales)Youngblood, Mason. Language-like efficiency in whale communication. Science Advances.After all that rough-and-tumble, I shall offer you the best relief planet Earth can offer: Whale songs. Is there any better salve for a mind troubled by cosmic collisions than the choruses of our oceanic cousins? Its well-known that cetaceans, the group that includes whales and dolphins, have evolved complex acoustic repertoires that include clicks, whistles, screeches, serenades, and pulses. Often, they even have regional or familial dialects.Now, a researcher has shown that the vocalizations of some cetaceans obey two linguistic patterns, known as Menzeraths law and Zipfs law, that measure linguistic efficiency. By analyzing more than 65,000 sequences from 16 cetacean species, Mason Youngblood of Stony Brook University has now confirmed that many whale songs are as efficientif not more efficientthan human languages, revealing another layer of complexity to cetacean communication.Comparisons of human and cetacean communication. Image: Youngblood, Sci. Adv. 11, eads6014 (2025)One of the simplest ways to increase efficiency is by reducing vocalization time. Individuals who convey the same information in less time incur lower metabolic costs and are less likely to be detected by predators and potential prey, Youngblood said in a new study.On average, whales tend to shorten elements and intervals toward the end of sequences, although this varies by species, he noted. Overall, the results of this study suggest that the vocalizations of many cetacean species have undergone compression for increased efficiency in time.Whales: Theyre just like us! Well, mostly like us, except for living in the sea and being absolutely ginormous. But hey, weve all got lactation and linguistic efficiencies in common and thats a good start!Party at Patos LagoonAdmiraal, Marjolein et al. Feasting on fish. Specialized function of pre-colonial pottery of the Cerritos mound builders of southern Brazil. PLOS One.Last, time to go back in time 2,000 years to party with the pre-Columbian peoples of Patos Lagoon in southern Brazil. This coastal wetland region is one of many places where ancient communities built earthen mounds called Cerritos that are packed with pottery shards, human and animal remains, and agricultural byproducts like seeds and beans.A team has now analyzed residues preserved in 54 pottery shards recently retrieved from two cerritos dating back 1,200 and 2,300 years, which are affiliated with the Charrua and Minuano cultures. The results suggest that these pots held cooked fish and may have even been vessels for alcoholic beverages made from fermented crops, such as maize. The researchers speculate that these ancient peoples may have timed boozy festivals to coincide with seasonal runs of migrating fish, such as the Whitemouth croaker.Intriguinglyfood residues from Cerritos ceramics show that vessels were used for either cooking estuarine fish, or plant products, said researchers led by Marjolein Admiraal at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (the research was conducted during her previous position at the University of York).Microbial-derived lipids were predominantly associated with the latter, suggesting that plants were fermented, presumably to make alcoholic beverages, the team said. We suggest that these sites, at least in part, functioned as prominent monuments in a frequently flooded landscape conducive to seasonal mass capture of fish, and that social aggregation and ritual feasting were major activities.Theres nothing like social aggregation and ritual feasting around earthen mounds to start off the weekend. Let the good vibes drown out the bad.Thanks for reading! See you next week.

Photos by Canva. Design by Sam Donndelinger.Subscribe nowGrowing up, Jordan Busits never understood the appeal of romantic comedies like her friends did. When she was in middle school and a classmate asked to be her boyfriend, she recoiled and felt a visceral aversion.Once she hit puberty, she thought she would start developing crushes or getting the hots for her peers. I was raised to believe that eventually, hormones will hit you, and youll get attracted to boys or girls, but it just never came, she told Uncloseted Media.Photo courtesy of Busits.As time passed, Busits became increasingly confused. Whats wrong with me? she would wonder. It wasnt until she was 17 and voiced her frustrations in her high school lunchroom that a friend suggested she may be asexual.Although Busits had never heard of the term, she immediately felt it encapsulated her experience.Now 27 years old, Busits describes herself as aromantic, asexual and autistic: A triple-A battery, if you will.Aromanticism (ARO) and asexuality (ACE) are defined by a lack of romantic or sexual attraction to any person of any gender, though the extent of the disinterest varies by individual.About 1% of all people identify as ACE, according to the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN).Busits experience reflects a growing body of research highlighting the connection between people with autism spectrum disorder who identify as ACE or ARO. A 2009 study about navigating adulthood with autism found that 33% of the 80-person sample had no interest in establishing a sexual relationship, and seemed asexual in their orientation. This finding was significant enough to warrant further research. Another 2021 study found that asexuality is overrepresented in people with autism spectrum disorder.While research is limited, experts and advocates recognize a correlation. Asexuality in people with autism is frequent, says Mark Stokes, the head of the Healthy Autistic Life Lab at Deakin University.Even on Tumblr, a user posted a poll in 2023 captioned: been picking up some patterns lately Are u neurodivergent and on the ace/aro spectrum? Out of the 7,340 voters, 32.7% answered yes.So, what is behind this correlation? Dena Gassner, a senior research scientist at Drexel Universitys Autism Institute, says that the unpredictability of partner intimacy can deter an autistic person from sex and dating. In an intimate moment when their partner might touch them, if they don't know the touch is coming or where it's going to come, it could lock them up. They could get very, very tense and anxiety-ridden about it, she says.Gassner says many autistic people experience difficulty in interoception, which is the brains ability to identify and process the bodys signals. They may also have sensitive startle reflexes, which could make partner intimacy feel overstimulating and unenjoyable.She adds that many people with autism spectrum disorder also have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a condition that causes skin elasticity and hypermobile joints. With a high risk of dislocating their joints, activities like sex can be painful and risky, causing some people with both conditions to avoid it altogether.Subscribe or consider upgrading to paid to support our journalism. Busits believes her asexuality is tied to the hypersensitivity she experiences as an autistic person. Our bodies cant handle physical contact and communication like a neurotypical can, she says. They can go for hours and wed need breaks.Photo courtesy of Busits.According to AVEN, asexuality does not necessarily mean abstaining from sex completely; but it could mean approaching it in a particular way. Some people may feel sex-indifferent, meaning they may be willing to engage in sex to please a partner but do not desire it themselves. Or, they may feel sex-favorable, meaning they may be open to finding ways to enjoy sex with a partner. Busits says she identifies with a third category, known as sex-repulsed.I consider my sex repulsion not just to be an asexual thing, but more so dictated by my autism, because I wouldn't want anyone or anything so much as touching me around my lower half, she says.Busits says that self-pleasure is where it gets tricky. While some ACE people do not feel any urges to masturbate, others may explore methods that do not agitate their sensitivities. I would not want to use a vibrator because that's a form of penetration, and I don't want that at all, Busits says.Stokes says that navigating the social nuances of partner intimacy may also deter some autistic people. While most autistic folks are more than capable of mastering social skills, he says they may not want to navigate both the physical and social aspects of partner intimacy at the same time. If they do seek sexual pleasure, they may prefer a solo activity like masturbation.Gassner says that she has met many autistic women who strictly prefer bondage in sex, as it can involve clear rules like safe words that stop the interaction. It also limits a partners ability to touch them unexpectedly. If you're in the dominatrix role, you have complete control over the situation, she says.But for many ACE and ARO people, there is zero romantic or sexual interest toward others. It feels like there's a hole where attraction should be. I dont feel attraction to anyone in any sense, says Em, who is autistic and asked to go by only her first name because she is not out to her family as aromatic.No matter how many people I see, my brain and body simply don't react the same way others do. It feels like there's something missing mentally when I talk to others who experience it," she told Uncloseted Media.Em believes she is asexual in part because her autism causes her to struggle with empathy. I feel like I'm missing a full set of emotional processes that should be there. It can get rid of or minimize attraction, she says.A 2022 study published by the National Institutes of Health found that autistic people experience an imbalance between cognitive and emotional empathy. While a neurotypical person can more easily identify another persons emotions and understand what those emotions feel like, a neurodivergent person may struggle to do both simultaneously.Subscribe for LGBTQ-focused journalismEmpathy is a complex phenomenon, and empathetic presentation varies across individuals with autism, says Stokes, adding that the idea that autistic people do not feel empathy is entirely untrue. He says that about 50% of people on the autism spectrum have alexithymia, the trait that makes it challenging to identify and process emotions. Alexithymia can reduce ones ability to emotionally connect with others, which may decrease their desire for a romantic relationship.Busits says that since first identifying as asexual in 2017, she has noticed more acceptance and understanding from those around her. Now I'm seeing people walking into our bookstore wearing pins like the asexuality or the aromantic pride flag, so I think theres a positive shift of us being allowed to be more open about our sexualities.However, Busits says adding the autism layer to asexuality causes a specific kind of ignorance. Many people just assume we're more juvenile, that we can't understand the concept of a romantic relationship or the idea of having sex with another person. I don't think I need to explain to you how horribly rude and ableist that is, she says. It would be like saying homosexuals only go for the same sex because they don't understand anything about the opposite sex.While autistic people disproportionately identify as ACE or ARO, 67% of autistic participants in the 2009 study are still interested in sex and romance.In fact, some autistic people may enjoy sex more than neurotypical folks because it gives them an intense sensory reaction that feels pleasurable. There are sensory seekers who like deep pressure and physical contact; for those people, sex is fun, says Gassner.For people on the autism spectrum, a lack of desire for partner intimacy does not mean a lack of love for others. Em says she is open to a partnership and hopes to find someone who understands and accepts her identity. Without attraction, I tend to have higher standards than [people who arent aromantic], she says. It needs to be a practical pairing and something were both emotionally invested in. And without attraction, I can find somebody from basically any group of people regarding their gender or sexuality.AVEN classifies this kind of relationship as queerplatonic: a non-romantic and non-sexual partnership that is more intimate and committed than a friendship. Queerplatonic partners may, for instance, live together, co-parent and share a bed but not marry or have sex with one another.Ive noticed theres a love hierarchy in society, says Busits. Friendships, family, and sibling relationships are always put below romantic and sexual relationships. How one would consider a wife and her husband to have a stronger form of love than a wife and her friends is ridiculous. Why do platonic relationships have to be seen as lesser?Gassner says it is essential to promote that an asexual identity does not mean a complete avoidance of sexual activity. She says it is not only a matter of awareness but also a matter of safety, adding that it is critical people on the autism spectrum have access to sex education. "Instead of teaching them how to be safe and how to make their own decisions, we often withhold the information, thinking, 'Oh, they're so developmentally delayed they don't need to have this knowledge.'"Photo courtesy of Busits.Busits and Em both hope to see more awareness, representation and respect for people on the autism spectrum, people in the ACE/ARO community and, of course, people who are both.I think it would be nice if people got more comfortable with the idea that autistic asexuals aren't just, like, living a stereotype, says Busits. Even if we're a small part of the population, we're still here, and we still deserve to be represented. Autism and asexuality are both very complicated identities. We shouldn't be just put in a box.If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:Donate to Uncloseted Media

Kendra Dahmer, a postdoctoral researcher studying infectious disease, works in a laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, in Berkeley, Calif., Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)2025-02-08T05:02:40Z BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) President Donald Trumps crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in programs receiving federal money has thrown into doubt the future of research Kendra Dahmer has been doing on intestinal parasites in India and Benin.Dahmer, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, has a grant from the National Institutes of Health, the single largest public funder of biomedical research in the world.The grant is supposed to cover her research through the summer of 2026, but now she wonders if that will be possible. She received diversity-based funding as the first college graduate in her family and a woman in science and, more broadly, she is uncertain how Trumps anti-DEI executive order could affect support for her areas of study.Theres also this aspect of research that funds specific studies in specific populations that are now being deemed DEI, Dahmer said. So, like HIV research in Africa may be deemed DEI, malaria research, which also happens in low and middle income countries, may be considered DEI. And these are really important diseases that kill hundreds of thousands of people every year. Two days after Trump signed the executive order on DEI on Jan. 21 researchers became even more alarmed when the White House called for a funding freeze to conduct an ideological review of all federal grants and loans. After days of chaos and legal wrangling, two judges intervened and the administration rescinded the freeze. The National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation, which fund a large chunk of research in the country, this week began releasing grants.But that hasnt eased the fears of scientists and researchers whose work is funded by federal grants. The NSF said it is still conducting a review of projects, programs and activities to be compliant with the existing executive orders. Its not yet clear what may happen to new and existing NIH grants either. On Friday night, the NIH announced it was cutting payments toward overhead costs for research institutions that receive its grants, a policy that could leave universities with major budget gaps. Currently, some universities receive 50% or more of the amount of a grant to put toward support staff and other needs, but that would be capped at 15%. Universities, which received almost $60 billion for research in the 2023 fiscal year, have been mostly quiet, explaining in statements to their staff and students they are still trying to clarify the implications of the executive order on DEI. Meantime, they are navigating the orders impact on their own institutional policies supporting underrepresented students.The University of California said in a statement it is evaluating recent executive orders issued by President Trump and the subsequent agency guidance to understand their potential impact on our communities.Even though there is no clarity on the new policies yet, some projects already have been put on hold amid uncertainty over the future of research touching on issues related to diversity, said Todd Wolfson, president of the American Association of University Professors. Some of the studies already being halted include research on artificial intelligence and how racism can be coded into systems, he said. Other projects Wolfson has heard about getting stopped include research on health equity and studies on the urban literacy rate as it relates to class in places with large concentrations of Black people.I think the people who are making these decisions are very clear that they want to create a society thats based on deep-set inequities that are hard baked and dont transform whether thats around race, whether thats around class, whether thats around gender, he said. The Education Department did not respond to an email message seeking comment. Threats to funding for research related to DEI could eliminate a lifeline for historically Black colleges and universities, which are already significantly underfunded compared to predominantly white institutions. North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, the largest HBCU in the country, has been on a yearslong mission to become one of the first to reach R1 status a distinction from the Carnegie Foundation that denotes a university as having high research activity, but the presidents intervention on federal funding could slow that down, said Joseph Graves, a biology professor. As it is, biology department students have to conduct research in hats and gloves during the winter because of a lack of heat in the old building, he said. New scrutiny on federal research grants could also hurt students at HBCUs who have federally funded fellowships for research, Graves said. Those scholarships, which could be at risk, allow minority students to pursue opportunities they might not have been able to afford. The Trump administrations perception of diversity, equity and inclusion could make HBCUs a target because of its high population of minority students, Graves said.They will look at our excellence in doing work that is changing the demography of science, and they will attack it as DEI, Graves said. Whatever we do, were doing DEI whether they like it or not.___Rodriguez reported from San Francisco and Seminera from Raleigh, North Carolina. Associated Press writers Cheyanne Mumphrey in Phoenix and Adithi Ramakrishnan in New York contributed. MAKIYA SEMINERA Seminera is a state government reporter for The Associated Press. She is based in Raleigh, North Carolina. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives at the West Wing of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-02-08T15:23:57Z WASHINGTON (AP) Three weeks in, President Donald Trump keeps cranking out executive orders designed to remake the government while billionaire Elon Musk hunts for more ways to upend the federal workforce.Trump also provoked then called off trade wars with Canada and Mexico but allowed one with China to move forward. He seemingly made light of potentially thorny political issues while insisting he was serious about the United States seizing Gaza, emptying out its residents and redeveloping the area into the Riviera of the Middle East. It was an idea that friend and foe alike around the world rejected. Here are some Week 3 takeaways:So many executive ordersTrump has spent 20 days in office, and on nearly every one of them, he has signed executive orders often several.Just like Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden before him, Trump used Inauguration Day to put pen to paper on actions meant to wipe out large numbers of his predecessors policies. Trump also issued Day 1 orders to pardon most members of the mob that attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord and keep TikTok functioning. He hasnt stopped since, taking at least 92 presidential actions, including one marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. One that would ban paper straws is supposed to come soon. The president signed most of the orders in the Oval Office; some were done aboard Air Force One. At times, officials have carted around a mini desk, affixed with the presidential seal, for the signings. It was there in the White Houses East Room when Trump signed an order intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls and womens sports. Trump used a similar desk to sign executive orders during a rally at Capital One Arena after his inaugural address. Its a prop Trump loves. He even mused about incorporating a special desk into his presidential swearing-in ceremony before it happened. I may even have a very tiny little desk put on the 20th stair because I always like to sign with a desk, Trump said in Iowa on Nov. 18, referring to his Inauguration Day walk up the Capitol steps. Trade wars are off, for nowTrump temporarily backed away from his tariff threats against Canada and Mexico, staving off a possible North American trade war as the U.S. holds separate talks over the next 30 days with its two biggest trading partners. But Trump followed through on trade penalties against China, imposing a 10% tax on imports from that country.White House aides say that tariffs, and Chinese retaliations, are not the start of a trade war because Trumps executive orders said the taxes were meant to force countries to address drug smuggling and, in the case of Canada and Mexico, illegal immigration. Still, Trump asserted that he wants to fix the trade imbalance as part of the negotiations with Canada and Mexico. Trump posted on his social media site regarding Canada that the talks should produce a final Economic deal.The White House treated Canadas decision to create a fentanyl czar and Mexicos deployment of 10,000 National Guard troops to the border as wins for Trump. But by most economic analyses, this was also a near catastrophe averted. The tariffs, if put in place, could increase inflation and subtract from growth. DOGE access to vital federal payment system is challenged in courtThe week featured another avalanche of activity to disrupt the government.The Musk-led special commission known as the Department of Government Efficiency helped pull almost all U.S. Agency for International Development workers off the job worldwide, while a push to pressure millions of federal workers into resigning has engulfed even the CIA. Lieutenants for Musk, the Tesla and X owner, also temporarily got access to the Treasury Department payment information system, setting off concerns about transparency and accountability that led to a court challenge. A federal judge early Saturday blocked DOGE from accessing those records and set a hearing for Feb. 14.The payments system handles trillions of dollars annually. Its a hidden part of the government plumbing thats essential for paying income taxes, collecting tax refunds, distributing money to contractors and paying out Social Security and Medicare benefits and one of those parts of government that cannot afford to be broken. The Treasury Department tried to assuage Democratic lawmakers with a letter claiming that no changes were being made to the system. But people familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide details that have not been made public, said Musks team had been looking for ways to block USAID payments. Half-jokingly, but also seriousWhite House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked on Fox News Channel why Trump nominated Linda McMahon as head of the Education Department when he had suggested shutting down the agency entirely. You heard the president say half-jokingly, but also serious, he wants Linda McMahon, who will lead that agency, to put herself out of a job, Leavitt said.Joking, but maybe not joking, is a favored Trump tactic going back to his first term. And hes been doing it again.Asked about data and other key information disappearing from government websites as federal officials scrambled to comply with new Trump administration rules, the president said he didnt know. But, he added, That doesnt sound like a bad idea. He has also repeatedly laughed about seeking a third term as president constitutional prohibitions be damned.It will be the greatest honor of my life to serve not once but twice or three times or four times, Trump said during a recent rally in Las Vegas. No, it will be to serve twice. At a House Republican meeting in Florida, Trump said he had leftover campaign funds that could go toward running for a third term. He joked that he assumed he could not use for myself, but Im not 100% sure. Am I allowed to run again? Trump asked House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. Mike, I better not get you involved in that.Gaza gobsmacker One area where it seemed like Trump might be joking but insists he wasnt is Gaza. Trump caused an uproar by suggesting that the U.S. could seize long-term control of the war-ravaged territory, force its Palestinian population to live elsewhere perhaps permanently and use a massive redevelopment project to make it a tourist destination along the Mediterranean Sea. Secretary of State Marco Rubio later repeatedly suggested that any resettlement would be on an interim basis, and even Leavitt insisted that such a relocation would be temporary. But that only made Trump double down, saying that the U.S. would slowly and carefully begin the construction of what would become one of the greatest and most spectacular developments of its kind on Earth.___Associated Press writer Fatima Hussein contributed to this report. WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers national politics and the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto JOSH BOAK Boak covers the White House and economic policy for The Associated Press. He joined the AP in 2013. twitter mailto

The U.S. Capitol is seen, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)2025-02-08T14:58:04Z WASHINGTON (AP) Before President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress can enact much of their legislative agenda, they have to deal with some unfinished business completing work on the current budget years spending bills. Its a task that by all accounts is not going well.The current stopgap measure lasts through March 14. After that, without congressional action, there would be a partial government shutdown. Five weeks is an eternity when it comes to resolving spending bills in Washington. But Trumps first weeks in office have escalated tensions between the two parties as the new administration reshapes agency priorities and dismantles existing programs without congressional approval. A look at where the talks stand: Republicans accuse Democrats of abandoning negotiationsRepublican and Democratic leaders of the two appropriations committees in Congress were holding spending bill talks in late January; aides said the two sides were committed to getting a deal done. But optimism has faded in recent days.Obviously, the Democrats are not in a good place right now, so they walked away from talks. But itll have to resume, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said Thursday.House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., gave a similar assessment, contending that comments by House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and some of his colleagues made it seem as though they are trying to set up some sort of government shutdown, which I think is very unfortunate. We were negotiating in good faith and trying to get the topline number, but so far as I know, theyve been sort of unresponsive the last two days or so. So I hope we can get back to it. Rep. Tom Cole, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said that he heard from Democratic lawmakers as recently as Thursday so he did not believe they were walking away from talks.But, were not making the progress I would hope, said Cole, R-Okla. Democrats dispute GOP leaderships characterizationConnecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the lead Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, said that is false in response to the assertion that Democrats have withdrawn from negotiations.The Democrats have made their offer. We have not walked away from the table, DeLauro said.Jeffries told reporters that DeLauro has been trying to get Republicans to respond to her for weeks. Im hopeful that Republicans are actually willing now to sit down at the table and reach a spending agreement, in the best interest of the American people, not in the best interest of their billionaire donors, Jeffries said. Tensions over topline spending levelsUnder terms of an agreement that former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., worked out with then-President Joe Biden, spending for defense and nondefense would increase by 1% for the current budget year, which began Oct. 1. That would bring the tallies to about $895.2 billion for defense and $780.4 billion for nondefense. Congress set the spending levels to grow below the rate of an inflation, at the insistence of Republicans, as part of a package that also suspended the debt limit so that the federal government could continue paying its bills. Democrats say an agreement is an agreement.That is the path forward that will allow everyone to come together to reach a spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people, Jeffries said.Republicans dont see it that way. Cole said Democrats are having a hard time adjusting to the reality of Trump being in the White House and Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress.We have to remember the deal they are trying to enforce is when we had a Democratic president and a Democratic Senate. We dont have those anymore, Cole said. And in particular, the president doesnt feel bound by an agreement made by another president that didnt go down on his watch.Cole said that theres only one signature that matters right now and its not Joe Bidens anymore. Democrats wary as Trump and Musk revamp federal governmentDemocrats are struggling to keep up and provide a unified response to Trumps first weeks in office as government workers are pushed to resign, entire agencies are dismantled and Elon Musks team from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency gains access to sensitive information of countless Americans.They are worried about how current government services are being affected, with Democrats accusing the administration of blocking hundreds of billions of dollars in previously approved funding. Those concerns are also swaying their thinking as they approach the spending bill negotiations. The level of trust is at the lowest I have ever seen it here in Congress, said Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. It is up to our Republican colleagues to stand up to this and assure us an agreement and a law is real.DeLauro said Democrats need assurances that Republicans will follow through on whatever spending agreement the negotiators reach.You won some. I won some. We lost some each. But we have a deal. And thats got to be it. Those assurances have to be made, DeLauro said. Plan BIf lawmakers fail to reach agreement on a full-year spending measure, then its possible that they could also pass another temporary measure to keep the government open for a few more weeks or months while they try to work out their differences.Such stopgap measures, called continuing resolutions or CRs in Washington parlance, generally fund government programs and agencies at current levels.I dont want a CR, Cole said. But I certainly prefer a CR to a shutdown.

President Donald Trump speaks at a dinner with Senate Republicans at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)2025-02-08T15:44:24Z CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) Groups representing some of South Africas white minority responded Saturday to a plan by President Donald Trump to offer them refugee status and resettlement in the United States by saying: thanks, but no thanks.The plan was detailed in an executive order Trump signed Friday that stopped all aid and financial assistance to South Africa as punishment for what the Trump administration said were rights violations by the government against some of its white citizens.The Trump administration accused the South African government of allowing violent attacks on white Afrikaner farmers and introducing a land expropriation law that enables it to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners agricultural property without compensation.The South African government has denied there are any concerted attacks on white farmers and has said that Trumps description of the new land law is full of misinformation and distortions. Afrikaners are descended from mainly Dutch, but also French and German colonial settlers who first arrived in South Africa more than 300 years ago. They speak Afrikaans, a language derived from Dutch that developed in South Africa, and are distinct from other white South Africans who come from British or other backgrounds. Together, whites make up around 7% of South Africas population of 62 million.On Saturday, two of the most prominent groups representing Afrikaners said they would not be taking up Trumps offer of resettlement in the U.S. Our members work here, and want to stay here, and they are going to stay here, said Dirk Hermann, chief executive of the Afrikaner trade union Solidarity, which says it represents around 2 million people. We are committed to build a future here. We are not going anywhere.At the same press conference, Kallie Kriel, the CEO of the Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum, said: We have to state categorically: We dont want to move elsewhere. Trumps move to sanction South Africa, a key U.S. trading partner in Africa, came after he and his South African-born adviser Elon Musk have accused its Black leadership of having an anti-white stance. But the portrayal of Afrikaners as a downtrodden group that needed to be saved would surprise most South Africans.It is ironic that the executive order makes provision for refugee status in the U.S. for a group in South Africa that remains amongst the most economically privileged, South Africas Foreign Ministry said. It also criticized the Trump administrations own policies, saying the focus on Afrikaners came while vulnerable people in the U.S. from other parts of the world are being deported and denied asylum despite real hardship.There was a campaign of misinformation and propaganda aimed at South Africa, the ministry said.Whites in South Africa still generally have a much better standard of living than Blacks more than 30 years after the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule in 1994. Despite being a small minority, whites still own around 70% of South Africas private farmland. A study in 2021 by the South Africa Human Rights Commission said 1% of whites were living in poverty compared to 64% of Blacks. Sithabile Ngidi, a market trader in Johannesburg, said she hadnt seen white people being mistreated in South Africa. He (Trump) should have actually come from America to South Africa to try and see what was happening for himself and not just take the word of an Elon Musk, who hasnt lived in this country for the longest of time, who doesnt even relate to South Africans, Ngidi said.But Trumps action against South Africa has given international attention to a sentiment among some white South Africans that they are being discriminated against as a form of payback for apartheid. The leaders of the apartheid government were Afrikaners.Solidarity, AfriForum and others are strongly opposed to the new land expropriation law, saying it will target land owned by whites who have worked to develop that land for years. They also say an equally contentious language law thats recently been passed seeks to remove or limit their Afrikaans language in schools, while they have often criticized South Africas affirmative action policies in business that promote the interests of Blacks as racist laws. This government is allowing a certain section of the population to be targeted, said AfriForums Kriel, who thanked Trump for raising the case of Afrikaners.The South African government says the laws that have been criticized are aimed at the incredibly difficult task of redressing the wrongs of colonialism and then nearly a half-century of apartheid, when Blacks were stripped of their land and almost all their rights.___Associated Press journalist Sebabatso Mosamo in Johannesburg contributed to this report.

This photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard on Friday, 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)2025-02-08T16:17:49Z JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) Authorities are working to recover the wreckage of a plane crash in western Alaska that killed 10 people while investigators are trying to determine what caused the small commuter aircraft to go down in the icy Bering Sea.The single-engine turboprop plane was traveling from Unalakleet to the hub community of Nome when it disappeared Thursday afternoon. The Bering Air plane was found the next day after an extensive search. Nine passengers and the pilot were killed.Crews on Saturday were racing to recover the wreckage and the remains of those killed in the crash before expected high winds and snow.Here are things to know about the plane crash, which is one of the deadliest plane crashes in the state in 25 years.The plane was reported missing near Nome Officials said contact with the Cessna Caravan was lost less than an hour after it left Unalakleet on Thursday. Authorities said the flight was a regularly scheduled commuter trip, and the aircraft went missing about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Nome.The wreckage was found Friday by rescuers who were searching by helicopter. Local, state and federal agencies scoured large stretches of icy waters and miles of frozen tundra before finding the plane.A Black Hawk helicopter will be used to move the aircraft once the bodies are removed, officials said. Unalakleet is a community of about 690 people about 150 miles (about 240 kilometers) southeast of Nome and 395 miles (about 640 kilometers) northwest of Anchorage. The village is on the Iditarod trail, route of the worlds most famous sled dog race.Nome is just south of the Arctic Circle and is known as the ending point of the 1,000-mile (1,610-kilometer) Iditarod. The cause of the crash is under investigationThe National Transportation Safety Board is sending people from various states to investigate the crash.Radar data provided by the U.S. Civil Air Patrol indicated the plane rapidly lost elevation and speed, but its not clear why that happened, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin McIntyre-Coble said he was unaware of any distress signals from the aircraft. If a plane is exposed to seawater, an emergency locating transmitter sends a signal to a satellite, which then relays that message to the Coast Guard. No such messages were received by the Coast Guard. Flying is an important mode of transportation in the largest U.S. stateAlaskas vast landscape and limited infrastructure makes traveling by plane a common thing. Most communities are not connected to the developed road system that serves the states most populous region.Some high school teams fly to sporting events against rival high schools, and goods are brought to many communities by barge or by air.Who was on the plane?Authorities said all 10 people on board the plane were adults.Among those killed were Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson. They had traveled to Unalakleet to service a heat recovery system vital to the communitys water plant, according to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.Identities of the others killed in the crash have not been released. Other recent U.S. plane crashes also under investigationThe Alaska planes crash marks the third major U.S. aviation mishap in eight days. 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.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, an aerial drone photo shows the site of a landslide in Jinping Village, Junlian County in the city of Yibin, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Saturday Feb. 8, 2025. (Zeng Li/Xinhua via AP)2025-02-08T10:44:31Z BEIJING (AP) Chinese rescuers searched for some 30 people after a landslide on Saturday in southwestern Sichuan province buried 10 houses and forced hundreds of residents to evacuate.The Ministry of Emergency Management deployed hundreds of rescuers including firefighters following the landslide in a village in Junlian county. Two people were pulled out alive and about 200 others were relocated, state broadcaster CCTV said. A villager told BeijingNews that rocks were frequently seen rolling down the mountain since the second half of 2024, in some cases making sounds similar to firecrackers. The villager said geologists had inspected the area late last year, the state-run newspaper reported.President Xi Jinping expressed his concern and urged authorities to make every effort to search for the missing people and minimize casualties, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Chinese Premier Li Qiang asked for an investigation and inspection of potential geological hazard risks in nearby areas. Li also said residents who were under threat should be evacuated to prevent another disaster, according to Xinhua. The National Development and Reform Commission has allocated 50 million yuan ($6.9 million) from the central budget to support the emergency restoration of infrastructure and public service facilities. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

This photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard on Friday, 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)2025-02-08T16:10:59Z CONCORD, N.H. (AP) A strong storm is expected to bring moderate to heavy snowfall across parts of the Upper Great Lakes on Saturday before intensifying overnight across the Northeast.The National Weather Service said a storm over the central and southern plains will move northeastward Saturday, producing a swath of 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) of snow across parts of Minnesota and the Great Lakes. Saturday night into Sunday, upstate New York and New England could see up to a foot (30 centimeters) of accumulation. Hazardous travel conditions were likely due to low visibility and snow-covered roads.Meanwhile, a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain from the Ohio Valley into the northern Mid-Atlantic region could result in significant icing in the Central Appalachians, forecasters said. Freezing rain on roadways was expected to make travel dangerous, and power outages were possible. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) participates during Super Bowl 59 Opening Night, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in New Orleans, ahead of the NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday.(AP Photo/AJ Mast, File)2025-02-08T15:58:00Z For months, daring bands of thieves linked to South American gangs have been making off with piles of jewelry and cash from the homes of the biggest superstars in sports, targeting the likes of the NFLs Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.Sophisticated pillagers have deployed drones and signal jamming devices, sometimes posing as delivery drivers or maintenance workers, to gain access to gated neighborhoods and thwart home security systems, according to warnings issued by the NFL and NBA. But in recent weeks, investigators across the U.S. have made a handful of arrests connected to at least one of the high-profile heists and discovered stolen sports memorabilia, jewelry and art stuffed into storage units in New Jersey.A group of Chilean men stopped in January while driving in Ohio were charged Monday with stealing nearly $300,000 worth of designer luggage, watches and jewelry from Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrows house. Photos showed one suspect wearing a sparkly necklace with Burrows jersey number that he had worn during interviews, according to a federal complaint unsealed Wednesday. These individuals seem to be the alleged tip of the iceberg, said Kenneth Parker, the U.S. Attorney in southern Ohio, who believes the men are working with South American theft rings that for years have been ransacking opulent homes from coast to coast. Some luxury watches and jewelry stolen from homes across the country not just those belonging to athletes ended up being sold at a pawnshop in Manhattans Diamond District and stashed away in nearby storage units, federal authorities said in court documents released Tuesday that accuse two men of fencing the items. Whether the entire string of burglaries targeting athletes are connected to the same crews from South America or if those groups are working together isnt clear. Federal authorities leading the investigations have been tight-lipped since the FBI warned in December that crime organizations were preying on professional athletes. Superstar athletes targeted in home burglariesInvestigators say international crime rings have looted high-end houses for years, but now theyre going after some of the biggest names in the NFL, NBA and NHL. Thieves broke into the homes of Kansas City Chiefs teammates Mahomes and Kelce within days of each other in October around the time they played New Orleans and Kelces superstar girlfriend Taylor Swift watched the game from the stands.Mahomes and Kelce on Sunday will try to lead the Chiefs to a record three straight Super Bowl titles.Jewelry valued at about $30,000 was stolen from NBA All-Star Luka Doncics home in Dallas in December. Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin reported a home invasion in January that happened while his team was playing at home. Similarities in the string of break-insLaw enforcement officials warned sports leagues last fall that thieves had been striking on game days when they knew the players would not be home, often smashing through rear windows. Some of the groups scoped out their targets by posing as home delivery drivers or joggers in secluded neighborhoods. Burrows home in Ohio, which sits on a gated street tucked along a wooded area, was broken into while he was in Dallas for a Monday Night Football game in December. The men charged in the invasion were found weeks later traveling with a Husky glass-breaking tool that one of them bought at Home Depot, an FBI agent wrote in an affidavit.Players have been advised to not only beef up their home security but also avoid posting their whereabouts on social media.Thieves targeting items that can be sold undergroundThe theft rings are focused on cash and items that can be resold on the black market, such as jewelry, watches and luxury bags, according to an NBA warning based on information from the FBI.The two men indicted this week in New York City were accused of buying stolen watches, jewelry and other expensive items from a variety of burglary crews and reselling them at their pawnshop in Manhattan since 2020.Court documents said the pair were tied to five separate burglary crews and linked one of the two suspects to the men accused of breaking into the residence of a high-profile athlete in Ohio on the same day that Burrows home was hit. A judge on Friday denied bail for the pawnshop owners, saying it would be ironic to release them just before the Super Bowl.This is one Super Bowl Defendants will have to watch from the sidelines, U.S. District Court Judge William Kuntz wrote in his decision. They will not be players this weekend. JOHN SEEWER Seewer covers state and national news for The Associated Press and is based in Toledo, Ohio. twitter mailto

Kendra Dahmer, a postdoctoral researcher studying infectious disease, works in a laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, in Berkeley, Calif., Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)2025-02-08T14:02:40Z BEIRUT (AP) Lebanons new prime minister on Saturday formed the countrys first full-fledged government since 2022.President Joseph Aoun announced in a statement that he had accepted the resignation of the former caretaker government and signed a decree with new Prime Minister Nawaf Salam forming the new government.Salams cabinet of 24 ministers, split evenly between Christian and Muslim sects, was formed less than a month after he was appointed, and comes at a time where Lebanon is scrambling to rebuild its battered southern region and maintain security along its southern border after a devastating war between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group. A U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal ended the war in November.Lebanon is also still in the throes of a crippling economic crisis, now in its sixth year, which has battered its banks, destroyed its state electricity sector and left many in poverty unable to access their savings. Salam, a diplomat and former president of the International Court of Justice, has vowed to reform Lebanons judiciary and battered economy and bring about stability in the troubled country, which has faced numerous economic, political, and security crises for decades. Though Hezbollah did not endorse Salam as prime minister, the Lebanese group did engage in negotiations with the new prime minister over the Shiite Muslim seats in government, as per Lebanons power-sharing system. Lebanons new authorities also mark a shift away from leaders that are close to Hezbollah, as Beirut hopes to continue improving ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations that have been concerned by Hezbollahs growing political and military power over the past decade.In early January, former army chief Aoun was elected president, ending that positions vacuum. He was also a candidate not endorsed by Hezbollah and key allies.Aoun has shared similar sentiments to Salam, also vowing to consolidate the states right to monopolize the carrying of weapons, in an apparent reference to the arms of Hezbollah.

Elon Musk speaks at a presidential inauguration event on behalf of President-elect Donald Trump in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)2025-02-07T18:08:56Z WASHINGTON (AP) Democratic lawmakers are seeking a Treasury Department investigation of the access that Elon Musks team was given to the governments payment system, citing threats to the economy and national security, and the potential violation of laws protecting Americans privacy and tax data.The lawmakers sent letters Friday to Treasurys deputy inspector general and the acting inspector general for tax administration, in addition to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., writing to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The letters laid out their concerns over a lack of transparency and public accountability about the access being granted to the federal governments financial plumbing. The payments system handles trillions of dollars over the course of a year, including tax refunds, Social Security benefits and much more. That raises questions about whether the review by the tech billionaire Musks Department of Government Efficiency is legal. The lead writers of the inspectors general letter, Warren and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., have sounded multiple alarms about a review that largely remains shrouded from public scrutiny. Democrats efforts to push back against spending cuts that President Donald Trump is seeking through DOGE could lead to a Washington showdown with possible broader repercussions. Any breakdown in the system could mean missed payments to people or even the sharing of sensitive personal data. In Warrens letter to Bessent, she says the secretary has deflected and avoided key questions so far and provided information that appears to be flatly contradicted by new public reports.The American people including millions of families who are worried that you have jeopardized their Social Security payments, their Medicare payments, their local programs, and their economic security deserve straight answers, Warren wrote. A letter requesting an investigation would typically be sent to Treasurys inspector general. However, Trumps recent firing of about 17 independent inspectors general at government agencies leaves an oversight hole.The Treasury Department has maintained that the review is merely about assessing the integrity of the system and that no changes to it are being made. But according to two people familiar with the process, Musks team began its inquiry looking for ways to suspend payments made by the U.S. Agency for International Development, which Trump and Musk are attempting to shutter.Separately, labor unions and advocacy groups have sued to block the payments system review from proceeding because of concerns about its legality. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly on Thursday restricted DOGEs read-only access of Treasurys payment systems to two workers, one of them Tom Krause, who now appears on the Treasury Department website as performing the functions of fiscal assistant secretary.Also signing the letters were Democratic Sens. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. JOSH BOAK Boak covers the White House and economic policy for The Associated Press. He joined the AP in 2013. twitter mailto 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

A Thai hostage who was freed from Hamas, Pongsak Thaenna, center, hugs a relative upon arrival at Suvarnabhumi International Airport, in Samut Prakarn Province, Thailand, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)2025-02-09T01:42:57Z BANGKOK (AP) Five Thai workers released after being held hostage for over a year in Gaza arrived in Bangkok on Sunday.Sarusak Rumnao, 32, Watchara Sriaoun, 33, Sathian Suwannakham, 35, Pongsak Thaenna, 36, and Bannawat Saethao, 27, were freed on Jan. 30 as part of an exchange arrangement.They were embraced by family members, some of whom cried, in the arrivals hall at Suvarnabhumi airport. Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sagniampongsa and the Israeli Ambassador to Thailand Orna Sagiv were both at the airport to welcome home the freed hostages.We are all very grateful and very happy that we get to return to our homeland. We all would really like to thank you. I dont know what else to say, Pongsak told a news conference at the airport.Maris said the Thai government never gave up hope and here is the result today. The tears of joy are our encouragement. He added that Bangkok would continue working to secure the release of the remaining Thai hostage. The group quickly left the news conference to return to their hometowns in Thailands northern and northeastern regions.They were the second batch of Thai hostages released since the war broke out. During an earlier ceasefire in November 2023, 23 Thai nationals were released in a deal negotiated between Thailand and Hamas, with assistance from Qatar and Iran. All five men were assessed at a hospital outside Tel Aviv prior to their return. Four of them were joined by one relative each earlier this week. The trip was sponsored by the Israeli government, according to the Thai Embassy in Tel Aviv. Hamas militants kidnapped 31 Thai nationals during the Oct. 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel, making them the largest group of foreigners held captive. Many of the Thai agricultural workers lived in compounds on the outskirts of southern Israeli kibbutzim and towns, and Hamas militants overran those places first. A total of 46 Thais have been killed during the conflict, including two Thai citizens who were killed during the attack and their bodies taken into Gaza, according to Thailands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.There was no immediate information available about Nattapong Pingsa, who is the last Thai hostage left in Gaza, nor the two Thai workers whose bodies were taken into Gaza.Maris, the Thai foreign minister, traveled to Israel to visit the five freed men shortly after their release. Maris met with his Israeli counterparts seeking support to secure the release of the remaining Thai hostage and retrieve the bodies of the two deceased Thais.Thai workers remain the largest group of foreign agricultural laborers in Israel. The countries implemented a bilateral agreement a decade ago specifically easing the way for Thai agricultural workers. Many Palestinian workers had since returned, and before the Hamas attack about half of Israels workforce was made up of foreign and Palestinian laborers.

Vicky Lazo, a teacher with Southwest Miami Senior High School, speaks Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Miami during a Hispanic Federation event where they announced a new investment from Google.org to provide workforce development workshops to help Latinos learn digital skills. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)2025-02-09T04:48:28Z As jobs become more reliant on technology some Latino workers can be left behind due to a lack of digital skills exacerbated by a lack of accessibility. Latinos remain an integral part of jobs in agriculture, construction, retail and food services but these jobs are also at risk of automation, leaving some Latinos unprepared for a changing role that relies more on technology, according to a new report by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles.Analysis from the UCLA Latino Policy Institute shows Latinos are overrepresented in fields at risk of automation. The report also provides some suggestions on how to improve Latino economic mobility. This report sheds light on a critical but often overlooked reality: Automation is not just a technological issue but an equity issue, said Misael Galdmez, co-author of the report, On the Frontlines: Automation Risks for Latino Workers in California. Latino workers are on the frontline of automation risk, facing barriers like limited English proficiency, low digital access and educational gaps, Galdmez said.Valerie Gills, 32, spent three years as a receptionist at a hotel in Phoenix, but in 2023, the hotel set up self-check kiosks and installed AI-powered chatbots on its website to handle reservations and requests. The changes made it clear that Gills was no longer essential. I knew businesses were always trying to improve efficiency, she said, but it seemed to me as though technology was taking opportunities away from us. Gills eventually lost her job. She found temporary positions but nothing as stable as her hotel job had been. Her employment troubles weighed on her mental health and reminded me how weak workers like me can be when industries get everything automated.Ramiro Cavazos, president and CEO of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said that while automation displaces those with limited skills, it can also create new roles, provide better working conditions and prevent burnout. Automation affects people that dont have access to the Internet, Cavazos said. Latinos, who traditionally are the ones impacted, have made great progress as we become more educated, more skilled.As Gills looked for a new job, the reality set in: She would need to learn a new skill to stay ahead of the curve. Ultimately she was able to get an internship as a blog editor, but she is actively looking for a tech-study program in data analytics and software development, including boot camps online, so she can be a competitive candidate.Cavazos said the Hispanic Chamber works with over 500 foundations to ensure corporations contribute to providing skills training that Latinos need to compete in the current job market. He has seen a lot of investment to ensure Latino workers have the skills they need to succeed.During former President Joe Bidens administration, the U.S. Department of Labors division on employment and training focused on providing Latinos a pathway to learn new skills through apprenticeship programs, said Manny Lamre, then deputy assistant secretary for employment and training. According to Lamare, the apprenticeships were perfect for Latinos as they met their needs to have high-paying, family-supporting careers. We do think its really important to continue to engage individuals and meet them where they are, Lamarre said at the time. Quite frankly the Biden-Harris Administration has been intentional about making investments supporting Latino and Hispanic communities. We are hopeful those investments continue.Department of Labor officials under President Donald Trump, who has issued several orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, did not immediately confirm whether the apprenticeship programs are still active.Carlos Vasquez, founder of Miami Ed Tech, a nonprofit focused on providing skills Latino students need for upward mobility, said apprenticeships are extremely favorable to Latinos as they are paying jobs from day one with a promise of training from an organization. Miami Ed Tech offers two apprenticeships in AI, data science and web design.Everyone thinks its only for like, the trades, Vazquez said. But that was the other thing that the Biden administration really pushed, is building more apprenticeships in nontraditional and emerging sectors. So we are kind of like, trying to also emulate that by offering in our community any employer who doesnt know but wants to get involved, because theres a lot of benefits. So its a win-win for everyone.Historically, Latinos have always been impacted by automation due to their relation to labor-intensive roles, especially in retail and food service. Cavazos said it is crucial to teach Latinos more digital skills to evolve with the workforce.A study by UCLA this year found that in California, 2.3 million Latinos are employed in roles most at risk of becoming automated. Of the Latinos working in automation, 21% of them do not have access to high-speed internet at home, a hindrance to digital upskilling, the study found. A 2021 Pew Research study also found that only 67% of Hispanic adults reported owning a desktop or laptop computer, compared with 8 in 10 white adults. Diana Caba, vice president for community and economic development at the Hispanic Federation, said that as the world becomes more digital, it can become a huge obstacle for Latinos who do not have digital skills. Therefore the nonprofit has partnered with over 50 community-based organizations to decrease the digital divide by providing Latinos training, including access to technology.Caba said that of the 35,000 people theyve trained, 70% have completed the training. She said 6,000 have gone on to new jobs, and about 10,500 have gotten a six-figure salary.Automation is a big threat for our community, considering that we are in these low-paying sectors that are actually very vulnerable and dont really offer much opportunities for economic mobility, Caba said. Its been really exciting to take this approach and meet the needs of increasing the digital acumen of the Latino community.Dylan Pravia started as an intern with Miami Ed Tech, which he said provided him the opportunity to use computers and learn about AI and programming. He is now able to use what he learned there as a mechanical engineering student at Florida International University.I really like what Miami Ed Tech is doing, Pravia said. They are providing that training, that opportunity, to students. Talent is everywhere, and we should give (Latino) students as much training as they can, all those opportunities, so we can see the talent and their skills in the world.Gills, the former hotel receptionist, said she understands technology is the future but automation feels like a double-edged sword. While it can open opportunities for high-skilled labor, it also diminishes the number of low-skill jobs that many Latinos need, she said.Ive seen firsthand how many co-workers were swapped for kiosks or chatbots, Gills said. Retraining workers and preparing them for new jobs needs to be better supported by the system. To be honest, these times with automation and AI feel very unreliable and constantly changing, but I guess we just have to learn how to adapt.___The Associated Press received financial support from the Sony Global Social Justice Fund to expand certain coverage areas. 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. FERNANDA FIGUEROA Figueroa reports on Latino/Hispanic affairs as a member of the APs Race & Ethnicity team. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

President Donald Trump arrives to meet British Prime Minister Theresa May before their meeting at Chequers, in Buckinghamshire, England, July 13, 2018. (Jack Taylor/Pool Photo via AP, File)2025-02-09T05:03:46Z LONDON (AP) Ever since Winston Churchill coined the phrase in the wake of World War II, politicians have extolled the special relationship between the United States and Britain.Under President Donald Trumps second administration, Britain will settle for a merely functional relationship with its former colony turned most important ally. As Trump threatens to slap tariffs on Americas neighbors, mulls buying Greenland and suggests the U.S. could take over and reconstruct Gaza,Prime Minister Keir Starmers government is racing to bolster its diplomatic and economic defenses for a turbulent new transatlantic era.Were in such uncharted waters that anyone who claims to know what in the hell is going on is just lying, said Kathleen Burk, emeritus professor at University College London and an expert on U.S.-U.K. relations. High stakes for Britains Washington envoyBritish officials say Starmer hopes to visit Washington in the coming weeks, but he has yet to receive an invitation from Trump.In the meantime, a heavy burden rests on Britains new ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson. A towering figure in Starmers Labour Party who served in the governments of former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, Mandelson replaces veteran diplomat Karen Pierce, who was widely respected by both Democrats and Republicans in Washington. Its rare for a politician, rather than a career civil servant, to be given a key U.K. ambassadorial post. The center-left former lawmaker is not an obvious emissary to the Trump administration. Mandelson once called Trump a danger to the world words he now says were ill-judged and wrong. But some analysts see Mandelson as a canny choice. A controversial figure who twice resigned from government over allegations of financial or ethical impropriety, he has like Trump repeatedly bounced back. His mastery of political intrigue brought him the nickname Prince of Darkness. Jill Rutter, a senior fellow at the Institute for Government, said Mandelson is a considerable political talent with economic expertise from his time as the EUs trade commissioner between 2004 and 2008.Hes also very comfortable with very rich people, Rutter said. Hes very well connected. He will give very classy parties.In addition to diplomatic clout, Britain plans to deploy another key asset: the royal family. Trump, whose mother was born on Scotlands remote Isle of Lewis, owns two Scottish golf courses and is a fan of the royals. He praised the late Queen Elizabeth II, who hosted him at Buckingham Palace during a 2019 state visit, and said he had a great talk with Prince William when the two men met in December.A return visit to the U.K. for Trump, replete with pomp and pageantry, seems likely. Stuck in the middle with EUSome politicians on the right of U.K. politics see Trumps return as an opportunity for deeper U.K.-U.S. trade ties, maybe even a long-elusive free trade agreement.Talks on a trade deal started after Britain left the European Union in 2020 but foundered on issues including agriculture, with strong opposition in Britain to importing chlorine-rinsed chicken or hormone-treated beef.A further complication is Starmers desire for closer trade with the EU as part of a reset with the bloc after years of acrimony over Brexit. Sandwiched between the U.S. and the EU, Britain could face pressure to pick a side.Surely the choice is obvious, Conservative Party lawmaker John Cooper said during a recent debate in Parliament. Under President Trump, the American eagle is starting to spread its wings. Europe is fading, with sclerotic growth amid political turmoil.But Leslie Vinjamuri, director of the U.S. and the Americas program at the international affairs think-tank Chatham House, said choosing between Europe and America was a ridiculous proposition. While the U.S. is Britains biggest individual trading partner, half of Britains trade is with the 27 EU members.They cant choose, Vinjamuri said. At the end of the day, Europe, the U.S. and the U.K. are in this together, and so they have to find different ways of working together. Pressure over trade and defenseTrump has already ratcheted up pressure on longstanding allies, announcing he would impose tariffs on all goods from Canada and Mexico, then postponing them after getting pledges from the two counties to beef up border security.Trump has suggested Britain could escape similar tariffs. I think that one can be worked out, he said.Britain is helped by the fact that, according to official U.S. statistics, the U.S. sells more goods to the UK. than it imports.Britain is also facing pressure from Trump to increase defense spending. Trump has long questioned the value of NATO and threatened not to defend members of the alliance that fail to meet defense-spending goals.The president has said NATO countries should spend at least 5% of their income on defense, up from the current 2% target. Britain spends 2.3% of GDP on defense and says it will increase that figure to 2.5%. The one thing that the Americans will pay attention to is the defense budget, because Britain started losing leverage with the U. S. when its army and its navy started going down in the 1970s, Burk said.Britain is one of the biggest supporters of Ukraine in its war against Russias invasion a war Trump wants to end, on terms that remain unclear. Starmer and his officials hope to press the U.S. government not to abandon Ukraine or back a deal favorable to Russian President Vladimir Putin.British diplomats and spies are also trying to assess what the new U.S. government means for vital intelligence-sharing. Britain and the U.S. share top-secret intelligence as members of the Five Eyes group with Canada, Australia and New Zealand.U.K. officials were somewhat relieved by the appointment of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, an experienced politician and a known quantity. They have little acquaintance with, and some concerns about, Trumps nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, and his pick to oversee national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. Gabbard has repeatedly echoed Russian propaganda used to justify the Kremlins invasion of Ukraine and in the past opposed a key U.S. surveillance program.Expect the unexpectedIts impossible to prepare for everything the next four years could bring.Rutter said ministers and civil servants need to think about the unthinkable. For instance, what happens if deep cuts to regulation and the machinery of government mean parts of the U.S. start failing?When do you start having to give people warnings not to fly to the U.S. because we dont trust your aviation regulation anymore? she said.Vinjamuri said the coming years will test to the limit Britains historic strength of quiet diplomacy, working very pragmatically below the headline to try and get things done.The challenge is, we have some known unknowns, (like) what will happen when it comes to Americas support for Ukraine and for Europes security, she said. But we have a lot of unknown unknowns, too. And that, I think, is going to be the much trickier part. JILL LAWLESS Lawless is an Associated Press reporter covering U.K. politics and more. She is based in London. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump arrives to meet British Prime Minister Theresa May before their meeting at Chequers, in Buckinghamshire, England, July 13, 2018. (Jack Taylor/Pool Photo via AP, File)2025-02-09T00:13:26Z MEXICO CITY (AP) A magnitude-7.6 earthquake shook the Caribbean Sea south of the Cayman Islands Saturday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Several islands and countries urged people near the coastline to move inland but authorities in most places later lifted the tsunami alerts. The quake struck at 6:23 p.m. local time in the middle of the sea and had a depth of 10 kilometers, the USGS said. Its epicenter was located 130 miles (209 kilometers) south-southwest of George Town in the Cayman Islands. The U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center said there was no tsunami alert for the U.S. mainland but issued a tsunami advisory for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which was later cancelled. Hazard Management Cayman Islands urged residents near the coast to move inland and to higher ground, warning that wave heights of 0.3 to 1 meter were expected. The Cayman Islands government later issued on all clear on its Facebook site. Puerto Rico Gov. Jenniffer Gonzlez Coln said in a statement she is in contact with emergency agencies after the tsunami advisory, but did not recommend anyone leave the coast.The sounding of alarms in Puerto Ricos northwest region had caused people to leave coastal areas and caused heavy traffic, according to local media.The Dominican government also issued a tsunami alert and recommended residents on the coast move to high areas of more than 20 meters of altitude and 2 kilometers inland. But it later canceled the alert. Honduran authorities said there are no immediate reports of damages, but urged its residents to stay away from beaches.The Cuban government requested people to leave beachfront areas. The U.S. governments National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said tsunami waves reaching 1 to 3 meters above the tide level are possible along some coasts of Cuba. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Mellisa Sachitongo, 65, exercises with the Commandos Fitness Club at the Warren Hills cemetery in Harare, Zimbabwe, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. ( AP Photo/Aaron Ufumeli)2025-02-09T04:03:33Z HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) At dawn, 65-year-old Nelly Mutandwa swapped her pajamas for leggings, a T-shirt and sneakers. She grabbed a bottle of water before heading to an unconventional workout spot: a cemetery in Zimbabwes capital, Harare.Surrounded by rows of graves, she joined other members of the Commandos Fitness Club in an hour-long session of squats, lunges and stretches as upbeat music blared. For Mutandwa, the daily routine is more than exercise. Its her lifeline in managing diabetes.They are resting, she said, pointing to the graves. I just dont want to join them yet. That means I have to do the hard work here.With limited fitness facilities such as gyms in their neighborhoods, older Zimbabweans are exercising wherever they can to combat Africas growing problem of non-communicable diseases like heart problems, high blood pressure and diabetes. Other groups exercise along highways or disused railway lines. Globally, non-communicable diseases, which are conditions that cannot be directly passed from person to person, are the leading cause of death, responsible for 41 million, or 74%, of annual fatalities, according to the World Health Organization. Non-communicable diseases currently account for about 40% of deaths annually in Zimbabwe, according to its ministry of health and child care.In Zimbabwe and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, non-communicable diseases are set to overtake communicable diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and cholera as the leading cause of death or illness by 2030, according to WHO. Previously associated with older people, non-communicable diseases are increasingly spreading to children and young adults due to smoking, frequent alcohol use, unhealthy diets and lack of physical activity.This has sparked huge concern among experts and governments on a continent that is experiencing the worlds fastest population growth and is home to its youngest population. Dr. Johannes Marisa, a public health specialist in Harare and president of the Medical and Dental Private Practitioners of Zimbabwe Association, said doctors are witnessing a rapid change as more children and young people are diagnosed with NCDs.He attributed it partly to sedentary lifestyles as many people spend much of their time glued to their smartphone screens at the expense of physical movement, as well as growing substance abuse and unhealthy diets.While climate change-induced droughts have left many rural people in Zimbabwe scrounging for food, traders in urban areas are racing to get a piece of the fast food market thats widely blamed for obesity.In Harare and other urban areas, franchises such as KFC compete with a mushrooming number of cheaper local restaurants and informal roadside stalls, public markets and even homes where one can grab a fried piece of chicken, a burger or a fries-and-sausage combo for a dollar.In response, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube in the 2025 national budget imposed a modest 0.5% tax on sales of doughnuts and other foods including tacos, pizza, hot dogs, shawarma, fries, chicken and burgers by retailers to encourage healthier dietary choices and mitigate the prevalence of non-communicable diseases. Meanwhile, some older Zimbabweans are taking up physical exercise.For Mutandwa and her Commandos Fitness Club crew, the surroundings of the cemetery suffice. Coached by Joseph Nekati, whose mothers stroke in 2023 inspired him to help others, the free club has become a sanctuary for older fitness buffs. Eight of the clubs roughly 20 members are older people, Nekati said.I weighed 86 kilograms (189 pounds) and struggled to stand up. I would struggle to breathe just walking in my house. Now, Im down to 76 kilograms (167 pounds) and I can walk long distances, said Susan Gomo, a 64-year-old grandmother managing high blood pressure and arthritis.The group exercise is also meant to encourage other older people to work out. Some of my age mates are reluctant, Gomo said. They end up just eating and sitting at home. They might change their minds when they see me in great shape. Mutandwa said she picked up the habit of power walks when she visited her daughter in the United Kingdom in 2022. She decided to try it back home in Zimbabwe, but the roads in her township were potholed and crowded. She went for solo walks on a nearby hill, but she felt unsafe.Last year, she noticed the fitness club in the cemetery, where a wide and well-maintained path provides a convenient workout spot. With three of her neighbors, she approached the coach, who happily took them in.Now the cemetery has come to symbolize Mutandwa and others quest to live healthier and outpace death one step at a time.Its serene, its safe and we have a lot of space with minimal disturbances. Hopefully the (local) council can build proper facilities for us, she said, preparing to stroll back home. ___For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse___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. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Namibian and ruling Swapo party President Sam Nujoma speaks during an election rally in Windhoek, Namibia, Nov. 13, 2004. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)2025-02-09T04:51:27Z WINDHOEK, Namibia (AP) Sam Nujoma, the fiery freedom fighter who led Namibia to independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990 and served as its first president for 15 years, and was known as the father of the nation, has died. He was 95.Nujomas death was announced Sunday by current Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba. Mbumba said Nujoma died on Saturday night after being hospitalized in the capital, Windhoek.The foundations of the Republic of Namibia have been shaken, Mbumba said in a statement. Over the past three weeks, the Founding President of the Republic of Namibia and Founding Father of the Namibian Nation was hospitalized for medical treatment and medical observation due to ill health.Unfortunately, this time, the most gallant son of our land could not recover from his illness, Mbumba added.Nujoma was revered in his homeland as a charismatic father figure who steered his country to democracy and stability after long colonial rule by Germany and a bitter war of independence from South Africa. He spent nearly 30 years in exile as the leader of its independence movement before returning to be elected his countrys first democratic leader in 1990. Nujoma, with his trademark white beard, was the last of a generation of African leaders who brought their countries out of colonial or white minority rule that included South Africas Nelson Mandela, Zimbabwes Robert Mugabe, Zambias Kenneth Kaunda and Mozambiques Samora Machel. Many Namibians credited Nujomas leadership for the process of national healing and reconciliation after the deep divisions caused by the independence war and South Africas policies of dividing the country into ethnically based regional governments, with separate education and health care for each race. Even his political opponents praised Nujoma who was branded a Marxist and accused of ruthless suppression of dissent while in exile for establishing a democratic Constitution and involving white businessmen and politicians in government after independence. Despite his pragmatism and nation-building at home, Nujoma often hit foreign headlines for his fierce anti-Western rhetoric. He claimed AIDS was a man-made biological weapon and also occasionally waged a verbal war on homosexuality, calling gays idiots and branding homosexuality a foreign and corrupt ideology.Nujoma built ties with North Korea, Cuba, Russia and China, some of which had supported Namibias liberation movement by providing arms and training.But he balanced that with outreach to the West, and Nujoma was the first African leader to be hosted at the White House by former U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1993. Clinton called Nujoma the George Washington of his country and a genuine hero of the worlds movement toward democracy.Nujoma grew up in a rural, impoverished family, the eldest of 11 children. His early life revolved around looking after his parents cattle and the cultivation of land. He attended a mission school before moving to Windhoek and working for South African Railways. He was arrested following a political protest in 1959 and fled the territory shortly after his release. In exile, he helped establish the South West African Peoples Organization and was named its president in 1960. SWAPO has been Namibias ruling party since 1990.When South Africa refused to heed a 1966 U.N. resolution ending its mandate over the former German colony of South West Africa, Nujoma launched SWAPOs guerrilla campaign.We started the armed struggle with only two sub-machine guns and two pistols, Nujoma once said. I got them from Algeria, plus some rounds of ammunition.___AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

Palestinians are seen near destroyed buildings by Israeli bombardments inside the northern Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025. (Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)2025-02-09T08:29:32Z MUGHRAQA, Gaza Strip (AP) Israeli forces began withdrawing from a key Gaza corridor on Sunday, Israeli officials said, part of Israels commitments under a tenuous ceasefire deal with Hamas that is moving ahead but faces a major test over whether the sides can negotiate its planned extension.Israel agreed as part of the truce to remove its forces from the 4-mile (6-kilometer) Netzarim corridor, a strip of land that bisects northern Gaza from the south that Israel used as a military zone during the war. At the start of the ceasefire last month, Israel began allowing Palestinians to cross Netzarim to head to their homes in the war-battered north, sending hundreds of thousands streaming across Gaza on foot and by car. The withdrawal of forces from the area will fulfill another commitment to the deal, which paused the 15-month war. However, the sides appear to have made little progress on negotiating the deals second phase, which is meant to extend the truce and lead to the release of more Israeli hostages held by Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was sending a delegation to Qatar, a key mediator in talks between the sides, but the mission included low-level officials, sparking speculation that it wont lead to a breakthrough in extending the truce. Netanyahu is also expected to convene a meeting of key Cabinet ministers this week on the second phase of the deal.Separately on Sunday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said that a 23-year-old Palestinian woman who was eight months pregnant was fatally shot by Israeli gunfire in the northern occupied West Bank, where Israeli troops have been carrying out a broad operation. The ceasefire is fragile and its extension is not guaranteedSince it began on Jan. 19, the ceasefire deal has faced repeated obstacles and disagreements between the sides, underscoring its fragility. But it has held, raising hopes that the devastating war that led to seismic shifts in the Middle East may be headed toward an end.On Sunday, cars heaped with belongings, including water tanks and suitcases, were seen heading north through a road that crosses Netzarim. Under the deal, Israel is supposed to allow the cars to cross through uninspected, and there did not appear to be troops in the vicinity of the road. Hamas spokesperson Abdel Latif Al-Qanoua said the withdrawal showed Hamas had forced the enemy to submit to our demands and that it thwarted Netanyahus illusion of achieving total victory.The Israeli officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to discuss troop movement with the media, did not disclose how many soldiers were withdrawing. Troops currently remain along Gazas borders with Israel and Egypt and a full withdrawal is expected to be negotiated in a later stage of the truce.During the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire, Hamas is gradually releasing 33 Israeli hostages captured during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack in exchange for a pause in fighting, freedom for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and a flood of humanitarian aid to war-battered Gaza. The deal also stipulates that Israeli troops will pull back from populated areas of Gaza as well as the Netzarim corridor. In the second phase, all remaining living hostages would be released in return for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a sustainable calm. But details beyond that are unclear and repeated stumbling blocks throughout the first phase and the deep mistrust between the sides have cast doubt on whether they can nail down the extension.The truce faces many challenges, including Trumps Gaza proposalIsrael has said it wont agree to a complete withdrawal from Gaza until Hamas military and political capabilities are eliminated. Hamas says it wont hand over the last hostages until Israel removes all troops from the territory.Netanyahu meanwhile is under heavy pressure from his far-right political allies to resume the war after the first phase so that Hamas, which carried out the deadliest attack on Israelis in their history, can be defeated. He is also facing pressure from Israelis who are eager to see more hostages return home and want to deal to continue, especially after the gaunt appearances of the three male captives freed on Saturday stunned the nation. Complicating things further is a proposal by U.S. President Donald Trump to relocate the population of Gaza and take ownership of the Palestinian territory. Israel has expressed openness to the idea while Hamas, the Palestinians and the broader Arab world have rejected it outright.The suggested plan is saddled with moral, legal and practical obstacles. But it may have been proposed as a negotiation tactic by Trump, to try to ratchet up pressure on Hamas or as an opening gambit in a bargaining process aimed at securing a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia. That grand deal appeared to be rattled on Sunday as Saudi Arabia condemned remarks by Netanyahu who said Palestinians could create their state in that territory. Saudi Arabia said his remarks aim to divert attention from the successive crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against our Palestinian brothers in Gaza, including the ethnic cleansing they are being subjected to.In an interview Thursday with Israels Channel 14, Netanyahu said: The Saudis can create a Palestinian state in Saudi Arabia; they have a lot of land over there.Violence surges in the occupied West BankThe war in Gaza, sparked by Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people and saw 250 taken hostage, has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians according to local health authorities who do not differentiate between fighters and noncombatants in their count. Vast parts of the territory have been obliterated in the fighting, leaving many Palestinians returning to damaged or destroyed homes. Violence has surged in the West Bank throughout the war and has intensified in recent days with an Israeli military operation in the north of the territory. The shooting of the pregnant woman, Sundus Shalabi, happened in the Nur Shams urban refugee camp, a focal point of Israeli operations against Palestinian militants in the territory. The Palestinian Health Ministry also said that Shalabis husband was critically wounded by the gunfire. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israels Defense Minister Israel Katz announced on Sunday the expansion of the Israeli military operation, which started in the city of Jenin several weeks ago. He said the operation was meant to prevent Iran from establishing a foothold in the occupied West Bank.___Goldenberg reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates contributed to this report.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war TIA GOLDENBERG Goldenberg is an Associated Press reporter and producer covering Israel and the Palestinian territories. She previously reported on East and West Africa from Nairobi. twitter mailto

People attend a rally calling for the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip, in front of the U.S. Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv, Israel, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, ahead of the planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)2025-02-07T19:25:41Z JERUSALEM (AP) Israel and Hamas are in the midst of a six-week ceasefire during which Hamas is releasing dozens of the hostages captured in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The sides have carried out five swaps since the ceasefire went into effect last month, freeing 21 hostages and over 730 prisoners. Hamas has agreed to release 33 Israeli hostages for nearly 2,000 prisoners and detainees during this first phase of the ceasefire. Five Thai hostages have also been released during the ceasefire period in a separate deal.The sides have also begun negotiations on a second phase aimed at returning the remaining hostages, releasing additional prisoners and ending the war. Here is a breakdown of the hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023:Total captured: 251Hostages freed in exchanges or other deals: 130 Bodies of dead hostages retrieved by Israeli troops: 40Hostages rescued alive: 8Hostages still in captivity: 73, of whom Israel has declared 34 to be dead.Of those still being held:Women and children: 3 ( A mother and her two young sons.)Israeli soldiers: 13, of whom 6 are still believed to be alive. Non-Israelis: 5 (3 Thais, 1 Nepalese, 1 Tanzanian), of whom 2 (1 Thai and 1 Nepalese) are believed to still be alive.Separately:Israelis in Gaza since before the Oct. 7 attack: 3 (body of one soldier killed in 2014 war, and two civilians who entered Gaza on their own in 2014 and 2015 and are believed alive)

Thai citizens, who were released from Hamas captivity in Gaza as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal, leave Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh) in Be'er Ya'akov, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)2025-01-30T11:32:43Z BANGKOK (AP) Five Thai nationals held hostage by Hamas since its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel returned home on Sunday after their release from captivity. They were among 31 Thais taken by the militant group, of whom 23 have already been released. Another two have been confirmed dead, and the status of one remaining person is not clear. According to Thailands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 46 Thais have been killed during the conflict, including the two who died in Hamas captivity.They were among tens of thousands of Thai workers in Israel. Heres a look at what they were doing there. Why are there so many Thais in Israel? Israel once relied heavily on Palestinian workers, but it started bringing in large numbers of migrant workers after the 1987-93 Palestinian revolt, known as the first Intifada.Most came from Thailand, and Thais remain the largest group of foreign agricultural laborers in Israel today, earning considerably more than they can at home. Thailand and Israel implemented a bilateral agreement a decade ago to ease the way for workers in the agriculture sector.Israel has come under criticism for the conditions under which the Thai farm laborers work. A Human Rights Watch report in 2015 said they often were housed in makeshift and inadequate accommodations and were paid salaries significantly below the legal minimum wage, forced to work long hours in excess of the legal maximum, subjected to unsafe working conditions and denied their right to change employers. A watchdog group found more recently that most were still paid below the legal minimum wage. How many Thai nationals work in Israel?There were about 30,000 Thai workers, primarily working on farms, in Israel prior to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.In the wake of the October 2023 attack, some 7,000 returned home, primarily on government evacuation flights, but higher wages have continued to attract new arrivals. Thai ambassador to Israel Pannabha Chandraramya recently said there are now more than 38,000 Thai workers in the country. What happened after they left? Faced with a labor shortage in the wake of the exodus after the Hamas attack, Israels Agriculture Ministry announced incentives to try and attract foreign workers back to evacuated areas.Among other things, it offered to extend work visas and to pay bonuses of about $500 a month.Thailands Labor Ministry granted 3,966 Thai workers permission to work in Israel in 2024, keeping Israel in the top four destinations for Thais working abroad last year. Thai migrant workers generally come from poorer regions of the country, especially the northeast, and even before the bonuses the jobs in Israel paid many times what they could make at home. ___Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul contributed to this story. DAVID RISING Rising covers regional Asia-Pacific stories for The Associated Press. He has worked around the world, including covering the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Ukraine, and was based for nearly 20 years in Berlin before moving to Bangkok. twitter mailto

Philadelphia Eagles' Cooper DeJean walks off the field before the NFC Championship NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)2025-02-09T04:50:58Z OMAHA, Neb. (AP) In the farm town where Cooper DeJean drew up football plays in elementary school and taught classmates to run them at recess, residents plan a huge party to watch the towns native son in the Super Bowl.The Philadelphia Eagles defensive back has lifted spirits in Odebolt, Iowa, a town of 920 people once known as the Popcorn Capital of the World.Residents say hes also inspired children in the four towns that make up the local school district in this remote region of Western Iowa, where he played quarterback in stadiums carved out of cornfields.On Sunday theyll gather in the Odebolt Community Building for a Super Bowl watch party theyre calling the Cooper Bowl. Many plan to wear special Eagles green T-shirts printed up for the occasion that feature DeJeans No. 33. Its also a birthday party for DeJean, who turns 22 on Super Bowl Sunday. The whole town is just ecstatic, said Cory Duff, who owns The Bolt Drive-In, a local restaurant.I would say it has brought a renewed energy back to the community, he said. It has definitely uplifted everybody around here.Duff said hes a die-hard Denver Broncos fan and I even bought his jersey. Everybody around here has their own team, but whenever the Eagles are playing, everyones watching, Duff said. AP @ the Super Bowl What time does the Super Bowl start? Our guide to the game The ads youll be watching Kendrick Lamar is ready for halftime See who won the AP MVP and other awards DeJeans father, Jason, said he was touched by a video that school employees made featuring dozens of children and teachers wishing his son the best in the Super Bowl. They all got on the playground and spelled out Cooper, Jason DeJean said. The nearly 5-minute video is infused with cuteness, with one scene showing elementary school students making hand motions to imitate birds as they sing the teams fight song, Fly Eagles Fly.Ever since DeJean began flying around the football field at the University of Iowa, the support around this community has been just crazy, Jason DeJean said. Now you see Eagle jerseys and 33 and all that stuff. Its great to see, and you couldnt ask for any more support than what this community gives. After winning back-to-back state football championships in his final two years of high school, DeJean went on to a stellar career at the University of Iowa where he was named an All-American. In the 2024 NFL draft, the Eagles selected him in the second round.Only a handful of athletes from the small towns of the Western Valley Activities Conference go on to compete in any sport at a major university, making DeJeans path from Odebolt to the Iowa Hawkeyes and now the Philadelphia Eagles one of the most improbable ever taken in this part of Western Iowa.Its not very often a kid from a town of less than 1,000 people gets to go to the Super Bowl, Duff said.DeJeans intense work ethic is a common thread that ties him to legendary athletes from other parts of the state such as former Iowa Hawkeye and WNBA star Caitlin Clark, from West Des Moines, and Pro Football Hall of Famer Kurt Warner, from Burlington, who played in high school in Cedar Rapids.DeJeans path to the Super Bowl has cast a spotlight on Odebolt, but it was the dirt he played on that helped put the town and its surrounding farmland on the map. A two-lane highway winds down from the Loess Hills on Iowas western edge, past giant wind turbines and fields of corn and soybeans to get to Odebolt.A 20-mile (32-kilometer) stretch of the road, Iowa Highway 175, connects the towns that send students to DeJeans old high school: Battle Creek, Ida Grove, Odebolt and blink-and-you-miss-it Arthur, population 222. In this wide-open area, farm animals outnumber people by a wide margin. The county that includes Odebolt is home to about 46,000 cattle more than four times the human population of 9,800, according to numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.The rich, black soil surrounding Odebolt was seen as ideal for growing popcorn and led Chicagos Cracker Jack Co. to choose it to supply the popcorn for its Cracker Jack snacks.Cracker Jack Co. Executive Vice President E.R. Shields praised Odebolts early pioneers, who created the town from wilderness. And their descendants were shining examples of strength, fortitude and foresight that has made your community The Popcorn Center of the World, he wrote in 1938 in the Odebolt Chronicle.Residents who know DeJean say they see that same strength and fortitude in him. They speak highly of his work ethic in sports, but also his personality traits in life.The kid is insanely humble, and hes not going to forget where he comes from, Duff said. JEFF MARTIN Martin covers breaking news in the southeastern U.S. for The Associated Press. He is based in Atlanta. mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

The South Dakota Capitol stands in Pierre, S.D., Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Jack Dura, File)2025-02-09T04:57:10Z PHOENIX (AP) South Dakotas constitution refers to the governor as a he.But for the past six years, the governor was a she Kristi Noem, the first female to hold the position there. The conservative Republican pushed a constitutional amendment to change the gendered language. But voters rejected the measure in the 2024 general election that also would have been inclusive of nonbinary people.Across the nation, state constitutions presume officeholders are male, and they increasingly are outdated. This year, a record of 13 women were serving as governor before Noem stepped down to serve in President Donald Trumps Cabinet. In state legislatures, 2,469 women are serving, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.Most states havent modernized their constitutions to reflect the rise of women in politics. Among those that have are New Yorks, which became gender-neutral in 2001, and Vermonts, where voters approved a change from men to persons in 1994. An effort in Washington state to update the states constitution died in a legislative committee in 2023. In Connecticut, state Sen. Mae Flexer says shell make another run at revising the constitution in this years legislative session. Some states, like Nevada and California, have made changes within their legislatures to refer to lawmakers as assemblymembers instead of assemblymen or assemblywomen. Language matters, it conveys a message about values, it conveys a message about who belongs, said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics. Noem began her 2023 State of the State address with a call to update the states constitution, which was created in 1889. The South Dakota state constitution requires the governor to begin each legislative session by giving the Legislature information concerning the affairs of the state and recommending the measures he considers necessary, Noem said. Notice I didnt say she. The constitution doesnt say she, and maybe we should fix that sometime. A few months later, Noem signed a bill to update male references to more gender-neutral language in state law, such as changing he shall deem to the Governor deems. But amending the states founding document requires voter approval and South Dakotans didnt go for it.The bills sponsor, Republican state Sen. Erin Tobin, saw it as a way to reflect the states progress in electing women and celebrating them. She said the amendment failed partly because of the word pronoun in the ballot question. It entangled the effort with the broader conservative sentiment that nonbinary is not a legitimate gender identity. Others cited a lack of campaigning for or against the measure and concerns over the financial cost of making a change. Although he and she are inherently inclusive of many transgender people who use those pronouns, Noem has a track record opposing gender transitions.Noem signed a bill in 2023 prohibiting gender-affirming care for youth and in 2022 signed a bill banning transgender girls and college-age women from playing in school sports leagues that match their gender identity. Noem resigned her office in late January to oversee the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under Trump, who issued an executive order last month directing the federal government to recognize only two sexes male and female. Trump also signed an executive order Wednesday that intended to prohibit transgender athletes from participating in girls and womens sports.Trump emphasized his opposition to transgender rights in his 2024 presidential bid. Aligned political action committees spent tens of millions of dollars on anti-transgender attack ads. Had she been unfamiliar with the South Dakota measure, Tobin said she would have voted no based on how it read. The states attorney general writes the titles and explanations for constitutional amendments. Republican South Dakota state Rep. Brandei Schaefbauer was among those who encouraged voters to turn down the measure. Schaefbauer said she supports referring to officeholders as he or she but opposes gender-neutral references.That is one of my biggest oppositions to this, Schaefbauer said. We are male and female, and when this was gender-neutralized in the constitution, it was taking away the personhood and that is not how I live my life.Neil Fulton, dean of the University of South Dakota School of Law, said that masculine pronouns have long been understood to encompass all people and its usage in the state constitution reflects the drafting convention at the time. Certainly we know that the officeholder limits in South Dakota have never been interpreted to preclude female officeholders, said Fulton. Why? We have a female governor and weve had a variety of statewide female elected officials previously. And no ones ever challenged that, so it would not have worked substantive change. He said language use and convention evolve dramatically over time, and proponents argued those conventions are changing. The states legislative drafting manual discourages the use of male pronouns when referring to an individual or class of individuals. ___ The Associated Press women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. 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. SEJAL GOVINDARAO Govindarao covers Arizona government and politics for The Associated Press, with a focus on women in state government. She is based in Phoenix. twitter mailto

Philadelphia Eagles' Cooper DeJean walks off the field before the NFC Championship NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)2025-02-09T10:31:37Z PATNA, India (AP) At least 31 suspected Maoist rebels and two police officials were killed on Sunday in the deadliest combat so far this year in central India, police said.Hundreds of police and paramilitary soldiers launched an operation in the forests of the Indravati area of Chhattisgarh state based on intelligence that large number of rebels had gathered there, said state police Inspector General Pattilingam Sundarraj.Sundarraj said as the troops conducted a search operation fighting erupted in the forest, killing at least 31 insurgents and two police officials. Two other police were injured . He said search operations were continuing in the area and the troops had recovered some arms and ammunition, including automatic rifles. There was no immediate statement from the rebels.Sundays fighting is the biggest so far this year and the second major clash in less than a month in Chhattisgarh, according to police officer Jitendra Yadav. At least 16 rebels were killed in the states Gariband district on Jan. 23. According to Indian officials, the government had issued a bounty for 12 of them totaling about $345,000. Eight rebels were killed in a gunbattle with troops in the Bijapur district on Jan. 31. Indian soldiers have been battling the Maoist rebels across several central and northern states since 1967, when the militants, also known as Naxalites, began fighting to demand more jobs, land and wealth from natural resources for the countrys poor indigenous communities. The insurgents are inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong. Years of neglect have isolated many locals, who face a lack of jobs, schools and health care clinics, making them open to overtures by the rebels. The rebels speak the same tribal languages as many villagers and have promised to fight for a better future especially in Chhattisgarh, one of Indias poorest states despite its vast mineral riches.The rebels have ambushed police, destroyed government offices and abducted officials. Theyve also blown up train tracks, attacked prisons to free their comrades and stolen weapons from police and paramilitary warehouses to arm themselves. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site