Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, of La., with House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, from left, Rep. Tim Moore, R-N.C. and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, of La., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)2025-02-25T22:32:01Z WASHINGTON (AP) More than 100 House members at one point packed the steps of the U.S. Capitol to show their support for Ukraine following Russias invasion three years ago, Republicans joining with Democrats in a forceful display of bipartisanship.But that display was harder to find Monday on the third anniversary of the invasion. A press conference held by members of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus featured one Republican out of about 18 lawmakers in attendance. Democrats also had a distinct edge when it came to the number of lawmakers who went to the House and Senate floor to commemorate the anniversary.The split-screen was just the latest indication of how much support for Ukraine has eroded in the nations capital as President Donald Trump charts a vastly different course for American policy. Trump is seeking to reestablish ties with Russia while disparaging Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and pressuring Ukraine to give the United States access to its mineral resources to recoup military aid it has provided during the war. While a group of congressional Republicans still voice support for Ukraine, they have given little indication they will defy Trumps new direction on European foreign policy, instead holding out hope that Trump will come around to supporting Kyiv.Rep. Marcy Kaptur, an Ohio Democrat who helped organize the press conference Monday, said of Republicans that quietly, they are supportive, but publicly, no. The Ukraine Caucus rallies supportAbout 20 Republicans are part of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus out of about 90 members total. Invitations to caucus members were issued Thursday, but the event was also held during a fly-in day, when most members dont come back into Washington until evening votes. Some Republicans also said they were unaware of the event.Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina, the lone Republican who did speak at the press conference, said he was lucky to get there in time because of flight issues. He disputed that resolve regarding Ukraine has dropped with his GOP colleagues.I still see strong support everywhere I go among my colleagues, Wilson said. Im confident that its understood how important it is we stand with democracies in the world, whether it be Israel, or Ukraine, or Taiwan. To me, theyre totally interconnected.Wilson said that when he traveled to Europe last week for the Munich Security Conference, there was still bipartisan agreement among U.S. lawmakers on supporting Ukraine. As for the American president, his outlook is look at what Donald Trump does, not how he gets there.Democrats used the anniversary press conference to harshly criticize Trump. Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md, said Trump continued to do Russias job for it by bringing Vladimir Putin out of isolation, by cutting Ukraine out of negotiations and by parroting Russian propaganda, including the blatant lie, the incredible lie, the unbelievable lie that Ukraine started this war three years ago. Fallout from the United Nations voteMondays anniversary also came as the U.S. refused to blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in votes on three United Nations resolutions seeking an end to the war. Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., chided Republicans on the House floor.Arent you embarrassed by what you have become? Balint said. It is revolting to watch my colleagues side with Russia because Trump said so.On the other side of the Capitol, Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa opened the Senate with a speech in support of Ukraine and a warning. He said Russia is a country that has institutionalized corruption and a place where citizens can be imprisoned for mild criticism of the government. Conservatives imagine that Russia doesnt exist today as I just described, so they are willing to sit down with people who have no political liberties, no political opposition. And it seems to me this is something that this senator would not do, Grassley said.Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, also subtly pushed back on Trumps direction on Ukraine when speaking to reporters outside the Senate chamber, saying that Putin is a murderer and hes invaded Ukraine.At some point, youve got to make sure that you are a broker for peace and democracy, and I dont see Putin playing any role in a democratic, Western world, Tillis added. Republicans giving Trump space to negotiateSenate Majority Leader John Thune, who has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine, walked a careful line Tuesday when asked about Trumps actions toward Ukraine, suggesting the negotiations underway need to play out.What Im in support of is a peaceful outcome and result in Ukraine, and I think right now the administration, the president and his team are working to achieve that. And I think right now, youve got to give them some space, honestly, Thune said.Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, meanwhile, took to the Senate floor to criticize Trumps position. He said the U.S. for three years has been clear about where it stands on the war. It has provided robust security assistance to Ukraine and has turned Putin into a pariah in the West. But today, on this third anniversary of Putins war, Donald Trump is turning his back on the values that America stands for of democracy, of security, and of liberty, Schumer said. Instead of standing up to Putin, Donald Trump is siding with him and against our own allies.Earlier in the day, Trump in a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of visiting Russia at some point and of forging economic ties. He was critical of former President Joe Biden for not communicating with Putin and spoke optimistically of ending the fighting. He also declined to explain the U.S. votes at the United Nations earlier in the day.I think we could end it within weeks if were smart. If were not smart, itll keep going and well keep losing young, beautiful people that shouldnt be dying and we dont want that, Trump said. And remember what I said, this could escalate into a third world war and we dont want that either.While Democrats dominated the floor time spent on Ukraine, it was a more bipartisan effort when it came to legislation. Eight Republican senators signed onto a measure from Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire that among other things reaffirmed U.S. support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The non-binding resolution also emphasized that Ukraine must be a participant in discussions with Russia about Ukraines future.___ STEPHEN GROVES Groves covers Congress for The Associated Press. twitter mailto

Latvia Foreign Minister Baiba Braze addresses the UN Security Council, at United Nations headquarters, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)2025-02-26T05:01:42Z UNITED NATIONS (AP) Latvias foreign minister warns that Russian President Vladimir Putin will try to achieve in peace talks what he hasnt been able to accomplish in his war against Ukraine weaken the United States and restore control over his smaller neighbor.Baiba Brae spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday during a week of intense diplomacy between Europe and the United States following President Donald Trumps upending of U.S. policy with his decision to hold direct talks with Russia, while excluding Ukraine and its European allies from the initial discussions.Brae notes that Russia, with a population of 140 million, has managed to gain control of less than 20% of Ukraine, population 40 million, since it seized Crimea in 2014 and launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. Putin has failed to weaken the U.S. and the NATO military alliance it leads, or to oust the democratic government in Kyiv. So, when it comes to seeking peace, I think the difficulty is with the Russians, because Russians are the ones who want to weaken U.S. power, and who want to weaken the U.S. in the world overall, Brae said. What the world is seeing, she said, is that when Putin interferes in other countries he wants to control both territory and the political choices of their governments. In Syria, for example, he supported the authoritarian regime of Bashar Assad and got military bases on the Mediterranean. But Putin hasnt gotten what he wanted during the three-year war in Ukraine and he will try to get it through the peace talks, Brae said. So, its important to clearly remember that perspective in whatever deal we negotiate or strike.She said although only U.S. and Russian officials took part in last weeks talks in Saudi Arabia, Europe is included in the peace discussions because of constant communications with both the Ukrainians and the Americans. She has been in Washington three times since mid-December and said she was heading there later Tuesday for talks with lawmakers and administration officials. French President Emmanuel Macron met with Trump at the White House on Monday, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was due to meet with him on Thursday. Brae stressed that Europes task now is to strengthen the transatlantic alliance and build up its own militaries and defense industries.Last week, Latvia announced it will increase defense spending to 4% of GDP next year and continue to move toward 5%. NATO members have agreed to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense.We are investing in our own capability, she said. We wish all Europeans would do that. Thats one of the issues we are discussing.As NATO members, Brae said, Latvia and the neighboring Baltic states of Estonia and Lithuania need to make sure they are prepared for any future aggression from Russia. She said their focus is on deterrence early warning, rapid response, military capability and political will.The three Baltic states were occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II and fell under Soviet control after the war. Like Ukraine, they became independent countries with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Brae stressed Monday to the U.N. Security Council that only Ukraines victory can ensure lasting security and put an end to Russias imperialist aggression.We strongly believe that a rushed ceasefire will not lead to sustainable peace; instead, it will only embolden Russia, encouraging further expansion and putting global security at grave risk, she said.Macron said he had spoken to 30 European and allied leaders, with some saying they are willing to be part of security guarantees for Ukraine in a peace deal.Brae said that while there have been preliminary discussions, there is no peace process yet.When there is, she said, We will be guided very much by the needs of Ukraine.For any security force, we need military guidance, Latvias top diplomat said. We need military advice. What type of force is there? Where? Are the troops withdrawn on the Russian side from the contact line? How far? What is the location of any security force?But Brae said the most important thing is peace must be long-lasting, not just a ceasefire where war can restart again. Nobody wants that, she said.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella addresses attendees at the Microsoft Ignite conference, Nov. 19, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)2025-02-25T20:23:36Z WASHINGTON (AP) Five Microsoft employees were ejected from a meeting with the companys chief executive for protesting contracts to provide artificial intelligence and cloud computing services to the Israeli military.The protest on Monday came after an investigation by The Associated Press revealed last week that sophisticated AI models from Microsoft and OpenAI had been used as part of an Israeli military program to select bombing targets during the recent wars in Gaza and Lebanon. The story also contained details of an errant Israeli airstrike in 2023 that struck a vehicle carrying members of a Lebanese family, killing three young girls and their grandmother.Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was speaking about new products at an employee town hall meeting at the companys corporate campus in Redmond, Washington. Workers standing about 15 feet to his right then revealed T-shirts that when they stood side-by-side spelled out the question Does Our Code Kill Kids, Satya? Photos and video of the incident, which was live streamed throughout the company, shows Nadella kept speaking and did not acknowledge the protesters. Two men quickly tapped the workers on the shoulders and ushered them out of the room. We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard, Microsoft said in a statement provided to the AP. Importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not cause a business disruption. If that happens, we ask participants to relocate. We are committed to ensuring our business practices uphold the highest standards. Microsoft did not answer Tuesday when asked whether the employees involved in the protest would face disciplinary action. The company also previously declined to comment about the APs Feb. 18 story about its contracts with the Israeli military.In October, Microsoft fired two workers for helping organize an unauthorized lunchtime vigil for Palestinian refugees at its headquarters. Microsoft said at the time that it ended the employment of some people in accordance with internal policy but declined to give details. A group of workers has been raising concerns within the company for months about Microsoft providing services to the Israeli military through its Azure cloud computing platform. Some employees at the company have also spoken out in support of Israel and said those supporting Palestinians have made them feel unsafe.The APs investigation included exclusive details drawn from internal company data and documents, including that the usage of AI models by the Israeli military through Azure increased nearly 200 times after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants. The APs report was shared and discussed among Microsoft employees on social media and within the companys internal systems. In a community forum designated for employees to raise concerns with senior leadership, an employee shared links to the AP report. More than a dozen others questioned whether the company was violating its stated principles to defend human rights and not to let its AI models be used to harm people, according to screenshots reviewed by the AP. Abdo Mohamed, a researcher and data scientist who was one of the Microsoft workers fired over the October vigil, said the company is prioritizing profits over its own human rights commitments.The demands are clear, said Mohamed, who works with a group of Microsoft workers called No Azure for Apartheid. Satya Nadella and Microsoft executives need to answer to their workers by dropping contracts with the Israeli military.___Contact APs global investigative team at [emailprotected] or https://www.ap.org/tips/ MICHAEL BIESECKER Biesecker is a global investigative reporter for The Associated Press, based in Washington. He reports on a wide range of topics, including human conflict, climate change and political corruption. twitter instagram mailto

A woman prays for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, where the Pontiff has been hospitalized since Feb. 14, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)2025-02-26T07:46:03Z ROME (AP) Pope Francis remained in critical condition and resting Wednesday, as Argentines and Romans alike gathered in the Eternal City to pray for his recovery from double pneumonia.The Vaticans short morning update said: The pope had a peaceful night and is resting.On Tuesday night, the faithful from Francis homeland gathered in the Argentine church of Rome for a special Mass presided over by Cardinal Baldassarre Reina, the popes vicar for Rome. The rector of the church, the Rev. Fernando Laguna, said that he hoped the pope could feel the embrace of the communitys prayer from the Gemelli hospital where he is recovering. I cant go to Gemelli, because for him to recover he must be isolated, he said. I know that I hug him and that he hugs me when I pray. And now I would like to embrace the pope.Sister Nilda Trejo said that she knew Francis health has always been delicate, with problems breathing and speaking loudly, and thats why she always prayed for him. We knew that he often found it difficult, she said. In fact, you see that at the beginning of Mass, the microphone always has to be turned up because he has a bit of trouble. But he always spoke to the people. To the heart of the people. Across town, Romans and others gathered in St. Peters Square for the nightly Rosary prayer, presided over by Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle. Doctors said that Francis was in critical but stable condition and hadnt suffered any new respiratory crises. He underwent a follow-up CT scan on Tuesday evening to check the lung infection, but no results were provided. Doctors said that his prognosis remained guarded.Francis continued to work from the hospital, and on Tuesday announced some major governing decisions that suggest hes getting essential work done and looking ahead.___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. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Mourners gather around the car carrying the coffins of slain hostages Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, during their funeral procession in Rishon Lezion, Israel, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. The mother and her two children were abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and their remains were returned from Gaza to Israel last week as part of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)2025-02-26T10:14:09Z TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) Holding flags, orange balloons and signs that said forgive us, tens of thousands of Israelis lined highways as the bodies of a mother and her two young sons, killed in captivity in the Gaza Strip, were taken for burial on Wednesday. The plight of the Bibas family has come to embody the profound sense of loss and grief still permeating Israel after the militant Hamas groups Oct. 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war.Footage of a terrified Shiri Bibas clutching her two redheaded sons 9-month-old Kfir and 4-year-old Ariel as they were taken to Gaza by militants is seared into the countrys collective memory. Israel says forensic evidence shows the boys were killed by their captors in November 2023, while Hamas says the family was killed along with their guards in an Israeli airstrike.Their bodies were handed over earlier this month as part of a ceasefire deal that paused the Israel-Hamas war. Israelis endured another moment of agony when testing showed that one of the bodies returned by Hamas was identified as someone else. Shiris body was returned the following night and positively identified. Yarden Bibas was abducted separately and released alive in a different handover last month. His wife and their two children will be buried in a private ceremony near Kibbutz Nir Oz near Gaza, where they were living when they were abducted. The three will be buried next to Shiris parents, who were also killed in the attack. People lined up on the side of the roads as far as the eye could see sobbed and embraced each other as the casket made their way along the 100 kilometer (60 miles) route from central Israel to the cemetery. Hundreds of motorcycles, each with an Israeli flag and orange ribbons, rode solemnly behind the convoy. In the city of Tel Aviv, thousands gathered to watch a broadcast of the eulogies, many dressed in orange. Kfir was the youngest of about 30 children taken hostage. The infant, with red hair and a toothless smile, quickly became well-known across Israel. His ordeal was raised by Israeli leaders on podiums around the world.The extended Bibas family has been active at protests, branding the color orange as the symbol of their fight for the ginger babies. They marked Kfir Bibas first birthday with a release of orange balloons and lobbied world leaders for support.Family photos aired on TV and posted on social media created a national bond with the two boys and made them familiar faces. Israelis learned of Ariel Bibas love for Batman. Photos from a happier time showed the entire family dressed up as the character. On Wednesday, many people dressed up in Batman costumes and saluted as the caskets passed. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the delayed release of Shiris remains a cruel and malicious violation of the ceasefire agreement.We waited for certainty, but it brings no comfort only profound grief, Ofri Bibas Levy, the boys aunt, said when the boys remains were identified.During the release of the bodies in Gaza, Hamas militants displayed coffins on a stage labeled with Shiris name and those of her two boys as upbeat music blared. Behind them hung a panel where their pictures hovered beneath a cartoon of a vampiric-looking Netanyahu.Some 1,200 people in Israel were killed in the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war in Gaza and 251 were taken hostage. More than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between combatants and civilians. ___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war MELANIE LIDMAN Lidman is an Associated Press reporter based in Tel Aviv, Israel.

In this image made from video provided by Koryo Tours, tourist group get briefing from North Korean host at Namsan Hotel in Rason, North Korea on Feb. 20, 2025. (Koryo Tours via AP)2025-02-26T10:28:19Z SEOUL, South Korea (AP) A small group of foreign tourists has visited North Korea in the past week, making them the first international travelers to enter the country in five years except for a group of Russian tourists who went to the North last year.The latest trip indicates North Korea may be gearing up for a full resumption of its international tourism to bring in much-needed foreign currency to revive its struggling economy, experts say. The Beijing-based travel company Koryo Tours said it arranged a five-day trip from Feb. 20 to Feb. 24 for 13 international tourists to the northeastern North Korean border city of Rason, where the countrys special economic zone is located. Koryo Tours General Manager Simon Cockerell said the travelers from the U.K., Canada, Greece, New Zealand, France, Germany, Austria, Australia and Italy crossed by land from China. He said that in Rason, they visited factories, shops, schools and the statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the late grandfather and father of current leader Kim Jong Un. Since January of 2020, the country has been closed to all international tourists, and we are glad to have finally found an opening in the Rason area, in the far north of North Korea, Cockerell said. Our first tour has been and gone, and now more tourists on both group and private visits are going in, arranging trips, he added. After the pandemic began, North Korea quickly banned tourists, jetted out diplomats and severely curtailed border traffic in one of the worlds most draconian COVID-19 restrictions. But since 2022, North Korea has been slowly easing curbs and reopening its borders.In February 2024, North Korea accepted about 100 Russian tourists, the first foreign nationals to visit the country for sightseeing. That surprised many observers, who thought the first post-pandemic tourists would come from China, North Koreas biggest trading partner and major ally. A total of about 880 Russian tourists visited North Korea throughout 2024, South Koreas Unification Ministry said, citing official Russian data. Chinese group tours to North Korea remain stalled. This signals how much North Korea and Russia have moved closer to each other as the North has supplied weapons and troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine. Ties between North Korea and China cooled as China showed its reluctance to join a three-way, anti-U.S. alliance with North Korea and Russia, experts say.Before the pandemic, tourism was an easy, legitimate source for foreign currency for North Korea, one of the worlds most sanctioned countries because of its nuclear program. North Korea is expected to open a massive tourism site on the east coast in June. In January when President Donald Trump boasted about his ties with Kim Jong Un, he said that I think he has tremendous condo capabilities. Hes got a lot of shoreline. That likely refers to the eastern coast site.A return of Chinese tourists would be key to making North Koreas tourism industry lucrative because they represented more than 90% of total international tourists before the pandemic, said Lee Sangkeun, an expert at the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank run by South Koreas intelligence agency. He said that in the past, up to 300,000 Chinese tourists visited North Korea annually. North Korea has been heavily investing on tourism sites, but there have been not much domestic demand, Lee said. We can assess that North Korea now wants to resume international tourism to bring in many tourists from abroad.The restrictions that North Korea has typically imposed on foreign travelers such as requirements that they move with local guides and the banning of photography at sensitive places will likely hurt its efforts to develop tourism. Lee said that Rason, the eastern coast site and Pyongyang would be the places where North Korea feels it can easily monitor and control foreign tourists. HYUNG-JIN KIM Hyung-jin is an Associated Press reporter in Seoul, South Korea. He reports on security, political and other general news on the Korean Peninsula. twitter mailto

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, speaks during the Democratic National Convention Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)2025-02-26T00:31:55Z WASHINGTON (AP) A new federal lawsuit in Maryland is challenging a Trump administration memo giving the nations schools and universities two weeks to eliminate race-based practices of any kind or risk losing their federal money.The lawsuit, filed Tuesday by the American Federation of Teachers union and the American Sociological Association, says the Education Departments Feb. 14 memo violates the First and Fifth Amendments. Forcing schools to teach only the views supported by the federal government amounts to a violation of free speech, the organizations say, and the directive is so vague that schools dont know what practices cross the line.This letter radically upends and re-writes otherwise well-established jurisprudence, the lawsuit said. No federal law prevents teaching about race and race-related topics, and the Supreme Court has not banned efforts to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in education. The memo, formally known as a Dear Colleague Letter, orders schools and universities to stop any practice that treats people differently because of their race, giving a deadline of this Friday. As a justification, it cites a Supreme Court decision banning the use of race in college admissions, saying the ruling applies more broadly to all federally funded education. President Donald Trumps administration is aiming to end what the memo described as widespread discrimination in education, often against white and Asian American students. At stake is a sweeping expansion of the Supreme Court ruling, which focused on college admissions policies that considered race as a factor when admitting students. In the Feb. 14 memo, the Education Department said it interprets the ruling to apply to admissions, hiring, financial aid, graduation ceremonies and all other aspects of student, academic and campus life.The lawsuit says the Education Department is applying the Supreme Court decision too broadly and overstepping the agencys authority. It takes issue with a line in the memo condemning teaching about systemic and structural racism. It is not clear how a school could teach a fulsome U.S. History course without teaching about slavery, the Missouri Compromise, the Emancipation Proclamation, the forced relocation of Native American tribes and other lessons that might run afoul of the letter, the lawsuit said.The department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.In the memo, Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, had said schools and colleges diversity, equity and inclusion efforts have been smuggling racial stereotypes and explicit race-consciousness into everyday training, programming, and discipline. But under any banner, discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is, has been, and will continue to be illegal, Trainor wrote in the memo.The lawsuit argues the Dear Colleague Letter is so broad that it appears to forbid voluntary student groups based on race or background, including Black student unions or Irish-American heritage groups. The memo also appears to ban college admissions practices that werent outlawed in the Supreme Court decision, including recruiting efforts to attract students of all races, the lawsuit said. It asks the court to stop the department from enforcing the memo and strike it down.The American Federation of Teachers is one of the nations largest teachers unions. The sociological association is a group of about 9,000 college students, scholars and teachers. Both groups say their members teach lessons and supervise student organizations that could jeopardize their schools federal money under the memo.____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

Transgender persons attend cooking class at the Culinary & Hotel Institute of Pakistan, in Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M Chaudary)2025-02-26T08:51:47Z LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) For transgender students involved in a very special project at a culinary school in Pakistan, there is more to a class than just learning the art of cooking. Neha Malik used to dance at parties and weddings for a living and was, occasionally, a sex worker. Since January, she has been enrolled in a new course for the trans community at the Culinary & Hotel Institute of Pakistan. The free six-month program in the city of Lahore, Pakistans cultural capital, welcomed its first group of 25 trans students in January; the second group of 25 began training on Feb. 1. Now, Malik, 31, dreams of working as a chef in Dubai, the futuristic, skyscraper-studded city in the United Arab Emirates.She never misses a class. I am so absorbed in learning that I dont have time to dance anymore, she added.Many Pakistanis have entrenched beliefs on gender and sexuality, and trans people are often considered outcasts in the conservative Muslim-majority country. Some are forced into begging, dancing and even prostitution to earn money. They also live in fear of attacks. The U.N. development agency said last year that the majority of trans people in Pakistan reported experiencing violence or abuse and that most reported being denied employment opportunities because of their gender identity. Just 7% were employed in formal sectors, the UNDP added. Trans women in public office and the media have raised awareness about a marginalized and misunderstood community, and overall, the community has seen some progress in the protection of their rights. Supreme Court rulings allow them to self-identify as a third gender, neither male nor female, and have underscored they have the same rights as all Pakistani citizens.Last year, Lahore got its first ride-sharing service for trans people and women in an effort to protect them from discrimination and harassment, and in 2022 Pakistan launched a hotline for trans people. Society usually looks down on us, said Malik. We have to change this mindset. Now, people come up to me and ask what I do when they see me in a chefs coat and hat.Since classes started, students file into the Lahore culinary school with backpacks and beaming smiles, swapping their colorful clothes for white uniforms. However, its a struggle. They each get a monthly stipend of 8,000 rupees, around $26 nowhere near enough to live on as a student. How can we survive on that when my rent is 15,000 rupees? said 26-year-old Zoya Khan. Her utility bills swallow up most of it, she said. So she performs at a few events a month. I used to earn a decent amount (from dancing), I wont lie, she added. But there was no respect in it.Why do we come here? Its because we see hope, said Khan, who wants to start her own business after graduating a roadside cafe.Nadia Shehzad, the institutes chief executive, said the project will help the trans community, a rejected and ignored sector of society get equal recognition. The school is trying to get government officials to help the aspiring chefs with visas to go abroad for work, Shehzad said. There are also talks with local hotels and restaurants about jobs once the students graduate with wages of up to 30,000 rupees, or about $107. Still, its not easy for for trans people to leave behind dancing, begging and sex work for the culinary program, said Shabnam Chaudry, a trans community leader. Many wonder if society would give them work or if people at restaurants would eat food cooked by trans chefs.In the past, Chaudry said she had seen many trans people taking makeup and sewing courses, only to fail to find jobs afterward and be forced to return to begging and dancing to survive. She is also concerned about their prospects of finding a job: Pakistan has hundreds of thousands of young people with skills and degrees who cannot find work. In the face of this tough competition, who will give jobs to trans people, Chaudry asked. People are not ready to shake hands with us.

Israelis gather on the side of a road where the funeral convoy carrying the coffins of slain hostages Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, will pass by near Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, Israel, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. The mother and her two children were abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and their remains were returned from Gaza to Israel last week as part of a ceasefire agreement with Hamas. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)2025-02-26T07:47:50Z CAIRO (AP) Hamas will return the bodies of four dead Israeli hostages on Thursday in exchange for Israels release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, the group said, just days before the first phase of the ceasefire between the warring parties was to expire.Israel has delayed the release of some 600 Palestinian prisoners since Saturday to protest what it says is the cruel treatment of hostages during their release by Hamas. The militant group has said the delay is a serious violation of their ceasefire and that talks on a second phase are not possible until the Palestinians are freed.Hamas spokesman Abdul Latif al-Qanou told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Hamas would hand over the bodies of four Israelis the next day.In exchange, Israel would release the Palestinian prisoners, as well as an unspecified number of women and minors detained since the militant groups Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the conflict. An Israeli official confirmed that the bodies of four hostages were expected to be turned over but provided no further details. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media. Israel and Hamas had already said on Tuesday that an agreement had been reached to return the bodies of the hostages, but no date had been announced. Hamas has released hostages, and the bodies of four dead hostages, in large public ceremonies during which the Israelis were paraded and forced to wave to large crowds. Israel, along with the Red Cross and U.N. officials, have said the ceremonies were humiliating to the hostages, and Israel last weekend delayed the scheduled prisoner release in protest.The deadlock over the exchange had threatened to collapse the ceasefire when the current six-week first phase of the deal expires this weekend.The latest agreement would complete both sides obligations of the first phase of the ceasefire during which Hamas is returning 33 hostages, including eight bodies in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. It also could clear the way for an expected visit this week by the White Houses Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, to the region. Witkoff has said he wants the sides to move into negotiations on the second phase, during which all remaining hostages held by Hamas are to be released and an end to the war is to be negotiated. The Phase 2 talks were supposed to begin weeks ago, but never did. The ceasefire, brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, ended 15 months of heavy fighting that erupted after Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack that killed some 1,200 people in Israel and took about 250 people hostage.Israels military offensive has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, displaced an estimated 90% of Gazas population and decimated the territorys infrastructure and health system. The Hamas-run Health Ministry does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths, but it says that over half of the dead have been women and children.___Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writer David Rising in Bangkok contributed to this report. SAMY MAGDY Magdy is a Middle East reporter for The Associated Press, based in Cairo. He focuses on conflict, migration and human rights abuses. twitter facebook mailto MELANIE LIDMAN Lidman is an Associated Press reporter based in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Yael Alexander holds a poster of her son, Edan, who was taken hostage by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, 2023, during a weekly rally for families of hostages held in the Gaza Strip and their supporters, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)2025-02-26T06:00:40Z TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) Yael Alexander has been watching the release of hostages from Gaza over the past six weeks with a mix of joy, envy and fear. Her son Edan, an American-Israeli hostage held for over 500 days, is not yet on the list of those to be freed.As uncertainty swirls over the future of the fragile ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the families of hostages still in Gaza are struggling to maintain hope that they will see their loved ones soon.This is a critical time, said Alexander, whose son was a 19-year-old soldier when he was abducted by Hamas-led militants. I know my son is probably in tunnels, so I understand that hes not seeing sunlight, and the air is very thin underground, said Alexander. Its very, very difficult for me to even think about it.The ceasefire deal that paused the 15-monthlong war in Gaza has held despite repeated crises. But with its first stage coming to an end this week, its fate remains unclear. The two sides were supposed to negotiate a second phase in which Hamas would release all of the remaining living hostages taken during its Oct. 7, 2023, attack, in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.But the sides havent even started those talks, leaving the families of the remaining hostages terrified for the fate of their loved ones and desperate for progress. Pinning hopes on the Trump administrationSince he is a soldier, Edan Alexander was not expected to be freed in the first phase of the ceasefire, during which Hamas is releasing 33 hostages mostly women and older or sick men for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Still, every week, Yael Alexander hoped in vain she might see her sons name on a list of hostages to be freed. Each time she didnt was a punch to the stomach, she said. She is thrilled for every family that is reunited, but she dreams of her own jubilant embrace with her son and wonders if it will ever happen. Alexander is pinning her hopes on the Trump administration. On Sunday, President Donald Trumps special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, told CBS that Alexander was front and center for the administration. Its one of President Trumps most (important) objectives, is to get all Americans home and were going to be successful in getting Edan home, Witkoff said.That sparked hope for Alexanders mother. Every time they say Edans name, its like they didnt forget. They didnt forget hes American, and theyre working on it, she said.After months of talks with no progress, the Trump administration was speaking the language of the Middle East, she said, giving credit to the president for applying pressure and clinching a ceasefire the day before his inauguration. Hostage families grow desperateThe tenuous ceasefire has faced repeated stumbling blocks and, most recently, Israel delayed the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners over what it calls the humiliating hostage handovers in staged ceremonies in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also faces pressure from his political allies to resume the war and crush Hamas.There are 27 hostages still believed to be alive in Gaza and eligible for release as part of the second phase of the ceasefire. The remains of 35 others who were killed in the Oct. 7 attack or in captivity are also being held. There are also the remains of an Israeli soldier killed in 2014 whose body was taken to Gaza.The families have been ratcheting up pressure on the Israeli government to move ahead with talks to release more hostages. And Hamas latest tactics are only fueling more desperation. On Saturday, it posted a video of two hostages, Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David, whom it forced to witness the release of other hostages. Hamas militants filmed them pleading for their freedom in a vehicle as they watched the three Israeli hostages on stage before their transfer to the Red Cross. Their distraught families called the video cruel and said it was proof of the urgent need to get everyone out.I dont know how, after this event they experienced yesterday, they will be able to gather their strength again, Galia David, the mother of Evyatar David, told Israels Reshet Bet radio station on Sunday. Its clearly staged, but their desperation is real. A plea for progress before time runs outHamas released a video of Edan Alexander last November during the Thanksgiving weekend, his favorite holiday, his mother said. The video was difficult to watch as he cries and pleads for help, But it was a relief to see it, the most recent a sign that he was alive, she said.A native of Tenafly, New Jersey, where his parents and two younger siblings still live, Edan Alexander moved to Israel in 2022 after high school and enlisted in the military.Since his abduction, Alexanders relatives have divided their time between Israel, Washington, D.C., where they meet frequently with politicians, and their New Jersey home. Edan Alexanders family has placed a Torah scroll in the room in his grandparents Tel Aviv apartment where he often stayed. When she is in Israel, Yael Alexander enters the room twice a day to pray and send strength to her son. She said she often dreams about him. Alexander said she is sick of hearing about talks. What she wants is action.We have had a lot of talking, she said, gesturing to a sticker on her jacket with the number 506, the number of days her son had been in captivity on Sunday. There are more than two dozen young men who are waiting, and my son is among them. They are alive. They are waiting to be released.I cant wait for that day when they tell me, Yael, you have to come to Israel to get Edan back, she said, her eyes filling with tears. MELANIE LIDMAN Lidman is an Associated Press reporter based in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to journalists during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)2025-02-26T13:08:16Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) A framework economic deal with the United States is ready, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday, but security guarantees that Kyiv views as vital remain to be decided and a full agreement could hinge on talks in Washington as early as Friday.The framework deal is a first step toward a comprehensive agreement that will be subject to ratification by Ukraines parliament, Zelenskyy said during a news conference in Kyiv.Ukraine needs to know where the United States stands on its continued military support, Zelenskyy said.He said expects to have a wide-ranging substantive conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump during a visit to Washington.I want to coordinate with the U.S., Zelenskyy said.Zelenskyy said that the main topics that he wants to discuss with Trump are whether the U.S. plans to halt military aid and, if so, whether Ukraine would be able to purchase weapons directly from the U.S. He also wants to know whether Ukraine can use frozen Russian assets for weapons investments and whether Washington plans to lift sanctions on Russia.Earlier, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed that Ukraine and the United States have reached preliminary agreement on a broad economic deal that includes U.S. access to Ukraines rare earth minerals amid its war with Russia. After days of negotiations, Ukraine and the U.S. will sign the preliminary agreement, but with further details of a full agreement including U.S. security guarantees that Kyiv officials view as vital still to be worked out, Shmyhal said on Ukrainian public television. Since returning to office last month, Trump let Ukraine know that he wanted something in return for tens of billions of dollars in U.S. help to fend off the full-scale invasion that Russia launched just over three years ago on Feb. 24, 2022.Trump has abruptly ditched some previous Washington policies. He scrapped efforts to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin and cast doubt on U.S. support for its European allies. That has brought momentous geopolitical shifts that could reset the wars path this year.The preliminary agreement sets out the terms and conditions of an investment fund for the rebuilding of Ukraine, Shmyhal said.___Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

The air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is seen at sunset, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, in Arlington, Va.. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, file)2025-02-26T12:58:32Z ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) An American Airlines plane arriving at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport discontinued its landing, performing a go-around at an air traffic controllers instruction to avoid getting too close to another aircraft departing from the same runway, the Federal Aviation Administration said.The maneuver involving American Flight 2246 from Boston occurred around 8:20 a.m. Tuesday, less than two hours before another plane attempting to land at Chicagos Midway Airport was forced to climb back into the sky to avoid another aircraft crossing the runway. Southwest said Flight 2504 from Omaha, Nebraska, safely landed after the crew performed a precautionary go-around to avoid a possible conflict with another aircraft that entered the runway, an airline spokesperson said in an email. The crew followed safety procedures and the flight landed without incident. American Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the go-around at Washington National.The past few weeks have seen four major aviation disasters in North America. They include the Feb. 6 crash of a commuter plane in Alaska that killed all 10 people on board and the Jan. 26 midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight at National Airport that killed all 67 aboard the two aircraft. A medical transport jet with a child patient, her mother and four others aboard crashed Jan. 31 into a Philadelphia neighborhood. That crash killed seven people, including all those aboard, and injured 19 others.Twenty-one people were injured Feb. 17 when a Delta flight flipped and landed on its roof at Torontos Pearson Airport.

We start this week's episode with Joseph finding out someone basically ripped off his book with a potentially AI-generated summary. Emanuel also updates us on some of the impact his reporting on AI in libraries has had. After the break, Sam tells us all about a Y Combinator supported startup that is straight-up dehumanizing factory workers. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about an apparent act of protest from inside the U.S. government involving an AI video of Musk and Trump.Listen to the weekly podcast onApple Podcasts,Spotify, orYouTube. Become a paid subscriber for access to this episode's bonus content and to power our journalism.If you become a paid subscriber, check your inbox for an email from our podcast host Transistor for a link to the subscribers-only version! You can also add that subscribers feed to your podcast app of choice and never miss an episode that way. The email should also contain the subscribers-only unlisted YouTube link for the extended video version too. It will also be in the show notes in your podcast player. SXSW event informationA Slop Publisher Sold a Ripoff of My Book on AmazonY Combinator Supports AI Startup Dehumanizing Factory WorkersAI Video of Trump Sucking Musk's Toes Blasted on Government Office TVs

Venezuelan migrant Gabriela Villanueva holds her daughter as she waits to board a boat to Colombia on Panama's Caribbean coastal island of Gardi Sugdub, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, after turning back from southern Mexico where they gave up hopes of reaching the U.S. amid President Trump's crackdown on migration. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)2025-02-26T05:00:13Z MEXICO CITY (AP) Venezuelan migrants handed over to Mexico like its a U.S. immigration detention facility. Families from Central Asia flown to Panama and Costa Rica to await voluntary repatriation to their countries. Venezuelans from Guantanamo Bay handed off on a Honduran tarmac and returned to Caracas.It all sends the unmistakable message that trying to get to the U.S. border is no longer worth it. U.S. President Donald Trumps administration has laid the groundwork to reverse the regions migration flow. And while the numbers remain modest, an outline of how the U.S. hopes to overcome limited detention space as it gears up its deportation machine is emerging. Migrants wearing face masks and shackles on their hands and feet sit on a military aircraft at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Tx., Jan. 30, 2025, awaiting their deportation to Guatemala. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez, File) Migrants wearing face masks and shackles on their hands and feet sit on a military aircraft at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Tx., Jan. 30, 2025, awaiting their deportation to Guatemala. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Making deals across Latin AmericaIn its first month, the Trump administration has reached deals with Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama to act as stopovers or destinations for migrants expelled from the U.S. It has brokered deals with Venezuela to pick up its people in Texas, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Honduras.But none of the agreements have been detailed for the public, raising concerns about evading international protections for refugees and asylum-seekers. Adam Isacson, a researcher with the Washington-based human rights advocacy organization WOLA, suspects many were little more than improvised handshake deals. They were requests made while Trump threatened tariffs and to take back the Panama Canal. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio moved through the region while U.S. foreign aid was suspended, bestowing exemptions when merited. A migrant peers through the window of a plane carrying Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States after it landed at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez) A migrant peers through the window of a plane carrying Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States after it landed at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Trump made deals during his first presidency with Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to take in asylum-seekers, though only Mexico and Guatemala actually received them.But the agreements in his second term are more varied, ranging from Honduras letting Venezuelans get off a U.S. plane and board a Venezuelan one in its territory last week, to El Salvador offering to imprison deportees and even U.S. citizen prisoners. Theyre being much more ambitious now, Isacson said. The idea of sending people to be warehoused like goods, to deport them to third countries wasnt an issue in Trumps first term.The numbers remain relatively small, but images of deportees deplaning in shackles and deportees holding up signs asking for help in the Panama hotel where theyre held are powerful. A migrant deported from the United States stands in a hotel room in Panama City, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File) A migrant deported from the United States stands in a hotel room in Panama City, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Shock and awe to get things startedThis is still a preliminary phase because Congress has not approved a new budget, Isacson said. While theyre at that lowest level of resources they are doing all of the shock and awe possible, he said. The idea is to scare them.Now the migration flow that is visible is of deportations and migrants boarding boats in Panama to take them south to Colombia rather than migrants riding trains north through Mexico or massing at the U.S. border.In just a month, Mexico has received more than 3,300 foreign deportees, who advocates say were from at least seven nationalities. Venezuelan migrants arrive at Panamas Caribbean coastal island of in Gardi Sugdub, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, to board boats to Colombia after giving up hopes of reaching the U.S. while in southern Mexico as President Trump cracks down on migration. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) Venezuelan migrants arrive at Panamas Caribbean coastal island of in Gardi Sugdub, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, to board boats to Colombia after giving up hopes of reaching the U.S. while in southern Mexico as President Trump cracks down on migration. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More A number of them carried unusual U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement documents that read: Reason for transfer: removal. Name of new facility (immigration): MEXICO. They appear to have nothing to do with the Remain in Mexico program from Trumps first term that made asylum-seekers wait out the U.S. process from Mexico. President Claudia Sheinbaum has said little about Mexicos participation other than highlighting her administrations willingness to cooperate. The U.S. Department of State has praised Mexico for receiving deportation flights and for returning migrants from elsewhere to their countries.Farther south the numbers are smaller, but the imagery has been stronger. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum greets guests as she arrives for a Housing for Wellbeing even, in Mexico City, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File) Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum greets guests as she arrives for a Housing for Wellbeing even, in Mexico City, Feb. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Panama, a bridge in the other directionPanama, where more than 500,000 migrants passed en route to the U.S. border in 2023, suddenly became a bridge this month for U.S. efforts to deport asylum seekers. Nearly 300 U.S. deportees from 10 mostly Asian countries were held in a Panama City hotel. Some put signs to their windows that read Help and We are not save (sic) in our country.About one-third of those in the hotel who refused to voluntarily return to their countries were then sent to a remote camp back in the very jungle they had probably crossed in the other direction. One deportee in the camp told The Associated Press they were not informed of their rights and werent told how long they would be in the camp, which concerned her because of its poor conditions. Luis Sanchez, center, sits with other Venezuelan migrants on a boat leaving Gardi Sugdub on Panamas Caribbean coast, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after giving up hopes of reaching the U.S. while in southern Mexico amid President Trumps crackdown on migration. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) Luis Sanchez, center, sits with other Venezuelan migrants on a boat leaving Gardi Sugdub on Panamas Caribbean coast, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, after giving up hopes of reaching the U.S. while in southern Mexico amid President Trumps crackdown on migration. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Similar flights landed in Costa Rica last week and they were sent to a remote facility that had also previously received migrants headed north.In addition to those flights, 50 to 75 migrants are moving south through Costa Rica on their own daily, according to Omer Badilla, Costa Ricas vice minister of the interior.He raised the possibility of Panama and Colombia getting involved to organize boat trips south for migrants. On Tuesday, Panama Security Minister Frank Abrego said that boats were carrying migrants south with the full knowledge of regional authorities, but he added that they were irregular arrangements made with boat captains. Panama and Costa Rica say U.N. agencies are assisting with the repatriations and that the U.S. government is paying. The International Organization for Migration said that it was helping authorities provide basic services and facilitating voluntary repatriations when it is safe to do so.With the old flow (south to north) the situation is pretty under control, Panamanian President Jos Ral Mulino said Thursday. That shows that now the problem is coming in the opposite direction and we hope that can be managed in an orderly fashion. Venezuelan migrants play dominoes in Puerto Carti, on Panamas Caribbean coast, Feb. 22, 2025, where they plan to board boats to Colombia after turning back from southern Mexico where they gave up hopes of reaching the U.S. amid President Trumps crackdown on migration. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) Venezuelan migrants play dominoes in Puerto Carti, on Panamas Caribbean coast, Feb. 22, 2025, where they plan to board boats to Colombia after turning back from southern Mexico where they gave up hopes of reaching the U.S. amid President Trumps crackdown on migration. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Concerns about vulnerable migrantsEven with the involvement of U.N. agencies, concerns abound about vulnerable migrants being passed from country to country and even sent back to countries they fled.Advocates worry the U.S. may be using third countries to deport migrants from countries where the U.S. may not have diplomatic relations or strained ones, to get around constraints in international law that are supposed to prevent people from being sent back to places they would not be safe.Gretchen Kuhner, director of IMUMI, a nongovernmental legal services organization in Mexico, said recently a flight carrying Venezuelans from the United States to Venezuela made a stop in Cancun. But IMUMI wasnt able to speak with the migrants aboard directly to know if they wanted to try to request asylum in Mexico while in the countrys territory.Isacson said among the Venezuelans sent back to that country have been people who deserted the armed forces, who would now be in the hands of the military. The risks could be even more dire for some migrants from Iran and Afghanistan.The regions governments are understandably sensitive about appearing to be aiding in Trumps deportation efforts, but Isacson said transparency will better shield them from those criticisms. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, meets with President Nayib Bukele at his residence at Lake Coatepeque, El Salvador, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, meets with President Nayib Bukele at his residence at Lake Coatepeque, El Salvador, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More ___Associated Press journalist Juan Zamorano in Panama City contributed to this report.___Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Signs are seen as Tshishiku Henry, a former refugee and Washington State Delegate for the Refugee Congress, speaks during a rally outside the U.S District Court after a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump's effort to halt the nation's refugee admissions system, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025 in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)2025-02-26T05:03:32Z SEATTLE (AP) President Donald Trumps effort to suspend the system for resettling refugees in the U.S. is on hold after a federal judge in Seattle blocked it. U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead, a 2023 appointee of former President Joe Biden, found that while the president has broad authority over who comes into the country, he cannot nullify the law passed by Congress establishing the program.The Justice Department indicated it would consider a quick appeal, saying Trumps actions have been well within his authority.Heres what to know about the case. What is this lawsuit about? Trump halted the nations refugee resettlement program as part of a series of executive orders cracking down on immigration, saying cities had been taxed by record levels of migration and couldnt absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees. He barred refugees from coming to the U.S., and the administration began cutting off funding for agencies that support refugees.The refugee program, created by Congress in 1980, is a form of legal migration to the U.S. for people displaced by war, natural disaster or persecution a process that often takes years and involves significant vetting. It is different from asylum, by which people newly arrived in the U.S. can seek permission to remain because they fear persecution in their home country. Despite long-standing support from both parties for accepting refugees, the program has become politicized in recent years. Trump also temporarily halted it during his first term, and then dramatically decreased the number of refugees who could enter the U.S. each year.There are 600,000 people being processed to come to the U.S. as refugees around the world, according to the administration. Major refugee aid groups are challenging TrumpThe lawsuit filed in Seattle was brought by individual refugees whose efforts to resettle in the U.S. have been halted as well as major refugee aid groups. Those organizations include International Refugee Assistance Project on behalf of Church World Service, the Jewish refugee resettlement agency HIAS and Lutheran Community Services Northwest. They say they have had to lay off staff because the administration froze funding for processing refugee applications overseas as well as support, such as short-term rental assistance for those already in the U.S.We resettled people days before the inauguration that were just cut off from benefits, said Lutheran Community Services Northwest CEO David Duea said after Tuesdays hearing. That means rent, helping kids get into school, and case management. It was an inhumane act.Justice Department lawyer August Flentje disputed the notion that the plaintiffs had suffered the sort of irreparable harms that would warrant granting a broad order blocking the administrations actions. Most people whose travel to the U.S. was canceled at the last minute had already been moved to a third country where they were out of danger, he said, and the cancellation of funding for refugee aid groups amounted to a contract dispute.The judge disagreed. Ive read the declarations, Whitehead said. I have refugees stranded in dangerous places. I have families who have sold everything theyve owned in advance of travel, which was canceled. I have spouses and children separated indefinitely from their family members in the U.S., resettlement agencies that have already laid off hundreds of staff.Last week, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., refused to immediately block the Trump administrations actions in a similar lawsuit brought by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. That case faces another hearing Friday. The judge said the presidents authority is broad, not limitlessDuring Tuesdays arguments, Flentje cited a law that allows the president to deny entry to foreigners whose admission to the U.S. would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.But Whitehead determined the presidents actions amounted to an effective nullification of congressional will in setting up the nations refugee admissions program. He promised to offer a fuller rationale in a written opinion in the next few days.The president has substantial discretion ... to suspend refugee admissions, Whitehead told the parties. But that authority is not limitless. An appeal is expectedFlentje indicated the government might file an emergency appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a motion that would be considered on an expedited basis. He also asked the Whitehead to pause his ruling pending an appeal, but Whitehead called that request premature since he had not yet issued his written decision.Attorneys for the plaintiffs said they expected Whiteheads ruling to clear the way for money to begin flowing again to the organizations and for plaintiffs stranded overseas to be able to book new trips to the U.S., though it remained unclear whether any appeal might complicate that.Outside the courthouse Tuesday, the organizations and their supporters celebrated the ruling, describing refugees as a blessing to the country. Tshishiku Henry, an activist who works on behalf of refugees in Washington state, called his presence the miracle of the second chance. He and his wife resettled in the U.S. in 2018 after fleeing war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he said.It was a lifeline, Henry said. You didnt offer us just safety, but you gave us back our future. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

A sign is seen outside a clinic with the South Plains Public Health District Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, in Brownfield, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)2025-02-26T14:56:42Z LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) A person who was hospitalized with measles has died from measles in West Texas, the first death in an outbreak that began late last month.Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center spokesperson Melissa Whitfield confirmed the death Wednesday. It wasnt clear the age of the patient, who died overnight.Covenant Childrens Hospital in Lubbock didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. The measles outbreak in rural West Texas has grown to 124 cases across nine counties, the state health department said Tuesday. There are also nine cases in eastern New Mexico.Measles is a respiratory virus that can survive in the air for up to two hours. Up to 9 out of 10 people who are susceptible will get the virus if exposed, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most kids will recover from the measles if they get it, but infection can lead to dangerous complications like pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.The outbreak is largely spreading in the Mennonite community in an area where small towns are separated by vast stretches of oil rig-dotted open land but connected due to people traveling between towns for work, church, grocery shopping and other day-to-day errands.___This story has been corrected to show that Melissa Whitfield with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center provided the confirmation of the death, not the spokesperson for the city of Lubbock.___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. DEVI SHASTRI Shastri is a public health reporter for The Associated Press, based in Milwaukee. She covers housing access, the social safety net, medical misinformation and other topics that influence the health of communities broadly. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-02-26T00:36:53Z President Donald Trump said that he plans to offer a gold card visa with a path to citizenship for $5 million, replacing a 35-year-old visa for investors.Theyll be wealthy and theyll be successful, and theyll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people, and we think its going to be extremely successful, Trump said Tuesday in the Oval Office.Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the Trump Gold Card would replace EB-5 visas in two weeks. EB-5s were created by Congress in 1990 to generate foreign investment and are available to people who spend about $1 million on a company that employs at least 10 people. Lutnick said the gold card actually a green card, or permanent legal residency would raise the price of admission for investors and do away with fraud and nonsense that he said characterize the EB-5 program. Like other green cards, it would include a path to citizenship. About 8,000 people obtained investor visas in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2022, according to the Homeland Security Departments most recent Yearbook of Immigration Statistics. The Congressional Research Service reported in 2021 that EB-5 visas pose risks of fraud, including verification that funds were obtained legally. Investors visas are common around the world. Henley & Partners, an advisory firm, says more than 100 countries around the world offer golden visas to wealthy individuals, including the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, Malta, Australia, Canada and Italy. Trump made no mention of the requirements for job creation. And, while the number of EB-5 visas is capped, the Republican president mused that the federal government could sell 10 million gold cards to reduce the deficit. He said it could be great, maybe it will be fantastic.Its somewhat like a green card, but at a higher level of sophistication, its a road to citizenship for people, and essentially people of wealth or people of great talent, where people of wealth pay for those people of talent to get in, meaning companies will pay for people to get in and to have long, long term status in the country, he said.Congress determines qualifications for citizenship, but Trump said gold cards would not require congressional approval.

People rally at Health and Human Services headquarters to protest the polices of President Donald Trump and Elon Musk Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)2025-02-26T16:31:00Z WASHINGTON (AP) Federal agencies must develop plans to eliminate employee positions, according to a memo distributed by President Donald Trump s administration that sets in motion what could become a sweeping realignment of American government. The memo expands the Republican presidents effort to downsize the federal workforce, which he has described as bloated and impediment to his agenda. Thousands of probationary employees have already been fired, and now his administration is turning its attention to career officials with civil service protection.Agencies are directed to submit by March 13 their plans for what is known as a reduction in force, which would not only lay off employees but eliminate the position altogether. The result could be extensive changes in how government functions.The federal government is costly, inefficient, and deeply in debt, said the memo from Russell Vought, director of the White Houses Office of Management and Budget, and Charles Ezell, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, which functions as a human resources agency. At the same time, it is not producing results for the American public. Trump foreshadowed this goal in an executive order that he signed with Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who is advising Trump on overhauling the government. The order said agency leaders shall promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force, or RIF. Some departments have already begin this process. The General Services Administration, which handles federal real estate, told employees on Monday that a reduction in force was underway and they would everything in our power to make your departure fair and dignified.The memo came as Trump prepared for the first Cabinet meeting of his second term. He planned to include Musk, who oversees the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that all of the Cabinet secretaries take the advice and direction of DOGE.Theyll be providing updates on their efforts, and theyll also be providing updates on what theyre doing at their agencies in terms of policies and implementing the promises that the president made on the campaign trail, Leavitt said.Musk has caused turmoil within the federal workforce, most recently by demanding that employees justify their jobs or risk getting fired. OPM later said that the edict was voluntary. CHRIS MEGERIAN Megerian covers the White House for The Associated Press. He previously wrote about the Russia investigation, climate change, law enforcement and politics in California and New Jersey. twitter mailto

Choir members sing hymns at Christ Church in Philadelphia during Sunday service, Oct. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao, File)2025-02-26T12:55:04Z WASHINGTON (AP) The number of Americans who identify as Christian has declined steadily for years, but that drop shows signs of slowing, according to a new survey Wednesday from the Pew Research Center.The Religious Landscape Study finds 62% of U.S. adults call themselves Christians. While a significant dip from 2007, when 78% of Americans identified as Christian, Pew found the Christian share of the population has remained relatively stable since 2019.The rapid rise of the religiously unaffiliated the so-called nones has also reached at least a temporary plateau, according to Pew. Approximately 29% of U.S. adults identify as religiously unaffiliated, including those who are atheist (5%), agnostic (6%) or nothing in particular (19%).Its striking to have observed this recent period of stability in American religion after that long period of decline, said Pews Gregory Smith, one of the studys co-authors. One thing we cant know for sure is whether these short-term signs of stabilization will prove to be a lasting change in the countrys religious trajectory.By some measures, the U.S. remains overwhelmingly spiritual. Many Americans have a supernatural outlook, with 83% believing in God or a universal spirit and 86% believing that people have a soul or spirit. About seven in 10 Americans believe in heaven, hell or both. Young adults are less religious than their elders Despite this widespread spirituality, there are harbingers of future religious decline. Most notably, Pew found a huge age gap, with 46% of the youngest American adults identifying as Christian, compared to 80% of the oldest adults. The youngest adults are also three times more likely than the oldest group to be religiously unaffiliated.These kinds of generational differences are a big part of whats driven the long-term declines in American religion, Smith said. As older cohorts of highly religious, older people have passed away, they have been replaced by new cohorts of young adults who are less religious than their parents and grandparents. Michele Margolis, a University of Pennsylvania political scientist not affiliated with the Pew survey, has studied how religious involvement changes over a lifetime.Young adults frequently move away from religion. Then when you get married and have kids, this is a time where scholars have noted that religion is more likely to become important, Margolis said.Margolis said one question going forward is whether the youngest American adults firmly reject organized religion, or if some of them will return to the religious fold as they age.Between 2007 and 2024, Pew religious landscape studies havent indicated that Americans are growing more religious as they get older.Smith at Pew said something would need to change to stop the long-term decline of American religion, whether thats adults becoming more religious with age or new generations becoming more religious than their parents. How partisan politics intertwines with religious identityThe long-term decline of U.S. Christianity and rise of the nones has occurred across traditions, gender, race, ethnicity, education and region. But it is much more evident among political liberals, according to Pew. The survey shows 51% of liberals claim no religion, up 24 points from 2007. Only 37% of U.S. liberals identify as Christian, down from 62% in 2007.Penny Edgell, a University of Minnesota sociologist and expert adviser for the Pew study, said this religious and political sorting aligns with whether people support traditional, patriarchal gender and family arrangements. Edgell also notes that Black Americans defy the assumption that all Democrats are less religious than Republicans.More Black Americans percentagewise are Democrats, but their rates of religious involvement are still really high, Edgell said. That has something to do with the way that religious institutions and politics have been intertwined in historically unique ways for different groups.Roughly seven in 10 Black Protestants told Pew that religion is very important to them about the same rate as evangelicals and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But Black Protestants are likely to identify as Democrats (72%), whereas evangelicals and Latter-day Saints are likely to identify as Republican (70% and 73%, respectively). The Pew survey tracks many religious traditionsIts been nearly 10 years since the last Religious Landscape Study, which tracks religious data that the U.S. census does not.The new survey found that a majority of immigrants to the U.S. are Christian (58%), but they also follow the upward trend of the religiously unaffiliated, with a quarter of foreign-born U.S. adults claiming no religion.The number of Americans who belong to religions besides Christianity has been increasing, though its still a small portion of the population (7%). That includes the 2% who are Jewish, and the 1% each who are Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu. Of U.S. Christian adults, 40% are Protestant and 19% are Catholic. The remaining 3% in Pews survey include Latter-day Saints, Orthodox Christians, Jehovahs Witnesses and smaller Christian groups.The two largest Protestant denominations in the Pew survey remain the Southern Baptist Convention and the United Methodist Church though both have lost many members since the first Religious Landscape Study in 2007. The Pew Religious Landscape Study was conducted in English and Spanish between July 2023 and March 2024, among a nationally representative sample of 36,908 respondents in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The surveys margin of error for results based on the full sample is plus or minus 0.8 percentage points.___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. TIFFANY STANLEY Stanley is a reporter and editor on The Associated Press Global Religion team. She is based in Washington, D.C. twitter mailto

Bluesky deleted a viral, AI-generated protest video in which Donald Trump is sucking on Elon Musks toes because its moderators said it was non-consensual explicit material. The video was broadcast on televisions inside the office Housing and Urban Development earlier this week, and quickly went viral on Bluesky and Twitter.Independent journalist Marisa Kabas obtained a video from a government employee and posted it on Bluesky, where it went viral. Tuesday night, Bluesky moderators deleted the video because they said it was non-consensual explicit material.A Bluesky account you control (@marisakabas.bsky.social) posted content or shared a link that contains non-consensual explicit material, which is in violation of our Community Guidelines. As a result of this violation, we have taken down your post, an email Kabas received from Bluesky moderation reads. We trust that you will understand the necessity of these measures and the gravity of the situation. Bluesky explicitly prohibits the sharing of non-consensual sexual media. You cannot use Bluesky to break the law or cause harm to others. All users must be treated with respect.Kabas is challenging the deletion.Hellothe post you have taken down was a video broadcast inside a government building to protest a fascist regime, Kabas wrote in an email back to Bluesky seen by 404 Media. It is in the public interest and it is legitimate news. Taking it down is an attempt to bury the story and an alarming form of censorship. I love this platform but Im shocked by this decision. I ask you to reconsider it.Other Bluesky users said that versions of the video they uploaded were also deleted, though it is still possible to find the video on the platform.Technically speaking, the AI video of Trump sucking Musks toes, which had the words LONG LIVE THE REAL KING shown on top of it, is a nonconsensual AI-generated video, because Trump and Musk did not agree to it. But social media platform content moderation policies have always had carve outs that allow for the criticism of powerful people, especially the worlds richest man and the literal president of the United States.For example, we once obtained Facebooks internal rules about sexual content for content moderators, which included broad carveouts to allow for sexual content that criticized public figures and politicians. The First Amendment, which does not apply to social media companies but is relevant considering that Bluesky told Kabas she could not use the platform to break the law, has essentially unlimited protection for criticizing public figures in the way this video is doing.More importantly, the video Kabas posted was not a video Kabas made herself or that was totally devoid of context. As Kabas notes in her email back to Bluesky, the video was being played on television screens within a federal government office building, an obvious act of protest that she was reporting on, and an obviously newsworthy video when considering the context that the federal government is currently being gutted by these two men.(For what it's worth, Kabas has been doing some of the best reporting on Musk's dismantling of the federal government on her website The Handbasket.)Content moderation has been one of Blueskys growing pains over the last few months. The platform has millions of users but only a few dozen employees, meaning that perfect content moderation is impossible, and a lot of it necessarily needs to be automated. This is going to lead to mistakes. But the video Kabas posted was one of the most popular posts on the platform earlier this week and resulted in a national conversation about the protest. Deleting itwhether accidentally or because its moderation rules are so strict as to not allow for this type of reporting on a protest against the President of the United Statesis a problem.Bluesky did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Supreme Court is seen in the distance, framed through columns of the U.S. Senate at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)2025-02-26T17:26:23Z Follow live updates on President Donald Trump and his new administration. WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court seemed likely Wednesday to side with an Ohio woman who claims she suffered sex discrimination from her employer because she is straight.The outcome of the case could remove an additional requirement that some courts apply when members of a majority group, including those who are white and heterosexual, sue for discrimination under federal law.Justice Brett Kavanaugh stated a way of resolving the case, that seemed to enjoy broad support among his colleagues.Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, whether you are gay or straight, is prohibited. The rules are the same whichever way it goes, Kavanaugh said.The justices heard arguments in an appeal from Marlean Ames, who has worked for the Ohio Department of Youth Services for more than 20 years.Ames contends she was passed over for a promotion and then demoted because she is heterosexual. Both the job she sought and the one she had held were given to LGBTQ people. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars sex discrimination in the workplace. A trial court and the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Ames. The question for the justices is that the Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit and several other appeals courts covering 20 states and the District of Columbia apply a higher standard when members of a majority group make discrimination claims. People alleging workplace bias have to show background circumstances, including that LGBTQ people made the decisions affecting Ames or statistical evidence showing a pattern of discrimination against members of the majority group. The appeals court noted that Ames didnt provide any such circumstances.Ohio Solicitor General T. Elliot Gaiser told the justices that the officials who made the job decisions did not even know Ames sexual orientation. But even Geiser didnt object too much to the narrow outcome that seemed most likely. Everyone here agrees that everyone should be treated equally, Gaiser said. His concession prompted Justice Neil Gorsuch to note, Were in radical agreement on that today. America First Legal and other conservative groups filed briefs arguing that members of majority groups are as likely to face job discrimination, if not more so, because of diversity, equity and inclusion policies. President Donald Trump has ordered an end to DEI policies in the federal government and has sought to end government support for DEI programs elsewhere. Some of the new administrations anti-DEI initiatives have been temporarily blocked in federal court.Lawyers for America First, founded by Trump aide Stephen Miller, wrote that the idea that discrimination against members of majority groups is rare is highly suspect in this age of hiring based on diversity, equity, and inclusion.But there was no mention of DEI by the justices on Wednesday. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Larry Saltzman poses for a portrait on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, in New York. (Photo by Matt Licari/Invision/AP)2025-02-26T14:24:25Z NEW YORK (AP) Hes not a movie buff, so New York musician Larry Saltzman doesnt always watch the Oscars. This year, however, hes got a rooting interest.Saltzman taught actor Timothe Chalamet how to play guitar for the role of Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. In turn, Chalamet earned a best actor nomination and the film is also up for best picture at the Academy Awards on Sunday.A guitarist whos performed with Simon & Garfunkel, Bette Midler and David Johansen, as well as in the pit at Broadway productions Hairspray and Aint Too Proud to Beg, Saltzman has developed a specialty in teaching actors how to play music for their roles. Besides Chalamet, recent pupils have included Adam Driver and Sadie Sink of Stranger Things.On a fellow musicians recommendation, Saltzman first got a call from a movie studio about a decade ago. He admits to being cranky as discussions dragged on. I almost did everything to talk them out of hiring me, he said. Not until the fifth phone call did the studio identify the client: Meryl Streep.She needed to learn the electric guitar for her starring role in the 2015 film Ricki and the Flash, where she portrayed an aging rocker trying to keep her career and life together in the wake of a series of disappointments. Working with Streep is a little like a political consultants first client being elected president. If she likes you and word gets around, other students will follow. Teaching actors now represents about 40% of his business, the 69-year-old said. My time spent with her was excellent, he said of Streep. Shes smart. She knows how to learn things. There was a steady progress over three or four months. She did very well. Guitarist Larry Saltzman had more than 50 sessions with the now Oscar-nominated actor, for A Complete Unknown. (Feb. 26) Faking it just wont do for serious actors and film directors. Its like lip-syncing the audience is going to tell the difference, and the characters will be less believable. That was especially true with Chalamet, who needed to sing and play at the same time for a character whose artistry is the centerpiece of the film. When the actors come to you, theyre kind of vulnerable, Saltzman said. They want to do a great job. Timothe Chalamet discusses guitar training for A Complete Unknown, which earned him an Oscar nomination for best actor. Saltzman had more than 50 sessions with Chalamet, starting in person and retreating to Zoom during the pandemic. It wasnt easy. Chalamet had to learn some 25 songs in the script.Sometime in 2018 I had my first lesson with this great guitar teacher named Larry Saltzman who at some point became less of a teacher and more a co-sanity artist through COVID, Chalamet recalled during a recent interview with The Associated Press. I think we were keeping each other sane. We would Zoom three, four times a week and doing songs that never made it into the movie.It helped that Saltzman is a Dylan buff. Focusing on imparting the guitar playing of pre-electric Bob, he taught his charge so well that Chalamet was a musical guest as well as host on Saturday Night Live, performing obscure Dylan cuts last month. Saltzman says, in the course of their sessions, Chalamet went the extra mile and unearthed very early, obscure Dylan songs that werent even in the script. Saltzman generally likes teaching actors more than common folk, in part because theres a specific goal: They need to learn certain songs to inhabit a particular character. When its open-ended someone just wants to learn the guitar it can be more of a challenge, he said. Saltzman also believes that its an advantage to not be a regular teacher, someone who may approach clients with a more rigid style.Actor Johnny Cannizzaro said he appreciated Saltzmans calming bedside manner and felt welcome in an apartment filled with guitars. Cannizzaro has the role of E Street Band member Little Steven Van Zandt in the upcoming Bruce Springsteen biopic, Deliver Me From Nowhere.There was never really a moment where he expressed any sort of frustration or impatience with me during a session, said Cannizzaro, who has background playing keyboards but not guitar. If anything, he would express some excitement when you grasped something he was teaching. That put me at ease. Saltzman also studied film of Van Zandt so he wasnt just teaching Cannizzaro guitar he was showing specifics of how Van Zandt plays, the actor said.Beyond teaching, Saltzmans time is divided between studio work, playing in New York clubs accompanying different artists and Broadway hes just about to begin Smash.Its an eye-opening experience for him to later see his students on screen. That was particularly the case when he saw A Complete Unknown and marveled at Chalamets ability as an actor.All the more reason to watch the Oscars, and to take some pride in his own work.In my own humble way, Im a small gear in that machinery, he said. What is rewarding is knowing that in some small way Im contributing to making a better film. ___David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social. DAVID BAUDER Bauder is the APs national media writer, covering the intersection of news, politics and entertainment. He is based in New York. twitter mailto

The surveillance company Flock sent the creator of a website that maps its license plate-reading cameras a cease and desist letter demanding that he immediately stop using the name DeFlock on his website.404 Media previously wrote about DeFlock, an open source mapping project created by Will Freeman that tracks the locations of automated license plate readers (ALPRs) from Flock and other companies. DeFlock currently maps more than 16,000 ALPRs around the world, which includes both Flock cameras as well as many created by Motorola.Late last month, Flocks lawyers sent Freeman a letter demanding that he immediately Cease and desist all use of the name DEFLOCK or any variation thereof, remove all instances of DEFLOCK from your Website, advertisements, promotional materials, and any other content, and Refrain from adopting any trademarks, trade names, or branding continue to or likely to cause dilution by blurring, dilution by tarnishment, and false advertising with respect to the Flock Marks in the future. 404 Media has obtained a copy of the letter and uploaded it here.It has come to our attention that you are maintaining a website and promoting a project entitled DEFLOCK, which purports to track automated license plate readers across the country, and discusses the alleged dangers of [the surveillance]. While Flock believes in open debate, it takes misuses of its intellectual property seriously, the letter, written by Sarah M. Katz of the law firm Adelman Matz, says. While Flock does not object to the free dissemination of truthful information, your use of the Flock Marks as part of your brand DEFLOCK is being wrongfully used to make false statements about Flock and its products and is damaging both its reputation and the goodwill associated with the Flock Marks.It is not clear what false statements Freeman is making about Flock. The letter says that it should not be called DeFlock because not all of the cameras tracked by DeFlock are Flock cameras (some are Motorola), and says the website also implies that various license plate readers are vulnerable to security hacks, which given that all of the readers are being imputed to Flock, provides a false impression about the security of Flock Products. On the front page of DeFlock, there is a link to a 404 Media article about a security vulnerability in Motorola ALPRs. A security researcher on YouTube and Freeman previously showed that certain Motorola ALPRs are leaking data online, and 404 Media wrote about that research. The DeFlock site says BREAKING: Anyone Can Access Motorola ALPR Data and links to our article, but makes no claims about Flock ALPR security.Freeman is being represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and is not going to change his website, Cara Gagliano, a senior staff attorney at the EFF said in a response to Flock: The claims alleged in your letter are groundless, and Mr. Freeman will not be complying with your demands, the EFFs letter says. Because there is no legal basis for your demands, my client declines to comply with them.The cease-and-desist letter shows that Flock is both aware of the DeFlock website and is threatening Freeman with legal action. Flocks letter argues that DeFlock is causing the dilution of Flocks trademarks rather than infringement of them. This is a crucial distinction, Gagliano said.Companies can sue for trademark infringement when they believe that a consumer is likely to confuse the infringing product for the real one; dilution cases only apply to famous trademarks and can be pursued when a similar product would undermine or tarnish the brand of the original. Gagliano says in her letter that DeFlock is not diluting the Flock brand because it was specifically made for the noncommercial criticism of the surveillance company.Federal anti-dilution law includes express carve-outs for any noncommercial use of a mark and for any use in connection with criticizing or commenting on the mark owner or its products, Gagliano wrote, adding that a false advertising claim made in Flocks letter does not apply because DeFlock is a noncommercial website.DeFlock is a grassroots project that aims to shine a light on the widespread use of ALPR technology, raise awareness about the threats it poses to personal privacy and civil liberties, and empower the public to take action. It pursues that mission by providing information about ALPRs and maintaining an interactive, crowd-sourced map of ALPR installations, she added. The name DeFlock references the projects goal of ending ALPR usage and Flocks status as one of the most widely used ALPR providers.Gagliano told 404 Media that Flocks attempt to go after Freeman and DeFlock on a dilution claim raises serious free speech concerns. Flock's choice to claim dilution rather than infringement is telling. Infringement requires showing that consumers are likely to be confused by the use; Flock clearly realizes how implausible that is here, she said. Dilution is a much more nebulous concept that we think raises serious constitutional questions. It's fortunate that dilution laws typically have enough explicit exceptions for claims to fail in their face in cases like this, but it's still much too broad a doctrine with little to justify it.Flock did not respond to a request for comment.

Actress Michelle Trachtenberg poses for a portrait during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Jan. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Mark Mainz, File)2025-02-26T18:21:17Z NEW YORK (AP) Michelle Trachtenberg, a former child star who appeared in the 1996 Harriet the Spy hit movie and went on to co-star in two buzzy millennial-era TV shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl has died. She was 39.Police responded to a 911 call shortly after 8 a.m. at luxury residential tower in midtown where officers observed a 39-year-old female unconscious and unresponsive, according to an NYPD statement.Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene. No foul play was suspected and the New York Medical Examiner is investigating the cause of death, police said.Representatives for Trachtenberg did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Her death was first reported by the New York Post.Trachtenberg was 8 when she began played Nona Mecklenberg on Nickelodeons The Adventures of Pete & Pete Nona from 1994 to 1996 and then starred in the title role in the film adaptations of Harriet the Spy and Inspector Gadget, opposite Matthew Broderick. Michelle comes off as genuine because she really is a genuine kid. Everyone can identify with her, said Debby Beece, president of Nickelodeon Movies in 1996.In 2000 Trachtenberg joined the cast of Buffy, playing Dawn Summers, the younger sister of the title character played by Sarah Michelle Gellar between 2000 and 2003. Trachtenberg thanked Gellar for speaking out against Joss Whedon in 2021, following abuse allegations made against the Buffy showrunner. I am brave enough now as a 35-year-old woman to repost this, she wrote on social media, and alluded to his not appropriate behavior she experienced as a teenage actor. In 2001, she received a Daytime Emmy nomination for hosting Discoverys Truth or Scare. Trachtenberg went on to recurring roles on Six Feet Under, Weeds and Gossip Girl, where she played the gangs scheming nemesis, Georgina Sparks. He other credits included Ice Princess in 2005 playing a math prodigy and aspiring figure skater and the 2004 teen sex comedy EuroTrip. For Killing Kennedy, the 2013 film in which she played the wife of Lee Harvey Oswald, around 80% of Trachtenbergs dialogue was in Russian. She had learned the language from her mother growing up.___Associated Press Writer Michael R. Sisak contributed to this report. MARK KENNEDY Kennedy is a theater, TV, music, food and obit writer and editor for The Associated Press, as well as a critic for theater, movies and music. He is based in New York City. twitter mailto

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a statement on Defence spending at Downing Street in London, Tuesday, Feb, 25, 2025. (Leon Neal/Pool photo via AP)2025-02-26T15:03:13Z LONDON (AP) U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer was flying to Washington on Wednesday after announcing a big increase in the British defense budget, an investment that he hopes will help persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to maintain support for Ukraine as Washington pushes to end the war.Though Starmer is touting the trans-Atlantic special relationship that has endured since World War II, he faces an uncertain reception. Trump has upended decades of U.S. foreign policy during his first weeks in office.Ukraine and its European allies are scrambling to respond after the Trump administration engaged directly with Moscow on ending the war in Ukraine. Starmers visit to the White House on Thursday is part of European efforts following a trip to Washington by French President Emmanuel Macron earlier this week to ensure Kyiv gets a voice in negotiations, and that the U.S. still backs Europe in dealing with an aggressive Russia on its doorstep. Starmer confirmed he will host a meeting of international leaders in the U.K. on Sunday, focused on Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to attend. European countries are striving to bolster their collective defense as Trump transforms American foreign policy. Trump has long questioned the value of NATO and complained that the U.S. provides security to European countries that dont pull their weight. Starmer announced Tuesday that the U.K. government will hike military spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027, years earlier than expected, and will aim to hit 3% by 2035. He called it the biggest sustained increase in defense spending since the end of the Cold War.The U.K.'s defense secretary, John Healey, said that President Trump, over the last two weeks, has been very direct in his challenge to European allies.Hes reinforced the imperative and the importance of Britain making this commitment and helping other European countries to step up in a similar way, Healey told the BBC. Starmers trip comes after Washington and Kyiv struck an economic deal that would give the U.S. access to a share of Ukraines lucrative rare earth mineral deposits. Kyiv hopes that signing the agreement will ensure the continued flow of U.S. military support that Ukraine urgently needs. Trump told reporters Wednesday ahead of the first meeting of his Cabinet that Zelenskyy is also due to visit the White House on Friday to sign a very big agreement.Starmer has offered to send British troops to Ukraine as part of a force to safeguard a ceasefire under a plan being championed by the U.K. and France, but says an American backstop will be needed to ensure a lasting peace. Trump hasnt committed to providing security guarantees for Ukraine, saying Monday after meeting Macron at the White House that Europe is going to make sure nothing happens. Michael Clarke, visiting professor of war studies at Kings College London, said that Starmer would try and be a Trump whisperer, while persuading the president to see some realities of European security. Starmer, a stolid, center-left lawyer who is Trumps polar opposite in outlook and temperament, has worked hard to charm the president. He flew to New York in September for dinner at Trump Tower. He has appointed Peter Mandelson as U.K. ambassador in Washington. Mandelson is a former Labour Party Cabinet minister nicknamed the Prince of Darkness, because of his mastery of political intrigue.Mandelson and Starmer also are hoping to spare the U.K. the sweeping tariffs Trump has vowed to impose on the European Union and other trading partners. The U.S. is Britains largest single trading partner, with a roughly equal balance of imports and exports something that may help it avoid Trump-imposed taxes on goods. JILL LAWLESS Lawless is an Associated Press reporter covering U.K. politics and more. She is based in London. twitter mailto

Secretary of State Marco Rubio stands with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, not shown, at the State Department, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein).2025-02-26T19:28:59Z WASHINGTON (AP) A planned meeting between European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Secretary of State Marco Rubio was abruptly canceled Wednesday due to scheduling issues, coming as political tensions have increased between Europe and the United States.Officials from both sides blamed scheduling challenges for preventing the pair, who last met at the Munich Security Conference in Germany last month, from meeting in Washington. However, European officials said they were caught off guard, and, notably, Kallas had previewed her planned talks with Rubio just two days earlier.In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has thrown the partnership between the U.S. and Europe into turmoil by pledging to charge higher taxes on imports from Europe that he says will match tariffs faced by American products. EU officials have traveled to Washington trying to head off a trade war. Top Trump administration officials also have warned Europe that it must start taking responsibility for its own security, including Ukraine, and sidelined the Europeans from their initial talks with Russia on ending the war. In a remarkable shift, the U.S. split with its European allies by refusing to blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations this week and joined Moscow in voting against a Europe-backed Ukrainian resolution. In a bid to mend relations, French President Emmanuel Macron was in Washington on Monday for a White House meeting with Trump seeking support. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose country is no longer a member of the EU but often aligns itself with the continental bloc on foreign policy, is due to visit Thursday. Kallas herself had said Monday that she would be holding talks with Rubio on the issues that are of interest to both of us, which for the EU are chiefly Russias war on Ukraine and transatlantic relations. It is clear that the statements coming from the United States make us all worried, she told reporters after chairing a meeting of EU foreign ministers.Kallas said she hoped the EU-U.S. relationship can continue to function. So far, we do not have any indication that it would not. Of course it is going to change, that is very clear. But we should not throw something out the window that has worked well so far, she said.In a terse text message, her office referred all questions about why the meeting was canceled at short notice to the State Department.A senior U.S. official said the planned meeting, which had never appeared on Rubios public schedule, had been pulled down due to an unavoidable scheduling conflict. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.Rubio attended Trumps Cabinet meeting at the White House, which began late Wednesday morning.The cancellation came less than a week after the State Departments policy planning office sent an internal memo instructing officials who deal with Europe to highlight two specific issues in interactions with European counterparts. The Feb. 21 memo, seen by The Associated Press, also mentioned tentative plans for an upcoming Rubio meeting with Kallas. The two issues of concern identified in the memo were Freedom of Speech and Free Opposition and Migration.On the former, the memo said Rubio and other U.S. diplomats should emphasize in their discussions with European officials the importance that the Trump administration attaches to free speech. It noted that Vice President JD Vance had said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference this month that the West should unite around free speech, halt censorship, reject suppressing opposition, jailing people for tweets and memes, etc.The United States cannot continue supporting a continent that drifts in an authoritarian direction, the memo said. Its bad for Europe and bad for us.On migration, the memo said U.S. officials, including Rubio, should refer to Europes de facto open borders policy as a disaster that must end. Trump has made cracking down on illegal immigration and carrying out mass deportations a signature priority. The United States is changing course on migration policy under Trump, it said. Its well past time for Europe to do the same. We want you to remain civilization partners and to do that, you must get this under control.It was not clear if the blunt language in the memo contributed to the cancellation of the Rubio-Kallas meeting.Although her meeting with Rubio was pulled down, Kallas was due to meet with U.S. senators and members of Congress to discuss the war in Ukraine and EU-U.S. ties during her two-day trip to Washington and to take part in a talk about those issues at the Hudson Institute research organization.___Cook reported from Brussels. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Secretary of State Marco Rubio stands with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, not shown, at the State Department, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein).2025-02-26T19:26:56Z KINSHASA, Congo (AP) Unidentified illnesses in northwestern Congo have killed more than 50 people over the past five weeks, nearly half of them within hours after they felt sick.The outbreaks in two distant villages in Congos Equateur province began on Jan. 21 and include 419 cases and 53 deaths. Health officials still do not know the cause, or whether the cases in the two villages, which are separated by more than 120 miles (190 kilometers), are related. Its also unclear how the diseases are spreading, including whether they are spreading between people. The first victims in one of the villages were children who ate a bat and died within 48 hours, the Africa office of the World Health Organization said this week. More infections were found in the other village, where at least some of the patients have malaria. Outbreaks in two remote villagesIllnesses have been clustered in two remote villages in different health zones of Equateur province, which is 400 miles (640 kilometers) from Kinshasa.The first outbreak began in the village of Boloko after three children ate a bat and died within 48 hours. More than two weeks later a second and larger outbreak was recorded in the village of Bomate, where more than 400 people have been sickened. According to WHOs Africa office, no links have been established between the cases in the two villages. Dr. Serge Ngalebato, medical director of Bikoro Hospital, a regional monitoring center, and one of the government experts deployed to respond to the outbreak, says the situations in the two villages are somewhat different. The first one with a lot of deaths, that we continue to investigate because its an unusual situation, (and) in the second episode that were dealing with, we see a lot of the cases of malaria, said Dr. Ngalebato.The WHO Africa office said the quick progression from sickness to death in Boloko is a key concern, along with the high number of deaths in Bomate. What are the symptoms?Congos Ministry of Health said about 80% of the patients share similar symptoms including fever, chills, body aches and diarrhea.While these symptoms can be caused by many common infections, health officials initially feared the symptoms and the quick deaths of some of the victims could also be a sign of a hemorrhagic fever such as Ebola, which was also linked to an infected animal. However, Ebola and similar diseases including Marburg have been ruled out after more than a dozen samples were collected and tested in the capital of Kinshasa. The WHO said it is investigating a number of possible causes, including malaria, viral hemorrhagic fever, food or water poisoning, typhoid fever and meningitis.What is being done in response?Congos government says experts have been sent to the villages since Feb. 14, mainly to help investigate the cases and slow the spread.Ngalebato said patients have been responding to treatments that target the different symptoms.The remote location of the villages has hindered access to patients while the weak health care infrastructure has made it difficult to carry out surveillance and manage patients. Such challenges are common in disease outbreaks in Congo. In December, an unknown illness killed dozens. In the latest outbreaks, several victims died even before experts could even reach them, Ngalebato said.There needs to be an urgent action to accelerate laboratory investigations, improve case management and isolation capacities, and strengthen surveillance and risk communication, the WHO Africa office has said.The U.S. has been the largest bilateral donor to Congos health sector and has supported the training of hundreds of field epidemiologists to help detect and control diseases across the vast country. The outbreaks were detected as the Trump administration put a freeze on foreign aid during a 90-day review. Is there a link to Congos forests?There have long been concerns about diseases jumping from animals to humans in places where people regularly eat wild animals. The number of such outbreaks in Africa has surged by more than 60% in the last decade, the WHO said in 2022.Experts say this might be what is happening in Congo, which is home to about 60% of the forests in the Congo Basin, home to the largest expanse of tropical forest on earth.All these viruses are viruses that have reservoirs in the forest. And so, as long as we have these forests, we will always have a few epidemics with viruses which will mutate, said Gabriel Nsakala, a professor of public health at Congos National Pedagogical University, who previously worked at the Congolese health ministry on Ebola and coronavirus response programs.___For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse___The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

A sign is shown with egg cartons for sale at a grocery store Friday, Feb. 14, 2025 in Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)2025-02-26T18:36:38Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Agriculture Department predicts the current record prices for eggs could soar more than 40% in 2025, as the Trump administration offered the first new details Wednesday about its plan to battle bird flu and ease the cost of eggs.With an emphasis on tightening up biosecurity on farms, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the USDA will invest another $1 billion on top of the roughly $2 billion it has already spent battling bird flu since the outbreak began in 2022. Officials had hinted at the plan earlier this month.Its not clear how much more farmers can do to keep the virus out.Egg and poultry farmers have already been working to protect their birds ever since the 2015 bird flu outbreak by taking measures like requiring workers to change clothes and shower before entering barns, using separate sets of tools and sanitizing any vehicles that enter farms. The challenge is that the virus is spread easily by wild birds as they migrate past farms. And the main reason egg prices have soared to hit a record average of $4.95 per dozen this month is that more than 166 million birds have been slaughtered to limit the spread of the virus after cases are found with most of those being egg-laying chickens. Last month was the worst yet for egg farmers with nearly 19 million egg-laying chickens slaughtered. Egg prices will get much worse this yearThe USDA now predicts that egg prices will increase at least 41% this year on top of the already record prices. Just last month, the increase was predicted to be 20%.And the average prices conceal just how bad the situation is, with consumers paying more than a dollar an egg in some places. The situation is hurting consumers and has prompted restaurants like Dennys and Waffle House to add surcharges on egg dishes.The high egg prices, which have more than doubled since before the outbreak began, cost consumers at least $1.4 billion last year, according to an estimate done by agricultural economists at the University of Arkansas.Egg prices also normally increase every spring heading into Easter when demand is high. When will the Trump plan bring down prices?Rollins acknowledged that it will take some time before consumers see an effect at the checkout counter. After all, it takes infected farms months to dispose of the carcasses, sanitize their farms and raise new birds. But she expressed optimism that this will help prices.Its going to take a while to get through, I think in the next month or two, but hopefully by summer, Rollins said.Will DOGE layoffs affect the bird flu fight?Rollins said she believes USDA will have the staff it needs to respond to bird flu even after all the cuts to the federal workforce at the direction of Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency.Will we have the resources needed to address the plan I just laid out? We are convinced that we will, she said, as we realign and and evaluate where USDA has been spending money, where our employees are spending their time. Wheres the money going?The plan calls for $500 million investment to help farmers bolster biosecurity measures, $400 million in additional aid for farmers whose flocks have been impacted by avian flu, $100 million to research and potentially develop vaccines and therapeutics for U.S. chicken flocks and explore rolling back what the administration sees as restrictive animal welfare rules in some states.Its not clear what the additional aid would be for because USDA already pays farmers for any birds they must slaughter due to the virus, and roughly $1.2 billion has gone to those payments.The administration is also in talks to import about 70 million to 100 million eggs from other countries in the coming months, Rollins said. But there were 7.57 billion table eggs produced last month, so those imports dont appear likely to make a significant difference in the market.Trump administration officials have suggested that vaccines might help reduce the number of birds that have to be slaughtered when there is an outbreak. However, no vaccines have been approved and the industry has said the current prototypes arent practical because they require individual shots to each bird. Plus, vaccinated birds could jeopardize exports.The National Turkey Federation said the plan Rollins outlined should help stabilize the market, but the trade group encouraged the USDA to pay attention to all egg and poultry farmers not just egg producers. ___Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska. Aamer Madhani contributed from Washington. JOSH FUNK Funk is an Associated Press reporter who covers all the major freight railroads including Union Pacific, BNSF, Norfolk Southern, CSX, Canadian National and CPKC. Funk also covers Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway and has been attending Buffetts Woodstock for Capitalists annual meeting every spring in Omaha, Nebraska, for 19 years. twitter mailto JOSH BOAK Boak covers the White House and economic policy for The Associated Press. He joined the AP in 2013. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)2025-02-26T18:16:51Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he plans to start selling a gold card visa with a potential pathway to U.S. citizenship for $5 million, seeking to have that new initiative replace a 35-year-old visa program for investors.I happen to think itll sell like crazy. Its a market, Trump said. But well know very soon.During the first meeting of his second-term Cabinet, Trump suggested that the new revenue generated from the program could be used to pay off the countrys debt.If we sell a million, thats $5 trillion dollars, he said. Of the demand from the business community to participate, he said I think we will sell a lot because I think theres really a thirst. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters during the same meeting that Trumps initiative would replace the EB-5 program, which offers U.S. visas to investors who spent about $1 million on a company that employs at least 10 people. Lutnick said that program has been around for many years for investment in projects but it was poorly overseen, poorly executed.The new program could mark a dramatic shift in U.S. immigration policy but isnt unprecedented elsewhere. Countries in Europe and elsewhere offer what have become known as golden visas that allow participants to pay in order to secure immigration status in desirable places. Congress, meanwhile, determines qualifications U.S. for citizenship, but the president said gold cards would not require congressional approval. Trump said of future possible recipients of the gold visa program: Theyll be wealthy and theyll be successful and theyll be spending a lot of money and paying a lot of taxes and employing a lot of people, and we think its going to be extremely successful. Henley & Partners, an advisory firm, says more than 100 countries around the world offer golden visas to wealthy individuals and investors. That list includes the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Greece, Malta, Australia, Canada and Italy. Companies can buy gold cards and, in exchange, get those visas to hire new employees, Trump said. Despite similar programs already occurring outside the U.S., he insisted, No other country can do this because people dont want to go to other countries. They want to come here. Everybody wants to come here, especially since Nov. 5, he said of his Election Day victory last fall.Lutnick suggested that the gold card which would actually work, at least to start, more like a green card, or permanent legal residency would raise the price of admission for investors and do away with fraud and nonsense that he said characterize the EB-5 program. A pathway to citizenship as part of the new program also would set it apart from the EB-5 program. Trump said vetting people who might be eligible for the gold card will go through a process that is still being worked out.Pressed on if there would be restrictions on people from China or Iran not being allowed to participate, Trump suggested it will likely not be restricted to much in terms of countries, but maybe in terms of individuals. About 8,000 people obtained investor visas in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2022, according to the Homeland Security Departments most recent Yearbook of Immigration Statistics. The Congressional Research Service reported in 2021 that EB-5 visas pose risks of fraud, including verification that funds were obtained legally.Trump made no mention of the requirements for job creation. And, while the number of EB-5 visas is capped, the Republican president mused that the federal government could sell 10 million gold cards to reduce the deficit. He said it could be great, maybe it will be fantastic.Its somewhat like a green card, but at a higher level of sophistication, the president said. Its a road to citizenship for people and essentially people of wealth or people of great talent, where people of wealth pay for those people of talent to get in, meaning companies will pay for people to get in and to have long, long term status in the country. WILL WEISSERT Weissert covers national politics and the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto

A boat on the Potomac River, cruises past emergency response vehicles seen staging at Joint Base Anacostia Bolling, in the early morning hour, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025 in Washington, as seen from across the river near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)2025-02-09T15:10:11Z All the recent aviation disasters and close calls have people worried about the safety of flying.The midair collision that killed 67 near Washington D.C. last month was the worst disaster. But there was also the plane that crashed and flipped over upon landing in Toronto, the fiery plane crash in Philadelphia and a plane crash in Alaska that killed 10, as well as two small planes that collided in Arizona. Those all came before the scary moment this week in Chicago when a Southwest Airlines plane had to abort its landing to avoid crashing into another plane crossing the runway. A plane landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport also had to perform a go-around maneuver Tuesday to avoid getting too close to another aircraft departing from the same runway. Thats not to mention the time earlier this month when a Japan Airlines plane clipped a parked Delta plane while it was taxiing at the Seattle airport, or the security concerns that arose after stowaways were found dead inside the wheel wells of two planes and aboard two other flights. In addition, a United Airlines plane caught fire during takeoff at the Houston airport and a passenger opened an emergency exit door on a plane while it was taxiing for takeoff in Boston.So of course people are wondering whether their flight is safe? What happened in the worst cases?The Jan. 29 collision between an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter killed everyone aboard both aircraft. It was the deadliest plane crash in the U.S. since Nov. 12, 2001, when a jet slammed into a New York City neighborhood just after takeoff, killing all 260 people on board and five on the ground. After that, there hadnt been a deadly crash of any kind involving a U.S. airliner since February 2009.Earlier this month, 21 people were injured Feb. 17 when a Delta flight flipped and landed on its roof at Torontos Pearson Airport. Everyone survived that crash.Crashes are more common involving smaller planes, like the single-engine Cessna that crashed in Alaska on Feb. 6, or the two small planes that collided in Arizona on Feb. 19. Ten people including the pilot were killed in the Alaska crash, and two died in the Arizona one.A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on Jan. 31, killing the six people onboard and another person on the ground. That Learjet generated a massive fireball when it smashed into the ground in a neighborhood not long after taking off from a small airport nearby.How worried should I be?Fatal crashes attract extraordinary attention partly because they are rare. The track record of U.S. airlines is remarkably safe, as demonstrated by the long stretch between fatal crashes.But deadly crashes have happened more recently elsewhere around the world, including one in South Korea that killed all 179 people aboard in December. There were also two fatal crashes involving Boeings troubled 737 Max jetliner in 2018 and 2019. And last January, a door plug blew off a 737 Max while it was in flight, raising more questions about the plane. Federal officials have been raising concerns about an overtaxed and understaffed air traffic control system for years, especially after a series of close calls between planes at U.S. airports. Among the reasons they have cited for staffing shortages are uncompetitive pay, long shifts, intensive training and mandatory retirements. President Donald Trump added to those concerns when he blamed the midair collision over Washington D.C. on the obsolete air traffic control system that airports rely on and promised to replace it.Even with all that, officials have tried to reassure travelers that flying is the safest mode of transportation. And statistics back that up. The National Safety Council estimates that Americans have a 1-in-93 chance of dying in a motor vehicle crash, while deaths on airplanes are too rare to calculate the odds. Figures from the U.S. Department of Transportation tell a similar story. What is being done?The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating these recent crashes and close calls to determine what caused them and look for ways to prevent recurrences.There have already been troubling revelations about the midair collision, but it will take more than a year to get the full report on what happened.The NTSB always recommends steps that could be taken to prevent crashes from happening again, but the agency has a long list of hundreds of previous recommendations that have been ignored by other government agencies and the industries it investigates.Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said the public is right to say that crashes like the recent ones are unacceptable. That is why he plans to make sure safety is paramount as he leads the agency that regulates all modes of transportation.I feel really good about where were at and where were going and the plans we have in place to make sure we even make the system safer and more efficient than it is today, Duffy said in a Fox News interview. JOSH FUNK Funk is an Associated Press reporter who covers all the major freight railroads including Union Pacific, BNSF, Norfolk Southern, CSX, Canadian National and CPKC. Funk also covers Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway and has been attending Buffetts Woodstock for Capitalists annual meeting every spring in Omaha, Nebraska, for 19 years. twitter mailto

Richard Rogers and his wife Laurie stand outside the James F. Battin Federal Courthouse, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Billings, Mont. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)2025-02-26T05:03:56Z BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) A Montana man was sentenced to four years of probation on Wednesday for threatening to assault former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy after becoming upset with the government for not shooting down a Chinese spy balloon that floated over the defendants home city.Richard Rogers, 45, of Billings, was convicted by a federal jury last year on charges of threatening a member of Congress and making harassing phone calls to the FBI and congressional staff. He routinely made vulgar and obscene comments and berated officials during the calls. The former telephone customer service representative delivered the assault threat to a McCarthy staffer during a series of more than 100 calls to the Republican speakers office in just 75 minutes on Feb. 3, 2023, prosecutors said. That was one day after the Pentagon acknowledged it was tracking the spy balloon, which was later shot down off the Atlantic Coast. The threat against McCarthy carried a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a $250,000 fine.Rogers testified at trial that his outraged calls to the FBI and McCarthys office were a form of civil disobedience. One of his lawyers said during the trial that Rogers just wanted to be heard. Prosecutors had asked the court to send a strong deterrent message that threats against public officials are not protected by the First Amendment. They had requested a sentence of two years in prison. Rogers conduct in this case contributes to a rising and concerning myth that the First Amendment somehow gives a person complete immunity from all consequences as long as their speech or conduct is framed as political protest, prosecutors wrote in a court filing.Defense attorney Daniel Ball had asked for Rogers to be spared prison and sentenced to supervised release. Ball referenced the violent actions of supporters of President Donald Trump in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and noted that many of them received prison sentences shorter than two years. Trump pardoned the perpetrators after he started his second term. The actions of some of these individuals may have been violent and egregious. Yet, they were pardoned, Ball wrote in a court filing last week. Richards conduct, as determined by the jury, occurred in Montana. There was no imminent risk to any person. There was no imminent threat.Rogers has said that he supports Trump and he was in Washington during the 2021 attack on the Capitol but did not take part.Threats against public officials in the U.S. have risen sharply in recent years, including against members of Congress, their spouses, election workers and local officials. Rogers case was among more than 8,000 threats to lawmakers investigated by the U.S. Capitol Police in 2023.A 30-year-old Billings man was sentenced last year to 2 1/2 years in federal prison after leaving voicemail messages threatening to kill former Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and his family. Another Montana man was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in 2023 for threats against Tester.

Russell Vought, President Donald Trump's choice for Director of the Office of Management and Budget, appears before the Senate Budget Committee during a hearing to examine his nomination, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, file)2025-02-26T21:42:16Z ATLANTA (AP) The Trump administrations demand that federal agencies plan to radically downsize is driven by a key figure in the conservative movement who has long planned this move. In President Donald Trumps first term, Russell Vought was a largely behind-the-scenes player who eventually became director of the influential but underappreciated Office of Management and Budget. He is back in that job in Trumps second term after being the principal author of Project 2025, the conservative governing blueprint that Trump insisted during the 2024 campaign was not part of his agenda. The memo Vought co-signed Wednesday is the clearest assertion of his power and the latest seminal writing for a man who argues the federal bureaucracy is an existential threat to the country itself and that it should dramatically downsize. An OMB spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Here is the context of the Wednesday memo and Voughts previous work: To Vought, the federal bureaucracy is itself a constitutional crisisIn Wednesdays memo, Vought framed the federal government as costly, inefficient, and deeply in debt and declared that it is not producing results for the American public. Instead, tax dollars are being siphoned off to fund unproductive and unnecessary programs.He used similar language in passages of Project 2025 and in a 104-page budget plan proposed by his think tank, the Center for Renewing America, in 2022.The overall situation is constitutionally dire, unsustainably expensive, and in urgent need of repair. Nothing less than the survival of self-governance in America is at stake, he wrote in Project 2025.That tracks with what Vought said before Trump again nominated him to the role in November.In a post-election appearance with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, Vought was even more explicit: The left has innovated over 100 years to create this administrative state that is totally unaccountable to the president. Vought made clear he would leverage a second chance at OMBIn Project 2025, Vought wrote that OMB is a Presidents air-traffic control system and that the Director must view his job as the best, most comprehensive approximation of the Presidents mind.OMB, he wrote, should be involved in all aspects of the White House policy process, becoming powerful enough to override implementing agencies bureaucracies.He told Carlson that OMB is the nerve center of the federal budget and that it has the ability to turn off the spending that is going on at the agencies and control all of government execution.Presidents, he said, use OMB to tame the bureaucracy, the administrative state.Speaking with Carlson, Vought described the approach as radical constitutionalism.In his Project 2025 writing, Vought says the OMB director should present a fiscal goal to the President early in the budget development process without specifying a date. Vought has praised DOGE and pushed back at Trump criticsAsked after the election about the presidents proposal to empower billionaire Trump aide Elon Musk and, at the time, former presidential GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, with sweeping power over the federal government, Vought was on board. I think theyre bringing an exhilarating rush ... of creativity, outside the box thinking, comfortability with risk and leverage, he told Carlson. Ramaswamy left DOGE by Inauguration Day.As for concerns over constitutional separation of powers, meaning those who believe Trumps White House seeks to takeover spending decisions that rest with Congress, Vought said, separation of powers is meant to have strong, opinionated conviction and leadership that go as fast as they can and hard as they can in their direction.The memo goes into more detail than previous Vought writingVoughts latest memo requires agencies to submit an initial overhaul plan by mid-March. This so-called Phase I deadline was introduced by Trump.So-called Phase II plans are due by April 14. Among other details, they must include a future-state organizational chart and documentation of all reductions, including (full-time) positions, term and temporary positions, reemployed annuitants, real estate footprint, and contracts. Vought invokes religious imagery and texts with his agendaThe latest OMB memo does not venture into religious texts or assertions. But Vought is an outspoken conservative Christian and invokes his faith as part of his governing philosophy.The Center for Renewing Americas 2022 budget outline begins by quoting the Old Testament, specifically the eighth chapter of the first book of Samuel, to set up a critique of the federal governments size and scope:He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to the officers and to his servants He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day, you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves. BILL BARROW Bill Barrow covers U.S. politics. He is based in Atlanta. twitter mailto

Ilmenite, a key element used to produce titanium, is collected in the country's leading titanium mining company in the central region of Kirovohrad, Ukraine, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)2025-02-26T20:56:42Z DETROIT (AP) The United States will have access to Ukraines critical mineral wealth, including key ingredients for the clean energy transition, under a deal the two countries are expected to sign later this week. President Donald Trump, who has pushed for the agreement, has long been critical of a transition to green energies, which include wind and solar power, along with electrification of transportation and appliances, all things that require the various minerals the U.S. will have access to in this deal. So if Trump is against this trend, why go after these minerals? Wind turbines at the Buckeye Wind Energy are diffused by heat vapors as the are silhouetted against the rising sun, Sept. 30, 2024, near Hays, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) Wind turbines at the Buckeye Wind Energy are diffused by heat vapors as the are silhouetted against the rising sun, Sept. 30, 2024, near Hays, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The quick answer could be theyre used in a lot of other things, too. Heres a closer look: Ukraines mineral wealthCountries vary in which minerals they deem strategically critical. The U.S. Department of the Interior has designated 50, and Ukraine has more than 20 of those. Deposits of titanium, which is in high demand, are spread across the country. Titanium is used for making aircraft wings and other aerospace manufacturing, for marine uses, chemical processing and medical devices. Ukraine has lithium, key to several current battery technologies, and it has uranium, used for nuclear power, medical equipment and weapons. The country also has graphite and manganese, both used in batteries for electric vehicles. A worker controls extraction of ilmenite, a key element used to produce titanium, in an open pit mine in the central region of Kirovohrad, Ukraine, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File) A worker controls extraction of ilmenite, a key element used to produce titanium, in an open pit mine in the central region of Kirovohrad, Ukraine, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Still, the data on Ukraines geology is incomplete, according to Tom Moerenhout, adjunct associate professor at Columbia Universitys School of International and Public Affairs. The maps date back to when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, which dissolved in 1991. So its not clear how easy or profitable it will be to get the desired materials out of the ground. Its one thing to have a deal that talks about how might we manage their extraction and their revenue, Moerenhout said of the agreement. Its another thing entirely to actually have extractive projects, to actually have mining operations going on, and that is something that the deal does not guarantee.Some of the mineral riches lie in parts of the country currently occupied by Russia. Ukraines rare earth metalsRare earths are a subset of critical minerals; there are 17 of them, and not one is a common word. For example, ytterbium and promethium are rare earths. Rare earths are important for many kinds of technology and electronics, including medical care, military, aerospace as well as clean energy uses.Ytterbium is used in infrared lasers, chemical reactions, rechargeable batteries and fiber optics. Lanthanum is used in batteries, specialty glass for eyeglasses and and camera lenses and in petroleum refining. A single piece of military equipment can require hundreds of pounds of a rare earth.Contrary to their name, rare earths are not necessarily rare. However, they do often occur in low concentrations, making processing complicated. Its mainly China that excels at this processing currently. FILE- Miners extract ilmenite, a key element used to produce titanium, at an open pit mine in the central region of Kirovohrad, Ukraine, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File) FILE- Miners extract ilmenite, a key element used to produce titanium, at an open pit mine in the central region of Kirovohrad, Ukraine, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Geopolitical reasons for interest in Ukraines supplyThe Trump administration has steered clear of clean energy policy in favor of its energy dominance agenda, focused on oil and gas. As promised during his campaign, the presidents early executive orders slashed support for climate- and clean-energy related technologies, funding and programs.Electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar photovoltaic panels and other clean energy technology require the rare earths for components such as magnets and batteries; broadly, renewable energy and decarbonization are placing high demand on minerals across the globe.But clearly, the uses of the minerals Ukraine has go far beyond the energy transition. And Ukraine has tried hard to interest the new administration in its mineral wealth.Also, China controls much of the worlds supply of these materials. Opening access to Ukraines supply could reduce U.S. dependence elsewhere.To the credit of the first Trump administration, they have always put critical minerals as a very important policy priority because they knew they were so heavily reliant on China, Moerenhout said. That priority for the Trump administration doesnt change at all because they are less, lets say, less aggressive about clean energy deployment targets in the future. ___Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate solutions reporter. Follow her on X: @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at [emailprotected].___Read more of APs climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment___The Associated Press climate and environmental 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. ALEXA ST. JOHN St. John is a climate solutions reporter for The Associated Press, based in Detroit. She covers the ways people and communities create viable and scalable solutions to the planets warming. twitter mailto

In this undated image released by Intuitive Machines, Intuitive Machines newest lunar lander is displayed. (Intuitive Machines via AP)2025-02-27T00:18:03Z CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) A private company launched another lunar lander Wednesday, aiming to get closer to the moons south pole this time with a drone that will hop into a jet-black crater that never sees the sun.Intuitive Machines lander, named Athena, caught a lift with SpaceX from NASAs Kennedy Space Center. Its taking a fast track to the moon with a landing on March 6 while hoping to avoid the fate of its predecessor, which tipped over at touchdown. Never before have so many spacecraft angled for the moons surface all at once. Last month, U.S. and Japanese companies shared a rocket and separately launched landers toward Earths sidekick. Texas-based Firefly Aerospace should get there first this weekend after a big head start. The two U.S. landers are carrying tens of millions of dollars worth of experiments for NASA as it prepares to return astronauts to the moon. Its an amazing time. Theres so much energy, NASAs science mission chief Nicky Fox told The Associated Press a few hours ahead of the launch.This isnt Intuitive Machines first lunar rodeo. Last year, the Texas company made the first U.S. touchdown on the moon in more than 50 years. But an instrument that gauges distance did not work and the lander came down too hard and broke a leg, tipping onto its side. Intuitive Machines said it has fixed the issue and dozens of others. A sideways landing like last time would prevent the drone and a pair of rovers from moving out. NASAs drill also needs an upright landing to pierce beneath the lunar surface to gather soil samples for analysis. Certainly, we will be better this time than we were last time. But you never know what could happen, said Trent Martin, senior vice president of space systems. Its an extraordinarily elite club. Only five countries have pulled off a lunar landing over the decades: Russia, the U.S., China, India and Japan. The moon is littered with wreckage from many past failures. The 15-foot (4.7-meter) Athena will target a landing 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the lunar south pole. Just a quarter-mile (400 meters) away is a permanently shadowed crater the ultimate destination for the drone named Grace. Named after the late computer programming pioneer Grace Hopper, the 3-foot (1-meter) drone will make three increasingly higher and longer test hops across the lunar surface using hydrazine fueled-thrusters for flight and cameras and lasers for navigation.If those excursions go well, it will hop into the nearby pitch-black crater, an estimated 65 feet (20 meters) deep. Science instruments from Hungary and Germany will take measurements at the bottom while hunting for frozen water.It will be the first up-close peek inside one of the many shadowed craters dotting both the north and south poles. Scientists suspect these craters are packed with tons of ice. If so, this ice could be transformed by future explorers into water to drink, air to breathe and even rocket fuel. NASA is paying $62 million to Intuitive Machines to get its drill and other experiments to the moon. The company, in turn, sold space on the lander to others. It also opened up the Falcon rocket to ride-sharing. Tagalongs included NASAs Lunar Trailblazer satellite, which will fly separately to the moon over the next several months before entering lunar orbit to map the distribution of water below. Also catching a ride was a private spacecraft that will chase after an asteroid for a flyby, a precursor to asteroid mining.___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel speaks during a press conference at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)2025-02-26T16:50:01Z INDIANAPOLIS (AP) The Miami Dolphins are the top-ranked team, followed by the Minnesota Vikings, for the second consecutive season in the NFL Players Association report card.The Atlanta Falcons, Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers rounded out the top five in the third annual NLPA report card released Wednesday at the NFL scouting combine.The Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals were the bottom five.JC Tretter, the NFLPAs chief strategy officer, said 1,695 players responded to the survey, an average of 52 players per team and 77% of the unions membership. The report cards were compiled between Aug. 26 and Nov. 20.NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell pointed out the purpose of the report cards is not to be a shame campaign but how do we improve working conditions for our guys. Tretter said most teams improved in a positive direction.The Washington Commanders made a huge jump, going from 32nd twice to No. 11.That really shows the point of the project, Tretter said, highlighting owner Josh Harris efforts to improve staffing and culture. Commanders coach Dan Quinn was ranked No. 1 by players.The Falcons leaped from 25th to third and the Chargers went from 30th to fifth.The Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles fell to 22nd from fourth last year.Owners were graded on two new categories this time around. Previously, players were asked to rate how willing owners were to invest in the teams facilities. Stephen Ross (Dolphins), Zygi Wilf (Vikings), Arthur Blank (Falcons), Greg Prenner (Broncos) and Dean Spanos (Chargers) finished 1-5 in that category.Robert Kraft (Patriots), David Tepper (Panthers), Art Rooney II (Steelers), Michael Bidwell (Cardinals) and Woody Johnson (Jets) were the bottom five.Players were asked to also rate how the owners contributed to positive team culture and to rate their commitment to building a competitive team. Ross, Blank, Wilf, Harris and Prenner were the top five in both categories. Bidwell, Jimmy Haslam (Browns), Kraft, Tepper and Johnson were the bottom five for team culture. Mike Brown (Bengals), Haslam, Kraft, Johnson and Tepper were the bottom five for competitive building.Only Johnson got an overall F rating for ownership.Falcons coach Raheem Morris finished second behind Quinn in coach rankings and AP Coach of the Year Kevin OConnell of the Vikings was third. Kansas Citys Andy Reid and Detroits Dan Campbell were fourth and fifth. Miamis Mike McDaniels also received an A-plus.The lowest-graded coaches received a C. They were Kevin Stefanski, a two-time Coach of the Year with the Browns, Doug Pederson (Jaguars) and Matt Eberflus (Bears). Pederson and Eberflus were fired.___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl ROB MAADDI Maaddi is senior NFL writer for The Associated Press. Hes covered the league for 24 years, including the first two decades as the Eagles beat writer. mailto

The seal is seen at the Department of Veterans Affairs building in Washington, June 21, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)2025-02-26T23:44:10Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Department of Veterans Affairs has temporarily suspended billions of dollars in planned contract cuts following concerns that the move would hurt critical veterans health services, lawmakers and veterans service organizations said Wednesday. The pause affects hundreds of VA contracts that Secretary Doug Collins a day earlier described as simply consulting deals, whose cancellation would save $2 billion as the Trump administration works to slash costs across the federal government. No more paying consultants to do things like make Power Point slides and write meeting minutes! Collins posted to X Tuesday, in a post that was then lauded by Elon Musk, President Donald Trumps cost-cutting chief at the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The Associated Press has obtained the full list of 875 affected contracts, which shows the cuts would affect everything from cancer care to the ability to assess toxic exposure. The list underscores how the Trump administrations approach to broad spending reductions has immediate and potentially unintended consequences, generating significant concern not just among Democrats but also Republican lawmakers. The VA said in a statement to the AP that its review of the contracts is ongoing and not final. We will not be eliminating any benefits or services to Veterans or VA beneficiaries, and there will be no negative impact to VA health care, benefits or beneficiaries. We are always going to take care of Veterans at VA. Period, VA press secretary Pete Kasperowicz said in a statement. One contract that was on the chopping block supports assessing veterans disability ratings. Those evaluations are one of the most important steps needed for a veteran to qualify to have their medical care covered and receive financial compensation if they were wounded due to their military service. An inaccurate rating can have a long-term impact on their access to care and financial support. Another contract is intended to identify and integrate data between the Pentagon, VA and other agencies to support the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022, a bill passed in 2022 to increase veterans access to care. Some of the other contracts marked for cancellation also directly affect veterans care.At a joint House and Senate hearing Wednesday with veterans services organizations, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal submitted a partial list of the affected contracts his office had received and submitted it for the congressional record.If carried out, these cuts will harm veterans and taxpayers for years to come, Blumenthal said in a statement. In an internal VA email sent Tuesday and seen by the AP, a VA contracting official said DOGE targeted contracts broadly categorized as consulting but they included ones that if terminated would halt chemotherapy and imaging services. Contracts to calibrate radiation detection equipment, to support cancer care and veterans cemetery management, among others were also targeted. Another would directly affect the ability to assess toxic exposure because it supports more than 24,000 research requests to look through the National Archives and Records Administration and other government sources to validate service and toxic exposure events. Former VA Secretary David Shulkin, who served in the Trump administration in his first term, said that while the agency has gotten larger and there are likely savings to be found, the VA grew, in part, to meet the large expansion of veterans enrolling to get care under the PACT Act. More than 740,000 veterans signed up for coverage after the law passed, according to a September 2024 VA press release.I do think slowing down and pausing to see what the consequences are, even if they are unintended consequences, is important to do, Shulkin told The Associated Press.Veterans service organizations called for immediate transparency on what contracts were affected.With funding suddenly stripped from contractors processing claims, conducting medical screenings and expanding outreach, there are growing concerns veterans will face delays, denials and disruptions in accessing critical services, said Rosie Torres, executive director of Burn Pits 360. The group advocates for veterans who face life-altering respiratory illnesses and cancers due to toxic exposure to dangerous air particle matter generated from massive trash-burning fires at overseas bases.The Washington Post was first to report on the cancellations.___Johnson reported from Washington state. TARA COPP Copp covers the Pentagon and national security for the Associated Press. She has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia. twitter mailto CARLA K. JOHNSON Johnson covers research in cancer, addiction and more for The Associated Press. She is a member of APs Health and Science team. twitter mailto

Russell Vought, President Donald Trump's choice for Director of the Office of Management and Budget, appears before the Senate Budget Committee during a hearing to examine his nomination, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, file)2025-02-26T22:10:28Z The Mennonite population being affected by a measles outbreak in West Texas is part of a larger, loosely affiliated group of churches worldwide with varied beliefs and leadership structures and with sometimes strained or distant relations with health officials and other public authorities. Who are the Mennonites?Mennonites are part of the wider Anabaptist family of churches, which emerged in 1525 as the radical wing of the Protestant Reformation in Central Europe. Other Anabaptist branches today include the Amish, Brethren and Hutterites. Anabaptists believed that a true biblical church had to follow such principles as non-violence, unconditional forgiveness, adult baptism, church discipline, and a refusal to bear arms or swear oaths. Early Anabaptists suffered persecution and martyrdom under Catholic and Protestant rulers in Europe, a history that still influences some groups today in their suspicion of governmental authorities, including public health officials.Mennonites, named for an early leader, Menno Simons, vary widely in practice today.Some Mennonites have largely assimilated into mainstream culture and dress, with a focus on working for peace and social justice in the larger society. Other Mennonites maintain traditions similar to the Amish, with tight-knit, separatist communities marked by such things as limited technology, nonviolence, male leadership and traditional dress, including womens head coverings. Still others are somewhere on a continuum between such practices. There are more than 2 million baptized believers in 86 countries in Anabaptist-related churches, according to the Mennonite World Conference What are Old Colony Mennonites in Texas? The outbreak has particularly affected Gaines county and some adjacent areas.While its not immediately clear which Mennonite community has been affected, the Gaines County area includes a community with a distinctive history.Many other North American Amish and Mennonites trace their roots to immigration directly from Western Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, said Steven Nolt, professor of history and Anabaptist Studies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania. In contrast, the Seminole area includes a community of Old Colony Mennonites, which has a much more circuitous history of migration, Nolt said.Old Colony Mennonites migrated first to the Russian Empire, then to Canada, then to Mexico, fleeing government pressures to assimilate, according to Nolt. As economic conditions deteriorated in Mexico, some moved to such areas as Gaines County and other communities in Texas and nearby states in the 1980s and 1990s. All along, they have preserved their Low German dialect and other cultural distinctions.Gaines County is also home to one of the highest rates of school-aged children in Texas who have opted out of at least one required vaccine, with nearly 14% skipping a required dose last school year. What are Mennonite views on vaccines?Historically and theologically, there has not been any religious teaching against immunization in Mennonite circles, Nolt said via email. Theres no religious prohibition, no body of religious writing on it at all. That said, more culturally conservative Mennonite (and Amish) groups have tended to be under-immunized or partially-immunized.Partly, he said, thats because they dont engage as regularly with health care systems as more assimilated groups do. Many traditional Anabaptist groups did accept vaccinations that were promoted in the mid-20th century, such as for tetanus and smallpox, but they have been more skeptical in recent years of newly introduced vaccines, Nolt said.But Old Colony groups who arrived in the late 20th century also missed the whole mid-century immunization push, as they werent in the U.S. at that time.___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.

The U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, is pictured Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)2025-02-26T23:27:52Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Trump administration said Wednesday it is eliminating more than 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Developments foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall U.S. assistance around the world, putting numbers on its plans to eliminate the majority of U.S. development and humanitarian help abroad. The cuts detailed by the administration would leave few surviving USAID projects for advocates to try to save in what are ongoing court battles with the administration. The Trump administration outlined its plans in both an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press and filings in one of those federal lawsuits Wednesday. The Supreme Court intervened in that case late Wednesday and temporarily blocked a court order requiring the administration to release billions of dollars in foreign aid by midnight. Wednesdays disclosures also give an idea of the scale of the administrations retreat from U.S. aid and development assistance overseas, and from decades of U.S. policy that foreign aid helps U.S. interests by stabilizing other countries and economies and building alliances. The memo said officials were clearing significant waste stemming from decades of institutional drift. More changes are planned in how USAID and the State Department deliver foreign assistance, it said. President Donald Trump and ally Elon Musk have hit foreign aid harder and faster than almost any other target in their push to cut the size of the federal government. Both men say USAID projects advance a liberal agenda and are a waste of money. Trump on Jan. 20 ordered what he said would be a 90-day program-by-program review of which foreign assistance programs deserved to continue, and cut off all foreign assistance funds almost overnight.The funding freeze has stopped thousands of U.S.-funded programs abroad, and the administration and Musks Department of Government Efficiency teams have pulled the majority of USAID staff off the job through forced leave and firings. In the federal court filings Wednesday, nonprofits owed money on contracts with USAID describe both Trump political appointees and members of Musks teams terminating USAIDs contracts around the world at breakneck speed, without time for any meaningful review, they say.There are MANY more terminations coming, so please gear up!'' a USAID official wrote staff Monday, in an email quoted by lawyers for the nonprofits in the filings.The nonprofits, among thousands of contractors, owed billions of dollars in payment since the freeze began, called the en masse contract terminations a maneuver to get around complying with the order to lift the funding freeze temporarily.So did a Democratic lawmaker.The administration is brazenly attempting to blow through Congress and the courts by announcing the completion of their sham review of foreign aid and the immediate termination of thousands of aid programs all over the world, said Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had reviewed the terminations.In all, the Trump administration said it will eliminate 5,800 of 6,200 multiyear USAID contract awards, for a cut of $54 billion. Another 4,100 of 9,100 State Department grants were being eliminated, for a cut of $4.4 billion.The State Department memo, which was first reported by the Washington Free Beacon, described the administration as spurred by a federal court order that gave officials until the end of the day Wednesday to lift the Trump administrations monthlong block on foreign aid funding.In response, State and USAID moved rapidly, targeting USAID and State Department foreign aid programs in vast numbers for contract terminations, the memo said.Trump administration officials after repeated warnings from the federal judge in the case also said Wednesday they were finally beginning to send out their first or any payments after more than a month with no known spending. Officials were processing a few million dollars of back payments, officials said, owed to U.S. and international organizations and companies. But U.S. District Judge Amir H. Alis order to unfreeze billions of dollars by midnight Wednesday will remain on hold until the Supreme Court has a chance to weigh in more fully, according to the brief order signed by Chief Justice John Roberts. Ali had ordered the federal government to comply with his decision temporarily blocking a freeze on foreign aid, ruling in a lawsuit filed by nonprofit groups and businesses. An appellate panel refused the administrations request to intervene before the high court weighed in.The plaintiffs have until noon Friday to respond, Roberts said.The administration has filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court in one other case so far, arguing that a lower court was wrong to reinstate the head of a federal watchdog agency after Trump fired him.-Gary Fields and Mark Sherman contributed from Washington and Rebecca Boone from Boise, Idaho.___ ELLEN KNICKMEYER Knickmeyer covers foreign policy and national security for The Associated Press. She is based in Washington, D.C. twitter RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

President Donald Trump listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2025, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen. (Pool via AP)2025-02-27T01:02:02Z WASHINGTON (AP) Building lethality in the military may be the buzzword for the new Trump administration, but busywork and paperwork have become the reality at the Pentagon, as service members and civilian workers are facing a broad mandate to purge all of the departments social media sites and untangle confusing personnel reduction moves.On Wednesday, the departments top public affairs official signed and sent out a new memo requiring all the military services to spend countless hours poring over years of website postings, photos, news articles and videos to remove any mentions that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.If they cant do that by March 5, they have been ordered to temporarily remove from public display all content published during the Biden administrations four years in office, according to a copy of the memo obtained by The Associated Press. The new directive comes as the military services also are scrambling to identify probationary workers the administration has targeted for firing under its campaign to slash the government workforce. They are also trying to figure out how many civilian workers have agreed to leave under the government-wide buyouts and whether they have been approved. Among the firings were a dozen senior military leaders late last week, including Gen. CQ Brown Jr., who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the chief of naval operations; Gen. Jim Slife, vice chief of the Air Force; and the judge advocates general for the services. Top leaders had been targeted as part of the campaign to rid the military of so-called woke leaders, but the firing of the JAGs didnt seem to fall into that category. The latest social media directive hits just days after the department issued a separate memo to the services reminding forces to remain apolitical and focused on the non-partisan execution of their duties. Given the intense focus on recent changes within the department, maintaining the public trust is more important than ever, said the memo, signed Feb. 19, by Darin Selnick, who is temporarily working as the undersecretary for personnel.The move to purge content on diversity is part of Trumps broader executive order ending the federal governments diversity, equity and inclusion programs. But confusion has swirled among federal agencies, since Trump himself marked Black History Month at the White House with a reception that featured golf legend Tiger Woods.U.S. officials said this week that military leaders were initially told they would have just days to scour their websites going back decades for stories on gains in the military by women and minorities or stories celebrating cultural heritage. When the leaders said they didnt have the manpower to meet the deadline, they got the option to simply wipe away all posts from the last four years.Employees would then go through all that content to determine what must be publicly removed and archived and what can be reposted. But officials said that given the expanse of the task, many may just remove all content from the last four years and start over with new sites essentially erasing the Biden tenure from the departments online history. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to relay internal discussions. Signed by Sean Parnell, the departments new chief spokesman, the memo provides a bit more detail on the DEI purge that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered. But it also has left the services and department sections scrambling to find workers to devote substantial time to the detail-intensive task.Officials said they are concerned that the directive has added yet another distraction as they try to focus on meeting Trumps broader mandate to increase lethality. They worry there is little time to strip years of old military web pages of all DEI content and to do so means pulling staff from other more critical warfighting and security tasks.It also isnt entirely clear what makes a story, post, photo or video DEI-related. According to the memo, it includes content that promotes programs or materials about critical race theory, gender ideology and special treatment for individuals based up gender, race or ethnicity. It also refers to any content that is counter to merit-based or color-blind policies which could include news items that focus on a service member or employees race or gender.And despite Trumps celebration of Black History Month, it also calls for the elimination of all content that promotes so-called cultural awareness months that Hegseth decried in an earlier memo titled Identity Months dead at DOD.In that Jan. 31 memo, he said that efforts to divide the force to put one group ahead of another erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution. He has also argued that efforts to broader diversity took emphasis away from warfighting. As a result, he said the department and the services cant use official resources to host celebrations or event related to Black History Month, Womens History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Pride Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, National Disability Employment Awareness Month and National American Indian Heritage Month. Instead, he said units and offices are encouraged to celebrate the valor and success of military heroes of all races, genders, and backgrounds as we restore our warrior culture and ethos.The new edict raises questions about how workers will determine what to pull down. And it triggers fears that there could be another overreaction as workers remove all photos or videos of women and minorities to ensure they dont miss something.Such overreach caused problems early on following Trumps initial order to purge DEI from social media the Air Force quickly took down new recruit training courses that included videos of the Tuskegee Airmen.That mistake drew the White Houses ire and left the service open to criticism that it was engaging in malicious compliance. The Air Force quickly reversed the removal of the videos. LOLITA C. BALDOR Baldor has covered the Pentagon and national security issues for The Associated Press since 2005. She has reported from all over the world including warzones in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. twitter mailto TARA COPP Copp covers the Pentagon and national security for the Associated Press. She has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia. twitter mailto

A U.S. soldier who recently pleaded guilty to hacking AT&T and Verizon communicated with an email address that he believed belonged to a foreign countrys military intelligence service and attempted to sell the service stolen data, according to newly filed court records reviewed by 404 Media. The court document also says that the soldier searched for U.S. military personnel defecting to Russia.The court filing in the case of Cameron John Wagenius, who used the handles kiberphant0m and cyb3rph4nt0m, discusses Wagenius unlawful posting and transferring of confidential phone records, including records belonging to high-ranking public officials. 404 Media previously revealed how hackers linked to the AT&T breach mined it for records associated with members of the Trump family, such as Melania and Ivanka Trump, Kamala Harris, and Marco Rubios wife. The court document does not say what specific data Wagenius tried to sell to the foreign intelligence service, or who that data belonged to.The news further stresses the catastrophic nature of the AT&T breach and its national security implications, which saw hackers make off with nearly all of AT&Ts customers calls and text metadata records across a several month period. The news also signifies how some participants in the Com, a nebulous community of mostly English speaking hackers, fraudsters, and violent criminals that coalesce on Telegram and Discord, and which Wagenius was associated with, are crossing paths with powerful international entities. 404 Media previously reported SIM swappers in the Com have worked with an Eastern European ransomware gang.Do you know anything else about this breach? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at +44 20 8133 5190. Otherwise, send me an email at joseph@404media.co.As discussed in the governments sealed filing, the government has uncovered evidence suggesting that the charged conduct was only a small part of Wagenius malicious activity, the court record, filed on Wednesday, reads. For more than two weeks in November 2024, Wagenius communicated with an email address he believed belonged to Country-1s military intelligence service in an attempt to sell stolen information. Days after he apparently finished communicating with Country-1s military intelligence service, Wagenius Googled, can hacking be treason, the document continues.That section does not name the specific country. But a further section says that Wagenius searched for U.S. military personnel defecting to Russia. It then says He also searched for information about defecting to Country-1, the country to which he attempted to sell stolen information in November, suggesting that Country-1 is Russia.A footnote in the document says that the U.S. government has not verified whether the email address actually belongs to Country-1s military intelligence service. What is significant, however, is that Wagenius believed that it did, the document says.AT&T did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The CHS oil refinery is silhouetted against the setting sun Sept. 28, 2024, in McPherson, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)2025-02-26T17:36:47Z President Donald Trump began dismantling his predecessors climate change and renewable energy policies on his first day in office, declaring a national energy emergency to speed up fossil fuel development a policy he has summed up as drill, baby, drill.The declaration calls on the federal government to make it easier for companies to build oil and gas projects, in part by weakening environmental reviews, with the goal of lowering prices and selling to international markets. Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds, Oct. 14, 2024, in Oaks, Pa., as moderator South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem listens. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds, Oct. 14, 2024, in Oaks, Pa., as moderator South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem listens. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Democrats say thats a sham. They point out that the U.S. is producing more oil and natural gas than any other country and the Biden administrations Inflation Reduction Act boosted renewable energy at a critical time, creating jobs and addressing the climate change threat 2024 was Earths hottest year on record amid the hottest 10-year stretch on record. It would also set a horrible precedent, that a president of either party can invent a sham emergency and then grab away from Congress powers that Congress has in the Constitution, said Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia.Kaine spoke Wednesday in support of a Senate resolution from Democrats to terminate Trumps declaration that later failed on a party-line 52-47 vote. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has already made the U.S. an even friendlier environment for fossil fuels. Congress is helping, too, with the House voting to repeal a Biden administration-era methane fee on oil and gas producers. In addition, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency has urged the White House to reconsider a finding that greenhouse gases endanger the public, a fundamental Obama-era document that underpins the agencys power to regulate planet-warming emissions, according to four people who were briefed on the matter but spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the recommendation is not public.Here are some ways the Trump administration has moved to advance fossil fuels: Lifting a pause on LNG exports A flare burns at Venture Global LNG in Cameron, La., April 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine, File) A flare burns at Venture Global LNG in Cameron, La., April 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The Biden administration last year paused evaluations of new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals. That pleased environmentalists concerned that a big surge in exports would contribute to planet-warming emissions. The pause didnt stop projects already under construction, but it delayed consideration of new projects.Trump reversed that pause.On Tuesday, oil and gas giant Shell said global LNG demand is forecast to rise by around 60% by 2040.The United States is expected to play a major role in meeting that demand, with its export capacity expected to double before 2030, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.I think investors have become much more comfortable that they can move towards final investment decisions without the concerns that they had over the last four years about potential roadblocks, said Christopher Treanor, an energy and environmental attorney at the law firm Akin.Drilling expansion An oil pumping unit works in the foreground while wind turbines at the Buckeye Wind Energy wind farm rise in the distance Sept. 30, 2024, near Hays, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) An oil pumping unit works in the foreground while wind turbines at the Buckeye Wind Energy wind farm rise in the distance Sept. 30, 2024, near Hays, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Trump has opened more land for oil and gas lease sales, shifting away from Bidens efforts to protect environmentally sensitive areas like Alaskas National Wildlife Refuge and to prevent large swaths of ocean from being available for offshore drilling, including major areas off coasts in the Pacific, Atlantic and parts of Alaska. Environmental groups are suing to stop Trumps moves.Expanding the area available for companies to lease and drill doesnt necessarily mean that more oil and gas will be produced. When leases were made available in the Artic National Wildlife Refuge, for example, only smaller companies bid and there were no buyers for a second lease sale.Army Corps appears ready to help projects sidestep the Clean Water ActThe Army Corps of Engineers marked hundreds of Clean Water Act permits for fast-tracking, citing Trumps order on energy, then removed that notation in its database. The agency said it needed to review active permit applications before publishing which ones will be fast-tracked.They dont seem to be backing off, said Tom Pelton, spokesman with the Environmental Integrity Project. They are just going to refine the list. Many of the permit applications that had been listed for expediting are for fossil fuel projects, but some others have nothing to do with energy, including a housing subdivision proposed by Chevron in southern California, according to the Environmental Integrity Project. David Bookbinder, the organizations director of law and policy, said the Trump administration is using the pretext of a national energy emergency to ask a federal agency to circumvent environmental protections to justify building more fossil fuel power plants. Bookbinder said theres no shortage of energy. Slashing the federal workforce The Jeffrey Energy Center coal-fired power plant operates near Emmett, Kan., Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) The Jeffrey Energy Center coal-fired power plant operates near Emmett, Kan., Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Pat Parenteau, professor emeritus at Vermont Law & Graduate School, said Trumps policy changes arent nearly as important as the deep cuts to the federal government that eliminate vital expertise. At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, for example, Trump said the head of the EPA should axe roughly two-thirds of its employees. I think they are going to accomplish what no other administration has been able to do in terms of crippling the institutional capacity of the federal government to protect public health, to conserve national resources to save endangered species, he said. That is where we are going to see long-term, permanent damage.Trumps energy emergency calls, for example, for undermining Endangered Species Act protections to ensure fast energy development, even assembling a rarely used committee the so-called God Squad that could have authority to dismiss significant threats to species. That move was coupled with recent deep cuts to the Fish & Wildlife Service, which administers the law.Parenteau said some species are likely to go extinct.Executive orders take aim at renewablesTrump also targeted wind energy with an order to temporarily halt offshore wind lease sales in federal waters and pause federal approvals, permits and loans for projects both onshore and offshore. In another order, he listed domestic energy resources that could help ensure a reliable, diversified and affordable supply of energy. Solar, wind and battery storage were omitted, though solar is the fastest-growing source of electricity generation in the United States. Trump has vowed to end tax credits for renewables as well, which would push up prices. Substantially slowing renewables could leave the U.S. wedded to coal and gas for far longer as coal plants are extended and new gas plants are built, said David Shepheard, partner and energy expert at the global consultant Baringa. Shepheard said the U.S. is facing unprecedented growth in electricity demand largely to meet needs from data centers and artificial intelligence, and increasingly the deck is stacked against renewables to meet it. A Baringa analysis found Trumps policies will drive up emissions and put the agreed-upon international climate threshold further out of reach.___This story has been updated to correct the status of action on efforts to repeal methane fee; only House has so far voted to repeal.___Associated Press writers Matthew Daly and Patrick Whittle contributed reporting.___The Associated Press climate and environmental 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. MICHAEL PHILLIS Phillis is an Associated Press reporter covering the environment with a focus on water. He is based in St. Louis. mailto JENNIFER McDERMOTT McDermott is a reporter on the Associated Press Climate and Environment team. She focuses on the transition to clean energy. twitter mailto

Three children play where the border wall separating Mexico and the United States meets the Pacific Ocean, Friday, Feb. 21, 2025, in Tijuana, Mexico. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)2025-02-26T18:41:08Z Immigration officials say anyone living in the U.S. illegally will soon have to register with the federal government, and those who dont could face fines, imprisonment or both.The registry will be mandatory for everyone 14 and older who doesnt have legal status, according to a Tuesday statement from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security. Each person must register and provide their fingerprints and address, the statement says, and parents and guardians of anyone under age 14 must ensure they are registered. Here are some details about the registry the latest in a string of Trump administration moves tied to campaign promises to crack down on illegal immigration and deport millions living in the country illegally: What is behind the registry?Federal immigration law has long required that people living illegally in the U.S. register with the government. Those laws can be traced back to the Alien Registration Act of 1940, which came amid heightened growing fears of immigrants and political subversives in the early days of World War II. The current requirements stem from the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952.A system set up after 9/11, the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System, required all noncitizen males age 16 or older from 25 countries - all but one of them majority Arab or Muslim - to register with the U.S. government. The program led to no terrorism convictions but pulled more than 13,000 people into deportation proceedings. It was suspended in 2011 and dissolved in 2016. Across the decades, though, scholars say the registration requirement has rarely been enforced. Officials say that now will change. The Trump administration will enforce all our immigration laws we will not pick and choose which laws we will enforce, Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. We must know who is in our country for the safety and security of our homeland and all Americans. What is the goal of the announcement? In part, Tuesdays Homeland Security statement was purely bureaucratic, a way to announce that the law is again being enforced and how people should register. Officials said theyd soon announce a form and process for aliens to complete the registration requirement. On its website, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service directs people to create an online account and says additional information on registering will be available in the coming days.No alien will have an excuse for failure to comply with this law, the statement said.The USCIS website indicated that people who register would be given some form of identity card, which anyone over age 18 must carry and keep in their possession at all times.The announcement of the registry allows the Trump administration to flex its political muscle on the key issue of immigration. Its also a signal to people living in the U.S. illegally. If you leave now, you may have the opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American dream, McLaughlins statement said. What will be the effect of the registry? Like much about the registry, thats unclear for now. But legal scholars say the practical consequences may not matter, as people already living below the legal radar are unlikely to register, which would make them far easier to deport. But even if it doesnt actually accomplish much in terms of deporting more people, it sends a signal to the American people that Were cracking down on immigrants, and it will also heighten the fear immigrants already have about whats going on, said Stephen Yale-Loehr, a longtime immigration law scholar and retired Cornell Law School professor.Advocates blasted the announcement. Heidi Altman, vice president of policy at the National Immigration Law Center, said in a statement that it harkens back to shameful episodes in U.S. history of government-sanctions discrimination against immigrants and people of color.___Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed reporting.

In this image taken off a video released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, a member of Taiwan Navy reacts on the intercom to Chinese war ships conducting drills about 40 nautical miles (74km) off the coast of western Taiwan's Kaohsiung and Pingtung cities on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense via AP)2025-02-27T04:10:09Z TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) Taiwan on Thursday condemned Chinas military exercises after Beijing designated an area to conduct shooting drills off the self-governed islands southwest coast.China considers the island a renegade province to be taken by force if necessary and in recent years has increased military activity around Taiwans waters and airspace.China is the biggest troublemaker for regional peace and stability, and the sole and greatest threat to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region, Taiwans Foreign Ministry said in its statement.Taiwans Defense Ministry said in a 24-hour period it detected 45 aircraft, 14 navy vessels and one ship from the Chinese military operating around Taiwan, of which 34 had crossed into its waters and airspace.Taiwan said that it responded accordingly without elaborating. This comes after Taiwan said four Chinese coast guard boats entered into its waters near Kinmen island earlier this week, and that Taiwan dispatched its own boats to drive them away.Xinhua, Chinas state-run news agency, reported that senior Chinese official Wang Huning during an annual meeting about Taiwan had called for China to take the initiative in cross-strait relations and push toward the reunification of the motherland.Taiwan this week also said it caught a Chinese-owned vessel severing an undersea cable and detained the ship. Beijing has accused Taiwan of exaggerating the situation before facts have been clarified in an attempt at political manipulation.

Elon Musk speaks during a Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (Pool via AP)2025-02-26T21:05:22Z WASHINGTON (AP) Elon Musk took a star turn at the first Cabinet meeting of President Donald Trumps new term, holding forth in a black Make America Great Again campaign hat on Wednesday about his role as humble tech support for the federal government and laying out dire stakes if his cost-cutting efforts fail.If we dont do this, America will go bankrupt, Musk told department heads assembled around a large wooden table in the Cabinet Room.Trump, not one to easily share the spotlight, seemed happy to turn the top of the hour-plus meeting over to Musk for a little summary of what the Department of Government Efficiency has been up to, saying that Musks team had found evidence of horrible things afoot in the government.Hes sacrificing a lot, Trump said of Musk, referencing the time the worlds richest man is taking away from his many business ventures. Hes also getting hit. Musk, for his part, said his lightning-fast efforts to right-size the government had drawn death threats and he jokingly knocked his fist on his wooden head as he said he hoped to find $1 trillion to trim from the federal budget, an effort that has caused extensive disruption among federal workers and those who rely on their services. Musk defended his weekend attempt to require government workers to justify their prior weeks work under penalty of termination a move that drew pushback from many in the room on national security and privacy grounds as merely a pulse check to ensure that those working for the government have a pulse and two neurons, adding that this is not a high bar for workers to meet. Speculating that some workers are either dead or fictional, Musk added that the goal was to see that workers are real, alive and can write an email.Asked if members of the Cabinet were happy with Musk, the DOGE guru started to answer the question. But Trump interjected and said he might want to let Cabinet members answer. Then Trump joked that if anyone disagreed, he might throw them out. That drew applause from Cabinet members.Trump then turned things back to Musk, who said the president had put together, I think, the best Cabinet ever.And I dont give false praise, he added.Musk did volunteer that his efforts to slash government spending would make mistakes.He cited as an example that, while hustling to dramatically shrink the U.S. Agency for International Development, One of the things we accidentally canceled very briefly was Ebola prevention. Musk insisted that there was no interruption in services before the funding was restored. But a USAID official said Wednesday that no funds for the agencys Ebola response had been released under President Donald Trumps Jan. 20 funding freeze for foreign aid, including for efforts to combat the spread of the deadly virus.After about 15 minutes of focus on Musk and DOGE, Trump shifted the spotlight of the Cabinet meeting back to his own accomplishments in his first weeks in office.The Cabinet sat mostly silently for more than an hour, as Trump opened the floor to questions from an invited group of reporters.Asked if he expected his Cabinet to follow his directives without exception, Trump initially scoffed at the question before answering, of course, no exceptions.___AP Writer Ellen Knickmeyer contributed to this report. ZEKE MILLER Miller leads coverage of the president and the presidency for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Law enforcement respond to the scene of a shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, Pa. on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)2025-02-27T01:47:33Z HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) A nurse who survived an armed mans attack on an intensive care unit in a Pennsylvania hospital said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that she was held against him as a shield at gunpoint, arms zip-tied behind her back, as they walked through a doorway and encountered a phalanx of responding police officers. Nurse Tosha Trostle wrote that she had begged the attacker to let her go and that he pushed the gun against her neck and spine. When they encountered police, she prayed as she heard gunshots and smelled smoke, then heard bullet casings hitting the floor, she wrote.I eventually fell into the floor under the weight of the shooters body. The officers told me to run. I struggled to get out from under him, Trostle wrote. I remember his limp cold hand against my face as I pushed away with my feet.She fell twice trying to get to her feet before an officer guided her into another room. Phone and Facebook messages were left for Trostle on Wednesday. A nurse from the hospital who didnt want to be identified by name because they werent authorized to discuss the events confirmed the posting was from Trostles Facebook account. Authorities say Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz, 49, brought a gun and zip ties to UPMC Memorial Hospital in York on Saturday morning and was holding hostages when responding officers fatally shot him. West York Patrolman Andrew Duarte, 30, was shot and killed. Two other officers and three hospital employees were wounded, authorities said. Trostle recounted that she had been drawing blood when she heard a commotion and went into a hallway.After all I thought I was responding to a staff assist, patient fall, one in a dozen possible occurrences; not an active shooter. When I rounded the corner of the back hall I was met in the distance by the shooter holding my coworker, Jess, at gunpoint, she wrote. Her colleague, Jessica Breighner, was forced to zip-tie her. I saw the fear in her eyes, fear does not sound like enough really though, Trostle wrote. The attackers shoes became etched into Trostles mind as she lay at his feet, thinking the gun might have jammed and then hearing him reload, she added.So many things happened I cannot recount step by step, she wrote, but how I remember those red sneakers. Jason Huff, Breighners partner of more than 20 years, also described the incident in a separate Facebook post on Wednesday that said the attacker had pulled the trigger three times with the gun against Breighners head, but it was apparently out of ammunition.Thats when she knew it was time to take her shot, Huff wrote. She broke her zip ties while he reloaded and ran -- thank God.Huff told The Associated Press she hopes to talk publicly about it later, with the others who survived the attack.Huff wrote on Facebook that before fleeing, Breighner had to listen to this criminal call and warn someone to clean out the apartment and get the jewelry because hes not coming home and was ready to die.York County District Attorney Tim Barker said Saturday that Archangel-Ortiz appeared to have had recent contact with the intensive care unit for a medical purpose involving another person but declined to elaborate. Asked about the nurses accounts, a UPMC spokesperson said the health system prioritizes safety and privacy but referred questions to law enforcement.Trostle said the attacker hauled me off the floor pushing me into the adjacent wall, where Breighners photo was among pictures of the groups leadership on the wall.Pushing the gun into my neck and spine. I begged to go home to my children. He petted my head and promised I would that I was doing everything right, Trostle wrote.She said he directed her to take him to the floor where the most people were. As they went through a doorway, they encountered what she called a wall of armed officers aimed at us.After the shooting, she was led down a stairway. In the days since, the memory has haunted Trostle and her family, she said.My physical injuries do not even compare fractionally to what injuries are unseen, Trostle wrote. I live with immense sadness and guilt of all who responded, their mental and physical injuries. Especially, brave Officer Andrew Duarte that gave his life to bring us home.Duartes funeral service is scheduled for Friday in York. MARK SCOLFORO Scolforo is an Associated Press reporter in the Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg. twitter mailto

A street sign with names of U.S. government agencies housed at the Ronald Reagan Building, including the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID headquarters in Washington, is pictured with one building occupant taped, Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)2025-02-27T05:07:31Z WASHINGTON (AP) Thousands of U.S. Agency for International Development workers who have been fired or placed on leave as part of the Trump administrations dismantling of the agency are being given a brief window Thursday and Friday to clear out their workspaces.USAID placed 4,080 staffers who work across the globe on leave Monday. That was joined by a reduction in force that will affect another 1,600 employees, a State Department spokesman said in an emailed response to questions.USAID has been one of the biggest targets so far of a broad campaign by President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency, a project of Elon Musk, to slash the size of the federal government. The actions at USAID leave only a fraction of its employees on the job.Trump and Musk have moved swiftly to shutter the foreign aid agency, calling its programs out of line with the presidents agenda and asserting without evidence that its work is wasteful. In addition to its scope, their effort is extraordinary because it has not involved Congress, which authorized the agency and has provided its funding. A report from the Congressional Research Service earlier this month said congressional authorization is required to abolish, move, or consolidate USAID, but the Republican majorities in the House and Senate have made no pushback against the administrations actions. Theres virtually nothing left to fund, anyway: The administration now says it is eliminating more than 90% of USAIDs foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in U.S. assistance around the world. Its unclear how many of the more than 5,600 USAID employees who have been fired or placed on leave work at the agencys headquarters building in Washington. A notice on the agencys website said staff at other locations will have the chance to collect their personal belongings at a later date. The notice laid out instructions for when specific groups of employees should arrive to be screened by security and escorted to their former workspaces. Those being let go must turn in all USAID-issued assets. Workers on administrative leave were told to retain their USAID-issued materials, including diplomatic passports, until such time that they are separated from the agency. Many USAID workers saw the administrations terms for retrieving their belongings as insulting. In the notice, the employees were instructed not to bring weapons, including firearms, spear guns and hand grenades. Each worker is being given just 15 minutes at their former workstation.The administrations efforts to slash the federal government are embroiled in various lawsuits, but court challenges to temporarily halt the shutdown of USAID have been unsuccessful.However, a federal judge on Tuesday gave the Trump administration a deadline of this week to release billions of dollars in U.S. foreign aid, saying it had given no sign of complying with his nearly two-week-old court order to ease the funding freeze. Late Wednesday, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked that order, with Chief Justice John Roberts saying it will remain on hold until the high court has a chance to weigh in more fully. That court action resulted from a lawsuit filed by nonprofit organizations over the cutoff of foreign assistance through USAID and the State Department. Trump froze the money through an executive order on his first day in office that targeted what he portrayed as wasteful programs that do not correspond to his foreign policy goals.Virginia Democratic Rep. Gerald Connolly said in a statement that the attack on USAID employees was unwarranted and unprecedented. Connolly, whose district includes a sizable federal workforce, called the aid agency workers part of the worlds premier development and foreign assistance agency who save millions of lives every year. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

People from China, Vietnam, Ethiopia believed to have been trafficked and trapped into working in online scam centers after they were rescued in Myawaddy district in eastern Myanmar, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Thanaphon Wuttison)2025-02-26T13:54:39Z MAE SOT, Thailand (AP) A new crackdown on online scam centers has led to over 7,000 people from around the world being held in a Myanmar border town awaiting repatriation, and those helping them say the unprecedented number is straining the resources of Thailand just across the border and leading to delays.The crackdown coordinated among Thailand, Myanmar and China follows Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatras visit to Beijing this month, where she told Chinese leader Xi Jinping that Thailand would act against the scam networks that have drawn in hundreds of thousands of people.They are often lured under false pretenses to work in scam centers in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, where they financially exploit people around the world through false romances, bogus investment pitches and illegal gambling schemes.Many find themselves trapped in virtual slavery. Officials from Thailand, Myanmar and China are expected to meet next week to address the logistics of the crackdown as fears grow about a possible humanitarian crisis. They aim to establish guidelines for repatriations to avoid confusion, Thai Defense Ministry spokesperson Thanathip Sawangsang told The Associated Press. As part of Thailands crackdown, it also has cut off electricity, internet and gas supplies to several areas in Myanmar hosting scam centers along the border, citing national security. Amy Miller, who is Southeast Asia director of aid group Acts of Mercy International and is based in Thailands Mae Sot on the Myanmar border, told the AP she has never seen such a large-scale release of potential victims of human trafficking.She believes Thai authorities are doing their best, but the task is overwhelming.The ability to get them over to Thailand and process them and house them and feed them would be impossible for most governments, she said. It does require the embassies and the home governments of these citizens to take responsibility for their citizens. It really does require a kind of a global response. Thailands deputy prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, on Tuesday acknowledged concerns and said relevant agencies were working on the situation as fast as they could to coordinate repatriations.Im also worried that if we dont hurry up the process, it would become a problem if they cant handle it and let them loose, Phumtham told reporters in Bangkok, referring to Myanmar authorities.Logistical issues include verifying identities, which has complicated and slowed down countries repatriation efforts, according to a diplomatic source with direct knowledge of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media on the issue.Over half of the 7,000 waiting are Chinese, with the rest from a mix of countries.More than 600 Chinese were repatriated over four days last week. Due to the large number, Thailand is allowing Beijing to handle most processing on their return to China. China chartered 16 flights.Earlier this month, about 260 people from 20 countries, ranging from Ethiopia to Brazil to the Philippines, crossed from Myanmar into Thai custody as part of the crackdown. Over 100 remain in Thailand awaiting repatriation, Thai officials said. Many were trafficked to Myanmar through Mae Sot, now a center of mass repatriation efforts.On the road to Mae Sot, checkpoints displayed signs in Thai, English and Chinese warning Thais and foreigners of the risk of being trafficked to work along the Myanmar border. Soldiers on Wednesday checked vehicles and asked for identification.___Corrects name of organization to Acts of Mercy International, not Act of Mercy International. HUIZHONG WU Wu covers Chinese culture, society, and politics for The Associated Press, as well as the countrys growing overseas influence from Bangkok. She was previously based in Taiwan and China. twitter

Freed Palestinian prisoners react as they arrive in the Gaza Strip after being released from an Israeli prison following a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)2025-02-27T07:02:11Z KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) Hamas said Thursday it was ready to negotiate the the next phase of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after a swap in which it handed over the remains of four hostages in exchange for the release of more than 600 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.It was the final such exchange the two sides agreed to as part of a truce thats set to end this weekend. Negotiations over a second phase, in which Hamas would release dozens of remaining hostages in exchange for more prisoners and a lasting ceasefire, have not yet begun.An Israeli group representing families of hostages held by Hamas said the remains of all four hostages returned early Thursday have been identified. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum identified them as Ohad Yahalomi, Itzhak Elgarat, Shlomo Mantzur and Tsachi Idan.Mantzur, 85, was killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack and his body was taken into Gaza. The other three were abducted alive and the circumstances surrounding their deaths were not known. Hamas said in a statement that the only way for Israel to secure the release of the remaining hostages was through negotiations and adhering to the agreement. It warned that any attempt to pull back from the truce will only lead to more suffering for the captives and their families.Hamas confirmed that over 600 prisoners had been released overnight. Most were detainees returned to Gaza, where they had been rounded up after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack that triggered the war and held without charge on security suspicions. A joyful return for released prisoners Some of the released prisoners fell to their knees in gratitude after disembarking from buses in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. In the West Bank town of Beitunia, dozens of prisoners were welcomed by crowds of relatives and well-wishers.The released prisoners, some of whom had been serving life sentences over deadly attacks against Israelis, wore shirts issued by the Israeli prison service bearing a message in Arabic about pursuing ones enemies. Some of the prisoners threw the shirts on the ground or set them on fire.Israel delayed the release of the prisoners on Saturday over Hamas practice of parading hostages before crowds and cameras during their release. Israel, along with the Red Cross and U.N. officials, have called the ceremonies humiliating for the hostages.Hamas released the four bodies to the Red Cross in Gaza overnight without a public ceremony.The prisoners released Thursday included 445 men, 21 teenagers and one woman, according to lists shared by Palestinian officials that did not specify their ages. Only around 50 Palestinians were released into the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem in this round, while dozens sentenced to life over deadly attacks against Israelis were exiled. Last handover in ceasefires first phaseThe latest handover was the final one planned under the ceasefires first phase, during which Hamas returned 33 hostages, including eight bodies, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.The family of Idan said Wednesday they had been told he is dead and his body was among those to be returned to Israel.Idan was taken from Kibbutz Nahal Oz. His eldest daughter, Maayan, was killed as militants shot through the door of the familys safe room. Hamas militants broadcast themselves on Facebook holding the family hostage in their home as two younger children pleaded to be let go. The truce is in peril The ceasefires six-week first phase expires this weekend. U.S. President Donald Trumps Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, has said he wants the sides to move into negotiations on the second phase. Those talks were supposed to begin the first week of February.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to return all the hostages and destroy the military and governing capabilities of Hamas, which remains in control of Gaza. The Trump administration has endorsed both goals. But its unclear how Israel would destroy Hamas without resuming the war, and Hamas is unlikely to release the remaining hostages its main bargaining chips without a lasting ceasefire. The ceasefire, brokered by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, ended 15 months of war that erupted after Hamas 2023 attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people. About 250 people were taken hostage. If the identities of the four bodies are confirmed, then 59 captives will remain in Gaza, 32 of whom are believed to be dead. Nearly 150 have been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals, while dozens of bodies have been recovered by Israeli forces and eight captives have been rescued alive.Israels military offensive has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, who dont differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths but say over half the dead have been women and children.The fighting displaced an estimated 90% of Gazas population and decimated the territorys infrastructure and health system.___Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

A TV screen at Seoul Railway Station in South Korea, on Oct. 21, 2024, shows an image of soldiers believed to be from North Korea standing in line to receive supplies from Russia. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)2025-02-27T05:34:38Z SEOUL, South Korea (AP) South Koreas spy agency said Wednesday that North Korea appears to have sent additional troops to Russia, after its soldiers deployed on the Russian-Ukraine fronts suffered heavy casualties.The National Intelligence Service said in a brief statement it was trying to determine exactly how many more troops North Korea has deployed to Russia.The NIS also assessed that North Korean troops were redeployed at fronts in Russias Kursk region in the first week of February, following a reported temporary withdrawal from the area. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an address on Feb. 7, confirmed a new Ukrainian offensive in Kursk and said North Korean troops were fighting alongside Russian forces there.North Korea has been supplying a vast amount of conventional weapons to Russia, and last fall it sent about 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia as well, according to U.S., South Korean and Ukraine intelligence officials. North Korean soldiers are highly disciplined and well trained, but observers say theyve become easy targets for drone and artillery attacks on Russian-Ukraine battlefields due to their lack of combat experience and unfamiliarity with the terrain. In January, the NIS said about 300 North Korean soldiers had died and another 2,700 had been injured. Zelenskyy earlier put the number of killed or wounded North Koreans at 4,000, though U.S. estimates were lower at around 1,200. Earlier Wednesday, South Koreas JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, citing unidentified sources, reported that an additional 1,000-3,000 North Korean soldiers were deployed to Kursk between January and February. South Korea, the U.S. and their partners worry that Russia could reward North Korea by transferring high-tech weapons technologies that can sharply enhance its nuclear weapons program. North Korea is expected to receive economic and other assistance from Russia as well. During talks in Saudi Arabia last week, Russia and the U.S. agreed to start working toward ending the war and improving their diplomatic and economic ties. Ukrainian officials werent present at the talks. That marked an extraordinary shift in U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump and a clear departure from U.S.-led efforts to isolate Russia over its war in Ukraine.Observers say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could send more troops to Russia to win further Russian assistance before the war ends. HYUNG-JIN KIM Hyung-jin is an Associated Press reporter in Seoul, South Korea. He reports on security, political and other general news on the Korean Peninsula. twitter mailto