President Donald Trump waves as he walks from Marine One after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-02-20T03:30:42Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is considering buying used Boeing aircraft perhaps from an overseas seller to use as Air Force One when hes aboard, as he fumes over the U.S. plane-makers delays in producing two specially modified ones for presidential use.Speaking to reporters aboard one of the two nearly 35-year-old Boeing 747-200 aircraft in current use, Trump said, Were looking at alternatives, because its taking Boeing too long.We may go and buy a plane, Trump said, adding that he could then convert it. He later clarified that he was ruling out purchasing aircraft of Airbus, the European company that is the only other global supplier on large wide-body aircraft, but would consider a second-hand Boeing plane. I would not consider Airbus. I could buy one from another country perhaps or get one from another country. Boeing has the contract to produce updated versions, based on the more modern Boeing 747-8, but delivery has been delayed while the aircraft maker has lost billions of dollars on the deal, which was negotiated by Trump during his first term in office. Its not the planes, rather the heavy modification to make them suitable for the requirements of presidential travel and the top-level security clearances required for those involved, that has added to the cost and delays. Trump already dropped a requirement for the new generation of planes, which will be known as the VC-25B, to be capable of air-to-air refueling, like the pair of existing VC-25As, which were designed during the Cold War. Other modifications include highly classified communications equipment suitable for the countrys commander-in-chief, survivability enhancements for a range of contingencies, and self-contained air-stairs, allowing for their use in austere landing environments. Delivery initially was set for 2024, but has been pushed to some time in 2027 for the first plane and in 2028 Trumps final year in office for the second, according to the U.S. Air Force. Trump on Saturday toured a newer Boeing 747-800 airplane to check out new hardware and technology features and highlight the aircraft makers delay in delivering updated versions of the Air Force One presidential aircraft, the White House said Saturday. Trump visited the 13-year-old private aircraft that had been owned by the Qatari royal family while it was parked at Palm Beach International Airport.The New York Times was first to report that Trump was considering purchasing and modifying used aircraft to serve as new presidential aircraft.

An axolotl swims around in an aquarium at a museum in Xochimilco Ecological Park, in Mexico City, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)2025-02-20T13:08:20Z MEXICO CITY (AP) Legend has it the axolotl was not always an amphibian. Long before it became Mexicos most beloved salamander and efforts to prevent its extinction flourished, it was a sneaky god.Its an interesting little animal, said Yanet Cruz, head of the Chinampaxchitl Museum in Mexico City.Its exhibitions focus on axolotl and chinampas, the pre-Hispanic agricultural systems resembling floating gardens that still function in Xochimilco, a neighborhood on Mexico Citys outskirts famed for its canals.Despite there being many varieties, the axolotl from the area is a symbol of identity for the native people, said Cruz, who participated in activities hosted at the museum to celebrate Axolotl Day in early February.While there are no official estimates of the current axolotl population, the species Ambystoma mexicanum endemic of central Mexico has been catalogued as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species since 2019. And though biologists, historians and officials have led efforts to save the species and its habitat from extinction, a parallel, unexpected preservation phenomenon has emerged. Axolotl attracted international attention after Minecraft added them to its game in 2021 and Mexicans went crazy about them that same year, following the Central Banks initiative to print it on the 50-peso bill. Thats when the axolotlmania thrived, Cruz said. All over Mexico, the peculiar, dragon-like amphibian can be spotted in murals, crafts and socks. Selected bakeries have caused a sensation with its axolotl-like bites. Even a local brewery Ajolote in Spanish took its name from the salamander to honor Mexican traditions. Before the Spaniards conquered Mexico-Tenochtitlan in the 16th century, axolotl may not have had archeological representations as did Tlloc god of rain in the Aztec worldview or Coyolxauhqui its lunar goddess but it did appear in ancient Mesoamerican documents. In the Nahua myth of the Fifth Sun, pre-Hispanic god Nanahuatzin threw himself into a fire, reemerged as the sun and commanded fellow gods to replicate his sacrifice to bring movement to the world. All complied but Xlotl, a deity associated with the evening star, who fled.He was hunted down and killed, said Arturo Montero, archeologist of the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas. And from his death came a creature: axolotl.According to Montero, the myth implies that, after a gods passing, its essence gets imprisoned in a mundane creature, subject to the cycles of life and death. Axolotl then carries within itself the Xolotl deity, and when the animal dies and its divine substance transits to the underworld, it later resurfaces to the earth and a new axolotl is born.Axolotl is the twin of maize, agave and water, Montero said.Current fascination toward axolotl and its rise to sacred status in pre-Hispanic times is hardly a coincidence. It was most likely sparked by its exceptional biological features, Montero said. Through the glass of a fish tank, where academic institutions preserve them and hatcheries put them up for sale, axolotl are hard to spot. Their skin is usually dark to mimic stones though an albino, pinkish variety can be bred and they can stay still for hours, buried in the muddy ground of their natural habitats or barely moving at the bottom of their tanks in captivity.Aside from their lungs, they breathe through their gills and skin, which allows them to adapt to its aquatic environment. And they can regenerate parts of its heart, spinal cord and brain.This species is quite peculiar, said biologist Arturo Vergara, who supervises axolotl preservation efforts in various institutions and cares after specimens for sale at a hatchery in Mexico City.Depending on the species, color and size, Axolotls prices at Ambystomania where Vergara works start at 200 pesos ($10 US). Specimens are available for sale when they reach four inches in length and are easy pets to look after, Vergara said. While they regularly have a 15-years life span (in captivity), weve had animals that have lived up to 20, he added. They are very long-lived, though in their natural habitat they probably wouldnt last more than three or four years.The species on display at the museum one of 17 known varieties in Mexico is endemic to lakes and canals that are currently polluted. A healthy population of axolotl would likely struggle to feed or reproduce.Just imagine the bottom of a canal in areas like Xochimilco, Tlahuac, Chalco, where theres an enormous quantity of microbes, Vergara said. Under ideal conditions, an axolotl could heal itself from snake or heron biting and survive the dry season buried in the mud. But a proper aquatic environment is needed for that to happen.Efforts to preserve axolotl go hand in hand with preserving the chinampas, Cruz said at the museum, next to a display featuring salamander-shaped dolls. We work closely with the community to convince them that this is an important space. Chinampas are not only where axolotl lay its eggs, but areas where pre-Hispanic communities grew maize, chili, beans and zucchini, and some of Xochimilcos current population grow vegetables despite environmental threats.Many chinampas are dry and dont produce food anymore, Cruz said. And where some chinampas used to be, one can now see soccer camps.For her, like for Vergara, preserving axolotl is not an end, but a means for saving the place where the amphibian came to be.This great system (chinampas) is all thats left from the lake city of Mexico-Tenochtitlan, so I always tell our visitors that Xochimilco is a living archeological zone, Cruz said. If we, as citizens, dont take care of whats ours, it will be lost.____Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. MARA TERESA HERNNDEZ Hernndez is a reporter on the APs Global Religion team. She is based in Mexico City and covers Latin America. twitter mailto

Police officers stand guard in a shopping area in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, at the site where two women have died in a knife attack, Thursday, Feb 20, 2025. (Josef Costarek/CTK via AP)2025-02-20T09:43:29Z PRAGUE (AP) Two women have died in a knife attack on Thursday at a shopping center in the Czech Republic, officials said.Police say they detained a teenage suspect in connection with the stabbings in a store in the city of Hradec Kralove, some 100 east of Prague.Reports initially said the victims had been injured, one of them seriously, but police later said both had died. They were not identified.A 16-year-old Czech national was detained by police about one 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from the scene, shortly after the attack. A knife was found nearby.Prime Minister Petr Fiala offered his condolences to the relatives of the dead.What has happened in Hradec Kralove today is an absolutely incomprehensible and horrible act, he posted on X.The motive for the attack was not immediately known.Police say the situation was under control and there was no danger to the public. No other details were immediately available.

This article was produced in collaboration with Court Watch, an independent outlet that unearths overlooked court records. To subscribe to Court Watch, click here.A Beverly Hills plastic surgeons patients filed a class action lawsuit against him earlier this month after they say he didnt tell them that his patient information database had been hacked twice, and that their personal information and nude photos of themselves undergoing surgery had been posted online.The lawsuit alleges that the surgeon, Dr. Jaime Schwartz, did not secure his patients information with industry-standard safety protocols, and that he lied about the scope of the first hack when patients asked him about it. Schwartz may also be familiar to some reality TV viewers, having appeared on shows such as Botched, according to his website.Despite charging clients thousands of dollars and having access to their deeply private medical information, Dr. Schwartz disregarded basic security measures necessary to protect that information from malicious cyberattacks, the lawsuit states. As a result of his negligence, he allowed his network to be compromised twice in less than a year [emphasis in original].In both cases, Dr. Schwartz did not notify his patients of a hack until some of them found their informationincluding nude photos of themselves with their faces visibleonline, according to the lawsuit.The lawsuit alleges that Dr. Schwartz was first notified of a hack of his patient database in October of 2023, when the hacking group Hunter International posted that it had access to his data.The hackers had exfiltrated 1.1 terabytes of data from Dr. Schwartz, consisting of 248,245 files, the lawsuit states. The dark web posting included four patient photos, including one nude photo with the patients face visible.Schwartz refused to pay the ransom, according to the lawsuit. One month later, the hackers updated the post with a note to him.Seems like you dont want to protect your data at all, the lawsuit quotes the note as reading. More than 30 days had passed already since your network has been breached. You have been provided with everything you have asked aboutBut you keep begging for proofs [sic]. This is not the way we going to make business with you. Maybe you will do us a favor and transfer half of the money to prove that you can pay for your data?The lawsuit does not specify how much money the hackers had asked for as part of the extortion. About two weeks after the note was posted, the lawsuit states, the hackers put up another update including nude photos of patients. If you find your private data here just email us and we will let you know how to proceed further with actions against this DOCTOR! the last update read, according to the lawsuit.The lawsuit alleges that Schwartz did not notify his patients of the hack until some of them found information about it online. One plaintiff reached out to him to ask whether her data was compromised as part of the breach.Thereafter, a person claiming to be in charge of cybersecurity for Dr. Schwartz called [the plaintiff], the lawsuit states. [She] is informed and believes that the person was Dr. Schwartzs brother.According to the lawsuit, the head of cybersecurity told the plaintiff that the breach had only affected six people, that her data was not included, and that Schwartz was working with the FBI and had completely overhauled the computer system to prevent future cyberattacks.The medical world is not new to this kind of extortion. Both major hospitals and private clinics have suffered data breaches in recent years, and over 500 breaches of varying degree were reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2024. The American Medical Association found in 2019 that 83 percent of doctors in the U.S. had experienced some kind of cyber attack.Plastic surgeons, however, have recently become a popular target because of the kind of data they retain. A patients file includes not only their medical and financial information, but also photographs taken as part of the treatment process. Depending on the surgery, many of those photographs are taken nude. Even as far back as 2017, hackers targeted a plastic surgeon whose clients allegedly included royal families and stole a wealth of highly personal photos.Seems like you dont want to protect your data at all.This information is particularly valuable for purposes of sale on the dark web to facilitate identity theft and for purposes of ransom/extortion against physicians and patients, the lawsuit states.In October of 2023, the FBI released a public service announcement that hackers were targeting plastic surgeons. The announcement said that hackers would phish plastic surgeons offices to get access to their patient information databases, then use open-source information like patients social media profiles as leverage.Once successful, cybercriminals use social engineering techniques to enhance the harvested data and extort individuals for cryptocurrency, the announcement stated.Yet the lawsuit alleges that Schwartz did not take any extra precautions after his October hack. And, in March of 2024, it claims, he was hacked a second time. In this breach, the lawsuit alleges, The entirety of Dr. Schwartzs patient data was compromised.[Schwartz] failed to notify his patients as required by federal and state law, the lawsuit states. He waited to do so until after the hackers posted a public website announcing the hack and leaking patients names, contact information, and nude photographs, and began contacting his patients directly. Despite knowing that his patients most private medical data was in the hands of malicious actors, Dr. Schwartz waited almost 10 months to notify them [emphasis in original].Maybe you will do us a favor and transfer half of the money to prove that you can pay for your data?Schwartz sent his patients a generic message about the second hack in January of 2025. He wrote that, An unauthorized third party utilized a third-party vendors credentials to access the practices medical billing and practice management systemIt was determined that some of your personal information was present in the impacted data set. We then took steps to notify you of the incident as quickly as possible.Despite the head of cybersecuritys promise of a full system overhaul, the lawsuit alleges that Schwartzs team did not sufficiently secure its network-connected devices, did not train its staff to avoid phishing emails, and did not properly vet or secure its third-party vendors with access to sensitive patient data. It also claims Schwartz did not adequately monitor its network activity or implement appropriate network traffic controls to prevent the exfiltration of large amounts of data. The lawsuit additionally claims Schwartz did not have appropriate anti-malware software or firewalls in its system.The lawsuit also alleges that, when it was filed, Schwartz had not yet contacted the California attorney general or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service about either hack.To date, the hackers have posted approximately 30 patient files, the lawsuit states. They have warned that they will continue releasing patient files, in alphabetical order, until Dr. Schwartz contacts them to address the matter.The plaintiffs are demanding damages of up to $3,000 per violation per person, amounting to more than $5 million, as well as a potential jury trial.Schwartzs office did not respond to a request for comment.

Hoopla, a service that provides public libraries around the country with ebooks, announced that it will do more to prevent the spread of low quality AI-generated books after a 404 Media investigation showed that they were common on its platform.At hoopla, customer satisfaction is at the core of everything we do, and we deeply appreciate the feedback weve received regarding our content, including AI-related titles, Ann Ford, VP of Sales & Customer Support at Hoopla, said in an email sent to librarians on February 10, which 404 Media then obtained. We want to assure you that we take your concerns very seriously. Your input is invaluable in helping us learn, grow, and continuously improve. In response, our senior management has come together to develop a thoughtful and comprehensive plan of action. While the exact details of the plan Hoopla is putting together to prevent low quality AI-generated books from flooding its platform are still not clear, Hoopla emailed librarians again on February 14 to share more information on actions it has already implemented. This includes revising its collection development policy to ensure we adhere to and evolve with industry best practices, offering librarians better ways to manage the Hoopla catalog by contacting Hoopla directly, and the removal of all summary titles from all vendors, with some exceptions, such as HMH Books, the publisher of the popular CliffNotes series. 404 Media also obtained a copy of this second email.As 404 Medias investigation into Hoopla showed, books that seemingly use AI to summarize existing, human-written books, are some of the most common low quality content on Hoopla as well as other ebooks providers, including Amazon. For example, one publisher called IRB Media had hundreds of summaries available to lend via Hoopla when I published my story on February 4. At the time of writing IRB Media still has about a dozen summaries I could find on Hoopla, but most of its books had been removed.Hooplas second email to librarians also announced that the company has removed some publishers and authors it identified as providing poor-quality and/or poor-quality AI-generated content using industry metadata standards to identify AI-generated content. Some of the low quality AI-generated books I highlighted in my story, like a fatty liver diet cookbook by an author that doesnt appear to exist and has an AI-generated headshot, were removed. Other books, like an AI-generated book about Elon Musk, are still on Hoopla but cant be borrowed. Other books by the same author of the Elon Musk book, Bill Tarino, have been removed as well.It is important to note that libraries may still choose to opt out of all publisher-tagged AI-generated content by contacting their sales representative, Ford said in one of the emails to librarians. It is our hope that you are already noticing the positive impact of these actions.While its notable that Hoopla is actively removing AI-generated books on its platform that it previously ignored, librarians think the company still has a lot of work to do.Librarians select, purchase, and lend materials in service to the public, and they put their trust in hoopla to provide a curated and high-quality catalog of materials, Jennie Rose Halperin, executive director at Library Futures, an organization of librarians, told me in an email. Hoopla has broken this trust in favor of a profit-motivated, exploitative model that flies in the face of professional values. This statement, which is very light on details, continues to avoid accountability for the expensive and shoddy product they are vending. Around the country, libraries are under attack by censors and book banners for simply providing access to quality resources that serve the needs of their communities, and hooplas model puts them further at risk. The misalignment of values between big vendors and libraries has never been clearer.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko talk during a signing ceremony in Minsk, Belarus, Dec. 6, 2024. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)2025-02-20T16:06:01Z MOSCOW (AP) Russia and Belarus will hold a joint military exercise in September, officials said Thursday, part of efforts by the two neighbors and allies to expand their military ties amid the fighting in Ukraine.The Zapad, or West, 2025 drill will involve over 13,000 troops, said Valery Revenko, a Belarusian defense official. He added that observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a top trans-Atlantic security and rights group, will be invited to monitor the drills.Belarus authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus with an iron hand for over 30 years and has relied on Kremlin subsidies and support, allowed Russia to use his countrys territory to send troops into neighboring Ukraine in 2022 and to host some of its tactical nuclear weapons.Russian troops rolled into Ukraine from Belarus on Feb. 24, 2022, after a joint drill with the Belarusian army. Ukraine and Belarus share a 1,084-kilometer (672-mile) border. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier this month that a Russian military buildup in Belarus, which borders NATO members Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, could set the stage for a potential attack. Russia has repeatedly denied allegations that it could attack NATO members. Revenko said that Belarus is open for mutual military inspections with Poland 80 kilometers (50 miles) deep into each others territory something he said would signal Polands intention to pursue good neighborly ties. If Poland rejects or ignores such action, we will have a different opinion, Revenko said.The United States and the European Union have imposed sweeping sanctions on Belarus over its massive crackdown on protests following the 2020 presidential election and Lukashenkos move to allow Russia to use his countrys territory to send troops into Ukraine.In December, Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty giving security guarantees to Belarus, Moscows closest ally, including the possible use of Russian nuclear weapons to help repel any aggression. At the time, Lukashenko asked Putin to deploy more advanced weapons in Belarus, including the nuclear-capable Oreshnik intermediate range ballistic missile that Russia used for the first time in November against Ukraine.Putin responded that Oreshnik missiles could be deployed to Belarus in the second half of 2025, adding that they will remain under Russian control but Moscow will allow Minsk to select the targets.The signing followed Moscows revision of its nuclear doctrine, which for the first time placed Belarus under the Russian nuclear umbrella amid the tensions with the West over the conflict in Ukraine.Russia hasnt disclosed how many tactical nuclear weapons it has deployed to Belarus, but Lukashenko said in December that his country currently has several dozen of them. The deployment extends Russias capability to target several NATO allies in Eastern and Central Europe.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., speaks during an interview with the Associated Press at his office in the Capitol, Nov. 6, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)2025-02-20T16:15:47Z LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell is announcing on Thursday that he wont seek reelection next year, ending a decadeslong tenure as a power broker who championed conservative causes but ultimately ceded ground to the fierce GOP populism of President Donald Trump.McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, chose his 83rd birthday to share his decision not to run for another term in Kentucky and to retire when his current term ends. He informed The Associated Press of his decision before he was set to address colleagues in a speech on the Senate floor.His announcement begins the epilogue of a storied career as a master strategist, one in which he helped forge a conservative Supreme Court and steered the Senate through tax cuts, presidential impeachment trials and fierce political fights. Seven times, my fellow Kentuckians have sent me to the Senate, McConnell said in prepared remarks provided in advance to the AP. Every day in between Ive been humbled by the trust theyve placed in me to do their business here. Representing our commonwealth has been the honor of a lifetime. I will not seek this honor an eighth time. My current term in the Senate will be my last. McConnell, first elected in 1984, intends to serve the remainder of his term ending in January 2027. The Kentuckian has dealt with a series of medical episodes in recent years, including injuries sustained from falls and times when his face briefly froze while he was speaking. The senator plans to deliver his speech in a chamber the famously taciturn McConnell revered as a young intern long before joining its back benches as a freshman lawmaker in the mid-1980s. His dramatic announcement comes almost a year after his decision to relinquish his leadership post after the November 2024 election. South Dakota Sen. John Thune, a top McConnell deputy, replaced him as majority leader. McConnells looming departure reflects the changing dynamics of the Trump-led GOP. Hes seen his power diminish on a parallel track with both his health and his relationship with Trump, who once praised him as an ally but has taken to criticizing him in caustic terms.In Kentucky, McConnells departure will mark the loss of a powerful advocate and will set off a competitive GOP primary next year for what will now be an open Senate seat. Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, seen as a rising star in his party for winning statewide office in Republican territory, has said he has no interest in the Senate, though he is widely viewed as a contender for higher office.McConnell, a diehard adherent to Ronald Reagans brand of traditional conservatism and muscular foreign policy, increasingly found himself out of step with a GOP shifting toward the fiery, often isolationist populism espoused by Trump.McConnell still champions providing Ukraine with weapons and other aid to fend off Russias invasion, even as Trump ratchets up criticism of the country and its leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The senator plans to make it clear Thursday that national defense remains at the forefront of his agenda. Thanks to Ronald Reagans determination, the work of strengthening American hard power was well underway when I arrived in the Senate, McConnell said in his prepared remarks. But since then, weve allowed that power to atrophy. And today, a dangerous world threatens to outpace the work of rebuilding it. So, lest any of our colleagues still doubt my intentions for the remainder of my term: I have some unfinished business to attend to.McConnell and Trump were partners during Trumps first term, but the relationship was severed after McConnell blamed Trump for disgraceful acts in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack by his supporters. A momentary thaw in 2024 when McConnell endorsed Trump didnt last. Last week, Trump referred to McConnell as a very bitter guy after McConnell, who battled polio as a child, opposed vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s confirmation as the nations top health official. McConnell referred to Trump as a despicable human being and a narcissist in a biography of the senator by The Associated Press deputy Washington bureau chief, Michael Tackett. Before their falling out, Trump and McConnell pushed through a tax overhaul largely focused on reductions for businesses and higher-earning taxpayers. They joined forces to reshape the Supreme Court when Trump nominated three justices and McConnell guided them to Senate confirmation, tilting the high court to the right. McConnell set a new precedent for hardball partisan tactics in 2016 by refusing to even give a hearing to Democratic President Barack Obamas pick of Merrick Garland to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Putting the brakes on the Senates advise and consent role for judicial nominees, McConnell said the vacancy should be filled by the next president so voters could have their say. Trump filled the vacancy once he took office, and McConnell later called the stonewalling of Garlands nomination his most consequential achievement. Later, when liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died weeks before the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden, McConnell rushed Amy Coney Barretts confirmation through the Senate, waving off allegations of hypocrisy.McConnell also guided the Senate and Trump through two impeachment trials that ended in acquittals.In the second impeachment, weeks after the deadly Capitol attack by a mob hoping to overturn Trumps 2020 reelection defeat, McConnell joined all but seven Republicans in voting to acquit. McConnell said he believed Trump couldnt be convicted because hed already left office, but the senator also condemned Trump as practically and morally responsible for the insurrection.McConnell over the years swung back and forth from majority to minority leader, depending on which party held power. He defended President George W. Bushs handling of the Iraq war and failed to block Obamas health care overhaul.McConnell, the longest-serving senator ever from Kentucky, ensured that the Bluegrass State received plenty of federal funding. Back home he was a key architect in his partys rise to power in a state long dominated by Democrats.He is married to Elaine Chao, and they have long been a power couple in Washington. In his prepared remarks Thursday, the senator referred to her as his ultimate teammate and confidante. Chao was labor secretary for Bush and transportation secretary during Trumps first term, though she resigned after the Capitol insurrection, saying it had deeply troubled her.McConnells parting words reflected his devotion to the Senate and his disdain for his detractors.The Senate is still equipped for work of great consequence, he said. And, to the disappointment of my critics, Im still here on the job.___Follow the APs coverage of Mitch McConnell at https://apnews.com/hub/mitch-mcconnell. 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Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, left, and his son Henry take pictures as they visit the Al-Raqi synagogue in the old city of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)2025-02-20T14:51:10Z DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) As Rabbi Yusuf Hamra and his son Henry were visiting Damascus this week for the first time since emigrating from Syria to the United States more than three decades ago, they were met by former neighbors offering embraces and gossip . The Syrian-American Jewish family returned as part of a delegation organized by the Syrian Emergency Task Force, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization, in the wake of the fall of the government of former President Bashar Assad.Although they had not met in more than 30 years, the familys Christian neighbors spotted Yusuf on the street and remembered him from when he was a teacher in the local school. An excited exchange of reminiscences ensued to catch up on the decades, with gossip about who had married who, who was still living and who had emigrated. Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, right, is greeted by neighbours in the old city of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025.(AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, right, is greeted by neighbours in the old city of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025.(AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More I left from Syria, but Syria never left us, said Henry, who was 15 when his family left for New York. During the visit, the Hamras prayed in the long-neglected al-Franj synagogue where Yusuf used to serve as a rabbi, in what is still known as the Jewish quarter, in the old city of Damascus, although only a small handful of Jews remain. They also visited the historic synagogue in the suburb of Jobar, which was heavily damaged and looted during Syrias nearly 14-year civil war.May God help us, this wont be rebuilt for decades, Yusuf said as he surveyed the destruction. Syrian-American Rabbi Yusuf Hamra visits a synagogue destroyed during the war at the Jobar district in the outskirts of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) Syrian-American Rabbi Yusuf Hamra visits a synagogue destroyed during the war at the Jobar district in the outskirts of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Travel restrictions lifted in 1992 Even before mass anti-government protests in 2011 were met by a brutal authoritarian crackdown that eventually spiraled into a civil war, Syrias once-sizeable Jewish population had dwindled to almost nothing. The community in Syria numbered about 100,000 at the start of the 20th century. A wave of emigration had already begun at that time and accelerated in the years surrounding Israels creation in 1948, Syrian Jews faced increased tensions and restrictions. Many emigrated to Israel, the United States and other countries.Under the Assad familys 54-year authoritarian rule, Jews in Syria were free to practice their religion, but community members faced suspicion of being Israeli spies or collaborators and were banned from traveling outside the country to prevent them from going to Israel until the early 1990s. Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, right, and his son Henry lookout an old scripture at the Efranj synagogue in the old city of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, right, and his son Henry lookout an old scripture at the Efranj synagogue in the old city of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, center left, prays the Al-Raqi synagogue in the old city of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, center left, prays the Al-Raqi synagogue in the old city of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Once travel restrictions were lifted in 1992 after Arab-Israeli peace talks started, most of the remaining population of about 4,500 left - including the Hamra family - with many of them landing in New York, where they formed a close-knit community.Henry Hamra recalled that his family had lived in constant fear of the draconian Syrian intelligence services - a common experience for Syrians of all religions during the Assad dynastys rule, but even more so because they were Jewish and subject to extra scrutiny. At the same time, he remembered the familys close bond with their Muslim and Christian neighbors. Syrian-American Henry Hamra takes pictures at a synagogue destroyed during the war at the Jobar district in the outskirts of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) Syrian-American Henry Hamra takes pictures at a synagogue destroyed during the war at the Jobar district in the outskirts of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Plans for rebuilding and reconstructionMouaz Moustafa, executive director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force, said he hoped that the Jewish delegation would encourage more Syrian Jews to return - and would help make the case for Washington to lift sanctions that had been imposed during Assads era. Moustafa said he also hoped that the visit would also show that the countrys new authorities - led by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who was formerly the leader of the Islamist insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS - are serious in their public statements about inclusivity and protection of minorities and would lead the U.S. and others to remove the terrorist designation from the group.The Jewish delegation met with Syrias deputy foreign minister, and Yusuf Hamra sent a letter to al-Sharaa in which he said that the Syrian Jewish community abroad continues to cherish its deep-rooted connection to Syria, its motherland. American-Jewish visitors hold Torah scrolls at a synagogue in the old city of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) American-Jewish visitors hold Torah scrolls at a synagogue in the old city of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Throughout history, this community has been an integral part of the Syrian national fabric, Hamra wrote. We look forward to rebuilding bridges of communication and to actively participating in the reconstruction of our homeland, standing side-by-side with our fellow Syrians. The return of the Syrian Jews was widely welcomed in Damascus but some questioned the delegation political motives and whether it was meant as a precursor for normalization of relations with Israel. Moustafa said that was not the case. The goal of this visit has no relationship to any country in the region except for Syria, he said. Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, left, leaves after visiting a Jewish school in the old city of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) Rabbi Yusuf Hamra, left, leaves after visiting a Jewish school in the old city of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Hard to move back hereAs emotional as the homecoming was, the Hamras said they are not ready to think about a permanent return to Damascus, where more than a decade of war has left the infrastructure battered.You cannot stay with no electricity, you cannot stay with no water, and when youre living in New York and you have 24 hour electricity and internet... its very, very, very hard to move back here, Henry said. Rabbi Yusuf Hamra prays at the al-Franj synagogue where he used to serve as a rabbi in the old city of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) Rabbi Yusuf Hamra prays at the al-Franj synagogue where he used to serve as a rabbi in the old city of Damascus Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More ABBY SEWELL Sewell is the Associated Press news director for Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. She joined the AP in 2022 but has been based in the region since 2016, reporting and guiding coverage on some of its most significant news stories. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

FILE - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during his briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)2025-02-20T15:01:08Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) A planned news conference after talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trumps Ukraine envoy was canceled Thursday as political tensions deepened between the two countries over how to end the almost three-year war with Russia.The format of the press event, which was to include comments to the media by Zelenskyy and retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, was changed at the last minute so that the two did not deliver statements or field questions from journalists. The change was requested by the U.S. side, Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhii Nikiforov said.Kelloggs trip to Kyiv coincided with recent feuding between Trump and Zelenskyy that has bruised their personal relations and cast further doubt on the future of U.S. support for Ukraines war effort.Nikiforov gave no other reason other than that the cancellation was in accordance with U.S. wishes. The U.S. delegation made no immediate comment. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about why the news conference was called off.When the meeting began, photographers and video journalists were allowed into a room where the two men shook hands before sitting across from each other at a table at the presidential office in Kyiv. The two men were due to speak about Trumps efforts to end the war. Zelenskyy had previously said he looked forward to explaining what was happening in Ukraine and showing it to Kellogg. Kellogg, one of the architects of a staunchly conservative policy book laying out an America First national security agenda, has long been Trumps top adviser on defense issues.Zelenskyy and Trump have traded rebukes in recent days.The spat erupted after Russia and the U.S. agreed Tuesday to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties. With that, Trump abruptly reversed the three-year U.S. policy of isolating Russia. Zelenskyy was unhappy that a U.S. team opened the talks without inviting him or European governments that have backed Kyiv.When Trump claimed Zelenskyy was deeply unpopular in Ukraine, the president said Trump was living in a Russian-made disinformation space, suggesting he had been duped by Putin.But Zelenskyy retains a fairly high level of public trust about 57 percent according to a report released Wednesday by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.Trump accused Zelenskyy of being A Dictator without Elections!! Due to the war, Ukraine did delay elections that were scheduled for April 2024.Trump also suggested that Ukraine was to blame for the war.Russias army crossed the border on Feb. 24, 2022, in an all-out invasion that Putin sought to justify by falsely saying it was needed to protect Russian-speaking civilians in eastern Ukraine and prevent the country from joining NATO.On Wednesday, Trump warned Zelenskyy that he better move fast to negotiate an end to Russias invasion of Ukraine or risk not having a nation to lead.European leaders also commented on the feud, throwing their support behind Zelenskyy. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz whose country has been Kyivs second-biggest weapons supplier after the U.S., said it was wrong and dangerous to deny Zelenskyys democratic legitimacy.Ukraine has been defending itself for nearly three years against a merciless war of aggression day after day, Scholz told news outlet Der Spiegel.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to Zelenskyy on Wednesday and expressed support for him as Ukraines democratically elected leader, Starmers office said, adding that it was perfectly reasonable to postpone elections during wartime.Russian officials, meanwhile, are basking in Washingtons attention and offering words of support for Trumps stance.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the rhetoric of Zelenskyy and many representatives of the Kyiv regime in general leaves much to be desired a veiled reference to Ukrainian criticism of Putin.Representatives of the Ukrainian regime, especially in recent months, often allow themselves to make statements about the heads of other states that are completely unacceptable, Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. Amid the diplomatic clamor, Ukrainian civilians continue to endure Russian strikes. Russia fired 161 Shahed and decoy drones and up to 14 missiles of various types at Ukraine overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, according to military authorities.A Russian glide bomb struck an apartment block in the southern city of Kherson on Wednesday night, killing one person and wounding six, including 14-year-old twins, authorities said.The southern port city of Odesa also came under a Russian drone attack for the second consecutive night, leaving almost 50,000 homes without electricity in freezing winter temperatures, officials said.___Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine JUSTIN SPIKE Spike is an Associated Press reporter based in Budapest, Hungary. twitter mailto

Ziff Davis, the $2 billion media conglomerate that owns dozens of sites including PCMag, Lifehacker, IGN and CNET, is quietly taking diversity, equity, and inclusion information off of its website, 404 Media has learned.In the past month, the company removed information about diversity-focused employee resource groups, inclusion-based hiring goals, and diversity training for its workers and managers from its corporate website.The changes were first spotted by a Ziff Davis employee. 404 Media granted the employee anonymity to speak candidly.An archived version of Ziff Daviss DEI webpage saved on January 19 states, Ziff Davis is proud to offer Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), voluntary employee-led groups mentored by executive sponsors and overseen by our Global DEI and HR Programs team. They represent seven identity groups: Asian, Black, 2SLGBTQIA+, Latinx/Hispanic, family of all kinds, women and gender minorities, and interfaith.On the same page at time of writing, and as early as February 12, the description of employee resource groups had been changed to remove specific mentions of those groups. It now says, All employees are welcome to create or join Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), which are voluntary employee-led groups mentored by executive sponsors.The page as it appeared January 29The page as it appears todayInternal HR reps assure us all is well, that DEI programs and employee resource groups will remain unchanged, the employee told 404 Media. But theyre still concerned about the changes to the website. The internal reassurances, public silence, and website changes leaves me feeling gaslighted about our companys commitment to DEI.Other sections have been removed from the website entirely. On the archived version of the page from January, the company stated that it gave senior leadership bonuses depending on how well they met its diversity goals.In 2023, we activated 100% of the $1 million committed to hiring POC freelancers by year-end, the January webpage said. Another ongoing action listed included adding non-financial DEI targets, based on internal talent goals, to the annual compensation plans of executives with substantial hiring oversight. The bonus plans of certain senior executives include a hiring, retention, and leadership component based on the achievement of Ziff Davis diversity and inclusion objectives.On the current version of the page, this paragraph is completely gone.A short section of the page dedicated to employee training has also lost any mention of Diversity and Inclusion training since January.The page as it appeared on January 25The page as it appears todayOn another page detailing its Five Pillars of Purpose, Ziff Davis lists Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as one of these pillars. An archived version of this page from January describes this pillar as the companys intent to reinforce our diverse workforce, reflect our diverse audiences, and expand upon our inclusive culture.According to the current description, the company must ensure we avail ourselves of the best talent in the marketplace, to hire top employees and address the needs of a large and diverse customer base.Ziff Davis has also made changes to its Community page, which talks about volunteering and donations to non-profit organizations. Since January, the company has fully removed paragraphs about its partnership with the Black Game Developer Fund, as well as its pro bono ad campaigns for NAACP and Sandy Hook Promise. (Sandy Hook Promise is still mentioned as one of the recipients for approximately $1.3 million in ad space via our Employee Resource Groups.)The company has also removed mention of the $10 million it has deposited in Black-owned banks, to help the institutions originate loans that foster economic opportunity within underserved Black communities, according to the archived version of the page.A section of the community page as it appeared on January 19The same section as it appears todayThe current community page also no longer lists Ziff Davis CEO Vivek Shah as a part of CEOs for Gun Safety, which the archived page describes as a coalition of CEOs who believe gun violence in the U.S. is not inevitable and are urging elected officials to help prevent it. CEOs for Gun Safetys list of signatories still lists Shah as of February.Internal messages in a company-wide group chat about diversity obtained by 404 Media, however, show the company claiming no change to its commitment to DEI.One message, for example, encouraged employees to Celebrate Black History Month with [employee resource group] Black@ZD, and invited them to a series of enriching events that celebrate our achievements, honor our history, and strengthen our community at Ziff Davis, as we explore this year's theme of African Americans and Labor.Another message from a member of the companys DEI council said, DEI isnt just a statement at ZD, its part of who we are and how we operatethe impact of our work speaks louder than any headline or inclusion on a list could. In my humble opinion, I dont believe that we need to shout it from the rooftops because our actions consistently reflect our values.Multiple employees in the group chat asked whether Ziff Daviss approach to DEI was changing based on President Trumps executive orders about it. On Wednesday morning, the companys CEO Vivek Shah posted a video about DEI and environmental sustainability to a company Facebook group.Our commitment to both is not changing, Shah says in the video, which 404 Media viewed. Simply put, DEI at Ziff Davis helps us drive the best possible business outcomesWe must ensure that everyone understands what DEI and ESG [environmental, social, and governance] mean at our company. Ive asked our teams to ensure that were clear in our language.Ziff Davis did not respond to 404 Media's request for comment.In the last yearand increasingly since Trumps election and executive order demanding federal agencies scrub their websites of mentions of diversity, equity and inclusionmultiple organizations and companies including Meta, Target, Google, and the Smithsonian Institution have rolled back or ended their diversity targets and programs. The Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control, and Food and Drug Administration all removed webpages and data related to adolescent health and HIV. Some of those pages are now back online after a judge ordered that they return to their previous statebut now, a note at the top of the pages says, Any information on this page promoting gender ideology is extremely inaccurate, and disconnected from the immutable biological reality that there are two sexes, male and female.Its scary enough when a Walmart or Hobby Lobby caters to the right, but when a massive media company starts complying in advance with Orwellian Newspeak the potential ripple effects feel extra scary, the employee who spoke to 404 Media said.

This undated photo provided by Hostage's Family Forum shows Israeli hostage Oded Lifshitz who was abducted and brought to Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. (Hostage's Family Forum via AP)2025-02-20T09:30:13Z JERUSALEM (AP) The bodies of four Israelis taken captive by Hamas, including those said to be of the last female and child hostages in Gaza, were released Thursday, bringing to 28 the number of captives freed since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas began on Jan. 19. The bodies returned to Israel are presumed to include Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Ariel and Kfir, whose plight has captivated Israelis since they were taken during Hamas deadly attack on Oct. 7, 2023. The body of one of the oldest hostages held was also returned, his family confirmed Thursday. The remains of all four still await formal identificationIn the first phase of the ceasefire deal, a total of 33 hostages in Gaza eight of whom are dead are supposed to be freed in exchange for almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Five Thai citizens who were working in Israel on the day of the attack were freed last month as part of a separate deal. Hamas-led militants took 251 hostages during their Oct. 7, 2023, attack that launched the war in Gaza. More than 60 hostages remain in Gaza, although about half are believed to be dead. The others were released, rescued, or their bodies recovered. Israels military campaign has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which does not say how many were fighters but says more than half were women or children.Heres a look at the hostages returned so far: Shiri, Ariel and Kfir BibasThe bodies said to be of Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, were returned Thursday. They were abducted along with Shiris husband, Yarden, from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7, 2023. Hamas said the three were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Yarden Bibas was released earlier this month during the ceasefire deal. A video capturing their abduction showed a terrified Shiri Bibas swaddling her two redheaded sons in a blanket and being carried away by militants. The footage ricocheted around the world in the hours after the attack began.Ariel was 4 years old at the time of the attack and his brother, Kfir, was 9 months old, making him the youngest captive taken by Hamas. Ariel Bibas loved Batman and family photos showed the four Bibases dressed as the character. Kfir, the infant with red hair and a toothless smile, became a symbol across Israel for the feelings of helplessness and anger over the hostages captivity.Oded Lifshitz, 84The body of Oded Lifshitz, one of the oldest hostages held by the militants, was returned Thursday, his family confirmed in a statement hours after the exchange. He was taken captive from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his wife, Yocheved Lifshitz, who was freed during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023. Oded Lifshitz was shot in the hand in the attack. In their Thursday statement after his release, his family said they had hoped and prayed so much for a different outcome.Now we can mourn the husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather who has been missing from us since October 7, they said. Our familys healing process will begin now and will not end until the last hostage is returned. Oded and Yocheved Lifshitz are among the founders of Nir Oz. Oded, a journalist, campaigned for the recognition of Palestinian rights and peace between Arabs and Jews. In retirement, he drove to the Erez border crossing on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip once a week to ferry Palestinians to medical appointments in Israel as part of a group called On the Way to Recovery.Oded took pride in his work helping the traditionally nomadic Bedouin people of the Negev Desert, his daughter told The Associated Press, describing a case that went to Israels High Court and resulted in the return of some of their land.Sagui Dekel Chen, 36An Israeli-American, Chen was working outside on his pet project, bus conversions, when militants stormed his kibbutz. He instructed his wife, Avital, to hide in the safe room with their two daughters. Chen, one of the first people to raise alarm of the infiltration on the kibbutz, was taken captive.Avital was seven months pregnant at the time of the attack; she gave birth to a third daughter, Shachar Mazal, in December 2023.Chen is an avid tennis player who co-founded an arts center for young people in southern Israel, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an advocacy group representing the families of hostages, Iair Horn, 46Horn is an Israel-Argentinian who was taken captive along with his brother, Eitan Horn, who was staying with him at the time. Eitan Horn remains in captivity and his name is not on the list of hostages to be released during the ceasefires first phase. Iair Horn managed the kibbutz pub and is a fan of the local soccer team in Beer Sheba, according to the hostages forum. Friends gathered at the kibbutz pub on Nir Oz to watch Horns release from captivity and to toast his return, according to Israeli media. Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29Sasha Trufanov, an Israeli-Russian, was taken hostage along with three members of his family: grandmother Irena Tati, mother Yelena (Lena) and girlfriend Sapir Cohen. His father, Vitaly Trufanov, was killed on Oct. 7, 2023. The rest of his family was freed during a weeklong ceasefire in November 2023.Sasha Troufanov works as an engineer for Amazon, according to the hostages forum. His family immigrated to Israel from the Soviet Union 25 years ago.He was believed to be held by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, another militant group in Gaza, which has released multiple videos of him in captivity, including one just hours before his release. Eli Sharabi, 52Eli Sharabi was taken captive by the militants from Kibbutz Beeri, a communal farm that was one of the hardest hit in the Hamas attack. His British-born wife, Lianne, and their teenage daughters, Noiya and Yahel, were killed by militants while hiding in their safe room. His brother, Yossi Sharabi, who lived next door, was killed in captivity. Hamas militants are holding his body, according to the Hostages Forum.Eli Sharabis home bore marks from the attack months later. AP journalists saw bullet holes in the walls and the shattered oven and TV screens. Nearby homes were torched by militants and their roofs blasted off during fighting on Oct. 7.Ohad Ben Ami, 56Ohad Ben Ami, a father to three, was taken captive with his wife, Raz, from Kibbutz Beeri, where he was an accountant. Raz Ben Ami was released during the weeklong ceasefire in November 2023.The hostages forum described Ohad Ben Ami as a passionate nature enthusiast and the cornerstone of his family.Or Levy, 34Or Levy was pulled out by the militants from a bomb shelter near the Nova music festival in southern Israel. His wife, Einav Levy, was killed during the attack. Their son Almog, now 3, has been in the care of relatives since the assault. Levy was taken captive alongside American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin as well as two other hostages Eliya Cohen and Alon Ohel. Goldberg-Polin, whose parents staged a high-profile campaign for his release, was killed in Hamas captivity. Or Levy is from the city of Rishon Lezion, where he worked as a computer programmer for a startup. Yarden Bibas, 35The release of Yarden Bibas dimmed hopes that his wife and children were still alive in Gaza. Hamas has claimed that the three were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Israel has not confirmed that, but a military spokesperson said last month that the government was extremely concerned about their welfare.Yarden Bibas was taken from Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7. Photos from the abduction show him wounded, bleeding from the head.Keith Siegel, 65Keith Siegel, from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was abducted with his wife, Aviva Siegel, from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a communal farming village heavily damaged by the attack. She was freed during the November 2023 ceasefire deal, and has campaigned across the world for the release of her husband and other hostages.Aviva Siegel said that she was held hostage with her husband during her 51 days in captivity. She said she took comfort from having her husband by her side as they were moved from tunnel to tunnel, the two given almost no food or water. Her parting words to him were, Be strong for me.Ofer Kalderon, 54Ofer Kalderon, a French-Israeli hostage, was taken captive from Kibbutz Nir Oz. His teenage children, Sahar and Erez, were also abducted, but they were freed during the weeklong ceasefire in 2023.Arbel Yehoud, 29Arbel Yehoud was taken hostage with her boyfriend, Ariel Cunio, from Kibbutz Nir Oz. A third-generation resident of the kibbutz, she loves science and space, and her friends held a public star gazing to mark her birthday in captivity.Her brother, Dolev Yehoud, was killed on Oct. 7. Agam Berger, 20In videos of Agam Bergers abduction, her face is covered in blood, though it unclear if it is from her own wound or those of other soldiers.Berger is a violin player from a suburb of Tel Aviv who enlisted in the army just two months before the attack.Gadi Moses, 80Gadi Moses was one of the oldest hostages who remained in captivity in Gaza. He was taken from his home on Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the communities hardest-hit in the Hamas-led attack. The hostages forum described Moses as an expert agronomist who lectured on agriculture and helped maintain the kibbutzs community vegetable garden. Moses partner, Efrat, was killed during the attack. Watchara Sriaoun, 33In the Oct. 7 attack, militants overran the compound where agricultural workers lived on Kibbutz Nir Oz. Out of the 16 Thai workers living there, 11 were killed and five, including Watchara Sriaoun, were abducted. They were among at least 31 Thai workers taken in the assault. In the November 2023 ceasefire, 23 were released in a deal negotiated between Thailand and Hamas, with assistance from Qatar and Iran.Sathian Suwannakham, 35Sathian Suwannakham was also taken from Nir Oz. The kibbutz has continued to advocate for the release of the Thai workers by posting regularly about them on social media, in addition to the Israeli hostages. Surasak Rumnao, 32Surasak Rumnao was abducted from the town of Yesha, located near the southern Gaza Strip. His mother, Khammee Lamnao, said the Thai Embassy in Israel called her to let her know her son would be released.Pongsak Thaenna, 36 Pongsak Thaenna was also taken from the town of Yesha. Thais make up the largest group of foreigners held in Gaza. In the early days after the Oct. 7 attack, then-Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin pressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in phone conversations to assist the Thai hostages.Bannawat Saethao, 27Bannawat Saethao was also abducted from the town of Yesha. Liri Albag, 19Liri Albag, who was among those abducted from the Nahal Oz military base, was featured in a video Hamas released in early January, filmed under duress. Her family said the video was difficult to watch because of Albags clear emotional distress. They were particularly active in the protest movement pushing for a deal with Hamas to bring the hostages home.Liri, if youre hearing us, tell the others that all the families are moving heaven and earth and want their children home, and we will fight until all hostages are returned, her father said in a statement after the video was released.Karina Ariev, 20Karina Ariev was also taken from Nahal Oz.Just before she was abducted, she she sent a message to her family, saying: If I dont live, take care of mom and dad all their lives. Dont give up, live, according to Israeli media. Her family said she loves to cook, sing, dance and write poetry.Daniella Gilboa, 20Also taken from Nahal Oz, Daniella Gilboa was originally named Danielle. Her parents changed it after she was taken captive, in line with a Jewish tradition that is believed to bring Gods protection.Gilboa, from Petah Tikva, a suburb of Tel Aviv, played piano and studied music in high school. She dreams of being a singer, according to Israeli media.Naama Levy, 20The footage from Naama Levys abduction, in which she is wearing gray sweatpants covered in blood, was shown around the world. Levy, among those taken from Nahal Oz, is a triathlete. When she was younger, she participated in the Hands of Peace delegation, which brings together Americans, Israelis and Palestinians to work on coexistence.Romi Gonen, 24Romi Gonen was taken from the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. She spoke to her family for nearly five hours as militants marauded through the festival grounds. She told them that roads clogged with abandoned cars made escape impossible and that she would seek shelter in some bushes. Her father, Eitan Goren, said she survived in part by learning Arabic, as it was the only way to communicate with her captors. I just enjoy being with her even in silence, touching, hugging, watching her, he said, a week after her release. I missed it so much.Emily Damari, 28Emily Damari is a British-Israeli citizen abducted from her apartment on Kibbutz Kfar Aza. She lived in a small apartment in a neighborhood for young adults, the closest part of the kibbutz to Gaza. Militants broke through the border fence of the kibbutz and ransacked the neighborhood.The day after her release, Emilys mother, Mandy, said her daughter was in high spirits and on the road to recovery.Doron Steinbrecher, 31Doron Steinbrecher is a veterinary nurse who loves animals, and a neighbor to Damari in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Steinbrecher holds both Israeli and Romanian citizenship. Steinbrecher was featured in a video released by Hamas in January 2024, along with two female Israeli soldiers. Her brother said the video gave them hope that she was alive but sparked concern because she looked tired, weak and gaunt.___Associated Press writer Haruka Nega in Bangkok, Thailand, contributed to this report.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg testifies to a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Committee hearing, May 2, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)2025-02-20T14:07:45Z TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) Some believe the Democratic Partys next savior is living here, huddled with family, in the relative obscurity of a small city on the shores of Lake Michigan.Pete Buttigieg has yet to decide if thats a responsibility he wants.For now, Buttigieg, the 43-year-old former U.S. transportation secretary, is discussing his future with party officials, labor leaders and top strategists. He must decide soon whether he wants to return to the national spotlight as a candidate in Michigans U.S. Senate race or step aside to instead seek a much bigger role as his partys next presidential nominee.Prominent allies believe Buttigieg cannot feasibly do both, even as others raise the comparison to Barack Obama, who was elected president just four years after becoming a U.S. senator.I dont think you can run for Senate in 2026 and run for president in 2028 ... I would think that would be very, very hard, said Obamas former chief strategist David Axelrod, who met briefly with Buttigieg last week ahead of a joint appearance at the University of Chicago. The Democratic Party may be hurting more at this moment than it was two decades ago, when voters turned to that first-term senator from Illinois over more established candidates to lead their comeback from the Bush years. Indeed, Democrats, demoralized and afraid, are crying out for strong new leadership with President Donald Trump and his allies, notably Elon Musk, racing to transform Washington while gutting key federal agencies. Buttigieg has the tools to lead his party on a national scale if he wants. More than four years after the little-known mayor outperformed far more experienced Democrats in the Iowa presidential caucuses, he remains one of the partys best communicators, boasting a massive social media following, a national donor network and a Midwestern charm he displays in Fox News Channel interviews and smaller settings alike. More than anything, allies say, Buttigiegs decision will be guided by the impact on his young family at a difficult cultural moment in Trumps America. The Republican president has targeted LGBTQ+ initiatives and inclusion programs. Buttigieg is the openly gay father of 3-year-old twins. Axelrod complimented Buttigieg as one of the most talented people in the party.He would be a frontline candidate in any race that he ran, Axelrod said. Life in the Cherry Capital of the World Buttigieg has lowered his profile since leaving the Biden administration last month. He hasnt done any media interviews. He declined to speak to The Associated Press for this story. And he has challenged Trump only with a handful of social media posts, notably pushing back on the Republican presidents blaming of diversity hiring for the deadly midair collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.But based on the response, Democrats like what he has to say. His posts on X frequently garner millions of views. And just over a week after joining the newer social media platform Bluesky, he has quickly become one of its most-followed Democrats. Buttigieg, a former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has been a more visible presence around his new home of Traverse City, a lakeside resort town that calls itself the Cherry Capital of the World. His husband, Chasten Buttigieg, grew up in Traverse City.Chasten actually was a speaker at our last Obama dinner; he sat at my table, said Lauren Flynn, a local county commissioner. I always get text messages from folks saying, Oh, my gosh, I saw Pete shopping downtown or running by the bay.Its much the same at the local coffee shop, Higher Grounds Trading Co., which features a pride flag out front and progressive messages on the walls. One barista described the shop as a low-profile spot where most customers dont disturb the towns highest-profile resident.Hes been coming in more frequently, barista Sydney Hall said recently, noting shed served Buttigieg and his husband earlier that day.The coffee shop may be a welcoming environment, but some warn of safety concerns for members of the LGBTQ+ community and other prominent Democrats in the current political environment. Aaron Wright, president of the Traverse City-based Up North Pride, praised Buttigieg and his family for sacrificing their physical safety for the betterment of their local area, the state and society. He noted Traverse City is just 20 minutes from where members of a local militia plotted to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.Thats the No. 1 thing that I would imagine theyre considering is the physical safety of being where they are, as the people that they are, because people are drinking out of the firehose of misinformation and disinformation, Wright said. Malignant groups that want to see people like me suffer.Wrights husband, Trenton Lee, chair of the local Democratic Party, said his political opponents in local campaigns often focus on his sexuality rather than policies. Pete offers that challenge to the other side, where if you took out his sexual orientation, the way hes able to articulate issues and then actually work on them, hes a shoo-in for whatever he runs for, Lee said. It forces them to be like, The only issue I have is that hes gay.Buttigieg is already facing allegations from some critics that he moved to the state solely to help his political career.Its not just that he carpet-bagged to Michigan a few years ago after being the mayor of South Bend. Its that he did it in the most unrelatable enclave in the entire state, said Jason Roe, a Republican strategist and former executive director of the state party.Traverse City, Roe said, is an elite bubble that only underscores an elitism that was one of the problems in the Democratic Party. Roe added that hell be surprised if Buttigieg enters the race, because if he runs and loses, he could be done.A plum opportunity in a key stateThere may be no better staging ground for an ambitious Democrat in 2025 than Michigan.Democratic Sen. Gary Peters unexpected retirement created a rare Senate vacancy ahead of next years midterms. A Republican hasnt been elected to the U.S. Senate in Michigan this century, although Mike Rogers came within less than 1 percentage point last fall and is planning to run again.Michigan also offers a home state advantage to any prospective presidential candidate in 2028. The state is expected to host one of the nations opening presidential primaries. And in the general election, Michigan will be a premier swing state. Buttigieg is leaning on powerful allies to help make his decision.Longtime Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who retired in January and considers Buttigieg a close friend, attended his twins birthday party and visited him at home recently. She said she doesnt expect to endorse in the Senate primary, but she told him directly hed be a very strong candidate. If he announced now, hed be the front-runner, Stabenow told the AP. Hes a Midwesterner, and he talks like a Midwesterner. Hes somebody I think people really relate to. Stabenow said she dares Buttigiegs opponents to try to use his limited time in Michigan as a political weapon. We have thousands of people that marry into Michigan every year, Stabenow said. We have a great (former) governor who was born in Canada. If thats the best theyve got, great.Buttigieg has recently spoken with labor leaders across Michigan and met with Whitmer and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, a Democrat expected to enter the Senate race soon. Veteran Democratic strategist Lis Smith, a key adviser on Buttigiegs 2020 presidential campaign and a close ally, has also worked with McMorrow in the past.Exploring his appeal beyond MichiganBut Buttigieg is also looking beyond Michigan. Former Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., who left Congress in January, said she speaks to Buttigieg semi-regularly and recently encouraged him to run for the Senate. Like other Buttigieg allies, she said his young family remains his chief concern as he navigates his options.Hes hugely talented, Kuster said. And he has a tremendous ability to communicate and communicate with the very people that were missing: the middle of the country, small towns. Whether he runs for the Senate or not, Kuster said, there are plenty of New Hampshire Democrats whod welcome him back to the states high-profile presidential primary in 2028. Buttigieg finished second in New Hampshire during his underdog 2020 presidential bid. Kuster pointed to Obama as an example of someone who ran for the Senate and then president a few years later. These are all of the things he and his team are navigating, Kuster said. He obviously has a ton of choices. ___Peoples reported from New York. JOEY CAPPELLETTI Cappelletti covers politics and state government for The Associated Press in Michigan. He is based in Lansing. twitter mailto

Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, arrives for a hearing of the Health, Education, and Labor Committee on her nomination, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)2025-02-20T15:42:08Z WASHINGTON (AP) A Senate committee voted Thursday to advance Linda McMahons nomination to serve as President Donald Trumps education secretary, bringing her closer to leading an agency the Republican president wants to shut down.The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted 12-11 along party lines to send her nomination to be considered by the full Senate.At her confirmation hearing, McMahon said she wants to reorient the Education Department. Since his campaign, Trump has called for the department to be abolished, but McMahon acknowledged that only Congress could shut it down completely.Wed like to make sure that we are presenting a plan that I think our senators could get on board with, she said.Pressed on the fate of the agencys core initiatives, McMahon said Trump wants them to be more efficient but isnt out to defund them. She suggested certain roles could be moved to other agencies, saying the departments civil rights arm could go to the Justice Department. She pledged to preserve federal Title I money for low-income schools, Pell grants for low-income college students and the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, all of which were created by Congress. At the same time, McMahon promised to cut off federal money from schools that defy Trumps orders against transgender athletes in womens sports, campus antisemitism and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the country. Democrats were alarmed by McMahons response to questions about Trumps order to ban DEI programs in schools. Asked if African American history classes could trigger a loss of federal money, McMahon said she wasnt certain and needed to look into it.McMahon, a billionaire Trump ally and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, brings less experience in education than many others in the role. She was a member of the Connecticut board of education for about a year in 2009, and shes a longtime trustee at Sacred Heart University. She left the WWE in 2009 and led two unsuccessful bids for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut. Republicans were mostly unified behind McMahon at the hearing, though Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska raised concerns that Trump would ask McMahon to overstep her authority and interfere with local control of schools.The White House is considering an order that would direct the education secretary to dismantle the Education Department while urging Congress to fully abolish it. Even without the order, the Trump administration has fired or suspended more than 100 Education Department employees. Dozens of contracts have been canceled by Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency.The latest cuts, announced late Wednesday, involve grants totaling $226 million for a program designed to help schools improve outcomes and the quality of instruction, particularly for students with the greatest need. An Education Department news release said the program has been promoting race-based discrimination and gender identity ideology. ___The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the APs standards for working with philanthropies, a a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. COLLIN BINKLEY Binkley covers the U.S. Education Department and federal education policy for The Associated Press, along with a wide range of issues from K-12 through higher education. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

FILE New York mayor Eric Adams, right, and New York governor Kathy Hochul attend a ceremony in honor of the New York Liberty's WNBA championship at City Hall in New York, Oct. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)2025-02-20T18:45:02Z NEW YORK (AP) Gov. Kathy Hochul wont immediately remove New York City Mayor Eric Adams from office, but will instead push for increased oversight of City Hall as he faces intense scrutiny over his relationship with the Trump administration. Hochul will announce Thursday that she has, for now, decided against removing Adams from office, according to three people familiar with the governors plan who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to disclose its details.The decision came after she solicited opinions this week from a roster of New York political figures over questions about whether Adams could independently govern after the Justice Department moved to drop his corruption case so he could help with Republican President Donald Trumps immigration agenda. Rather than remove Adams, Hochul plans to propose legislation that would require City Hall to operate within new guardrails. Two of the sources familiar with the strategy said the proposals include establishing a new deputy inspector focused on New York City, a fund for the citys comptroller, public advocate and council speaker to launch lawsuits against the federal government, and more money for the state comptroller to investigate the citys finances. Hochul a centrist Democrat, as is Adams has faced questions about the mayors future since his indictment in September on bribery and other charges. He has pleaded not guilty and said at a court hearing Wednesday that he hadnt committed a crime. Hochul has been reluctant to oust him, arguing that doing so would be undemocratic, while thrusting the city into a complex, court-like removal process that has never been used before against a sitting mayor of the countrys most populous city. But after four of Adams top deputies quit on Monday, the governor said she had serious questions about the long-term future of this mayoral administration. The deputies resigned after an extraordinary series of developments in Adams federal criminal case.First, Justice Department leaders ordered prosecutors to drop it, saying it was impeding the mayors ability to help with the Trump administrations immigration enforcement push.Then, some prosecutors and supervisors resigned rather than follow what they saw as an improper order, and the acting top prosecutor in Manhattan said Adams lawyers had offered to exchange his cooperation on immigration for a dismissal of his case. The mayor and his lead lawyer said they did no such thing.Then, after some Justice Department figures finally filed paperwork to get the case dismissed, a judge summoned Adams and everyone else involved to court Wednesday to discuss the matter. The judge hasnt ruled yet on the governments request to close out the case.Adams has been set to go on trial in April on charges of taking illegal campaign contributions and getting breaks on travel in exchange for doing favors for the Turkish government. In one episode, his indictment alleges, the then-mayor-elect pushed fire officials to let a Turkish consular building open without passing a fire inspection.Adams has said there was nothing improper about his trips. He has characterized any help he provided to Turkish officials in dealing with the diplomatic building as just the routine work of an elected official helping people navigate bureaucracy. JAKE OFFENHARTZ Offenhartz is a general assignment reporter in the New York City bureau of The Associated Press. twitter mailto

In this photo reviewed by U.S. military officials, the Office of Military Commissions building used for Periodic Review Board hearings stands, on April 18, 2019, in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)2025-02-20T20:29:02Z JERUSALEM (AP) Israeli police on Thursday reported a series of explosions on buses in central Israel in what they said appeared to be a militant attack. No injuries were reported.Police spokesman Asi Aharoni told Channel 13 TV that explosives were found on two other buses. He called on the public to be alert and report any suspicious objects to authorities.The explosions took place just hours after Hamas released the bodies of four Israeli hostages held in Gaza the first of eight hostages that Israel believes are dead and to be returned during the current phase of the ceasefire. Police rushed forces to the scene in Bat Yam, a Tel Aviv suburb, as they searched for suspects. Police spokesman Haim Sargrof says drivers have scanned all buses and trains, and those scans are complete.We need to determine if a single suspect placed explosives on a number of buses, or if there were multiple suspects, he said. Tzvika Brot, mayor of Bat Yam, said it was a miracle that no one was hurt. He said the buses had finished their routes and were in a parking lot. He said one of the unexploded bombs was being defused in the nearby town of Holon. Sargrof said the explosives matched explosives used in the West Bank, but he declined to elaborate.Israel has repeatedly carried out army raids on suspected Palestinian militants in the West Bank since Hamas Oct. 7 attack. As part of that crackdown, it has greatly restricted entry into Israel for Palestinians from the occupied territory.Since the ceasefire in Gaza took effect on Jan. 19, Israel has been conducting a broad military offensive against Palestinian militants in the West Bank. In the past, militants have entered Israel and carried out shootings and bombings in Israeli cities.

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama reacts after a missed a free throw during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Chicago, Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)2025-02-20T21:33:38Z Victor Wembanyama is one of the faces of the NBA, the star of the San Antonio Spurs and already one of the biggest names in basketball.And his season is likely over, after the Spurs announced Thursday that he has been diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder.The 7-foot-3 center from France was averaging 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 3.7 assists this season. Since blocked shots became an official statistic, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar nearly a half-century ago finished a season with those numbers or better.Some questions and answers about Wembanyamas situation:What is deep vein thrombosis?By the Mayo Clinics definition, deep vein thrombosis or DVT occurs when a blood clot forms in one or more of the deep veins in the body, usually in the legs. The Spurs say Wembanyama was diagnosed with DVT in his right shoulder, and doctors will now work to determine how and why that happened before coming up with a plan for treatment.Among the major risks of DVT: Clots breaking loose, traveling through the bloodstream and reaching the lungs. That does not appear to have happened to Wembanyama, at least based on the diagnosis the team provided Thursday. How will Wembanyama be treated?Doctors who spoke Thursday to The Associated Press none of them involved in Wembanyamas treatment said its a virtual certainty that the French star will be prescribed blood-thinning medication to address the clot.The longstanding thinking was that athletes who participate in contact sports like basketball should not play while on blood thinners, or anticoagulants, because of the risk of bleeding. However, an article published Thursday by the American College of Cardiology hours before the news about Wembanyama broke said playing competitive sports may be reasonable for athletes receiving full anticoagulation or partial anticoagulation. What does this mean for the Spurs?In short, its not good. The Spurs are not currently in the playoff picture and faced an uphill fight just to get into the play-in tournament and now will have to finish the season without their best player.San Antonio still has talent: Chris Paul, Harrison Barnes and newly acquired DeAaron Fox are a formidable veteran trio. But everything is built around Wembanyama.And the Spurs will be without their biggest star while also missing the franchises leader. Coach Gregg Popovich had a stroke in November and has been away from the team for nearly the entire season.What does this mean for the NBA?The leagues MVP for each of the last six years has been a player born somewhere other than the U.S. and that streak is likely to extend to seven this season with Canadas Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the stellar Oklahoma City guard, and Serbias Nikola Jokic, the three-time MVP from Denver, expected to be the favorites.But it robs the league of one of its brightest stars for the stretch run.Everything Wembanyama does is huge news in France and in San Antonio, and hes already one of the leagues most popular players. If he and the Spurs had made a playoff run, his star would have only shined brighter. Why cant he win an NBA award now?The league is in its second year of whats commonly called the 65-game rule, which basically means a player has to appear in at least 65 games to be eligible for most end-of-season awards like MVP.It also applies to defensive player of the year, which Wembanyama was favored to win. He has played in only 46 games, meaning he will not be on the NBAs ballot for that trophy when the voting is conducted in April.Wembanyama won rookie of the year last season. If this situation happened then, he still could have won the rookie honor that one doesnt fall under the 65-game-minimum policy.___AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA TIM REYNOLDS Reynolds is an Associated Press sports writer, based in South Florida. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

This photo provided by Caitlin Mandracchi shows a Scottish Highland bull on the loose in New Milford, Conn., on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (Caitlin Mandracchia via AP)2025-02-20T20:06:04Z KENT, Conn. (AP) A Scottish Highland bull is the talk of the town in the rural hills of western Connecticut, where it has been roaming for over a month in the frigid winter weather after escaping from its confines.Local residents have reported sporadic sightings, including a few over the past week, said Lee Sohl, the animal control officer in Kent. It was recently seen just over the town line in New Milford.People keep spotting it and they dont know that people are looking for it, Sohl said in a phone interview Thursday. If somebody calls me about a sighting, then I tell the owner and theyve been doing their best. They run right out and try to get to it. But its hard. Its hard in this weather, and its very scared.The owner, Jo Ann Joray, said there have been people out looking for the bull, but they havent been able to catch it. Photos posted on social media by people who have spotted the bull have drawn a range of comments, from ones expressing sympathy for its plight, to others saying the bull is adorable to one saying it would produce good steaks.Stray farm animals are nothing new in the area. Cows, horses and goats get loose on occasion, Sohl said. Thats just where we live, she said.The bulls story evoked memories of Buddy the beefalo, a bison hybrid who roamed the woods in central Connecticut for months in 2020 and 2021 after escaping on the way to the slaughterhouse. Buddy was eventually caught and moved to a Florida animal sanctuary.Scottish Highland cattle are known as a hardy breed that can live outside all year, according to the Highland Cattle Society in Scotland. Thats good for the Connecticut bull because temperatures have been below freezing for several days. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute summit in Miami Beach, Fla., Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)2025-02-20T05:14:14Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump marked Black History Month at the White House on Thursday by making an appearance at a celebratory reception with a surprise guest, golf legend Tiger Woods, while calling out other athletes in attendance and marveling at the size of the crowd.Trump also announced he planned to bring Alice Johnson, a prison reform advocate whom he pardoned in 2020, into his administration to work on clemency issues. The White Houses Black History Month reception preserved a tradition, but it comes in the wake of Trump issuing a wide-ranging executive order ending the federal governments diversity, equity and inclusion programs has disrupted its observance elsewhere.Today, we pay tribute to the generations of Black legends, champions, warriors and patriots who helped drive our country forward to greatness. And you really are great, great people, Trump said. Trump didnt mention his anti-DEI crusade in as he addressed hundreds of guests in a reception in the East Room, though he did make a brief reference of the The New York Times 1619 Project, which highlights the lasting consequences of slavery in America. Trump objected to the project during his first term, and in response created a commission to promote so-called patriotic education dubbed the 1776 Commission.The last administration tried to reduce all of American history to a single year, 1619. But under our administration, we honor the indispensable role black Americans have always played in the immortal cause of another day, 1776, Trump said. We like 1776. Trump has called DEI programs discrimination and pushed to eradicate diversity programs from the government, directed that DEI workers eventually be laid off and exerted similar pressure on the private sector to shift to an exclusive focus on merit.The sweeping effort has sown discord and confusion across federal agencies, which have variously interpreted the order to limit how they can acknowledge race in history and culture or report demographic data on race and gender. Joining Trump were Black political figures and activists who have been his vocal supporters. Invited guests, according to a White House official, included Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina; Republican Rep. John James of Michigan; Alveda King, a niece of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.; Herschel Walker, the football legend who is Trumps choice as U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas; and prison reform advocate Alice Johnson, whom he pardoned in 2020.Other invited guests included figures from sports and entertainment, including former ESPN host Sage Steele; former NFL player Jack Brewer; and rap stars Kodak Black, Lil Boosie and Rod Wave, according to the official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.In the wake of his executive order, the Defense Department issued guidance declaring identity months dead and said that working hours would no longer be used to mark cultural awareness months such as Black History Month, Womens History Month and National Disability Employment Awareness Month. That seemed to clash with a National Black History Month proclamation signed the same day by Trump, which called for public officials, educators, librarians, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.While the White House has issued its position, agencies of the government have discretion on whether to continue to recognize Black History Month, according to the official.On Feb. 1, the first day of Black History Month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that his department will no longer participate in celebrations based on immutable traits or any other identity-based observances. And in a diplomatic cable, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the agencys removal of DEI policies would dovetail with eliminating our focus on political and cultural causes that are divisive at home and deeply unpopular abroad. The administration has issued a deadline to schools and universities to eliminate diversity initiatives or risk losing federal money. Major corporations have backtracked on DEI policies in hiring, promotion and workplace culture in recent months, with many citing potential legal challenges from the administration.Black History Month has been recognized by every U.S. president since 1976, including Trump during his first term. Black History is American history. And similar to the story of our nation, it is a story of strength, resilience, and dogged perseverance, said CJ Pearson, a national co-chair of the Republican National Committees youth advisory council. Pearson, who is Black, has been an outspoken defender of Trump against Black civic leaders, civil rights advocates and Democrats who lambast the president as racist. President Trumps anti-DEI policies arent promoting racism but what they are doing is manifesting the dream of the great Martin Luther King, Jr.: a nation where one isnt judged by the color of their skin but instead by the content of their character, said Pearson, who will attend the White House event.Other Black Republicans arent so sanguine about the administrations current course or what it portends for the GOPs nascent inroads with Black voters or other communities of color. Trump can build upon the coalition he pulled together in November with Blacks and Asians and Hispanics and young folks, said Raynard Jackson, a Republican strategist. But if they leave it the way it stands right now, Trump is going to destroy the very coalition he so marvelously brought to the table in November.To Jackson, DEI is a catch-all for liberal policies that are unrecognizable from the original intent of civil rights laws meant to promote the social and economic progress of Black Americans. But in removing and denigrating the policies, Jackson said, the White House risked being labeled as discriminatory by offering no alternative framework for how disadvantaged communities can get ahead. How do you have diversity without it being a mandated bean-counting situation? Jackson asked. Theyve done a masterful job at telling me what theyre against. Im waiting to hear what theyre for.During the 2024 campaign, Trump tried to reach Black voters through in-person events in Atlanta, Chicago and New York. His campaign courted Black celebrities and media personalities to boost his message. Trumps Black conservative allies, including Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., conducted roundtables at Black barbershops and bus tours through majority-Black cities. But Trump also frequently denigrated Black communities in his pitch and made claims that pitted voters of color against immigrants, who he said were taking Black jobs and Hispanic jobs.The efforts to boost support among Black voters seemed to have some success. He won a larger share of Black voters than he did in 2020, particularly among young Black men, according to AP VoteCast, a nationwide survey of more than 120,000 voters in the 2024 election.Overall, about 16% of Black voters supported Trump in November, while about 8 in 10 voted for Democrat Kamala Harris. But that represented an improvement for Trump from 2020, when only 8% of Black voters backed him and about 9 in 10 went for Democrat Joe Biden.___Price reported from New York. MATT BROWN Brown is a reporter covering national politics, race and democracy issues. twitter instagram mailto MICHELLE L. PRICE Price is a national political reporter for The Associated Press. She is based in New York. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-02-20T21:49:10Z WASHINGTON (AP) An idea first proposed on social media has bubbled up to the White House and received President Donald Trumps enthusiastic endorsement: Take some of the savings from billionaire Elon Musks drive to cut government spending and return it to taxpayers.I love it, Trump said late Wednesday on Air Force One, when asked about the proposal. If Musks target of $2 trillion in spending cuts is achieved by next year, supporters of the idea say that about one-fifth of those funds could be distributed to taxpaying households in checks of about $5,000. But before you start planning for a windfall, budget experts say such huge savings nearly one-third of the federal governments annual spending are highly unlikely. And sending out a round of checks similar to the stimulus payments distributed by Trump and then President Joe Biden during the pandemic could fuel inflation, economists warn, though White House officials dismiss that concern. With the annual budget deficit at $1.8 trillion last year and Trump proposing extensive tax cuts, there will also be significant pressure to use all the savings to reduce that deficit, rather than pass on part of it. Heres what to know about the proposal: Where is this coming from? James Fishback, founder of investment firm Azoria Partners which he launched at Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, promoted the idea Tuesday on X, formerly known as Twitter, prompting Musk to respond that he would check with the president. Fishback said there have also been behind the scenes conversations about the issue with White House officials.Musk has estimated that his Department of Government Efficiency has cut $55 billion so far a tiny fraction of the $6.8 trillion federal budget. But DOGEs public statements so far havent verified the presumed savings, and its claims that tens of millions of dead people are fraudulently receiving Social Security have been disproven. Fishback supports having the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office determine how much DOGE saved. If DOGE cuts $500 billion by July 2026, he said, then the checks would be $1,250, rather than $5,000. We uncovered enormous waste, fraud and abuse, Fishback said in an interview with The Associated Press. And we are going to make good and pay restitution and then rewrite the social contract between the taxpayer and the federal government.Fishback supports sending out checks, rather than using all the money to reduce the deficit, because it would encourage Americans to seek out wasteful government spending in their communities, and report it to DOGE.When am I going to get my check?OK, lets slow down. According to the proposal, DOGE must first complete its work, slated to be done by July 2026. Once that happens, one-fifth of any savings could be distributed later that year to the roughly 79 million households that pay income taxes. About 40% of Americans dont pay such taxes, so they wouldnt get a check. How much can DOGE really save? Color most economists and budget experts skeptical that its focus on waste, fraud, and abuse can actually reduce government spending by much. Budget-cutters from both parties have sought to eliminate waste which doesnt have much of a political constituency for decades, with little success in reducing the deficit. One of the biggest moves by the Trump administration so far has been to fire tens of thousands of government workers, but such changes arent likely to produce big savings. Only a small share of total spending goes to federal employees, said Douglas Elmendorf, former director of the Congressional Budget Office. The big money is in federal benefits and in federal taxes and those are not in DOGEs purview. In November, John DiIulio Jr., a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote in an essay for the Brookings Institution that eliminating the entire federal civilian workforce would leave in place about 95% of all federal spending and the $34 trillion national debt. DiIulio noted that government contractors and nonprofits that receive government funds now employ three times as many people as the federal governments 2.2 million employees. Wouldnt another round of government checks contribute to higher inflation? Trump and his economists blame Bidens $1,200 stimulus checks, distributed in the spring of 2021, for fueling the worst spike in inflation in four decades. Yet they maintain that sending checks stemming from reduced government spending wouldnt boost inflation. Kevin Hassett, director of the White Houses National Economic Council, said Thursday that since the money would have been spent by the government anyway, having it spent by consumers would be a wash. Biden and Trumps stimulus checks during the pandemic were deficit-financed, which can be more inflationary. But Ernie Tedeschi, director of economics at the Yale Budget Lab, and an economist in the Biden White House, said that more government checks are the last thing we need economically right now. The U.S. unemployment rate is now much lower than in 2021, Tedeschi said, which means that businesses could struggle to hire enough workers to meet the additional demand created by a round of checks. Worker shortages can push up prices. Yet some Democrats agree with Hassett, but for different reasons. I cant imagine theyd be inflationary because I cant imagine theyd be big enough, said Elaine Kamarck, senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution. Kamarck, who worked with Vice President Al Gore to cut government waste in the Clinton administration, dismissed the DOGE dividend as ridiculous.Theres no money there, and certainly not enough money to make a big contribution to taxpayers, she said. The guy just says things, she added, referring to Musk. CHRISTOPHER RUGABER Rugaber has covered the Federal Reserve and the U.S. economy for the AP for 16 years. He is a two-time finalist for the Gerald Loeb award for business reporting. twitter mailto

The White House is seen as the snow falls, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon, File)2025-02-20T22:13:00Z WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) The moment that local officials in Washington have been dreading for months is finally here. President Donald Trump, one month into his second term, has publicly returned to one of his longtime talking points: a federal takeover of the District of Columbia. It would take some doing, though including, literally, an act of Congress. But the issue bubbled up again this week, the latest in the blizzard of initiatives that have surfaced since Trump took the oath of office Jan. 20. Whether it was just a reminder that the president possesses the power to set off alarms with an off-the-cuff remark or by directing his administration to take concrete steps to make it happen remains to be seen. As with efforts to rename the Gulf of Mexico, make Canada the 51st state or make Greenland a U.S. territory, a lot depends on what happens next.Heres a look at some of the questions surrounding the issue: Could this really happen?Yes, but Trump cant do it alone. Congress, with both houses controlled by Republicans, could absolutely vote to repeal the 1973 Home Rule Act. That would be a deeply controversial vote which would likely test the strength of the three-seat GOP majority in the House of Representatives. Why now?Thats a bit of a mystery. Mayor Muriel Bowser has set a conciliatory tone ever since Trump was elected again. She traveled to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump, and said she looked forward to working with the new administration and emphasized the common-ground issues such as their mutual desire to get federal workers back to their offices. Trump, in his brief comments on Air Force One, said he and Bowser get along great. Bowser responded with a posting on X, declaring D.C. a world-class city and listing the Districts virtues. Trump was also responding to a specific question from a reporter, so its possible this was an off-the-cuff comment and not indicative of an immediate priority issue for him. What can Trump do unilaterally?Local government officials have been quietly predicting some sort of executive order imposing stiffer criminal penalties or a crackdown on homeless encampments, but a full takeover would still require an act of Congress.He could theoretically take over the Metropolitan Police Department something that was considered during the 2020 mass protests over the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Justin Hansford, a professor at D.C.'s Howard University School of Law, said such a step would need some sort of justifying emergency. Trumps perspective on what constitutes such an emergency, Hansford said, would absolutely be challenged in court. How bad are the problems he mentioned?Violent crime rates, particularly homicide and car jacking, legitimately spiked in 2023, leaving officials publicly scrambling for answers. Those numbers came down significantly in 2024, in the face of a new public safety bill and a concerted MPD crackdown. Theyre up a bit so far in 2025 but still down from their recent peak but also well below the late 1990s when D.C. regularly led the nation in per-capita homicides. Graffiti in D.C. is common but not exactly a civic crisis. The city has worked to both clean up graffiti hotspots and transform young taggers into publicly sponsored muralists. Multiple homeless encampments are a fact of life in Washington, but the District government is partially handcuffed by the fact that large swaths of the public greenspace, including many parks and traffic circles, are under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. The last few years have settled into a cyclical dynamic, with homeless encampments slowly growing into mini tent cities on NPS land, followed by a mass clearing with bulldozers once or twice a year. Whats the history between Trump and DC?Its not positive. During Trumps turbulent first term, he and the local government publicly sparred multiple times in tones ranging from playful to deeply personal. When Trump floated the idea of a massive July 4 military parade complete with tanks rolling through the streets, the D.C. Council publicly mocked him.Trump accused Bowser of losing control of her city during protests over the murder of George Floyd. He backed down from a threat to take over the MPD, and eventually declared his own multi-agency lockdown that included low-flying helicopters buzzing protesters. Bowser responded by having Black Lives Matter painted on the street in giant yellow letters one block from the White House. Trumps feelings remained intense during the four years after leaving office. He repeatedly promised a federal takeover while on the campaign trail as part of an effort to stoke fears about violence in U.S. cities generally. In August 2023, when he briefly came to town to plead not guilty on charges of trying to overturn his 2020 electoral loss to former President Joe Biden, Trump blasted the capital city on social media, calling it a filthy and crime ridden embarrassment to our nation. What about Congress?Activist Republicans in Congress have long used the House Oversight Committee as a forum to employ their power over the local government. During the crime spike in 2023, Bowser and members of the D.C. Council were regularly summoned for inquiries before the committee. That year, Congress also, for the first time in decades, fully overturned a D.C. law when it repealed a rewrite of the D.C. criminal code. But that required Congressional Democrats to join in, and then-President Biden to sign off on it. Members of Congress have also repeatedly used budget riders to alter D.C. laws in minor ways, targeting everything from marijuana legalization to the citys use of traffic cameras. As an indication of just how personal and petty this dynamic has become, the bill previously introduced in Congress proposing to repeal D.C. home rule was titled to produce an antagonistic acronym. Its called the Bringing Oversight to Washington and Safety to Every Resident Act or the BOWSER Act.Is there any silver lining for D.C.?Perhaps the most optimistic interpretation among D.C. officials is a quiet belief that Trump and Congress have no actual interest in the hassle that comes with managing a city of 700,000 residents more populous that two U.S. states. They expect a wave of budget riders from GOP members of Congress emboldened by Trumps statements. But some observers believe Congress will stop short of assuming the responsibility and liability that would come with a full federal takeover. As a lawyer, Im thinking about who I would sue if theres a police brutality case, said Hansford, the Howard law professor. I dont think Congress wants to deal with all that. ASHRAF KHALIL Khalil writes about local issues in Washington, D.C., for The Associated Press and covers the social safety net around the country. twitter instagram mailto

The United States Depository for gold reserves stands in Fort Knox, Kentucky, in 1974. (AP Photo, File)2025-02-20T19:36:27Z LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) President Donald Trump says Elon Musk will be looking at Fort Knox, the legendary depository in Kentucky for American gold reserves, to make sure the gold is still there.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says there is an audit every year and that all the gold is present and accounted for.The United States Bullion Depository at Fort Knox has stored precious metal bullion reserves for the United States since 1937 and has become synonymous for secure and well protected. Along with protecting gold reserves, Fort Knox is currently also used as the Armys human resources command center, and it hosts the Armys largest annual training event each summer.Fort Knox history and locationThe Army post is about 35 miles south of Louisville and encompasses 109,000 acres in three Kentucky counties Bullitt, Hardin, and Mead. Camp Knox was established during World War I and became an artillery training center, according to the Army posts website. It was made a permanent installation in 1932 and has been known since then as Fort Knox. The first gold arrived at Fort Knox in 1937 with the 1st Cavalry Regiment called on to guard the shipment. With the outbreak of World War II in Europe, the Army created the Armored Force at Fort Knox, and thousands of soldiers were ordered there and introduced to the tank. For nearly 80 years, the post was known as the Home of Cavalry and Armor. In 2005, the Army decided to move the Armor Center and School to Fort Benning, Georgia, and the Human Resource Command Center of Excellence was established at Fort Knox. In 2013, ROTC Cadet Summer Training was consolidated at Fort Knox. The post hosts the Armys largest annual training event each summer. How much gold is stored at Fort KnoxAccording to the U.S. Mint, current gold holdings at the US Bullion Depository at Fort Knox are 147.3 million ounces. About half of the Treasurys stored gold is kept at Fort Knox. Has the gold ever been removed? The Mint says only very small quantities have been removed to test the purity of the gold during regularly scheduled audits. Except for these samples, no gold has been transferred to or from the depository for many years. The golds book value is $42.22 per ounce. Just how secure is Fort KnoxThe depository is very secure. The actual structure and content of the facility is known by only a few, and no one person knows all the procedures to open the vault. What is known publicly is that the facility was built in 1936 using 16,000 cubic feet of granite, 4,200 cubic yards of concrete, 750 tons of reinforcing steel and 670 tons of structural steel. The facility is heavily guarded and has broken its strict policy of not allowing visitors only three times.Has anyone been allowed to see the gold reserves?In 1974, the US Mint opened the vaults to a group of journalists and a congressional delegation so they could see the gold reserves. The Treasury secretary allowed the visit after persistent rumors that the gold had been removed. Until then, the only person other than authorized personnel to access the vaults was President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Since then, the vaults have been opened one other time: In 2017, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin visited with Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and congressional representatives. Current Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said he would happily arrange an inspection for any senator who is interested in seeing the vaults. Fort Knox in popular lexiconThe gold depository at Fort Knox has a reputation for being impenetrable, which has gained it a place in popular culture. As early as 1952, a Looney Tunes cartoon featured Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam digging for gold Fort Knox. Fort Knox has also been featured in the plot of movies such as the 1964 James Bond spy thriller Goldfinger and the 1981 comedy Stripes, which was partially filmed at the post.

Flowers and a sign are placed outside the headquarters of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-02-20T23:55:45Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Trump administration has kept withholding foreign aid despite a court order and must at least temporarily restore the funding to programs worldwide, a federal judge said Thursday.Judge Amir H. Ali declined a request by nonprofit groups doing business with the U.S. Agency for International Development to find Trump administration officials in contempt of his order, however.The Washington, D.C., district court judge said administration officials had used his Feb. 13 order to temporarily lift the freeze on foreign aid to instead come up with a new, post-hoc rationalization for the en masse suspension of funding.Despite the judges order to the contrary, USAID Deputy Secretary Pete Marocco, a Trump appointee, and other top officials had continued their blanket suspension of funds, Ali said.The ruling comes in a lawsuit by the nonprofit groups challenging the Trump administrations month-old cutoff of foreign assistance through USAID and the State Department, which shut down $60 billion in annual aid and development programs overseas almost overnight. Even after Alis order, USAID staffers and contractors say the State Department and USAID still have not restored payments even on hundreds of millions of dollars already owed by the government. Marocco and other administration officials defended the nonpayment in written arguments to the judge this week. They contended that they could lawfully stop or terminate payments under thousands of contracts without violating the judges order. The Trump administration says it is now doing a program-by-program review of all State Department and USAID foreign assistance programs to see which ones meet the Trump administrations agenda.Aid organizations, and current and former USAID staffers in interviews and court affidavits, say the funding freeze and deep Trump administration purges of USAID staffers have brought U.S. foreign assistance globally to a halt, forced thousands of layoffs and is driving government partners to financial collapse. ELLEN KNICKMEYER Knickmeyer covers foreign policy and national security for The Associated Press. She is based in Washington, D.C. twitter LINDSAY WHITEHURST Whitehurst covers the Supreme Court, legal affairs and criminal justice for The Associated Press in Washington, D.C. Past stops include Salt Lake City, New Mexico and Indiana. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Pete Carlson, third from left, a passenger on the Delta flight that crashed in Toronto on Monday, holds a certificate of recognition for his actions in helping evacuate the plane and help fellow passengers, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025 in Toronto, Canada. (AP Photo/John Wawrow)2025-02-20T20:27:56Z TORONTO (AP) Former paramedic Peter Carlson is still having difficulty putting into perspective the shuddering jolt he and 79 others aboard Delta Air Lines flight 4819 experienced earlier this week.One moment, the 40-year-old was looking forward to arriving in Toronto where he was speaking at an Ontario paramedic chiefs convention. The next, he was hanging strapped only by his seatbelt looking down at the airplanes ceiling, attempting to assess the chaos around him.As blood flowed from a gash on the back of Carlsons head, he noticed other injured passengers, including one pinned beneath a seat behind him. There was an overwhelming smell of jet fuel as it streamed down the window next to his seat by the planes right wing which was sheared off during Mondays crash landing at Torontos Pearson International Airport. This image taken from video released by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, shows the crashed plane of Delta flight 4819 at Toronto Pearson International Airport, in Mississauga, Ontario, on Tuesday, Feb. 18. (Transportation Safety Board of Canada via AP) This image taken from video released by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, shows the crashed plane of Delta flight 4819 at Toronto Pearson International Airport, in Mississauga, Ontario, on Tuesday, Feb. 18. (Transportation Safety Board of Canada via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More It was a forceful impact, a sideways movement and suddenly just inverted, Carlson told The Associated Press on Wednesday. And the only mission was to get out. Carlsons friend and convention chairman Michael Nolan, 53, was waiting to pick him up when he spotted a plume of black smoke in the distance.Are you OK? Somethings going on on the runway, Nolan texted Carlson, not realizing it was his plane.Carlson responded that he was on the tarmac.At first, Nolan thought it meant Carlsons plane had landed. Then his friend sent a follow-up text with a picture of his fellow passengers evacuating the upside-down plane. My heart just sank ... knowing that was his reality was absolutely shocking to me and really brought it home, said Nolan, a paramedic chief in a county north of Ottawa.Instead of just attending a convention about the role paramedics play in the world, the two men found themselves in the middle of a real-life emergency.Nolan rushed to a triage area to assist in treating injured passengers, greeting his friend of over a decade with a big hug. Carlsons paramedic instincts also kicked in, even though hes held a so-called desk job for the past decade.I was comfortable with how my body and mind empowered me to do what I needed to do at that point, he said. I was able to see the objective nature of the challenge in front of us, which was to get away from the threat.Though credited for helping in the evacuation, Carlson deferred praise to the four crew members who shepherded the passengers to safety. That everyone survived astounds him, especially after seeing videos posted online of the Mitsubishi CRJ-900 jet touching down heavily and skidding down the runway before flipping over.Even without seeing that, its remarkable, Carlson said, noting he bruised his ribs and has several cuts and bruises on his legs.I dont know if Im deserving of going into miracle territory, but it sure feels ... he added, before pausing to find the appropriate word. Its amazing. Its amazing.The last of the 21 injured passengers was released from the hospital on Thursday. Cranes lift the wreckage of Delta flight 4819 from the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport, in Mississauga, Ontario, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP) Cranes lift the wreckage of Delta flight 4819 from the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport, in Mississauga, Ontario, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The cuts and bruises will heal, but the mental trauma left Carlson wondering whether he could muster enough resolve on Wednesday to still deliver his address. It took me a lot of personal motivation to leave my room, he said. This morning, I just couldnt. I was quite emotional about this whole thing and just really want to be home.And yet, deliver Carlson did giving a 20-minute speech in which he outlined his background and influences in paramedicine, the significance of the job and the difference paramedics can make.Whatever anxieties he felt didnt show.Though Carlson longed to be back home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with his wife and three children, his nerves were eased being among his working family of paramedics and Nolan.National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Cindy Woodhouse welcomed Carlson on Tuesday into a drumming circle of healing.A day later, Ontario paramedic chiefs association president Greg Sage honored Carlsons efforts on the airplane with a certificate. Pete Carlson, third from left, a passenger on the Delta flight that crashed in Toronto on Monday, holds a certificate of recognition for his actions in helping evacuate the plane and help fellow passengers, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025 in Toronto, Canada. (AP Photo/John Wawrow) Pete Carlson, third from left, a passenger on the Delta flight that crashed in Toronto on Monday, holds a certificate of recognition for his actions in helping evacuate the plane and help fellow passengers, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025 in Toronto, Canada. (AP Photo/John Wawrow) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More I think every single one of us in this room would hope that if we personally were faced with what Pete was, that we would respond in a similar manner, Sage said. I think hes inspired all of us. Carlsons trip to Toronto began with a hug with Nolan during a very trying time. Two days later, the two shared a more joyous hug onstage after Carlson accepted his award to a standing ovation.I was not as present the last couple of days as I had hoped to be, Carlson apologized to the crowd.Given the events as theyve played out, I cant think of a better group of people in terms of taking care of one another in their community and myself, Carlson said. So just a very big thank you.

Elon Musk holds up a chainsaw he received from Argentina's President Javier Milei, right, as they arrive to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-02-21T00:31:59Z OXON HILL, Md. (AP) Billionaire Elon Musk appeared at a conservative gathering outside Washington on Thursday waving a chainsaw in the air, showing openness to auditing the Federal Reserve and accusing Democrats of treason.Musk, the Tesla CEO who has become perhaps President Donald Trumps most influential adviser, spoke about his crusade to cut government spending and downsize the federal workforce with the administrations Department of Government Efficiency. The entrepreneur was first announced earlier that day as a speaker, drawing huge cheers from activists gathered at the Conservative Political Action Conference. Before his appearance, he met with Argentine President Javier Milei, who has been frequently praised by Musk and popularized the power tool while campaigning in 2023 and proposing slashing public spending.After Musk appeared onstage, wearing shades and his trademark black Make America Great Again hat, he said Milei had a gift for him. The Argentine leader then walked onstage with the red chainsaw and passed it to Musk. The chainsaw was engraved with Mileis slogan, Viva la libertad, carajo, which is Spanish for Long live liberty, damn it. This is the chainsaw for bureaucracy, he said. Musk slammed the previous Biden administration for its immigration policies, specifically naming an app that was used by nearly 1 million people to be allowed into the U.S. on two-year permits with eligibility to work. He accused Biden and Democrats of doing that as an investment to get more support in swing states. A lot of people dont quite appreciate that this was an actual real scam at scale to tilt the scales of democracy in America, Musk said before Newsmax host Rob Schmitt asked him, Treason? Musk responded, Treason.When Schmitt asked him if he would consider auditing the Federal Reserve, Musk responded, Yeah, sure, while were at it. Waste is pretty much everywhere, Musk said.The billionaire joked that Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has told him he is worried about his security and said he was open to ideas on how to improve his safety measures.President Bukele from El Salvador, who managed to put in prison like a hundred thousand murderous thugs, and he called me. I am worried about your security, he said the Central American leader told him. Im like, Dude, you are worried about my security?When asked to describe what is like inside his mind, Musk replied: My mind is a storm. Its a storm.Steve Bannon, a popular Trump ally who once served as his chief strategist, followed Musks appearance and acknowledged he was not the evenings top attraction as he took the stage to a far less enthusiastic reception.How did I draw the card to follow Elon Musk? Bannon asked about a man he has frequently criticized as insufficiently loyal to Trump. Cmon man! You bring out the worlds wealthiest guy, Superman. Im supposed to follow it? Im just a crazy Irishman!_____Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed from New York. ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON Gomez Licon writes about national politics for The Associated Press. She is based in Florida. twitter mailto

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters after meeting with Vice President JD Vance and fellow Republicans to discuss President Donald Trump's agenda at a luncheon, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)2025-02-20T23:27:03Z WASHINGTON (AP) Senators are ready to stay up all night, launching a budget vote-a-rama late Thursday in a crucial, if dreaded, step toward unleashing a $340 billion package President Donald Trumps team says it needs for mass deportations and security measures that top the Republican agenda.If ever there was a time to watch Congress in action this might be it. Or not. Senators will be voting in rapid-fashion for hours on one amendment after another diving into intricate policy details, largely from Democrats trying to halt the package. The end result will be a final push by the Republicans, expected in the early hours of the morning, to use their majority power to pass it on a party-line vote.What were doing today is jumpstarting a process that will allow the Republican Party to meet President Trumps immigration agenda, Senate Budget Committee chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said while opening the debate. Graham said Trumps top immigration czar told senators that the administrations deportation operations are out of money and need more funding from Congress to detain and deport immigrants. With little power in the minority to stop the onslaught, Democrats will instead use the all-night debate to force GOP senators into potentially embarrassing votes including the first one, on blocking tax breaks to billionaires.This is going to be a long, drawn out fight, warned Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. Days like today, where we vote on amendments late into the night, go a long way in revealing where each party stands and who each party is fighting for, the New York senator said. Democrats are glad to have this debate.The package that senators are pushing forward is what Republicans view as a down-payment on Trumps agenda, part of a broader effort that will eventually include legislation to extend some $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and other priorities. Thats being assembled by House Speaker Mike Johnson in a separate budget package that also seeks up to $2 trillion in reductions to health care and other programs. Trump has preferred what he calls one big, beautiful bill, but the White House is open to the Senates strategy of working on the border package first, then turning to tax cuts later this year. Whats in the Senate GOP packageThe Republican Senate package would allow up to $175 billion to be spent on border security, including money for mass deportation operations and building the U.S.-Mexico border wall, in addition to a $150 billion boost to the Pentagon and about $20 billion for the Coast Guard.But even if the Senate pushed the package to approval in the all-night session, there wont be any money flowing just yet. The budget resolution is simply a framework that sends instructions to the various Senate committees Homeland Security, Armed Services, Judiciary to hammer out the details. Everything will eventually be assembled in another package, with another vote-a-rama, down the road.Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the No. 2-ranking Senate Republican, said GOP lawmakers are acting quickly to get the administration the resources they have requested and need to curb illegal border crossings. The budget will allow us to finish the wall. It also takes the steps we need toward more border agents, Barrasso said. It means more detention beds... It means more deportation flights.Republicans insist the whole thing will be paid for, rather than piled onto debt, and they are considering various options with both spending cuts and new revenues. The committees may decide to rollback the Biden administrations methane emissions fee, which was approved by Democrats as part of climate change strategies in the Inflation Reduction Act, and hoping to draw new revenue from energy leases as they aim to spur domestic energy production. Democrats are ready for battleFirst up from Democrats will be a vote to prevent tax breaks for billionaires, according to a person familiar with the planning and granted anonymity to discuss it.Democrats argue that the GOP tax cuts approved in 2017 flowed to the the wealthiest Americans, and extending them as Trump wants Congress to do later this year would extend the giveaway.Schumer launched a strategy earlier this week to use this first budget debate to focus on both the implications of the tax policy and also the Trump administrations Department of Government Efficiency, which is slashing across the federal government. Its a better strategy for Democrats than arguing against tougher border security and deportations, which divides the party.Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the single biggest driver of the national debt since 2001 has been a series of Republican-led tax cuts.And youll never guess what our Republican colleagues on the other side of the aisle are focused on right now, nothing to lower the cost of eggs, its actually more Republican tax cuts, Murray said. She called the budget plan a roadmap for painful cuts to programs families count on each and every day, all so they can give billionaires more tax cuts. Congress is racing itself The budget resolution is setting up whats called the reconciliation process, which used to be rare, but is now the tool often used to pass big bills on party-line votes when one party has control of the White House and Congress, as Republicans do now. But Republicans are arguing with themselves over how to proceed. The House is marching ahead on its big, beautiful bill, believing they have one chance to get it right. The Senate views its two-bill strategy as more practical, delivering on border security first then turning to taxes later.Budget rules allow for passage by a simple majority vote which is key in the Senate where it typically takes 60 votes to break a filibuster on big items. During Trumps first term, Republicans used the reconciliation process to pass GOP tax cuts in 2017. Democrats used reconciliation during the Biden presidency era to approve COVID-19 relief and the Inflation Reduction Act.Trump appears to be stirring the fight, pitting Republicans in the House and Senate against each other to see which one delivers fastest.

DarNisha Hardaway poses with her son Joseph, 12, at home in Detroit, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)2025-02-20T22:20:45Z WASHINGTON (AP) It was obvious to Christine Smith Olsey that her son was not doing well at school, despite educators telling her to leave it to the experts. The second-grade student stumbled over words, and other kids teased him so much he started to call himself an idiot. Though her son had been receiving speech and occupational therapy, Smith Olsey said his Denver charter school resisted her requests for additional academic support. She filed a complaint with the state and then, in September, the Education Departments Office for Civil Rights. In January, her sons case came to a halt. I have to postpone meetings with you to discuss the case, a department mediator wrote to her on Jan. 23, three days after President Donald Trumps inauguration. I am sorry for the inconvenience. I will be in touch as I am able. As Trump began to reshape the Education Department, investigations and mediations around disability rights issues came to a standstill. Standing up for children with disabilities has been a primary role of the departments civil rights office, which enforces protections guaranteed under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Historically, most complaints to the department have involved disability discrimination parents saying their disabled child is not receiving accommodations they need to learn, which schools must provide under federal law. Its not unusual for new presidential administrations to freeze cases while they adjust priorities, but exceptions typically are made for urgent situations, such as a childs immediate learning situation. The freeze on pending cases and Trumps calls to dismantle the department altogether left many parents worrying about the federal governments commitment to disabled students rights. In the first weeks of the Trump administration, the Education Department has launched investigations of complaints involving antisemitism and transgender athletes allowed to compete in womens sports, delivering on Trumps vow to use federal funding as leverage to assail perceived wokeness in schools. Its worrisome the administration has said so little about responding to complaints from families of students with disabilities, said Catherine Lhamon, who led the Office for Civil Rights under former presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama. If it is not aggressively engaged in protecting those rights, the office is not doing its job, Lhamon said in an interview. An Education Department spokesperson said the Office for Civil Rights ended the pause on its review of disability complaints Thursday, after The Associated Press asked for comment on the findings of reporting for this story. The Trump administration lifted its pause on disability cases sooner than the Biden administration did in its first months in office, spokesperson Julie Hartman said. Progress stalled for families relying on federal intervention The freeze had upended progress for families like Smith Olseys, whose childrens special education services may hinge on the outcomes of the departments dispute resolution process. Its a scary time right now to be a parent of special needs kiddos, Smith Olsey said.Her son has been diagnosed with attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorder, autism, dyslexia, and dyscalculia, a learning disorder caused by differences in parts of the brain involved with numbers and calculations. Since preschool, he has had an individualized education program for a developmental delay. This month, the school agreed her son needs extra academic help, but she is seeking compensatory services to make up for time he went without adequate support. She also is seeking reimbursement for money she spent out of pocket on therapy, tutoring and testing. When families believe their child is not receiving adequate services for their disability, filing a complaint with the Education Department is one way of prompting districts to provide additional help. Parents may also file a complaint with state agencies or pursue litigation. Education Department serves as referee of disability rights cases Between 2021 and 2024, the departments Office for Civil Rights received 27,620 complaints related to disability rights. The office is required to process all complaints it fields, but politics can play a role in setting priorities and choosing which cases to pursue.Typically, more than half of the complaints to the department have involved disability discrimination, but last year accusations of sex discrimination surged to account for a majority of them, according to an annual report. Disability discrimination accounted for 37%, while discrimination over race or national origin accounted for 19%.In recent years, the office has seen a significant decline in its staffing, even as the number of cases it must look into has increased.Parents and advocates say they are concerned about the future of the departments oversight role as Trump and his nominee for education secretary, Linda McMahon, outline a vision for a dramatically reduced footprint for the agency. At her confirmation hearing, Democrats pressed McMahon on whether she would support the departments enforcement role in disability rights. She suggested the Department of Health and Human Services could take over that work.There is a reason the Department of Education exists, and it is because educating kids with disabilities can be really hard, Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., said during the hearing. It takes national commitment to get it done.The freeze leaves families feeling outraged and adriftIn the fall, DarNisha Hardaway was relieved when an Education Department mediator found her sons school needed to reevaluate him and provide tutoring. She had filed a complaint with the department after a series of suspensions that she said stemmed from her son being overwhelmed and not getting enough academic help. The 12-year-old has an intellectual disability, autism and epilepsy. The Education Department, Hardaway said, made the school system do what theyre supposed to do.If the school district broke the mediation agreement, she was told to contact the Office for Civil Rights again. This month, after her son had an outburst in class, his suburban Detroit school told her he would need to learn online for the rest of the year a ruling Hardaway saw as a violation of his disability accommodations. On Tuesday, an Office for Civil Rights representative told her they could not respond with any substantive information.Every day she waits, her son learns in front of a computer. He cant learn online, and DarNisha is not a teacher, said Marcie Lipsitt, who is working with the family. The OCR is just closed for business, and Im outraged.Complaints about racial discrimination in schools are also pending. Tylisa Guyton of Taylor, Michigan, filed a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights on Jan. 20 over her 16-year-old sons repeated suspensions from a suburban Detroit school district, alleging a white administrator has been targeting him and a group of other Black children. The teen has been out of school since Dec. 4 with the latest suspension, and she has heard nothing about when he might be allowed to return or be placed in an alternative school. Since missing so much school, she doubts he will be able to graduate on time.I just feel lost, she said.___The Associated Press education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. COLLIN BINKLEY Binkley covers the U.S. Education Department and federal education policy for The Associated Press, along with a wide range of issues from K-12 through higher education. twitter mailto ANNIE MA Ma is an Associated Press national writer who covers K-12 education. twitter mailto

The sign outside the Internal Revenue Service building is seen. May 4, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)2025-02-20T23:29:41Z WASHINGTON (AP) The layoffs of roughly 7,000 IRS probationary workers beginning this week likely mean the end of the agencys plan to go after high-wealth tax dodgers and could spell disaster for revenue collections, experts say.The majority of employees shown the door at the federal tax collector are newly hired workers focused on compliance, which includes ensuring that taxpayers are abiding by the tax code and paying delinquent debts, among other duties.The IRS layoffs, one of the largest purges of probationary workers this year across the government, could also hurt customer service and tax return processing during tax season this year, the union representing Treasury Department employees warned Thursday.The upheaval comes less than two months before the tax filing deadline and as the Department of Government Efficiency under Trump adviser Elon Musk seeks to shrink the size of the federal workforce in an effort to radically cut spending and restructure the governments priorities. Vanessa Williamson, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, said on a Thursday call with reporters that the layoffs at the IRS will disproportionately harm enforcement efforts. When you underpay and understaff the IRS, the agency doesnt have the power or the resources it needs to go after wealthy tax evaders with their high priced lawyers, she said, adding, The result is, of course, a disaster for revenue. The Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022, gave the IRS $80 billion and the ability to hire tens of thousands of new employees to help with customer service and enforcement as well as new technology to update the tax collection agency, though congressional Republicans later clawed back some of the money.Former IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel, appointed by Biden, placed a particular focus on aggressively auditing high-income tax cheats as well as executives who use business aircraft for their personal use while still writing it off as a tax expense and wealthy people who sought to get favorable tax treatment through Puerto Rico without meeting certain tax requirements. A Congressional Budget Office report issued last year describes how rescissions in funding for the IRS affect baseline projections of future revenues, offering a variety of scenarios depending on the severity of the cuts.A $5 billion rescission would reduce revenues by $5.2 billion from 2024 to 2034 and increase the deficit by $0.2 billion. A $20 billion rescission would reduce revenues by $44 billion and increase the deficit by $24 billion for the same period. A $35 billion rescission would reduce revenues by $89 billion and increase the cumulative deficit by $54 billion.If you starve the IRS, youll be providing a feast for the tax evaders, Williamson said. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during his confirmation hearing last month that we do not have a revenue problem in the United States of America, we have a spending problem.However, both revenues and spending will be an ongoing point of contention for congressional Republicans, who are trying to come up with how to pay for extending provisions of President Donald Trumps Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The Penn Wharton Budget model estimates that permanently extending Trumps tax cuts would increase deficits by $4 trillion over the next decade. Chye-Ching Huang, executive director of NYUs Tax Law Center, called the layoffs misguided and said they will hurt everyday Americans who pay their taxes and count on the IRS to pay refunds on time while encouraging wealthy people and large businesses to cheat on their taxes.Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said: In the middle of a tax filing season, when taxpayers expect prompt customer service and smooth processing of their tax returns, the administration has chosen to decimate the whole operation by sending dedicated civil servants to the unemployment lines.The union representing IRS workers has already filed multiple legal challenges over the administrations mass layoffs. Mark Mazur, a former assistant secretary for tax policy at Treasury, said that since most of the laid-off workers were in the IRS small business and self-employment division, employees who had handled bigger corporate enforcement cases will be forced to stop their work and handle easier small-business cases.For sure this mean less enforcement activity, and the deterrence effect of audits will be diminished, he said.Representatives from Treasury, the IRS and the White House did not respond to Associated Press requests for comment on Thursday.___Associated Press writer Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report. 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

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum gives her morning news conference at the national palace in Mexico City, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)2025-02-20T15:39:24Z MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum said Thursday she will propose constitutional reforms aimed at protecting Mexicos sovereignty after U.S. President Donald Trumps administration designated six Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.The U.S. designations have stirred worry in Mexico that it could be a preliminary step toward U.S. military intervention on Mexican territory in pursuit of the cartels, something Mexico sharply rejects.The Mexican people will not accept under any circumstances interventions, interference or any other act from abroad that could be harmful to the integrity, independence and sovereignty of the nation, Sheinbaum said.On Thursday, the designation of eight Latin America-based criminal organizations was published in the U.S. Federal Register, carrying out a Jan. 20 executive order by Trump. The U.S. hopes the designation, something usually reserved for terrorist groups with political rather than economic objectives, will increase pressure on the groups. Sheinbaum said during her daily press briefing Thursday that Mexico also wouldnt allow outside involvement in investigations or prosecutions without authorization and collaboration of the Mexican government. Former President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador, Sheinbaums predecessor, had already written into Mexican law limits to how foreign agents could operate in Mexico, limiting their independence and requiring that Mexican authorities be informed of their movements. Sheinbaum proposes enshrining those limits in the constitution. What we want to make clear in the face of this designation is that we do not negotiate sovereignty, Sheinbaum said. This cannot be an opportunity for the United States to invade our sovereignty.Her administration also proposed reforming the constitution to apply the most severe penalties available under law to foreigners involved in the building, smuggling and distribution of guns. Mexico has long demanded that the U.S. do more to prevent the flood of guns into Mexico from U.S. gun shops and manufacturers.Her Morena party and its allies hold majorities in both chambers of Congress and have been able to pass a number of other constitutional reforms. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, arrives for talks with Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, at the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb.15, 2025. (Sven Hoppe/DPA via AP, Pool)2025-02-21T05:06:24Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Days before the third anniversary of Russias full-scale invasion, Ukrainians are as somber and tense as they were right before Moscow launched the war. Only now, they arent just worried about their longtime enemy.Ukraines stunning new threat comes from its once staunchest ally, the United States, whose support appears to be fading as President Donald Trump parrots the propaganda of Russian President Vladimir Putin while pledging to stop the fighting between the two countries.After their initial shock at Trumps false claims this week that Ukraine is led by a dictator who started the war with Russia, the Ukrainian people are rallying around a defiant President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who publicly criticized Trump for promoting Russian disinformation.Yes, hes not a perfect president, but hes not a dictator, said Kateryna Karaush, a 25-year-old tech worker from Kyiv who like many Ukrainians and even some Republicans in Congress is struggling to wrap her head around Trumps embrace of Russia, which represents a major about-face in U.S. foreign policy. It feels like the whole world is against us, Karaush said. Against long odds, Ukrainians with massive military support from the U.S. have prevented Russia from overtaking their country, even if roughly one fifth of it is now under Russia control.But after three years of war, both civilians and soldiers are exhausted. Hundreds of thousands have been killed or wounded, tens of thousands are missing, and millions have fled the country. The mood only became gloomier in recent days as Trump signaled his desire to rapidly bring the fighting to a close on terms that Zelenskyy and many in the West say are too favorable to Russia.After Trump called Zelenskyy a dictator for legally postponing an election last year -- and as reports emerged of U.S. and Russian officials meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss a possible ceasefire without input from Ukraine, even some of Zelenskyys harshest domestic critics have begun defending him. We may have different opinions about Zelenskyy, but only Ukrainian citizens have the right to judge his support, said Yaroslav Zhelezniak, a lawmaker from the opposition party Holos. And to publicly criticize him too, because, in the end, he is our elected leader.Trumps harsh words for Zelenskyy have drawn criticism from Democrats and even some Republicans in the U.S. Congress, where defending Ukraine from Russia with tens of billions of dollars in military aid has had bipartisan support. But Vice President JD Vance admonished Zelenskyy for publicly warning Trump about falling for Russian disinformation.On Thursday, the deepening tensions led to the cancelation of a news conference that had been planned to follow talks between Zelenskyy and Trumps Ukraine envoy over how to end the war.A poll released Wednesday by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology put public trust in Zelenskyy at 57%. The survey was conducted Feb. 4 to Feb. 9 among 1,000 people living across Ukraine in regions and territories controlled by the Ukrainian government. We have a president whom we support. During war, we are united, said Larysa, a 52-year-old resident from the northeastern city of Kharkiv, who refused to give her last name due to security concerns. The political rift with the U.S. comes as Ukrainian forces, outnumbered and outgunned, increasingly struggle to hold back Russias slow but steady advances.Speaking from the front lines, some Ukrainian soldiers said they were not panicking yet, and not ready to give up the fight.Even if we dont get enough weapons or if funding is cut, that doesnt change our duty to (fight), said a Ukrainian officer who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with military rules. No shells? Well take up rifles. No rifles? Well grab shovels.On Wednesday, Trump echoed one of Putins frequent talking points, claiming Zelenskyy, whose term expired last year, must hold elections. But the idea has little traction within Ukraine even among opposition politicians, who recognize Zelenskyys right to postpone elections during wartime. Elections are not needed right now because they should only take place when we understand the framework of (a peace) agreement with Russia, said Volodymyr Ariev, a lawmaker from the opposition European Solidarity party. Holding elections now would only benefit the Kremlin, further dividing Ukrainians and installing a new president who could sign a deal favorable to Moscow.An adviser to Zelenskyy, Mykhailo Podolyak, gave an additional reason for holding off any election until there is peace: Russia might seek to interfere in an electoral process that would already face significant challenges.Millions of displaced Ukrainians living abroad would struggle to participate not to mention the hundreds of thousands Ukrainians living in Russian-occupied territories, whose ability to vote would be virtually impossible. Around 800,000 Ukrainians are currently serving in the armed forces, making it difficult for them to cast ballots without weakening the military. And those fighting would be unable to run for office a right guaranteed under Ukrainian law. Holding elections before a peace agreement with security guarantees is signed would be devastating for Ukraine, said Valerii Pekar, a professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Business School. The U.S. and Russia are now united in promoting the idea of elections first, then peace which is the quickest and cheapest way to bring Ukraine down.___Associated Press journalist Volodymyr Yurchuk contributed from Kyiv, Ukraine. HANNA ARHIROVA Arhirova is an Associated Press reporter covering Ukraine. She is based in Kyiv. twitter instagram mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, right, shake hands ahead of their bilateral talks at Mariinskyi Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (Carl Court, Pool Photo via AP, File)2025-02-21T05:09:17Z LONDON (AP) As the U.S. and Russia push ahead so far without Ukraine at the table on talks to end the war, political and military leaders in Europe are fleshing out details of a plan for European forces to help ensure Moscow does not attack again.After months of quiet discussions, the proposal has become increasingly public. It will likely be on the agenda when British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, two major backers of the idea, visit Washington on separate days next week for talks with President Donald Trump.Starmer, who will visit Thursday, has stressed that the force wont work without U.S. military might to back it up. Persuading Trump to provide it could be a tall order. What is the plan?The security guarantee that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy really wants is NATO membership. European members of the military alliance still back that goal, but the U.S. looks to have taken it off the table, along with Ukrainian hopes of regaining the fifth of its territory seized by Russia.In the absence of NATO membership, Zelenskyy has said that more than 100,000 European troops could be needed in Ukraine to guarantee the conflict does not flare up again after a ceasefire.But Western officials say whats being discussed is a reassurance force, not an army of peacekeepers posted along the 600-mile (1,000-kilometer) front line in Ukraines east. The proposal backed by Britain and France would see fewer than 30,000 European troops on the ground in Ukraine away from the front line at key infrastructure sites such as nuclear power plants backed by Western air and sea power.Under the plan, the front line would largely be monitored remotely, with drones and other technology. Air power based outside Ukraine perhaps in Poland or Romania -- would be in reserve to deter breaches and reopen Ukrainian airspace to commercial flights. That could include U.S. air power.There must be a U.S. backstop because a U.S. security guarantee is the only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again, Starmer said on Monday.What do the Americans say?Trump has long expressed the view that Americas NATO allies dont pull their weight and that Europe must do more for its own security.U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has told European allies that there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine, but has not ruled out American support such as air transport or logistics.Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trumps Ukraine envoy, said during a visit to NATO this week that all options must be kept on the table because the shape of any force will depend on the outcome of peace negotiations that have yet to be held.Jamie Shea, a former senior NATO official, said different people in the administration are sending different signals Who do you believe is an issue.Its unclear whether Ukraine will be happy with the proposal.Russia, meanwhile, has rejected the idea outright. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said deployment of troops from NATO nations, even if not under the banner of the alliance, will certainly be unacceptable for us. Are other European countries onboard?Britain, France and the Nordic and Baltic states that are the closest NATO nations to Russia appear most likely to play the main roles in any force.Italy has constitutional limits on the use of its forces. In some countries including The Netherlands, deploying troops would need parliaments approval.Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said his country, a key logistics base for support to Ukraine since the Russian invasion three years ago, will not send troops into its neighbor.After a hastily arranged meeting of European leaders in Paris this week to discuss the war, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said talk of a Europe-lead security force was premature. Scholz said he was a little irritated that peacekeeping forces were even being discussed at the wrong time. He insisted NATO not an independent European force must remain the foundation of security. Could the plan work?The success of the plan depends on the nature of any agreement to stop the fighting. Russia has some 600,000 troops in Ukraine, and analysts say any ceasefire deal that leaves the bulk of them there is a recipe for renewed conflict.Frances military has just over 200,000 personnel, Britains less than 150,000. Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute, said Europe would struggle to mount a force even in the tens of thousands. European countries will have a limited ability to deploy something that can be sustained for multiple rotations, potentially over several years, he said.And it could be many years. Michael Clarke, visiting professor in war studies at Kings College London, noted that peacekeeping forces in Cyprus and Lebanon have remained in place for decades.If it is successful, it will last 20 or 30 years, he said. If it is not successful, it will break down into fighting inside two years. Lithuanian defense minister Dovil akalien said there was truth in the Trump administrations painful criticism of Europes defense spending and military strength.Russia is preparing for a long war, she told the AP. They have now three times the manpower and their defense industry is moving quicker than that of Europe. Does anybody believe that this is only aimed at Ukraine?What is the use of security guarantees from a weak party? Europe needs to muscle up right now to be actually able to provide security guarantees that will hold.___Lorne Cook in Brussels and Emma Burrows in London contributed to this story. JILL LAWLESS Lawless is an Associated Press reporter covering U.K. politics and more. She is based in London. twitter mailto

White House national security adviser Mike Waltz speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-02-20T20:46:48Z WASHINGTON (AP) A top White House official said Thursday that President Donald Trumps increasingly tough criticism of Volodymyr Zelenskyy reflects the administrations growing frustration with what they see as the Ukrainian leader creating roadblocks to finding an endgame to Russias invasion of Ukraine.The comments from White House national security adviser Mike Waltz came a day after Trump described Zelenskyy as a dictator and warned that he better move fast to negotiate an end to the war or risk not having a nation to lead. Zelenskyy earlier Wednesday had said Trump was living in a Russian-made disinformation space.His frustration with President Zelenskyy that you heard is multifold, Waltz said Thursday of Trump. There needs to be a deep appreciation for what the American people and the American taxpayer, what President Trump did in his first term and what weve done since. Theres some of the rhetoric coming out of Kyiv, frankly, and insults to President Trump (that) were unacceptable. Waltz, speaking at a White House press briefing, did not respond when asked whether Trump sees Russian President Vladimir Putin as a dictator and didnt directly answer a separate question about whether Trump thinks Zelenskyy or Putin is more responsible for the war. The escalating rhetoric comes just days before the third anniversary of Russias war in Ukraine and as the U.S. posture toward both countries has dramatically shifted under the new Trump administration. Trump has been pushing for a peace deal between the two countries while blaming Zelenskyy for allowing the war to start in the first place not mentioning that Putin ordered the invasion of a sovereign nation. Waltz noted that Trump is also frustrated that Zelenskyy rejected an offer presented last week by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that would have given the U.S. access to Ukraines critical minerals as repayment for U.S. support during the war as well as future aid for Ukraine. U.S. officials also presented the deal during a meeting between Vice President JD Vance and Zelenskyy in Munich days after the Bessent meeting. But Zelenskyy directed his ministers not to sign off on deal, which he believed lacked sufficient security guarantees for the Ukraine side and was too U.S.-focused. Rather than enter into some constructive conversations about what that deal should be going forward, we got a lot of rhetoric in the media that was incredibly unfortunate, Waltz said of the Ukrainians decision to decline the American offer.Trump earlier this week suggested Ukraine was to blame for starting the war even though the smaller nation was invaded by Russia in February 2022. Asked whether Trump believed Putin or Zelenskyy was more responsible for the grinding war, Waltz offered a roundabout response.His goal here is to bring this war to an end, period, Waltz said of Trump. And there has been ongoing fighting on both sides. It is World War I-style trench warfare.The back-and-forth comes amid an escalation of tension between the two leaders and rising concern in many European capitals over the Trump administrations reengagement with Russia. Trump dispatched Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Waltz to engage in preliminary talks in Saudi Arabia with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and Putins foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov.Zelenskyy and some European officials criticized Trump for holding the talks without Ukrainian or European representatives at the table. AAMER MADHANI Madhani covers the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Children play in the ruins of the Church of Virgin Mary, which was destroyed by the Islamic State group in 2015, in the northeastern Syrian village of Tel Nasri, which is currently controlled by the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)2025-02-21T05:14:11Z TEL TAL, Syria (AP) It was a mournful moment for Christians in Syria. A bell that once summoned residents to worship rang out, but the church was no longer there.The Saint Odisho church was blown up by the Islamic State group a decade ago, leaving Tel Tal village almost empty of residents.A local Christian who fled the attack, Ishaq Nissan, walked the streets and pointed to uninhabited homes, explaining where families had gone: U.S., Australia, Canada or Europe.This month, northeast Syrias remaining Christians will mark the 10th anniversary of the IS attack on over 30 villages along the Khabur river. On Feb. 23, 2015, dozens of Christians were killed or wounded and over 200 were taken hostage. Churches were blown up, and thousands of people fled.The anniversary comes as Christians worry about the future of Syria following the ouster of longtime president Bashar Assad in December by insurgents led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group. HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa is now interim president, and most government members come from Islamic factions. Al-Sharaa has repeatedly said religious rights will be protected in post-Assad Syria. Though HTS had been an al-Qaida affiliate, it is opposed to IS and fought deadly battles with it over the years. IS was defeated in Syria in 2019, but sleeper cells still carry out attacks. Since Assads fall, there have been some attacks by others targeting Christians. In December, a Christmas tree was set on fire in Suqailabiyah village. Authorities called it an isolated incident. We hope as Christians that there will be cooperation between all parties of Syria in what gives everyone their rights, Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Maurice Amsih, who leads the church in the northeast, told The Associated Press.Amsih said Christians in Syria are opposed to Islamic rule: We want them to treat us in a civil way. Western countries have pressed Syrias new authorities to guarantee the rights of religious and ethnic minorities, as well as those of women. The vast majority of Syrians are Sunni Muslims, while about a quarter of the population is Christian, Druze or Alawite.Christians made up about 10% of Syrias prewar population of 23 million, co-existing with the Muslim majority and enjoying freedom of worship under the Assad government. The last parliament speaker under Assad was Christian.But since civil war began in 2011 with a popular uprising against Assad and a government crackdown, hundreds of thousands of Christians have left the country. The rise of IS, and its attack 10 years ago, helped to drive them out.We were living in peace and never expected this dark day to happen in our modern history, said Elias Antar Elias, a Tel Tal resident who represents the villages of the Khabur river region in the Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria.The 78-year-old and his family fled in the middle of the night as the extremists stormed one Christian village after another, horrifying the population that had lived in relative peace for decades. Elias, a retired teacher, fled with his family to the northeastern city of Hassakeh and stayed until Kurdish and Christian fighters regained control of their hometown months later.We saw the beheaded bodies of Christians on the side of the road as dogs were eating them, Elias said, calling it an image that pains our hearts.Elias said Tel Tal had about 400 residents before the IS attack. Today, there are about 30.At the spot where the Saint Odisho church once stood, Elias recalled its importance: This is where we baptized our children. This is where I got married.Asked why his family didnt leave for good like many others, he replied: Im in love with this place. Our graves and martyrs are here. This is our land.The archbishop said 34 Christian villages along the Khabur river were home to 45,000 Assyrians before the 2015 attack.Amsih said about 2.2 million Christians were in Syria before the civil war, and he estimated that two-thirds of them have left the country. In nearby Tel Nasri, Christian residents have left and the village is full of displaced people from other regions. The Church of Virgin Mary still stands but is badly damaged after being blown up in 2015.Some Christians who witnessed the violence say they have no plans to leave Syria, even with uncertainty ahead under new leaders.Janet Chamoun was praying in a church in Qamishli in 2015 when a car bomb exploded outside, throwing her and her daughter to the floor. Glass shattered and some people were injured.Despite the fear we decided to stay, Chamoun said outside the repaired Virgin Mary Syriac church, where she still comes every day to pray.Our home and roots are here, she said.

A convoy carrying the coffins of four bodies arrives at the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, after they were handed over by Hamas in Gaza. Israel has identified three of the bodies as hostages and said the other was of an unknown person. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)2025-02-21T07:26:06Z Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a body that Hamas militants released during the handover of remains of Israeli hostages is that of a woman from Gaza instead of that of Shiri Bibas, the mother of two young boys whose bodies were returned on Thursday.In a statement released Friday, Netanyahu criticized the handover of the wrong remains as a cruel and malicious violation of the ceasefire agreement, which has halted fighting in the Gaza Strip, and said Hamas would pay the full price for the action.Hamas militants turned over four bodies on Thursday under the tenuous ceasefire, which has paused over 15 months of war. Israeli confirmed one body was that of Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted during the Hamas attack on Israel that started the war on Oct. 7, 2023.The remains of Shiri Bibas two young sons, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, were positively identified, the Israeli Defense Forces said, but added the fourth body was not that of their mother, nor of any other hostage. We will work with determination to bring Shiri home together with all our hostages both living and dead and ensure that Hamas pays the full price for this cruel and malicious violation of the agreement, Netanyahu said. The sacred memory of Oded Lifshitz and Ariel and Kfir Bibas will be forever enshrined in the heart of the nation. May God avenge their blood. And so we will avenge, he added.

French street artist Shuck One tears up archive images as he prepares a mural for the exhibition "Paris Noir", at the Centre Pompidou Museum, in Paris, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)2025-02-21T07:07:05Z PARIS (AP) French street artist Shuck One is honoring Black figures who shaped Frances recent history on the mainland and overseas, in an art installation being produced for an exhibition starting next month at the Pompidou Center in Paris.Shuck One is a Black graffiti and visual artist native of the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, which is a French overseas department. He is participating in the Black Paris exhibition, which retraces the presence and influence of Black artists in France from the 1950s to 2000.The Pompidou Center, one of the worlds top modern art museums, said that it will celebrate 150 artists of African descent, from Africa to the Americas, whose works have often never been displayed in France before. Shuck One is one of five artists chosen to provide contemporary insights.I wanted to invoke the memory of the Black figures who created the Black Paris and who, in a way, were pioneers before us in artistic, intellectual and other fields, Shuck One told The Associated Press. Its a way for me to honor them. Activist and artistDescribing himself as an activist who became an artist, Shuck One grew up in the 1970s in Guadeloupe. After he arrived in Paris in the 1980s, he was considered one of the pioneers of French street art and graffiti inspired by figures of the Ngritude movement that denounced colonialism, racism and Eurocentrism. His installation, titled Regeneration, is four meters (13 feet) high and 10 meters (33 feet) long. It shows major moments of Black history through paintings and collages of maps of Paris, archives and photos.The starting point of the installation is the Tirailleurs Sngalais, a corps of colonial infantry in the French army that fought in both World Wars. One highlight is the May 1967 riots in Guadeloupe that led to the massacre of possibly dozens of people figures are still being questioned by historians. Another feature is the BUMIDOM, a French state agency that between 1963 and 1981 organized the migration of 170,000 people from French overseas departments to the mainland for economic purposes, now considered by historians a symbol of post-colonial domination and discrimination. Portraits of Black figuresIt also shows portraits of Black figures, including politicians, writers, civil rights activists and other pioneers.They include U.S.-born entertainer and civil rights activist Josphine Baker; Aim Csaire, poet and founder of the Ngritude movement; and American political activist Angela Davis. But there are also less known names like writer and activist Paulette Nardal; Eugnie Ebou, the first Black woman elected to Frances National Assembly and Gerty Archimde, the second to be elected shortly after; and Maryse Cond, a novelist from Guadeloupe.The overall message of the exhibition is to revive these forgotten figures, but also a next-generation aspect, a way to pass their history on, Shuck One said as he carefully studied the elaborate collage of photos and archive documents on a big wall of the exhibition.Its also a way of making people understand whats activism is about (its) very well to talk about the community, but its also important to know its history, he said.The exhibition, which runs from March 19-June 30, is one of the last at the Pompidou Center before it shuts down later this year for renovations, which are due to last five years. SYLVIE CORBET Corbet is an Associated Press reporter based in Paris. She covers French politics, diplomacy and defense as well as gender issues and breaking news. twitter

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is silhouetted by window light as he heads to the chamber to begin the week, on Capitol Hill in Washington, June 21, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)2025-02-21T05:00:41Z FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) The scramble to fill Mitch McConnells Senate seat in Kentucky began as soon as the long-serving Republican lawmaker revealed he wont seek reelection in 2026.Former state Attorney General Daniel Cameron jumped into the campaign Thursday, looking for a political comeback after losing his bid for governor in 2023. Elsewhere in the GOP, U.S. Rep. Andy Barr signaled he would announce his plans soon and said hes been encouraged by his support as he considers a Senate run. Businessman Nate Morris has signaled his strong interest in the Senate race, too.Another prominent Kentucky Republican, U.S. Rep. James Comer, will not run for the Senate next year but is strongly considering a run for governor in 2027, a Comer spokesman said.Although the prize is a Senate seat that will be open for the first time in more than 40 years, leading Kentucky Democrats did not rush to embrace the challenge in a state that has turned solidly Republican in recent years. The two Democrats holding statewide office Gov. Andy Beshear and Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman signaled Thursday that they wont enter the Senate race. McConnell announced to his Senate colleagues on Thursday that he will retire when his current seventh term ends. The longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, McConnell relinquished his leadership post after the November 2024 election. His departure will mark the loss of a powerful advocate who steered large amounts of federal money to Kentucky. But his popularity with Republicans back home sagged after his relationship with President Donald Trump cratered. Some Kentuckians worried that his departure would mean a loss of influence for the state.Someone will serve in his seat, but they will not step into his shoes in terms of seniority that he has built as the longest-serving senator in Kentucky history, GOP political consultant T.J. Litafik said. A top legislative Democrat, state House Minority Floor Leader Pamela Stevenson, recently filed to raise money for the Senate race. She would become the states first Black U.S. senator if she were to win.Whoever wins the Democratic nomination wont have history on their side. The last Democrat to win a Senate race in the Bluegrass State was Wendell Ford in 1992.Meanwhile, jockeying on the Republican side after McConnells announcement previewed what looks to be a bumpy primary. Sniping began after Cameron signaled his Senate intentions by posting on X: Kentucky, its time for a new generation of leadership in the U.S. Senate. Lets do this.That provoked a bare-knuckled response from Barrs camp. Barr spokesman Tyler Staker said Cameron had embarrassed Trump and the GOP by losing the governors race to Beshear. Staker added the party needs proven winners, perhaps foreshadowing Barrs pitch for a coveted Trump endorsement.Cameron, who also would become the states first Black U.S. senator if he won, fired back, saying, You get outside of his district, nobody knows who Andy Barr is. Cameron told The Associated Press that hes in the race to succeed his one-time mentor, having formerly worked as McConnells legal counsel. He has been planning a political comeback since his defeat in 2023. He said his values align with Kentucky voters and touted his support for Trump.Serving in the Senate, Im going to make sure I stand up for the America First agenda and the values of Kentucky, Cameron told the AP in a phone interview Thursday evening.A presidential endorsement, if its forthcoming, could tip the scales in bright red Kentucky.If Trump endorses, it would likely -- very likely -- be determinative, said Scott Jennings, a Republican political strategist. His influence in the party is unquestionable and Kentucky Republicans would respond to his judgment for sure.Things could change, of course. The party in the White House typically loses ground in midterm elections. A downward shift in the economy or any negative impact of tariffs on bourbon and other Kentucky-made products could diminish the value of Trumps endorsement with some Kentuckians. Republicans in Washington are weighing potential cuts to Medicaid, a health care lifeline for many people in Kentucky. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee said the now-open Kentucky Senate seat in 2026 would create an additional defensive headache for national Republicans.Trump has previous ties with both Cameron and Barr. He endorsed Camerons run for governor about 11 months before the 2023 gubernatorial primary. Cameron never looked back in winning the nomination but lost to Beshear, who won a second term. In 2018, Trump gave Barr a boost by campaigning for him when the congressman faced a tough Democratic challenge in a closely watched House race.Meanwhile, Morris has cast himself as a political outsider. While Cameron and Barr jockeyed behind the scenes while awaiting McConnells decision on the 2026 race, Morris bluntly said it was time for McConnell to retire. He ripped into the senator for opposing a trio of Trump nominations, and accused his potential GOP rivals of lacking the backbone to speak out about the McConnell votes. Anyone afraid to upset the establishment will undoubtedly be too cowardly to deliver real, conservative results for the American people, Morris said in a recent Kentucky newspaper op-ed.___

Medical researchers from universities and the National Institutes of Health rally near the Health and Human Services headquarters to protest federal budget cuts Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)2025-02-21T10:00:08Z BOSTON (AP) A court battle is set to resume Friday over the Trump administrations drastic cuts in medical research funding that many scientists say will endanger patients and delay new lifesaving discoveries.A federal judge in Massachusetts temporarily blocked the cuts from taking effect earlier this month in response to separate lawsuits filed by a group of 22 states plus organizations representing universities, hospitals and research institutions nationwide.The new National Institutes of Health policy would strip research groups of hundreds of millions of dollars to cover so-called indirect expenses of studying Alzheimers, cancer, heart disease and a host of other illnesses anything from clinical trials of new treatments to basic lab research that is the foundation for discoveries. Now U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley, who was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, must decide whether to extend the temporary restraining order blocking those cuts. The states and research groups say such a move is illegal, pointing to bipartisan congressional action during President Donald Trumps first term to prohibit it. Yet here we are again, attorneys argued in a court motion, saying the NIH is in open defiance of what Congress decreed.In its own written arguments, the Trump administration said NIH has authority to alter the terms after awarding grants and that Kelleys courtroom isnt the proper venue to arbitrate claims of breach of contract. States and researchers have failed to show that they would suffer an irreparable injury, according to the administration motion.The NIH, the main funder of biomedical research, awarded more than 60,000 grants last year totaling about $35 billion. The total is divided into direct costs covering researchers salaries and laboratory supplies and indirect costs, the administrative and facility costs needed to support that work. The Trump administration had dismissed those expenses as overhead but universities and hospitals argue theyre far more critical. They can include such things as electricity to operate sophisticated machinery, hazardous waste disposal, staff who ensure researchers follow safety rules and janitorial workers.Different projects require different resources. Labs that handle dangerous viruses, for example, require more expensive safety precautions than a simpler experiment. So currently each grants amount of indirect costs is negotiated with NIH, some of them small while others reaching 50% or more of the total grant.If the new policy stands, indirect costs would be capped at 15% immediately, for already awarded grants and new ones. NIH calculated that would save the agency $4 billion a year.A motion filed earlier this week cited a long list of examples of immediate harm in blue states and red states. They included the possibility of ending some clinical trials of treatments at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, that could leave a population of patients with no viable alternative. Officials at Johns Hopkins University were more blunt, saying the cut would end or require significantly scaling back research projects potentially including some of the 600 NIH-funded studies open to Hopkins patients.The care, treatments and medical breakthroughs provided to them and their families are not overhead, university president Ron Daniels and Hopkins Medicine CEO Theodore DeWeese wrote to employees.Attorneys also argued the cuts would harm state economies. The University of Florida would need to cut critical research staffing by about 45 people, while construction of a new research facility in Detroit expected to create nearly 500 new jobs could be paused or even abandoned, they wrote.Implementing this 15% cap will mean the abrupt loss of hundreds of millions of dollars that are already committed to employing tens of thousands of researchers and other workers, putting a halt to countless lifesaving health research and cutting-edge technology initiatives, the lawsuit said. ___Neergaard reported from Washington. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. MICHAEL CASEY Casey writes about the environment, housing and inequality for The Associated Press. He lives in Boston. twitter mailto

U.S. Forest Service crew members put tree branches into a wood chipper as they prepare the area for a prescribed burn in the Tahoe National Forest, June 6, 2023, near Downieville, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vsquez, File)2025-02-21T05:04:23Z SEATTLE (AP) The termination letters that ended the careers of thousands of U.S. Forest Service employees mean fewer people and less resources will be available to help prevent and fight wildfires, raising the specter of even more destructive blazes across the American West, fired workers and officials said.The Forest Service firings on the heels of deadly blazes that ripped through Los Angeles last month are part of a wave of federal worker layoffs, as President Donald Trumps cost-cutting measures reverberate nationwide.Workers who maintained trails, removed combustible debris from forests, supported firefighters and secured funds for wildfire mitigation say staffing cuts threaten public safety, especially in the West, where drier and hotter conditions linked to climate change have increased the intensity of wildfires.Im terrified of that, said Tanya Torst, who was fired from her position as a U.S. Forest Service partnership coordinator in Chico, California, on Feb. 14. Torst, whose probationary period was set to end in March, worked with groups to bring in nearly $12 million for removing dead trees and other fuels in the Mendocino National Forest. This is 100% a safety thing, she said of her concerns, recalling the deadly Paradise blaze that killed 85 people east of Chico in 2018. Thats why Im speaking out. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Forest Service, said in a statement that Secretary Brooke Rollins supports Trumps directive to fire about 2,000 probationary, non-firefighting employees, which he said was for efficiencys sake. Rollins is committed to preserving essential safety positions and will ensure that critical services remain uninterrupted, the statement said. The statement didnt address the fired workers who were responsible for removing combustible fuels and other projects aiming to lower a wildfires intensity. The Trump administration has frozen funds for wildfire prevention programs supported by legislation championed by former President Joe Biden, The Associated Press reported. Programs not funded by that legislation can continue, an Interior Department statement said.U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier, a Washington state Democrat, said on the social platform X that the Forest Service layoffs are already hurting the state, and it is only going to get worse. Fire season is coming.The Washington state Department of Natural Resources said the firings forced them to develop contingency plans to deal with a degraded federal force this coming fire season.Melanie Mattox Green, who was fired from her land management and environmental planning job at the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest in Montana, said their fire-prevention efforts prioritized areas where towns border forest lands. Staffing cuts put those towns at risk, she said.If a fire breaks out now without these projects occurring, that fire is going to be far more dangerous to our local communities, she said.The cuts also mean fewer people will keep trails free of fallen trees and other debris, she said. Maintaining trails is critical in remote areas that firefighters access by foot. Without those trails being cleared, it means that now firefighters cannot easily and more effectively get to these fires to fight them, she said.Many Forest Service workers who dont occupy official firefighter positions still have firefighting certifications, known as a red card, that must be renewed annually. Josh Vega, who maintained 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers) of trails as a forestry technician in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana before being fired, said his crew was the first to arrive at a wildfire that broke out in 2023.For about two days, Vegas crew monitored the blaze before firefighters arrived. We spent the next few days keeping an eye on the fire, making sure that the trailheads were all closed and that the public knew what was happening so that they wouldnt find themselves in a predicament.Many Forest Service operations involve supporting firefighters beyond fire season, including surveying areas for prescribed burns or ensuring trail access, said Luke Tobin, who was fired from his forestry technician role in Idahos Nez Perce National Forest. Everybody helps with fire in some aspect, some way, shape or form, he said.Gregg Bafundo, who was fired last week from his post as a wilderness ranger and wildland firefighter at the Okanogan Wenatchee National Forest, said the staffing cuts came at a critical time.This is the time of year when they hire everybody, he said during a press conference organized by Washington Sen. Patty Murray. Its the time of year when firefighters renew their red cards and practice redeploying their fire shelters. This is when they train to be ready to fight next summers fires.We cant train while the fire is burning over the hill. ___Rush reported from Portland, Oregon. MARTHA BELLISLE Bellisle is a global investigative reporter for The Associated Press, based in Washington state. She reports on a range of topics, including police accountability, police training and mental health. She also has covered the Winter Olympics. twitter mailto CLAIRE RUSH Rush is an Associated Press reporter covering Oregon state government and general news in the Pacific Northwest more broadly. twitter mailto

Luigi Nicholas Mangione leaves the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pa., Dec. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)2025-02-21T05:11:56Z NEW YORK (AP) The man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare in New York City and leading authorities on a five-day manhunt is scheduled to be in court Friday for the first time since his December arraignment on state murder and terror charges.Luigi Mangione, 26, is set for a hearing in state court in Manhattan. Prosecutors and Mangiones defense lawyers are expected to provide updates on the status of the case and Judge Gregory Carro could set deadlines for pretrial paperwork and possibly even a trial date.Mangione has pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism, in the Dec. 4 killing of Brian Thompson outside a midtown Manhattan hotel. The executive was ambushed and shot on a sidewalk as he walked to an investor conference.Mangione also faces federal charges that could carry the possibility of the death penalty. He is being held in a Brooklyn federal jail alongside several other high-profile defendants, including Sean Diddy Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried. Prosecutors have said the two cases will proceed on parallel tracks, with the state charges expected to go to trial first. The maximum sentence for the state charges is life in prison without parole. A Feb. 24 hearing in Pennsylvania on charges of possessing an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police was canceled. In a statement posted on a website for his legal defense, Mangione said: I am overwhelmed by and grateful for everyone who has written me to share their stories and express their support. Powerfully, this support has transcended political, racial, and even class divisions. Mangione was arrested in a Pennsylvania McDonalds on Dec. 9. Police said he was carrying a gun that matched the one used in the shooting and a fake ID. He also was carrying a notebook expressing hostility toward the health insurance industry and especially wealthy executives, authorities said. Defense lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo argued at his Dec. 23 arraignment that warring jurisdictions had turned Mangione into a human ping-pong ball. She accused New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other government officials of tainting the jury pool by bringing Mangione back to Manhattan in a choreographed spectacle involving heavily armed officers escorting him up a pier from a heliport.Friedman Agnifilo singled out Adams comment on a local TV station that he wanted to be there to look him in the eye and say, you carried out this terroristic act in my city. 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

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., calls on a reporter, Feb. 19, 2025, after a Senate policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)2025-02-21T11:08:39Z WASHINGTON (AP) The budget resolution from Republicans was on the agenda in the Senate, but the late-night debate encompassed so much more.Democrats used the overnight session that ended early Friday morning as a platform for their outrage over what President Donald Trump has wrought during his first month in office and their warnings of what is still to come.From Trump adviser Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency slicing through the federal workforce to Trumps attacks on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the GOP plan to extend tax breaks including for the wealthy and cut safety net programs, far more than the $340 billion budget framework on border security and deportations came under scrutiny. Out of power in Washington, D.C., the Democrats instead brought to the Senate floor pages of amendments, keeping the chamber long into Thursday night and early Friday morning. People dont send us here to make their lives worse. But thats exactly what Trump and Musk are doing, said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., launching the debate. They are looking at our most pressing problems and making them so much worse. And this budget proposal will only add fuel to the fire. Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Budget Committee, test-drove a new term Trumpflation and asked what in the presidents big, beautiful, bill would help Americans. Take this plan and put it in the woodchipper, Merkley said, repurposing Musks quip about chopping up the federal government. Theres nothing beautiful about destroying programs families depend on.As the vote-a-rama dragged into the wee hours Democrats proposed amendments to bar tax breaks for billionaires and millionaires, reverse DOGE firings of public workers and program cuts to government services, preserve Medicaid, help Ukraine and on and on. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado offered an amendment to reinstate the fired federal employees at the Forest Service, National Park Service and other public lands agencies.Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., sought to prevent reductions in government programs fighting avian flu at a time of soaring prices of eggs.Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire wanted to ensure the U.S. commits to supporting Ukraine in the fight against Russia.But none of them were being approved. Still, Democrats preferred talking about almost anything but Trumps plans for deporting immigrants and beefing up border security, the main provisions of the $340 billion budget framework, which also includes funding for the Pentagon and Coast Guard. Those immigration-related issues divide the Democrats, who struggled during the fall election to counter Trumps deportation plans and still have not formed a ready response. Republicans happily pointed out the disconnect as they marched their budget framework to passage. It was approved, 52-48, on a mostly party-line vote, a key step in the budget process. One Republican, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, opposed it, as did all Democrats. The package now must sync up with one from the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson is working up Trumps big, beautiful bill with some $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and up to $2 trillion in spending cuts.Nearing daybreak, when Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., offered an amendment to prevent unvetted and unaccountable DOGE workers to access Americans private information in government databases, Republicans brought it down on a voice vote, with a thundering no.After the various prohibitions on billionaire tax breaks didnt pass, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts tried to block breaks for those earning $10 million. It was turned back. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona suggested the cap be set at $100 million. It failed. Sen. Angus King of Maine tried $500 million. Nope.GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana assessed the whole evening as comparable to professional wresting and chided Democrats for drifting off topic. He said the bill was about border security not the tax cuts, which would be addressed later. At the start of the evening, Sen. Bernie Sanders, a former chairman of the Budget committee, spent some time discussing his own ideas, including his plan to expand Social Security benefits and extend Medicare health care coverage to provide seniors with access to dental, vision and hearing aid benefits.The Vermont senator said its unacceptable that millions of seniors cant afford eyeglasses, hearing aids or dentures. That should not be happening in the United States of America in the year 2025, Sanders said.Then he zeroed in on Trumps remarkable suggestion it was Ukraine that started the war, rather than Russian President Vladimir Putins invasion of the country in 2022.Really? an incredulous Sanders asked, urging fellow senators to speak out. That is, as I hope every member of the Senate knows, an absolute lie.

President Donald Trump speaks at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute summit in Miami Beach, Fla., Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (Pool via AP)2025-02-21T12:10:30Z WASHINGTON (AP) A federal judge in Washington has allowed President Donald Trumps mass firings of federal workers to move forward.U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper decided Thursday he could not grant a motion from unions representing the workers to temporarily block the layoffs. He found that their complaint amounted to an employment dispute and must follow a different process outlined in federal employment law.Cooper acknowledged that the Republican presidents second term has been defined by an onslaught of executive actions that have caused, some say by design, disruption and even chaos in widespread quarters of American society.But Cooper, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat, wrote that judges are duty-bound to decide legal issues based on even-handed application of law and precedent no matter the identity of the litigants or, regrettably at times, the consequences of their rulings for average people. The ruling comes as thousands of federal government employees have been shown the door during in the first month of Trumps second administration.The administration argued in court the unions failed to show that they were facing the kind of irreparable, immediate harm that would justify an emergency order stopping layoffs. The unions, representing hundreds of thousands of federal workers, maintain that Trumps efforts to slash the federal workforce conflicts with Congress power to shape the size and direction of agencies through funding decisions, as well as laws detailing how such layoffs must be carried out. The president of the National Treasury Employees Union, Doreen Greenwald, said that Coopers decision was a temporary setback and that federal employees will get their day in court to challenge the unlawful mass firings and other attacks on their jobs, their agencies, and their service to the country.The lawsuit is among more than 80 challenging a range of actions Trump has undertaken with his blitz of executive orders. Unions also filed a separate suit challenging mass firings in California this week. LINDSAY WHITEHURST Whitehurst covers the Supreme Court, legal affairs and criminal justice for The Associated Press in Washington, D.C. Past stops include Salt Lake City, New Mexico and Indiana. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Singer Chantal Kreviazuk performs "O Canada" prior to the 4 Nations Face-Off championship hockey game, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)2025-02-21T02:22:53Z Follow live updates on President Donald Trump and his new administration. The anthem singer who performed the Canadian anthem prior to the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game Thursday night changed a lyric in O Canada as a response to U.S. President Donald Trumps repeated remarks about making the country the 51st state.Publicist Adam Gonshor in an email to The Associated Press confirmed Chantal Kreviazuk changed the lyric from in all of us command to that only us command and confirmed Trumps 51st state comments were the reason why. During Canadas 3-2 overtime victory, Kreviazuk told the AP she did it because I believe in democracy, and a sovereign nation should not have to be defending itself against tyranny and fascism.Im somebody who grew up on music that spoke to the heart and the moment, and it shaped me as a songwriter and really as a human being, she added. I dont think it would be authentic to me to be given a world stage and not express myself and be true to myself. Kreviazuk, who is from Winnipeg, Manitoba, also wrote the phrase that only us command with mascara on her left hand. She posted a picture of that on her Instagram with emojis of a Canadian flag and a flexed muscle. I just put it on there so if I ever had a moment and I kind of froze, I would be able to look at my hand and see it, Kreviazuk said. Id love to see people sort of get inspired and catch the fire and say their heart more in their art. ... Sometimes you just got to speak the truth in your art and its awesome. Thats what it should be about. The NHL declined comment on the situation.Fans in Boston lightly booed the song, though it was soon drowned out by Kreviazuks singing. The crowd in Montreal booed The Star-Spangled Banner prior to U.S. tournament games at Bell Centre last week, more vociferously before the team faced Canada.Tensions have risen between the neighbors and longtime allies over the past several weeks as Trump since being inaugurated has suggested multiple times that Canada become the 51st U.S. state, in relation to a trade dispute, and threatened a series of tariffs. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that will never happen. The subject of Canada becoming the 51st state was brought up Thursday during a news conference with David McGuinty, Canadas Public Safety Minister.Sounds like President Trump is worried about the outcome of the hockey game, McGuinty said. Canada is a sovereign and independent country. It has been for over 150 years and will remain so. This discussion of 51st state is a non-starter.Trump called the U.S. team prior to their morning skate Thursday to wish players luck in the game. Players told reporters in Boston it was an honor to hear from him, with defenseman Noah Hanifin saying, Hopefully we can get the win tonight for our country and for Trump.___Whyno reported from Washington. Freelancer Jim Morris contributed.___AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL STEPHEN WHYNO Whyno has covered the NHL, Washington Capitals, the NFLs Washington Commanders and horse racing for The Associated Press since 2016. twitter facebook RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Displaced tenant Heather McAlpine who lost her Altadena studio in the Eaton fire, stands inside her temporarily home in Los Angeles on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)2025-02-21T05:01:54Z LOS ANGELES (AP) The one-bedroom cottage with a woodsy vibe reminded Heather McAlpine of the home she lost to the brutal Los Angeles-area wildfires. But only two hours after seeing the listing, the rental was snapped up. She is one of tens of thousands of people displaced by the fires who is now competing for housing in a region that is among the most expensive and competitive in the country, partly due to lack of supply.McAlpine, had lived in her Altadena house for four years and is now staying with her boyfriend. She isnt surprised by spiking rents.I know theyre expensive, and it sucks, she said.Tenants who were just getting by before the fires now face a daunting housing search after the January fires leveled entire neighborhoods. The LA fires destroyed more than 16,000 homes, businesses and other structures in upscale Pacific Palisades and working-class Altadena, where the U.S. Census reports 22% of homes were occupied by renters. Its hard to quantify exactly how the wildfires are affecting the rental market, but LA rents rose faster than prices nationwide in January compared to the previous month, according to housing platform Zillow. The added competition from residents displaced by the fires is likely to worsen housing affordability, increase overcrowding and contribute to homelessness, says Sarah Karlinsky, research director at the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley. Already, more than half of all renter households or a little over 1 million households in LA County spend 30% or more of their income on rent. Shane Phillips, housing initiative project manager at the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies, expects prices to increase significantly for months, if not a few years. Theres only so many people moving at any given time, and suddenly adding another 20,000 households to that amount is just an extraordinary pressure, he said. Rental pageviews in LA County on the real estate platform Redfin are up 50% from a year ago, said Daryl Fairweather, the companys chief economist. She said people will feel the impact of shorter supply, more fierce competition for rentals.Egregious rents cropped up soon after the fires broke out, prompting an ad-hoc group of tenant organizers, web programmers and others to crowdsource examples. The Rent Brigade found more than 1,300 examples of illegal rent increases advertised between Jan. 7 and Jan. 18. Many have since been removed or relisted at lower prices.California Attorney General Rob Bonta has warned repeatedly of the states anti-gouging laws, which limits price increases to no more than 10% from whatever the price was before the emergency. His office has so far filed three misdemeanor criminal price-gouging charges.A 10% cap is still too high for Wendy Dlakic. She was paying about $3,000 a month for a now uninhabitable two-bedroom condo in Altadena, a community she loved. Shes searched rental websites, but for now is staying with friends, family and at Airbnbs. It was already expensive, said Dlakic, an educator who moved to Southern California two years ago. Its tough to be in LA on one income. Youre right on the edge, you know? The typical rent in the U.S. was $1,968 as of Jan. 31 up 0.2% from the previous month, according to Zillow. But in the LA metro area, the typical rent was up 0.8% to $2,954. Zillow calculates the typical rent figure by averaging the middle 30% of rents. Daniel Yukelson, executive director of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, says fears of rent-gouging have been overblown by tenant advocates and hes angry that Bonta has filed criminal charges. Some mistakes were unknowingly made, he said. If these infractions were pointed out to these few owners, corrections would have surely been made immediately,McAlpine, the displaced tenant, realized the Eaton Fire was coming for her in-law unit while she was helping to evacuate neighbors as a Altadena Mountain Rescue Team volunteer. She scooped up her cat, ski gear and camera equipment and fled the 300-square-foot (28-square-meter) cottage. Shes grateful for donations through GoFundMe, which will help with essentials, but is worried about finding a standalone unit close to nature and within her monthly budget of $1,800 for rent and utilities. The cottage that McAlpine, a photographer, and her boyfriend wanted was listed for $2,750 a month. Even though they have a bigger budget together, the hunt has been dispiriting.Im quickly looking for the photos. Oh, does this look sketchy or not? Or, you know, is this the right price? she said. Its just very different from how I would normally look for a place to live. ____Har reported from San Francisco.

U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg, right, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy talk during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)2025-02-21T15:17:20Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) President Donald Trumps envoy to Ukraine and Russia said on Friday that he had held extensive and positive discussions with Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the three-year war with Russia and praised the Ukrainian leader as an embattled and courageous leader of a nation at war.Retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg who traveled to Kyiv on Wednesday and whose planned news conference with Zelenskyy on Thursday was changed at the last minute to a simple photo opportunity struck a positive tone after what he said on the social platform X was a long and intense day of talks with Ukraines senior leadership.His comments marked a departure from recent rebukes of Zelenskyy by Trump and other senior U.S. officials that appeared to indicate an abrupt deterioration of relations. Trump called Zelenskyy a dictator without elections and warned him that hed better move fast to negotiate an end to the war or risk not having a nation to lead. The possibility that vital U.S. military aid for Ukraine was in doubt darkened the mood in Kyiv as Ukrainian forces struggle to hold back Russias bigger army on the battlefield. European governments, uneasy about being sidelined so far in talks between senior U.S. and Russian officials, have jumped to shore up Zelenskyy and at the same time avoid a breakdown in transatlantic relations. Polish President Andrzej Duda, whose country has been a vocal supporter of neighboring Ukraine, said Zelenskyy phoned him on Friday. Duda said he told Zelenskyy to remain committed to the course of calm and constructive cooperation with Trump.We consistently believe there is no other way to stop the bloodshed and achieve lasting peace in Ukraine except with the support of the United States, Duda said he also told Zelenskyy.I trust that goodwill and honesty form the foundation of the U.S. negotiation strategy, Duda said on X. I have no doubt that President Trump is guided by a deep sense of responsibility for global stability and peace. The European Unions top defense official said Friday that the bloc plans to send a strong message of support to Ukraine next week with a new aid package to mark Mondays third anniversary of the war.EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said senior members of the blocs executive branch are weighing how, in a very urgent way, to send a very strong message to Ukrainians and to the world that we are standing together with Ukraine.European policy commissioners, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other top EU officials are traveling to Kyiv on Monday.Russia has pressed on with its invasion even as talks with the U.S. take place, striking civilian targets almost daily.On Friday, Russian forces dropped three powerful glide bombs on Kostiantynivka, in Ukraines eastern Donetsk region, killing one man and injuring two others, regional Gov. Vadym Filashkin said.Another Russian glide bomb damaged homes and injured five people in the northeastern Kharkiv region, Ukraines Interior Ministry said. The public quarrel between Trump and Zelenskyy began after Russia and the U.S. agreed Tuesday to start working toward ending the war in Ukraine and improving their diplomatic and economic ties. With that, and a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump abruptly reversed the three-year U.S. policy of isolating Russia.Trumps national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said during a White House briefing on Thursday that the U.S. president is obviously very frustrated with Zelenskyy.Zelenskyy was unhappy that a U.S. team opened the talks without inviting him or European governments that have backed Kyiv.When Trump claimed without evidence Zelenskyy was deeply unpopular in Ukraine and falsely suggested that Ukraine was to blame for the war, Zelenskyy said Trump was living in a Russian-made disinformation space, suggesting he had been duped by Putin.___Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Hadi Matar, charged with severely injuring author Salman Rushdie in a 2022 knife attack, listens to his defense team in Chautauqua County court in Mayville, N.Y., Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)2025-02-21T06:01:46Z MAYVILLE, N.Y. (AP) Lawyers delivered their closing arguments Friday in the trial of a New Jersey man charged with trying to kill Salman Rushdie on a New York lecture stage in a knife attack that left the author blind in one eye and with other serious injuries.Hadi Matar, 27, is charged with attempted murder and assault in the August 2022 attack at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.District Attorney Jason Schmidt played a slow-motion video of the attack for the jury and pointed out the assailant emerging from the audience, walking up a staircase to the stage and breaking into a run toward Rushdie.I want you to look at the unprovoked nature of this attack, Schmidt said. I want you to look at the targeted nature of the attack. There were a lot of people around that day but there was only one person who was targeted. Assistant public defender Andrew Brautigan told the jury that prosecutors have not proved that Matar intended to kill Rushdie. You will agree something bad happened to Mr. Rushdie, but you dont know what Mr. Matars conscious objective was, Brautigan said. The testimony you have heard doesnt establish anything more than a chaotic noisy outburst that occurred that injured Mr. Rushdie. Schmidt said while its not possible to read Matars mind, its foreseeable that if youre going to stab someone 10 or 15 times about the face and neck, its going to result in a fatality. Rushdie, 77, was the key witness during testimony that began last week. The Booker Prize-winning author told jurors he thought he was dying when a masked stranger ran onto the stage and stabbed and slashed at him until being tackled by bystanders. Rushdie showed jurors his now-blinded right eye, usually hidden behind a darkened eyeglass lens.Jurors also heard from a trauma surgeon who said Rushdies injuries would have been fatal without quick treatment, and a law enforcement officer who said Matar was calm and cooperative in his custody. They were shown video of the assault and aftermath that was captured from multiple angles by Chautauqua Institution cameras. The recordings also picked up the gasps and screams from audience members who had been seated to hear Rushdie speak with City of Asylum Pittsburgh founder Henry Reese about keeping writers safe. Reese suffered a gash to his forehead.From the witness stand, institution staff and others present that day pointed to Matar as the assailant.Stabbed and slashed more than a dozen times in the head, throat, torso, thigh and hand, Rushdie spent 17 days at a Pennsylvania hospital and more than three weeks at a New York City rehabilitation center. He detailed his long and painful recovery in his 2024 memoir, Knife. Throughout the trial, Matar often took notes with a pen and sometimes laughed or smiled with defense attorneys during breaks in testimony. His lawyers declined to call any witnesses of their own and Matar did not testify in his defense. Instead, the attorneys challenged prosecution witnesses as part of a strategy intended to cast doubt on whether Matar intended to kill, and not just injure, Rushdie. The distinction is important for an attempted murder conviction. Matar had with him knives, not a gun or bomb, his attorneys said. And Rushdies heart and lungs were uninjured, they noted in response to testimony that the injuries were life-threatening.Public Defender Nathaniel Barone said Matar likely would have faced a lesser charge of assault were it not for Rushdies celebrity. We think that it became an attempted murder because of the notoriety of the alleged victim in the case, Barone told reporters after testimony concluded Thursday. Thats been it from the very beginning. Its been nothing more, nothing less. And its for publicity purposes. Its for self-interest purposes.A separate federal indictment alleges that Matar, of Fairview, New Jersey, was motivated to attack Rushdie by a 2006 speech in which the leader of the militant group Hezbollah endorsed a decades-old fatwa, or edict, calling for Rushdies death. Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued the fatwa in 1989 after publication of the novel The Satanic Verses, which some Muslims consider blasphemous.Rushdie spent years in hiding. But after Iran announced that it would not enforce the decree, he had traveled freely over the past quarter century. A trial on the federal terrorism-related charges will be scheduled in U.S. District Court in Buffalo. CAROLYN THOMPSON Thompson is an Associated Press reporter based in Buffalo, New York. twitter mailto

Flores y un letrero afuera de las oficinas de la Agencia de los Estados Unidos para el Desarrollo Internacional (USAID, por sus siglas en ingls), el viernes 7 de febrero de 2025, en Washington. (AP Foto/Jose Luis Magana)2025-02-21T16:40:57Z WASHINGTON (AP) A pair of court orders have had only limited effect in slowing the Trump administrations dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and have left some USAID workers stationed worldwide in precarious situations, staffers assert. The Trump administration has stalled medical evacuations for as many as 25 USAID staffers and spouses in the later stages of high-risk pregnancies overseas, according to testimony in lawsuits and a person familiar with the cases. The person was not authorized to speak publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.USAID will undertake all measures as appropriate to ensure the safety and security of current employees, deputy administrator Pete Marocco said in a court filing Thursday asking a judge to let him move forward with a plan to pull all but a fraction of employees off the job worldwide. The administration says it is taking all required care of staffers as it terminates USAID programs and aims to recall thousands of workers and their families abroad. Multiple lawsuits from groups representing USAID workers and nonprofits and businesses are challenging President Donald Trumps freeze on foreign assistance, USAID job cuts and the sudden shutdown of the agency overall. Court orders have temporarily blocked the halt to funding and removal of thousands of workers from their posts, with a judge set to decide Friday whether to keep the staffing moves on hold. The administration has accused USAIDs programs of being wasteful and promoting a liberal agenda. Pregnant women fear over their care Meanwhile, American women and their spouses say they have been left in substandard medical care in posts in unstable countries, fearing for their lives.Everyone says I need to wait and see what happens with Trump administration decisions, a USAID staffer, whose pregnancy is complicated by high-blood pressure, said in a court filing from her posting in an undisclosed country in Africa. The womans affidavit and others from staffers were filed with courts anonymously because of repeated warnings from the Trump administration that USAID staffers risk dismissal if they speak publicly. I have a due date that does not allow me to just wait and see what happens, the USAID staffer wrote. If I cannot medevac as planned, I will be in a life-threatening situation.In another case, a pregnant spouse of a USAID worker was left hemorrhaging in a foreign hospital bed to await delivery, her husband said in another affidavit. The intervention of a U.S. senator, who was not identified in the the affidavit, secured the governments agreement to pay for a medical evacuation. But doctors say the approval came too late in her pregnancy for her to safely take a long series of flights back to the U.S., even with medical escort.The State Department did not respond to requests for comment on workers allegations that the government was stalling or refusing medical evacuations. Workers facing other uncertainty abroadU.S. District Judge Carl Nichols was due to decide whether to keep temporarily blocking a Trump administration order that would put thousands of USAID staffers on leave. Lifting that order also could allow the administration to start the clock on a 30-day deadline for USAID workers abroad to leave their posts.This is a mess, Nichols said in a hearing this week of the administrations handling of USAID staff cuts.Lawyers for employee groups presented Nichols with accounts saying that the Trump administration had left workers without direction or funding when political violence in Congo forced their evacuation. USAID officials paid for two meals and offered the evacuated Congo-based employees an opportunity to look at boxes of donated clothing once they arrived in Washington, said the staffers, who were not identified in court documents.Administration officials otherwise have left the evacuated staffers to rack up tens of thousands of dollars in uncompensated hotel bills, with no guidance on whether they should stay in Washington, go elsewhere or whether they still will have a job, the lawsuit charges. USAID workers still overseas describe their lives as in chaos and lacking guidance from the government, including USAID failing to pay electricity bills. Staffers told the courts in written testimony that they fear being left without time or the means to sell their homes or pay off angry landlords owed money. But they say they fear being targeted if they try to stay beyond the current 30-day deadline frozen by Nichols earlier order to return to the U.S. at government expense.Other staffers offered testimony about being cut off from U.S. government communications. Multiple contract employees have told the AP that panic button apps and other alert systems on their phones meant to notify the U.S. government in the event of a safety threat were cut off for at least some time. Lifesaving programs still offlineCurrent and former USAID officials say the funding freeze and staff reductions have kept even lifesaving programs worldwide offline despite Secretary of State Marco Rubio granting waivers.That includes programs such as a two-decade-old AIDS and HIV program called the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR credited with saving more than 20 million lives in Africa as well as a disease-outbreak response that normally would be trying to prevent further spread of recent Ebola cases in Uganda, according to two officials for those programs.Staffing cuts also have reduced some of the U.S. disaster-response teams for earthquakes and other global crises, said a former senior USAID official with direct knowledge of the situation. All the officials spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.While Rubio and others say waivers are allowing programs including PEPFAR to continue and warned USAID staffers in a recent memo against saying otherwise agency staffers and federal judges have found that no funding is getting through to allow that to happen. USAIDs payment system was disabled earlier in the shutdown, and it remains nonfunctioning, according to USAID staffers and filings. ELLEN KNICKMEYER Knickmeyer covers foreign policy and national security for The Associated Press. She is based in Washington, D.C. twitter

A teenage baseball player warms up at the start of a daily training session at the Trinitarios ballpark in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez)2025-02-21T11:00:08Z BAN, Dominican Republic (AP) There was little sleep in the days leading up to Jan. 15.Dozens of teenage baseball players across the Dominican Republic lay in bed, unable to close their eyes. They had batted, pitched and ran until sore, sacrificing time away from family since they were children with hopes of returning with a life-changing pay day. Hopes of becoming the next David Ortiz or Pedro Martnez big league stars with inconceivable financial security. Those journeys started as young as 10, players racing against time to lock in a contract before turning 16 before its too late.When you say youre 17, they dont even look at you, player-turned-trainer Carlos lvarez said. Now, for some, that future they fought for was at risk, all because of one promising pitcher half a world away. Japanese right-hander pitcher Roki Sasaki, 23, is helped with his #11 Los Angeles Dodgers jersey as he is introduced during a news conference at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) Japanese right-hander pitcher Roki Sasaki, 23, is helped with his #11 Los Angeles Dodgers jersey as he is introduced during a news conference at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Pursued this offseason by presumably every major league team, Japanese phenom Roki Sasaki announced on Jan. 17 that he intended to join the Los Angeles Dodgers, two days after MLBs signing season for top international prospects opened the same period in which hundreds of Dominican players hoped to finalize handshake deals with MLB teams and finally cash the checks theyd sought for years. The 23-year-old Sasaki signed a minor league contract with a $6.5 million bonus - money that otherwise might have gone to those Dominican players. Instead, the Caribbean countrys baseball industry was once again forced to reckon with a system many say is broken as it struggles to find a solution.Its the dream of a young boy to play in the major leagues, said Junior Noboa, the Dominican Republics baseball commissioner. It also gives him the opportunity to not only change his life, but his familys life completely. A teenage baseball player grooms the field during a daily training session at the Trinitarios ballpark in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez) A teenage baseball player grooms the field during a daily training session at the Trinitarios ballpark in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The demands are too muchOn a recent January afternoon, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred strode into the Dominican Republics sprawling National Palace to meet with President Luis Abinader behind closed doors.Upon emerging, Manfred told reporters that an international draft was the best solution to end early verbal deals with the families of young Dominican players.I draft you, you sign, you know you have an agreement, he said. Young baseball players work on their compact swing during a daily training session at the Trinitarios ballpark in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez) Young baseball players work on their compact swing during a daily training session at the Trinitarios ballpark in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Such a system is years away, at best. What remains, despite years of corruption and criticism, is a form of free agency in which scouts fan out across the Caribbean country in search of talented players as young as 10 years old who then live and train at academies in hopes of reaching a handshake deal on a multimillion-dollar contract with an MLB franchise before theyre 16. This years signing period was for players born between Sept. 1, 2007, and Aug. 31, 2008. The Dominican poverty rate is over 20%, and some families live on less than $2 per day. One big league signing bonus for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars can transform the life of a player, his family and others around him. Its an enormous amount of pressure, and it falls squarely on kids who would be middle schoolers in the U.S.The concerns are many. Fear that loan sharks might target huge shares of players future earnings. Verbal commitments with teams that fall apart. And most recently, mounting examples of players being pressured to falsify their age by as many as seven or eight years to increase their value. That includes news last November of a prominent player under the assumed name Cesar Altagracia who was punished by MLB for pretending to be 14 to land a deal with the San Diego Padres. He was actually 19. I believe that the demands are too much, and thats why were seeing some cases of falsifying ages, Noboa said, noting that baseball scouts insist on seeing young teens play like adults. Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Every year in the Dominican Republic, theres at least 40,000 players who are 16 and able to sign under MLB rules, but only some 550 to 600 are given deals, said Eddy Lorenzo, a local scout.The push to get noticed weighs heavily in a country with limited options, where an estimated 95% of players training at academies are impoverished and a majority quit school to pursue their big-league dreams.The earlier you develop a kid, the earlier he can enter the market. And the earlier he gets into the market, the more money you can get, Lorenzo said. This is a Third World country and a business. Everyone tries to get the most money for a player. Its the reality. A teenage baseball player chooses a bat during a daily training session at the Trinitarios ballpark in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez) A teenage baseball player chooses a bat during a daily training session at the Trinitarios ballpark in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More They dont even look at youPhones across the Dominican Republic recently pinged with a message detailing the names of local players that MLB suspected of lying about their age.Trainers took note, but not all those seeking a multimillion-dollar contract get caught that early in the game. lvarez, formerly known as Esmailyn Smiley Gonzlez, played for three years with the Washington Nationals before he was caught. At 15 years old, he assumed his cousins name and took four years off his real age after pressure from his coach and despite initial resistance from him and opposition from his mother and uncle.I really tried to make a go at it with my real age, but there was no chance, lvarez said.He signed with the Nationals in 2006 for $1.4 million and tried to focus on the sport he loved despite persistent fear would lose everything. Carlos Alvarez, formerly known as Esmailyn Smiley Gonzlez, who lied about his age to play for the Washington Nationals in 2006, speaks during an interview in Pizarrete, Dominican Republic, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Adames) Carlos Alvarez, formerly known as Esmailyn Smiley Gonzlez, who lied about his age to play for the Washington Nationals in 2006, speaks during an interview in Pizarrete, Dominican Republic, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Adames) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The day the team introduced its new players, lvarezs heart dropped when he looked up and saw his face plastered on the big screen. He assumed the Nationals were just minutes away from finding out he lied. lvarez was headed to his physical, and since he had never had one, he thought it involved X-rays that would somehow reveal his real age.Now a trainer based in the western city of Ban, where the wind rustles mango and palm trees, lvarez says the pressure on young players can be unbearable.They feel like theyre the only ones who can help their family, lvarez said. Teenage baseball players practice during their daily training at the Trinitarios ballpark in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez) Teenage baseball players practice during their daily training at the Trinitarios ballpark in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Willing to do anythingJuan Emilio Pimentel, who played as a catcher for the Dodgers in the Dominican complex league, recalled growing up with two pairs of shoes: one to play ball and the other for the weekends.Around 15 years old, at the urging of his coach, he assumed the name of his neighbor and close friend: Amaury Arias. He was so committed, he even memorized the name of his friends great-grandmother.People who are poor are willing to do anything, he said.Pimentel played with the Dodgers Dominican minor league team for three years then left for reasons that when asked, he demurred, saying, They never found out about me. A young baseball player works to refine his swing during a daily training session at the Trinitarios ballpark in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez) A young baseball player works to refine his swing during a daily training session at the Trinitarios ballpark in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Too old to signAt 14 years old, Carlos de la Rosa is familiar with the pressure to secure an MLB contract.He started playing baseball at age 9 with a plastic bottle every day until his mother said, Lets better take you to a baseball field. He hasnt left it since, playing shortstop in hopes he can follow in the footsteps of his brother, who signed two years ago with the Kansas City Royals.Its different here compared with over there (in the U.S.), because here, at my age already, I have to be at 100%, he said with a soft smile as sweat rolled down his forehead.Its possible to sign at a later age, but bonuses are smaller and theres sometimes scrutiny there, too. Johan Quezada, a former MLB pitcher who now plays in Mexico, signed at 18. He recalls MLB confirming where he studied, where he was baptized and even taking his DNA to match it to his parents since hes 6-foot-9 and his father is only 6-1. A coach helps a young baseball player lift dumbbells during a weight training exercise at the Trinitarios ballpark in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez) A coach helps a young baseball player lift dumbbells during a weight training exercise at the Trinitarios ballpark in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More No easy solutions in sightNoboa said he is working with the government to cut down on persistent age fraud. They have started registering academies to keep track of them, but they only have 300 out of thousands that operate across the country, with hundreds more added each year by players who didnt sign and became coaches. Noboa also has contacted government agencies to keep an eye on official documents being issued or altered, since he believes public employees are illegally profiting from the fraud.Theyre not doing it for free, you know, Noboa said. But other changes are out of his hands, and out of the hands of trainers, players, scouts and the Dominican Republic in general.Most notably, an international draft. Noboa believes a draft could fix many of the systems problems by eliminating incentive for MLB teams to strike handshake deals with players as young as possible. Teenage baseball players pull on resistance bands during their daily training at the Trinitarios ballpark in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez) Teenage baseball players pull on resistance bands during their daily training at the Trinitarios ballpark in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More For starters, support in the DR isnt uniform. Some coaches still see value for players in a market where they are technically free agents, although their ability to cash in has dropped sharply. Until 2017, there was no cap on how much a team could spend on a Latin American player. Then MLB negotiated a cap as part of its collective bargaining agreement with major league players, and total spending dropped 25% the next year, to $153 million. Management tried to get a draft agreement for the second time in 2022 and proposed a minimum spend of $191 million for 2024 but the union rejected an international draft acceptance would have led to the end of draft pick compensation for qualified free agents. Spending on international amateurs in 2024 totaled $181 million.The current labor contract expires in December 2026, making change unlikely until 2028 at the earliest. If and when conversations on the international draft resume, itll be MLB and active major league players at the table not Noboa, Dominican coaches or the teenagers fighting for those life-changing deals.They say, Dont change what works, Lorenzo said. Theres a lot of hypocrisy from everyone, from the teams to the trainersThey say theyre against this. Theyre the first ones to pick up a 10-year-old kid and start training him. A teenage baseball player, wearing an MCB Sport Event jersey, arrives for practice at the Trinitarios ballpark in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez) A teenage baseball player, wearing an MCB Sport Event jersey, arrives for practice at the Trinitarios ballpark in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ricardo Hernandez) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More ___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB

This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss the new Murderbot show, ChatGPT for journalism, and birdwatching from afar.EMANUEL: Yesterday Apple released the first two images from its upcoming sci-fi show, Murderbot, and announced that it will debut on May 16 this year. I, like many fans of the The Murderbot Diaries books the series is based on, am very excited about the show, but also already disappointed with one major deviation from the source material thats obvious just from these two still images. The gist is in the show Murderbot is played by Alexander Skarsgrd, who in the images looks like a guy, while in the books Murderbot is neither a he or a she, but an it, and while its not at all the focus of the story, the fact that the main character is androgynous make it much more interesting.To back up, The Murderbot Diaries are set in the far, far future and follow a SecUnit, a super advanced, super lethal cyborg who does private security for scientists and corporations exploring deep space and dangerous planets. Eventually the SecUnit, who we come to know as Murderbot hacks the governing module that keeps it enslaved and has to choose what to do with its independence as it goes off on a series of pulpy space adventures.

Jerry Butler performs "Only the Strong Will Survive" at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in New York on March 10, 2008. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)2025-02-21T17:37:36Z NEW YORK (AP) Jerry Butler, a premier soul singer of the 1960s and after whose rich, intimate baritone graced such hits as For Your Precious Love, Only the Strong Survive and Make It Easy On Yourself, has died at age 85.Butlers niece, Yolanda Goff, told the Chicago Sun-Times that Butler died Thursday at his home in Chicago. Butler was a former Cook County board commissioner who would still perform on weekends and identify himself as Jerry Iceman Butler, a show business nickname given for his understated style.A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a three-time Grammy Award nominee, Butler was a voice for two major soul music hubs: Chicago and Philadelphia. Along with childhood friend Curtis Mayfield, he helped found the Chicago-based Impressions and sang lead on the breakthrough hit For Your Precious Love, a deeply emotional, gospel-influenced ballad that made Butler a star before the age of 20. A decade later, in the late 60s, he joined the Philadelphia-based production team of Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, who worked with him on Only the Strong Survive, Hey Western Union Man and other hits. His albums Ice on Ice and The Iceman Cometh are regarded as early models for the danceable, string-powered productions that became the classic Sound of Philadelphia. Butler was an inspired songwriter who collaborated with Otis Redding on Ive Been Loving You Too Long, a signature ballad for Redding; and with Gamble and Huff on Only the Strong Survive, later covered by Elvis Presley among others. His credits also included For Your Precious Love, Never Give You Up (with Gamble and Huff) and He Will Break Your Heart, which Butler helped write after he began thinking about the boyfriends of the groupies he met on the road. You go into a town; youre only going to be there for one night; you want some company; you find a girl; you blow her mind, Butler told Rolling Stone in 1969. Now you know that girl hasnt been sitting in town waiting for you to come in. She probably has another fellow and the other fellows probably in love with her; theyre probably planning to go through the whole thing, right? But you never take that into consideration on that particular night. Butler was the son of Mississippi sharecroppers who moved north to Chicago when Butler was 3, part of the eras Great Migration of Black people out of the South. He loved all kinds of music as a child and was a good enough singer that a friend suggested he come to a local place of worship, the Traveling Souls Spiritualist Church, presided over by the Rev. A.B. Mayfield. Her grandson, Curtis Mayfield, soon became a close friend. (Mayfield died in 1999). In 1958, Mayfield and Butler along with Sam Gooden and brothers Arthur and Richard Brooks recorded For Your Precious Love for Vee-Jay Records. The group called itself the Impressions, but Vee-Jay, anxious to promote an individual star, advertised the song as by Jerry Butler and the Impressions, leading to estrangement between Butler and the other performers and to an unexpected solo career. Fame didnt change me as much as it changed the people around me, Butler wrote in his memoir Only the Strong Survive, published in 2000.One of his early solo performances was a 1961 cover of Moon River, the theme to Breakfast at Tiffanys. Butler was the first performer to hit the charts with what became a pop standard, but Moon River would be associated with Andy Williams after the singer was chosen to perform it at the Academy Awards, a snub Butler long resented. His other solo hits, some recorded with Mayfield, included He Will Break Your Heart, Find Another Girl and Im A-Telling You. By 1967, his formal style seemed out of fashion, but Butler was impressed by the new music coming out of Philadelphia and received permission from his record label (Mercury) to work with Gamble and Huff. The chemistry, Butler recalled, was so fierce they wrote hits such as Only the Strong Survive in less than an hour. Things just seem to fall into place, Butler told Ebony magazine in 1969. We lock ourselves in a room, create stories about lovers, compose the music, then write the lyrics to match the music.By the 1980s, Butlers career had faded and he was becoming increasingly interested in politics. Encouraged by the 1983 election of Harold Washington, Chicagos first Black mayor, he ran successfully for the Cook County Board in 1985 and was re-elected repeatedly, even after supporting a controversial sales tax increase in 2009. He retired from the board in 2018.Butler was married for 60 years to Annette Smith, who died in 2019, and with her had twin sons. Many of his generational peers had struggled financially and he worked to help them. He chaired the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, which provides a wide range of assistance to musicians, and pushed the industry to provide medical and retirement benefits. Butler considered himself relatively lucky, even if he did pass on the chance to own a part of Gamble and Huffs Philadelphia International recording company.You know, I have lived well. My wife probably would say I couldve lived better, Butler told the Chicago Reader in 2011. Did I make 40, 50 million dollars? No. Did I keep one or two? Yes. The old guys on the street used to say, Its not how much you make. Its how much you keep. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

A "For Sale" sign is displayed in front of a home in Morton Grove, Ill., Sunday, Aug. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)2025-02-21T15:01:49Z LOS ANGELES (AP) Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in January as rising mortgage rates and prices put off many would-be homebuyers despite a wider selection of properties on the market.Sales fell 4.9% last month from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.08 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.Sales rose 2% compared with January last year, marking the fourth straight annual increase. The latest home sales, however, fell short of the 4.11 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.Home prices increased on an annual basis for the 19th consecutive month. The national median sales price rose 4.8% in January from a year earlier to $396,900.Mortgage rates have refused to budge for several months despite multiple rounds of short-term interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, said Lawrence Yun, NARs chief economist. When combined with elevated home prices, housing affordability remains a major challenge. The U.S. housing market has been in a sales slump dating back to 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell last year to their lowest level in nearly 30 years. The average rate on a 30-year mortgage briefly fell to a 2-year low last September, but has been mostly hovering around 7% this year, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. Thats more than double the 2.65% record low the average rate hit a little over four years ago. While mortgage rates have been easing in recent weeks, the decline hasnt been enough to change the affordability equation for many prospective home shoppers.Home loan applications fell 5.5% last week from the previous week to the lowest level since the start of the year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.Mortgage rates are influenced by several factors, including the yield on U.S. 10-year Treasury bonds, which lenders use as a guide to price home loans. Fears that inflation may remain stubbornly high amid a solid U.S. economy and the potential impact of tariffs and other policies proposed by the Trump administration have driven the 10-year Treasury yield higher since the election, though it has eased in recent weeks. Rising home prices and elevated mortgage rates, which can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, have kept many prospective home shoppers on the sidelines, especially first-time buyers who dont have equity from an existing home to put toward a new home purchase. They accounted for 28% of all homes sold last month, matching the share in January 2024, but down from 31% in December. The annual share of first-time buyers fell last year to a record-low 24%. Its been 40% historically.If mortgage rates dont ease from current levels, first-time buyers will continue to struggle, because housing affordability is not there, Yun said.Forecasts from several economists mostly call for the average rate on a 30-year mortgage to remain above 6% this year, with some economists including an upper range as high as 6.8%. Home shoppers who could afford to buy at current mortgage rates or pay all-cash to sidestep financing altogether had more homes to choose from last month.There were 1.18 million unsold homes at the end of last month, up 3.5% from December and up 16.8% from January last year, NAR said.That translates to a 3.5-month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 3.2-month pace in December and a 3-month pace at the end of January last year. Traditionally, a 5- to 6-month supply is considered a balanced market between buyers and sellers.One reason the inventory of homes for sale has been rising is properties are taking longer to sell.Homes typically remained on the market for 41 days in January before selling the longest since before the pandemic. In December, homes were typically on the market 35 days before they sold.Despite the improved inventory, sellers still generally have the edge over buyers.Some 15% of homes purchased last month sold for above their list price. And, on average, homes received 2.6 offers last month, Yun said.Yun expects there could be 1.5 million homes on the market when the spring homebuying season gets going, but noted the U.S. needs there to be closer to 2 million properties for sale.We are still supply constrained, but the worst of the supply constraint is over, he said.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is wasting workers time and taxpayer dollars on a witch hunt to find any content deemed bad, according to a source familiar with the work and internal communications viewed by 404 Media. Specifically, people who work on HHS websites are spending days scanning those sites and any documents they share in search of a list terms like gay, sexuality, non-binary, inclusion, queer, and gender, potentially so they could be later removed to comply with Trumps executive orders attacking diversity, equity, and inclusion in the federal government.The most obvious issue to me about this list is that its being done in the name of efficiency and saving money. It is not efficient to take engineers off their work to scan old content for any keywords this new administration hates. The bigotry is astounding, the source who is familiar with the work and who asked to be anonymous because they were not permitted to speak to the press, told me. If they were being true to the concept, sure, they could say that moving forward, we will no longer support creation of new data about these topics. But to go backward decades, scrubbing for stuff they hate, thats not a savings of time and money, thats a huge expenditure. It's hypocritical on top of it all.Do you know anything else about DOGE and how Trump's executive orders are impacting HHS or other agencies? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at emanuel.404. Otherwise, send me an email at emanuel@404media.co.The source said that part of what makes the work so time consuming is that the current HHS administration doesnt just want to know about every page on its sites that include these terms, but also pages that link out to .PDF files that include those terms. For example, last week we reported that the Trump administration added a note rejecting gender ideology on a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations website page that shared a .PDF of a study about substance abuse among gay, lesbian, bisexual, or other nonheterosexual adolescents. According to the source, HHS administrators want that page added to a spreadsheet of pages and documents that include the terms it's looking for because of the content of the study.Since HHS websites share thousands of .PDFs, the source said, very expensive engineers spent multiple days scanning the files for the list of terms instead of doing their regular tasks.Other terms on the list include they/them pronouns, pregnant people, Biden, and intersex, according to a copy of the list seen by 404 Media.The fact that the government is wasting resources finding every instance of a term it finds objectionable directly contradicts Trumps and Musks stated goal of government efficiency. Finding these terms in thousands of studies and papers and potentially removing them is not saving any taxpayer dollars, but just purging government sites with a perspective it disagrees with. Other agencies have also scrambled to find similar terms. Axios reported that DOGE representatives at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are searching for DEI content and Stat News has reported that a number of federal health agencies are searching grants for taboo words like trans and diversity.The spitefulness is such a waste of time and money. It's infuriating, the source said. Sure, they might argue not to do anything inclusive or helpful in the future, but to burn so much time and money trying to scrub out any content he [Trump] hates from past decades is ... I'm kinda at a loss for words.At the moment, it appears that HHS is not removing pages that contain the terms its looking for because a federal judge ordered it and other agencies to restore several webpages they removed as a result of Trumps executive order. The court ordered the administration to restore the webpages to their versions as of January 30, 2025, meaning they were supposed to revert the webpages to what they looked like on January 30 with no changes. The versions that have been restored now have this additional disclaimer about gender ideology we reported on last week.