Passengers jostle with each other to board a train at the New Delhi Railway station, in New Delhi, India, Thursday, Feb.15, 2025. (AP Photo)2025-02-15T19:29:17Z NEW DELHI (AP) At least 15 people were killed in a stampede at a railway station in Indias capital of New Delhi, an official said Sunday.Delhis caretaker chief minister Atishi, who uses only one name, said that the bodies were brought to the capitals Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narain Hospital.The stampede happened late Saturday while thousands of people were gathered at the New Delhi railway station and waiting to board a train to the site of the Maha Kumbh Hindu festival in northern India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he was distressed by the stampede.My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that the injured have a speedy recovery. The authorities are assisting all those who have been affected by this stampede, he said on X.Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that an investigation has been ordered to find what led to the stampede.At least 30 people were killed in a stampede at the six-week festival last month after tens of millions of Hindus gathered to take a dip in sacred river waters.

United States Vice-President JD Vance, second right, and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, third right, meet with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, third left, during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)2025-02-16T05:11:08Z MUNICH, Germany (AP) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he directed his ministers not to sign off on a proposed agreement to give the United States access to Ukraines rare earth minerals because the document was too focused on U.S. interests.The proposal, which was at the center of Zelenskyys talks with U.S. Vice President JD Vance on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday, did not offer any specific security guarantees in return, according to one current and one former senior official familiar with the talks.Zelenskyys decision to reject a deal, at least for now, was described as short-sighted by a senior White House official.I didnt let the ministers sign a relevant agreement because in my view it is not ready to protect us, our interest, Zelenskyy told The Associated Press on Saturday in Munich. The proposal focused on how the U.S. could use Kyivs rare earth minerals as compensation for support already given to Ukraine by the Biden administration and as payment for future aid, current and former senior Ukrainian officials said speaking anonymously so they could speak freely. Ukraine has vast reserves of critical minerals which are used in aerospace, defense and nuclear industries. The Trump administration has indicated it is interested in accessing them to reduce dependence on China but Zelenskyy said any exploitation would need to be tied to security guarantees for Ukraine that would deter future Russian aggression. For me is very important the connection between some kind of security guarantees and some kind of investment, the Ukrainian president said. Zelenskyy did not go into details about why he instructed his officials not to sign the document which was given to Ukrainian officials on Wednesday by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bassent on a visit to Kyiv.Its a colonial agreement and Zelenskyy cannot sign it, the former senior official said. White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes did not explicitly confirm the offer, but said in a statement that President Zelenskyy is being short-sighted about the excellent opportunity the Trump Administration has presented to Ukraine. The Trump administration has grown weary of sending additional U.S. aid to Ukraine and Hughes said a minerals deal would allow American taxpayers to recoup money sent to Kyiv while growing Ukraines economy.Hughes added that the White House believes binding economic ties with the United States will be the best guarantee against future aggression and an integral part of lasting peace. He added, The U.S. recognizes this, the Russians recognize this, and the Ukrainians must recognize this.U.S. officials in discussions with their Ukrainian counterparts in Munich were commercially minded and largely concentrated on the specifics of exploring the minerals and how to form a possible partnership to do that with Ukraine, the senior official said. The potential value of the deposits in Ukraine has not yet been discussed, with much unexplored or close to the front line. The U.S. proposal apparently did not take into account how the deposits would be secured in the event of continuing Russian aggression. The official suggested the U.S. did not have ready answers, to that question and that one of their takeaways from discussions in Munich will be how to secure any mineral extraction operation in Ukraine involving people and infrastructure.Any deal must be in accordance with Ukrainian law and acceptable to the Ukrainian people, the senior Ukrainian official said. Subsoil belongs to Ukrainians under the Constitution, Kseniiia Orynchak, founder of the National Association of Mining Industry of Ukraine previously told the AP suggesting a deal would need popular support. Zelenskyy and Vance did not discuss the details of the U.S. document during their meeting Friday at the Munich Security Conference, the senior official said. That meeting was very good and substantive, with Vance making it clear his and Trumps main goal was to achieve a durable, lasting peace, the senior official said. Zelenskyy told Vance that real peace requires Ukraine to be in a strong position when starting negotiations, stressed that the U.S negotiators should come to Ukraine, and that the U.S., Ukraine and Europe must be at the negotiating table for talks with Russia.But Gen. Keith Kellogg, Trumps special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, all but cut Europeans out of any Ukraine-Russia talks, despite Zelenskyys request.You can have the Ukrainians, the Russians, and clearly the Americans at the table talking, Kellogg said at an event hosted by a Ukrainian tycoon at the Munich Security Conference. Pressed on whether that meant Europeans wont be included, he said: Im a school of realism. I think thats not going to happen. Ukraine is now preparing a counter proposal which will be delivered to the U.S. in the near future, the official said.I think its important that the vice president understood me that if we want to sign something, we have to understand that it will work, Zelenskyy told AP. That means, he said, It will bring money and security.___Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Washington D.C., and Volodymyr Yurchuk and Susie Blann in Kyiv, Ukraine contributed. EMMA BURROWS Burrows is an Associated Press reporter covering Russia, Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus. She is based in London. twitter

In this image made from a video provided by Moscow City Court, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny makes a heart symbol while standing in the defendants cage during a hearing into his 2014 criminal conviction in Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 2, 2021. (Moscow City Court via AP, File)2025-02-16T05:11:20Z The stunning news came in a terse statement from the Russian penitentiary service a year ago: Opposition leader Alexei Navalny had died in the Arctic Circle penal colony where he was serving a prison sentence.In the year since the death of Navalny at age 47, the Russian opposition has struggled to find its footing against President Vladimir Putin.Outlawed at home and operating from exile abroad without Putins fiercest foe, it has failed to form a united front and a clear plan of action against the Kremlin. Instead, rival groups have traded accusations that some see as efforts to discredit each other and vie for influence. Navalnys death was a blow to hopeNavalnys death was a point of no return and left an impossible void to fill, said Oleg Ivanov, a supporter who left Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022 and lives in Los Angeles. Alexei was the only hope that Russia has, at least potentially and hypothetically, some kind of a meaningful leader who could unite all the people willing to change something in our country, in our lives, Ivanov said in an interview with The Associated Press.Ivanov, who joined the mass protests that erupted across Russia in 2017, said that since Navalnys death, Im afraid that there is no one left who could somehow resist the Kremlin.Navalny is the second opposition leader whose sudden death shocked Russia and the world. In February 2015, prominent politician Boris Nemtsov was gunned down on a bridge near the Kremlin just days before he, Navalny and others were expected to lead a mass anti-Putin rally. Millions viewed his anti-corruption videosNavalnys vision of a beautiful Russia of the future, where leaders are freely and fairly elected, corruption is tamed, and democratic institutions work, earned him widespread support in the vast country.His charisma and sardonic humor drew young, energetic activists to his side a team that resembled a fancy startup rather than a clandestine revolutionary operation, according to his memoir, Patriot, released eight months after his death.Together they created colorful, professionally produced videos exposing corruption by government officials. Millions viewed them on YouTube and tens of thousands attended rallies even as authorities cracked down harder on dissent. Attacks with dye, then a poisoningAs Navalny aspired to public office, authorities responded by bringing multiple criminal charges against him, his allies and even relatives. Regularly jailed, he was physically attacked by Kremlin supporters, one of whom threw green dye in his face that nearly cost him the vision in one eye.He finished second in the race for Moscow mayor in 2013 amid allegations of vote rigging. In 2017, he announced plans to run for president and set up a sprawling network of regional offices across the country, recruiting local activists. When he was eventually barred from running, he kept those offices open, extending his reach across Russias 11 time zones.In 2020, Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent attack he blamed on the Kremlin, which always denied involvement. His family and allies fought to have him flown to Germany for treatment and recovery. Five months later, he returned to Russia, where he was immediately arrested and imprisoned for the last three years of his life.But even behind bars, in incredibly harsh conditions of constant pressure and surveillance, Navalny found a way to relay messages. His popular social media accounts were regularly updated with sarcastic vignettes about prison life and political statements. Death blamed on natural causes, but allies say he was killedAuthorities blamed Navalnys death, announced Feb. 16, 2024, on natural causes a sudden spike in blood pressure and chronic diseases. His family and allies reject that and insist he was killed on orders from the Kremlin accusations its officials deny.Tens of thousands of people attended his funeral in Moscow on March 1 in a rare show of defiance in a country where any street rally or even single pickets often result in immediate arrest. For days afterward, people brought flowers to his grave.Longtime ally Vladimir Ashurkov described Navalny as a political figure that basically defined the generation of Russians over the last 15 years.While he was alive, even from prison, he was raising his voice against the war and against Putins tyranny, Ashurkov told AP in London. Putins exiled foes face dark timesHis widow, Yulia Navalnaya, has vowed to continue his fight. She has recorded regular video addresses to her supporters and has met Western leaders and top officials, advocating for Russians who oppose Putin and his war in Ukraine.Navalnys Anti-Corruption Foundation continues to expose corruption in Russia in colorful videos and organizes occasional protests abroad, condemning Putin and the war in Ukraine.A landmark East-West prisoner swap in August freed other key dissidents like Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Kara-Murza, promising to reinvigorate the opposition movement unmoored by Navalnys death. So far, however, they havent gone beyond meetings with Western officials and supporters in exile, or a few rallies - actions unlikely to dent Putins war effort or his ever-growing crackdowns that sweep up remaining dissidents and ordinary Russians alike. Ashurkov describes the situation in Russia and Ukraine now as dark times and difficult times.But he notes that Navalny went through many difficulties and pressure in his life.His advice and his motivation to all of us has been, Dont sit still. Try to do something to change the situation, and be prepared for change, he said.Associated Press journalist Kwiyeon Ha in London contributed. DASHA LITVINOVA Litvinova is an Associated Press correspondent covering Russia, Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus. She is part of the team that covers the Russia-Ukraine war. She has covered Russia and the region for over a decade. twitter mailto

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he arrives in Israel, on the first leg of his Middle East trip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)2025-02-16T06:54:13Z JERUSALEM (AP) Secretary of State Marco Rubio is kicking of a Mideast tour in Israel on Sunday, as Arab leaders reel from President Donald Trumps proposal to transfer the Palestinian population of the Gaza Strip to other countries and redevelop it under U.S. ownership. Israels Foreign Minister Gideon Saar welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he arrives in Israel, on the first leg of his Middle East trip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Satruday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP) Israels Foreign Minister Gideon Saar welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he arrives in Israel, on the first leg of his Middle East trip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Satruday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More On Rubios first visit to the region as Americas top diplomat he is likely to get a warm welcome from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has praised the plan, and pushback from Arab leaders, who have universally rejected it and are scrambling to come up with a counterproposal.The fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas meanwhile remains intact after a major dispute threatened to unravel it last week. But the sides face a fast-approaching deadline in early March to negotiate the next phase, and the war may resume if they dont reach an agreement.Netanyahu has signaled readiness to resume the war after the current stage, even if that would leave dozens of hostages in captivity. At the same time, he has offered Hamas a chance to surrender and send its top leaders into exile. Hamas has rejected such a scenario. Israels Defense Ministry meanwhile said Sunday it received a shipment of 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) MK-84 munitions from the United States. The Biden administration had paused a shipment of such bombs last year over concerns about civilian casualties in Gaza. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he arrives in Israel, on the first leg of his Middle East trip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP) Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio as he arrives in Israel, on the first leg of his Middle East trip, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Israel on the first leg of his Middle East trip, as Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar waits to welcome him, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP) U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Israel on the first leg of his Middle East trip, as Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar waits to welcome him, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More If someone has a better plan... thats great In a radio interview last week, Rubio indicated that Trumps proposal was in part aimed at pressuring Arab states to come up with their own postwar plan that would be acceptable to Israel, which says Hamas can have no role in Gaza.He also appeared to suggest that Arab countries send in troops to combat Hamas, which survived Israels devastating 15-month onslaught and remains in firm control of the territory.If someone has a better plan, and we hope they do, if the Arab countries have a better plan, then thats great, Rubio said Thursday on the Clay and Buck Show. But Hamas has guns, he added. Someone has to confront those guys. Its not going to be American soldiers. And if the countries in the region cant figure that piece out, then Israel is going to have to do it and then were back to where weve been.It was not clear if Rubio would meet with any Palestinians.Arabs have limited options as Israel has rejected past plansFor Arab leaders, facilitating the mass expulsion of Palestinians or battling Palestinian militants on behalf of Israel are both nightmare scenarios. Either would open them up to fierce domestic criticism and potentially destabilize an already volatile region.Egypt says it will host an Arab summit on Feb. 27 and is working with other countries on a counterproposal that would allow for Gaza to be rebuilt without removing its population, which human rights groups say would likely violate international law.Egypt has warned that any mass influx of Palestinians from Gaza would undermine its nearly half-century-old peace treaty with Israel, a cornerstone of American influence in the region.Arab and Muslim countries have until now conditioned any support for postwar Gaza on a return to Palestinian governance with a pathway to statehood in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war. The Biden administration spent months rallying regional powers behind such plans, but they fizzled as Israel ruled out not only a Palestinian state but also any role in Gaza for the Western-backed Palestinian Authority, whose forces were driven out when Hamas seized power there in 2007.Last year, Egypt proposed that a committee of independent technocrats under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority take charge of governing and rebuilding Gaza. Hamas accepted the proposal but its secular rival, Fatah, which dominates the authority, refused to embrace it and the plan went nowhere. Rubio to visit regional heavyweightsRubio will meet with Netanyahu on Sunday before traveling onward to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, regional heavyweights that have rejected any mass displacement of Palestinians and would be key to any regional response.The United Arab Emirates was the driving force behind the 2020 Abraham Accords in which four Arab states normalized relations with Israel during Trumps previous term. Trump hopes to expand the accords to include Saudi Arabia, potentially offering closer U.S. defense ties, but the kingdom has said it will not normalize relations with Israel without a pathway to a Palestinian state.Rubio will not be visiting Egypt or Jordan, close U.S. allies at peace with Israel that have refused to accept any influx of Palestinian refugees. Trump has at times suggested he might slash U.S. aid to the two countries, which could be devastating for their economies, if they dont comply.He is also skipping Qatar, which along with Egypt had served as a key mediator with Hamas in brokering the ceasefire. Trump took credit for the ceasefire, which was reached in the closing days of the Biden administration after his Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, joined the talks. But more recently, Trump has suggested that Israel resume the war if the remaining dozens of hostages abducted in Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which triggered the fighting, are not released sooner than planned.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

An aerial view of an ilmenite open pit mine in a canyon in the central region of Kirovohrad, Ukraine, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)2025-02-16T07:01:37Z KIROVOHRAD REGION, Ukraine (AP) The mineral ilmenite is extracted from mounds of sand deep in the earth and refined using a method that summons the force of gravity, resulting in a substance that glimmers like a moonlit sky. Ukraine boasts vast reserves of ilmenite a key element used to produce titanium in the heavy mineral sands that stretch for miles along the countrys embattled east.Much of it, as with all of Ukraines critical minerals industry, is underdeveloped because of war as well as onerous state policies.That is poised to change if U.S. President Donald Trumps administration agrees to a deal with Ukraine to exchange critical minerals for continued American military aid. In the central region of Kirovohrad, the ilmenite open-pit mine is a canyon of precious deposits that its owner is keen to develop with U.S. companies. But many unknowns stand in the way of turning these riches into profit: cost, licensing terms and whether such a deal will be underpinned by security guarantees. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday at the Munich Security Conference that he did not permit his ministers to sign a mineral resource agreement with the U.S. because the current version is not ready to protect us, our interests. Ukrainian businessmen with knowledge of the minerals industry also privately expressed skepticism about whether a deal is viable. The capital-intensive industry is unlikely to yield results in years, if not decades, as geological data is either limited or classified. Many question what conditions American companies are willing to risk to build up the industry and whether existing Ukrainian policies that have so far deterred local businessmen will accommodate foreign investors.The main thing we can gain is certain security guarantees obtained through economic means, so that someone stronger than us has an interest in protecting us, said Andriy Brodsky, CEO of Velta, a leading titanium mining company in Ukraine. The question of security guaranteesA deal, which would essentially barter one resource for another, could help strengthen Kyivs relationship with the Trump administration.The United States is a major consumer of critical raw earth minerals such as lithium and gallium, two elements that Ukraine has in proven reserves. Trump has specifically mentioned rare earth elements, but these are not well researched, industry experts told The Associated Press.Titanium, used in aerospace, defense and industry, is also high in demand and the U.S. is a leading importer of ilmenite. Sourcing the minerals from Ukraine would reduce future reliance on Russia and China.In exchange, Kyiv would continue to receive a steady stream of American weaponry that offers leverage against Moscow and without which Ukraine cannot ward off future Russian aggression in the event of a ceasefire.The question of security guarantees is a sticking point for companies, Ukrainian businessmen and analysts said. A senior Ukrainian official, speaking anonymously to describe private conversations, told the AP that U.S. companies expressed interest in investing but needed to ensure their billions will be safeguarded in the event of renewed conflict. But once invested in Ukraine, the presence of American business interests alone might act as a guarantee, Brodsky said. If this process starts, it will continue, Brodsky said. Once the investment figures exceed hundreds of billions, the Americans, a highly pragmatic people, will protect their profits earned on Ukrainian soil. They will defend their interests against Russia, China, Korea, Iran and anyone else. They will protect what they consider theirs.Growing American interestBrodsky, who just returned from a trip to Washington and New York, said the conversation among U.S. businesses is changing in Kyivs favor.A lot of people in very serious and wealthy offices are saying that now, we our country and my company are in the right place and doing exactly what needs to be done at this moment, he said.Velta has worked with American partners for many years. Brodsky has begun negotiating with companies he believes could be a partner in the event of a deal. Ukraine has never been attractive to foreign investors because of prohibitive government policies not offering incentives to attract foreigners, for instance. Brodsky believes that international companies will need to pair up with local partners to flourish.American companies have several ways to enter the market, explained Ksenia Orynchak, director of the National Association of Extractive Industries of Ukraine, but would require traversing certain circles of hell in Ukraines bureaucracy. Teaming up with an existing Ukrainian license owner is possibly the most straightforward. She said more exploration is needed in the field and hinted existing data may have been acquired through ulterior motives. Under the Soviet system, geologists stood to gain if they claimed to have found large reserves. Someone did it so that Moscow would praise Ukrainian geologists or Soviet geologists, she said. She advises American investors to lower existing thresholds for exploration because bidding can take place in areas where reserves are only presumed, not proven.I believe, and so does the expert community, that this is not right. In fact, we are selling a pig in a poke, she said. A historically untapped sectorAt the extraction site, the air is dense with ilmenite dust. When the afternoon suns rays pierce the darkened space, they sparkle and dance in the air. The soot covers the faces of workers who spend hours inside every day extracting the precious material from sand.The gravity separation method removes unwanted elements in the ore and water separated from the mineral rains down through metal-lined floors. Workers are used to getting wet and dont bat an eye. Titanium is developed from the purified ilmenite at a different facility.Velta began in the form of an expired license for geological exploration and a business plan for $7 million when Brodsky acquired the company. It would be eight years and many millions more invested before he could even think about production capacity.The deal also does not factor in a crucial element that could prove challenging later: The position of Ukrainian people themselves. According to the Constitution, the subsoil where extraction would take place belongs to Ukraine. I am very afraid that they (Ukrainian people) already had disapproving reviews, that everything is being given away. Who allowed him? He had no right? And so on, Orynchak said. Those sensitivities were echoed among workers at the Velta mine. Speaking anonymously to voice his true thoughts, one said: If you have a vegetable garden in your home, do you invite a foreigner to take it? The high risk often is a key reason that some Ukrainian businessmen privately express skepticism about the deal. When one businessman of a major group of companies heard about the arms-for-minerals deal, his first impression was: This is just hot air, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity to speak freely about his thoughts. This is a very capital intensive industry. Just to take ground from an open pit will cost you billions. Not millions, billions.___Associated Press journalists Kwiyeon Ha in London and Volodymyr Yurchuk contributed. Arhirova reported from Kyiv. SAMYA KULLAB Kullab is an Associated Press reporter covering Ukraine since June 2023. Before that, she covered Iraq and the wider Middle East from her base in Baghdad since joining the AP in 2019. twitter instagram mailto HANNA ARHIROVA Arhirova is an Associated Press reporter covering Ukraine. She is based in Kyiv. twitter instagram mailto

People clear the rubble inside a home that was damaged and looted, in Maarat al-Numan, on the outskirts of Idlib, Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)2025-02-16T05:01:39Z MARAAT AL-NUMAN, Syria (AP) After a decade of war and displacement, many Syrians are returning to their homes, only to find them looted and roofless. In towns like Maarat al-Numan and Kfar Nabl in northern Syria, residents who fled years ago have returned since the fall of former President Bashad Assad but are now confronting the harsh reality of widespread theft and destruction. Strategically located on the route between the cities of Aleppo and Damascus, Maarat al-Numan became a touchpoint in the Syrian civil war.Assads forces seized the area back from rebel control in 2020. After that, groups affiliated with Assad looted houses and demolished some of them to extract valuable materials and furniture, human rights groups said. Steel and wires were taken out of rooftops to be sold.An aerial video of the area shows rows of houses that are still standing but with their roofs missing. Anmar Zaatour, a resident who left in 2019, said he came back in 2025 to find his home destroyed.There was nowhere to put our children, he said. This destruction isnt from the bombing, it was the military. And its not just mine, its my neighbors, and friends. Zakaria al-Awwad burst into tears of mixed joy and sorrow upon his return to Maarat al-Numan. His house was destroyed, one of the first ones to get hit, he said.There is no place like home, he said. Even if I have to put on a sheet of cloth, it is better than anything else. We have freedom now, and that is priceless. Others were more circumspect about the future.The problem is, its impossible to resume a life without a roof, said returning resident Hassan Barbesh. Maarat al-Numan is an impoverished town. Its a very difficult task to start from scratch.Ghaith AlSayed in Kfar Nabl, Syria, and Omar Albam in Maarat al-Numan, Syria, contributed to this report. MOSAAB ELSHAMY Elshamy is an Associated Press photographer covering North Africa and beyond. He has covered major stories across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. twitter instagram mailto

An aerial view shows the devastation from the Palisades Fire on beachfront homes Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)2025-02-16T05:43:13Z LOS ANGELES (AP) On a recent Sunday, Tracy Quinn drove down the Pacific Coast Highway to assess damage wrought upon the coastline by the Palisades Fire. An aerial view shows the devastation by the Palisades Fire Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) An aerial view shows the devastation by the Palisades Fire Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The water line was darkened by ash. Burnt remnants of washing machines and dryers and metal appliances were strewn about the shoreline. Sludge carpeted the waters edge. Waves during high tide lapped onto charred homes, pulling debris and potentially toxic ash into the ocean as they receded. It was just heartbreaking, said Quinn, president and CEO of the environmental group Heal the Bay, whose team has reported ash and debris some 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of the Palisades burn area west of Los Angeles. Tony Lai, center, rakes through the remains of his fire-ravaged beachfront property with his wife Everlyn in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) Tony Lai, center, rakes through the remains of his fire-ravaged beachfront property with his wife Everlyn in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Beachfront properties are burned by the Palisades Fire, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File) Beachfront properties are burned by the Palisades Fire, Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More As crews work to remove potentially hundreds of thousands of tons of hazardous materials from the Los Angeles wildfires, researchers and officials are trying to understand how the fires on land have impacted the sea. The Palisades and Eaton fires scorched thousands of homes, businesses, cars and electronics, turning everyday items into hazardous ash made of pesticides, asbestos, plastics, lead, heavy metals and more. Since much of it could end up in the Pacific Ocean, there are concerns and many unknowns about how the fires could affect life under the sea. We havent seen a concentration of homes and buildings burned so close to the water, Quinn said. Fire debris and potentially toxic ash could make the water unsafe for surfers and swimmers, especially after rainfall that can transport chemicals, trash and other hazards into the sea. Longer term, scientists worry if and how charred urban contaminants will affect the food supply. Properties damaged by the Palisades Fire are seen from a coastline perspective Friday, Jan. 17, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) Properties damaged by the Palisades Fire are seen from a coastline perspective Friday, Jan. 17, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The atmospheric river and mudslides that pummeled the Los Angeles region last week exacerbated some of those fears. When the fires broke out in January, one of Mara Dias first concerns was ocean water contamination. Strong winds were carrying smoke and ash far beyond the blazes before settling at sea, said the water quality manager for the Surfrider Foundation, an environmental nonprofit. Scientists on board a research vessel during the fires detected ash and waste on the water as far as 100 miles (161 kilometers) offshore, said marine ecologist Julie Dinasquet with the University of California, San Diegos Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Things like twigs and shard. They described the smell as electronics burning, she recalled, not like a nice campfire. Runoff from rains also are a huge and immediate concern. Rainfall picks up contaminants and trash while flushing toward the sea through a network of drains and rivers. That runoff could contain a lot of nutrients, nitrogen and phosphate that end up in the ash of the burn material that can get into the water, said Dias, as well as heavy metals, something called PAHs, which are given off when you burn different types of fuel.Mudslides and debris flows in the Palisades Fire burn zone also can dump more hazardous waste into the ocean. After fires, the soil in burn scars is less able to absorb rainfall and can develop a layer that repels water from the remains of seared organic material. When there is less organic material to hold the soil in place, the risks of mudslides and debris flows increase. Los Angeles County officials, with help from other agencies, have set thousands of feet of concrete barriers, sandbags, silt socks and more to prevent debris from reaching beaches. The LA County Board of Supervisors also recently passed a motion seeking state and federal help to expand beach clean ups, prepare for storm runoff and test ocean water for potential toxins and chemicals, among other things. Beyond the usual samples, state water officials and others are testing for total and dissolved metals such as arsenic, lead and aluminum and volatile organic compounds. They also are sampling for microplastics, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, that are harmful to human and aquatic life, and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, a group of man-made chemicals shown to cause cancer in animals and other serious health effects. Now banned from being manufactured, they were used in products like pigments, paints and electrical equipment. County public health officials said chemical tests of water samples last month did not raise health concerns, so they downgraded one beach closure to an ocean water advisory. Beachgoers were still advised to stay out of the water. Dinasquet and colleagues are working to understand how far potentially toxic ash and debris dispersed across the ocean, how deep and how fast they sunk and, over time, where it ends up. Forest fires can deposit important nutrients like iron and nitrogen into the ocean ecosystem, boosting the growth of phytoplankton, which can create a positive, cascading effect across the ecosystem. But the potentially toxic ash from urban coastal fires could have dire consequences, Dinasquet said. Reports are already showing that there was a lot of lead and asbestos in the ash, she added. This is really bad for people so its probably also very bad for the marine organisms. A huge concern is whether toxic contaminants from the fire will enter the food chain. Researchers plan to take tissue fragments from fish for signs of heavy metals and contaminants. But they say it will take a while to understand how a massive urban fire will affect the larger ecosystem and our food supply.Dias noted the ocean has long taken in pollution from land, but with fires and other disasters, everything is compounded and the situation is even more dire. ___The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of APs environmental coverage, visit apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment. DORANY PINEDA Pineda writes about water, climate and the environment in Latino communities across the U.S. twitter

A person lights a candle at the site of a stabbing attack in Villach, Austria, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic)2025-02-16T09:51:38Z VIENNA (AP) Austrian authorities say they have classified the deadly stabbing attack in a southern city as an Islamic terror incident. The suspect, a 23-year-old Syrian man, stabbed six passersby in broad daylight in Villach on Saturday, killing a 14-year-old boy and wounding five others. He was arrested after the attack. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said Sunday he felt anger about an Islamist attacker who indiscriminately stabbed innocent people here in this city.This marks the second deadly jihadi attack in Austria in recent years. In November 2020, a man who had previously attempted to join the Islamic State group carried out a rampage in Vienna, armed with an automatic rifle and a fake explosive vest, killing four people before being fatally shot by police.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. APs earlier story follows below. VIENNA (AP) The city of Villach in southern Austria is in shock after a man stabbed six passersby in broad daylight, killing a 14-year-old boy and wounding five others, as police tried to establish a motive that put migration in the spotlight. Residents began placing candles at the site of the attack in the city of about 60,000 inhabitants. A group of young people, who knew the boy who died in Saturdays attack, gathered at the crime scene on Sunday morning to mourn and tearfully light candles, local media reported.The 23-year-old suspect, who was detained shortly after the stabbing, is a Syrian with a residence permit in Austria. A 42-year-old man, also a Syrian working for a food delivery company, witnessed the attack from his car. He drove toward the suspect and helped to prevent the situation from escalating, police spokesperson Rainer Dionisio told Austrias public broadcaster ORF. Austrias President Alexander Van der Bellen called the attack horrific. No words can undo the suffering, the horror, the fear. My thoughts are with the family of the deceased victim and the injured, he posted on X. The Free Syrian Community of Austria issued a statement on Facebook distancing itself from the attack and expressing its deepest condolences to the victims families. We all had to flee Syria, our home country, because we were no longer safe there no one left their country voluntarily. We are grateful to have found asylum and protection in Austria, the association said. Finally, we would like to emphasize: Anyone who causes strife and disturbs the peace of society does not represent the Syrians who have sought and received protection here, the statement concluded.Dionisio said that a motive for the attack was not immediately known and police were investigating the suspects background. Carnival procession canceled as police gather evidence Villach, a popular tourist destination near the borders of Italy and Slovenia, is known for its laid-back atmosphere, which blends Mediterranean and Alpine traditions. The city hosts annual carnival processions in March and an event on Saturday was canceled in the wake of the attack. The Austrian Ministry of Interior activated a platform for witnesses to upload videos or photos related to the attack. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner is expected in Villach on Sunday for a press conference. Local authorities said a crisis response team will be available to support pupils when schools open on Monday. The victims were all men, with two seriously wounded and two sustaining minor injuries, police said. Later Saturday, police said a fifth person was also injured. Peter Kaiser, the governor of the province of Carinthia, expressed his condolences to the family of the 14-year-old. This outrageous atrocity must be met with harsh consequences. I have always said with clarity and unambiguously: Those who live in Carinthia, in Austria, have to respect the law and adjust to our rules and values, he said. Calls to strengthen migration rules Far-right leader Herbert Kickl wrote on X that he is appalled by the horrific act in Villach and called for a rigorous crackdown on asylum. At the same time, I am angry angry at those politicians who have allowed stabbings, rapes, gang wars and other capital crimes to become the order of the day in Austria. This is a first-class failure of the system, for which a young man in Villach has now had to pay with his life, Kickl said.From Austria to the EU the wrong rules are in force everywhere. Nobody is allowed to challenge them, everything is declared sacrosanct, he said, adding that his party had outlined what he viewed as necessary changes to immigration laws in its election platform.Conservative party leader Christian Stocker said on X that the attacker must be brought to justice and be punished with the full force of the law. We all want to live in a safe Austria, adding that this means political measures need to be taken to avoid such acts of horror in the future, he said.The leader of the Social Democrats, Andreas Babler, said, Crimes like this one simply should not happen in our society.

People walk past an independence square in Bukavu, eastern Congo, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Janvier Barhahiga)2025-02-16T09:56:18Z BUKAVU, Congo (AP) Rwanda-backed rebels reached the center of east Congos second largest city, Bukavu, on Sunday morning and took control of the South Kivu province administrative office after little resistance from government forces, many of whom fled the rebels advance.Associated Press journalists witnessed scores of residents cheering on the M23 rebels in central Bukavu on Sunday morning as they walked and drove around the city center after a dayslong march from the regions major city of Goma 63 miles (101 kilometers) away, which they captured late last month. Several parts of the city, however, remained deserted with residents indoors.The M23 rebels are the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups vying for control of Congos mineral-rich east, and are supported by some 4,000 troops from neighboring Rwanda, according to the U.N. It was not clear if the rebels had taken decisive control of the city of about 1.3 million people. Their presence in central Bukavu is an unprecedented expansion of the rebels reach in their yearslong fighting with Congolese forces. Unlike in 2012 when they only seized Goma in the fighting connected to ethnic tension, analysts have said the rebels this time are eyeing political power. Many Congolese soldiers were seen on Saturday fleeing the rebels advance into Bukavu alongside thousands of civilians amid widespread looting and panic. Congos President Felix Tshisekedi held a security meeting in the faraway capital of Kinshasa, where officials noted that Bukavu was briefly invaded by M23 but remains under the control of the Congolese army and allies from local militia, the presidency said on X. There were no signs of fighting or of Congolese forces in most parts of Bukavu on Sunday.Tshisekedi has warned of the risk of a regional expansion of the conflict. Congos forces are being supported in Bukavu by troops from Burundi and in Goma by troops from South Africa. Burundis president, Evariste Ndayishimiye, appeared to suggest his country will not retaliate in the fighting. In a post on X he said that those people who were ready to get profit of the armed attack of Rwanda to Burundi will not see this. The Congo River Alliance, a coalition of rebel groups that includes M23, said it was committed to defending the people of Bukavu in a Saturday statement that did not acknowledge their presence in the city. We call on the population to remain in control of their city and not give in to panic, Lawrence Kanyuka, the alliances spokesperson, said in a statement.The fighting in Congo has connections with a decadeslong ethnic conflict. M23 says it is defending ethnic Tutsis in Congo. Rwanda has claimed the Tutsis are being persecuted by Hutus and former militias responsible for the 1994 genocide of 800,000 Tutsis and others in Rwanda. Many Hutus fled to Congo after the genocide and founded the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda militia group. Rwanda says the group is fully integrated into the Congolese military, which denies the charges.

Alexander Stubb, President of Finland speaks as part of a panel discussion during the Munich Security Conference at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)2025-02-16T10:57:34Z MUNICH (AP) Finlands president on Sunday urged the rearming of Ukraine and putting maximum pressure on Russia through sanctions and asset freezes in the run-up to possible negotiations sought by the U.S. on ending the war. Alexander Stubb and other European leaders at the final day of the Munich Security Conference on Sunday sought to firm up how the European Union can move from talk to more action and stay relevant as Washington pushes to stop the fighting. He laid out three phases: pre-negotiation, ceasefire and long-term peace negotiation.The first phase is the pre-negotiation, and this is a moment when we need to rearm Ukraine and put maximum pressure on Russia, which means sanctions, which means frozen assets, so that Ukraine begins these negotiations from a position of strength, he said. U.S. President Donald Trumps push for a quick way out of the Ukraine war has stirred concern and uncertainty in Munich. After a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, Trump said he and Putin would likely meet soon to negotiate a peace deal over Ukraine. Trump later assured Zelenskyy he also would have a seat at the table. U.S. officials have indicated that European nations, however, would not be involved. Dont underestimate Trump as a negotiator, I genuinely believe that Putin is baffled and afraid what might be coming from there, Stubb said. Right now, the ball is in our court here in Europe. We need to convince the Americans wheres the value added, and then get back into the table. I think in Europe we need to talk less and do more, he added later. President Edgars Rinkvis of Latvia, which like Finland borders Russia, agreed that if we are strong, if we have something to offer ... then we are going to be interesting to the United States. If you are just continue having those nice conferences, talking and whining, then we are not going to be interesting to our own publics very soon. The three-day conference was a hub of crisscrossing diplomacy on issues of politics, economics, and defense and security, with top envoys on hand from places as diverse as Syria and Saudi Arabia, and Japan and South Korea, as well as many European leaders. On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for the creation of an armed forces of Europe " to better stand up to an expansionist Russia that could threaten the European Union, too. He also said he directed his ministers not to sign off on a proposed agreement to give the United States access to Ukraines rare earth minerals because the document was too focused on U.S. interests.The proposal was a key part of his talks with U.S. Vice President JD Vance on the sidelines of the Munich event, according to one current and one former senior Ukrainian official familiar with the talks. Zelenskyys decision not to sign a deal, at least for now, was described as short-sighted by a senior White House official.Also Saturday, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters in Munich that he has asked U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to exclude Japan from steel and aluminum tariffs as well as from reciprocal tariff measures. Iwaya, who had a brief chat with the top U.S. diplomat on the sidelines of the conference, said he also raised the issue of auto tariffs, though he gave no further details. If imposed, the impact of auto tariffs on the Japanese auto industry would be huge, experts say. ___Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten in Lyon, France, contributed to this report. EMMA BURROWS Burrows is an Associated Press reporter covering Russia, Belarus, Central Asia and the Caucasus. She is based in London. twitter RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site

Photo by Gage Skidmore.Subscribe nowAt the 2022 NCAA Division I Womens Swimming and Diving Championships, Riley Gaines and Lia Thomas teammates cheered from the sidelines as they watched the 200-yard freestyle. Gaines, the team captain swimming for the University of Kentucky, and Thomas, swimming for the University of Pennsylvania, tied for fifth place, both finishing the race in just under one minute and 44 seconds.We were all standing there cheering for [Gaines] on the podium and she just looked so pissed off, says one of Gaines former teammates. I was looking at my teammate and I was like, Dude, this is the worst thing that could have happened.Thomas was fresh off of becoming the first trans athlete to earn an NCAA Division I title and had become the target of controversy throughout the season, with organizations like Save Womens Sports and Concerned Women of America using her success as a rallying cry against trans womens participation in sports. Gaines teammate, who asked to remain anonymous due to concerns about grad school applications, told Uncloseted Media that tensions had already been high prior to the competition but reached a boiling point when Gaines and Thomas tied.She, for months leading up to that, had this bias in her head, and I think that was the last straw that gave her the push to speak up about it, says Gaines former teammate, adding that she could never have predicted that this would be the start of a lucrative career for her former captain.Less than a week after the race, Gaines began skyrocketing to right-wing fame when she was profiled in an article by right-wing commentary website The Daily Wire, where she criticized the NCAA for awarding Thomas a trophy before her.The more I thought about it, the more it fired me up, Gaines told the conservative media outlet founded by Ben Shapiro.Photo by Gage Skidmore.The next month, she would testify before the Kentucky senate in support of a bill that would ban trans women from womens sports. By May 2023, she had appeared on Fox News 29 times and been hired as an official spokesperson for the Independent Womens Forum (IWF), a far-right organization known for anti-trans activism.Since the infamous race against Thomas, shes sued the NCAA, headlined nationwide speaking tours and launched the Riley Gaines Center at the Leadership Institute. This month, Gaines appeared at the signing of Donald Trumps executive order banning trans women from womens sports, where he personally congratulated her for her activism and for being at the forefront of the issue.Photo by Gage Skidmore.As Gaines star has risen, her former teammate says its become too much to stomach. I havent followed her, and Ive tried to distance myself from it, she says. Its just been insane how she has changed this narrative into trans people shouldnt compete in sports.Gaines meteoric rise reflects a strategy that far-right groups, including the anti-LGBTQ hate group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), use to prop up young, primarily white, cisgender women and girls as figureheads in their movement to ban trans girls and women from sports. While research surrounding trans women in sports is ongoing, Gaines and other right-wingers rarely cite it when pushing for laws that rollback trans rights. Instead, their rhetoric is fueled by transphobia and fearmongering about how trans girls and women are jeopardizing the safety of cis females.This strategy seems to be working. Since 2020, 27 out of 50 states have banned trans students from competing on teams matching their gender identity.Theres a whole right-wing media machinery and money that started strategically using people like Riley Gaines to make these arguments around Title IX and [the idea] that trans athletes are destroying womens sports, says Mia Fischer, a professor of communications and women & gender studies at University of Colorado Denver. Anti-trans activism has made sports a key issue, and theyve very effectively used it as a trojan horse to attack other trans rights.Subscribe for LGBTQ-focused investigative journalism. How Sports Became a TargetOpenly trans athletes are exceedingly rare, with fewer than ten competing in the NCAA, according to the associations president. Despite this, leaked emails show that, as early as 2014, ADF was coordinating with the American College of Pediatriciansanother anti-LGBTQ hate groupto produce pseudoscientific studies.In one email, ADF requests a report that make[s] the point that interpreting Title IX to include protections for gender identity will harm girls by allowing boys to displace girls on competitive sports teams. This argument would form the backbone of their legal and rhetorical strategy for pushing trans sports bans.Multiple trans athletes told Uncloseted Media that their presence in sports was, for a long time, mostly irrelevant. But Fischer says that began to change in 2017 when two Connecticut trans girls drew controversy after multiple first- and second-place wins in the states high school track competitions, and some parents raised concerns about fairness.ADFa group that has advocated for conversion therapy and against marriage equalityjumped on this opportunity and helped the families of three cisgender Connecticut runners file a lawsuit in 2020, arguing that allowing trans girls to compete on girls sports teams violates Title IX. The plaintiffs in the ongoing lawsuit were quickly promoted by ADF and allied groups.As with Gaines, they testified in favor of other states anti-trans legislation, published op-eds and appeared on Fox News. One plaintiffs mother, who started a petition to change Connecticuts policies around trans athletes, was featured on a panel with the Heritage Foundationthe organization that penned Project 2025to discuss the importance of banning trans women from sports.That was a really scary time, says Andraya Yearwood, one of the trans runners from Connecticut, adding that she received sustained harassment both online and from some parents. However, she said most teammates and competitors were supportive. I knew people didnt want me to run, but I didnt know that it would reach such heights.Yearwood remembers online strangers telling her to quit running, calling her a cheater and sending her posts and videos that misgender her and call for her to be banned from her sport. At one track meet, she recalls hearing cheers from the crowd after she was removed from a race for a false start, and she says one woman verbally accosted her.I just stood there for a few seconds. I didnt say anything, Yearwood told Uncloseted Media. I was too stunned to speak. Then I turned around and I kept walking. I just was like, Im not gonna pay you any mind. I have better things to worry about, like my race.Photo by Gage Skidmore.Riley Gaines Rise to StardomAs ADFs lawsuit moved through the courts, Gaines star rose. She successfully lobbied local governments for sports bans, was featured in campaign ads for Rand Paul and Ron DeSantis and landed a podcast called Gaines for Girls on Fox Nation. She also worked with International Chess Federation leadership to ensure trans women would be banned from their womens events.Gaines rhetoric wasnt always so extreme. In her initial appearance in The Daily Wire, she consistently genders Lia Thomas correctly.I am in full support of her and full support of her transition and her swimming career, Gaines told The Daily Wire, because theres no doubt that she works hard too, but shes just abiding by the rules that the NCAA put in place, and thats the issue.But as the far-right rewarded her, Gaines rhetoric became increasingly fueled by transphobia. Today, she misgenders trans people and laments watching Thomas steal trophies from girls Id known my whole life.Lia Thomas is not a brave, courageous woman who EARNED a national title. He is an arrogant, cheat who STOLE a national title from a hardworking, deserving woman, she tweeted in March 2023, almost exactly a year after her tying match.This switch-up is not unique. Yearwood says prior to the Connecticut lawsuit, she had been friendly with Chelsea Mitchell, one of the plaintiffs. Weeks before the lawsuit was filed, Mitchell congratulated Yearwood in an Instagram message shared with Uncloseted Media.Photo courtesy of Yearwood.That really shocked me, Yearwood says. [It] was a bit confusing.Mitchell did not respond to a request for comment.People become more ideologically indoctrinated, says Fischer. The influence of various anti-LGBTQ Christian conservative groups on these athletes becomes really clear, in that their views become more narrow, exclusionary, or even radical fundamentalist.Theres also a financial incentive for Gaines to lean into this rhetoric. Gaines was paid nearly $12,000 by Ron DeSantis presidential campaign in 2023, and her center was awarded $20,000 for collaborating on a Real Women of America pinup calendar with Conservative Dads Ultra Right Beerwhich the founders describe as an anti-woke beer company.Gaines has also participated in paid speaking engagements at over 50 college campuses, landed two separate book deals and has her own merch collection with the Leadership Institute, with Save Womens Sports and BOYcott t-shirts selling for as much as $40.Shes developing her stance according to whos supporting her, says Gaines former teammate. With her sponsorships and with the big people commenting saying youre doing great things, I think it was inevitable that it would have led to that.On Fox News, Gaines has even gone so far as to bully and misgender kids, referring to an eighth-grade trans girl as a mediocre man.Later in 2022, Gaines became an official spokeswoman for the IWF, an organization founded in the 1990s by a group of conservative women who were working to defend then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas from allegations that he had persistently sexually harassed a former advisor. Over time, they grew into a broader conservative womens group with the help of significant funding from right-wing donors. Recently, their primary focus has been anti-trans advocacy.IWF is part of the Our Bodies, Our Sports coalition, a collection of organizations that sponsors Gaines Take Back Title IX college campus tours, where she gives speeches advocating against trans women in sports.In one speech at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Gaines said that calling for trans women to be banned from womens sports is how anyone with any amount of brain activity would probably comprehend this information.Uncloseted Media is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.The Leadership Institute and Manipulating the NarrativeIn August 2023, Gaines launched the Riley Gaines Center at the Leadership Institute with the goal of protecting womens sports. The Leadership Institute, a member of Project 2025s advisory board and funded by the Charles Koch Foundation, is known for training conservatives to be effective activists and politicians. Notable alumni include Mitch McConnell and Mike Pence.Last summer, the center launched an online training, where Gaines details how to use Title IX to Defend Women's Sports and Stand Against Gender Ideology.Biological sex has been replaced in favor of transgenderism, Gaines says in the video. [People are] being silenced for believing in the biological reality that there are only two sexes. Subsequent videos instruct viewers how Title IX can be used to silence or censor students who engage in harmful rhetoric, like misgendering or deadnaming trans folks, and how students can instead use it to push back against this censorship.The center also has a roster of young female ambassadors who, like Gaines, have become influencers of the anti-trans movement. Among them are members of the Roanoke College Swim Team, who made headlines when they claimed they were pressured to accept a trans woman on their team. However, the Colleges administration released a statement stating that the trans woman in question never joined the team and withdrew her request after receiving backlash.Despite this, the team appeared on stage at one of Donald Trumps final 2024 election campaign rallies, where the president praised them for their protest. The brave members of the swim team stood up to the transgender fanatics, Trump said.Gaines herself also claims on her centers website that she was forced to share a locker room with Thomas. We werent even forewarned that we would be forced to undress in front of a 64 fully intact, 22-year-old male. As if that werent enough, we were effectively silenced by our universities with threats and intimidation.But Gaines former teammate says this is untrue. NCAA gave us a heads-up that all the locker rooms were going to be gender-neutral, and there were three locker rooms that we could have used So Rileys villainizing Lia with I was changing in the locker room when Lia walked in and stripped down, and Im like, Riley, we knew this was a possibility. Riley shaped the narrative in her way.Uncloseted Media reached out to Gaines via the Riley Gaines Center with an interview request and a list of questions but received no response.Cherrypicking White Cis Women Theres clearly a lot of media training that these people have received, says Fischer, noting that the right-wings selection of white, traditionally feminine girls and young women is likely intentional. If we think about traditional gender norms, they fulfill all these signifiers that we traditionally associate with feminine white athletes. I think this is also why media then attaches to certain people easier than to others and is able to create this celebrity status around them.Yearwood believes that anti-Black racism was an underlying element to the backlash she received, with many attacking her by playing on existing stereotypes of Black women as more masculine in contrast to their white counterparts.Because a lot of black women in general are often hyper-masculinized in American culture, I think that also contributes to the scrutiny that we faced in high school, says Yearwood. They had really focused on our muscle definition as we were running, and some of the comments were comparing us to other famous black athletes like Lebron James.Yearwood says most of the hate she has received has been from older people. She believes that is why theres so much focus by the right wing to find people like Gaines who can persuade younger generations to oppose trans women competing in sports.Its funny when grown adults target teenagers, so I dont think that would gain as much traction, says Yearwood.Photo by Gage Skidmore.As Gaines star continues to rise, Trumps recent executive order, which empowers federal agencies to enforce a trans-exclusionary definition of Title IX in any institution that receives federal funding, can now deny trans athletes all over the country the opportunity to compete in sports.For Yearwood, the hate from the anti-trans movement and from influencers like Gaines was so intense that she chose not to continue running competitively in college.I spent months going back and forth about whether I wanted to do track, and after making the decision not to, it did feel like I was losing a part of me, says Yearwood. Theres still times that I do wish I could still run track, and still have that kind of camaraderie on a team.Editors note: Uncloseted Media reached out to ADF and IWF for comment but received no response.If objective, nonpartisan, rigorous, LGBTQ-focused journalism is important to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation through our fiscal sponsor, Resource Impact, by clicking this button:Donate to Uncloseted Media

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, arrives for talks with Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, at the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb.15, 2025. (Sven Hoppe/DPA via AP, Pool)2025-02-16T17:29:44Z KYIV, Ukraine (AP) A Ukrainian delegation has arrived in Saudi Arabia for meetings in preparation for a possible visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a Ukrainian minister said Sunday, at a time of intense speculation over planned U.S.-Russia talks in the kingdom to end Moscows war on its neighbor.It also comes as a top U.S. envoy revealed that he and a fellow negotiator appointed by U.S. President Donald Trump were heading to Saudi Arabia.Ukrainian Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who also serves as first deputy prime minister, didnt clarify whether there is a link between Zelenskyys possible trip and the previously announced U.S.-Russia talks. In a Facebook post, she said that the Ukrainian delegations focus is on strengthening economic ties, as Kyiv prepares to sign important economic agreements with countries in the region. Svyrydenko didnt say anything about when Zelenskyy might go to Saudi Arabia and who he might meet with. No further details were immediately available.Andriy Yermak, a top adviser to Zelenskyy, said earlier Sunday that there was no possibility of Ukrainian and Russian representatives meeting directly in the immediate future. In a Telegram post, Yermak said the Ukrainians werent planning to do so until we develop a plan to end the war and bring about a just peace. Mykhailo Podolyak, another Zelenskyy adviser, on Saturday denied that Ukraine will participate in any planned U.S.-Russia meetings in Saudi Arabia. There is nothing on the negotiating table that would be worth discussing, Podolyak said on Ukrainian television.But Svyrydenkos remarks came within hours of an announcement by Steve Witkoff, Trumps close ally and special envoy to the Middle East, that high-level meetings were imminent in Saudi Arabia to discuss a negotiated settlement to the war in Ukraine.Speaking to Fox News Channels Sunday Morning Futures program, Witkoff said that he and national security adviser Mike Waltz will be having meetings at the direction of the president, and hope to make some really good progress with regard to Russia-Ukraine. Witkoff didnt specify who they would be meeting and what they would discuss, but he said that he was leaving for Saudi Arabia on Sunday evening.Following a lengthy phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, Trump noted that they agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately on ending the fighting. The president appointed Witkoff and Waltz to lead those talks, alongside U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe.Earlier this week, Russian officials and state media took a triumphant tone after Trump jettisoned three years of U.S. policy and announced that he would likely meet soon with Putin to negotiate a peace deal in the almost three-year war in Ukraine.Trumps announcement created a major diplomatic upheaval that could herald a watershed moment for Ukraine and Europe.Zelenskyy said that he wouldnt accept any negotiations about Ukraine that dont include his country. European governments have also demanded a seat at the table. Putin has been ostracized by the West since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022 In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader.Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy, didnt directly respond to the question about whether Ukraine would have to give up a significant portion of its territory as part of any negotiated settlement.Those are details, and Im not dismissive of the details, theyre important. But I think the beginning here is trust-building. Its getting everybody to understand that this war does not belong continuing, that it should end. Thats what the president has directed us to do, he said.

Workers shield themselves from the rain at the Griffith Park Observatory Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)2025-02-13T18:17:23Z Atmospheric rivers are a plume of moisture that extend across the Pacific to near Hawaii. When they hit land they can cause heavy rains and snow. Heres a look at the phenomenon:What is an atmospheric river?Atmospheric rivers are long and relatively narrow bands of water vapor that form over an ocean and flow through the sky, transporting much of the moisture from the tropics to northern latitudes.They occur globally but are especially significant on the West Coast of the United States, where they create 30% to 50% of annual precipitation and are vital to water supplies but also can cause storms that produce flooding and mudslides, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Formed by winds associated with cyclones, atmospheric rivers typically range from 250 miles to 375 miles (400 to 600 kilometers) in width and move under the influence of other weather. Many atmospheric river events are weak. But the powerful ones can transport extraordinary amounts of moisture. Studies have shown that they can carry seven to 15 times the average amount of water discharged daily by the Mississippi River, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. What happens when an atmospheric river reaches land? When the moisture-laden air moves over mountain ranges such as the Sierra Nevada along the California-Nevada line, the water vapor rises and cools, becoming heavy precipitation that falls as rain or snow, according to NOAA.While traditional cold winter storms out of the north Pacific build the Sierra snowpack, atmospheric rivers tend to be warm. Snow may still fall at the highest elevations but rain usually falls on the snowpack at lower elevations. That can quickly prompt melting, runoff and flooding and decrease the snowpack needed for Californias water supply. What is a pineapple express?It is a nickname for a strong atmospheric river in the tropical Pacific near Hawaii.Where did the term atmospheric river come from? The name came from research published in the 1990s by scientists Yong Zhu and Reginald E. Newell of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Atmospheric rivers are often referred to as ARs.

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-02-16T15:40:21Z LOS ANGELES (AP) Even as hes vowed to push the United States ahead in artificial intelligence research, President Donald Trumps threats to alter federal government contracts with chipmakers and slap new tariffs on the semiconductor industry may put new speed bumps in front of the tech industry.Since taking office, Trump has said he would place tariffs on foreign production of computer chips and semiconductors in order to return chip manufacturing to the U.S. The president and Republican lawmakers have also threatened to end the CHIPS and Science Act, a sweeping Biden administration-era law that also sought to boost domestic production. But economic experts have warned that Trumps dual-pronged approach could slow, or potentially harm, the administrations goal of ensuring that the U.S. maintains a competitive edge in artificial intelligence research. Saikat Chaudhuri, an expert on corporate growth and innovation at U.C. Berkeleys Haas School of Business, called Trumps derision of the CHIPS Act surprising because one of the biggest bottlenecks for the advancement of AI has been chip production. Most countries, Chaudhuri said, are trying to encourage chip production and the import of chips at favorable rates. We have seen what the shortage has done in everything from AI to even cars, he said. In the pandemic, cars had to do with fewer or less powerful chips in order to just deal with the supply constraints. The Biden administration helped shepherd in the law following supply disruptions that occurred after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when a shortage of chips stalled factory assembly lines and fueled inflation threatened to plunge the U.S. economy into recession. When pushing for the investment, lawmakers also said they were concerned about efforts by China to control Taiwan, which accounts for more than 90% of advanced computer chip production. In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwans President Lai Ching-te speaks at a press conference after a security meeting about U.S. President Trumps tariffs on trade partners and semiconductors at the Presidential office in Taipei, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP) In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwans President Lai Ching-te speaks at a press conference after a security meeting about U.S. President Trumps tariffs on trade partners and semiconductors at the Presidential office in Taipei, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwans President Lai Ching-te speaks at a press conference after a security meeting about U.S. President Trumps tariffs on trade partners and semiconductors at the Presidential office in Taipei, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP) In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwans President Lai Ching-te speaks at a press conference after a security meeting about U.S. President Trumps tariffs on trade partners and semiconductors at the Presidential office in Taipei, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More As of August 2024, the CHIPS and Science Act had provided $30 billion in support for 23 projects in 15 states that would add 115,000 manufacturing and construction jobs, according to the Commerce Department. That funding helped to draw in private capital and would enable the U.S. to produce 30% of the worlds most advanced computer chips, up from 0% when the Biden-Harris administration succeeded Trumps first term.The administration promised tens of billions of dollars to support the construction of U.S. chip foundries and reduce reliance on Asian suppliers, which Washington sees as a security weakness. In August, the Commerce Department pledged to provide up to $6.6 billion so that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. could expand the facilities it is already building in Arizona and better ensure that the most advanced microchips are produced domestically for the first time.But Trump has said he believes that companies entering into those contracts with the federal government, such as TSMC, didnt need money in order to prioritize chipmaking in the U.S. They needed an incentive. And the incentive is going to be theyre not going to want to pay at 25, 50 or even 100% tax, Trump said. TSMC held board meetings for the first time in the U.S. last week. Trump has signaled that if companies want to avoid tariffs they have to build their plants in the U.S. without help from the government. Taiwan also dispatched two senior economic affairs officials to Washington to meet with the Trump administration in a bid to potentially fend off a 100% tariff Trump has threatened to impose on chips. If the Trump administration does levy tariffs, Chaudhuri said, one immediate concern is that prices of goods that use semiconductors and chips will rise because the higher costs associated with tariffs are typically passed to consumers. Whether its your smartphone, whether its your gaming device, whether its your smart fridge probably also your smart features of your car anything and everything we use nowadays has a chip in it, he said. For consumers, its going to be rather painful. Manufacturers are not going to be able to absorb that. Even tech giants such as Nvidia will eventually feel the pain of tariffs, he said, despite their margins being high enough to absorb costs at the moment. Theyre all going to be affected by this negatively, he said. I cant see anybody benefiting from this except for those countries who jump on the bandwagon competitively and say, You know what, were going to introduce something like the CHIPS Act.Broadly based tariffs would be a shot in the foot of the U.S. economy, said Brett House, a professor of professional practice at Columbia Business School. Tariffs would not only raise the costs for businesses and households across the board, he said for the U.S. AI sector, they would massively increase the costs of one of their most important inputs: high-powered chips from abroad. If you cut off, repeal or threaten the CHIPS Act at the same time as youre putting in broadly based tariffs on imports of AI and other computer technology, you would be hamstringing the industry acutely, House said. Such tariffs would reduce the capacity to create a domestic chip building sector, sending a signal for future investments that the policy outlook is uncertain, he said. That would in turn put a chilling effect on new allocations of capital to the industry in the U.S. while making more expensive the existing flow of imported chips.American technological industrial leadership has always been supported by maintaining openness to global markets and to immigration and labor flows, he said. And shutting that openness down has never been a recipe for American success.___Associated Press writers Josh Boak and Didi Tang in Washington contributed to this report. SARAH PARVINI Parvini covers artificial intelligence for The Associated Press. She is based in Los Angeles. mailto

Emily Russell sits on the newly constructed staircase leading up to the front of her home in Swannanoa, N.C., on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera)2025-02-16T13:29:08Z SWANNANOA, N.C. (AP) Emily Russell remembers feeling hopeful after she managed to get an appointment with the Federal Emergency Management Agency not long after Hurricane Helene ripped though her home in Swannanoa, North Carolina.But after several assistance requests were denied or left pending, Russell says the agency has been of no help to her family after the late September storm. Still reeling in a world turned upside-down by the most damaging storm in state history, she finds herself open to President Donald Trumps suggestion about getting rid of FEMA.That is a common sentiment in the mountains of western North Carolina, where living in a trailer with limited supplies for months can try anyones patience. Russell, who like many others did not have flood insurance, endured those stresses as she prepared for the birth of her son, but then volunteers stepped up to rebuild her home. Back there now, she can cradle her tiny infant in her arms on her newly constructed front porch overlooking a heaping pile of rotting debris and two Trump-Vance signs posted to a pole in her yard. Emily Russell holds her infant son on her front porch, which was built by volunteers, in Swannanoa, N.C., on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera) Emily Russell holds her infant son on her front porch, which was built by volunteers, in Swannanoa, N.C., on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Frustration with stopgap relief efforts has been exacerbated by confusion over where long-term help should come from. FEMA is meant to be a first line, providing temporary housing and funding for repairs while insurance foots most of the bill. It is not the message residents heard initially, when politicians, including then-President Joe Biden, who toured the damaged area, promised residents they would have whatever they needed. As more time passes, the reality of long-term recovery has gotten complicated. To Russell and many others, Trump saying he would consider eliminating FEMA made sense. To some experts and officials, however, that could cause more problems than it would solve. Days after Trump took office on Jan. 20, he surveyed the fallout from wildfires in California and the hurricane in North Carolina and suggested that states primarily manage the response to natural disasters. As a candidate, he had disparaged FEMAs work in the southern states hit by Helene. That criticism, which began almost as soon as the wind stopped blowing, has not stopped. A piece of debris with an American flag and inspirational message stand along a riverbank in Swannanoa, N.C., on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. More than four months after the remnants of Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, many residents are frustrated with the federal response. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed) A piece of debris with an American flag and inspirational message stand along a riverbank in Swannanoa, N.C., on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025. More than four months after the remnants of Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, many residents are frustrated with the federal response. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Garbage and debris sitin a heap in front of Emily Russells home in Swannanoa, N.C., on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera) Garbage and debris sitin a heap in front of Emily Russells home in Swannanoa, N.C., on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More More recently, FEMA was criticized by Trump adviser Elon Musk over payments to reimburse New York City for hotel costs for migrants. Four FEMA employees were fired, accused of circumventing leadership to make the transactions, which have been standard for years through a program that helps with costs to care for a surge in migration. North Carolinas government estimated that Helene caused a record $59.6 billion in damages. FEMA has contributed almost $380 million through public assistance grants to the state and local governments, as well as approximately $372 million directly to North Carolinians as of Feb. 11, according to the agency. FEMAs responsibilities include direct financial assistance to individuals and reimbursements to governments for recovery tasks like debris removal and rebuilding roads. Russell was confused when she was denied on her FEMA application, especially after she said an inspector told her the home was a complete loss. Rushing floodwaters tore off the side of her house, and heavy mud seeped inside, warping the floorboards and rendering most things unsalvageable. She thought the home she grew up in would be bulldozed. Emily Russell sits on the newly constructed staircase leading up to the front of her home in Swannanoa, N.C., on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera) Emily Russell sits on the newly constructed staircase leading up to the front of her home in Swannanoa, N.C., on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Russell called FEMA and spoke with representatives in-person about her denied request. She said they told her she needed receipts for certain personal items, which she did not have. To keep being told its pending or not approved, its just, its just a devastating feeling, Russell said. I mean, you just feel lost. In Buncombe County, where Russell lives, about 70% of homeowners who registered with FEMA received some level of assistance, according to the agencys data. Approximately 91% of those approved received up to $10,000, while about 3.6% got between $25,000 and a maximum payment that would likely top out at a little over $40,000. Danny Bailey, a 61-year-old Buncombe County retiree, said he received $42,500 after losing practically everything from flooding, including the trailer he lived in, his sisters double-wide mobile home and a barn. His family had moved to the property in 1968. Bailey already spent some of his money on necessities, such as propane to make it through the winter. He lives in a donated trailer on his property, now a muddy, rutted expanse, and said FEMA shouldve done more.If this is the way they are, he ought to do away with them, Bailey said of Trump, whose win in North Carolina helped propel him to victory in November. Danny Bailey, 61, stands in front of the trailer he lives in with his pet dogs in Swannanoa, N.C., on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera) Danny Bailey, 61, stands in front of the trailer he lives in with his pet dogs in Swannanoa, N.C., on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More A row of propane tanks sits along the side of Danny Baileys trailer in Swannanoa, N.C., on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera) A row of propane tanks sits along the side of Danny Baileys trailer in Swannanoa, N.C., on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Makiya Seminera) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Bailey ran into issues getting the money. A few days after Helene, he said a FEMA inspector came to his property and told him to go online to apply for disaster assistance, but Bailey had no computer or reliable cell service. He traveled almost 100 miles east to Statesville to use his nephews computer, Bailey said, and then had problems getting clear answers from FEMA on his application status. Eventually, he received his money. Their attitude was, you know, this happened to you, but its up to you to fix it. And I aint the one who caused it, he said with a laugh. Complaints about FEMAs application process are common because of the administrative hurdles in place to ensure applicants eligibility, said Miyuki Hino, a city and regional planning professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. People may also believe FEMA should provide more assistance when its role is mainly to meet immediate needs such as shelter, Hino said. There always has been an underlying tension on the federal governments role in natural disaster response, but Hino said the agencys increasing politicization could be attributed to the rising frequency of expensive disasters caused by climate change. Dissolving FEMA could create issues when disasters extend beyond state lines or localities need expertise on disasters they are not used to confronting. Overall, eliminating FEMA would likely slow the recovery process for future disasters, she said. FEMAs potential eradication worries Dalton George, the mayor pro tempore of Boone, a mountain town in Watauga County that was ravaged by Helene. Despite understandable frustrations, he said the agency moved quickly to help. It has contributed money for home restorations, as well as keeping several families in hotels under its transitory sheltering program, he said.It feels like people are more anti-FEMA than they are about actually solving some of these problems, George said.Responsibilities would be partly shifted onto local governments, and George said towns such as Boone do not have resources for that. Private organizations would need to step up more than they have, George said, and they already are overextended. Vickie Revis relies heavily on private entities such as churches to supply almost everything on her property, including the trailer she stays in with her husband along the Swannanoa River. Her home of eight years was completely swept away by the river something she used to associate with beauty and peace but now ties to terror. Vickie Revis and her granddaughter, Addisun Cole, 8, stand outside the trailer on Revis property where shes currently living after her home was destroyed by Hurricane Helene, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Swannanoa, N.C. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek) Vickie Revis and her granddaughter, Addisun Cole, 8, stand outside the trailer on Revis property where shes currently living after her home was destroyed by Hurricane Helene, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Swannanoa, N.C. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Addisun Cole, 8, plays with Little Bit, her grandmothers cat, outside the trailer of her grandmother, Vickie Revis, where Revis is living after her home was destroyed by Hurricane Helene, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Swannanoa, N.C. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek) Addisun Cole, 8, plays with Little Bit, her grandmothers cat, outside the trailer of her grandmother, Vickie Revis, where Revis is living after her home was destroyed by Hurricane Helene, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Swannanoa, N.C. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Vickie Revis holds one of several mud-stained family photographs that were recovered after her home was destroyed by Hurricane Helene, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Swannanoa, N.C. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek) Vickie Revis holds one of several mud-stained family photographs that were recovered after her home was destroyed by Hurricane Helene, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Swannanoa, N.C. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More A view of a building and damaged waterfront destroyed by Hurricane Helene as seen from across the Swannanoa River adjacent to Vickie Revis' property, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Swannanoa, N.C. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek) A view of a building and damaged waterfront destroyed by Hurricane Helene as seen from across the Swannanoa River adjacent to Vickie Revis' property, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Swannanoa, N.C. (AP Photo/Kathy Kmonicek) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Its like a friend that came in and robbed you of everything you have, Revis said. Her restoration process, however, will largely be funded by FEMA, as Revis said she received more than $40,000. She said she had no issues with how the agency handled her situation. Instead, Revis talked at length about the grief she still lives with: lost pets; meaningful possessions that disappeared; home expansion plans to accommodate more family members that will not happen. She said she rarely left her trailer until recently because she could not bear to face the devastation.Now, it is the rebuilding that keeps Revis going. How long will that go on?However long it takes, she said.___ Associated Press data journalist Larry Fenn in New York contributed to this report. MAKIYA SEMINERA Seminera is a state government reporter for The Associated Press. She is based in Raleigh, North Carolina. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump walks from the Oval Office to departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-02-16T19:49:54Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Trump administration wants the Supreme Court to permit the firing of the head of the federal agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers, according to documents obtained Sunday that would mark the first appeal to the justices since President Donald Trump took office.The emergency appeal is the start of what probably will be a steady stream from lawyers for the Republican president and his administration seeking to undo lower court rulings that have slowed his second term agenda.The Justice Departments filing obtained by The Associated Press asks the conservative-majority court to lift a judges court order temporarily reinstating Hampton Dellinger as the leader of the Office of Special Counsel.Dellinger has argued that the law says he can only be dismissed for problems with the performance of his job, none of which were cited in the email dismissing him. The petition came hours after a divided appeals court panel refused on procedural grounds to lift the order, which was filed Wednesday and expires on Feb. 26.The case is not expected to be docketed until after the Supreme Court returns from the Presidents Day holiday weekend. The justices would not act until Tuesday at the earliest. Its not clear what reception Trump will get from the conservative-dominated court that includes three justices he nominated in his first term.The case began last week when Dellinger sued over his removal as head of the Office of Special Counsel, which is responsible for guarding the federal workforce from illegal personnel actions, such as retaliation for whistleblowing. He was appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate to a five-year term in 2024. Dellinger said the offices work needed now more than ever, noting the unprecedented number of firings, without cause, of federal employees with civil service protections in recent weeks by the Trump administration. The administration argues that the order reinstating Dellinger for two weeks wrongly restricts what the president can do. The brief cites the Supreme Court decision that gave Trump immunity from criminal prosecution and reflected a muscular view of executive power. Until now, as far as we are aware, no court in American history has wielded an injunction to force the president to retain an agency head, acting Solicitor General Sarah M. Harris wrote. The brief references some of the dozen or more cases where judges have slowed Trumps agenda, including by ordering the temporary lifting of a foreign aid funding freeze and blocking workers with Elon Musks so-called Department of Government Efficiency team from accessing Treasury Department data for now. The administration is facing at least 70 lawsuits, and letting the order in Dellingers case stand could embolden judges to issue additional blocks, the Justice Department argues. Dellingers firing was the latest move in Trumps sweeping effort to shrink and reshape the federal government, testing the limits of well-established civil service protections by moving to dismantle federal agencies and push out staffers. The independent Office of Special Counsel is separate from Justice Department special counsels such as Jack Smith, who are appointed by the attorney general for specific investigations, such as Smiths criminal investigation of Trump before he returned to the White House. LINDSAY WHITEHURST Whitehurst covers the Supreme Court, legal affairs and criminal justice for The Associated Press in Washington, D.C. Past stops include Salt Lake City, New Mexico and Indiana. twitter mailto

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration campus in Silver Spring, Md., is photographed on Oct. 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)2025-02-16T18:01:14Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Trump administrations effort to slash the size of the federal workforce reached the Food and Drug Administration this weekend, as recently hired employees who review the safety of food ingredients, medical devices and other products were fired.Probationary employees across the FDA received notices Saturday evening that their jobs were being eliminated, according to three FDA staffers who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.The total number of positions eliminated was not clear Sunday, but the firings appeared to focus on employees in the agencys centers for food, medical devices and tobacco products which includes oversight of electronic cigarettes. It was not clear whether FDA employees who review drugs were exempted from the layoffs. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced plans to fire 5,200 probationary employees across its agencies, which include the National Institutes of Health, the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.People who spoke with the AP on condition of anonymity on Friday said the number of probationary employees to be laid off at the CDC would total nearly 1,300. But as of early Sunday afternoon, about 700 people had received notices, according to three people who spoke on condition on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. They said none of the CDC layoffs affected the young doctors and researchers who track diseases in whats known as the Epidemic Intelligence Service. The FDA is headquartered in the Maryland suburbs outside Washington and employs nearly 20,000 people. Its long been a target of newly sworn-in health secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., who last year accused the agency of waging a war on public health for not approving unproven treatments such as psychedelics, stem cells and chelation therapy. Kennedy also has called for eliminating thousands of chemicals and colorings from U.S. foods. But the cuts at FDA include staffers responsible for reviewing the safety of new food additives and ingredients, according to an FDA staffer familiar with the firings. An HHS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday afternoon.Nearly half of the FDAs $6.9 billion budget comes from fees paid by companies the agency regulates, including drug and medical device makers, which allows the agency to hire extra scientists to swiftly review products. Eliminating those positions will not reduce government spending.A former FDA official said cutting recent hires could backfire, eliminating staffers who tend to be younger and have more up-to-date technical skills. The FDAs workforce skews toward older workers who have spent one or two decades at the agency, and the Government Accountability Office noted in 2022 that the FDA has historically faced challenges in recruiting and retaining staff due to better money in the private sector. You want to bring in new blood, said Peter Pitts, a former FDA associate commissioner under President George W. Bush. You want people with new ideas, greater enthusiasm and the latest thinking in terms of technology. Mitch Zeller, former FDA director for tobacco, said the firings are a way to demoralize and undermine the spirit of the federal workforce.The combined effect of what theyre trying to do is going to destroy the ability to recruit and retain talent, Zeller said.The FDAs inspection force has been particularly strained in recent years after a wave of departures during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many of the agencys current inspectors are recent hires. It was not immediately clear whether those employees were exempted.FDA inspectors are responsible for overseeing thousands of food, drug, tobacco and medical device facilities worldwide, though the AP reported last year that the agency faced a backlog of roughly 2,000 uninspected drug facilities that hadnt been visited since before the pandemic.The agencys inspection force have also been criticized for not moving faster to catch recent problems involving infant formula, baby food and eyedrops. ___AP Medical Writer Mike Stobbe contributed to this report.___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.

Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks at a news conference regarding immigration enforcement at the Justice Department, Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)2025-02-16T12:40:39Z WASHINGTON (AP) Pam Bondi had insisted at her Senate confirmation hearing that as attorney general, her Justice Department would not play politics.Yet in the month since the Trump administration took over the building, a succession of actions has raised concerns the department is doing exactly that.Top officials have demanded the names of thousands of FBI agents who investigated the Capitol riot, sued a state attorney general who had won a massive fraud verdict against Donald Trump before the 2024 election, and ordered the dismissal of a criminal case against New York Mayor Eric Adams by saying the charges had handicapped the Democrats ability to partner in the Republican administrations fight against illegal immigration. Even for a department that has endured its share of scandals, the moves have produced upheaval not seen in decades, tested its independence and rattled the foundations of an institution that has long prided itself on being driven solely by facts, evidence and the law. As firings and resignations mount, the unrest raises the question of whether a president who raged against his own Justice Department during his first term can succeed in bending it to his will in his second. We have seen now a punishing ruthlessness that acting department leadership and the attorney general are bringing to essentially subjugate the workforce to the wishes and demands of the administration, even when its obvious that some of the decisions have all the signs of corrupting the criminal justice system, said retired federal prosecutor David Laufman, a senior department official across Democratic and Republican administrations. He spoke not long after Manhattans top federal prosecutor, Danielle Sassoon, resigned in protest following a directive from Emil Bove, the Justice Departments acting No. 2 official, to dismiss the case against Adams. In a letter foreshadowing her decision, Sassoon accused the department of acceding to a quid pro quo dropping the case to ensure Adams help with Trumps immigration agenda. Though a Democrat, Adams had for months positioned himself as eager to aid the administrations effort in Americas largest city, even meeting privately with Trump at Trumps Florida estate just days before the Republican took office. Multiple high-ranking officials who oversaw the Justice Departments public integrity section, which prosecutes corruption cases, joined Sassoon in resigning. This image provided by Office of the New York Mayor shows New York Mayor Eric Adams as he speaks during an address from City Hall, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Ed Reed/Office of the New York Mayor via AP) This image provided by Office of the New York Mayor shows New York Mayor Eric Adams as he speaks during an address from City Hall, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (Ed Reed/Office of the New York Mayor via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More On Friday, a prosecutor involved in the Adams case, Hagan Scotten, became at least the seventh person to quit in the standoff, telling Bove in a letter that it would take a fool or a coward to meet his demand to drop the charges. (Bove and department lawyers in Washington ultimately filed paperwork Friday night to end the case).Though the circumstances are significantly different, the wave of resignations conjured memories of the 1973 Saturday Night Massacre when multiple Justice Department leaders quit rather than carry out President Richard Nixons orders to fire the Watergate special prosecutor. Even though there may not be more resignations, a clear message has been sent about the objectives and the expectations of the department, said Alberto Gonzales, who served as attorney general under Republican President George W. Bush until his 2007 resignation in the wake of the dismissal of several U.S. attorneys.The purpose of the department is to ensure that our laws are carried out, that those who engage in criminal wrongdoing are prosecuted and punished, Gonzales said. And to some it may appear that if you have some kind of relationship with the White House, there may not be consequences for doing something that ordinary Americans engaged in similar conduct would be punished. Bove, a former New York federal prosecutor himself who represented Trump in his criminal cases, pointedly made no assessment about the legal merits of the case against Adams. Bove cited political reasons, including the timing of the charges months before Adams presumed reelection campaign and the restrictions the case had placed on the mayors ability to fight illegal immigration and violent crime. This undated image, provided by the U.S. Attorneys Office, Southern District of New York, shows Danielle R. Sassoon, interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. (U.S. Attorneys Office, Southern District of New York via AP) This undated image, provided by the U.S. Attorneys Office, Southern District of New York, shows Danielle R. Sassoon, interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. (U.S. Attorneys Office, Southern District of New York via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More In a letter to Sassoon, Bove said case prosecutors would be subject to internal investigations.Bondi defended the decision to drop the case, asserted in a Fox New interview Friday that Adams was targeted after he criticized the Biden administrations immigration policies. Her chief of staff, Chad Mizelle, said prosecutors who refused the dismissal order have no place at DOJ. The decision to dismiss the indictment of Eric Adams is yet another indication that this DOJ will return to its core function of prosecuting dangerous criminals, not pursuing politically motivated witch hunts, Mizelle said in a statement that accused prosecutors without evidence of disordered and ulterior motives. At the White House on Friday, Trump said he was not involved in the Adams case and knew nothing about it. The New York showdown follows a separate dispute between Bove and the acting FBI leadership over his demands for a list of agents involved in the investigations of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol so the Justice Department could determine whether personnel action was warranted. The request was seen by some as a precursor to possible mass firings, but it was also consistent with Trumps fury over those criminal cases, which he erased with sweeping pardons soon after his inauguration. Attorney Emil Bove sits on the day of a sentencing hearing in the criminal case in which President-elect Donald Trump was convicted in 2024 on charges involving hush money paid to a porn star, outside of New York Criminal Court in Manhattan in New York City, Jan. 10, 2025. (Brendan McDermid, Pool Photo via AP, File) Attorney Emil Bove sits on the day of a sentencing hearing in the criminal case in which President-elect Donald Trump was convicted in 2024 on charges involving hush money paid to a porn star, outside of New York Criminal Court in Manhattan in New York City, Jan. 10, 2025. (Brendan McDermid, Pool Photo via AP, File) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Bove referred to the acting FBI directors resistance to his directive as an act of insubordination and said agents who simply followed orders would not lose their jobs but those who acted with partisan intent were at risk.In between White House terms, Trump and his allies pressed the case that the Justice Department had become weaponized against conservatives and him in particular, citing separate indictments that were later dismissed after Trump won back the presidency in November.On her first day on the job, Bondi announced the creation of a Weaponization Working Group, to scrutinize the prosecutors who brought criminal and civil cases against Trump and to examine the Jan. 6 prosecutions. She wrote in a memo that the department must take immediate and overdue steps to restore integrity and credibility and to ensure that personnel were ready and willing to implement the presidents agenda. Pam Bondi is sworn in as Attorney General by Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, right, as President Donald Trump, partner John Wakefield and mother Patsy Bondi, look on, in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Pam Bondi is sworn in as Attorney General by Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, right, as President Donald Trump, partner John Wakefield and mother Patsy Bondi, look on, in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The group, notably, was not tasked with examining other politically sensitive matters more favorable to Trump, including a special counsels investigation of Democratic President Joe Bidens handling of classified information or the prosecution of Bidens son Hunter, who was convicted of gun and tax charges before receiving a pardon from his father in December. Among the prosecutors singled out by the working group was special counsel Jack Smith, who brought two criminal cases against Trump, and New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose civil fraud suit against Trump led to a nearly $500 million judgment.A frequent target of Trumps ire, James would surface again days later when Bondi, in her first news conference, announced a lawsuit against the state of New York over a law that allows people who might not be in the U.S. legally to get a drivers license. Bondi opened her remarks by saying she had filed charges against James and Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, before later clarifying that she was referring to a lawsuit.More departures and more turmoil could be ahead.The prospect of the hollowing out of the Justice Department and the (FBI) is now a live and dangerous risk being played out, said Laufman, the retired prosecutor. Where it goes from here, we just cant currently assess. ERIC TUCKER Tucker covers national security in Washington for The Associated Press, with a focus on the FBI and Justice Department and the special counsel cases against former President Donald Trump. twitter mailto ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Richer is an Associated Press reporter covering the Justice Department and legal issues from Washington. twitter mailto

President Donald Trump meets with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Trump Tower, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)2025-02-16T21:13:33Z WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trumps approach to ending Russias war against Ukraine has left European allies and Ukrainian officials worried they are being largely sidelined by the new U.S. administration as Washington and Moscow plan direct negotiations. With the three-year war grinding on, Trump is sending Secretary of State Marco Rubio, national security adviser Mike Waltz and special envoy Steve Witkoff to Saudi Arabia for talks with Russian counterparts, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to publicly discuss the upcoming diplomatic efforts and spoke on condition of anonymity.It is unclear whether Ukraine or European officials will be represented in discussions expected to take place in Riyadh in the coming days. The official said the United States sees negotiations as early-stage and fluid, and who ultimately ends up at the table could change. The outreach comes after comments by top Trump advisers this past week, including Vice President JD Vance, raised new concerns in Kyiv and other European capitals that the Republican administration is intent on quick resolution to the conflict with minimum input from Europe. Decades of the old relationship between Europe and America are ending, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyyin an address Saturday at the Munich Security Conference. From now on, things will be different, and Europe needs to adjust to that. White House officials on Sunday pushed back against the notion that Europe has been left out of the conversation. Trump spoke by phone in recent days with French President Emmanuel Macron and is expected to consult with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer this week. During his visit to Munich and Paris, Vance held talks with Macron, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte as well as Zelenskyy. Now they may not like some of this sequencing that is going on in these negotiations but I have to push back on this ... notion that they arent being consulted, Waltz told Fox News Sunday.They absolutely are and at the end of the day, though, this is going to be under President Trumps leadership that we get this war to an end, Waltz said.Rubio, who was in Israel on Sunday before heading to Saudi Arabia, said the U.S. is taking a careful approach as it reengages with Moscow after the Biden administrations clampdown on contacts with the Kremlin following the February 2022 invasion.Trump spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week and the two leaders agreed to begin high-level talks on ending the war. They were initially presented as two-way, but Trump later affirmed that Ukraine would have a seat though he did not say at what stage.It was not immediately clear whether any Ukrainians would take part in the upcoming Riyadh talks. A Ukrainian delegation was in Saudi Arabia on Sunday to pave the way for a possible visit by Zelenskyy, according to Ukraines economy minister.I think President Trump will know very quickly whether this is a real thing or whether this is an effort to buy time. But I dont want to prejudge that, Rubio said told CBS Face the Nation. I dont want to foreclose the opportunity to end a conflict thats already cost the lives of hundreds of thousands and continues every single day to be increasingly a war of attrition on both sides, he said.Heather Conley, a deputy assistant secretary of state for Central Europe during Republican President George W. Bushs administration, said that with Trumps current approach to Moscow, the U.S. appears to be seeking to create a new international approach based on a modern-day concert of great powers.As in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it is only for the great powers to decide the fate of nations and to take either by purchase or force that which strengthens the great powers economic and security interests, Conley said. Each of these powers posit claims or coerce countries in their respective regional spheres of influence. There is some debate inside the administration about its developing approach to Moscow, with some more in favor of a rapid rapprochement and others wary that Putin is looking to fray the Euro-Atlantic alliance as he aims to reclaim Russian status and wield greater influence on the continent, according to the U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity.Trump said last week that he would like to see Russia rejoin what is now the Group of Seven major economies. Russia was suspended from the G8 after Moscows 2014 annexation of Ukraines Crimea region.Id like to have them back. I think it was a mistake to throw them out. Look, its not a question of liking Russia or not liking Russia, Trump told reporters. I think Putin would love to be back.The anticipated Saudi talks also come amid tension over Trumps push to get the Ukrainians to agree to give the U.S access to Ukraines deposits of rare earth minerals in exchange for some $66 billion in military aid that Washington has provided Kyiv since the start of the war, as well as future defense assistance. Zelenskyy, who met on Friday with Vance and other senior U.S. officials in Munich, said he had directed Ukraines minister to not sign off, at least for now.Zelenskyy said in an interview the deal as presented by the U.S. was too focused on American interests and did not include security guarantees for Ukraine.The White House called Zelenskyys decision short-sighted, and argued that a rare-earths deal would tie Ukraine closer to the United States something that Moscow doesnt want to see.European officials were also left unsettled by some of Vances remarks during his five-day visit to Paris and Munich last week in which he lectured them on free speech and illegal migration on the continent. He warned that they risk losing public support if they dont quickly change course.Vance also met while in Munich with Alice Weidel, the co-leader and candidate for chancellor of the far-right and anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party in this months election.Throughout Europe, officials are now looking to recalibrate their approach in the face of the Trump administrations unfolding Ukraine strategy.Macron will convene top European countries in Paris on Monday for an emergency working meeting to discuss next steps for Ukraine, French Foreign Minister Jean-Nol Barrot said Sunday. A wind of unity is blowing over Europe, as we perhaps have not felt since the COVID period, Barrot told public broadcaster France-Info.___Kinnard reported from Chapin, South Carolina. AAMER MADHANI Madhani covers the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington. twitter mailto MEG KINNARD Kinnard covers national politics for The Associated Press. She lives in South Carolina. twitter instagram mailto

The SNL50 logo is seen outside the Nasdaq Marketplace in New York's Times Square, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)2025-02-16T05:00:20Z NEW YORK (AP) Fifty seasons of Saturday Night Live sketches, songs and special guests will be celebrated Sunday as the variety show celebrates its landmark anniversary.The pop culture juggernaut has launched the careers of generations of comedians, from Bill Murray to Eddie Murphy and Tina Fey to Kristen Wiig.Many of those stars will be on hand for SNL50: The Anniversary Celebration, airing live from New York on Sunday beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern and 5 p.m. Pacific.The three-hour extravaganza comes after months of celebrations of Saturday Night Live, which premiered Oct. 11, 1975, with an original cast that included John Belushi, Chevy Chase and Gilda Radner.Its become appointment television over the years as the show has skewered presidents, politics and pop culture and been a platform for the biggest musical stars of the moment. As streaming has altered television viewing, SNL sketches, host monologues and short comedy films remain popular on social media and routinely rack up millions of views on YouTube. Each SNL episode holds at least some surprises, and Sundays special is no different. While NBC has revealed some of the stars who are expected to appear, many of the specials moments, cameos and music performances remain a surprise. On Sunday, NBC announced more guest appearances including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Leslie Jones, Billy Crystal, Cher, Mike Myers and Alec Baldwin, who holds the title of the person whos hosted SNL the most times. The network is still promising more surprises.Heres what to know ahead of SNL50: The Anniversary Celebration. When does the SNL 50th anniversary tribute show start?NBC will air SNL50: The Anniversary Celebration on Sunday beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern and 5 p.m. Pacific. The anniversary show will also stream on Peacock.A red carpet show hosted by SNL alumna Leslie Jones and NBC News Willie Geist will precede the special, beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern on NBC and Peacock. This combination of photos shows, top row from left, Eddie Murphy, Tina Fey, Seth Meyers, bottom row from left, Will Ferrell, Andy Samberg, and Adam Sandler. (AP Photo) This combination of photos shows, top row from left, Eddie Murphy, Tina Fey, Seth Meyers, bottom row from left, Will Ferrell, Andy Samberg, and Adam Sandler. (AP Photo) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Which SNL alums are slated to appear?Prepare for generations of SNL stars to return for Sundays special. NBC says in addition to Murphy and Fey, you can expect: Adam Sandler, Amy Poehler, Andy Samberg, Chris Rock, Fred Armisen, Jason Sudeikis, Jimmy Fallon, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Molly Shannon, Pete Davidson, Seth Meyers, Tracy Morgan, Will Ferrell and Will Forte. Current cast member Kenan Thompsons appearance was also touted.Some members of the first Saturday Night Live cast, known as the Not Ready for Prime Time Players, will appear, including Chase, Laraine Newman, Garrett Morris and Jane Curtin. A publicist for Dan Aykroyd, the lone remaining surviving member, did not respond to a request for comment on whether he would attend.Which former hosts will appear on SNL50?Steve Martin, who has left an indelible comedic mark on SNL over the years, will be among the many successful hosts returning for the shows 50th celebration.Other prolific and returning hosts range from actors like Tom Hanks, Martin Short and Scarlett Johansson (who is married to current SNL cast member Colin Jost) to athletes like Peyton Manning. Former SNL writer John Mulaney will appear, as will Adam Driver, Ayo Edebiri, Kim Kardashian, Paul Simon, Pedro Pascal, Quinta Brunson, Robert De Niro and Woody Harrelson. This image released by Peacock shows Miley Cyrus performing during SNL50: The Homecoming Concert on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, in New York. (Virginia Sherwood/Peacock via AP) This image released by Peacock shows Miley Cyrus performing during SNL50: The Homecoming Concert on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025, in New York. (Virginia Sherwood/Peacock via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More How will SNL honor its musical legacy? In some ways, it already has. Radio City Music Hall on Friday hosted the star-packed SNL50: The Homecoming Concert with a lineup that included Cher, Miley Cyrus, Arcade Fire, David Byrne, Post Malone and Nirvana.Sundays special will include appearances by Paul McCartney, Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny, Cyrus and other music stars, though the show hasnt said whether all will perform. McCartney has used New Yorks Bowery Ballroom as a warm-up spot, hosting three surprise shows this week.The musical legacy of SNL is also explored in the documentary Ladies and Gentlemen ... 50 Years of SNL Music, from the Oscar-winning Questlove. Its currently streaming on Peacock.___For more coverage of the 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/saturday-night-live

Warwick Davis poses with the BAFTA fellowship award at the 78th British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA's, in London, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)2025-02-16T23:32:16Z The British Academy Film Awards, or BAFTAs, have given audiences some great moments in recent years. Remember Ariana DeBoses Angela Basset did the thing, that awkward performance that had a joyful second life as a joke? Or Ryan Goslings wink at Emma Stone last year that had internet shippers in a tizzy?The worst part is that for some parts of the world, including the U.S., theyre also not the easiest to watch or at least a little harder than just turning on ABC (and soon Hulu) to watch the Oscars. The Associated Press is here to help those without a BritBox subscription with a rundown of the best and most memorable moments of the night, where Anora did not sweep (though Mikey Madison did triumph over best actress front-runner Demi Moore), Conclave won big and Emilia Prez proved its still a contender.(500 Miles) singalong with Brian Cox David Tennant (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) David Tennant (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Host David Tennant got the ceremony off to an amusing start with a pre-recorded bit where various actors give him a little pep talk, appearing in his dressing room mirror including fellow Scot Brian Cox, who kicked off a rousing rendition of The Proclaimers song Im Gonna Be (500 Miles). Tennant took over and brought the anthem into the room, where Selena Gomez seemed genuinely surprised when he tapped her shoulder and inserted her name into the song. There were the celebrity participants of course, James McAvoy, Camila Cabello and Colman Domingo among them. But even some not in the show sang along happily as well, Saoirse Ronan and Jack Lowden included. Others, like Adrien Brody and Demi Moore, did not seem to be part of the chorus. Selena Gomez narrowly avoids a presenting gaffe Selena Gomez (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) Selena Gomez (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More No presenter wants a John Travolta Adele Dazeem moment or, worse, a Faye Dunaway La La Land flap, and you could see the wheels turning in Gomezs head as she looked at the card for the debut by a British writer, director or producer award. I dont know how to say, she said quietly from stage, looking at her co-star and co-presenter, Zoe Saldaa, before looking further down on the card. Oh, Kneecap, she said, quietly adding, Rich and simply avoiding the writer-directors last name, Peppiatt. Jesse Eisenbergs sweet, funny tribute to his wife Jesse Eisenberg (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) Jesse Eisenberg (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Jesse Eisenberg started off his best screenplay win for A Real Pain with some signature, self-deprecating jokes about how neither he, his wife nor the person who sat him thought he was going to win. The audience laughed loudly when he said thats why his wife didnt attend the ceremony. But he quickly turned sincere, offering a touching tribute to his wife, Anna Strout, whom he credited with helping him learn about the world around him. Youve put every worthwhile thought into my head over the last 20 years, Eisenberg said. I love you so much. Zoe Saldaas teary, fierce speech Zoe Saldaa, winner of the supporting actress award for Emilia Perez (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) Zoe Saldaa, winner of the supporting actress award for Emilia Perez (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Perhaps Saldaa was feeling the pressure of Emilia Prezs diminished Oscar dreams two days before voting closes. Or maybe she was just really overwhelmed to win the best supporting actress BAFTA. Regardless, she let her emotions show in a teary and intense speech, in which she poked fun at her own inability to do a good British accent, shouted out her makeup artist as her closest confidant and made a case for the film.Films are supposed to change hearts and challenge minds, and I hope, I hope that Emilia Prez did something like this, she said. Voices need to be heard, just not my English accent. Bye, guys. Jeff Goldblum, piano man Jeff Goldblum (Photo by Alberto Pezzali/Invision/AP) Jeff Goldblum (Photo by Alberto Pezzali/Invision/AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More In memoriam segments dont need to be flashy. All you need is a thoughtful reel, Jeff Goldblum and a piano, it turns out. He played As Time Goes By.Warwick Davis keeps it short, and sincere Warwick Davis with the BAFTA fellowship award (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) Warwick Davis with the BAFTA fellowship award (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Warwick Davis joked that hed keep his BAFTA Fellowship acceptance speech short, telling the audience that its OK, they can laugh. This is probably the best thing that has ever happened to me, and Ive been in Star Wars, he said. Davis also got emotional, speaking about his wife who died last year.She was always so supportive of my career, encouraging me to grab every opportunity with both hands, he said. Since then, life has been pretty tough for me. Thanks to the support of our wonderful children, Ive been able to continue working and engaging in life. Mikey Madison gets her moment Mikey Madison with the leading actress award (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) Mikey Madison with the leading actress award (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Moore has been sweeping many of the best actress prizes, but Anora star Madison got a great, big moment and win. Though she said she didnt expect it, and said she should have listened to my publicist and written a speech, Madison gave a notably thoughtful speech, paying tribute to her director, producer, co-stars, mother (her favorite scene partner) and the sex worker community. I just want to say: I see you. You deserve respect and human decency, she said. I will always be a friend and an ally, and I implore others to do the same. LINDSEY BAHR Bahr has been a film writer and critic for The Associated Press since 2014. twitter instagram mailto

Elon Musk listens during an event in the Oval Office with President Donald Trump at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo/Alex Brandon)2025-02-16T23:53:16Z WASHINGTON (AP) The Trump administration has halted the firings of hundreds of federal employees who were tasked with working on the nations nuclear weapons programs, in an about-face that has left workers confused and experts cautioning that DOGEs blind cost cutting will put communities at risk. Three U.S. officials who spoke to The Associated Press said up to 350 employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration were abruptly laid off late Thursday, with some losing access to email before theyd learned they were fired, only to try to enter their offices on Friday morning to find they were locked out. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.One of the hardest hit offices was the Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas, which saw about 30% of the cuts. Those employees work on reassembling warheads, one of the most sensitive jobs across the nuclear weapons enterprise, with the highest levels of clearance. The hundreds let go at NNSA were part of a DOGE purge across the Department of Energy that targeted about 2,000 employees.The DOGE people are coming in with absolutely no knowledge of what these departments are responsible for, said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, referencing Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency team. They dont seem to realize that its actually the department of nuclear weapons more than it is the Department of Energy. By late Friday night, the agencys acting director, Teresa Robbins, issued a memo rescinding the firings for all but 28 of those hundreds of fired staff members. This letter serves as formal notification that the termination decision issued to you on Feb. 13, 2025 has been rescinded, effective immediately, said the memo, which was obtained by the AP. The accounts from the three officials contradict an official statement from the Department of Energy, which said fewer than 50 National Nuclear Security Administration staffers were let go, calling them probationary employees who held primarily administrative and clerical roles. But that wasnt the case. The firings prompted one NNSA senior staffer to post a warning and call to action.This is a pivotal moment. We must decide whether we are truly committed to leading on the world stage or if we are content with undermining the very systems that secure our nations future, deputy division director Rob Plonski posted to LinkedIn. Cutting the federal workforce responsible for these functions may be seen as reckless at best and adversarily opportunistic at worst.While some of the Energy Department employees who were fired dealt with energy efficiency and the effects of climate change, issues not seen as priorities by the Trump administration, many others dealt with nuclear issues, even if they didnt directly work on weapons programs. This included managing massive radioactive waste sites and ensuring the material there doesnt further contaminate nearby communities. That incudes the Savannah River National Laboratory in Jackson, South Carolina; the Hanford Nuclear Site in Washington state, where workers secure 177 high-level waste tanks from the sites previous work producing plutonium for the atomic bomb; and the Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee, a Superfund contamination site where much of the early work on the Manhattan Project was done, among others. U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, both Democrats, called the firings last week utterly callous and dangerous. The NNSA staff who had been reinstated could not all be reached after they were fired, and some were reconsidering whether to return to work, given the uncertainty created by DOGE. Many federal employees who had worked on the nations nuclear programs had spent their entire careers there, and there was a wave of retirements in recent years that cost the agency years of institutional knowledge. But its now in the midst of a major $750 billion nuclear weapons modernization effort including new land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, new stealth bombers and new submarine-launched warheads. In response, the labs have aggressively hired over the past few years: In 2023, 60% of the workforce had been there five years or less. Edwin Lyman, director of nuclear power safety at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the firings could disrupt the day-to-day workings of the agency and create a sense of instability over the nuclear program both at home and abroad.I think the signal to U.S. adversaries is pretty clear: throw a monkey wrench in the whole national security apparatus and cause disarray, he said. That can only benefit the adversaries of this country. TARA COPP Copp covers the Pentagon and national security for the Associated Press. She has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia. twitter mailto

Argentina's President Javier Milei speaks after receiving this year's Roepke Prize for Civil Society of the Liberal Institute at the Congress centre in Kloten, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (Ennio Leanza/Keystone via AP)2025-02-16T22:25:38Z MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) Argentine lawyers filed fraud charges against President Javier Milei in criminal court on Sunday for promoting a cryptocurrency on his social media, one of the lawyers told The Associated Press.On Friday, Milei posted on X about $LIBRA, a coin that he said was aimed at encouraging economic growth by funding small businesses and startups. He deleted the post a few hours later and the value of the currency collapsed, causing millions of dollars in losses to its brief investors, according to financial site Dexscreener.The coin, developed by KIP Protocol and Hayden Davis, could be obtained by accessing a link that directed users to a website called vivalalibertadproject.com, referring to the well-known phrase with which Milei closes speeches and messages on his social media.The Presidents Office said in a Saturday statement that Milei was not involved in any stage of the cryptocurrencys development and decided to remove the post to avoid speculation and limit further exposure, following the public reaction to the projects launch. Jonatan Baldiviezo, a lawyer and one of the plaintiffs, told the AP that they saw an illicit association to commit an indeterminate number of frauds in the episode. Within this illicit association, the crime of fraud was committed, in which the presidents actions were essential, he said. Baldiviezo signed the petition with Marcos Zelaya, another lawyer; the engineer Mara Eva Koutsovitis; and the economist Claudio Lozano, who presided over the Argentine Central Bank during former president Alberto Fernndezs administration. Criminal justice is expected to assign a judge to the case or refer it to a prosecutor for further investigation on Monday. The plaintiffs saw in Mileis action an operation known in the crypto world as rug pull. This occurs when a developer launches an attractive token to lure investors but later abandons it after funds become overpriced, making the tokens worthless. Baldiviezo also added that Milei violated the Public Ethics Law. The President shared a post on his personal accounts announcing the launch of KIP Protocols project, as he does daily with many entrepreneurs who wish to launch projects in Argentina to create jobs and attract investments, the Presidents Office said.After deleting the post, Milei said on X he was unaware of the currencys development and blamed his political opponents for trying to exploit the episode. I was not aware of the details of the project, and after getting informed, I decided not to continue promoting it (which is why I deleted the tweet), he said.The Presidents Office said the countrys Anti-Corruption Office, which operates under the Executive Branch, would act immediately. The administration also acknowledged that Milei and members of his administration recently met with representatives of KIP Protocol at the presidential office. All the information gathered in the investigation will be handed over to the judiciary to determine if any of the companies or individuals linked to the KIP Protocol project committed a crime, the Milei administration said in the Saturday statement. Hayden Mark Davis, one of KIP Protocols representatives who met with Milei, blamed the president for the crypto currencys collapse in a video posted on his social media on Saturday. Despite prior commitments, Milei and his team unexpectedly changed their position, withdrawing their support and deleting all previous posts on social media, Davis said.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, arrives for talks with Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, at the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb.15, 2025. (Sven Hoppe/DPA via AP, Pool)2025-02-17T02:16:25Z DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to the United Arab Emirates late Sunday as momentum grows for potential peace talks ending Moscows war on the country.U.S. President Donald Trump last week suggested he would be meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saudi Arabia. The UAE, home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, long has been floated as a possible site for peace talks as well given the large population of Russian and Ukrainian expatriates who have flooded the country since the war began, and due to the Emirates work on prisoner exchanges in the past. Zelenskyy arrived in Abu Dhabi after attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany. Footage released by his office showed him and his wife, Olena Zelenska, being greeted by an Emirati official and honor guard at the airport late Sunday night. Zelenska has traveled to the UAE since Russias full-scale invasion in 2022, but this trip is Zelenskyys first to the UAE since the war began.Our top priority is bringing even more of our people home from captivity, Zelenskyys office said in messages online. We will also focus on investments and economic partnership, as well as a large-scale humanitarian program. The United Arab Emirates state-run WAM news agency did not immediately report on Zelenskyys arrival, which was unusual. It wasnt immediately clear what his agenda would be while he was in the country, though Abu Dhabi is hosting its biennial International Defense Exhibition and Conference arms show this week, where both Ukraine and Russia have displayed arms even as Moscow faces Western sanctions over the war. Russian money continues to flood into Dubais red-hot real estate market. Daily flights between the Emirates and Moscow provide a lifeline for both those fleeing conscription and the Russian elite. The U.S. Treasury under former President Joe Biden also expressed concerns about the amount of Russian cash flowing into the Arabian Peninsula country. Zelenskyys visit comes as Denis Manturov, Russias first deputy prime minister, visited earlier Sunday with UAE leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the countrys president and ruler of Abu Dhabi. A readout from WAM described the talks as focusing on growing UAE-Russia ties and ways to advance shared interests, benefiting both nations and their peoples. JON GAMBRELL Gambrell is the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press. He has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006. twitter instagram mailto

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speak during a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, file)2025-02-17T11:22:05Z JERUSALEM (AP) When Hamas threatened to call off the planned release of three Israeli hostages last week, U.S. President Donald Trump stepped into the picture with an unexpected ultimatum.Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump called on Hamas to release all of the more than 70 hostages it is holding by noon on Saturday. Otherwise, he warned, all hell is going to break loose.Theyll find out what I mean. Saturday at 12, Trump declared. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in lockstep with the president, hinted the entire deal could collapse.Hamas ended up releasing the three hostages as originally planned. Netanyahu freed scores of Palestinian prisoners in return, and Trumps noon deadline came and went with no further hostage releases.The drama was the latest glimpse of Trumps Mideast diplomacy a world of big declarations, chaotic unpredictability and mixed results. In some cases, this approach has yielded great dividends most notably the 2020 Abraham Accords between Israel and four Arab countries. But it also has threatened to destabilize an already unstable region and shown little success resolving Israels decades-old conflict with the Palestinians.Here are a few takeaways from Trumps first month in office: A surprise Gaza proposalTrump has built his career on tough talk, threats and ultimatums along with surprises that supporters say are meant to shake up the status quo.Trumps boldest and most controversial plan so far has been his call for all of Gazas 2 million people to be removed from the territory, for the U.S. to then take ownership and then to oversee a yearslong reconstruction process. The Palestinians, he says, would not be allowed to return a nightmare for a people whose core grievance is the mass displacement they suffered during Israels creation 76 years ago. The Palestinians have rejected the plan out of hand. Trump has not said how this plan would work, where Palestinians would go, who would take them in or who would pay. Human rights groups and international law experts believe the plan would amount to a war crime.It is not clear whether the plan is a serious proposal or an attempt to shock the regions players into returning to the negotiating table. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday the plan is right on the dot. Its the right plan.Israelis love himIf Israel were part of the United States, it would be a bright red state when it comes to presidential politics. Opinion polls last November showed Israelis overwhelmingly believed Trump would be better for their country than Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.That support has shown no signs of softening. Early this month, Netanyahu was warmly received as the first foreign leader to visit the White House, where Trump unveiled his plan for Gaza.While the idea of a mass transfer of Palestinians was once an idea of Israels most radical ultranationalist fringe, Netanyahu has warmly embraced it since it was floated by Trump.Since then, the Israelis appear to be taking their cues from Trump. Netanyahu repeatedly consulted with the Americans during last weeks standoff. Hosting U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Netanyahu once again called Trump the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House. He said the two nations stood shoulder to shoulder in confronting archenemy Iran and that he was working in full cooperation with Trump on a postwar plan for Gaza. He even adopted Trumps language in threatening to open the gates of hell on Hamas if remaining hostages arent released. Yet he has continued with ceasefire talks at the prodding of the Americans. Arab angstAmericas closest Arab allies have rejected Trumps plans, which pose an existential threat to the Palestinian cause and their own stability. But some also face the threat of Trump cutting off badly needed aid.King Abdullah II of Jordan, one of Trumps hoped-for destinations for uprooted Palestinians, gently refused the plan during his own White House visit last week.Egypt, which borders Gaza and has been named as another potential landing spot for displaced Palestinians, has also ruled it out. A key test for Trump is Rubios visit to Saudi Arabia on Monday.Trump and Netanyahu have made clear they would like to see the establishment of full diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.But the Saudis oppose the mass transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza and want a clear pathway for Palestinian independence as part of any normalization deal with Israel. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmans accusations that Israel committed genocide in Gaza could also complicate the talks.After the warTrumps postwar plan has sent shockwaves across the region.Endorsing the forced expulsion of millions of Palestinians would be risky for U.S. allies.The populations of countries like the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt are deeply sympathetic to the Palestinian people and going along with such a plan could trigger domestic unrest. Egypt has warned it could endanger its peace agreement with Israel a cornerstone of regional stability for nearly half a century. At the same time, Trumps plan appears to have bred a sense of urgency. Egypt says it is now working on its own postwar plan for Gaza and is set to host an Arab summit later this month.Rubio has said that if others dont like the American ideas, they should offer an alternative. It may have shocked and surprised many, but what cannot continue is the same cycle where we repeat over and over again and wind up in the exact same place, he said.From the Arabs perspective, what has been tried and failed for decades is Americas unquestioning support for Israel as it occupies lands the Palestinians want for a future state, expands settlements and tries to impose a military solution on the conflict all of which is set to accelerate under Trump. More uncertainty aheadTrumps Mideast team, led by envoy Steve Witkoff, played a key role in securing the current six-week ceasefire, even before taking office.The current phase of the ceasefire is set to expire in two weeks, and Netanyahu has sent mixed signals about what happens next.Netanyahu has repeatedly threatened to resume the war, as demanded by the hard-line partners in his governing coalition.But he also has committed to continuing negotiations on a second stage that could ultimately end the war.Its impossible to say which path he and his unpredictable friend in the White House will choose.

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

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

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

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

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

I've constantly found history painted as dull. But history is just chronicling people's lives, and that includes members of the LGBTQ+ community, even if they're often forgotten about or overlooked. While most don't celebrate much for Presidents' Day (and even I, a president nerd, am not in a celebratory mood this year!), it can be an essential time to look at some of the surprising queer history associated with the Commanders in Chief and show that queerness isn't a recent trend or fad but is integral to American history. George Washington and his Fabulous Military TeacherWashington may have been a tactful general during the Revolutionary War, but he didn't learn everything on his own. While stuck at Valley Forge in 1778, Washington was desperate for assistance. His troops were starving, ill-clothed, and undisciplined.In comes Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben from Prussia. Earning the title of 'Baron' for his military service to a German prince, von Steuben seized the opportunity to make a new life for himself in America. Of course, the towering Prussian had to make a sizable impression to whip the Colonial Army into shape. Von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge decked out in furs, brilliant red garments, and military metals, with some observers seeing him as "a perfect personification of Mars (the God of War)." Von Steuben didn't come alone. He traveled with his young male companion/secretary and would have relationships with two other military officers at Valley Forge. Washington was keenly aware of this but didn't punish von Steuben or his lovers. Of course, men were not the only thing on the Baron's mind. After all, he had a job. He quickly taught Washington how to run a capable army, clean the facilities at Valley Forge, and bring discipline to the ranks. So impressed with his work, Washington helped von Steuben be promoted to the rank of Inspector General, later drafting regulations and a discipline guide for soldiers which became known as the "Blue Book." This remained the US's official military guide for nearly 40 years and is still taught at West Point.Von Steuben himself retired in upstate New York with his two male lovers whom he adopted. This was a common practice at that time for gay men so that upon his death, they could be his inheritors. Von Steuben was made an American citizen, and Washington thanked him for his "faithful and meritorious Services." James Buchanan, "The Bachelor President"Every president has been married except for one. James Buchanan is not well-regarded today and often is low in presidential rankings. Aside from his terrible tenure, the fact most discussed about him is his bachelorhood. On top of this, Buchanan faced many gay rumors throughout his life.This was all due to his close relationship with William Rufus King, who served briefly as Vice President. Before Buchanan's presidency and King's vice presidency, the two lived together for over a decade in a DC boardinghouse. They earned the nicknames "Miss Nancy" and "Aunt Fancy," with King being referred to as Buchanan's "better half." While most of their correspondences were burned by their nieces, one letter that survives from Buchanan has offered plenty of speculation about his personal life. "I am now 'solitary & alone,'" Buchanan wrote, "having no companion in the house with me. I have gone a wooing to several gentlemen, but have not succeeded with any one of them." Eleanor Roosevelt and her LadiesThe presidents weren't the only ones to have queer stories and histories. So did the First Ladies. There's perhaps no more famous example of queer history in the White House than Eleanor Roosevelt. Early into their marriage, Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed to remain married following revelations about one of Franklin's affairs. However, the two served primarily as each other's professional partners more than anything romantic or sexual. This allowed for an "unconventional" and even "open" marriage.Eleanor had many close female friends throughout her life. One particularly close friendship was with journalist Lorena Hickok, with whom Elanor exchanged more than 3,000 letters. Historian Susan Quinn noted that these letters were filled with "longing and affection and needing each other, wanting to be with each other." Eleanor was also close with Marion Dickerman and Nancy Cook, who were lifelong partners and lived just two miles from the Roosevelts in Hyde Park, New York. But was Eleanor herself a lesbian? If you ask me, I would say bisexual, especially given her reported affair with one of her Secret Service agents, Earl Miller.Roosevelt's commitment to women's rights throughout her life was unequivocal, though. Eleanor said, "I became more of a feminist than I ever imagined."John F. Kennedy and his Gay BFFKennedy and Kirk LeMoyne "Lem" Billings met at boarding school in Connecticut. Kenney and Billings had a particularly close relationship, with the two even going to Harlem with the intent of hiring a prostitute to share and lose their virginities to (Kennedy doing so; Billings did not). But for Lem, this was more than just a friendship. Historian Fredrik Logevall wrote, "At some point in the previous year, he had fallen in love with Jack." Terrified about the prospects of what an unreciprocated love may be like, Lem opted to drop a hint to Jack to see if there was mutual, romantic attraction.Logevall detailed in his book JFK how Lem wrote a note to the high school-aged Kennedy on a piece of toilet paper. This was a common practice for closeted gay men at the time, so the incriminating note could be quickly destroyed. While there's no way of knowing what was on the note, Kennedy's response is recorded. Kennedy responded to Lem, saying, "I'm not that kind of boy." But this didn't halt their friendship. "Jack was not a judgmental type of guy. He accepted his friends without passing judgment on them," a mutual friend of the two said. Kennedy and Billings embarked on a three-month European road trip together and even adopted a dog on their drive. They stayed friends for the rest of Kennedy's life, and he remained comfortable with Billings and his openness about his attraction toward men.Despite this rich queer history, today, we're seeing continued attacks on the LGBTQ+ community from the current president and his administration. There's a common myth amongst conservatives that queer identities are something new. But even our past presidents can attest that this is far from reality. Queer people have lived and breathed in the White House, have mentored presidents, and have been lifelong companions for others. This Presidents' Day, it's vital to highlight the history of presidents and those closest to them and how even from America's first president, we can and should celebrate the influence of queer people.Dalton Valette is a queer writer, former elected official, and amateur historian who runs the Instagram account @thepresidentguy. He lives in Colorado.Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ and Allied community. Visit pride.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. We welcome your thoughts and feedback on any of our stories. Email us at voices@equalpride.com. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists and editors, and do not directly represent the views of PRIDE.com or our parent company, equalpride.

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

Advocacy takes many forms. ForKyle Cuffie-Scott, it means opening a bakery in honor of his cousin Darnel, dedicated to raising awareness about HIV/AIDS. For the last five years, he has run Darnels Cakes, an LGBTQ+- and Black-owned bakery in Northern Liberties, with co-owner Joe Lope.Cuffie-Scott, who is originally from Springfield, Massachusetts, got his start cooking with his family growing up, especially during the holidays. It was also during these family get-togethers that he got to spend time with his younger cousin, who was from Georgia.We spent those [holidays] together as a family, he said. I was always in the kitchen, and Darnel was just running around acting crazy. Hes about 10 years younger than me, maybe a little bit more, but he was a little, little child and I was almost a pre-teen.Cuffie-Scott explained that he would help his mom and grandmother make all of the holiday food, sometimes experimenting with baking to varying degrees of success.But it was mostly just Darnel and I interacting while Im cooking or opening gifts, and we really just spent all the holidays and the fun times together, he continued.The impact of these family holidays is shown in his bakerys menu, which features many recipes inspired by what his family made.For college, Cuffie-Scott attended Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, earning a degree in baking and pastry arts. After that, he got a bachelors degree in communications from Temple University. He has made Philadelphia his home for the last 20 years and until 2016, had worked in marketing and communications.In 2015, he started what would become Darnels Cakes with a bake sale onWorld AIDS Day. The bake sale honored Darnel, who died two years earlier due to AIDS-related complications. Cuffie-Scott donated all the profits he earned from the sale toCOLOURS Organization, a local Philadelphia nonprofit that works to empower LGBTQ+ people of color, especially those from the African diaspora.In 2016, Cuffie-Scott formalized Darnels Cakes into a business, getting the LLC approved and started selling at the Lansdale Farmers Market.He started with just cupcakes, cookies and brownies; but his menu has grown over the last 10 years hes been selling at the market.He used the market to experiment with different flavor combinations, and feedback he got from his customers influenced what he put on the menu. And in the setting of a farmers market, this feedback was sometimes immediate, but he also watched for what people came back for week after week.Later that year, he got a wholesaling contract with the University of Pennsylvania, making more than 1,000 cookies each week for their dining halls.During the first four years, Cuffie-Scott did all of his baking out of a kitchen space he rented from The Enterprise Center. Then in late 2019, he signed a lease to his first brick-and-mortar store at 444 North Third Street for a May 2020 opening. In February, he dropped the last bit of paperwork off to the Department of Public Health and was told they would get back to him in about six weeks. But before that could happen, quarantine shut everything down in early March.I pretty much had to put everything on hold like everybody else, and just kind of sit and wait. So I was at home [while] cooking food [and] testing recipes kind of rethinking my idea of what the business is going to be, he said.Cuffie-Scott started testing different breads to make in-house and reworking the menu. The store opened at the end of May 2020. However, their first day open was the day of the first Black Lives Matter protest for George Floyd in Philadelphia.So we had our shop open. Then that day, they shut the city down. That was when the city was shut off from river to river, from the Schuylkill to the Delaware River. And I think as far north as Arch Street or Spring Garden, and as far south as South Street, so there was no car traffic going into Center City, said Cuffie-Scott.But clearly, that day we were open, and our first day open, and people were either coming to our shop first and then going to the protest, or leaving the protest and coming to our shop. So it was a really, really emotional day to say the least, he added.Now almost five years later, the business is still going strong and getting ready to expand to a new location in March.Over the years, their advocacy work has also expanded. When the business first started, they used social media to remind people to get tested on different significant days like World AIDS Day.Then they started offering free HIV tests.We linked withBebashiand they supplied us with free take-home tests. You can, of course, get them from Bebashi, but going into a clinic like that can be very daunting and scary, Cuffie-Scott explained.He continued, We took those tests and basically, we just helped give them out and we put them in brown paper bags so theyre very confidential. So if youre coming in to get a breakfast sandwich and you do want a test, we kind of conceal it so its private.He added that they are required to take down some information like the persons name and contacts.The organization they partnered with, Bebashi, is Philadelphias second oldest AIDS organization and the first African-American organization in the country to address the AIDS crisis.They also advocate throughThrifty Disco, dance parties by Philly AIDS Thrift that fund various AIDS organizations. Cuffie-Scott decided to sell cookies and baked goods at the party and has been doing so now for years. He then got an opportunity to sit on the Philly AIDS Thrift board.Now that Im working with them, Im literally working with everybody that has been working within the AIDS epidemic, kind of since it started, he said. I feel completely honored.For Cuffie-Scott, having a positive impact on his community and helping end the AIDS epidemic are key to his business.Were just people here trying to make some good food and trying to help out our underserved communities, he said. So I just want to be a resource, and almost like a source of light, for lack of better words. But I just want to be there to help in whatever way I can.He added that he really wants Darnels Cakes to be a place where people can go to feel supported like a caring shoulder to rely on.For more information on Darnels Cakes, visitdarnelscakes.comor follow them on Instagram@darnelscakes.This story is part of the Digital Equity Local Voices Fellowship lab through News is Out. The lab initiative is made possible with support from Comcast NBCUniversal.The post Baking with a mission: Darnels Cakes advocates for HIV/AIDS awareness appeared first on News Is Out.

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

AMinnesotatransgender man is being remembered across the country with vigils, days after his body was found in Yates County,New York.Sam Nordquist, 24, of Red Wing, Minnesota, was found deceased a week after his family contacted police to issue a missing persons report. According to New York State Police (NYSP), Nordquist was the victim of [a] criminal act, based on evidence collected and information obtained.Sam Nordquist. Photo: New York State Police In a press conference, Capt. Kelly Swift of the Bureau of Federal Investigation told reporters that an investigation into Nordquists disappearance led them to a hotel room at Pattys Lodge in Hopewell, New York, where police discovered a deeply disturbing pattern of abuse that ultimately resulted in Sams tragic death.Swift went on to share that evidence suggests Nordquist endured prolonged physical and psychological abuse at the hands of multiple individuals for weeks. The individuals, who have all been charged with second-degree murder, were named by NYSP as Precious Arzuaga, 38; Jennifer A. Quijano, 30; Kyle Sage, 33; Patrick A. Goodwin, 30; and Emily Motyka, 19.After Nordquist succumbed to his injuries, NYSP reported that his body was moved to a field in Benton, New York, where he was later found.Vigils in memory of Nordquist are scheduled for Monday, Feb. 17, including in Canandaigua, New York, and his hometown of Red Wing, Minnesota. The post Vigils planned to honor slain trans man, Sam Nordquist appeared first on News Is Out.

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

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

It's getting hot in here!Jkab Ethan Dale has created sexy content in the adult entertainment industry for four years now and he's loving every second of it. In fact, he even served as one of the three cohosts at the 2025 GayVN Awards alongside Alec Mapa and Bruno Alcantara.The model has filmed so many different types of spicy videos throughout the years, but there's one particular type of scene he loves the most."I'm a pleaser! I really like pleasing the other person. When I know I'm authentically turning the other person on, that's what I like to do. My kink is making sure you're happy," Dale tells PRIDE. See on Instagram Speaking of pleasing others, Dale is hoping to satisfy many men all at once in a sexy upcoming scene with multiple models."I would like a really big gang bang. I'll be on the Lazy Susan going round and round. I'm living in the moment! I've made it and I love it. I want to sit in this and be happy. That's what I want to do right now. I'm winning right now!"Fans can keep up with Jkab Ethan Dale by following him on Instagram here. To see the full interview at the 2025 GayVN Awards, check out the video at the top of the page.

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

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