People walk at dusk in St Peter's Square at The Vatican, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)2025-03-01T05:23:11Z VATICAN CITY (AP) There has long been a Vatican taboo against openly talking about a conclave when a pope is sick: Its considered gauche to speculate about the election of a new pope while the current one is fighting for his life. And that is certainly true as Pope Francis battles double pneumonia at Romes Gemelli hospital. Academy Awards hopeful Conclave reveals system behind selecting a new pontiff, as Pope Francis remains hospitalized, battling pneumonia. (Feb. 27) But the surprising success of Conclave the film and its momentum going into Sundays Academy Awards have thrust the arcane rules, glorious ceremony and supreme drama of one of the Catholic Churchs most solemn moments into popular culture. And its put the Catholic hierarchy in something of a bind as it simultaneously prays for Francis.The film cant be dismissed as distasteful or blasphemous, since it treats the gravity of a papal election with respect and accurately portrays the ancient rituals and contemporary problems facing todays Catholic Church. Both the Vatican newspaper LOsservatore Romano and the Avvenire daily of the Italian bishops conference gave Conclave rave reviews. A nun prays for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, where the Pontiff is hospitalized since Friday, Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File) A nun prays for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, in Rome, Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, where the Pontiff is hospitalized since Friday, Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Granted, those reviews were published before Francis entered the hospital Feb. 14 with a complex lung infection that has taken him out of commission for the longest time of his 12-year papacy. Its unclear if the newspapers would have published them after Francis health took such a dire turn. Thats even more the case since its clear from the opening scenes that the figure of Francis is very much present in the film, from the opening scenes in the Vaticans modern Santa Marta hotel where Francis chose to live to one of the figures central to the plot.But at the very least, the life-imitating-art coincidence of Conclave the movie finding mass popular appeal at a time when the worlds media has descended on Rome to monitor every update of Francis health has certainly piqued interest in what might happen in a real-life conclave. Author Harris knows its a sensitive timeConclave, director Edward Bergers adaptation of the Robert Harris novel starring Ralph Fiennes as the dean of the College of Cardinals, has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It goes into Sundays Oscars with a Bafta win for best picture and a SAG award for best ensemble. A light illuminates a polychrome mosaic portrait of Pope Francis placed on the frieze of St. Pauls Outside The Walls Basilica in Rome, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File) A light illuminates a polychrome mosaic portrait of Pope Francis placed on the frieze of St. Pauls Outside The Walls Basilica in Rome, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Harris is well aware of the sensitivity of the moment, and how the surreal turn of events of an ailing pope dovetailing with an Oscar campaign had made his book and the film relevant to say the least. But he is adamant against trying to milk the moment for publicity.Ive been refusing all requests to talk about it and a future conclave because I think thats in extreme bad taste, Harris told The Associated Press. I really hope hes got some more years yet.Francis suffered a setback on Friday, and was placed on noninvasive mechanical ventilation after a coughing fit in which he inhaled vomit that had to be extracted. He was up, however, on Saturday morning drinking coffee, suggesting he was not dependent on the mask to breathe. Doctors said they need 24 to 48 hours to evaluate how and if the isolated episode affected his overall clinical condition, while keeping his prognosis guarded.All of which has made Conclave the film a bit too close for comfort in more ways than one for anyone following Francis plight and concerned about what it means for the Catholic Church. Mild spoiler alert To recap: The film opens with the death of the pope and turns around the political maneuvering and manipulations behind the election of his successor. Cardinal Thomas Lawrence (Fiennes) is dean of the College of Cardinals, who must organize the conclave amid his own crisis of faith. With the future of the church weighing on him, he has to contend with secrets, scandals, smear campaigns and surprising twists, while ensuring the elections integrity. Catholic faithful attend a nightly rosary prayer service for the health of Pope Francis in St. Peters Square at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Mosaab Elshamy, File) Catholic faithful attend a nightly rosary prayer service for the health of Pope Francis in St. Peters Square at the Vatican. (AP Photo/Mosaab Elshamy, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Massimo Faggioli, theologian at Villanova University, said the film was sadly effective in illustrating the institutional instability that the church is going through now, as well as the ease with which a single act or allegation of misconduct can ruin someone.The main threats (are) now coming not from the outside (Napoleon, or Hitler, or secularization), but from the inside (especially the fear of another sexual scandal), he said. Berger certainly takes some creative liberties. Lawrence, for example, would have been excommunicated two or possibly three times for his efforts to navigate the intrigue, given the ban on communications with the outside world during a conclave and canon laws governing the seal of the confessional and the sealing of the papal apartment after a pope has died. But this is Hollywood, and His Eminence can be forgiven.Catholic media loved the filmAvvenire, which hews to the Vatican establishment line, praised the film for its sumptuous beauty, twists of plot and anything but trivial commentary about the current state of the church.Lets face it: Conclave, which takes us to the heart of one of the worlds most mysterious and secret events, is a highly entertaining film, especially for an American audience that isnt terribly picky, Avvenire said Dec. 20, when the film opened in Italian theaters and well before Francis got sick. Writing in the Vatican newspaper LOsservatore Romano on Feb. 1, critic Alessandra Comazzi highlighted the short but critical turn played by Isabella Rossellini as Sister Agnes.As a longtime critic for the La Stampa daily, Comazzi is well aware of the Vatican taboo of openly talking of a conclave. But in an interview, she said the film managed to treat a conclave as thriller without causing offense. She said the Vatican newspaper was only too happy to publish her rave.The dean Lawrence has to govern the conclave and liberate it from these false prophets, she said. And I think also from the ecclesial and religious point of view, the director managed to do it in a very respectful way.But a cardinal close to Francis didntThat said, someone who has actually participated in a conclave gave the film something of a thumbs down.My experience of being in at least one conclave was not that it was some sort of scene of political backroom plotting of how to get your candidate elected, Cardinal Sean OMalley, the retired archbishop of Boston, wrote in a Feb. 7 blog post.OMalley voted in the 2013 conclave that elected Francis pope and is one of his closest allies. He said he and his brother cardinals were well aware that millions of Catholics were praying from afar so that the Holy Spirit would guide us in our deliberations.And, of course, at the moment when each cardinal votes, you take your ballot, stand in front of Michelangelos image of Christ in the Last Judgment and swear before God that you are going to vote for the person that you believe is Gods will for the church, he wrote.Its a much different experience than what they depicted in the movie, he wrote. For all its artistic and entertainment value, I dont think the movie is a good portrayal of the spiritual reality of what a conclave is.___Associated Press writer Hilary Fox in London contributed to this report.___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.

2025-03-01T13:46:39Z SEATTLE (AP) President Donald Trumps plan to pull federal funding from institutions that provide gender-affirming care for transgender youth will remain blocked on a long-term basis under a federal judges ruling in Seattle late Friday. U.S. District Court Judge Lauren King previously granted a two-week restraining order after the Democratic attorneys general of Washington, Oregon and Minnesota sued the Trump administration Colorado has since joined the case. Kings temporary order expired Friday, and she held arguments that day before issuing a preliminary injunction blocking most of Trumps plan pending a final decision on the merits of the case. She rejected a portion of the states challenge regarding the orders protections against female genital mutilation, on grounds that no credible threat of prosecution exists in such cases. Two of Trumps executive orders are at issue in the case. One, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism, calls for stripping federal money from programs that promote gender ideology. The other, Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation, calls for the federal government to cut off research and educational grants for institutions, including medical schools and hospitals, that provide gender-affirming care to people under age 19. Several hospitals around the country ceased providing care, including puberty blockers and hormone treatments, following the order. Medicaid programs in some states cover gender-affirming care, and Trumps Protecting Children order suggests that practice could end. It also raises the prospect that medical professionals could be criminally charged for providing gender-affirming care under a law that bans medically unnecessary genital mutilation of underage females a notion that the states suing Trump call repugnant and legally unsupportable. Young people who persistently identify as a gender that differs from their sex assigned at birth a condition called gender dysphoria are far more likely to suffer from severe depression and to kill themselves if they do not receive treatment, which can include evaluation by a team of medical professionals; a social transition, such as changing a hairstyle or pronouns; and eventually puberty blockers or hormones. Surgery is extremely rare for minors. In her ruling Friday, the judge said the order was not limited to children or to irreversible treatments and that it doesnt target medical interventions performed on cisgender children. In fact, its inadequate means-end fit would prevent federally funded medical providers from providing necessary medical treatments to transgender youth that are completely unrelated to gender identity, she wrote. For example, a cisgender teen could obtain puberty blockers from such a provider as a component of cancer treatment, but a transgender teen with the same cancer care plan could not.In his arguments Friday, Washington Assistant Attorney General William McGinty stressed the urgency of the issue. There are going to be young people who are going to take their lives if they can no longer receive this care, he said.The executive order uses derisive terminology words such as maiming, sterilizing and mutilation that contradicts what is typical for gender-affirming care in the United States. Such care is widely endorsed by the medical community, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians.King, the judge in Seattle, grilled Justice Department attorney Vinita Andrapalliyal in court about the meaning and effect of Trumps executive orders.What is gender dysphoria? she asked.Your honor, I am not a medical provider, Andrapalliyal responded.Its a thing, correct? King asked. Its a medically recognizable diagnosis?I dont have an official position on that, Andrapalliyal said.The judge continued to press, saying she was looking for a legitimate government interest that would justify Trumps orders. The four Democratic attorneys general suing in Seattle argued that the orders violate equal rights protections, the separation of powers and the states right to regulate issues not delegated to the federal government.The Trump administration disputed those claims in court filings. The Presidents authority to direct subordinate agencies to implement his agenda, subject to those agencies own statutory authorities, is well established, Justice Department attorneys wrote.In addition to the orders on health care access and defining the sexes as unchangeable, Trump has also signed orders that open the door to banning transgender people from military service; set up new rules about how schools can teach about gender; and would ban transgender athletes from participating in girls and womens sports.Many legal challenges have been filed.

People demonstrate during the Presidents Day protest Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, in Lincoln, Neb. (Justin Wan/Lincoln Journal Star via AP)2025-03-01T12:56:06Z During his first six weeks in office, President Donald Trump has embarked on a dizzying teardown of the federal government and attacks on long-standing institutions in an attempt to increase his own authority.He has pardoned those who attacked the U.S. Capitol to overturn his 2020 election loss, placed loyalists atop the FBI and military, and purged the Department of Justice, which dropped investigations against Trump allies. He declared control over independent agencies such as the Federal Elections Commission, punished media outlets for coverage he dislikes and his allies suggested he could defy court orders.Those who monitor democracy across the globe had warned that a second Trump term could endanger Americas 240-year experiment with democracy. His opening weeks in office have done nothing to dispel those concerns.Trump is using the classic elected authoritarian playbook, said Brendan Nyhan of Dartmouth College, who joined more than 800 other political scientists in signing a letter warning that Trump is undermining the rule of law and the basic constitutional principle of checks and balances. Its almost embarrassing how crude it is. Nyhan said some of Trumps moves echo those made by others who won democratic elections and then moved to centralize control, such as Hungarys Viktor Orban. Those who have resisted authoritarians in other countries say they are alarmed by what is happening in the United States. I feel like Im living through this twice, said Maria Ressa, a journalist who won a Nobel Prize after being prosecuted by the government of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019, on a call last week about the threat of Trump to democracy.What youre seeing is exactly that think about it as death by a thousand cuts, she said. Youre bleeding so much that, at some point, the body politic dies. What democracy is all aboutTrump has certainly embraced the image of a strongman. The president declared, we are the federal law and posted on his social media site that He who saves his country does not violate any law a quote often attributed to Napolean Bonaparte. The official White House account posted on the social media site X an image of a smiling, crowned Trump with the words LONG LIVE THE KING. Trumps supporters say he actually is trying to preserve American democracy by giving voters what they want a strong president. How strong Trump can become is in question. Courts have paused several of his executive orders, including ones seeking to eliminate agencies created by Congress and ending birthright citizenship for the children of parents who are in the U.S. illegally.Trump campaigned last year promising to dismantle what he contends is a corrupt government bureaucracy, which he blames for failures during his first term and his subsequent prosecution. On his first day in office, the new president told reporters his goal was to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy and indeed their freedom.Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office in February, billionaire Elon Musk, who Trump tapped to spearhead cuts to the federal government, claimed he is the one trying to restore democracy. Some of the lawsuits seeking to stop Musks actions have been unsuccessful, allowing him to proceed. The people voted for major government reform and thats what the people are going to get, Musk told reporters. Thats what democracy is all about.But many who track democracy warn that Musks conception is incomplete.The power you gain through the ballot box is not unlimited power. Thats the essence of liberal democracy, said Kevin Casas-Zamora, secretary general of the Stockholm-based pro-democracy group International IDEA. Undermining our democratic traditionsOn the world stage, Trump and his administration have alarmed longtime allies in Europe over whether the U.S. remains committed to NATO and his siding with Russia in talks to end the war in Ukraine, a country the Kremlin invaded three years ago, and at the United Nations last month.On Friday, Trump berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office. Russian officials and many Trump allies expressed glee; European nations reacted in horror.U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said the close relations between the Trump administration and Russian President Vladimir Putins government amounted to an existential threat. This Putin-Trump alliance means abandoning our allies, supporting authoritarianism and undermining our democratic traditions, he said in a social media post.The common theme throughout Trumps moves is about expanding his personal power, said Josh Chafetz, a Georgetown law professor.Its not even clear what its power in service of, he added, noting that Trump has few strong ideological convictions. Politicizing federal law enforcementDespite concerns that the administration would disregard the judiciary, Trump and Musk said it would obey court rulings and eventually seek congressional approval for the changes they are making. Still, Musk and some other Republicans have also called for impeaching judges who rule against the administration.There are plenty of other warning signs, chiefly the aggressive use of the Department of Justice to promote Trumps political interests.The department directed prosecutors to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, citing his cooperation with the administrations immigration crackdown. That led to several senior Justice Department officials resigning after saying such a deal was dangerous and some former top prosecutors warning about the risks to the rule of law.Trumps pick to be U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Ed Martin, represented some defendants who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Martin, in his interim post as the top federal prosecution in the nations capital, contacted at least two congressional Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, to investigate previous statements they had made. One statement related to Musk and another dealt with the conservative Supreme Court justices who were in the majority ruling that ended the constitutional right to abortion.This notion that you can use your power to reward your friends and punish your enemies it reminds me of something that has long been a staple of Latin American politics, said Casas-Zamora, who is from Costa Rica.Threatening perceived enemiesTrump has escalated attacks on media outlets whose coverage he dislikes, kicking them out of their Pentagon workspace or barring them from the Oval Office and Air Force One and picking which will be allowed to cover his events. His appointee to head the Federal Communications Commission is investigating PBS and National Public Radio, which receive federal money.Trump also issued an executive order to take control of independent agencies such as the FCC, Federal Election Commission and Securities and Exchange Commission.Some leading Democrats have used striking analogies in warning about Trumps actions. In a State of the State address last month that ended with a scathing assessment of Trumps actions, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, who is Jewish, implored lawmakers to remember what gave rise to Nazism in Germany nearly a century ago.If we dont want to repeat history, Pritzker said, then for Gods sake in this moment we better be strong enough to learn from it.___Associated Press writers John OConnor in Springfield, Illinois, and Didi Tang in Washington contributed to this report.

Welcome back to the Abstract!Hows your mental state these days? Feeling burnt out? Well, have I got a story for you about a guy whose mind was so blown by the events of his time that we can see his actual neurons 2,000 years later. Im not trying to trivialize anyones legitimate feelings of stress; just giving us all the opportunity to look on the bright side: We havent been cooked aliveyet!Next, Mars. Want to live there? Some people apparently do. Heres a guide to the best coastal real estate of the past, courtesy of a rover that recently died there. Snap up your timeshare before Elon Musk buys it and names it X-Mars-the-Spot or some crap. Then, scientists raise alarms about all the weird endangered animals that get short shrift compared to fan favorites, like tigers, and whales, and Moo Deng. Last, an ode to the mama bear. Enjoy!This is Your Brain on Mount VesuviusGiordano, Guido et al. Unique formation of organic glass from a human brain in the Vesuvius eruption of 79 CE. Scientific Reports.Nearly 2,000 years ago, a young man aged about 20 was chilling out in the Collegium Augustalium, a hall built to worship Emperor Augustus, in the Roman town of Herculaneum. Nobody knows what was running through his mind that morning, but we know what was there by the afternoon: A heat-shocked brain preserved in organic glass.This unlucky fellow was one of the thousands of people killed when Mount Vesuvius blew its ever-lovin top in the year 79, burying the neighboring towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum in searing ash, lava, and pumice.Remains of the man in the Collegium Augustalium. Image: Pier Paolo PetroneThe man in the Collegium Augustalium, who probably served as the buildings guardian, was lying down in bed when he was hit by a fast-moving volcanic belch, known as a pyroclastic flow, which raised his body temperature well above 510C (950F).That is, medically speaking, too hot. But while it is an absolutely horrifying way to die, the guardian has the posthumous honor of having a preserved glass brain formed by a unique process of vitrification which is the only such occurrence on Earth, according to researchers led by Guido Giordano of Universit Roma Tre.Our comprehensive chemical and physical characterization of the material sampled from the skull of a human body buried at Herculaneum by the 79 CE eruption of Mount Vesuvius shows compelling evidence that these are human brain remains, composed of organic glass formed at high temperatures, a process of preservation never previously documented for human or animal tissue, neither brain nor any other kind, said the team.The glass that formed as a result of such a unique process attained a perfect state of preservation of the brain and its microstructures including exceptionally well-preserved complex networks of neurons, axons, and other neural structures, the researchers added.Neural structures preserved in glass. Image: Giordano, Guido et alWe talk about having brain-freeze or being brain-fried, but the guardian definitely has us all beat with: brainvitrified-into-glass-via-volcano. While its probably not how this guy hoped to go down in history, its insane that we can look at an ancient persons actual brain, down to the neural structures, after 2,000 years. These same networks once carried thoughts like what should I have for lunch? and Emperor Augustus was so based and now they are laid out in front of us, immortalized in a glass tableau.We reconstruct a scenario where a fast, very hot ash cloud was the first deadly event during the 79 CE Vesuvius eruption, enveloping victims, including the guardian who was subject to the specific conditions for heating the brain at temperatures well above 510 C without the (total) destruction of the cerebral tissue, the team said. The brain then turned into glass during the fast cooling at glass transition temperature close to 510C. Later, in agreement with witness accounts and deposit stratigraphy, Herculaneum was progressively buried by thick pyroclastic flow deposits, but at lower temperatures, so that the unique presence of a vitrified brain could have been preserved until today.Dont mess with Mount Vesuvius! Unless you want people to look at your neurons in 2,000 years, in which case: go with the pyroclastic flow.Oceanfront Property on Mars (Ocean Not Included)Li, Jianhuii and Liu, Hai et al. Ancient ocean coastal deposits imaged on Mars. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Martian lakes? Sure. Rivers? Ok. But a big ole Martian ocean? Show me the receipts.Thats the upshot of a decades-long debate about whether a vast Martian sea extended across the northern lowlands of the red planet billions of years ago. Now, Chinas Zhurong rover has produced the aforementioned receiptsand they are premium property deeds.Various observations suggest that large amounts of liquid water once existed on the Martian surface, however, the nature and fate of this water are uncertain, said researchers co-led by Jianhui Li and Hai Liu of Guangzhou University.Through radar data gathered by the Zhurong Rover, we identify extensive dipping deposits in the subsurface of southern Utopia Planitia, the team said. These deposits have structures similar to those of Earths coastal sediments. This finding implies the past existence of a large water body, supporting the hypothesis of a past ocean in the northern plains of Mars.Concept illustrations of the ancient beach. Image: Li, Jianhuii and Liu, Hai et alThe Zhurong rover landed in 2021 in a region called Utopia Planitia, at the edge of this proposed shoreline. Though it died the next year, it is still producing revelations from beyond the grave as scientists work through its observations.This study provides the first clear onsite evidence that ocean waves lapped against these lowlands, creating scenic beaches. All you have to do to cash in on this location is go back in time about four billion years and adapt your body to an alien planet, which is only slightly more challenging than getting into the housing market here on Earth in the present day.Will Somebody Please Think of the Amphibians?!Gunard, Benoit et al. Limited and biased global conservation funding means most threatened species remain unsupported. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Humans are causing a sixth mass extinction event. Yup, its a bummer. To make matters worse, even our efforts to help curb the losses get all tangled up with our biases toward the so-called charismatic megafauna that most inspire our wonder, affection, and asymmetric sympathy.Enchanting animals like rhinos, tigers, and pandas have become the icons of conservation movementsbut these anthropic preferences come at a great cost, reports a new study that analyzed roughly 14,600 conservation projects over a period of 25 years.More attention is urgently needed to assess the extinction risks of neglected taxa, especially smaller species, said researchers led by Benoit Gunard of the University of Hong Kong. Paradoxically, while approximately 6% of species identified as threatened were supported by conservation funds, 29% of the funding was allocated to species of least concern.For example, small-bodied taxa, such as amphibians, have been known to be the most threatened of vertebrate groups for two decades, accounting for ~25% of the threatened vertebrate species and yet, amphibians received only 2.5% of recent funding, which declined from 4% in the late 1990s, the team said. Similarly, weak conservation efforts are observed within many groups of mammals (e.g., Rodentia, Chiroptera), reptiles (e.g., Squamata, Serpentes, or nonmarine Testudines), or insects (e.g., Odonata, Orthoptera) despite the well-known threats to these taxa.Honestly, preach. This problem has been a hobby-horse of mine for yearsand if a hobby-horse were a real endangered species, it would probably get disproportionate conservation funding.To that end, the authors made a series of recommendations for a more holistic distribution of conservation funding and more balanced coverage of threatened species within conservation programs.Successful citizen-science programs, even for taxa not typically seen as charismatic, have already spurred an increase in local and applied actions, as many individuals may feel geographically disconnected from some of the large megafauna that receive the lions share of funding, the team noted.With heightened awareness of the essential functions and services of many species that are often seen as less charismatic, it is crucial to address these biases and optimize the allocation of funds to ensure the protection of these species.Stoneflies and salamanders need love too! Who cares if they dont inspire Disney movies or Moo-Deng-level devotion? Are we really so superficial that we predicate survival on cuteness?I mean, yes, evidentlyI will literally do this in the following section. I contain hypocritical multitudes. But you can still ogle adorable animals while recognizing the urgent need for more objective conservation approaches.And now, on to a story about endangered charismatic megafauna.A Moment of Zen from an Arctic DenArcher, Louise et al. Monitoring phenology and behavior of polar bears at den emergence using cameras and satellite telemetry. The Journal of Wildlife Management.Last, polar bear cubs. Yeah. We deserve it. We talked about the uncharismatic minor-fauna. Now show us those fluffy little bear cubs.Scientists have done just that by filming a bunch of cuddly future killers emerging from their dens for the first time. For six years, a team logged footage from cameras installed at roughly a dozen sites in Svalbard, Norway, to get a better sense of the factors involved in this crucial rite of passage for bears, which is rarely observed as the dens tend to be in remote and inaccessible parts of the Arctic.The results revealedvery cute cubs. I just want to pick them up and hug them and accept the fatal mauling that comes my wayworth it for the snug. But in addition to lil baby bear pics, the study also produced valuable scientific insights, which was not necessary, but is nonetheless appreciated.We found that the probability a bear had broken out of the den could be accurately predicted from changes in collar temperature, activity, and ordinal date, said researchers led by Louise Archer of the University of Toronto. Post-den emergence behavior was influenced by external environmental temperature, time of day, and the amount of time since den breakout; bears were more likely to emerge and stay outside longer given warmer temperatures and increasing time since den breakout.Our study highlights the importance of the post-emergence period for cub acclimatization and development and provides new monitoring tools to study polar bear denning behavior, which is increasingly vulnerable to disruption in a rapidly changing Arctic, the team said.Polar bear family near den. Image: Steven C Armstrup/Polar Bears InternationalThe study is also a reminder of the general badassery of mama bears. These animals mate in the spring, delay implantation for several months (wish humans had this trick), dig out a den in late summer, give birth to tiny 600-gram cubs around the winter solstice, nurse them for several months, before emerging with them in the spring, by which point they have fasted up to eight months and lost nearly half their body weight. And then they have to raise the dang kids solo! All while humans make their lives immeasurably harder with the effects of climate change.These moms deserve a medal. Made of meat. Give the moms 5,000-pound meat medals.And with that, may you emerge from your dens as spring starts to thaw the Northern Hemisphere. Just watch out for volcanoes!Thanks for reading! See you next week.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pauses during a interview with Bret Baier during a taping of FOX News Channel's Special Report with Bret Baier in Washington, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-03-01T12:23:36Z Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the American people and leadership and voiced hope for strong relations, a day after an astonishing Oval Office blowout with U.S. President Donald Trump that left many uncertain where the once staunch allies stood.Zelenskyy on Saturday arrived in London ahead of a summit on Sunday organized by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer with other European leaders. The summit will also include leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Romania, as well as the NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council.The shouting match that unfolded Friday in the final minutes of the highly anticipated meeting at the White House between Trump and Zelenskyy seemed to dash, at least for now, Ukrainian hopes that the United States could be locked in as a reliable partner in helping fend off, and conclude, Russias three-year onslaught. Heres the latest: Our horror is greater today than before, says German foreign ministerGerman Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said a new era of nefariousness had begun in the wake of Trumps treatment of Zelenskyy at the White House, but vowed that it would only increase her countrys commitment to Ukraine.Many of you will have slept fitfully tonight in the face of the unspeakable videos from the White House. Frankly, so did I. Unfortunately, this was not a bad dream, but a violent reality, she told reporters on Saturday. Our horror is greater today than before, but so is our commitment to the people of Ukraine, to our own security and to peace in Europe.She described Ukraine as part of free and democratic Europe and said there is no question as to who is the aggressor and who is the brave defender in the war. Russia launches 154 drones at Ukrainian territory, wounds 12 in KharkivA nighttime Russian drone strike on Ukraines second city of Kharkiv wounded 12 civilians, including three children, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine reported on Saturday.According to Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov, some of the drones hit a medical facility where inpatients were staying overnight, while others damaged residential buildings. Ukraines air force said Russia overnight launched a total of 154 attack drones at Ukrainian territory, 103 of which were shot down.Russia says the White House blowout is Kyivs failureRussias Foreign Ministry spokesperson described Fridays Oval Office blowout between Trump and Zelenskyy as a complete political and diplomatic failure for Kyiv. In a statement Saturday, Maria Zakharova also slammed the political weakness and extreme moral degradation of European leaders who continue to support Ukraine and its president. Zakharova said Russias war aims remain unchanged, implying Moscow will insist on a demilitarized Ukraine barred from NATO, and on annexing Ukrainian territories it controls.German president criticizes TrumpGerman President Frank-Walter Steinmeier criticized Trump in unusually sharp terms for his behavior during the meeting with Zelenskyy at the Oval Office. Diplomacy fails when negotiating partners are humiliated in front of the whole world, Steinmeier told dpa, the German news agency, during a flight to Uruguay. The scene in the White House yesterday took my breath away. I would never have believed that we would one day have to protect Ukraine from the USA. Macron suggests that Putin, not Zelenskyy, is gambling with World War IIIFrench President Emmanuel Macron said if someone is gambling with World War III, it is not Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but more likely his Russian counterpart.Macron reacted to Fridays heated exchange between U.S. President Donald Trump and Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, during which Trump accused Zelenskyy of gambling with World War III.If anyone is gambling with World War III, his name is Vladimir Putin, Macron told Portugals RTP news channel during a visit to Lisbon ahead of Sundays Ukraine summit of European leaders in London.Macron said he still hopes that the United States will remain committed to the defense of democracy.My hope is that the United States of America will continue to stand by its history and its principles, he said. Whenever we have had major conflicts, the United States of America has been on the right side of history and freedom. Turkish foreign minister discusses Ukraine with Lavrov Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Saturday spoke to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov about the war in Ukraine, officials said. The phone call came a day before Fidan is due to attend a London summit of European leaders to discuss bringing the three-year conflict to an end.Turkey, which has close ties to both Ukraine and Russia, has previously offered to mediate talks. It hosted unsuccessful peace talks in 2022. Zelenskyy expresses his thanks to the US peopleUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced thanks to the American people and leadership, and hope for strong relations, less than a day after an astonishing Oval Office blowout with Trump that left many uncertain where the once staunch allies stood.Ukraine had walked into the meeting prepared to sign a mineral deal with the U.S., hoping it would be a step toward a just ceasefire, but left empty handed.In a series of posts on X on Saturday, Zelenskyy said Ukrainians are very grateful to the United States for all the support, and specifically thanked Trump and Congress alongside the American people.Our relationship with the American President is more than just two leaders: Its a historic and solid bond between our peoples. American people helped save our people, he said. We want only strong relations with America and I really hope we will have them, he added.Zelenskyy arrives in the UK ahead of schedule to meet with StarmerBritish Prime Minister Keir Starmer plans to meet Saturday afternoon with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following the dramatic blowout with President Donald Trump at the White House.Zelenskyys plane with the Ukrainian flag on its tail landed at London Stansted Airport the morning after the diplomatic spat on live TV.Zelenskyy had been due to meet with Starmer on Sunday, hours before taking part in a London summit of European leaders to discuss how to ensure a peaceful end to the war and provide security across the continent.But the timetable for their bilateral meeting was apparently sped up in the aftermath of the Washington visit. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty speaks during a press conference at the NFL football scouting combine Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)2025-03-01T11:00:08Z INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty noticed running back values declining just as his college career started to take off.Then he watched the resurgence of free agent acquisitions Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs and realized things were back on the upswing just as Jeanty was becoming a marquee name in college football.The timing couldnt be better for Jeanty and a stacked crop of running backs at the annual NFL scouting combine. Suddenly, Jeanty is considered a possible top-15 pick in one of the strongest position groups.I think there was a period of time where there was just kind of a low (in value) at the position, Jeanty said. But those guys, theyve been doing special deals and showing if you have a special player at running back, it can really enhance your offense.Theres little doubt a workhorse back or even a strong backfield tandem can propel a team into an immediate playoff or Super Bowl contender. But the conventional wisdom lately has been avoiding hefty investments at the position.Since 2020, only five backs were first-round draft picks and only four went in the top 30. The same philosophy held true in free agency. Last year, the New York Giants, Tennessee Titans and Las Vegas Raiders each let their top rushers walk away and, perhaps not surprisingly, each team earned top-six picks in Aprils draft. Barkley, meanwhile, topped the 2,000-yard mark and won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles while Henry and Jacobs led their new teams, Baltimore and Green Bay, back to the playoffs.Will those results benefit a position group that seemingly has a fit for every team?Jeanty certainly hopes so after rushing for 2,601 yards and falling 27 yards short of Barry Sanders Football Bowl Subdivision single-season record as well as falling just short to receiver-cornerback Travis Hunter in the closest Heisman Trophy race since 2009. Theres a need for a lot of teams at running back, whenever they feel necessary to draft one, Jeanty said.This years position group is deep, versatile and seems to have something for everyone.Jeanty, for instance, finished last season with nearly 2,000 yards after contact with Boise State.Cam Skattebo led Arizona State to a CFP playoff berth by rushing for more than 1,700 yards and catching 45 passes for another 600.Its pretty simple, Im physical, Skattebo said. People dont think Im as fast as I am, which I am fast, but I like to punish defenders because they dont like to do that for four quarters.Dylan Sampson does more than score touchdowns, but he did break Tennessees single-season school record, a mark that had stood nearly a century.And TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins both possess rare power-speed combinations as Ohio State found out in its national championship-winning season. Together they gave the Buckeyes arguably the FBS best backfield tandem.The best part of my game is my breakaway speed, said Henderson, who plans to run the 40-yard dash in Saturdays workouts featuring quarterbacks and receivers in addition to backs. The area of the game Im looking to highlight is my pass protection. I feel like that shows what type of player you are. Jeanty still feels like he has something to prove, too that hes a better receiver than he had a chance to demonstrate at Boise State.Each is likely to find an NFL home, though its unclear where they may land and whether anyone can climb high enough on draft boards to join Jeanty as a first-round selection.But after this past season, Jeanty thinks NFL teams could be rewarded, maybe handsomely, if theyre willing to take a chance.You can see the value of running backs is definitely going back up, so definitely coming in at the perfect time, Jeanty said. Its not just him (Barkley), all the guys are doing exception things in the NFL. And right here, in my draft class, there are a lot of great backs as well.___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (Pool via AP)2025-03-01T14:00:06Z DETROIT (AP) President Donald Trumps trade wars threaten to claim a casualty on the home front: the American auto industry.If the president goes ahead with 25% taxes on imports from Canada and Mexico on Tuesday, he will disrupt more than $300 billion in annual U.S. automotive trade with its two neighbors, wreck supply chains that have been operating for decades and likely push up the already-forbidding price of new cars.The tariffs pose an existential threat to North American auto production, said David Gantz, a fellow at Rice Universitys Baker Institute for Public Policy. They will push up the cost of everything thats imported from Mexico or Canada that goes into a car assembled in the U.S.Kelley Blue Book says Trumps tariffs could raise the U.S. price of the average new car already approaching $49,000 by $3,000 or more. The price of some full-size pickup trucks could shoot up by $10,000. The economic pain would intensify if Canada and Mexico counterpunched with tariffs on American exports.The economic impact of a sustained 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico would be severe, with full tit-for-tat retaliation likely to push Canada and Mexico into a recession and the U.S. to a point of stagnant growth, Andrew Foran of TD Economics wrote. Foran estimates that 25% tariffs would push down auto sales by 13.6% a year in Canada and 10.6% in the United States. Trumps tariffs would upend North American auto supply chainsSince 1965 when the U.S. and Canada eliminated tariffs on each others autos and auto parts North America has turned into an integrated auto manufacturing powerhouse. Mexico was brought into the fold by a 1994 regional trade pact and another one negotiated by Trump himself in 2020.The fact that you can tap relatively cheap steel and aluminum from Canada, that you can use the relatively low-cost labor in Mexico to assemble cars, and that you can leverage the high tech expertise and technology of the United States together, makes North America an incredibly competitive place to build automobiles, said Brett House, a professor at Columbia Universitys business school. Much of the production has moved to Mexico. Ford, for example, manufactures the small Bronco Sport SUV and Maverick pickup in Sonora in northwestern Mexico. Stellantis makes the Jeep Compass and Wagoneer S at a plant in Toluca, west of Mexico City, which has been in operation since 1968. General Motors turns out GMC and Chevrolet pickups at a plant in Silao in central Mexico.Just over half the 8 million cars and light trucks the United States imported last year came from Mexico (No. 1 at almost 3 million) and Canada (No. 4 at 1.1 million). Canada and Mexico are also the top two foreign markets for U.S.-built cars and light trucks, accounting for 53% of Americas auto exports.By taxing Canadian and Mexican imports, most of which has been entering the U.S. duty free, Trump would be lobbing an explosive into that elaborate manufacturing network. The costs and red tape would pile upA White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details of the tariff plan, said the taxes would apply each time goods cross the border from Mexico or Canada. That means the costs would pile up as auto components traveled from factories in the United States to Mexico or Canada and back again. So would the red tape: Its an administrative and bureaucratic nightmare to keep track of things, Gantz said.Whats more, the 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico would come atop higher taxes Trump intends to impose on foreign steel and aluminum starting March 12. Trump is removing exemptions on the metals tariffs he imposed in his first term 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum and raising the levy on aluminum to 25%. That means U.S. importers, including auto companies, would pay 50% duties on steel and aluminum from Canada and Mexico, big sources of the metals.Youre talking about the material costs going up every time (a part) goes into one market and comes back, said K. Venkatesh Prasad, senior vice president of research at the Center for Automotive Research. The higher costs would take a toll. A decade ago, Prasad said, the lowest-earning 20% of American consumers couldnt afford a new car. Already, he said, the bottom 40% of the population is not able to afford a new vehicle.Ford CEO Jim Farley has complained that so far what were seeing is a lot of cost and a lot of chaos.General Motors CEO Mary Barra said last month at the Wolfe Research auto industry conference that GM has been doing scenario planning and look at what at the different things we can change, we can move, we can respond. She expressed confidence that company can find ways to mitigate the effect of the tariffs. Stellantis chairman John Elkann recently said he thinks the administrations policies will boost American jobs and manufacturing.Trumps trade war comes at an awkward time for automakers. Theyre trying to shift from gasoline-powered to electric vehicles, using revenue generated from selling conventional cars to finance EV investments, Prasad said, so the tariffs could hurt sales and limit the money available for the EV transition. Why is Trump doing this?Trump insists that the hefty hit to imports from Canada and Mexico arent about trade; theyre about slowing the flow of undocumented immigrants and fentanyl across U.S. borders.We cannot allow this scourge to continue to harm the USA, and therefore, until it stops, or is seriously limited, the proposed TARIFFS scheduled to go into effect on MARCH FOURTH will, indeed, go into effect, as scheduled, Trump wrote Thursday in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.Canada wouldnt seem to be an especially important source of fentanyl: U.S. customs agents seized just 43 pounds of fentanyl at the Canadian border last year, versus the 21,100 pounds at Mexicos.Many analysts suspect that Trump has another goal: The 2020 U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement he negotiated in his first term comes up for renewal next year. Although the president characterized the USMCA as a victory and a big improvement over the 1994 pact it replaced, it failed to reduce Americas trade deficits with Canada and Mexico. In fact, theyve gotten bigger. (In Canadas case, thats largely because of surging energy exports that the American Midwest and Northeast rely on.) So he is likely to seek revisions meant to ensure that more production specifically auto production is done in the United States, not just North America. The tariffs could give him leverage to pressure Canada and Mexico into accepting the USMCA changes he wants. In the meantime, writes TD Economics Foran, the North American auto industry should still prepare itself for a prolonged period of elevated trade uncertainty and potential trade disruptions.____Wiseman reported from Washington. 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

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, left, prays during a rosary prayer held for the health of Pope Francis in St Peter's Square at The Vatican, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)2025-03-01T07:42:46Z ROME (AP) Pope Francis was resting Saturday after an alarming setback in his two-week recovery from double pneumonia: Doctors had to put him on noninvasive mechanical ventilation following a coughing fit in which he inhaled vomit that needed to then be extracted.Doctors said it would take a day or two to evaluate how and if the episode impacted Francis overall clinical condition. His prognosis remained guarded, meaning he wasnt out of danger. A woman attends a rosary prayer with Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez held for the health of Pope Francis in St Peters Square at The Vatican, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) A woman attends a rosary prayer with Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez held for the health of Pope Francis in St Peters Square at The Vatican, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More In its brief morning update Saturday, the Vatican said: The night has passed quietly, the pope is resting.In the late Friday update, the Vatican said the 88-year-old suffered an isolated crisis of bronchial spasm, a coughing fit in which Francis inhaled vomit, that resulted in a sudden worsening of the respiratory picture. Doctors aspirated the vomit and placed Francis on non-invasive mechanical ventilation. The pope remained conscious and alert at all times and cooperated with the maneuvers to help him recover. He responded well, with a good level of oxygen exchange and was continuing to wear a mask to receive supplemental oxygen, the Vatican said. The episode, which occurred in the early afternoon, marked a setback in what had been two successive days of increasingly upbeat reports from doctors treating Francis at Romes Gemelli hospital since Feb. 14. The pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has lung disease and was admitted after a bout of bronchitis worsened and turned into pneumonia in both lungs. Doctors say the episode is alarmingThe Vatican said the episode was different to the prolonged respiratory crisis on Feb. 22, in that it was an isolated spasm that resulted in Francis aspirating the vomit that he produced. Dr. John Coleman, a pulmonary critical care doctor at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, said the episode as relayed by the Vatican was alarming and underscored Francis fragility and that his condition can turn very quickly.I think this is extremely concerning, given the fact that the pope has been in the hospital now for over two weeks, and now hes continuing to have these respiratory events and now had this aspiration event that is requiring even higher levels of support, he told The Associated Press.So given his age and his fragile state and his previous lung resection, this is very concerning, added Coleman, who is not involved in Francis care. People attend a rosary prayer with Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez held for the health of Pope Francis in St Peter's Square at the Vatican, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) People attend a rosary prayer with Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez held for the health of Pope Francis in St Peter's Square at the Vatican, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More People attend a rosary prayer with Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez held for the health of Pope Francis in St Peter's Square at The Vatican, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) People attend a rosary prayer with Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez held for the health of Pope Francis in St Peter's Square at The Vatican, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More People attend a rosary prayer with Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez held for the health of Pope Francis in St Peter's Square at the Vatican, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) People attend a rosary prayer with Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez held for the health of Pope Francis in St Peter's Square at the Vatican, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More People attend a rosary prayer with Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez held for the health of Pope Francis in St Peter's Square at the Vatican, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) People attend a rosary prayer with Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez held for the health of Pope Francis in St Peter's Square at the Vatican, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Dr. William Feldman, a pulmonary specialist at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, said it was a good sign that the pope remained alert and oriented during the episode, but concurred that it marked a worrying turn.Often we will use noninvasive ventilation as a way of trying to stave off an intubation, or the use of invasive mechanical ventilation, Feldman said.Types of noninvasive ventilation include a BiPAP machine, which helps people breathe by pushing air into their lungs. Doctors will often try such a machine for a while to see if the patients blood gas levels improve so they can eventually go back to using oxygen alone.Doctors did not resume referring to Francis being in critical condition, which has been absent from their statements for three days now. But they say he isnt out of danger, given the complexity of his case. Prayers continued to pour inLate on Friday, Francis closest friend in the Vatican bureaucracy, Argentine Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernndez, led the nightly prayer in St. Peters Square to pray for Francis health.With other cardinals bundled against the night chill, Fernndez urged the crowd to pray not just for Francis but for others, as the pope himself would. Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, second from right, leads a rosary prayer for Pope Francis health in St. Peters Square at the Vatican, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, second from right, leads a rosary prayer for Pope Francis health in St. Peters Square at the Vatican, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Certainly it is close to the Holy Fathers heart that our prayer is not only for him, but also for all those who in this particular dramatic and suffering moment of the world bear the hard burden of war, of sickness, of poverty, said Fernndez, the Vaticans doctrine chief.Also Friday, the Vatican published a document signed by Francis on Feb. 26 From the Gemelli Polyclinic, a new official tagline that showed Francis was still working from the hospital.___Carla K. Johnson contributed from Washington state. ___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.

Buster Poindexter is seen at the Grammy Awards in New York's Radio City Music Hall, March 2, 1988. (AP Photo, File)2025-03-01T16:19:18Z NEW YORK (AP) David Johansen, the wiry, gravelly-voiced singer and last surviving member of the glam and protopunk band the New York Dolls who later performed as his campy, pompadoured alter ego, Buster Poindexter, has died. He was 75.Johansen died Friday at his home in New York City, according to Rolling Stone, citing a family spokesperson. It was revealed in early 2025 that he had stage 4 cancer and a brain tumor.The New York Dolls were forerunners of punk and the bands style teased hair, womens clothes and lots of makeup inspired the glam movement that took up residence in heavy metal a decade later in bands like Faster Pussycat and Mtley Cre.When youre an artist, the main thing you want to do is inspire people, so if you succeed in doing that, its pretty gratifying, Johansen told The Knoxville News-Sentinel in 2011. Rolling Stone once called the Dolls the mutant children of the hydrogen age and Vogue called them the darlings of downtown style, tarted-up toughs in boas and heels.The New York Dolls were more than musicians; they were a phenomenon. They drew on old rock n roll, big-city blues, show tunes, the Rolling Stones and girl groups, and that was just for starters, Bill Bentley wrote in Smithsonian Rock and Roll: Live and Unseen. The band never found commercial success and was torn by internal strife and drug addictions, breaking up after two albums by the middle of the decade. In 2004, former Smiths frontman and Dolls admirer Morrissey convinced Johansen and other surviving members to regroup for the Meltdown Festival in England, leading to three more studio albums. In the 80s, Johansen assumed the persona of Buster Poindexter, a pompadour-styled lounge lizard who had a hit with the kitschy party single Hot, Hot, Hot in 1987. He also appeared in such movies as Candy Mountain, Let It Ride, Married to the Mob and had a memorable turn as the Ghost of Christmas Past in Bill Murray-led hit Scrooged. Johansen was in 2023 the subject of Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschis documentary Personality Crisis: One Night Only, which mixed footage of his two-night stand at the Caf Carlyle in January 2020 with flashbacks through his wildly varied career and intimate interviews.I used to think about my voice like: Whats it gonna sound like? Whats it going to be when I do this song? And Id get myself into a knot about it, Johansen told The Associated Press in 2023. At some point in my life, I decided: Just sing the (expletive) song. With whatever you got. To me, I go on stage and whatever mood Im in, I just claw my way out of it, essentially.David Roger Johansen was born to a large, working class Catholic family on Staten Island, his father an insurance salesman. He filled notebooks with poems and lyrics as a young man and liked a lot of different music R&B, Cuban, Janis Joplin and Otis Redding. The Dolls the final original lineup included guitarists Sylvain Sylvain and Johnny Thunders, bassist Arthur Kane and drummer Jerry Nolan rubbed shoulders with Lou Reed and Andy Warhol in the Lower East Side of Manhattan the early 1970s. They took their name from a toy hospital in Manhattan and were expected to take over the throne vacated by the Velvet Underground in the early 1970s. But neither of their first two albums 1973s New York Dolls, produced by Todd Rundgren, nor Too Much Too Soon a year later produced by Shadow Morton charted.Theyre definitely a band to keep both eyes and ears on, read the review of their debut album in Rolling Stone, complementary of their strange combination of high pop-star drag and ruthless street arrogance.Their songs included Personality Crisis (You got it while it was hot/But now frustration and heartache is what you got), Looking for a Kiss (I need a fix and a kiss) and a Frankenstein (Is it a crime/For you to fall in love with Frankenstein?)Their glammed look was meant to embrace fans with a nonjudgmental, noncategorical space. I just wanted to be very welcoming, Johansen said in the documentary, cause the way this society is, it was set up very strict straight, gay, vegetarian, whatever... I just kind of wanted to kind of like bring those walls down, have a party kind of thing. Rolling Stone, reviewing their second album, called them the best hard-rock band in America right now and called Johansen a talented showman, with an amazing ability to bring characters to life as a lyricist.Decades later, the Dolls influence would be cherished. Rolling Stone would list their self-titled debut album at No. 301 of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, writing its hard to imagine the Ramones or the Replacements or a thousand other trash-junky bands without them.Blondies Chris Stein in the Nolan biography Stranded in the Jungle wrote that the Dolls were opening a door for the rest of us to walk through. Tommy Lee of Motley Crue called them early inspirations. Johansen is one of those singers, to be a little paradoxical, who is technically better and more versatile than he sounds, said the Los Angeles Times in 2023. His voice has always been a bit of a foghorn higher or lower according to age, habits and the song at hand but it has a rare emotional urgency.The Dolls, representing rock at its most debauched, were divisive. In 1973, they won the Creem magazine poll categories as the years best and worst new group. They were nominated several times for The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame but never got in.Dirty angels with painted faces, the Dolls opened the box usually reserved for Pandora and unleashed the infant furies that would grow to become Punk, wrote Nina Antonia in the book Too Much, Too Soon. As if this legacy wasnt enough for one band, they also trashed sexual boundaries, savaged glitter and set new standards for rock n roll excess.By the end of their first run, the Dolls were being managed by legendary promoter Malcolm McLaren, who would later introduce the Sex Pistols to the Dolls music. Culture critic Greil Marcus in Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century writes the Dolls played him some of their music and he couldnt believe how bad they were.The fact that they were so bad suddenly hit me with such force that I began to realize, Im laughing, Im talking to these guys, Im looking at them, and Im laughing with them; and I was suddenly impressed by the fact that I was no longer concerned with whether you could play well, McLaren said. The Dolls really impressed upon me that there was something else. There was something wonderful. I thought how brilliant they were to be this bad.After the first demise of the Dolls, Johansen started his own group, the David Johansen band, before reinventing himself yet again in the 1980s as Buster Poindexter.Inspired by his passion for the blues and arcane American folk music Johansen also formed the group The Harry Smiths, and toured the world performing the songs of Howlin Wolf with Hubert Sumlin and Levon Helm. He also hosted the weekly radio show The Mansion of Fun on Sirius XM and painted.He is survived by his wife, Mara Hennessey, and a stepdaughter, Leah Hennessey. 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

Pete Rose sits in the Washington Wild Things dugout before a Frontier League baseball game against the Lake Erie Crushers in Washington, Pa, Tuesday, June 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)2025-03-01T17:14:44Z President Donald Trump says he plans to issue a complete PARDON of Pete Rose, baseballs late career hits leader who was banned from MLB and the Hall of Fame for sports betting.Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday night to say Rose, who died in September at 83, shouldnt have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING.Trump did not specifically mention Roses tax evasion case in which Rose pleaded guilty in 1990 and served a five-month prison sentence.The president said he would sign a pardon for Rose over the next few weeks.MLB handed Rose a lifetime ban in 1989 after an investigation determined he had bet on baseball games, including some involving his own Cincinnati Reds.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo testifies before the House Oversight Select Subcommittee's hearing on the Coronavirus Pandemic, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)2025-03-01T17:50:04Z NEW YORK (AP) Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday that he is running for mayor of New York City, relaunching his political career following a yearslong exile over a barrage of sexual harassment accusations.In a video announcing his campaign, Cuomo pitched his return as a way to pull the city from social and political turmoil, highlighting moderate positions on crime and his long history of political accomplishments. I am not saying this is going to be easy, it wont be easy but I know we can turn the city around and I believe I can help and that is why I announce my candidacy today for Mayor of New York City today, he said.The Democrat is expected to mount a formidable campaign, despite entering the race deeply wounded by the scandal that forced his resignation from the governors office in 2021.He takes on a large field of primary opponents with low name recognition plus an incumbent, Mayor Eric Adams, who for now remains under indictment on federal corruption charges, and under scrutiny from critics who question his independence from Republican President Donald Trump. Cuomo enters the race with fundraising prowess, a record of accomplishments over his three terms as governor and potential support among many of the same moderate voters who helped propel Adams to the mayors office. Yet it is unclear whether voters are willing to give Cuomo another chance following his remarkable downfall 3 1/2 years ago, when he went from being hailed for his leadership during the onslaught of COVID-19 to being castigated for his behavior with women and questioned about his response to the pandemic. In his campaign video, Cuomo acknowledged past mistakes over his long career but cast himself as a seasoned leader who could thread political divides between the left and right, calling for a government that can take a stand and get things done. Did I always do everything right in my years of government service? Of course not. Would I do some things differently knowing what I know now certainly. Did I make mistakes, some painfully? Definitely, and I believe I learned from them and that I am a better person for it and I hope to show that every day.Cuomo had been circling a return to politics for years while simultaneously fighting to rehabilitate his image and undermine the allegations against him.At least 11 women credibly accused him of sexual harassment, which included allegations of unwanted kissing and touching, as well as remarking about their looks and sex lives, according to a report released by New Yorks attorney general. One aide later filed a criminal complaint accusing Cuomo of grabbing her breast when they were alone in the governors mansion in Albany in late 2020.Cuomo denied the sexual assault allegation, which a prosecutor ultimately dropped on the grounds that wasnt enough proof to get a conviction at trial.As for his behavior with some of the other women, Cuomo insisted he did not intentionally mistreat them and had simply fallen behind the times of what was considered appropriate workplace conduct. Taxpayers have spent millions of dollars to defend him and his top aides in court against various lawsuits related to the allegations. He is moving to sue at least one of accusers for defamation.The race already has several candidates vying to beat Adams in the June Democratic primary. Among them are city Comptroller Brad Lander, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, state Sen. Jessica Ramos, state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and former city Comptroller Scott Stringer, who was a frontrunner in the mayors race four years ago until a woman accused him of groping and kissing her without her consent 20 years earlier.Adams is also seeking reelection but is facing a tempest over the criminal case against him, and the U.S. Justice Departments extraordinary effort to end the case over the objection of the prosecutors who brought the charges.An indictment said Adams accepted luxury travel perks along with illegal campaign contributions from a Turkish official and other foreign nationals. After Trump took office, a top Justice Department official ordered federal prosecutors in Manhattan to dismiss the charges so Adams could focus on assisting the presidents immigration agenda, while leaving open the possibly that the case could reemerge after the mayoral election. That dynamic led critics to claim that Adams had struck a deal to help with Trumps immigration crackdown in exchange for legal salvation.Adams has strongly denied such an arrangement was made, while facing intense pressure to step down and a potential removal from office by Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat. Some of the mayors top deputies announced plans to step down in protest.Cuomo started in politics working for his father, former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, and later rose to become U.S. housing secretary under President Bill Clinton and New York attorney general before being elected governor in 2010. His national star power was highest during the coronavirus pandemic, when his televised daily briefings, full of clear-eyed rhetoric on the virus, attracted admirers nationwide who saw him as a steady hand of leadership at a chaotic time. The briefings won an international Emmy award and led to him getting a book deal for more than $5 million to write American Crisis: Leadership Lessons From the Covid-19 Pandemic.Women, though, began coming forward in late 2020 and early 2021, accusing Cuomo of misconduct. He faced a potential impeachment before he stepped down. A state ethics panel tried unsuccessfully to get Cuomo to give up the proceeds of his book deal after it determined he used taxpayer resources to prepare, edit and publish the book.Cuomo was further damaged by allegations that a directive from his administration had unintentionally contributed to a wave of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes by initially barring them from refusing to readmit virus patients discharged from hospitals. The governor insisted the allegations was baseless, but his administration was subsequently found to have substantially undercounted the number of nursing home deaths as it sought to deflect the criticism.Cuomo still has a significant campaign war chest that could technically be used in his bid for mayor. But the process of transferring his state donations to a city committee would be complicated and require each donor to sign off on the switch, a potentially burdensome effort.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, embraces and greets Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Downing Street, London, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)2025-03-01T18:40:11Z LONDON (AP) British Prime Minister Keir Starmer embraced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday and told him he had the nations unwavering support a day after the blowout at the White House with President Donald Trump.Zelenskyy arrived to shouts of support from people who had gathered outside of 10 Downing St., where Starmer gave him a hug and ushered him inside. And as you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom, Starmer told the leader of the war-torn country. We stand with you, with Ukraine, for as long as it may take.Zelenskyy thanked him and the people of the U.K. for their support and friendship.The meeting comes the day after an extraordinary diplomatic meltdown when Trump and Vice President JD Vance blasted Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on live television for not being grateful enough for U.S. support. Zelenskyy had been poised to ink a deal to give the U.S. access to mineral riches as Trump pressures Ukraine to reach a deal to end the war with Russia. But he left town without signing anything.Zelenskyy had been scheduled to meet with Starmer on Sunday before a summit with other European leaders to discuss Ukraine and shoring up defenses across the continent. But the timetable for their bilateral meeting was apparently sped up in the aftermath of the Washington visit. Zelenskyy will meet with King Charles III on Sunday before the summit that is being held at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old mansion near Buckingham Palace.

Syrian Druze hold up a placard in Arabic reads "Sweida will not be your poisoned dagger in Syria's back." as stage a demonstration against Israeli incursions into Syrian territory in the southern province of Sweida, Syria, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)2025-03-01T19:37:33Z JERUSALEM (AP) Israels defense ministry on Saturday said the military has been instructed to prepare to defend a Druze settlement in the suburbs of Damascus, asserting that the minority it has vowed to protect was under attack by Syrian forces.The statement, citing an order from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, follows an Israeli warning last weekend that the forces of neighboring Syrias new government and the insurgent group that led last years ouster of former President Bashar Assad should not enter the area south of Damascus.Saturdays statement indicates that Israeli forces could push farther into Syria as its new authorities try to consolidate control after more than a decade of civil war. Israeli forces recently set up posts in a buffer zone and on strategic Mt. Hermon nearby. There have been no major clashes between Israeli troops and Syrias new forces. We will not allow the terrorist regime of radical Islam in Syria to harm the Druze. If the regime harms the Druze, it will be harmed by us, the statement said.There was no immediate response from Syrias government. The Druze are a religious minority who live in southern Syria and in Israels Golan Heights, where they navigate their historically Syrian identity while living under Israeli rule.Israels statement followed the outbreak of unrest Friday in the Druze settlement of Jaramana, when a member of the security forces entered and started shooting in the air, leading to an exchange of fire with local gunmen that left him dead. On Saturday, gunmen came from the Damascus suburb of Mleiha to Jaramana, where they clashed with Druze gunmen. That left one Druze fighter dead and nine other people wounded, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor.The Israeli warning last Sunday to Syrian forces and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the main former rebel group, made clear that Israeli forces would stay in parts of southern Syria for an indefinite period. We demand the complete demilitarization of southern Syria in the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa and Sweida from the forces of the new regime, that earlier statement said. Likewise, we will not tolerate any threat to the Druze community in southern Syria.After the fall of Assad in December, Israel seized the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory. The zone was set up under a 1974 ceasefire agreement. Syrias new authorities and U.N. officials have called for Israel to withdraw.Meanwhile, Netanyahus government has been under pressure to protect Israelis living near border areas in the north as it tries to return residents of the north to their homes. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Protesters rally outside of a Tesla store in Boston, Saturday, March 1, 2025, against the company's CEO, Elon Musk, who is leading an effort to cut government jobs on behalf of President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi)2025-03-02T00:01:38Z BOSTON (AP) Demonstrators gathered outside Tesla stores across the U.S. Saturday to protest the automakers billionaire CEO, Elon Musk, and his push to slash government spending on behalf of President Donald Trump. The demonstrations are part of a growing backlash in North America and Europe to Musks disruptive role in Washington. Critics of Trump and Musk hope to discourage and stigmatize purchases of Tesla, the electric car company that is the worlds most valuable automaker. Liberal groups for weeks have organized anti-Tesla protests in hopes of galvanizing opposition to Musks Department of Government Efficiency and energizing Democrats still demoralized by Trumps November victory.We can get back at Elon, said Nathan Phillips, a 58-year-old ecologist from Newton, Massachusetts, who was protesting in Boston on Saturday. We can impose direct economic damage on Tesla by showing up at showrooms everywhere and boycotting Tesla and telling everyone else to get out, sell your stocks, sell your Teslas. Musk is taking direction from Trump to slash federal spending and sharply reduce the workforce, arguing that Trumps victory gave the president and him a mandate to restructure the U.S. government. DOGE officials have swiftly gained access to sensitive databases, directed thousands of federal job cuts, canceled contracts and shut down sections of the government, including the U.S. Agency for International Development. Musks critics say his actions defy Congresss power to control the U.S. budget and present a host of ways for him to enrich himself. Musk leads several other companies, notably SpaceX, which conducts launches for NASA and the intelligence community, and the social media platform X. Tesla and the White House did not respond to emailed requests for comment Saturday. More than 50 demonstrations were listed Saturday on the website Tesla Takedown, with more planned later in March from coast to coast in the United States along with England, Spain and Portugal. News reports showed demonstrations in recent days in U.S. cities including Tucson, Arizona; St. Louis; New York City; Dayton, Ohio; Charlotte; and Palo Alto, California. Some Tesla owners have also reported their vehicles vandalized with spray painted swastikas amid what Jewish groups and observers fear is a rise in antisemitism.Federal prosecutors charged a woman in connection with a string of vandalism against a Colorado Tesla dealership, which included Molotov cocktails being thrown at vehicles and the words Nazi cars spray painted on the building.Saturdays demonstration in Boston had a festive atmosphere, with a brass band playing music as protestors carried signs and chanted. Several of the signs mocked Musk and DOGE, with one reading: Stop Elon and his despicable Muskrats. This government led by Trump and Musk, its gone completely off the rails and we are here to stop that, said Carina Campovasso, a retired federal worker. And I hope they listen.About 300 demonstrators protested at a Tesla dealership in New York City on Saturday. Police said nine people were taken into custody but did not elaborate on the charges they faced.Teslas share price has fallen by nearly a third since Trump took office, though its still higher than it was a year ago. Musks current net worth is an estimated $359 billion, according to Forbes, which calculated his 2024 net worth as $195 billion. ___Cooper reported from Phoenix. Patrick Whittle contributed from Scarborough, Maine. JONATHAN J. COOPER Cooper writes about national politics from Arizona and beyond for The Associated Press. Now based in Phoenix, he previously covered politics in Oregon and California. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump walks before talking with reporters then boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)2025-03-01T23:30:40Z WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) President Donald Trump on Saturday signed a pair of actions to increase domestic lumber production, including a directive for the Commerce Department to investigate the possible harms that lumber imports pose to national security.The U.S. president signed an executive order to increase the possible supplies of timber and lumber and possibly lower housing and construction costs. The goal is to streamline the permitting process by salvaging more wood from forests and expand how much wood product can be offered for sale, according to a senior White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the actions on a call with reporters.The official said the order would also help prevent wildfires and improve the habitat for animals. The order would streamline the permitting process for obtaining wood products. The official said that Canada, Brazil and Germany, among others, are engaged in subsidies regarding lumber that put the United States at a disadvantage. At the presidents direction, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick would start a Section 232 investigation under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to determine possible national security risks.Trump told reporters on Feb. 19 while aboard Air Force One that he was considering a 25% tariff on lumber imports, according to Reuters. JOSH BOAK Boak covers the White House and economic policy for The Associated Press. He joined the AP in 2013. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

President Donald Trump, left, gestures as is escorted by Air Force Col. Angela Ochoa, commander of the 89th Airlift Wing, center, as he walks from Marine One before boarding Air Force One, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)2025-03-02T01:40:37Z WASHINGTON (AP) The head of a federal watchdog agency must remain in his job, a judge in Washington ruled on Saturday, saying President Donald Trumps bid to remove the special counsel was unlawful. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sided with Hampton Dellinger, who leads the Office of Special Counsel, in a legal battle over the presidents authority to oust the head of the independent agency thats likely headed back to the U.S. Supreme Court. Dellinger sued Trump last month after he was fired, even though the law says special counsels can be removed by the president only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. Jackson, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic president Barack Obama, quickly reinstated Dellinger in the job while he pursued his case.Jackson rejected the Trump administrations claims that the special counsels removal protections are unconstitutional because they prevent the president from rightfully installing his preferred agency head. The judge said allowing the president to remove the special counsel at will would have a chilling effect on his crucial duties, which include guarding the federal workforce from illegal personnel actions, such as retaliation for whistleblowing. The Special Counsel is supposed to withstand the winds of political change and help ensure that no government servant of either party becomes the subject of prohibited employment practices or faces reprisals for calling out wrongdoing by holdovers from a previous administration or by officials of the new one, Jackson wrote in her decision. The Justice Department quickly filed court papers indicating it will challenge the ruling to Washingtons federal appeals court. The case has already gone up once to the Supreme Court, which previously temporarily allowed Dellinger to remain in his job. The ruling comes as Dellinger is challenging the removal of probationary workers who were fired as part of the Trump administrations massive overhaul of the government. A federal board on Tuesday halted the terminations of several probationary workers after Dellinger said their firings may have been unlawful. Im glad and grateful to see the court confirm the importance and legality of the job protections Congress afforded my position, Dellinger said in a statement on Saturday. My efforts to protect federal employees generally, and whistleblowers in particular, from unlawful treatment will continue.The judge said the special counsel has a unique status and mission, which requires independence from the president to ensure he can carry out his responsibilities. The office investigates whistleblower claims of reprisal, can pursue disciplinary action against employees who punish whistleblowers and provides a channel for employees to disclose government wrongdoing. If I dont have independence, if I can be removed for no good reason, federal employees are going to have no good reason to come to me, Dellinger told reporters outside Washingtons federal courthouse after a recent hearing. The Office of Special Counsel is also responsible for enforcing the Hatch Act, which restricts the partisan political activities of government workers. Dellingers firing came as Trump administration employees have touted their support on social media for his policies even though the Hatch Act is meant to restrict political advocacy while on duty.The Justice Department employed sweeping language in urging the Supreme Court last month to allow the termination of the head of an obscure federal agency with limited power. Acting Solicitor General Sarah Harris wrote in court papers that the lower court had crossed a constitutional red line by blocking Dellingers firing and stopping Trump from shaping the agenda of an executive-branch agency in the new administrations critical first days.Dellinger was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate to a five-year term in 2024. ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Richer is an Associated Press reporter covering the Justice Department and legal issues from Washington. twitter mailto

Residents gather for iftar, the fast-breaking meal, organized by the Turkish Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), on the first day of Ramadan in the Jobar neighborhood, which was devastated by the Syrian war, in Damascus, Syria, on Saturday, March 1, 2025.(AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)2025-03-01T17:37:46Z DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) Some restaurants and coffee shops in Syria were closed during the day Saturday while others opened as usual as observant Muslims began fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, the first since the fall of Assad family rule in the war-torn country.Syrias interim Ministry of Religious Endowments reportedly called for all restaurants, coffee shops and street food stands be closed during the day and that people must not eat or drink in public or face punishment. Those who violate the rule could get up to three months in jail. However, it did not appear that any official order had been issued by the government to that effect.Associated Press journalists who toured Damascus on Saturday said some coffee shops were opened but had their windows closed to that people cant see who is inside. Insurgents led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, or HTS, overthrew President Bashar Assads secular government in early December ending the 54-year Assad family dynasty. Since then, Syrias new Islamist government under former insurgent leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, has been in control and many fear that the country could turn into an Islamic state, although al-Sharaa has so far promised to respect religious minorities. Under Assads rule during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when observant Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset, people were allowed to eat in public. This year, many people are abstaining from eating in public fearing reprisals. Ramadan this year comes with a new flavor. This is the Ramadan of victory and liberation, said interim Minister of Religious Affairs Hussam Haj-Hussein in a televised statement. Most countries around the world, including Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and Kuwait began observing Ramadan on Saturday, while a few other countries such as Malyasia and Japan, as well as some Shiite Muslims, will begin the fast on Sunday. In many parts of the region, the holy month this year is bittersweet. Lebanese this year mark Ramadan after the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war ended with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire that went into effect in late November. In the Gaza Strip, a fragile ceasefire deal, which has paused over 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas, nears the end of its first phase, and many Palestinians ate their first iftar in the middle of the rubble where their houses used to be.This year, after the fall of the regime, there are many confirmations regarding the prohibition of publicly breaking the fast, with violators facing imprisonment, said Damascus resident Munir Abdallah. This is something new, good and respectable, meaning that the rituals of Ramadan should be fully observed in all their aspects.Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar; the month cycles through the seasons. The start of the month traditionally depends on the sighting of the crescent moon.The actual start date may vary among Muslim communities due to declarations by multiple Islamic authorities around the globe on whether the crescent has been sighted or different methodologies used to determine the start of the month. The fast breaking meal is known as iftar and usually family members and friends gather at sunset to have the main meal. Muslims eat a pre-dawn meal, called suhoor, to hydrate and nurture their bodies ahead of the daily fast.The holy month is also a time when Islamic and charitable organizations frequently provide meals for those unable to afford their own.In the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, Bashar al Mashhadani, imam of the Sheikh Abdulqadir al Gailani Mosque in Baghdad said the mosque was preparing to serve 1,000 free meals per day to people coming to break their fast.Ramadan is followed by the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, one of Islams most important feasts.___Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue contributed to this report from Beirut.

Farooq Safar standing in his back yard that was bombed by a Turkish drone in October 2024. Guharze village in Dahuk, Iraq, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Rashid Yahya)2025-03-02T05:18:17Z GUHARZE, Iraq (AP) Iraqi Kurdish villagers, displaced by fighting between Turkish forces and Kurdish militants that has played out for years in northern Iraq, are finally allowing themselves to hope they will soon be able to go home. Their hopes were raised after the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, on Saturday declared a ceasefire in the 40-year insurgency against the Turkish government, answering a call to disarm from earlier in the week by the groups leader, Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned in Turkey since 1999. The truce if implemented could not only be a turning point in neighboring Turkey but could also bring much needed stability to the volatile region spanning the border between the two countries. In northern Iraq, Turkish forces have repeatedly launched blistering offensives over the past years, pummeling PKK fighters who have been hiding out in sanctuaries in Iraqs northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region, and have set up bases in the area. Scores of villages have been completely emptied of their residents. A home left decades agoAdil Tahir Qadir fled his village of Barchi, on Mount Matin in 1988, when Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein launched a brutal campaign against the areas Kurdish population. He now lives in a newly built village also named Barchi, after the old one that was abandoned about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) away, south of the mountain.He used to go back to the old village every now and then to farm his land. But that stopped in 2015 when Turkish forces moved in and set up camp there in the fight against PKK, hitting the group with wave after wave of airstrikes. Iraqi Kurdish farmers and their lands became collateral damage. The Turkish airstrikes and ground incursions targeting PKK positions displaced thousands of Iraqi Kurdish civilians, cutting off many from their land. Because of Turkish bombing, all of our farmlands and trees were burned, Qadir said. If peace comes, he will go back right away, he says. We wish it will work so we can return. Fighting emptied out villages in IraqIn the border area of Amedi in Iraqs Dohuk province once a thriving agricultural community around 200 villages had been emptied of their residents by the fighting, according to a 2020 study by the regional Iraqi Kurdish government. Small havens remained safe, like the new Barchi, with only about 150 houses and where villagers rely on sesame, walnuts and rice farming. But as the fighting dragged on, the conflict grew ever closer. There are many Turkish bases around this area, said Salih Shino, who was also displaced to the new Barchi from Mount Matin.The bombings start every afternoon and intensify through the night, he said. The bombs fall very close ... we cant walk around at all.Airstrikes have hit Barchis water well and bombs have fallen near the village school, he said.Najib Khalid Rashid, from the nearby village of Belava, says he also lives in fear. There are near-daily salvos of bombings, sometimes 40-50 times, that strike in surrounding areas. We cant even take our sheep to graze or farm our lands in peace, he said. Ties to Kurdish brethren in TurkeyIraqi Kurdish villagers avoid talking about their views on the Kurdish insurgency in Turkey and specifically the PKK, which has deep roots in the area. Turkey and its Western allies, including the United States, consider the PKK a terrorist organization. Still, Rashid went so far as to call for all Kurdish factions to put aside their differences and come together in the peace process.If theres no unity, we will not achieve any results, he said.Ahmad Saadullah, in the village of Guharze, recalled a time when the region was economically self-sufficient.We used to live off our farming, livestock, and agriculture, he said. Back in the 1970s, all the hills on this mountain were full of vines and fig farms. We grew wheat, sesame, and rice. We ate everything from our farms.Over the past years, cut off from their farmland, the locals have been dependent on government aid and unstable, seasonal jobs, he said. Today, we live with warplanes, drones, and bombings. Farooq Safar, another Guharze resident, recalled a drone strike that hit in his back yard a few months ago.It was late afternoon, we were having dinner, and suddenly all our windows exploded, he said. The whole village shook. We were lucky to survive.Like others, Safars hopes are sprinkled with skepticism ceasefire attempts have failed in the past, he says, remembering similar peace pushes in 1993 and 2015.We hope this time will be different, he said. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Fatima Al-Absi prepares food for her family's iftar, the fast-breaking meal, on the first day of Ramadan in their damaged apartment in Jabaliya, northern Gaza Strip, on Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)2025-03-02T05:33:57Z JABALIYA, Gaza Strip (AP) Before the war, the Muslim holy month of Ramadan was a festive time of increased worship, social gatherings and cheer for Fatima Al-Absi. Together with her husband, the resident of Jabaliya in Gaza said she used to do Ramadan shopping, visit relatives and head to the mosque for prayers.But the Israel-Hamas war has shredded many of the familiar and cherished threads of Ramadan as Al-Absi once knew it: her husband and a son-in-law have been killed, her home was damaged and burnt and the mosque she attended during Ramadan destroyed, she said.Everything has changed, she said on Saturday as her family observed the first day of Ramadan. Theres no husband, no home, no proper food and no proper life.For Al-Absi and other Gaza residents, Ramadan started this year under a fragile ceasefire agreement that paused more than 15 months of a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and devastated the Gaza Strip. Compared to last Ramadan, many found relief in the truce but theres also worry and fear about whats next and grief over the personal and collective losses, the raw wounds and the numerous scars left behind. Ive lost a lot, said the 57-year-old grandmother, whos been reduced to eking out an existence amid the wreckage. Life is difficult. May God grant us patience and strength, she added. Israels government said early Sunday it supports a proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza through Ramadan and Passover even as Hamas has insisted earlier on negotiating the truces second phase. The statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office came minutes after the first phase ended, and as talks have begun on starting the second phase. The statement gave new details on what Israel described as a U.S. proposal, which it said was made after U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff got the impression that at this stage there was no possibility of bridging the positions of the parties to end the war, and that more time was needed for talks on a permanent ceasefire., Were scared because theres no stability, Al-Absi said and added that shes praying for the war to end and that she cant bear any more losses. She spoke before Israels statement.Though Ramadan is still far from normal, some in the Gaza Strip said that, in some ways, it feels better than last years.We cant predict what will happen next, Amal Abu Sariyah, in Gaza City, said before the months start. Yes, the country is destroyed and the situation is very bad, but the feeling that the shelling and the killing ... have stopped, makes you (feel) that this year is better than the last one.Overshadowed by war and displacement, last Ramadan, was very bad, for the Palestinian people, she said. The 2024 Ramadan in Gaza began with cease-fire talks then at a standstill, hunger worsening across the strip and no end in sight to the war.The war was sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel in which Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. Israels military offensive has killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Vast areas of Gaza have been destroyed. Under the ceasefire, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians flooded back into northern Gaza. After initial relief and joy at returning to their homes even if damaged or destroyed theyve been grappling with living amid the wreckage.As Palestinians in the Gaza Strip prepared for Ramadan, shopping for essential household goods and food, some lamented harsh living conditions and economic hardships, but also said they rely on their faith in God to provide for them.I used to help people. ... Today, I cant help myself, said Nasser Shoueikh. My situation, thank God, used to be better and I wasnt in need for anything. ... We ask God to stand by us.For observant Muslims the world over, Ramadan is a time for fasting daily from dawn to sunset, increased worship, religious reflection, charity and good deeds. Socially, it often brings families and friends together in festive gatherings around meals to break their fast. Elsewhere in the Gaza Strip, Fatima Barbakh, from the southern city of Khan Younis, said her Ramadan shopping was limited to the essentials.We cant buy lanterns or decorations like we do every Ramadan, she said. Back in Jabaliya, Al-Absi bitterly recalled how she used to break her fast with her husband, how much she misses him and how she remembers him when she prays.We dont want war, she said. We want peace and safety.___Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, and Fam from Cairo. Associated Press journalist Abdel Kareem Hana contributed from Gaza City. ___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. MARIAM FAM Fam is a reporter with The Associated Press Global Religion team. She covers faith, and the many ways it intersects with culture and daily life, in the Middle East and beyond. mailto

Conan O'Brien, host of Sunday's 97th Academy Awards, helps to roll out the red carpet for the show at the Dolby Theatre on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)2025-03-02T05:00:10Z LOS ANGELES (AP) After a topsy-turvy Oscar season in which frontrunners were constantly shuffled, old tweets hobbled a top contender and space was held for Wicked, the 97th Academy Awards get underway Sunday.Sundays Academy Awards, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, will bring to a close one of the most unpredictable Oscar races in recent memory.The ceremony kicks off 7 p.m. EST and will be broadcast by ABC and streamed on Hulu. Conan OBrien is hosting for the first time. The official red carpet preshow on ABC and Hulu starts at 6:30 p.m. Unofficial E! red carpet coverage begins at 4 p.m. EST and The Associated Press will livestream arrivals beginning at 3 p.m.Light rain was in the forecast for Sunday morning in Los Angeles, which is still recovering from wildfires that devastated the Pacific Palisades and Altadena neighborhoods earlier this year. The fires affected many throughout the film industry and within the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Some even called for the cancellation of Hollywoods awards season. While his Pacific Palisades house was spared, OBrien has been living out of a hotel the last two months. Oscar producers have said the show will celebrate the citys resilience. Is there an Oscar favorite?The lead nominee is Netflixs Emilia Prez, with 13 nominations, but that film has seen its chances crater following uproar over years-old offensive tweets by its star, Karla Sofa Gascn, the first openly trans actor nominated for best actress.The favorite is Sean Bakers Anora, about a sex worker who weds the son of a Russian oligarch. The Neon release, the Cannes Palme dOr winner, won with the producers, directors and writers guild. The only movie with the same resume to not win best picture is Brokeback Mountain.Its closest competition is Conclave, the papal thriller starring Ralph Fiennes. It won at the BAFTAs and the SAG Awards, wins that came just as Pope Francis was hospitalized for double pneumonia. Oscar voting concluded before the pope fell ill.Also in the mix are The Brutalist, nominated for 10 awards, and the musical hit Wicked, also with 10 nominations. Several of the early craft Oscars could be shared between Wicked and Dune: Part Two. Will politics play a starring role?For the first time, an actor is nominated for playing the sitting U.S. president. Sebastian Stan is nominated for best actor for his performance as a young Donald Trump in The Apprentice, as is his co-star, Jeremy Strong, for playing Roy Cohn. Trump has called those involved with the film human scum.The political tenor of this years ceremony could be volatile, with the Oscars coming weeks into the second Trump administration and falling two days after the presidents dramatic rupture with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.Speaking earlier this week, OBrien said hell strive to strike a delicate balance.I cannot ignore the moment were in, he said. But I also have to remember its threading a needle. I also have to remember what were here to celebrate and infuse the show with positivity. Will Timothe Chalamet win his first Oscar?While the supporting acting categories feature overwhelming favorites in Zoe Saldana (Emilia Prez) and Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain), both best actor and best actress are close contests.In best actress, Demi Moore (The Substance) is most likely to win, but Mikey Madison (Anora) or Fernanda Torres (Im Still Here) could pull off the upset.Adrien Brody is favored in best actor for his performance in The Brutalist. But Timothe Chalamet stands a decent chance of beating him, for his performance as Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown. The 29-year-old Chalamet, who won at the Screen Actors Guild, would become the youngest best actor winner ever, edging Brodys record, set in 2003 in his win for The Pianist. Can the show lift a battered Hollywood?This years Oscars are unspooling after a turbulent year for the film industry. Ticket sales were down 3% from the previous year and more significantly from pre-pandemic times. The strikes of 2023 played havoc with release schedules in 2024. Many studios pulled back on production, leaving many out of work. The fires, in January, only added to the pain. Last years telecast, propelled by the twin blockbusters of Oppenheimer and Barbie, led the Oscars to a four-year viewership high, with 19.5 million viewers. This year, with smaller independent films favored in the most prominent awards, the academy will be tested to draw as large of an audience.With a not particularly starry array of best song nominees, the academy has done away with performances of original songs this year. But there will be music, including a performance by Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, and a tribute to the late Quincy Jones, with Queen Latifah. Last years acting winners Emma Stone, Robert Downey Jr., Cillian Murphy, DaVine Joy Randolph will also take part in the ceremony. Though the academy initially said it would bring back the fab five style of presenting the acting awards, with five previous winners per category, organizers have reportedly abandoned those plans.The ceremony will be taking place days following the death of Gene Hackman. The 95-year-old two-time Oscar winner and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead Wednesday at their New Mexico home. ___For full coverage of this years Oscars, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards JAKE COYLE Coyle has been a film critic and covered the movie industry for The Associated Press since 2013. He is based in New York City. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, greets Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Downing Street, London, England, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)2025-03-02T05:01:32Z LONDON (AP) It was supposed to cap a week of whirlwind diplomacy advancing the prospect of peace in Ukraine.But a summit of European leaders on Sunday has been overshadowed by the extraordinary scolding by U.S. President Donald Trump of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday for being ungrateful for U.S. support. The London meeting has now taken on greater importance in defending the war-torn ally and shoring up the continents defenses.Theres a real problem for European leaders to pick up the pieces and try and move forward, Peter Ricketts, the former British national security adviser, told BBC radio on Saturday. Its going to be a damage limitation exercise. Its going to have to be an exercise in where do we go from here?The meeting at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old elegant mansion near Buckingham Palace, follows a charm offensive last week to engage with Trump at the White House to put Ukraine at the center of negotiations and tilt his allegiances toward Europe. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is hosting the leaders of more than a dozen countries and other officials, said he is determined to find an end to Russias war on Ukraine. We have an opportunity to come together to ensure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine that secures their sovereignty and security, Starmer said in advance. Now is the time for us to unite in order to guarantee the best outcome for Ukraine, protect European security, and secure our collective future. The summit will also include leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Canada, Finland, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Romania. The Turkish foreign minister, NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council will also attend. Zelenskyy received broad support from leaders across Europe after the White House fiasco, which was exceptional for featuring an attack on an ally and because it was broadcast on live television. Starmer embraced Zelenskyy when he arrived Saturday for a private meeting a day before a get-together had been scheduled before the summit.As you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom, Starmer said. We stand with you, with Ukraine, for as long as it may take.Europe has been uneasy since Trump initiated direct peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had been isolated by most Western leaders since invading Ukraine three years ago. The scramble to remain relevant and protect European interests as their once stalwart ally appeared to be cozying up to Putin was even more troubling when Trump called Zelenskyy a dictator and falsely said Ukraine started the war.Meetings in recent days had provided some hope until Zelenskyys visit to the White House.Visits to the Oval Office by French President Emmanuel Macron, who had declared his visit a turning point, and Starmer were seen as steps in the right direction. The meetings were cordial and Trump even took a gentler tone toward Ukraine though he would not commit to providing U.S. security guarantees and maintained Europe would need to provide peacekeeping troops. Within 12 hours of Starmers return from Washington, the talk of peace seemed to collapse as Vice President JD Vance berated Zelenskyy for challenging Trumps assertions that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be trusted. Starmer did an impressive job of asserting Europes agency in the war on Ukraine and conveying to President Trump that Europe is willing and able to take a leading role in implementing any credible peace deal, said Rachel Ellehuus, director-general of Royal United Services Institute, a defense and security think tank. Unfortunately, Fridays White House meeting was a major step backward.Ukraine can no longer count on military or political support from the U.S. after Trump declared himself neutral in negotiations, Ellehuus said. She said Europe needs to step in and could release some 200 billion euros ($207 billion) in seized Russian assets to help fund that effort. The immediate goal of the meetings in London must be to keep Ukraine in the fight so it can negotiate from a maximum position of strength, she said.Starmer pledged this week to boost military spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product by 2027. Other European nations may follow suit.Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Saturday that Europe faces a historic test and has to care for itself. He said European countries have to increase their arms spending to reach at least 3% of GDP.If we dont increase our effort fast enough and let the aggressor dictate its conditions we wont end up well, he said.Macron, who said it was legitimate for the U.S. to shift its focus to dealing with China and Asia, also called for more defense spending as he called for unity among his neighbors.We should have woken up earlier, Macron said. Ive been saying for years that we need a more sovereign, more united, more independent Europe.___Associated Press writers Karel Janicek in Prague and Samuel Petrequin contributed.

Argentina's President Javier Milei delivers the annual State of the Nation address, which marks the start of the legislative year, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)2025-03-02T04:50:04Z BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) Argentinas libertarian president Javier Milei signaled late Saturday that a new deal with the International Monetary Fund was imminent, as he used his annual address to congress to project an optimistic picture of his economic overhaul following a divisive first year in office and recent swirl of controversies.In a speech that played to the sentiments of his right-wing base but included little in the way of new policy, Milei promised the crisis-stricken nation that, in the coming days, he would ask congress to support the government in this new agreement with the International Monetary Fund even as it seemed Argentina had yet to close the deal.Revisiting the economic themes of his 2023 presidential campaign ahead of crucial midterm elections in October, Milei declared: We went from talking about hyperinflation to talking about long-term stability. He cited his standard refrain about the governments success in dragging down the monthly inflation rate from a peak of 26% in December 2023, when he entered office, to just over 2% in January, and in helping the country claw its way out of a painful recession. We have gone from being a global laughing stock ... to being an unexpected protagonist, Milei said.Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who waved a chainsaw gifted by Milei at the Conservative Political Action Conference last week in Washington, has cited the Argentine presidents approach as inspiration for his own rampage through American federal bureaucracy. The eyes of the world are now on Argentina after a long time, he said. As is the case of Elon. On trade policy, Milei announced Argentina would leave the Mercosur bloc of South American nations if needed to clinch a free trade agreement with the United States. It marked Mileis latest effort to align his nation with U.S. President Donald Trumps administration at the expense of Argentinas previous allies and regional partnerships. To take advantage of this historic opportunity, we must be willing to make things more flexible or even, if necessary, to leave Mercosur, he said. Dangling an IMF dealIn his speech, Milei gave no further details about the supposed new financing deal with the Washington-based lender a program his government has sought for months in order to help lift Argentinas strict capital and currency controls in hopes of reaping the benefits his free-market reforms, which, in 2024, delivered Argentinas first fiscal surplus in 14 years. Milei said his government would use a cash infusion from the IMF to replenish the central banks diminished hard currency reserves, helping prevent a possible run on the peso as Argentina attempts to lift its complex web of capital controls before the years end.This new agreement will give us the tools to pave the way toward a freer and more efficient exchange rate system for all our citizens, to attract greater investments that will translate into lower inflation, greater growth and employment levels, Milei told congress. Foreign companies consider the notorious currency controls, which set an official exchange rate and restrict access to dollars in Argentina, to be the greatest impediment to investing in Argentina. The IMF, encouraged by Mileis progress but wary about the sustainability of his austerity, has been weighing whether to lend more money to troubled Argentina, its largest debtor with a history of defaults that still owes over $40 billon for its most recent program that ended in December. The fund did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Facing a hostile congressWhile Mileis speech couched his successes as wins for the Argentine people, a boycott by members of Argentinas left-leaning opposition Peronist party, Unin por la Patria, left the typically packed legislative chamber half-empty.The Peronist bloc controls 46% of seats in the senate and 39% in the lower house compared with just 10% and 15% respectively for Mileis La Libertad Avanza party.That Mileis political opponents remain hostile is no surprise, experts say, as the president pushes at the generally understood limits of executive power to steer around congress. The irascible former rocker and TV personality has brought a softer tone to his negotiations with lawmakers in recent months, borrowing some votes from the former center-right government of Mauricio Macri to ensure the passage of some key initiatives.But Milei has largely relied on decrees and other executive powers to deregulate industries, dissolve ministries, lay off over 40,000 public employees, eliminate public works projects, slash inflation adjustments for pensions and wages and curb the powers of trade unions, among other changes.He showed that he can govern the country without congress, said Sebastin Menescaldi, an economist with the Buenos Aires consultancy firm EcoGo. Last week, Milei inflamed the political opposition by announcing he would bypass the countrys senate to appoint two Supreme Court justice nominees by decree one of whom has triggered backlash over accusations of money laundering and illicit enrichment. The appointments were widely criticized an overreach of executive authority that would ensure favorable rulings on his sweeping reforms whose constitutionality has been questioned in federal courts.As tensions rise between the government and lawmakers, midterm elections in October 2025 will prove crucial. A good result in the ballot would allow Milei to make all the changes he wants and not have to make any concessions, said Menescaldi, warning, That could mean he becomes more authoritarian. Steering clear of scandalIn recent weeks, the far-right economist has confronted the biggest crisis in his 14-month-old administration after promoting an unknown cryptocurrency token that shot up after his endorsement and rapidly cratered, prompting dozens of criminal complaints and calls for his impeachment. Federal prosecutors have opened an investigation into possible fraud and abuse of authority. Milei made no mention of the crypto scandal during his speech Saturday, which lasted over an hour. ISABEL DEBRE DeBre writes about Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay for The Associated Press, based in Buenos Aires. Before moving to South America in 2024, she covered the Middle East reporting from Jerusalem, Cairo and Dubai. twitter mailto

This is a locator map of Israel and the Palestinian Territories. (AP Photo)2025-03-02T06:58:54Z TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) Israel said Sunday it is stopping the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip.The prime ministers office did not elaborate on the decision but warned of additional consequences if Hamas does not accept what Israel says is a U.S. proposal for an extension of the ceasefire. It was not immediately clear if the supply of aid has been completely halted.The first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, which included a surge in humanitarian assistance, expired on Saturday. The two sides have yet to negotiate the second phase, in which Hamas was to release dozens of remaining hostages in return for an Israeli pullout and a lasting ceasefire.Israel said earlier on Sunday that it supports a proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire through Ramadan and Passover, or April 20. It said the proposal came from the Trump administrations Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff. Under that proposal, Hamas would release half the hostages on the first day and the rest when an agreement is reached on a permanent ceasefire, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office.There was no immediate comment from the United States, Egypt or Qatar, who have been mediating between Israel and Hamas for over a year. Hamas has not yet responded to the proposal.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war TIA GOLDENBERG Goldenberg is an Associated Press reporter and producer covering Israel and the Palestinian territories. She previously reported on East and West Africa from Nairobi. twitter mailto

Priest Andrea Conocchia, third from left, speaks with transgender women, from left, Andrea Paola Torres Lopez from Colombia, also known as Consuelo, Claudia Vittoria Salas from Argentina and Carla Segovia from Argentina as they sit in the Beata Vergine Immacolata parish church in Torvaianica, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)2025-03-02T06:16:27Z TORVAIANICA, Italy (AP) Moira Camila Garnica and a group of fellow migrant transgender women have been gathering at their parish church to pray for Pope Francis as he continues to battle pneumonia in a Rome hospital, about an hour away from this modest seaside town. Many grew up Catholic in Argentina like Francis, and their prayers encompass gratitude for his outreach several met him in person as well as hope thatthe door he opened toward a doubly marginalized communitywill not be shut in the future.The biggest fear is that you never know how things will be in the future, should he no longer lead the church, that it might go backwards, said Garnica, 47. We hope that the church will continue with this empathy, continue to be open to everyone, continue to help, because sometimes one person can take a big step forward and then others take three steps back. Garnica and several other Latin American women, most sex workers who have been in Italy for a couple of decades, gathered for evening Mass in late February at the Blessed Immaculate Virgin Church. It was here they found food, medicine and basic financial assistance when Italys strict COVID-19 lockdown rendered them unable to work, isolated and destitute. The parish priest, the Rev. Andrea Conocchia, invited them to write letters to Francis outlining their needs. The Vaticans almoner office not only provided money but brought a few dozen of them to the Vatican for vaccines. Years later, some were invited to a lunch for the poor with the pope. In this Covid period, it was important that Pope Francis got inside the mind of transgender women, in the mind of the human beings that we are, and started to treat us like human beings, and that I think is the moment when faith or Christianity could embrace us, said Carla Segovia.The 48-year-old woman, of Indigenous Bolivian descent, left her native Argentina as a college student during its financial crisis more than 20 years ago. She has been working as a prostitute since she started to pay for her gender surgeries as a youth, and calls the violence and discrimination she has faced a tough test of your potential to survive. Now that Francis is ill, she said she wants to transmit to him our strength, the same thing that he brought to us in the difficult time of the pandemic. We want to inoculate him with this strength that is so crucial the fact that you need to fight for your life.Gender transition is a controversial issue in many countries including the United States, where Catholic bishops reject it, and immigration is also roiling politics on both sides of the Atlantic. But Francis has made inclusion a hallmark of his papacy; specifically, the Vatican has stated its permissible, under certain circumstances, for trans people to be baptized as Catholics and serve as godparents.Segovia and other women in their community were involved in the church as children but later felt their identity and work pushed them away until they came to the Torvaianica parishs food distribution site, during the pandemic lockdown. We Latin Americans are very Catholic, but being trans, many doors close, and people walk away from us, and we walk away too, Garnica said. The word-of-mouth was that this church welcomed you, helped you, and I came to ask for help because I felt so alone.So did Minerva, a Peruvian 54-year-old who asked only her professional name be used, her voice shaking with emotion as she recounted how the experience changed her life in town.We had no work, we had no money to buy food. A friend through word of mouth told me, go to the parish and knock, ask for Father Andrea. I came, I knocked, and like never before he opened his arms, he provided a support so big that still today hes helping us, Minerva said.He opened for us so many doors. At the beginning even here people didnt pay attention to us. Now, when they see us, they greet us.For the Rev. Conocchia, helping this group of women is perfectly in line with the model of an open church reaching out to the margins that Francis has promoted, as well as the popes famous who am I to judge approach to LGBTQ+ issues. We put the poor back at the center, we put people back at the center, and thats the Gospel, Conocchia said. What matters to me is a person, a persons life and their story a person is never what they do.He said the Vaticans more open attitude, as well as its concrete welcome for this group of women, can help abolish prejudices that religious people hold since its possible the womens clients might include people who attend Mass, he wryly noted.For the women, who often are rejected by their own families, its a moment of grace that went straight to the heart.A trans girl would have never imagined in her life that she could see the pope receive her, welcome her, and help her, Garnica said. Already here people mistreat you for being Latin American, imagine Latin America and trans. But thanks to Father Andrea, people understood that we also have a heart, we also can contribute, we need the church, too. Minerva was a First Communion catechist in her parish in Peru, until she said she was kicked out for her identity. In the Torvaianica sacristy, under a picture of Francis, she practiced singing a Spanish-language version of Amazing Grace in hopes of joining the local choir. One verse, that she likes to sing to Mary, is about coming out of the shadows and into the light.I am church not part of the church, I am church because each one of us is church, she said.___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

Private lunar lander Blue Ghost after touching down on the moon with a special delivery for NASA Sunday, March 2, 2025. (NASA/Firefly Aerospace via AP)2025-03-02T08:44:45Z CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) A private lunar lander carrying a drill, vacuum and other experiments for NASA touched down on the moon Sunday, the latest in a string of companies looking to kickstart business on Earths celestial neighbor ahead of astronaut missions. Firefly Aerospaces Blue Ghost lander descended from lunar orbit on autopilot, aiming for the slopes of an ancient volcanic dome in an impact basin on the moons northeastern edge of the near side.Confirmation of successful touchdown came from the companys Mission Control outside Austin, Texas, following the action some 225,000 miles (360,000 kilometers) away. You all stuck the landing. Were on the moon, Fireflys Will Coogan, chief engineer for the lander, reported. An upright and stable landing makes Firefly a startup founded a decade ago the first private outfit to put a spacecraft on the moon without crashing or falling over. Even countries have faltered, with only five claiming success: Russia, the U.S., China, India and Japan. A half hour after landing, Blue Ghost started to send back pictures, the first showing views during descent of the surface and craters. Two other companies landers are hot on Blue Ghosts heels, with the next one expected to join it on the moon later this week.Blue Ghost named after a rare U.S. species of fireflies had its size and shape going for it. The squat four-legged lander stands 6-foot-6 (2 meters) tall and 11 feet (3.5 meters) wide, providing extra stability, according to the company. Launched in mid-January from Florida, the lander carried 10 experiments to the moon for NASA. The space agency paid $101 million for the delivery, plus $44 million for the science and tech on board. Its the third mission under NASAs commercial lunar delivery program, intended to ignite a lunar economy of competing private businesses while scouting around before astronauts show up later this decade. The demos should get two weeks of run time, before lunar daytime ends and the lander shuts down.It carried a vacuum to suck up moon dirt for analysis and a drill to measure temperature as deep as 10 feet (3 meters) below the surface. Also on board: a device for eliminating abrasive lunar dust a scourge for NASAs long-ago Apollo moonwalkers, who got it caked all over their spacesuits and equipment.On its way to the moon, Blue Ghost beamed back exquisite pictures of the home planet. The lander continued to stun once in orbit around the moon, with detailed shots of the moons gray pockmarked surface. At the same time, an on-board receiver tracked and acquired signals from the U.S. GPS and European Galileo constellations, an encouraging step forward in navigation for future explorers.The landing set the stage for a fresh crush of visitors angling for a piece of lunar business. Another lander a tall and skinny 15-footer (4 meters tall) built and operated by Houston-based Intuitive Machines is due to land on the moon Thursday. Its aiming for the bottom of the moon, just 100 miles (160 kilometers) from the south pole. Thats closer to the pole than the company got last year with its first lander, which broke a leg and tipped over. Despite the tumble, Intuitive Machines lander put the U.S. back on the moon for the first time since NASA astronauts closed out the Apollo program in 1972.A third lander from the Japanese company ispace is still three months from landing. It shared a rocket ride with Blue Ghost from Cape Canaveral on Jan. 15, taking a longer, windier route. Like Intuitive Machines, ispace is also attempting to land on the moon for the second time. Its first lander crashed in 2023.The moon is littered with wreckage not only from ispace, but dozens of other failed attempts over the decades.NASA wants to keep up a pace of two private lunar landers a year, realizing some missions will fail, said the space agencys top science officer Nicky Fox. Unlike NASAs successful Apollo moon landings that had billions of dollars behind them and ace astronauts at the helm, private companies operate on a limited budget with robotic craft that must land on their own, said Firefly CEO Jason Kim. Kim said everything went like clockwork. We got some moon dust on our boots, Kim said. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, shake hands during a meeting at 10 Downing Street in London, England, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (Peter Nicholls/Pool Photo via AP)2025-03-02T09:23:24Z Britain is hosting a summit of European leaders on Sunday to shore up support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after an astonishing Oval Office blowout with President Donald Trump that left many uncertain where the once staunch allies stood.The London meeting has now taken on greater importance in defending the war-torn ally and boosting the continents defenses. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is hosting the leaders of more than a dozen countries and other officials, embraced Zelenskyy on his arrival in London on Saturday, saying he is determined to find an end to Russias war on Ukraine.Starmer announced Sunday that Britain, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan to present to the United States a plan that emerged, he said, in talks among the countries leaders following the White House spat.Heres the latest: Polish prime minister says Europe should have confidence in its strengthPolands Prime Minister Donald Tusk says hes flying to London with a message that Europe must believe that it can be a major military power.Tusk told reporters at the airport before leaving Warsaw on Sunday that Europe has 2.6 million professional soldiers more than the U.S., China or Russia and that in the areas of combat aircraft and artillery it is also strong.Europe has an advantage over everyone here, Tusk said.He added that hed reiterate at the summit in London that Polands support for Kyiv remains firm. Today in Europe there is a deficit of imagination and courage, he said. Europe must understand its strength. Kremlin spokesman says Russias and US foreign policies are in alignmentWith a thaw in U.S.-Russia relations, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the foreign policy alignment of the U.S. administration largely mirrors that of Moscow.The new (U.S.) administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely coincides with our vision, Peskov said, according to a post by state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin on Sunday on the Telegram channel. Peskov spoke on Wednesday, before the Zelenskyy-Trump blowout on Friday. His remarks were seen as a follow-up on the U.S. splitting with its European allies by refusing to blame Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. In the U.N. General Assembly last week, the U.S. joined Russia in voting against a Europe-backed Ukrainian resolution that calls out Moscows aggression and demands an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops.Ties between Moscow and Washington had plummeted to their lowest levels since the Cold War after Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and invaded Ukraine in 2022.European Commission chief says path to peace in Ukraine is a surge in Europes defenses The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, says she will highlight Europes ongoing support to Ukraine during the London summit on Sunday. As she traveled to the United Kingdom, von der Leyen said the aim of the 27-nation bloc is to create a path to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. Von der Leyen, the head of the EUs executive arm, wrote on the social network X: The path to peace is strength. Weakness breeds more war. We will support Ukraine, while undertaking a surge in European defense. Italys Meloni spoke with Trump after his spat with ZelenskyyItalian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who has positioned herself as a bridge between Trump and Europe, spoke with the U.S. president on Saturday night, ahead of the London meeting, her office said.Meloni, the only European leader to attend Trumps inauguration, has been a strong supporter of Ukraine, making her position difficult given the White House clash.Macron says Russia is a threat not just to Ukraine but also EuropeFrench President Emmanuel Macron says Russia must be stopped or its likely to expand its military operations in Ukraine further west.Macron told La Tribune Dimanche newspaper ahead of a summit in London that Vladimir Putins ambitions pose an existential threat to Europe.We have an over-armed and aggressive Russia on our borders. It is carrying out terrorist actions and massive disinformation campaigns here and in Europe, Macron said. If Putin is not stopped, Macron said, he will certainly move on to Moldova and perhaps beyond to Romania.Its our security thats at stake, Macron added.The clear destiny of the Americans is to be on the side of the Ukrainians, I have no doubt about that, he said. I want the Americans to understand that disengagement from Ukraine is not in their interests. Starmer says the UK, France and Ukraine will draft a ceasefire plan to present to the USThe British prime minister says the Unted Kingdom, France and Ukraine have agreed to work on a ceasefire plan to present to the United States.Starmer says the plan emerged after talks among the four countries leaders following President Volodymyr Zelenskyys spat with President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday.The prime minster told the BBC he believes the U.S. president wants a durable peace in Ukraine. He repeated his assertion that American security guarantees will be needed to make it stick. London summit welcomes Europe leaders after stunning Oval Office spatThe meeting at Lancaster House, a 200-year-old elegant mansion near Buckingham Palace, follows a charm offensive last week to engage with Trump to tilt his allegiances toward Europe. That offensive, however, devolved into a meltdown on live television from the Oval Office on Friday with Trumps extraordinary scolding of Zelenskyy. It seemed to dash, at least for now, Ukrainian hopes that the United States could be locked in as a reliable partner in helping fend off, and conclude, Russias three-year onslaught on Ukraine.Sundays summit will also include leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Romania, as well as the NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council.The summit on Sunday will also include leaders from France, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Romania, as well as the NATO secretary-general and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council.NATO chief says he told Zelenskyy to restore relationship with TrumpNATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that he had to find a way to restore his relationship with the American president after the two leaders engaged in an extraordinary meltdown at the White House on Friday.Rutte told the BBC on Saturday that he told Zelenskyy that he really had to respect what President Trump has done so far for Ukraine. He was referring to the first Trump administrations decision in 2019 to supply Ukraine with Javelin antitank missiles that Ukraine used to deadly effect against Russian tanks in the first wave of the 2022 invasion.Calling the Friday meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy unfortunate, Rutte said he knew as a fact that the American administration is extremely invested in making sure that Ukraine gets to a durable peace with Russia.Rutte said he expected European leaders, who were meeting in London on Sunday, to help secure a future peace deal by providing Ukraine with security guarantees. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

A woman takes pictures as it rains in St Peter's Square at The Vatican, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)2025-03-02T07:47:28Z ROME (AP) Pope Francis was in stable condition and resting on Sunday as he continued his recovery from double pneumonia, but again skipped his weekly noon blessing to avoid even a brief public appearance.Instead, the Vatican distributed a message from the pope in which he thanked his doctors for their care and well-wishers for their prayers. He said he was living his hospitalization as an experience of profound solidarity with people who are sick and suffering everywhere.I feel in my heart the blessing that is hidden within frailty, because it is precisely in these moments that we learn even more to trust in the Lord, Francis said in the text. At the same time, I thank God for giving me the opportunity to share in body and spirit the condition of so many sick and suffering people.It marked the third weekend in a row that Francis has canceled the Sunday appointment delivering the Angelus prayer in person. He could have done so from his 10th floor hospital suite at the Gemelli hospital if he were well enough.Despite the absence, many signs indicated he was recovering and improving. The night was quiet, the pope is still resting, the Vatican said in its Sunday update. He had no fever or signs of elevated white blood cells, which would signal his body was still fighting an infection. Doctors on Saturday reported that Francis was in stable condition, with no mention of him being critical. Their upbeat assessment came a day after a respiratory crisis that resulted in him being put on noninvasive mechanical ventilation.But the 88-year-old pope had a good response in his gas exchange levels even during the long periods he was off the ventilator mask Saturday and only using high-flow supplemental oxygen, the Vatican said. Nuns pray for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, where the Pontiff has been hospitalized since Feb.14, in Rome, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) Nuns pray for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, where the Pontiff has been hospitalized since Feb.14, in Rome, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More he fact that Francis was able to use just high-flow oxygen for long periods, without any significant effect on the levels of oxygen in his blood, was a sign his respiratory function was improving.Doctors were cautious however and kept his prognosis as guarded, meaning he wasnt out of danger. He was eating and drinking and continued his respiratory physiotherapy, and spent 20 minutes in his private chapel down the hall on Saturday, the Vatican said. The pope, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has lung disease and was admitted to Gemelli on Feb. 14 after a bout of bronchitis worsened and turned into a complex pneumonia in both lungs.Prayers continued to pour in People shelter from the rain as they pray for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, where the Pontiff has been hospitalized since Feb.14, in Rome, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) People shelter from the rain as they pray for Pope Francis in front of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic, where the Pontiff has been hospitalized since Feb.14, in Rome, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Francis hospitalization has come as the Vatican is marking its Holy Year, drawing pilgrims to Rome from all over. They are walking through the Holy Door at St. Peters Basilica and also making pilgrimages to the hilltop Umbrian town of Assisi, to pray at the home of Francis namesake, St. Francis.Every day were praying for the pope, said the Rev. Jacinto Bento, a priest visiting Assisi on Saturday with a group of 30 Jubilee pilgrims from the Azores Islands. Were very sad for his situation.In an odd coincidence, Francis was supposed to have presided Saturday over a Holy Year audience in the Vaticans auditorium for the staff of the Gemelli hospital and other health care workers. They came as planned and completed the pilgrimage, while Francis continued his recovery at the hospital.We thought we would be able to meet him this morning in Paul VI Hall for the Jubilee Catechesis, but he surprised us by coming to us, said Monsignor Claudio Giuliodori, spiritual guide of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, of which Gemelli is a part.Giovanni Frisullo, a Gemelli neurologist, said the atmosphere at Gemelli was one of tension and prayer. There is a situation of waiting but also of hope, he said.___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.

Washington State Park workers put up a new Canadian flag in front of an American flag about to be replaced during scheduled maintenance atop the Peace Arch in Peace Arch Historical State Park Monday, Nov. 8, 2021, in Blaine, Wash. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)2025-03-02T11:10:06Z DETROIT (AP) At the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, a quote from former President Ronald Reagan is engraved on one wall. Let the 5,000-mile border between Canada and the United States stand as a symbol for the future, Reagan said upon signing a 1988 free trade pact with Americas northern neighbor. Let it forever be not a point of division but a meeting place between our great and true friends. But a point of division is here. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump plans to impose a 25% tariff on most imported Canadian goods and a 10% tariff on Canadian oil and gas. Canada has said it will retaliate with a 25% import tax on a multitude of American products, including wine, cigarettes and shotguns. The tariffs have touched off a range of emotions along the worlds longest international border, where residents and industries are closely intertwined. Ranchers in Canada rely on American companies for farm equipment, and export cattle and hogs to U.S. meat processors. U.S. consumers enjoy thousands of gallons of Canadian maple syrup each year. Canadian dogs and cats dine on U.S.-made pet food. The trade dispute will have far-reaching spillover effects, from price increases and paperwork backlogs to longer wait times at the U.S.-Canada border for both people and products, said Laurie Trautman, director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University. These industries on both sides are built up out of a cross-border relationship, and disruptions will play out on both sides, Trautman said. Even the threat of tariffs may have already caused irreparable harm, she said. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has urged Canadians to buy Canadian products and vacation at home.The Associated Press wanted to know what residents and businesses were thinking along the border that Reagan vowed would remain unburdened by an invisible barrier of economic suspicion and fear. Heres what they said: Skagway, Alaska-Whitehorse, YukonPeople flocked from the boomtown of Skagway, Alaska, to Canadas Yukon in search of riches during the Klondike gold rush of the late 1890s, following routes that Indigenous tribes long used for trade. Today, Skagway trades on its past, drawing more than 1 million cruise ship passengers a year to a historic downtown that features Klondike-themed museums. But the municipality with a population of about 1,100 still holds deep ties to the Yukon. Skagway residents frequently travel to Whitehorse, the territorys capital, for a wider selection of groceries and shopping, dental care, veterinary services and swimming lessons. The Alaskan citys port, meanwhile, still supports Yukon mining and is a critical hub for fuel and other essentials both communities need. Its a special connection, Orion Hanson, a contractor and Skagway Assembly member, said of Whitehorse, which sits 110 miles (177 kilometers) north and has 30,000 people. Its really our most accessible neighbor.Hanson is concerned about what tariffs might mean for the price of building supplies, such as lumber, concrete and steel. The cost of living in small, remote places already is high. People in Whitehorse and Skagway worry about the potential impact on community relations as well as prices. Norman Holler, who lives in Whitehorse, said the months the tariffs have loomed created an uncomfortable feeling and resentment. If the threat becomes reality, Holler said he would probably still visit Alaska border towns but not other parts of the United States.Is it rational? I dont know, but it satisfies an emotional need not to go, he said.- Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska Point Roberts, Washington-Delta, British ColumbiaAt the border of Washington state and British Columbia, the tension over tariffs is evident in a waterfront community that is hoping for Canadian mercy.Point Roberts is a 5-square-mile (13-square kilometer) U.S. exclave whose only land connection lies in Canada, which supplies the unincorporated nub of American soil its water and electricity. Its a geographic oddity that requires a 20-mile drive around Canada to reach mainland Washington state. Local real estate agent Wayne Lyle, who like many of his neighbors has dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship, said some of Point Roberts roughly 1,000 residents are signing a petition pleading with British Columbias premier for an exemption to whatever retaliatory tariffs Canada may institute.Were basically connected to Canada. Were about as Canadian as an American city can be, Lyle said. Were unique enough that maybe we can get a break.Lyle, who serves as the president of the Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce, said its too early to identify measurable effects, but he fears Canadians wont visit the popular summer getaway destination out of spite. We dont want Canada to think were the bad guys, Lyle said. Please dont take it out on us. - Sally Ho in Seattle Billings, Montana-AlbertaThe 545-mile (877-kilometer) stretch of land that separates Montana from Canada includes some of the sleepiest checkpoints on the binational border. Several of the states border posts had fewer than 50 crossings a day on average last year.But unseen, in underground pipelines that cut through vast fields of barley, flows about $5 billion annually worth of Canadian crude oil and natural gas, most of it from Alberta. The lines traverse a continental pivot point -- Montana is the only state with rivers that drain into the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Canadas Hudson Bay and deliver to refineries around Billings. Canada is one of our major supply sources for oil across the United States, said Dallas Scholes, the government affairs director of Houston-based refinery company Par Pacific, which runs a processing facility along the Yellowstone River. If tariffs are imposed on the oil and gas industry, its not going to be good for consumers.People in Montana drive long distances given its sprawling size and burn lots of natural gas through harsh winters, making its residents the highest energy consumers per capita in the U.S., according to federal data.That means a 10% tax on Canadian energy resources would be felt broadly. The states farmers would be among those hit more severely, given the large volumes of gasoline needed to run tractors and other equipment, according to Jeffrey Michael, director of the University of Montanas Bureau of Business and Economic Research.It will be painful, but there are larger concerns if I were an agricultural producer in Montana, Michael said. Id be worried about the trade war escalating to where my products start to get hit with reciprocal tariffs.- Matthew Brown in Billings, Mont.Detroit-Windsor, OntarioThe Detroit River is all that separates Windsor, Ontario, from Detroit. The cities are so close that Detroiters can smell the drying grain at Windsors Hiram Walker distillery and Windsor can hear the music drifting from Detroits outdoor concert venues.Manufacturing muscle makes the Ambassador Bridge, the 1.4-mile-long span connecting the two cities, the busiest international crossing in North America. According to the Michigan company that owns the bridge, $323 million worth of goods travel each day between Windsor and Detroit, the automotive capitals of their countries. The U.S., Canada and Mexico have long operated as one nation when it comes to auto manufacturing, noted Pat DEramo, CEO of Vaughan, Ontario-based automotive suppler Martinrea. Tariffs will cause confusion and disruption, he said.Right now, steel coils arrive at a plant in Michigan and get stamped into parts that are shipped to Martinrea in Canada. Martinrea uses the parts to build vehicle sub-assemblies that get shipped back to an automaker in Detroit.Its unclear if parts would be taxed twice if they crossed the border multiple times, and if suppliers or their customers will have to pay for the tariffs. Also unclear is how a separate 25% levy on steel and aluminum that Trump said would take effect starting March 12 factors into the mix. DEramo understands the impulse to strengthen U.S. manufacturing but says the U.S. doesnt have the capacity to make all the tooling Martinrea would need if it were to shift production there. At the end of the day, he thinks its sad tariffs will take up so much time, energy and resources, and only make vehicles even more expensive.We need to be spending our time and money to get more efficient and reduce our costs so customers can reduce their costs, he said.-Dee-Ann Durbin in DetroitBuffalo, New York-OntarioBuffalo, New York is, decidedly, a beer town. Its also a border town.That makes for a complementary relationship. Western New Yorks dozens of craft breweries rely on Canada for aluminum cans and much of the malted grain that goes into their brews. Canadians regularly cross one of the four international bridges into the region to shop, go to sporting events and sip Buffalos beers.Brewers and other businesses fear there may be less of that, though, if the tariffs on Canada and aluminum go into effect. Trumps repeated comments about making the neighboring nation the 51st U.S. state already offended its citizens - so much so that Buffalos tourism agency paused a campaign running in Canada because of negative comments.Obviously, having a bad taste in their mouth and booing the national anthem at sporting events is not a great thing for them coming down here and drinking our beer and hanging out in our city, said Jeff Ware, president of Resurgence Brewing Co. The historic factory building housing Wares business in Buffalo is about 4 miles from the Peace Bridge border crossing, where 1.8 million cars and buses and 518,000 commercial trucks entered Buffalo from Ontario last year.Its a terrible time to alienate customers, Canadian or American. The snowy first months of the year are hard enough for Buffalos breweries, Ware said. Higher prices from 25% tariffs would be yet another obstacle. Ware gets about 80% of the base malt be uses to make his specialty beers from Canada. Labor is more expensive, energy is more expensive, all of our raw ingredients are more expensive, he said. Its death by a thousand cuts.- Carolyn Thompson in Buffalo, N.Y.Cutler, Maine-New BrunswickCommercial lobsterman John Drouin has fished for Maines signature seafood for more than 45 years, often in disputed waters known as the grey zone that straddle the U.S.-Canada border.The relationship between American and Canadian fishermen can sometimes be fraught, but harvesters on both side of the border know they depend on each other, Drouin said. Maine fishermen catch millions of pounds of lobsters every year, but much of the processing capacity for the valuable crustaceans is in Canada.If Trump follows through with the threatened tariffs next week, lobsters sent to Canada for processing would be subject to customs duties when they return to the U.S. to go to market. Drouin fears what will happen to the lobster industry if the trade dispute persists and Canada enacts a retaliatory tariff on lobsters.As the price goes up to the consumer, there comes a point where it just doesnt become palatable for them to purchase it, Drouin said.Drouin, 60, fishes out of Cutler, Maine, and sees Grand Manan Island, an island in the Bay of Fundy that is part of the province of New Brunswick, when he takes his boat out. He described his business as right smack on the Canadian border in terms of both economics and geography.He described himself as a fan of Trumps first term who is not overly thrilled with what hes been doing here. And he said hes concerned his home state could ultimately be hurt by the tariffs if the president isnt mindful of border industries such as his.The rhetoric is a bit much, whats taking place, Drouin said.- Patrick Whittle in Scarborough, Maine DEE-ANN DURBIN Durbin is an Associated Press business writer focusing on the food and beverage industry. She has also covered the auto industry and state and national politics in her nearly 30-year career with the AP. twitter mailto SALLY HO Ho is an investigative and business news reporter for The Associated Press. Shes filed public records requests in all 50 U.S. states and covered a range of major world events. twitter mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Blythe Gonzalez, right, asks a question of a Jackson, Miss., precinct worker, unseen, while her husband Jorge Gonzalez, left, waits with his paper ballot, to accompany her to a voting kiosk, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Rogelio V. Solis, File)2025-03-02T12:21:35Z WASHINGTON (AP) The centerpiece election legislation from congressional Republicans would require voters to prove their citizenship when registering, raising concerns among state election officials about how it would be implemented and who would pay for it.In recent interviews, secretaries of state from both parties said they were wary of federal lawmakers creating state election rules and of costly new procedures that would come with them, including collecting and storing sensitive documents. They also criticized a provision that would allow for civil or criminal penalties against any election official who registers someone without evidence of citizenship.Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said there is no federal database that states can use to confirm a persons citizenship status. Election officials described databases maintained by the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security as unreliable. Reasonable people can agree that only citizens should be voting in our elections, said Bellows, a Democrat. If they want us to prove citizenship, then they need to build the infrastructure for that to happen. House Republicans are ready to act quicklyWith the urging of President Donald Trump, House Republicans are expected to move quickly to advance the legislation, known as the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act. A proof of citizenship requirement was included in a package of priority bills that can bypass committee and head straight to a floor vote. That could happen as soon as this week, though the bills prospects in the Senate are uncertain amid likely Democratic opposition.State election officials said they generally support steps to ensure that only U.S. citizens are voting, an issue that typically involves a tiny fraction of ballots and is more often an individual mistake rather than an intentional and coordinated attempt to subvert an election. Debates largely center on how best to accomplish that, whether the responsibility should fall on the voter or whether the federal government should do a better job providing states with reliable data to verify citizenship status. Every time theres federal legislation, Ive got concerns, especially when the feds talk about things that the states typically do on a year-by-year, day-to-day basis, said Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, a Republican. Just because you think itll work in your state doesnt mean it will work in everybody elses state.Republicans in Congress have said the current process for registering voters is filled with loopholes that have allowed people who are not U.S. citizens to vote in past elections and relies on a system in which voters sign an oath that they are a citizen.Before the 2024 election, Trump pushed claims without evidence that such people might vote in large enough numbers to sway the outcome. In fact, voting by noncitizens is rare and can lead to felony charges and deportation.Since his victory in November, Trump has continued to press for changes to how elections are run, including requiring proof of citizenship. No money included and the threat of prosecutionUtah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, a Republican who oversees elections in her state, said she was concerned about federal overreach and the legislation lacking the support states will need to make it work.It definitely shouldnt be on throwing election workers or secretaries of state or county clerks in jail for accidentally registering a noncitizen to vote when we dont have adequate tools to even verify citizenship, she said.Another concern is funding. The bill does not include an appropriation, leaving states to cover the costs of its implementation. Federal money for elections has long been a point of contention for some election officials.If you talk to the vast majority of election officials, they will tell you that federal investment in our elections is sorely needed, especially if folks in Congress are going to be talking about things like the SAVE Act, which will only increase costs of running elections and increase federal oversight and involvement in our elections, said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat. Concerns about voters having the right documentsVoting rights groups have said married women who have changed their name could have trouble registering under the SAVE Act because their birth certificate lists their maiden name.Those groups also have criticized the bills requirement that people provide documents in person, saying that could be a challenge for people in rural parts of the country where visiting an election office might require a long drive and taking time off from work.Under the current registration system, those seeking to register are asked to provide either a state drivers license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number and are directed to sign an oath swearing they are a U.S. citizen. A few states require a full Social Security number. Republicans say states can add people to the voter rolls even if they do not provide that information and that some noncitizens can receive Social Security numbers and drivers licenses. The legislation outlines documents that could prove citizenship, including a REAL ID-compliant drivers license, a passport or a birth certificate.It also allows for states to establish a way for voters to provide other supporting documents. Only about 50% of Americans have a passport, and adoption of REAL ID has been slow. As of January 2024, about 56% of drivers licenses and IDs in the U.S. were REAL ID-compliant, according to data collected by DHS.State citizenship requirements have mixed resultsCurrently, eight states have laws requiring proof of citizenship for voters while lawmakers in 17 states have introduced legislation this year to add that requirement, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.Experiences have been mixed. In Kansas, where a proof of citizenship requirement was in effect for three years, the states own expert estimated that almost all the roughly 30,000 people who were prevented from registering to vote during that time were U.S. citizens eligible to vote.Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, has said his state has been successful in establishing a system with the states motor vehicle agency to verify citizenship. He and 20 other Republican secretaries of state sent a letter this past week asking the Department of Homeland Security to improve its database and eliminate fees for using it.Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, described federal data as totally unreliable and pointed to an issue in his state, which has for years sought to implement a state-level proof of citizenship requirement. A recent state audit revealed instances in which U.S. passports might not prove citizenship because U.S. nationals those born in U.S. territories are eligible for passports but are not eligible to vote in U.S. elections. Weve got so many issues to deal with and such a poor understanding of our own laws that I think a massive shift like this is just problematic, Fontes said. I dont think Congress has taken the time to ask the folks who actually do this work if what they are proposing is workable in the first place. And thats dangerous, especially when you are criminalizing some of these activities.___The Associated Pressreceives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about APs democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-03-02T12:26:52Z WASHINGTON (AP) Every time a baby is born in Louisiana, where Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson handily won reelection last year, theres more than a 60% chance taxpayers will finance the birth through Medicaid. In Republican Rep. David Valadao s central California district, 6 out of 10 people use Medicaid to pay for doctor visits and emergency room trips.And one-third of the population is covered by Medicaid in GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowskis Alaska, one of the nations costliest corners for health care.Each of these Republicans and some of their conservative colleagues lined up last week to defend Medicaid, in a departure from long-held GOP policies. Republicans, who already have ruled out massive cuts to Social Security and Medicare, are turning their attention to siphoning as much as $880 billion from Medicaid over the next decade to help finance $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. But as a deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown nears, hesitation is surfacing among Washingtons Republican lawmakers once reliable critics of lofty government social welfare programs such as Medicaid who say that deep cuts to the health care program could prove too untenable for people back home. Ive heard from countless constituents who tell me the only way they can afford health care is through programs like Medicaid, Valadao said on the House floor. And I will not support a final reconciliation bill that risks leaving them behind. And on Wednesday, President Donald Trump, too, made his position on Medicaid clear: Were not going to touch it. States and the federal government jointly pay for Medicaid, which offers nearly-free health care coverage for roughly 80 million poor and disabled Americans, including millions of children. It cost $880 billion to operate in 2023.Johnson has ruled out two of the biggest potential cuts: paying fixed, shrunken rates to states for care and changing the calculation for the share of federal dollars that each state receives for Medicaid. Just a few years ago, Johnson spearheaded a report that lobbied for some of those changes during the first Trump administration. Johnson insisted in a CNN interview that the focus will instead be ferreting out fraud, waste and abuse, in Medicaid, although its unlikely to deliver the savings Republicans seek.GOP pressure over Medicaid is mounting, with some state party leaders joining the calls to preserve the program. States are already struggling with the growing cost of sicker patients and could be left to cover more if the federal government pulls back. In some states, the federal government picks up over 80%. More than a dozen Minnesota GOP lawmakers wrote the president recently warning that too deep of a cut is unmanageable in any instance. Gov. Joe Lombardo, R-Nev., told Congress in a letter that proposed reductions would put lives at risk. In Alaska, state Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, a Republican and nurse, cited huge concerns during a floor speech. Nationally, 55% of Americans said the government spends too little on Medicaid, according to a January poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Its now a very popular program that touches a very broad cross-section of American society, said Drew Altman, president of the health care research firm KFF. Roughly half of the American people say that they or a family member have at one time been served by the program. Significant changes to Medicaid are still on the table. They have to be for Republicans get the savings they need to pay for tax cuts. Work requirements, which could save as much as $109 billion over the next decade, seem to have solid support among GOP members, with some individual Republican-led states already moving to implement them. Republicans also could consider cuts in benefits or coverage, as well as eliminating a provider tax that states use to finance Medicaid, Altman added. Democrats warn that reductions are inevitable and could be dire. Starting Monday, TV ads will caution people across 20 congressional districts that hospitals are at risk of closing and millions of people could lose coverage if Republicans cut Medicaid to fund massive tax cuts for Elon Musk and billionaires. The Democratic super political action committee House Majority Forward has launched the seven-figure campaign. Trump and Republicans have for years called to lower government spending on health care, but they have struggled to formulate a serious plan that gains traction. Trump, for example, has spent nearly a decade arguing for an overhaul of the Affordable Care Act. His efforts to repeal the Obama-era national health care law failed during his first term and in his most recent presidential campaign he offered only concepts of a plan to adapt the program.Michael Cannon, a director of health studies at libertarian Cato Institute, believes Medicaid needs an overhaul because it is a significant part of the federal budget and a contributor to the nations growing debt. But Republicans, he said, are not looking at serious ways to drive down the cost of health care.The only reason for the cuts right now is to pay for the tax cuts, Cannon said. None of them are talking about the need to do better health reform. ___Associated Press writer Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska and AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report. AMANDA SEITZ Seitz is an Associated Press reporter covering federal health care policy. 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Jarrett Borden, a Florida resident, speaks about President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, in Hollywood, Fla., Feb. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin)2025-03-02T12:16:47Z WASHINGTON (AP) The nation will hear a new president sing a far different tune in his prime-time address before Congress on Tuesday night. Some Americans will lustily sing along. Others will plug their ears.The old tune is out the one where a president declares we strongly support NATO, I believe strongly in free trade and Washington must do more to promote clean air, clean water, womens health and civil rights.That was Donald Trump in 2017. That was back when gestures of bipartisanship and appeals to national unity were still in the mix on the night the president comes before Congress to hold forth on the state of the union. Trump, then new at the job, was just getting his footing in the halls of power and not ready to stomp on everything.It would be three more years before Americans would see Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, then the House speaker and his State of the Union host in the chamber, performatively rip up a copy of Trumps speech in disgust over its contents. On Tuesday, Americans who tune into Trumps address will see whether he speaks to the whole country, as he mostly did in his first such speech in the chamber as president, or only to the roughly half who voted for him. They will see also whether he hews to ceremony and common courtesies, as he did in 2017, or goes full bore on showmanship and incitement.He comes into it days after assailing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to his face and before the cameras in the Oval Office for not expressing sufficient gratitude for U.S. support in Ukraines war with Russia. It was a display of public humiliation by an American president to an allied foreign leader with no parallel in anyones memory. Jarrett Borden, walking to lunch on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Florida, this past week, expressed ambivalence about Trump, having heard a lot of hogwash from him even while liking some of what he has done. Borden anticipates a good show Tuesday and will watch. I want to see if hes going to leave the mic open for Elon Musk, like its an open mic at a club or something, he said, citing the billionaire architect of Trumps civil service purge. This is what hes been doing recently, which is comical. In Philadelphia, visual artist Nova Villanueva will spend Tuesday evening doing something anything else. She is into avoiding politics and social media altogether these fraught days.Yeah, its kind of sad, she said. Its almost like I have to be ignorant to be at peace with myself and my life right now.A new presidents first speech to Congress is not designated a State of the Union address, coming so close to the Jan. 20 inauguration. But it serves the same purpose, offering an annual accounting of what has been done, what is ahead and what condition the country is in, as the president sees it.It is customary in modern times for the president to say the state of the union is strong, no matter what a mess it may be in. Trump won the election saying the state of the union was in shambles and he was going to make it right. The Trump who addressed Congress on Feb. 28, 2017, is recognizable now, despite the measured tone and content of that speech. After all, he had already shocked the political class by assailing American carnage from the inaugural stage.He told Congress that night he wanted NATO members to spend more on their armed forces, wanted trade to be fair as well as free, and wanted foreign countries in crises to be made stable enough so that people who fled to the U.S. could go back home. But he did not open his first term with the wrenching turns in foreign policy, civil service firings, stirrings of mass deportation or cries of drill, baby, drill of today.In a line that could have come from any president of either party, Trump noted in his 2017 speech that, with the help of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, we have formed a council with our neighbors in Canada to help ensure that women entrepreneurs have access to the networks, markets and capital they need to start a business and live out their financial dreams. Now he belittles Trudeau as governor of a land he wants to make the 51st state and is about to slam with tariffs, along with Mexico. Canadians, not known for displays of patriotism, are seething about their neighbor and rushing to buy and fly their flag.In Philadelphia, small-time entrepreneur Michael Mangraviti cannot help but take some satisfaction in Trumps scouring of the bureaucracy as the firings pile up with scant regard for how well people did their jobs or how those jobs helped keep services to the public running.He said for years and years, Drain the swamp, drain the swamp, Mangraviti said. But, you know, now is the time to actually drain the swamp.Weve seen time and time and time again that the government is horribly, horribly ineffective at everything it wants to do, he went on. The fact that theyre actually taking action on something that they say theyre going to do, the fact that theyre ready to take the ax and take it to our government, is something I appreciate. To Cassandra Piper, a Philadelphia instrumentalist, Trumps move to stop making pennies was a fine decision unlike everything else he has said and done.I comprehensively disapprove of the changes that are being made, Piper said, stopping to speak while walking by the Liberty Bell Center. Not that I was all too happy with the status quo beforehand in the first place, but theres absolutely no good that can come from the inhumanity of mass deportation, something that this country has already been scarred by.So, too, with Trumps selection of vaccination skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary and his choice of Musk to lead the effort to effectively plunder the government of its resources, in Pipers view.In Hollywood, Florida, Borden, who is Black, said that to the extent Trump can take money that Washington spends overseas and pump it into the U.S. economy, then you are making America great again. But do that without the racial overtones. Do that without the negative energy, and were going to be OK.I think the world is just the world, and we should all just love each other, he said.Abraham Lincoln might have agreed, as he summoned the better angels of our nature in an inaugural speech, a month before the Civil War, that pleaded with Americans not to break our bonds of affection.Trump had something to say on that subject, too, in 2017: We all bleed the same blood.___Associated Press video journalists Tassanee Vejpongsa in Philadelphia and Daniel Kozin in Hollywood, Florida, contributed to this report.

Workers set up an Oscar statue in the red carpet area before the 97th Academy Awards in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)2025-03-02T11:01:31Z LOS ANGELES (AP) Its almost time to see how the biggest nailbiter Oscar season of recent years concludes.Stars will converge at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday for the 97th annual Academy Awards, which will undoubtedly see some first-time Oscar winners in top categories.Its the second year the Oscars are starting earlier in the hope that the best picture award will be announced before audiences go to bed.The best picture race has been a real horserace this year, with Anora and Conclave scooping up top awards at other shows in recent weeks. Emilia Prez, the leading nominee this year, has had its Oscar chances upended by the surfacing of racist tweets by star Karla Sofa Gascn, so it remains to be seen how often the divisive Netflix narco-musical has its name out after the envelopes are opened Sunday.Heres how to watch and other key things to know before Sundays show: What time do the Oscars start?The Oscars start at 7 p.m. Eastern, 4 p.m. PST. ABC is available with an antenna or through cable and satellite providers.How can I stream the Oscars?The show is being livestreamed this year on Hulu. Its also available on services offering live streaming of ABC such as Hulu Live TV, YouTubeTV, AT&T TV and FuboTV. I dont live in the U.S. How can I watch the Oscars?The Oscars are widely broadcast beyond the United States. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has a handy guide to dozens of international territories that have Oscar telecasts. How can I watch the red carpet?The Oscars red carpet is a major fashion showcase. Oscar nominees and winners from past, present and future pose and mingle ahead of the ceremony.ABC will begin its red carpet pre-show at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, live on air and streaming on Hulu.E! will kick off its show, Live From E!: The Oscars, beginning at 4 p.m. Eastern.The Associated Press will have a livestream of stars arrivals available on APNews.com and YouTube.Whats likely to win and how can I watch the nominated films?AP Film Writers Jake Coyle and Lindsey Bahr have made their predictions for this years show. And for the first time, you can make your own predictions on APNews.This years nominees are widely available on streaming platforms. The AP has compiled a guide of where to watch, whether youre trying to cram a film in before the show or catching up after the awards. ___For full coverage of this years Oscars, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards.

City of Miami Beach police officers respond to an incident during spring break, March 15, 2024, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)2025-03-02T05:19:43Z MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) Miami Beach broke up with spring break last year and city leaders still arent interested in couples counseling.Officials recently announced they were bringing back enhanced security measures for practically the entire month of March, including parking restrictions and increased fees for nonresidents. The new rules were introduced last year after three consecutive years of spring break violence. The city is again warning visitors to expect curfews, bag searches at the beach, early beach closures, DUI checkpoints and arrests for drug possession and violence.Last years spring break was a success on any level you measure it, Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner said. We had zero fatalities, zero shootings, zero stampedes. The majority of our businesses did very well and actually thanked us for the measures we took. Most spring break activity centers around a 10-block stretch of Ocean Drive known for its Art Deco hotels, restaurants and nightclubs. Before spring break last year, city officials launched a marketing campaign that said, Miami Beach Is Breaking Up With Spring Break. A video featured residents breaking up with spring breakers and warning them to expect restrictions if they decided to come anyway. This year, officials followed up with a Reality Check video featuring a group of young people on a fictitious reality show having their spring break ruined by the citys enhanced rules. We broke up a spring break, Meiner said. Some people ask, are you getting back together? No, were done.City leaders want visitors to come and enjoy the beaches, hotels and restaurants, as long as they behave, Meiner said, noting that overall hotel occupancy actually increased in 2024 over 2023.And thats because when you walked around Ocean Drive and South Beach, you felt welcoming, you felt safe, Meiner said. Other Florida cities struggle with spring break crowdsMiami Beach isnt the only Florida city bracing for spring breakers this year. Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Tampa are among the top 10 domestic spring break destinations, according to AAA booking data.Following a particularly rowdy Presidents Day weekend in Daytona Beach, Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood recently announced plans to crack down on bad behavior from spring breakers.They dont bring any financial benefit, Chitwood said. All they do is bring chaos, and if they want to bring chaos, I am going to bring chaos in return.Businesses have mixed reactionsSome Miami Beach business owners see the restrictions as necessary to ensure public safety, while others are concerned that driving away spring breakers could irreparably damage Miami Beachs status as an iconic tourist destination.Louis Taic, owner of the Z Ocean Hotel, said he welcomes visitors to Miami Beach any time of the year, but he understands why city officials have taken to actions that they have.What we dont like is people that take advantage of Miami Beach, that take advantage by doing things here that they would never do at home, Taic said.David Wallack, owner of Mangos Tropical Cafe, said Miami Beach has thrived as an entertainment destination for nearly a century, even through Prohibition and the Great Depression. Instead of trying to scare people away, city officials need to organize events such as concerts, art festivals and sporting events to attract people who will spend money, Wallack said.Miami Beach is magical, but youve got to still give customers what they want, Wallack said.Are restrictions linked to race? Some civil rights advocates believe the restrictions are racially motivated. South Beach became popular among Black tourists about two decades ago as promoters organized Urban Beach Week during the Memorial Day weekend. Many locals have complained about violence and other crime associated with the event, which led to an increased police presence. But the events continued popularity correlates to a bump in Black tourism throughout the year.Stephen Hunter Johnson, an attorney and member of Miami-Dades Black Affairs Advisory Board, said city leaders are using a brief spike in violence as an excuse to discourage Black visitors. Most of the problems experienced by Miami Beach in recent years began during the pandemic, when Florida remained open while other popular tourist destinations around the U.S. were locked down, and officials are unfairly crediting the new spring break restrictions with decreasing violence last year, Johnson said.Arrests were down, and no one was shot, Johnson said. Those things were going to occur anyway, because the farther we get away from COVID restrictions, the more normalized things are.Meiner has repeatedly rejected the notion that the restrictions are racially motivated. He always hates the idea of anyone getting injured, but as an elected official he feels an additional sense of responsibility when people are shot and killed in the city he serves, he said.We are going to keep people safe, Meiner said. Law and order is the number one priority in our city. There is no compromising on that.

Festive lights are strung between destroyed Palestinian homes for the holy month of Ramadan in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)2025-03-02T15:09:14Z Muslims in the Middle East are observing the holy month of Ramadan under exceptional circumstances.Ramadan is seen as a time of religious reflection and worship, charity, and community, as they fast from sunrise until sunset.Families broke their first day of fast with loved ones, as towns and cities lit festive lights and held events for communities to mark the occasion as they have for generations during times of peace and economic stability.However, the impact of war and major political transformations that shook the region are still felt.This is the first Ramadan for many Syrian spent without the Assad dynasty ruling the country in over half a century. President Bashar Assad was ousted in a lightning insurgency in December led by the countrys new Islamist de facto rulers in Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.Assads downfall brought initial joy and hope among Syrians, but the vast destruction following over a decade of war, economic turmoil that has plunged an estimated 90% of its population into poverty, and uncertainty over whether the countrys security will find stability anytime soon has simmered down that initial optimism. Families in once bustling neighborhoods reduced to rubble broke their fast by the ruins as charities arranged Iftar dinners. The widespread poverty in Syria comes as the new interim government has urged the international community to lift sanctions to allow reconstruction and make the countrys battered economy viable again. It is still a novel sight, as Syrians in Damascus walked through its iconic old city markets at night, only this time without the portraits of Assad on every corner, and with Syrias new flag draped over store fronts. In the Gaza Strip, its the second year Palestinians are marking Ramadan following the war between Israel and the militant Hamas group. This year, they are hoping that a shaky ceasefire deal holds, as much of the tiny enclave lays in ruins, where most Palestinians rely on food and medical aid to survive due to the widespread destruction. In the southern city of Rafah, where a monthslong Israeli military operation took place since last summer, Palestinians set strings of lights across the ruins of damaged buildings and a table stretching across the road for Iftar during sunset.Elsewhere, a family in Jabaliya in northern Gaza prepares a modest Iftar dinner over a makeshift stove in their damaged home. Its a far cry from the larger dinners families hold where they invite relatives and friends to have a meal.Photographers from The Associated Press in Syria, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Turkey, and Pakistan show us a glimpse of what this years Ramadan looks like in the region.

Soul singer Angie Stone, pictured in New York, Oct. 14, 1999. (AP Photo/Jim Cooper, file)2025-03-02T19:37:03Z MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) Fans are remembering the voice and songs of trailblazer Angie Stone after her death at 63 in a weekend crash on an Alabama highway as she traveled from a performance.The Grammy-nominated R&B singer was a member of the all-female hip-hop trio The Sequence and known for the hit song Wish I Didnt Miss You. She found a sweet spot in the early 2000s as neo-soul began to dominate R&B. In a recent Instagram post, Stone told fans she was excited about upcoming events and getting back in the mix.A lot of stuff is going on that I dont want to just let out of the bag just yet, she said. But you can see that theres a big grin on my face.The tributes to Stone on social media included one from rap artist MC Hammer, who posted a video featuring Stones song Brotha, writing I cant tell you how many days this song blessed my Soul. R.I.P. Angie Stone. Actor and singer Jennifer Hudson expressed disbelief in a social media post.What a loss !!! Angie Stone was a true pioneer, Hudson wrote. Another one of our great soul singers gone too soon. Prayers up for her family and loved ones! The Alabama Highway Patrol said the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van that Stone was traveling in overturned on Interstate 65 early Saturday before being hit by a 2021 Freightliner Cascadia truck. Stone was pronounced dead at the scene, the highway patrol said in a statement. The crash occurred about 5 miles (8 kilometers) south of the Montgomery city limits. The vans driver and seven others were taken to a hospital for treatment. Officials continue to investigate the crash. The singer-songwriter created hits like No More Rain (In This Cloud) which reached No. 1 for 10 weeks on Billboards Adult R&B airplay chart, Baby with legendary soul singer Betty Wright, another No. 1 hit, and Wish I Didnt Miss You and Brotha. Her 2001 album Mahagony Soul reached No. 22 on the Billboard 200, while 2007s The Art Of Love & War peaked at No. 11. Rest in Power, Angie Stone. A true pioneer, a soulful storyteller, and a voice that helped shape the sound of R&B, the NAACP Image Awards posted on social media.The church-grown singer was born in Columbia, South Carolina. She helped form The Sequence, the first all-female group on the hip-hop trailblazing imprint Sugar Hill Records, becoming one of the first female groups to record a rap song. The groups Funk You Up, which has been sampled by numerous artists, including Dr. Dre. Stone later joined the trio Vertical Hold before launching her solo career.Actor and comedian Jamie Foxx said Stone would be missed painfully.I know they say that God doesnt make any mistakes but man this one hurts, Foxx said. Angie Stone was an incredible songwriter, and incredible artist and incredible person never thought in 1 million years that this would happenStone was also remembered by the Rev. Bernice King, daughter of the late Martin Luther King Jr. and CEO of the King Center.So heartbreaking King posted on social media. Rest well, soul sister. #AngieStone Stones performance at the Mobile Area Mardi Gras Associations Grand Marshals Ball on Friday night was nothing short of phenomenal, according to the organizations president, Isadore B. Sims. In a statement, Sims said they would cherish memories of Stones talent and warm spirit.Her talent captivated everyone in attendance, and her presence truly elevated the event, Sims said. Never could we have imagined that it would be the last time we would have the honor of witnessing her perform.At the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Associations mens championship basketball game in Baltimore on Saturday, where Stone was scheduled to perform during halftime, Chaplain Pastor Jerome Barber called for a moment of silence.Zeta Phi Beta Sorority mourned the loss of their sorority sister.Renowned for her contributions to the R&B and neo-soul genres, Stones music has resonated with fans for decades, the sorority said in a statement, remembering her diabetes awareness efforts and work with the sororitys Elder Care initiatives and Zetas Helping Other People Excel.

Trucks line up at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip after Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza, Sunday, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohamed Arafat)2025-03-02T19:18:57Z Israel has cut off the entry of all food and other goods into Gaza in an echo of the siege it imposed in the earliest days of its war with Hamas. The United Nations and other humanitarian aid providers are sharply criticizing the decision and calling it a violation of international law.A tool of extortion, Saudi Arabias foreign ministry said. A reckless act of collective punishment, Oxfam said. Key mediator Egypt accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon.Hunger has been an issue throughout the war for Gazas over 2 million people, and some aid experts had warned of possible famine. Now there is concern about losing the progress that experts reported under the past six weeks of a ceasefire.Israel is trying to pressure the Hamas militant group to agree to what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government describes as a U.S. proposal to extend the ceasefires first phase instead of beginning negotiations on the far more difficult second phase. In phase two, Hamas would release the remaining living hostages in return for Israels withdrawal from Gaza and a lasting ceasefire.Heres a look at what Israels decision means and the reactions. US says it supports Israels next stepsThe ceasefires first phase ended early Sunday. Minutes later, Israel said it supported a new proposal to extend that phase through the Jewish holiday of Passover in mid-April. It called the proposal a U.S. one from Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. Israel also warned it could resume the war after the first phase if it believes negotiations are ineffective.Negotiations on the second phase were meant to start a month ago, increasing the uncertainty around the fragile truce. Hamas has insisted that those talks begin.Later Sunday, Israel announced the immediate cutoff of aid to Gaza.The U.S. National Security Council said Washington will support Israels decision on next steps, given Hamas has indicated its no longer interested in a negotiated ceasefire. The statement didnt confirm the proposal was Witkoffs or mention the cutoff of aid. Its not clear when Witkoff will visit the Middle East again. He had been expected to visit last week.The U.S. under the Biden administration pressed Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, threatening to limit weapons support. Aid organizations repeatedly criticized Israeli restrictions on items entering the small coastal territory, while hundreds of trucks with aid at times waited to enter.Israel says it has allowed in enough aid. It has blamed shortages on what it called the U.N.s inability to distribute it, and accused Hamas militants of siphoning off aid.For months before the ceasefire, some Palestinians reported limiting meals, searching through garbage and foraging for edible weeds as food supplies ran low. 600 trucks of aid a dayThe ceasefires first phase took effect on Jan. 19 and allowed a surge of aid into Gaza. An average of 600 trucks with aid entered per day. Those daily 600 trucks of aid were meant to continue entering through all three phases of the ceasefire.However, Hamas says less than 50% of the agreed-upon number of trucks carrying fuel, for generators and other uses, were allowed in. Hamas also says the entry of live animals and animal feed, key for food security, were denied entry.Still, Palestinians in Gaza were able to stock up on some supplies. The ceasefire brought some much-needed relief to Gaza, but it was far from enough to cover the immense needs, the Norwegian Refugee Council said Sunday.Israels announcement came hours after Muslims in Gaza marked the first breaking of the fast during the holy month of Ramadan, with long tables set for collective meals snaking through the rubble of war-destroyed buildings.The sudden aid cutoff sent Palestinians hurrying to markets. Prices in Gaza tripled immediately, Mahmoud Shalabi, the Medical Aid for Palestinians deputy director of programs in northern Gaza, told The Associated Press. Legal implicationsProminent in the immediate criticism of Israels aid cutoff were statements calling the decision a violation.International humanitarian law is clear: We must be allowed access to deliver vital lifesaving aid, said the U.N. humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher.Hours after Israels announcement, five non-governmental groups asked Israels Supreme Court for an interim order barring the state from preventing aid from entering Gaza, claiming the move violates Israels obligations under international law and amounts to a war crime: These obligations cannot be condition on political considerations.Last year, the International Criminal Court said there was reason to believe Israel had used starvation as a method of warfare when it issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu. The allegation is also central to South Africas case at the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide.On Sunday, Kenneth Roth, former head of Human Rights Watch, said Israel as an occupying power has an absolute duty to facilitate humanitarian aid under the Geneva Conventions, and called Israels decision a resumption of the war-crime starvation strategy that led to the ICC warrant.___Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed. CARA ANNA Anna is an editor on the APs Global Desk. She has reported from Africa, China, Ukraine, Afghanistan and the United Nations. mailto RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy departs after a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)2025-03-02T20:00:50Z PHOENIX (AP) President Donald Trumps senior aides and allies lashed out at Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy from Washington as he attended a European summit Sunday in London to rally international support for his militarys fight against the Russian invasion. Following Trumps lead, White House officials and Republicans in Congress used news show appearances to demand that Zelenskyy display more gratitude for U.S. support and an openness to potential war-ending concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Some suggested Zelenskyy should consider resigning even as Ukrainians rally around him.But they offered little clarity as to what Zelenskyy and Ukraine could do after Fridays Oval Office meeting in which Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated him before canceling the signature of an economic agreement between Washington and Kyiv. The dispute leaves the future of that relationship in question, as well as the prospects for ending a conflict that began when the Kremlin invaded in February 2022. White House national security adviser Mike Waltz, who while in Congress went to Ukraine during the first year of the war to meet Zelenskyy and once compared him to wartime British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, said Zelenskyys behavior at the White House was incredibly disrespectful. Asked about that Churchill-Zelenskyy comparison, Waltz noted that Churchill was voted out of office in the final months of World War II. Churchill was a man for a moment, but he did not then transition England into the next phase, Waltz said. And its unclear whether President Zelenskyy, particularly after what we saw Friday, is ready to transition to Ukraine to an end to this war and to negotiate and have to compromise. Waltz said a negotiated end to the war would involve territorial concessions from Ukraine as well as Russian concessions on security guarantees, but he did not offer any more details about what Moscow would have to do. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., echoed the suggestion that Zelenskyy may need to step aside. Either he needs to come to his senses and come back to the table in gratitude, or someone else needs to lead the country to do that, Johnson said. I mean, its up to the Ukrainians to figure that out. But I can tell you that we are reexerting peace through strength.Trumps director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, said the contentious meeting has led to a huge rift in the relationship and she took issue with Zelenskyy telling Fox News afterward that he did not think he did anything wrong. Theres going to have to be a rebuilding of any kind of interest in good faith negotiations, I think, before President Trump is going to be willing to reengage on this, she said.The coordinated campaign of pressure from Washington played out as Zelenskyy and European leaders came to terms with Trumps overhaul of U.S. foreign policy. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the United Kingdom would use 1.6 billion pounds ($2 billion) in export financing to supply 5,000 air defense missiles for Ukraine. Support for Zelenskyy among congressional Republicans has been scant after the Oval Office meeting. But Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, one of the few GOP lawmakers willing to break with Trump publicly, criticized the Republican presidents stance toward the Ukrainians.I know foreign policy is not for the faint of heart, but right now, I am sick to my stomach as the administration appears to be walking away from our allies and embracing Putin, a threat to democracy and U.S. values around the world, Murkowski wrote on X on Saturday. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said it was inappropriate for senators to call for Zelenskyy to leave office and predicted that such a move would spiral Ukraine into chaos right now. Others were more vocal in support of Zelenskyy. Millions of Americans are embarrassed, are ashamed, said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.Our job is to defend the 250-year tradition that we have of being the democratic leader of the world, not turn our backs on a struggling country that is trying to do the right thing, Sanders said.Waltz appeared on CNNs State of the Union,' Johnson, Sanders and Lankford were on NBCs Meet the Press, and Gabbard spoke on Fox News Sunday JONATHAN J. COOPER Cooper writes about national politics from Arizona and beyond for The Associated Press. Now based in Phoenix, he previously covered politics in Oregon and California. twitter mailto

In this photo released by the Horry County Fire Rescue, smoke is seen from fires in Horry County, S.C., on Saturday, March 1, 2025. (Horry County Fire Rescue via AP)2025-03-02T21:36:56Z Crews battled wildfires in North and South Carolina on Sunday amid dry conditions and gusty winds and evacuations were ordered in some areas.The National Weather Service warned of increased fire danger in the region due to a combination of critically dry fuels and very low relative humidity.In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency on Sunday to support the wildfire response effort, and a statewide burning ban remained in effect.Crews worked to contain a fire in the Carolina Forest area west of the coastal resort city of Myrtle Beach, where residents were ordered to evacuate several neighborhoods, according to Horry County Fire Rescue. The South Carolina Forestry Commission estimated Sunday afternoon that the blaze was burning about 1.9 square miles (4.9 square kilometers) with zero percent containment. No structures had succumbed to the blaze and no injuries had been reported as of Sunday morning, officials said. The 410 personnel involved in the effort were expected to remain until the fire was contained, county fire officials said. Evacuations were expected to remain in place Sunday and officials warned residents in the Carolina Forest area to be prepared with go-bags and emergency plans if more evacuations were called in their neighborhoods. In North Carolina, the U.S. Forest Service said fire crews were working to contain multiple wildfires burning on more than 400 acres (161.87 hectares) in four forests across the state on Sunday. The largest, about 300 acres (121.41 hectares), was at Uwharrie National Forest, about 50 miles (80.47 kilometers) east of Charlotte. The small southwestern town of Tryon in Polk County, North Carolina, urged some residents to evacuate Saturday as a fire spread rapidly there. On Sunday, officials said those evacuations remained in effect. That fire was burning about 400 acres (161.87 hectares) on Sunday afternoon, with zero percent containment, according to the Polk County Emergency Management/Fire Marshals office. The North Carolina Forest Service was conducting helicopter water drops and back-burning operations on the ground, and area residents should expect a lot of smoke during those operations, officials said. Officials have not said what caused any of the fires.

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference at Canada House in London on Sunday, March 2, 2025. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)2025-03-02T21:22:54Z TORONTO (AP) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will meet with King Charles III, the countrys head of state, on Monday where he will discuss U.S. President Donald Trumps threats to make Canada the 51st state. The king has come under criticism in Canada for being silent about Trumps threats to annex Canada. Trudeau said in London on Sunday he will discuss matters of importance to Canadians with Charles and said nothing seems more important to Canadians right now than standing up for our sovereignty and our independence as a nation. Charles is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies.Overall, the antiroyal movement in Canada is small, but the silence of the monarch on Trumps threats have spurred talk in recent days. Former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said for Canadians disappointed that King Charles has not commented on Trumps threats he can only act on the advice of Canadas prime minister. The Government of Canada should ask the Head of State to underscore Canadian sovereignty, Kenney posted on X. The king, who met Sunday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has invited Trump to come to Scotland for a state visit. Though Canadians are somewhat indifferent to the monarchy, many had great affection for the late Queen Elizabeth, whose silhouette marks their coins. She was the head of state for 45% of Canadas existence and visited the country 22 times as monarch. Visits by Charles over the years have attracted sparse crowdsCanadians will need to decide what purpose King Charles III serves as King of Canada if he cant even speak up for our sovereignty, Artur Wilczynski, a former Canadian public servant, posted on X. Abolishing the monarchy would mean changing the constitution. Thats an inherently risky undertaking, given how delicately it is engineered to unite a nation of 41 million people that embraces English-speakers, French-speakers, Indigenous tribes and a constant flow of new immigrants.

Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick speaks in the Oval Office of the White House after President Donald Trump signed an executive order, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)2025-03-02T17:36:42Z WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that government spending could be separated from gross domestic product reports in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. You know, that governments historically have messed with GDP, Lutnick said on Fox News Channels Sunday Morning Futures. They count government spending as part of GDP. So Im going to separate those two and make it transparent.Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the U.S. economys health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because changes in taxes, spending, deficits and regulations by the government can impact the path of overall growth. GDP reports already include extensive details on government spending, offering a level of transparency for economists. Musks efforts to downsize federal agencies could result in the layoffs of tens of thousands of federal workers, whose lost income could potentially reduce their spending, affecting businesses and the economy at large. AP AUDIO: The Trump administration may exclude government spending from GDP, obscuring the impact of DOGE cuts AP correspondent Julie Walker reports the Trump administration may exclude government spending from GDP, obscuring the impact of DOGE cuts. The commerce secretarys remarks echoed Musks arguments made Friday on X that government spending doesnt create value for the economy. A more accurate measure of GDP would exclude government spending, Musk wrote on his social media platform. Otherwise, you can scale GDP artificially high by spending money on things that dont make peoples lives better. The argument as articulated so far by Trump administration officials appears to play down the economic benefits created by Social Security payments, infrastructure spending, scientific research and other forms of government spending that can shape an economys trajectory.If the government buys a tank, thats GDP, Lutnick said Sunday. But paying 1,000 people to think about buying a tank is not GDP. That is wasted inefficiency, wasted money. And cutting that, while it shows in GDP, were going to get rid of that. The Commerce Departments Bureau of Economic Analysis published its most recent GDP report on Thursday, showing that the economy grew at an annual rate of 2.3% in the final three months of last year.The report makes it possible to measure the forces driving the economy, showing that the gains at the end of last year were largely driven by greater consumer spending and an upward revision to federal government spending related to defense. Still, the federal governments component of the GDP report for all of 2024 increased at 2.6%, slightly lower than overall economic growth last year of 2.8%.In the GDP report, government spending accounts for almost one-fifth of peoples personal income, which totaled more than $24.6 trillion last year. This includes Social Security payments, benefits for military veterans, Medicare and Medicaid and other programs. But the report also measures the amount of peoples personal incomes that are paid in taxes to the government. The government is not always a contributor to GDP and can subtract from it, which is what happened in 2022 as pandemic-related aid expired.Lutnick said that the Trump administration would balance the federal budget with spending cuts, saying that would help growth and reduce the interest rates paid by consumers.When we balance the budget of the United States of America, interest rates are going to come smashing down, Lutnick said. This is going to be the best economy anybodys ever seen. And to bet against it is foolish. JOSH BOAK Boak covers the White House and economic policy for The Associated Press. He joined the AP in 2013. twitter mailto

Max Naumov reacts after performing Sunday, March 2, 2025, in Washington at the Legacy on Ice event, a figure skating tribute to support the families and loved ones affected by the Jan. 29, 2025, aviation incident. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)2025-03-02T22:42:11Z WASHINGTON (AP) Maxim Naumov wept on his knees at the end of his performance honoring his parents, wiped away tears as he skated off the ice and held an electric candle in the air as applause rained down. Amber Glenn broke down when she finished skating, and so did 13-year-old Isabella Aparicio, who was performing in memory of her brother, Franco, and their father Luciano.There was not a dry eye to be found anywhere, pairs skater Madison Chock said. A low murmur of crying pierced a lengthy moment of silence as fans lit the arena with their cellphones, riding waves of emotion through a poignant figure skating show Sunday in the nations capital to remember and raise money for the victims of the midair collision outside Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.The Legacy on Ice benefit event featured a star-studded group of some of the best U.S. figure skaters of the past and present taking part to pay tribute to the 67 people who died when an Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight and crashed into the Potomac River on Jan. 29. That included 28 members of the figure skating community, some of whom lived and trained in the Washington area. Everyone grieves in their own way, and the last month has been really challenging for a lot of us to just grapple with the magnitude of this loss, said Evan Bates, who with Chock won Olympic gold in Beijing in 2022. I think coming together today and doing something tangible like a show will give people, hopefully, a little glimmer of hope and a little light for that next step forward. American icons of the sport Kristi Yamaguchi and Brian Boitano emceed the show, which included performances by the likes of Glenn, Johnny Weir and reigning mens world champion Ilia Malinin, along with poignant tributes to the victims. We are not powerless, Boitano said in opening the show. As skaters, we learned to be resilient and to always find a path forward that is positive. Ted Leonsis, head of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which staged the event along with U.S. Figure Skating, DC Fire & EMS Foundation and the Greater Washington Community Foundation, hopes doing this at Capital One Arena helps families in the healing process the way concerts and sports at Madison Square Garden did in New York in 2001 after 9/11.Sports can play this convening and healing role, Leonsis said. Our goal is to allow the community to heal, kind of a collective hug for these communities, but then we want to raise a lot of money.The dasher boards had 67 stars, one for each of the victims, and skaters put flowers on a rinkside table of candles before beginning their routines.Were all here to support one another, whether it was our friends that were on that plane, family members, coaches, teammates, loved ones, said 2014 Olympic team bronze medalist Jason Brown, who skated to The Impossible Dream by Josh Groban. We all travel for this sport. We get to do what we love. And travel is such a huge part of what we do, so it all hit us really hard because this is just such an integral part of what we do, as well as those are people that were closest to. Glenn kicked things off by performing to Andra Days Rise Up and broke down in tears at center ice when she finished. Weir, whose family moved to Newark, Delaware, when he was 12 for him to pursue his skating career, dedicated his performance to the members of the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club who were on American Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, following a national development camp there coinciding with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.It was a very traumatic experience for me and really just devastating for me to hear when all that happened, and I really wanted to have something that everyone could remember as a family, as a whole community that we remember them, Malinin said. All of our daily lives, every time we step on the ice, well always think of them. Every time were competing, theyll always be in our hearts.Peggy Fleming, 1968 Olympic champion, said she hopes the event will heal and give strength to our skaters in the future. Alysa Liu wants to try to honor the memory of those lost so she can keep going. Its still a struggle and was a struggle, said Liu, who performed to Hero by Mariah Carey. Coming together and seeing everyone again has definitely been the most reassuring feeling. And its just because everyone knows exactly how everyone feels.Forty-one years after winning gold at the Olympics, Scott Hamilton skated onto the ice and led a prayer. Imagine blared from arena speakers during one ensemble performance, Malinin dazzled the crowd with his jump-filled routine and Lady Gagas Hold My Hand was the soundtrack of the grand finale of the emotional two-plus-hour show.It was just an amazing show, U.S. Figure Skating interim CEO Sam Auxier said. You could see even with Ilia the passion and the feelings about what happened coming through in their skating. Among the sellout crowd of over 15,000 were hundreds of first responders and their family members. Some came from as far away as Baltimore to be part of the rescue and recovery efforts.This was an incredibly challenging scene for those first responders, DC Fire and EMS Foundation executive director Amy Mauro said. The things that they witnessed are very difficult and will stay with them for a long time. This is part of their grieving and healing process, as well.In addition to being a gathering place for figure skaters, first responders and all the families affected by the crash, the intent was to raise money for all of them.Weve heard from the families about things like college tuition for young children who are in elementary school today but also things like therapy and health care that they need, Monumental president of external affairs and chief administrative officer Monica Dixon said. Every family will choose how to use those funds in the best way that they choose.The event aired live on Monumental Sports Network and streamed on Peacock. NBC will show an encore performance March 30.Thats what were hoping: We raise a lot of donations that way, Leonsis said. People care. The lesson in this is that, to me, if you personalize something like this, you can come together and do the right things in the right way.___AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports STEPHEN WHYNO Whyno has covered the NHL, Washington Capitals, the NFLs Washington Commanders and horse racing for The Associated Press since 2016. twitter facebook RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Posters showing the face of Elon Musk and messages relating to data privacy are seen on a fence surrounding a building site in Washington, Friday, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)2025-03-07T22:09:41Z WASHINGTON (AP) A series of decisions revealed Friday provided a glimpse of the turmoil engulfing federal agencies since President Donald Trump and Elon Musk launched their campaign of disruption, upending how government functions in ways big and small. Some changes appeared designed to increase political control over agencies that have historically operated with some degree of autonomy, such as requiring Environmental Protection Agency officials to seek approval from the Department of Government Efficiency for any contracts exceeding $50,000.Other directives increased burdens on federal workers, who have already endured insults, layoffs and threats from the president and other top officials. For example, government credit cards issued to civilian employees at the Pentagon were altered to have a $1 limit, choking off their ability to travel for work. The Transportation Security Administration became another target. The administration canceled a collective bargaining agreement with 47,000 workers who screen travelers and luggage at airports around the country, eliminating union protections in a possible prelude to layoffs or privatization. The cascading developments are only a fraction of the upheaval thats taken place since Trump took office, but they still reshaped how hundreds of thousands of public servants do their jobs, with potentially enduring consequences. The ongoing shakeup is much more intense than the typical whiplash that Washington endures when one administration gives way to another, raising fundamental questions about how government will function under a president who has viewed civil servants as an obstacle to his agenda. The White House has wrestled with political blowback over Musks role and legal challenges that have tried to block or slow down his work. Republicans who are facing growing pressure in contentious town halls have started to speak up. I will fully admit, I think Elon Musk has tweeted first and thought second sometimes, said Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., during a virtual meeting with constituents on Friday. He has plunged ahead without necessarily knowing and understanding what he legally has to do or what he is going to be doing.Mistakes are being madeThe overhaul of the federal government is happening at lightning speed, reflecting years of preparation by Trumps allies and the presidents decision to grant Musk sweeping influence over his administration. Musk, a billionaire entrepreneur with no previous experience in public service, has shown no interest in slowing down despite admitting that hell make mistakes in his crusade to slash spending and downsize the workforce. The government is facing even more dramatic changes in the coming weeks and months. Trump has directed agencies to prepare plans for widespread layoffs, known as reductions in force, that will likely require more limited operations at agencies that provide critical services.The Department of Veterans Affairs could shed 80,000 employees, while the Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration are considering plans that would cut their workforces in half. Trump has vowed not to reduce Social Security benefits, but Democrats argue that layoffs would make it harder to deliver payments to 72.5 million people, including retirees and children. There are also concerns that politics could interfere with Social Security. Trump has feuded over transgender issues with Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, and his administration recently said children born in the state would no longer have a Social Security number assigned at birth. Instead, parents would have to apply for one at a local office. Leland Dudek, the acting commissioner of Social Security, rescinded the order on Friday.In retrospect, I realize that ending these contracts created an undue burden on the people of Maine, which was not the intent, he said in a statement. Dudek added that as a leader, I will admit my mistakes and make them right. A startup mindset takes holdMore than a month after Trump took office, theres still confusion about Musks authority. In public statements and legal filings, administration officials have insisted that Musk does not actually run DOGE and has no direct authority over budgets.But Trump has contradicted both statements. He said Tuesday that DOGE is headed by Elon Musk in a prime-time speech to a joint session of Congress, and he said Thursday that Elon will do the cutting if agency leaders dont reduce their spending. Their approach has energized people like David Sacks, a venture capitalist serving as a Trump adviser on cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, who praised the administration as moving faster than any startup that Ive been part of.Trump denied reports of friction between Musk and Cabinet officials, particularly Secretary of State Marco Rubio, during a meeting Thursday. Elon gets along great with Marco, the president said. The State Department had no immediate comment. Norm Eisen, executive chair of State Democracy Defenders Fund, an organization that has been suing the Trump administration, said the president made clear that Musk and DOGE have been calling the shots.Musk serves as a presidential adviser, not a Senate-confirmed official, which Eisen argued makes his role unconstitutional. He said Trumps comments are an admission that the vast chaos that Musk and DOGE have wrought without proper approval and documentation is illegal and so must be completely unwound.Trump is using executive orders to reshape governmentMany of the changes sweeping through Washington were ignited by Trumps executive orders. One order issued last week said agencies must develop new systems for distributing and justifying payments so they can be monitored by DOGE representatives. The EPA distributed guidance intended to ensure compliance. Any assistance agreement, contract or interagency agreement transaction (valued at) $50,000 or greater must receive approval from an EPA DOGE team member, said the documents obtained by The Associated Press.Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said the involvement of Musks unvetted, inexperienced team raises serious concerns about improper external influence on specialized agency decision-making.Republicans have shied away from holding town hall meetings with constituents after critics started using them to vent their frustration. Some protesters gathered outside Huizengas district office in Holland, Michigan, calling on him to answer questions in person. I would like to ask him why he thinks that someone like Musk can go in and simply blow up agencies without seemingly even knowing what theyre doing, said Linda Visscher, a Holland resident.She said increasing the efficiency of government was a good idea, but she doesnt agree with just taking the blowtorch to it.____Associated Press reporters Lolita Baldor, Matthew Daly, Fatima Hussein and Matthew Lee in Washington; Joey Cappelletti in Holland, Michigan; and Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine, contributed to this report. 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

Vivian Lovingood protests the scheduled execution of South Carolina inmate Brad Sigmon, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Columbia, S.C. For the first time in 15 years a death row inmate in the U.S. will be executed by a firing squad. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)2025-03-07T23:21:41Z COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) A South Carolina man convicted of murder was executed by firing squad Friday, the first U.S. prisoner to die by that method in 15 years.Three volunteer prison employees used rifles to carry out the execution of Brad Sigmon, 67, who was pronounced dead at 6:08 p.m.Sigmon killed his ex-girlfriends parents with a baseball bat in their Greenville County home in 2001 in a botched plot to kidnap their daughter. He told police he planned to take her for a romantic weekend, then kill her and himself.Sigmons lawyers said he chose the firing squad because the electric chair would cook him alive, and he feared that a lethal injection of pentobarbital into his veins would send a rush of fluid and blood into his lungs and drown him. The details of South Carolinas lethal injection method are kept secret in South Carolina, and Sigmon unsuccessfully asked the state Supreme Court on Thursday to pause his execution because of that. On Friday, Sigmon wore a black jumpsuit with a hood over his head and a white target with a red bullseye over his chest. The armed prison employees stood 15 feet (4.6 meters) from where he sat in the states death chamber the same distance as the backboard is from the free-throw line on a basketball court. Visible in the same small room was the states unused electric chair. The gurney used to carry out lethal injections had been rolled away. The volunteers all fired at the same time through openings in a wall. They were not visible to about a dozen witnesses in a room separated from the chamber by bullet-resistant glass. Sigmon made several heavy breaths during the two minutes that elapsed from when the hood was placed to the shots being fired. His arms briefly tensed when he was shot, and the target was blasted off his chest. He appeared to give another breath or two with a red stain on his chest, and small amounts of tissue could be seen from the wound during those breaths. A doctor came out about a minute later and examined Sigmon for 90 seconds before declaring him dead.Witnesses included three family members of the victims, David and Gladys Larke. Also present were Sigmons attorney and spiritual advisor, a representative from the prosecuting solicitors office, a sheriffs investigator and three members of the news media.Sigmon delivered a closing statement that he said was one of love and a calling to my fellow Christians to help us end the death penalty.The firing squad is an execution method with a long and violent history in the U.S. and around the world. Death in a hail of bullets has been used to punish mutinies and desertion in armies, as frontier justice in Americas Old West and as a tool of terror and political repression in the former Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.Since 1977 only three other prisoners in the U.S. have been executed by firing squad. All were in Utah, most recently Ronnie Lee Gardner in 2010. Another Utah man, Ralph Menzies, could be next; he is awaiting the result of a hearing in which his lawyers argued that his dementia makes him unfit for execution. In South Carolina on Friday, a group of protesters holding signs with messages such as All life is precious and Execute justice not people gathered outside the prison before Sigmons execution.Supporters and lawyers for Sigmon asked Republican Gov. Henry McMaster to commute his sentence to life in prison. They said he was a model prisoner trusted by guards and worked every day to atone for the killings and also that he committed the killings after succumbing to severe mental illness.But McMaster denied the clemency plea. No governor has ever commuted a death sentence in the state, where 46 other prisoners have been executed since the death penalty resumed in the U.S. in 1976. Seven have died in the electric chair and 39 others by lethal injection. In the early 2000s, South Carolina was among the busiest death penalty states, carrying out an average of three executions a year. But officials suspended executions for 13 years, in part because they were unable to obtain lethal injection drugs. The state Supreme Court cleared the way to resume them in July. Freddie Owens was the first to be put to death, on Sept. 20, after McMaster denied him clemency. Richard Moore was executed on Nov. 1 and Marion Bowman Jr. on Jan. 31.Going forward the court will allow an execution every five weeks.South Carolina now has 28 inmates on its death row including two who have exhausted their appeals and are awaiting execution, most likely this spring. Just one man has been added to death row in the past decade. Before executions were paused, more than 60 people faced death sentences. Many of those have either had their sentences reduced to life or died in prison. JEFFREY COLLINS Collins covers South Carolina from Columbia for The Associated Press. He has been with the AP since 2000. twitter mailto

This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss a Supreme drop, a visit to a local Risograph printer, and what is up with Big Car.JOSEPH: My only experience with brands like Supreme and drops is when Ive covered the underground industry of bots and tools for getting ahead of ordinary customers. In 2019 I spoke to the hacker finalphoenix about her fascinating work on this botting ecosystem. I was very frustrated, because whenever Id try to buy something that was relatively cool on Instagram, it was always sold out, she told me at the time. I think we were standing in one of those cavernous hallways at the DEF CON hacking conference in Vegas. She then automated the process of buying these clothes herself, but learned so much more about the wider industry too.

Googles featured snippet is pulling in an Amazon AI summary of Adolf Hitlers Nazi manifesto Mein Kampf that calls it a true work of art in the latest AI-related fuckup affecting top search results.As of writing, searching for mein kampf positive reviews returned a result that was pulled from an AI-generated summary of an Amazon listings customer reviews. So, its a search algorithm attempting to summarize an AI summary. The full AI summary on Amazon says: Customers find the book easy to read and interesting. They appreciate the insightful and intelligent rants. The print looks nice and is plain. Readers describe the book as a true work of art. However, some find the content boring and grim. Opinions vary on the suspenseful content, historical accuracy, and value for money.As Im writing this, Google says An AI Overview is not available for this search, but the Amazon AI summary was in large text directly below it, in the space where an overview would typically be, above other web results. This is what Google calls a featured snippet: "Google's automated systems select featured snippets based on how well they answer the specific search request and how helpful they are to the user," the company says. A highlight appeared, added by Google, over the phrase easy to read and interesting. Notably the featured snippet result for this doesnt quote everything from Amazons AI, so it is itself a summary.Google's result for "mein kampf positive reviews" as of early Thursday morning, showing the Amazon review as a "featured snippet." Screenshot of Amazon's AI-generated review summaryAlexios Mantzarlis, the director of the security, trust, and safety initiative at Cornell Tech and formerly principal of Trust & Safety Intelligence at Google, first spotted the result.Uh... Amazon's AI summary of Mein Kampf is even worse, and pollutes Google results for [Mein Kampf positive reviews] Alexios Mantzarlis (@mantzarlis.com) 2025-03-06T13:45:31.788ZAfter I contacted Google for comment (the company hasnt responded as of writing) an AI Overview did appear, and notes that the book is widely condemned for its hateful and racist ideology, but that historical analyses might point to aspects of the book that could be considered positive from a purely literary or rhetorical perspective.Screenshot of Google's search result for "mein kampf positive reviews" as of late Thursday morning, showing the AI Overview result.This is, at least, a better summation of the conversation around Hitlers book that Amazons AI summary gives. The AI-generated review summary on the Amazon listing also shows links to see reviews that mention specific words, like readability, read pace, and suspenseful content. Enough people mentioned Mein Kampf being boring that theres a boredom link, too.Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The 2,067 reviews for this specific copy of Hitlers fascist manifesto are mostly positive, and taken extremely literally, the blueprint for Nazism is easy to read and, in some sense, interesting. But the reviews are much more nuanced than that. Reviewing the roadmap for the Holocaust from the worlds most infamous genocidal dictator with five stars seems twisted, but the reviews are nuanced in a way that AI clearly doesnt understandbut a human can.Mein Kampf, by Adolf Hitler, should be read by everyone in the world who are interested in a world of peace, social responsibility, and worldwide cooperation, one reviewer wrote, in an honestly pretty concerning start to a very long review. But they go on to write more that clarifies their point of view: This evil book presents a dark vision of how to go about creating tyranny in a democratic society so that one, similar to Russia, is created. [...] Also, Hitler is an excellent writer; he is not a rambling madman writing disconnected ideas and expressing a confusing methodology. His text is easy reading, and it is a world classic that is a must read.Another five-star review says: Chilling to begin reading this book and realize that these are the words written by Adolf Hitler. Read it and absorb what he says in his own words and you soon grasp what he means. [...] We are bound to repeat History if we don't understand mistakes that were made in the past.These arent positive reviews; most of the five-star reviews are noting the quality of the print or shipping, and not endorsing the contents of the book.Mein Kampf has never been banned in the U.S. (unlike plenty of other books about race, gender, and sex), but Amazon did briefly ban listings of the book from its platform in 2020 before reinstating it.Googles AI Overview shoots itself in the algorithmic foot frequently, so its noteworthy that its sitting this result out. When it launched in May 2024 as a default feature on searches, it was an immediate and often hysterical mess, telling people its chill to eat glue and that they should consume one small rock a day. In January, the feature was telling users to use the most famous sex toy in the world with children for behavioral issues. These weird results are beside the bigger point: Googles perversion of its own search functionits most popular and important productis a deep problem that it still hasnt fixed, and that has real repercussions for the health of the internet. At first, AI Overview was so bad Google added an option to turn it off entirely, but the company is still hanging on to the feature despite all of this.The Mein Kampf AI summaries are also an example of how AI is starting to eat itself online, and the cracks are showing. Studies in the last few years show that AI models are consuming AI-generated content as training data in a way thats polluting and destroying the models themselves.

Flags fly outside the United Nations headquarters Sept. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz, File)2025-03-07T22:01:59Z UNITED NATIONS (AP) In 2015, then-President Barack Obama committed the United States to achieving newly adopted U.N. global goals by 2030, including ending poverty, achieving gender equality and urgently tackling climate change. The Trump administration now says it rejects and denounces the goals.The U.S. renunciation was one of the first if not the first by any country of the 17 goals that were adopted unanimously by all 193 U.N. member nations, with the aim of eliminating global hunger, protecting the planet, ensuring prosperity for all people, and promoting peace.The Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, also include providing clean water and sanitation for all people and quality education for every child, while promoting good health and decent work and economic growth for everyone.The Trump administrations announcement was buried in remarks on a General Assembly resolution on the International Day of Peaceful Coexistence this week by Edward Heartney, a minister-counselor at the U.S. mission to the United Nations. Heartney said that while framed in neutral language, the goals and the U.N. agenda for 2030 advance a program of soft global governance that is inconsistent with U.S. sovereignty and adverse to the rights and interests of Americans. In last Novembers election that gave President Donald Trump a second term, he said, globalist endeavors like Agenda 2030 and the SDGs lost at the ballot box to the U.S. government focusing first and foremost on Americans. President Trump also set a clear and overdue course correction on `gender and climate ideology, which pervade the SDGs, Heartney said.Trump has said the U.S. government will only recognize two sexes, male and female, and spoken out against transgender people and rights. The SDGs stress that they apply to everyone, everywhere, and will leave no one behind, but they do not specifically mention LGBTQ people. As for climate, Trump has promoted more oil and gas drilling and he withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 landmark Paris climate agreement to combat global warming, and said he would take the U.S. out of other climate pacts. The SDGs call for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, noting that planet Earth is standing at the brink of climate calamity. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric, responding to the U.S. announcement, said all 193 U.N. member states voted in 2015 for the SDGs and agreed to work together to deliver the 2030 Agenda, which is the path to bridging divides, restoring trust and building solidarity.It continues to be the U.N.s guiding principles to advance a world of peace, prosperity and dignity for all and a better, healthier, safer and more prosperous and sustainable future, he said.After Trumps first election in November 2016 on an America First platform, the U.S. also opposed multilateral solutions, but it didnt disavow the SDGs. It just ignored them.Following Joe Bidens election to the presidency in 2020, the U.S. renewed support for the SDGs, reporting to Congress on how the United States was contributing to achieving the 17 goals.___On the Web: https://sdgs.un.org/goals RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Actor Gene Hackman with wife Betsy Arakawa in June 1993. (AP Photo, File)2025-03-07T22:21:41Z Gene Hackmans wife, Betsy Arakawa, died from hantavirus infection, officials in New Mexico announced Friday. Hantavirus, found throughout the world, is spread by contact with rodents or their urine or feces. It does not spread between people. The virus can cause a severe and sometimes deadly lung infection called hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency began tracking the virus after a 1993 outbreak in the Four Corners region the area where Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah meet.The vast majority of U.S. cases since then have been in western states, especially the southwest. Between 1993 and 2022, there were 864 reported U.S. cases. New Mexico had the highest number over that time, at 122, followed by Colorado at 119. Symptoms start one to eight weeks after exposure, and initially can include fatigue, fever and muscle aches, according to the CDC. As the disease progresses, symptoms can include coughing, shortness of breath and tightness in the chest as the lungs fill with fluid. About a third of people who develop respiratory symptoms from the disease can die, the CDC says. The best way to avoid the germ is to minimize contact with rodents and their droppings. ___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.

A number of AI video generators, mostly released by Chinese companies, lack the most basic guardrails that prevent people from generating nonconsensual nudity and pornography, and are already widely used for that exact purpose in online communities dedicated to creating and sharing that type of content.A 404 Media investigation into these AI video generators show that the same kind of ecosystem thats developed around AI image generators and nonconsensual content has already been replicated around AI video generators, meaning that only a single image of someone is now required to create a short nonconsensual adult video of them. Most of these videos are created by abusing mainstream tools from companies with millions of dollars in venture capital funding, and are extremely easy to produce, requiring only a reference image and a text prompt describing a sexual act. Other tools use more complicated workflows that require more technical expertise, but are based on technology produced by some of the biggest tech companies in the world. The latter are free to use, and have attracted a large community of hobbyists who produced guides for these workflows, as well as tools and models that make those videos easier to produce.[These AI video generators] need to put in safeguards to prevent the prompting and creation of NCII [nonconsensual intimate images], Hany Farid, a professor at UC Berkeley and one of the worlds leading experts on synthetic media, told me in an email. OpenAIs DALL-E, for example, has some pretty good semantic guardrails on the user prompt input, and image filtering on the image output to prevent the widespread misuse of their image generator. This type of output filtering is relatively standard now and used in many social media platforms like Facebook/Instagram/YouTube to limit the uploading of NSFW content.Do you know anything else about people abusing AI tools? I would love to hear from you. Using a non-work device, you can message me securely on Signal at emanuel.404. Otherwise, send me an email at emanuel@404media.co.